What Is Vernal Umbrella? (Overview)
The Vernal Umbrella (also known as the Ninefold Umbrella) is a unique ranged martial arts weapon in Where Winds Meet, offering players a safe, distance-based combat style with exceptional mobility and crowd control capabilities. Unlike its healing-focused counterpart, the Soulshade Umbrella, this offensive variant excels at targeting individual enemies from beyond their reach while maintaining superior battlefield positioning through immobilization, airborne launches, and consistent projectile pressure.
This weapon is one of the only true pure Ranged DPS options in the game. It is effective at all levels of play — particularly good for beginners learning the game safely from range, and exceptionally powerful in the hands of skilled players who can reach its skill ceiling. When paired with the Inkwell Fan, it forms a full ranged DPS core that barely needs to commit to melee.
Current Tier Rating: S-Tier for PvE after the latest patch. Vernal Umbrella + Inkwell Fan has climbed to S-tier thanks to Lingering Bone giving the Inkwell Fan a major power boost and much stronger overall synergy, making it one of the top PvE weapon pairings in the game.
For players seeking alternatives to melee combat weapons like the Nameless Sword or Stormbreaker Spear, the Vernal Umbrella provides a refreshing tactical approach that prioritizes control and sustained damage output.
How to Get Vernal Umbrella in Where Winds Meet
There are two primary methods to unlock the Vernal Umbrella in Where Winds Meet:
Method 1: Mystery of Five Tones Encounter Quest
Complete the Oddities – Mystery of Five Tones encounter quest located in the Qinghe region. The Vernal Umbrella is one of the possible rewards for finishing this questline. Note that this method has RNG elements and may require multiple completions before the weapon drops.
Quick Access Tip: Navigate to Main Menu → Develop → Martial Arts, select the Vernal Umbrella, and press “Obtain” to view all available unlock methods with precise map locations.
Method 2: Skill Theft at Time Tower (Recommended – Fastest & Most Reliable)
The most reliable method involves completing a multi-step detective-style quest at the Time Tower in Kaifeng Region. This can be completed in approximately 20–30 minutes and is more reliable than the RNG-dependent Oddities quest.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- Locate Wang Ping’an: Travel to the Time Tower area and find Wang Ping’an in the small hut at the tower’s base. Speak with him to initiate the quest.
- Meet Jiang Ting’er: Climb to the tower’s summit where Jiang Ting’er guards the entrance to the Temporal Pavilion. She requires a specific keepsake before granting access.
- Gather All Five Clues:
- Walk past the warehouse and down the stairs (auto-completes warehouse clue)
- Find the tabby cat behind the pavilion
- Locate the criss-crossed window near the river railing to observe chess players
- Enter the pavilion’s small back room to overhear gossiping women
- Climb onto Wang Ping’an’s house roof, jump to the pavilion’s second floor, and eavesdrop on chatting women
- Locate the Keepsake: After completing all clues, you’ll be teleported to the second-floor treasury automatically.
- Retrieve the Items:
- Use Wild Sense to find the Warehouse Key
- Unlock the warehouse and collect the Bramble Rose Hairpin
- Return the hairpin to Jiang Ting’er
- Learn the Martial Art: Use Skill Theft on the Master inside the pavilion.
- Complete the Quest: Return to Wang Ping’an to finish and officially unlock the Vernal Umbrella.
Best Weapon Pairing: Inkwell Fan (S-Tier)
The Vernal Umbrella + Inkwell Fan is the undisputed best pairing, forming one of the top PvE weapon combinations in the current meta. Both weapons share the Silkbind – Jade development path, specialize in ranged projectile attacks, and excel at launching enemies airborne for devastating follow-up combos. This is the only strong pure Ranged DPS option in Where Winds Meet.
Why This Pairing Works:
- Both weapons share the same Silkbind – Jade path, so Internal Arts and gear sets benefit both simultaneously
- Inkwell Fan’s Jadewind Shield creates a wind barrier that blocks enemies and projectiles, boosts your ranged damage, and provides a short I-Frame — a critical defensive tool (do not spam both charges)
- Inkwell Fan’s Peak’s Springless Silence applies Lingering Bone mark and enables the powerful Moon Shatter Spring follow-up (empowered 5-hit combo with +45% damage to non-player targets)
- Vernal Umbrella handles sustained projectile pressure and CC; Inkwell Fan handles burst windows and airborne follow-ups
- Together they form a full ranged DPS core that barely needs to commit to melee except for Moon Shatter Spring windows
Other Viable Pairings
Mortal Rope Dart (PvP Kiting Build): A mid-range PvP-centric pairing focused on ranged CC and kiting. Rope Dart adds knockdown, pulls, and sustain that combo with Vernal Umbrella’s immobilize for strong control chains. Recommended Inner Ways: Blossom Barrage, Morale Chant, Bitter Seasons, Vendetta.
Nameless Sword (Melee/Ranged Hybrid): Pairs the Vernal Umbrella’s airborne setup with the Nameless Sword for a hybrid melee-ranged build. While the umbrella sets up airborne targets, the Nameless Sword delivers close-range finishers. Inner Ways: Sword Morph, Thunderous Bloom, Wildfire Spark, Battle Anthem.
