Blood of the Dawnwalker challenges players to stay sharp and remember details that can drastically change the story. The game’s opening quest, Withering Away, is a prime example where forgetting a simple herb recipe can have serious consequences. This early mission’s outcome impacts whether a key character survives the ominous Blood Mass, making it vital to get the herb medicine just right.
After paying Anca for her herbs—and maybe deepening her storyline—your next step takes you back to Pieter. Here, you’ll need to personally prepare the medicine using the recipe Anca shared with you. This isn’t some automatic handoff; the game tests how well you paid attention during that interaction.
While you can review the herb recipe anytime in your inventory, once you speak with Pieter, your chance to check it disappears. The preparation is boiled down to two critical choices, designed to confirm you caught Anca’s instructions and didn’t just mindlessly rush through the side content.
The first decision involves preparing the water—don’t let this catch you off guard. The water can’t be too hot or too cold, so the correct choice here is Hot Water. Selecting this sets the base for a successful medicine.
The next step is all about the herbs themselves. It might be tempting to go for the middle ground, but that’s a trap. Instead, you need to go big and add a full three spoonfuls of herbs to ensure the medicine’s potency.
Next, we’ll need to add spoonfuls of herbs, but how many? Unlike the previous choice we don’t want to pick the in-between option and instead go all in, adding three spoonfuls of herbs to the recipe.
Getting the recipe right triggers a touching scene with Coen and his father. Though the quest offers no monetary reward, the real payoff is far more meaningful: your careful preparation improves Coen’s family’s situation at the Blood Mass when night falls. It’s a subtle but powerful impact on the game’s narrative.