The Blood of Dawnwalker: The Heart Wants What It Wants walkthrough

Ocha, an uriashi with a fun way of words and a desire to live in the big city, is one of my favourite characters in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and her quest The Heart Wants What It Wants is one of the best story arcs in the game. Chances are, you'll either encounter this quest when wandering around northern Svartrau, or you'll come upon it after entering the uriashi village during Lacra's questline.

However you start this quest, Ocha's tale is an interesting one with multiple outcomes, all culminating in a big decision in whether the wayward uriashi will return to her people or forge a new life for herself amongst humans.

In this guide, we'll give you all the details on how to complete The Heart Wants What It Wants in The Blood of Dawnwalker, letting you know all outcomes of this intricate quest.

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The Heart Wants What It Wants walkthrough

To complete The Heart Wants What It Wants, follow these steps:

1. Talk to Ocha in Altenmarkt to start the quest.
2. Find a way into Andrei's hideout.
3. Help Ocha cast her hex.
4. Meet with Ocha to decide her fate.

Start Ocha's quest before your Infamy gets too high An extra tip from Jeremy

Ocha's quest requires you to run around Svartrau, and one of its outcomes has her assume the role of the city's new gang leader. This means that it's much better to complete the quest before your Infamy reaches Notorious or Dreaded, as there's a chance that patrolling guards will give you a hard time or attack you on sight when this occurs. It's also possible for Ocha herself to go after you if your Infamy is maxed out, so avoid this outcome at all costs.

1. Talk to Ocha in Altenmarkt to start the quest.

There are two ways to unlock The Heart Wants What It Wants - either enter the tavern in Altenmarkt on your own and encounter Ocha naturally, or receive the quest from the uriashi Matriarch, who asks you to find her daughter. If you're completing Lacra's quests and have taken the non-violent route into the uriashi camp, the Matriarch will entrust you with A Mother's Plea, which involves checking out a few taverns near Svartrau until you stumble upon the correct one.

You'll know you've found Ocha when you enter the tavern and hear NPCs muttering about a goat. Ocha sits in the corner, and when you approach her, she wants to fight. Engage with her in fisticuffs, and when the dust settles, she and her "bestie" Nora will want to talk. Even if you tell Ocha that her mother wants her to return home, Ocha insists that you help her and Nora first. Hear them out, and go inside for a longer chat.

Don't worry about necessarily beating Ocha; the outcome of this scuffle doesn't actually matter. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

It turns out that both work for a local gangster named Andrei, and Ocha isn't going to go anywhere until Nora is completely free from his control. She insists that simply killing Andrei in the open is too risky, and she'd rather make Andrei's "head empty" with a hex that she learned from her mother. However, she needs your help to infiltrate his hideout and acquire a memento.

(You can go against Ocha's orders and attack Andrei straight away, which is an option that becomes obvious at multiple times during this quest. Ocha isn't too happy about this, but it won't fail the quest - though it does significantly change the outcome. For more on this, scroll to step 4.)

Mark step as finished.

2. Find a way into Andrei's hideout.

Andrei's lair is located near a butchery not far from the tavern. The butcher outside won't budge even if you ask him to show you the backrooms. You have a few options here, depending on whether you're trying to enter the butchery during the night (the easier option that has less narrative) or during the day (the harder but more interesting choice).

Entering the hideout by night

If it's evening, use your Shadowstep to access the balcony on the south side of the building. Go through the door and examine the journals and notebooks to read about Andrei's dark past. Then examine the three mementos on Andrei's desk - a cleaver, a ring, and a pendant. Feel free to steal all three if you like, but the ring is the only one that works with Ocha's spell.

Entering by night is the only way you can technically nab all three mementos. Nevertheless, the ring is the only vital one. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

If you go downstairs, you'll end up in a fight with Andrei and his goons, so sneak out unless you wish to take the violent route.

Entering the hideout by day

There are two NPCs near the butchery who will give you intel on Andrei - a beggar and a sex worker named Katja, who will talk with you about her troubles if you ask. Either give the beggar 50 denarii or give Katja 400 denarii to learn the secret password to enter Andrei's den.

In my playthrough, I helped Katja out. On reflection, I probably should've gone with the beggar, as Katja cost me 400 coins! | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

Afterwards, go to the butcher and tell him that you have silver to sell. Of course, check your inventory first to actually make sure that you have said silver - by this point in the game you probably do, but if not, try completing Vicho's questline first, which leads you to a lockbox that contains silver.

Once inside, the butcher leads you upstairs, where Andrei is torturing a poor sod. You can either watch in discomfort or interfere, which will ultimately lead to a battle if you keep persisting.

Andrei will talk to you when he's done. When it comes to the dialogue options, keep up the pretence that you're merely here to sell silver, and try to be respectful to Andrei. (The choices that antagonise him are pretty obvious.) If you play your cards right, Andrei will begin spouting a story about how his dad beat him while wearing a ring. That's your clue to pick up the ring on his desk when he leaves to deal with Nora, who knocks on the door downstairs as a distraction.

