All Endings in The Blood of Dawnwalker & How to Get Each

How many endings does The Blood of Dawnwalker have? Seven. Four are full story endings decided in the final quest, two are early endings you can trigger almost as soon as the prologue ends, and one is the bad ending for running out the 30-day clock. This guide lists all seven, what each one requires, and the exact save strategy that lets you see every ending without replaying the game. Spoiler policy: the names and requirements are here; what each ending means visually is not.

The One Rule That Decides Everything

Here is the ending mechanic almost nobody sees coming: your story choices before the final quest barely matter. Only two things decide which ending you get:

1. Which ally questlines you finished — Lacra”s chain unlocks her ending, Crake”s Manumit chain unlocks his.
2. Your dialogue choices during the final quest, A Deal with the Devil.

That design has a big practical consequence: keep one manual save before the final quest, and that single save is a key to every full ending. The 30-day limit still matters — if the clock runs out, the family-rescue outcomes are gone — but the branching worry most players carry through the whole game is largely unnecessary. The choices guide covers what your earlier decisions do change: who helps you, who survives, and the state of the world.

The Four Full Endings

All four require the same setup: defeat the three Boyars, finish within 30 in-game days, and reach A Deal with the Devil. They differ only in what you say and who stands with you.

The Turncoat

Betray your allies and strike a deal with Brencis to get your family back — and skip the final boss fight entirely. During the final quest, choose “I just want my family back,” then confirm “I”ll do it” in the third dialogue. (Avoid the sword option, which attacks Brencis on the spot.) To seal the deal you must mark the Manumit hideout for Brencis, which means completing three quests first: The Firebrand, then Shadows in the Woods, then Where Loyalty Lies. This ending also awards In the Nick of Time for the family rescue — and it is the easiest route if you are on Duelist difficulty, because there is no boss fight to lose.

The Folk Hero

Defeat Brencis entirely on your own — no Lacra, no Crake. In the final quest, answer “Enough. Time to end this.” Beating the final boss solo is the flex ending of The Blood of Dawnwalker, and the hardest version of the fight.

The Patricide

Defeat Brencis together with Lacra. Requirement: complete her full questline — A Friend Like This, Song of the Mountain, Hive and Seek, Our Rotten Roots, The Night of Horrors, and Midnight Reckoning — then speak to her to initiate the ending.

The Knyazmaker

Defeat Brencis together with Crake and the Manumit. Requirement: complete the Manumit chain — The Firebrand, Shadows in the Woods, Where Loyalty Lies, What Hunts the Night, What Moves the Dead, and Who Pulls the Strings — then initiate through Rise at Dawn or Fall Before Dusk.

The Two Early Endings

Both count as completing the story for the completion achievement, but they are “what if you just left” endings — and notably, they do not satisfy the Duelist difficulty requirement, which specifically demands saving the people of Laslea via one of the four full endings.

A Hero They Deserve

Escape Vale Sangora and abandon everything. This can be done immediately after the prologue: on the west side of Briar Sloughs, west of the Coward”s Path Shrine, a broken bridge leads to an open gate. At night, use Planeshift and Shadowstep to climb the canyon wall, reach the path, enter, and choose “[leave the valley forever].” The credits roll early. It is the game”s way of asking whether you are really up for the next thirty days.

Together Forever

Stay with your family — forever. This plays out in Home Sweet Home, one of Xanthe”s court activities. Climb Silts Tower, open the door on the top floor, and you are pulled into a looping dream: run the loop, defeat two groups of enemies and an insect boss, and instead of taking the escape the game offers at the well, simply stay. After four full cycles, talk to your family at the start of the fifth loop and remain in the dream. If you change your mind later, reload the autosave from before the fourth boss kill, inspect the well with Focus Mode, and follow the voice — escaping the dream this way even nets you the legendary Astrologer”s Ring.

The Bad Ending: Time Runs Out

Exceed 30 in-game days after the prologue and the story ends for you: a cutscene shows your family dying in Brencis”s castle. There is no trophy for this one, and the game does not end — you can keep playing and pursue other endings — but The Turncoat route and the In the Nick of Time achievement are gone for that run, because there is no family left to rescue.

How to See All Endings in One Playthrough

The route completionists use, step by step:

1. In the prologue, give Esme the correct medicine (hot water, three spoonfuls of herbs) so she survives.
2. Defeat all three Boyars through their court activities — well inside the 30-day limit; the focused main path takes under 10 days.
3. Before A Deal with the Devil, finish both Lacra”s and Crake”s questlines.
4. Make a manual save in a fresh slot. The game offers 54 — this one save is your master key.
5. Run the final quest and take your first ending. Reload the master save, change the dialogue, take the next. Repeat until all four full endings are done.
6. The two early endings are separate: trigger them from any convenient earlier save, or on a relaxed second file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do my early-game choices lock me out of endings? Almost never. Only the final quest”s dialogue and the two ally questlines decide the ending. Earlier choices change the journey — who lives, who trusts you, what the world looks like — not the ending menu.

Does Esme”s medicine matter for the endings? All seven endings can trigger whether she lives or dies, but if she dies in the prologue she cannot be part of the family rescue, and the community has not fully confirmed whether In the Nick of Time still counts. Make the medicine correctly; it costs you two minutes.

Which ending should I pick on Duelist difficulty? The Turncoat — it skips the final boss fight entirely. The Duelist completion trophy counts endings one through four only, so get it done during one of those.

Can I keep playing after an ending? Not in that world state — you return to the title screen and reload a save. There is no free-roam after the credits and no New Game Plus. Plan your cleanup before the final quest using the endgame guide.

Related Guides

• Endgame Checklist — what to finish before A Deal with the Devil
• All Choices & Consequences — how earlier decisions shape the journey
• Brencis Boss Guide — the final boss, all three versions
• Grotesque Ascendant — phase two of the final fight
• Main Quest Order — the route to reach the endings
• All Quests List — side content that feeds into endings