The Void King in Where Winds Meet sits at the intersection of story, puzzles, and mechanical skill. He is a late-campaign boss in the Gleaming Abyss at Moonveil Mountain, and also the target of the “Victory in the Abyss” achievement for killing him in under 60 seconds. The fight leans hard on parries, spacing, and understanding when to stay close versus when to disengage.
Where the Void King is and how to unlock him
The Void King’s campaign version is found in the Moonveil Mountain area of the Qinghe region, inside the Gleaming Abyss. You do not meet him as a random world boss; he is tied to story progress and a specific quest chain.
| Step | What you need to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Start and clear the Jianghu Legacy quest “The Mystery Colossus”. This begins early in the game and introduces the Gleaming Abyss route. |
| 2 | Use the Mystery Colossus to transition into the “Gleaming Abyss” campaign quest. This quest leads you deeper into Moonveil Mountain. |
| 3 | Progress through Gleaming Abyss puzzles and combat encounters (stone door, skull and horn offerings, bridge echoes). These culminate in the arena where the Void King appears. |
| 4 | Once Gleaming Abyss is cleared, the Void King becomes available as a Campaign Boss at Moonveil Mountain, and he also appears as a replayable fight in the Campaign Challenge menu. |
Recommended build and companions for the Void King
The Void King is a five-star difficulty boss with a long health bar and a Qi (stagger) bar that rewards consistent deflects. Survivability and stagger pressure matter as much as raw damage.
| Slot | Recommendation | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Martial Arts weapon | Panacea Fan | Its built-in active healing on use (Q on PC) lets you recover health without relying solely on consumables, which is extremely valuable in a long two-phase boss fight. |
| Infernal Arts | Morale Chant | Buffs your offensive output, improving both HP damage and Qi pressure when you commit during openings. |
| Infernal Arts | Royal Remedy | Provides additional healing and sustain, complementing Panacea Fan’s self-heal. |
| Companion | Elder Gongsun | Staggers and knocks down enemies, can draw aggro, and can effectively stun-lock the Void King to create long, safe windows for burst damage and healing. |
How to reach the Void King arena inside Gleaming Abyss
The Gleaming Abyss path is a sequence of small puzzle gates and combat rooms that funnel you toward the Void King’s chamber. The exact layout is winding, but the key progress blockers are consistent.
| Gate | Mechanic | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Prayer initiation | Ritual imitation | At an early shrine near a checkpoint by Thatched Village, observe NPCs praying, then imitate their gestures and posture until a short cutscene plays. This starts the Mystery Colossus path that leads to Gleaming Abyss. |
| First stone door | Meridian Touch puzzle | Equip the Mystic Skill Meridian Touch and immobilize two NPCs so they remain in place at a door. Stand between them, interact to worship, and act as the third worshipper to unlock the door. |
| Fireflies and Gleaming skill | Light mechanic | Inside the cavern, catch fireflies scattered around. These unlock a glow skill that acts as a portable light source, useful for darker side paths and chests. |
| Bridge echoes | Echo interactions | At a broken bridge, interact with echoes (notably those involving a deer colliding with an invisible barrier). After key interactions, draw your bow and shoot glowing lights to form temporary bridges. |
| Skull door | Offering puzzle | After a multi-enemy combat encounter, purify and pick up a skull, then place it at a designated altar near a sealed stone door. |
| Horn door | Bridge collapse and horns | Use your bow to shoot the supports of a nearby hanging bridge, causing it to fall and grant access to two horn items. Purify them, return to the stone door, and slot the horns into the wall to trigger the Void King cutscene. |
Once the horns are placed, a cinematic introduces the Void King, counting down before the fight starts. From this point, you are locked in until one of you dies.
Void King fight structure and general strategy
The Void King has two distinct phases. Both rely on icy scythe attacks, heavy Qi pressure, and a mix of blockable red attacks and unblockable golden projectiles. The boss also adapts to distance, switching behavior if you try to kite him.
| Aspect | Phase 1 | Phase 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall pace | Moderate, with clear wind-ups and chances to learn parry timings. | Faster and more aggressive, with tighter spacing and longer combos. |
| Safe distance | Staying close is safer; ranged spacing triggers more projectiles. | Still favors close-to-mid range, but punishes mistimed aggression more harshly. |
| Main risk | Golden projectile volleys and unexpected shockwaves from Heavy Slam. | Multi-hit scythe strings that can quickly empty your health if you miss a parry. |
| Primary goal | Build familiarity with red-attack parry windows and chip down the Qi bar. | Use experience from Phase 1 to aggressively parry combos and finish the Qi bar to execute. |
Core principles for both phases:
- Stay close whenever possible. The Void King throws more unblockable projectiles when you are far away. Close engagement coaxes him into red attacks that can be perfectly parried.
- Target the Qi bar, not just HP. Consistent deflects of red attacks rapidly deplete his Qi. Once exhausted, you can perform an execute attack for massive damage.
- Use Panacea Fan’s heal proactively. Do not wait until you are nearly dead. Top up after big exchanges so you always have buffer for a mistake.
- Let Elder Gongsun take heat when possible. When your companion draws aggro or stuns the boss, focus entirely on damage or a quick heal instead of parrying.
