Where Winds Meet ships with multiple PC graphics packages that radically change how heavy the game is on your storage and your GPU. The names are simple — Lite, Standard, and Ultimate — but the way you get them and the trade-offs between them are less obvious.
The game’s wuxia open world is designed to scale from handheld PCs and older rigs to high-end desktops, and these packs are the main way it does that. Choosing the right one matters more than tweaking a few sliders later.
How the three PC versions work
| Version / package | What it changes | Approx. storage | Availability | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite version / Quick Package | Lower-resolution textures and reduced asset quality for higher performance on weaker hardware | ≈ 60–68 GB (varies slightly between mentions) | Available now | Choose “Lite” in the official PC launcher |
| Standard version / Package | Full textures and “normal” visual settings; baseline experience | ≈ 110 GB | Available now | Steam, PlayStation, Epic, or official launcher (default) |
| Ultimate version / Package | Planned higher-end 4K-focused preset beyond Standard | TBA | Not available at global launch | Will use the official launcher when it goes live |
All three are the same game. You play in the same world, follow the same tenth‑century China story, and use the same character. The packages differ in:
- Texture resolution and art assets
- GPU and VRAM load
- Disk usage
- Headroom for higher frame rates, especially on handhelds and low-end PCs
Where Winds Meet platforms and launchers
On PC, the game is offered through Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation’s PC ecosystem via cross-progression, and a standalone launcher from the official site at wherewindsmeetgame.com.
The critical difference is how much control you have over graphics packages:
| PC entry point | Default package | Can choose Lite? | Can choose Ultimate? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam install | Standard package | No, Steam currently installs Standard only | No, not yet available anywhere |
| Epic Games Store | Standard package | Same situation as Steam for now | No |
| Official PC launcher | You choose Lite or Standard during download | Yes, Lite is exposed as an option | Planned for the future |
So if you install through Steam, you are on Standard by default and do not see a “Lite vs Standard” selector. To access Lite (and later Ultimate), you need the standalone launcher from the game’s official website.
Lite version / Quick Package: what you gain and lose
The Lite, sometimes labeled “Quick Package” in the launcher, is designed for weaker hardware and smaller drives. It trades away high-resolution textures to cut the footprint to roughly 60–68GB.
| Aspect | Lite / Quick Package |
|---|---|
| Visual detail | Noticeably softer textures on characters, terrain, buildings, and foliage |
| Target hardware | Low-end gaming PCs, older GPUs, handhelds (Steam Deck, ROG Ally, similar) |
| Performance | Lower GPU load and VRAM usage, better chance at stable 30–45fps on modest setups |
| Settings access | You still have in-game settings to tweak, but the ceiling is defined by lower-res assets |
| Storage requirement | ≈ 60–68 GB once installed |
On handheld PCs, the Lite build is a big deal. Players report significantly higher frame rates versus the Steam Standard build on devices like Steam Deck and ROG Ally when running the official-launcher Lite package instead of the default Steam install. The trade-off is visual sharpness: rocks, roof tiles, ground textures, and clothing patterns all look less crisp.
Lite is also the obvious choice if your SSD is nearly full. Dropping from roughly 110GB to around two-thirds of that can be the difference between installing the game and having to kill other titles.
Standard package: the default experience
The Standard package is the baseline version of Where Winds Meet. It uses the game’s normal textures and effects and is what you get if you:
- Install on Steam
- Install on Epic Games Store
- Pick the default option in the official launcher
| Aspect | Standard package |
|---|---|
| Visual detail | Full-resolution textures and intended look of the world |
| Storage requirement | ≈ 110 GB |
| Performance | Reasonable on modern mid-range GPUs; can be tuned down if needed |
| Best suited for | Desktops and laptops with decent GPUs, enough VRAM, and plenty of disk space |
Standard is where the game’s art direction really shows: detailed architecture in the imperial capital, intricate armor patterns, and dense foliage in those “emerald forests” the studio keeps talking about. The textures are a big part of what sells the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms setting.
If your system can handle it, this is the version to start with. Where Winds Meet is described as well optimized on PC, and most players with modern hardware can run Standard using low or medium settings without major frame rate problems. If you do run into choppy performance, scaling back shadows, post-processing, and crowd density is usually enough before you need to consider reinstalling Lite.
Ultimate package: what is known so far
The Ultimate package is referenced in the launcher as a third option, but is not available at global launch. The plan is a “super 4K” preset that goes beyond Standard, aimed at high-end PCs with plenty of VRAM and fast SSD storage.
- It is not downloadable yet.
