Finding the true ending and more (Updated)

A guide on how to unlock the true ending, with as few spoilers as possible.

A second part contains some other things I found that you might have missed.

Introduction

I´m writing this guide because while it is possible to find the true ending of this game on your own, some of the conditions can be tricky or easy to miss. Since I had to resort to scouring machine translated Japanese wikis and message boards to find it, I hope this will help anyone encountering the same problems.

This guide will contain as few spoilers as possible, but there is a lot I can´t avoid talking about. I heavily recommend several playthroughs before reading this. As such, I will assume that you have a basic grasp of the game.

After explaining how to reach the true ending, there is a second part containing information unnecessary to get to it.

I´ve played a fair bit more of the game and completed all the achievements since I originally wrote this guide, so I decided to update it. There were some mistakes in my previous findings and I´m adding additional information.

The game is fundamentally split into three parts: The Prologue, Main Story and Epilogue. You can see which one you’re at when loading a save file from the main menu, and your playthroughs change depending on it.

Prologue: This is the state every new save file begins in. You can move on from it by finishing a playthrough with at least one completed quest. Note that completing Naomi’s quest by giving her a Cascade doesn’t count.

Main Story: Following the Prologue the additional quests of Naomi, Sarah, Liu, Marianne and Vivi become accessible. After completing them, the next playthrough will begin in the Epilogue. The quests can be completed individually over multiple playthroughs.

Epilogue: The true ending is only accessible in the Epilogue. By the time you reach it, you should be able to find it on your own.

The game uses a system which activates a heroines’ additional quest in a playthrough if her quest was completed in the last. At the same time, she falls back to the first one if a playthrough is finished without completing her quest. Note that completing Naomi’s quest through a Cascade won’t count for this. I haven’t worked out the specifics for Sarah’s and Marianne’s quests on this, since they have variations, but they generally work as well.

If you are unsure which characters you have already completed quests for, you can check the Characters tab in the Angel Menu’s Gallery. Quests are represented by a symbol with one star, while additional quests have three stars. If a symbol is in colour, you have already completed that quest or additional quest.

Here is a list of every heroines’ quests and how to complete them, followed by a list of key items and how to obtain them:

Naomi

For her original quest you need to kill the Bloodsucker. He will spawn in the Abyssian Mine after you’ve defeated two enemies and move between areas, so long as you accepted her quest. Upon completion she will offer to join your party, and you will be able to choose between a Jade Pillar and a Fire Orb as a reward. It’s possible for you not to be offered a Fire Orb, in which case it will appear in Vivi’s inventory. The quest can also be completed if you bring her a Cascade, which can be bought in Omphalos for 10.800 Gold, but she won´t offer to join your party if you do this.

Her additional quest is identical except for you having to fight two Bloodsucker Brothers instead of one.

Sarah

Sarah’s original quest requires you to bring her a Jade Pillar and 240.000 gold. Note that your gold is capped at 99.999, so you will have to bring it to her in batches. This might seem like a lot, but it’s not that much. There are several chests in the dungeons containing significant amounts of gold, and some items can be sold for a lot. Also remember to check the gargoyle statues in the demon lord`s castle. Basically, you should clear the dungeons. Travel magic will help you cut down on travel time and fatigue build-up. You are given a Water Orb for the first of the quests’ objectives you hand in, and Sarah will offer to join your party for the second.

After completing her first quest once, it may be simplified in later playthroughs, with her only asking for 70.000 or 120.000 gold. It also becomes possible for the quests’ reward to change to Mana Wine, with a Water Orb to appearing in Vivi’s inventory.

The additional quest for Sarah comes in two parts: She will first ask you for a Jade Pillar. After receiving it, you will receive Mana Wine and a Water Orb appears in Vivi’s inventory. She then asks you to meet someone with her in the Blue Lagoon and offers to join your party. Defeat Valdos and bring Sarah to the stone he guards. She will then open the path to the Spring of Life area. Take care not to bring Yona with you, as she will cause the quest to fail at this point. Enter the area with Sarah in your party and choose to save the War Orphans in your dialogue with Veranabelle, completing Sarah’s additional quest.

Note that the second part of Sarah’s additional quest won’t activate if you have already encountered Veranabelle.