Void King Phase 1 moveset and counters
Phase 1 introduces most of the Void King’s toolkit. The animations are readable, and this is where you learn which colors and motions to react to.
| Move | Visual cue | How to respond |
|---|---|---|
| Berserking Scythe | Scythe glows red; the Void King lunges forward in a single heavy swing. | Time a perfect parry to gain Qi advantage and a counter window. If you are unsure of the timing, dodge diagonally through him to safety. |
| Ice Storm | The Void King jumps with a golden aura and fires three icy projectiles from range. | Cannot be blocked or parried. Dash sideways through the gaps just after each projectile leaves his hand. Avoid being far away to reduce how often this appears. |
| Abyssal Spin | Short, angry roar followed by a rapid spinning scythe attack. | Roll through the first spin, then immediately prepare for a parry or second dodge if he chains another hit. Punish once he stops rotating. |
| Void Swing | He lifts the scythe overhead, ice forming around the blade, then lunges forward. | Both parry and dodge are viable. Parry slightly later than the start of the forward movement to avoid mistiming the deflect. |
| Heavy Slam | Slow charge-up with the scythe pulled back, then a vertical slam that sends visible shockwaves along the ground. | Parry at the moment the blade hits the floor, or dodge to the side to avoid the shockwave. Do not stay directly in front at medium range. |
| Snow Claw | One hand glows with icy energy; he steps in for a short-range slash. | Stay calm and parry; the move is fast but the range is short. Rolling backward can also avoid it if you react early. |
| Up Slash | Quick upward scythe slice as he resets his stance. | Block or parry on reaction; this is often a combo ender you can counter right after. |
| Turtle Swing | He turns his back and swings the scythe in a heavy arc from behind. | Expect this when you are circling behind him. Parry or dodge to the outer side of the swing. |
| Horizon Slash | One-handed horizontal slash at chest level, very quick. | Treat it as a fast poke: short block or parry, then punish if he pauses afterward. |
Void King Phase 2 moveset and counters
Phase 2 starts when the Void King reaches a certain health threshold. The arena does not change, but his tempo and aggression increase.
| Move | Description | Counterplay |
|---|---|---|
| Ebony's Dance | Three-hit scythe swing combo delivered in a flowing sequence. | Count the beats: parry–parry–parry, or block the first hit and dodge out between the second and third if you are uncomfortable committing. |
| Sleight of Slash | He jumps forward, briefly turning his back as he hides the scythe, then snaps into an upward slash. | The attack lands slightly later than the jump. Start your parry when he begins to twist back toward you, not at takeoff. |
| Sinister Swing | Red-charged scythe lunge, visually similar to Berserking Scythe but with tighter timing. | A perfect parry is heavily rewarded here with Qi damage and a big window; dodging backward is risky because of tracking—prefer a side roll if you will not parry. |
| Wrathful Roar | He plants his feet and roars, sending a short-range shock that staggers. | Parry the impact of the roar if you are in range, or simply stay at mid-range where it will not reach you. |
| Formless Winter | Wild four-hit flurry with an ice-imbued scythe, causing heavy stagger if you try to tank it. | Either commit to a string of well-timed parries, or dodge diagonally through the first swing and keep circling until the animation finishes. |
The Void King can still use his golden ice projectiles in Phase 2, and they remain unblockable. When he inclines toward ranged behavior, immediately close distance with dashes or lightness skills to push him back into melee patterns that you can parry.
Dealing with the Void King’s projectile attacks
The boss’s ice projectiles are deceptively dangerous because they bypass blocks and chew off a significant portion of your health. They tend to appear more when you play passively at long range or after he jumps back to reset.
- Watch for golden glow. Golden-colored wind-ups usually precede unblockable projectile attacks.
- Dodge timing: Roll just after each projectile is released, not when he starts animating. Chain dodges if multiple shots are fired in a row.
- Stay off straight lines. Lateral movement is safer than trying to outrun projectiles backward. Diagonal dashes often slide you between shots.
- Re-engage quickly. As soon as a volley finishes, sprint back into close range to discourage another barrage.
How to clear “Victory in the Abyss” (kill Void King in 60 seconds)
The “Victory in the Abyss” achievement requires you to defeat the Void King in under 60 seconds. The boss scales with your level, but higher levels still help thanks to better gear, attributes, and talents.
| Element | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Accessing the fight | Open the in-game Campaign Challenge menu and select the Void King. This teleports you directly back to the Gleaming Abyss arena. |
| Suggested level | Level 50 is a comfortable benchmark: you have more talents and higher damage, even though the boss scales upward. |
| Build focus | Prioritize damage-oriented Inner Ways, strong gear sets, offensive Oddities, and high-rank Panacea Fan or another top-tier weapon. |
| Execution | Play aggressively, staying in close range to trigger parryable red attacks, and burn every cooldown immediately—buffs, burst skills, and execute opportunities on his Qi bar. |
Practical approach for the timer:
- Open with all damage buffs active the moment the countdown ends.
- Ignore minor chip damage and commit to parrying as many red attacks as possible to drain the Qi bar quickly.
- Use executes whenever his Qi is broken instead of playing conservatively; the time saved is essential.
- If you are running Panacea Fan and Royal Remedy, tap heals in the tiny gaps after executes or heavy staggers so you do not lose uptime.
The Void King is designed as a test of everything learned up to Moonveil Mountain: parry fundamentals, lightness movement, build planning, and puzzle persistence. With a self-sustaining weapon like the Panacea Fan, a control-heavy companion such as Elder Gongsun, and a willingness to stay close rather than kite, the fight shifts from overwhelming to methodical. Once the patterns are internalized, even the 60-second achievement becomes less about luck and more about repeating a well-practiced rhythm.
