TL;DR

• Romancing Lacra in The Blood of Dawnwalker spans five quests — all set during nighttime.
• You meet her through Vicho’s Study in Crimson quest chain in Svartrau City.
• The full quest arc is: A Friend Like This, Heart of the Mountain, Hive and Seek, Our Rotten Roots, and Night of Horrors.
• The romance scene happens in Night of Horrors — but only if you eat the mandrake when given the chance.
• Completing Night of Horrors also unlocks the Mesmerize vampiric skill and the Mandrake Ward perk (auto-revive once per night).
• Do Night of Horrors before starting Midnight Reckoning — that quest is the point of no return.
• You can romance Lacra and Anca in the same playthrough. They do not conflict.

Romancing Lacra in The Blood of Dawnwalker — Full Romance Guide

Romancing Lacra in The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the most unusual romance arcs in any RPG in recent years. She is a vampire who wants Brencis dead, she is suspicious of Coen from the moment they meet, and she does not do feelings — at least not openly. Getting her to lower her guard takes patience, the right words in high-pressure moments, and a willingness to follow her into some very dark places. This guide covers every quest, every key dialogue choice, and the one moment you absolutely cannot miss if you want the romance scene to happen.

This article contains story spoilers for Lacra’s quest arc. If you are still early in the game, our guide to romancing Anca covers the other main romance option you can pursue at the same time — the two do not conflict.

Who Is Lacra?

Lacra is a Vrakhiri — a vampire — who arrives in Vale Sangora with one goal: eliminating Brencis. She claims someone sent her, though her true employer and full agenda remain unclear throughout most of the game. She is Egyptian in origin, older than most of the other vampires Coen encounters, and driven entirely by vengeance. Her connection to Brencis runs deep — he is her Sire, the vampire who turned her — which makes her hatred of him personal in a way that goes beyond politics.

She is not warm. She is not easy to read. She pushes back constantly and she does not trust easily. But underneath all of that is a character shaped by centuries of loss and anger, and the more time Coen spends with her, the more that history surfaces. She is, according to the game’s own framing, the character who represents vengeance and uncertainty — and that is exactly what her romance feels like.

Important Rules Before You Start

There are a few things worth knowing before you begin Lacra’s questline.

First, every single quest in her arc is night-only. She is a vampire. She does not come out during the day. If you want to meet her, advance any of her quests, or trigger the romance, you need to be operating at nighttime. Plan accordingly with your time segments.

Second, unlike the Anca romance, there is no accidental death risk with Lacra. You cannot kill her by mistake the way you could with Anca. That said, certain decisions in her quests can make her angry and temporarily walk away. She always comes back, but pushing her too hard in the wrong direction creates friction that is better avoided.

Third — and this is critical — do Night of Horrors before you touch Midnight Reckoning. Midnight Reckoning is the quest that ends the game. Once you start it, the story moves toward the finale and Night of Horrors becomes unavailable. Do not rush to the final battle before finishing Lacra’s arc.

Romancing Lacra in The Blood of Dawnwalker

How to Unlock Lacra — The Prerequisite Quest

Lacra does not just appear on the map. You have to find out she exists before you can meet her. There are two ways to trigger the A Friend Like This quest that introduces her.

The first is to work through Vicho’s Study in Crimson questline in Svartrau City. Complete his missions until he mentions another Vrakhiri operating somewhere in the northern part of the city. That conversation kicks off A Friend Like This.

The second way is to defeat Ambrus — one of Brencis’s three boyar vampires — and read the note found on his body. That note also leads you to A Friend Like This. Either path works, but the Vicho route tends to come up naturally if you are exploring Svartrau during the early open world.

Quest 1 — A Friend Like This

Your first encounter with Lacra is not romantic in any way. It is a fight. Head to the northern part of Svartrau City at night and look for signs of a struggle — blood spatters on the ground and destroyed roof tiles above. Follow the trail until you reach a plain-looking house where Lacra is in the middle of interrogating a Uriashi prisoner.

A combat encounter begins. You fight Lacra. She is fast and aggressive — treat this like a proper boss fight even though she is meant to be a potential ally. Defeat her to move the quest forward.

After the fight, she is still standing and still hostile. But now there is a conversation. You can choose to spare the Uriashi prisoner she was questioning. Do so. Then handle the dialogue that follows:

• “Gladly, but we will actually talk.”
• “I need to know how to get to your village.”
• “You have my word.”
• “I promise.”
• “You’re not killing him.”

