You may or may not have heard that there is a hidden (happier) end in Archolos CoM. This quide here will show you how to make it happen without wasting 30h+ of your life.
Intro
Why little you say? Well if you have played it through once, let me tell you this:
No Araxos mine,
No apprenticeship,
No opportunities for promotion.
Should I say more? Probably not. Let’s start:
Rules
Some mild spoilers follow:
- Everything before Jorn gets stung is fine.
- Everything that is not recorded as a mission other than the main quest ones is fine.
- Collecting bounties is fine (unless it solves a quest).
- If it feels like a distraction from the main goal, it probably is.
- However: If you do get a forbidden mission but you fail it or you don’t finish it, that’s fine too. Having said that, it is probably not worth risking it for a few extra cash and exp. Because some missions can become unavoidable, or freeze time until you finish them, or can be completed by mistake, or even be accepted as successful, even though they were done half-assed. So better avoid them altogether to be on the safe side.
Please be aware that apart from the main quest nothing else is linear. The order of missions I put in this guide is not necessarily the one you may come across them, but I tried to put the in a rough logical order or at the earliest point you can access them.
Now let’s see which missions are allowed or not, and some important tips:
Prologue and Chapter 1
Below deck: everything is allowed. Make sure to pick up the seaman uniform.
Chapter 1:
[A] for allowed and required, [F] for forbidden
1. [A] “A Frosty Welcome”
2. [A] “Seeking Refuge”
3. [F] “Nobody gets left behind”
4. [F] “Lamb”
5. [F] “Three works for the alchemist”
6. [F] “No sweeping under the carpet”
7. [F] “To find Rolf”
8. [F] “The Art of Writing”
9. [A] “Reunion”
10. [F] “Beloved Daughter”
11. [F] “Debt payment”
12. [F] “A matter of life or death”
13. [F] “Tidying up”
14. [F] “In the mill as in the mill ”
15. [A] “We Are in this Together”
16. [A] “Time to Walk it Off”
17. [A] “A Treatment for Jorn”
18. [A] “The Errand Boy”
The following usually come up later in the story, but if you happen to get there anyway they are available from chapter 1
19. [F] “Razor sharp” (You can still shoot the rock and kill the snappers, just don’t talk to Helmud)
20. [F] “Eternal rest”
21. [F] “Bear trouble”
22. [F] “A Golden Deal” (only if you try to enter the Araxos mine. Normally it is given later, if you join the mercs)
23. [F] “Hot Sands”
24. [F] “Destroyed Crops”
25. [F] “What Goes Around, Comes Around”
26. [F] “Behind the Closed Door”
27. [F] “What it likes?”
28. [F] “Let There be Light”
29. [F] “Danger around”
30. [F] “That Special Kind of Honey”
31. [F] “The Culprit”
32. [F] “Treasures of Archolos”
Chapter 2 part 1
34. [A] “Merchant Ezekiel”
35. [F] “Clearing the Shore”
36. [F] “Howls in the Night”
37. [A] “To the Town” (all options apart from bribing 75G are forbidden – except maybe the sewers, which I don’t recommend)
38. [F] “Unwheeling to Move”
39. [F] “Last Batch of Stuff”
40. [F] “Wood for Sale”
41. [F] “Aid for flood victims”
42. [F] “Careless bet”
43. [A] “A Needle in a Haystack”
44. [F] “My New Home”
45. [A] “Citizen Marvin” (all missions allowed, only 3 are needed. Just do not clean the streets at the end to save the money.)
