Where Winds Meet builds your combat style around “Martial Arts” tied to specific weapons. You can equip two at a time and mix offensive paths with defensive or support tools to fit solo play, co-op, and large-scale PvP. Below is a plain‑language breakdown of all 12 launch weapons, what they do, how to get them, and how to power them up.
All weapons and paths in Where Winds Meet
Each Martial Arts Path has two weapon variants with distinct skills and tempo. You can slot two Martial Arts at once and swap freely in combat.
| Weapon | Martial Arts Path | Playstyle summary |
|---|---|---|
| Nameless Sword | Bellstrike – Splendor | Mobile single‑target DPS with dashes and a brief shield; reliable in most content. |
| Nameless Spear | Bellstrike – Splendor | Reach, stuns, and the spin‑to‑win charged attack for burst and posture damage. |
| Strategic Sword | Bellstrike – Umbra | Bleed setup into detonation; calculated, damage‑over‑time oriented. |
| Heavenquaker Spear | Bellstrike – Umbra | Steady pressure with wide sweeps; builds damage and buffs during sustained strings. |
| Panacea Fan | Silkbind – Deluge | Healer toolkit: area heals, direct heals, resurrection, plus damage buffs. |
| Soulshade Umbrella | Silkbind – Deluge | Support umbrella with healing auras and utility; can extend enemy exhaustion. |
| Inkwell Fan | Silkbind – Jade | Ranged/aerial control; launches targets and juggles from a safe distance. |
| Vernal (Ninefold) Umbrella | Silkbind – Jade | Offensive umbrella with autonomous ranged hits and airborne lockdown. |
| Infernal Twinblades | Bamboocut – Wind | Fastest melee chains; builds a rage state for burst DPS and CC immunity. |
| Mortal Rope Dart | Bamboocut – Wind | Acrobatic mid‑range control; pulls/pursues targets and adds on‑hit summons. |
| Stormbreaker Spear | Stonesplit – Might | Tank spear: taunts, shields, damage reduction, and big crowd control tools. |
| Thundercry Blade (Glaive) | Stonesplit – Might | Heavy hitter with massive stagger, shielding, and group control. |
Note: Some Internal Arts only work with specific Martial Arts. If you lean into a path’s strengths, check compatibility before investing.
Path breakdowns: how each pair plays
- Bellstrike – Splendor (Nameless Sword, Nameless Spear): Mobility and charged attacks tuned for bossing and single targets. The sword layers gap‑closers and quick bursts with a short chi shield, while the spear adds control and a high‑damage spin charge that shreds posture and ignores ranged chip during its duration.
- Bellstrike – Umbra (Strategic Sword, Heavenquaker Spear): Same agile DNA, different damage model. Strategic Sword stacks bleeds then cashes in with a detonation; Heavenquaker builds power via sweeping strings, granting damage buffs when you maintain hits, then converts that into AoE payoff.
- Silkbind – Deluge (Panacea Fan, Soulshade Umbrella): Full support. Panacea provides AoE heals, targeted heals, and a revive, plus team damage buffs between cooldowns. Soulshade adds healing fields and utility; its charged heavy can hold an enemy’s exhaustion window longer so your group gets extra uptime.
- Silkbind – Jade (Inkwell Fan, Vernal Umbrella): Ranged and airborne control. Inkwell lifts enemies with charged winds and tracks into aerial strings, and can wall off projectiles. Vernal throws the umbrella to auto‑attack while you continue combos, keeping enemies suspended and pinned.
- Bamboocut – Wind (Infernal Twinblades, Mortal Rope Dart): Pure offense and movement. Twinblades chain at high speed to fuel a rage mode with lifesteal and CC immunity; Rope Dart harasses from mid‑range, yanks targets, and adds on‑hit rodents that surge during your light strings.
- Stonesplit – Might (Stormbreaker Spear, Thundercry Blade): Survivability and crowd work. Stormbreaker taunts, reduces incoming damage, and slams to flatten targets while making them take more damage; Thundercry builds big shields, sucks crowds in, and converts into crushing charged slams.
Popular two‑weapon pairings
- Nameless Sword + Nameless Spear: A balanced, newcomer‑friendly shell with mobility, a safety shield, and consistent control.
- Thundercry Blade + Stormbreaker Spear: A frontline staple. Use Stormbreaker to taunt and debuff, then switch to Thundercry to draw packs in and land faster charged finishers while shielded.
- Infernal Twinblades + Mortal Rope Dart: Relentless pressure. Rope Dart pulls and seeds on‑hit rodents, then Twinblades take over for extended melee chains and rage‑state bursts.
- Panacea Fan + Soulshade Umbrella: Co‑op sustain. Park the umbrella to heal over time, swap to Fan for AoE heals, targeted saves, and a revive when it matters.
