Looking for a walkthrough for the main quest Halls of the First Dawn in Dragon’s Dogma 2? Welcome to the longest quest of the Unmoored World in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Halls of the First Dawn is actually more of a branching path connecting several sidequests, and along the way you’ll have plenty of chances to battle the deadly Purgener Dragons that lurk in the skies at the top of each eerie red beacon. While you technically don’t need to beat these bosses to complete this quest, and can certainly return to them later in your endgame journey, this is as good a time as any.
If you’re ready to zip all over the map and tackle Brine-infused dragons, get started with the following Halls of the First Dawn quest walkthrough.
For our full walkthrough of the entire game or to find a different quest, visit our Dragon’s Dogma 2 walkthrough guide!
Halls of the First Dawn quest walkthrough
Halls of the First Dawn objectives:
- Go to the Seafloor Shrine.
- Speak with Rothais and Luz.
- Visit Bakbattahl and complete the “Civil Unrest” sidequest.
- (Optional) Defeat the Bakbattahl Purgener Dragon.
- Visit Vernworth and complete “The Regentkin’s Resolve” sidequest.
- (Optional) Defeat the Vernworth Purgener Dragon.
- Visit Sacred Arbor and complete the “Wandering Roots” sidequest.
- (Optional) Defeat the Sacred Arbor Purgener Dragon.
- Visit the Volcanic Island Camp and complete “The Importance of Aiding Ernesto” sidequest.
- (Optional) Defeat the Volcanic Island Camp Purgener Dragon.
- Visit the Excavation Site and complete the “Shepherd of the Pawns” sidequest.
First thing’s first – head over to the Seafloor Shrine, which has risen above the ocean and is now totally walkable. You’ll encounter lots of skeletons and other undead foes as you traverse these previously-underwater passageways, but they’re not terribly hard and drop lots of Ferrystones, which you’ll desperately need in the Unmoored World.
Once you’ve reached the shrine, speak with Rothais and activate the nearby Portcrystal, so you can teleport back here whenever you want. Several of the former Arisen you’ve met on your journey will then appear. Speak with Luz, who tells you that the towns around the world are in danger of extinction and need to be evacuated as soon as possible.
You’re now free to travel to the towns in the vicinity of the four red beacons on your map. Ideally, you want to do this as quickly as possible to save as many folks as you can, especially because the Unmoored World runs on a time limit. (For more on this time limit, see our guide to the previous main story quest, Dreams Apart.)
The good news is that after you’ve saved the populations of each town, the Seafloor Shrine will slowly populate with shopkeepers and other resources, creating a central hub that you can always return to as you tackle the endgame.
Civil Unrest
We recommend that you evacuate the people of Bakbattahl first, since they’re fairly close to the Seafloor Shrine. Once you’re in the city, speak with Manella, who can be found near the oxcart stop. This will activate the sidequest “Civil Unrest”, which tasks you with solving petty disputes around town.
Go to each quest marker on your map. One dispute is on the northern side of Bakbattahl, and you’ll stumble into a fight that requires you to get personally involved. The second is near the inn, where two men are arguing. You can either threaten then with a few whacks to the head (Manella will chastise you for this, but it doesn’t affect the outcome of the quest) or offer their nearby children food to settle things peacefully. The last dispute is in front of the vocation guild, and all you need to do is watch two locals engage in a duel.
Once all disputes are taken care of, return to Manella, who will ask you to speak with Empress Nadinia in the palace. The quest ends afterwards, as evacuations kick off throughout the city.
Since you’re in Bakbattahl, it’s worth facing the area’s Purgener Dragon, which is oddly enough a jar instead of a living creature. This is technically the subject of the next main quest in the game, so head over to our guide for “A Scholarly Pursuit” for more info.
The Regentkin’s Resolve
With Bakbattahl taken care of, Ferrystone to Vernworth. Speak with Captain Brant at the tavern to begin the sidequest “The Regentkin’s Resolve”. Next, you’ll need to talk with Sven in his room on the second floor of the Vernworth palace. Sven asks you to convince his mother Disa to agree to a citywide evacuation, and also to secure control over Vernworth’s oxcarts, which have been commandeered by an annoying nobleman.
Disa’s room is down the hall from Sven’s. While she’s unresponsive to the idea of evacuation, you can force her to come to her senses by picking her up and depositing her in Sven’s room. If you’d prefer a more tactful approach and have completed the sidequest “The Ornate Box”, you should see a box on Queen Disa’s desk. Take this box to Sven and he’ll reconcile his differences with his mother.
Dealing with the oxcarts is a simpler affair. Merely head over the the oxcart station in Vernworth’s western gate and talk to Allard, a slimy noble who’s bought them for himself. You can either pull out your weapon to intimidate him, or jump on him to deliver some good old fashioned threats. The oxcarts will be yours, and Sven will reward you and end the quest once you tell him the good news.
