What Lies Beyond the Pines Quest Guide: Complete Walkthrough

Complete walkthrough for What Lies Beyond the Pines side quest in Dying Light: The Beast. Step-by-step guide with locations, stealth tips, and cave escape strategies.

Looking for a comprehensive guide to tackle one of Dying Light: The Beast’s most emotionally complex side quests? “What Lies Beyond the Pines” isn’t just another fetch mission – it’s a heartbreaking story about family, mental illness, and difficult choices that’ll stick with you long after the credits roll.

This quest becomes available early in your adventure and offers some serious rewards (we’re talking 10,000 XP plus valuable manual pages), but it’s also one of the more challenging side missions you’ll encounter. Between navigating treacherous cave systems, setting up explosives while dodging hordes of zombies, and making some tough emotional decisions, there’s a lot to unpack here.

I’ve completed this quest multiple times using different approaches, and I’ll share the most efficient strategies to help you get through it without losing your sanity – or your character’s life.

Table des matières

When and Where to Start the Quest

Disponibilité: Early game, unlocks alongside the “Power Gambit” main quest Starting Location: Town Hall Donneur de quête : Eli Niveau recommandé : Any (though having basic combat skills helps)

The timing here is perfect for new players – you’ll get this quest right when you’re getting comfortable with the game’s mechanics but before things get overwhelmingly difficult. It’s an excellent way to earn substantial XP early on while experiencing some of the game’s best storytelling.

Phase 1: Finding Eli’s Family Cabin

Location and Preparation

The family cabin is located southeast of Town Hall in the National Park area. Before heading out, make sure you’re prepared:

Objets de guérison – Stock up on medkits and bandages
Durabilité de l'arme – Repair your gear before leaving town
Stealth gear – Any noise-reduction items will help later
UV light – Essential for the cave sections

Conseil de pro : This quest involves significant combat and stealth sections, so don’t attempt it if you’re low on resources or carrying damaged weapons.

Clearing the Cabin Area

When you arrive at the cabin, you’ll immediately notice it’s overrun with zombies. Here’s the most efficient clearing strategy:

Approche recommandée :

Survey from distance – Use binoculars or scope to count enemies
Pick off stragglers – Use ranged weapons for zombies on the perimeter
Draw them out – Make noise to lure groups away from the cabin entrance
Nettoyer systématiquement – Work your way toward the building methodically

The zombie concentration here is higher than typical early-game encounters, so patience is key. Rushing in will likely result in being overwhelmed.

Inside the Cabin: Key Investigation Points

Once you’ve secured the area, head inside and investigate:

The large map on the back room table – This reveals your next destination and provides the Cave Spare Key
Letter on the bedside ledge – Offers crucial backstory about William’s wife leaving
General supplies – Search thoroughly for crafting materials and consumables

The environmental storytelling here is exceptional – take a moment to absorb the details. The cabin tells a story of a family that’s been slowly falling apart, which adds emotional weight to what comes next.

Phase 2: Reaching the Cave System

Navigating the Cliff Path

Exiting the cabin, turn right to find the cliff ledges that lead to the cave entrance. This platforming section requires:

Careful camera control – The climbing perspective can be disorienting
Patience with jumps – Don’t rush the tree branch traversals
Gestion de l'endurance – Rest at safe ledges to recover stamina

Common Mistake: Many players try to rush this section and fall to their death. The cliff climbing here is more technical than most early-game platforming, so take your time.

Cave Entrance and Meeting William

Use the Cave Spare Key at the locked gate. Inside, you’ll encounter William on a metal walkway overlooking a zombie-infested cavern. Here’s where the quest gets emotionally complex.

The Mental Illness Element: William suffers from a condition that makes him believe you’re his son. You have two dialogue options:

Play along – More emotionally supportive but potentially enabling
Tell the truth – Honest but potentially devastating

Ma recommandation: Choose based on your comfort level with the themes. Both options lead to the same quest outcomes, but they affect the emotional tone of subsequent conversations.

Phase 3: Connecting the Explosives (The Technical Challenge)

This is where the quest gets mechanically complex. William wants to detonate explosives throughout the cave to eliminate the zombie threat. You’ll need to connect four separate explosive devices while avoiding detection.

Explosive #1 and #2: Upper Cave Navigation

Route to First Explosive:

Take the small bar to the right of William’s position
Follow the wall-mounted arrow markers
Use wall climbing and shimmying techniques

Route to Second Explosive:

Jump to the cliff face with handholds
Critical Detail: Look down and right for a metal walkway below
Drop to this walkway (don’t try to go around the top)
Follow the path around the rocky outcrop
Use cliff handholds to reach the platform

Conseil de navigation : The game’s visual cues can be misleading here. The higher handholds are decoys – you must drop to the lower metal walkway.

Explosive #3 and #4: Stealth Section in Lower Cave

This is where the quest becomes genuinely challenging. You need to follow electrical cables through zombie-infested areas while remaining undetected.

