The Phantom Oxcart |
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| Quest Location | West Vernworth Oxcart Station |
| NPC Pickup | Guerrero Dagras Wilhelmina |
| Requirements | Enter Bakbattahl after finishing Nation of the Lambent Flame Stealth quest: see tips |
| Time Limited | No |
| Quest Canceled | Unknown |
| Unlocks | N/A |
| Other NPCs | Navil Mansenn Ortega Floyd Gassh Robellt |
| Multiple Outcomes | No |
| Rewards | 4000 XP Ring of Momentum 14500 G |
The Phantom Oxcart is a Stealth Quest. This quest will have you investigate rumors about a "phantom oxcart," that is said to have been seen making rounds at night. This is peculiar as there are no known oxcart operations at night. You'll uncover a scheme that spans both regions as you try and get to the bottom of this scheme. This quest is affected by the passage of time.
The roads are well tended, but they are by no means fit to be traveled anight, and carts are prohibited from leaving after dark. All but one obey: the so-called phantom oxcart.
How to Unlock The Phantom Oxcart Quest
This quest is unlocked after completing the main quest Nation of the Lambent Flame. After making it to Bakbattahl, players will notice NPCs there talking about an Oxcart that travels at night. Head back to the West Vernworth Oxcart Station to overhear Guerrero and Dagras talking about it as well to start the quest. See The Phantom Oxcart on the [Dragon's Dogma 2 Map].
- You may also begin this quest by talking to Wihelmina after Nation of the Lambent Flame.
The Phantom Oxcart Quest Walkthrough
Investigate the Phantom Oxcart
After completing the main quest Nation of the Lambent Flame, you'll notice some NPCs in Bakbattahl, especially near the Bakbattahl Oxcart Station, talking about an Oxcart that travels at night. If you head back to the West Vernworth Oxcart Station, you'll overhear Guerrero and Dagras talking about it as well. This may take you a couple of tries, but for the most part, just rest and wait around the station to try and catch them talking about it and you'll get to start the quest. If you have got your hands on the Myrmecoleon Card from the Quest, The Stolen Throne, other players report that going to the Rose Chateau Bordelrie and speaking to Wilhelmina can start the quest as well.
As it only comes out at night, you'll then have to rest until nighttime and then head to the objective marker. Once there, just wait around the intersection until a soldier named Navil appears with some half-naked Pawns behind him, seemingly handing them off to a hooded character named Mansenn. It seems like this phantom oxcart business is just an operation to smuggle Pawns across the border.
WARNING: Don't approach the phantom oxcart or the soldier too soon after the cutscene. Players have reported that Mansenn seeing them during this first time that they witness the phantom oxcart as it speeds away, causes Mansenn to just run away during all the future instances of him seeing you, making the next parts of the quest a bit more difficult for the player to progress. Make sure to wait a bit for the phantom oxcart to move away before progressing to the next objective.
Question the Soldier
After the scene, wait for the phantom oxcart to move away, with Mansenn not being able to see you, and then chase after the soldier. You can go ahead and tackle him to be quick, but he'll relent after chasing him for a while. Apparently, he was drowning in gambling debts and agreed to some Battahli merchant who offered him some money to do the deed. He'll try and bribe you to not turn him in, but he'll give you the Merchant's Document he got from the merchant either way for reparations. From there you can choose to either agree to the bribe and let him go so he can still have a career, or escort him back to Vernworth yourself and put him behind bars. Choosing the former will net you an extra 5000 G. Choosing the latter will have you be automatically transported to the Royal Quarter.
Find Out Who is Behind the Phantom Oxcart
Regardless of which you choose, you'll get the Merchant's Document. You'll now have to bring this document over to captain Brant. Head over to The Stardrop Inn at night to speak with him. Ask him about the phantom oxcart by turning over the Merchant's Document. From how the document was written and how it was made, he will say that a member of the royal court is probably responsible for it. With that in mind, he proposes that you either follow the oxcart without being seen or pretend to be a smuggled Pawn in order to find out where the Pawns are being taken and for what purpose.
