How to romance Kai and complete his Battle Scars companion quest in Avowed

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It’s been revealed that Kai in Avowed can indeed be romanced: contrary to initial impressions, Obsidian secretly included a romantic aspect. This isn’t the grand, dramatic romance seen in games like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Cyberpunk 2077, but rather, it’s more about sharing conversations and completing personal quests while camping. By the end, you can make your feelings for Kai clear, and he will respond positively, albeit verbally, to your advances—establishing him as your aumaua sweetheart.

How to romance Kai

  • Complete Kai’s companion quest Battle Scars
  • Make quest choices that give Kai respect for your “clarity of purpose”
  • You can romance Kai as any gender Envoy

During your initial departure from Dawnshore towards Emerald Stair, Kai will offer you a quest named Battle Scars as part of his companion questline. This quest is essential if you wish to romance him, and since you can’t miss their conversation, it should be straightforward for you to accept the mission.

In terms of winning over Kai with your decisions, Avowed doesn’t use a clear approval system for evaluation, making it challenging to predict the impact of each choice on his interest in a potential relationship. Throughout our interactions, Kai consistently emphasized admiring my Envoy’s “clear intention” when tackling quests. Here are some choices he particularly liked that you might consider:

When trying to impress Kai with your decisions, Avowed lacks an obvious approval system, making it hard to gauge the effect of each choice on his feelings towards a relationship. However, throughout our conversations, Kai often expressed admiration for my Envoy’s “focused determination” when dealing with quests. The following choices are ones he explicitly mentioned appreciating:

Or:
In terms of capturing Kai’s attention through your decisions in Avowed, the game doesn’t have a straightforward approval system to track progress, making it difficult to estimate the influence of each choice on his interest in a relationship. Nevertheless, as we grew more familiar with one another, Kai often highlighted his appreciation for my Envoy’s “purposeful approach” when completing quests. Here are some choices he specifically mentioned being supportive of that you may want to make:

Each version tries to convey the same information in a slightly different way, but I personally prefer the second and third versions as they maintain a conversational tone while providing clarity on the context and Kai’s preferences.

  • Choose to spare Ygwulf at the end of the An Untimely End quest
  • Eliminate the ranger traitor at the end of the Steel Resolve sidequest in Emerald Stair
  • Save Fior mes Ivèrno before leaving Emerald Stair
  • Say “I follow my principles, not my commands.” when he asks your feelings about your personal mission after leaving Emerald Stair
  • Don’t allow Katoa and Haiako to continue their plans at the top of Old Pargrun Tower in Shatterscarp

Tama’s Cabin

Kai plans to assign you the quest “Battle Scars” just as your group is about to venture into Emerald Stair for the initial time. The cabin of his late friend Tama, which can be conveniently accessed west of Fior mes Ivèrno, serves as the destination for this task. Upon reaching there, you’ll spot a portrait of Kai and a miniature wooden whale that he once crafted for Tama, identical to the one Kai carries with him.

If you haven’t missed the hint that a painting of someone is conspicuously displayed in your house for them to discover, it’s clear that Tama harbored deep feelings for Kai. Not just affection, but love, and this is when Kai understands that his hidden feelings were also returned.

Kai uses this moment to regret not understanding Tama’s feelings sooner, as Tama is no longer here. However, he’s not quite ready for your support yet. For now, Kai requests some personal time to ponder over his newfound knowledge. You’ll resume helping him once you reach the next explorable area, Shatterscarp.

Tama’s badge

During your journey from Emerald Stair to Shatterscarp for the first time, Kai shares another piece of his quest during your party’s conversation. This new task involves searching for Tama’s badge, which is located quite far into Shatterscarp, beyond the vast expanse of the Great Sand Sea consisting of dunes and plateaus. You will discover Tama’s badge on a skeleton (not Tama’s) hidden within a narrow waterway following a battle against risen skeletons and fire elementals in that particular area.

As soon as you grab Tama’s emblem, Kai is instantly transported back to memories of war tales shared during their patrols together. Tama was a commendable leader who had a positive impact on him, but one that he longs for while grappling with lingering guilt. Kai bears the weight of responsibility for the ambush that caused Tama’s grievous wound, an event he believes he failed to prevent and has carried with him ever since.

Kai shares that for quite some time now, he hasn’t divulged this particular story to anyone. However, something about your leadership style has him feeling compelled to share. He appreciates the clarity in your approach, which is something he admires deeply, and there’s a hint that he might draw a parallel between you and Tama – though he stops just short of making it explicit.

Tama’s memorial

After our chat about Tama’s badge, Kai will humbly ask for one last favor: he requests that you pay a visit to Tama’s memorial on the Shatterscarp coast and lay his badge there. It’s at a place known as Sailor’s Rest, east of Thirdborn, right by the water. As a fan, I think it would be a heartfelt gesture for Tama and a way to honor Kai’s wish.

Kai still harbors one unspoken truth concerning Tama’s demise: after the assault on him, when Tama lay dying, Kai offered to retrieve his badge and never returned to Thirdborn. This act weighs heavily on him, as he believes he left Tama alone during his final moments. As Kai becomes increasingly integrated with the Envoy group, reminiscent of old times, he struggles with feelings of undeservingness for belonging there.

During this interaction, you might guide Kai towards a moment of emotional growth. The role you play could motivate him to advance, experience fresh mistakes, and grow from them. Instead of tarnishing Tama’s memory with this heavy emotional responsibility, encourage him to move forward. Feel free to approach this delicately or firmly; either way, it will aid Kai in finding peace.

Late in this conversation you can subtly push Kai in two different directions for his future:

  • “You left more than Tama behind.” — Kai considers returning to Thirdborn to help after your adventure.
  • “You made Tama’s memory a burden.” — Kai considers travelling the world after your adventure.
  • “You’re choosing to give up.” — Kai leaves his future open, saying he’s done running away but hasn’t decided what he’s running towards.

This is where you’ve officially completed Kai’s personal quest, Battle Scars.

Confessing to Kai

After conquering Battle Scars, I couldn’t help but stop by and check on Kai, following the memorial for our comrade Tama. His demeanor seemed a bit brighter, reflecting on fond memories of our shared past in the squad.

If you express to Kai “I have some things I’d like to know about you,” you’ll open up an opportunity for a fresh discussion topic: “Don’t we seem quite acquainted already?” This question sets the stage for you to share your feelings towards him, whether he’s an exceptional friend or if you’re interested in something more. Here’s one way you could reveal your emotions:

“I must admit, I feel a strong connection with you and appreciate our friendship a lot. I was wondering if there might be a chance for us to explore something beyond that.

  • “I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other, haven’t we?”
  • “I’ve come to really care about you.”
  • “Kai, I’m saying that I have feelings for you.”

After that, there are additional dialogue paths available for you to pick your preferred tone. Regardless, Kai will respond in kind by acknowledging your clear path forward and your strong ethical guidance, which he’ll reciprocate with his own feelings.

At this moment, let’s temporarily set aside your recent emotions. Kai concludes by expressing, “Should you continue to feel that way once our trip is over… I share the same desire.

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2025-02-18 19:50