Quick answer: The Blood of Dawnwalker, Rebel Wolves' single-player vampire RPG that launched September 3, 2026, has no traditional follower or party system — you never build a squad that trails Coen around the open world. What the game calls "companions" are really three recruitable allies — Anca, Lacra and Crake (real name Marat) — story figures you win over across your 30-day time budget through their questlines. Their support doesn't give you a combat pet; it reshapes the Greifberg Castle finale and unlocks specific endings. The one ally who literally fights beside Coen in the endgame is Lacra, the game's only vampire (Vrakhiri) companion — and she's also the most missable, because her romance and alliance quest chain has a hard point of no return before the final mission.
If you came here expecting a Dragon Age–style party wheel or a Witcher-with-followers setup, reset that expectation now. The Blood of Dawnwalker is a solo protagonist story. But "solo" doesn't mean isolated: who you recruit, whose questline you finish, and whose trust you keep before you storm Greifberg is one of the biggest levers over how Coen's story ends. This guide breaks down all three allies, how to recruit each, and exactly how their support pays off.
Does The Blood of Dawnwalker have companions or party members?
No — there is no party system, and no companion follows you in combat during normal play. Coen is a lone protagonist. You explore, fight, feed and make choices on your own; there's no roster to swap in, no companion inventory, no follower AI tagging along through the open world. This is a deliberate design: the game is built around a single character living a compressed, high-stakes story rather than managing a group.
What people mean when they search for "companions" is the game's cast of allies — the named characters whose loyalty you can earn. In The Blood of Dawnwalker those allies overlap almost exactly with the game's three romanceable characters, and their arcs are woven into the main story rather than bolted on as optional buddies. Recruiting them is about finishing questlines and making the right calls, not grinding affinity or handing out gifts — there's no gift or approval-meter system at all. The rule the community keeps landing on is simple: follow the questline through to the end, take the supportive dialogue options, and don't get anyone killed.
So the honest framing for planning your run: think of "companions" as story alliances that change your finale, not as combat teammates.
Who are the three allies in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
There are exactly three recruitable allies, and each represents a different faction of the world Coen moves through:
- Anca — a human herbalist from Laslea Glen, met in the prologue. She has the most screen time of the three and is treated by outlets as the "canon," long-term relationship. She also anchors part of your early Witchcraft kit narratively.
- Lacra — the game's only Vrakhiri (vampire) ally, found northeast of Svartrau City. She is the most missable character in the game and the one companion who fights alongside Coen at the climax.
- Crake / Marat — a leader of the Manumits, the mortal-led rebellion against the vampire courts. He's the most conditional ally: his thread only opens up once Coen's reputation is high enough.
Notice the pattern: one human, one vampire, one rebel. The Blood of Dawnwalker gives you an ally from each side of its central conflict, and which of those relationships you complete tells the game which ending to steer toward.
How do you recruit Anca?
Anca is effectively your default ally — you meet her in the prologue, so no discovery step is required. She's the human herbalist of Laslea Glen and the character you spend the most time with early. Her questline runs, in order: Withering Away → Page-Turner → Echoes of Silenced Bells → Between the Words → Where Old Devils Lie → Stronger Than Achilles, which is the culmination of her arc. Work through those and take the warm, supportive dialogue options as they come up.
One hard warning that trips people up: talking to Anca while you're in vampire form at low health can kill her. If you're low, feed or heal to restore yourself before triggering her conversations. It's the single most common way players accidentally lose her — and losing her mid-arc closes off both the alliance and her thread into the ending.
Because Anca joins you at the very start, she's the ally most players "have" without trying. The mistake isn't recruiting her — it's neglecting her chain in favor of the main quest and then hitting the finale without having completed it.
How do you recruit Lacra (the vampire who fights with you)?
Lacra is the payoff ally — she's the one who actually fights beside Coen in the Greifberg finale — and she's the easiest to miss entirely. She's the only Vrakhiri (vampire) companion, found northeast of Svartrau City, and you reach her through a specific quest thread rather than stumbling onto her.
Her recruitment chain: it begins with "A Friend Like This" — which is itself unlocked through Vicho's quest "A Study in Crimson" — and then runs Song of the Mountain → Hive and Seek → Our Rotten Roots → The Night of Horrors. That last quest, The Night of Horrors, is where her arc culminates.
Here is the critical, run-defining rule: you must finish "The Night of Horrors" BEFORE you begin "Midnight Reckoning." Midnight Reckoning is not a companion quest — it is the game's finale, the assault on Greifberg Castle. As one guide (space4games) puts it plainly, once you start it "your opportunity is gone." So if you want Lacra as your endgame ally, close out her entire chain first. Miss the window and you don't just lose a romance — you lose the only companion who stands with you at the climax, and you close off her associated ending path.
The reason Lacra matters mechanically: her completed questline is a prerequisite for the ending community guides call The Patricide. No Lacra chain, no Patricide route.
How do you recruit Crake (Marat) and the Manumits?
Crake — real name Marat — is the most conditional ally, gated behind your reputation. He's a leader of the Manumits, the mortal rebellion against the vampire courts, and his thread only progresses once Coen has reached high Infamy — specifically the "Notorious" tier, Infamy level 4. If your reputation isn't there yet, his questline simply won't open up, which is why some players never realize he's recruitable.
