Dying Light 2 Cheers! Walkthrough: Should you side with Julian or Marco in the water quest?
Not a drop to drink
As soon as you arrive in Villedor, Dying Light 2 is throwing moral dilemmas in Aiden’s way. The Cheers! quest tasks you with deciding who’s in the right during a water-related dispute, with your choice of siding with Julian or Marco having a lasting effect on the community.
Here’s how to make the right decision for your playthrough.
Dying Light 2 Cheers Quest Walkthrough
As you explore the Bazaar and meet its residents, you find two Survivors confronting a merchant, Julian, following their friend having taken ill after drinking some of his water.
Julian pleads innocence but suspects that his source, Marco, might have poisoned the water to get back at him.
He offers you half of his flour stock - which you can sell to a merchant for a small amount of cash - in exchange for proof of the poisoning.
What’s more, there may also be another victim, Hans, in danger of drinking the nasty water, so Julian tasks you with tracking him down as well.
Where do you find Hans in the Cheers quest in Dying Light 2?
Since Hans is in immediate trouble and could take a fatal swig at any moment, head over to find him first.
Open your map, and you’ll see Hans’ house marked with a 2 in the middle of the Houndsfield area.
Hot-foot it over there and pick the easy lock on the door. Inside Hans’ house you will find UV lamps and a spluttering Anna, who’s just taken a gulp from a bottle.
Luckily it’s full of incredibly strong booze rather than poisoned water, which Hans has unfortunately taken hunting with him.
Rush out of the building and to the new quest marker on the western edge of the Houndsfield area.
On the rooftop here, you will find Hans. Quickly give him the booze to disinfect his insides, and he’ll reward you with some crafting materials for your trouble.
Now it’s time to get to the bottom of the problem and pay a visit to Marco.
Where do you find Marco in the Cheers quest in Dying Light 2?
Head to the quest marker and enter the dark house through the open window.
Inside, there’s a boarded-up doorway you can crouch under, then an ajar door you can push open.
Slide down the pipe on the other side of the door, and at the bottom you will find Marco.
Ask him what he’s talking about, and he’ll reveal that Julian sold him flour mixed with plaster, then ask you to deal with some infected on the floor below.
Agree under the proviso that Marco spills the whole story, then head down to take them out.
Squaring up to 6 zombies all at once at this point in the game is tough. If you can catch them unaware, then you can try to stealth takeout as many as possible.
Otherwise, there are a few strategies you can employ:
- Use the doorframe in the room you came through to create a bottleneck
- Crouch and attack their legs to make them fall over and easier to defeat
- Use the brick opportunity weapon to stun and jump kick
By whatever means necessary, once you’ve successfully defeated the infected, close the door and you’ll speak to Marco again.
Should you side with Julian or Marco in the Cheers quest in Dying Light 2?
After some discussion about Pilgrims, Marco will level with you. He booby-trapped some bottles of water to teach water thieves a lesson, but never intended for them to get mixed in with the supplies for the Bazaar.
In exchange for your silence, he’ll give you bags of flour, as well as a cash reward, so basically the same as Julian offered.
Marco implies that Julian will find a way to weasel out of the problem if you keep quiet and don’t ruin his business.
Without spoilers first, you’re weighing up the moral dilemma as much as the practical reward. You get plenty of valuables to sell and will be flush with cash soon enough, so the XP - which is the same whatever - is the real reward.
Julian is being blamed for something that isn’t his fault, Marco doesn’t deny that he accidently sold him the water, but did say that Julian is dishonest and has swindled him in the past.
Marco on the other hand has been wildly irresponsible, but it’s up to you whether you think that’s worth ‘ruining’ him over.
Spoilers:If you want a clearer picture of what happens, if you agree to stay quiet and side with Marco, the quest ends right there.
When you return to the Bazaar, Julian is beset by the same angry Survivors as before and Aiden doesn’t rise to his defence.
Julian is dragged in front of the council for a crime he didn’t commit and it’s implied that it’s curtains for him - he does not in fact ‘weasel out of it’.
So you can either take the step to stop this, or take it as a harsh lesson that life in Villedor isn’t fair.
For more help with the tough calls in quests, check out our Dying Light 2 guide.