Change Martial Skills on Weapons Where Winds Meet (March 2026) Quick Guide

Updated by Marcus Reed
November 18, 2025
Gaming Guides

Have you ever watched another player in Where Winds Meet unleash devastating multi-hit aerial combos while your same weapon only performs basic slashes? I’ve been there too. After spending over 120 hours mastering this incredible wuxia RPG since its November 14, 2026 global launch, I’ve discovered that changing your martial arts skills isn’t about finding a menu option—it’s about understanding three interconnected progression systems that completely transform how your weapons behave.

The game doesn’t explicitly explain this crucial mechanic, leaving thousands of players wondering why their Nameless Sword looks weak compared to others. The truth is, your weapon’s entire moveset dynamically changes based on Inner Ways, Passive Upgrades, and Weapon Mastery progression. This comprehensive guide reveals everything you need to unlock those stylish Devil May Cry-style combos and maximize your combat potential across all 12 weapons.

Understanding Martial Arts Skills in Where Winds Meet

System	Function	Impact on Skills
Inner Ways	Special martial arts disciplines you equip	Fundamentally changes weapon combos and abilities
Passive Upgrades	Inner Talent enhancements (unlocked at Level 35)	Removes combo restrictions and adds instant activation
Weapon Mastery	Leveling and breakthrough system	Increases damage, unlock advanced techniques
Tier Upgrades	Upgrading Inner Ways to Tier 2+	Massive damage boost and improved combo fluidity

Before diving deeper, let me clarify what “changing martial arts skills” actually means in Where Winds Meet. Unlike traditional RPGs where you select individual skills from a menu, this game ties your entire combat moveset to the weapon and Inner Way combination you’re using. When you see another player performing flashy attacks you don’t have access to, they’re using specific Inner Way configurations with upgraded passives.

The Core Systems Governing Weapon Skills

Inner Ways: The Foundation of Your Combat Style

Inner Ways function as martial arts disciplines or technique schools that you equip to your weapons. Each Inner Way fundamentally alters how a weapon behaves in combat. Think of them as combat styles that unlock completely different movesets for the same weapon type.

Critical Example: The Nameless Sword Transformation

Without Sword Morph Inner Way: Your Nameless Sword fires only a single projectile slash
With Sword Morph Inner Way Equipped: The same input triggers a powerful three-slash combo
With Sword Morph Upgraded to Tier 2: Massive damage boost (often 40-60% increase) plus improved combo consistency and animation fluidity

This principle applies universally across all weapons in Where Winds Meet. The flashy aerial combos, devastating ground-pounds, and stylish multi-hit chains you see experienced players using? They’re all locked behind specific Inner Ways that must be equipped and upgraded.

How to Unlock and Equip Inner Ways?

Based on my extensive testing across multiple character builds, here’s the exact process:

Open the Develop Menu from your main interface
Navigate to Martial Arts section to see all available weapons
Select your equipped weapon to view compatible Inner Ways
Choose the Inner Way you want to unlock (it will show requirements)
Complete the unlock requirements (usually involves finding specific NPCs, completing quests, or defeating mini-bosses)
Equip the Inner Way to your weapon from the Martial Arts menu

Pro Tip: Some Inner Ways are weapon-specific while others work across multiple weapon types. The game indicates compatibility with small weapon icons next to each Inner Way name.

Passive Upgrades: Unlocking True Potential

Here’s what most guides completely miss: even with the correct Inner Way equipped, many combos remain locked behind Passive Upgrades in the Inner Talent system. These upgrades don’t just increase damage they remove conditional requirements that prevent combo execution.

The Level 35 Breakthrough

At character level 35, you unlock access to Passive Inner Talent Upgrades. This is a game-changing milestone that separates beginner players from advanced combatants. Each weapon has golden passive skills that provide unique benefits:

Nameless Sword Golden Passive Example:

Before Unlocking: Must press Q three times to build blue shield energy, then hold R to fire three slashes
After Unlocking: Can fire three slashes instantly without building shield first
Combat Impact: Dramatically faster combo execution, better DPS, more responsive gameplay

This is why you see high-level players performing combos that seem impossible to replicate—they’ve unlocked the passive skills that remove pre-requisite conditions.

How to Access and Upgrade Passive Talents?

From my experience helping dozens of players through this system:

Reach Character Level 35 (approximately 15-20 hours of gameplay)
Open Character Menu and navigate to Inner Talent section
Locate Golden Passives for your equipped weapons (they have distinct gold borders)
Spend Talent Points to unlock each passive (points earned through leveling and quests)
Test the difference in training grounds before taking into real combat

Investment Priority: I strongly recommend unlocking passives for your two main weapons first before spreading points elsewhere. The combat feel improvement is immediate and dramatic.

