Oddities sit at the center of long-term character growth in Where Winds Meet. They are small overworld collectibles that double as a kind of currency: turn them in to special NPCs and you unlock nodes in the Melodies of Peace tree, gaining raw stats, movement skills, Internal Arts, Mystic Arts, and even gear.
What Oddities are and where they appear
Oddities are region-specific collectibles scattered across the open world. Qinghe and Kaifeng each have five distinct Oddity types, for a total of ten. Every Oddity type has its own small “puzzle” or interaction, so you are not just picking up glowing orbs; you are breaking jars, chasing insects, shooting nests, or dealing with poisonous flowers.
Oddities do not show up on the main world map. They only reveal themselves on the minimap as a small black icon that looks like a fairy, butterfly, or bow-like symbol when you are close enough. That design pushes you to actually traverse the terrain: run through a new valley, and the minimap quietly flags that something is nearby.
If the minimap shows an Oddity icon but nothing stands out visually, Wind Sense provides the second layer of detection. Triggering Wind Sense highlights interactable Oddity elements — glowing creatures, nests, mushrooms, butterflies — even when they are small, tucked under debris, or hovering just above your field of view.
All Oddity types and how to get them
Every Oddity type is tied to a consistent interaction pattern. Once you understand the behavior, you can quickly clear dozens of them without needing explicit directions for each instance.
| Region | Oddity | What it looks like | How to obtain it | Key risks / nuances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qinghe | Dagger General | Cricket hidden under rocks, pots, crates | Break the pile (stones, jars, wooden boxes) with attacks, then immediately pick up the fleeing cricket. | Multiple crickets can appear; spam the collect button as debris breaks so none escape. |
| Qinghe | Enchanting Lotus | Purple flower in a poisonous fog, surrounded by butterflies | Stand back, use Wind Sense to trace purple trails to butterfly swarms, then shoot them down with flaming arrows. When the miasma clears, collect the lotus. | Standing in the poison for too long inflicts Miasma, which must be treated at a healer or clinic. |
| Qinghe | Ironwing Mantis | Small, vivid purple insect on rocks or logs | Interact to startle the mantis; lock the camera on it and chase. When it lands, mash the collect button to grab it. | If you lose sight of it, re-scan with Wind Sense; the chase is short but easy to overshoot. |
| Qinghe | Redmist Beetle | Swarm of glowing beetles hovering above red mushrooms | Look for patches of odd red mushrooms; step back, then aim up. Use triple jumps and terrain (roofs, cliffs) to reach and interact with the beetles mid-air. | They are often directly above you and hidden by the camera; walk a few meters away before using Wind Sense. |
| Qinghe | Whisper Hive | Bee or wasp hive on tall trees or cliff faces | Equip fire arrows, shoot the hive from a distance to disperse the swarm, then run up or climb to collect it. | Touching an active hive triggers stings and illness; keep your distance until it is burning. |
| Kaifeng | Moonbeam Toad | Golden toad in lush areas, emitting a distinct croaking sound | Approach to trigger its escape, then quickly chase and interact to capture it. | Locking the camera makes it easier to track as it hops away. |
| Kaifeng | Midnight Nibbler | Large rat-like creature hiding in environmental piles | Destroy stacks of crates, stone piles, or jars near the Oddity icon, flush out the rat, then chase it down and collect it. | Behavior mirrors Dagger General but with longer chases; camera lock again helps a lot. |
| Kaifeng | Heartsoothe Twig | Branch carried to or lying in bird nests | Shoot the nest so the birds drop or leave the twigs behind. If birds flee mid-flight with branches, shoot them to make them drop the material. | You are collecting the twig, not the bird. Check the ground where the branch lands. |
| Kaifeng | Swallow's Rest | Bird nest on rooftops | Use your lightness skills to reach roofs and upper ledges. As you approach, birds fly away, leaving the nest free to loot. | Some nests are on complex rooflines; expect to combine wall-running and multi-jumps. |
| Kaifeng | Thunder Fluff | Purple tufted plant that reacts on contact | Interact with the plant to trigger a burst of floating fluff balls, then catch the fluff in the air before it touches the ground. | Fluff vanishes on contact with the ground, so there is a tight timing window to collect it. |
Perks and rewards from Oddity events
Oddity events in Qinghe and Kaifeng are not just about the collectibles themselves. Clearing an event usually grants:
- The Oddity item (e.g., Dagger General, Whisper Hive, Moonbeam Toad)
- A chunk of EXP
- Exploration points tied to the region (for example, Qinghe Exploration)
- A small increase in a specific attribute, such as Perception, Coordination, or Mindset
For example, in Qinghe, repeatedly collecting Whisper Hives and Enchanting Lotus raises Perception, while Ironwing Mantis and Redmist Beetle can raise Coordination, and Dagger General boosts Mindset. The stat increases are small per event but add up across dozens of Oddities, especially early on when basic attributes are still low.
