Version 1.8 field guide
A practical order for the Homestead and Companion unlocks, current 1.8 activities, Blissful Retreat route change, July fixes, and balance changes that actually affect play.
Maintained byHeavenskiss
The lasting part of 1.8 is the Qinghe home-and-pet layer. The modes around it serve different needs: five-player PvE, ten-player raiding, competitive tomb PvP, guild progression, or a limited goose event. Pick one lane instead of treating the whole patch as a single checklist.
Follow the first-login orderIf Homestead or Companions are missing, check Still Shore and For Whom Does He Return first. Those named quests matter more than a guessed character level.
Begin rebuilding Blissful Retreat for Homestead. For pets, open Quests > Exploration and track Whiskered Trouble after the Qinghe Main Chapter gate.
Use Tomb of Fortune for competitive PvP, Martial Path Domain for a five-player climb, Ravening Banes for the Level 91 ten-player campaign, or Skyward Bond with a guild.
Phantom Thief Goose, Martial Path Domain, Tomb of Fortune, and Training Terrace - Preliminary have dated schedules. The live client wins if a schedule changes.
July fixes changed the Blissful Retreat Dreamscape entrance and repaired several Homestead, goose, Arena, Companion, and Skyward Bond problems. Do not keep using a launch-day workaround by habit.
Good default: finish the permanent unlocks even if you skip the timed modes. Homestead production and Companion Bond are longer-running account systems; an event deadline should not make you rush past their tutorials.
| Feature | Type | Access | What you do | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homestead | Management system | Still Shore + For Whom Does He Return | Rebuild Blissful Retreat, run production buildings, recruit Retainers, or free-build in Beyond Mundane. | Start here if you want housing, production, or settlement management. |
| Companions | Social pet system | For Whom Does He Return, then Whiskered Trouble | Recruit cats and geese, manage Mood and Bond, interact, take photos, and unlock Companion rewards. | Start here if you want a follow pet; this is separate from Retainers. |
| Phantom Thief Goose | Limited-time event | Official schedule: Jul 3, 05:00 to Jul 31, 04:59:59 (UTC+8) | Play as Goose Bobo, steal treasure, deliver it to the Master Emperor's stash, and exchange Goose Feathers. | Check the Events panel before planning a route; this is not the Companion unlock quest. |
| Martial Path Domain | Timed five-player challenge | Level 60; official schedule ends Jul 23, 04:59 (UTC+8) | Climb 20 floors, adapt to changing Mist effects, and collect Martial Spirit rewards. | Choose this for a coordinated PvE climb rather than PvP. |
| Tomb of Fortune | Timed competitive PvP | Official schedule ends Jul 23, 04:59 (UTC+8) | Enter the ancient tomb, compete with other players, and fight over treasure. | Choose this when you want a treasure mode with player conflict. |
| Ravening Banes | Ten-player campaign | Level 91; match automatically or form a crew in Wandering Paths | Fight the ten-player Hero's Realm campaign and its phase mechanics. | Choose this for raid-scale coordination; July 2 fixed a challenge-start issue. |
| Guild: Skyward Bond | Guild challenge | Hard and Abyss tiers opened during the 1.8 cycle | Run a coordinated guild encounter with floor and boss mechanics. | July 9 increased the Sleeping Daoist limit from 360 to 450 seconds and fixed key mechanics. |
Rebuild Blissful Retreat as the Young Master, assign Retainers, keep provisions and Vigor healthy, and operate the inn, porcelain kiln, brewery, and other settlement work. Beyond Mundane is the separate free-build space.
Open Homestead guideWhiskered Trouble opens the pet roster. Cats and geese can follow, react to the world, share food, play, chat, pose for photos, and unlock more interactions and rewards as Bond rises. They are not Homestead labor.
Open Companion guideScheduled active on this check
Jun 25 update - Jul 23, 04:59 UTC+8
Scheduled active on this check
Jun 25 update - Jul 23, 04:59 UTC+8
Pre-season test, not standard balance
Jul 9, 05:00 - Jul 23, 04:59:59 UTC+8
Scheduled active on this check
Jul 3, 05:00 - Jul 31, 04:59:59 UTC+8
An article date is not a server guarantee. Maintenance, extensions, regional timing, or a later notice can change an event row. Before farming rewards, compare the in-game Events panel with the official schedule above.
Rebuilding already started
On the Qinghe map, look to the lower left of the Path of Void Boundary Stone. The legendary blade there enters Dreamscape: Blissful Retreat after rebuilding has begun.
Rebuilding not started
Find the keepsake beneath the great tree at the base of Sweetwine Tower. This older entry remains for characters who have not begun rebuilding Blissful Retreat.
If a guide names only Sweetwine Tower, it predates the July 2 split. Check whether your character has started rebuilding before deciding that the entrance is missing.