- Heavenquaker Spear + Thundercry Blade: Group control with bleed AoE and heavy stagger. Pull enemies with the glaive, spin with Heavenquaker to build damage tiers, then sweep for bleeding payoff.
- Inkwell Fan + Vernal Umbrella: Aerial lockdown and safe damage. Launch with Fan, keep targets suspended while the umbrella dishes out ranged hits in the background.
Tip: You don’t need to run intended “set” pairs. Many of the strongest loadouts mix paths to cover weaknesses—just be mindful of stamina, endurance, and skill cooldown alignment as you plan strings.
How to unlock weapons (Skill Thief missions and Loong Keys)
Unlocking a Martial Art is a two‑part process: you learn the style, then you equip a compatible weapon item.
- Step 1 — Learn the weapon: Open the Develop menu, enter Martial Arts, pick a weapon, then select Obtain. A Skill Thief mission marker appears on your map. Infiltrate the marked site (stealth only), use Loong Keys to access secured areas, and complete the Skill Thief mini‑game (interact on golden rings) to learn the weapon.
- Step 2 — Equip a weapon item: Learning the style isn’t enough—you also need a weapon item that matches that Martial Art. Explore, open chests, raid outposts, and clear quests to collect options, then equip the best roll you have for that weapon.
Swapping between Martial Arts that share the same weapon item (e.g., Nameless Sword ↔ Strategic Sword, Panacea Fan ↔ Inkwell Fan) doesn’t require refarming the item, but it’s still worth checking rolls and passives because some items favor one variant over the other.
How to upgrade weapons (levels, breakthroughs, and Tips)
- Standard levels: Spend Zhou Coins and Training Items to raise a Martial Art’s level. Weapon level can’t exceed your character level. Training Items drop frequently from enemies.
- Breakthroughs every 10 levels: At level thresholds, perform a breakthrough using Tips, Training Items, and Zhou Coins. Buy Custom Tips with Jade Fish in the in‑game shop; weekly purchases are capped, so plan your pushes.
- What upgrades improve: Base damage, defensive effects like shields, and specific skill or talent values scale as you level and break through.
Early game weapon availability (what you get first)
- Starter set: You begin with the Nameless Sword and quickly add the Nameless Spear during the opening beats, giving you an agile DPS shell out of the gate.
- Early mail reward: Early progression also grants the Stormbreaker Spear via in‑game mail, making a tanky option available without detours.
- Qi Sheng’s oddities choice: After rescuing Qi Sheng and completing his introductory oddity task, you can pick one of four weapons early: Panacea Fan (healer), Infernal Twinblades (melee DPS), Thundercry Blade (tank), or the Vernal/Ninefold Umbrella (ranged offense). The remaining weapons can still be unlocked through Skill Thief missions later.
Note: Regions gate a few unlocks. Some offensive umbrella and glaive variants show up after you open the second region; others—like healing Fan or Twinblades—are obtainable early if you chase their dojos.
Roles at a glance
| Weapon | Typical role | Where it shines |
|---|---|---|
| Nameless Sword | Flexible DPS | Solo/PvP/open‑world bossing with high mobility |
| Nameless Spear | Control DPS | Dueling setups and posture break windows |
| Strategic Sword | DoT DPS | Longer fights where bleed uptime is reliable |
| Heavenquaker Spear | AoE bruiser | Mob packs, raid add waves, sustained strings |
| Panacea Fan | Primary healer | Co‑op, raids, and safety in difficult story beats |
| Soulshade Umbrella | Support healer | Healing auras, extending exhaustion for team DPS |
| Inkwell Fan | Ranged control | Aerial juggles and safe projectile play |
| Vernal (Ninefold) Umbrella | Ranged DPS | Large‑scale PvP and crowded encounters |
| Infernal Twinblades | High‑speed DPS | Boss melts during rage windows; PvP pressure |
| Mortal Rope Dart | Hybrid control | Engage/disengage tools and mid‑range harassment |
| Stormbreaker Spear | Tank/utility | Taunting, debuffing, and keeping groups stable |
| Thundercry Blade | Tank/DPS hybrid | Gathering, staggering, and finishing clumped foes |
Notes on versions and additions
The Chinese release launched with 12 Martial Art weapons and later expanded with additional variants. Expect the global version to center on the 12 paths outlined above at launch, with further additions arriving in subsequent updates.
The most consistent advice across playstyles: invest in two weapons that complement each other’s pace and cooldowns, then push their breakthroughs in lockstep. It’s better to pilot a pair you can execute cleanly than to chase a meta you can’t sustain—especially in content that leans on survival, taunt coverage, and timely heals as much as it does on raw DPS.
