Where Winds Meet Beginner Guide: Simple Tips for Your First 3 Hours

If you’ve just downloaded Where Winds Meet and feel a bit lost, this is a simple Where Winds Meet beginner guide focused on your first few hours. You’ll learn what to do first, what to ignore for now, and how to enjoy the game without feeling overwhelmed.

If you're still not sure whether this game fits your taste, start with our overview article first: Is Where Winds Meet for You? A Simple Breakdown for Souls & Genshin Fans.

0. If you only read one thing in this beginner guide

If you just want the short version, here it is:

Follow the main story first until the game stops dumping new systems on you.
Pick one weapon you like and stick to it for a while instead of swapping every five minutes.
Don’t hoard difficulty pride – it’s okay to turn it down.
Spend some time just walking, climbing and gliding – the world is the main reward.
You don’t have to touch every menu and system on day one. It’s fine to ignore half the UI for now.

The rest of this beginner guide is a simple “first few hours” checklist so the game feels playful instead of overwhelming.

⚠️ Important: WWM has no passive HP regeneration. Learn the basics in our HP Recovery Guide so you don't die every 5 minutes.

1. Before you hit “Start Game”

1.1 Choose comfort over ego with difficulty

Where Winds Meet lets you adjust difficulty.

If you mainly care about the story and the world, start on Normal or even lower.
If you love challenge, bump it up later after you understand the basics.

You don’t get a special medal for suffering in the tutorial.
Let the game be welcoming first, punishing later.

1.2 Spend 5 minutes in the settings

It’s boring, but it pays off:

Turn on subtitles.
Lower motion blur / camera shake if you’re sensitive to that.
Rebind dodge / jump to buttons that make sense for you.
If you’re on controller, stick with it – the combat and movement feel good there.

These tiny tweaks are the difference between “this feels clunky” and “oh, this actually feels good”.

2. Your first 30 minutes in Where Winds Meet

2.1 Follow the golden main-quest path

Early on, the game throws a lot at you: pop-ups, menus, currencies, systems.

For the first 30–60 minutes, do this:

Just follow the main quest marker.
Ignore most side icons unless they’re literally on your way.
Treat this time as a guided tour of basic movement, combat, and a few key NPCs.

Think of it as the game saying:

“Let me show you around before you start wandering off.”

2.2 Don’t fight every enemy you see

It’s tempting to test every skill on every bandit.

Better rule:

Fight when the game clearly wants you to learn something.
If you’re low on health, run, glide, or use rooftops. You’re not dishonored for disengaging.

This is a big open world, not a corridor beat ’em up.
Survival and curiosity matter more than clearing every road.

3. Hour 0–1: unlock comfort first, power second

3.1 Boundary stones are your safety net

Any time you see a boundary marker / stone:

Interact with it.
It unlocks fast-travel and usually heals you.

Get into the habit:

New area → look around → “Where’s the boundary stone?”

It makes experimentation much less scary.

3.2 Aim for a mount early

Moving faster = less boredom = more fun.

Follow early quests until the game naturally leads you to horse-related content.
Once you have a horse, suddenly everything feels closer and more doable.

If you stumble into a place like a horse farm where you can catch and sell horses later, remember it. That’s early-game side income and mobility in one.

3.3 Don’t rush into irreversible-feeling choices

There’s a story moment where you can burn down your little home base.

The game frames it dramatically; it’s easy to hit “yes” on impulse.

General rule:

If you see a big, dramatic prompt and you’re not sure:
Pause, finish the current story beat, then decide.
The game often lets you come back later with more context.

You don’t have to min-max, but avoiding one or two early “oh no” choices will keep your mood much better.

4. Weapons, skills and builds: keep it stupid simple

4.1 Pick one main weapon for now

The game gives you multiple weapon types and lots of martial skills.

For the first few hours:

Pick one weapon whose basic moves feel good (sword, spear, umbrella, etc.).
Use it as your default.
Only swap to others for fun, not because you feel “behind”.

Your goal is not “perfect build in 2 hours”.
Your goal is “I don’t have to relearn buttons every fight”.

4.2 Spend early resources like this

Until you understand systems better, use this rule:

Invest small, spread slowly.
- A few levels into your main weapon.
- A few key skills that feel natural to use.
Don’t dump everything into a random skill tree you don’t fully get yet.

Think of it as test-driving:
You’re learning how the car handles before installing expensive parts.

4.3 You can ignore half the menus for now

Early on, you’ll see:

Internal arts, talents, reputations, social stuff, housing, cosmetics…

For the first 3 hours, you can safely:

Ignore most long-term progression trees.
Focus on:
- weapon + basic skills
- movement
- boundary stones
- main story

If a system feels like homework, put it on the “later” pile.

5. Exploration: make the world work for you

5.1 Say yes to curiosity, no to compulsive checklisting

There are countless icons and points of interest.

Healthy mindset:

If something catches your eye, go check it out.
If the map is screaming at you with side icons, don’t feel obliged to clear them all.

You’re not paid by the hour to do chores.
You’re here to have little “oh wow” moments in a martial arts world.

5.2 Don’t forget to just… stand and look

It sounds cheesy, but it matters:

Take a minute on a rooftop at sunset.
Glide off a mountain just to see where you land.
Walk through a market at night and listen to NPC chatter.

A lot of player reviews say their favorite moments are simply existing in the world, not just chasing stats.

Let yourself have those moments early; they’re free mood boosts.

6.1 You can play it like almost-single-player

Despite the MMO-style systems, you can:

Play the main story almost entirely solo.
Treat other players as “people who happen to be in your world”, not obligations.

Don’t feel you have to join a group, clan, or meta grind on day one.

6.2 Be careful with crime and bounty until you understand it

The game lets you do some questionable things:

Harassing NPCs
Causing trouble in certain areas
Getting chased by guards or even other players

Early rule of thumb:

If you’re not sure what a system does, don’t go full criminal yet.
Keep your bounty low until you actually want that experience.

You can experiment with chaos later, when dying doesn’t feel like wasted learning.

7. A simple first 3 hours checklist for Where Winds Meet beginners

You don’t have to follow this strictly, but it’s a good rhythm:

Hour 0–1

Adjust settings (controls, camera, subtitles).
Pick a difficulty that feels safe, not macho.
Follow the main quest; don’t chase every side icon.
Unlock a few boundary stones, get a feel for movement and gliding.

Hour 1–2

Pick one main weapon that feels good and stick with it.
Put a few levels into that weapon plus key skills.
Unlock a mount or get closer to it.
Visit at least one town, talk to a doctor, understand how healing and rest work.

Hour 2–3

Do 1–2 side quests that genuinely interest you.
Try one slightly tougher fight on your chosen difficulty.
Take 10 minutes to just explore with no objective.
Make a mental list: “things I want to learn later” (builds, housing, fashion) – and then let them wait.

If, after these first 3 hours, you:

know how to move,
like how your main weapon feels,
and have had at least two small “this is cool” moments,

then you’ve set yourself up well.
The rest of the game will make a lot more sense from here.

8. Final note

Where Winds Meet throws a lot at new players.
You don’t have to master it in a weekend.

Let the first few hours be:

gentle,
a bit messy,
and focused on fun and curiosity, not perfection.

If the world feels good to be in, that’s already a success.