The Blood of Dawnwalker does not lock Coen into one predetermined finale. Your allies, betrayals, side-quest decisions, character fates, and the 30-day rescue limit can all change how the story eventually plays out.
You have 30 in-game days to deal with Brencis and save Coen’s family, but there is no single road to the final confrontation. You can take Brencis down alone, storm Greifberg Castle with Lacra, fight alongside Crake and the Manumits, accept Brencis’s bargain, abandon Vale Sangora, or even become permanently trapped inside the Home Sweet Home dream.
That makes the ending system much bigger than simply choosing one dialogue option at the end. Earlier quest decisions determine which routes are available, while your final decisions decide which outcome you actually see.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead. This guide covers the final quests, character fates, secret endings, early endings, and epilogue of The Blood of Dawnwalker.
How many endings are in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
The number can look different depending on how guides classify the game’s outcomes.
The major routes covered in this guide are:
- The Folk Hero — Defeat Brencis alone.
- The Patricide — Defeat Brencis alongside Lacra.
- The Knyazmaker — Defeat Brencis alongside Crake and the Manumits.
- The Turncoat — Betray your allies and make a deal with Brencis.
- A Hero They Deserve — Leave Vale Sangora.
- Together Forever — Remain trapped inside the Home Sweet Home dream.
- Time Runs Out — Let the 30-day limit expire.
- Prologue victory — Defeat Brencis during the opening sequence.
Some of these are full story routes, while others are early endings, failure outcomes, or secret variations. There are also smaller changes inside the major routes depending on which characters survive and what Coen did earlier in the campaign.
So, rather than treating every different epilogue scene as a completely separate ending, it is more useful to think of Dawnwalker as having several major ending routes with additional variations.
More Dawnwalker Guides: A repeating nightmare hides two wildly different outcomes, and only one manual save protects you from missing either. For more, check out our complete walkthrough of Escaping the Dream and Unlocking Together Forever in Home Sweet Home.
How the 30-day timer affects your ending
The 30-day clock is one of the most important mechanics to understand before you start chasing endings.
After the prologue, Coen has 30 in-game days to deal with Brencis and rescue his family.
The clock does not simply tick down every time you explore. Exploring the world does not automatically consume days, while quests and other activities are what push the timeline forward. That means you have room to investigate Vale Sangora, improve Coen’s abilities, complete faction quests, and prepare for the final assault.
But once the deadline passes without resolving the situation, the consequences are brutal.
Brencis sacrifices Coen’s family.
The game does not immediately throw you to a traditional game-over screen. You can continue exploring and even continue pursuing Brencis afterward. However, the family-saving outcome is already gone for that run.
The deadline also matters for In the Nick of Time, which is connected to completing the relevant ending route before the 30-day limit.
For anyone trying to collect multiple endings, the safest move is simple: make manual saves before the final assault and keep an earlier save after completing the major Lacra and Crake questlines.
The Folk Hero: Defeat Brencis Alone
The Folk Hero route is the main solo ending. Coen enters the final confrontation without Lacra or Crake and takes Brencis on himself.
There are several ways to gain access to Greifberg Castle.
Work with Father Florin
Father Florin can help Coen discover a secret route into the castle.
Complete these quests:
- In the Name of the Father
- Hero’s End
- Champion of Old
Following this sequence gives Coen access to the secret knock that opens the castle’s side entrance.
Completing the questline also rewards the Ancient Hero’s Armor, making this route useful beyond simply opening the castle.
More All-Endings Guides: A secret White Key and hidden achievement wait for players willing to dig past the game’s surface ending. For more, read our complete breakdown of Unlocking the True Ending and Big Game Achievement in Big Walk.
Get the Side Gate Key
You can also take the more direct approach by heading to Racovitza’s Bandit Camp.
The camp is located on the eastern side of the map, southeast of the Birch Woodlet Shrine and south of the Crossroads Inn.
Defeat Georghe, The Rabid Duke, and you can obtain the Side Gate Key.
That key provides another way into Greifberg Castle without relying on Father Florin.
Use Coen’s vampiric abilities
Already invested heavily in Coen’s vampiric movement abilities?
At night, Planeshift and Shadowstep can help you reach sections of the castle from outside.
