Cedric Holmeier is an expert in Asian MMORPGs at MeinMMO and already knows Where Winds Meet from China. Instead of engaging in cool boss fights, he prefers to simply stroll around in the game and always experiences something.
When I watch my friends play Where Winds Meet, I see intense boss fights, OP combos that defeat opponents in the blink of an eye, and 3 tabs with guides that reveal how to become the best player the fastest.
I am actually the type of progressive player who wants to complete new raids on the first day and then complains about a lack of content. However, because I already tried Where Winds Meet in China, I wanted to do everything differently this time.
This time my goal was to not rush any content and leave my bad MMO habits behind. Instead, I wanted to focus on the thousands of side activities in the game and go with the flow.
For that, Where Winds Meet seems to be the perfect game. There is no pressure to swim with the crowd to complete any content, and there is also no penalty if you don’t utilize everything in a day – perfect for me and my personal challenge.
Side quests are the real main task
Where Winds Meet undoubtedly has an interesting story full of action, drama, and twists, but the real main task is to complete all side quests. It starts right at the beginning of the game.
Even before I had taken the first bird down in the competition, I had felled a bamboo grove for a cat. Even without knowing what I could do with the Miau Miau coins, the gratitude of a cute cat was enough reward for the work.
However, my strolls off the streets often put me in danger. For instance, when I feel transported back to my childhood and a puppet theater appears before me. No one could have guessed that the owner is a world boss who would later wipe the floor with me.
A walk in Where Winds Meet is like a quest
Even now, being much more advanced in the game, I choose a route instead of a quest. It usually leads me to a beautiful viewpoint designed by the developers to appear in the perfect angle before me.
After a little photo session, I then just take any path until a quest appears before me. Unplanned and without knowing what to expect, I help villagers with their everyday lives or arrest a thief whom I then bring to the local police.
Where Winds Meet has managed to turn every stroll into a quest and leads me as a player to new places that look like they were painted. Additionally, I’m rewarded with various collectables that I can conveniently pick up with the F key.
Fighting is not neglected either
If you think I wouldn’t experience anything exciting on my strolls, you’re mistaken. Time and again, I find myself at outposts, world bosses, and caves that other players likely target on the map.
As a result, I naturally come across my clears as well and manage to touch all relevant points. Surprisingly, I enjoy this much more than flying from outpost to outpost in an hour to quickly defeat all enemies, as I’m used to.
Why does it attract me? How Where Winds Meet has turned me into a casual stoller is actually quite easy to explain. The role-playing game simply offers enough content without making a stroll boring. This is mainly due to the fantastic design of the thousand side activities that the game offers, which continuously distract me during my main story.
This brings me a lot of joy and ensures that my inner urge for progress is satisfied even without a “game plan”. It’s nice to have some moments where I can just admire the game, which usually gets shortchanged. However, I still doubt whether I would enjoy my strolls in other games just as much.
Where Winds Meet is a game for everyone and this is reflected by it successfully engaging me, a progressive player, with its world and design, so that I no longer feel the urge to fall back into old patterns and rush everything. I am already looking forward to future updates and especially new areas that will let me dive deeper into the world. But until then, it will take some time: Where Winds Meet: Roadmap and upcoming content
