The quick answer
Buy wine from the Honest Merchant, Hao Jiu, and drink until the severe intoxication event unlocks Drunken Poet. He begins in Blissful Retreat and later moves to Harvestfall Village. Treat any resulting illness at Evercare Clinic; there is no reliable fixed bottle count for every attempt.
On this page
Find Hao Jiu in the correct story state
Look for the Honest Merchant in Blissful Retreat. If your story has changed that settlement and he is no longer there, check Harvestfall Village. The missing merchant is a location problem, not a reason to restart the character.
Buy a small supply of wine and move somewhere safe before using it. Leave yourself an easy route to a Boundary Stone so the recovery trip is straightforward.
Watch the status and unlock notification
- Use wine from your bag and watch the intoxication status.
- Continue until the severe drunkenness or alcohol-poisoning event triggers the skill unlock.
- Stop when Drunken Poet is learned; buying and drinking more does not upgrade the skill.
- Visit Evercare Clinic to treat the resulting condition before returning to difficult combat.
- Equip the learned skill through Develop → Mystic Skills.
Reports of a particular number of bottles are not a dependable requirement. Check the actual status and learned-skill notification after each use. If you already have the skill, repeating the drinking process is unnecessary.
Separate the unlock from the combat sequence
The combat skill creates its own Intoxicated state and allows follow-up strikes. You do not need to reproduce the original drinking session before every battle. Follow-ups consume additional Vitality, so the opening activation is only part of the resource cost.
Our suggested drill is to activate the skill, land a short follow-up sequence and inspect the remaining Vitality. Add more strikes only when you can still afford the other skill you intend to use. This is especially useful when learning a two-skill combo.
Check Tier 3 and the selected fire branch
The base Tier 3 interaction uses Drunken Haze followed by Dragon’s Breath’s Ignition. Apply the setup to the target before the fire attack. Owning both skills is not enough when the required breakthrough is still locked.
With Dragon’s Breath’s Dark Scorch branch selected, apply your own Dark Scorch first, then Tier 3 Drunken Poet’s Alcoholic Breath. The stronger explosion does not refresh Dark Scorch.
Inspect the selected branch before practising the order. Begin with one successful setup and follow-up, then check your remaining Vitality. This separates a missing target condition from an attempt that simply ran out of resources.
What to read next
Common questions
Does treating alcohol poisoning remove Drunken Poet?
No. The illness is temporary; the learned skill remains available.
Why does my fire combo not detonate?
Check Drunken Poet’s tier, the selected Dragon’s Breath branch and whether its required effect reached the same target. The base setup and Dark Scorch use different orders.
Sources & verification
Source research is separate from in-game testing. Recommendations are identified as editorial advice.
- Official Version 2.0 notes
Dark Scorch interaction.