I was wandering the western mountain peaks last week, chasing a rare fox spirit pet that only spawns during blizzards, when I stumbled on the glowing blue rune that triggers where winds meet join midnight blades. I had no clue what I was getting into at first, died three times to the first wave of shadow assassins before I figured out the core mechanics of the quest, and almost missed the secret ending entirely because I was rushing to get the blade reward. If you've stumbled on the same rune, or heard rumors of the rare dual blades you can earn from it, this guide will walk you through every step for where winds meet join midnight blades without spoiling the best story beats, and give you all the tips you need to get the maximum possible rewards on your first run.
Where Winds Meet Join Midnight Blades: First Steps to Trigger the Quest
A lot of players spend hours searching for this quest trigger because they skip a tiny, easy-to-miss prerequisite. You won't see the quest rune at all if you haven't finished the Elder's Wind Chime request first, a short side quest you pick up from the elder in Frostfall Village just south of the peaks. That quest only takes 10 minutes to complete: you just have to collect 3 wind chime fragments from the lower mountain slopes and hang them on the elder's porch. Once that's done, head to the three jagged peaks that mark the edge of the permanent storm zone on the northern edge of the map.
You'll need at least 30 stamina to climb all three, so make sure you've spent a few shrine points on stamina upgrades before you make the trip. Stand on the highest point of the middle peak at exactly midnight in-game time, and the rune will glow bright blue at the base of the stone cairn right next to you. Interact with it to start the quest for where winds meet join midnight blades, and make sure you're fully healed and have your gear equipped before you click, because the first wave of enemies spawns 10 seconds after you trigger it.
Key Combat Mechanics to Survive the Shadow Blade Challenges
The first half of where winds meet join midnight blades is all fast-paced, movement-heavy combat, so if you're used to slow, tanky builds you'll need to adjust your playstyle for this quest since where winds meet join midnight blades is designed for fast, agile builds. The first wave of enemies is 4 shadow assassins that are unique to where winds meet join midnight blades, spawning one at a time, each teleporting around the peak and only attacking from behind. The shadow assassins are completely immune to frontal damage, so you have to dodge roll behind them to land any hits. If you try to fight them head on, you'll waste all your durability on attacks that do 0 damage, and they'll chip away at your health until you die.
The second wave is a mid-boss called the Wind Blade Adept, who fires long-range wind slashes and teleports around the peak every 15 seconds. Every 10 seconds, a small wind gust will spawn at a random spot on the peak: stand in it for half a second and it will launch you 20 feet in the air, letting you dodge the mid-boss's massive AOE wind slash attack that would otherwise take half your health. To make these fights as easy as possible, I recommend bringing the following gear:
- Shadow resistant chest armor: cuts incoming damage from assassins by 40%, you can craft it with 12 shadow cloth drops from frost zone wolves that patrol the lower slopes
- Fast dual blades or dagger build: you need quick hits to take down assassins before they teleport away, and fast weapons also let you land multiple hits on the mid-boss between his teleport cooldowns
- 3+ stamina potions: you'll be rolling and climbing constantly during the final fight, so you don't want to run out of stamina when you need it most
- Wind chime trinket: you get this from the Elder's Wind Chime quest, and it extends the grace period for wind gust jumps by 2 seconds, which makes the mid-boss fight almost trivial
Don't bring heavy two-handed weapons to this quest, their slow swing speed means you'll almost never land a hit on the fast-moving assassins before they reposition, and you won't be able to dodge out of the way of the mid-boss's attacks fast enough. If you only have heavy weapons, stop by the blacksmith in Frostfall Village first and pick up a cheap common dagger, it will work better than any legendary two-handed weapon for this specific quest.
How to Unlock the Secret Ending and Rare Loot
Most players only find the normal ending of where winds meet join midnight blades, because they pick the first dialogue option that pops up at the end of the final fight. Once you beat the Midnight Blade Master, he'll kneel down, drop his blade, and offer you two choices: take the blade and finish the fight, or spare him and listen to his story. If you pick the first option, you'll get the common Midnight Blade, a decent dual blade weapon with 120 base damage, and the quest will end immediately.
If you pick the second option, you'll get a 10 minute cutscene that explains his backstory, he'll give you the rare version of the blade, and he'll unlock a follow-up side quest to find his lost sister who's trapped in the storm zone. The secret ending's Midnight Wind Blade has 20% higher base damage and a passive that boosts wind attack damage by 15%, so it's well worth the extra 10 minutes of dialogue. You'll also get a unique exploration buff called Wind Sight, which lets you see all hidden runes across the entire map, unlocking dozens of other small secret quests and loot caches that you would never find otherwise. I didn't even know this secret ending existed for where winds meet join midnight blades until my third playthrough, so don't feel bad if you missed it the first time, you can always go back and redo the quest to get the better reward.
Common Mistakes to Avoid Wasting Your Time
The most common issue I see players have with where winds meet join midnight blades is forgetting to track the in-game time before heading up the peaks. If you show up during the day, even if you have the Elder's Wind Chime quest done, the rune won't spawn at all, and you'll waste a trip climbing all three peaks for nothing. You can sit at the campfire at the base of the peaks to skip time straight to midnight for where winds meet join midnight blades, that's what I do every time I run the quest for where winds meet join midnight blades.
Another common mistake is forgetting to clear the nearby wolf camps before triggering the quest. There are 6 frost wolves that patrol the base of the middle peak, and if you don't kill them before you start the quest, they'll aggro on you during the mid-boss fight, and you'll have to fight both the mid-boss and the wolves at the same time. That's almost impossible to beat even with endgame gear, so take 2 minutes to kill the wolves first before you trigger the rune for where winds meet join midnight blades. The third big mistake is using your stamina potions too early during the combat waves. Save all your stamina potions for the final boss fight, because he summons wind walls every 30 seconds that you have to climb over to avoid a one-shot AOE attack. If you run out of stamina during the final boss's wind wall attack, you'll be knocked off the peak and have to restart the entire quest from the beginning. I've made that mistake twice, and it's so frustrating to get all the way to the final fight just to have to start over because I used my last stamina potion on the mid-boss.
I've run through where winds meet join midnight blades at least 7 times on different playthroughs, and it's still one of my favorite hidden quests in the entire game and I always recommend where winds meet join midnight blades to players who are looking for fun, rewarding side content. The rewards are way better than most main story quests, the story is surprisingly heartfelt, and the combat challenges feel fair once you learn the core mechanics. Don't rush through it, take time to explore the peaks around the quest area first to gather all the recommended gear, and don't skip the dialogue if you want the best possible rewards. If you get stuck on any part, or find a different trick to make the fights easier, drop a comment below and I'll update this guide to include it. Happy exploring!
