If you’ve spent any time wandering the mist-shrouded Windy Gorge area, you’ve almost certainly heard other players talking about the Where Winds Meet Li Laizuo boss fight. I ran into this encounter completely by accident last month, when I was trying to find a hidden chest I’d seen mentioned in a community forum. I went in underprepared, with only one healing charge left and a garbage fire damage build, and I got wiped in less than 30 seconds. I spent the next two hours testing different strategies and learning his attack patterns, and I put this guide together to help you avoid the same mistakes I made.
Where to Find the Where Winds Meet Li Laizuo Boss Encounter
The path to the arena starts at the Windy Gorge lower shrine. You’ll need to follow the stone path up the mountain, and stop at each of the three small wind shrines along the way to activate them. Each shrine requires you to defeat a small group of wind spirit mobs, and once all three are activated, the thick fog covering the path to the boss arena will clear. But don’t rush through this path, there are two hidden chests along the way with wind resistance pills and extra healing charges that will make the fight a lot easier.
If you try to climb up the side of the mountain to skip the shrines, you’ll hit an invisible wall, so there’s no way to skip this step. I learned that the hard way when I spent 20 minutes trying to glitch up the cliffside to avoid fighting the spirit mobs. That was a total waste of time. The Where Winds Meet Li Laizuo arena is also surrounded by steep cliffs, so don’t get backed into the edge, because he has a knockback attack that can push you off and kill you instantly, no matter how much health you have left.
Li Laizuo's Core Attack Patterns You Need to Memorize
Li Laizuo’s fight revolves around three main attack cycles, and once you learn how to counter each one, the fight becomes way more predictable. Most new players get overwhelmed because they try to react to attacks as they happen instead of anticipating what’s coming next. I’ve broken down his most common attacks below, so you know exactly what to watch for:
- Wind Slash Combo: Three quick horizontal slashes followed by a downward heavy strike. The first three hits have a 0.3s dodge window each, and the heavy strike has a longer 0.7s window if you dodge backward. Don’t try to parry the first three slashes unless you’re very confident in your timing, because missing a parry here will take off almost half your health.
- Gale Jump: He leaps 10 feet into the air and slams his wind-infused blade into the ground, creating a shockwave that covers half the arena. Dodge sideways right before he lands to avoid damage, or parry the impact to stun him for 2 full seconds if you get the timing right.
- Whirlwind Barrage: He spins in a circle for 3 seconds, launching small wind projectiles in all directions. Stand behind the broken stone pillar in the center of the arena to block all projectiles without taking damage. Don’t try to run through the projectiles, even if you have high wind resistance, because they stack damage very quickly.
Most new players make the mistake of trying to attack Li Laizuo during his Whirlwind Barrage attack, but that’s almost always a bad idea. The projectiles move fast, and even if you dodge one, there’s usually another right behind it that will hit you. Once he finishes the barrage, he’ll be stunned for 2 full seconds, which is the perfect time to land a few heavy attacks. When he hits 30% health, his eyes will start glowing blue, and that’s your sign that he’s entering his enrage phase. All of his attacks will be 20% faster, and he’ll add a new grab attack that will one-shot you if it connects. You can parry this attack if you time your parry right as his hand reaches you, but if you’re not confident in your parry skills, just stay at least 10 feet away from him when you see him rear back with his left hand.
Best Build and Items to Bring to the Fight
The right build and items can cut the difficulty of this fight in half, so don’t skip this step if you’ve been struggling to get past his first phase. I tested 7 different builds during my practice runs, and these are the ones that worked the best for both melee and caster playstyles.
If you’re playing a pure melee build, the Thunder Slash Sword is the best weapon you can bring to this fight. Its lightning damage interrupts Li Laizuo’s wind charge animations twice as fast as physical or fire damage, so you can stun him more often and stop him from launching his most powerful attacks. If you’re playing a caster build, the Thunder Cloud Spell is ideal, because it can hit him even when he’s in the air during his Gale Jump attack, so you don’t have to waste time waiting for him to land to deal damage.
You should also bring at least two Wind Resistance Pills with you. These pills reduce all wind damage you take by 40% for two minutes, which cuts the damage from his projectile attacks and slash combos almost in half. You can craft these pills at any blacksmith using three wind flower petals and one crystal shard, so you don’t have to waste 500 coins each buying them from the merchant in the main town. Fire damage builds are basically useless here, by the way. His wind aura extinguishes all fire attacks, so they only deal 50% of their normal damage. I learned that when I showed up to my first fight with my favorite fire sword, and none of my attacks were doing any noticeable damage. Save yourself the frustration and swap to a lightning or physical build before you head up to the arena.
Hidden Loot and Rewards You Get for Beating Li Laizuo
The rewards for beating this fight are well worth the effort, even if you have to wipe a dozen times to get there. Most players often skip this fight because they think it’s too hard, but you’ll miss out on some of the best mid-game items in the entire game if you do that.
The first reward you get for beating the Where Winds Meet Li Laizuo fight is the Wind Cutter Blade, which is one of the best mid-game melee weapons in the game. It has a passive effect that adds 15% wind damage to all of your attacks, and its special skill launches a long-range wind slash that can hit up to five enemies at once. It’s perfect for clearing out large groups of mobs in the Windy Gorge area, and it’s strong enough that you can use it all the way until you reach the final area of the game.
You also unlock the Wind Walk ability, which lets you glide across long gaps in the Where Winds Meet region. This ability unlocks three new hidden areas that you can’t access any other way, including the Sky Temple, which has a legendary chest that drops a 5-star wind resistance armor set. There’s also a 10% chance that Li Laizuo will drop the rare Li Laizuo Mask cosmetic item when you beat him. This mask lets you walk past all of the wind spirit mobs in the Windy Gorge area without them attacking you, which makes exploring the region a lot easier. I got the mask on my sixth try, so if you want to farm for it, you can just rest at lower Windy Gorge shrine after beating him, and he’ll respawn every time.
At the end of the day, the Where Winds Meet Li Laizuo fight isn’t as hard as it seems at first glance. Once you memorize his attack patterns and come prepared with the right build and items, you can beat him in just a few tries. Don’t get discouraged if you wipe a few times at first, that’s just part of how boss fights work. Take your time, focus on dodging instead of spamming attacks, and you’ll get him down before you know it. I still go back and fight him every once in a while just to practice my parry timings, and it’s still one of my favorite boss fights in the entire game.