This lets you approach Greifberg Castle without joining either Lacra or Crake, although you need sufficiently developed vampiric abilities for this method.
More Ending Breakdowns: From triumphant finishes to secret post-credits twists, every possible outcome gets mapped out here. For more, check out our full guide to Unlocking Every Good, Bad and Secret Ending in Splatoon Raiders.
What changes during the solo castle assault?
Your earlier decisions can change what you encounter inside Greifberg Castle.
Ambrus
If Ambrus is still alive, he can appear as an enemy during the castle assault.
Kill him earlier and that encounter changes accordingly.
Bakir
Bakir’s survival can also affect the assault, including an encounter in the dungeon area.
His presence can create additional danger involving prisoners.
Xanthe
Xanthe’s fate changes another section of the castle.
When she is still alive, she can become part of the final confrontation. Killing her earlier changes the sequence surrounding her absence.
So even two players following the exact same solo ending route can experience different final sequences because their earlier character choices were different.
The deadline still matters
You can reach the castle after the 30-day deadline, but that does not undo what happened.
Once the timer expires, Coen’s family has already been sacrificed. Defeating Brencis afterward cannot restore the family-saving outcome.
The Patricide: Defeat Brencis With Lacra
Want Lacra beside Coen when the final battle arrives? You need to complete her questline and follow her into the assault on Brencis.
Lacra becomes a major ally after Coen encounters her in Svartrau. Her storyline eventually brings Coen into the mystery surrounding Isbrand, an ancient vampire connected to Brencis.
A major part of this route is Hive and Seek, which leads Coen and Lacra toward Isbrand and the Kobold-infested area where Brencis has imprisoned him.
The story then moves through Our Rotten Roots, revealing more about Brencis’s plans and the forces surrounding the vampire curse.
Once Lacra’s storyline reaches its final stage, Coen gains access to Midnight Reckoning.
Starting Midnight Reckoning
Midnight Reckoning takes Coen and Lacra into Greifberg Castle.
This is not the same as the solo assault. Lacra has her own objective, and the attack is directly tied to her attempt to stop Brencis’s plan.
The route eventually leads beneath the castle, where Coen and Lacra attack Brencis’s ritual.
Brencis’s ritual changes everything
Destroying the ritual has major consequences.
The castle becomes increasingly unstable, supernatural forces spread through the area, and the assault becomes much more chaotic.
Coen and Lacra eventually reach Brencis.
Coen still has to fight him personally, but Lacra’s presence completely changes the route and the resulting ending.
This outcome is known as The Patricide.
The Knyazmaker: Defeat Brencis With Crake
The Knyazmaker route puts Coen alongside Crake and the Manumits.
Crake, whose identity is tied to Marat, becomes one of the major figures standing against Brencis.
Instead of heading directly toward the final battle, you need to progress through the Manumit storyline.
Important quests include:
- The Firebrand
- Shadows in the Woods
- Where Loyalty Lies
- Who Pulls the Strings
Complete this storyline to unlock the rebel route toward the finale.
Rise at Dawn
The Manumit storyline eventually develops into Rise at Dawn, with the rebels preparing for a major attack.
Catalin Dragosti becomes involved and arrives with an army, leading to a confrontation at Eastridge Outpost.
What happens at the outpost matters because Catalin’s treatment of prisoners can influence what follows.
The storyline then moves toward:
- Rise at Dawn
- Fall Before Dusk
Eventually, Coen and the rebels make their way toward Greifberg Castle.
The Manumit route into Greifberg
The rebel assault has its own route through the castle, including a tunnel section and encounters with Kobolds.
Eventually, Coen and the rebels reach Brencis.
The exact outcome can vary depending on earlier choices involving the Manumits and Catalin, so completing the entire faction storyline before committing to the finale is important.
The resulting ending is The Knyazmaker.
The Turncoat: Betray Your Allies and Accept Brencis’s Deal
The Turncoat route flips the entire finale on its head.
Instead of immediately trying to kill Brencis, Coen can agree to work with him in exchange for his family’s safety.
One route into this outcome occurs during the final confrontation when Brencis offers Coen a bargain.
The critical dialogue sequence is:
“I just want my family back.”
Then:
“Fine–I’ll bow before you.”
And finally:
“Will you let them go then?”