Pursue the Oxcart
With this in mind, head back to the objective marker again, where you first saw the phantom oxcart, at nighttime. Move away from the main path first and then command your Pawns to wait there, making sure they're some distance away from the phantom oxcart when it appears. When it does appear, unequip all your equipment, including your cloak. Then, approach the phantom oxcart and talk to the Mansenn in the driver's seat. He'll tell you to get in the cart which means you can do so and the oxcart will start moving once you close the door behind you.
NOTE: Players have reported having difficulty with successfully infiltrating the oxcart disguised as a Pawn, even after making sure all their gear is unequipped and even if they made sure not to be seen by Mansenn during the earlier parts of the quest. Some players have reported that you have to approach Mansenn in the driver's seat from behind the oxcart to progress this way. If he sees you coming from the front, he'll apparently get spooked and run even if you're fully naked. Make sure you WALK toward the cart to talk to Mansenn, do not run or sprint.
Alternatively, you can try to sneak about and wait for the oxcart to move without being seen. When it does, just follow closely behind it, making sure to not be seen by Mansenn beside it or in front of it. Of the two routes, however, disguising yourself as the Pawn is the easier one. At some point, the cart will stop and Mansenn will order the Pawns to take care of Goblins blocking the path. If you've chosen the route of disguising yourself, you'll need to heed the order. DO NOT re-equip your gear or use any Skills and just take care of the fiends by punching their lights out. Once they've been cleared out, you'll be told to head back into the oxcart to continue the trip.
When you get to the Checkpoint Rest Town, the guards will try to rough the Pawns up, which includes you. Just grit your teeth and do not do anything at all as they beat you up. Eventually, an officer will stop them and you'll continue the quest.
Gather Evidence and Report to Captain Brant
When you get to the next destination, you'll find all the Pawns brought to the Flamebearer Palace Spellseal Door. Someone, they'll figure out that you're not a Pawn and the guards will all attack you. At this point, you can head over to the menu and re-equip all your gear, and deal back everything you've had to endure so far. Dispatching the guard holding the staff will have you automatically acquire the Labor Requisition Orders. Running away and killing the guards one on one will help not getting stun locked and getting cornered. Once you are free to do so, simply head back to Captain Brant at The Stardrop Inn during nighttime as usual and then talk to him about the phantom oxcart. This completes the quest.
The Phantom Oxcart Quest Objectives
- Investigate the phantom oxcart
- Question the soldier
- Find out who is behind the phantom oxcart
- Pursue the oxcart
- Gather evidence and report to Captain Brant
The Phantom Oxcart Quest Rewards
A single cart dared to brave the roads in the dead of night, in spite of the monsters lurking around every bend. But this phantom oxcart hid an even darker truth than its moniker implied, for it was in fact the means of transporting pawns to be sold to Battahl. More sinister still, you've an inkling that the queen regent herself is behind the operation.
The Phantom Oxcart Rewards:
- 4,000 XP
- Ring of Momentum
- 14,500 G
The Phantom Oxcart Quest Notes & Tips
Are We There Yet? Can be obtained during this quest. Unequip everything and then talk to Phantom Oxcart driver, and enter at the back of the oxcart to get the trophy.- You may bring the Merchant's Document to Sven before bringing it to Brant. At first, he thinks he might recognize the handwriting but then says he doesn't, and recommends you speak to Brant.
Anonymous
- Anonymous
"Disguises work" ... I saw that people had trouble fooling the driver when naked, and wondered if seeing the chest scar might be part of the problem. Rags worked perfectly (the ones from the beginning, or else from getting gaoled).
I walked (did not run) to the driver, from the front, and hailed him to get a ride.
I had been careful to avoid being seen earlier, when approaching the guard. Had pawns wait by the river, behind a rise in the ground, so they nor their lamps could be seen. Can't recall if I disabled my own lamp, though I did remove everything except the brown rags shirt and shorts.
Fought goblins bare knuckled, did not resist at checkpoint, per recommendations in the article.
Had to keep my pawns away from the guy with the godsway staff, since that gave them all such bad headaches they couldn't fight. After killing him, and carrying his corpse away, my pawns recovered and were able to help fight off the other soldiers.
Hope the information helps others get through this quest. :)
- Anonymous
if you play this quest as a support you`re screwed, there's too many guards and your pawns can't help you because of the guy with the staff.
