Where Winds Meet Celestial Seize Mystic Skill: Unlock, Use, and Upgrade

Celestial Seize is one of the most useful Mystic Skills in Where Winds Meet, both for progressing quests and for controlling enemies in combat. It pulls items from a distance, steals from NPCs, and can strip weapons from opponents so you can hit them with their own gear.

Celestial Seize overview

Celestial Seize is an Offensive Mystic Skill in the Puzzle sub-category. It costs no Vitality, so you can use it freely without draining your Mystic Skill resource. The skill is obtained early in Qinghe, around Heaven's Pier, and then becomes a core part of several side quests, guarded chests, dangerous locations, and environmental puzzles.

Out of combat, Celestial Seize pulls distant objects toward you, including items stuck in the environment, loot inside chests or bags, and items in NPC backpacks. In combat, it disarms a target, attacks them with their own weapon, and deals damage that scales with the weight of that weapon.

How to unlock Celestial Seize (Foul Play exploration quest)

Celestial Seize is unlocked through the exploration quest “Foul Play” near Heaven's Pier in Qinghe. You are briefly given a temporary version of the skill during the quest, and it becomes permanent once the objectives are completed and turned in.

The table below summarizes the key unlock details.

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Unlock Celestial Seize Mystic Skill

Starts at: 00:04

Start the Foul Play exploration quest

Step 1: Progress the early main story until you are directed toward the Qinghe region and can reach Heaven's Pier. This usually happens after the first couple of main story missions, once map travel opens up slightly.

Step 2: Travel to Heaven's Pier. If you have already interacted with a Boundary Stone or landmark near the town, fast travel there. If not, ride or walk into the area to unlock the nearby fast travel point for later use.

Step 3: Move to the tavern or gathering area in Heaven's Pier where a drinking contest is taking place. Look for an NPC sitting near the drinkers; this NPC is involved with the exploration quest “Foul Play.” Interact with him to start the quest.

Use Celestial Seize trial to steal the cheating potion

Step 1: Speak with the quest-giver to learn that the organizer of the drinking competition is cheating by using a special potion or medicine. Your first task is to secretly steal this potion.

Step 2: Approach the target area for the potion. A prompt will appear on screen that introduces a trial version of Celestial Seize, with a control hint such as R2 + Square or a similar combination, depending on the platform. This allows you to use Celestial Seize for the quest even before it is fully unlocked.

Step 3: Position your character so the potion or medicine is clearly in view, then press the button combination shown on screen to activate Celestial Seize and pull the item away. Once you have taken the potion, the cheating organizer can no longer rely on it during the contest.

Finish the drinking competition to unlock the skill permanently

Step 1: Return to the organizer or the relevant NPC who runs the contest and initiate the challenge dialog. This triggers the drinking competition cutscene now that he no longer has his potion.

Step 2: Watch the cutscene play out. The organizer eventually becomes too drunk to continue and the situation resolves in your favor. There is no extra gameplay challenge during this part; it is mainly narrative.

Step 3: After the competition concludes, speak again with the NPC who started Foul Play. Completing this conversation grants you permanent access to Celestial Seize as a Mystic Skill that can be equipped from the Mystic Skills menu.

Equipping Celestial Seize in the Mystic Skills menu

Once unlocked, Celestial Seize appears among the Offensive Mystic Skills and can be assigned to your Mystic Skill slots so it can be used during exploration and combat.

Step 1: Open the main menu and navigate to the development or character section that contains your abilities. Then move to the Mystic Skills tab, which lists all learned Mystic Skills.

Step 2: Locate Celestial Seize under the Offensive category, marked as a Puzzle-type skill. Highlight it to check its description, which outlines its out-of-combat pulling effect and its in-combat disarm effect.

Step 3: Assign Celestial Seize to one of your available Offensive Mystic Skill slots. These slots appear as the icons to the right of your Martial Arts skills on the HUD. Confirm the assignment so the skill can be triggered with the appropriate button combination in-game.

How to use Celestial Seize out of combat (puzzles and interactions)

Celestial Seize is required for many puzzles and side objectives. It is especially important for items that are clearly visible but physically blocked or too far away to reach by normal interaction.

