Where Winds Meet’s Hexi Region Still Has What Players Love While Being A Unique Experience

Where Winds Meet’s first big expansion is releasing in just two days. The dream-themed update that will offer players of the free-to-play Wuxia MMORPG a window into the past – allowing them to see it through the eyes of those who lived it – was announced last week. During a dev stream, Everstone Studios gave us a glimpse into “Hexi” (both the name of the update and where we will be going).

We were offered a chance to get a look at the new content ahead of time so we could share some of it with you. Before we start, I should note that what I was playing was still a test version and not the launch version. That means some things I talk about here may be changed or fixed when the update goes live.

The preview was set up right at the entrance to the dream world, which happens to be an unfinished scroll. Upon looking at it, it takes you immediately to the first of three areas that will roll out over time, an expansive desert. If you caught the dev stream, you know that you’ll be experiencing the story of an old man trying to deliver a sack. It would be misleading to say that you play as this man the entire time. Rather, you move in and out of his story, sometimes running into other inhabitants of the desert. And, of course, there are plenty of side activities that can easily distract you, such as collectibles.

There are quite a few new collectibles scattered throughout the desert. Some are strange creatures you’ll need to chase down. Others you’ll need to keep an ear out for… bells in the desert will lead you to the remains of camels and the treasure they hold. And, of course, as one of the focuses of this update is a moon that hangs in the sky no matter the time of day, teasing the way home for each of the characters, there are moon-related items to be gathered as well.

Why bother with this strange dream journey? Because you were told you may find answers – not just about history long-past, but answers that are relevant to your own journey.

I’ve no intention of spoiling the story for you. It’s a great experience that knows how to hit you in the feels. But that’s honestly been true about a lot of Where Winds Meet.

It’s paced in a way that allows you to explore as you wish and not feel like you’re delaying completing the main story content. In all open-world RPGs, it’s easy to get sidetracked by another quest or activity. But, very often, when I do that, it can feel like I’m ignoring the important thing – like now is not a good time to be doing the side thing. And in many games, the pacing is such that it never feels like the right time to be doing the side thing. This isn’t the case here, where the side story I ended up being distracted by only added to the main story I’d been working on. This history in a dream feels very alive and real, and more than a little sad.

Exploring the first area in the Hexi update is going to be a bit different from the previous zones. If you’ve ever spent time in a desert, you probably have some idea of what I mean. While the other zones have plenty in the way of landmarks: roads, villages, lakes, and rivers…, the desert region of Hexi features large swaths of golden sand dunes. That’s not to say that it’s all just sand. Some areas have sparse fields of grass-like vegetation, and there are villages and other structures. Although some of that may turn out to be a mirage. The point is, it can be a little difficult to find your way.

Of course, there are markers on the mini-map, and the quests will (mostly) point you in the right direction. (Sometimes the quest obviously wants you to feel lost so you get text directions, but no marker.) The other good news, navigation-wise, is that there’s a kind of magical road in the sand. It’s not a road in the real sense, but more like a painting on the sand. This sand works with a bit of magic that allows players to turn into a giant fish. Admittedly, you can do this anywhere in the desert, but you’ll move faster as the fish when following the road. And, yes, there’s still a mount. Your horse has been replaced by a camel. Totally desert appropriate.

As far as combat goes, the dev team was nice enough to provide us with the latest skills for the umbrella and rope dart weapons. Both are fun, but I think the umbrella skill is my favorite. There’s something amusing about standing on the handle of an umbrella as it spins like a top, dealing damage to anything in range. It would also make a fun form of transportation, although I haven’t gotten it to last long enough for that to be viable.

I did try my hand at one of the bosses shown in the livestream – the general. While there is a mechanic at the end that I haven’t quite figured out how to avoid yet (I gave it two tries just to see), the bulk of the fight is not all that difficult. Of course, that may be due to me playing using a character crafted for this particular experience. I have a feeling that if I brought my own to the fight, I might suffer a bit more.

The update definitely expands on the things that make Where Winds Meet a great game. The story’s gripping, and the combat is fun. In that same vein, it appears that some of the issues the game has seem to be sticking around – for instance, a glitch where the player character swaps between the male and female voices on occasion. That’s been a thing since launch, and is honestly something I’ve chosen to look past before. Still, it’s something I hope can be fixed in the future, because it can kind of throw you out of the immersion a bit. As noted above, what I was playing was a test version, so perhaps it’s already fixed.