According to ladynadiad it's possible for the amount of gold required for Sarah's quest to be reduced even without having completed it before, as long as one of the conditions for her quest (Gold/Jade Pillar) was handed in.

Liu

For Liu’s original quest you will need to bring her a Wind Orb. You will fail Liu’s quest if you give a Wind Orb to Marianne before or after accepting Liu’s quest, even if you have multiple. You can, however, give Marianne a Wind Orb after having completed Liu’s quest. Also note that it is possible to give Marianne a Wind Orb and still complete Liu’s quest afterwards if you also complete Marianne’s additional quest. Upon completing Liu’s quest, she will offer to join your party.

Liu’s additional quest still requires a wind orb, but you now need a specific one. After accepting the quest, you will be able to find a Wind Orb in the Labyrinthine Forest. It appears in one of three locations marked by red flower bushes, one of which is in the Forest Stream area. Liu will appear when you find it, so you can´t keep this Wind Orb without failing Liu’s quest.

Marianne

Her original quest requires you to bring her one Fire Orb, Wind Orb, and Water Orb. Upon completing her quest, she will offer to join your party.

Marianne’s additional quest requires you to bring her either an Earth Orb or a Saintly Soul. Sometimes she will first ask you for any one or two of the Fire, Water and Wind Orbs. After completing Marianne’s additional quest, she will offer to join your party.

Take note of the interactions with Liu’s first quest I described there if you want to complete both their quests.

Vivi

Vivi’s first quest simply requires you to speak with three times. She will appear in Grandham, Omphalos, Tulson, the Sylvan Village and the Abyssian Village, as well as some dungeons. It is possible to repeatedly re-enter a location until she spawns, but she will disappear for the rest of the day once you speak with her. After your third meeting she will offer to join your party.

Her spawn locations in the dungeons are:
Abyssian Mine: Mine Entrance area, directly next to the western entrance/exit.
Blue Lagoon: Directly in front of the entrance in the Cave Lower Reaches area.
Labyrinthine Forest: Between the two paths in the middle of the Forest Entrance area.
Remoyna: Between the chests in the Plaza area.

In order to complete her additional quest, you need to encounter her inside a dungeon and choose to take her wares by force. Once you´ve defeated her, she will give you a set of three tasks, the first being to let her join your party. I recommend repeatedly re-entering the Abyssian Mine, Blue Lagoon or Labyrinthine Forest to spawn her for this. After you accept her additional quest and she has entered your party, you will no longer be able to remove her until you´ve completed all the tasks. For the second task, head to Remoyna and clear all the enemies in the dungeon, followed by the third task of heading to the entrance of the Forbidden Chamber area, completing her additional quest. For every task you complete, you will be able to choose one of her wares as a reward.

Completing her additional quest and taking her wares by force can be used to obtain elemental orbs that may have appeared in her inventory because of other quests without having to pay for them.

Disclaimer

There are some additional heroines that you are likely to have encountered if you’ve played the Main Game, but that aren’t technically necessary to reach the Epilogue while still being helpful. If you want the absolute minimum of spoilers, skip to the Key Items section.

Yuna

Yuna won’t appear during the Prologue and only has one quest. She can be found in Grandham, Omphalos, or Tulson, and every time you move between towns, so will she. If you’re unlucky it can take a while until you find her. When you meet her, she will immediately ask to join your party and give you a quest to level her up until she learns the Pyro Storm spell. She starts out weak with only 280 HP and no spells but will quickly grow stronger and learn the Power Boost and Meena Grace spells. I recommend picking up an Iron Armor or Darkmail to increase her survivability, as she won´t gain any XP for a fight if she dies. She learns the Wormhole spell at around 800 HP and Pyro Storm near 900. There is no reward for completing her Quest, but she will be very helpful for fights and her travel magic once leveled.

If you pick her up at the beginning of a playthrough and clear the Abyssian Mine and the Bloodsucker Brothers, then the Blue Lagoon and Valdos, it´s possible to complete her quest. You may need some extra XP depending on the random enemy encounters. Alternatively, pick up Liu along the way. This also gives you access to the Wormhole spell around the time the hero forgets it.

