Where Winds Meet has a rather large system with a multitude of avenues in which players can utilize to make the best builds possible as they would like them. Now, it can be pretty confusing as there are a lot of methods to get gear, advance them, and even interchange them to have the highest Martial Mastery. 

To start with, the Martial Mastery is the numerical value given to builds that are best suited around the Martial Arts equipped onto the character. 

The higher the Martial Mastery, the more cohesive the build and powerful in combat. For example, my healer build consisting of the Panacea Fan and the Soulshade Umbrella currently stands at 23,137. In comparison, my DPS (damage per second) build with the Strategic Sword and Nameless Spear stands at 22,867. So, what affects the Martial Mastery that it’s different between these two different playstyles? 

Firstly, each Martial Art can be upgraded and leveled up. It will always correspond with the player’s level, so if a player is at Level 83, the Martial Art can be upgraded to Level 83. The higher the Martial Art level, the more powerful the weapon’s capabilities. There are currently 14 Martial Art types that fall under different weapons and different roles, both supportive and damage-dealing. They fall under, currently, six categories that circulate around synergy and playstyles like Silkbind – Deluge for healers or Stonesplit – Might for tanks. 

Aside from Martial Arts are Mystic Skills. These are a variety of skills that help with puzzles, exploration, and combat. By increasing the tiers of these skills, it will increase the amount of Martial Mastery the build has. It’s pretty straight-forward and really only reliant on what skills the players have equipped. 

There are also Inner Ways which are passives players can select to help their build. This can boost general skills or specific Martial Arts. For my Panacea Fan, I have Esoteric Revival equipped which increases the healing ability of the fan’s skill. These Inner Ways can also be upgraded by collecting specific material for the Inner Way. Each of these upgrades will increase the effects and even add new effects. For Esoteric Revival, one of the tiers can reduce the amount of damage a revived target takes by 30% for three seconds. Similar to Mystic Skills, the better the upgrade, the more Martial Mastery it provides. 

Now, it’s time for the most nuanced part of Martial Mastery, the actual gear. 

Gear falls into two categories – gear that affects Physical Attack and gear that affects Physical Defense. The Physical Attack category consists of the primary weapon, the secondary weapon, the disc, and the pendant. This category has a base main stat that impacts the Physical Attack, changing the amount of damage which can be done. 

The other category, Physical Defense, consists of the helm, armor, greaves, and the bracer. These gear increase the max amount of HP (health points) the player has and the amount of Physical Defense their build has. Both of these main stats involving the Physical Attack and Defense are pre-set. They cannot be changed and are only affected by which tier they fall into, increasing as the tier grows higher. 

Each of these categories then fall into eight different sets. Each set is geared for specific builds and Martial Arts. For example, following the Physical Attack category, as a healer, I utilize the Ivorybloom set. But, the Ivorybloom set does not exist in the Physical Defense category. Instead, I use the Whirlsnow set. Thankfully, Where Winds Meet has a Path Guide which gives guidance to players as to what sets to use for certain builds and specific weapons. It made it a lot easier to understand what to best focus on in builds and how to ease grinding for them. 

Another similarity between both of these categories is that they all fall into certain rarities with gold being the highest rarity. The higher the rarity, the better the Mastery. Mastery is the stat which is the overall rating of the gear piece and how well it affects the overall build’s Marital Mastery. 

So, each gear piece can start at different Mastery values which are then further influenced when the gear is Tuned. 

Tuning is adding Affixes or substats to the gear. Each gear starts with one Affix with six Affixes being the max amount a gear piece can have. These Affixes follow the same rarity rule meaning legendary is the highest stat to roll into the weapon. Players can gain Melodic Stones (that have corresponding rarities) that help guarantee what rarity the Affix will roll into which greatly helps improve Mastery.

