If you’ve just started your adventure in Where Winds Meet, the early hours can feel a bit overwhelming. With so many mystic arts, hidden dungeons, and region progress requirements, it’s easy to miss out on mechanics that can make your character dramatically stronger. After digging through the video’s details and combining it with my own experience, this guide sums up the early-game upgrades you absolutely don’t want to skip.

These tips should help you move more confidently through the world, unlock the best mobility options, and tackle stronger enemies earlier than you’d expect.

The Touch of Death: Your First Big Power Spike

One of the earliest upgrades you should grab is the Touch of Death assassination skill. Even though the game gives you a lot of freedom, this is the one technique that more or less unlocks the world for you. You’ll rely on it to clear out sect hideouts, steal martial arts, and even finish storyline quests that require stealth eliminations.

To get it, head to the first fire you light on the map and look for the nearby camp. After taking out the enemies, lighting the fires, and smashing the sign in the center, you can descend into a hidden dungeon. In that dungeon, activate three wall panels to open the sealed door. The Touch of Death waits at the end.

This is also where I first noticed how useful Where Winds Meet boosting can be for players who want smoother early progression. Some players use it to quickly unlock their assassination toolkit if they struggle with the early dungeon fights. It’s not something everyone needs, but it’s often talked about as a time-saver.

Cloud Step: A Mobility Tool That Changes Combat Flow

Once you reach the General Shrine area, make a quick detour to unlock the Cloud Step mystic skill. You’ll find a boy and his dog by the stairs leading to the temple. Smash through the stones nearby to open another dungeon. The boss inside is pretty manageable at low level, and after defeating it you’ll earn Cloud Step.

This skill is great for closing the distance on ranged enemies, interrupting certain boss attacks, or just adding more flair to your combos. It’s one of those techniques that feels minor at first but becomes central once you start experimenting with movement-based combat.

Before leaving the dungeon, return the boy’s ball to him. It’s optional but worth doing for completion and reputation.

Meridian Touch: Required for Quests and Exploration

This is arguably the most important mystic art early in the game. Just past the shrine, you’ll find an old man frozen in place. After interacting with him, he’ll teach you Meridian Touch.

You need this ability for multiple key quests, including the path that leads into the Gleaming Abyss. Without it, you’re locked out of a large chunk of early content. Combat-wise, it lets you immobilize enemies, trigger reactions on pressure points, and mess with NPC behavior in fun ways. It’s one of those tools that keeps getting more useful the more you understand the game.

Celestial Seize: Weapon Snatching and Utility Power

A bit further down the road you’ll see a drinking contest taking place in the town’s center. Finish the short dialogue sequence to unlock Celestial Seize, a mystic art that lets you grab an enemy’s weapon and slam it back at them. This skill is surprisingly powerful against bosses that rely on long, heavy swings.

Outside combat, it can pull distant chests or, if you’re feeling mischievous, snatch items from NPCs. Whether or not you want to push your luck is up to you.

Dragon Keys and the Value of Strongholds

At level 15, you’ll unlock your first Dragon Key, and more will come from clearing strongholds for the first time. These keys are essential for accessing sealed martial arts, unique weapons, and certain dungeon routes.

One useful tip: make sure you check the skill theft locations under your martial arts menu so you know which strongholds or hideouts are worth clearing. Strongholds scale pretty well at level 20, so you can tackle any region once you feel comfortable with your build.

Later, a quest near the Peas Bell Tower will teach you the Veil of Stillness—an invisibility tool that opens up assassin-style gameplay. You also earn another Dragon Key here, which is extremely helpful if you’re planning to unlock multiple weapons early.

Recommended Early Weapons and Where to Find Them

Once you have a few Dragon Keys, prioritize these weapons:

• The healing fan found near the Curiosity Vendor • The strategic sword between the Palace of Annals and the Encircling Lake • The Inkwell Fan in the northern zone • The Heaven Quaker Spear, one of the easiest early power weapons

You don’t need all of them at once, but having at least one high-value weapon gives you more flexibility when experimenting with inner ways.

Early Inner Ways Worth Using

Inner ways unlock slowly as you complete quests and dungeons, but there are a few standouts.

The Moral Chant can be purchased from a vendor in the Blissful Retreat area. Even though it costs 5,000 Echo Jade, the universal damage and healing boost makes it a strong long-term upgrade.

My personal favorite is Bitter Season, rewarded from early story quests in the Wither Wilds. It has a chance to apply poison and reduce enemy defenses, making it perfect for boss encounters. If you’re clearing these areas efficiently, you’ll hit the requirements for Gleaming Abyss before you know it.

Learning to Fly: Region Progress and Travel Speed

Flying becomes available after completing a small quest with the fisherman at the lake in the Wither Wilds. He’ll challenge you to jump across the floating flask—easy enough with some practice. But the real requirement is reaching 4,000 regional progress for the Afterglow Pendant.

Explore, open chests, turn in curiosities, and complete small missions to reach that threshold. Once unlocked, flight makes crossing the world much faster. Even before flying, you can unlock travel mode for increased running speed and water-walking.

This is where some players look into cheap Where Winds Meet boosting for regional progress specifically, since grinding curiosities can get repetitive. It’s entirely optional, but some use services like U4GM as a shortcut. I personally just explored naturally, but both approaches exist within the community.

Guardian Palm: One of the Best Early Combat Tools

At level 20, travel to the northern crater and complete a short procession quest with the wandering monk. Your reward is Guardian Palm, a devastating mystic art that can be used for repeated ground slams or combined with aerial kicks for massive damage. This technique is easily one of the most satisfying finishers you’ll get in the early game.

Make Your Healing Flasks Stronger

Don’t skip the Everare Clinic. Turning in medicinal records there increases both the number of healing flasks you have and their effectiveness. It’s a simple upgrade, but crucial for newcomers who struggle with tougher bosses.

Honking Havoc: A Fun but Surprisingly Strong AoE Skill

Between the West Heavens Pier and the Blissful Retreat landmark, you’ll run into a goose causing trouble. Completing this odd encounter unlocks Honking Havoc, a surprisingly strong area-damage ability. It’s mostly for fun, but it genuinely helps with clearing mobs quickly.