How to Fix “The First Men” Quest Bug in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

May 27

View all Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

If the Construct won’t talk to you in the Grotto of the First Men... yeah, it’s bugged. You’re not the only one dealing with it, but there are a few things you can try before rage-quitting into a new save file.

Here’s how to fix it, or at least give yourself a fighting chance.

What Causes the Bug

The Construct doesn’t respond when you reach the bottom
Saving and reloading inside the cave can make him disappear entirely
Killing him breaks the quest permanently
Slimes may spawn wights, but that’s unrelated to this issue

Once broken, reloading inside the Grotto usually doesn’t help.

Solution 1: Reload Before Entering the Cave

Best-case scenario, you’ve still got a save from before entering the Grotto.

Load that save
Enter the cave again without saving inside
Go straight to the Construct and try talking before doing anything else

This gives you a clean shot at triggering the quest properly.

Solution 2: Use the Shoulder Spam Trick

If the Construct is still standing there but won’t respond:

Stand on his left side
Aim at his shoulder or head
Spam the interact button while adjusting your angle slightly
Some players on the Steam forums say this forces the dialogue to open

Once it works, you can usually keep talking to him from that angle.

Solution 3: General Troubleshooting

Try a full game restart (not just reloading your save).

Quit the game completely
Relaunch and load your pre-Grotto save
Avoid saving in the cave or killing anything until you try the interaction again

Sometimes memory-related bugs get cleared out with a fresh start.

What Not to Do

Don’t save and reload inside the Grotto
Don’t attack the Construct (even once)
Don’t assume killing enemies will trigger progress—it doesn’t

If he’s gone, and you’ve saved after... you’ll probably need an earlier backup.

Final Blurb & FAQ

This quest has been buggy since early access, and it’s still biting people. If you haven’t overwritten your earlier saves, you’ve got options. If you have... well, time to practice your shoulder spam technique or wait for a patch.

FAQ

Q: Why isn’t the Construct talking?

It’s a bug. He often won’t respond unless you approach just right.

Q: Can I kill the Construct to move things along?

No, that breaks the quest entirely.

Q: What’s the best fix right now?

Reload a save from before entering the cave, and try again without saving inside.

Q: The Construct is gone. Can I get him back?

Only if you reload a save before entering the Grotto. He doesn’t respawn once removed.

Q: Is there any general fix I can try?

Yes, try fully quitting the game and restarting. Then load an older save and avoid saving inside the cave.