Pulling distant items and stuck objects

Step 1: When you see an item lying out of reach—such as a key lodged under a shelf, loot behind bars, or objects on a high ledge—stand at a reasonable distance where the object is clearly in the center of your screen.

Step 2: With Celestial Seize equipped, press the displayed Mystic Skill combination (for example, R2 + Circle on certain controllers; refer to your on-screen prompt). The skill will create a pulling effect that drags the item toward you or directly collects it.

Step 3: Confirm that the item is now in your inventory or that the key object has moved into an interactable position. This lets you progress puzzles that would otherwise appear blocked.

Opening guarded and dangerous chests

Step 1: When you encounter guarded chests or chests located in dangerous spots where direct interaction is risky, approach until the chest is within Celestial Seize range, but avoid entering the most dangerous area if possible.

Step 2: Aim your camera directly at the chest or its loot point. Activate Celestial Seize using the assigned control combination so the skill pulls the contents from the chest toward you instead of requiring a direct open animation.

Step 3: Collect the pulled items from the ground or directly into your inventory. This method can help you obtain loot from locations that are difficult to access safely or quickly.

Using Celestial Seize with Wind Sense for stealing from NPCs

Wind Sense is a General Mystic Skill that highlights items and people of interest in the area. Used together with Celestial Seize, it becomes a powerful tool for pickpocket-style interactions.

Step 1: Activate Wind Sense to highlight key NPCs and items around you. This highlights backpacks, carried items, and targets that may be worth stealing from.

Step 2: Stand behind or to the side of an NPC you want to steal from, staying close enough for Celestial Seize to reach whatever item is highlighted, but not so close that you risk an unwanted interaction.

Step 3: Aim your camera at the highlighted backpack or item on the NPC and activate Celestial Seize. The skill will pull the item from their inventory, functioning like a pickpocket action from a distance.

How to use Celestial Seize in combat

In combat, Celestial Seize shifts from a utility pull to a control and damage tool. It is best used to open engagements against weapon-wielding enemies or to create safe windows in fights.

Disarming enemies and counterattacking

Step 1: Target a weapon-wielding enemy, such as a soldier or bandit. Wait for a moment when they are not in the middle of an uninterruptible attack animation to avoid wasting the skill.

Step 2: With Celestial Seize equipped in your active Mystic Skill row, press the assigned button combination to cast it on the enemy. If successful, their weapon is torn away, and you immediately counter by striking them with that same weapon.

Step 3: Use the brief opening created by the disarm to follow up with Martial Arts combos or other Mystic Skills. Because the enemy is temporarily without their main weapon, their threat level drops, giving you more room to attack or reposition.

Taking advantage of weapon weight scaling

Step 1: Identify enemies that use heavy weapons such as large blades, hammers, or polearms. These are ideal targets, because Celestial Seize’s damage scales with the weight of the enemy’s weapon.

Step 2: Prioritize casting Celestial Seize on these heavy-weapon enemies early in a fight. The heavier the weapon, the more damage the skill inflicts when you strike them with it.

Step 3: After landing Celestial Seize on a heavy-weapon foe, consider focusing your next few attacks on them to quickly remove them from the fight, reducing the battlefield pressure and making the remaining enemies easier to manage.

Using Celestial Seize for key quest puzzles (example: warehouse key)

Some quests require Celestial Seize specifically, and will not progress if you try to use other Mystic Skills. A common example is retrieving a warehouse key that is visibly wedged under or between shelves and the floor.

Step 1: When you approach the warehouse and see the key stuck between the shelf and the ground, stop trying to interact with it directly. Standard interaction prompts will not work while it is jammed in place.

Step 2: Open the Mystic Skills section of the development menu and ensure Celestial Seize is equipped in an active Offensive Mystic Skill slot. Confirm the assignment before resuming the quest area.

Step 3: Stand facing the key so it is clearly visible on screen. Use the Celestial Seize button combination (for example, R2 + Circle on certain controllers) to pull the key toward you. Once the key is collected, continue the quest by unlocking the warehouse door.

