Hello, fellow Wanderers. We’re proud to share new details about the very first major expansion to our wuxia epic, Where Winds Meet. It’s called Hexi — and it’s vast in scale and ambition!
So large, in fact, that it will be released in three distinct chapters that will be dropped from March to May 2026. It will feature three major maps with nearly 20 sub-regions – covering areas of endless deserts, ice fields, snow-capped mountains and vast swathes of grasslands. You’ll find it populated by eleven unique bosses, dozens of side quests and so much more.
We’ve tried to push boundaries, letting players inhabit characters from history and witness the era from the perspective of ordinary people caught up in the tides of history. This is what makes Hexi’s main story unique, existing outside of the game’s main timeline, and adopting a more cinematic approach to storytelling and gameplay.
There will also be a significant shift in the narrative, as we travel through time and space as if in a dream to a different era of Chinese history – the Tang Dynasty – one of the most prosperous eras of ancient China. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, however, the Hexi region loses all contact with the capital, Chang’an, and the Hexi people long for their spiritual homeland and this prompts your dream pilgrimage.
The first chapter of the Hexi expansion is called the Jade Gate Pass and launches on March 5 (Pacific Time). Set in a vast desert landscape, it represents the beginning of the biggest expansion since our game launched, offering up brand-new narratives, new bosses, fresh gameplay features and martial art styles.
To help you to survive and advance in the challenging desert environment, you can obtain two brand new wuxia skills in the Jade Gate Pass area. Sand Race literally allows you to surf on the sand to speed your progress, while Cosmic Reversal will empower you to reverse time itself and rebuild desert ruins. This skill will be particularly helpful for overcoming obstacles, uncovering secrets and solving puzzles.
Whitecrown City lies between Jade Gate Pass and Liangzhou. Once the crossroads of travel from East to West and a vital part of the ancient frontier defence, now a time-eroded, abandoned shadow of its former glory.
Entering this city will rekindle ancient legends – Guo Xin – the last Grand Protector of Anxi – and the campaign boss. Standing as guardian of this lonely outpost, Guo Xin watches over the frontier in solitude. On this desolate ground, you will witness the reveal of secrets hidden deep beneath the annals of history.
Furthermore, another formidable boss in Jade Gate Pass is the Wandering Ark, whose legend is deeply embedded in the Hexi lore and is waiting to be discovered in the desert wilderness. This boss does not stay in a fixed location – it’s a colossal vessel moving freely across the desert sea. Encountering this vessel, players need to be precise and strategic in discerning where to attack this opponent, while defending against ruthless ranged and close quarter attacks.
Fortunately, to help with these daunting challenges, you’ll be provided with two new martial arts:
Spring Dreamscape is an umbrella-style martial art focused on agility, enabling fluid endless combos and giving you the upper hand in tight spaces or group skirmishes.
Fleeting Clouds is a new Rope Dart martial art style that centres on large sweeping Area of Effects (AOE) attacks making it ideal both for crowd control and for one on one duels where you hunt down enemies for persistent relentless damage.
We’re also going to introduce a brand-new weapon in April:
The Heng Blade is a core weapon with its own dedicated martial art system. Heng Blade combat puts the emphasis on precision, structure and decisive timing. The key lies in blending measured defence with clean, powerful strikes. Strong in mid to close-range, Heng Blade rewards spacing, discipline and making the most of brief openings and opportunities.
Passing through the Jade Gate Pass, your next journey will head to Hexi Chapter 2: Liangzhou, where you’ll encounter the first snow-capped mountain map haunted by the lingering echoes questioning why a stranger in a foreign land is answering the call to return to their spiritual home.
Ultimately, the final chapter of Hexi will be set in the scroll of the Painting Realm – the vast grassland of Qinchuan, and this is where the true treasure of this adventure will be found.
But, hey – let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The road ahead is very long. It’s time, instead, to look forward to the Jade Gate Pass. Prepare yourself, wanderers, to enter Hexi, a world independent of the main timeline, where everyone is waiting to meet you in your dreams.
