The Jianghu is a free to play wuxia game from the Feng Lin Huo Shan studio, published by Path. It entered Early Access on 25 June 2023 and released fully on 31 August 2024. The design borrows from early Chinese text MUDs: you run an inn, recruit martial artists from sects such as Wudang and the Beggars' Sect, and send teams into the Ghost Domain, where a wipe costs you every item and piece of equipment you were carrying apart from what sits in the Qiankun Pouch. Roughly 55 percent of about 2,400 Steam reviews are positive, and almost all of them, along with almost all guide material, are in Chinese.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | The Inn | Ghost Domain extraction runs basics | Bodhi Sect | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Ghost Domain | Inn expansion and recruitment mastery | Bodhi Sect | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Black Sand Fort | Righteous Path and Tyrant Path routes + gear | Wudang School or Bodhi Sect | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Dukang Village | Build optimization | Wudang School | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Tyrant Path stages | Min-max | Wudang School or Beggars' Sect | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (The Inn)
Your inn is the safe hub, the recruitment office and the shop front. You expand it, staff it with recruited martial artists, and run market stalls and the trading exchange from it, with a tea house on the side where the dice game runs.
Level/Difficulty: Safe hub, any stage of the game Key Rewards: Recruitment, market stalls, trading exchange, dice gambling
What to Do in The Inn
- Learn Ghost Domain extraction runs. The Ghost Domain is the dangerous frontier zone you enter alone or with a team to gather resources. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Bodhi Sect as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- The Qiankun Pouch is the only thing that survives a failed run, so treat every other inventory slot as temporary and move anything valuable into it before you leave the inn.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Dukang Village blacksmith weapons or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Ghost Domain extraction runs fundamentals
- Bodhi Sect selected and functional
- The Inn main content cleared
- Ready for Ghost Domain
Phase 2: Early Game (Ghost Domain)
The Ghost Domain is the dangerous zone the whole game orbits, playable solo or with a team, and it is where resources actually come from. Failing a stage strips your inventory and equipment down to the Qiankun Pouch.
Level/Difficulty: Core expedition zone, scales with your team Key Rewards: Resources, equipment drops, materials for inn expansion
What to Do in Ghost Domain
- Work on Inn expansion and recruitment. Your inn is both a base and a staffing problem. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Dukang Village blacksmith weapons if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Community advice is consistent that crafting equipment early wastes money, because gear drops freely from runs and cash is better spent on martial arts progression and food.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Black Sand Fort.
- Consider whether Wudang School might suit your playstyle better than Bodhi Sect.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Inn expansion and recruitment integrated into gameplay
- Dukang Village blacksmith weapons acquired
- Ghost Domain fully cleared
- Ready for Black Sand Fort
Phase 3: Mid Game (Black Sand Fort)
Black Sand Fort has its own farming guides on Chinese sites, including routes for grinding without taking damage. It is the area most often named when players talk about efficient repeat runs.
Level/Difficulty: Mid game farming route Key Rewards: Repeatable monster drops, crafting and upgrade materials
What to Do in Black Sand Fort
- Master Righteous Path and Tyrant Path routes. The map splits into two philosophies, the righteous Xia Dao route and the domineering Ba Dao route, and they lead to different areas and different sorts of trouble. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Gauntlets. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Raise your water and satiety caps before you attempt long trips, since both meters drain during expeditions and running dry ends runs that were otherwise going well.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Water and satiety meters for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Righteous Path and Tyrant Path routes mastered
- Gauntlets acquired or in progress
- Black Sand Fort fully cleared
- Ready for Dukang Village
Phase 4: Late Game (Dukang Village)
A settlement with a blacksmith that sells the reference starter equipment quoted in community gear lists. Vendor stops like this one are how most players re-equip after a bad run rather than by crafting.
Level/Difficulty: Early game vendor stop Key Rewards: Starter gauntlets and basic weapons, repair and resupply
What to Do in Dukang Village
- Finalize your build. You should be running Wudang School or Bodhi Sect with optimized gear.
- Gauntlets should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Read talent affix guidance before spending points, because talents, meridians and traits are three separate progression tracks and early mistakes are expensive to correct.
- Meridians, talents and traits optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Tyrant Path stages.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Gauntlets upgraded to max
- Dukang Village fully cleared
- Ready for Tyrant Path stages
Phase 5: Endgame (Tyrant Path stages)
The Ba Dao or Tyrant Path is the second of the game's two map philosophies, and its stages are indexed by number in guide material. Community articles also track easter egg locations on these stages, which is a sign of how much of the content is hidden rather than signposted.
Level/Difficulty: Stage gated, indexed by number Key Rewards: Route specific drops, easter eggs, progression toward later stages
What to Do in Tyrant Path stages
- Tyrant Path stages tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Recruit martial artists for their sect and trait combination rather than at random, since the game expects you to build teams around what each sect is good at.
- The endgame loop: run Tyrant Path stages, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Beggars' Sect for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Meridians, talents and traits mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Tyrant Path stages fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Carrying valuable items outside the Qiankun Pouch into the Ghost Domain and losing the lot on a single failed stage.
- Spending early money on crafting equipment instead of on martial arts progression, which community guides call a waste.
- Ignoring the water and satiety meters until they run out mid expedition, which turns a good run into a total loss.
- Assuming Mount Hua is a single school when the game splits it into a sword branch and a qi branch that recruit separately.
- Following an outdated guide from an earlier season and expecting the same item names and stage layout to still apply.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- The Qiankun Pouch is the only thing that survives a failed run, so treat every other inventory slot as temporary and move anything valuable into it before you leave the inn.
- Community advice is consistent that crafting equipment early wastes money, because gear drops freely from runs and cash is better spent on martial arts progression and food.
- Raise your water and satiety caps before you attempt long trips, since both meters drain during expeditions and running dry ends runs that were otherwise going well.
- Read talent affix guidance before spending points, because talents, meridians and traits are three separate progression tracks and early mistakes are expensive to correct.
- Recruit martial artists for their sect and trait combination rather than at random, since the game expects you to build teams around what each sect is good at.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More The Jianghu Guides
- The Jianghu The Jianghu Overview
- The Jianghu Best Builds
- The Jianghu Tier List
- The Jianghu Beginner's Guide
- The Jianghu Tips & Tricks
- The Jianghu Weapons Guide
- The Jianghu Combat Guide
- The Jianghu Boss Guide
- The Jianghu Maps & Locations
- The Jianghu Crafting Guide
- The Jianghu Classes & Characters
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