• [A] “Royal Gambit”
• [A] “Hunting with Allan”
• [A] “For Connoisseurs”
• [A] “Worker’s honor” (I prefer to “fail” this one by siding with the workers and learn some thieving skills, but others can teach you too. I just hate Ramona )
• [A] “Heaven’s Will” (It is probably easier to avoid this one, the Fire Mage top dog can become quite annoying later. But it is allowed anyway and the xp + looting bandits is not bad)
• [A] “Natural Methods”
• [F] “Clean Streets” (Just pay the damn fee)
46. All recruitment quests are allowed for both paths (You only join one but you can complete all of them.)
Guard:
• [A] “Joining the City Guard”
• [A] “Training of Recruits”
• [A] “A Blade for a Guardsman”
• [A] “The Night Patrol”
Araxos:
• [A] “Joining the Merchant’s Guild”
• [A] “Dima’s Messenger”
• [A] “Weed Him Out”
• [A] “The Troublesome Three”
• [A] “This Fish Doesn’t Stink”
Tip: When you reach the shore with the lizards, kill a couple of the, and pick up the Wind fist rune under the nets. Then go from the left side and ner the fire lizard use telekinesis to pick up Knup Dagger without getting killed by the fire lizard (it is probably too tough for you at this point). Even though it is a short sword, it is by far the best starting sword in the game : 100 dmg for 50 Dex, plus 10 armor penetration and +10% 1h!
47. All Apprenticeship quests are forbidden:
• [F] “Work for a Butcher”
• [F] “Work for a Blacksmith”
• [F] “A Bear Snack”
• [F] “Work for an Alchemist”
• [F] “An Indigestible Experiment”
• [F] “Work for a Bowyer”
• [F] “The Merchants’ War”
• [F] “The Legendary Recipe”
• [F] “Work for a Carpenter”
• [F] “For a Few Lockpicks More”
Chapter 2 part 2
48. BANNED promotion quests (if you don’t ask around for promotion they will never come up) They span across the 2nd and 3rd chapter. Also, they have dependencies so if you don’t take the first ones, you will never see most of the rest)
Guard Side Quests
49. [F] “Old scores”
50. [F] “This one will do”
51. [F] “The Story of the Plague”
52. [F] “Providence from above”
53. [F] “Contractor”
54. [F] “Food shortages”
55. [F] “A few nuggets”
56. [F] “New techniques”
57. [F] “Where is gold, there is trouble”
58. [F] “Just like old times”
Araxos Side Quests
59. [F] “Working with Ramha”
60. [F] “Eyes on the west”
61. [F] “They shall not pass”
62. [F] “Dealing with recon”
63. [F] “New orders”
64. [F] “It’s not yours”
65. [F] “A Golden Deal” (given by Lorenzo )
66. [F] “Who is who”
67. [F] “Closing the business”
Moving on…
68. [F] “Pearls of Water” (Don’t interrupt the Water mage doing his mumbo jumbo)
69. [F] “A Northern Breeze” (You can avoid talking to the Northener, but if you do just don’t make any suggestions)
70. [F] “Supply of materials” (Don’t talk to Ewald)
71. [F] “Gold rush” (the easiest way for this one is to never open the letter from Kurt that a runner delivers to you, but even if you do you can always decline later in theory)
72. [F] “Green lighthouse”
73. [F] “Drunken Guide”
74. [F] “Boy’s farm”
75. [F] “Fight Club”
76. [F] “Against pledge”
77. [A] “Missing in Action”
78. [A] “Tracking guilty kidnappers”
79. [A] “Unfair Competition”
80. [F] “Night watch”
81. [A] “The One Who Comes and Goes”
Tip: If you manage see the Orc Scout behind Bermar’s Farm, near the haunted tower, you can tell the guards later about a murdered man from an orc and keep the weed. Then you can give the weed to Thiago in the Haven for 3500xp!
Chapter 3
Tip: If you reach the swamp via the cave network, there is a black bear on your left. Almost right below it there is a corpse with the “Soldier pike”. Really great and long 2H pike, 105 dmg for 75 Dex. Probably perfect at this stage. Just make sure you don’t get mauled by the bear.
82. [A] “Amongst the Villains”
83. [F] “Larry’s Bag”
84. [F] “Buried Treasures”
85. [F] “Escape”
86. [F] “Molerats might fly…”
87. [F] “Sting”
88. [F] “An unforgettable lesson”
89. [A] “A Few Mugs to Beat”
90. [A] “Blood Money”
91. [A] “Who Killed Stan”
92. [A] “Old Friends”
93. [A] “The Tournament” *
Tip: Here is your first bossfight. A good immobilising spell rune (Ice block or whirlwind) for most opponents, and a strong crossbow and a speed potion for Ben (he is slower than you), are probably enough to win the Tournament. But have some temporary increase stat potions just in case. And save often!