If Yuna leaves your party, she will begin moving between Grandham, Omphalos and Tulson again. She will ask to join your party when you meet her regardless of whether you completed her quest or not.

Veranabelle

She won´t appear during the first Prologue either and only has one quest as well. To complete it, you will first need to add Naomi to your party and make sure Yona isn’t in it. Next, open the way to the Spring of Life area in the Blue Lagoon by defeating Valdos and using a Jade Pillar at the stone he is guarding. During the dialogue after entering the area, select the upper prompt to complete Veranabelle’s quest.

Saving the War Orphans through Sarah’s additional quest won’t count as having completed Veranabelle’s quest, so remove Sarah from your party before entering the Spring of Life area. You can however use her additional quest to open the path to the Spring of Life area without using up a Jade Pillar.

Princess Flora

If you speak to her after having accepted a quest, she will offer you one of three items in return for marrying her. She will always offer a Jade Pillar as well as two random orbs, including the Earth Orb. Sometimes she will ask you to begin Yona’s quest and take her into your party instead of marrying her. She will just give you an item if Yona is already in your party. Note that you won’t be able to marry her during those playthroughs. You also won’t be able to get an item from her during the Epilogue.

Key Items

Jade Pillar:
One can be obtained from Naomi’s quest.
Another will always be available through Princess Flora, except during the Epilogue.
They will rarely drop from Gargantua, Jotunn and Acmonides enemies. I recommend the Blue Lagoon if you need to farm them.

Fire Orb:
One can be chosen as a reward for Naomi’s quest, or bought from Vivi.
Can be offered by Princess Flora, except during the Epilogue.
They will rarely drop from Salamander and Gargantua enemies.

Water Orb:
One can be obtained as a reward for Sarah’s quest, or bought from Vivi.
Can be offered by Princess Flora, except during the Epilogue.
They will rarely drop from Wyrm and Jotunn enemies.

Wind Orb:
One can be found in a chest in the Reservoir area of the Demon Lord’s Castle.
You can also get one by failing Liu’s additional quest.
Can be offered by Princess Flora, except during the Epilogue.
They will rarely drop from Wyvern and Acmonides enemies.
Another one can usually be obtained from one of the gargoyle statues in the Demon Lord’s Castle after Guille is defeated there. Guille will spawn if the War Orphans guarded by Veranabelle are defeated.

Earth Orb:
You can get one by defeating the War Orphans.
Another can be obtained after defeating Guille.
Alternatively, you can save the War Orphans through either Sarah or Naomi, at which point an Earth Orb appears in Vivi’s inventory. Note that sometimes no Earth Orb appears in Vivi’s inventory, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint the reason for this.
I’ve been told that you can then get one more by completing Marianne’s additional quest and speaking to Veranabelle with Marianne in your party. This may only be possible if you saved the War Orphans through Naomi, but I suspect Sarah works as well.
Can be offered by Princess Flora, except during the Epilogue.
They are rarely dropped by the Cocytus enemy on the left platform of the 3rd Floor Outer Wall area of the Demon Lord’s Castle.

Saintly Soul:
Only obtainable through an event and not necessary to reach the true ending. I will go into this during the second part of the guide.

Interlude

At this point you should be able to reach the Epilogue from where you can access the true ending, which you should experience for yourself. The following part of the guide contains information not necessary to reach the Epilogue and may touch on the true ending, so I recommend coming back after seeing it for yourself.

Here there be spoilers

Imprisonment event

It’s possible for Naomi, Sarah, Liu and Marianne to be imprisoned in Grandham Palace after accepting their quest. Only the heroine whose quest you accepted first will be imprisoned. After freeing them, the knights in the dungeon area of Grandham Palace will begin fights when touched and Zoro appears to block your way out, but you can circumvent this with travel magic. I can only personally confirm that Naomi and Sarah can be imprisoned, but several other sources agree that Liu and Marianne can be as well.

If Naomi is imprisoned, Zoro will also appear in the Mine Upper Reaches area, and the Abyssians in the Abyssian Village will trigger fights if spoken to.

The Imprisonment event seems to always trigger during the first playthrough, maybe the prologue. It can also rarely activate during the Main Game, and I suspect during the Epilogue as well.

