Graveyard Keeper 2 Herbert Quests Walkthrough

Herbert, the Head of the Guards in Graveyard Keeper 2, is at the center of the game's military storyline, from the first push into the Port to the assault on the Sluice. At the same time, the old soldier has a much quieter personal story of his own. Below, we'll go through all 15 of his quests in the order they become available.

Herbert gives his first three quests at the Crossroads by the Town gates, where the guards retreated after their failed defense. Once preparations for battle begin, he moves to the Barracks and barely leaves it for most of the game. The Merc Leader, the trader Homobonus, and the rival fisherman are also based there, so one visit is usually enough to take care of several things at once.

Near the end of the game, Herbert retires and moves closer to Agatha at the Crossroads. Their joint quests are turned in there. Now let's move on to Herbert's quests themselves.

This is Herbert's very first request. After the retreat, he sends you to bury the fallen at the abandoned Inquisition Base and asks you to return with a Burial Certificate. Burial Certificate I is awarded for every burial, so bury any body and return to Herbert at the Crossroads. You do not need to hand over the certificate. Simply having it in your inventory is enough.

Rewards: +10 Herbert reputation, 1 bronze-quality Story, +10 Town quality, and the Expand graveyard I building upgrade. Herbert also tells you that Januarius at the Village Tavern will now pay for every burial. He also happens to know something about fairies, which will matter later in the story.

The guards' morale is at rock bottom, and Herbert suggests an unexpected way to improve it: a beautiful Graveyard. Raise its quality to 10 and report back to him. A few graves with crosses and fences, plus a bench, are usually enough if the buried bodies have decent quality. We explained how to increase Graveyard rating in a separate guide.

The quest rewards +10 Herbert reputation. It is not much, but you cannot continue his questline without it.

Herbert explains the real problem: the guards have spent years retreating and have lost all confidence. He now asks for 3 Faith. You earn this resource by delivering sermons in the Church, so if you have not yet opened it during Agatha's Holy Moly! quest, take care of that first. One service is enough.

Rewards: 2 Town Gratitude and 1 bronze-quality Story. This also unlocks Swords and Bell and the Hooligans for Hire side quest.

This is the first time Herbert says it outright: he will not be the one fighting the zombies. You will. He is too old, and master Jack is missing, so gathering the necessary materials also falls to the Keeper.

The quest has two stages. First, raise Barracks quality to 12. Barricades and Archer Towers built around the Barracks increase the value, as do hired mercenaries. The mercenaries based there agree to join the next fight during Hooligans for Hire for 5 silver coins. You need to pay them before every battle, and the fee increases as the fights become more difficult.

Herbert then reveals his trump card: a Magic bell. You learn the recipe during Jack in a Boat. Craft the bell once at a Wooden Anvil using 1 Blood and 1 Bronze Ingot. Smithing mastery 3 is enough. Bring it to the Barracks.

Rewards: 2 Town Gratitude and Pilgrim's Clothes.

This is the game's first battle and a good opportunity to learn how the system works. Speak with Herbert in front of the Barracks. He gives you the banner and 2 Healing Potions, leaving you to choose when to attack. Your squad follows the banner while you carry it and holds position wherever you plant it. To win, capture every enemy flag and hold them until the waves end. If the zombies break through to your base or the Keeper runs out of Health, you lose the battle.

Break Through to the Port is fairly forgiving. You only need 1 squad and 12 defense power, while the enemy force consists of 93 Wild Zombies. You can start it on any day, although almost every later battle is limited to Sloth day. If you lose, do not worry. The guards organize another defense once per week, so you can try again.

Winning the battle rewards a Defender's Emblem, 6 Zombie goo, 4 Town Gratitude, and the First Blood achievement. Return to Herbert and tell him the first district has been cleared. You'll receive +10 Herbert reputation and 1 Town Gratitude and unlock the Battle Potions I technology. A whole group of new quests also begins here, including Docked and Found, which takes you to the Port for the first time.

This is the shortest quest in Herbert's chain and one of its most touching moments. Visit the Barracks and you'll find Herbert clearly feeling down. Things are finally improving, but he feels like an old man who should be enjoying peace and quiet. It turns out he had planned to retire just as the zombie apocalypse began, and all these years he has been putting off reading one particular book. It is a romance novel, and it is still sitting in his old house in the middle of a district overrun by the undead.

