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Where Winds Meet guide: The best mystic arts to unlock first
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Alan Wen
You can use these cooldown-based skills alongside your weapon-based martial arts in combat, but they also have other useful functions for exploration or solving puzzles. You can unlock up to eight offensive Mystic Arts slots as you progress in the game. While some Mystic Arts will take considerably more time to unlock, this guide will cover some of the essential ones you'll want at the start, as well as quest details on others you can unlock relatively early on. If you're looking to maximize your weapon martial arts, check out our guide to that as well!
Where Winds Meet: the best mystic arts to unlock
Tai Chi
Based on a real self-defense martial art that involves redirecting your opponent's force back towards them, this is essentially a throw that allows you to pull in an enemy as you hurl them away, which can also affect any destructible environments nearby. Outside of combat, you can use it to create a gust to kick up leaves on the ground or cause a ripple in water that makes fish leap out.
You'll unlock this very near the beginning of the game when you encounter a bear. You'll be introduced to the skill theft minigame where you observe and comprehend by pressing F when a gold ring appears to learn the art for yourself.
Cloud Steps
This mystic art is useful for letting you quickly leap up to areas with a marked spot, almost like a grapple. In combat, it's also really effective at leaping over an enemy and stomping on their shoulder to lower their Qi gauge.
The art can be found early on when you visit General's Shrine in the story. Jump up to the roof of the shrine and look down over on the west side, then use Mighty Drop down on the stone pavement that looks cracked to reveal a secret underground passage. Burn away vines blocking the path with fire arrows and ignite explosive barrels to easily defeat enemies you encounter. You'll eventually reach the bottom of a tall flight of steps, where you'll find a corpse holding a book containing the Cloud Steps art. Equip to make immediate use of it in the upcoming fight to get back out.
Meridian Touch
This mystic art can be used at a distance with a chance of immobilizing targets, leaving them vulnerable to attacks, as well as lowering their Qi gauge. You'll also find it can be used on NPCs outside of combat, where it can cause different kinds of effects.
Meridian Touch can be unlocked very early on when you're on your way back to Heaven's Pier just after visiting General's Shrine. When you enter an area called Stonewash Strand, you'll see groups of people who have turned to stone. Talk to the stone figure called Yan Quiren and he will teach the art to you, and if you select “immobilize” when targeting him, he will be restored to normal.
Heavenly Snatch
A lot like the Jedi's Force, Heavenly Snatch lets you retrieve objects from a distance, whether that's from a chest or stealing it from someone's pocket—provided no one catches you. In combat, it can also be used to disarm an enemy as you throw their own weapon back at them!
When you reach Heaven's Pier early on, engage the quest “'Foul Play” by speaking to a man named Qiu Yuehai. He'll explain that there's cheating going on in a drinking contest happening next to you and then teach you the art. Use this skill to steal the Nullifying Pill from behind Hu Wei and then challenge him to a drinking competition to expose him.
Lion's Roar
Inspired by the move from the martial arts film Kung Fu Hustle, this art has you slamming down a giant bell in front of you, then picking it up to unleash a deafening roar to knock back and deal damage to anyone in its path.
Unlocking this art requires ringing four copper bells in the Qinghe region. You'll find them in the following places:
- General's Shrine on the west side of the shrine's grounds, quite near the hidden passage where you find Cloud Steps
- On the southwest path out of General's Shrine before it leads out to Stonewash Strand
- Northeast of the region near Buddha Fort. If you cross the river from Verdant Wilds in the south then scale the cliff, you should find it at the top before you reach the fort
- West of the region near Wraith Village in the Witherwilds. While the village is eerie and covered in mist, if you head south from the teleport point, you'll reach an area where the mist clears
Leaping Toad
This art gives you the power of a toad as you flip back to knock away enemies, then lunge forward before retreating. It can also cast venom when used twice in succession.
You need to find a gold toad to unlock this art. Fortunately, it's just at General's Shrine, in the western part close to the hidden passage leading to Cloud Steps, also near one of the copper bells you need to ring to unlock Lion's Roar. Speak to the man kneeling on the ground in a toad pose and you'll then learn the art from the gold toad in front of you using skill theft.
Veil of Stillness
An essential art for entering locations requiring stealth, especially if you're looking to learn more weapon martial arts. Although you will appear camouflaged, this illusion ends upon entering combat. It also by no means makes you invisible to the enemy.
Once you've reached Level 8, travel to Peacebell Tower in Qinghe where you will encounter Qiu Yuehai again. There will be a practicing martial artist nearby you can spy on and steal the art from.
Glow of Fireflies
This mystic art doesn't have any combat use, but you'll find it helpful for illuminating your surroundings with fireflies when in dark caves.
You'll unlock this art by accessing the Gleaming Abyss cave, a location for one of Qinghe's campaign bosses. You'll need to use the Meridian Touch art to immobilize the two NPCs outside the cave in order to open the stone door blocking the entrance. Once inside, you don't need to venture too deep in the cave to spot fireflies in the air. Run around and collect five of them to unlock the art.
Talon Strike
A swift art that has you swooping down at your opponent like a falcon, with a swipe that breaks their defense before following up with three successive hits.
This can be learned using skill theft on a falcon that happens to be by the Palace of Annals in the most southern part of Qinghe. Beware that this is swarming with hostile masked Aureate soldiers, so you'll either have to fight them or make a run for it. You're looking for a lone island that you can cross on a wooden bridge near where the falcon is flying in a circle. Drop down to a safe area away from any enemies and you'll see the falcon's egg nest, which you can interact with to begin skill theft.
Ghost Bind
A lot like Meridian Touch, Ghost Bind is even better, as it can immobilize up to six enemies at once, although it does have a lengthy cooldown of 15 seconds.
You'll need to reach Kaifeng before you can unlock this skill. Head to the Forsaken Quarter in the southeast of the city to complete a quest called “Unwanted Hospitality.” Speak to a mysterious guest through a window and he'll teach you the art, then ask you to go around the building to paralyze the men waiting outside. Just go up to them and act when the prompt appears, then watch how the quest concludes amusingly and unexpectedly.
Dragon's Breath
Inspired by fire-breathing street performers with martial prowess, this single-target burst art has you getting intoxicated with a drink before spewing an arc of fire in front of you to ignite your enemies.
The art can be learned in Kaifeng's Fairground district southeast of the city. Head to the Beast Reverie building, where you'll find a number of Nine Mortal Ways disciples standing around. Inside, look for Luo Jiu, who is being scolded by his superior. Speak to him and he'll tell you that a man called Liang Yuan has stolen from him.
You should find Liang Yuan standing at a corner at Small Shoes Camp to the south of the city. Use Heavenly Snatch to steal Travelogue: Toehari from him then return to Beast Reverie at the Fairground. Give this back to Luo Jiu and he will reward you with the Dragon's Breath mystic art.
Where Winds Meet is out now on Epic Games Store.