The Locked Content Bug Fix for Wool at the Gates: A Definitive Guide

The most reliable locked content bug fix for Wool at the Gates involves forcing an account entitlement resync by deleting a specific local cache file and then re-running an early-game sequence to trigger a fresh handshake with the game's servers. This guide will walk you through that primary method, as well as a more advanced manual file edit if the first fix doesn't take.

This issue primarily affects veteran players returning from Early Access. You have the account level, you've put in the hours, but the v1.0 content—like the Crimson Pastures zone or the Echoes of the First Flock game mode—remains stubbornly greyed out in your Weaver's Loom. The cause is a data mismatch between your old save file's progression flags and the new set of flags introduced in the full launch. Your old save simply doesn't have the new data fields the game is looking for, and the game fails to add them retroactively. This guide corrects that failure.

01

Is This Your Exact Bug?tag

Before you start editing files, let's confirm you're facing the specific Early Access progression lock. This isn't about being under-leveled; it's a technical glitch. If you meet the following criteria, this guide is for you.

Symptoms Checklist:

• Your account level is well above the requirement for the locked content (e.g., Level 50+).
• You are playing on a character created during the Early Access period (anytime before the v1.0 patch).
• In the Weaver's Loom or Shepherd's Journal, specific late-game content is inaccessible. This commonly includes:
  • The Crimson Pastures map region.
  • The Gilded Ram world boss encounter.
  • The Echoes of the First Flock endgame mode.
  • Crafting recipes for the Shepherd's Lament weapon set.
• Creating a brand new character does show the content unlocking correctly as you level up, but your main character remains locked out.

If this perfectly describes your situation, the problem lies in your local save data. When Wool at the Gates transitioned from Early Access to its 1.0 release, developer Luanti Games overhauled how progression milestones are saved. Early Access saves track progress with a set of flags like ea_boss_defeated_01. The 1.0 version, however, looks for a new, more detailed set of flags like UnlockFlag_CrimsonPasture_Access. Your old save has the former but lacks the latter. The game is supposed to grant you the new flags based on your existing achievements, but this process often fails, leaving your veteran character in a frustrating state of limbo.

02

The Safe Fix: Forcing an Account Resynctag

This is the most effective and lowest-risk method. We will trick the game into re-evaluating your account's history and granting the correct 1.0 unlock flags. This process does not involve altering your core character save and is very unlikely to cause data loss, but the first step is always the most important.

Step 1: BACK UP YOUR SAVE DATAtag

This is not optional. Before you delete or change a single file, you must create a backup. If anything goes wrong, you can restore your progress instantly.

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type or paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\LuantiGames\WoolAtTheGates\ and press Enter.
3. You will see a Saves folder. Right-click this folder, select "Copy," and then paste it to your Desktop or another safe location. You now have a complete backup.

Step 2: Locate and Delete Your Progress Cachetag

The file causing the conflict is not your main character save, but a temporary cache file that stores information about your unlock state. Deleting it is harmless; the game will generate a new, clean one the next time it launches.

Inside the same ...\LuantiGames\WoolAtTheGates\ directory from Step 1, you will find a file named progress.cache. This is the target. Delete only the progress.cache file. Do not touch the Saves folder or any other files like PlayerProfile.xml for this method.

Step 3: Trigger the Account Handshaketag

With the faulty cache gone, you now need to force the game to communicate with the master server and re-verify what your account is entitled to. The most reliable way to do this is by playing through the game's introduction.

1. Launch Wool at the Gates.
2. At the character selection screen, create a new character in an empty slot. It doesn't matter what class you choose.
3. Play this new character through the tutorial mission, "First Shearing."
4. You must continue until you complete the first major objective and reach the area known as Shepherd's Rise. The moment you enter this zone and the location name appears on screen, the game performs a full account-wide entitlement check. This is the "handshake" we need.
5. Once you've reached Shepherd's Rise, you can immediately quit to the main menu. You do not need to play any further on this new character.

