The Blood of Dawnwalker time limit explained: How it works and what you can miss

Within The Blood of Dawnwalker, main protagonist Coen is given just 30 days and 30 nights to retrieve his family from the keep of Knyaz Brencis, ahead of the vrakhiri leader’s coronation. This adds a sense of urgency to the game, but you need not worry about this being linked to real world time.

Quests and in-game activities consume a certain amount of time rather than there being a constant countdown clock, so it’s up to the player how to spend those 30 days as you can’t complete every objective within the game in one playthrough. Instead, the player is encouraged to focus on actions that’ll help them to prepare for their fight against Brencis.

Should you run out of time, The Blood of Dawnwalker won’t end. You’ll seek to avenge your family rather than save them, so the time mechanic isn’t nearly as frightening as it may first appear. Still concerned though? Here’s everything you need to know before getting started.

READ MORE: The Blood of Dawnwalker confirms first update

How does The Blood of Dawnwalker 30-day time limit work?

The Blood of Dawnwalker time system is essentially a resource management system.

Each day and night cycle is split into segments of time, with players essentially deciding what they want to spend those units of time on, whether it be a quest, side activity, or levelling up.

How many time segments do you get?

Again, players have 30 days and 30 nights, with each day and night split into eight segments of time, so that’s 16 total segments in a full day and 480 across the game.

This does not include the prologue which leads up to the 30 day limit commencing. The prologue features a scripted sequence and one day comprising eight segments to introduce you to the mechanic.

Bandai Namco

What actions advance time?

All of the following activities consume time:

• Completing quests
• Unlocking skills
• Completing marked open-world activities
• ‘Waiting’ at shrines to skip time to force a transition between day and night

All quests will note the minimum number of time blocks they will consume, although certain quests may contain dialogue options that extend this; this too is clearly started.

Quests and dialogue options that affect time feature an hourglass symbol with a number next to it, indicating how much time will pass. Dialogue choices that progress the story are highlighted in yellow, whereas white dialogue options have no consequence.

Bandai Namco

Learning a new skill will consume one block of time, while open-world activities - the game’s answer to side content - function similarly to main quests, advertising how much time they will consume.

The following open-world activities will consume time:

• Repairing broken shrines
• Infamy activities relating to Boyars Ambrus, Xanthe, and Bakir
• Bandit Camps
• Soldier Camps
• Haunted Sites
• Curious Houses
• Ancient Sites
• Monster Lairs
• Brencis’ Banners
• Will-o-the-wisps

You can ‘waste’ time by visiting a shrine and selecting ‘wait’. It will transition from day to night or night to day but it’s not recommended given the time constraints.

What does not use a time segment?

The following activities do not consume time:

• General exploration
• Fast travel between working shrines
• Scouting Towers
• Random open-world combat encounters that don’t tie to a marked activity
• Collecting resources

What can you miss because of the time limit?

You cannot complete every in-game quest and activity within the 30 days, so you’re encouraged to contemplate what may help in your fight against Brencis. Eliminating the Boyars, for example, or acquiring legendary gear are seen as more helpful than restoring broken shrines; there are more than enough working shrines to allow for easy fast travel.

All of this being said, you have more than enough time to complete every major quest and experience the full breadth of The Blood of Dawnwalker’s narrative if you’re more selective about the side activities you complete. Almost all quests have multiple outcomes so there’s replayability even if you do complete them the first time around.

Can missed quests change the story?

Yes, missing a quest can influence later events, although most players will reach the same ending point by the time the credits eventually roll. You’ll simply reach that point differently.

There are multiple ways in which you can trigger the final quest, your assault on Brencis. If you don’t complete certain companion quest lines, However, your options will be more limited. Likewise, whether you decide to take out the Boyars or not will affect the endgame.

What happens when the 30-day time limit runs out?

The Blood of Dawnwalker does not end when the 30 day timer runs out. Instead, Coen’s mission adjusts from saving his family to avenging them. The game will continue to play out in largely the same way outside of dialogue reflecting the passing of the blood coronation.

Nothing can be done to save Coen’s family if the timer runs out. Your goal becomes purely to eliminate Brencis.

You can purchase The Blood of Dawnwalker at the following retailers:

Playstation: Playstation UK | Playstation US | Walmart | Amazon US | Amazon UK | GAME

Xbox: Walmart | Amazon US | Amazon UK | GAME

PC: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Steam

Can you remove or extend the time limit?

You cannot remove or extend The Blood of Dawnwalker’s time limit within the base game. Certain PC players have removed and extended timer using third-party mods but these are unofficial adjustments that are not available to console players.

Patches can affect compatibility with mods - and mods may produce unexpected quest or endgame developments, so it’s recommended that you back up your game with a save if you intend to experiment with The Blood of Dawnwalker time limit mods.

Does New Game Plus change the timer?

Developer Rebel Wolves has stated that The Blood of Dawnwalker has a New Game Plus mode in development, although it’s not yet available with no confirmed release date.

Typically, New Game Plus does not affect core gameplay, simply allowing players to retain their skills, inventory, and level on a subsequent playthrough. Full details are yet to be outlined.