When I discovered Where Winds Meet, I never thought it would hook me so quickly. Its visuals, living world, over-the-top combat, and a plethora of things to do drew me in like a moth to a flame. You can imagine my reaction when I got invited to try out the Hexi expansion of Where Winds Meet ahead of its release. Where the base game hooked me with its many gameplay features, this expansion blew me away with its superb narrative, even more beautiful visuals, and even more top-notch Wuxia action.
The Sands of Time
Since this was a preview build for the upcoming Hexi expansion of Where Winds Meet, I only had the opportunity to try a bit of the content coming to it. Mainly, I played some of the story, a couple of quests, and tried the new combat path, which I’m sure many Wanderers will love.
The truth is, the launch experience for Where Winds Meet was fantastic in every way except one: its story. It wasn’t bad by any means, but the localization issues and pacing made it the least memorable aspect for me, at least initially. However, the Hexi expansion has knocked it out of the park, as it took only one quest in this new adventure pack to deliver more narrative punch than most of the base game by a great margin.
Without spoiling, the Hexi expansion features different quests for Wanderers to try, and all of them feel a step above the narrative experiences we’ve played through. For instance, I got to try the Burlap Sack storyline, which put me in the shoes of an old figure as he traveled across the desert. This short quest hit me harder than any boss in the game, as it had me in tears as I reached its end. But beyond making me a crying mess, it showed me just how important world-building is for this expansion, and how the studio has improved upon the weakest part of the launch version.
Of course, there were other storylines to follow, and I also enjoyed them, as some moved away from the frantic action and focused more on learning about the people who traveled this new land in a more peaceful, yet interactive way. I felt the way Where Winds Meet is approaching the storytelling aspect in the Hexi expansion is precisely what we needed.
Wuxia 2.0
Storytelling aside, many of us are here due to the new combat paths, and the Hexi expansion has one that many players will love to try. The Bamboocut Dust path arrives, and it brings the Everspring Umbrella and Unfettered Rope Dart to the spotlight. This new path, featuring the aforementioned weapons, is all about crowd-control skills and high-DPS abilities, making it excellent for both close-quarters combat and long-range attacks.
While I already have an established build in the base game, and one I plan to continue playing once the expansion release, the truth is that this new path really drew me in. I’ve never been a fan of the Umbrella, but this new weapon offers several high-mobility skills that, paired with the new Rope Dart, lead to some highly destructive and flashy-looking combos.
Beyond that, there are also several enemies that will test your newfound skills, and even those that you thought were already in their prime before the update. My favorite one was, undoubtedly, the Wandering Ark, which, yes, is a full-on ship that attacks you, and it is one of the most jaw-dropping and challenging world bosses in the game so far.
Overall, just like the narrative, the combat additions feel like a monumental improvement from what we saw in the launch version. I never thought Where Winds Meet could enhance its combat systems further, but the Hexi expansion proved me wrong. And the best part of it is, we know there are more things coming after we cross the desert, and I can’t wait to try them out.
An Expansion for All
As I wrapped my preview time with the Hexi expansion of Where Winds Meet, it felt almost unbelievable that we’re going to be experiencing everything in it for free in the next couple of days. But beyond that, the developers have crafted an even more beautiful world with unforgettable stories and even better combat—something we don’t see so often nowadays.
Ultimately, Where Winds Meet shows us once again that it is truly a game that has it all, and it is ready to surprise us at every turn. If this is a glimpse of the quality of the game’s major expansions, I’m extremely excited for this title’s future, and as someone who has been in and out of this Wuxia experience, I confidently say that this desert will enthrall us all for a very long time.