- It will not appear through Steam by default; it is exposed through the standalone launcher’s graphics pack system.
- Expect a larger storage footprint than the 110GB Standard pack and higher demands on both GPU and VRAM.
For now, treat Ultimate as a future upgrade path if you have a powerful rig and a 4K display. Installing Standard today will not lock you out: the launcher structure is built around swapping and upgrading packs.
How to install Lite instead of Standard on PC
If you only click “Install” on Steam, you do not get a choice of graphics pack — you get Standard. To use Lite, you need to go through the official PC launcher.
Step 1: Download the official PC launcher
Grab the launcher from the game’s official website using the “Play PC now” / “Play now” button at the Where Winds Meet official site. That downloads a small NetEase installer (around a few hundred megabytes) that then pulls the game itself.
Step 2: Choose Lite in the launcher
Once the NetEase launcher is installed and you’ve signed into your NetEase account:
- Find Where Winds Meet in the launcher.
- Locate the client version/package selector: the launcher exposes different builds by size (one around 60–68GB and one around 110GB).
- Select the smaller one — that is the Lite / Quick Package.
- Pick an install directory with enough space (either on your main SSD or a secondary drive).
- Start the download.
If you see only one size around 110GB, you’re looking at Standard; you may need to change the dropdown to the Lite client entry. The labels can vary a bit (Lite, Quick, or simply a file size and build number), but the storage size is the giveaway.
Using Lite on handheld PCs like Steam Deck
On devices like the Steam Deck, the official launcher Lite build can be a significant improvement over the Steam Standard build. Players report frame rates closer to 40–45fps in many areas, with careful settings and tools like lossless scaling, compared to much rougher performance with the default Steam version.
The catch is that Steam Deck does not natively run Windows, so installing the official launcher means treating it like any other non-Steam Windows program under Proton:
- Download the launcher in Desktop Mode.
- Add the installer as a “Non-Steam Game” in Steam and force Proton (often Proton Experimental or a Proton-GE build).
- Run the installer, then add the installed launcher executable itself as another Non-Steam Game.
- Use that to fetch the Lite build.
Many players also work around the launcher’s sometimes-incorrect free-space detection by pointing the game install to a symlinked folder on a larger drive. The pattern looks like this on Steam Deck:
ln -s "/home/deck/Games/Where Winds Meet" \
"/home/deck/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/<YOUR PREFIX #>/pfx/drive_c/WhereWindsMeet"After that, you tell the launcher to install to C:/WhereWindsMeet and the files actually land on your bigger directory under /home/deck/Games/Where Winds Meet.
Ctrl+V while clicking the box until it “sticks”. This is a launcher quirk, not a property of the Lite build itself.Keeping your character when switching between Steam and the launcher
Where Winds Meet supports cross-progression via NetEase accounts. That means your character is not permanently bound to the platform you first used; it lives on your NetEase account.
To move from Steam’s Standard build to the Lite build in the official launcher without losing progress:
- On Steam:
- Launch the game from Steam.
- In the in-game account section, bind your Steam profile to a NetEase account (or create one if needed).
- Install the official launcher and log in with the same NetEase account.
- Install the Lite or Standard package through the launcher.
- Start the game; your existing character should be there, pulled from the linked account.
This way, you can keep earning progress on a handheld via Lite and still reap Steam achievements when you decide to boot the Standard build on your desktop later. The achievements themselves depend on launching through Steam, but the underlying character data flows through the NetEase account layer.
Which version you should pick
| Your situation | Recommended package | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-range or better gaming PC, plenty of SSD space | Standard | Delivers the intended visuals with enough room to tune down settings if needed |
| Low-end GPU, older CPU, or integrated graphics | Lite | Lower texture resolution eases GPU and VRAM load for smoother frame rates |
| Handheld PC (Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go) | Lite | Noticeably better frame times versus Standard on the same hardware |
| Very limited disk space (around 70GB free or less) | Lite | Roughly 60–68GB install instead of ~110GB |
| High-end 4K rig, large SSDs | Standard today, Ultimate later | Use Standard now; upgrade to Ultimate when it’s released |
If you are unsure, Standard is a safe starting point when installing through the official launcher. It offers a good balance of image quality and flexibility. If you see sustained frame drops even after dialing down a few heavier settings, reinstalling Lite is the next step.
For handhelds and older PCs, the answer is clearer: use Lite. The visual compromises are real, but Where Winds Meet’s wuxia world and martial-arts combat remain intact, and the smoother performance makes exploration and boss fights feel far better than a sharp but choppy image ever could.
