New to Where Winds Meet? These are the 20 tips most worth knowing in your first hours, most of which come up in Qinghe and Kaifeng, the first two regions. We kept a tip only if at least two beginner guides give it, or if it comes from the official patch notes, and we name the sources under each one.
Last checked: October 10, 2026 (Version 2.2). The guides behind most tips were written at launch in November 2025. We searched the official patch notes through Version 2.2 for changes to these systems and found none that changes these tips.
Healing and medicine
1. Your medicine refills at teleport points
You start with a single charge of medicine for fights, and it only comes back when you rest at a teleport point (Boundary Stones). Plan tough fights around the nearest one.
Sources: KeenGamer, Mein-MMO, space4games.
2. Carry more medicine: visit the Evercare Clinic
The healer Yao Yaoyao at the Evercare Clinic raises how much medicine you carry. She wants medicine stories, which you pick up from quests and fights; the guides call them Medicinal Tales or Tales of Medicine. Go early.
Sources: KeenGamer, Mein-MMO, space4games.
3. Heal outside fights with food
Healing dishes restore health while you are out of combat. You can also cook them yourself from herbs and hunted game. More on healing in our HP recovery guide.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
4. A red icon by the mini-map means you are hurt or sick
Serious injuries and illnesses show as a red icon next to the mini-map. Pay a clinic to treat it, or ask in chat for a player with a healing profession. See the illness guide for the details.
Sources: KeenGamer, Mein-MMO, space4games.
Exploration
5. Hand in Oddities for permanent stats
Oddities are the small puzzle collectibles marked on the mini-map. Solve them and hand them in to Qi Sheng for permanent attribute bonuses.
Sources: KeenGamer, Mein-MMO, space4games.
6. How to solve the common Oddities
- White birds: use the Mystic Art Still Water, then shoot them with your bow.
- Poison clouds: shoot them with your bow first.
- Hidden insects: break the clay pots they hide in.
- Purple clouds: grab them with good timing.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
7. Pay the wanderers at campfires to reveal the map
Wanderer NPCs at campfire icons sell you a region's map for a small fee. It is the quickest way to see where everything is.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
8. Activate every Boundary Stone you pass
Boundary Stones are your fast-travel points and the place where your medicine refills. The official store page also describes fast travel points for moving between regions.
Sources: space4games, KeenGamer; official Steam page.
9. Exploration level 4 unlocks better movement
Each major region gives you a movement item for flying or lightness skills once your exploration level there reaches 4. Some zones block lightness skills, so do not count on them everywhere.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
Getting stronger
10. Do every level breakthrough as soon as you can
Every few levels your progress stops until you complete a breakthrough. Do it as soon as you meet the requirements: it raises your level cap and your attributes. The official notes also mention Solo Mode level breakthroughs as a source of gear upgrade materials.
Sources: KeenGamer, Mein-MMO, space4games; official April 30 overview.
11. Keep old gear until the Arsenal unlocks
Do not recycle gear early. Pieces you store in the Arsenal count toward permanent attack and health bonuses. The official January 12 update split it into a current and a previous Arsenal and made battle builds pull their gear from it automatically. Since Version 1.2, the gear recycling screen also has Auto-Recycle and Gear Retrieval.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games; official January 12 notes and Version 1.2 overview.
12. Save Pillow Pills for when you need Energy
A Pillow Pill restores 60 Energy. The guides call it Pillow Powder and suggest keeping it for dungeons or later content. An official April 2026 event gave out eight of them worth 480 Energy, which is 60 each.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games; official April 16 notes.
Small things that save time
13. Ask the game where an item comes from
Hover over or click an item in your bag or the compendium to see where it drops or who sells it, and pin the info if you need it later.
Sources: KeenGamer, Mein-MMO, space4games.
14. Change the time of day when you need to
In solo play, a clock icon in the menu lets you pick the hour, so you do not have to wait for day or night.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
15. Out of stamina while swimming? Stop
If your stamina runs out in the water, stay still: it regenerates while you float. Swimming on toward the shore costs health.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
Fights and settings
16. Turn on Assist Deflection while you learn
The settings have an Assist Deflection option, with a recommended level, that helps against boss attacks and the strong attacks of normal enemies. Two guides note that it does not apply in multiplayer and PvP, so practise real deflects early.
Sources: official January 12 notes; Mein-MMO, space4games.
17. You can replay the story
Since January 12, the Qinghe and Kaifeng main chapters and some Lost Chapters have Quest Replay, so missing a scene the first time is not a loss.
Source: official January 12 notes.
Playing with others
18. Exploring online counts too
Treasure chests, Oddities and some puzzles in the Online Mode share their rewards and progress with your solo world. Even in solo boss fights, another player may drop in to help through the Heroic Shadow Assist. If other players' skill sounds get loud, turn them down under Settings → Audio. More on the modes in Is Where Winds Meet an MMO?.
Sources: official January 12 notes, Version 1.2 overview and May 27 notes.
Before you start
19. Crime has consequences
The game lets you cause trouble, but the official description is clear about the price: bounties, pursuit and even time in prison. Decide early whether you want to play a hero or an outlaw.
Source: official Steam page.
20. Take a healing weapon early
Because medicine is scarce at first, two guides suggest picking up the Panacea Fan, the healing fan (one guide uses its old name, All-Healing Fan), and pairing it with a damage weapon such as the Nameless Sword. This is the guides' advice, not a rule; see our healer build and the builds overview for how the paths play.
Sources: Mein-MMO, space4games.
Where these tips come from
We compared three beginner guides and kept only the tips that at least two of them give:
- KeenGamer, "21 Beginner Tips to Help You Get Started", November 14, 2025
- Mein-MMO, "15 tips to make it noticeably easier for you to get started", November 13, 2025 (updated November 26)
- space4games, "The ultimate beginner's guide with tips & tricks", November 25, 2025
The official tips come from these posts:
- Summary of Fixes and Optimizations on January 12 (2026)
- Version 1.2 Update Overview (2026)
- April 30 Gear Development Optimization Overview (2026)
- May 27 Patch Notes (2026)
- Official Steam store page
Tips that only one guide gives are not here, for example level requirements for guilds and modes, and key bindings. New redeem codes are on the codes page.
Version history
- October 10, 2026: rewritten as 20 tips that two or more guides give or the official notes state, each with its sources. The old list of anecdotes without sources is gone.
- November 18, 2025: first published.
