Dena did show up early on when you have the option to visit them to check whether they were okay after the Williams battle in book 1, but nothing afterwards in my playthrough. Does Dena have a more active role when you romanced Bly?
Exactly my feelings, but with Dena since he/she felt like the MC’s best friend even if not romanced so I was rather sad they did not appear much on my Jolon route.
Hey guys and gals, just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know I’ll get back to your comments and questions later tonight. I work nights, so I’m getting ready to sleep, and now that I know the patch is in I can finally sleep soundly!
To quickly answer one of the most common questions I’ve seen so far, yes, Jolon and Dena share many of the same scenes, although there is a good deal of alternate dialogue and unique scenes for each of them outside of the central narrative. It’s a compromise I had to make, or to be honest the game would never have been finished (it’s already a crazy 360k words, which is 80k longer than Haven Rising.) I also gave a little extra screentime to Bly, because as many Haven Rising readers noted, she got the short end of the stick in book 1 because she gets captured. I also added Tiva as an RO by popular request so it was a lot to juggle.
There’s also a bit more to it than that to complicate the Dena/Jolon thing further because either one of them can die at the end of Haven Rising, which means I had to compensate for that as well. For example, if Jolon is dead, Tiva takes his place in scenes like the Assassination discussions and various other points. Trust me when I say there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but both characters did get unique scenes in their romance arcs and alternate dialogue. Jolon RO spoiler: Also, the story seed about Jolon’s father is something I’m really excited to reveal in the next book. Spoilers!
I wonder if the subject of pups will come up in book 3. No one seems to be using any protection.
With the constant theme of book 2 being what it is, I feel Bly having extra face-time makes sense to me. Dena seemed to have that position in book one, and I am sure book three will have need of less the fighters and more of the diplomats.
I get depressed with the first part even if i agree it is a top ten quality writing in scope and storytelling in general. But Being 100% Mara sincere here the marketing is making me 100% doubt about buy it I want a Pacific peaceful human route. The marketing Is 100% the other way around. I am not interested at all in RAGEEEEE kill them all and all that I don’t olay first part that way and I don’t want play that way any sequel.
So I’ve only played once as of now and got the early alternate ending which state that the story is going to continue on book 3. Does that mean the other ending close the story here on book 2? I haven’t had much time to play so I thought it’s better to ask directly.
Dena got hurt and my MC took her to Maker and she was involved in the whole process of deciding what to do with Sonoma/Rivera situation.
Who did you get in that scene?
Jolon. I guess the two are interchangeable in this instance.
Can we save Randall from bieng killed by Having or atleast capture him after he does it?
I love how it all goes wrong in Tiva’s romance.
Tiva and MC almost have sex = Someone interrupts.
Tiva and MC are eating together = An idiot hits on Tiva.
Tiva and MC have sex = Minutes later she tries to kill MC.
MC goes to talk to Tiva about the attack = She reveals that she smells Lapu.
Tiva says she loves MC at the warehouse = Minutes later Lapu shows up.
And I laughed a lot when she said that MC could be with her just because he knew her and that would make her “easy”
Girl, romancing you is anything but easy.
Why didn’t they just tell me first! They would never had found his body!!!
Really glad you liked it! And yeah, the romances are quite spicy in this one. Seems to have earned me a ‘Mature’ rating which hopefully won’t hurt sales too much but I think it was worth it, lol.
I mentioned it above, but yeah, Dena and Jolon share a lot of scenes for a set of complicated reasons. Their romances are different, and they have unique scenes (like the recovering scene you mentioned, which only happens if you’re romancing Jolon) but during the core story they are very similar though they have some unique dialogue depending on who’s with you.
@MisterJB I’m really glad my intentions for those characters came through! You hit the nail on the head with how I intended to represent their feelings. What did you think of Maker? I’m very curious. She’ll be a centerpiece in book 3.
Many (certainly not all) Dena scenes are replaced by Jolon scenes in a Jolon RO playthrough. So most people will see more Dena. It was a difficult balancing act, I’ll admit.
I loved writing Bly and the Metalheads here. I have a HUGE soft spot for the Inferi/Augury relationship. Glad you enjoyed Bly! (Spicy enough? 
lol)
I’m glad that style worked out! I can’t take all the credit, the CoG editors, most notably Jason encouraged me to add choices that asked the player how their character would be thinking, and I ran with it and peppered those decisions all over. I agree with you that it really makes the player think more about the world around them. So, thanks editors! 
What did you do with Maker? Inquiring minds must know! 
Who gave you permission to sneak into my head and spoil things from book 3? 
Yes.
I mentioned in the interview that if book 3 is a success I’d be interested in writing spin-offs that take place a decade or two after the main trilogy. This is something I have the idea of adding, though nothing’s written in stone of course. Just saying the idea HAD crossed my mind. Also, it’s never mentioned in the book, but werewolves have a much harder time conceiving than humans because the change to wolf form is very hard on the body. Traditionally, wolves trying to get pregnant will abstain from the change to increase their chances.
