Graveyard Keeper 2 Herbert Guide: Quests & Battles
Herbert starts out as the exhausted commander hanging around the Crossroads, but his questline eventually controls a huge amount of Graveyard Keeper 2's map access. Working with him opens the Barracks, introduces Military Strength and battle preparation, clears infected districts, and eventually helps open routes to places like the Royal Foundry and Stilt Houses.
Jump To Section:
Where to Find Herbert
How to Raise Herbert Reputation
How to Unlock the Barracks
How Military Strength Works
Herbert's Major Battle Routes
Victory Banners and Defender's Emblems
Herbert's Later Unlocks
Herbert Starts at the Crossroads and Later Moves to the Barracks
Herbert can initially be found at the Crossroads after the opening retreat. His personal questline begins properly once you've shown him your first Burial Certificate and completed the conversations leading into his graveyard request.
The first major task is Grave Expectations, where Herbert wants the Graveyard to reach 10 total quality.
This is the displayed Graveyard Quality score, not reputation with Herbert or the village. Improve graves that still have unused white-skull capacity rather than wasting better decorations on bodies that have already hit their quality limit.
Herbert's Early Route
• Meet Herbert at the Crossroads
• Show him the first Burial Certificate
• Raise Graveyard Quality to 10
• Report the finished Graveyard to Herbert
• Complete his Faith request
• Unlock access to the Barracks
Once the military side of his story gets underway, the Barracks becomes the main place you'll return to for Herbert, army preparation, defensive construction, and later campaign conversations.
Raise Herbert Reputation by Completing His Requests, Not by Fighting Random Battles
Herbert's reputation acts as a gate for several technologies and later conversations, so simply winning battles isn't always enough to move his personal questline forward.
His early Grave Expectations report gives reputation, and later requests continue adding more as you help with the military campaign and Herbert's personal problems.
Some confirmed reputation-gated moments include Reinforced Plank technology becoming available once Herbert reaches 20 reputation, while his election-security conversations later require 55 and then 60 reputation.
Ways Herbert Reputation Increases
• Improving the Graveyard for Grave Expectations
• Reporting major military victories
• Returning Herbert's Love Novel
• Arranging the novel reading with Agatha
• Completing later equipment requests such as Steel Armor
If Herbert has a conversation that seems permanently unavailable, check his reputation requirement and your other open Herbert quests before assuming the battle route itself is stuck.
Give Herbert 3 Faith to Unlock the Barracks
After completing Grave Expectations, Herbert asks for 3 Faith to help prepare the guards.
Faith is the actual item earned from sermons. Graveyard Quality, Church Quality, and colored Tech Points do not count toward this request.
Once you hand over all 3 Faith and finish the conversation, the Barracks opens and Herbert starts asking you to prepare an actual fighting force.
Your first major Barracks requirements are 12 Military Strength and a Magic Bell.
First Barracks Requirements
• Give Herbert 3 Faith
• Reach 12 Military Strength
• Craft the Magic Bell
• Report both requirements to Herbert
• Prepare for the first counterattack
The Magic Bell recipe comes from Jack's letter and uses 1 Blood and 1 Bronze Ingot at an Anvil with the appropriate Smithing mastery.
Blood comes from suitable corpses at the Autopsy Table, although not every body contains it.
Military Strength Comes From Squads and Defenses
When Herbert asks for a certain Military Strength number, he isn't asking you to craft that many weapons or soldiers.
Military Strength is the combined score of the troops you've hired or prepared plus the defensive structures stored at the Barracks.
For the first 12-strength requirement, one straightforward setup is the starting mercenary squad at 8 strength plus two Barricade I defenses worth 2 strength each.
Example Early Setup
• Starting hired mercenaries: 8 Strength
• Barricade I: 2 Strength each
• Two Barricades: 4 Strength
• Total: 12 Military Strength
The Barracks preparation screen is what matters. Always check the displayed total before crafting more defenses, because previously built barricades, upgraded troops, and additional squads can change what you actually need.
Preparing defenses at the Barracks also doesn't place them automatically on the battlefield. After starting a battle, you'll get a separate preparation stage where those stored structures can be positioned around the combat area.
Herbert's Battles Gradually Open More of the Town
The first major fight is Break Through to the Port. It requires at least 12 Military Strength and allows one squad.
During battle preparation, place your defenses across enemy routes and position the squad where it can protect your base while helping capture objectives. Once the battle begins, you can carry the squad banner to reposition your mercenaries as the attack shifts.
Winning the first battle opens the route toward the Port and reconnects you with Jack.
From there, Herbert's military campaign branches into several different areas rather than following one perfectly straight line.
