The Pet Companion System arrives with the Version 1.8 update for Where Winds Meet, letting a cat or goose travel alongside you, react to the weather, and gather crafting materials as you explore. It does not turn on automatically. You first have to clear a short climbing-focused side quest that ends with a timed cat chase.
Quick answer: Travel to the Thousand-Buddha Boundary Stone in the north of the central region, accept the quest, follow the blue flames up the mountain to the Cat’s Shrine, pick one of four cats, then catch up to it within the 60-second trial. Finishing the trial grants “Mind Communication with All Beasts” and unlocks the full system.
Requirements before you start
You need the Version 1.8 expansion installed, since the entire Pet Companion System ships with that build. The unlock is gated behind a single world quest rather than a purchase, so no currency or premium item is involved.
The quest leans heavily on vertical movement, so be ready to climb cliffs and follow a moving target up steep terrain. The system is currently live on the Chinese server. No official global rollout date is confirmed yet, so treat the steps below as the procedure once the update reaches your region.
Where to find the unlock quest
The quest that grants “Mind Communication with All Beasts” starts at the Thousand-Buddha Boundary Stone, located in the northern part of the central region of the map. Head to that landmark and look for the quest icon nearby. Interacting with it begins the cutscene that introduces four cats and triggers the chase.
Unlock the Pet Companion System
How to confirm the system is active
Success is confirmed when the chosen cat accepts you as its owner at the end of the trial, and you earn the “Mind Communication with All Beasts” knowledge. After that, a dedicated Pet tab appears in the menu where you can browse your companions, check each pet’s bond level, and view its outfits and poses.
The most common reason the unlock fails is missing the 60-second window during the final chase. If you run out of time, you can attempt the trial again rather than restarting the whole quest.
What you can do once it’s unlocked
The system uses Tamagotchi-style care. You manage your pet’s Happiness, Hygiene, and Physical Health by feeding it meals and bathing it when it gets dirty from travel. Favorite foods can be bought from shops using regional coins. Mood matters in practice, since a happy pet follows your commands and gathers crafting materials while traveling, while a moody one may ignore your orders.
Daily care raises your Friendship Level, which unlocks cosmetic rewards for free. The milestones break down as follows.
| Friendship Level | Unlock |
|---|---|
| Level 2 | Situational idles, including the “Monkey Dance” and “Play Dead” animation commands |
| Level 4 | Specialized settlement actions, letting your pet perform routines on Homestead furniture |
| Level 6 | Companion custom outfits, including miniature armor pieces and decorative robes |
| Level 8 | The account-wide “Cute Master” title shown above your name on the social tab |
The roster launches with seven free companions, four cats, and three geese. The first phase makes four available, three cats and one goose, with the rest arriving in later updates. Each animal has its own personality that changes how it reacts to you. Pets also respond to climate. Cats contract their posture, shiver, or shelter under your umbrella in the rain, while geese gain a happiness boost and harvest resources faster during rain.
For now, building bond levels is the core activity of the system. Everstone Studio has confirmed a dedicated Pet Combat and Beast Battle System is in development, where pets will deploy tactical distractions, apply minor debuffs, and join competitions. Keeping your companions well cared for now leaves your roster ready when that combat expansion arrives.