Herbert refuses to go there himself. He also refuses to ask the looters because if the guards learn that their commander reads romance novels, his reputation will be ruined. The strange man living at the Graveyard, on the other hand, has no reputation left to lose.

There are no rewards for the conversation, but it unlocks Herbert and? and Wharf Rats.

You obtain the novel through the Dockside Club. Ask the mysterious person there about the book, and he reveals himself as Davy the Dagger, leader of the looters. He will retrieve the novel for you, but only if you clear a couple of places for him first. In practice, you need 1 Keys for Looters. The easiest way to get one is by winning Sewer Brawl I, which rewards 3 keys at once. If you would rather avoid the fight, a Tier II Jeweler also sells them.

Give the key to Davy and he immediately hands over the Love Novel. Wharf Rats rewards a bronze-quality Story, and from this point onward you can place orders with the looters on Lust day. Only one order can be active at a time.

Now bring the Love Novel to the Barracks. Herbert is deeply moved, places it on a shelf, and admits that he cannot read. He spent his whole life as a simple sergeant, commanding troops with maps and wooden figures. He sees only one solution: ask Agatha, the Nun from the Crossroads, to read it aloud. In his opinion, she has quite a pleasant voice.

Rewards: +10 Herbert reputation and 2 Town Gratitude. The story then continues through Agatha's The Nun Also Reads quest.

There is very little talking involved here. The objective is simple: win every battle on this side of the river. The required fights are Eastern Districts Purge, Central Districts Purge: Part II, and Sewer Brawl II. The quest completes automatically after the last one.

Once the southern part of Town is secure, Herbert suggests stopping the advance and focusing on rebuilding. He says you do not need more territory right now. What the Town needs is people. The river will keep the zombies back, and if you still feel like fighting, there are always more undead in the sewers.

Rewards: +10 Herbert reputation and the A New Dawn achievement. This also unlocks Homobonus's second quest.

This main story quest is tied to Election Fever. The Village needs a leader, and the election needs security. Herbert is skeptical about the entire idea, so you need 55 reputation before you can even bring it up and 60 to convince him. By this point, you should have completed six Herbert quests that each award +10 reputation. If Reader for a Warrior is still unfinished, complete it first. At this stage, there is no other way to make up the missing reputation.

The argument that finally convinces him is unexpectedly grim: after the election, the population will grow, which means more people will eventually die, much to Agatha's delight. Herbert agrees immediately. Once this quest, Gunter's Destiny Polls, and Linda's Vote Early, Vote Naughty are complete, Campaign of Thrones begins.

This quest becomes available after Agatha agrees to read to Herbert in her own quest, provided you build a Choir in the Church. Once the Choir is complete and you have delivered the required sermon, visit the Barracks and give Herbert the good news. Agatha will read to him at her home because, as Herbert correctly points out, the Barracks is hardly the right place for fine literature.

Reward: +10 Herbert reputation.

This quest begins the large campaign around the Sluice. You can unlock it in two ways: through Jack's Front-of-the-Envelope Calculation, which requires 60 reputation with him, or through Linda's A Cure for Wellness. The Keeper needs to drain the Sluice, and Herbert explains that this requires closing the Western Floodgate. It is only a few steps away from the defensive positions at the Market Square.

Speak with the guard and win Closing the Western Floodgate. Requirements: 3 squads and 56 defense power. The battle starts on Sloth day. There are many enemies, 332 zombies in total, including Door Zombies, so reinforce your barricades beforehand. The victory rewards 10 Zombie goo and 8 Town Gratitude.

This quest unlocks after both Water Locked and Front-of-the-Envelope Calculation are complete. The Sluice has been drained, which means the water tunnel is now accessible. The objective lies on the right side of the Sluice, and Herbert recommends attacking it from the bridge on the Port side rather than from the square.