His arc runs through The Firebrand → Shadows in the Woods and the questline that ties into the Knyazmaker ending — the outcome where Coen kills the final antagonist alongside Crake and the Manumits. One quirk worth knowing: the "The Manumit" achievement is tied to the optional quest "A Closer Look," not to romancing or fully allying with Crake — so don't assume the trophy and the alliance are the same checkbox. Like Anca, Crake can also be lost if you give in to the hunger and attack him in vampire form mid-conversation, so mind your state around him too.
Crake is the ally to prioritize if you want the rebellion-flavored ending. Build Infamy, hit Notorious, and his path opens.
How do allies change the ending?
This is where "companions" actually earns its weight in The Blood of Dawnwalker. The game has 7 endings (a figure that maps to the trophy grouping; some outlets count 8 or 9 by naming things differently), and which allies' questlines you've completed is a gate on several of them:
- Lacra's completed chain → the ending community guides call The Patricide.
- Crake's completed chain → The Knyazmaker (kill the final boss alongside the Manumits).
- No ally chain / going it alone → The Folk Hero, the solo victory.
The path to the finale itself runs through the world's three court bosses — Ambrus, Bakir and Xanthe — after which you max Infamy, parley, and reach the final quest. The last boss is Brencis at Castle Greifberg. Two timing facts to keep in mind while you juggle ally questlines against the clock: the finale is reachable in under 10 in-game days if you rush, and letting the run pass 30 in-game days triggers the "Time Runs Out" bad ending — your family is lost and there's no trophy. Since there's no New Game Plus at launch, the intended way to see multiple ally endings in one run is to make a manual save before the final quest ("A Deal with the Devil") and reload it to branch.
The takeaway: allies aren't flavor. Each completed alliance is effectively a key that unlocks a different door at Greifberg. Decide early which ending you're chasing, then commit to that ally's chain before the finale locks you out. For the full outcome breakdown, see our all endings guide, and for the boss fights on the way there, the all bosses guide.
Are allies the same as romance options?
Almost — the three recruitable allies are also the three romanceable characters, but recruiting an ally and romancing them aren't identical. Anca, Lacra and Crake can each be romanced, and you can pursue all three in a single 30-day playthrough with no exclusivity penalty. But the alliance that matters for your ending is about completing the questline, not the romance beat specifically. In Crake's case this is explicit: the romance scene is optional and separate from the quest content that feeds the Knyazmaker ending.
Practically, if your goal is the ending, focus on finishing the chain and keeping the character alive. The romance is a bonus layered on top. If you want the relationship details specifically — who to flirt with and when, and the fail states — that's covered in our romance options guide. For a broader look at who's who in Coen's world, see the story, setting and characters overview.
Companions and allies at a glance
| Ally | Faction | Where / how to recruit | Payoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anca | Human (herbalist) | Met in prologue at Laslea Glen; finish her quest chain (Withering Away → … → Stronger Than Achilles) | "Canon" long-term ally; feeds her story thread — don't approach in vampire form at low health |
| Lacra | Vrakhiri (vampire) | NE of Svartrau City via "A Friend Like This"; finish "The Night of Horrors" before "Midnight Reckoning" | The one ally who fights beside Coen at Greifberg; gates The Patricide ending |
| Crake / Marat | Manumit rebellion | Requires Infamy level 4 ("Notorious"); The Firebrand → Shadows in the Woods | Gates The Knyazmaker ending (kill Brencis with the Manumits) |
FAQ
Can you recruit companions in The Blood of Dawnwalker? There's no party or follower system, but you can recruit three story allies — Anca, Lacra and Crake — by completing their questlines. They don't travel with you in normal play; their support changes your finale and unlocks specific endings.
Who fights alongside Coen in the ending? Lacra, the game's only vampire ally, is the companion who fights beside Coen in the Greifberg Castle finale — provided you finished her quest "The Night of Horrors" before starting the final mission, "Midnight Reckoning."
How many allies are there? Three: Anca (human herbalist), Lacra (Vrakhiri vampire), and Crake, whose real name is Marat (leader of the Manumit rebellion). They correspond to the game's three romanceable characters.
Do I have to choose just one ally? No. You can complete all three alliances in a single 30-day run — there's no exclusivity penalty. But because their questlines feed different endings, and there's no New Game Plus, players who want to see multiple ally endings make a manual save before the final quest and reload it to branch.
Why can't I find Crake's questline? Crake's thread only opens once Coen reaches the "Notorious" reputation tier — Infamy level 4. If your Infamy is lower, his questline won't progress, which is why some players never realize he's recruitable.
Can allies die? Yes. Anca can be killed if you speak to her in vampire form at low health, and Crake can be lost if you give in to the hunger and attack him mid-conversation. Feed or heal before those interactions, and finish Lacra's chain before the finale, or you'll lose her window entirely.
Coen walks alone, but he doesn't have to fight the last battle that way. Recruit deliberately, finish the chain that matches the ending you want, and get Lacra to Greifberg if you want a blade at your side when the sun comes up. For more, browse all our Blood of Dawnwalker guides.