Step 4: Verify the Fix on Your Main Charactertag

This is the moment of truth. From the main menu, select your original, high-level Early Access character and load into the game. Open your Weaver's Loom (the main map/activity hub) and Shepherd's Journal. You should now see that the Crimson Pastures are available for travel, the Gilded Ram bounty is posted, and the Echoes of the First Flock are accessible. The fix was successful.

03

What if the Resync Fails? The Manual File Edittag

In rare cases, the server handshake might not work. This can happen due to intermittent connection issues or a more deeply corrupted profile state. If the above steps failed, there is a more direct, surgical method available, but it carries a higher risk. Attempt this only if you are comfortable editing game files and have made a backup as described earlier.

This method involves directly changing the "false" unlock flags to "true" in your main profile configuration file.

Finding Your PlayerProfile.xmltag

Navigate back to the game's data folder at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\LuantiGames\WoolAtTheGates\. Inside the Saves folder (the one you backed up), you will find a file named PlayerProfile.xml. This file governs your account-wide settings and unlocks. Open it with a text editor like Notepad or Notepad++.

Editing the Unlock Flagstag

Inside the XML file, you will see a long list of settings. Use the Find function (Ctrl+F) to search for the specific flags corresponding to the content that is locked for you. You need to change the value from false to true.

For example, you might see a line that reads: <UnlockFlag_CrimsonPasture_Access>false</UnlockFlag_CrimsonPasture_Access>

You will change it to: <UnlockFlag_CrimsonPasture_Access>true</UnlockFlag_CrimsonPasture_Access>

Here is a table of the most common flags that need to be edited for this bug:

Make the changes for all the content that should be unlocked at your level, save the file, and close the text editor. Launch the game on your main character, and the content should now be available. This method directly writes the permissions into your local file, bypassing the server handshake entirely.

04

Why Did This Bug Happen?tag

This kind of issue is a common growing pain for games that evolve through an Early Access phase. During development, data structures are fluid. The way a player's progress was saved in version 0.8 is often fundamentally different from how it's saved in the polished 1.0 release.

Developer Luanti Games implemented a migration script meant to automatically read old save data and grant the new 1.0 achievement flags upon a player's first login after the launch patch. However, for a subset of players, this script failed to execute properly. This could be due to anything from server load at launch to a specific combination of old achievements that the script didn't anticipate. The developer acknowledged this issue in the patch notes for v1.0.3, referring to it as an "entitlement validation error for some legacy accounts." The fixes outlined here essentially perform that failed migration process manually, either by forcing the server to try again or by writing the data yourself.

05

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)tag

Will editing my save files get me banned? No. This is a client-side fix for a known, officially acknowledged bug. You are not giving yourself unearned items or hacking the game's competitive aspects. You are manually correcting file-state errors to access content you are already entitled to through your account level and playtime.

Does this fix work on the console (PlayStation/Xbox) versions of the game? Unfortunately, no. Console platforms use a protected file system that does not allow users to directly access and edit game save files in the way you can on PC. Console players affected by this bug will have to wait for an official patch from Luanti Games to resolve the issue.

I can't find the AppData folder. Where is it? AppData is a hidden folder by default on Windows. To see it, open a File Explorer window, click the "View" tab at the top, and check the box that says "Hidden items." The folder will then become visible, and you can navigate to the path as described.

I deleted the wrong file / my game won't start. What do I do? This is exactly why Step 1 was to create a backup. Go to where you saved your copy of the Saves folder. Delete the modified/broken folder inside the ...\LuantiGames\WoolAtTheGates\ directory and replace it with your backup copy. This will restore your game to the state it was in before you started.

The Final Wordtag

For nearly every affected player, the primary fix—deleting the progress.cache file and re-running the tutorial on a new character—is the clean, safe, and effective solution. It forces the game's own systems to correct the error without requiring risky manual edits. It restores access to the endgame content you've earned and lets you finally experience the full breadth of Wool at the Gates v1.0 on the character you spent hundreds of hours building.