Stealth Strategy for Success:

Crouch-walk on the cables themselves – This is your safe path
Use Survivor Sense (R3) constantly – Tracks cable paths and enemy positions
Silent takedowns only – Eliminate zombies directly blocking your path
Repair cable breaks immediately – Don’t let damaged cables slow you down

For the Three Zombies Near Cable #4: Instead of engaging them, hug the left rock face and circle around. This is much safer than attempting multiple stealth kills in close proximity.

Advanced Tip: The cable-walking mechanic is unique to this quest. Practice the movement early in the section when fewer zombies are around.

Connecting the Final Circuit

After reaching explosive #4, you’ll need to:

Interact with the cable spool to complete the circuit
Navigate back up using metal walkways and cliff handholds
Follow white painted handholds back to William’s position

The return journey is more straightforward than the descent, but watch for stamina management during the climbing sections.

Phase 4: The Underwater Escape Sequence

After the emotional climax with William, the explosives detonate and you’re thrust into an underwater escape sequence that many players find disorienting.

Underwater Navigation Strategy

Key Survival Elements:

Follow the bubble streams – These indicate the correct path at forks
Manage oxygen carefully – Don’t panic-swim; move deliberately
Stay oriented – The camera can become confusing underwater

Detailed Escape Route:

Initial underwater section – Follow bubbles through tunnel system
Large air pocket cave – Surface for air, then continue to far side
Stalactite tunnel – Crawl through the narrow passage
Second underwater section – Shorter and more straightforward
Final climbing section – Use handholds to reach the exit

The Exit Sequence

QTE Warning: A zombie will grab you from behind just before the exit. Be ready for a quick-time event – it’s easy to miss if you’re not expecting it.

Post-Cave Combat: You’ll face more zombies outside the cave. You have two options:

Fight them – Good for XP and loot
Run past – Faster completion, less risk

Choose based on your current health/resource situation.

Quest Resolution and Rewards

Returning to Eli

Back at Town Hall, you’ll have dialogue choices about how to explain William’s fate to Eli. The conversation outcomes don’t affect rewards, but they do impact the emotional resolution.

Key Story Detail: Eli won’t forgive his father and refuses William’s knife, meaning you keep it as a quest reward.

Final Rewards Breakdown

10 000 XP – Substantial boost for early-game progression
Pages du manuel – Crucial for skill development
William’s knife – Useful weapon for mid-game content
Story completion – Contributes to overall quest completion percentage

Évaluation de la valeur : This quest offers some of the best XP-to-time ratios in the early game, making it highly worthwhile despite its complexity.

Advanced Tips and Strategies

Preparation Optimization

Before Starting:

Complete basic combat training side quests first
Ensure you have at least 3-4 healing items
Practice cliff climbing on easier locations
Read our guide de survie pour débutants for foundational skills

Skill Integration

Recommended Skills for This Quest:

Early stealth abilities for the cave section
Climbing stamina improvements
Basic combat skills for zombie clearing

Consultez notre best early game skills guide for optimal skill point allocation.

Gestion des ressources

The quest provides good opportunities for resource gathering:

Search the cabin thoroughly for crafting materials
Loot defeated zombies for money and items
Utilisez notre guide de l'agriculture monétaire to maximize economic benefits

Pièges courants et comment les éviter

Technical Issues

Camera disorientation during climbing – Take breaks to reorient yourself
Stealth detection in caves – Move slower than you think you need to
Underwater confusion – Follow bubbles religiously; don’t improvise routes

Strategic Mistakes

Insufficient preparation – This quest is harder than it initially appears
Rushing the emotional decisions – Take time to consider dialogue choices
Ignoring environmental storytelling – The details enhance the experience significantly

Intégration à la progression globale

This quest fits perfectly into early-game progression strategies. The substantial XP reward accelerates character development, while the narrative elements provide excellent context for the game’s themes.

Recommended Quest Order:

Complete basic tutorial missions
Do 1-2 simple side quests for practice
Tackle “What Lies Beyond the Pines”
Use earned XP for major skill investments

For comprehensive progression planning, check our liste complète des missions et quêtes et Stratégies agricoles XP.

L'essentiel

“What Lies Beyond the Pines” represents Dying Light: The Beast at its storytelling best – combining technical challenge, emotional depth, and substantial rewards into a memorable experience. While it’s more complex than typical early-game content, the payoffs make it absolutely worth completing.

The quest succeeds because it doesn’t just challenge your gaming skills; it makes you think about difficult real-world issues while delivering solid mechanical gameplay. Whether you’re in it for the XP, the story, or the unique gameplay experiences, this quest delivers on all fronts.

Ready to tackle this emotional journey? Make sure you’re properly prepared, take your time with the stealth sections, and don’t be afraid to reload if things go wrong. The rewards – both narrative and mechanical – are worth the effort.

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