Most Mystic Skills in Where Winds Meet come from completing questssuch as the Cries in Distance quest, stealing techniques, or opening chests scattered across the world. Drunken Poet? You unlock it by getting blackout drunk. Seriously.
This offensive Mystic Skill is a hand-to-hand combat technique that delivers a stylish five-hit combo with solid damage output. It’s inspired by the legendary Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, whose famously unpredictable drunken movements were supposedly turned into a martial art by his companions. The skill embodies that same chaotic grace—and the unlock method fits the theme perfectly.
Here’s everything you need to know about getting this “secret” skill and putting it to good use.
Check: Where Winds Meet Complete Guide
How to Unlock Drunken Poet in Where Winds Meet
The unlock condition is straightforward: drink wine until your character develops alcohol poisoning. The tricky part is actually getting enough wine to reach that state.
Step-by-step process:
- Find the Honest Merchant (Hao Jiu) – He’s located between Blissful Retreat and Harvestfall Village. If he’s not showing up, switch to Online Mode.
- Buy wine – He sells several types of wine, limited to five bottles per day for each type. Stock up on at least 8-10 bottles to be safe. Each bottle costs around 9,998 Coins, so make sure your wallet can handle it.Managing your home base effectively can help with resource generation.
- Drink everything – Open your inventory and consume the wine bottles one after another until you get the “Wasted” debuff followed by “Alcohol Poisoning.”
- Pass out and learn – Once you hit alcohol poisoning, your character will pass out, and Drunken Poet unlocks automatically.
The exact number of bottles needed varies between players—some unlock it around 8 bottles, others need closer to 14. Having 10 on hand is a solid middle ground.
Quick Tip: If you’re low on Coins, check out our guide on breaking through level caps and earning exploration points to help fund your drinking habit.
How to Cure Alcohol Poisoning
After unlocking the skill, you’ll probably want to sober up. You have a few options:
- Wait it out – The debuff eventually wears off on its own
- Visit Yaoyao at Evercare Clinic – Located in Still Shore, she can heal your alcohol poisoning instantly
- Get healed by another player – If you’re playing with friends
For more on managing status effects, our how to heal illness guide covers the basics.
How to Use Drunken Poet Effectively
Once unlocked, here’s how the skill works in combat:
- First press: Your character drinks from a wine gourd, gaining the “Intoxicated” buff for 30 seconds
- Subsequent presses: While Intoxicated, you can press the skill button up to five more times to unleash a hand-to-hand combo dealing Physical and Other Attribute damage
- Vitality cost: Each strike consumes 6 Vitality (the segmented ring between your ability icons)
Combat Tips:
The drinking animation locks you in place briefly, so don’t activate Drunken Poet while enemies are mid-swing at your face. Use it pre-emptively—get the Intoxicated buff before engaging, then weave the combo hits into your regular attacks.
- Against stance-broken enemies: This is where Drunken Poet shines. Unload all five hits on a staggered boss for massive burst damage. If you’re struggling with tough bosses like Elder Gongsun or Qianye, having Drunken Poet ready can make a real difference.
- Combo flexibility: You don’t have to use all five hits consecutively. Mix individual strikes between your regular weapon attacks for unpredictable pressure.
- PvP applications: The ability to throw unexpected hand-to-hand attacks mid-combo can catch opponents off guard and mess with their timing.
Drunken Poet Tier Bonuses
Like other Mystic Skills, Drunken Poet has four tiers with nine ranks each. Upgrading requires Ebon Iron for ranks and Vicious Fruit for tier promotions.
The tier bonuses are worth knowing about:
- Tier 2: Casting skills grants 15% damage reduction and Tenacity, making you harder to interrupt
- Tier 3: Hits apply “Drunken Haze” to enemies. If a target with Drunken Haze gets hit with Ignition (fire effects), the Drunken Haze detonates for bonus Physical damage
- Tier 4: Further enhances the Tenacity effect when casting skills
That Tier 3 synergy with Ignition effects is particularly interesting—if you’re running fire-based abilities, Drunken Poet becomes a powerful combo tool.
Is Drunken Poet Worth It?
For a skill that costs nothing but some Coins and temporary liver damage, absolutely. It’s a solid burst damage option that works well against bosses and adds variety to your combat toolkit. The animations look great, and there’s something satisfying about stumbling around drunk and beating enemies senseless with your fists.
Just don’t forget it exists after you unlock it. Drunken Poet pairs especially well with builds that can apply Ignition, and the Tenacity bonuses at higher tiers give it defensive utility too.If you want to customize your look, check out our guide on changing appearance and hairstyles.
More Where Winds Meet Guides
Getting started in Jianghu? These guides will help:
- Best Starting Weapons Guide
- Tips and Tricks for Beginners
- How to Fly
- All Sects and How to Join Them
- How to Get More Healing Charges
For quest help:
Where Winds Meet is available on Steam, PlayStation, and mobile platforms. Visit the official website for more information.
