Quick answer: Being stuck on the pier in Graveyard Keeper 2 is a known bug with no in-game way out. Once you walk down the stairs at the far right end of the main pier in the Port (the wooden part), you can't climb back up, and there is no unstuck button. The game only saves when you sleep, so the only fix is to quit and load your last save. You lose everything since you last slept. Until it's patched, don't go down those stairs, and sleep before you explore the Port.
Players describe the same bug in different words, most often just stuck on pier. Can't go back up stairs on pier and stuck at end of port stairs mean the character walks down but the stairs won't take you back up. Main port dock hardlock, help stuck on the dock and not able to leave the main pier at the port are the same trap seen from the dock. End of pier stuck and pier softlock are how the bug-report threads name it, and needs unstuck button is the fix players are asking the developers for.
Quick facts
- Where: stairs at the right-hand end of the main pier, Port
- When: usually the day you first reach the Port, right after the first battle
- Fix: quit and load; nothing in the game frees the character
- You lose: everything since your last sleep
- Status: not mentioned in update 1.005 (September 24, 2026)
Where exactly you get stuck
- The Port only opens after your first big battle (Battles), so almost everyone hits this the day they first arrive, often right after the fight and before sleeping.
- The trap is the wooden section at the right-hand end of the main pier.
- The same thing happens on the wooden pier to the right of the Trademaster.
- A similar trap is the ladder up from the supply pit at the Town Warehouse. Some players got out there by climbing back down and trying the ladder again.
What to do if you're already stuck
Try walking back the way you came a few times
It rarely works on the pier, but it has worked on the warehouse ladder.
Quit to the main menu and load
You go back to your last sleep. Nothing else frees the character without third-party tools.
Sleep before you go back to the Port
The game saves only after you sleep, so sleep right after the first battle, then explore.
Don't wait it out. Nothing players tried on the spot freed the character. The only way out is to load.
FAQ
No. Players on Steam have asked for one, but as of September 25, 2026 there is none. Loading your last save is the only way out.
It's a bug on the stairs at the right-hand end of the main pier: you can walk down but not back up. It isn't a missing item or quest step.
No. It only saves when you sleep, so you go back to the start of that day. See How saving works.
Related
- How saving works: the game saves only when you sleep
- Battles: the first battle is what opens the Port
- Where is the Astrologer: his tower is at the Port too
- Mine entrance freeze: another bug that costs you a day
Status as of September 25, 2026: not fixed in update 1.005. Sources: Steam Community bug reports and discussions.