Panacea Fan (Self-Sustain / Group Support): Trades DPS for strong healing and ally revival. Excellent for solo story progression and group trials with limited revives. Recommended gear: Ivorybloom + Whirlsnow or Eaglerise + Rainwhisper.
Best Build: Silkbind – Jade Development Path
The Silkbind – Jade path transforms the Vernal Umbrella + Inkwell Fan into a sustained ranged DPS powerhouse with impressive control capabilities, rewarding players who excel at maintaining distance while executing burst combos with airborne attacks. The build rewards clean execution and smart positioning — your umbrella skills hit surprisingly hard as long as you maintain buffs and keep the rotation tight.
Build Strengths
- S-Tier PvE Power: One of the top PvE pairings after Lingering Bone buff; strong in all content from solo to group play to boss fights
- Beginner & Expert Friendly: One of only two builds that performs well at all skill levels — good for new players, excellent at skill ceiling
- Superior Crowd Control: Immobilization, airborne extensions, Jadewind Shield barrier
- Safe Ranged Playstyle: The only pure Ranged DPS option in the game; rarely needs to enter melee
- Excellent Mobility: Superior positioning and repositioning — kite, reset, re-engage
Build Weaknesses
- Squishy: Very vulnerable when caught at melee range — survival depends on avoiding being reached
- Positioning Dependent: Requires constant awareness of spacing and distance
- Limited Boss Immobilize: Spring Sorrow’s immobilize does not work on bosses — requires different strategies for boss encounters
- Jadewind Shield Management: Tactical use is critical; spamming both charges is wasteful and loses the damage bonus it provides
Best Internal Arts (Inner Ways) for Vernal Umbrella
Internal Arts significantly enhance the Vernal Umbrella’s effectiveness. The following are the top-priority picks confirmed across multiple ranking guides for the Silkbind – Jade path:
Morale Chant (Must-Have — Priority: Critical)
Type: Buff / Ramp
A simple, always-on damage increase that requires no special conditions — pure value on every build. Gain stacks of Yi when healing or attacking, increasing physical damage with up to five stacks. Particularly strong in this build because landing frequent immobilizes and CC makes keeping stacks up easy. Considered the #1 priority Inner Way for current Vernal Umbrella builds.
Blossom Barrage (Must-Have — Priority: Critical)
Type: Attack / Martial Arts / Damage Boost
Spring Sorrow gains 2 stacks maximum. Each hit applies the Combo effect, increasing the target’s damage taken from your Ballistic Skills by 10% for 8 seconds. Affected Ballistic Skills include Spring Sorrow and Unfading Flower. Directly enhances Spring Sorrow, improving both its damage contribution and how smoothly it fits into the rotation cycle. Essential for the Silkbind – Jade build.
Star Reacher (Now Staple After Lingering Bone Patch)
Type: Attack / Pursuit / Buff
Knocking enemies airborne grants 10% Physical Attack bonus for 8 seconds. Star Reacher became a staple pick after the Lingering Bone update because it now works reliably on bosses — triggering whenever you activate Peak’s Springless Silence during your fan sequence. This gives you a strong physical attack boost during your most important burst windows.
Thunderous Bloom (Strong for Movement-Heavy Play)
Type: Damage Boost / Buff
Moving 15+ meters within 3 seconds grants Spring Thunder: your next 3 Heavy Attacks or Airborne Heavy Attacks gain 15% DMG Bonus for 12 seconds. Can trigger once per 15 seconds. Excellent for burst damage windows, and easy to activate given how much repositioning this build naturally does. Works in tandem with Star Reacher — move, trigger Spring Thunder, then knock airborne for combined buff activation.
Flying Gourds (Situational)
Type: Martial Arts / Support
Provides 2 charges to Inkwell Fan’s Peak’s Springless Silence but increases cooldown by 3 seconds. Useful for extended control sequences where you need more frequent knockup windows, though the cooldown tradeoff limits its value in tighter rotations.
Flexible Fourth Slot
The fourth Inner Way slot is flexible depending on content and gear level. Options include:
- Bitter Seasons — Stacking poison that reduces enemy Physical Defense; great for PvP and longer fights
- Flying Gourds — Extra Springless Silence charges for more CC uptime
- Vendetta — If running Mortal Rope Dart as secondary for PvP kiting
Best Gear Sets for Vernal Umbrella Builds
Veil of the Willow Set — Best-in-Slot DPS
2-Piece Bonus: Precision Rate +0.1%
4-Piece Bonus: After Light Attack / Airborne Heavy Attack, damage increases by 12% for 10 seconds. The reverse also applies: after Heavy Attack / Airborne Heavy Attack / Light Attack / Charged Attack, damage is increased by 12%. This consistent damage amplification synergizes perfectly with the Vernal Umbrella’s varied attack patterns and high attack frequency.
