The “Midnight Reckoning” quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker will complete Coen’s story, but it can either do so in a (somewhat) good way or a pretty bad way. While the final choice in “Midnight Reckoning” is important, though, getting there is half the challenge, especially if you get stuck in Xanthe’s confusing time loop trap.
Here’s what happens if you side with Brencis or stick with Lacra in The Blood of Dawnwalker‘s “Midnight Reckoning” quest. We’ll also show you how to escape the trap.
[Ed. note: This guide contains spoilers for The Blood of Dawnwalker, so continue at your own risk! Feel free to follow along or bookmark this page and come back if you get stuck.]
‘Midnight Reckoning’ quest walkthrough in The Blood of Dawnwalker
“Midnight Reckoning” forms the final part of Lacra’s quest line, but more importantly, it’s one of the endgame quests in The Blood of Dawnwalker, which means it will finish the main story. So, before you start, make sure you’ve done everything you wanted to do before confronting Brencis, and make sure you prefer “Midnight Reckoning” over any of the other endgame quests you might’ve unlocked (such as Crake’s or Father Florin’s final quest).
If you haven’t unlocked “Midnight Reckoning” yet, you must follow Lacra’s quest line first, starting with “A Friend Like This.” After completing “Our Rotten Roots,” you can optionally do the “Night of Horrors” quest (which contains a romance opportunity), or go straight to “Midnight Reckoning.”
“Midnight Reckoning” throws a lot of soldiers and undead enemies in your path, so it’s important to find the best armor and unlock the best skills before you start. Once you do, you’ll have to overcome the following hurdles:
- Enter Greifberg Castle.
- Find your way to the throne room and escape the trap.
- Decide whether to defeat Brencis or betray Lacra.
Like every adventure with Lacra, you can only start “Midnight Reckoning” during the night. It won’t cost any time segments.
Enter Greifberg Castle in ‘Midnight Reckoning’
The path from the ruins into Greifberg Castle is linear, so you won’t run the risk of getting lost here. If you like, you can use focus mode to spot frescoes and objects that’ll give you some background lore, but it’s optional. When you enter the large stone hall inside the ruins, you’ll have to fight The Unblinking Blasphemy, a large insectoid creature. Stun attacks are especially helpful against this foe.
Following this fight, make your way through the temple, where Lacra will destroy the floating red orb. You must fight Ambrus here, if you haven’t killed him already. Inside the dungeons, in the square room with the many wraiths, you can collect a prison key from a corpse and (optionally) use it to free the prisoners in the hallway. Sadly, they’re too far gone to care.
If you haven’t defeated Bakir yet (which you may have done during “The Lunar Game”), you’ll encounter him upstairs, at the end of the dungeon. A few chambers further, Coen will get a vision and realize that Lacra may have doomed his family by interrupting the ritual. You can either make your peace with her or threaten her, but it won’t affect the outcome of the quest.
In the courtyard, you’ll face either some human soldiers or another Unblinking Blasphemy — it probably depends on whether you’ve done the “Home Sweet Home” quest. When the enemies are down, use Shadowstep to climb to Greifberg Castle’s entrance. Do not touch the red veins, as they deplete your HP within seconds — be sure to aim for the white paint.
If you haven’t killed Xanthe yet, you will have to defeat her now. No matter when you killed her, though, you will soon find yourself trapped in a time loop. Only the players who’ve previously made a deal with Xanthe won’t find themselves trapped.
Escape the trap in ‘Midnight Reckoning’
To escape Xanthe’s trap, pass through the open door left of the staircase. It’s marked by a triangular banner. Use focus mode to spot it easily.
Move the bookcase, jump down, and go through the time loop again. This time, take the door marked by two triangular banners, on the left side of the room. If you take the wrong door, you’ll have to redo the entire time loop, including the battles, so double-check before proceeding!
Now, take the door on the right side of the staircase — again, it’s marked by a triangular banner. You will successfully escape the time loop.
Once you’ve defeated a couple of undead wolves and the Commander of the Blood Guard, you’re free to confront Brencis.
Should you side with Brencis or Lacra in ‘Midnight Reckoning’
When you enter the throne room, you’ll get locked in conversation with Brencis. There’s one final choice to make: You can fight Brencis, or let Lacra handle things. Here’s what happens:
- “Just draw the blade, Brencis”: You and Lacra will fight Brencis. Lacra survives, and you get the Patricide ending. You’ll have the opportunity to speak with Lacra again.
- “I accept the offer. I’m sorry, Lacra”: Lacra is angry, but you won’t have to fight Brencis. As Coen helps his family leave the castle, he’ll watch Brencis kill Lacra. This leads to the Turncoat ending.
- “Lacra, can you handle him on your own?”: Lacra is sympathetic; she’ll tell you to take your family and go. You then have to choose whether you leave, or stay and fight. You’ll reach one of the two endings as described above, depending on this choice.
If you decide to fight Brencis, you may find him easier to defeat than expected, but beware; once you’ve depleted his HP, he’ll teleport to Anachora, where the second (and most difficult) phase of the boss fight awaits. Brencis uses many unblockable attacks, so be ready to dodge often. He will occasionally summon his boyars as wraiths (even if you killed them).
The “Midnight Reckoning” quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker will end, but the game isn’t finished yet. During the epilogue, which differs depending on your choices, you get the opportunity to meet some of your old friends and family — those who are still alive, that is.