I spent my first three hours with Where Winds Meet wandering the Song Dynasty open world alone, before my friend kept bugging me to let them join my save. That’s when I realized I had no clue where winds meet how many players are allowed per session, and I spent 20 minutes scrolling through menus trying to find the answer before I gave up and looked it up. If you’re in the same boat, you’re not alone. Most new players miss the fine print about multiplayer limits, co-op restrictions, and how you can adjust lobbies to fit your group size. This guide breaks down every rule you need to know before you invite your friends to explore the world, take on bandit camps, or complete side quests together.
Where Winds Meet: How Many Players Are Allowed Per Multiplayer Session?
The short answer for open world free roam co-op is a hard limit of 4 players per lobby, including the host. The standard maximum player count for Where Winds Meet co-op sessions is 4 players total, including the host. That means you can invite up to 3 friends to join your personal save, or join a public lobby with 3 other random players if you want to meet new people to play with. This limit applies to both private invite-only lobbies and public open lobbies, so you can’t bypass it by adjusting basic settings.
It’s important to note that this 4 player limit only applies to the open world free roam mode. Other game modes have different player counts, which we’ll cover in more detail later. I learned this the hard way when I tried to bring three friends into the first major story mission, and the game kicked two of us out before the cutscene played. Certain main story quests and instanced challenges have lower player limits, usually 2 players, because they’re designed to be more intimate and story-focused. You can check the player limit for any quest or challenge by hovering over it in your quest log before you start.
One nice perk of the multiplayer system is that all your progress saves to your own account when you join another player’s lobby. That means you don’t lose any gear, skill points, or quest progress when you leave to go back to your solo save. You can even complete your own personal side quests while you’re in someone else’s lobby, as long as you stay close enough to the host for the game to track your actions.
What Affects Multiplayer Player Limits in Where Winds Meet?
The 4 player open world limit is the base rule, but different game modes have different caps that you should be aware of before you start queuing for content. Open world free roam sticks to the 4 player limit at all times, no matter what you’re doing in the world. You can roam anywhere, fight any enemies, and complete any open world activities with your full group of 4, as long as you don’t enter an instanced challenge with a lower limit.
Instanced PvE challenges like bandit strongholds, ancient tomb raids, and world boss fights have varying player limits. Smaller, easier strongholds usually have a 2 player limit, while larger tomb raids and endgame world bosses allow the full 4 player group. Always check the challenge description on the map before you bring your full group, or you might end up having to leave half your friends waiting outside the instance while you complete it.
PvP modes have much higher player limits for players who want to compete against larger groups. The 1v1 arena mode obviously has a 2 player limit, while the team deathmatch mode allows 8 players per team for a total of 16 players per match. The large-scale siege mode, which is only available during scheduled weekend events right now, allows up to 32 players total split between attacking and defending teams. Crossplay is enabled by default for all modes, so you can play with friends on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox regardless of what platform you own the game on.
As the host of a lobby, you can adjust the maximum player count anywhere from 1 (solo) to 4 for open world sessions. You can also toggle between public, friend-only, and invite-only privacy settings to control who can join your game. If you want to play alone but still keep the option open for friends to join later, you can set your lobby to friend-only with a 4 player cap, so your friends can jump in whenever they log on without you having to send them an invite first.
Tips to Optimize Your Multiplayer Session for Your Group Size
Once you know the player limits for your preferred game mode, you can adjust your playstyle to make the experience as smooth as possible for everyone in your group. If you’re playing with a full group of 4, it’s a good idea to assign roles before you take on high-level content. Have one player spec into healing skills, one into tanky defense skills, and the other two into damage skills, and you’ll be able to beat even the hardest endgame bosses without wiping repeatedly.
If you're playing with a new player, turn off level scaling temporarily so they don't get one-shot by high level enemies near your current progression point. You can turn level scaling back on once they’ve picked up a few levels and better gear, and they’ll be able to contribute to fights without dying every 30 seconds. I’ve done this with my little cousin who’s never played an open world RPG before, and he had a blast running around collecting herbs and petting wild animals without worrying about getting killed by bandits every five minutes.
If you have a group larger than 4 that wants to play together, you can split into two separate 4-player lobbies and meet up at public PvP areas to fight each other, or race to complete open world challenges like climbing the tallest mountain or clearing a bandit camp. The devs have teased that they might increase the open world player limit in future patches, but as of now there’s no official timeline for that change, so this workaround is your best bet for larger groups.
Keep these quick tips in mind to avoid common group play frustrations:
- Always save your game before inviting friends to your lobby, to avoid losing progress if there's a connection error
- Stick within 500 meters of the host if you're completing a group quest, otherwise the quest progress won't count for all players
- Turn off PvP in your lobby settings if you don't want your friends to accidentally attack you while you're fighting common enemies
- Share loot evenly by turning on group loot mode, so everyone gets a fair shot at rare gear from boss fights
You can also adjust the enemy difficulty slider in your lobby settings if your group is finding content too easy or too hard. Crank the difficulty up for a challenge if you’re all experienced players, or turn it down if you’re just playing to relax and explore the world together. There’s no right or wrong way to play, so adjust the settings to fit what your group enjoys most.
Common Multiplayer Player Count Issues and How to Fix Them
Even if you know the official player limits, you might run into issues trying to get your full group into a lobby. The most common issue players report is being unable to invite a fourth friend to their lobby even though the limit is 4. This usually happens because one of your current lobby members has a pending quest that only allows 3 players total. To fix this, have all players abandon any active side quests before inviting the fourth person, then pick the quests back up once everyone is in the lobby.
Another common issue is being unable to see a friend’s lobby even if they sent you an invite. This is almost always caused by crossplay being turned off on one of your accounts. Double check that both you and your friend have crossplay enabled in your account settings, and that you’re both on the same server region. If you’re still having trouble connecting, try restarting your game or your internet router to reset your connection.
If you get kicked out of a lobby mid-quest, it’s usually either because the host adjusted the player limit and kicked you by accident, or your internet connection dropped. If it happens repeatedly, try switching to a wired internet connection if you’re on Wi-Fi, or have a different friend host the lobby instead. If you're hosting, you should avoid fast traveling while other players are loading into the lobby, as this can cause crashes or disconnects for people joining. Wait until everyone has fully spawned into your world before you fast travel to a new location.
Finally, if you can’t join any multiplayer lobbies at all, check to make sure your game is updated to the latest version. Mismatched game versions will prevent you from connecting to other players, so make sure you’ve downloaded any recent patches before you try to join a lobby. You can check for updates on your platform’s game library page if you’re not sure if you’re running the latest version.
At the end of the day, figuring out where winds meet how many players you can bring on your adventures doesn't have to be confusing. The 4 player open world limit is perfect for small friend groups to explore, fight enemies, and uncover secrets together, and the higher player counts for PvP modes give you plenty of options if you want to compete against larger groups. Don't be afraid to adjust your lobby settings to fit your group's needs, and use the tips we covered to avoid common connection or quest progression issues. Next time you log into the game, you'll be ready to invite all your closest friends to join your wuxia adventure without any hassle.