94. [A] “Loosening Tongues”
95. [A] “Work Report”
96. [F] “Heartbreaker”
97. [F] “Queen of Thorns” (maybe it is available in chapter 4, not sure, but it does not appear straight away after the Heartbreaker. But Heartbreaker is a prerequisite so technically you will never see this)
98. [F] “Abducted”
99. [F] “Late for Work”
100. [F] “A Seaside Find”
101. [F] “A Reluctant Student”
102. [F] “Every Little Helps”
103. [F] “Cheap guards”
104. [F] “Golden Innoses”
105. [F] “A Small Favour”
106. [F] “Where words abound”
107. [F] “A plate of hot food”
108. [A] “In Broad Daylight”
109. [A] “In Broad Daylight (bolthead lead)”
110. [A] “In Broad Daylight (flyer lead)”
111. [F] “In Broad Daylight (prisoner lead)” (you can start and progress it a little, but it will fail the secret ending if completed)
Chapter 4
112. [A] “Silver Lining”
113. [F] “New to Archolos?”
114. [F] “Bruised face theatre”
115. [F] “Unhappy husband”
116. [F] “Extreme Home Makeover”
117. [F] “Small gift”
118. [A] “Things They Deserve”
Options: Killing them is the fastest option, convincing them to go to the swamp comes next, explosions take the longest. I usually go for the swamp, because I have already done what is needed before I get there.
119. [F] “Hunter’s blood”
120. [A] “One Thing Leads to Another”
121. [F] “Wolf skins”
122. [F] “Decision time”
123. [F] “Not to be lifted”
124. [F] “New liquors”
125. [F] “Breakthrough Discovery”
126. [F] “There will be no peace”
127. [F] “The Beast of Archolos”
128. [F] “Night sentry”
129. [F] “Silver and steel”
130. [A] “The Only Way to Jon”
131. [A] “Journey to the Centre of the Mine”
Tip: You really don’t need to explore too much here. Just be careful, because sometimes the minecrawlers can randomly spawn right next to you. Keep your health high, the lights on, maybe a summoned animal for help, and you will be fine. There is not much game left after that, so as soon as you hear people grunting or see some massive tubes leading to the queen’s lair, follow them. If you get early enough, more of Jon’s companions will be alive, and the Queen fight (Your second and final boss fight) will be a little easier. However, if you have one of every temporary potion that you need, depending on your build (eg. +25 ST, life regen, +Armor etc.) and you quickly run/jump behind the queen, the fight should be manageable.
132. Well, nothing else! Go back to the city, take the map from the cartographer, and follow the lead! Congrats!
Useful tips
Free starting uniforms:
- Seaman’s during the prologue (below the deck). Weak, but with a little effort you can manage until you enter the city.
- Worn hunter: outside Silbach, follow the trail of the dangerous forest past Kippler (it has a warning sign) and keep to the right. You will see a hunter’s corpse. Beware the beasts, they can be dangerous in the beginning.
- Woodcutter’s: Do a few things for the Woodcutters, have 20 ST, and they will offer it to you as a reward for a mission. A little dangerous to get there early, but it’s the best free uniform you can get before entering the city.
- Light leather: Enter the city by the west gate, pass the runner selling maps, few steps and to the left should be two chests: one of them contains a light leather armor.
Keep a second uniform for your first missions as a guard/merc and if you decide to leave the faction. Your “free” light leather one will do just fine just upgrade it once and you are good.
Given that you never did the Lokvar’s quests in chapter one, if you want to learn Alchemy and scroll copying cheap, you should definitely loot the city scribe’s chest! There is a great 1h sword too!
If you want to skip learning alchemy, make sure to loot Ernesto’s bedroom when you get access to the old town. You will squeeze out more of these permanent-stat fauna you have been collecting with these recipes!
