[Guide] How to unlock The Harvester in Darksiders PC!

[bmburke]

Disclaimer:
This guide was originally posted here[www.gog.com] for the GOG version of Darksiders. That post also has 2 screenshots of the changes made in the hex editor. The method below is confirmed working on the Steam version as well.

The Harvester (http://darksiders.wikia.com/wiki/The_Harvester) was a preorder bonus on the XBox 360 and PS3 versions of Darksiders 1. Thought to be inaccessible in all PC versions (including the Hellbook Special Edition), I've found a save file hack that unlocks it.

NOTE: Numbers beginning with 0x are in hexadecimal format.

NOTE2: Make backups of all your saves before doing this. I'm not responsible for loss of saves!

NOTE3: Please help me test this hack more thoroughly and provide feedback here. In particular, testing is needed to confirm whether or not The Harvester drains more souls as opposed to the default Scythe and also whether or not all abilities can be purchased and used correctly. If anyone also has the PS3 or XBox 360 version of the game, I would greatly appreciate it if you could do a side by side comparison of the weapon between the versions.

What's needed:
- offzip (http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz/offzip.zip)
- packzip (http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz/packzip.zip)
- a hex editor (I use HxD)
- a Darksiders save file just after meeting Vulgrim (other save locations might work as long as the Scythe has not yet been purchased)

Steps:
1) Place offzip.exe, packzip.exe, and the save file (referred to as dssave0.dsav below) in a folder
2) Open a command prompt in that folder
3) Create a temp folder with the following command: md temp
4) Extract dssave0.dsav with the following command: offzip -a dssave0.dsav temp 0
5) Open temp\00000039.dat in your hex editor
6) Search for the text string hellraiser/hellraiser
7) Change the 01 0x3D bytes past that string (at offset 0x732B for me) to 00
8) Search for the text string harvester/harvester
9) Change the 00 0x3D bytes past that string (at offset 0x739B for me) to 01
10) Save temp\00000039.dat in the hex editor
11) Recompress dssave0.dsav with the following command: packzip -o 0x00000039 temp\00000039.dat dssave0.dsav
12) Copy dssave0.dsav into the Darksiders saves folder

Screenshots for steps 6-9 (using HxD): http://imgur.com/a/mJ5Pb

Explanation:
In step 7 we are disabling the default Scythe (apparently called "hellraiser" in the game's code) in Vulgrim's shop. In step 9 we are enabling The Harvester in the shop. I don't know yet whether The Harvester drains more souls than the default Scythe. I also haven't figured out how to make The Harvester free like in the console versions.

Credits:
Save file editing instructions were adapted from this post[www.se7ensins.com].

Thanks:
Thanks to RikD for helping me test this on the Steam version. Also thanks to faxfane on GOG for reporting success with the Steam version as well.

If anyone has the XBox 360 version, I would really appreciate it if you could post 2 links to save files: both right after receiving the Horn from Vulgrim but without buying anything, the first without unlocking the Harvester (default Scythe in store) and the second just after entering "The Hollow Lord" in the options menu. In addition, a third save file just after buying the Scythe and a fourth just after buying the Harvester might also be helpful for comparison.

[Air Spud]

nice

[Zhork]

I do not know how to do it

You could provide a video tutorial or save?

Thank you

[bmburke]

Saves are tied to your Steam ID, so any saves I post won't work with your game. What part of the process would you like me to explain in more detail?

[Aquiluus]

Did You have any kind of trouble after editing the file? For I am receiving info that my save file is corrupted, and don't know what I could have done wrong.

[bmburke]

The only time I've seen the corrupted save file error was when there was a Steam ID mismatch. Did you modify a save file from your own copy of the game or one you got from somewhere else?

[Aquiluus]

I modified one of my own saves.

[bmburke]

If you want me to investigate, add me so you can send me an unmodified save file. The save can be anywhere in the campaign as long as you haven't bought the Scythe from Vulgrim.

[Aquiluus]

No need to. Somehow, after I tried again with unmodified save it worked this time. Thank You for answers nonetheless.

[Nikola Stankov]

hey i dont know what to do after step 6 could you give me screenshots or video ?

[Aquiluus]

0x3D means 61 positions basically. So put your marker at the end of the string and go 61 positions with right arrow key, or count it. At 61th position after the string, change the 01 to 00, or the other way around.

[bmburke]

Thanks for helping out with the explanation in decimal. The reason why I used 0x3D in the guide is because many hex editors (including HxD) by default count in hexadecimal. I've updated the guide with a link to some screenshots using HxD.

[Spaghadeity]

Can anyone confirm that this is the actual harvester with all the juicy extra souls and that all the combos work fine?

[bmburke]

I played through the entire game with it, so the combos all work. As for the extra souls, I'm not sure. I would need the 4 XB360 saves listed in the last paragraph to see if the unlock code modifies any of the weapon's data.

[bmburke]

If you've already bought the Scythe, I believe the game deletes the Harvester section from the save file.

[Marin Shatterhand]

No matter what I do, the save is always corrupted, I have been trying for hours make the fix work but to no avail. Please help specify the steps with some kind of video or a ♥♥♥♥ ton of pictures because apparently I am that dumb.