How to unlock Merida in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Here's how to get Merida as a villager in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

The player flying next to Merida and Merida's cottage in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

There are many different princesses you can find and meet in Disney Dreamlight Valley. The process for unlocking each one looks different, and not all of them are easy to find, as is the case with Merida.

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The protagonist from Brave can be a bit tricky to recruit if you’re not sure where she can be found. She’s a great ally to have though, so you need to know how to unlock Merida in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

How to get Merida in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Taking a picture with Merida in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
The bravest princess of all. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To unlock Merida, you need to have The Storybook Vale DLC installed and navigate through two introductory quests. All of the tasks you need to complete to recruit Merida are as follows.

  • Purchase and install The Storybook Vale expansion pass. Merida is a DLC-exclusive character, so you can only unlock her if you choose to buy this expansion.
  • Finish all prerequisites to access The Storybook Vale. You need to complete certain quests before you can access the Vale where Merida is located. The quests you need to finish are:
    • The Dream Castle from Merlin.
    • Friendship is Everything from Merlin.
    • Making Cents of Things from Scrooge McDuck.
    • Scrooge McDuck’s Grand Reopening from Scrooge McDuck.
    • Fishing Expedition from Goofy.
    • The Port of Many Worlds from Merlin.
  • Complete the Welcome to Storybook Vale quest. This is the first task you get upon arriving on the island and it introduces you to the new area, Merida, the Lorekeeper, the Royal Net tool, and Snippets.
  • Complete the A New Chapter quest. This is the second quest you get upon arriving at the Vale. This one tasks you with unlocking The Bind biome, helping to clean it up, setting up some essential shops, and building Merida a place to live.

Once you reach the end of the A New Chapter quest, you can build Merida a home for 5,000 Star Coins. As soon as you set it up for her, she’s officially unlocked as a character you can hang out and build your friendship with.

All Merida friendship rewards in Disney Dreamlight Valley

As you work on getting to know Merida, you gain access to an array of exclusive friendship rewards. Here’s what all of her rewards are and what level you need to reach to acquire them.

  • Level one: Unlock Merida as a villager.
  • Level two: Unlock a Brave-themed fireplace furniture item.
  • Level three: Unlock a Brave motif you can use to create Touch of Magic items.
  • Level four: Unlock 500 Star Coins.
  • Level five: Unlock Merida’s signature curly hair as a new hairstyle you can equip.
  • Level six: Unlock a Brave motif you can use to create Touch of Magic items.
  • Level seven: Unlock 1,000 Star Coins.
  • Level eight: Unlock a circle of stones furniture item inspired by a location Merida visits in Brave.
  • Level nine: Unlock a Brave motif you can use to create Touch of Magic items.
  • Level 10: Unlock a Brave-themed outfit.
All of Merida's friendship rewards in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
I can’t wait to unlock her hairstyle. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Best role for Merida in Disney Dreamlight Valley

The best role to give Merida is Snippet Catching. She’s the first villager you get after unlocking your Royal Net and you won’t have any other character assigned to this role, so it’s best to give it to her, giving you help finding extra Snippets while you use this Royal Tool.

After you’re done recruiting Merida, you might consider working on finding and feeding Owls next. They’re fairly easy to find after you’ve got her recruited, so befriending them is a great task to pick up.

Author
Image of Kacee Fay
Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.