First 3 hours: just play the story
The opening campaign in Bianjing teaches movement, parry timing, mystic skills, and the sect system without grinding. Don't skip cutscenes — Whitecrown Fortress and the Hexi arc both reference characters from the opening.
Resist the urge to read tier lists yet. Damage in this game leans heavily on execution (parry windows, weapon-swap timing, mystic-skill cancels). A B-tier path you can play well outperforms an S-tier you can't.
First week: the four habits
- Burn Mental Energy daily. It caps fast. Capping wastes time-equivalent progression. Two short sessions a day beat one long one.
- Clear the weekly dungeon, outpost battle, and sect tasks. These three carry the bulk of refinement materials and are the highest-ROI content in the game. Everything else is filler. The Weekly Priorities tracker ranks them.
- Pick a martial path you like. Don't grind one you read was "best". The 7 paths are balanced enough that personal feel > tier letter. See the Builds Explorer for compatible inner ways.
- Redeem all active codes once. Free Echo Jade and Inner Way Notes — see the Codes page (one redeem per account, codes expire end of May 2026).
Resource mistakes to avoid
- Don't 5★ refine your first weapon. Refinement costs scale steeply. The first weapon you enjoy is rarely the one you'll play at level cap. Cap refinement at 3★ until you've reached level 80+.
- Don't burn Inner Way Notes on General-pool inner ways. Save them for path-specific inner ways once you've committed. The Builds Explorer shows priority bands per path.
- Hold currency before patch drops. The CN→Global Forecaster shows what's queued. Major patches often add shop sinks that are better than current rotations.
- Don't chase every limited cosmetic. The vault rotates. Pick 1-2 you actually want; let the rest go. Surething Feathers (Battle Pass) refresh every season.
Picking a martial path: the short version
- Want to learn fast & deal solid damage: Bellstrike — Umbra (bleed stacks, easy ramp).
- Want a high skill ceiling: Bellstrike — Splendor or Bamboocut — Wind. Both reward execution; both punish mistakes.
- Want to play with a group / be wanted in PvE: Silkbind — Deluge. Healer/sustain, never short on group invites.
- Want to tank or play heavy melee: Stonesplit — Might. Forgiving, hits hard, easy to learn.
- Want to PvP duel: Bamboocut — Wind. S-tier in v1.6 but unforgiving — practice in Training Terrace before ranked.
See the full breakdown with weapons, inner ways, and tier reads on the Builds Explorer.
Reset cycle quick reference
- Daily reset: 21:00 your local time.
- Weekly reset: Sunday 21:00 your local time.
- Server uses your local clock — no UTC offset to memorize.
Live countdown on the Reset Timer page.
What's coming next
Global is on v1.6 (Flows of Dreams). CN is several months ahead. The biggest confirmed item on the horizon is the next Battle Pass season closing the Half-Anniversary chapter, and the long-teased "Imperial Palace" expansion. Track the Forecaster to know what to save resources for before it lands.