Andrei sure likes to talk and intimidate, just as any proper bad guy should. Listen to his sad story and then nab his ring. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

After stealing the ring, leave and Ocha will meet you outside.

Mark step as finished.

3. Help Ocha cast her hex.

Looks like Nora's in trouble now, and Ocha's very worried about her friend. If it's day, tell her "We should stick to the plan" to avoid initiating combat with Andrei immediately. (You don't need to worry about this at night.) Nora will ask you about the memento, and take the ring from you. Then, she'll tell you to draw hex runes on Andrei's window when he isn't looking.

To reach the window, you need to distract the guard standing watch at the back of the house. Inspect the gate enclosing several pigs to open it and let them loose. The guard will run after the porkers, and once he's gone, go to the window and draw Ocha's sign.

Coen, dawnwalker, defeater of Brencis...and freedom fighter for piggies everywhere. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

As long as you took the ring, you'll now see a cutscene showing Andrei interrogating Nora...before he suddenly loses his mind and smashes his head to bits against the wall! Wow, Ocha wasn't kidding about that "head empty" thing. His henchmen will also make a break for it when this occurs.

Not so tough now that Andrei's brains are splattered on the wall, are ya? | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

If you gave Ocha the wrong memento, however, the hex won't work, and you'll need to jump in and kill Andrei and his men yourself to save Nora's life. (If you don't intervene, Ocha will break in and attack Andrei, but Nora will die.)

With that, Ocha and Nora are free from Andrei's clutches. But you still need to help Ocha decide her fate.

Mark step as finished.

4. Meet with Ocha to decide her fate.

Help this poor girl out; she needs some guidance at this crossroads in her life. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

Follow the marker on your map and meet Ocha by the bridge outside Svartrau. She'll ask if you want to catch some crayfish for a little cook-out, and you can do this, but it's not terribly important. What is important are your dialogue responses here, which will initiate one of several outcomes, depending on how the quest played out:

• Ocha returns to the uriashi village - Choose the responses: "Do you miss home?", "Meh, nothing better than homemade food," and "Other villagers just cared about themselves."
• Ocha becomes the new crime boss, with Nora at her side - Choose the responses: "Do you like the city?", "New things can be exciting, sure," and "Our neighbours helped a bit." (This outcome is only possible if everything went according to plan, and you cast Ocha's hex, killed Andrei, and had his henchmen flee.)
• Ocha leaves Svartrau to travel with Nora - Choose the responses: "Why do you want to travel?", "New things can be exciting, sure," and "Our neighbours helped a bit." (This outcome is only possible if you went ahead and killed Andrei and all of his men early without following Ocha and Nora's plan.)
• Ocha leaves Svartrau to travel alone - Choose the same responses as above. (This outcome is only possible if the hex failed and Nora died.)

When your dialogue is finished, The Heart Wants What It Wants will be complete. You'll get 150 denarii for your trouble along with the Broad Swing Manual, which is a useful AoE swordplay technique that deals increased weapon damage to all nearby enemies.

You can also find Ocha in the future as a swordmastery teacher who can help you learn new techniques. If she became Svartrau's crime boss, you can find her in Andrei's old hideout; if she went back home, search for her in the uriashi village; and if she's gone to travel the world, look for her at the campfire outside of town.

Which outcome for Ocha is best? An extra tip from Jeremy

This is one of those well-designed quests where the "best" outcome depends on your ethics and how you've been roleplaying. In my playthrough, I went through with Ocha's plan and performed the hex correctly. Afterwards, I encouraged her to take advantage of the opportunity that had been presented to her, and so she became the new crime boss. It struck me that she obviously came to Svartrau for a reason, and didn't want to be held back by her clan's restrictions. Also, her friendship with Nora was too wholesome to ignore.

That said, the clan has no clear successor in Ocha's absence, and if you chat with Nora later, she hints that Ocha has changed slightly due to the new power at her disposal. (Power corrupts!)

You might morally object to Ocha's ascension into a life of crime; in which case, encouraging her to return home is fine - though I do wish we had an option where Nora could come visit her in the uriashi village from time to time. The saddest ending, in my opinion, is when Nora dies.

Mark step as finished.

Congrats on helping Ocha (and Nora, hopefully) out in The Heart Wants What It Wants, definitely one of the most thought-provoking and entertaining quests of The Blood of Dawnwalker. For more help on the quests in this expansive RPG, see our guides on A Pilgrimage for Power, Forge It Anew, and A Bulwark Against Darkness. And if you'd rather have some advice for dispatching Brencis' boyars, refer to our guides on how to defeat Ambrus, how to defeat Bakir, and whether you should kill or spare Xanthe.