The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Get the Abandon Ending Fast

The fastest way to roll credits in The Blood of Dawnwalker is the A Hero They Deserve ending. Finish the opening route into Laslea, unlock the traversal needed for the northern canyon, then leave Vale Sangora through the Coward’s Path gate. Choosing “Leave the valley forever” ends Coen’s story immediately, awards the matching trophy or achievement, and plays the full credits.

The trap is treating this as a temporary detour. It is a real ending: Coen abandons his family, avoids the conflict with Brencis, and permanently closes that run. Make a branch save before interacting with the gate if you intend to collect other endings afterward.

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What You Need Before Taking Coward’s Path

• Smoke and Ashes completed: Follow Anca from her shed to Laslea and trigger the village sunset cutscene. This opens the wider Vale Sangora map.
• Planeshift and Shadowstep: Both traversal abilities are needed to get over the blocked ravine near the exit route.
• Access to Briar Sloughs: Coward’s Path sits north of Laslea, beyond the broken bridge and canyon approach.
• A save before the gate: The ending awards its completion credit, but the completed run does not return to free exploration.

Skip Laslea Glen side content if fast credits are the only goal. Several prologue quests there are missable as progression advances, so this route is best used on a dedicated ending-cleanup branch rather than a first playthrough built around seeing every early quest.

Fastest Route to the A Hero They Deserve Ending

Reach Laslea and Open Vale Sangora

Play through the Blood Mass opening until Coen wakes in Anca’s shed. Continue the main objective Smoke and Ashes, follow Anca into Laslea, and trigger the sunset sequence in the village. Once that scene finishes, Vale Sangora opens up and you can route toward the exit instead of pushing the family-rescue and Brencis storylines.

Do not spend calendar time resting at shrines during this setup unless you need to change to night. The 30-day deadline does not help with this ending; Coward’s Path is faster than waiting for Time Runs Out.

Unlock the Canyon Traversal Tools

Progress only far enough to have Planeshift and Shadowstep. Laslea’s open-world unlock alone is not enough to finish the route cleanly because the direct bridge toward the gate has collapsed. The two vampire movement abilities let Coen cross the chasm and work along the canyon wall instead.

Travel North to Briar Sloughs at Night

Head north from Laslea into the Briar Sloughs region. At night, use the Coward’s Path Shrine as your starting point once it is available. The shrine places you closest to the ravine route and avoids wasting time on the blocked road and unnecessary fights.

Cross the Broken Chasm and Follow the Western Path

From Coward’s Path Shrine, cross the broken chasm with Planeshift and Shadowstep. The key landmark is the collapsed bridge: do not search for a repair interaction or a long road around it. Use the canyon surfaces to clear the gap, then follow the narrow path west until you reach the open valley-exit gate.

Select “Leave the Valley Forever”

The gate is called Coward’s Path; it is also referred to as Camino de los cobardes. Approach it and select the prompt reading “Leave the valley forever.” Confirm the abandon choice to trigger A Hero They Deserve.

There is no final boss, escape sequence, or last-minute return after confirming. Coen leaves Vale Sangora, the game rolls the credits, and the A Hero They Deserve trophy or achievement unlocks on supported platforms.

Reload Safely for the Other Endings

Create or preserve a save immediately before the Coward’s Path interaction. After the ending registers, reload that pre-gate point rather than attempting to continue the completed file. The ending completion remains tracked while the restored branch lets you continue through Vale Sangora.

For the most efficient ending cleanup, take the abandon ending as soon as you have its movement prerequisites, reload, then work toward the other branches. Leave the 30-day failure route for last because it is deliberately slower in real time than reaching Coward’s Path.

Why Coward’s Path Is the Fastest Credits Route

Ending route	What it requires	Why it is slower or faster
A Hero They Deserve	Open Vale Sangora, Planeshift, Shadowstep, Coward’s Path gate	The fastest documented credits route. It skips Brencis, major bosses, and the main endgame.
Together Forever	Reach the southern dream tower, begin Home Sweet Home, remain in the loop for four dream cycles	An early ending, but the required dream loops make it longer and more involved than walking out of the valley.
Brencis confrontation endings	Complete the main quest chain and make final-story choices	These include The Turncoat, The Folk Hero, The Patricide, and The Knyazmaker, all of which require the full story route.
Time Runs Out	Allow the 30-day story deadline to expire	Minimal combat investment, but repeatedly resting or stalling for the deadline is inefficient for a fastest-credits run.

Common Route Failures

• Heading to the gate before unlocking Planeshift and Shadowstep: The broken bridge is the intended warning that the route is not ready yet.
• Looking for a daytime shortcut: Nighttime travel to Coward’s Path Shrine gives the cleanest approach to the canyon route.
• Completing optional Laslea content first: It adds time and can complicate a pure speed-ending attempt. Save it for the reloaded branch.
• Assuming the gate is a reversible choice: “Leave the valley forever” is a hard ending confirmation, followed by credits and run closure.
• Trying to manipulate the 30-day timer: The abandon ending has no timer requirement, so shrine resting only delays the result.

Best Ending-Cleanup Order

Use Coward’s Path first if you want the quickest trophy and a rapid credits clear. Reload the pre-gate save afterward, pursue the four-cycle Together Forever route while you are still handling early-game branches, then create another save before the Brencis finale for the longer outcome variations. Finish with Time Runs Out only when it is the remaining target, since the 30-day wait is the least efficient way to end a run.

As of September 2026, Coward’s Path remains the clean speed-ending choice: unlock the two traversal abilities, cross the Briar Sloughs ravine at night, take the western path, and leave Vale Sangora through the gate before committing to the rest of Coen’s story.