EDIT: According to ladynadiad the imprisonment event will not, in fact, consistently trigger during a first playthrough. This seems to remain true even if all save files are removed from the games folder.


Zoro

To complete Zoro’s quest you need to encounter and defeat him three times in one playthrough. He has a chance to appear in dungeons when entered and, unlike Vivi, can be encountered several times a day.

His locations are as follows:
Blue Lagoon: In the right half of the Cave Lower Reaches area.
Abyssian Mine: In the Mine Upper Reaches area between the paths to the Mine Entrance area.
Labyrinthine Forest: In the nameless area at the very centre of the map, underneath the upper two of the entrances to the Sylvan Village and to the right of the Forest Stream area.
Remoyna: Between the chests in the Plaza area
Demon Lord’s Castle: In the leftmost part of the 1st Floor Wall – West area.

I recommend repeatedly re-entering the Abyssian Mine to defeat him three times in a row if you want to complete his quest quickly.

He can be useful because he has access to the wormhole spell.


Crimson Rose and accepting the heroines’ feelings

The Crimson Rose item lets you trigger special dialogues by using the Present function to give it to party members. It can be bought in a shop in Grandham. If given to a heroine whose quest you have completed, you will be able to accept their feelings for you. This gives you another special dialogue and funeral scene, but you are limited to one heroine per playthrough.

If you speak to Princess Flora after marrying her and having left the area, you can also accept her feelings for you. The same goes for Veranabelle after completing her quest or Sarah’s additional quest. You don’t need a Crimson Rose for them, but you are still limited to one heroine per playthrough.

You can also give Crimson Roses to Zoro and Thomas for an achievement.


Demon Sword/Blitzblade

These swords don’t explicitly state it in their descriptions, but they have negative effects. The Demon Sword has a chance to confuse you when you attack with it, and the Blitzblade lowers your defense.


Red Eye event

During the Main Game one of Naomi, Sarah, Liu, Marianna, Vivi, Yona or Veranabelle is selected for the Red Eye event every playthrough. When certain conditions are met for the selected character, their eyes will turn red and a special interaction occurs. You won’t be able to tell who was selected until the event is triggered, so it’s easy to reach the Epilogue without ever encountering this event. This event is the only way to obtain a Saintly Soul. These are the possible Red Eye events:

Yuna: After turning her down four times in a row when she asks to join your party, she will attack you and drop a Saintly Soul upon defeat.
Marianne: When you give her an Earth Orb to complete her additional quest, she will destroy it, and you will have to find another one to complete her quest.
Liu: If you turn her down when she asks you for the Wind Orb during her additional quest, she will attack you and drop a Saintly Soul upon defeat.
Vivi: If you complete her additional quest, she will appear during the funeral scene with red eyes and special dialogue.
Naomi: If you defeat the War Orphans with Naomi active during the dialogue with Veranabelle, she will attack you and drop a Saintly Soul upon defeat.
Sarah: If you defeat the War Orphans with Sarah active during the dialogue with Veranabelle, she will attack you and drop a Saintly Soul upon defeat.
Veranabelle: If you defeat the War orphans without Naomi or Sarah in your party, Veranabelle will turn into Guille and attack you. She will drop an Earth Orb upon defeat.
EDIT: Courtesy of Ranadiel, Zoro has a Red Eye Event too. It is accessed by defeating him three times to progress his quest and then turning him down when he asks to join your party, at which point he turns into Guille and fights you. He drops an Earth Orb on defeat.

I have only personally only witnessed Yona’s and Marianne’s events found screenshots of the others.

The easiest Red Eye event to force for a Saintly Soul is Yona’s, as you only need to travel between towns and turn her down four times before it should trigger. If it doesn’t, restart the game until it does, just remember not to save during the playthrough.

This event will not appear during the Epilogue, so you will have to use a new save file if you’ve already reached the Epilogue. I also suspect that every heroines’ Red eye event can only be triggered once per save file, because Yona’s didn’t appear for me again until I tried on a different one, even after many attempts. Maybe I was just unlucky though.