Lacra is annoyed. She respects that Coen held his ground. You have her attention. The alliance is not warm yet, but it is real.

Quest 2 — Heart of the Mountain

This quest takes Coen and Lacra into the Crown Rock area at night to find the Uriashi village. Meet Lacra at the marked location when it is dark. The first thing she asks Coen to do is feed on a shepherd nearby. Do it. When prompted on how to respond to her, say: “An excellent one.”

From there, climb through the hilly plateaus until you reach the Uriashi matriarch and her people. Things get tense. They throw rocks. This is a situation that could turn into a massacre if Lacra gets what she wants — she is ready to kill. You need to be the one to stop that:

• “All right, fine.” — Acknowledge the situation instead of escalating.
• “Lacra, calm down.” — Keep her from doing something irreversible.
• “Nobody needs to die.”
• “Can we stop the hostilities.”
• “We’ve already proven it.”
• “What more proof do you need?”

After that, do nothing. Do not act. Let the tension pass. The Uriashi will stand down on their own if you give them the chance. Lacra is frustrated that Coen de-escalated, but she accepts the outcome. Keep calm and do not match her aggression. This is how you show her that Coen thinks before he acts — something she has never had a partner do before.

Quest 3 — Hive and Seek

This is a longer dungeon quest with less romantic content than the others. Coen and Lacra head underground into a cave system to track down Isbrand — an ancient Vrakhiri that Lacra believes holds important information. There are a lot of kobolds. A lot of fighting. Not much in the way of flirting.

The goal is to find and retrieve Isbrand’s body. The pair eventually leave with the ancient vampire’s remains. The quest matters for Lacra’s backstory more than for the romance itself, but you need to complete it before Our Rotten Roots unlocks. Just follow the quest objectives, fight what needs fighting, and push through.

Quest 4 — Our Rotten Roots

This is where Lacra’s arc starts to get genuinely interesting. Coen and Lacra travel to Anachora — a surreal, hellish realm tied to vampire memory — to witness Isbrand’s past. It is disorienting and strange, like walking through a nightmare someone else had.

At one point, the path splits. The main road goes toward a faux version of Svartrau City and its castle. Off to the left is a pit. Lacra tells you not to go there. It is her memory — something involving her, Brencis, and Isbrand that she clearly does not want you to see.

Go there anyway. Deviate from the main path and witness the memory on your own. She will be angry. She will try to stop you, then eventually let you pass with some pointed remarks. When you reunite with her afterward, do not press her on what you saw. She will shut that conversation down immediately. Let it go. She will tell you herself when she is ready — and she does.

Later in the quest, after defeating Isbrand, you must decide what to do with his essence. The recommended choice is to invite Isbrand in with: “I’ll do it. I invite you in, Isbrand.” This absorbs his essence and gives Coen new power. Lacra is fine with this outcome regardless of how strongly she may have had her own feelings about it.

When you speak to Lacra after the events in Anachora, apologize for going to the pit without her permission:

• “I’m sorry for going there.”
• “I needed to know what you were hiding.”
• “I’m still sorry.”

She does not fully forgive immediately. But she does not leave either. The door stays open.

Quest 5 — Night of Horrors (The Romance Quest)

After Our Rotten Roots ends, wait a day or two. Lacra contacts Coen about something she has been researching — a lead on another ancient Vrakhiri whose remains are hidden somewhere in the swamps. This becomes the Night of Horrors quest, and it is the one that contains the romance scene.

Before you start it, check your quest log. If Midnight Reckoning is also available at the same time — and it will be — do not touch it. Midnight Reckoning ends the game. Night of Horrors must be done first.

The quest begins with Coen and Lacra heading into a bog at night. The swamp is too large to search by sight, so Lacra calls on will-o-wisps to guide you. There is a catch: will-o-wisps feed on negative emotions — grief, regret, anger. To keep them moving forward, Coen and Lacra have to share their worst memories out loud while walking through the dark.

As they talk, pick conciliatory and emotionally open responses throughout. Match her honesty with your own. Do not deflect. The will-o-wisps need real feeling, not bravado. This is the quest where Lacra finally shows who she is underneath all the armor — what she lost, what she still carries, and why she is the way she is. Coen gets to show the same.

The Cave and the Mandrake

The wisps eventually lead the pair to a sarcophagus and a hidden cave. Inside, a cutscene plays out. You learn what happened to an ancient Vrakhiri named Kallias — it is a grim story. And at the end of it, there is a Mandrake growing where his body came to rest.