How Oddities feed into Melodies of Peace
Oddities become meaningful when converted into progress on the Melodies of Peace nodes. This system lives on dedicated NPCs known as Oddity Collectors.
| Region | Collector NPC | Rough location | What they accept | What you unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qinghe | Qi Sheng | Along the road leading to General's Shrine in Qinghe | Any Qinghe Oddities (Dagger General, Enchanting Lotus, Ironwing Mantis, Redmist Beetle, Whisper Hive) | Melodies of Peace nodes: max HP, max Physical Attack, defense and damage reduction, damage vs beasts or enemies, movement skills, Max Endurance, Max Vitality, Internal Arts, Mystic Arts, outfits, and other items. |
| Kaifeng | Bai Ji | Northwest corner of Kaifeng City | Any Kaifeng Oddities (Moonbeam Toad, Midnight Nibbler, Heartsoothe Twig, Swallow's Rest, Thunder Fluff) | Another Melodies of Peace tree focused on Kaifeng, with similar mix of stat nodes and larger feature unlocks. |
Within the Melodies of Peace menu, each “instrument” segment holds multiple nodes. Smaller nodes typically grant:
- Max Physical Attack increases
- Damage Reduction or Physical Defence
- Max HP boosts
- Damage bonuses against certain foe categories
Larger, anchor nodes on the same branches unlock noticeable upgrades, such as new movement skills, Max Endurance and Max Vitality increases, Inner Way tomes, Mystic Arts, consumable items, or outfits. Those big nodes are where the Oddity grind translates into tangible changes in how the character feels to play.
Oddity types themselves are not bound to specific nodes. The system only counts how many Oddities you hand over, not whether they are rats, nests, flowers, or insects. A required cost of, for example, five Oddities for a node can be met with any combination from the relevant region.
How to start using Oddities early
The game introduces Oddities early through Qi Sheng near the General's Shrine in Qinghe. Save him, then talk to him again and choose the option to submit Oddities. He will point you toward a first hive that doubles as a tutorial: shoot the beehive with a fire arrow, climb or jump to the fallen hive, and collect your first Whisper Hive Oddity.
From there, the Melodies of Peace menu opens up, and you can begin routing your Oddities toward either pure stats or larger unlocks. The structure is mostly linear: unlocking one melody node reveals the next on that path, with occasional side branches offering minor alternatives. It is closer to a path you walk than a wide-open talent grid.
Finding more Oddities efficiently
Oddities reward exploration, but there are a few consistent tricks that make hunting them less random.
- Work region by region: Treat each area bounded by Boundary Stones as its own project. Clear events and Oddities there before moving on, so you do not constantly backtrack.
- Follow the minimap icon: Any time the small black Oddity marker appears, slow down. Pan the camera up, down, and behind you. Many Oddities are either just above your head (Redmist Beetle, Whisper Hive) or hidden in destructible clutter (Dagger General, Midnight Nibbler).
- Use Wind Sense aggressively: If an icon is present but nothing is obvious, activate Wind Sense and rotate the camera. Enchanting Lotus, in particular, telegraph their solution with colored trails leading to their butterfly targets.
- Look for environmental tells: Red mushrooms almost always signal Redmist Beetles; conspicuous hives hanging from branches point to Whisper Hives; rooftop nests hint at Swallow's Rest; unusual purple flora often means either Enchanting Lotus or Thunder Fluff.
Some of the harder Oddities are less about combat readiness and more about mastering lightness skills: chaining triple jumps, wall-running, or gliding to hit a swarm or nest at height. Progressing Melodies of Peace to unlock more movement options creates a feedback loop that turns awkward climbs into simple hops.
Oddities look like flavor collectibles at first — crickets, rats, flowers, and nests tucked into a sprawling map — but they quietly power a large slice of the game’s progression. Watch the minimap for those fairy and butterfly icons, tap Wind Sense whenever they appear, and feed everything you capture to Qi Sheng or Bai Ji. The Melodies of Peace tree will keep paying you back with stats, movement, and tools that make the rest of Jianghu significantly easier to cross.
