This guide covers all important story choices in Dying Light 2 that have lasting effects. There are more choices than this, but anything not listed here only has short-term effects (such as changing the next line of dialogue or minor dialogue options). The choices listed here are the ones that can “come back to haunt you”. These can change an objective, who lives and dies, which boss fights you get, who turns hostile on you, and even how a mission ends.
Before we start, it’s important to know what types of choices there are and how they work:
- Most dialogues have no impact on the story whatsoever. The vast majority of dialogue only changes the next line of dialogue and that’s it. Any dialogue in white text in conversations is optional extra dialogue, which won’t progress the current conversation as a whole, and normally just gives some more general dialogue or possibly lead to an extra option to progress the dialogue, but they don’t majorly change the story events.
- Only a very small subset of dialogues actually have any impact whatsoever. These are the choices pointed out in this guide, and are almost always obvious in gameplay because they have a timer attached to them.
- The overall progression of the story is largely linear, with only the timed choices or who you assign Facilities to during story missions that cause any major variance in events.
For a full walkthrough of all quests refer to Dying Light 2 Walkthrough.
Story Mission Choices
Pilgrim’s Path
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Getting Stronger
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Markers of the Plague
Dialogue options don’t matter.
The Only Way Out
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Working on both “The Spark of Invention” and “Cheers!” is required to progress this quest, but choices in them don’t affect anything overall. Hakon may call you before finishing all objectives in these, but it seems like you need to do at least 2/3 before he’ll call (meaning either finish “The Spark of Invention” and one objective in “Cheers!”, or both objectives in “Cheers!”)
You may be asked by Sophie to speak with people of the Bazaar before she will work with you (we are unsure of what triggers this). This only requires you to walk around and speak to anyone in the Bazaar area highlighted with green using Survivor Sense, then she should call you back to talk.
The Spark of Invention
Immediately telling Carlos that you have the supplies he needs doesn’t change how the quest works. If you already have the items but pick the other option, the game just tells you immediately to give him the items without marking either of the scavenge locations for you to check.
Cheers!
Doing the first objective if you agree to lie about the water you get paid off, then Julian at the Bazaar is arrested. If you don’t agree to lie you fight Marco and then Julian isn’t arrested. Neither of these choices matters after this.
If you do the first objective before the second and agree to lie then the game may act like the side quest is finished immediately, but you will still have the second objective marked on your map and can go do it. Whether or not you do it first (or at all) doesn’t matter for the rest of the quest and just gives some very minor extra rewards.
Unruly Brother
Dialogue options don’t matter.
If you haven’t activated the nearby “Larch” Windmill before doing this mission a man will come up and ask for your help before entering the store. Choosing to help or not doesn’t change anything, it’s only the game prompting you to activate the Windmill, likely so that you have a nearby respawn point if you die in the store.
The Arrival
No dialogue options.
The Raid
Dialogue options before attacking the bandit camp don’t matter.
When you go to the Tango Motel you are given a choice of whether to go inside or go straight and talk to Aitor. This choice affects how this story quest ends and affects things like rewards you get, but doesn’t have major story implications, as you can still make whatever choice you want in the next story quest, which does have actual story implications.
Choosing to go inside you then have a boss fight, and end up with the choice of going back to Aitor or working with Sophie (but again this doesn’t matter).
If you choose to go straight to Aitor instead of going inside then you don’t have a boss fight and the quest just ends after speaking with Aitor.
Water Tower
If you talk down Jack and Joe instead of fighting them, they appear in an extra Side Quest later in the game called “Moonshine”.
If you assign the Water Tower to the Survivors, you will then play the quest “Revolution”. If you assign the Water Tower to the Peacekeepers, you will then play the quest “Into the Dark”.
Revolution
Dialogue options before destroying the Windmill don’t matter.
After destroying the Windmill, if you choose to go to Vincenzo then you will have an optional boss fight and free the survivors from the Bazaar.
If you choose to help Hakon at the end of the quest you start the side quest “Sniper’s Alley”.
Into the Dark
Dialogue options before dealing with Barney don’t matter.
After dealing with Barney you are given the option to help out Anderson. The same outcome happens whether you choose to or not, you just go clear an area of infected if you choose to help.
If you choose to help Hakon at the end of the quest you start the side quest “Sniper’s Alley”.
Sniper’s Alley
Choosing to help Hakon and completing this side quest determines outcomes in the main quest Nightrunners, which you play if you give control of the antenna to Frank in Broadcast.
Let’s Waltz!
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Your interactions with the Sniper are the same whether or not you had met them already in the Sniper’s Alley side quest.
A Place To Call Home
Dialogue options don’t matter prior to assigning the Substation.
The choice of who you assign the Substation doesn’t matter for immediate story events, but if you are trying to earn trophies/achievements you will need to assign all structures during story events to the same faction, as you need to reach max faction level for a trophy/achievement, so assign it to the same faction as who you assigned the Water Tower to.
When speaking to Jack Matt at the end of the quest if you tell him about Aitor then the side quest “Aitor” will become available during “Welcome on Board”, if you lie about Aitor then the side quest will not become available.
Orders
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Observatory
No dialogue options.
Welcome on Board
If you truthfully told Jack Matt about what happened to Aitor at the end of “A Place to Call Home”, he will come into the Floating Fortress with Aitor when you arrive, and the side quest “Aitor” then becomes available. If you lied, then this just doesn’t happen. This doesn’t have any major story implications otherwise though.
Dialogue options prior to the final choice with Juan don’t matter, nor does whether or not you go to Danior’s party or not.
