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Every single decision you make in The Quarry will have some effect on later events. It could be something as small as a changed line of dialogue, or there could be a single decision that seals a character's fate. The game tracks the most important decisions through fifteen Paths, which can be viewed from the pause menu.
Despite their perceived importance, not every Path has a major impact on the game's outcome. Even decisions that affect a Path might not actually change anything. Here is our breakdown of every Path and the decisions that matter on each.
This guide contains major spoilers for The Quarry. We recommend completing at least one playthrough on your own before using this guide.
Laura And Max
Assuming that Laura and Max both survive to the end of the game, the first Path affects whether their relationship survives as well. Laura has plenty of chances to be either understanding or harsh with Max during the Prologue and Chapter Seven, but the biggest factor is whether Laura tries to help Max after he's bitten in the Prologue. If your girlfriend leaves you to die in the jaws of a werewolf, it's probably time to move on.
Above The Law
This Path spans almost the entire game, and ultimately determines whether Laura and Travis can put aside their enmity and work together to end the werewolf curse.
Like Laura's relationship with Max, all of her interactions with Travis come down to a single key moment. When Laura is exploring the police station in Chapter Seven, she has an opportunity to find a syringe and hide it in her cell. If you don't find the syringe or fail to hide it from Travis, she'll be forced to shoot Travis during her escape.
If Laura shoots Travis, he will kill her when she transforms into a werewolf in Chapter Nine, even if she turns back before he can strike the killing blow.
If Laura successfully uses the syringe to incapacitate Travis, he will only kill her if Ryan fails to kill Chris, preventing Laura from becoming human again. Travis will even spare Laura if she killed Constance and Jedediah.
Keepsakes
This Path is entirely optional and very easy to miss. When you first start to play as Jacob in Chapter One, look around near the van to find a bracelet belonging to Emma. The Keepsakes path tracks the location of the bracelet throughout the game. It's a nice through-line but has little to no impact on the story.
A Fool's Errand
When Jacob decides to sabotage the van in Chapter One, you have the choice to either break the fuel line or steal the rotor arm. Cutting the fuel line causes a fire that renders the van permanently damaged, so stealing the rotor arm is the far better choice.
Additionally, stealing the rotor arm is the only way to find the Bloated Corpse, Chapter Three's piece of Evidence. It is possible for Jacob to drown while attempting to recover the part, so be careful with your choices during that scene.
Down The Rabbit Hole
In Chapter One, Abigail has the option to help Emma break into Cabin Ten. Doing so gives Abigail, Nick, and Kaitlyn a hiding place during Chapter Five, but more immediately it allows Abigail to find a toy rabbit left by one of the campers.
If Abigail keeps the rabbit, she will eventually lose it when she leaves her bag in the lodge kitchen by accident. At the very end of the game, during Kaitlyn's battle with a werewolf in the lodge, it's possible to get cornered in the kitchen.
If Abigail left her bag and the toy rabbit there, Kaitlyn can use the rabbit to distract the werewolf, potentially locking it in the freezer.
Playing With Fire
As Emma and Jacob are leaving the General Store in Chapter Two, Emma can use the combination from the sticky note in the locked storage room to open the safe under the register. Doing so gives her a choice to take or leave the firecrackers she finds inside.
If Emma takes the firecrackers, she can retrieve them near the fire pit in Chapter Six. Doing so gives her an extra weapon against the hunters and the werewolf she encounters in the woods later, potentially saving her from a bite.
If Emma is bitten by a werewolf, she may kill Abigail or Dylan when she transforms.
Watch Your Step
While Dylan and Ryan are waiting for their phones to charge, inspect the trapdoor behind Chris's desk. Dylan's decision of whether to go down the ladder affects the Watch Your Step Path.
This Path is actually a red herring. If Dylan climbs down the ladder he will loosen a rung, which breaks if Abigail tries to climb the ladder later. However, the breaking ladder is just a scary moment and Abigail manages to catch herself without falling.
This Path exists solely to make first-time players sweat about the consequences of a meaningless decision for the entirety of the game.
Pieces Of Silver
This Path tracks Abigail's storyline from the moment Nick is attacked by a werewolf. Like Laura and Max, Abigail's relationship with Nick changes based on her actions. Helping Nick makes him appreciative later in the lodge, but as his werewolf curse takes hold he becomes more aggressive and lashes out at Abigail throughout the following chapters.
The culmination of this path is in Chapter Six, when Nick is about to transform and Abigail has to choose whether to shoot him. Shooting Nick causes him to flee after becoming a werewolf, while missing him or refusing to shoot results in Abigail's death.
If Nick kills Abigail after becoming a werewolf, you'll unlock the Lovers' Quarrel Achievement / Trophy. If Abigail survives, she will eventually find some silver shotgun shells left by Bobby in the storm shelter. She can give these to Kaitlyn in Chapter Ten, giving her a weapon capable of killing the werewolf in the lodge.