How to Obtain:
- Campaign – Heavenfall
- Sword Trial
- Group Dungeons
Beyond the Chill Set — Survivability Option
2-Piece Bonus: Max HP +40
4-Piece Bonus: After 10 seconds without taking damage in combat, gain Beyond the Chill: reduces next damage and all damage within 2 seconds by 40%. Effect removed upon leaving combat.
Ideal for players struggling with survivability when enemies close distance. Synergizes naturally with the Vernal Umbrella’s ranged playstyle — it’s easier to go 10 seconds without damage when fighting from range. The recommended BiS gear combo for PvP is Veil of the Willow + Beyond the Chill.
How to Obtain:
- Campaign – Heavenfall
- Campaign – Furnace of Righteousness
- Sword Trial
- Group Dungeons
Hawkwing + Eaglerise — Alternative for Affinity Builds
The Hawkwing + Eaglerise set is recommended for the Inkwell Fan + Vernal Umbrella PvE build by Metabattle. Hawkwing gives free damage every time you trigger an affinity hit — valuable given the high hit frequency of this build. Swallowcall + Calmwaters also works well as an alternative. Choose based on your content focus: Hawkwing + Eaglerise for PvE max DPS; Veil of the Willow + Beyond the Chill for PvP and survivability.
Gear Stat Priorities for Vernal Umbrella
Focus your gear optimization on these stats in priority order:
- Min Physical Attack — Establishes damage baseline
- Max Physical Attack — Maximizes damage ceiling; also scales Mystic Skills
- Critical Rate — Multiplies the high hit counts from Moon Shatter Spring and projectile strings; scales with Agility after Tier 1 talent
- Agility — After Tier 1 talent unlock, directly boosts Critical Rate; also improves positioning mobility
Martial Arts Talents: Unlock Order & Progression
Talents unlock every 10 levels through Breakthroughs:
1. Trajectory Skill Enhancement (Initial)
Unlock: Available after learning Martial Arts
All Vernal Umbrella ballistic skills ignore a portion of the target’s Physical Resistance when damaging immobilized or airborne enemies. This is fundamental to your damage output — always set up immobilize or airborne status before firing your big damage skills to activate this resistance ignore.
2. Critical Rate Increase (Tier 1)
Unlock: Complete Breakthrough to Tier 1
Agility now increases Critical Rate. This creates strong scaling synergy — invest in Agility after unlocking this talent and it multiplies damage across your high hit-count projectile strings and Moon Shatter Spring combos.
3. Trajectory Calculation Enhancement (Tier 2)
Unlock: Complete Breakthrough to Tier 2
Increases Critical Damage of all Vernal Umbrella Ballistic Skills. Amplifies burst potential during Lingering Bone + Moon Shatter Spring windows when all your buffs align.
4. Silkbind Attribute Increase (Tier 3)
Unlock: Complete Breakthrough to Tier 3
Increases Silkbind Attack and grants Silkbind DMG Bonus based on Min Silkbind Attack, significantly boosting attribute-based damage in late-game content.
5. Attribute Attack Damage Enhancement (Tier 3)
Unlock: Complete Breakthrough to Tier 3
All skills deal damage based on Attribute Attack with additional Silkbind damage increases. Completing this transforms your Vernal Umbrella into a true late-game DPS powerhouse.
Vernal Umbrella: All Skills Explained
Martial Art Skill: Spring Sorrow
Cooldown: 15.0s | Key: Q | Stacks: Up to 2 (with Blossom Barrage)
Charges briefly then fires a flying petal forward. On hit, immobilizes non-boss enemies for 3 seconds (fully disabling movement and skills). With Blossom Barrage, applies the Combo effect: increases target’s damage taken from Ballistic Skills by 10% for 8 seconds. Essential for setting up combos, controlling dangerous targets, and activating Trajectory Skill Enhancement’s resistance ignore.
Important: Spring Sorrow does NOT immobilize bosses. Against bosses, use it primarily for the Ballistic damage buff and Trajectory Skill Enhancement proc.
Special Skill: Unfading Flower
Cooldown: 0.2s | Key: ~ | Requirement: Minimum 50 Blossom
Tosses the umbrella into the air where it autonomously fires projectiles at single targets within 5 meters. While the umbrella is airborne, you draw a hidden sword and can freely switch weapons or use the Inkwell Fan. Against airborne targets, consumes additional Blossom for enhanced projectiles that extend airborne duration — this is a key mechanic for locking enemies in the air.
Resource Cost: 10 Blossom per second. The umbrella auto-recalls when Blossom depletes or you manually recall it. This makes the Vernal Umbrella an excellent secondary weapon — throw it up, swap to Inkwell Fan for burst combos, then recall.
Light Attack: Umbrella – Light Attack
Cooldown: 0.1s | Key: Left Click
Executes up to three consecutive light attacks dealing close to medium-range projectile damage. The Vernal Umbrella is unique in that you can combo light and heavy attack chains together — after the two light attack hits, follow with a heavy attack to throw the umbrella at the target for two additional damage strikes.
Charged Light: Spring Away
Key: Hold Left Click
