Where Winds Meet Mounts Guide: Every Horse, Every Skill, Which Ones Actually Matter
Where Winds Meet has 25 mounts including horses you can steal, a rideable goose, and a goddamn boat, and understanding which ones are worth your time saves a lot of frustration.
Mounts in Where Winds Meet are primarily horses that let you travel faster across the massive open world. The most basic function is increased movement speed, but rare and premium mounts offer unique abilities that make traversing Qinghe and Kaifeng significantly easier. Some mounts let you treasure hunt automatically. Others allow double jumping or even auto-pilot navigation to destinations. The difference between a basic captured horse and a premium mount is substantial, and knowing which mounts to prioritize can dramatically improve your exploration experience.
You'll get your first mount incredibly early through a story quest where you literally knock a thief off his stolen horse and take it for yourself. From there, you can expand your stable through horse theft, capturing wild horses at Stallion Ranches, purchasing premium mounts with Echo Beads, or unlocking event-exclusive mounts through milestones. Each mount has its own skill set affecting traversal, collection, or exploration capabilities.
This guide covers how to unlock your first mount, all the ways to get additional mounts, every mount currently available with their skills and stats, which mounts are worth investing in, and how the mount system actually works beyond just "press button to go faster."
Getting Your First Mount (It's Basically Robbery)
You unlock mounts very early in Where Winds Meet, so you won't be walking for long. Your first mount comes from a story quest during Chapter One: Heaven Has No Pier. After completing the tutorial, you and Ruby head toward General's Shrine. Near the temple, you encounter Roundy, an ill-mannered bastard who just stole a horse.
When he finishes shouting at you, a side objective appears telling you to chase Roundy. Catch up to him and interact to pull him off the horse and claim it for yourself. You'll see a notification at the top of your screen saying "Horse Obtained." Congratulations, you're now a horse thief too. This starter mount is named Clip-Clop and comes with Swift and Surging Vitality skills. It's free, reliable, and sets the baseline for what mounts can do.
Once you complete this quest, the full mount system unlocks and you gain access to the Mounts tab in the Appearance menu. Here you can see all potential mounts, check their skills, read stats, and get "How to Obtain" tips for future acquisitions.
All Ways to Get More Mounts
After unlocking the mount system, you have multiple methods for expanding your stable. Some are free through gameplay, others require spending Echo Beads, and a few are locked behind gacha or events.
Horse Capture lets you tame wild horses at Stallion Ranches and open fields. Select a mount from the Exploration Rewards list in your menu, choose "Horse Capture," and follow the map marker to locations where that specific breed roams. This is the primary free-to-play method for getting new mounts.
Snatch Horse is exactly what it sounds like. Select "Snatch Horse" in a mount's menu to see where you can ambush riders and steal their horses directly. Some mounts are only obtainable through theft from enemies or NPCs traveling roads. It's morally questionable but mechanically straightforward.
Cash Shop mounts require Echo Beads. Premium options like Spirited Courser, Qin Horse, White-browed Goose, Snow Oath, and Horskie are available for direct purchase. These premium mounts come with multiple epic or legendary skills that significantly outperform captured horses. The price ranges from 60 Echo Beads for Snow Oath up to 1280 for top-tier options.
Draw system (gacha) contains unique mounts like Ghostride. This mount has the highest stats in the game with Elegance 3000 and multiple legendary skills including Swallow Steps for double jumping. It's gacha exclusive, meaning you're gambling for it rather than buying directly.
Event rewards and milestones occasionally provide exclusive mounts. Veilstride came from the 15 Million Wanderers Gathered celebration. These are time-limited and usually tied to major population milestones or special occasions.
Exploration Rewards unlock many standard horses through completing map objectives, regional research, and finding specific breeds while exploring. These are free but require investing time into exploration activities.
Scheme Exchange is a special method for the Mirage Boat mount. You need to collect and exchange 170 Diagrams in the Cash Shop to construct this boat. It's technically premium but obtained through a different currency system than direct Echo Bead purchases.
Every Mount Currently Available
Where Winds Meet has 25 mounts split between free Exploration Rewards and premium Ingenious categories. Here's the complete roster with how to get them and what they offer.
