Episode 1: Number One Fan Walkthrough - Alan Wake 2 Guide - IGN (2024)

Remember the Alex Casey lunchboxes that Saga could find scattered around Bright Falls? Some of them featured excerpts from somebody’s unpublished fanfiction. Now, in Number One Fan, you get to play through that story’s triumphant climax. As Rose Marigold, you’ll go on a shotgun rampage across Night Springs in Alan Wake 2's DLC to find and rescue her favorite writer.

The episode begins in the bathroom at Nite’s Diner for another perfect day in the life of Night Springs’ favorite cafe owner/bird rescuer/advice giver/coffee maker.

When prompted, grab the coffee pot from behind the counter, then walk around the room and fill up everyone’s cups.

For one part of the optional objective, one lady will ask for some advice after you give her a refill. The choice here comes down to either tough love or inspirational speaking. Either will work.

When that’s done, Rose remembers she needs to clear the pie plates, so pick those up from the booths. Now you can complete the optional objective by reassuring the guy in the vest and headband (below) about his personal style.

This doesn't appear to have any mechanical benefit, but why wouldn't you favor these people with Rose's wisdom?

Finally, a man in a booth near the kitchen will ask you for a book recommendation. You can now go into the storage room in the back of the diner, where Saga could find a Deer Head in the main game. Be sure to check the bulletin board for a chuckle.

When you grab the book, you’ll receive a message from the Writer. In response, go back down the hall past the bathroom to the previously locked door. Open it to enter the kitchen, where you’ll find Rose’s weapons cache.

Retrieve her shotgun and rifle from the wall racks. You’ll also receive 2 Leaky Propane Tanks, 4 containers of Pills, and a ton of spare ammunition. This unlocks the Accessorize! trophy/achievement.

When you return to the diner’s seating area, everything in Night Springs has rearranged itself in support of your mission. Leave the diner and proceed triumphantly down the main street towards the boatyard. Rose automatically kicks the door open.

In the boatyard, speak with the guy working on his bike and pick whatever conversation options seem right to you. This is the Bad Boy. Eventually, he'll leave in a huff and you’ll end up in a fight with the primary antagonists of Number One Fan: the Haters. Instead of being corrupted by the Dark Place, these townsfolk have been possessed by raw rage towards anyone who actually enjoys the Writer’s work. Naturally, you're supposed to shoot them.

Restraint is For the Loveless

As you might expect from how this episode has shaken down thus far, Rose has activated a couple of cheat codes. Her Get Up and Go Pills provide a nearly instant 100% heal, and her shotgun is somehow both fully automatic and a pump-action. The Leaky Propane Tanks can be thrown at the ground to set up a trap, or will detonate on impact if they hit an enemy directly.

As you progress through the rest of the episode, you can find more resources in coolers, toolboxes, and drawers along the way, just as in the main game. If you open even half of those containers, you’ll get more shotgun shells than you’ll ever realistically need. We usually have ~300 in reserve by the end of the episode despite shooting like a total maniac.

Pills are harder to come by, however. If Rose has one weakness in Number One Fan, it’s her recovery options. As such, the best defense is a good offense. Forget all the conservation habits you’ve learned from the main game and hit everything you see with enough buckshot to sink a destroyer. Haters deserve no mercy.

Anti-Hater Haters Club

At the start of the boatyard fight, use Rose’s rifle to pick off the Hater on top of the boat, who’ll otherwise bombard you with thrown axes. After that, hose down everyone who comes after you with Rose’s overpowered shotgun.

Once you’ve dealt with the first group of Haters, a second wave bursts through the boatyard’s fence. They’re initially clustered closely together, which makes them a solid target for your Leaky Propane Tanks. This is a good place to unlock the Hot Biscuits! trophy/achievement.

After the Haters are out of the way, follow the Bad Boy’s motorcycle tracks up the hill. You’ll get jumped by more Haters at the bridge. Deal with the axe-throwing Hater on the other side with your rifle, then switch to your shotgun and mop up the rest.

The path eventually leads to a cabin. Check the upstairs bedrooms for a couple of notes, then chase down the Bad Boy on the beach nearby. There’s a sign posted just outside in case you get confused about which beach the game is talking about.

No, seriously. Check the sign.

After you talk with the Bad Boy, you’ll get jumped by another wave of Haters, a couple of whom will be on top of you almost immediately. Be ready to dodge their initial swings, then take them out with a barrage of shells.

Another axe-thrower will try to whittle you down from a distance, so once the melee attackers have been handled, knock her out with a couple of shots from your rifle.

Once again, follow the Bad Boy’s flaming motorcycle tracks into the woods. A few more Haters will stand in your way, so be ready to take them out. At the top of the stairs, the Writer will contact you, which unlocks the trophy/achievement I Could Listen to Him All Day.

The trail eventually ends at the clinic in the woods, which has been repurposed for this episode as the Writer's luxurious country mansion. When you reach its circle drive, the Bad Boy will finally take you on himself.

Bad Boy Battle

While he's using some animations you might remember from a certain boss fight in Saga's game, the Bad Boy doesn't really do melee. At long range, he sends out heart-shaped homing attacks that you can shoot out of the air with Rose’s shotgun. They do detonate on their own if you get far enough away, but simply dodging won't work.

If you close the distance, the Bad Boy may instead fire a wave of force that can knock you prone. There’s a fairly forgiving window between his attacks in which you can run up and unload your shotgun into him.

At roughly half health, the Bad Boy reveals his real brooding secret: he’s also a werewolf. This gives him a third attack, where he transforms into a wolf Taken. Like the wolves you fought in the main game, the Bad Boy (Wolf) will run away, then try to charge at you from your blind spot. If you catch him with a couple of shotgun blasts in mid-charge, it knocks him over and lets you keep up the pressure.

After the Bad Boy absorbs enough punishment, he ends up on the ground by the clinic’s front door. Speak with him, then charge into the clinic for Number One Fan’s home stretch.

The Clinic

The clinic is infested with Haters. The 2 most dangerous opponents of the lot are at the base of the stairs on the first floor, armed with big two-handed weapons. They aren't that much more durable than the others, but if one of them knocks you over, they can follow up with a stomp that might kill Rose before she can stand back up. It’s nothing you can’t solve with a shotgun, but it’s something to watch out for.

After that, fight your way up the stairs to the third floor, where the last of the Haters are trying to break down the spiral door. Be careful as you advance up the stairs so a Hater doesn't come at you from a bad angle.

Take care of them, check the single open doorway for some valuable intelligence—

—look, hair care matters. Enter the spiral door to complete the episode.

Naturally, this unlocks the trophy/achievement Love Always Wins!

The Night Springs DLC continues with Episode 2: North Star Walkthrough