Where Winds Meet 2.3, Friends From Afar, released on October 15, 2026. Qingzhou – Eastern Peak opens through a level 32 story quest, and its Jianghu Legacies unlock the new Silkbind - Wings weapon pair. This guide combines the official update overview, the separate balance announcement and the launch-day fixes so you can see what changes your next session.
Last checked: October 19, 2026. The overview and the first fixes are dated October 15, a second round of fixes October 16, and the balance announcement was posted October 14 for the October 15 update. Two official posts of October 19 add Bubble Party details and a new mount. This is a selection of gameplay changes; all the originals are linked below.
What to do first
| Your goal | Start here |
|---|---|
| Enter Qingzhou | Reach level 32, finish Heaven Has No Pier in Qinghe, then accept Away to Qingzhou |
| Unlock the new weapon pair | In Qingzhou's Journal, find Sea Shepherd for Museflow Waist Drum and Riddled Echoes for Willowbend Fan |
| Make inventory space | The Warehouse now unlocks at level 20 |
| Return to ranked PvP | Check the S5: Ever Aflame period and the new Arena changes below |
| Try the new debate activity | Oratory Debut introduces War of Words, a Gift of Gab card battle |
For the region's places, quests and events, use our Qingzhou guide. The update timeline covers earlier versions.
Qingzhou and Silkbind - Wings
The region entry quest is Away to Qingzhou. Its requirements are level 32 and the Qinghe main chapter Heaven Has No Pier. The new martial arts come from two different Jianghu Legacies:
- Museflow Waist Drum: finish Sea Shepherd, Volume II.
- Willowbend Fan: finish Riddled Echoes, Volume I.
Together they form Silkbind - Wings. The Build Planner lists the official pair and unlock sources. We do not yet have a verified 2.3 ranking or recommended build for it; the existing tier lists remain the authors' pre-2.3 lists.
Qingzhou also adds Tidewatcher, Old Raftsman and Shuttlecock Champion. Unlock the region to meet their participation requirement; their entries are in the Journal. We have not verified the exact location or encounter trigger for Shuttlecock Champion. See the bosses guide.
To approach the Inkbound Order, look for Master Goose around Qingzhou's Wayfarer location, obtain a Primary Exam admission pass and pass the exam. You can then join formally or become a Visiting Disciple. Higher ranks and several sect facilities follow after the Farm Recess; the sects guide separates what is open now from that later content.
Level caps, Warehouse and team practice
| System | Version 2.3 |
|---|---|
| Solo Mode | Lv.18: Discernment |
| Character level | Still capped at 100 |
| Gear | Tier 100 |
| Warehouse | Unlocks at level 20; one tab initially, up to three tabs with Echo Jade and 30 slots per tab with Coin |
| Multiplayer Wooden Stake | Team training, leader-controlled settings, individual buffs and team damage statistics |
The October 15 fixes confirm the Warehouse and Multiplayer Wooden Stake are launch features, rather than just developer-log previews. They also add PC vertical photos, direct saving to the in-game album on PC and mobile, and modular downloads for the official PC launcher.
Martial path changes
The October 14 balance announcement, effective October 15, changes existing paths as well as introducing the new pair. These are selected changes, with the mode restrictions kept intact:
| Path | Selected official change |
|---|---|
| Bellstrike - Splendor | Qi Imbalance increases HP/Bellstrike damage taken by an Exhausted target by 10%, previously 8%. Vagrant Sword gains Tenacity after its first charge stage outside Arena. |
| Bellstrike - Umbra | Strategic Sword's bleeding scaling grows with breakthrough level; Tier 18 adds 4%. Inner Balance Strike III gains Tenacity in multiplayer dungeons. |
| Silkbind - Jade | Inkwell Fan's Lingering Bone lasts 5 seconds against bosses, previously 2. |
| Stonesplit - Might | Thunder Shock's Vulnerability changes how HP and Qi damage are handled; Thundercry Blade/Stormbreaker Spear damage gets an extra HP-damage benefit. The notice gives no replacement percentage. |
| Stonesplit - Strength | Phalanxbane Blade's Anxi Army Assist scaling rises slightly; no percentage is given. |
| Bamboocut - Wind | Extra rodents pause their Arena assistance while the player is controlled or recovering from a hit. There are also combo, Inner Way and Arena Attunement changes. |
| Bamboocut - Dust | Towline Sweep Tier VI raises Soulbreak settlement damage from 10% to 12%. |
| Bamboocut - Kite | Falcon's Pursuit skills gain 12% base damage, with separate Arena Tenacity and Qi-damage adjustments. |
| Bamboocut - Draught | Riven Twinblades and Skystrike Gauntlets receive resource, protection and combo adjustments; restrictions differ by mode. |
Silkbind - Deluge also needs a mode-specific check: in Perception Forest, repeated Cloudburst Healing knock-ups on the same target have diminishing returns. This is not a general healing reduction. The same announcement changes Hawkwing and Ivorybloom set effects and several Mystic Skills. Read the full balance notice before rebuilding around an older guide's numbers.