There are three battles here. The first two happen back to back. Closing the Eastern Floodgate: Part I requires 80 defense power and starts on Sloth day. Part II begins immediately after you win and has no separate requirement. Rewards for both parts are only granted after the second fight, and if you lose, you lose the progress from the first. Mercenaries do not participate in Part II, so rely on your own zombies.

Speak with the guards at the outpost again to begin Break Through to the Bathhouse Basement. Check the current defense power requirement directly in your version of the game, as up-to-date databases currently disagree between 88 and 96. The battle itself can be started on any day. Rewards include 3 Keys for Looters, a Victory Banner, a Defender's Emblem, and 4 Zombie goo. The victory opens the path to the Royal Foundry, where the former Bishop is waiting with the Magic Mirror quest.

This continues the story of the green-clad refugees from Linda's questline. They have been promised fertile land in the lower section of the Sluice, while Herbert genuinely cannot understand why anyone would fight over mud. The quest unlocks once Water Locked and A Cure for Wellness are complete.

You'll need to push through from the Market Square. Operation POTATO also has two parts, with the same rules as the Eastern Floodgate battles. Part I requires 72 defense power and starts on Sloth day. Part II begins immediately afterward, and the rewards are granted only after both fights are won. The main difference is that Part II has no enemy flags. You do not need to capture anything, just hold your base until the waves end. If you lose, you can start Part II separately on the next Sloth day.

Winning unlocks Green Men From Far Lands, where the refugees ask you for Steel Shovels.

This quest unlocks after Agatha's Notorious Nun. The Keeper needs to fight through to the woodcarvers who live in the Stilt Houses on the lake to the west. Herbert, who is already thinking seriously about retirement, grumbles that peaceful life clearly is not for you.

Herbert maps out the route himself: north from the square across both main bridges, then west toward the bridge leading to the lake. Battle at the Lake requires 3 squads and 64 defense power and starts on Sloth day. Most enemies are Bucketheads, Wild Zombies, and Stinkers, 236 in total. The victory rewards 10 Zombie goo and 8 Town Gratitude.

The most interesting part comes after the conversation. Herbert wants to repay Agatha for her kindness. He saw her expression when she remembered the Organ at her old monastery and has already asked Jack whether a new one could be built. The Organ requires Special Wood, which is exactly what the woodcarvers at the lake produce. This unlocks Organic Music as well as Not in Shining Armor Yet.

Herbert is finally serious about retiring, and he has already chosen a replacement: the new quartermaster who fills in for Jack at the Workshop. Before leaving, the commander wants a proper set of armor that can be displayed with pride, along with new sets for his soldiers.

Bring 5 Steel Armor to the Barracks. Each set is forged at the Steel Anvil using 4 Steel Ingots, 4 Steel Details, and 4 Fabric. You need the Steel Equipment technology and Smithing mastery 12. A Tier III Smithy sells Steel Armor as well, but it only stocks 1 at a time and charges 2 gold 50 silver each, so forging all five yourself is much cheaper.

Herbert does not actually hand the armor out to his guards. He hangs his own set on display and oils and stores the rest because, in his words, those idiots would only scratch it at the tavern or pawn it. Afterward, he announces his retirement and moves to the Crossroads, either into Agatha's house or into his own place next door, as long as he can stay close to her.

Rewards: +10 Herbert reputation and 3 Town Gratitude. Together with Agatha's A Good Example is the Best Sermon, this quest unlocks Well-Deserved Rest.

Herbert's own quests end here, but he still has a role to play. His joint quests with Agatha, A Good Example is the Best Sermon and Well-Deserved Rest, each give him +10 reputation. During the final Wrath and Sloth quest at the Crossroads, Herbert arranges with the quartermaster to give you additional space for defensive equipment and places the mercenaries at your disposal. You need 90 reputation with both Herbert and Agatha, or 100 with each if you kept the Red Eye.

The math is simple: Herbert's 15 quests provide 70 reputation, while the two shared stories with Agatha add another 20. That gives you exactly 90. On the Red Eye branch, the missing 10 points come from the Comfortable Chair requested by Agatha.

It is fitting that the most exhausted character in the game ultimately gets exactly what he wanted from his very first conversation: peace, quiet, and someone who will finally read that troublesome romance novel to him. Good luck in the battles for Town!