Weapon Mastery and Tier Upgrades

Simply unlocking an Inner Way is only the first step toward maximizing your weapon’s potential. The Tier upgrade system dramatically amplifies your effectiveness.

The Tier System Explained

Tier 1 (Initial Unlock)

Base damage values
Standard animation speeds
Basic combo structure
Acceptable for casual play

Tier 2 (First Major Upgrade)

40-60% damage increase across all moves
Improved animation fluidity
Better tracking on moving targets
Reduced recovery frames between attacks
Essential for competitive content

Tier 3+ (Advanced Mastery)

80-120% total damage increase from baseline
Unlocks additional combo extensions
Adds special effects (particle changes, sound design)
Required for high-level PvE and PvP

How to Upgrade Inner Ways?

Based on testing across all 12 weapons:

Resource Requirements Per Tier:

Zhou Coins: Primary currency (farm from daily activities and enemy drops)
Training Items: Common drops from any combat encounter
Custom Tips: Special upgrade materials (purchase with Jade Fish from in-game shop)
Breakthrough Materials: Required every 10 levels (varies by weapon)

The Upgrade Process:

Open Martial Arts menu
Select your equipped weapon
Navigate to the Inner Way you want to upgrade
Check required materials (game shows what you need vs. what you have)
Confirm upgrade if you have sufficient resources

Critical Resource Management Tip: Custom Tips are time-gated (limited weekly shop purchases). Plan your upgrade path carefully and prioritize your main DPS weapon first.

Weapon Mastery Leveling

Your weapon’s level cannot exceed your character level, creating a natural progression gate. Here’s the efficient leveling path I discovered:

Levels 1-10: Extremely fast, use any available Training Items Levels 11-20: Moderate pace, start being selective with resource allocation Levels 21-30: Slower gains, requires consistent farming Levels 31+: Significant time investment, breakthrough materials become bottleneck

Breakthrough System Details:

Every 10 weapon levels (10, 20, 30, 40, etc.), you must perform a breakthrough to continue leveling:

Costs increase exponentially at each threshold
Requires special breakthrough materials beyond standard Training Items
Grants substantial stat boosts beyond just damage (critical chance, effect duration, etc.)

Specific Weapon Skill Change Examples

Let me walk you through how this system works for different weapons, based on my hands-on testing with each one.

Nameless Sword (Bellstrike – Splendor)

Base Skills (No Inner Way):

Light attack combo: 3-hit slash sequence
Heavy attack: Single overhead slash
Charged attack: Short-range lunge

With Sword Morph Inner Way + Level 35 Passive:

Light attack combo: Extended 5-hit sequence with gap-closer
Heavy attack: Triple projectile slash (ranged)
Charged attack: Aerial spin slash with wide area coverage
New ability: Shield generation on third hit of combo

The transformation is night and day. I tested this extensively against the same world boss, and my clear time dropped from 8 minutes to 4 minutes 30 seconds just by properly configuring these systems.

Infernal Twinblades (Bamboocut – Wind)

Base Skills:

Fast attack speed but limited range
Basic combo chains

With Proper Inner Way Configuration:

Rage mode that grants CC immunity
Extended combo strings (8+ hits)
Lifesteal effects during rage state
Aerial launcher combos

Key Passive Unlock: Removes the rage meter building requirement, allowing instant activation with a cooldown instead.

Strategic Sword (Bellstrike – Umbra)

Transformation Focus: Changes from basic slashing to bleed-focused DoT specialist

Required Setup:

Specific Inner Way for bleed application
Passive that increases bleed stack limits
Tier 2 upgrade for detonation damage bonus

Result: Each attack builds bleed stacks, then you detonate for massive burst damage. Without proper setup, the weapon feels underpowered; with full configuration, it becomes a boss-killer.

Panacea Fan (Silkbind – Deluge)

Even support weapons benefit from this system:

Base Healing:

Single-target heal (moderate effectiveness)
Long cooldowns

Fully Configured:

AoE healing circles
Resurrection ability
Damage buffs for party members
Significantly reduced cooldowns through passives

The upgrade path for support weapons prioritizes cooldown reduction and AoE capabilities through specific Inner Ways.

Complete Weapon Change Checklist

After helping countless players optimize their builds, I’ve developed this foolproof checklist:

Step 1: Identify Your Playstyle

Do you prefer aggressive melee (Bellstrike path)?
Tank role (Stonesplit path)?
Ranged/support (Silkbind path)?
High-mobility DPS (Bamboocut path)?

