I’ve been playing Where Winds Meet since launch, have four max-level characters, and I still get giddy when I stumble on a hidden area most players miss. A few weeks back, I was grinding for mountain crafting materials when I followed a stray white deer off the main path and found where winds meet cloud steps completely by accident. I was shocked I hadn’t found it earlier, especially since it holds some of the most useful early-to-mid game rewards in the entire game. Most players walk right past the entrance because it’s hidden behind an ivy-covered stone arch, and the surrounding mist glitches out your mini map so it never shows up as a marked location. This guide is based on 12+ runs through the area across multiple playthroughs, so I’ll cover everything you need to know to get in safely, grab all the best loot, and avoid the frustrating mistakes I made on my first few visits.
How to Unlock Access to Where Winds Meet Cloud Steps
Before you even try to hunt for the entrance, you need to complete a short side quest first, otherwise you’ll just waste 20 minutes slamming into an invisible wall like I did. The quest is called “Mountain Messenger”, and you pick it up from the old herbalist in Pine Bluff Village, the small settlement right at the base of Frostspine Peaks. The quest is dead simple: you just deliver a bundle of medicinal herbs to the hermit living halfway up the mountain, and you get the mist ward amulet as a reward once you turn it in.
The amulet doesn’t just remove the invisible wall blocking the entrance. It also stops the cloud steps mist from draining your stamina and dealing passive poison damage the longer you stay in the area, so it’s non-negotiable for exploration. If you lost the amulet after finishing the quest, you don’t have to redo the whole thing, you can just buy a replacement from the herbalist for 500 silver, which is a tiny cost for the rewards you’ll get.
Once you have the amulet, fast travel to the Frozen Waterfall point, then walk 200 meters northwest along the narrow cliff path. You’ll see a crumbling stone arch covered in bright red mountain flowers, that’s the entrance. Walk through it, and you’ll trigger a short cutscene where the mist clears just enough to show the full expanse of the cloud steps spread out in front of you.
Key Rewards You Can Earn in the Cloud Steps Area
A lot of players only visit the area once to finish the short follow-up quest from the herbalist, then never come back, which is a huge mistake. There are permanent, account-wide rewards here that make exploring every corner of the area well worth the 1 to 2 hours you’ll spend there. Even late-game players come back to grab the most popular rewards, since they make exploring high mountain areas and even skipping certain boss mechanics so much easier.
The most valuable exclusive rewards you can only get in this area are:
- Wind Step Boots: Unique footwear that boosts double jump height by 100% and reduces stamina cost for climbing by 30%. These work on all characters on your account, so you only have to grab them once.
- Cloud Lotus Crafting Material: This rare flower only grows on the rocky ledges of the cloud steps, and respawns every 48 in-game hours. You need 10 of them to craft the legendary “Mountain’s Blessing” potions, which restore 100% of your health and stamina instantly, and give you a 20% damage boost for 10 minutes.
- Hidden Lore Scrolls: There are 7 scrolls scattered across the area, each telling a part of the story of the mountain god who used to live on the peaks. Collect all 7, and you unlock a secret endgame side quest that gives you a unique mount that can walk on clouds.
There are also 12 common silver chests scattered around the area, each with between 200 and 500 silver, plus low-to-mid tier gear that you can either use or sell for extra cash. Even if you don’t care about the exclusive rewards, the silver alone is enough to make the trip worth it for new players who are still saving up for better gear.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Exploring the Area
I’ve made almost every possible mistake you can make in this area, from forgetting supplies to accidentally locking myself out of the legendary fall damage charm for a full week of real time. These are the most common mistakes you should avoid to save yourself time and frustration.
First, don’t forget to stock up on stamina potions before you head into the area. Even with the mist ward amulet, most of the paths are steep, and there are a lot of long jumps that require full stamina to make. I once ran out of stamina halfway up a 30 meter cliff, fell all the way back to the entrance, and had to redo 20 minutes of climbing, which is a mistake I haven’t made since.
Second, don’t attack the white cloud deer that wander the grassy ledges of the area. These deer are friendly, and if you follow the one with the small antlers from a distance, it will lead you directly to the hidden legendary fall damage charm. If you attack even one of the deer, all of them will run away immediately, and you’ll have to wait 7 full in-game days for them to respawn before you can get the charm. I made this mistake on my first run, and I was so frustrated I almost skipped the charm entirely.
Third, don’t leave the area before you collect all 7 lore scrolls. The mist resets the scroll locations every time you leave the area, so if you only collect 3 and then leave to turn in a quest, you’ll have to start the search all over again from scratch. Take 10 extra minutes to check every small ledge and cave before you head out, it will save you a lot of time later.
Tips to Navigate Tricky Terrain Safely
The cloud steps area is made up of dozens of small, disconnected floating ledges, and the mist makes it hard to see more than 10 meters in front of you most of the time, so it’s really easy to get lost or fall off a cliff. These tips will help you navigate the area quickly and safely, without wasting time respawning over and over.
First, follow the red stone markers that are carved into the cliff faces all over the area. They look like random little carvings at first glance, but they were left by the hermit who lives on the mountain, and they mark the safest path through the mist. They also lead directly to all 7 lore scrolls, so if you follow them, you won’t miss any. I ignored these markers on my first run, and I got lost in the mist for 40 minutes before I accidentally fell off a cliff and respawned back at the Frozen Waterfall fast travel point.
Second, only use your glider when you can clearly see the landing spot in front of you. The mist hides gaps between ledges all the time, and if you glide into a gap you didn’t see, you’ll fall to your death instantly. I always test the distance with a small jump first before I pull out my glider, just to be safe.
Third, use the floating wind currents whenever you see them. These are the small, swirling white columns of air that float between ledges, and they’ll carry you up to higher ledges that you can’t reach even with full stamina and the wind step boots. Most of them lead directly to hidden chests or lore scrolls, so it’s always worth following them. If you do get lost, don’t panic. Open your quest log and select the “Cloud Steps Journey” side quest, and it will show a faint blue marker on your screen that points back to the main path. Never rely solely on your mini map here, the mist distorts the signal, and it will often show paths that don’t exist, or hide ledges that are right in front of you.
If you’re looking for a fun, rewarding side activity that gives you useful permanent rewards, where winds meet cloud steps is one of the best hidden areas in the entire game. It’s accessible as early as level 15, so you can grab the wind step boots and the fall damage charm really early in your playthrough, which makes the rest of the game so much easier. I still visit the area every 2 in-game days to collect cloud lotus for my legendary potions, and the wind step boots are the first thing I grab whenever I start a new character. Just follow the tips in this guide, avoid the mistakes I made, and you’ll be able to grab every single reward in the area in one single run, no hassle required.