Finders Keepers
When Ryan goes to save Nick after the first werewolf attack, you'll have several choices to stick to the path or take a shortcut. The shortcuts require succeeding at more quick-time events, but executing them flawlessly earns the Nick Of Time Achievement / Trophy.
When Ryan arrives, you'll have a chance to shoot at Bobby while he's dragging Nick away. Driving Bobby off causes him to drop a vial of werewolf blood.
If Ryan and Laura both survive long enough to hunt Silas at the end of Chapter Ten, You'll have a choice of whose scent to mask with the werewolf blood. If Laura doesn't shoot Silas, then both Travis and whichever character is not blooded will die before Silas runs off into the woods.
Distraction
When Jacob is caught in a snare in Chapter Three, he'll have an opportunity to escape by throwing dirt at Bobby after the hulking hunter cuts him down. Not taking this opportunity results in Bobby pouring werewolf blood over Jacob's face to protect him.
If Jacob has the scent of werewolf blood on him, he'll be afforded more mistakes when fleeing the werewolf in Chapter Six. It's not a guarantee of survival, but it makes the sequence easier to manage.
Helping Hand
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When Dylan and Ryan are in the radio hut in Chapter Five, they'll use the PA system to warm Kaitlyn and the others about a nearby werewolf. If Cabin 10 is unlocked (because Abigail and Emma broke into it earlier), then the werewolf will not pursue the other counselors and stay focused on Dylan and Ryan.
In this scenario, Dylan will be bitten on the wrist when the werewolf partially breaks through the roof. He will ask Ryan to cut off his hand to prevent the infection from spreading. Using the shotgun doesn't do a clean enough job to prevent the curse from taking hold, so Ryan must use the chainsaw to prevent Dylan from becoming a werewolf.
Cutting off Dylan's hand prompts several dialogue options throughout the rest of the game, but otherwise doesn't impact his ability to survive.
Teambuilding
This Path begins in Chapter Eight, and determines who goes where from Kaitlyn's group. If Kaitlyn is understanding but firm with Dylan, he will accompany her to the scrapyard (assuming he hasn't been killed or transformed by this point, of course). His presence makes it much more likely that Kaitlyn will survive. If Kaitlyn doesn't make it back to the lodge, Dylan will be on his own against Caleb when the werewolf attacks, and will likely also be killed.
Love's Labours Lost
Assuming Jacob survives long enough to be captured by the Hacketts, his story continues when he's discovered in the basement. If you're able to successfully free him, or if Laura shoots and kills werewolf Nick in the next cage over, Jacob can make his escape back into the woods.
This path can trigger a special scene if Emma becomes a werewolf, bitten either by Max in Chapter Four or Nick in Chapter Six. As long as her curse is lifted, she'll find Jacob in the woods after he escapes Hackett House.
Turning Emma back into a human requires different steps based on which werewolf bit her. If she's bitten by Max in Chapter Four, Ryan must kill Chris to end Emma's curse since killing him will cure Max and, by extension, Emma. If Nick bit Emma in Chapter Six, she'll be restored if Laura shoots Nick in his cage in Chapter Eight.
When Jacob and Emma reunite in the woods, choosing to be honest with Emma about Jacob's sabotage of the van will unlock the Nobody's Fool Achievement / Trophy.
A Pound Of Flesh
When Laura and Ryan are captured by the Hacketts, Bobby stabs Ryan in the side before pursuing Laura. Ryan has the opportunity to pull the knife out, or to leave it in. In both cases Ryan suffers from severe blood loss.
The actual amount blood Ryan loses doesn't impact the story. Instead, removing or leaving the knife affects Ryan's attempts to escape from Bobby in Chapter Nine. If Ryan leaves the knife in, he will have to succeed at more quick-time events during the chase sequence to avoid crying out in pain and alerting Bobby to his location. However, if you succeed at the more challenging escape sequence, you'll be able to use the knife to stab Bobby when Ryan is eventually cornered.
If Bobby is stabbed, he won't be able to successfully fight off Chris when the werewolf breaks free at the end of the Chapter and will be killed with the rest of the Hacketts. If Ryan doesn't stab Bobby, the big guy will be knocked unconscious during the fight with Chris but live to tell the tale.
After Bobby leaves Ryan, either chased off by Laura or because he was stabbed, Laura will offer to bite Ryan. Accepting the bite allows Ryan to regenerate, saving his life. If Ryan doesn't allow himself to be bitten, he bleeds to death shortly after shooting Chris.
The White Whale
If Laura used the syringe to escape from Travis' jail cell, the two will come to an uneasy truce after Chris is killed. They work together to hunt Silas Vorez, the White Wolf. Killing Silas will end the curse on anyone he's ever bitten.
The final sequence in the game includes several input challenges, first when Silas attacks the car the group is driving and then when the group tracks him to his lair.
If Laura shoots Silas in his lair, all characters present will survive, but Eliza will be furious and continue to haunt the woods. If Laura hesitates, Silas will kill Travis and any character not protected by werewolf blood.