Major Herbert Battle Routes
• Break Through to the Port
• Hope It Doesn't go South
• Plaza Battle
• Street Battles
• Battles in the Sewers
• Water Locked
• Steamy Royal
• Royal Foundry assault
• Western lake battle
Hope It Doesn't go South contains two fights. The first still works around the earlier 12-strength setup, while the second requires 20 Military Strength and allows two squads.
Plaza Battle opens after Jack's Supply: Iron order is completed and reported. If you're at that stage, the Graveyard Keeper 2 Supply Iron guide covers that separate requirement.
After both the southern branch and Plaza Battle are finished, Street Battles pushes deeper into the Town with much higher Military Strength requirements.
Defender's Emblems Add Squad Capacity While Victory Banners Add Building Space
Herbert's battles eventually start giving two important military upgrade items: Defender's Emblems and Victory Banners.
They solve different problems.
Defender's Emblems can be used at the Barracks to increase the number of squads you can bring into later fights. Victory Banners expand the military building area, giving you additional space for barricades, towers, and other defenses.
Military Reward Difference
• Defender's Emblem: Helps unlock more squad capacity
• Victory Banner: Expands defensive building space
• Zombie Goo: Common battle reward used elsewhere
• Town Gratitude: Frequently awarded after victories
Your first battle at the Port gives a Defender's Emblem rather than a Victory Banner.
Victory Banners begin appearing from later wins, including the second Hope It Doesn't go South battle, the second Street Battle, and the final assault on the Royal Foundry route.
I would spend these military rewards rather than hoard them indefinitely. Later fights scale sharply in strength requirements, so additional squad capacity and defense space are meant to help you keep pace.
Herbert Eventually Helps Open the Royal Foundry and Stilt Houses
Herbert remains relevant long after the first Port battle.
The Water Locked quest sends his forces to help close part of the ship lock, opening the route needed for the next stage around the flooded tunnels.
Steamy Royal then continues through multiple battles toward the Royal Foundry. The final Foundry assault requires 96 Military Strength and supports up to three squads.
Winning that fight opens access to the Royal Foundry and begins the next set of quests involving the monks and higher-tier metalworking.
Herbert is therefore indirectly tied to one of the biggest material upgrades in the game. If you're trying to reach the later metal tier and wondering why there's no simple Furnace recipe waiting for you, the military route through Herbert is part of the answer.
His western campaign matters too. During Notorious Nun, Herbert can open the battle route toward the western lake. Winning there gives access to the Stilt Houses, which in turn connects with Agatha and Harold's later quests.
Important Areas Herbert Helps Open
• Port
• Southern Town districts
• Jack's Town Workshop route
• Flooded lock and water tunnel
• Royal Foundry
• Western lake
• Stilt Houses
He also has a later equipment request called Not in Shining Armor Yet, where Herbert asks for 5 Steel Armor. Each set requires 4 Steel Ingots, 4 Steel Details, and 4 Fabric, making the full hand-in a substantial Smithing job.
Herbert Also Handles Election Security
Not every Herbert quest is about clearing another battlefield.
After Election Fever, you can ask him about security for the election. The first conversation requires 55 Herbert reputation.
A second Election Security conversation then requires 60 reputation. Completing Herbert's side prepares the guards for the election, although the wider election storyline also depends on other characters finishing their own tasks.
Election Security Requirements
• Reach the Election Fever stage
• Herbert reputation 55 for the first conversation
• Herbert reputation 60 for Election Security
• Finish the conversation so the guard requirement is ready
If you're sitting at 55 reputation and wondering why the second option hasn't appeared, the first election conversation does not supply the missing five reputation by itself. Finish another Herbert request first.
Build Herbert's Army Around the Next Strength Requirement
I wouldn't try to construct a giant permanent army as soon as the Barracks opens.
Check the next battle's Military Strength requirement, see what your current squads and intact defenses already provide, and then build only what you're missing.
This becomes especially useful as mercenary upgrades increase their contribution. The starting group provides 8 strength, the first equipment upgrade raises it to 16, and the later upgrade raises the same hired group to 24.
My Herbert Battle Routine
• Activate the next battle first
• Check its required Military Strength
• Rehire or upgrade the squad if needed
• Count existing Barricades and Towers
• Build only enough additional defenses to reach the target
• Arrange everything during battlefield preparation
Zombies can become another part of your available workforce as the game opens up. The Graveyard Keeper 2 Zombies guide covers creating and using them, while the Reanimation Liquid guide covers one of the main materials needed to start building that workforce.
Herbert's questline is ultimately much larger than a single military side activity. Following it steadily opens major sections of the Town, increases your available army and defenses, connects into Jack and Agatha's stories, and eventually gives you access to areas that contain some of Graveyard Keeper 2's strongest materials and late-game systems.
If you're also tracking the milestones tied to the campaign, the Graveyard Keeper 2 achievements guide covers the game's wider achievement list, while the Graveyard Keeper 2 guides cover the other characters, materials, and systems you'll need along the way.