Ghostride is the premium king obtained through Draw (gacha). Stats are Elegance 3000, Run 13, Sprint 16. Skills include Stars See, Swallow Steps (double jump), Treasure Seeking, Shape Shift, and Wayfinder. This is objectively the best mount in the game if you're willing to gamble for it.
Spirited Courser costs 1280 Echo Beads in the shop. Stats are Elegance 260, Run 12, Sprint 15. Skills include Petals Collection (auto-gather resources), Ride Together (two-player mounting), Shape Shift, Wayfinder, and Snuggle (special emote). Premium price but strong utility.
Qin Horse also costs 1280 Echo Beads. Same stats as Spirited Courser. Skills are Treasure Seeking (leads to nearest chest), Ride Together, Shape Shift, and Wayfinder. If you're buying one premium mount, this or Spirited Courser are the top choices.
Horskie costs 680 Echo Beads and is a rideable husky. Yes, seriously. Stats are Elegance 200, Run 11, Sprint 13. Skills include Ride Together, Shape Shift, and Wayfinder. Has different appearance levels unlocked with rank-up scrolls that increase the number of dogs summoned. It's goofy but functional.
White-browed Goose costs 680 Echo Beads. Stats are Elegance 200, Run 10, Sprint 13. Skills include Pecking Non-Stop (special emote), Shape Shift, and Wayfinder. Has appearance levels for summoning multiple geese. The description warns that Qinghe geese are aggressively territorial and will peck anyone. This mount is comedy gold.
Snow Oath is the cheapest premium option at 60 Echo Beads. Stats are Elegance 150, Run 12, Sprint 15. Skills include Collection (auto-pickup in follow mode), Ride Together, Shape Shift, and Wayfinder. Best budget premium mount if you want premium features without massive investment.
Veilstride was the 15 Million Wanderers event reward. Has Ride Together skill. Event-exclusive so if you missed it, you're out of luck unless it returns.
Mirage Boat requires exchanging 170 Diagrams in the Cash Shop. Stats are Elegance 10000. This is a painted boat that travels predetermined routes rather than being freely controlled. You can initiate it at dockyards and invite friends, or it cruises open world allowing server-wide participation. Unique utility for group travel.
Free Capturable Horses (The Exploration Rewards)
Li (Jet Black Steed) is obtained via Horse Capture or Snatch Horse. This is the best free mount in the game with an extensive skill list including Collection, Ride Together, Shape Shift, Water Affinity, Energy, Lightness, High Speed, Surging Vitality, Vitality, Treasure Seeking, and Petals Collection. If you're free-to-play, prioritize capturing Li. It has premium-tier skills without the premium price.
Hua (Flame Red Stallion) comes from Capture or Snatch. Stats are Run 10, Sprint 13. Skills include Water Affinity, Lightness, Energy, High Speed, Surging Vitality, and Vitality. Solid all-around mount for free players.
The various regional horses (Chizhui, Chibiao, Chibo, Xing, Jinbiao, Jinzhui, Jinbo, Cong, Qingbiao, Qingzhui, Qingbo, Wubiao, Wuzhui, Wubo) all come from Capture or Snatch methods. Most have similar stat ranges (Run 10, Sprint 13) with varying skill combinations of Water Affinity, Lightness, Energy, Surging Vitality, and Vitality. Skills are randomly rolled when you capture these horses, meaning you might get lucky and capture one with five useful skills or get unlucky with only two mediocre ones.
Clip-Clop is your starter mount from the story quest. Stats are Run 10, Sprint 13. Skills are Swift (3% sprint speed boost) and Surging Vitality (5 stamina recovery per second). It's functional but outclassed by basically everything else once you start capturing or buying mounts.
Understanding Mount Skills (What Actually Matters)
Mount skills are divided into four rarities: Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Premium and Draw mounts typically have 3-5 Epic or Legendary skills. Captured wild horses usually roll Uncommon or Rare skills with occasional Epic ones if you're lucky.
