Where Winds Meet treats relationships as a core social system rather than a side activity. Instead of dating NPCs, the game pushes you toward bonding with other players through Intimacy levels, matchmaking tools like Seeking Fate, and formal in-game marriages called Partnerships. Alongside that, there is a lighter affinity layer for NPCs that still matters for rewards.
Romance options in Where Winds Meet
The game splits “romance” into two broad lanes:
| Relationship type | Who with | What you can do | What you cannot do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership / Marriage | Other players only | Raise Intimacy, unlock social features, enter formal Partnership at Crimson Cliff | Marry NPCs |
| Intimacy (Friends) | Players on your friends list | Unlock co-op emotes, outfit borrowing, bonus Adventure Slips, easier team join | Directly convert friendship into NPC romance |
| NPC Affinity | Specific NPCs in regions like Qinghe and Kaifeng | Talk, gift items, raise affinity, earn rewards and extra dialogue | Enter a marriage or Partnership with NPCs |
There is no path to a romantic relationship with story NPCs. Marriage is strictly reserved for player–to–player connections, but NPC affinity is worth pursuing for items, scenes, and world-building.
How Intimacy works between players
Every player on your friends list has an Intimacy stat with you. That number climbs as you spend time together in co-op:
- Fighting bosses and enemies
- Exploring the open world together
- Fishing, playing music, or simply staying grouped while you roam
Higher Intimacy unlocks a set of practical and cosmetic perks, such as:
- Special co-op emotes usable only with that friend
- The ability to borrow each other’s outfits
- Joining their team or session without needing a confirmation
- Friend-only badges
- Bonus Adventure Slips when you run content together
Adventure Slips are a social currency you spend in the Social menu’s shop on things like cosmetics, titles, furniture, and decorations. If you enjoy fashion or housing systems, this is the main mechanical payoff for playing with the same people often.
How to start looking for a partner with Seeking Fate
Before you can marry anyone, you need to be in Online Mode and engage with the game’s matchmaking layer around Shi Yimo at Crimson Cliff. The key feature here is Seeking Fate, which functions like an in-world personals board.
There are two main entry points, depending on how you like to play menus:
- From the main menu:
- Open the in-game menu (Esc on PC or the Options/Start button on PS5).
- Choose Social.
- Open the Partnership section.
- Use the Seeking Fate option under the “Seek a Date” tools.
- Directly through Shi Yimo:
- Travel to the Crimson Cliffs area, near the large sacred tree at Crimson Cliff / Red Maple Forest.
- Find the NPC Shi Yimo by the tree.
- In her dialogue, choose the chat info labelled Seeking Fate.
Either path lets you write a Seeking Fate message — effectively a short ad for your character and what you’re looking for. Other players browsing that feature can see your message and decide if they want to reach out.
| Seeking Fate action | What it does | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Initiate Seeking Fate | Create and send a “looking for partner” letter/message | Up to 3 letters per day |
| Found Fate | Review responses and candidate partners who replied to you | Up to 3 checks/attempts per day |
How to raise Intimacy toward marriage tiers
Formally marrying someone requires more than sending a letter. You both need to reach a specific Intimacy tier on your friendship track, usually called the Companions tier.
To push your Intimacy up efficiently:
- Stay in a party together whenever possible rather than soloing separate content.
- Run activities that encourage interaction: bosses, events, exploration, fishing, and music performances.
- Prioritize co-op whenever you are both online to keep points flowing steadily.
The game tracks Intimacy in the background as long as you are grouped and actually doing activities together, rather than AFKing on opposite sides of the map.
How to marry another player (form a Partnership)
Once you and another player have decided to commit and have climbed to the required Intimacy tier, you can formalize the relationship as a Partnership — the game’s marriage system.
The flow is straightforward, but easy to miss small details on:
- Both players must:
- Be in Online Mode.
- Have each other on their friends lists.
- Reach the Intimacy tier needed for marriage (Companions).
- Form a party together.
- Travel together to Crimson Cliff, southwest of the General’s Shrine in Qinghe, in the Red Maple Forest / Moonveil Mountain area.
- Talk to Shi Yimo while still in the same party.
- Select the Form a Partnership option in her dialogue.
Shi Yimo performs the in-world ceremony and registers the Partnership, switching your relationship to a married status. From that point on, you remain eligible for the same Intimacy-based benefits as before, with the added social layer of being a couple.
Notably, gender does not matter. Any two player characters can marry each other, and there is no limit based on story roles or class. For players who join the Floral Revelry / Velvet Shade sect, the rules go even further by allowing multiple simultaneous marriages.
What “Complete finding fate once in Partnership” is asking you to do
After forming a Partnership, some players run into quest or achievement text that talks about “Complete finding fate once in Partnership.” This language is tied to the same Seeking Fate and Found Fate tools you used while still single.
The requirement is essentially to use the Finding Fate system at least once while you are already in a Partnership. In practical terms, that means:
- Returning to Shi Yimo while still married.
- Opening her Seeking Fate / Found Fate dialogue options again.
- Interacting with them at least once — for example, triggering a Found Fate check.
The game expects you to engage with the matchmaking interface from the perspective of someone who is already partnered, which fulfills the “once in Partnership” condition. The text is more confusing than the requirement itself.
Benefits and limits of getting married
On paper, there is no massive combat advantage to entering a Partnership. The biggest changes live on the social and cosmetic axis:
- Access to a set of decorations, hero titles, emotes, and cosmetics tied to relationship progression, purchased through the Social Shop.
- A baked-in expectation that you will be running co-op content with at least one consistent partner, which indirectly means more Adventure Slips and faster access to cosmetics and furniture.
- Smoother social coordination thanks to Intimacy perks like instant team joining and shared emotes.
What you do not gain is raw power. There is no hidden damage multiplier or stat boost exclusive to married players beyond the buff-style bonuses attached to general Intimacy levels that any close friendship can reach. You can still join other social groups, such as Sworn Cohorts, independently of your marriage status.
NPC relationships and Affinity
While NPCs cannot be married, they are not completely disconnected from relationship systems. Many characters scattered through Qinghe, Kaifeng, and other hubs have their own Affinity tracks, which act as a lighter, single-sided version of Intimacy.
To increase an NPC’s Affinity:
- Talk to them regularly instead of rushing past their dialogue.
- Give them appropriate gifts when the option appears.
- Follow their personal stories and side events as they unlock.
Raising Affinity usually leads to concrete payoffs:
- Items, resources, or other material rewards
- New lines of dialogue or small scenes tied to their background
- Occasional small events or tasks that flesh out the region’s culture
There is no way to convert high Affinity into an NPC marriage, but treating NPCs as long-term acquaintances rather than quest dispensers makes the world feel more coherent and can pad out your resources or cosmetics collection in the process.
The relationship systems in Where Winds Meet reward consistency more than anything else. Spending time with the same people, whether that is a potential partner or a favorite NPC, gradually unlocks more of the game’s social and cosmetic layers. Features like Seeking Fate, Intimacy tiers, and NPC Affinity sit on top of the combat systems rather than replacing them, giving you reasons to log in for both progression and connection.
