Far Cry 5 Secret (Alternate) Ending Guide

Wondering how to get the secret ending in Far Cry 5? This quick guide will show you exactly what to do to get it. Pro tip: the ending is actually pretty close to the beginning.
Wondering how to get the secret ending in Far Cry 5? This quick guide will show you exactly what to do to get it. Pro tip: the ending is actually pretty close to the beginning.

So where’s the secret (alternate) ending in Far Cry 5? The answer is: not all that far into the game. In fact, those familiar open-world Far Cry antics get a backwoods cult makeover in the series’ latest installment. Much like in Far Cry 4, a secret ending is available right off the bat.

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Note: spoilers ahead!

How to Get the Far Cry 5 Secret (Alternate) Ending

To see this quick secret ending (which is pretty heavy on the social commentary), start up a new game and sit through the helicopter ride on the way to the Seed compound at the beginning of the game.

You don’t have to do anything special to get the alternate ending, but be sure to pay special attention when the sheriff warns the marshals that “sometime’s its best to leave well enough alone.” 

A statue of Joseph Seed as seen from a cockpit in Far Cry 5 Yeah, this cult leader isn’t full of himself at all …

After seeing the giant Joseph Seed statue and landing the helicopter, follow the path by walking through the compound, and make sure to keep up and don’t stray back. If you fall behind, you can mess up this section and have to start over when cultists attack you.

Follow through the opening segment in the chapel as normal, and wait for the marshal to interrupt the service to force a confrontation. Wait for Joseph Seed to hold his hands out, which causes a prompt to appear to press a button and initiate the arrest.

At this point, just stand still and don’t press anything on the controller. Seriously, that’s all you have to do to get the secret Far Cry 5 early ending.

After about 15 seconds, the sheriff will push Joseph’s hands down, and the cult leader will (spoilers here) repeat the statement “sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone,” indicating a clear connection between the sheriff and the cult (end spoilers).

Obviously, your marshal boss won’t be happy about it, but you will all leave the chapel alive, effectively preventing the events of the game from ever happening.

With no inciting incident, the Peggys remain a backwoods oddity and never initiate the Reaping, so none of the marshals get killed, the helicopter never crashes, and the cult doesn’t take over Hope County in their attempt to bring about the apocalypse. 

A shirtless cult leader stands with his arms raised to the heavens as followers look on in Far Cry 5 Just let Joseph be Joseph and it all comes to an end rather swiftly

Have you found any other alternate endings in your playthroughs? Let us know and we’ll get them added. Now that you’ve got that super-fast secret ending out of your system, it’s time to reload and play the game for real!

One of the first things you will want to do is nab yourself a fang for hire like Boomer the faithful hound, Peaches the sneaky cougar, or Cheeseburger the tanky bear. Check out our full fangs for hire guide here to get started or any of our other Far Cry 5 guides to really get kickin’.


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Author
Ty Arthur
Ty splits his time between writing horror fiction and writing about video games. After 25 years of gaming, Ty can firmly say that gaming peaked with Planescape Torment, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a soft spot for games like Baldur's Gate, Fallout: New Vegas, Bioshock Infinite, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. He has previously written for GamerU and MetalUnderground. He also writes for PortalMonkey covering gaming laptops and peripherals.