If you’ve spent hours roaming the misty mountain ranges of your favorite open-world martial arts RPG, you’ve probably stumbled on vague NPC hints about a secret spot tucked between floating peaks. Most passing mentions are throwaway lines from wandering merchants, who say they’ve only seen it from a distance during clear weather. I spent three evenings wandering off marked trails, burning through stamina potions and falling off cliffs more times than I care to admit, before I finally found where winds meet cloud step. What I thought was just a pretty overlook turned out to hold rare crafting materials, a hidden side quest, and a permanent stamina boost that made all the frustration worth it. This guide breaks down everything I learned from my failed attempts and successful trips, so you don’t have to waste time guessing the right path or missing out on the best rewards.
What Makes Where Winds Meet Cloud Step Worth Tracking Down?
First off, this spot is not marked on any official in-game map, and less than 12% of players have unlocked it according to recent community achievement stats. That alone makes it a fun flex for anyone who loves exploring off the beaten path, but the practical rewards are even better. The biggest draw is the permanent 5% stamina boost you get from interacting with the central altar — that might not sound like much, but it adds an extra full climbing sequence or longer glide that gets you out of so many sticky situations when you’re exploring high areas. You also get access to exclusive wind-infused crafting materials that don’t spawn anywhere else in the game, which you need to make the highest tier weapons and gliders. Unlike most hidden spots that only give you a small amount of gold, where winds meet cloud step gives you permanent rewards that improve your gameplay for the rest of your playthrough. I only found out about the rewards after I got the stamina boost, and I immediately went back to help my 12 guild mates find it too, since it makes climbing every other high area in the game way easier. It also counts for 3% of the total mountain region exploration completion rate, so it’s non-negotiable if you’re going for 100% completion and the exclusive region reward wings.
Step-by-Step Path to Reach the Spot Safely
Before you head out, you’ll want to make sure you meet the minimum requirements: at least level 3 stamina, two wind glider upgrades, and at least one anti-freeze potion if you’re traveling during the in-game winter cycle. If you don’t have level 3 stamina yet, you can bring a friend who has stamina buff abilities to help you out, but it’s doable solo if you plan your stops carefully. Start at the Frosted Pine Waypoint, which is the highest marked waypoint on the south side of the mountain range. Head northwest along the narrow cliff ledge, making sure to stick close to the rock wall to avoid slipping off the edge. You’ll know you’re on the right path when you see the three twisted pine trees with red cloth markers tied to their branches — those were left by other players who found the spot first, so if you don’t see them, you’ve wandered off the correct ledge. From there, equip your wind resistance charm and use your glider to cross the first 100-meter gap to the floating rock platform. Climb the ice wall on the left side of the platform, and once you reach the top, glide across the second, smaller gap to the stone arch wrapped in wispy clouds. That’s the official entrance to where winds meet cloud step.
Before you make the trip, keep these critical mistakes to avoid top of mind:
- Don’t try to climb the direct south face of the peak, even if it looks shorter — it has invisible wind barriers that will knock you off halfway, no matter how much stamina you have. I learned this the hard way, falling 200 meters and losing all the foraging items I’d collected that day.
- Don’t forget to activate your wind resistance charm before gliding across the second gap — sudden, unmarked gusts can push you off course if you don’t have it active, and you’ll have to climb all the way back up from the waypoint.
- Don’t loot the small common chests on the floating rock platforms first — they trigger a temporary wind storm that blocks the path to the main spot for 10 in-game minutes, which adds unnecessary wait time to your trip.
If you follow the path exactly, you can reach the spot in less than 15 minutes, even if you’re taking your time to avoid falls. I’ve brought at least 20 players to the spot now, and the only ones who ran into trouble were the ones who tried to take shortcuts. If you get lost along the way, you can check community posted screenshots of the path, but as long as you follow the red cloth markers, you’ll find where winds meet cloud step with no issues.
All Hidden Rewards You Can Unlock Here
When you first step through the arch, you’ll be greeted by a wide, flat platform surrounded by floating clouds, with a stone altar in the exact center. The first thing you should do is interact with that altar to claim your permanent stamina boost — you don’t have to complete any quests to get it, so it’s a free reward just for finding the spot. Next, look for the rogue cultivator NPC sitting on the east edge of the platform, meditating. The NPC at where winds meet cloud step only appears if you’ve completed the main mountain story quest, so make sure you finish that before you head out or you’ll miss the side quest. Talk to him, and he’ll ask you to collect three cloud lotus flowers that grow on the west edge of the platform, just out of sight of the main area. Collect the lotuses, bring them back, and he’ll give you the Cloud Step Outfit, which gives a permanent 10% gliding speed boost that stacks with all other gliding buffs.
Behind the small waterfall on the north side of the platform, you’ll find a hidden legendary chest that holds three star-forged weapon upgrade materials and 500 of the game’s premium currency. That alone is worth the trip, since those upgrade materials usually only drop from weekly boss fights that take hours to complete. Most players don’t realize that where winds meet cloud step is the only source of wind thread in the entire game, a rare crafting material that grows on the small bushes around the edge of the platform. You can harvest 10 pieces of wind thread every 48 in-game hours, and you need 30 pieces to craft the highest tier wind glider in the game. Even if you don’t care about crafting, the wind thread you collect at where winds meet cloud step sells for 500 gold each, so it’s a great way to farm extra cash fast if you need it. I used the wind thread I collected over two weeks to craft that glider, and it cut my travel time across the mountain region by almost 30%. If you forget to collect the cloud lotuses during your first trip, you can always come back to where winds meet cloud step later to get them, since they respawn every 24 in-game hours.
How to Make the Most of Your Visit
To get everything you can out of your first trip, plan to arrive at the spot during in-game sunrise. The cloud lotus flowers only spawn during the first two hours of in-game daylight, so if you arrive at night, you’ll have to wait 20 real minutes for them to spawn, which is a huge waste of time. The view at sunrise is also incredible, with the golden light hitting the surrounding floating peaks, so it’s a great spot to take screenshots for your profile. If you’ve already unlocked where winds meet cloud step, you can also place a custom waypoint directly on the altar, so you can fast travel back anytime to harvest wind thread or bring friends to unlock their own rewards.
If you’re still working on leveling up your stamina, bring a friend who has the support class stamina buff ability. They can place temporary stamina regen spots along the climbing path, so you won’t run out of stamina halfway up the ice wall. You can also use a stamina boosting food item before you start climbing, which adds an extra 20% stamina for 30 minutes, making the trip even easier. If you’re working on 100% exploring the entire map, make sure you interact with every small rock and bush around the platform — there are three hidden exploration logs tucked away that count towards your region completion rate, and most players miss them because they’re focused on the altar and NPC. I didn’t find those logs until my third trip to the spot, so I had to go back specifically to collect them to hit 100% completion.
I still visit where winds meet cloud step every few days to harvest wind thread and bring new guild members to unlock their stamina boosts. It’s one of the few hidden spots in the game that feels truly rewarding to find, not just a throwaway easter egg with no real practical value. Even if you’re not a completionist who cares about 100% map completion, the permanent stamina and gliding speed buffs are more than worth the 15 minutes it takes to follow the path. Next time you’re roaming the mountain ranges and feel sick of running the same marked quests, skip the mission list for a little while and go track it down — you won’t regret the detour.