Now that Vernworth’s people are safe, you should take care of the Vernworth Purgener Dragon. Head to the beacon on the seabed floor near the southwestern edge of the city and use your Godsbane Blade. A terrible drake covered in Brine will descend from the heavens, kicking off combat. You’ll want to avoid its breath explosions, its meteor attacks, as well as the typhoons that it can summon across the battlefield. Luckily, the Purgener’s weak spots are well telegraphed by pink stones attached to its body. As the fight progresses, the Brine will recede and more of these pink stones will appear. Attack them with extreme prejudice, and when all are gone, target the drake’s horned head.
Wandering Roots
Now that Bakbattahl and Vernworth have begun their evacuations, it’s time to chat with the elves in their hidden village and get them to turn tail as well. Finding Sacred Arbor is completely optional, and it’s possible that you’ve missed it during the game, especially if you’ve only been completing main quests. Thankfully, you can teleport to the city via Ferrystone. You’ll also need to pick up a pawn with the Woodland Wordsmith Specialisation, which means that they can speak Elvish. Without this specialisation, all elven dialogue will come across as incomprehensible.
In Sacred Arbor, speak with Glyndwr, the dashing archer at the town’s entrance. He’ll take you to his father Taliesin, who’s typically pigheaded about evacuating. (What’s up with everyone not wanting to save their skins around here?) To get him to change his mind, you’ll need to continuously talk with him over the course of three days. The easiest way to do this if you’ve got coin to spare is to use the Sacred Arbor inn three times, chatting with Taliesin immediately after you wake up. Eventually, he’ll agree to go along with you, if only because you’re persistent.
If you’ve completed the elven sidequests “The Ailing Arborheart”, “Out of the Forest”, and “Into the Forge”, Taliesin will be more receptive to your cause if you can prove that a piece of the elves’ forest home can grow at the Seafloor Shrine. He’ll give you the Arborheart Cutting, which you need to plant at the quest marker spot in the Seafloor Shrine. Once this is done, the elves will agree to leave their sacred abode.
With the elves gone, go to the red beacon in front of Sacred Arbor and use your Godsbane Blade. The Sacred Arbor Purgener Dragon is a giant worm that’s much easier than the last boss you fought. It’ll slither across the arena and use the same meteor and typhoon attacks as its drake cousin. Climb atop it and bash the pink stones to render it asunder.
The Importance of Aiding Ernesto
Teleport to Agamen Volcanic Island, go to the Volcanic Island Camp, and speak with the Beastren guard Ernesto by the northern gates to start “The Importance of Aiding Ernesto”. He’ll ask you to convince Gautstafr and his elven wife Cliodhna to evacuate with the other residents of the camp.
If you unlocked the Magick Archer vocation, you’ll remember these two. They live in a house off the beaten path on the eastern side of the island, and they’ll be receptive to your cause. Unfortunately, you’ll have to escort them all the way back to the camp, and Gautstafr isn’t exactly a fast walker. Cliodhna shoots a mean magickal bow, though, and will be an asset when fighting the various hobgoblins and minotaur you’re likely to encounter on the route.
Once the husband and wife duo are safe, Ernesto tasks you with convincing the former Arisen Lamont to aid him. You’ll know this boiled egg-loving guy if you unlocked the Warfarer vocation. He’s the sort of dude who hates authority and taking orders, but he has a good heart, and if you ask him to serve as Gautstafr and Cliodhna’s bodyguard, he’ll comply. This completes the quest.
The Volcanic Island Camp Purgener Dragon can be fought once you reach its beacon east of the Volcanic Island Camp and use the Godsbane Blade. This one’s another drake, like the Vernworth Purgener. Use the same strategies of dodging its big attacks and attacking its pink spots to reign victorious.
Shepherd of the Pawns
“Shepherd of the Pawns” begins when you go to the Excavation Site and encounter the guard Henrique fighting a golem near the entrance. This should be a fairly easy kill by this point – just smack the golem’s coloured weak points to kill it. Then follow Henrique to the cells of the camp, where your epic Arisen adventure began oh so long ago. There will be several pawns there who refuse to move, and Henrique gives you the Overseers’ Lodge Key, asking you to search for a way to convince them.
Use the key to open the door of the large house near the Excavation Camp inn. Inside you’ll find a storage room with the Diminished Godsway on the floor. Take this, bring it back to the cells, and give it to Henrique to free the pawns and finish the quest.
Unlike the other quests here, there isn’t a Purgener Dragon immediately available for you to fight, at least at the moment. (See our guide on the “When Wills Collide” quest for more info). So, bask in the knowledge that all of the Unmoored World’s major communities are evactuated, and enjoy the fact that “Halls of the First Dawn” has finally come to an end. Head back to the Seafloor Shrine to enjoy the fruits of your labor and the new hub town you’ve steadily created, and get ready to witness the true ending of Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Next quest: A Scholary Pursuit
Hopefully you’ve been well-equipped and properly leveled up as you battled all of those Brine-infused dragons falling from the sky. If you’re not, or simply want some assistance at ranking up new vocations in the Unmoored World, feel free to check out our guides to the Archer, Fighter, Mage, Magick Archer, Mystic Spearhand, Sorcerer, Thief, Trickster, Warrior, and Warfarer. We’ve also got full rundowns of the best weapons and best armor in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