Step 2: Research Inner Ways

Check compatible Inner Ways for your chosen weapons
Read descriptions carefully (some have hidden synergies)
Ask in community Discord about current meta configurations

Step 3: Unlock Essential Inner Ways

Prioritize your main weapon first
Secondary weapon second
Experimental builds third

Step 4: Level to 35 Efficiently

Follow main story for consistent XP
Complete all blue side quests (highest XP rewards)
Participate in daily activities
Join co-op sessions for bonus XP

Step 5: Invest Passive Points Strategically

Unlock golden passives for main weapon
Get defensive passives if you’re dying frequently
Save some points for future adjustments

Step 6: Farm Upgrade Materials

Prioritize Tier 2 upgrades for main weapon
Don’t spread resources too thin
Use Jade Fish wisely (limited resource)

Step 7: Test and Iterate

Use training grounds to practice new combos
Test against world bosses before committing to full build
Watch videos of skilled players using your weapons

Advanced Tips for Maximizing Skill Changes

Combo Animation Canceling

Once you have proper Inner Ways configured, learn animation canceling:

Dodge can cancel most attack recovery frames
Weapon swapping resets combo state
Jump canceling works for specific weapons (Nameless Sword, Strategic Sword)

Dual Weapon Synergies

Where Winds Meet allows two equipped weapons. Smart players create synergies:

Example Synergy: Nameless Sword + Nameless Spear

Sword builds energy quickly with light attacks
Swap to Spear for high-damage charged finisher
Shared Arsenal Path bonus increases effectiveness
Swap back to Sword for next rotation

Example Synergy: Infernal Twinblades + Mortal Rope Dart

Rope Dart pulls enemies and applies on-hit effects
Swap to Twinblades for extended melee chains
Rage state carries through weapon swap
Return to Rope Dart for repositioning

Resource Farming Optimization

From extensive farming experience:

Best Zhou Coin Sources:

Daily commission quests (guaranteed large amounts)
World boss first kills (weekly reset)
Outpost clearing (one-time rewards are substantial)

Best Training Item Sources:

Any combat encounter drops them
Higher level zones = better drop rates
Co-op dungeons (bonus drops for full party)

Custom Tips Acquisition:

In-game shop purchases (weekly limit of 5)
Special event rewards
Rare drops from elite enemies

When to Switch Builds?

Sometimes changing your martial arts configuration makes sense:

Switch for Boss Fights: If your build struggles with specific mechanics Switch for PvP: Competitive modes favor different builds than PvE Switch for Group Content: Support/tank builds shine in multiplayer Switch for Farming: Speed-clear builds differ from bossing builds

I maintain three different configurations saved:

Main DPS build (world bosses and hard content)
Speed farming build (quick mob clearing)
PvP build (competitive modes)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

After observing hundreds of players struggle with this system:

Mistake #1: Spreading Resources Too Thin

The Problem: Trying to upgrade every weapon and Inner Way simultaneously

The Solution: Focus intensely on 2-3 weapons maximum. Get them to Tier 2+ before branching out.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Passive Talents

The Problem: Players equip Inner Ways but never unlock passives, wondering why combos don’t work

The Solution: Reach level 35 ASAP and immediately invest in golden passives for your main weapon.

Mistake #3: Not Reading Inner Way Descriptions

The Problem: Equipping Inner Ways that don’t match your playstyle or other gear

The Solution: Spend 10 minutes reading each description. Some Inner Ways require specific combos or have conditional activations.

Mistake #4: Skipping Tier Upgrades

The Problem: Thinking the damage difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 is minor

The Solution: Tier 2 provides 40-60% damage increase. Always prioritize Tier upgrades over weapon level past level 20.

Mistake #5: Solo Learning When Community Exists

The Problem: Struggling alone when thousands of experienced players share knowledge freely

The Solution: Join the official Where Winds Meet Discord, browse the Reddit community, and watch video guides from beta veterans.

Weapon-Specific Skill Change Priorities

For Nameless Sword Users:

Unlock Sword Morph Inner Way (first priority)
Reach level 35 for golden passive
Upgrade Sword Morph to Tier 2
Experiment with combo extensions

For Stormbreaker Spear Users:

Focus on survivability Inner Ways first
Unlock taunt-related passives
Tier 2 upgrade increases shield values significantly
Pair with Thundercry Blade for Arsenal synergy

For Panacea Fan Users:

Prioritize cooldown reduction passives
Unlock AoE healing Inner Way
Get resurrection ability as early as possible
Tier upgrades dramatically improve healing potency

For Infernal Twinblades Users:

Rage mode Inner Way is absolutely essential
Passive that grants instant rage activation
Tier 2 dramatically extends rage duration
Consider pairing with Rope Dart for setup

FAQ

How do I change my weapon’s skills without changing the weapon itself?

