For the most part, A Plague Tale Requiem is a pretty straightforward game, guiding players on what to do, and how to do it. However, during Chapter 3 of the game, you’ll encounter a random Herbalist who is being held captive by two guards as they walk through a rat infested area. The game will task you with saving a Herbalist, though it doesn’t offer any insight as to how.

Note: If you’re worried if this is some major spoiler, worry not. The Herbalist is quite literally a throw away NPC that you encounter for a brief few seconds, meaning he plays no major role to the overall story. 

So, for those playing the game, the question here is: can you save the Herbalist in A Plague Tale Requiem?

If you fail at saving him, Lucas, the ally character who is with you will make mention that this couldn’t have been the only outcome, with the game’s objective switching to the next. Despite Lucas saying that there could have been a different outcome, the reality is, it’s the only one. The Herbalist is supposed to die as confirmed to us during our review process by Asobo Studio. No matter how hard you try to save him from the spot he is taken too, there isn’t enough light that sticks around permanently, nor does he attempt to run to a safer spot. He will always be eaten alive by the rats. 

Reason why I’m writing about this is that so, like me, you don’t spend an hour or two trying to save him. I am trying to save you time! Still, you may end up trying, and there is an exploit you can use to save him, but it has no bearing on the story and he’s non-interactable.  

To do this, all you have to do is rush towards the door him and the two soldiers come out of. You have to be quick about it, because you need to be within a certain range for your slingshot to hit the soldiers. If you are quick enough, you can attack the soldiers, and the herbalist will stop before they reach the door. The rats won’t go past this to kill him now. 

It’s a glitch mind you as you can’t go past this point and the doors are supposed to close up and lock, forcing you to take the alternative route to the left. There’s an invisible wall, though Hugo can walk past it. If you are lucky enough, you might get him to a spot just outside that wall with the fire lit nearby to protect him from the rats, but again, you can’t interact or do anything with him. Pointless in the end, but if it helps your conscious knowing you can unofficially save him, well that’s how you do it. 

Hopefully this guide has cleared up some of the few questions you may have had, and if you’re looking for more guides, be sure to check out our official A Plague Tale Requiem guide page. Well have more posted there throughout the day, so stay tuned!

If you haven’t checked the game out yet, go read our review of it right here.