- Anonymous
It's quite buggy and he kept driving off. I got it to work by resting at home/inn to nightfall, equipping miners top and bottom, unequipping all gear including rings but excluding lantern (turned off though), told pawns to wait outside the yellow quest circle, started walking as slow as possible beginning from the very edge of the yellow circle toward the cart on the road (not from behind or side). Then fought the goblins with fists, got back in the cart, took the beating by the guards at the border (no button inputs). After you're exposed run a bit further away from the glowing door, so your pawns can help you in the fight if you need them.
- Anonymous
". Of the two routes, however, disguising yourself as the Pawn is the easier one"
This is actually so untrue. I followed behind the cart for less than a minute before it fade to black , and swapped to a cutscene at the border town, where the guards beat on the pawns then it cut to the spellseal door scene and a fight ensued. No extra goblin fighting or anything like that.
So whoever wrote this walkthrough I would like it explained why the pawn disguise route is "easier"
- Anonymous
You cannot complete this quest anymore after killing the guardian gigantus.
This game has the jankiest quest system. I can't believe they hit send with some of these.
- Anonymous
So you can encounter the oxcart before this quest ever appears, in which case you will watch it phase into and out of existence as though it truly is a "phantom" cart.
When you actually get to the quest, it's just a slaver cart with no special abilities, just funny blue lanterns.
Then they say they need to be quick because an oxcart on the roads at night is suspicious...except when you take an oxcart for travel, half the time you're ambushed at night...so you know they tavel at night all the time...
The absolute L that is Dragon's Dogma 2's worldbuilding.
- Anonymous
I managed to complete this after failing the pose as a pawn part.
What I had to do is tell my pawns to wait behind while I tried to keep my distance from the oxcart as I approached with lantern off, then tried to walk behind it without getting spotted. It started to drive off before I could get close, but it wasn't at high speeds as it would if you were seen. So I just ran behind it without using the dash command. And after awhile it fast traveled us to the Checkpoint Rest Town. Here, if you're spotted after watching the pawns get beaten, it'd be best to run away or you'd have to fight the guards there. You can then approach the Spellseal Door in Bakbattahl, but do so while posing as a pawn, but keep your equipment in your inventory. Because you'll creep up behind the oxcart in a cutscene only to be found out as not a pawn as you would in the pose as a pawn branch. So quickly put your get back on and get ready to fight 12 guards. Once the last one falls you get the orders to allow you to put a close on the quest.
The pose as a pawn is the easiest, but failing it does not lock you out of completing it.
- Anonymous
I've done 5 inn saves attempting to get on the ox cart. Losing my mind. Whoever achieved this was a saint. I've tried unequiping before and after the quest objective, my pawns are always out of sight. I've gone from every angle, if I stand away from the ox cart, it just disappears anyway. It doesnt move. Someone please help
- Anonymous
I think this quest can't be done if you keep doing main quests..
I went to the cart, got in, went all the way to the gates, was beaten, then travelled to the last point.. killed the guards, got the orders, but I didn't go back yet..
I'm on The Guardian Gigantus and Brant doesn't even care about the phantom oxcart now.. so I guess it locks you out after a bit
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I think I saw the phrase "xxx released Neville from prison". The problem is, I don't know how it was triggered, or is it just my delusion. xxx is already a dead person, so I just let it go, saying, "How did they release it?" Am I mistaken? Or is there anything left? I don't know
- Anonymous
DON'T do this quest as a Trickster your pawn ill not be able to help you, so you will have to kill all the guards alone, I had to run to Bakbattahl change class and then go back to kill the guards.
- Anonymous
this quest is now permanently bugged for me, I managed to get into the cart, monster attacked, and my stupid a$$ just think that "oh I should equip my weapon to fight off these monsters" then the hence man said "you're no pawn" and after that, no matter what I do, he sped off as soon as I got close to him, hope this will be a warning to others. It's such a relief that it doesn't lead to another important quest.
- Anonymous
I was able to do it wearing the miner's clothing that you start the game with, unequipped everything else and passed off my lantern. I had my pawns wait at the entrance to Vernworth, then I circled around, walked up to, and talked to the oxcart driver from behind.