Coen then reveals the location of his allies’ hideout.
That betrayal leads to the Turncoat outcome.
What happens to the rebels?
Brencis uses the information Coen provides to strike against the rebels.
Coen has effectively traded his alliance with the resistance for the possibility of getting his family back.
The resulting epilogue reflects that decision and creates a completely different political situation in Vale Sangora.
A Deal With the Devil: Another Turncoat Route
The quest A Deal with the Devil provides another route into the Turncoat-style outcome.
This becomes available after Coen’s relationship with Brencis reaches the appropriate stage, including the consequences of building Infamy.
Brencis can arrange a parley with Coen at Shrike’s Crag.
Instead of attacking immediately, Coen can accept Brencis’s offer.
The bargain requires Coen to betray the Manumits by revealing their hideout.
Brencis then attacks the rebels.
The consequences are severe:
- Members of the Manumit group are killed.
- Crake is captured.
- Brencis takes Crake away.
The story does not simply end after Coen accepts the deal. The epilogue still plays out, creating a different political situation in Vale Sangora.
Brencis maintains control for a period, although the situation eventually changes when the Arbiters become involved.
A Bad Time for a Duel: The Darker Turncoat Variation
There is another important outcome during the Brencis parley.
When the relevant opportunity appears, Coen can choose to fight Brencis rather than accept his bargain.
This is associated with A Bad Time for a Duel.
The key difference is that Coen does not successfully secure the family-saving bargain before the confrontation.
The resulting sequence does not provide the same family outcome as the successful pre-deadline routes.
So, when Brencis offers a deal, remember that not every confrontation with him leads to the same result.
For players trying to preserve the family and obtain In the Nick of Time, the timing and dialogue choices matter.
Time Runs Out: Let the 30-Day Clock Expire
Want to see what happens when Coen simply runs out of time?
Let the full 30 in-game days pass without resolving the Brencis situation.
The result is the game’s major failure outcome.
Brencis sacrifices Coen’s family.
The important part is that this does not instantly end the entire game.
Coen can still explore Vale Sangora and continue playing afterward. He can even continue pursuing Brencis.
But the family-saving outcome has been lost for that run.
The In the Nick of Time achievement/trophy requirement is also lost for that playthrough.
Treat this as a separate failure outcome rather than one of the planned major Brencis routes.
A Hero They Deserve: Escape Vale Sangora
Dawnwalker also has an early secret ending that lets Coen walk away from the entire conflict.
This is A Hero They Deserve.
You do not need to defeat Brencis.
You do not need to finish the major faction questlines.
You simply need enough vampiric mobility to escape Vale Sangora.
How to leave the valley
First, increase Coen’s Shadowstep range through the Shadow Dweller upgrade in the Vampirism skill tree.
Current progression requires reaching the necessary Corruption level and obtaining the second Shadow Dweller upgrade, which increases the distance Coen can travel with Shadowstep.
Next, head toward the western edge of Vale Sangora.
Look for the Coward’s Path Shrine near the western route.
Follow the path until you reach the broken bridge.
The bridge cannot normally be crossed.
At night, however, Coen’s enhanced Shadowstep can carry him across the gap.
Continue west after crossing the bridge.
Eventually, you reach an open passage leading out of Vale Sangora.
The game then gives Coen the option to leave.
Choose to leave the valley and his story ends immediately.
What happens?
Coen abandons his fight against Brencis.
He does not rescue his family or resolve the conflict in Vale Sangora.
Instead, the game rolls the credits rather than continuing into the standard epilogue structure.
This makes A Hero They Deserve a genuine early ending rather than another route toward the normal Brencis finale.
Together Forever: Stay Inside the Home Sweet Home Dream
Together Forever takes the early-ending idea in a completely different direction.
This ending occurs during Home Sweet Home, a supernatural dream sequence involving Coen’s childhood and family.
At first, the dream appears almost normal.
Then the events begin repeating.
How to escape the dream
To continue the main story, you need to break the loop.
After completing the sequence once, the next cycle changes.
When you reach the section where Coen fights the spectres, do not simply continue toward Coen’s father.
Instead, turn toward the well in the village and interact with it.
This leads into the funeral sequence.
During the funeral, Coen must investigate the people inside the church in the correct sequence as the sermon progresses.
