The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Unlock the Greifberg Castle Side Entrance

Greifberg Castle has a second way in, and it is the one most players end up using. The side gate sits on a cliffside path away from the main approach, and it can be opened without ever touching Brencis’s front door. It also does something the rest of the map does not: it starts the ending.

Quick answer: Travel to Racovita’s Bandit Camp on the eastern edge of the map, kill the miniboss Gheorghe, The Rabid Duke, and loot the Side Gate Key to Greifberg Castle from the camp. Then take the path northwest of the Vedera Shallows Shrine, up the cliff southeast of the castle, and use the key on the gate.

Where the Greifberg Castle side entrance is located

The gate is at the top of a short climb, northwest of the Vedera Shallows Shrine, on a cliffside path that runs up the mountain southeast of the castle itself. Fast travel to the shrine and follow the trail upward rather than trying to approach from the main road below.

The world map open with Coen's current position marker near Svartrau City and surrounding quest icons — Opening the map to line up the route toward the castle’s side gate. Image: Rebel Wolves

Unlike the wall-climbing route, the side gate works in daylight and at night. You do not need to wait for a specific time segment to use it.

The three ways into the castle, compared

Route	What it needs	Time of day
Side Gate Key	Defeat Gheorghe, The Rabid Duke, at Racovita’s Bandit Camp and loot the key	Day or night
Father Florin	Complete In the Name of the Father and agree to work with his resistance	Day or night
Outer wall	Planeshift plus Shadowstep to cross the castle wall	Night only

Note: the wall crossing does not use the side gate at all. It drops you inside through a cutscene, and it is the fallback if Florin is dead and you would rather skip the bandit camp.

Get the Side Gate Key to Greifberg Castle

Open the map and set a marker on Racovita’s Bandit Camp, out on the eastern edge of the region past Svartrau City. Nothing gates this location, so you can go there at any point after the prologue.

Coen travelling toward a marked objective with the quest tracker visible in the corner — Tracking the route east across the map toward the bandit camp. Image: Rebel Wolves

Clear the camp and kill Gheorghe, The Rabid Duke. He is a miniboss with regular bandits backing him up, so night combat with claws makes the fight considerably shorter.

Coen crouching along a path toward a lit campfire in the bandit camp — Approaching Racovita’s Bandit Camp before the fight with Gheorghe. Image: Rebel Wolves

Loot the body and sweep the camp. The pickup you need is the Side Gate Key to Greifberg Castle. The camp also holds odds and ends like the Letter of Protection, Golden Earrings, Master Yilmaz’s Armour and a Counterattack Manual, none of which are required for the gate.

Check the journal. Picking up the key adds the optional objective “Use the side entrance to get into Greifberg Castle” under the quest A Lone Wolf’s Hunt. If that objective is not there, you have not actually looted the key yet.

Open the gate with Father Florin instead

Florin’s resistance can hand you the way in without the miniboss fight, but only while he is still alive. If you have already killed him, that route is gone for the save and you need the key or the wall.

Speak with Father Florin at the church and use the confession interaction. That conversation opens up the quest In the Name of the Father.

Head to the West Gate of Svartrau City and find the Curious House directly north of it. The way in is the balcony, not the ground floor, so climb up and enter from above.

Drop down through the underground ruins beneath the house until you reach Florin and the rest of the resistance.

Choose “Alright, let’s work together” when Florin makes his offer. He then explains how to get through the side door. Turning him down at first is not fatal, since you can come back later and accept as long as he lives.

Climb the mountain path and use the gate

Travel to the Vedera Shallows Shrine and follow the trail up the mountain to the northwest. Wolf form makes the climb much faster than running it on foot.

Coen moving along a narrow cliff path at night with a sprint prompt on screen — The cliffside path that leads up to the side gate. Image: Rebel Wolves

Keep going until the on-screen warning appears reading “BE WARNED! You’re nearing the point of no return in your story.” That message is your last clean exit. Back off here if you are not ready.

Interact with the gate. Coen confirms the key fits, unlocks the door, and walks into the courtyard. Castle guards turn hostile immediately, so open with a full-strength stance rather than looting.

How to tell it worked, and why the gate might not open

Success has two clear signals. Before you reach the gate, A Lone Wolf’s Hunt appears in the journal with the side entrance objective attached. At the gate itself, the point-of-no-return warning fires, then Coen unlocks the door and the courtyard fight starts. If neither happens, one of these is the reason:

You cleared the bandit camp but never looted the Side Gate Key to Greifberg Castle from the camp.
You spoke to Father Florin but declined his offer, so the working relationship was never established.
Florin is dead, which permanently removes his route for that save.
You are attempting the wall crossing during the day, when Planeshift and Shadowstep are not available.

Make a manual save before you go through

Walking through the side gate begins the ending sequence. This is not an optional dungeon you can poke around in and leave, and Coen’s own line before the door makes that plain.

It fits… The moment I walk through this door, all Hell will let loose…

Wrap up anything you still care about first. Lacra’s and Crake’s questlines are the big ones, since they are the requirement for two of the four full endings, and the side gate route on its own leads to the solo confrontation. Park a manual save on a separate slot right before you touch the gate, and you can reload it to try the other outcomes without replaying the run.