However, not all the Affixes are beneficial for the build. Where Winds Meet helps by the system recognizing what works best for what Martial Arts are equipped and putting RCMD (Recommended) next to the substats that work best for the build. The more RCMD Affixes, the higher the Mastery climbs. Players can actually gain a Premium Melodic Stone which will ensure the Affix is gold rarity and RCMD while Tuning. 

But, sometimes, the luck of the draw is just not there. Affixes can be re-rolled. A Returning Stone can be used on each piece for one Affix. If it’s not a RCMD Affix, players can try their luck on getting a better one. Now with this, the only Affix that cannot be changed is the Initial Affix. This is where a lot of players who try to min-max their builds may find difficulties. 

The last Affix is also special during Tuning, more specifically, the last Affix in for Physical Defense gear. This Affix will actually increase a specific skill following the Martial Arts. To continue my example with my healer build, my Whirlsnow Helm grants a healing boost to my Panacea Fan by 3.4%.

The special Affix can be changed/improved through the use of an Attunement Stone and an Alteration Stone. It will take a max of three chances. Each time, it will provide two options. A re-rolled stat or a chance to keep the current one. This is great because, at times, it can be worse than what is currently equipped. Depending on what gear set is utilized, it will work between two Martial Arts that are RCMD for that set. So, for the Whirlsnow set, its last Affix will align with the Panacea Fan or Soulshade Umbrella. 

There are two gear pieces that I haven’t mentioned yet – the Bow and Arrow and the Thumb Ring. A Bow and Arrow and a Thumb Ring at low rarity is always given to players whenever they upgrade to the next level tier. However, there are ways to get recipes that give crafting chances which grant higher rarity gear. It has the same upgrade system as the other gear; they simply don’t affect any Martial Arts and can only be gained through crafting. 

In conclusion, there are four main parts to improving Martial Mastery; Martial Arts, Mystic Skills, Inner Ways, and gear. Improving each of these will allow for a higher Martial Mastery which means a better result in combat in Where Winds Meet. Whether that means improving the amount of healing a player can do, the amount of damage a tank can take, or the amount of damage a DPS can deal, Martial Mastery provides a numerical value that is understood as to how well the build’s been optimized for that path. 
What more questions do you have about improving Martial Mastery in the game? Were there any parts that confused you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or in our Boss Rush Discord!

Featured Image Source: Everstone Studio

Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship show of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, hosts Corey Dirrig, LeRon Dawkins, Stephanie Klimov, and Pat Klein, as well as their friends, fellow creators, developers, and industry veterans, share their gaming experiences. They discuss what they’ve been playing, explore rotating segments, debate the Boss Rush Banter topic of the week, answer community write-ins, and more. Patreon subscribers at any tier enjoy exclusive access to the Boss Rush Podcast Patreon Show twice a month along with other perks and extras.

Follow and Connect with Boss Rush Podcast on Social Media
X/Twitter + Bluesky + Instagram + Threads + YouTube

Listen to Boss Rush Podcast on Podcast Services
Apple Podcasts + Spotify + Goodpods + Amazon + More Links

Thank you for supporting Boss Rush Podcast and the Boss Rush Network

Thank you for watching or listening to The Boss Rush Podcast. If you’re watching this ⁠⁠episode on YouTube⁠⁠, hit the Subscribe button, Like the video, and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss an episode! If you’re listening on ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, consider leaving us a rating and a review as it helps with discoverability and growth. ⁠⁠Support Boss Rush on Patreon⁠⁠ for exclusive content, early access and audio versions of shows, become a Patreon Producer, and more. Visit our website for all of our content including ⁠⁠reviews⁠⁠, ⁠⁠news⁠⁠, ⁠⁠daily Boss Rush Banter⁠⁠ discussion topics, ⁠⁠listicles⁠⁠, ⁠⁠features⁠⁠, and more. However you support us, it means so much to us. Thank you for your continued support of the Boss Rush Podcast and the ⁠⁠Boss Rush Network⁠⁠.