I got stuck a lot whilst playing Bastard Bonds, and wished there had been a simple walkthrough for key points of progression. This is that guide.

For a much more comprehensive guide for individual areas, mechanics, party members and achievements use this PDF[files.catbox.moe].

Securing Cliffside Path is the only way to open up the eastern half of the map.

To do this you need at least one rope (purchase from a merchant at your stronghold) as well as a party member that can complete a Thwart challenge. Cliffside Path appears linear, but it has several hidden areas that you need to clear to secure it. If you get stuck: mouse-over and interact with everything.

There are at least a couple of routes that you can take to proceed further east.

You can take the northern route to the Chasm and pay a statue 12,000 GP to create a golden bridge, securing the area and making the next accessible.

You can take the southern route, Westgate, after obtaining Frico's Key. You can get this either by paying Frico 10,000 GP, or killing him. Frico is found in Frico's Castle. He is not a significant spike in difficulty, so if you're steamrolling every combat encounter, killing him won't be too difficult.

From Cavern Crossroads proceed roughly south-east from Blackglass Sprawl to Greenback Bay. Of the two routes: Cliffside Hamlet and then south-east to Wide Cavern is the shorter. Klarthus is long and annoying.

Rosewood Bridge (marked on the map) will not secure until you complete the following steps

• Inspect the bed in the building
  
• Complete the Thwart challenge on the chest across from the bed
  
• Defeat the two Trolls that appear after completing the last step

You can now complete your initial objective, visiting the Greenback Bay Shipyard. Head to the extreme right and speak to the Traitor on the dock. This is Logus, who will lead you to a ship once you have a band of at least 20. After speaking to him with a band of 20 or more he'll direct you to Forfshire Overwatch (north-west of Greenback Bay)


Your escape attempt fails and you alone are now in Dank Grotto. If you're reading ahead: bring a source of light like a Torch or a Gold Mask, it will make this section much more bearable. The exit from the looping maze area is the southern-most one.

Having failed to escape the island on the boat: proceed to Queen's Abbey.

Stand on the unique circular design and you will be prompted to recite the four-verse poem from the Dank Grotto. The correct answers are:

• “in sunken”
  
• “is he”
  
• “dry”
  
• “the brine"

You can now access and the basement and read the queen's diary. If you still have delusional dreams of completing the game without additional help, but would like a hint: pay attention to the names in the diary.

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Head on to Spartill Lodge and read the diary in the southern room. (I'm not convinced this is necessary, but the all-knowing PDF seems to think it is, and it hasn't been wrong so far).

At this point you can now complete an optional step for a slightly different ending. This only gives you a new option at the end of the game, rather than locking you out of the default one.

Assuming you've been collecting the obsidian dropped by demons you can assemble them into a figure with the help of the Blacksmith at your stronghold.

Head to the Coastal Tower (right arrow) and speak to the Savage on the third floor, twice.

Now armed with the figure and the Savage's information head to Fastad's Archive. Place the figure on the altar in the large room, make sure only the "Por" and "Tas" crystals are glowing. Complete the Weave challenge.

This is a long, tedious level. But it's surprisingly linear. Destroy a cyst and pick up one Zias Humor. Secure Zias to unlock Zias Tract.

If you managed to complete Zias without picking up any of humors, you can purchase one from the Shady Merchant in the centre of town for 15,000 GP.

With the Zias Humor in your inventory, interact with the dark statue. This secures the area, unlocking the corresponding area on Whetners.

Pick the red flowers in the center of the graveyard. Place one on the tombs for:

• Mother Veda
  
• Windyssa
  
• only worms remember me

This unlocks the building to the north. If you screw up, the puzzle resets.

This is the final area of the game. Once you enter it, you can't leave. You can of course reload a save.

The final boss has a special attack that will 1HKO any party member without an accessory with Lifeguard. AKA a bond item. This attack is used randomly though, so with some luck this isn't necessary.

Hitting the final boss requires a weapon with at least a Reach of 1 (Whip, Bow, Spear, Pick), or magic.

This map doesn't have every single area visible, and a few locations aren't labelled, but hopefully it's good enough for most people. Tracts and the starting area are intentionally unmarked.

Some links can only be unlocked later in the game, once you come from the opposite direction, e.g. Tangled Trail and Western Sewer Access.


If someone else has made a labelled map, I sure couldn't find the damn thing.