If you’ve ever tabbed out of Where Winds Meet mid-quest to check a map or answer a Discord message, only to wait 10 seconds for the game to reload or deal with a frustrating crash, you’ve probably wondered if there’s a better display option. Fullscreen mode feels immersive, but it’s notoriously unforgiving for multitaskers, while regular windowed mode adds annoying borders and extra input lag. We’re breaking down everything you need to know about where winds meet borderless window mode, from setup steps to common fixes, so you can pick the best display setting for your playstyle.
Where Winds Meet Borderless Window: Core Benefits Over Fullscreen & Windowed Mode
Most players don’t realize that borderless window mode combines the best parts of fullscreen and regular windowed mode, with almost none of the downsides for casual and mid-tier players. For starters, you can alt-tab between the game and other apps instantly, with no resolution shift or loading time. That means you won’t miss a boss fight cue while you’re looking up a weak point, and you won’t lose progress if you need to jump to your browser quickly. Borderless window mode also eliminates the black bar issues that plague fullscreen mode for players with ultra-wide or non-standard monitor sizes, so you get the full immersive view of the game’s open world without any cropping.
Another big benefit is for multi-monitor users. If you run a second monitor for streams, walkthroughs, or chat, borderless mode lets you move your cursor between screens without the game minimizing itself automatically. I used to run fullscreen mode exclusively until I lost a 2-hour boss fight because I tabbed out to check a build guide and the game crashed. I switched to borderless mode the same day, and I haven’t had that issue again in 6 months of regular play. The only small tradeoff is a tiny, almost unnoticeable increase in input lag for competitive players, but for 99% of people playing through the main story or exploring the open world, you won’t feel a difference.
Step-by-Step Setup for Borderless Window Mode in Where Winds Meet
Setting up borderless window mode takes less than a minute for most players, as long as you do a few quick pre-checks first to avoid glitches. These pre-checks only take a few seconds, but they’ll save you from dealing with blurry visuals or missing display options later:
- Confirm your desktop resolution matches the in-game recommended resolution to avoid stretched or blurry visuals
- Close any background apps that force display scaling, such as third-party screen recorders or overlay tools, before making changes
- Update your graphics card drivers to the latest version to avoid compatibility conflicts with borderless display modes
Once you’ve done those checks, launch the game and head to the main settings menu. Navigate to the Display tab, which is usually the first option on the left side of the settings menu. Look for the “Display Mode” dropdown menu, which will list Fullscreen, Windowed, and Borderless Window as options. Select Borderless Window, hit Apply, and then Save Changes at the bottom of the menu. The game will flicker once for a second, and then you’ll be running in borderless mode. If you don’t see the borderless window option in your in-game settings, restart your game and launcher first, as missing display options are almost always caused by temporary launcher glitches.
If the in-game option still doesn’t work, you can force borderless mode through your game launcher. For Steam users, right click on Where Winds Meet in your library, select Properties, and paste “-windowed -borderless” into the Launch Options box at the bottom of the General tab. When you launch the game next, it will automatically open in borderless window mode, even if the in-game setting is still set to fullscreen. This trick works for almost every PC game, so it’s a good one to remember if you run into display issues with other titles too.
Common Borderless Window Glitches & Easy Fixes
Most players won’t run into any issues when switching to borderless mode, but there are a handful of common glitches that pop up for people with older hardware or custom display setups. The good news is almost all of these have quick, no-cost fixes that take less than two minutes to apply.
The most common issue is a black screen on launch after you switch to borderless mode. This usually happens if your desktop resolution doesn’t match your in-game resolution, or if an overlay app is conflicting with the display setting. To fix it, close the game fully, double check that your Windows display resolution is set to the recommended value for your monitor, and turn off any Steam, Discord, or GeForce Experience overlays before launching again. Most input lag issues with borderless window mode are caused by outdated graphics drivers, not the mode itself, so always check for updates first before switching back to fullscreen.
Another common glitch is the mouse cursor getting stuck off-screen, or moving to your second monitor mid-fight. This happens almost exclusively for multi-monitor users, and there are two easy fixes. The first is to enable the “Lock Cursor to Window” option in the Where Winds Meet accessibility settings, which will stop your cursor from leaving the game window while you’re playing. The second is to disable your second monitor temporarily in Windows display settings if you’re not using it while you play. If you experience random frame drops after switching to borderless mode, turn off any Discord or Steam overlays, as these often conflict with non-fullscreen display settings.
One less common glitch is blurry visuals after switching to borderless mode. This happens when Windows display scaling is set to something other than 100% for high-DPI monitors. To fix it, right click on the Where Winds Meet executable file, select Properties, go to the Compatibility tab, and check the box that says “Override high DPI scaling behavior” and select “Application” from the dropdown. This will stop Windows from stretching the game window to fit your screen, which fixes the blurriness instantly.
Is Borderless Window Mode Right For Your Where Winds Meet Playthrough?
Borderless window mode is the best option for most players, but it’s not a perfect fit for everyone, so it’s worth weighing the pros and cons against your own playstyle before you make the switch. If you’re a casual player who likes to multitask while you play, or you stream or record your gameplay, borderless mode is definitely the right pick for you. The ability to tab out instantly without crashing, no black bars on ultra-wide monitors, and seamless multi-monitor support make it far more convenient than fullscreen for most use cases.
That said, there are a few cases where fullscreen mode is still the better pick. If you’re a competitive player chasing the absolute lowest possible input lag for PvP fights, fullscreen mode does have a tiny edge over borderless, though the difference is less than 1ms on most modern hardware, so you’ll only notice it if you’re already playing at a very high skill level. If you have a very low-end PC that’s already struggling to run the game at 30 FPS, borderless mode might use 2-3% more GPU resources, which could drop your frame rate by a couple of frames. For everyone else, though, the convenience of borderless mode far outweighs that tiny potential performance hit.
I have a mid-range RTX 3060 build with a 144Hz 1440p monitor, and I get the exact same frame rate in borderless mode as I do in fullscreen, with no noticeable input lag during boss fights or open world exploration. I also stream my playthroughs a couple of times a week, and borderless mode has cut my editing time in half by eliminating the black screen capture errors I used to get with fullscreen mode. If you regularly stream or record your Where Winds Meet gameplay, borderless window mode will cut your editing time in half by eliminating display capture errors.
You don’t have to commit to one mode forever, either. You can switch between fullscreen and borderless mode any time you want from the in-game settings menu, so you can test it out for a few hours and see how it feels for you. If you don’t like it, you can switch back in 30 seconds, no harm done.
At the end of the day, the best display setting is the one that lets you enjoy the game without unnecessary frustrations, and for most players, where winds meet borderless window mode hits that perfect balance of convenience, performance, and immersion. The setup process is fast, common glitches have easy fixes, and the benefits of being able to multitask without crashing make it well worth the small amount of time it takes to switch. Give it a test run during your next play session, and you’ll probably wonder why you didn’t make the switch sooner.
