Where Winds Meet weapon tier list (version 2.3)

New to the game? Start with the beginner guide and the Where Winds Meet hub. If you already know which weapon you want, jump to the best builds for Inner Ways, Mystic Skills and gear sets, or to weapons and martial arts for how to unlock each one.

How current is this tier list?

Short answer: as current as anyone can make it in November 2026, but no source has fully re-tested the meta after the 2.3 balance patch of October 15. Here is what each list is built on, newest first:

So we use Game8 as the backbone, because it is the only list that ranks the 2.0 weapons at all, and we check every placement against the others. Where at least three sources agree, the tier is solid. Where they split, the table says so. Two martial arts, Riven Twinblades and Skystrike Gauntlets of the Bamboocut - Draught Path, are not ranked by any source we could find, so we do not invent a tier for them.

Every Path and weapon pair in 2.3

A Path is an official pair of two martial arts that share an attribute family (Bellstrike, Silkbind, Stonesplit or Bamboocut) and unlock linked Inner Ways and set bonuses. You can mix any two martial arts, but you lose those bonuses, and some effects only work in the Path: the official 2.0 notes say Stormbreaker Spear's Drumbeat and damage reduction now strictly require Thundercry Blade to be equipped. That is why a weapon can rank low alone and still anchor a top build.

The Bow sits outside this system. It is a separate utility weapon every character carries, so it does not appear in any tier list.

Two of the ten weapon types, shown through official cosmetic appearances: the Sundered Vow dual blades skin from April 2026 and the Drifting Away umbrella from the Fu Shen collaboration. Skins change the look only; the martial art decides the moves.

PvE tier list for version 2.3

This is our consensus for open world, bosses, dungeons and Sword Trial. The Game8 and Pocket Gamer columns show the two freshest lists; the last column sums up the rest.

The pattern is clear once you line the lists up. Nameless Sword is the one weapon every current source puts in S, and the official 2.0 notes made it stronger in the open world: Sword Energy no longer loses damage when it hits several non-player enemies. Panacea Fan is S for PvE because it is the only true healer, and nobody disputes that. The newest weapons, Heavenwill Gauntlets and Snowparting Blade, sit in S on Game8's list, but they lack a second up to date source, so treat them as strong but less proven.

The real arguments are about Strategic Sword and Heavenquaker Spear. Both depend on bleed and Soul-Shaken, which the 2.0 patch reworked (DoTs now deal Qi damage and Soul-Shaken lasts 18 seconds instead of 15). FinalBoss said in July that the Strategic Sword's standing after that rework was not confirmed, and in 2.3 its Extra Attack Boost now scales with your Martial Art Breakthrough level, adding 4% at Breakthrough Tier 18. If you have invested in it, it is S. If you are starting fresh, it is a strong A.

PvP tier list: why healers and tanks drop

Arena and Guild War change the picture. Healing is reduced in PvP, so Game8 drops Panacea Fan and Soulshade Umbrella to B there, and allthings.how points to the same heal cap. Thundercry Blade and Stormbreaker Spear also fall to B, because tanking matters less when players ignore taunts and burst you down.

Other sources move a few names up. Pocket Gamer rates Infernal Twinblades S in PvP, and allthings.how puts Strategic Sword at the top of its PvP list. Game8's build ranking still gives Silkbind - Jade an S in PvP even though both of its weapons are A: ranged pressure and airborne attacks are hard to catch in a duel.

Left, the official key art from the 3v3 Arena launch in version 1.3, when the rules capped each team at two players on the same martial art and one healer. Right, the art for Arena Season 5, Ever Aflame, whose first half runs from October 15 to November 26, 2026. If you climb in Arena this season, the S row above is where to look.

Best Path pairings ranked

Single weapons tell you half the story, since you always fight with two. Game8's DPS build ranking (updated October 15, 2026, built on the 2.0 balance) scores the pairs for PvE and PvP:

1. Bamboocut - Kite (Heavenwill Gauntlets + Skygrasp Rope Dart): S in PvE, S in PvP. The 2.3 patch added 12% base damage to all Falcon's Pursuit skills.
2. Stonesplit - Strength (Snowparting Blade + Phalanxbane Blade): S and S.
3. Bamboocut - Dust (Everspring Umbrella + Unfettered Rope Dart): S in PvE, A in PvP.
4. Bellstrike - Splendor (Nameless Sword + Nameless Spear): S and S, and free from the start.
5. Bellstrike - Umbra (Strategic Sword + Heavenquaker Spear): A and A.
6. Silkbind - Jade (Vernal Umbrella + Inkwell Fan): A in PvE, S in PvP.
7. Hybrids: Nameless Sword + Strategic Sword, Strategic Sword + Nameless Spear and Nameless Sword + Heavenquaker all score A and A.
8. Bamboocut - Wind (Infernal Twinblades + Mortal Rope Dart): B in PvE, A in PvP.