Relevant spoilers form Kotori’s story: “My leg.” He bends his knee gingerly, hissing a sharp intake of breath. “Stunted since I was born. My dad got advice from some insane shaman right before the Purge. Real crazy stuff. Apparently they believed that if a mother gives birth in werewolf form it results in stronger offspring.” “Is that true?” He eyes you. “No; but my parents believed it. So when they were fleeing after the humans’ attack and mom’s water broke, she shifted to wolf-form and birthed me in a cave. You know how hungry you get when you’re full-wolf? How many calories the shift burns? She hadn’t eaten in days, so the shift almost killed her. I finished the job.” He shakes his head. “From what I’ve heard the birth was as hard on me as it was on her. It left me with permanent damage to my leg that gets even worse when I’m in wolf-form. So yeah, I never knew my mom. But dad made sure I understood that he blamed me for her death before he abandoned me here in Sonoma’s camp.”
Absolutely. Though there will still certainly be combat as well. We’re not out of the woods yet! But yes, there WILL be a peaceful diplomatic ending possible in book 3 with a satisfying hope for the future. Guaranteed!
Hi Mara, glad to see you 
I just wanted to point out that it IS possible to play peacefully through book 2, and there’s even a ‘Pacifist 2’ achievement, but it’s much harder and things are indeed darker. It’s not possible to stop all the killing, but you’re absolutely able to get through the game without directly killing anyone yourself.
All of the endings in book 2 will continue on to book 3.
No. Unfortunately you cannot save Rand. But yes, you are able to capture Havok after with the right choices and stat checks.
I warned people that was gonna be a tough one! Poor Tiva has been through so much, and I hated putting her through that to be honest, but I think it makes her more real and it fits with her character from Haven Rising. (there’s even a scene in book 1 where you can find her in Bly’s old apartment, almost ODing on drugs.) She’s a fighter who’s been brought to brink over and over again, and Lapu’s actions didn’t exactly help either.
I do want to say clearly–the romance between the player and Tiva can and will continue in book 3, regardless of a certain ex’s return. Her heart still hurts, but she won’t just up and leave the player, I promise.
@GreekWinter
If i play as new Reader, could i get the path where i was Rescued by the activists Anna?
The new reader option only lets you choose endings where you ended up in Sonoma’s camp at the end of book 1: (Assassin, Undercover, Logistics, Prisoner.) I wanted to make the other endings kinda special and encourage playing book 1 to get them. (Escape Rivera with Williams, Recruited by Rivera, Rescued by Activists, and Hidden Cabin.) As well as the secret ending: Joining Williams on purpose and leaving the battle early.
Edit: The Activists ending dovetails into the Sonoma ending, so you won’t miss much that way. There’s a lot of unique content in the Activists ending during book 1, but in book 2 it joins the Sonoma intro very quickly.
I support that idea, but I have a question. Will ROs enter into a relationship with someone else if you are not in a relationship with them?
No, of course i’m not asking this because i’m a jealous bitch.
Sweating intensely
So I may or may not have played this game like, 10 times already, trying to get new dialogue and achievements, and I can only say how DARE you suck me into this series!? Jkjk. I actually love this series, as this is war, so obviously it’s going to be dark and bloody, and there are no such thing as “good” or “evil”, just many shades of grey and difference of perspective. I found myself liking this book better than the other one; because we get to see all of these different perspectives and the choices we need to make are very tough. It’s less about good and bad choices, and more about how you want your mc to be fleshed out, and what they would do in a certain situation, which I personally love.
Also can I just say that I am absolutely gay for Maker?? I do NOT agree with all of the things she does, but you just wrote her in a way that captivated me. Which is bad for me since she’s not an RO, haha.
The only thing that I didn’t like about book 2 was that some of the other characters (Dena, Tiva, Jolon, etc) don’t get enough screen time unless you’re in a relationship with one of them. But other then that, this is a fantastic game!!
Also, I would like hints or tips on certain achievements, if you don’t mind. (Idk if this is spoiler territory, but just in case I’ll blur it)
I’m having a bit of a hard time trying to get Maker’s Secret (which I assume requires you to spy on her or at least get a high enough relationship to get), Science Prevails! (Which I also assume is another one for Maker), A Daughter’s Vengeance, and We’ll Save You All
I wanna kill Maker for what she did to Lapu
Bly already sleeps with other people when your not dating her. If you side with Sonoma over her you automatically break up and if you sleep with Sonoma and tell her she’ll say she was in an orgy with two guys and a girl. In Book 1 again if you break up she’ll go drag a random woman to sleep with.
Yes! Perfect heat, lol!
I really like their dynamic as well. In this playthrough I play as someone who tends to be cautious, logical, and academic oriented with high leadership and stealth. So metalheads don’t really match him on paper but they get along very well especially with Inferi and Augury (that scene when MC and Bly tease Inferi and Augury about their relationship? chef kiss)
I tried to keep her but the military took her anyway. My MC gets along quite well with her eventhough he doesn’t trust her. My MC (Kala) is hard to trust anyone despite being supportive to the pack. And fyi I like that the Maker acknowledged that in their first meeting. I immediately though ‘yes that’s who Kala is’.
Kotori, oh Kotori. That’s just so sad 
. My MC gets along well with him since he has high academic and huge interest in technology but I’m too attached to Bly and Jolon (LI in my 2nd playthrough) to start a new one in book 2.
My favorite scene in the game. Bar none! No joke. 