The side quest A Friend Like This opens with an investigation instead of a conversation. There is no quest giver to talk to in Svartrau, no marker handed to you by an NPC, and no cutscene to sit through. You simply walk into the right alley, switch on Focus Mode, and start reading what is left on the ground.
Quick answer: Go to the alley at the north-east edge of Svartrau City, directly below the city walls, hold L2/LT to enter Focus Mode, and inspect every yellow-outlined object there — the damaged wall, the yellow splatter, the torn scrap of uniform, and the dropped item. The objective updates to “See where the damage leads using Focus Mode” once all of them are checked.
Where the north-east wall search area is in Svartrau
Svartrau is the largest city you will spend time in, and the search zone sits at its far north-eastern corner, tucked between the last row of buildings and the city walls. Open the map and head for the highlighted search area on that side of the city, then follow the streets until you reach the narrow alley running along the base of the wall.
You can arrive at any point in the game. The quest has no prerequisite, no fail state, and nothing needs to be unlocked first, so the alley is available as soon as the open world is.
How to complete the Focus Mode investigation
Every clue by the north-east wall
| Clue | What Coen takes from it |
|---|---|
| Damaged section of the city wall | The wall has been struck hard enough to suggest a fight took place here |
| Smashed debris on the ground | Something heavy came down from above |
| Torn piece of uniform | It carries Brencis’s colours, ripped away from a soldier |
| Dropped item | Already used, and apparently left behind in a hurry |
Something happened up on these buildings here…
That last line is the one that matters. The damage points upward, which is exactly where the trail continues.
How to confirm the objective completed
When the last clue is inspected, the tracked objective on the HUD changes to “See where the damage leads using Focus Mode”. Open the journal if you want to double-check — A Friend Like This will be listed with the new step active.
If the objective has not moved on, the cause is almost always an unread clue. Two things stop it from registering: walking through the alley without Focus Mode held down, so the outlines never appear, and standing at the wrong end of the wall where nothing is highlighted at all. Re-enter Focus Mode and sweep the alley again from one end to the other.
A Friend Like This quest details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting location | Svartrau City |
| Quest giver | None |
| Requirement | None |
| Fail state | None |
| Reward | 150 XP |
| Time cost | 3 time segments |
Because the quest is triggered by the investigation rather than by an NPC, the first objective in your journal may read as “Investigate the rogue vrakhir presence in Svartrau” instead. Inspecting the alley clears that one and the wall objective together — it is the same set of clues either way.
The immediate follow-up is close by. Just south of the wall corner there is a roof tile lying on the ground, and inspecting it resolves the next objective. From there the trail climbs onto the rooftops, which needs vrakhiri abilities and therefore needs nightfall, so if you are working through Svartrau during the day it is worth clearing the alley now and returning after dark to keep following the tracks.
