Avowed: First Contact with the Enemy quest walkthrough

Avowed has a handful of optional quests, First Contact with the Enemy being one of them. While it is fine not to do any of these side missions, you could gain a lot by spending a few minutes completing one objective and moving to the next without much fuss. Some side quests can be long and can vary depending on the task at hand.

This article will cover everything to know before starting this side quest, such as where to find the quest giver, required items, and rewards for your efforts. This is a glorified fetch quest, which may be longer than the average side quest, but this is a perfect excuse to deviate from the main path.

Disclaimer: This article may contain major spoilers.

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How can you start the First Contact with the Enemy side quest in Avowed?

You have to find Private Nauki to start this quest (Image via Xbox Game Studios || YouTube@Bazzy Plays)

To start the First Contact with the Enemy side quest in Avowed, you must find Private Nauki at the Deadfall Highlands. This is within the Shatterscarp region and he will try to get your attention by calling out your name near a camp. Nauki will tell you about his group being ambushed by Xaurips, but he escaped unscathed.

Also read: Avowed lore recap: What happened in Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2?

He will ask your help to learn if his allies survived the attack, triggering the side quest. The quest marker will lead you to the group's last known location, which is in Leviathan's Hollow, a giant skull of a monster housing a bunch of Xaurips.

Finding the badges of Private Nauki's squadmates

There are four badges you must recover to complete the mission, and they belong to the following soldiers:

Kiri
Manu
Captain Ruiki
Sergeant Hasui

To gain access to the main entrance, swim underneath the little passageway and emerge in a maze that is Leviathan's Hollow.

Kiri had a painful and agonizing death (Image via Xbox Game Studios || YouTube@Bazzy Plays)

The first badge is the easiest to get; swim across the ramp, and you can spot a few Xaurips chilling around a dead body with a spear embedded on top of it. The fallen soldier was Kiri, and you can either clear the area first before collecting his badge or grab it and then run away.

You can find Manu deep within the cave (Image via Xbox Game Studios || YouTube@Bazzy Plays)

Head deeper into the cave and you can spot Manu's body near the Xaurip altar. You can head up the staircase, scale up a wooden platform, and take a sharp left.

Sergeant Hasui survived the ambush and revealed a massive bombshell (Image via Xbox Game Studios || YouTube@Bazzy Plays)

Sergeant Hasui's and Manu's resting place is quite a distance. Head up and you will see a wooden bridge with a bunch of Xaurips standing in the way. Keep pushing and you will find yourself standing next to a wounded Sergeant Hasui being attacked.

Also read: How to find the Northreach Jail Key in Avowed

Sergeant Hasui revealed that Private Nauki was on guard duty and the Xaurips ambushed them under his watch. Hasui will give you his badge and ask you to deliver all of it to their families as he succumbs to his wounds.

Captain Ruiki deserved better than this (Image via Xbox Game Studios || YouTube@Bazzy Plays)

Captain Ruiki's body isn't far from where you found Sergeant Hasui and the way she was killed implied she was trying to get away but had spears embedded in her body. Now that you have collected all four badges, you can return to Nauki to confront him or let this slide.

Should you kill or spare Private Nauki?

Once you return to Private Nauki, you have a few ways to break the news to the cowardly soldier. Under Sergeant Hasui's request, he will ask you to tell him that they all perished in battle and Private Nauki will explain his side of the situation.

Private Nauki shows no signs of remorse for failing his squad (Image via Xbox Game Studios || YouTube@Bazzy Plays)

If you forgive him, he will take the badges and pay you 900 coins, and the side quest will conclude. If you want to take the moral high ground, you can provoke the private and tell him he is a coward.

This will start a fight between Private Nauki and the party, resulting in the private's demise. This option is much longer since you have to return to Thirdborn and inform the officials about what happened, turn in their badges, and you get nothing as a reward.

Avowed is now available on Xbox Series X/S, Game Pass, and PC. For more related articles, check these out:

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar