Okay besties, let me take you back to January 2022—because even now in 2026 I'm still not over how much fun the Windtrace rerun in Genshin Impact 2.4 was! If you missed it or just want to relive those sneaky moments, I've got the ultimate lowdown on how we turned Mondstadt's hide-and-seek event into a private playground with friends. Trust me, coordinating your squad makes it ten times funnier, even if the rewards stay locked behind random matchmaking. 💅

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What even IS Windtrace? 🤔

Imagine classic hide-and-seek, but with elemental chaos and Mondstadt's rebellious history baked in. Windtrace pits four players against each other: three Rebels who need to evade capture, and one Hunter whose mission is to sniff them out. Each role gets special Skills you can swap at the start of a round—think decoy dummies, speed boosts, or scanning pulses to reveal hidden foes. Lore-wise, it's inspired by the commoners' uprising against the nobles, so every round feels like a tiny revolution! 🌿👑

The best part? You can be literally any character, and those sneaky movement talents (sorry Ayaka and Mona mains, your alternate sprint was disabled for balance) won't give you an unfair edge. It's all about clever hiding spots and mind games. I remember spending hours as a tiny barrel stuck in a tree while my Hunter friend walked right past me—peak comedy.

When did the party start? ⏰

The 2.4 rerun dropped on January 13, 2022, at 10 AM server time (that's 10 AM EST for my NA lovelies) and ran until January 27 at 3:59 AM server time. Mark those calendars if you ever find a time machine, because this event was genuinely one of the coziest multiplayer experiences we've ever gotten. In 2026, I'm still hoping miHoYo (now HoYoverse) brings it back with even more maps and disguises!

How to play Windtrace with YOUR squad 👯‍♀️

Now, the real tea—getting a private lobby. By default, Windtrace throws you into the wild with randoms. But if you want to scream at your friends on voice chat while they hide in the worst spots ever, follow my step-by-step chaos plan:

  1. Gather your crew 🌐

First, either join a friend's World or invite them to yours. Open the Paimon menu, head to Co-Op Mode, and make sure your World Permissions are set to "Join After Approval." That way no randoms sneak in.

⚠️ Pro tip: If the Co-Op menu is grayed out, you probably have an active Story Quest blocking multiplayer. Finish that quest first! The game will even tell you which one.

  1. Meet in one World 🌍

All four of you need to be standing in the same World (yours or a friend's). Until that happens, the Event will default to auto-match with strangers.

  1. Find the NPC 📍

Teleport to Mondstadt and talk to Gygax, that cute event NPC chilling near the Teleport Waypoint. He's the gatekeeper to all things Windtrace.

  1. Important check: Everyone must be Adventure Rank 20 or above to join. So if your friend just started the game, they'll need to grind those ranks first. No baby Travelers allowed!

The reward dilemma 💰

Here's where the fun gets a little bit ouch. If you queue with friends in a private room, you can't earn the event rewards—no primogems, no Windtrace coins, nothing. HoYoverse did this to stop groups from rigging matches and farming everything in 10 minutes. So while you're laughing and betraying each other for giggles, your wallet of primogems stays unchanged. I used private matches purely for the memes and then grinded random queues for the real prizes. A bit of a hassle, but worth it for the sibling-like betrayal when you're the Hunter and you chase your bestie down.

Why I still talk about Windtrace in 2026 💭

Even years later, this event holds a special place in my heart. It was one of those rare moments where the entire community united just to play a silly game. I remember chilling on Dragonspine disguised as a torch, or using the Favonius Cathedral rafters as a Rebel—spots that made me feel like an absolute master of stealth. The laughter, the failed Hunter scans, the last-second captures… chef's kiss. 😘

If you're a newer player in 2026 and you've heard legends of Windtrace, keep your fingers crossed. Events often cycle back (we've had multiple reruns since 2.4!), and when it does, grab your closest friends, ignore the reward screen, and just enjoy the chaos. That's the true spirit of Mondstadt's rebellion—even if you're just a sentient pile of hay.

Now, who was your go-to hiding character? I swear by Qiqi because she's so smol she vanishes into bushes. Tell me yours in the comments if this post somehow time-travels to your feed! 🧡

Stay sneaky, Travelers! 🍃

Information is adapted from Game Developer (Gamasutra), a long-running industry publication that often discusses why multiplayer modes rely on strict matchmaking and anti-collusion rules—context that fits Windtrace’s “private lobby for fun, rewards in public queue” setup. Seen through that lens, the 2.4 rerun’s design makes sense: letting friends coordinate freely is great for social chaos and memorable moments, but keeping event currency tied to randomized matchmaking helps preserve fairness and prevents organized groups from trivializing progression.