One of the most common launch-week questions on Reddit, Discord, and the wiki-analytics search logs is some version of “which officer should I do first: Ambrus, Bakir, or Xanthe?” The answer is not a single clean recommendation — it depends on which ending you are walking toward and how much infamy you can afford to accumulate before the rebellion arc opens. This guide covers all three orderings, the tradeoffs, and the routes they unlock.
GSC data confirms the search intent is real: bakir or xanthe first pulls 19 GSC impressions at position 8.2 over 14 days with 0% CTR — players are typing this exact question and not finding a clean answer.
The Three Officers
All three are confirmed Vrakhiri boyars sitting under Brencis in Greifberg Castle. They each control a different facet of the court’s power over Vale Sangora, and the order in which you clear their quest chains shapes what you learn and what you lose.
| Officer | Faction role | Best time of day | Infamy cost | Quest shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrus | Youngest, aspirational, “new money” | Day (court routes) | Low to moderate | Short, status-driven |
| Bakir | Warmonger enforcer, southwestern routes | Night (combat-heavy) | High | Long, ambush-heavy |
| Xanthe | Elder priestess, occult/secrets | Night (investigation) | Low but reputation-volatile | Variable, lore-heavy |
The Court system funnels every ending through these three, so this is not optional content. You clear all three. The question is only order.
The Three Orderings
Order 1: Ambrus → Bakir → Xanthe (the “diplomatic then violent” route)
This is the most common first-time path. It lets you learn the court’s social grammar through Ambrus before encountering Bakir’s combat grammar, and it saves Xanthe — who has the most lore-density — for last when you already have the political context to read her properly.
- Day form is comfortable for Ambrus and the early Bakir reconnaissance
- Night form becomes mandatory for the Bakir ambush sequences
- Xanthe is best approached at night with the infamy context from the prior two
Best ending alignment: Folk Hero or Midnight Reckoning — both reward a Coen who has learned the court system well before challenging it.
Risk: Ambrus’s status-driven sequences can spike infamy faster than expected. If your rebellion build is shaky, the Marat rebellion arc may open before you are ready.
Order 2: Bakir → Ambrus → Xanthe (the “violence first” route)
The combat-first option. Players who want the night-form predator build to feel earned run this. Bakir is the most combat-dense officer and clearing him first commits you to a night-heavy build path for the rest of the campaign.
- Day form is restricted for the Bakir opening — most reconnaissance has to happen after dark
- Ambrus’s status sequences are easier in hindsight because you have already proven you can survive a Bakir fight
- Xanthe reads differently when you arrive at her having committed to a combat-first Coen
Best ending alignment: A Deal With The Devil or Lone Wolf’s Hunt — both reward a Coen who has chosen predatory power early.
Risk: High infamy by the end of Bakir means Marat and the rebellion arc open aggressively, which can lock out a daytime political Coen for the rest of the campaign.
Order 3: Xanthe → Ambrus → Bakir (the “lore-first” route)
The least common path. Xanthe first means you read the elder priestess’s secrets before you understand the court’s social grammar. This is the path for players who want the worldbuilding to lead.
- Day form is mostly unused until Ambrus opens up
- Xanthe’s lore is dense and unrewarding without court context — her dialogue hints at things the player has not yet learned
- Bakir last means you clear the combat-heavy content when you have full system understanding
Best ending alignment: Patricide or the secret ending — both reward a Coen who has internalized the elder lore before the political reckoning.
Risk: Xanthe’s reputation-volatile quests can close off dialogue options with Ambrus and Bakir if you mishandle her trust checks. Read the dialogue carefully.
What The Community Is Saying
On Reddit r/DawnwalkerOfficial, the most upvoted officer-order threads converge on Order 1 (Ambrus → Bakir → Xanthe) for first-time players and Order 2 (Bakir first) for replay value. Order 3 is treated as a niche lore-route that pays off only if you have already read the official bestiary material.
On the official Discord, the #ending-debate channel is the live source for which order pairs with which ending. Spoiler-tagged by default.
On competitor wikis, the most complete officer-order coverage is on bloodofdawnwalker.wiki, which has dedicated pages per ordering. Their recommendation aligns with Order 1 for first runs.
What We Don’t Know
A few things are still community-reported rather than officially confirmed:
- The exact infamy thresholds at which Marat becomes available after each officer (the threshold exists; the value is not in the pre-launch pack)
- Whether Xanthe’s reputation-volatile checks have specific dialogue-branch triggers beyond “choose carefully”
- Whether Order 2 (Bakir first) actually closes off a Folk Hero ending or just makes it harder to reach
These will firm up with the next major patch. Until then, treat the three orderings as three different shapes of Coen rather than three difficulty modes.
Frequently Asked
Do I have to do all three officers? Yes — the Court system funnels every ending through all three.
Can I switch orders mid-campaign? You can in principle (the Court system is not strictly linear), but the dialogue and faction state may already have locked in consequences. Treat the first officer you approach as your campaign-defining choice.
Does the officer order affect romance routes? The named romance-angled ally is Lacra, and her questline is parallel to the Court system rather than gated by it. The officer order shapes ending routes more than it shapes romance availability.
Which order is fastest? Order 2 (Bakir first) tends to be fastest because Bakir’s sequences are combat-dense and linear. Order 3 (Xanthe first) tends to be slowest because her lore requires more dialogue reading.