Spend 30 LP for ST, 30 LP for DEX, and another 60 to get 30% on 1H and 2H fighting (base) as a minimum, and maybe Save 90LP for Magic circles and +20 Mana (it costs double after that). This is 21 levels. You will get at least another 70 LP to spend in alchemy and pickpocketing copying scrolls, smithing, bow making, and increasing any other stat you like. I only recommend pick-pocketing and 1st level smithing personally. You will find most of the scrolls you need around the map and you can buy some extra if you have to. Lastly, lock-picking only cost gold and you will find a lock-picking spell at about 60% of the story so not worth maximising.
However, if you want for example to specialise more that can work too, if done right. If for example you sacrifice alchemy, or the 3rd circle of magic, and put some more points in 2H and ST, those royal minecrawlers will start dropping like flies.
Buy the acrobatics belt as soon as possible. It is a life saver and you travel much faster. Only 500 gold and you can sell it later when you reach 90 Dex or learn it from Thiago.
A strong beast spell transformation (shadowbeast of dragon snapper) can do wonders in the salt mine or the swamp temple and other places where you need to clear the enemies. Where you just need to steal something and run, wolf or bug transformation, sneaking, and speed potions are preferable. And of course, a couple of telekinesis spells can make all the difference!
Keep all the Mantis heads, swamp fly wings, and shadowbeast horns to get the full price later, and (most) turtle shells and minecrawler mandibles and stings, for uniform upgrades, and for mana/life full restore if you read Grif’s books.
If you learn 1st level smithing, you can make at least 50 Judge’s staff with wood and iron (you will have tons of it by the end of the game), and get enough money to buy some usefull things. Best ROI imho.
You can beat much stronger enemies if you get them to follow you into the water, and once the start swimming you get out first and start hitting them while they try to come out. They get stuck in the water and receive punishment without retribution!
If you do decide to invest in magic equipment:
Water mage amulet + mage ring gives you mana regeneration, and cost 3000 gold together. You will only find them in the upper town though. The second ring is in the sewers in the bandit’s lair.
Each Mage’s ring gives you +15 spell damage (1800g), and mages’ staves +5/+10 spell damage extra. They can make a huge difference!
You will find tons of mushrooms in caves and on fallen tree trunks. Learn a few recipes for convenience. +5 mana for 50 shrooms is not a bad deal.
Places of interest
Near the beekeepers, there is a valley with a waterfall. Under the waterfall is a chest with the snapper summon rune. If you have a wolf or warg spell and a speed potion and go during the day when the shadowbeasts sleep (so you can easily sneak past them), you will find a Belt +10 str and a “transform to Shadowbeast” spell scroll in the Shadowbeast cave, and a decent weapon plus some earth aloe in the troll cave.
The shipwreck underwater near the Adanos monastery is full of easy and good loot if you have a water breathing potion. Lots of silver, and the sword Elisium. Also, check the monastery’s beach. The “missing cutlass” is pretty decent
Check the waterfall in the fields right outside Silbach. There is a cave with two lizardmen, and some good loot.
Check the small waterfall behind the cemetery in the city.
Find the treasure map in salt mine or Cortez’s chest, and visit the island with the lighthouse for a good treasure!
You can visit the Wolf’s Den quite early in the game, and with a little parkour you can get inside easily. If you only loot Ulryk’s chests (summon bear and a 3rd magic circle book, pas mal!) and visit Grettel who has the best amulets in the game, you won’t break the story’s continuity. I am just saying!
And finally, as soon as you can handle some seasharks and royal mine crawlers, sell some old coins to the museum, get the sword-key to the temple (nice 2H too if you don’t have anything better!) and visit the swamp temple. Too many good runes, stat boosts and weapons to ignore!
Epilogue
I hope you enjoyed it.
It was done mostly from memory, so I will be updating it occasionally. If you find any mistakes, please let me know in the comments, but the list of missions (which is the most important bit) should be OK.
Ta-taa!
And that wraps up our share on The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos: Archolos secret ending guide. If you have any additional insights or tips to contribute, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. For a more in-depth read, you can refer to the original article here by hellstrom999, who deserves all the credit. Happy gaming!