The Howling Sands includes Badlands and Desolate Basin. Thorium-bearing sandstone is associated with both regions in the release data. Hyenas also have recorded spawn associations with both, making them a useful creature record to check while planning a material-gathering trip.

Thorium and cobalt are separate material choices with different gathering routes. Thorium-bearing sandstone is recorded in Badlands and Desolate Basin; cobalt-bearing slate is recorded in Boreal Reach and The Everfrost, along with several Whisperfrost shore and shallow-ocean records.