Best Early items and Weapons in Where Winds Meet!
Now that you are done watching the tutorial, here is a comprehensive description of the Best Early items and Weapons in Where Winds Meet! Having the four most important ones will help your character so much that he will almost casually finish some difficult quests and enter heretofore inaccessible areas. You will then be assured not to miss certain important boss fights or some progression events.
For comprehensive details on maximizing your early advantage, reference the full guide here: WHERE WINDS MEET Guide.
If you apply for some Mystic Arts, at this point, they probably take precedence over raw gear since they open up traversal, combat utility, and puzzle-solving abilities that are overall simply insurmountable.
Best Early items and Weapons in Where Winds Meet: Foundational Mystic Arts
The three Mystic Arts here must be prioritized as they form the bedrock of all early-game progression and utility.
1. Touch of Death (Assassination Skill)
This skill is profoundly important. It's key to learning new martial arts to easily clear out enemy sect hideouts and facilitate combat at hostile outposts.
Acquisition Method: Within the first ten minutes of the game, after revealing the first area of the map.
Find the quest located right below the starting area.
Clear out enemy camp, light the fires, and smash the sign in the middle.
Go down into the secret dungeon below.
Activate three specific wall panels (correct ones visible behind the last door).
Traverse the dungeon and claim Touch of Death at the end.
2. Cloud Step (Leap Utility)
This skill is an incredibly handy "get closer" utility that allows you to leap directly onto opponents for a rapid attack or to slice and dice. It has become a must-have, because certain bosses are effectively immobilized or pummelled out of their current action with this technique.
Acquisition Method:
Begin from the General Shrine, which is the main temple area directed by the central quest line.
In front of the temple, next to the stairs, you will find a small boy with his dog.
Jump up and smash down (using a Mighty Drop skill) to destroy the stones, revealing another hidden dungeon.
Fight the boss inside, and then interact with the prayer mat three times to be released. (Don't forget to retrieve the dog's ball and return it to the boy as you exit!)
3. Meridian Touch (Essential Interaction Skill)
This might be the most important Mystic Art to open up advanced early game areas. This skill is a must to finish numerous quests, stun enemies, and interact with certain key points on NPCs or environmental objects to immobilize, heal, or inflict effects-counter-effects.
My Personal Analysis: If you miss the Meridian Touch, you will be unable to progress to the Gleaming Abyss area and fight the boss associated with it. It is a mandatory Mystic Art for entry.
Acquisition Method: Located just after the temple. After walking up to the human statues, you will find an elderly immobilized man who will bestow upon you the Meridian Touch skill.
Game-Changing Abilities and Weapons
Besides the core trio, a number of other abilities and Best Early items and Weapons in Where Winds Meet! can very much negotiate the speed of your advancement.
Celestial Seize (The Versatile Grab)
This would have to be gotten along the road past the elderly man, post-Meridian Touch acquisition, leading to the nearest town.
Acquisition Method: An NPC is next to a drinking contest marker near a vendor stall. He has the Celestial Sieze ability.
Utility:
Combat: Grab an enemy's weapon and smash it back into their hands (even works on some bosses).
Traversal: Retrieve remote chests from a distance.
Utility: 'Rob' an unsuspecting NPC, if you are feeling brave (and risk imprisonment).
Veil of Stillness (Stealth) and Dragon Keys
Dragon Keys: Keys that are essential for entering Strongholds so that new martial arts and weapons can be unlocked.
The first key obtained after reaching Level 15 Breakthrough.
Subsequent keys are awarded as soon as one first clears any Stronghold.
Veil of Stillness (Invisibility): This is obtained by achieving Level 16 Breakthrough together with the Stealth Quest given by an NPC at Peace Bell Tower area. This allows you to play stealthily, totally Assassin's Creed style, together with Touch of Death. The NPC who grants this also confers another Dragon Key.
Top Tier Early Weapons (Unlocked via Dragon Keys)
Some of the Best Early items and Weapons in Where Winds Meet! are unlocked immediately at some Strongholds with your initial Dragon Keys.
| Weapon | Location | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Sword | Bottom left of the map, between the Palace of Animals and Encircling Lake. | Excellent all-around martial art weapon. |
| HeavenQuake Spear | Available early in the north of the region. | High damage, crowd control capabilities. |
If you plan to optimize your character for the specialized Dual Blades Bleed damage path, make sure to consult our full guide on optimizing Affixes and Inner Way synergies: Dual Blades Bleed Build Guide.
Survivability and Traversal Upgrades
Healing and movement are two important aspects that have got reasonable upgrades early on.
Medicine Chest Upgrades: Often see very much use at the Care Clinic (left side of the map/Blissful Retreat area). By handing in Medicinal Tales that you find, you will be greatly increasing the efficiency and total number of your healing flasks. This makes boss fights a whole lot easier.
Flight and Speed:
To the left of the map by the central river/lake, you will learn flying (Meteor Flight) from a fisherman.
But for using the flight, you have to unlock the Afterglow Pendant. You get this pendant as a reward once you reach 4,000 Regional Exploration Progress which is achieved by opening chests, looting curiosities, and finishing side missions. And upon unlocking it, you can fly, speed up, and run over water.