Mount Stats Explained (Elegance and Speed)
Mounts have two stat categories: Elegance and Speed. Elegance is a cosmetic stat affecting your character's appearance score. Premium mounts have significantly higher Elegance values ranging from 150 to 10,000. This doesn't affect gameplay performance but matters if you care about appearance ratings.
Speed is divided into Run and Sprint values. Run determines base movement speed. Sprint determines speed while sprinting (which drains stamina). Most free captured horses have Run 10, Sprint 13. Premium mounts range from Run 11-13 and Sprint 13-16.
The speed differences seem minor numerically but feel significant during actual play. A mount with Sprint 16 compared to Sprint 13 covers noticeably more ground before stamina depletes. Combined with skills like High Speed and Surging Vitality, premium mounts maintain high speeds substantially longer than basic captured horses.
Some mounts roll random skills and stats when captured. You might capture Wubo and get Run 10, Sprint 13 with two mediocre skills. Your friend captures the same breed and gets Run 12, Sprint 14 with five useful skills. This RNG element means capturing multiple horses of the same breed can be worthwhile gambling for better rolls.
Which Mounts Are Actually Worth Getting
If you're free-to-play, prioritize capturing Li (Jet Black Steed). It has the most extensive free skill set including premium-tier abilities like Treasure Seeking and Petals Collection. This single mount provides most premium mount functionality without spending Echo Beads.
If you're willing to spend minimally, Snow Oath at 60 Echo Beads is the best budget premium option. You get Collection, Ride Together, and Wayfinder for a fraction of the cost of top-tier mounts.
If you're spending big, Ghostride from Draw is objectively the best mount in the game. Swallow Steps alone justifies the investment for serious explorers. The 3000 Elegance and highest speed stats seal the deal. If gacha luck isn't your thing, Qin Horse or Spirited Courser at 1280 Echo Beads are guaranteed alternatives with strong skill sets.
Horskie and White-browed Goose are novelty mounts. The husky and goose are hilarious and functional but don't provide advantages over Qin Horse or Spirited Courser at similar price points. Buy these if you want comedy value, skip them if you're min-maxing.
Mirage Boat is unique utility for group play. If you regularly play with friends and want coordinated travel, it's worth the 170 Diagram investment. For solo players, it's basically useless.
The various regional horses (Chizhui, Chibiao, etc.) are fine if you're free-to-play and haven't captured Li yet. Farm a few to gamble for good skill rolls, but don't stress over collecting every breed unless you're a completionist.
How Mount Summoning Works
Summon your mount by pressing 6 on keyboard or Touchpad + Square on PlayStation. The mount appears instantly and you're automatically mounted. Dismiss by pressing the same button while mounted.
Mounts can panic or become unusable in unsafe situations like combat or certain environmental hazards. They don't die permanently but temporarily become unavailable until the threat passes. Once safe, summon them again normally.
If you're using a mount with Ride Together, approach a friend and interact to invite them onto your mount. They accept and you both ride together with you controlling direction. Useful for helping undergeared friends travel faster or coordinating exploration with partners.
Mounts with Wayfinder require selecting a destination marker on your map, then activating Wayfinder. The mount auto-navigates following roads and avoiding obstacles. You can stop at any time by manually controlling the mount or dismounting.
Where Winds Meet's mount system provides significant quality-of-life improvements for exploring the massive open world. The difference between your starter Clip-Clop and a fully-skilled premium or Li mount is night and day. Faster travel, automatic resource collection, treasure finding, and double jumping transform exploration from tedious walking into efficient traversal.
Free-to-play players should focus on capturing Li for premium-tier functionality without spending. Budget spenders get incredible value from Snow Oath at 60 Echo Beads. Big spenders chasing the absolute best should either gamble for Ghostride or buy Qin Horse/Spirited Courser for guaranteed top-tier mounts.
Don't sleep on mount skills. The difference between a mount with just Vitality versus one with Treasure Seeking, Petals Collection, and High Speed dramatically affects gameplay experience. Prioritize mounts with Epic skills over ones with only Uncommon or Rare skills when possible.
And yes, you can absolutely ride a goose. Where Winds Meet is weird like that, and honestly? I respect it.