Qi Arts Explained — Dantian, True Qi Types, and the Martial Loadout
Scroll of Taiwu Qi (气功) arts are the internal backbone of every build. This guide explains Dantian Qi, the four True Qi types, how to assign them in the Martial Loadout, and why they matter for combat.
What Qi arts actually do
Qi arts (气功 / Qi Gong) are internal martial arts. Unlike weapon arts or movement arts, they do not land hits or reposition your character. Instead, they shape the internal conditions of every exchange — governing your True Qi type distribution, Stance recovery, Inhale recovery, and special internal effects that trigger during combat.
Every character has a Dantian with two values: Dantian Qi (current stored Qi) and True Qi Cap (maximum Qi that can be held at once). The Qi screen (Q → Qi tab) shows both alongside your current True Qi type mix — the proportional breakdown of Annihilation, Nimble, Protection, and Acumen Qi that is flowing through your character at any moment.
- Qi arts are internal — they improve conditions, not direct damage output.
- Dantian Qi: current Qi stored (consumed by casting martial arts).
- True Qi Cap: maximum Qi capacity.
- True Qi type mix: the percentage split between your four Qi types.
The four True Qi types
True Qi is divided into four elemental types, each with its own combat role. The Qi screen shows the current percentage distribution as a circular diagram with a color-coded wheel.
Annihilation Qi (灭气 / red) drives offensive power — higher Annihilation percentage increases raw damage output and penetration. Nimble Qi (灵气 / green) governs speed and agility — it improves movement, reaction, and dodge capability. Protection Qi (护气 / gold) reinforces defense — it raises Resistance, Poise, and physical endurance. Acumen Qi (智气 / purple) supports technique precision — it improves cast speed, accuracy, and Qi Art efficiency.
The outer ring of the Qi wheel also shows a primary True Qi attribute — in early runs you will often see a named Qi flavor such as 'Searing Yang' (烈阳), which skews your distribution and gives additional passive effects beyond the base four types.
- Annihilation (灭气 / red): offense, damage, penetration.
- Nimble (灵气 / green): speed, agility, dodge.
- Protection (护气 / gold): defense, resistance, poise.
- Acumen (智气 / purple): technique, cast speed, Qi efficiency.
- Named Qi attribute (e.g. Searing Yang 烈阳): skews the distribution and adds passive effects.
Martial Loadout and Qi Art slots
The Martial Loadout (Q → Martial Loadout tab) is where you assign your martial arts to active combat slots. The loadout is organized by Qi type: each row belongs to one True Qi type (Annihilation, Nimble, Protection, Acumen), and the number of slot bubbles in each row is determined by the counter value you saw on the Qi screen.
At the top of the Loadout is a Qi Arts row for arts that do not belong to a specific Qi type — these are general internal support arts. Below that, each Qi type row holds the weapon arts, movement arts, or specialized techniques that synergize with that type.
You can save up to three Loadout presets (slots 1, 2, 3 at the top), allowing you to swap between different art configurations instantly without rebuilding from scratch. The Auto Equip button fills empty slots automatically based on your currently learned arts — useful as a starting point, but review it manually since auto-assignment does not prioritize build coherence.
Want to preview slot counts before you reassign arts in-game? Use the Qi Loadout Planner tool — enter the four counters from your Qi screen and it mirrors how many typed rows you can fill.
- Each Qi type row in the Loadout = number of slots set by the Qi screen counter.
- Qi Arts row at the top = general internal arts not tied to a type.
- Three preset slots (1, 2, 3) — save different loadouts and swap between them.
- Auto Equip fills slots automatically — treat it as a starting draft, then adjust.
- Arts that mismatch their assigned Qi type will underperform even if they are high-tier.
Breakthrough and growing your Qi capacity
Qi capacity and True Qi type distribution are not fixed. They grow through the Breakthrough system (Q → Breakthrough tab), where you push a martial art to a new level of mastery by meeting a Required Talent threshold and performing the breakthrough attempt.
A successful breakthrough raises the Power Cap of the art and unlocks stronger passive effects (Comprehend Mind Method bonuses). It also consumes Internal Qi (shown as a bar from External to Internal), so the balance of your cultivation matters. The Connection Success Rate shown on the Breakthrough screen tells you the probability of a clean breakthrough — higher is safer, and Easy difficulty breakthroughs near 99% are routine for practiced arts.
True Qi type counters (Annihilation, Nimble, Protection, Acumen) can increase as your character cultivates, unlocking additional Martial Loadout slots in that Qi row. Growing your True Qi Cap — the maximum Qi you can hold — is a separate cultivation priority that affects how many arts you can use in a single fight.
- Breakthrough = push a martial art to a higher mastery level.
- Required Talent threshold must be met before a breakthrough attempt.
- Connection Success Rate: higher is safer — near 99% on Easy difficulty for well-trained arts.
- Successful breakthrough raises Power Cap and unlocks Mind Method bonuses.
- True Qi type counters grow with cultivation, adding Loadout slots per Qi row.
- True Qi Cap growth lets you sustain more arts per fight.
Related paths
FAQ
What are the four True Qi types in Scroll of Taiwu?
Annihilation (灭气, red) for offense, Nimble (灵气, green) for speed and agility, Protection (护气, gold) for defense, and Acumen (智气, purple) for technique precision. Each type also determines how many Martial Loadout slots of that type your character has.
What is Dantian Qi vs True Qi Cap?
Dantian Qi is your current stored Qi — it is consumed when you cast martial arts in combat. True Qi Cap is the maximum Qi you can hold at once. Both grow through cultivation and breakthrough. Low True Qi Cap means you run out of casting resources faster in extended fights.
How do I add more slots to a Qi type row in the Martial Loadout?
Qi type counters (the numbers shown on the Qi screen for each type) determine the slot count in each Loadout row. These counters grow through cultivation and breakthrough — specifically by raising the relevant True Qi type through arts and practices that strengthen it.
What is 'Searing Yang' on the Qi wheel?
Searing Yang (烈阳) is a named True Qi attribute that occupies a percentage of your Qi wheel and provides passive effects beyond the base four types. Your character's Birth Time at creation determines their initial Qi attribute — different birth months produce different named attributes with different combat flavors.
What does Breakthrough actually do?
It pushes a martial art to a higher mastery tier, raising its Power Cap and unlocking Comprehend Mind Method passive bonuses (stat improvements that apply continuously in combat). You need to meet the Required Talent threshold first. The Connection Success Rate tells you the probability of a clean success.
Should I use Auto Equip on the Martial Loadout?
Auto Equip is useful as a first draft to fill empty slots quickly, but it does not understand your build's coherence — it may assign arts that conflict in range, Qi type, or combat rhythm. Use it to populate the loadout, then manually review and adjust.