Gamers who played to the end of Far Cry 5 and saw what is now known to be the canonical ending will no doubt have a lot of questions going into Far Cry New Dawn. Given that the game starts seventeen years later and casts you as a completely new character, one of the first is certain to be; “What happened to Rook?” After all, the Deputy and protagonist of Far Cry 5 was last seen captured by the Father and inside a bunker as a nuclear blast devastated Hope County. As it turns out, you can find an answer to that question in Far Cry New Dawn. However, some fans might not be overly happy with it.
Suffice to say, spoilers for the story of Far Cry New Dawn follow from here. Don’t read ahead if you want to save this reveal for your own play-through of the game!
How to Find Rook in Far Cry New Dawn
To find Rook, you first need to play through the first chapter of Far Cry New Dawn’s story. Rescue Thomas Rush from the coal mine and then defend Prosperity from the Highwaymen attack. At that point, you are given the task of seeking out Joseph Seed and his followers in New Eden, far to the north of Hope County; in order to get their help against the Twins. The journey north is a long one, but there aren’t any real obstacles; it’s just a long drive. You’ll know you’re getting close when Kim Rye warns you about the Father and the Bliss over the radio.
When you arrive at the gates of New Eden, you’ll knock, and a masked person will open a window but refuse to let you in. Turn around, and you’ll find an all-too-familiar figure waiting for you. Follow where the Father points down to a boat and then make your way out across the lake. If you played Far Cry 5, you should recognise your destination as the island where the game began following the opening sequence. Once you arrive, you’ll enter a strange, hallucinatory state. Any Guns-for-Hire you have with you will disappear, but don’t worry, you won’t need them.
Completing Joseph Seed’s Prophecy and Uncovering the Truth About Rook
There are three specific areas around the island, and you’ll find the Father waiting for you in each one. Go up to the symbol beside him in each area and take a piece from it, then look around for a large and glowing pink cult cross. These crosses appear in fragments so that they only appear whole when you stand in a particular spot. In one area, you’ll need to knock boards away from the cross. In another, you must pull a winch to rotate the cross to the correct orientation, and in other, you need to use a Molotov to burn away plants. Once you’ve positioned yourself, hold up the symbol piece to make the cross seem complete. It will glow, and the Father will appear and shoot an arrow toward the central cross on the island.
When all three crosses are complete, make your way to the central cross and then down a path which leads to a bunker; the very same bunker which Far Cry 5 ended in. Within, you’ll find a copy of Joseph Seed’s teachings, and you’ll also find a variety of notes which hint at what happened to Rook and the Father. If you were hoping that Rook might have gotten a happy ending, you’re going to be disappointed.
With the book in hand, travel back to New Eden and knock on the gate again. The same masked figure, The Judge, will now open the gate and allow you inside. The Judge is one of the game’s Guns-for-Hire and will eventually join you, although they cannot talk. Rather than simply being mute, however, they will occasionally make animal-like noises; suggesting that either their tongue has been cut out, or their mind has been utterly broken. Given what you read in the bunker, either could easily be the case. Once you gain The Judge as a Gun-for-Hire, you can bring them with you and have them come into contact with other characters; many of whom knew them from the events of Far Cry 5.
Although the Judge can’t talk, characters including Nick Rye, Pastor Jerome, and Hurk all talk about what happened to them; “What are you, some sort of death monster now, or,” says Hurk; “sorry, I’m real nervous around you. Still the silent type, eh?” Perhaps the saddest and most unnerving interaction is actually between The Judge and Nana. The Judge appears to start crying and Nana attempts to comfort them; “When things cool off,” she says; “maybe let’s get this one some help. Like, the talking kind of help. Think they’ve got some splinters in their grey matter that need tweezing.”