Gaoled Awakening Walkthrough: Clearing the Excavation Site in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Dragon’s Dogma 2 starts with your character coming to in a prison cell at the Excavation Site, their memories gone and hard labor awaiting in a nearly pitch-black mine. Gaoled Awakening, the first main quest, also teaches movement and combat. The route is brief, but dim tunnels and a shifting quest marker can lead you astray. Follow the full route from the cell to the waterfall, where the quest ends.

Quick answer: Follow the overseer out of the mine, carry a stone block back to Rook, dash up to fight the gorgon, then flee the canyon and press Space to jump off the cliff. The quest ends at the Ultramarine Waterfall.

A slideshow of the opening quest Gaoled Awakening in order: the Excavation Site map, the boulder task with its Ctrl + R and E prompts, Rook’s lines, the disturbance, the gorgon scene, the flight along the canyon, the jump from the cliff and the banner after leaving the site.

Before you start: controls

The prompts below are the keyboard-and-mouse controls this quest shows on screen:

F advances dialogue (Next) and hails NPCs.
E grabs and releases objects and enemies.
Shift dashes; hold Shift + W to run forward.
Space jumps.
Ctrl + R lights the lantern.
Hold Tab to skip a cutscene.

Follow the overseer out of the mine

The first task is “Heed the overseer.” Fiska, the overseer, walks ahead of you, so the yellow diamond on the minimap moves as she does and clamps to the edge when she is far away. The minimap also turns with your camera, so read its direction again after every turn.

Walk out of the dark mine through the tunnel and along the timber bridge, following the moving diamond. Ignore the prisoners and guards you pass; hailing them with F gives only chatter and never advances the quest.

A cutscene plays at the bridge. Hold Tab to skip it if you like. After a short line from Fiska, your character lands in a rocky gully below, where the pawn Rook greets you and warns you not to anger the overseer.

Use the minimap and full map to stay on the dark-rock strip in the gully. It runs between the rock walls and past the laborers, leading to the tent camp and its fire basket. Enter the tunnel in the stone arch, descend the dirt road, then climb the torch-lit stairs to the clearing. Fiska says, “Time for you to get to work!” Press F to advance through her line.

The mine path along the dirt road past guards and laborers heading toward the work camp — The dirt road past the archway, with laborers working and a lantern-carrying pawn running alongside.

Where the minimap path and the quest diamond point in different directions, follow the path, not the diamond. The diamond is tracking a moving person, not a fixed destination.

Carry a boulder back to Rook

The objective updates to “Pick up a boulder.” A green diamond crosshair marks the edge of the screen and the minimap, pointing to the pit below the large ruin wall. Beside a laborer, square-cut stone blocks lie on the pit’s slope.

Head down to the pit by following the green crosshair over the crates and wooden walkways. Keep to the walkways: the scaffolding south of the pit catches your character and triggers a “Space Jump” prompt, leading nowhere.

Darkness fills the pit. Press Ctrl + R to switch on the lantern and reveal the area around you. An item shortcut for Ctrl then appears in the HUD.

Walk up to a square-cut stone block and tap E to grab it. The task changes to “Carry the boulder back to Rook,” and a permanent “E Grab/Release” prompt stays on screen while you carry the block at your side.

Carry the block back along the pit path to Rook, who stands near the brazier, and tap E to set it down. Rook begins, “A job well done. Now, the next step is to…” Press F through Rook’s lines. No reward panel appears for this task.

Rook's dialogue line A job well done with the F Next prompt after the boulder is delivered — Rook’s “A job well done” line after you drop the stone block, with the F Next prompt to continue.

Investigate the disturbance

A short scene shows a creature on a roof above a stone arch, and Rook says, “What is this commotion? Perhaps we ought to investigate.” The banner reads “You heeded the overseer’s commands,” then “Investigate the disturbance.” A yellow diamond sits straight ahead, and a “Shift Dash” prompt appears.

Hold Shift + W to run up the slope past the fleeing laborers to the top. A cutscene starts at the quarry rim showing the gorgon, snake-bodied and snake-haired, rising among the soldiers and laborers. Hold Tab to skip it if you want.

The character running uphill after companions with the Shift Dash prompt shown on screen — Running up the slope toward the surface with the Shift Dash prompt active.

Fend off the beast

Now the task reads “Fend off the beast.” The gorgon shows a purple health bar at the top of the screen, and Rook fights beside you with a staff.

The combat HUD lists your options: Onslaught on left mouse, Empale on V, Grab on E, Defend on Ctrl and right mouse, Sheathe/Draw on X, Dash on Shift, and Jump on Space. Rook feeds you hints in sequence:

Watch your foe and attack as the situation allows.
Press E to pick up objects, then use the mouse to hurl them; boulders and barrels are effective choices.
Approach an enemy and press E to grab on and cling for targeted strikes.

Attack with Onslaught on left mouse, or follow Rook’s advice and lob nearby rocks at the gorgon.

The player attacking the snake-bodied gorgon with the Onslaught prompt during the Fend off the beast task — Attacking the gorgon with the Onslaught prompt while its purple health bar sits at the top of the screen.

The fight ends with a cutscene that starts by itself, showing the gorgon rearing above the quarry gate. Hold Tab to skip the scene, and let go as soon as it ends. The banner displays “You fended off the beast,” Rook shouts, “Come this way! Let us flee!”, and your character now has a round wooden shield on their back.

Flee the canyon and jump the cliff

The final task is “Flee for your life.” A marker sits ahead on the left, and the “Shift Dash” prompt returns.

Follow Rook with Shift + W, dashing down the long canyon past the soldiers. Rook warns that their numbers are too great and that you must get away. At the cliff edge above the sea, a ghostly figure called the Pathfinder waits in the light and says, “You must jump. That is the only path forward.”

Following Rook through the rocky canyon passage with the Shift Dash prompt after the fight — Following Rook through the canyon with the Shift Dash prompt after the gorgon is driven off.

Press Space at the edge to jump. A long cutscene follows.

Cinematic shot of the open sea lit by sunlight as the escape cutscene plays — The cinematic over the open sea during the escape from the Excavation Site.

The scene runs through several moments, including the opening title sequence with the Dragon’s Dogma logo and staff credits. Hold Tab to skip the credits. Your character then wakes on a river bank by a waterfall.

How to know the quest is done

The banner “You left the excavation site behind” appears with the place name Ultramarine Waterfall. The soldier Justinn speaks with two others and opens with, “A griffin appears one moment and falls the next… And now you stand before me.” Press F through his line.

Talking with the armored soldier Justinn at the waterfall with the F Next prompt — Justinn’s opening line at the Ultramarine Waterfall, with the F Next prompt to continue.

You will see “Completed: Gaoled Awakening,” after which the game sets Tale’s Beginning as the priority quest automatically. Its first task, “Follow Justinn,” confirms you have cleared the opening.

Where players get stuck

Two spots trip people up because the camera is close and the screen is almost black. The gully below the bridge is the worst of them, so a few pointers save a lot of wandering:

In the dark gully the quest panel reads “No Destination,” so the diamond is not a real marker. The diamond sits on climb-only rock a few meters ahead, and walking straight at it fails. Follow the strip on the minimap instead.
Pushing W into a rock face makes your character start climbing, which empties the stamina bar and stops your character. If the screen stops changing, walk back down to the path floor rather than pushing on.
If the pit is too dark to play because the screen is black, turn on the lantern with Ctrl + R.
Holding Tab past the end of a cutscene opens the Map. Press Esc to close it, then carry on.

From here, Tale’s Beginning starts with “Follow Justinn.”