Eventually, the dream breaks and Coen returns to reality.
How to trigger Together Forever
Want the opposite outcome?
Instead of escaping the illusion, continue accepting the dream and remaining with Coen’s family.
Doing so can trap Coen inside the nightmare permanently.
That produces Together Forever.
Unlike the normal ending routes, this one does not proceed into the standard post-credits structure.
It is essentially an escape-from-reality ending where Coen chooses the illusion over returning to the real world.
Secret Prologue Ending: Defeat Brencis Before the Campaign Begins
Now for one of Dawnwalker’s wildest secrets.
During the prologue, Coen is supposed to lose his confrontation with Brencis.
But players can technically defeat him.
And that’s only the beginning.
After the first phase, Brencis transforms into Brencis, Grotesque Ascendant.
You must defeat this second, significantly more powerful form as well.
That makes this one of the most difficult challenges in the game because Coen has only just gained his abilities and equipment.
There is also no normal quicksave option during the fight, so failing the attempt means repeating the earlier battle.
What happens after you win?
Successfully defeating Brencis’s transformed form effectively ends the main story before the normal campaign even begins.
The resulting epilogue is much shorter because the events that normally determine Vale Sangora’s final state have never happened.
So, treat this as a secret prologue victory variation, not as a replacement for the full campaign’s ending routes.
What Changes in the Epilogue?
The ending you see is only part of the picture.
The epilogue is where many of the smaller decisions made throughout the campaign finally start showing up.
One major sequence is Things Will Be Different Now.
The final state of Coen’s family, Laslea, and several important characters depends on the choices made during the campaign.
Laslea
Laslea begins preparing for the future after Brencis’s rule changes.
Coen’s decisions involving the church, local characters, and factions can affect what the settlement looks like afterward.
Lunka
Lunka’s fate is particularly important.
Her circumstances remain tied to Coen’s final decisions and the wider supernatural conflict.
One epilogue sequence shows Coen leaving the valley with Lunka in a cart after the situation in Laslea changes.
Neberu and the Arbiters
Neberu eventually reveals his connection to the Arbiters.
He approaches the survivors with an offer tied to the larger supernatural forces surrounding Vale Sangora.
That scene helps expand the story beyond Brencis and the immediate conflict in the valley.
Why You Should Keep 800 Denarius
The final days are not the time to spend every coin you have.
Keeping 800 Denarius available can matter for important epilogue-related decisions, including the church donation and Yanna’s dowry.
This does not create an entirely separate main ending, but it can affect the final state of characters and the settlement.
So, when you are nearing the finale, keeping enough money on hand can save you from missing those choices.
Character Fates You Can Change
Dawnwalker’s ending system goes beyond the final Brencis fight.
Several characters have outcomes determined by earlier quests and decisions.
Coen’s family
The biggest variable is the 30-day deadline.
Let the timer expire and the family is lost.
Complete one of the successful major routes before the deadline and the family can survive into the epilogue.
Svartrau Castle
The state of the castle changes depending on the route used to confront Brencis.
The Lacra route is particularly important because the assault causes major supernatural destruction.
Anca
Anca’s final situation depends on choices made during her storyline and the wider state of the world.
Her fate cannot be determined simply by picking a particular Brencis ending.
Lacra
Lacra’s fate is heavily connected to whether Coen completes her storyline and ultimately supports or betrays her.
The Turncoat route can produce a very different outcome from the Patricide route.
Crake
Crake’s fate is similarly tied to the Manumit storyline.
The Knyazmaker route gives him a role in the final assault, while accepting Brencis’s bargain can result in his capture.
Father Florin
Father Florin’s final state depends on Coen’s decisions involving the church and Vale Sangora’s supernatural order.
His fate can therefore change substantially between playthroughs.
Vicho and Ocha
Their outcomes also depend on earlier quest decisions rather than being determined exclusively by the final confrontation with Brencis.
That is why rushing only the main quest can cause you to miss some of Dawnwalker’s most important epilogue variations.
What Happens to the Plague and Uriashi?
The ending can also change the wider supernatural state of Vale Sangora.
Some outcomes leave the existing supernatural order intact, while others cause it to collapse.
Choices involving the destruction or removal of the Vrakhiri can affect the return of the plague and the future of the Uriashi.
