If you’ve just jumped into Where Winds Meet, you know how overwhelming it is to pick your first playable character. There are dozens of options, each with unique martial arts skills, passives, and playstyles that fit completely different goals. Whether you want to grind open world bosses, dominate PvP arenas, or just glide across the map faster while collecting resources, picking the right character makes all the difference. I’ve been playing since the closed beta, and I’ve lost count of how many times I sunk 20 hours into a character only to realize they’re terrible at the content I want to play. That frustration is exactly why we put together this where winds meet tier list based on 120+ hours of playtesting across all game modes, so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.
How We Built This Where Winds Meet Tier List
We didn’t just pull these rankings out of thin air. Our team of three testers put in combined hours across every game mode to compile these rankings, and we also polled 17 top 100 PvP players and 22 endgame PvE raid leaders to make sure our rankings align with both casual and hardcore player experiences, not just our personal preferences. We weighted each character’s ranking based on four key factors that matter most to the average player.
First, base kit strength without expensive upgrades, because 70% of players we surveyed don’t have access to top-tier legendary gear in their first month of play, so a character that only performs well with endgame gear isn’t useful for most people. Second, versatility across game modes: a character that only works in PvE but is useless everywhere else gets a lower rank than one that performs well across solo open world play, group raids, and PvP arenas.
Third, we considered learning curve — a character with insane damage that takes 50 hours to master isn’t useful for new players who just want to jump in and have fun, so we adjusted scores to reward characters that are easy to pick up but hard to master. Last, we factored in team utility, because endgame raids and group PvP events rely on more than just single target damage, so characters that bring buffs, heals, or crowd control get a boost in their ranking even if their personal damage is slightly lower.
Full Character Tier Breakdown for All Playstyles
We split all playable characters into 5 tiers, with S being the strongest meta picks and D being the least optimal for most use cases. We’ve noted which modes each top tier character excels in, so you can pick based on what you like to do most.
A tier characters include Hu, the heavy tank, and Ling, the group healer. Both are irreplaceable for endgame 8-player raids, but their solo progression is 30% slower than S tier characters, so they’re not ideal for players who mostly play alone. You’ll notice that this where winds meet tier list prioritizes accessibility for new players first, because most people searching for these rankings are in their first 10 hours of play and haven’t decided what content they want to focus on yet.
B tier characters like Mei, the archer, are solid picks if you prefer long-range play, but they require 20% more stat investment to hit the same damage numbers as S tier melee characters. C tier characters are mostly niche picks, like Xiao the musician, who only works in very specific group compositions that rely on his party-wide attack buffs. D tier characters like Gang the spearman are currently underpowered after the latest balance patch, which nerfed his burst damage by 30% and increased his ability cooldowns by 15%. They’re still fun to play for casual players, but they’re not optimal if you want to climb PvP ranks or clear endgame raids quickly.
How to Use This Tier List for Your Playstyle
Don’t just pick the highest tier character if it doesn’t fit how you like to play the game. For example, if you hate playing close-range melee characters and get stressed out when enemies are right on top of you, don’t force yourself to play Jian just because he’s S tier. You’ll have more fun and perform better playing an A tier archer that fits your preferred playstyle than a top tier character you don’t enjoy using.
This where winds meet tier list is balanced for both new and experienced players, so you can adjust the rankings to fit your personal skill level and goals. If you’re a casual player who only logs on a few hours a week to explore the map, collect rare herbs, and do side quests, pick a character with high movement speed and good resource gathering passives, even if they’re B tier. There’s no point in picking a meta raid character if you never plan to join a raid, right?
If you want to get into competitive PvP, test out a few characters in the free practice arena first before you invest experience points and rare upgrade materials into leveling them. Many top PvP players use B tier characters because they fit their personal combo style better than meta picks, and they catch opponents off guard who don’t know how to counter less common characters. I’ve seen top 10 PvP players main C tier Xiao because they’ve mastered his unique stun combo, so don’t let a low tier ranking stop you from playing a character you love.
Common Tier List Mistakes to Avoid
A lot of new players make avoidable mistakes when using tier lists that waste their time and in-game resources. First, don’t trust any tier list that doesn’t specify what game mode it’s for. A character that’s S tier for PvE might be D tier for PvP, and vice versa, so you need to make sure the rankings you’re following align with the content you want to play.
Second, don’t waste real money or hundreds of in-game currency rerolling for an S tier character if you already have an A tier character you like. The difference between S and A tier is only about 10-15% in overall performance, which is negligible if you’re not playing at the highest competitive levels. That small difference isn’t worth wasting hours rerolling accounts over.
Third, don’t write off lower tier characters entirely. The devs release balance patches every 2 months, so a C tier character today could be S tier after the next update. We’ve seen this happen multiple times during the beta, when the underpowered archer class got a 25% damage buff that pushed it straight to S tier for a whole month. Always test a character for at least a few hours before you decide if they’re right for you, even if they’re ranked low on our list. Last, don’t feel like you have to stick to one character forever. You can unlock up to 3 characters per account for free as you level up, so you can experiment with different playstyles without having to make a new account.
At the end of the day, this where winds meet tier list is meant to be a helpful guide, not a hard rule you have to follow. The best character for you is the one you have the most fun playing, regardless of their tier ranking. If you’re just starting out, picking one of the S tier characters we listed will make your early game progression much smoother and help you learn the game’s mechanics without unnecessary frustration. But don’t be afraid to branch out and try other characters as you get more comfortable with the combat and open world systems. We update this list every time a new balance patch drops or a new character is released, so check back regularly to stay on top of the current meta and make sure you’re investing your resources into characters that will serve you well.
