Emotes in Where Winds Meet are not just for posing in screenshots. Gestures like bowing, begging, worshiping, praising, and giving money are wired into puzzles, Jianghu errands, sect tasks, and co-op interactions. The game does not always explain how these work or where to unlock them, which is why many players get stuck on simple-sounding objectives like “use the Beg emote to accept money.”
How to open and use the emote menu
The basic emote system lives in a dedicated menu. The exact button prompt is shown on-screen, but the pattern is consistent:
| Platform | Open emote menu | Navigate emotes | Confirm emote | Cancel emote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC (keyboard) | F2 by default |
Q / E to move through categories |
Click or select the gesture | Press Esc or move your character |
| Console / controller | Open Start/Menu, then Emotes tab on the right side | Left / right bumper buttons to scroll | Confirm button (e.g., Cross/A) | Back button or move your character |
Inside the menu, emotes are grouped into categories. One of these is labeled “Puzzle.” Those gestures are used in quests and environmental puzzles, while the others are mainly social or cosmetic.
Once a gesture is selected, your character plays the animation until it completes or until you break it by trying to move or closing the menu.
How bowing works (it is not a normal emote)
The game frequently asks you to “bow” or “kowtow,” especially during exploration puzzles. This action does not live inside the standard emote list.
Bowing is a contextual interaction that only works on a specific object in the world:
- You must stand on a grass mat-style object placed in the puzzle area. In Chinese, this is a Liangxi; visually, it resembles a simple tatami-like mat.
- When you stand in the correct spot, a prompt such as “Bow” appears.
- Press the normal interact button (on PC this is
F, on PlayStation this is the same button mapped to R2 interactions) to start the bow. - A progress bar appears; when it fills, one bow action is counted.
Some interactions require multiple bows in a row. For example, during the “Echoes in the Shrine” exploration quest, you need to trigger the Bow interaction on the mat three times in front of the large statue before it moves aside.
Language settings can slightly change the wording of the on-screen prompt, but the mechanic is always the same: stand on the mat, wait for the Bow interaction, then hold the interact button until the bar completes.
How to unlock and use the Worship emote
Worship is a dedicated emote that is also tied to early-game exploration.
- The emote unlocks in the first region during a side exploration quest connected to a large statue known as a Colossus.
- The quest name to look for is “Unknown Mysterious Colossus,” found in the Witherwinds area.
- During this quest, you are asked to “imitate the statues” while investigating anomalies in the courtyard.
- Completing this step plays a short cutscene and awards a new pose called the Worship emote, which then appears in your emote menu (under the relevant category, often marked as a puzzle emote).
Once unlocked, Worship is used like any other emote: open the emote menu, navigate to the correct category, and select it when a quest or puzzle hints that you should venerate a statue or similar object.
Beg vs Begging emotes and the rice bowl requirement
Jianghu errands and sect tasks sometimes ask you to act as a beggar and accept money from other players. This is where the naming and item requirements can easily cause confusion.
| Emote | How it is obtained | Rice bowl required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beg | Purchased from the “Honest Merchant” in solo mode | Behaves as if it does not strictly require bowls to play | Standard emote used for some Jianghu tasks |
| Begging (gold variant) | Unlocked separately; appears as a gold version in the list | Requires rice bowls; the animation will not play without them | Used for co-op interactions where others donate coins |
For the Jianghu errand that explicitly mentions using the “beg” emote to accept money, several details matter:
- There are two distinct gestures in the menu: one named Beg and one named Begging. They are easy to mix up.
- The quest is sensitive to which one you use. If it calls for “Beg,” using “Begging” may not progress the objective, or vice versa, depending on the specific task.
- Some players report needing to equip and perform the gold Begging emote with rice bowls in their inventory to get the objective to register.
The rice bowl itself comes from shops:
- Purchase a rice bowl from a general store.
- For the emote itself, switch to solo mode using the in-game mode switch.
- On the map, look for the NPC named Honest Merchant, often found near areas like Blissful Retreat or Harvestfall Village.
- Buy the Beg emote and rice bowls from this merchant.
After acquiring these, return to multiplayer if needed, equip the correct emote in your wheel or menu, ensure you have rice bowls if you intend to use the gold variant, and then perform the gesture while other players use the money “Giveaway” emote nearby.
How to unlock and use the Giveaway emote
The Giveaway emote lets you throw money to begging players in co-op and is also referenced by sect tasks.
Giveaway is taught by an NPC in the main multiplayer area, not in solo play.
- Switch to multiplayer mode through the mode menu.
- Travel to the main multiplayer hub west of Blissful Retreat. On the map, this location is labeled Merit Pool.
- At the coast in the northwest of this hub, there is a large fountain near the water.
- When the conditions are right, an NPC stands by the fountain and teaches you the Giveaway emote.
Several quirks are worth knowing:
- The fountain and NPC only appear in multiplayer; in solo mode, the area can look empty even if the map shows Merit Pool.
- Time of day seems to affect visibility for some players. If you arrive at night and see nothing, staying in multiplayer and returning when it is daytime in-game may reveal the fountain and NPC.
Once unlocked, Giveaway appears in the emote menu. Using it in co-op throws commerce coins, the rarer currency, toward nearby beggars. When you sit and beg, you can receive commerce coins from players using Giveaway on top of you.
Praise emote and other quest-specific gestures
Beyond bowing, worship, beg, and giveaway, several quests refer to specific named emotes. One example is the Praise emote:
- In a quest sometimes referred to as “heart stealer,” you are asked to copy Zhou Ergou’s pose and use the Praise emote toward Granny Chen.
- The game expects you to line up your character and match the posture before triggering Praise, rather than using the emote from any random angle.
In general, when a quest refers to a named emote (Praise, Worship, etc.), look for it under the “Puzzle” or equivalent category in the emote menu. If it is missing, the associated side quest or rumor that unlocks it has not been completed yet in that region.
Common emote problems and quick checks
Several recurring issues cause emote-based puzzles and tasks to fail silently. Running through a short checklist often resolves them.
| Problem | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Jianghu errand “Beg” does not complete | Wrong emote or missing item | Verify you are using Beg vs Begging; ensure you own a rice bowl; confirm Beg was bought from Honest Merchant in solo mode |
| Cannot perform Begging (gold) emote | No rice bowls in inventory | Buy rice bowls from a general store and keep some in your bag before selecting the gold Begging emote |
| Giveaway NPC not at Merit Pool | Wrong mode or unfavorable time | Switch to multiplayer mode; revisit the Merit Pool area during daytime and look for the fountain |
| Bow interaction does nothing | Not on the correct mat or not holding prompt | Stand exactly on the grass mat until the “Bow” prompt appears, then hold the interact key until the bar fills; repeat if the puzzle requires multiple bows |
| Sect / errand tracker stuck at 0% | Temporary tracking issue | Disconnect and reconnect, then repeat the emote with the right setup (mode, items, and gesture) |
The emote and gesture system in Where Winds Meet hides a surprising amount of progression behind small details: grass mats for bowing, solo-only merchants for begging, and multiplayer-only fountains for giving money. Once those pieces are in place—correct mode, correct emote name, required items in your inventory—the quests that hinge on these actions tend to resolve cleanly.