- Anonymous
I wish I had taken screenshot, but I have noticed the Oxcart at night way before completing the necessary quests. It disappeared though, not sure why. Got too close? Dawn was near ? A fight occured just next to it ?
It happened next to a firecamp just North of Vernworth, on the main road
- Anonymous
Mansenn definitely saw me and I didn't remember to de-equip my lantern and I was still able to do the pawn route. All in all a weird quest.
- Anonymous
The quest is straight up broken, and the requirements to get it even working are at best esoteric. Unequip everything, give lantern to a pawn, hope they follow your orders, also approach the cart from the right angle like lmao come on man.
Failed getting on the cart, couldn't try again apparently, so I followed the cart, only it vanished into Battahl. Tried attack the guards at the border gate and this literally broke the game, made the staff guy un-attackable, made a bunch of NPCs hostile, reloaded multiple times, the cart would NOT move. Quest completely broke. Had to reload an inn save and lose progress to escape it.
Needs heavy patching and lightened requirements to initiate, there's obscure quests and there's non-functioning quests.
- Anonymous
did this, got to the gates, killed everyone and did not receive the orders...
- Anonymous
“You'll now have to see who you can ask about the contents of this document to find out who the mastermind behind the whole operation is. Luckily you have good ol' captain Brant.“
??? This wiki has gone sooo downhill
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
This quest will disappear once you get the completed blade from Ambrosius.
- Anonymous
This quest is barely manageable with all of its weird requirements to actually get into the cart and get to the destination in Battahl, but then when it's time for the final fight it becomes one of the worst quests I've experienced in this game so far. The amount of guards and their nonstop attacks almost guarantees you're going to get stunlocked until you're dead. Just not fun and a great example of why quests in DD are so frustrating.
- Anonymous
Make sure you have some type of solo combat ability if you disguise yourself as a pawn, once you get discovered godsway staff guy will make your pawns useless unless you can keep him away from your pawns(he will still make them useless even if he is dead). Guards will stunlock you if you are not careful and get you in a corner by yourself. Godsway Staff guy dropped the Labor Req Orders for me on his death.
- Anonymous
I got all they way to the end but non of the guards I killed dropped the labor requisitions order
- Anonymous
Had to dismiss my pawns and drown my main to be able to get on then manage to get the evidence but got swarmed and arrested but luckily they leave you with the permit and luckily had a gaol key and just walked out but Jesus that sucked
- Anonymous
once you get into the cart you need to examine the door to start the quest up after your in it
- Anonymous
Do you have to revive all the guards you killed at the end part of the quest? I brought a wakestone and it seems reacting to each of these guards I killed
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I had made a checkpoint save right before but after travelling to that place with weapon unequipped and failing 3 times I just decided looking the solution up. Turns out, despite the other pawns being clothed, that I just had to get naked. Sometimes the solutions to the quests are rather convoluted, really
- Anonymous
Characters will mention the nighttime ox cart even before the Battahl story missions.
- Anonymous
Do not do this quest as a Trickster
When you're discovered to not be a pawn, the guards will attack. The one guard that drops the Labor Requisition Orders is wielding a godsway staff, preventing your pawns from attacking, and Trickster does no damage itself.
If you do happen to have gotten to this point as Trickster, you can run away and change vocations at the guild nearby, or if you have the patience, you can forgo re-equiping your censer and just fight that one guard with your fists.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
My pawns aren't fighting in that last part with all the people, and each time it seems that they get the dragon plague they hold their head and don't do anything the entire fight
- Anonymous
When goblins attacked my pawns ofc teleported to me and caused him to leave... Same happened with Barbathal 1v1 duel, they keep interfering, never listen to wait order.
- Anonymous
This quest discontinued for me after a number of days. I never interacted with it or went near the area for the quest. It has some unknown fail state/point of no return.
- Anonymous
If you bring the Merchant Document to Sven he'll accept it to inspect and almost recognize the handwriting. Leaving Sven's room after this with the document in your inventory causes Allard to accost you and take the document while threatening Sven if you continue investigating. If you discard the document before Allard can stop you he simply never shows up to cause the conversation. This is as far as I took this, not gonna finish the quest that way
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