The Hidden Ones FAQ

Is The Hidden Ones free to play?

Yes. There is no mandatory purchase to start, and the core story and daily modes are open to a free player. But it is not gacha-free. The final test runs two character banners, so the honest description is free-to-play with optional character spending. The gacha and currency guide covers what each currency buys and how the pity counters work.

Free does not mean every character is free. The starting trio is free, and the 30 million pre-registration reward adds Xia He at launch, but the wider roster is acquired through play and banners. If your plan depends on owning a specific character on day one, check the acquisition route before you commit.

Is it an MMO, a fighting game or an action RPG?

It is a 3D action-fighting game with an action RPG shell. The fights are the point: 1v1 and 3v3 modes, a stamina budget of 5 pips, color-coded blue and red attacks, parries, dodges and cancels. Around that sits an RPG layer of chapters, character levels, gear, inscriptions, artifacts and daily stamina. That layer is substantial, but it does not turn the game into an open-world MMO.

The distinction matters when you read a review. A complaint about "another live-service open world" is aimed at the wrong genre. A complaint about the stamina economy or the gacha is aimed at the right one. If you want the mechanical core first, read the combat system guide; if you want the loop around it, start with the beginner's guide.

Can PC and mobile players play together?

During the final test, PC and mobile share data, so the same account can move between devices. That is cross-platform data sharing as well as cross-play. The test build is the confirmed reference point; a launch-day change is not documented, so verify it in the live client before making it your main plan.

The China login systems add one more wall. QQ and WeChat players match together, but their data stays separate. Matching together means you can meet in a fight; separate data means your characters and progress do not merge. Agree with your group on one login route. The performance guide covers the device side of the same decision.

Does it have a gacha, and what are the pity rules?

Yes, it has a gacha. An early 2025 preview claimed "No Gacha!?" during a pre-alpha look, and that claim is now obsolete. The final test has two banner types: the Lingxu Coin standard banner and the Xuanhuang Yu limited banner. Pity is tracked separately for each banner.

• 70 pulls guarantees an SSR on a banner.
• 120 pulls in the limited system give a mint you can exchange for the current rate-up character.
• The two currencies are not interchangeable; plan around the banner you actually want.

The FAQ answer is not "the game is cheap" or "the game is expensive." It is simply that character acquisition includes a gacha, with a 70-pull SSR floor and a 120-pull limited mint. The character overview shows who is available outside the banners; the currency page explains the rest.

How long is the story, and is there endgame?

Adventure mode contains three story chapters. A total hour count is Unconfirmed: the test data records the chapter structure but no reliable playtime figure, so any "10-hour" or "40-hour" claim is an estimate rather than a documented fact.

The endgame is broader than the story. Xinyuan Secret Realm is a 15-floor dungeon with two to four random affixes per floor. Train No.7 is the 11-boss raid. Abyss of Tao is a single-character boss rush scored on time and difficulty, with your best three characters contributing to the total. Chentu Bailian is the roguelike tower, and Luotian Dajiao is the weekly guard trial open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

That is enough to answer "is there something after the story?" without pretending the story is longer than it is. The dungeon guide covers Xinyuan and Chentu Bailian; the Train No.7 guide covers the raid phases.

Is there an English UI or English voice-over?

Unconfirmed. The test data covers the Chinese client, its systems and its schedule, but it contains no record of a confirmed English UI or English voice-over. The official English title and a set of English wiki terms are not proof that the launch client ships with a full English localization.

Treat any store listing or voice-over claim as provisional until you can see the language option in the client. For now, the practical workaround is the glossary: it maps the Chinese interface terms to the English names used across this site, so you can follow menus and guides even if the client is Chinese-only.

Is PvP pay-to-win?

Quick Duel is the one mode the test data explicitly describes as normalized. It is a 1v1 three-character rotation with 90-second rounds, and it resets character level and gear, so the fight is about the kit and the player rather than the account's progression. That is the mode to pick if you want a fair skill test.

Do not assume every PvP mode works the same way. The test data makes the normalization claim for Quick Duel, not for every ranked format. Tianxia Huiwu's 3v3 rotation and Liangyi Xiangdou's 2v2 best-of-five have their own rules, and this page will not stretch that rule over them. The PvP guide breaks down each mode and its team structure.

So the accurate answer is: Quick Duel is not pay-to-win in the sense that gear cannot carry you, while the other modes should be judged on their own documented rules. A blanket "PvP is fair" or "PvP is pay-to-win" claim is less useful than knowing which queue you are entering.

Do I need to watch the anime first?

No. The game opens with Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao investigating the past, and it introduces the world through its own story chapters. You will recognize more faces and faction references if you have seen the anime, but the guide does not assume that knowledge. An Outcast is explained as a person who can sense and use qi; Nadutong is introduced as the courier-front organization that manages them.

If you do watch the anime first, use it for context, not for mechanics. The game's combat language, gacha and daily loop are its own. The beginner's guide starts from zero for that reason.

What numbers should I remember?

Two of those are character-specific. Feng Baobao's 45% crit is the test-server threshold for the last hit of A-Wei's Eighteen Forms chain; below it, the final hit can drop and the whole route loses value. Zhuge Qing's 950 elemental mastery is the target after the level 70 breakthrough for a stable second burn on Li Sigil: Fire. Neither is a week-one requirement.

The daily layer is separate: 240 stamina, 3 Bizarre Commissions at 30 stamina each, and about 2,000 Lingxu Coin from those commissions over a week. The combat guide explains the five-pip budget, and the beginner guide explains the daily one.

Are there hidden codes and timed scenes?

Unconfirmed. The test data marks the hidden-quest section as player speculation gathered from several sources, so these triggers are worth trying but should not be treated as verified patch notes. The reported code at Tianxia Hui is 1107, entered on the number panel beside the lobby elevator. The reported Zhang Lingyu scene at Longhu Mountain is available between 18:00 and 24:00 in game time, on the highest observation platform, with a level 30 party recommended and a once-per-week limit.

If a trigger does not work, check the in-game time and the weekly limit before assuming the code is wrong. The hidden quests page collects the full set of reported triggers and their conditions.

Where can I find the glossary?

The glossary is the site's reference for Chinese terms in English. It separates Official names from the game's UI or English wiki, standardized names frozen from the test data, and site translations used consistently across the guide. That last label matters: some English names are ours, not the publisher's, and the glossary says which is which.

Use it alongside any page that mentions a system you have not seen in the client. If a term in a menu does not match the page, the glossary is the fastest way to confirm whether you are looking at the same mechanic under a different translation.