Genshin Impact: Observe the Shadow on the Sundial on the Nameless Island for the Time and The Wind quest

Genshin Impact is filled with various side quests and activities to tackle, and one, Time and the Wind, gives you a fairly cryptic mystery to solve. It involves a mysterious island and an instruction to Observe the Shadow on the Sundial - and the mystery continues from there...

Keep in mind that this quest features a combat encounter you'll want to be a decently high level to tackle - ideally with a level in the late thirties or early forties. 

If you want more Genshin Impact quest guides, we've got you covered with advice on things like choosing a gift for Lisa in the Troublesome Work quest, finding the Nameless Treasures, Answers for Swan's Quiz and a complete list of Shrine of Depths locations - just to name a few.

How to reach the Nameless Island and start the 'Time and the Wind quest

To kick off the Time and the Wind quest, you simply need to head to the area where it takes place: a tiny, uninhabited and technically nameless island found out in the sea in the north-eastern corner of the map - ultimately not too far from the city of Mondstadt. The island is most visible from the peak of Starsnatch Cliff

In order to reach the island, you'll likely need a whole lot of stamina for an extended gliding flight over there, starting from Starsnatch Cliff. You can most readily achieve this by crafting and then eating Stamina-granting food as listed on our Genshin Impact cooking recipes list - doing this can give you the extra stamina you need to make it over there.

Alternatively, you can also use the natural buffs of certain characters to reduce Stamina usage in order to have enough to make that enormous glide. Or - and this will take a while - you could get a character with the Cryo Element and use them to freeze patches of water to 'walk' across the sea to the island. Both of these methods require you to have had the luck to get characters with those buffs and abilities from the Gacha Banner draw system.

When you reach the nameless island, smash open breakable rocks - one of them drops the Ragged Notebook item, which gives you your next instruction when read.

How to Observe the Shadow on the Sundial & Complete the Quest

The instruction you'll now be given is to "observe the shadow on the sundial". The sundial is located on the nameless island - when you interact with the "Ravaged Carving" it gives you a cryptic quote. You just need to do as you're told, but this isn't as simple as it first sounds, however - as you have to do it at a certain time.

When it is between 2am and 5am in-game time, you'll want to use your Elemental Sight with a Wind-element character. This will reveal a shining path that leads you towards a hidden Anemo Element cluster location on a rock that's at one edge of the island. Use your Anemo Skill to disperse the invisible wind cluster. 

You'll then have to disperse two more Anemo Element Custers. Across the nameless island, there's basically one to the south of the island, one to the north, and one on the island, atop a pillar. You can see examples of these, as well as the rest of the quest, in the embedded video from ON Game on YouTube. 

Once all clusters are dispersed, now scatter the deposit of wind in the middle of the island by casting Anemo on it. You'll now have to fight, then pursue the Eye of the Storm enemy, which will involve some cool flying. This leads to the Thousand Winds Temple - which when you descend to, you'll discover has another sundial. There's an NPC here as well. Chat to the NPC about his research, read his notes, then repeat what you did last time.

That means wait until 2-5am again, then use Elemental Sight to discover the clusters and Anemo to disperse them. You'll then have to fight the Eye of the Storm enemy again - and then, finally, you can chat to the NPC for your reward: 500 Adventure Rank EXP, 60 Primogems, 60,000 Mora and some handy items.