How to Upgrade Inner Ways and Solve Mysteries in Where Winds Meet

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There are countless systems working together in Where Winds Meet, and just developing your character requires learning more than a few mechanics to stay effective as challenges get tougher.

One of the most meaningful ways to get stronger and create a powerful build is by unlocking and mastering Inner Ways. There are many Inner Ways in the game, but all of them can have significant effects when paired with the right build. Let’s go through each one.

What Are Inner Ways?

Inner Ways are passive effects you can equip on your character. Some have simple effects, while others can completely change how you play, especially when combined with certain weapons. Your character can equip up to four Inner Ways at once, and all their effects will add together. Inner Ways come in four rarity levels, which mostly indicate how strong they are. Once you unlock an Inner Way, you own it forever—you can’t lose it.

Note: You can only equip one of each Inner Way, meaning no duplicates.

How to Unlock Inner Ways

Every Inner Way must be unlocked before you can use it. The game provides initial clues for each, which grow clearer as you discover more. Some Inner Ways are unlocked at the end of specific quests or as rewards from certain Lost Chapters. Usually, you get a scroll that lets you unlock the Inner Way immediately, but some require finding multiple pieces before unlocking.

Once an Inner Way is unlocked, it remains yours permanently. They can be unlocked only through gameplay—spending money won’t unlock the most powerful Inner Ways faster.

How to Upgrade Inner Ways

After unlocking an Inner Way, you can upgrade it to become stronger by performing Breakthroughs. To do this, you need to gather Notes, which are mainly obtained from Inner Way Note chests. The notes you get are random, so there’s no guaranteed way to upgrade your favorite Inner Ways quickly.

Every Inner Way has a skill tree that progresses along a set path. When you perform a Breakthrough, you unlock the next node in this tree, advancing in order—not choosing specific skills. Some upgrades will boost stats, like increasing percentage bonuses, while others will grant new effects. For example, reaching Tier Three of the Echoes of Oblivion Inner Way gives you the Samsara effect on a Perfect Dodge, increasing HP damage dealt to enemies affected by Sin Incarnate and Karmic Harvest.

List of All Inner Ways and Their Effects

Currently, there are 37 Inner Ways, divided into three rarity levels. Higher rarity Inner Ways tend to be more complex and specialized but are useful regardless of rarity depending on your needs. Here are some examples:

Name	Effect	Rarity
Sword Morph	Nameless Sword’s charged attack releases multiple energy blasts if Qi Shield is active.	Legendary
Royal Remedy	Boosts Panacea Fan’s Cloudburst Healing clone’s effect by 10%. You gain a Dew each time you are healed.	Legendary
Exquisite Scenery	Using Thundercry Blade adds a Charged Heavy Attack without charging; can restore 1 Battle Will bar.	Legendary
Echoes Of Oblivion	Regular Light Attacks apply Sin; in Flameslash, apply Karma. Enemies hit with both ignore 10% Physical Defense and Bamboocut Resistance.	Legendary

Some Inner Ways are only effective with specific weapons or skills, so it’s best to equip only those that benefit your character’s build and update them when changing equipment.

The Inner Way Tips Conversion System

There’s a system called Tips Conversion allowing you to exchange notes from one Inner Way for those of another. Although somewhat confusingly described, it offers flexibility.

You are limited to four free conversions per season, with a total of eight conversions possible. Once you reach this limit, you must wait until the next season to convert more notes.

You can only convert notes between Inner Ways of the same rarity—for example, Legendary to Legendary. Common Inner Ways can’t be converted, and all conversions are limited to within their rarity level.