In the final timed choice with Juan if you choose “I can help you” you will agree to go along with Juan’s plan, and will result in you now playing the story quest “Cathedral”. If you choose “I’ll stick with Matt” you will not agree to go along with Juan’s plan, and will result in you now playing the story quest “The Lost Sight”.
Cathedral
Dialogue options don’t matter.
The Lost Sight
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Broadcast
Dialogue choices during the mission don’t matter, aside from the final choice.
Whether or not you go and speak to Frank in the Fish Eye before going to the tower doesn’t matter.
If you choose to “Give control over the transmitter to FRANK”, this will lock you into the Survivor missions for the rest of the game, meaning you will end up playing the quests “Nightrunners” and “The Breakthrough”. This is always an available option regardless of what you’ve done prior.
If you choose not to help Juan in “Welcome on Board”, then you will have the other option “Give control over the transmitter to JACK MATT”, this will lock you into the Peacekeeper missions for the rest of the game, meaning you will end up playing the quests “Empire” and “Assassination”.
If you did choose to help Juan in “Welcome on Board”, then you will have the other option “Give control over the transmitter to JUAN”, this will lock you into the Juan missions for the rest of the game, meaning you will end up playing the quests “Spy Game” and “The Colonel”.
The Shoe
Dialogue choices or what you interact with in Lawan’s apartment don’t matter.
Nightrunners
Dialogue options prior to meeting with Hakon don’t matter.
The outcomes that can occur from the end of this quest where you deal with Hakon are dependent on whether or not you helped him Revolution or Into the Dark, and subsequently played the side quest Sniper’s Alley.
The first timed choice with Hakon doesn’t matter, the choices only matter after you have defeated him twice and try to leave the church.
The second timed choice if you choose “Let’s not fight” will result in Hakon backing down, but only if you had completed Sniper’s Alley. If you didn’t play that side quest or choose “Come any closer, and I’ll have no choice.”, then Hakon attacks again, resulting in you killing him for good.
When Lawan appears and you have the next timed choice, if you select “Do what you need to do.”, then Lawan kills Hakon herself. This is the obvious bad choice because it results in Hakon dying and then Lawan doesn’t end up becoming a Nightrunner.
If you select “Hear me out, Lawan. Don’t do it.” then Lawan will also back down, not killing Hakon. This is the “best” option, as Hakon is still alive for the end of the game, and results in Frank reinstating the Nigthrunners and officially making Lawan one. Hakon will also now appear at the end of the game.
And further dialogue with Frank or Lawan doesn’t matter.
Empire
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Spy Game
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Veronika
The state of the Bazaar and who you meet in it at the start of this quest depends on your choice earlier in the game during Water Tower.
If you are on the Peacekeeper ending path (didn’t agree to help Juan in “Welcome on Board”, gave control of the VNC Tower antenna to Jack Matt) then he will contact you after you learn Veronika’s location and ask you to help Lawan with her objective. Agreeing to help will start the Side Quest “No Mercy”. This isn’t required for story progression.
If you are on the Juan ending path (agreed to help Juan in “Welcome on Board” gave control of the VNC Tower antenna to Juan) then he will contact you after you learn Veronika’s location and ask you to check another location for the UV lights. Agreeing to help will start the Side Quest “Deals with the Devil”. This isn’t required for story progression.
Dialogue options after that when talking with Veronika don’t matter.
No Mercy
This is an optional side quest you can obtain during Veronika if you were on the Peacekeepers ending path (didn’t agree to help Juan in “Welcome on Board”, gave control of the antenna to Jack Matt in “Broadcast”). It is the same event as in the Survivor main quest Nightrunners, where you meet with Hakon in the church on Saint Paul Island.
Deals with the Devil
This is an optional side quest you can obtain during Veronika if you were on the Juan ending path (agreed to help Juan in “Welcome on Board”, gave control of the antenna to Juan in “Broadcast”). It has some unique events, then the same event as in the Survivor main quest Nightrunners, where you meet with Hakon in the church on Saint Paul Island.
The Breakthrough
The initial dialogue choices with Frank don’t matter.
After Frank is shot, ff you choose the dialogue “Just keep him alive. (Go for the truck)” you skip trying to help Frank, resulting in his death. If you choose “I can’t leave him. (Help Frank)” then you do some extra objectives and save Frank’s life.
If you save Frank then there is an extra timed dialogue with Lawan, where you can tell her about what you learned about the poison.
Assassination
Dialogue options don’t matter.
The Colonel
Dialogue options don’t matter.
Now or Never
If you are on the Juan ending path, then you will fight Meyer before going to the Stronghold.
If you are on the Juan ending path and Lawan goes to the stronghold on her own, she will kill everyone on the way in and you can just walk to the room where Williams is.
Whether you are with Lawan or not, you can agree to go along with Williams’ or let the Peacekeepers in.
If you go along with Williams then this quest will basically end without other events and you go directly to X13.
If you let the Peacekeepers in then you will drain the flooded district area, then confront Williams in the bunker before completing the quest. Dialogue with Williams in the bunker doesn’t matter.
X13
At the start of the mission, you will either fight a group of Renegades, Peacekeepers, or no one, depending on prior choices.
After that, all dialogue choices don’t matter until after defeating Waltz.
If you had completed “Sniper’s Alley” then convinced Lawan to not kill Hakon in Nightrunners, No Mercy, or Deals with the Devil, then Hakon will appear during this mission.
For the ending, you have the choice of either Saving Mia or going after Lawan. If Hakon was with you in this mission then he will rescue Lawan if you choose to rescue Mia.
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