Where Winds Meet is taking us back to "one of China's most glorious eras," the Tang Dynasty, with its next major update, the Hexi expansion, which kicks off, for free, on March 5.Between March and May, the team will release Hexi's three chapters in sequence, taking wanderers "from desert to ice fields to grasslands," starting with Jade Gate Pass next week. "In ancient China, friends would write poems for each other. Think of these three chapters as our poem to all of you," the team explained, stressing that this marks "a much more cinematic approach to storytelling" that feels "quite different from our previous storytelling."Set in a vast desert landscape, developer Everstone Games said the Hexi expansion represents the "biggest expansion since the game’s launch, and will offer up brand-new narratives, new bosses, fresh gameplay features, and martial art styles." We can expect three major maps, which, combined, boast nearly 20 sub-regions, 11 unique bosses, seven Jianghu Legacies, "dozens" of side quests, and "so much more." There's also a new path called Bamboocut-Dust, with two new martial arts for Umbrella and Roped Dart. Umbrella's Spring Dreamscape is "all about agility," while Rope Dart's Fleeting Clouds is "all about big, sweeping AOE attacks."The stream showed off some of those aforementioned boss fights in detail;, including Jade Gate Pass' campaign boss, Guo Xin, the aging general and last grand protector who "remains at his post defending the land to the very end." He'll come at you with "sweeping combos and summon veterans to fight alongside him," so you'll need to use your deflects wisely to protect against his attacks. His second phase, on the other hand, boasts "sands swirl and time reverses" as the call of his army "jostles him back to his prime," enabling him to unleash his full power. We also get a sneak peek at Wandering Ark, which, I'm delighted to say, is exactly what it sounds like — a huge ship. Once a messenger, it's now obsessed with finding its way home through the desert. If you hang on after the main presentation finishes, there's also a good chunk of the battle against Hexi's Moongazing Maiden boss fight, too, where all the skills and weapons are related to the moon.While the stream focused primarily on the desert, we also paid fleeting visits to the upcoming Liangzhou and Qingchuan maps, too. The former is a city known for its fine wine and precious jade in our first snow mountain region, and the latter, your final destination, where you'll cycle through all four seasons on one map and find warring factions everywhere you turn. Best of all, though, Everstone stressed that all your progress carries over from season to season, including character levels, talents, and arsenals, so there's "no need to start from scratch."As for goodies? Here's just some of what you can expect:30+ Lingering Melody90+ Resonating Melody (includes pulls obtained via free Echo Jade earned through exploration)100+ Appearances and itemsWin exclusive Whirl of Radiance outfit (obtained through exploration)100+ Exquisite Rewards, including Appearances like Burlap Sack, Bride's Bloom, War Drum and more, the White-Headed General Avatar, the Radiant Horizons Nameplate, and the Who Else? And Pluck Stars EmotesThat's not all! Everstone also revealed a slew of new quality-of-life updates, too, which we've summarized below:Cross-platform optimization and improved stabilityPerformance and stability optimizations: Performance and memory usage have been optimized across all platforms. This effectively reduces crashes, ensuring a more stable and reliable overall experience.Dynamic scene enhancements:Optimized object motion in dynamic scenes to make screen transitions and movement processes smoother and more natural.Unified cross-platform experience:Through comprehensive adjustments across all platforms, we have improved the consistency of the gameplay experience on different devices.Optimized notifications for Compendium, Achievements, Events, Martial Arts, and Guilds. We hope to ensure timely and clear information delivery for all players while minimizing distractions and repetitive alerts.Console control upgrades and smoother interactionsPS5 controller optimization:Adjusted controller inputs for the Taiping Mausoleum and select events to enhance intutitiveness and handling.Focus and cursor display optimization:Optimized the logic for controller focus display and fixed cursor issues, making UI navigation clearer and more stable.Polished console experience:Further improved interaction details on consoles to minimize control interference and improve overall gameplay experience. Inventory management upgradesRecycling and sorting improvements:Optimized the interaction of the recycling interface to support the quick recycling of multiple item types, improving sorting efficiency.Fast recycle now available:Added a Fast Recycle function to quickly process expired, discarded, and recyclable items in bulk.Item categorization and stacking optimization:Introduced new item categorization methods and increased the stack limit for certain Life Materials, keeping your inventory clean and organized.Gameplay and social updatesGuild gameplay updates:Added various Guild-related gameplay modes and challenges to enrich combat styles and play choices.Guild War optimization:Adjusted league and command mechanisms to reduce interference, ensuring smoother combat flow.Social feature upgrades:Added multiple chat channels and group chat functions to facilitate interaction among players and allow sharing of Jianghu stories. Where Winds Meet's Hexi expansion can be pre-downloaded from today (February 27). "To wrap up, Hexi is a cinematic open world experience. Three chapters, tons of creative storytelling. We really hope this passion project brings something fresh to all of you," the team said.The Wuxia open-world action-adventure RPG set in ancient China debuted on PC and PlayStation 5 on November 14, topping 9 million players in just two weeks. The mobile version released on December 12.It didn't take long for players to find creative — and highly amusing — ways to make use of the game's chatbot NPCs, including taking a novel approach to solving riddles by… simply telling the game's AI-powered chatbot NPCs that they have solved the game's riddles.Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.