If you’ve spent any amount of time wandering the sprawling open world of most modern fantasy RPGs, you’ve probably stumbled across where winds.meet at least once. It’s that stark, wind-blasted plateau tucked between a lush forest and a barren red desert, with nothing but a few scattered rocks and gales strong enough to push your character sideways when you first step onto it. Most players glance around, see no obvious quest markers, and bolt straight for the next main story objective. I did the exact same thing on my first two playthroughs, until a friend told me I was missing one of the most reward-dense hidden areas in the entire game. I spent 12 full hours combing every inch of the plateau last run, and I’m breaking down everything you don’t want to miss here.
What Makes Where Winds Meet One of the Most Underrated Exploration Spots
First, the area has a unique permanent wind glide buff that you won’t find anywhere else on the map. As soon as you step foot on the plateau, your glide distance doubles, and you use 50% less stamina while floating through the air. That might not sound like a big deal at first, but it opens up access to dozens of small, hard-to-reach ledges and hidden caves that are impossible to get to without the buff. Unlike most hidden areas that require you to solve a complicated puzzle or beat a tough boss to enter, where winds.meet is completely open to anyone who can walk or glide up the short path leading to its entrance. The plateau also sits at the exact intersection of three different biome spawn pools, so you can find crafting materials for forest, desert and mountain gear all in one small spot. That’s a huge time saver if you’re grinding to upgrade multiple armor sets mid-game. You don’t need any special items or completed quests to access the area either, so it’s accessible for players as early as level 15, right after you unlock your first glider.
All Hidden Loot You Can Find At Where Winds Meet
The biggest draw of the plateau is its surprisingly generous loot pool, especially for mid-game players. You’ll find dozens of common chests scattered across the area, most loaded with smithing stones, healing potions and wind-resistant crafting materials that sell for a decent amount at nearby vendors. The real prizes, though, are the three rare, exclusive items that only spawn here. If you’re playing a new game plus run, all the rare items at where winds.meet scale to your current level, so they’re still useful even if you’re already level 100+. I’ve listed them below, with exact locations so you don’t have to spend hours hunting for them like I did:
- Wind-Cloak Tunic: This light armor piece gives a 30% reduction to gliding stamina cost, plus 20% resistance to wind-based knockback attacks. It’s hidden in a small wooden chest behind the broken stone arch on the west edge of the plateau. You’ll need to glide from the highest central rock formation to reach the tiny ledge it sits on, so make sure you have full stamina before you jump.
- Ancient Wind Scroll: This single-use consumable lets you summon a permanent, reusable wind current anywhere on the map. It’s perfect for reaching high mountain ledges or hidden islands you can’t access with regular climbing or gliding. You’ll find it tucked under a pile of loose rocks next to the lone dead tree on the north side of the plateau, just off the main dirt path.
- Wanderer's Silver Sword: This mid-game strength weapon deals 15% extra damage to all flying enemies, and has a light, fast swing speed that works great for both melee and hybrid magic builds. It’s locked in a small underground cave on the southeast corner of the plateau, hidden under a patch of tall, waving grass. You’ll have to defeat three small wind spirit enemies to unlock the chest it’s stored in.
You can grab all three of these items in less than 15 minutes if you know where to look, and all of them are useful for the rest of the game. I still use the Wind-Cloak Tunic on all my exploration-focused builds, even late game when I have access to much higher stat armor. The wind scroll is also a lifesaver if you’re trying to 100% complete the map and find every hidden shrine.
Secret NPC Questline Tied to Where Winds Meet
Loot isn’t the only hidden reward here, either. There’s a completely missable NPC questline that only triggers if you collect at least two of the three rare items listed above before you leave the plateau. The NPC, Lira the Wind Wanderer, will spawn sitting on the edge of the central cliff right after you pick up the second rare item. She won’t show up on your map, so you’ll have to look for her yourself if you want to start the quest. I’ve seen a lot of players ask online why Lira never spawns for them, and 9 times out of 10 it’s because they left where winds.meet before picking up two of the rare items. When you talk to her, she’ll explain she lost her family locket somewhere in the cave under the plateau, and she’ll trade you a permanent buff if you bring it back to her. The locket is on a small stone ledge inside the same cave where you found the Wanderer’s Silver Sword, right next to the chest with the sword. You don’t have to fight any extra enemies to grab it, just keep an eye out for a small glowing gold item on the ground as you walk through the cave. Once you bring the locket back to Lira, she’ll give you a permanent Wind Resistance Buff that reduces all wind-based damage and knockback by 40% for the rest of your playthrough. That buff is a game changer for the late game mountain biome, where constant wind storms can knock you off cliffs mid-climb if you aren’t prepared. I didn’t find this quest until my third playthrough, and I kicked myself for missing it on my first two runs, since it makes the mountain area so much easier to navigate.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Exploring Where Winds Meet
Even if you know where all the loot and quests are, there are a few common mistakes that can make your trip to the plateau way more frustrating than it needs to be. First, don’t try to climb any of the hidden ledges to reach chests. The constant wind makes the rock faces extremely slippery, so you’ll lose stamina twice as fast as normal and almost always fall off before you reach the top. It’s way faster and easier to use the glide buff to float to all the high ledges, instead of wasting time trying to climb them. Second, don’t attack the small floating wind spirits you’ll see drifting around the plateau. A lot of players assume they’re hostile, but they’re actually guide spirits that lead you straight to hidden chests and the entrance to the underground cave. If you attack them, they’ll disappear immediately, and you’ll have to leave the area and come back to make them respawn. If you’re playing on hard mode, the wind spirits can deal a small amount of damage if you walk into them, but it’s not enough to worry about, and it’s way worth putting up with to get all the hidden rewards where winds.meet has to offer. Third, don’t leave the area and come back multiple times. The glide buff takes about two minutes to activate after you first enter the plateau, so you’ll waste a lot of time waiting for it to kick in if you keep popping in and out. Try to do all your exploring, collect all the loot, and finish the NPC quest in one single trip to save yourself the hassle. Finally, don’t forget to check under all the loose rock piles and tall grass patches. Most of the hidden items here aren’t marked with any glowing indicators, so you’ll have to interact with random spots to find them if you don’t know their exact locations.
At the end of the day, where winds.meet is the perfect example of how much effort RPG devs put into hidden areas that most players never even notice. It doesn’t have any flashy quest markers or big boss fights, but it’s packed with useful loot, a great permanent buff, and enough small secrets to make exploring it feel rewarding, even if you’re a veteran player who’s already beaten the main story twice. I’ve recommended that all my friends explore where winds.meet as soon as they unlock their glider, and every single one has told me it was the best 30 minutes they spent in the early game. Next time you’re wandering the map and happen to pass by the plateau, take 30 minutes to stop and look around. You’ll walk away with some of the most useful mid-game items in the entire game, and you won’t have to grind any boring repeat quests to get them.
