Warm Snow (暖雪): Complete Roguelite Guide

A guide to Warm Snow, BadMudStudio's wuxia action roguelite. It covers the core loop, sects, relics and flying swords, meta progression, both DLCs (The Ash of Nightmare and The End of Karma), difficulty modes and practical tips for clearing runs as Bi'an.

Researched September 2026 — current as of version 3.1.0.1 (the latest patch, fixes posted January 2025). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: Warm Snow (published by bilibili) released on 18 January 2022. It has two DLCs: The Ash of Nightmare (烬梦, free, 2 November 2022) and The End of Karma (paid, 4 December 2023). The last content push was January 2024 (Chaotic Breakpoint difficulty, DLC2 endless mode, new skins). Korean localization arrived in January 2025, and the most recent patch notes are version 3.1.0.1 bug fixes. There have been no new content patches since, so treat the game as feature-complete. Steam reviews: Very Positive.

Quick Start

1. You play Bi'an, a swordsman hunting the source of the "Warm Snow" that turns people into monsters, and the secrets of the Five Great Clans.
2. Each run is randomized: rooms, relic drops, weapons (the game calls unique weapons excaliburs) and sect choices change every time.
3. Your damage comes from two sources: your melee weapon and your flying swords, which you throw and recall. Most builds lean hard into one of them.
4. Sects define your build. Each sect grants a family of skills and synergies. Choose one early in the run and stack relics that support it.
5. Relics are your passive power. Look for relics that boost your sect skills or flying swords, not random stats.
6. Talent points are your permanent growth. The game lets you assign talent points "at will", so you can reshape your talents between runs.
7. Memory Fragments drop randomly. They tell the story. Collect them for lore and completion.
8. Death is expected. Early runs are for unlocking talents and learning boss patterns.

Combat Basics

• Melee attacks combo into strong hits. Your weapon decides the moveset and any unique effects.
• Flying swords fire at enemies and can be recalled. Relics and sects change how many swords you have, their elemental attributes and their attack modes.
• Dash is your main defense. Dash through telegraphed attacks rather than away from them.
• Sect skills are strong active abilities. Patch notes mention examples like Deathly Chill (its damage limit was raised from 800% to 1000%) and Eye of Extinction (frost damage raised from 40% to 60%). Treat them as your burst window.
• Elemental effects such as frost and fire build up on enemies. Sect skills often pay off these stacks.

Controls tips

• Rebind dash to a comfortable key or button. You'll press it hundreds of times per run.
• Controller play works well. Many players prefer it for dash timing.

Sects

The base game has six sects. The Buddha sect, "Supreme Bodhi," was added on 10 June 2022 and is unlocked by spending 30 red souls in the Red Soul Treasure. The End of Karma DLC adds three sects:

How to pick a sect in a run:

• If your early relics boost flying swords, take a flying-sword-focused sect.
• If you found a strong melee excalibur, go with a sect that rewards melee hits (Soul Blade Shura fits this in DLC2).
• Don't split investments. One sect plus 3–4 synergistic relics beats a mix of everything.

Relics, Weapons and Shops

• Relics drop from rooms and bosses and are sold by NPCs. Some relics have large scaling effects, so read every relic tooltip for synergy keywords.
• Excaliburs (unique weapons): unique melee weapons with special effects. A patch made Sima Yue in the transit hub more likely to randomly generate unique weapons.
• Shops: spend the run's currency on relics, healing and upgrades. Healing is worth buying before a boss if you're below half.

Meta Progression

• Red Souls: a persistent currency for unlocks, including sect unlocks via the Red Soul Treasure and Red Soul Trials sold by Lady Blood. The End of Karma added 7 new Red Soul Trials.
• Talent points: the store page says talents can be assigned at will. Reassign them to match the build you're trying.
• Heart of All Things (DLC2): an independent talent system for The End of Karma. It has a limited pool of points (a December 2023 patch raised the default cap to 41, and the January 2024 update gives the upper limit as 43). At the cap, Infinite Heart of All Things mode gives you 86 points, but clear times aren't recorded.
• Skins: new Bi'an skins unlock by clearing DLC2 content. Since the 24 January 2024 patch, clearing Chaotic Breakpoint unlocks the DLC2 skin directly. Change skins at the Buddha statue.

