Image: Bend Studio / PlayStationOfficial screenshot from Bend Studio / PlayStation.
Deacon St. John
Deacon St. John is the player character: a former soldier and Mongrels MC enforcer who now works as a drifter and bounty hunter in post-outbreak Oregon. You play as him from the opening hunt for Leon. He still grieves his wife Sarah, whom he believes died early in the outbreak.
- Role
- Protagonist
- Affiliation
- Mongrels Motorcycle Club
Found in
- FarewellFarewell is the Oregon city where Deacon, Sarah and the Mongrels lived before the outbreak. It falls at the very start of the story and only appears in flashbacks, so you never ride its streets in free roam.
- Iron Mike's CampIron Mike's Camp, also called the Lost Lake Settlement, is the encampment at the old Lost Lake resort. It becomes your home base mid-story, and its mechanic sells some of the best bike parts in the game.
- O'Leary Mountain SafehouseThe O'Leary Mountain Safehouse is the converted Forest Service fire lookout Deacon and Boozer live in at the start. It is your first safe place to sleep and save, and it has a stash of crafting loot.
Good to know
- Full name: Deacon Lee Saint John. Friends call him Deek.
- Born in the early 1980s and raised in Farewell, Oregon.
- Served a tour in Afghanistan with the US Army's 10th Mountain Division.
- Was an Enforcer in the Mongrels MC, then went Nomad to spend more time with Sarah.
- Married to Sarah Whitaker; Boozer is his closest friend and riding partner.
- Takes jobs from Copeland's camp, Tucker's Hot Springs camp and Iron Mike's Lost Lake camp.
- He is afraid of deep water.
- Creative director John Garvin named him after a pet.
Who he is
Deacon trades bounties and odd jobs to the camps for fuel, food and ammo. He and Boozer live in an old watchtower safehouse on O'Leary Mountain. When the game opens, the two plan to ride north and leave the region for good.
Before the outbreak
His mother died when he was a boy, and he dropped out of high school to join the Army. In Afghanistan an ambush threw his squad's Humvee into a river, and he pulled eight bodies out. Back home he drifted, then fixed bikes in Jack's shop and was patched into the Mongrels.
Meeting Sarah
He met Sarah when her car broke down on a back road and he offered her a ride. He proposed with his Mongrels ring by a waterfall near a club pot farm. Boozer was the only guest at their small wedding in Marion Forks.
The outbreak
Sarah was stabbed as the three of them fled Farewell. Deacon forced a NERO worker to fly her out and stayed behind with the injured Boozer. He later found the refugee camp overrun and carved her name into a memorial stone.
Personality
He acts like a loner who wants no ties, and he can be blunt and quick to violence. Underneath, he needs commitment and close bonds. Over the story he goes from self-imposed exile to a trusted member of Lost Lake.
Relationships
Boozer is his brother in all but blood, and Sarah is the center of his life. He has history with Rikki, a strained truce with Iron Mike and open hostility with Skizzo.
Role in the storySpoilerShow
Deacon gets Boozer treated at Lost Lake and takes the fight to the Rippers and their leader. O'Brian's digging shows Sarah may have survived. Deacon tracks her to the Deschutes County Militia and enlists to stay near her.
FateSpoilerShow
Deacon leads the camps in the assault on Wizard Island and kills Skizzo, while Garret dies from Sarah's hemlock. Afterward he settles at Lost Lake with Sarah. In the secret ending, O'Brian shows he is an intelligent Freaker and warns of worse to come.
Trivia
The skill trophies are named after lyrics from Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. His name echoes Queen bassist John Deacon.
Things to know
Deacon's skills sit in three trees: melee, ranged and survival. Trophies unlock at 1, 15, 30 and 45 skills, the last one being the Silver Mr. Fahrenheit. NERO Injectors at abandoned checkpoints raise his health, stamina or focus for good. Using the first one earns Better Living through Chemistry, and maxing one stat earns Performance Enhanced. The Days Gone counter on screen tracks days since the outbreak. It reads zero only once in normal play, during Rikki's Outta The Darkness. Deacon is also playable in the free Challenges mode.
The Only One He's GotAddison Walker asks you to come by the infirmary at the Lost Lake encampment. She wants to talk about how Boozer is doing now that the worst is behind him.
We Must Fill The ArkColonel Matthew Garret has called the Militia together for a speech. You drive over and listen to what he has planned for Wizard Island.- They're Not SleepingA NERO helicopter has landed in the Cascade region. You sneak into the landing zone, tail a NERO researcher into a cave and listen in on what they are doing, then get back to your bike.
- Throw Them Into The FurnaceColonel Matthew Garret is giving another speech to his Militia. You drive to the spot and stand in the crowd to hear him out.
We'll Make It QuickYou and Boozer track Leon past the Buck Meadow Bridge in Cascade after he double-crossed you. Along the way you get hurt and the game walks you through crafting and using a bandage.- The Rest of Our DrugsTucker puts a bounty on Roach, who has taken over Leon's old drug trade. You hunt him down, knock him off his bike and tie him up for the Hot Springs camp.
- They Won't Let Me LeaveYou stop by Tucker's Hot Springs camp to check on Lisa, the girl you brought in. Drive over and talk to her to see how she is holding up.
- What Did You Do?You ride up to the abandoned NERO refugee camp in Belknap and clear the Freakers out of it. Then you leave a Stonecrop flower at Sarah's memorial stone.
- Was This A Good Idea?Rikki has built something for Boozer, and you are there at Lost Lake when she gives it to him. It is a short story beat in Boozer's recovery after losing his arm.
- What Have They DoneRippers raided the Hot Springs and took Lisa. You track her down before dawn, kill her captors, free her and ride her out to meet Rikki.