Lacra explains what the Mandrake is. An ancient Vrakhiri’s essence, stored in a plant over centuries. For a vampire, consuming it is the closest thing to feeling genuinely drunk — a euphoric, disorienting power that does not come from blood alone. She invites Coen to try it.

You must eat the mandrake. This is not optional if you want the romance. If you refuse, the scene ends there and the quest closes without any intimate moment. Choose to eat it. What follows is a sequence of dialogue where Coen and Lacra are both more open and less guarded than they have ever been. Then:

• Lacra offers her blood to Coen. Choose the [Drink] action.
• She then offers something more. Kiss her.
• “Who says I’m not?” — When she questions whether Coen is ready for this.

This leads to the romance scene between the two. She leaves before dawn — as a vampire, daylight is still her enemy — and Coen wakes up alone. She does not stay. But she was there, and that means something.

What You Get From Night of Horrors

Beyond the romance, Night of Horrors gives Coen two concrete rewards regardless of whether you pursue the intimate scene:

• Mesmerize — A vampiric ability unlocked by eating the mandrake. If you skip the romance scene but still eat the mandrake, you get this ability. You can also get it through a vial of Lacra’s blood if you skip the quest entirely.
• Mandrake Ward — A passive perk that lets Coen survive lethal damage once per night, automatically restoring three health segments. On harder difficulties, this is genuinely powerful and can save you during the toughest fights in the final stretch of the game.

Completing Night of Horrors also unlocks the Misery Loves Company trophy or achievement. None of these rewards require you to actually take the romance route — but if you are going to do the quest anyway, there is no reason not to.

Does the Romance Affect the Ending?

Romancing Lacra does not change the game’s ending in any major structural way. If you complete all of her quests — including Night of Horrors — she can play a role in the final battle against Brencis. That role is available whether or not you pursued the romance. There is some additional dialogue acknowledgment of what happened between them, but no second scene.

She leaves before the sun rises. She does not promise anything beyond that night. That is who she is. The game is honest about it.

Full Lacra Romance Quest Order

• Study in Crimson (Vicho’s questline) — Prerequisite. Complete this in Svartrau City to unlock A Friend Like This. Alternatively, defeat Ambrus and read his note.
• A Friend Like This — First meeting. Fight Lacra. Spare the prisoner. Agree to work together.
• Heart of the Mountain — Crown Rock at night. Feed on the shepherd. De-escalate the Uriashi confrontation. Stay calm when Lacra pushes for violence.
• Hive and Seek — Cave dungeon. Fight kobolds. Retrieve Isbrand. No romance content — just get through it.
• Our Rotten Roots — Anachora. Witness Lacra’s memory in the pit even when she warns you not to. Apologize afterward. Absorb Isbrand’s essence.
• Night of Horrors — The bog at night. Follow the will-o-wisps. Be emotionally honest. Eat the mandrake. Drink her blood. Kiss her.

Tips for Romancing Lacra

• All of Lacra’s quests are at night. Never start one if your night time segments are almost gone — some quests have follow-up objectives and will fail if dawn arrives mid-mission.
• Do not match her aggression. She is violent and impulsive. Coen being the calmer, more measured one is what earns her respect over time.
• Spare the Uriashi prisoner in A Friend Like This. It signals that Coen has a moral line she does not, and she finds that interesting rather than weak.
• Go into the pit during Our Rotten Roots. It is her most guarded secret and the reason she acts the way she does. Seeing it matters for understanding her arc fully.
• Do not skip Night of Horrors to rush the ending. The Mandrake Ward perk alone makes it worth doing, and the romance scene is only available here.
• If you want to pursue both Lacra and Anca in the same run, you can. They do not interfere with each other at all.

Lacra is not the easier romance. She does not open up on her own timeline — you have to earn every piece of her history, and even then she keeps a few things back. But that is what makes her arc feel like something real rather than just a checkbox. She is the most complicated person in Vale Sangora, and for players who invest in her questline, she is the most rewarding.

For more help getting through the game’s quests efficiently, check out our guide on the best skills to level up in Blood of Dawnwalker — good skills make the combat-heavy sections of Lacra’s arc significantly easier. If you want to keep track of all your early game priorities, our Blood of Dawnwalker prologue walkthrough is the best place to start from the very beginning. You can pick up the game on Steam, PlayStation Store, or Xbox.