A new combat style, Bamboocut – Draught, has been live in Where Winds Meet for a few days. The first announcement already sounded like classic Drunken Master. But the new Dev Letter from 7 September makes it clear that there is more to this style than a few swaying animations and a jug of wine.
The complete Path connects Skystrike Gauntlets and Riven Twinblades through a shared resource: Drunkenness. Playing the two weapons independently means missing a good part of the actual mechanic.
Drinking really is part of the rotation here
The central system is called Binge. Binge Points build up during combat, allowing you to reach different Inebriate states.
The drunker the character becomes, the more their movements and attacks change. This is not simply meant to provide a temporary bonus, but to set the combat rhythm of the entire Path.
The basic idea is fairly simple:
fight → build Binge → get drunker → unleash burst → start again.
That initially sounds like another resource bar. It becomes interesting because the two weapons take on different roles within this cycle.
Skystrike Gauntlets: stumble, deceive, strike
The Skystrike Gauntlets provide the build's close-combat and deception component.
The Inebriate – Tipsy state changes how the character moves. They look unsteady and staggering, but can suddenly close the distance and attack with quick punches and kicks.
Nightwick takes the idea further. The character drops to the ground and enters Tipsylay. Depending on the situation, they can then jump straight back up and break the opponent's defence, or continue fighting with low kicks.
As Drunkenness rises towards Inebriate – Deepdaze, the initially deceptive style eventually turns into much more direct burst damage.
So it does not just look like Drunken Master. The apparently uncontrolled movements are actually part of the mechanic.
Riven Twinblades: speed instead of deception
The Riven Twinblades use that same Drunkenness differently.
While the Gauntlets play with unpredictable movements, the Twinblades push forwards much more directly. The charged heavy attack Boundvessel starts a rapid sequence of hits, whose speed and strength continue increasing with successful attacks.
Hero's Blood is even more interesting. Normally, the character surges forwards and leaves Blade Energy behind.
In the Inebriate – Deepdaze state, this escalates: eight consecutive waves of Blade Energy are unleashed before a final dash consumes the accumulated Binge Points and Drunkenness in one big finishing attack.
By this point, it is clear why Bamboocut is not intended as two separate Martial Arts.
How Bamboocut – Draught is meant to be played
The Dev Letter describes the intended rotation in surprisingly concrete terms.
First, the Riven Twinblades are used to close the distance and quickly build Binge Points. Then you switch to the Skystrike Gauntlets, stay in close combat and push Drunkenness higher.
At a high Drunkenness level, the big Gauntlet burst follows. Immediately afterwards, you switch back to the Twinblades to exploit the still-active state with fast, enhanced attacks.
When Drunkenness falls again, the cycle starts over.
In short:
Twinblades → build Binge → Gauntlets → increase Drunkenness → burst → back to Twinblades.
This makes Bamboocut much more interesting than an ordinary weapon swap on cooldown. Both Martial Arts genuinely depend on each other through the same resource.
Treasure-Laden Return also starts today
Alongside this, Treasure-Laden Return begins on 9 September and runs until 23 September.
The idea is pleasantly straightforward: return on seven days during the event period and collect the daily rewards. The seventh day awards the animated accessory Little Xiaoba.
You therefore do not need to turn up every day for two weeks. Seven logins within the time window are enough.
If you are trying out Bamboocut anyway, you can do this almost in passing.
Conclusion
Bamboocut – Draught is much more than a visually amusing Drunken Master style.
The interesting idea lies in the shared Drunkenness mechanic: Twinblades build momentum and Binge, Gauntlets push the state higher and provide the burst, then the Twinblades take over again.
Whether this ultimately becomes a genuinely strong meta build is another question. As a combat system, though, the Path already feels much more distinctive than simply “two new weapons, lots of alcohol, done”.
And if the rotation does not work, you can always claim it was the character's fault. They were drunk, after all.