Lion's Roar is one of the early Mystic Skills in Where Winds Meet, built around a huge area hit, strong defensive buffs, and synergy with poison-style effects. It unlocks not from a questline, but from a simple exploration puzzle: finding and ringing four copper bells in Qinghe.
How to unlock Lion's Roar in Qinghe
To obtain Lion's Roar, you need to interact with four giant copper bells scattered across the Qinghe region. You do not need to activate them in a particular order; ringing all four once on a single character is enough to unlock the skill automatically.
| Bell | Location description | Regional hint |
|---|---|---|
| Copper Bell 1 | Mounted on the west wall of General's Shrine, in the first main town you visit. | Central Qinghe – main story starting area. |
| Copper Bell 2 | On the hill south of General's Shrine, slightly higher elevation than the town itself. | Still near General's Shrine, short ride or climb away. |
| Copper Bell 3 | South of Buddha Fort in northeastern Qinghe. | Look just below the Buddha Fort landmark on your map. |
| Copper Bell 4 | Inside an abandoned residence in the Witherwilds area. | Southwest of Moonveil Mountain, within the Witherwilds subregion. |
In practice, most players ring Bell 1 and Bell 2 naturally while progressing the early story around General's Shrine. Copper Bell 3 and Copper Bell 4 require broader exploration toward the northeast (Buddha Fort) and southwest (Witherwilds near Moonveil Mountain).
Once all four have been rung, a notification appears, and Lion's Roar is added to your Mystic Skills. There is no extra dialogue or turn-in step needed.
What Lion's Roar does in combat
Lion's Roar is categorized as an Offensive, Area Debuff Mystic Skill with a focus on both damage and survivability. It has a 30 Vitality cost and a 12‑second cooldown at Tier 4, making it a relatively frequent burst tool rather than an ultimate on a long timer.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Offensive Mystic Skill, Area Debuff |
| Primary tags | Knockback, multi-hit area damage, defensive buff |
| Vitality cost (Tier 4) | 30 |
| Cooldown (Tier 4) | 12 seconds |
| Core effect | First, slam a giant bell to deal immediate damage and displace enemies. Then emit a roar that hits 14 times in a wide area. |
| Defensive effect | Grants 15% Damage Reduction and Fortitude while the skill is active. |
| Status synergy | Hitting a target affected by Toad Venom detonates the venom, spreads it to others, and increases the roar's damage. |
The move unfolds in two stages:
- The bell slam is a close‑range hit that can knock enemies back or interrupt some attacks.
- The following roar ticks repeatedly, allowing you to stack damage, trigger status interactions, and push toward Silence at higher tiers.
Because the roar hits 14 times, it is especially effective at:
- Chewing through clustered enemies in a short window.
- Quickly stacking on-hit conditional effects from Inner Ways or gear.
- Proccing its own Tier 3 Silence condition reliably in duels and small‑scale PvP.
On top of this, the defensive layer (Damage Reduction + Fortitude) lets you stay inside the hitbox during crowded fights or boss flurries without instantly folding.
Lore and in-game role
Lion's Roar is framed as a hidden Zen technique inspired by Vimalakirti hearing the Buddha preach, with the Buddha's teachings described as a thunderous roar that cuts through delusion. In game terms, that design shows up as a single, overwhelming strike followed by a long, punishing shout that controls the area around you.
The skill is flagged as especially suitable for arena play. The mix of:
- Large area coverage
- Repeated hits that are hard to avoid at close range
- Damage Reduction while casting
gives Lion's Roar a clear niche in duels and small skirmishes where forcing opponents to respect your space is crucial.
Lion's Roar breakthrough tiers and bonuses
Like other Mystic Skills, Lion's Roar progresses through four Tiers, each split into nine Ranks. Ranks mainly boost raw effectiveness (for example, higher damage), while Tiers add new mechanical bonuses on top of the base skill.
| Tier | Rank range | Bonus effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–9 | Base version of Lion's Roar (no extra tier bonus). |
| 2 | 0–9 | Improves the Tenacity effect granted while casting skills. |
| 3 | 0–9 | Hitting a target with the roar 5 or more times inflicts Silence for 3 seconds. |
| 4 | 0–9 | Damage Reduction while casting skills jumps from 15% up to 40%. |
The Silence at Tier 3 is what pushes Lion's Roar firmly into control territory. Because the roar delivers 14 hits across its duration, landing at least five on a single target is very achievable when they are caught in the center of the area. Silence shuts down skill usage briefly, which can decide duels or interrupt key boss abilities if they are susceptible.
Tier 4 then leans harder into survivability. Raising the Damage Reduction while casting to 40% allows you to use Lion's Roar more aggressively — for example, timing it to tank through a barrage of attacks while still outputting damage. In group content, that makes the skill a strong emergency button when you need both protection and a way to clear space.
Upgrade materials and costs for Lion's Roar
Upgrading Lion's Roar follows the standard Mystic Art structure, using Ebon Iron of increasing levels and a dedicated breakthrough material, Buddha's Tear Root. Higher tiers demand higher levels of Ebon Iron and larger stacks of Buddha's Tear Root, so it is worth planning ahead if Lion's Roar is central to your build.
| Tier | Rank | Required materials |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–9 | Lv. 1 Ebon Iron ×2 per rank |
| 2 | 0 (Tier promotion) | Buddha's Tear Root ×5, Lv. 1 Ebon Iron ×2 |
| 2 | 1–9 | Lv. 2 Ebon Iron ×4 per rank |
| 3 | 0 (Tier promotion) | Buddha's Tear Root ×15, Lv. 2 Ebon Iron ×4 |
| 3 | 1–9 | Lv. 3 Ebon Iron ×10 per rank |
| 4 | 0 (Tier promotion) | Buddha's Tear Root ×18, Lv. 3 Ebon Iron ×10 |
| 4 | 1–9 | Lv. 4 Ebon Iron ×20 per rank |
Tier promotions (the 0th rank at each new Tier) are the material spikes; they unlock the new tier bonus, such as Silence or increased Damage Reduction. The ranks inside each Tier then let you scale numbers further once you are happy with the core behaviour.
Where Lion's Roar fits into builds
Lion's Roar occupies a hybrid role between offense and defense, and that versatility shapes where it fits best.
- PvP and arena play: The large hitbox, multi‑hit pattern, and Tier 3 Silence make Lion's Roar a natural pick for closing distance, forcing dodges, and punishing opponents who overcommit. The defensive buffs let you initiate without being instantly punished.
- Stonesplit Path and tank‑leaning builds: Extra durability during casting, especially once Tier 4 is unlocked, lines up well with paths that already emphasize standing ground and trading hits.
- Solo exploration and bossing: In solo play, Lion's Roar is a safety net. The knockback can relieve pressure from mobs, while the roar damage tidies up stragglers without requiring perfect positioning.
- Status‑driven builds: The interaction with Toad Venom (detonating and spreading the venom while boosting roar damage) gives obvious value if your setup already applies that status. The 14 hits offer plenty of chances to interact with any other “on hit” triggers as well.
Because the Vitality cost stays modest and the cooldown is short at high tiers, Lion's Roar can be treated as a frequent rotational skill rather than a rare emergency button, provided your build comfortably sustains Vitality usage.
Lion's Roar is easy to miss if you rush past Qinghe's bells, but once unlocked and upgraded, it becomes a reliable, multi‑purpose tool. A quick detour to ring the copper bells around General's Shrine, Buddha Fort, and the Witherwilds turns a bit of ambient exploration into a Mystic Skill that stays relevant well into later content.
