Where Winds Meet treats martial arts sects as more than simple class picks. Joining one is closer to entering a disciplined order: you gain unique techniques, cosmetics, and shops, but you also agree to live by a specific code. Breaking that code has real consequences, up to being cast out.
What sects are in Where Winds Meet?
Sects are long‑standing factions built around a philosophy, a way of fighting, and a lifestyle. Each one:
- Grants its own Martial Arts weapon style and skills.
- Opens a sect‑specific shop with outfits, emotes, and other items.
- Tracks your “precept value” or standing based on how well you follow its rules.
You can join only one sect at a time, but you can leave later and even rejoin, subject to penalties and reputation. It is also possible to remain sectless and rely on general progression systems and Skill Theft instead of formally signing up with any order.
How discipleship works in sects
Once you join, you are effectively a disciple of that sect. Discipleship has a few common traits across all factions:
- You receive an entry gift with the sect’s signature Martial Art and a matching weapon.
- Your conduct is judged against that sect’s rules; following them raises precept value, ignoring them lowers it.
- Higher standing unlocks more items in the sect shop, titles, and cosmetic rewards.
- Severe or repeated rule‑breaking can lead to punishment or banishment.
Some sects also interact with the broader social systems of the game. For example, the Velvet Shade–aligned “haram” style sect allows multiple marriages in the social “marriage” system, while others place heavy expectations on how you earn money or fight other players.
How to join a sect
You do not pick a sect during character creation. Instead, you unlock the sect system as you push the main story and gain levels.
Once the sect feature is available:
- Open the main menu and go to the Sects screen (button in the lower‑right corner).
- Choose Join Sect to see all discoverable factions.
- Select a sect to view its summary, rules, and an Entry Clue describing how to find its representatives.
Entry clues are vague on purpose — you are expected to explore, talk to NPCs, and follow the hint trail until you reach a sect leader or elder. Speaking to that leader usually starts a trial quest line. Completing the rite of passage is the point where you formally become a disciple.
In some cases, if your past actions already fit the sect’s values, the elder may waive most of the trial and admit you directly.
Changing or leaving sects
Sects are not permanent. Players often “sect hop” over time, treating each order as a long‑term project: join, climb the internal ranks, clear out the sect shop, and then move on.
- To leave, you must complete that sect’s Severance Trial. These trials can include combat challenges, such as a small battle royale–style scenario.
- If you rejoin a sect after leaving, your internal rank is reset. Plan to buy the higher‑rank shop items before departing.
- Your global character progression is not reset, but sect‑specific precept value and status do not carry cleanly between factions.
Note: while you can collect all sects’ cosmetics and emotes over time, you still remain bound to one set of rules at any given moment.
Playing sectless
Staying sectless is a valid choice. You start the game with no sect affiliation, and you can deliberately avoid discipleship if you want maximum quest freedom.
- Sectless characters are not constrained by income caps, murder rules, or lifestyle requirements.
- You miss out on sect Martial Arts entry gifts and direct access to sect shops.
- You can still learn many sect‑exclusive skills through Skill Theft encounters, though some will be harder to obtain.
- Sectless reputation points earned from Sect Commands can buy a sectless‑specific outfit in the general sect shop.
This path suits players who want to experiment broadly with quests and morality without worrying about sect precepts.
Overview of every sect and its core rules
The following table groups the known sects by their main theme, key rules, and signature Martial Arts weapons or focus.
