Boss battles in Where Winds Meet are quite distinctive in that they require the player to make the gameplay process more deliberate, watching animations, getting used to the newly introduced mechanics, and, more often than not, restricting the pace of progress. Zheng E is a perfect example of this. He is elegant, fierce, and very defensive, which increases as the battle transitions to phase two.
You will encounter Zheng E during one of the grain-related campaigns, and while Phase one is easy for you to handle, Phase two could be daunting.
Zheng E Boss Location
Zheng E appears during the Ever-Normal Granary campaign, which will become available down south of Kaifeng once you unlock the area through the story missions. As soon as that area of the map has been revealed, the ever-normal granary will be clearly visible on the map once fully zoomed in.
Near this location, the campaign will initiate automatically as you eavesdrop on the conversation between the soldier and the child. Further through the quest, you will enter the granary and encounter the first mini-boss in the form of Li Shoujie. You must then find your way into the building after it becomes obvious that the soldiers are hostile.
Eventually, you’ll find yourself in an area with blue flowers obstructing your way. These need to be burned with fire arrows. Towards the end of the area, an NPC will be held captive by three of these flowers. One of these flowers is clinging to the back of a branch on the right-hand side and needs to be destroyed.
Understanding the Unique Mechanics of Zheng E
Zheng E is one of the very few bosses in the game who will be able to parry your attacks, and this is something that will often happen to you. As such, any mindless aggression will be a bad strategy to adopt when battling this particular boss.
He’s able to cluster quick combos with ice-attack range pressure such that you will need to take care of your positions and your stamina levels at all times.
The battle has two stages, and while the first one rewards clever deflection, the other one focuses extensively on dodge and endurance management.
Phase One Strategy
The initial phase is quite manageable and represents the optimal moment for draining the qi of Zheng E. The majority of his attacks during this phase are fast and predictable and can be reflected.
His general melee attack combination consists of close-range attacks by fans and swords. He either attacks thrice or five times. After both combinations, ice veins appear from the ground. These spots where ice veins appear can be seen by looking at your feet.
You can dodge the melee attacks to lower his Qi, but the sidesteps often provide a better opportunity to hit both his health and his Qi. The five-hit combo is an excellent choice for an attack, as Zheng E momentarily pauses afterwards.
When he deflects one of your attacks, he will normally disengage and counterattack with ranged pressure, which usually comes in the form of ice waves followed by an upward Lunge. These attacks are deflectable, but some of the horizontal ice waves are easier to dodge than to deflect.
He will also throw ice shards at this point. These can be easily deflected.
One aspect you want to be mindful of is the immobiliser meter. Every time you are hit, the immobilise meter increments. If the immobilise meter fills up, your character will be immobile for a few seconds, leaving them open to attacks.
Zheng E also resorts to a red attack in this stage. You can interrupt this attack with “Meridian Touch,” although deflecting it can sometimes be better, since this will drain a considerable amount of his Qi.
Phase Two Strategy
Phase two begins right after the first health bar of Zheng E has been depleted, and it always begins with a scripted attack. Jumping up to an elevated ice vein platform, he begins his two unstoppable yellow attacks and then his red attack.
You need to parry his red attack to deflect it and destroy the platform; failing which, the battle will escalate. Once phase two is established, Zheng E starts attacking aggressively, and all of his attacks will be yellow attacks. Since yellow attacks cannot be dodged, you must assume that all attacks will require repositioning as their counter rather than deflecting them unless you’re told otherwise.
One of his most dangerous attacks involves his hand charging up to a yellow glow as he charges towards you. If he hits you, he smashes you into the ground, dealing huge damage. It is essential to create distance as soon as you see the yellow glow. He also gets aerial attacks with hovering throws of ice waves.
These attacks are followed by a diving strike that tracks your location. Sidestep the waves instead of rushing so that you have enough strength remaining for the final hit. Later in the phase, Zheng E recreates the ice platform and ice spears. Move in one direction to get around them easily.
Be cautious with making many sudden dashes in this stage because Zheng E will often throw yellow attacks right after.