Achievements

I won’t go into all the achievements as most are self-explanatory but will talk about the trickier ones.
Refer to a website like this one for the others: https://www.exophase.com/game/hero-must-die-again-steam/achievements/

Hand in Hand to Hell: Choose Flora over Julia during the true ending.
Nothing but Destruction!: I got this when I found Yona’s Red Eye event, but it may trigger for the others as well.
A Hero No More: For this it’s necessary to specifically go into your inventory, select the Ultima and Wildfire Armor items, and discard them. Discarding them to pick up another item because your inventory is full won’t count.
Monster Slayer: You can check your progress in the Enemies tab of the Angel Menu’s Gallery. Enemies you’ve already defeated will have a coloured symbol of a sword, while the ones you still need to fight will have the symbol greyed out. Enemies that don’t have a symbol at all aren’t necessary for the achievement. The last three enemies are still question marks for me even after getting the achievement.
Angler's Paradise: If you start a new playthrough, get the the Angling Rod from the King, and fish for the entire week, you will get this achievement reliably. I believe it is specifically tied to a funeral scene that is shown if you haven't completed any quests and spent a certain amount of time angling.

Item Collector: This achievement honestly deserves it’s own section, but I’ll do my best do point out all the rare items.
Saintly Soul: Refer to the Red Eye event
Demon Sword: Can drop after defeating Vivi and from Salamander enemies.
Tempest: Can appear in the Sylvan Village’s weapon shop after it expands its inventory. I’m not sure of the condition but it’s probably completing Liu’s quest during that playthrough.
Samurai Blade: Found in the gargoyle statue on the right side of the Cellar – East area in the Demon Lord’s Castle.
Blaze Bow: Can drop after defeating Vivi and from Salamander enemies.
Queen’s Whip: Can drop from Belladonna enemies.
Tongue of Babel: Can drop from Sphagnus enemies.
Terra Armor: Will drop from one of the Bloodsucker Brothers after he runs away from the fight, so you need to defeat both of them separately.
Mithril Armor: Can drop after defeating Vivi and from the Cocytus enemy.
Blue Dragon Armor: Can drop from Wyrm enemies.
Kamara’s Robe: Can drop from Vespertil enemies.
Goddess’s Gown: Can drop from Shadow enemies.
Dreamer’s Armor: Can drop from Firebone enemies, maybe only in Remoyna.

A lot of items can be bought from the Antiques Dealer in Grandham. It regularly changes it’s inventory, so if you stand in front of it and take turns resting and checking the store, they should appear fairly quickly: Mana Rod, Slumber Staff, Witch’s Staff, Philosopher’s Staff, Venom Chain, Mortal Bite, Orochi, Darkmail, Robe of Acumen, Robe of Glory

Note that for the Item Collector Achievement, it is necessary for items to be in your inventory. Having them equipped won’t count, so you will have to separately obtain the party member’s default equipment.

You can also check the Items tab in the Angel Menu’s Gallery, there will be a symbol that’s either in colour if you’ve already found the item or greyed out if you haven’t. The Ultima seems to be bugged though, as the symbol is still greyed out even after getting the achievement

Conclusion

Lastly there are some things I still haven`t been able to figure out, so if you know something about them, I’d appreciate it if you left a comment:

The blue key lets you access the Watchtower in the Demon Lord’s Castle, which contains Mana Wine and some other loot, but the ritual altar there looks like there should be more to it. It seems weird for it to have its own key: The red key opens all the other doors except the green one, which has a Wind Orb behind it.

The last three entries in the Enemy Gallery are still question marks for me.

The gargoyle statue in the Demon Lord’s Castle that the Wind Orb will appear in after Guille is defeated can be determined beforehand because it says “something is out of reach” when you interact with it. But sometimes you won’t get a Wind Orb after beating Guille, and the dialogue changes to “This place appears to have been ransacked recently”. I suspect that the Wind Orb can then be found elsewhere, like appearing in Vivi’s inventory, but missed my chance to confirm this.

Princess Flora is shown to have an additional quest in the Character tab in the Angel Menu’s Gallery. This may be related to Kamara and the Red Eye event.

Zoro is also shown to have an additional quest, which I even seem to have completed at some point, but I still don’t know what it could be.