Upgrading Celestial Seize (tiers, ranks, and effects)

Most Offensive Mystic Skills, including Celestial Seize, can be improved by leveling up their Ranks and Tiers. Celestial Seize starts at Tier 1 and can be upgraded through Tier 4, with each Tier improving either damage or strategy-related effects.

Celestial Seize rank and tier structure

Step 1: Open the Mystic Skills menu and highlight Celestial Seize to view its upgrade path. Each Mystic Skill has four Tiers, each divided into nine smaller Ranks. Increasing Ranks generally improves base effectiveness, such as damage.

Step 2: Check the required resources for upgrading Celestial Seize. This skill uses Ebon Iron and Vicious Fruit to break through Tiers. Higher Tiers require higher-level or larger quantities of these materials.

Step 3: Spend the necessary materials to raise Celestial Seize through its Tiers to unlock the following benefits:

Basic Mystic Skill system context for Celestial Seize

Celestial Seize sits within the broader Mystic Skills system, which includes Offensive, General, and Movement Mystic Skills. It belongs to the Offensive group and is one of the Puzzle sub-category skills used both for exploration puzzles and for in-combat control.

Offensive Mystic Skills draw on a resource called Vitality, displayed as a small meter in the Mystic Skills HUD. Celestial Seize has a Vitality cost of 0, which means it does not consume this resource. This makes it more flexible than many other Offensive Mystic Skills, because it can be used freely for both puzzles and combat without worrying about your Vitality meter.

Other Puzzle-type Offensive Mystic Skills include Tai Chi and Meridian Touch, which interact with different kinds of puzzles and apply unique combat effects such as throwing enemies or immobilizing them. Together with Celestial Seize, they form a toolkit for solving environment challenges while also providing strong control options during fights.

Troubleshooting Celestial Seize quest progression issues

Some players encounter situations where the main quest instructs them to acquire Celestial Seize before heading to Kaifeng, but the NPC linked to the quest cannot be interacted with. The main quest marker appears over the correct NPC (often Qiu Yuehai), yet no interaction prompt appears.

Method 1: Restart the game so Foul Play appears as a side quest

Step 1: If the interaction prompt is missing when you stand next to Qiu Yuehai in either Heaven's Pier or Harvestfall Village, save your progress if possible and close the game entirely to the desktop or console menu.

Step 2: Restart the game and load your current save. Open your quest log and look for the exploration quest “Foul Play” under side quests. In many cases, it now appears correctly as a side quest instead of being only tied to the main quest marker.

Step 3: Track the Foul Play quest from your log and follow its marker to Qiu Yuehai again. Interact with him to start the Celestial Seize tutorial and complete the quest as described earlier to unlock the skill and unblock the main story.

Method 2: Check alternate locations (Heaven's Pier vs. Harvestfall Village)

Step 1: If Qiu Yuehai is present in Harvestfall Village but unresponsive, travel back to Heaven's Pier and look for him there near the drinking contest area. Some players first triggered the quest at Heaven's Pier instead of Harvestfall.

Step 2: Approach Qiu Yuehai in both locations at different times of day if needed. Certain quests only progress when NPCs are present and active, and some NPCs may not be available during late-night hours.

Step 3: If he responds at either location, proceed with the Celestial Seize tutorial and complete the Foul Play quest to secure the skill and continue your main questline.

Method 3: Confirm that you have completed the nullifying pill tutorial step

Step 1: If you previously talked to Qiu Yuehai and stole the quest item (such as nullifying pills) using the temporary Celestial Seize prompt but left the area without confronting the cheating organizer, return to the tavern area where the drinking contest is held.

Step 2: Look for the organizer NPC (often named Hu Wei or a similar name) and attempt to speak with him. This confrontation step is required to progress the quest beyond the tutorial theft.

Step 3: After speaking with the organizer and letting the scene play out, return to Qiu Yuehai to finalize the quest. This grants the permanent Celestial Seize skill and satisfies the main quest requirement.

Used correctly, Celestial Seize simplifies many puzzles, speeds up looting, and gives you a strong control option in combat, so it is worth unlocking and upgrading early.