| Date | System | Official change | What to do now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9 | Training Terrace | Preliminary testing went live. Create a room through Wandering Paths > Arena > Training Terrace, or enable Preliminary Mode in Wooden Stake training from Hero's Realm or Sword Trial. | Use this to test proposed balance separately from the normal live ruleset. |
| Jul 9 | Taiping Mausoleum | Trial difficulty was reduced on floors 10-12 across all Paths. | Retry those floors before following an older high-difficulty workaround. |
| Jul 9 | Homestead and Goose event | Guided Homestead quest blockers and incorrect Phantom Thief Goose NPC spawns were fixed. | Update and retry the quest or event before abandoning the route. |
| Jul 9 | Guild: Skyward Bond | The Sleeping Daoist timer increased from 360 to 450 seconds; Hard floor 5 and Abyss Blood Sacrifice mechanics also received fixes. | Current pulls should be judged against the longer timer and repaired mechanics. |
| Jul 2 | Season and Guild limits | The Mystic Skill Breakthrough Box weekly purchase reset and the Ravening Banes challenge-start issue were fixed. | Reopen the shop or challenge on the current build instead of assuming the lockout remains. |
| Jul 2 | Homestead | Duckweed inventory counts, blank Porcelain Kiln screens, Young Master's Routine text, and Personal House quest completion were fixed. | These are fixed launch issues, not intended Homestead rules. |
| Weapon or system | 1.8 change | Practical reading |
|---|---|---|
| Nameless Spear | During Qi Imbalance, an Exhausted target takes 8% more HP damage and an additional 8% more Bellstrike damage. | Qi Imbalance and Exhausted timing now matters more; this is not proof that the weapon is best in every mode. |
| Wolfchaser's Art | Its 4th Realm restores 20 Endurance when Sweep All deals High Bleeding damage. | Recheck Endurance planning around the confirmed trigger. |
| Strategic Sword | Second Track Slash consumes less Endurance while Water Drop, Spring Surge, River Flow, or Empowered River Flow is active. | Charge timing should account for the named effects rather than treating every cast the same. |
| Vernal Umbrella | Spring Sorrow and the umbrella-tossing part of Unfading Flower grant Tenacity in Hero's Realm and Sword Trial. | The benefit is mode-specific; do not copy it into unrelated PvE or PvP claims. |
| Veil of the Willow | The set buff changed from 12% increased HP damage to 10% increased Physical and Silkbind damage. | Old build text that still describes a universal HP-damage buff is stale. |
| Panacea Fan | Silkbind Heal Bonus and Silkbind DMG Bonus now scale from Minimum Silkbind Attack; multipliers and caps were unchanged. | Compare the minimum Silkbind Attack shown by the current loadout, not only its peak value. |
| Swallowcall | It now adds 6% Physical and Bamboocut damage against targets below 40% Qi or in Abnormal Qi State. | The bonus depends on target state, including Bone Corrosion and Qi Imbalance. |
| Infernal Twinblades | Flamelash can no longer be interrupted during casting. | This improves cast reliability, not every part of the weapon's rotation. |
| Arena defense and bows | Maintained defense builds Depleting Defense and sharply raises Endurance pressure; bow shots now consume Endurance immediately. | Old Arena advice that assumes free turtling or free ranged pressure needs to be retested. |
Also new in the system layer
Mystic Skill Insight is available in Basic Talents and can deduce Mystic Skill Variants. Level 91 Hero's Realm and Sword Trial matchmaking also gained Fledgling Protection. Treat both as system changes, not automatic build rankings.
Need a full loadout rather than patch fragments? Open the build index, choose the weapon pair and mode, then apply the matching row above.
Browse buildsThe official Version 1.8 overview scheduled the update for June 25, 2026, with maintenance from 05:00 to 12:00 (UTC+8).
For lasting progress, clear Still Shore and For Whom Does He Return, begin rebuilding Blissful Retreat, and track Whiskered Trouble. After that, choose timed activities according to your level and group size.
The official schedule runs from July 3 at 05:00 to July 31, 2026 at 04:59:59 (UTC+8), so it is scheduled to be active on this page's July 14 check. Confirm the live Events panel before following a route.
It is a five-player Version 1.8 challenge for Level 60 players. The official overview describes 20 floors, changing Mist effects, Martial Spirit rewards, and a schedule ending July 23 at 04:59 (UTC+8).
Ravening Banes is a ten-player Hero's Realm campaign with a Level 91 requirement. Players can auto-match or form a crew through Wandering Paths.
If rebuilding has started, use the legendary blade at Tomb of Yidao, lower left of the Path of Void Boundary Stone on the Qinghe map. If rebuilding has not started, use the keepsake under the great tree at the base of Sweetwine Tower.
Create a room through Wandering Paths > Arena > Training Terrace. For Wooden Stake testing, enter practice through Hero's Realm or Sword Trial and enable Preliminary Mode in Training Settings.
The patch changed several weapons, Inner Ways, sets, and Arena Endurance rules, but patch values alone do not establish one best build across PvE, Arena, bosses, and group roles.
June 24, 2026
Primary source for the June 25 launch, Homestead and Companion gates, timed activity schedules, level requirements, mode descriptions, and Version 1.8 art.
June 23, 2026
Primary source for Homestead scope, Companion behavior, Phantom Thief Goose, Tomb of Fortune, Ravening Banes, Martial Path Domain, and Skyward Bond.
through July 9, 2026
Primary source for the Dreamscape entrance split, July fixes, combat balance values, Arena Endurance, Mystic Skill Insight, and Fledgling Protection.
Check the July 16-23 times, Still Shore gate, Energy conversions, Friday refill, 60-attempt cap, and first-run verification.
Open guideTrack all nine objectives, chess moves, stash items, 400 feathers, golden egg, and the Medium/Hard boss pair.
Open guideFollow both unlock gates, start production, staff Retainers, and fix common settlement blockers.
Open guideUnlock Whiskered Trouble, recruit the six checked pets, raise Bond, and separate pets from Retainers.
Open guideUse complete loadouts and rotations, then apply the 1.8 balance changes to the relevant weapon or mode.
Open guideCheck whether a Global, CN, HMT, event, code, or balance claim is live, announced, test-only, or expired.
Open guide