If Veranabelle’s Red Eye event is activated, does Guille still spawn in the Demon Lord’s Castle afterwards? It was my understanding that normally he spawns after the War Orphans are defeated because Veranabelle teleports away and sacrifices her soul to resurrect him, but since she already does that during the event, he might not show up.

Kamara and the hero seem to have a common past that is only hinted at, hence her antagonism towards him. Maybe a special event is triggered in the Epilogue if you activated all Red Eye events during the Main Game on one save file, elaborating on their backstory.


Shoutout to BobDDstryr for letting me know about multiple things I included in the update. If you are interested in my other sources here are some links:
https://h1g.jp/yushashisu_vita/
https://wiki.denfaminicogamer.jp/yushashisu/
https://goblin3ds.diarynote.jp/201707231546056249/

I hope you found this guide helpful. Please also point out any mistakes you found or any additional information you might have. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.

I'd also like to recommend vhayste's guide on neoseeker, which he has put a lot of work into, including screenshots to make everything more understandable.
https://www.neoseeker.com/hero-must-die-again/walkthrough

[刘俊亨JunhengLiu]

"Princess Flora is shown to have an additional quest in the Character tab in the Angel Menu’s Gallery. This may be related to Kamara and the Red Eye event."

Princess Flora additional quest is Flora would ask you to train Yona as successor.You only need to accept this quest for completing it

[刘俊亨JunhengLiu]

I am very interesting in the past story between Kamara and Hero， but I can't find any information ,if someone know please @ me

[刘俊亨JunhengLiu]

The last three in my gallery enemy list are： Red-eyed Sarah, ？？？？ Red-eyed Liu.
？？？？is sorted betweem N and M，so that should be Red-eyed Naomi

[Morten]

Sorry for the late reply. That makes a lot of sense actually. Thanks a lot!

[MunHonC]

Not sure if this thread is still active...
Started playing 1 week ago on PS4.
I got Princess Flora secondary quest completed. Never checked the journal until my 4th playthrough. By that time I checked, the princess secondary quest is already completed.
If I remember correctly, first playthrough I got zero mission complete. Second playthrough, I chose to marry princess for a jade pillar. Then when talk to her again after a few days was asked to leave an offspring. In early 3rd playthrough accept her request to train Yona.
Should be along that line completed her secondary quest.

[Ranadiel]

Regarding your comment in the guide, yes he did drop an Earth Orb.

[Morten]

Fascinating. Thank you for letting me know about this, I'm adding it to the guide.

[Ranadiel]

Hey, so I am using your guide while playing on PS4, and I think I might have accidentally discovered an unlisted Red Eyes event. So after I fought Zoro a third time, I said yes to recruiting him and then exited out of the recruitment menu because I was content with my current party. He then proceeded to comment about how the red eyed witch had told him a way to kill both of us. And he transformed into Guille. I'm guessing the trigger is not recruiting him after beating him three times, but since it doesn't give Saintly Soul, the only importance of it is decreasing the odds of the ones that do give Saintly Soul.

[ladynadiad]

Finally got it after like 5 more tries. I had tried only with Naomi since there is a monster that spawns with the Abyssians for that event that is required for Monster Slayer (which also finally popped). I'd tried both what you gave, completing with the cascade, not completing it, and completing and not having her join. Definitely should be said that completion by killing the bloodsucker brother is needed for hers and if it triggers she'll be missing right as you return, so leaving and coming back doesn't have a potential of triggering it (which I also tried).

Thankfully I had good luck with the Red Eye event, got that one on my first non-prologue run on a new save with Yona so I got my Saintly Soul too. Only two more items to farm from monsters and I'm done.

[Morten]

Could you elaborate on which heroines you've tried to trigger the event for and to what degree you completed their quests?

It always triggered for me on a saves' first playthrough, but that doesn't necessarily mean there is a 100% chance. But since it did still consistently happen to me on all 4 of them, it should at least mean that there is an increased chance for the event to trigger on a first playthrough.

According to a wiki a good way to try and trigger the event is to:
1. Start a new save
2. Go to the Abyssian Mine
3. Save the Game
4. Accept Naomi's Quest
5. Defeat the Bloodsucker Brother
6. Check if Naomi is still in the Abyssian VIllage
7. If she is, reload the game and repeat from step 4. If she isn't, the event triggered

Good luck :)