Skaen pool of blood

[Ocelot]

Second time playing PoE, this time with a morally ambiguous rogue. And apparently if you are cruel enough, the pool of blood offers you a permanent (but small) buff if you sacrifice a party member.

My character isn't comically evil but will do evil things to succeed. And since the game has a plethora of companions, sacrificing one I don't need seems like a no-brainer. Not to mention that I can always buy a merc.

At the same time, I'm playing as a rogue, which means that my class doesn't overlap with any one of my companions (none of them are a rogue).

This option if driving me nuts. Should I sacrifice a party member I know I won't be using much for a stat boost? I'm considering Hiravias for the DEX buff. Should I just ignore the blood pool until I do all companion side-quests and return towards the end game to sacrifice one? Is it just not worth it? What did you do in this situation?

For this playthrough I'm playing in Normal difficulty so it's not like I have a hard time completing quests, the quests have been very easy so far. But it's really tempting to boost my character at the same time.

 

[omgFIREBALLS]

22 hours ago, Ocelot said:

Should I just ignore the blood pool until I do all companion side-quests and return towards the end game to sacrifice one? Is it just not worth it? What did you do in this situation?

From a powergaming perspective you should do every quest possible, since quests translate into stronghold turns which translate into adventures that can give you very desirable rewards, so you would want to wait for their quests, yes. And, of course, a stat boost is better than a benched NPC, especially if you're cool with replacing them with in-most-cases-stronger mercenaries. So if it won't bother you in character or out of character to do it, go for it as soon as you're "done" with your intended victim.

If you intend to play Deadfire and import your Pillars 1 history there, know that this decision will carry over.

Spoiler

• Aloth, Edér and Pallegina can join you again in Deadfire... but not if you sacrificed them. They also carry unique items (I arrange for Aloth to have a Pillars 1 history that leads to a hat in Deadfire that I steal from him the first hour and keep for the whole game).
• Kana and Maneha make appearances in Deadfire, but power-wise those don't matter.
• With the right decisions regarding Devil of Caroc in Pillars 1, there will be a powerful unique breastplate for sale (or theft ) in Deadfire, and I am quite confident those right decisions involve not sacrificing her.
• After a certain story event, you will get the bonus for the sacrifice in Deadfire too, with perhaps some occasions of the stats being translated to fit Deadfire systems.

 

[Chaospread]

What I'd do if I were you: do the Hiravias quest and then sacrifice him.