Spoiler warning: This guide covers the full “The Lunar Game” quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker, including the tournament, the odd riddle, Bakir’s boss fight and the choice to spare him.
Coen joins forces with Farkas the jester and enters the Lunar Tournament to reach Boyar Bakir. You can build alliances, sabotage contestants and decide Bakir’s fate, but the quest normally leads to a one-on-one confrontation if you follow the right steps.
How to start “The Lunar Game”
Complete sabotage missions until Bakir’s anger gauge is full. You can check your progress through the court menu. Farkas will then approach Coen and suggest working together to kill Bakir. If he does not appear immediately, continue playing and wait for him to find you.
The quest begins properly when you meet Farkas at Lunar Manor. Its main stages are:
- Meet Farkas at Lunar Manor.
- Speak with or sabotage the other contestants.
- Win the tournament and solve the odd riddle.
- Defeat Bakir.
The tournament always begins in the afternoon. After Farkas explains the plan and asks whether you are ready, you can skip forward to the next afternoon. This may consume several time segments, so spend them on other quests or ability upgrades instead where possible. You will be wearing basic equipment, making sword mastery upgrades particularly useful.
“The Lunar Game” takes six time segments in total: three before the tournament and three during the rest of the quest.
Which contestants should you help?
Before the tournament starts, you have three time segments. There are six possible activities involving the four contestants, and each one uses a segment, so you cannot complete them all.
- Speak with the porcupine: Recommended. Choose “All right, I’ll leave you alone.” You will avoid fighting if you meet during the tournament, and the porcupine honours the agreement.
- Speak with the marten: Recommended. She does not make a definite alliance, but mentioning that you intend to kill Bakir encourages her to help later. She will give you the Darkbane Amulet, a master amulet.
- Poison the cockroach: Recommended. Use Focus mode to take leaves from the large bush, then place them in the liquor bottle behind the cockroach. He will later be close to death, removing the need to fight him.
- Speak with the cockroach: He will not cooperate, so poisoning him is the more useful choice.
- Speak with the rat: He will not join you. If you reveal that you plan to kill Bakir, he only promises to keep quiet.
- Do nothing: Rest on the bench in the south-west corner until the tournament begins. This provides no assistance.
During the following cutscene, you can be insolent towards Bakir. Avoid any dialogue option marked with a sword icon. To skip the tournament and attack Bakir immediately, choose “Enough! I’m fed up with this nonsense.” This forces you to fight Bakir’s henchmen while wearing rags and without a sword or consumables. The fight is possible using only your claws, but it is difficult.
How to survive the Lunar Tournament
Loot each area before moving on. Crates and barrels contain blood vials for restoring health. Do not use Voracious Bite, other vampirism abilities or your claws. Instead, loot defeated contestants and replace your poor starting equipment with better gear as you progress.
What happens if you use vampirism?
Bakir will not identify you immediately if you use a vampirism ability. Use them repeatedly, however, and he will realise who you are. The tournament will end and you will have to fight every henchman before facing Bakir the Mad Khan. Your equipment will improve as you advance through the Lunar Game, making this route easier later on.
The odd riddle solution
Eventually, you will reach a locked gate with an “odd riddle”. You must choose one of three holes for Coen to place his hand in. You can also leave the conversation by selecting “Better leave it” and speak with Farkas, who appears behind the gate to the left.
The correct answer is “Left one it is…” Choose the left hole. The middle and right holes poison you. The clue is that the left hole contains “blood and fear”, which suits Bakir, while “summer light” and “silver coins” would harm a vampire.
How to defeat Bakir one-on-one
After clearing the maze, Bakir will ask you to gut the porcupine if you spared him. Kill the porcupine yourself. If you refuse, one of Bakir’s men will do it instead, and you will lose the prize before fighting Bakir and his henchmen.
In the next conversation, removing your mask or choosing “I’d rather just kill you” starts a fight against Bakir and his henchmen. To preserve the one-on-one battle, use these responses:
- “I’m keeping the sword, and the mask too,” or “I’m sorry, but I’m not taking the mask off.”
- “With pleasure” or “If you insist.”
- “Cheers!” or “I’m not thirsty.”
The other choices should not affect the outcome, although Bakir is most impressed by “I will never die”. Once you enter the treasury, you can question Bakir about his past. To attack him, choose the white dialogue option, then select “I just want to rip out yours…” Choosing a reward instead ends the quest with Bakir alive.
Bakir the Mad Khan has several unblockable attacks. Watch especially for his linear blood whip. When the blood stream travels towards Coen, dodge sideways to avoid it; blocking will not protect you.
Defeating Bakir advances time by three segments.
Should you spare Bakir?
After winning the fight, drain Bakir’s blood rather than killing him if you want a final conversation in Anachora. You can then invite him into Coen’s head or leave him to rot there. Bakir initially says that he does not want an invitation.
To expose the truth, choose “Drop the act.” Bakir will ask what he must do to earn an invitation. You can accept his request or refuse it. If you refuse, he remains in Anachora; if you spare him, he lives inside Coen’s head and comments on your actions for the rest of the game.
Quest rewards and follow-up
Completing “The Lunar Game” awards experience and one skill point. Search Lunar Manor, particularly the treasury, and collect Bakir’s Armor, a legendary medium armour piece, from his body.
You can also help Farkas recover his family heirloom and complete the short follow-up quest, “The Ring”. For more gaming and arcade news, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog, or browse the arcade machines and Arcade Machine Buying Guide.
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