Common Beginner Mistakes and FAQ#
This page is the compilation of high-frequency questions from across the Back to the Dawn guide: the key conclusions scattered through the individual system pages, gathered into question-and-answer form, each answer with an entry point for deeper reading. Spend five minutes on it before you go into prison and you will skip most of the detours of the beginner phase.
The Five Most Common Opening Mistakes#
First, the five mistakes with the highest error rate — they are the main cause of beginner-phase disasters:
| Mistake | Why it is wrong | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Treating the 21 days as unlimited | The countdown is this game’s skeleton, not atmosphere | Plan in three phases from day one |
| Picking a gang side immediately | Taking a side means making enemies and shrinking your room to maneuver | Stay neutral through the observation period |
| Picking up everything and crafting nothing | Inventory bloats while the route stays unprepared | Build a checklist oriented to your chosen route |
| Skipping dialogue to rush progress | Intelligence dries up and the chain of evidence inevitably jams | Treat every conversation as an interview |
| Ignoring the schedule and forcing your way into restricted areas | Rule-violation penalties burn precious days | Memorize the schedule first, then talk about exploring |
The full treatment of these five is in Getting Started and Opening Strategy and Common Failure Causes and Survival Tips.
Protagonist and Opening#
Q: For a first playthrough, Thomas or Bob? Thomas (the fox reporter) is recommended. His strengths in intelligence gathering and social interaction fit the core narrative framework of this game — gather evidence and break out to clear your name within 21 days — and social-facing gameplay has a higher margin for error. Bob (the panther undercover cop) is built around combat and stealth with his own independent story route, and suits a second playthrough when you want a change of flavor. See In-Depth Guide to the Two Protagonists.
Q: Can I switch between the two main storylines partway through? No. The two protagonists are mutually independent story routes, and the choice locks in once made. That is also why “who to pick on the first playthrough” deserves real thought.
Q: If I put attribute points in the wrong place, is the save ruined? No. The four attributes (Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Charisma) correspond to the four conflict solutions — if Strength is short you can talk, and if talking fails you can hide (see Conflict Response and Risk Control). There is no “ruined build,” only “a solution you have not found your footing with yet.”
Time and Schedule#
Q: Are 21 days really enough? Yes, but only with management. Reviews confirm that time pressure is one of the points where this game is unfriendly to some players, but the overall verdict on reputation and gameplay design is positive — treat it as part of the design rather than a defect. For the three-phase reverse schedule, see Time Management and Scheduling.
Q: How risky are night actions? You can act secretly at night, but violations carry a cost, and the specific forms and severity are as shown in game. Strategically, hold to one line: stay compliant in daylight, compress risk into the necessary window, and leave no exposed surface before the execution night (see Common Failure Causes and Survival Tips).
Q: What should I do first each day? Main story first, merge errands along the way, leave slack. Start each day by confirming “what is today’s main-story objective,” then budget the rest with your action points (see Quest System and Side Events).
Gangs and Relationships#
Q: Should I join a gang? Do not join during the observation period; cooperate selectively in the mid-game. The three major gangs check one another (the Bigfoot Gang and the Black Claw Gang are confirmed by multiple sources), and the gains of taking a side come bundled with the cost of making enemies. For the full decision framework, see Relationships and Affinity System.
Q: What is the third gang called? Available public material reliably confirms only the Bigfoot Gang and the Black Claw Gang; there is no reliable source for the third gang’s name, so this site does not name it — just read it as “a third balancing force,” which does not affect any guide decision.
Q: What do I do if a gang targets me? Three steps: assess what the other side wants, approach its rival to find a counterbalance, and use favors and quests to trade for a thaw. Brute resistance is the worst option; see Conflict Response and Risk Control.
Escape and Endings#
Q: When is the best time to escape? That is not purely a timing question, it is an ending-direction question: escaping before the main quest (obtaining the Mayor’s recording) is complete leads to a “Hermit”-style ending, while escaping after it is complete leads to the Broadcast Hall line (after defeating the Werewolf twin bosses, choose freely between “Justice” and “The Emperor”). For the compiled trigger conditions, see All Ending Conditions and Routes.
Q: What happens if the escape fails? Failure is information, not an ending. The multiple endings and open quest paths encourage iteration; the three review questions (which link broke, why it was not noticed, switch lines or shore up the weak point) are in Escape Route Planning Overview.
Q: Which escape route should I pick? The officially stated main chain (Laundry room → Infirmary → Sewer → Parking lot) has the fullest information, while rooftop, waterway and riot are wiki-recorded alternatives. There is no reliable difficulty comparison between routes, so choose by your protagonist’s strengths and your resources — see Prison Area Map and Facilities Overview.
Q: What are all the achievements? Only four tarot-themed achievements are verified (“Wheel of Fortune,” “The Fool,” “The High Priestess” and “The Hierophant”), all necessarily completed on the main story. The full achievement list has not been disclosed officially, so this site does not invent one — see Achievement System and Unlock Conditions.
Platforms and Purchasing#
Q: Should I buy the PC version or the console version? The PC version has the most complete content and the longest update history; the PS5 version (released October 22, 2026) adds Chinese and Japanese voice acting and multi-language subtitles, priced at NT$1,100 (digital) to NT$1,150 (physical) on Taiwan pricing. Pick the console version if you care about voice acting and a living-room experience, and the PC version for value. See PC Settings and Optimization and PS5 Console Experience and Differences.
Q: Is there a free demo? The Singapore PlayStation Store offers a free trial version whose save data carries over to the full game (a regional policy — go by the local store page).
Q: Can I play it on a handheld? Yes. Steam Deck is fully compatible (PC version), and the Nintendo Switch 2 / Switch version released on March 5, 2026. According to a single media report, the Switch 2 physical edition was cancelled while the digital edition remains on sale — that report is for reference only.
Q: Is the game good? Is it worth buying? Steam reviews are Overwhelmingly Positive (positive-rating snapshots of 92% → 93% → about 95%), the aggregated press scores are about 78—79 (OpenCritic) and about 81 (Metacritic), and reviewers generally praise the quest design, gameplay combination and story pacing. For the full analysis, see Review and Buying Advice.
Miscellaneous Systems#
Q: What currency is used in prison? The specific form of currency is as shown in game, and this site does not name it — the framework for economic decisions (four tiers of spending priority, the money-goods-favors triangle) does not depend on the currency’s name; see Money Making and the Economy System.
Q: Where can I look up crafting recipes? Go by the in-game hints and trial and error. There is no authoritative public source for a full recipe list, so this site does not invent one, and we also warn against “complete recipe tables” of unknown provenance.
Q: How many NPCs are there? About 47—48 prisoners with dedicated backstories — the two sources, 47 (press) and 48 (wiki), are listed side by side, and this site does not adjudicate the exact number. Combined with over a million words of text, this volume is the foundation of the game’s ensemble characterization.
Related Pages#
- Getting Started and Opening Strategy — the full correction plan for these mistakes
- Common Failure Causes and Survival Tips — a diagnostic chart for disasters
- Review and Buying Advice — the full version of the purchase decision