Dawnwalker Side Quests: Which Chains Are Worth Your Days
This guide draws on official information from Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco for The Blood of Dawnwalker (released September 3, 2026). Sections marked as unconfirmed reflect details that are not yet officially verified.
The Blood of Dawnwalker does not separate main quests from side quests the way most RPGs do, and it gives you 30 in-game days to work with. That combination changes the question you should be asking. "Am I missing content?" is the completionist's question and it has no useful answer here. "Is this chain going to hand me something permanent?" is the question that actually protects your run.
This Is a Route Page, Not a Complete Index
Read this before you use anything below. The total number of side quests in the game is TBC — not officially confirmed yet, and no source has finished cataloguing the retail build's optional content. Any site presenting a numbered "all quests" total right now is estimating.
So this page does something more honest and, under a deadline, more useful. Every quest named here is confirmed to exist. They are grouped by the kind of reward the chain pays out, so you can decide where your in-game days go. If a chain is not listed, that means we could not confirm it — not that it does not exist.
For the confirmed quest order through the story itself, use our walkthrough.
The Only Filter That Matters: Permanent vs Narrative
Under a 30-day clock, side content is a resource allocation problem, not a completion problem. Sort every chain into one of two buckets:
Permanent payoff. Skill manuals, legendary gear, tutors, standing allies. These change what Coen can do for the rest of the run and keep their value regardless of which ending you reach. Prioritise these.
Narrative payoff. Chains that shape who lives, who trusts you, and how the valley remembers Coen. Genuinely worth doing — but only when they point toward the ending you actually want, because they cost the same days as the permanent stuff.
One clarification that saves people a lot of anxiety: exploring, looting, and fighting do not advance the clock. Only flagged time-costing actions do. The days you burn are spent on quest steps, so quest selection is where the real budgeting happens. See time limit explained for the mechanics.
Prologue and Main Spine
These are not optional, but knowing them anchors everything else. The prologue runs through Withering Away, Like Father, Like Son, Fall Before Dusk, and A Lone Wolf's Hunt. The run ends at A Deal with the Devil, which is the confirmed point of no return.
Like Father, Like Son deserves a specific note: it rewards the Charge ability manual, and it hands it over even if you lose the fight against your father. You need Withering Away done first. That makes the prologue itself a permanent-payoff segment, which is unusual and worth not rushing past.
Save before A Deal with the Devil
This quest is the point of no return. A manual save here is what lets you collect multiple ending outcomes in one playthrough. Full detail in our missables guide.
Vassal Chains: The Path to the Endgame
Three quests sit at the end of three regional campaigns: The Gilded Gauntlet (Ambrus), The Lunar Game (Bakir), and The Cycle of Love (Xanthe). You reach each one by angering the lieutenant who rules that region — you do not need to clear every activity in a territory, just enough to trigger the confrontation.
Treat these as mandatory rather than optional. Defeating all three is what opens the parley leading to A Deal with the Devil, and each victory raises Infamy by a full level. The mechanics of provoking a lieutenant are in court activities.
The Cycle of Love has a bonus worth knowing: Xanthe's manor contains a room opened with two lamps, and it holds a Witchcraft manual. That turns a story beat into a permanent pickup on the same trip.
Tutor Chains: The Highest Return Per Day
If you only have days for one category, make it this one. Tutors permanently expand what Coen can learn, and every one of them is gated behind a specific chain.
| Chain | Tutor unlocked | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Ambrus's Prisoners: Lucky Crossing | Ursul | Free the prisoners, talk to learn his identity, then win his duel |
| Bakir's Pillories: Catalin's Tutor | Catalin's Tutor | Requires choosing to protect the man at the pillory, then winning the duel |
| The Heart Wants What It Wants | Ocha | Only unlocks her on certain outcomes; also carries a character death risk |
| Buried Past | Volk sparring | Route to the Artery Strike manual |
Constantin is the trap. He leads a Soldier Camp and you can simply kill him — which permanently removes a Swordmastery tutor from your run. Spare him and he teaches you. There is no second chance and no warning that you are throwing away a tutor.
Manual and Gear Chains
Skills need manuals, not just points, so chains that end in a manual are effectively skill unlocks. The skill manuals guide has the full location list; here are the chains that carry them.
The Manumit line — The Firebrand, Shadows in the Woods, Where Loyalty Lies, Who Pulls the Strings, What Moves the Dead — is the single densest permanent-reward chain confirmed so far. Who Pulls the Strings unlocks Life Lock automatically, and finishing What Moves the Dead opens Drogos as a manual source. Joining the Manumits requires Infamy at the Notorious tier (Level IV), so this chain rewards not playing quietly. See infamy and edicts for the ladder.
Anca's line — Echoes of Silenced Bells, Font of Life, Stronger Than Achilles — pays in manuals and unlocks Anca as a Witchcraft merchant. Font of Life offers three items and lets you keep one, so decide before you walk in; the options are covered in legendary weapons.
Pilgrimage of Power: Bear Trouble and Pilgrimage of Power: Fanatics both lead to Ravenous Flock manuals. Short, self-contained, high value.
A Monk and a Saint connects to St. Mihai's legendary silver sword. Straightforward reasoning: a legendary weapon outlasts any dialogue outcome.
Merchant and Faction Chains
These unlock ongoing access rather than a single item, which makes them quietly strong if you do them early.
The Sanzhani line runs Gone Home into Letters to Lunka and finishes at Pearly and Precious, opening a Witchcraft merchant. It is the longest of the merchant chains and the payoff only lands at the end, so start it early or skip it deliberately.
Lacra's line — Song of the Mountain and Night of Horrors — does double duty. Song of the Mountain grants access to the Uriash Matriarch as a merchant, and Lacra is one of the two mutually exclusive romance options and a possible ally at the final battle. Narrative and permanent value in one chain, which makes it a strong pick if her romance is the one you want.
Romance and Narrative Chains
A Closer Look connects to Marat's romance path. The Anca and Lacra romances are mutually exclusive, so one of those two lines is closed the moment you commit. The romance guide covers who is available and how the exclusivity works.
This is where the permanent-versus-narrative filter earns its keep. Romance chains do not hand you a manual or a tutor. They shape your ending and your final-battle ally, and that is worth days if it is what you came for. If you are optimising for build power in a first run, they are the most reasonable thing to defer.
Building Your Route
A workable priority order for a single run under the clock:
- Finish the prologue properly and bank the Charge manual.
- Take the tutor chains early — they compound over every remaining day.
- Run the Manumit line once Infamy reaches Level IV.
- Fold Anca's line and the Pilgrimage of Power quests into regional sweeps you were doing anyway.
- Start long merchant chains early or drop them on purpose.
- Commit to a romance once you know which ending you are aiming at.
One discipline point: anything wearing an hourglass icon is individually timed and will expire while you wander. Clear those before starting a long regional sweep.
Side Quests FAQ
How many side quests are there? TBC — not officially confirmed yet. No source has a verified total.
Can I do everything in one run? The publisher has stated that Coen will not have time for everyone, while the developers say most content is completable within the limit. Both are true: you will see a lot and still leave things behind.
What happens if I ignore side quests entirely? The main spine can be finished, but you will arrive at Brencis short on manuals, tutors, and allies.
Is any chain strictly missable forever? Killing Constantin permanently removes that tutor, and Ocha's tutor unlock depends on quest outcome. Full detail in missables.
Does exploring cost me days? No. Only flagged time-costing quest actions advance the clock.