QUESTS · MISSABLE
The Blood of Dawnwalker Prologue Walkthrough
The Prologue is the one part of Dawnwalker where “I will come back later” is a dangerous default. Use this route to group nearby objectives, resolve Esme's medicine and leave the opening area with your choices recorded.
Make a manual save before committing to an important conversation. Opening quests are time-sensitive, and a later free-roam route is not a guarantee that every Prologue objective will remain available.
The safest Prologue order
You do not have to clear every optional detour immediately. The order below keeps the opening route compact: finish the objective already in front of you, collect a nearby side objective, then return to the main thread before the clock takes another large step.
Start with Withering Away
Follow the first clear lead instead of leaving the settlement to loot. This establishes the opening route and prevents an early detour from becoming your whole day.
Pick up Page-Turner while you are close
When the nearby objective appears, handle it before travelling to a distant landmark. Keep a note of any named person or location the quest introduces.
Resolve the tree and bandit leads
If a Tree Falls in a Forest… and Bandits' Treasure Map: Laslea Glen belong in the same scouting pass when their markers are close. Do not cross the whole region for the map alone.
Complete the Firebrand chain
Use The Firebrand as the next anchor, then follow Under Watchful Eyes and Taking Back What's Mine before returning to free exploration.
Finish the power pilgrimage objectives
Handle the nearby objectives in A Pilgrimage for Power: Bear Trouble, From Above, Dark-Thing and Fanatics as one route where possible.
Return for The Heart Wants What It Wants
Complete the relationship-focused opening quest before you leave the Prologue behind. If a choice feels final, stop and create another manual save first.
Esme's medicine: the early answer
Esme's medicine is the first practical puzzle many players look up. The current launch route uses hot water and three spoonfuls of herbs. Check the ingredients and finish the interaction before you spend the remaining Prologue time on a long expedition.
Write down whether you completed the medicine, which nearby quests are still open and whether you want to preserve the relationship outcome. This makes a later ending or choice run much easier to reconstruct.
Opening quest checklist
Use the checklist as a planning board rather than a promise that every quest must be completed in exactly this order. The key is to finish a chain once you have started it, especially when the next step is in the same settlement or region.
| Quest or chain | Route advice | Risk flag |
|---|---|---|
| Withering Away | Use it as the first anchor. | START |
| Page-Turner | Pair it with the first settlement pass. | CHECKPOINT |
| If a Tree Falls in a Forest… | Take it when the marker is already nearby. | OPTIONAL |
| Bandits' Treasure Map: Laslea Glen | Do not make a long trip for the map alone. | DETOUR |
| The Firebrand → Under Watchful Eyes | Keep the chain together. | CHAIN |
| Taking Back What's Mine | Finish after the Firebrand setup. | CHOICE |
| Bear Trouble / From Above | Group with the closest pilgrimage markers. | ROUTE |
| Dark-Thing / Fanatics | Use the same return loop where possible. | COMBAT |
| The Heart Wants What It Wants | Complete before leaving the opening route. | MISSABLE |
How to handle Prologue choices
The correct choice depends on the run you want, but the correct process is consistent. Never spend a timed quest window debating a choice from memory; save, read the exact prompt and note who benefits from the outcome.
Choose the person you are protecting
If a response changes who trusts Coen, treat that as a route decision. Record the name and the reason, not just “picked left option.”
Do not spend a scarce item casually
If the game presents a medicine, ingredient or time-sensitive delivery, resolve the immediate objective before testing an unrelated system.
Use the safer reset point
When a combat choice opens a darker route, save before entering. A failed fight should cost a retry, not the entire Prologue chain.
Leave optional loot for later
Optional loot is valuable, but it should not outrank a named quest that has a visible deadline.
Before leaving the Prologue
- Esme's medicine is complete, or you have intentionally accepted the result of leaving it unresolved.
- The Firebrand chain is not sitting on an unfinished next step.
- You have a manual save before the Prologue exit and another after the last choice you care about.
- You have written down the next main objective, so the first open-world hour is not spent searching menus.
- You are not carrying a “quick detour” whose travel cost will eat the next timed window.
The world opens up, but that does not mean every task is equally urgent. Move to the All Quests Walkthrough for the vassal route, or use the Beginner Guide to reset your time budget.
Verification note Release and high-level game facts are checked against the official Steam record and publisher material. Quest names and route details are launch-window guide data; disputed system behavior is not presented as settled.