Season 5 and Arena
The overview lists S5: Ever Aflame from October 15, 2026 at 05:00:00 to November 26, 2026 at 04:59:59, beginning with its first half. The Arena panel does not state a time zone. The maintenance section explicitly says UTC+8, but that does not establish the zone for the season; check the in-game schedule.
Ratings reset using the second half of S4: Forge Ahead. The October 15 fixes make Transdust Ruins Solo and Trio available all day, add faster re-queuing for 1v1 and improve Arena Talent EXP catch-up. The balance notice adds a ready indicator and a debuff cleanse to Guarding Qi Core. Our PvP beginner guide keeps these new rules separate from older mode explanations.
October 16 fixes
A second round of fixes followed on October 16. The ones that change how you play:
- Inkbound Order entrance exam: some questions failed to appear during the exam. Fixed.
- Serene Breeze in Arena: some players could not use this Mystic Skill in Arena mode. Fixed.
- Infernal Twinblades: the second stage of the Special Skill Greed Bane - Soul now casts much faster, and in Online Mode Dungeons it also triggers a Perfect Dodge.
- Talon Strike and Yaksha Rush: the Super Armor they give after breaking an enemy's defenses lasted too long. Fixed.
- Homestead: cooking production queues can be set up again.
- Taiping Mausoleum: claiming Uncut Jade after a challenge works again.
- Frost Paper: the recipe now takes Honeysuckle instead of Cocklebur.
- Controllers: the L3 button works again.
The rest are display fixes, such as the S5 ranked reward titles, some appearance sets and the Echo Bead count on PlayStation, and fixes for a few rewards that could not be claimed. The official October 16 notes list all 25.
October event dates
These are the times printed in the overview. The event panels do not label a time zone; for Bubble Party, the official X post of October 19 gives the dates in UTC+8.
| Event | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Qingzhou Opening Month, including Oratory Debut | After the October 15 update | November 14, 04:59:59 |
| Exam Showdown | After the October 15 update | November 14, 04:59:59 |
| Bubble Party (UTC+8, official X) | October 22, 05:00:00 | November 14, 04:59:59 |
| Merchant's Way | October 22, 05:00:00 | November 14, 04:59:59 |
| New Armament Drill | After the October 15 update | October 29, 05:00:00 |
War of Words is the new Gift of Gab card combat, introduced through Oratory Debut. Exam Showdown offers proctor and examinee roles; the Exam Vigil footage we checked shows the proctor catching cheating. Neither sample establishes a fixed question-and-answer list. Our Qingzhou activity section explains that distinction.
Bubble Party (official X, October 19): trap a boss in a Phantom Bubble to get through Campaign trials more easily, then join a bubble brawl with other players. Its event quests reward three emote series (Splendor, Gleam and Silhouette), Resonating Melody and Echo Jade.
New mount, Deer-parture (official X, October 19): a white deer sold in the Draw Shop for a limited time, from October 25 at 0:00 to April 23, 2027 at 4:59:59 (UTC+8). The post gives no price or draw rates. Every other mount, and how to get it, is in our mounts guide.
The earlier official roadmap schedules Mount Penglai and the Campaign Mount Tai Blizzard for October 29. They are later content, not part of what to unlock on October 15.
Redeem codes
The October 11 official roadmap already announced 1015QINGZHOU. The new overview does not add redemption dates or named rewards for it. Our codes page preserves that official listing and explains what has and has not been confirmed. We have not tested the code in-game.
Sources
- Official Version 2.3 Update Overview, October 15, 2026: region, weapon unlocks, levels, season and events; read from the original overview images.
- Official Version 2.3 Optimizations and Bug Fixes, October 15, 2026: Warehouse, practice mode, Arena and other feature changes.
- Official Version 2.3 Path Balance Adjustment, October 14, 2026, for October 15: path, set, Mystic Skill and Arena changes.
- Official Version 2.3 Optimizations and Bug Fixes (October 16), October 16, 2026: the second round of fixes.
- Official Qingzhou roadmap, October 11, 2026: October 29 content and 1015QINGZHOU.
- Official X: Bubble Party and Official X: Deer-parture, October 19, 2026: Bubble Party rewards and dates in UTC+8; the new mount's Draw Shop dates.
Version history
- October 19, 2026: added the October 16 fixes, Bubble Party's rewards and UTC+8 dates, and the Deer-parture mount, from the official notes of October 16 and posts of October 19.
- October 15, 2026: first published from the launch overview, balance notice and fixes.
