Tides of Tomorrow โ Complete Characters Guide
Every major NPC in Tides of Tomorrow, their faction, quest role, and survival impact. Who lives and who dies shapes your path to every ending โ especially the True Ending.
โ ๏ธ NPC Survival Matters
Unlike many narrative games, NPC deaths in Tides of Tomorrow are permanent within a playthrough. The survival of Voot (Mystics), Orla (field doctor), and Mira (Marauder lieutenant) directly determines which endings are accessible. Plan your quest order carefully โ some missions lock out character deaths if completed in the right sequence.
Obin
Overview
Obin is the iron-willed commander of the Marauders, the most militarily powerful faction on the floating isles. A former pre-flood military officer who survived the Plastemia epidemic through sheer discipline and controlled hoarding of medication, Obin built the Marauder network over two decades by trading protection for compliance. He is neither a villain nor a hero โ his brutal pragmatism has kept thousands alive, though his methods involve coercion, territorial violence, and strict hierarchy.
Quest Role
Obin offers the Tidewalker access to the Marauder Medicine Cache (Act 2), the single largest stockpile of anti-Plastemia treatment in the game. Accepting his Accord locks you into the Marauder ending path unless reversed via the Act 3 Council Vote. His key quest chain โ Supply Run, The Iron Shore, and Final Reckoning โ reveals his backstory and determines whether he survives to the ending.
โก Survival Impact
Critical. Marauder Accord reduces ambient Plastemia meter gain by 15% and provides Act 2 emergency medicine cache access.
Eyla
Overview
Eyla is the pragmatic, deeply empathetic leader of the Reclaimers โ a grassroots coalition of survivors who chose cooperation over conquest. A former marine biologist who studied Elynd's pre-flood ocean chemistry, she understands Plastemia's biology better than anyone, making her both the best source of treatment knowledge and the only character who can explain the True Ending's scientific requirements. She is warm but not naive โ her willingness to accept hard compromises makes her the most nuanced faction leader.
Quest Role
Eyla's quest line โ Saltwater Seeds, The Filtration Accord, and The Living Shore โ is the most dialogue-heavy in the game and directly unlocks the Reclaimer Ending. Keeping her trust high (80+) throughout Act 2 is one of three prerequisites for the True Ending Council Vote passing. She is also the only leader who will freely share Lore Fragments 1โ3 if asked directly.
โก Survival Impact
High. Reclaimer Filtration Accord permanently reduces zone contamination rate by 30% and unlocks food sustainability routes.
Voot
Overview
Voot is the enigmatic, poetic leader of the Mystics, a faction that reveres the civilisation that existed on Elynd before the great flood. Ancient in appearance but sharp in intellect, Voot speaks in layered metaphor and ritual language โ a deliberately obfuscating communication style that rewards patient players who engage with the Mystic philosophy rather than dismissing it. His true goal is revealed only in Act 3: he possesses partial knowledge of a pre-flood water purification technology that, if fully restored, could permanently neutralise Plastemia.
Quest Role
Voot's survival is the single most critical NPC survival flag in Tides of Tomorrow. If he is killed (possible through the Marauder Betrayal sequence in Act 2) or abandoned (if Mystic reputation drops below 20 before Act 3), the True Ending becomes permanently inaccessible. His quest line โ The Tide's Memory, The Seven Fragments, and The Council of Waters โ is the True Ending's backbone.
โก Survival Impact
True Ending lock. Voot alive + Mystic rep โฅ40 + 4/7 Lore Fragments collected is required to unlock the True Ending option.
Orla
Overview
Orla is a self-trained field medic and one of the first NPCs the Tidewalker encounters in Act 1 on the East Reach Bridge. Fiercely independent, darkly humorous, and deeply competent, she serves as the game's primary source of Plastemia treatment throughout Act 1 and early Act 2 before the faction system is fully unlocked. Her banter with the Tidewalker provides much of the game's emotional warmth โ and her death, if triggered, is one of the hardest narrative moments in the story.
Quest Role
Helping Orla retrieve medicine in the game's first major choice sequence (East Reach Bridge, Act 1) establishes her as a long-term companion. She is one of three companions whose survival is tracked as an achievement. If she survives to Act 3, she provides a unique dialogue option at the Council Vote that can swing the outcome in favour of the True Ending without requiring all 5 Gold Echoes.
โก Survival Impact
High. Orla surviving to Act 3 provides emergency medicine twice per act and an alternative True Ending unlock path.
Cael
Overview
Cael is the canonical Story-Link character used in the game's tutorial and developer preset journeys. He is presented as a former Tidewalker whose recorded journey is the one you inherit when playing with Story Mode or offline. His presence throughout your playthrough manifests as a Ghost Echo at key decision points โ a shimmering silhouette that replays his recorded action so you can see what another player chose in your exact position. He has no living dialogue but his recorded journey is the single most comprehensive preset available, having experienced all three faction arcs.
Quest Role
Cael's Ghost appears at all 5 Gold Echo locations. Interacting with all 5 Cael Echoes (or any 5 Gold Echoes from real player links) grants the Echo Resonance item, one of the True Ending's requirements. His preset journey places one Lore Fragment in each act โ the most evenly distributed of all presets.
โก Survival Impact
Story-Link only. No direct gameplay survival impact but critical for Echo Resonance collection.
Mira
Overview
Mira is Obin's second-in-command and the moral counterpoint within the Marauder faction. Where Obin operates with cold authority, Mira shows clear discomfort with the Marauders' harsher enforcement methods, particularly their practice of confiscating medicine from Reclaimer communities. She can be recruited as an internal Marauder ally if the player demonstrates Reclaimer sympathy while maintaining Marauder access โ a narrow but rewarding diplomatic path.
Quest Role
Mira's side quest โ The Weight of Orders โ is one of the most complex optional missions in Act 2. Completing it without losing Obin's trust requires a specific sequence of dialogue choices and one morally grey resource trade. Success unlocks the Compromise Ending's best variant and provides Lore Fragment 5.
โก Survival Impact
Medium. Mira alive enables Compromise Ending (best variant) and provides Lore Fragment 5.
๐บ๏ธ NPC Survival ร Ending Matrix
Which NPCs must survive for each ending. A โ means the NPC can be alive or dead. A โ ๏ธ means the NPC must be alive. A โ means their death is acceptable or even required for this path.
| Ending | Obin | Eyla | Voot | Orla | Mira |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ Reclaimer Ending | โ | โ ๏ธ | โ | โ | โ |
| โ๏ธ Marauder Ending | โ ๏ธ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
| ๐ฎ Mystic Ending | โ | โ | โ ๏ธ | โ | โ |
| ๐ค Compromise Ending | โ ๏ธ | โ ๏ธ | โ | โ | โ ๏ธ |
| โญ True Ending | โ | โ ๏ธ | โ ๏ธ | โ ๏ธ (alt) | โ |
| โ ๏ธ Plastemia Ending | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
โ ๏ธ = Must be alive ยท โ = Alive or dead ยท โ = Must be dead or removed ยท (alt) = Alternative unlock path available