Exploration / The handbook

Exploration explained

Reveal the map, activate travel points and explore manageable routes while diagnosing blocked puzzles and missing progress.

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The quick answer

Reveal local terrain with Wayfarers, activate Boundary Stones, and explore around those travel points in manageable loops. Use Wind Sense to inspect nearby clues and Oddities. When an objective seems unreachable, check its height, route and quest requirements before treating it as a combat problem.

Reveal terrain and establish return points

Wayfarers provide regional map information; Boundary Stones serve as fast-travel anchors. Find the local Wayfarer and activate nearby Stones before making repeated trips for scattered objectives. Revealing terrain and completing the activities on it are separate accomplishments.

Choose a small area around a return point for your first sweep. Follow the landscape and visible clues, then finish at a place you can recognise. This makes it easier to resume later and reduces the chance of repeatedly inspecting the same unresolved puzzle.

Use the world as well as the map

Wind Sense helps expose interactive details that are easy to overlook. When something unusual appears, stop moving and look around before activating it. Listen for nearby activity, look above and below your position, and read any interaction text.

A flat map marker is not a complete route. It may indicate something on a roof, under a bridge or inside a space entered from elsewhere. Trace the surrounding paths and entrances instead of climbing the nearest wall repeatedly.

Know which kind of progress you are making

Activity or rewardWhat to check afterwards
Regional exploration progressThe region’s available milestone rewards.
Oddity collectionThe regional Melodies of Peace exchange.
A learned techniqueIts use conditions and any required equipment or input.
Exploration attribute gainsWhether a desired exploration skill now meets its requirements.
A quest clueThe journal entry and the next required action.

Diagnose a blocked interaction

  1. Confirm the exact objective and region in the journal.
  2. Check whether the marker is above or below your current route.
  3. Read the mechanism or NPC prompt for a required skill or condition.
  4. Check prerequisite quests or missing items.
  5. If the requirement is not available yet, pin the obstacle with a short note and continue elsewhere.

Keep notes specific enough to help later: the nearest Stone, the apparent entrance and the missing requirement. A screenshot plus one sentence is often more useful than a large collection of unlabeled pins.

Finish regions in deliberate passes

For a first visit, prioritise travel, story access and nearby discoveries. For a second visit, target a reward or missing activity category. Only use a full collectible route when completion itself is the goal. This separates enjoyable wandering from the much more methodical task of clearing the final few entries.

When progress seems stuck, compare the region’s own categories rather than counting visible icons. Check unclaimed rewards and unfinished journal entries, then choose one category to investigate. Randomly revisiting everything is harder to learn from than a focused search.

If a previously visited icon disappears, open the World Map’s POI Filter and enable Show/Hide Completed Gameplay. Completed activities are hidden by default under the May map changes. This helps distinguish a filtered completed objective from an undiscovered or unavailable one.

Practical guides

Common questions

Do I need to fight everything I pass?

No. Choose encounters that serve your current objective or that you want to experience. Unlocking travel and understanding the route can be more valuable than repeatedly clearing unrelated enemies.

Can I collect chests and Oddities in Online Mode?

Yes, supported Online Mode exploration was added with rewards and completion progress synced to Solo Mode. That does not mean every quest or puzzle supports a party. Check the activity type if an interaction remains unavailable.

Sources & verification

Source research is separate from in-game testing. Recommendations are identified as editorial advice.

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