The relationships you form The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes can determine what ending you get and who you can save from the events of the story. Keeping everyone alive can be quite difficult with all the quick events and important choices you need to make, and several significant events can lead to a character’s death.
***Warning: This article contains spoilers from the end of House of Ashes***
Throughout the game, you will control up to 5 characters, each with complex relationships that can evolve based on your choices. When trapped in a Sumerian temple, they must work together to survive the dangers inside. Special premonitions in House of Ashes can give you clues to avoid dangerous choices or situations, but they can be difficult to decipher.
How to save everyone (steps 1–5)
Form strong connections between characters
To get the best ending in House of AshesYou need strengthen relationships between characters at every opportunity during your playthrough. The first steps you should take should be to establish positive connections between characters rather than adversity. For example, choose gentle, honest, or hopeful dialogue options at the beginning will help you foster strong bonds and unlock new choices later in the story.
Without a proper guide, saving everyone can be nearly impossible, even if you have a general idea of ​​the best choices. For this reason, it is recommended that you follow the steps below to have a better chance of rescuing each character:
|
Step |
Correct choice(s) |
|---|---|
|
Air Support |
At the beginning of the story, Eric should call in air support, as Jason suggests, to increase security. Doing so can help kill the creatures near the end of the story and protect the survivors. |
|
The farmer |
Don’t shoot the farmer as Jason when the facility is overrun. This prevents Salim from shooting Jason later and allows them to help each other. House of Ashes through a stronger bond. |
|
Merwin |
Merwin is a non-playable character that you need keep alive throughout history. Fail Nick’s quick event when Jason is giving Merwin morphine and take the safe route when escaping the monsters so this character can survive and call in air support later. |
|
The rope |
When Dar is chasing Rachel and Eric, choose to let Rachel fall while holding the rope. Eric holding on will cause both characters to fall and Eric to die, while letting Rachel go will allow her to survive the fall and move on. |
|
Salim QTE |
While Salim is running away from the monster, complete the event in quick time. This causes Salim to learn about the creature’s weakness to sunlight, which will open up new options later on. |
There are more than 60 unique deaths in House of Ashesmaking it difficult to keep everyone alive, although the game shows some leniency with failed quick-time events that have little impact.
How to save everyone (steps 6–10)
Be supportive, not combative
As you can see in the video above from the YouTube creator 100% GuidesThe next steps you must take to save everyone are determined by how you dictate character interactions. Despite the story’s dire situation, you can form supportive relationships that open up new choices if you remain calm.
The process behaves similar to how you keep everyone alive in A little hope and other games THE Anthology of Black Images. From this point, the next steps you need to take as the story continues into the next arc are outlined below:
|
Step |
Correct choice(s) |
|---|---|
|
Medical Kit |
Nick will hear Joey crying at one point, but you need to send Jason to watch Merwin and bring Eric to look for Joey. While you’re looking for Joey, go down the darker path on your left to find the med kit. This item allows him to heal Salim before entering the vault, allowing him to save Nick later. |
|
Nick and Salim |
Strengthen the bond between Nick and Salim by choosing supportive dialogue options when Salim is explaining information about the monster to Nick. |
|
Sneak past the monster |
Succeed in many quick events while sneaking past the monster later in the story. |
|
Clarisse |
When Clarice meets Rachel, support her emotionally as she explains that the creatures implanted a parasite inside her. Despite her impending transformation, have Rachel tell Clarice that she doesn’t look good. Rachel must abandon Clarice so she doesn’t kill Eric, but you need to succeed in a QTE event to save Rachel and Eric when Clarice appears as a monster. |
|
The bet |
When Nick and Jason enter the chamber from the prologue, have Jason take a stake from a body to the right of the area’s entrance. This allows him to defend himself against Joey. |
As long as you have followed each step up to this point, it would be best if you were on the right path to saving everyone. However, the last section of decisions is the most vitalSo just because you’ve done everything right so far doesn’t mean you can relax and hope for the best. Most importantly, a final, brutal QTE event in the last section for each character can reverse all of your hard work up to that point.
How to Save All (Final Steps)
Make your last choices count, it all comes down to this
Like many games in Anthology of Black ImagesThe culmination of your choices will come down to the last hour or two of the story, where chaos erupts in a desperate final sequence. House of Ashes takes this to the extreme, forcing you into scenarios where you have to act fast to get the best results. Be patient and ready for anything as you perform these last steps:
|
Step |
Correct choice(s) |
|---|---|
|
Machine gun |
Rachel needs stay back and shoot the machine gun when the opportunity arises. A successful QTE will give the team time to escape while they remember the location of the mines in the catacombs. |
|
Crucifix |
When Kurum approaches Nick in the heist, you must choose take the crucifix, not the riflewhen facing him. |
|
Salim’s shot |
Salim has the chance during the Attack to shoot the monster coming behind him or the one attacking Rachel. Keep Rachel alive by shooting the creature that attacks her. |
|
Saving Eric |
When playing as Rachel, choose save Eric instead of retreating during the robbery to rescue him. |
|
White phosphorus |
As Rachel raises her knife to cut the white phosphorus, choose to wait for the QTE and do nothing instead. This act of desperation has incalculable consequences, so it’s best to just wait. |
|
Returning to Salim |
While playing as Jason, return to Salim as he radios for help. Both can survive if you succeed in a QTE during the rescue attempt, but Salim will die if you don’t go back for him. |
|
The final position |
During the last mission, you must succeed during a QTE for each playable character. Failing any of them will result in the character’s death, so pass all tests, otherwise all your hard work up to this point will be for nothing. |
Completing each sequence correctly during The Final Stand will allow everyone to live along with the events of the game. Ending the story with all characters alive unlock “The Golden Path” trophy/achievementa rare testament to the relationships you have established. Following a plan and listening to premonitions will give you the best chance of saving everyone in The Dark Picture Anthology: House of Ashes.
Source: 100% Guides/YouTube