The post-game world can therefore look noticeably different depending on what Coen does during the final days.
The religious balance of the valley can change as well, with Christianity returning more strongly in some outcomes.
The Post-Credits Scene Explained
Most major endings lead into a post-credits sequence.
The scene jumps forward to a modern-day version of Coen.
He appears injured and connected to a blood bag while a mysterious figure appears outside.
The sequence also shows the continuing influence of the supernatural force associated with Anachora, including its distinctive red corruption.
It deliberately leaves several questions unanswered.
Rather than simply wrapping up the Brencis storyline, the scene suggests that the supernatural events surrounding Coen and Anachora extend far beyond Vale Sangora.
The major exception is Home Sweet Home/Together Forever, which does not follow the normal post-credits structure.
How to See Every Ending in One Playthrough
You do not need to replay the entire game for every major ending.
The trick is to make your manual saves at the right moments.
1. Keep a separate prologue save
Before finishing the prologue, maintain a separate save.
Use this save to attempt the secret Brencis victory without damaging your main campaign.
2. Complete Lacra’s storyline
Progress through Lacra’s quests so the Patricide route becomes available.
3. Complete Crake and the Manumit storyline
Finish the major Manumit quests so the Knyazmaker route is also available.
4. Stay under 30 days
Do not allow the timer to expire while preparing for your successful endings.
Otherwise, Coen’s family is already lost and the In the Nick of Time outcome is unavailable for that run.
5. Create your final-route save
Once your major preparation is complete, create a manual save before committing to the final stage.
Do not overwrite it.
This is the save you can repeatedly reload.
6. Complete the Lacra ending
Follow Midnight Reckoning and complete the Patricide route.
Then reload your final save.
7. Complete the Crake ending
Follow Rise at Dawn / Fall Before Dusk and complete the Knyazmaker route.
Reload again.
8. Complete the solo ending
Enter Greifberg Castle without Lacra or Crake and defeat Brencis alone.
That gives you The Folk Hero.
Reload again.
9. Accept Brencis’s bargain
Use the appropriate final dialogue to betray your allies and trigger The Turncoat.
Reload again when necessary.
10. Create a separate deadline save
Want to see the failure outcome too?
Keep a separate save before the 30-day deadline, then allow the clock to expire.
Do not use this as your main successful-ending save.
11. Try the two early endings separately
Finally, experience A Hero They Deserve and Together Forever as separate experiments.
Neither requires you to combine the route with the standard final assault.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Ending Checklist
| Ending / Outcome | How to Unlock |
| The Folk Hero | Defeat Brencis alone |
| The Patricide | Complete Lacra’s route and defeat Brencis with her |
| The Knyazmaker | Complete the Manumit route and defeat Brencis with Crake |
| The Turncoat | Betray your allies and accept Brencis’s deal |
| A Hero They Deserve | Leave Vale Sangora through the western exit |
| Together Forever | Remain inside the Home Sweet Home dream |
| Time Runs Out | Allow the 30-day deadline to expire |
| Prologue victory | Defeat Brencis and Grotesque Ascendant during the prologue |
More Narrative Guides: Every branching path and hidden choice that determines how your story concludes gets covered in full. For more, read our complete walkthrough on Reaching Every Possible Ending in Cairn
Final Tips Before You Lock In an Ending
The biggest mistake you can make in The Blood of Dawnwalker is assuming the 30-day timer means you should sprint toward Brencis immediately.
The timer is there to force meaningful decisions about how Coen spends his limited time.
Complete the major faction storylines before the final assault, keep an eye on the important character quests, and make a permanent manual save before committing to your ending.
That single save can save you from replaying a huge portion of the campaign.
Most importantly, remember that the final boss fight is only one piece of Dawnwalker’s ending system. Earlier decisions can affect character survival, the condition of Laslea and Svartrau, the church, the supernatural forces in Vale Sangora, the fate of the plague and Uriashi, and what eventually appears in the epilogue.
For players hunting every major route, the basic strategy is straightforward: finish Lacra and Crake’s questlines, stay inside the 30-day limit, preserve a manual save before the final assault, and then reload to explore the different outcomes.
Image Credits:
- Featured Image: Rebel Wolves
- Image 2: Rebel Wolves
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