| Sect | Theme & Discipleship Rules | Martial Arts / Weapons |
|---|---|---|
| Well of Heaven |
Robin Hood–style justice. Disciples protect the helpless, avoid excessive profit, and must not harm one another. Key rules: • Unrestrained Spirit – Sect can deduct 1,000 precept value. • Generous and Righteous – Weekly income cannot exceed a soft cap or precept value drops by 100. • Brotherhood – Attacking fellow disciples is forbidden. |
Thundercry Blade • Charged Skill: Galecloud Cleave • Special Skill: Sunrush Gale • Martial Art Skill: Predator's Shield |
| Silver Needle |
Itinerant healer sect focused on medical aid and recognition. Key rules: • Shared Healing – Successful multiplayer healing grants +10 precept value. • Healing Bodies and Minds – Each week, earn at least 15 “likes” from healed players or lose 10 precept value. |
Inkwell Fan • Airborn: Moonlit Spring • Skill: Jadewind Shield • Charged Skill: Glow and Glow Panacea Fan • Light Attack: Fourfold Fury • Skill: Mistbound Aid • Charged Skill: Light Dust After Morning Rain • Healing: Emerald Dewtouch |
| Midnight Blades |
PvP‑oriented warrior sect walking the Asura Path. Disciples are rewarded for killing wanderers and other players. Key rules: • Midnight Judgment – In the Midnight Judgment mode, defeat Sufferers to steal identities and karma, climbing the Asura Path. • Kill to Seize Karma – Killing wanderers raises Karma Points; being killed reduces them. • Meditative Samadhi – In open‑world combat, hesitation and mercy are discouraged; sparing lives conflicts with sect values. |
Infernal Twinblades • Light Attack: Heaven's Wraith • Skill: Addled Mind • Special Skill: Calamity's Greed • Enhanced Skill: Flamelash |
| Nine Mortal Ways |
Trickster sect of scammers, illusionists, and impersonators. Disciples live through disguises and mischief. Key rules: • A Thousand Faces – Participate in Disguise activities and embody different lives within the sect. • Deceiving Heaven – Failed tricks or serving jail time deduct 10 Virtue. Other activities revolve around “Fun Points” for teasing or tricking others. |
Mortal Rope Dart • Skill: Bladebound Threat • Special Skill: Rodent Rampage • Charging Stance: Rodent Resilience |
| Velvet Shade / Floral Reverie |
Hedonist, humanitarian sect built around pleasure, companionship, and easing sorrow. Often tied to lounges and nightlife. Key rules: • Full Bloom – Flaunt charm, pursue desire, and trade affection for hearts. • Vermilion Lips – Visit the Windtail Lounge to soothe others’ hearts. • Drunk on Flowers – Spreading affection widely is encouraged; focusing on a single attachment conflicts with their ethos. |
Martial Art TBD; sect is present in the world and heavily associated with performance and social play. |
| Lone Cloud / Lone Summit |
“Trick‑sword” sect mixing mathematics, schemes, and refined swordplay. Disciples are expected to master demanding sword techniques while hustling to survive. Key rules: • Forgotten by the Jianghu – Disciples who return after leaving must seek blessings from old comrades. • The Riddle of Love – Love may only be “solved” once; serial entanglements are frowned upon. • Streetwise Strategist – Experience get‑rich‑quick street schemes or lose 10 precept value. |
Strategic Sword • Skill: Inner Track Slash • Charged Skill: Second Track Slash • Special Skill: Third Track Recoil |
| Hollow Vale / Heartless Vale |
Yin‑Yang sect balancing healing and poison. Disciples walk a fine line between saving and ending lives. Key rules: • No Living Puppets – Transforming living beings into dream puppets is strictly forbidden, except for self‑experimentation. • Balance of Life and Death – Every act of healing must be balanced with poison use; failure invites self‑inflicted suffering. |
Soulshade Umbrella • Skill: Floating Grace • Charged Skill: Pale Petal • Special Skill: Echoes of a Thousand Plants |
| Mohist Hill |
Knowledge sect of truth‑seekers and utilitarians. Service to all is considered the highest good. Key rule: • Universal Love – Helping others and self‑benefit are intertwined; disciples are expected to benefit everyone equally rather than favor a few. |
Combat specialization TBD; emphasis is on philosophy and support. |
| Inkbound Order / Inkford Hall |
Scribe sect preserving and enforcing history. Any origin is acceptable for those who keep the record true. Key rule: • Writing and Scholarship – Sages’ words are treated as law under heaven; disciples live under the authority of recorded wisdom. |
