How to Approach All Endings

The collected launch guides document a normal ending and a true or perfect ending, while older coverage mentions additional ending variations without a verified list of eight distinct finales. Use the normal-versus-true distinction for planning rather than an invented eight-route checklist. The true route requires the optional-story preparation that the normal finish can bypass.

Understand what the sources actually count

The collected ending comparison distinguishes a pre-release numerical claim from the concrete routes documented after launch. Some sources describe variations of the regular outcome rather than wholly separate finales. Those different meanings should not be combined into a definitive count without evidence showing each distinct result.

This wiki therefore does not give names, conditions or scenes for endings that the material fails to document. A headline about multiple endings is not enough to reconstruct every variation. The supported practical decision is whether you are completing the additional mystery route before the finale.

The normal route is the default outcome

The normal ending is described as the result of finishing the campaign without satisfying the full true-ending requirements. Side-story outcomes can affect details, but the collected evidence does not provide a fully verified branching matrix. If you want to compare those details, preserve the relevant quest notes rather than assuming they all correspond to separately named endings.

This page also avoids promising that one post-credits reload can recover every earlier choice. Some guides discuss returning near the finale, but that does not establish that all missed quest states become reversible. Treat a late-game save as a record of what you actually completed rather than a universal shortcut around the earlier requirements.

The true route adds substantial preparation

The documented chain includes the Pipa repair, the Herald's Illusion, the Acolyte Masks and the Crystal Puppet Eyes. These connect the Village of Lu, Mandate Encampment, Meigu Lake, Crimson Manor and the Mountain of Imprisonment. The final requirement is therefore more involved than selecting a different answer at the last conversation.

The collected guides describe an extra encounter after the usual final boss when the true route is satisfied. This guide leaves the narrative outcome itself unexplained to limit unnecessary finale spoilers. Use the dedicated true-ending checklist if you want the access sequence rather than the plot reveal.

Decide what your next playthrough is for

If your goal is a different ending, record the quests and choices missing from the first run. If your goal is a harder combat replay, New Game Plus and 66 Days are separate systems with their own rules. Starting one of those modes should not be mistaken for automatically unlocking a different ending without repeating the relevant story progression.

Distinguish a documented route from a rumored count

The collected guides document a normal route and a true-ending route with additional prerequisites. That supports explaining those paths, but it does not establish a complete list of eight independently verified endings. Repeating an older promotional count as eight finished walkthroughs would leave players following names and conditions that the evidence does not provide.

If you want the fuller route, use the actual quest dependencies described in the true-ending guide. Complete the available mystery threads before the estate warning, then continue the objectives that occur inside the estate. This gives you a concrete plan without pretending that every alternate choice has a confirmed separate ending label.

Keep the later story checkpoint separate

The Mirage Estate warning concerns the larger mystery and ending route, not the earlier settlement change after Bai Chilian. Published ending guides recommend completing the available purple story quests before entering the estate. If the game warns about unfinished business, review the journal before continuing rather than assuming that the ability to fast travel makes the warning harmless.

The important connected threads include the Illusory Pipa, the Herald's Illusion and Secrets at the Heart of the Lake. These lead through optional regions, the Acolyte Masks and the Crystal Puppet Eyes, so progress can be blocked by a missing prerequisite somewhere else. A quest being marked optional means the main story can continue without it; it does not mean the quest is irrelevant to the ending you want.

Some objectives continue inside the estate, including later steps involving Long Pillars and Quick Hand Zhang. The practical rule is to finish every currently available prerequisite, then continue those ongoing objectives when the next area makes them accessible. Avoid turning a guide's shorthand about finishing everything first into an impossible demand to collect an item located beyond the checkpoint itself.

Understand the Pipa route that links the regions

Myst repairs the Illusory Pipa at her tavern in Pangzhen after you recover its Head, Backplate and Strings. The parts come from Dusk in the Village of Lu, Yubi in the Mandate Encampment and Yan Qiansui at Meigu Lake. Finding the broken instrument starts a longer journey; it does not mean all three repair pieces are available beside its starting location.

The restored instrument has an exploration role as well as a combat role. It clears the relevant mist and wind barriers, including the route toward the Mountain of Imprisonment, where several other quests continue. This makes the Pipa a useful way to understand why a journal objective can remain unresolved while you progress elsewhere.

Treat each newly opened area as a reason to recheck your existing quests. The mountain connects to the Herald's Illusion, Cui's family search and the wider mysteries around the lake, while the Mandate Training Grounds contribute both a Pipa part and another portal interaction. Following those dependencies saves more travel than searching every region again without a specific missing item in mind.

Check the early quest deadline

Defeating Bai Chilian changes the early settlements and prevents further friendly interactions with affected NPCs in the Outpost and Thieves' Camp. This is why early errands should be resolved before finishing that part of the Crimson Forest story. Returning to the map afterward does not restore the earlier version of those conversations.

Yu'er's tasks are particularly easy to postpone because their ingredients and patients are spread across optional paths. Finish the work you can complete in Weeping Creek Valley and the Crimson Forest, and return to collect the rewards before crossing the story threshold. Quick Hand Zhang's rescue and the letter delivery for Honor Among Thieves belong on the same practical review of local business.

This deadline does not mean that every collectible in both regions disappears. Tools obtained later deliberately reopen routes in earlier areas, and some rewards remain available through backtracking. Separate a missed NPC interaction from a locked exploration passage so you know whether to complete a quest now or simply record a place to revisit.