Bosses

Warm Snow's bosses are clan leaders and corrupted figures from the Five Great Clans, plus DLC-specific bosses. Names confirmed in patch notes include Lu Kunhai and Qin Wu, and fixes also mention a wolf boss and the DLC2 final boss. General boss advice:

• Learn two or three attacks at a time. Most bosses have one big telegraphed move and some fast pokes.
• Burst in windows. Save your sect skill for when the boss is recovering or stunned.
• Flying swords from range let you deal damage while repositioning, which is safer than melee against aggressive bosses.
• Don't greed. Two hits and a dash is safer than a full combo.

DLC 1: The Ash of Nightmare (free)

• Released 2 November 2022 and free on Steam.
• Adds the Nightmare system, five new bosses, six true and false endings, 30+ Nightmare abilities, and new NPC skins.
• Introduces Lucid Point, which you gain when you leave the Buddhist Hall and enter the Nightmare World. It decreases over time, which pressures you to keep moving.
• A December 2022 update added an Endless Mode and a Nightmare skin.

DLC 2: The End of Karma (paid)

• Released 4 December 2023 (paid; requires the base game).
• Story: during the ten years Bi'an slumbered in the Ash of Nightmare, the malevolent god Helo was fully unleashed and the world fell into chaos. Story fragments dig into the origins of the five clans and the Sima sisters' prophetic dreams.
• Five new stages, including Dragonspine Ridge, Boar City, the Tower of Fate coastline and Crane Island. There are six stage bosses and three endings based on your choices.
• Heart of All Things / Talent Compass: a new, freely customizable talent and talisman system with a limited pool of points.
• Time Talismans: boss drops with varied affixes.
• January 2024 additions:
  • Chaotic Breakpoint difficulty (switch to it via the Benevolent Mother after clearing the Wood Pig Line). Enemies are more aggressive and some boss skills change.
  • A new Bi'an skin set.
  • 7 new DLC2 Red Soul Trials from Lady Blood.
  • A DLC2 endless mode that only allows Heart of All Things talents.

Difficulty and Challenge Modes

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Picking relics for raw stats over synergy with your sect.
• Using melee in every fight. Your flying swords are often your safest damage.
• Panic-dashing. Dash through attacks with purpose, not away at random.
• Hoarding in-run currency. Shop purchases (relics, healing) turn it into power before the next boss.
• Ignoring healing shops before bosses.
• Playing DLC2's hardest modes first. Clear the base story to learn movesets.

Advanced Tips

• Commit early. By the second area, decide your sect and prioritize matching relics.
• Frost builds: stack frost via flying swords, then detonate with a frost-scaling sect skill (patch notes show frost skills like Eye of Extinction gaining damage).
• Reassign talents between runs to suit the sect you're going for.
• Farm Red Souls on comfortable difficulty to unlock sects and trials, then push harder modes.
• Chaotic Breakpoint changes boss patterns, so relearn big telegraphs rather than relying on muscle memory.

FAQ

Is Warm Snow still being updated? The last content update was January 2024. There were bug fixes in January 2025 (3.1.0.1) and Korean localization. No new content has been announced since.

Is The Ash of Nightmare free? Yes. The first DLC (烬梦) is free on Steam.

Should I buy The End of Karma? If you enjoy the base game, yes. It adds new regions, three sects, a talent system, endings and modes.

How do I unlock the Buddha sect (Supreme Bodhi)? Spend 30 red souls in the Red Soul Treasure.

How do I get Chaotic Breakpoint? Clear the Wood Pig Line in DLC2, then switch via the Benevolent Mother.

Is there co-op? No. It's a single-player roguelite.

Sources

• Warm Snow on Steam
• Warm Snow - The End Of Karma on Steam
• Warm Snow - The Ash of Nightmare (烬梦) on Steam
• Warm Snow Steam news (patch notes, DLC2 updates, anniversaries)