When I first booted up Where Winds Meet, I spent three hours wandering the lush riverside villages before I even stumbled on my first sect recruiter. I’d heard rumors of players mastering both Taoist healing spells and bandit brawling techniques, so the first question I typed into my search bar was where winds meet can you join multiple sects. If you’re the same type of player who hates being boxed into a single playstyle, this guide breaks down everything you need to know about sect affiliation, benefits, and limitations before you sign any oaths. I’ve put 120+ hours into the game across three separate playthroughs, so I’ve tested every possible sect combination to save you the frustration of locked content or wasted progress.
Where Winds Meet: Can You Join Multiple Sects, Or Are You Locked to One?
The short answer is that you cannot join multiple major sects on a single playthrough, but there are big exceptions for smaller, non-combat factions. Major sects include iconic groups like Mount Hua Sect, Qingcheng Taoist Sect, the Beggars’ Gang, and the Shadow Assassin Guild, all of which require you to take a formal loyalty oath during initiation. You will automatically be locked out of all other major sect questlines the second you accept a formal initiation into one.
I tested this out on my first playthrough by trying to sign up for both Mount Hua and the Beggars’ Gang, and the recruiter for Mount Hua immediately turned me away once he saw I’d already taken the Beggars’ oath. There’s no workaround for this, even if you use exploits, as the game’s quest system is hard-coded to block overlapping major sect questlines. That said, you don’t have to pick a major sect at all if you don’t want to. You can play the entire game as a wandering independent warrior, though you will miss out on a lot of exclusive story content and high-tier skills.
So where do those rumors of players having multiple sect skills come from? Most of the time, they’re referring to players who have joined minor factions alongside a major sect, or players who left one sect to join another later in the game. Both of these options are allowed, and they don’t break any game rules, as long as you understand the tradeoffs.
Key Differences Between Major Sects and Minor Factions
To avoid confusion, it’s important to draw a clear line between major sects and minor factions, since they follow completely different affiliation rules. Major sects are the large, combat-focused groups with their own full story arcs, unique martial arts skills, and endgame exclusive content. Each major sect aligns with a specific playstyle: Mount Hua is for fast sword users, Qingcheng is for magic and healing focused players, the Beggars’ Gang is for brawlers, and the Shadow Assassin Guild is for stealth players.
Minor factions are smaller, utility-focused groups that don’t have their own full story campaigns, but offer useful perks for your playthrough. Minor factions never conflict with major sect loyalty requirements, so you don’t have to worry about losing access to your swordsmanship lessons if you sign up for the merchant guild. Some of the most useful minor factions you can join alongside any major sect include:
- Herbalist Guild: Unlocks rare potion recipe access and 15% discount on all healing supplies from vendors across the map
- Jianghu Bounty Hunters Association: Gives 25% higher payout for open world bounties and exclusive elite enemy tracking markers on your map
- River Merchant Alliance: Reduces fast travel costs by 40% and lets you sell looted gear for 20% more silver at all market stalls
- Mount Emei Disciples Auxiliary: Grants access to basic group healing spells even if you join a purely combat-focused major sect
These minor factions have no affiliation limits, and their quests don’t interfere with major sect quests at all. You can join every single minor faction in the game on a single playthrough with no negative consequences, so I recommend signing up for all of them as soon as you unlock them. The perks add up very quickly, and they make even the hardest endgame bosses much easier to beat.
What Happens If You Leave a Sect to Join a Different One?
If you decide halfway through a playthrough that you hate your chosen sect’s playstyle, you do have the option to leave and join a different major sect, but it comes with steep penalties. First, you will lose all exclusive sect skills that you did not fully master to 100% completion. Any skill you only partially learned will be wiped from your skill tree entirely, and you won’t be able to get it back even if you rejoin the sect later.
Second, you will lose 50% of your accumulated loyalty points with the sect you leave, and you will be locked out of rejoining for 30 in-game days. Any ongoing sect quests will be automatically failed, and some sect-specific story content will become permanently unavailable, as the game treats your departure as a betrayal of the sect’s trust. Never leave a sect right before you unlock a high-tier skill, as you will lose all progress toward that unlock permanently.
I learned this the hard way when I left the Beggars’ Gang to join Qingcheng because I wanted to learn their sword skills. I lost access to my half-mastered drunken fist technique, and all the NPC friends I’d made in the gang’s storyline refused to talk to me for the rest of the playthrough. It’s not worth it unless you’re intentionally trying to roleplay a disloyal character. If you really want to try multiple sect playstyles, creating a second character is far less frustrating than abandoning your first save mid-playthrough.
Tips to Maximize Your Sect Affiliation Benefits
Now that you understand the rules for sect affiliation, there are a few easy tips you can follow to get the most out of your chosen group without missing out on content. First, test out sect skills before you commit to joining. Almost every major sect recruiter will let you try 2-3 basic skills for free in a controlled training area, so you can see if the playstyle fits your preferences before you take the loyalty oath. I’ve seen too many players lock themselves into a stealth sect only to realize they hate sneaking around missions.
Second, join all minor factions first before you pick a major sect. Minor faction quests are very quick to complete early in the game, and you can unlock all their perks in 2-3 hours of playtime. If you wait until later to join them, you’ll have to split your time between minor faction quests, major sect story quests, and main story missions, which can feel overwhelming. If you prioritize sect loyalty quests during the first 10 hours of your playthrough, you can unlock a legendary sect-specific weapon before you fight the first major story boss. That weapon will make all early game content trivial, so it’s well worth the time investment.
Third, check the alignment requirements for your chosen sect before you apply. Many sects have morality or reputation requirements that you won’t see until you try to join. For example, you can’t join the Qingcheng Sect if you have a negative morality score from robbing villagers or killing innocent NPCs, and you can’t join the Beggars’ Gang if you have a high reputation with the corrupt imperial army. If you have your eye on a specific sect, adjust your playstyle early to meet those requirements, so you don’t get turned away when you finally reach their headquarters.
At the end of the day, the answer to where winds meet can you join multiple sects depends entirely on what type of groups you’re talking about. You can’t stack multiple major sect affiliations, but you can pair any major sect with every minor faction in the game to build a custom playstyle that fits your preferences. Don’t rush your choice of major sect, take time to test out different skills, and you’ll end up with a character that feels uniquely yours. I’ve played through the game 3 times with different sect choices, and each run feels completely fresh, so don’t be afraid to experiment with a new save if you want to try something different.