Martial Art TBD; the focus is on scholarship and record‑keeping. |
| Raging Tides |
Spear‑focused sect that treats daily combat as a duty. Disciples are expected to keep their spear skills sharp through constant battle. Key rule: • Spear Still Sharp – Failing to fight with the spear daily goes against sect doctrine; spears must never go untested. |
Heavenquaker Spear • Skill: Sober Sorrow • Charged Skill: Drifting Thrust • Special Skill: Sweep‑All Stormbreaker Spear • Skill: Storm Roar • Charged Skill: Fury Spear • Special Skill: Thunder Thrust |
| The Masked Troupe / Liyuan Troupe |
Wanderer‑performer sect centered on music, drama, and travel rather than formal combat. Members take life slowly and savor it. Rules are not fully detailed, but the lifestyle emphasizes performance and non‑martial expression. |
No fixed Martial Art focus; they largely forgo traditional martial training in favor of performance. |
Discipleship and social systems: Master, disciple, brotherhood, marriage
Outside of sects, Where Winds Meet also includes separate “discipleship” and relationship systems that feel similar to martial lineages:
- Master & disciple – One master can take up to five disciples. Both sides gain weekly experience by running content together, unlocking a shared shop with titles, outfits, fireworks, and emotes themed around mentorship.
- Sworn Brotherhood – Up to ten players can form a brotherhood. Playing raids and activities as a group levels this bond and opens its own reward shop.
- Marriage – Two characters can marry after reaching friendship level 2, then level their bond weekly by co‑playing. Higher tiers unlock couple emotes, hair, outfits, scene props, and a periodic “revive your partner in raids” perk. Certain sects (notably the Velvet Shade–aligned “haram” style) allow multiple simultaneous marriages.
- Friendship level – Every friend you play with has an individual friendship track. Higher levels unlock quality‑of‑life perks like automatic co‑op join permission or temporary access to each other’s cosmetic outfits.
All three major bond types (marriage, master–disciple, brotherhood) share a weekly currency cap. Even if you participate in all of them with the same group of players, you can only earn a fixed number of bond coins per week, which you then choose how to spend across their shops.
Examples of joining a sect as a disciple
Each sect has its own entry trail, but the general flow is consistent. A typical example is Silver Needle:
- An early quest asks you to “seek out the Silver Needle Disciple.” Reaching the marked clinic reveals only an apprentice.
- Talking to the apprentice and choosing dialogue like “be examined for an illness” and then “join Silver Needle” yields hints.
- The hints point you toward a nearby river and suggest following it to its endpoint.
- Walking the river to its end reveals Doctor Yan, labeled as a Silver Needle Disciple. Speaking with them and completing the following dialogue and tasks satisfies the “three questions” requirement and finishes the initiation.
Other sects use similar patterns: a named NPC in a town, a cryptic clue in the sect menu, or a story quest that quietly doubles as your entry trial.
Choosing the right sect for your playstyle
Sects differ in tone as much as in mechanics. A few broad matches:
- Story‑driven, heroic players often gravitate to Well of Heaven or Mohist Hill, which reward fairness, restraint, and helping others.
- Support‑minded healers fit naturally into Silver Needle or Hollow Vale, depending on whether they enjoy pure healing or a riskier heal/poison balance.
- Dedicated PvP fans tend to pick Midnight Blades or Raging Tides for their explicit combat obligations.
- Role‑players and socializers usually enjoy Velvet Shade or the Masked Troupe, where performance, romance, and nightlife matter more than strict combat efficiency.
- Experimenters and completionists often remain sectless at first, then rotate through every sect over time to clear shops and collect Martial Arts.
The important part of discipleship in Where Winds Meet is not locking into a “best” order, but understanding that each sect is an opt‑in lifestyle. Your actions, income, victims, and even love life are part of how that sect judges you, and the game is built to let you lean into or step away from that commitment as your character’s story evolves.
