The Blood of Dawnwalker players are missing a subtle clue that results in Anca's earliest in-game death

Pretty much anyone can die in The Blood of Dawnwalker if Coen is hungry enough.

If you allow his thirst to drop too low during the night, he’ll potentially kill any NPC he’s talking to, cutting off their involvement in the game’s story permanently.

That includes leads like potential love interest Anca.

While being killed by Coen is technically the quickest way in which Anca can die, it’s actually her earliest quest-related death that’s tripping up a ton of players.

To the best of our knowledge, Anca’s first possible death-related quest comes when ‘Where Old Devils Lie’ leads into ‘Stronger Than Achilles’.

Bandai Namco

These quests mark the conclusion of Anca’s main storyline but have been a key early focus for most players.

That’s because when you complete the prologue and venture out into the game’s open-world, Anca’s is the only active questline and therefore the obvious heading.

In the quest, and some spoilers lie ahead, Anca and Coen will set out in search of ‘The Font of Life’.

With this particular quest, you can’t always embark on it straight away as Anca makes it clear that it’s something you should attempt in the morning.

If you reach this stage of the questline at night, like I did alongside many other players, you’re advised to return to Anca by noon. There’s a good reason for this.

Start the quest later than noon and you’ll be forced to make a hidden life-or-death decision

When you reach the ‘Stronger than Achilles’ segment of the quest, you’re going to need to be a human to complete it as it involves witchcraft and Coen can only use his witchcraft abilities during the day.

If you embark on the aforementioned quests with Anca before noon, you’ll have enough time segments to complete ‘Where Old Devils Lie’ and ‘Stronger Than Achilles’ as a human.

If you don’t heed this subtle clue, you’ll turn into a vampire midway through the quest. During ‘Stronger Than Achilles’, you’re then posed with an awkward hidden life-or-death choice.

You can either wait the night out at Anca’s side, wasting up to eight precious time segments, or you can leave and return at dawn to complete the quest.

You can totally understand then why many gamers would pick the latter option.

Those who do so, however, are returning to find that Anca has perished, prompting a tragic cutscene where Coen buries her, unable to continue their burgeoning romance (if that’s the path you ventured down).

READ MORE: 8 must-know The Blood of Dawnwalker tips to avoid wasting time segments

The death seems completely random on the surface - and it’s definitely unexpected. What’s essentially happened is that there’s a closed door within the room upon your arrival.

If you choose to leave Anca alone and unprotected, enemies will burst from the room off-screen, overpowering her and ultimately leading to her demise.

It’s for this reason that the quest subtly hints that you must start it before noon so Coen never has to leave her alone - although, again, you can save Anca by sacrificing your night segments and staying by her side should you begin it late.

It’s far from the only instance of The Blood of Dawnwalker hinging major outcomes of fleeting pieces of information.

The survival of Coen’s mother in the prologue depends on whether you listened to Anca’s instructions on how to prepare a herbal remedy,

Do it wrong and, well, things don’t go well.

READ MORE: The Blood of Dawnwalker secret early ending is the funniest way to roll credits

Plenty have fallen victim to this Anca death. “I'll pay attention now. That's for sure,” wrote Reddit user TheCharlieTour, sharing their experience with the quest.

“Dude never leave your girl alone in a tomb with undead,” replied Drirlake.

If it isn’t already clear at this point in your playthrough, don’t overlook the dialogue. Success within The Blood of Dawnwalker requires paying attention to the game’s subtleties.