Alan Wake 2: How to find the Father Doll

The elusive final Nursery Rhyme Doll.

An in game screenshot of Saga Anderson from Alan Wake 2.
Screenshot by Dot Esports.

The Father Doll is the absolute most difficult Nursery Rhyme Doll to find in Alan Wake 2, and it just so happens it’s also needed to solve the last and most difficult Nursery Rhyme.

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Usually, you wouldn’t be able to specify a “last” Nursery Rhyme (or “last” Doll, for that matter), as you can complete Nursery Rhymes and find Dolls in any order—or at least you usually are. The Father Doll is an exception, and there isn’t even a set spawn location for it. Read on to learn how you can Find the elusive Father Doll in Alan Wake 2.

Alan Wake 2 Father Doll location

If you have already completed every Nursery Rhyme in Alan Wake 2, then I really hope for your sake you remember which the last one you completed was. This is because the Father Doll can spawn at any of 16 locations, and its eventual spawn point will be determined by which Nursery Rhyme you solved last.

There’s one small caveat you should be aware of when searching for the Father Doll; after you find the Father Doll, one final 17th Nursery Rhyme spawns in Witchfinder’s Station, which is within Cauldron Lake (note there is already a Nursery Rhyme at Witchfinder’s Station. The Father Doll creates a second one). This matters because the Case Board displays a slot for the 17th Nursery Rhyme even before you have collected the Father Doll and unlocked this final Rhyme.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you still need to solve one more Nursery Rhyme in Cauldron Lake to unlock and find the Father Doll—if your Case Board shows four out of five Nursery Rhyme’s in Cauldron Lake, then you have completed all Cauldron Lake Rhymes possible until unlocking the final 17th Rhyme.

How to find the Father Doll at your last Nursery Rhyme

I can’t say with complete certainty where you will find the Father Doll, because there are 16 different spawn points. However, there is one golden rule the Father Doll follows regardless of which of the 16 Nursery Rhymes in Alan Wake 2 you complete last—the Father Doll will always spawn next to the Charm reward, not next to the completed Rhyme.

This means when you complete your 16th Nursery Rhyme, you should still follow whichever clues lead you to the Charm to find the Father Doll.

Tip:

The Father Doll will always be at the last Nursery Rhyme you complete, regardless of which order you complete them in.

When you arrive at the Charm rewarded from your 16th Rhyme, you will see a large official looking briefcase next to it. The Father Doll will always be located inside of this case. The case will have a large circular FBC logo on top of it and can be opened without any sort of key. When you open the case, you will see a warning about how this Doll must be kept separate, and it CERTAINLY shouldn’t be taken to Witchfinder’s Station. Below the warning, the Father Doll rests in a protective lining inside the case. Pick it up to complete your Doll collection.

What to do if you missed the Father Doll

If you have already completed all 16 Nursery Rhymes and didn’t find the Father Doll, this means you didn’t notice the FBC case containing it when you completed your 16th Rhyme. There’s good news and bad news. The good news is the Father Doll is still out there somewhere…the bad news is there isn’t any way to check which Rhyme you last solved. If you aren’t sure what your 16th Nursery Rhyme was, you will have to check at each location until you find the case containing the Father Doll.

If you are forced to resort to this guessing and checking method, it is important to remember the case containing the Father Doll spawns next to the Charm, NOT next to the Rhyme. This means you will need to check the Charm reward spots of all Nursery Rhymes in Watery, Bright Falls, and Cauldron Lake, as the Father Doll could be at any of them.

How to use the Father Doll in Alan Wake 2

There is only one Nursery Rhyme that requires the Father Doll, and it is the hidden 17th Nursery Rhyme, which only spawns in Witchfinder’s Station after you have completed the other 16 Nursery Rhymes and picked up the Father Doll. It just so happens this 17th Rhyme is an absolute bear to solve as well.

When you return to Witchfinder’s Station after looting the Father Doll, a voice can be heard playing through a speaker, and chalk drawings will now be scattered throughout the various rooms of the station. You probably want to make sure you have your subtitles on, as this voice recording is reading the 17th Rhyme aloud—it is not written down anywhere. To complete the Father Doll Nursery Rhyme, you must:

  • Place the Father Doll on the drawing of the eye.
    • The eye drawing is the first room next to the voice recording.
  • Place the Hero Doll on the drawing of the sun.
    • The sun drawing is in the bedroom on the first floor.
  • Place the Mother Doll on the drawing of the heart.
    • The heart drawing is in the dining room on the first floor.
  • Place the Child Doll on the drawing of the egg.
    • The egg drawing is in a toddler’s play-pen on the second floor.
  • Place the Trickster Doll on the drawing of the waves.
    • The waves drawing is in the bathroom on the second floor.

Like any Nursery Rhyme, some drawings aren’t used, but something about this sporadic layout makes that fact feel more confusing. You will pass several chalk drawings that aren’t needed as you seek out the five mention above—don’t let those distract or worry you. Once you have placed those five Dolls on the correct drawings, return to where you heard the voice playing in the first room of Witchfinder’s Station.

You will get to have a conversation with the voice, finally learn why these Rhymes are here, and then get an upgrade that lets you equip a fourth Charm as Saga.

Author
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Pierce Bunch
Freelance writer and jack-of-all-games.