Every decision you take in Path of Exile shapes your character in different ways. Depending on the build you're pursuing, it can be easy to take the wrong path and miss out on cool skills or necessary bonuses. The game's story isn't decision-driven at all, but there is one specific quest that can affect your exile's progression with four different outcomes. This guide will explain how Deal with the Bandits works, the choices you can make, and the rewards for each.

What is Deal with the Bandits in PoE?

Deal with the Bandits is a questline that takes place in Act 2 of Path of Exile. After you finish Through Sacred Ground, speaking to Eramir in the Forest Encampment will kickstart the quest. If you happen to stumble upon one of the three bandits beforehand, you can talk to them instead to start it.

The premise is simple: Eramir will tell you about three bandits, each located in one specific location, whom you'll have to hunt down.. The twist is that you can choose to save any of them and kill the remaining two, or just take all three down as you were asked.

As for the bandits, their names and locations are as follows:

  • Alira: The Western Forest
  • Kraityn: The Broken Bridge
  • Oak: The Wetlands

This is a mandatory quest in PoE's early game, and it's important to know what you're getting from each decision, as the quest does not specify the rewards.

Deal with the Bandits – What's the Best Choice?

As we mentioned, there are four different outcomes to this quest, each with a specific reward. Depending on your choice your character may end up gaining a permanent stat boost, but they all differ with one another. When you approach them a menu will appear on screen, asking you if you want to Save or Kill the bandit.

You can find the decisions list below:

  • Save Alira: 5 mana regenerated per second, +20% to global critical strike multiplier, +15% elemental resistances
  • Save Kraityn: 6% increased attack and cast speed, 3% chance to dodge attacks, 6% increased movement speed
  • Save Oak: 1% of life regenerated per second, 2% additional physical damage reduction, 20% increase physical damage
  • Kill All Bandits: 2 passive skills

The best choice of the four depends on what you're looking for in terms of character progression. Alira's reward suits Intelligence-adjacent builds best, while Kraityn and Oak are focused on Dexterity and Strength, respectively. The caveat is that this decision takes place in Act 2, which is extremely early in the game. Unless you have a solid idea of how your character's resistances or overall stats will look once your build is complete in the late game, it may not be worth the trouble.

Choosing the two passive skills, however, really narrows down your possibilities. But at the same time, these are two extra points to spend on the massive passive skill tree. The resistances and stat buffs' values aren't exactly game-changing, and if you're an experienced player, you will already have gear or passive skills in mind for your build that will showcase similar or greater results.

It's important to remember Path of Exile has a level cap, which means that your passive skill points are not infinite. When you take into consideration that you can also have additional nodes on the skill tree, two extra points sound tempting, granting you the choice of picking your own stat increases.

I Fucked Up, Can I Change the Bandit Choice?

Yes, you can! As with everything in life, this has a cost that varies depending on which decision you want to roll back to. The following items can be sold to any vendor in towns across the game, and doing so will grant you a Book of Reform:

  • Alira Book of Reform: 20 Orb of Regret, Lapis Amulet
  • Kraityn Book of Reform: 20 Orb of Regret, Jade Amulet
  • Oak Book of Reform: 20 Orb of Regret, Amber Amulet
  • Kill All Bandits Book of Reform: 20 Orb of Regret, Onyx Amulet

And that's all there is to know about Deal with the Bandits! Make sure to keep this guide at hand while you search for the best build for you.