The Useless Lock in Where Winds Meet is the key item that lets you finish the Wolf Maiden’s storyline and earn the Silver Fangs mask. The game never clearly explains how any of this works, which is why many players defeat the boss and walk away without the reward they were expecting.
This walkthrough focuses on three things: how the Wolf Maiden encounter actually works, how to get into the underground Ghost Market, and where exactly to find and use the Useless Lock.
Wolf Maiden and Silver Fangs mask requirements
Before worrying about the Useless Lock, you need to set up the conditions for the Silver Fangs mask:
- Defeat the Wolf Maiden in her encounter arena in Kaifeng.
- Leave the arena once the fight is over; you do not get the mask directly from the kill.
- Wait two in‑game days. After that time passes, return to the same arena.
When you come back after two in‑game days, look around the arena again. You should see wolves present and a visible crack or opening along the left side of the arena wall. Interacting there reveals the Wolf Maiden trapped behind the rock. At this point, she is still blocked; you need the Useless Lock to move her story forward and claim the Silver Fangs mask.
How the Useless Lock fits into the quest
The Useless Lock is not just random loot. It is a quest item that represents the Wolf Maiden’s broken lock. The flow is:
- You defeat the Wolf Maiden.
- After two in‑game days, you find her trapped behind a crack in the wall.
- You obtain the broken Useless Lock from the Ghost Market underneath Kaifeng.
- You return to the arena and give the lock back to the Wolf Maiden.
- Finishing that interaction leads to the Silver Fangs mask reward.
In other words, the lock is the missing link between the first encounter and the final mask reward. You cannot simply grind the boss or re‑enter the arena and expect a chest to drop the mask; it is tied to this follow‑up interaction.
How to reach the Ghost Market under Kaifeng
The Useless Lock is located in the Ghost Market, an underground area beneath Kaifeng. There are two main ways players reach this space.
Method 1: Kidnapping quest from Qinghe
Step 1: Raise your exploration level in the Qinghe region and spend time near the prison and Riverside Station area. Once your exploration is high enough, a kidnapping‑style encounter can trigger there.
Step 2: When this encounter fires, your character is transported to the Ghost Market beneath Kaifeng. This is a one‑time narrative entry path that drops you directly into the underground zone without needing to find a physical entrance on the surface.
Inside the Ghost Market, you can explore, meet NPCs, and find the shops, including the disguise stall and the spot where the Useless Lock appears.
Method 2: Coffin shop entrance in Kaifeng
If the kidnapping event never triggered for you, you can still access the Ghost Market manually from Kaifeng city.
Step 1: Teleport to the lower right corner of the Kaifeng map, in the poorer district of the city.
Step 2: From that teleport point, travel east. Watch for a coffin shop sign hanging outside a building; this marks the coffin maker’s shop.
Step 3: Enter the coffin shop interior. Inside, look around for a coffin you can interact with. Interacting with this coffin acts as a hidden entrance and transports you into the Ghost Market beneath Kaifeng.
Once you have used either method at least once, you gain familiarity with the Ghost Market layout, which makes returning for the lock and other content much easier.
Exact Useless Lock location in the Ghost Market
Inside the Ghost Market, the Useless Lock sits in a specific part of the main underground street.
Key landmarks:
- A row of stalls and shops along the main path.
- A disguise shop (sometimes referred to as a disguise stall).
- A cat location that players commonly notice.
The Useless Lock is positioned just across from the disguise shop, in the same general area where the cat appears. Look for an interactable spot in the corner near those stalls. Interacting at that point gives you the broken lock item.
Some players report seeing a flower instead of the lock or no interaction prompt at all. That usually means one of two things has happened: the Wolf Maiden follow‑up state has not yet been set (for example, you have not waited the full two in‑game days and spoken to her at the crack), or your quest state is in an inconsistent or bugged condition. In a normal progression, once the arena has updated with wolves and the crack in the wall, the Useless Lock should be obtainable in the Ghost Market.
How to use the Useless Lock to free the Wolf Maiden
After picking up the Useless Lock from the Ghost Market, you complete the loop back at the arena where you first fought the Wolf Maiden.
Step 1: Wait until two full in‑game days have passed since your initial victory over the Wolf Maiden, then return to her original arena in Kaifeng.
Step 2: Look along the left side of the arena wall for the crack or damaged section. You should also see wolves in the arena. Interact at the crack to speak with the Wolf Maiden, now trapped behind the rock.
Step 3: With the Useless Lock in your inventory, progress through the dialogue and give the broken lock back to her. This is the key hand‑off that resolves her story thread.
Step 4: Completing that interaction grants the Silver Fangs mask (often described as the Wolf Maiden’s half mask and visually compared to masks from Ghost of Tsushima). The mask is then available in your cosmetics or appearance options.
What to check if the Useless Lock does not appear
A number of players run into situations where the Useless Lock is missing or the arena never updates. When that happens, it usually comes down to quest state and timing rather than a hidden extra requirement.
- Confirm the arena has changed. If you return and there are no wolves and no crack on the left wall, the follow‑up phase has not started. Keep playing and advancing in‑game time, then check back later.
- Verify you talked to the Wolf Maiden at the crack. The Ghost Market lock often seems to appear only after you have seen her trapped and triggered that part of the story.
- Avoid breaking the quest mid‑dialogue. There are reports that exiting the sequence after talking to certain NPCs (for example, the two brothers mentioned in some discussions) can permanently block the second chance to fight or progress her storyline, even if you still pick up the lock.
- Re‑enter the Ghost Market properly. Make sure you are actually in the underground Ghost Market under Kaifeng, not a different underground space, and that you have reached the area across from the disguise shop where the cat appears.
If all of those checks look correct and the Useless Lock is still missing, you are likely dealing with a bugged save state. In that case, the only realistic options are to wait for a patch or, if you are early enough in the game, try the sequence again on a different character.
The Useless Lock is misnamed. In practice, it is one of the more important quest items in Where Winds Meet, quietly bridging the gap between a one‑off boss encounter and one of the game’s most striking masks. Once you understand that the lock lives in the Ghost Market, tied to the Wolf Maiden’s broken lock and a two‑day wait, the entire chain becomes straightforward: defeat her, wait, meet her again at the cracked wall, dive into the Ghost Market via the coffin shop or kidnapping quest, grab the Useless Lock across from the disguise shop, then return to free her and claim Silver Fangs.
