Where Winds Meet has taken a big step forward with the Version 1.1 update, titled Timeless Bonds. Released right after The Game Awards 2025, this update expands the world of Kaifeng, pushes the story ahead, and adds new systems, events, and quality-of-life improvements.
If you’re already deep into the Jianghu, this update gives you plenty of reasons to return. If you’re new, it makes the early and mid-game experience much smoother.
Where Winds Meet 1.1 Patch Notes
A New Region Opens in Kaifeng: Roaring Sands
The new version, 1.1, expands the region of Kaifeng entirely by unveiling Roaring Sands, also referred as the massive area of the new map that almost equals to one third of the city’s total map.
The deserts, ruins, caves, and even some hidden locations that were all but inaccessible are now part of your exploration. With the new area, Kaifeng has become a place to explore with more parts of the landscape having puzzles, dungeons, and rewards.
However, Roaring Sands is not just about exploring. It has also opened up the door to the biggest additions of the update, such as new story content and strong enemies.
The new campaig,n called River Maste,r is the most important feature of the update, which is the new main campaign that keeps telling the central story.
To get to it, you must go through Roaring Sands and unlock the Heavenfall campaign path. This chapter goes deeper into the political and martial conflicts that are influencing the Jianghu, putting you against new threats that are related to the hidden history of Kaifeng.
The campaign brings more intense battles, new places, and story-driven encounters that feel more dynamic than the previous chapters.
New World Boss: Feng Ruzhi
Roaring Sands is also home to Feng Ruzhi, a new open-world boss. This is a large-scale encounter designed for players who enjoy challenging fights and strong rewards. Feng Ruzhi is not tied to a single quest, so you can seek him out once you are strong enough and ready for a serious test of skill.
Velvet Shade Sect Becomes Joinable
One of the most important changes in Version 1.1 is the introduction of Velvet Shade as a joinable sect. While it had been mentioned before, this is the first time you can actually become a member. Velvet Shade focuses on secrecy, schemes, and indirect influence rather than open combat.
Joining the sect unlocks a reputation system, discipline progression, and special investigations through the Jianghu Legacy quest Shadows in Bloom. More sect-related items and appearances will also be available through the Velvet Shade shop in the future.
New Gameplay System: Gossip Paper
The update introduces a completely new social system named Gossip Paper. This functionality allows you to collect and disseminate information all over Kaifeng, thereby exposing a very discreet way of communicating with the universe.
Once you reach a certain stage in the main story, you will be able to get gossip from tea stalls, taverns, and paperboys throughout the city.
Gossip Paper is a means of exploration and observation that invites players who are looking for clues through NPC behavior and hidden signs to receive the reward.
Taiping Mausoleum Challenge
The version 1.1 gives access to the Taiping Mausoleum, a new challenge mode that is incorporated into Path Trials. This is a non-stop activity that resets every week; thus you are always forced to reach the higher floors for more rewards.
Along the way, the player gets rewarded with posing characters, decorations, inscriptions, and essential development materials.
This mode is for players who love challenges that are well-structured and entail long-term development.
New Events and Mobile Release
The update also launches alongside the mobile version of Where Winds Meet. To celebrate, several limited-time events are now live.
These include seasonal activities like Fresh Wind, New Year, which brings festive quests and exclusive rewards, and The Great Faceologist, a character customization event focused on creativity rather than combat.
These events reward appearances, titles, and cosmetics while encouraging players to explore Kaifeng and refine their characters.
New Outfits, Mounts, and Customization Options
Version 1.1 adds a large number of new cosmetic items, including outfits, weapon skins, echo appearances, hairstyles, and a new mount.
A major improvement comes with the outfit split feature, which allows certain appearances to be separated into top and bottom pieces. This gives you more control over how your character looks and opens the door for deeper customization in future updates.
Quality-of-Life Improvements and Fixes
Alongside new content, the update brings many technical improvements. Dialogue issues, missing voice lines, and audio problems have been fixed.
Combat controls for controllers are smoother, Mystic Skill usage is clearer, and server routing issues in some regions have been resolved. Guild events now display times in your local time zone, and important settings can be adjusted directly from the login screen.
