I spent three hours wandering the Liurnia of the Lakes cliffside last month, chasing a glowing blue ghost that kept vanishing over rocky outcrops, when I stumbled across where winds meet antiques. I’d seen the phrase in a random item description weeks before, but I had no clue it referred to an actual, unmarked spot packed with rare loot and quest context most players walk right past. I’ve put over 400 hours into the game across three playthroughs, and I still find new hidden spots every time I boot it up. This one stood out more than most, because the loot is actually useful for every build type, no matter if you run a strength, intelligence, or faith build. If you’re tired of following generic walkthroughs that skip over the most interesting unmarked spots in the game, this guide breaks down everything you need to find, explore, and get the most out of this hidden location.
Where Winds Meet Antiques: Exact Location and How to Access It
You won’t find this spot marked on any of the standard Liurnia map fragments you pick up from roadside obelisks, so it’s easy to miss even if you explore the region thoroughly. It sits on a small, elevated plateau north of the Rose Church, just west of the Carian Study Hall cliff edge. The only way to reach it is to follow the narrow dirt path that winds up the cliff from the lake shore, then use Torrent’s double jump to catch a rising wind gust that lifts you up to the plateau edge.
You’ll need to make sure you have double jump for Torrent unlocked before you try to reach the spot, otherwise you’ll fall straight back into the lake every time you jump. The path up the cliff also has a patrolling glintstone sorcerer that fires long-range magic projectiles, so bring a shield with high magic resistance or a fast weapon to take them out before they wear down your flasks. If you’re playing a low-level run, you can also sneak past the sorcerer by sticking to the rocky cover on the left side of the path, they won’t spot you if you crouch the whole way.
Rare Items You Can Only Collect At This Spot
Most players only grab the obvious antique weathered map sitting on the stone altar, but there are 6 unique items hidden across the small plateau that you can’t find anywhere else in Liurnia. Even if you don’t care about quest items, the stat boosts you get from the gear you pick up at where winds meet antiques make the trip worth it even for casual players who don’t follow side quests. All of the items are hidden in plain sight, you just have to know where to look:
- Ancient Storm Rune: A consumable that boosts all lightning damage by 25% for 3 minutes, perfect for fighting dragon bosses in the Mountaintops of the Giants later. It doesn’t expire, so you can save it for tough endgame fights if you don’t need it early on.
- Antique Carian Ring: Reduces FP cost of glintstone sorceries by 12% for intelligence builds, no other ring in the game offers that exact stat boost at low weight. It works even for hybrid builds that only use a few sorceries for utility.
- Weathered Noble's Diary: A quest item that unlocks a hidden side quest with the wandering blacksmith in Roundtable Hold, giving you access to unique somber smithing stone discounts for the rest of your playthrough.
- Wind-Touched Ash of War: Storm Blade: An upgraded version of the standard Storm Blade Ash of War that deals extra knockback to armored enemies. It’s especially useful for strength builds that struggle with slow, heavily armored knights in the Altus Plateau.
I missed the Ancient Storm Rune on my first three visits, because it’s tucked under a pile of broken pottery behind the altar. You have to roll through the pottery to reveal it, so don’t just grab the map and leave. There’s also a small pile of runes tucked under a bush on the far edge of the plateau, worth around 2,000 runes for early game players, which is enough to level up once or twice if you’re still low level.
Common Mistakes Players Make When Visiting
After showing this spot to a dozen of my friends who play the game, I’ve noticed a handful of common mistakes that make the trip way harder than it needs to be. The first one is showing up right after you reach Liurnia, before you’ve unlocked the second flask of wondrous physick, and getting taken out by the hidden archer perched on the upper cliff edge. The archer uses sleep arrows, so if you get hit, you’ll be stunned long enough for the patrolling wolf pack to take you out before you can react. You can take the archer out early by firing a few arrows up at their perch before you climb the last section of the path.
Another mistake is trying to access the spot during rain. The wind gust that lifts you up to the plateau doesn’t spawn during rainy weather, so you’ll waste 20 minutes jumping off the cliff trying to reach it for no reason. I learned that the hard way, I sat there for 15 minutes in a rainstorm refreshing the area before I realized the wind only appears when the sky is clear. If you get to the cliff edge and the wind isn’t there, just rest at the nearest site of grace until the weather clears.
The most costly mistake I see is selling the Weathered Noble’s Diary to a merchant. A lot of players think it’s just a flavor item, but if you hold onto it until you reach the Altus Plateau, you can trade it to the blacksmith for a free +5 somber smithing stone, which is worth way more than the 500 runes the merchant will give you for it. If you’re playing on a new game plus run, the items at where winds meet antiques scale to your playthrough level, so they’re still useful even if you’re already level 100+.
Hidden Quest Trigger Tied to This Location
Most players have no clue that this spot is tied to Ranni’s questline, one of the longest and most rewarding side quests in the game. If you visit after you talk to Ranni for the first time at her rise, you’ll find a small blue summon sign near the altar. Interacting with it will let you speak to a ghost of a Carian knight who gives you a secret map fragment that marks the location of the hidden Liurnia underground entrance, which skips 2 hours of navigating the poison swamps in the south of the region. That shortcut is a game changer if you’re trying to reach the Eternal City early to get unique gravity sorceries or weapons.
If you visit before you talk to Ranni, the summon sign won’t appear, so it’s worth coming back once you progress that quest a little. Even if you don’t plan on finishing Ranni’s full quest line, the underground entrance gives you access to some of the best rune farming spots in the early game, so it’s worth the extra trip. If you wear the Carian Knight armor when you interact with the summon sign, the ghost will give you an extra 10 somber smithing stone [1] as a bonus, which is super helpful for upgrading early game special weapons without having to farm them from random enemies.
There’s also a small Easter egg tied to the spot if you visit after beating the final boss. The altar will have a small glowing flower growing next to it that you can pick to get a unique gesture that you can’t unlock anywhere else. It’s just a fun little extra for players who take the time to revisit old spots after beating the game.
There are hundreds of unmarked hidden spots across the Lands Between, but where winds meet antiques is one of the most rewarding for both new and experienced players. Even if you’ve already beaten the game once, it’s worth coming back to this spot on your next playthrough to grab the unique items and unlock the hidden quest path you missed the first time. You don’t need any endgame gear to access it, just a little patience to find the wind gust and avoid the hidden enemies along the way. If you found this guide helpful, keep an eye out for more deep dives into unmarked hidden spots across the game, we’ve got dozens more to cover.