- What's A Nice GirlA flashback to the day Deacon met Sarah. Her car has broken down and he gives her a ride through Belknap, past the Belknap Caves.
We're Getting Low on MeatBoozer is laid up at the safehouse and needs food. You head out to hunt, harvest the meat and bring it back to him.- Without Being SeenYou and Boozer are getting ready to hit the Ripper compound. Drive out, pick up the explosives and bring them back to your cabin at Lost Lake.
- The Last Of 'EmLost Lake wants another Militia camp south of the encampment wiped out. You find the camp and clear every soldier in it, slowing the Militia's push toward Iron Mike's people.
- They Don't Like VisitorsRikki Patil takes you to the hydro dam to get it working for Lost Lake. Freakers have nested in the junction box room, so you burn the nests out before heading back to the bikes with her.
- I'm Not A RipperLisa Jackson shows up at the gate of Iron Mike's camp at Lost Lake. You head over to see her and find out what she has been doing since you last met.
- That Never Gets OldYou and Boozer ride to the Ripper compound in Iron Butte to hit them where they live. You climb a sniper tower and cover Boozer while he gets into position, then head down to the compound.
- We Will Take Back This WorldColonel Matthew Garret wants you to report in on Wizard Island. You meet him and get his view of the war against the Freakers, plus your next assignment.
- Time For Some PaybackWith the dam gone, you go back to the Ripper compound in Iron Butte to finish the job. Clear out the Rippers who survived and get inside the Ripper Lodge.
- On Herod's BirthdayO'Brian wants more NERO data, so Deacon tracks a NERO field research team in the Lost Lake region. You tag their helicopter with a GPS tracker and watch the researcher at work.
- This Could Be ItSarah Whitaker sends you south on a job for her research. You drive out, find the test subject she needs, knock it out with a tranquilizer and bring it back to her.
- For The Benefit Of OthersRikki asks you to meet her and Addy at the cemetery in the Lost Lake encampment. It is a quiet memorial scene after the war with the Militia.
- There's Nothing You Can DoThe secret ending. After the credits, O'Brian gets in touch and asks to meet you in person at a NERO landing zone by the Pioneer Cemetery. You ride out to hear what he has to say.
- We're Not HidingIron Mike wants the Metolius Cave sealed, and that takes explosives. Skizzo takes you into the Lucky Lad Mine near Lost Lake to pull TNT out of the old storeroom.
- Moments of LucidityO'Brian has another job for you near Lost Lake. You find a NERO field team, put a GPS tracker on their helicopter and spy on the researcher.
- That's His MistakeRight after you pull TNT out of the Lucky Lad Mine with Skizzo, Marauders hit you outside the entrance. You have to clear the area before you can head back toward Lost Lake.
- Trying To Help The CampSkizzo wants to meet at Lost Lake. He says he knows where to get det cord, which you need to use the explosives to seal off the Freaker caves near the camp.
- The Anarchist SpyA bounty job for Wizard Island. An Anarchist is riding around the Crater Lake area, and the camp wants him brought in alive. Find him, knock him off his bike and tie him up.
- What It Takes To SurviveYou need O'Brian's help to get Sarah off Wizard Island by air, so you ride out to meet him. He sends you into the Ice Wind Lava Cave to find Cooper, and the job gets much bigger from there.
- They Don't Feel PainSkizzo leads you on foot through Ripper territory in Iron Butte at night. He knows where to find what you need, so you stick with him and keep your head down.
- Where's My Damn Rings?A post-story errand. You go back into the Ark on Wizard Island to search for your rings, the wedding band and the Mongrels ring that matter so much to Deacon.
- Why Am I Here?O'Brian wants another meeting, and you ride out in the Lost Lake region to find him. This time he has news about what happened to Sarah after that night in Farewell.
- We're Fighting A WarYou go with Captain Kouri to the Militia's Diamond Lake encampment to look for any trace of Sarah. You talk to a drifter there and search the camp before meeting Kouri back at your bike.
- That's When I KnewRikki Patil needs one more hand to wrap up the repairs at the hydro dam. Rippers show up while you are there, so you fight them off with her and then get back to the bikes.
ChallengesChallenges is the first free DLC for Days Gone, added in Patch 1.21. It is a separate mode of short score runs built around Horde, Combat and Bike tasks, each with medals, sub-challenges and its own rewards.- Encampment jobsEncampment jobs are the work the friendly camps hand out: bounties, hostage rescues and enemy camp clears. Each one pays trust and credits to the camp that posted it.
Related characters
- Image: Bend Studio / PlayStationCompanion
Boozer
Boozer is Deacon's best friend and riding partner, and a former Sergeant-at-Arms of the Mongrels MC. He rides with you from the first mission as the two hunt bounties in the Cascades. What happens to him in the opening hours drives much of the first half of the story.
- Image: Bend Studio / PlayStationSupporting
Rikki Patil
Rikki Patil is Iron Mike's second in command at Lost Lake and the camp's engineer. She rode with Deacon and Boozer before settling down, and she speaks up for them when they come back. Many of the Lost Lake jobs come through her.
- Supporting
James O'Brian
James O'Brian is the NERO volunteer who loaded Sarah onto an evacuation helicopter when the outbreak began. Deacon finds him again two years later as a NERO lieutenant in the Finding NERO storyline. He becomes Deacon's only inside source on NERO and on what happened to Sarah.
- Antagonist
Skizzo
Skizzo is one of the heads of security at Iron Mike's Lost Lake camp. He objects to Deacon and Boozer coming back from the moment they arrive. You work with him on runs for explosives in the Keep Your Friends Close storyline.