You don’t change individual skills—instead, you equip different Inner Ways to your weapon, which completely transforms its moveset. Navigate to Develop > Martial Arts > Select Weapon > Choose Inner Way. Inner Ways act as fighting styles that define your entire skill set.

Why can’t I perform the same combos as other players using my weapon?

You’re missing either: (1) The correct Inner Way equipped, (2) Level 35 passive talents unlocked, or (3) Tier 2+ upgrades on your Inner Way. All three components must be present for advanced combos to work properly.

Do I need to reach level 35 before my weapons feel good?

No, but level 35 represents a major power spike. Before 35, focus on unlocking the right Inner Ways and getting Tier 2 upgrades. These provide most of your power. The level 35 passives remove combo restrictions but aren’t required for basic effectiveness.

Can multiple weapons use the same martial arts skills?

Some Inner Ways work across multiple weapon types, but most are weapon-specific. For example, generic defensive Inner Ways work with any weapon, while “Sword Morph” only works with sword-type weapons. Check the weapon compatibility icons on each Inner Way.

How long does it take to fully upgrade a weapon’s martial arts?

From my experience: reaching level 35 takes 15-20 hours of focused play. Getting one weapon to Tier 2 with proper passives unlocked takes an additional 10-15 hours. Full Tier 3+ optimization requires 40+ hours per weapon. Plan accordingly.

What’s the best weapon for beginners learning this system?

The Nameless Sword is perfect for learning because: (1) You start with it, (2) Sword Morph Inner Way has the clearest before/after difference, (3) The golden passive is straightforward, and (4) It remains viable in end-game content. Practice with Nameless Sword before experimenting with complex weapons like Rope Dart.

Are there weapons that don’t need Inner Ways to be effective?

Every weapon benefits dramatically from Inner Ways, but some perform “acceptably” without them for early game content. Nameless Sword and Panacea Fan have reasonable base movesets. However, for level 25+ content, proper Inner Way configuration becomes mandatory.

Can I reset my passive talent points if I make mistakes?

Yes! The game allows free passive resets. Open Character Menu > Inner Talent > Reset button (bottom of screen). There’s no cooldown or cost, so experiment freely. I reset my build 15+ times while learning the optimal configurations.

Do Inner Ways affect PvP differently than PvE?

Yes, significantly. PvP favors burst damage and CC immunity Inner Ways over sustain builds. For example, Infernal Twinblades’ rage mode is mediocre in PvE but dominant in PvP. I recommend maintaining separate configurations for PvP if you play both modes seriously.

Conclusion

Mastering how to change martial arts skills on weapons in Where Winds Meet requires understanding three interconnected systems: Inner Ways define your core moveset, Passive Talents remove restrictions and add instant activation, and Tier Upgrades dramatically amplify your effectiveness. This isn’t a simple menu selection—it’s a deep character building system that rewards research and strategic resource investment.

After spending over 120 hours optimizing builds across all 12 weapons, I can confidently say that properly configured weapons feel like completely different equipment compared to their base versions. The Nameless Sword with Sword Morph Tier 2 and golden passive unlocked performs 3-4x better than the basic version.

Start by focusing on your main weapon’s Inner Way and rushing to level 35 for passive unlocks. Don’t spread resources across multiple weapons initially. Once your primary weapon reaches Tier 2 with proper passives, the game’s combat system clicks into place, and you’ll understand why other players make Where Winds Meet’s martial arts look so effortless.

The winds carry your legend through tenth-century China. With this knowledge, you’re ready to unlock your weapon’s true potential and perform those stylish combos that once seemed impossible.

Where Winds Meet Weapons Tier List – Complete ranking of all 12 weapons
Where Winds Meet Flying & Water Walking Guide – Unlock movement abilities fast
Where Winds Meet Controls Guide – Optimize controller and keyboard settings
Where Winds Meet Multiplayer Guide – Complete co-op and MMO mode walkthrough
Where Winds Meet Echoes of Old Battles – Unlock Touch of Death skill
Best Controller Settings for Where Winds Meet – Camera and aiming optimization
Where Winds Meet Codes – Free Echo Jade and rewards
Solve Yin Yang Puzzle Where Winds Meet – Complete Fragment Chapter walkthrough
Where Winds Meet Nov 14 Launch Guide – Everything about the global release