Two roles are not in a DPS ranking. For tanking, Game8's tank page and FinalBoss both pick Stonesplit - Might, Thundercry Blade with Stormbreaker Spear, with Thundercry plus Soulshade Umbrella as Game8's solo tank alternative. For healing, Game8 calls Silkbind - Deluge, Panacea Fan with Soulshade Umbrella, the only dedicated healer build. Inner Ways, Mystic Skills and gear for all of these are on our best builds page. Game8 adds a fair warning: a finished A tier build beats an unfinished S tier one, so do not drop a weapon with upgraded Inner Ways just because it lost a letter.

What the balance patches changed (2.0 to 2.3)

Tier lists lag behind patches, so here are the changes from the official notes that matter most for the rankings above. The developers said in their July 2026 AMA that every Path should have a unique role and that major balance changes will be announced before each new season.

Gear moved too. Tier 100 gear in 2.3 merges the separate Single-Target and Area Mystic Skill damage affixes into one All Mystic Skill DMG Boost, and the Hawkwing set now adds Bellstrike Attack, which helps both Bellstrike Paths.

New weapons: Gauntlets, Drunken Fist, Waist Drum and Dual Spears

Four weapons arrived after launch, plus one that is still on the way:

Bamboocut - DraughtSkystrike Gauntlets and Riven Twinblades, a drunken fist style built on Binge Points. Live since September 2026, not ranked by any list yet.

Museflow Waist DrumNew weapon type in 2.3 with offense, crowd control and team support rhythms. Preliminary A in Game8 and Pocket Gamer.

Heavenwill GauntletsArrived with Hidden Mountain in July 2026. S in PvE and PvP on Game8, and half of the top DPS Path.

Silkbind - Wings is the newest Path. The official 2.3 developer letter describes three drumbeat rhythms, one each for offense, crowd control and team support. Pocket Gamer finds it strong in group PvE and Guild vs Guild and weak solo, which fits a support hybrid.

Dual Spears are next. The official channel has posted a motion capture video with Yuen Woo-ping, the game's action consultant, and press reports (GamingBolt, DigitalCitizen) give November 26, 2026 as the release date; the official 1st Anniversary roadmap lists the Dual Spears martial art for 11.26 with the line "Master offense and defense with paired spears". Reports disagree on how it plays: GamingBolt describes a single spear that switches between offense and defense, GameMarket describes light and heavy spears joined by a Dual-Weapon Skill. The official 2.4 developer letter of November 9 says nothing about combat balance, so there is no honest tier for Dual Spears yet. We will add it once lists test it.

Dual Spears Mo-Cap BTS with Yuen Woo-ping (official Where Winds Meet channel)

Which weapon should you pick?

Pocket Gamer and Game8 both say any weapon can clear most content, so pick something you enjoy and stick with it. If you want the tier list to decide for you:

• New player: Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear are free from the start and form an S tier Path. Your first free pick from Qi Sheng after the first Oddity should be Panacea Fan, which also makes Nameless Sword plus Panacea Fan a strong solo hybrid.
• Boss damage: Bamboocut - Kite or Stonesplit - Strength. Heavenwill Gauntlets cost 100 Reputation in the Mohist Hill sect shop.
• Groups: Silkbind - Deluge as healer or Stonesplit - Might as tank. Both are welcome in Sword Trial and Hero's Realm.
• PvP: Heavenwill Gauntlets, Snowparting Blade or Nameless Sword at the top, Infernal Twinblades and Strategic Sword close behind.

Switching later is cheaper than it looks. Since January 2026 you can recycle Martial Notes from any Path into another Path's notes for free, and the Path Tutorial in the Path Guide lets you try any Path's combos before you commit. Spend Echo Jade on Inner Way Notes for your main Path; our Where Winds Meet codes page lists 15 working codes that pay Echo Jade and Inner Way Note Chests. For Inner Ways and Mystic Skills in depth, see Mystic Arts and Inner Ways.

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