Path of Exile Guide: How to Handle the Deal With The Bandits Quest

Path of Exile (PoE) is a rich, complex action RPG known for its deep character customization and meaningful choices. Among these choices, one of the earliest and most impactful decisions you’ll face is the “Deal With The Bandits” quest in Act 2. While this quest might seem like a simple side event, the outcome affects your character’s passive bonuses throughout your entire playthrough, shaping your survivability, damage potential, and overall build effectiveness.

This guide will help you understand the “Deal With The Bandits” quest in detail, explain each option you have, and offer insight into how to make the best choice depending on your build and playstyle to get Path of exile currency.

What Is the “Deal With The Bandits” Quest?

After progressing through Act 2’s main storyline, you arrive at the Forest Encampment. This small survivor settlement is the meeting point where you encounter three powerful bandit leaders: Alira, Kraityn, and Oak. Each controls a portion of the local wilderness and offers you a chance to side with them. Alternatively, you can choose to kill all three bandits.

The core decision you face is whether to join one of these bandits and receive their passive skill bonus or eliminate all three for two extra passive skill points. This choice is permanent and will influence your character throughout the remainder of the game, so it’s important to understand what each option offers.

Who Are the Bandits and What Do They Offer?

Alira

Alira is the bandit leader who appeals mostly to spellcasters and elemental damage builds. Choosing to help Alira grants three main benefits: increased mana regeneration rate, improved critical strike multiplier, and a boost to elemental resistances.

The mana regeneration boost is extremely valuable for characters that rely heavily on spells, as it allows more frequent skill use without running out of mana. The critical strike multiplier increases the damage you deal on critical hits, making this choice especially attractive for crit-based elemental builds. The elemental resistances add survivability by reducing incoming fire, cold, and lightning damage, which is a common threat as you progress through Act 2 and beyond.

Overall, Alira’s bonuses synergize well with caster classes such as Witch and Shadow or any build that emphasizes elemental damage and critical hits.

Kraityn

Kraityn is a ruthless and fast-moving bandit leader who favors physical damage and attack speed. Helping Kraityn provides a significant physical damage reduction bonus, which improves your defense against physical attacks—very important for melee or ranged fighters who take a lot of hits. Additionally, he grants increased attack speed, allowing you to deal damage faster.

This combination of offense and defense suits characters who rely on physical attacks, whether melee or ranged. If you are playing a Ranger using bows, a Duelist focusing on fast strikes, or any other physical attacker, Kraityn’s bonuses can boost your damage output and survivability simultaneously.

Oak

Oak represents brute strength and toughness. Helping him grants an increase to your maximum life, life regeneration rate, and physical damage. This choice is ideal for tanky builds that want to maximize their survivability by increasing health pools and regeneration, along with a physical damage boost to enhance their melee attacks.

Oak’s bonuses are especially useful for classes like Marauder or Templar that emphasize close combat and need the extra durability to survive enemy onslaughts. Players who prefer to stand toe-to-toe with enemies and soak up damage will find Oak’s rewards fitting.

Killing All Three Bandits

Instead of siding with any bandit, you have the option to kill all three leaders. This path forfeits the passive bonuses provided by the bandits but rewards you with two additional passive skill points. These points can be spent anywhere in your skill tree, giving you maximum flexibility.

This choice is favored by players who prefer to customize their passive tree precisely according to their build’s needs without relying on the preset bandit bonuses. It also suits hybrid or unconventional builds that don’t benefit strongly from the specific bonuses each bandit offers.

How to Decide Which Option Is Best for You

Choosing the right option depends heavily on your character build, playstyle, and priorities.

If you are playing a caster who relies on mana and elemental damage, Alira is generally the best choice. The combination of mana regeneration and elemental resistances helps maintain your offensive capabilities while improving your survivability. The boost to critical strike multiplier further amplifies damage for crit-focused builds, making it a powerful overall package.

If you are focusing on a physical damage melee or ranged build, Kraityn’s combination of physical damage reduction and increased attack speed is highly valuable. Physical damage reduction makes you tankier against enemy hits, while attack speed increases your damage output and allows you to engage enemies more aggressively.

For tanky, life-based melee builds, Oak is often the preferred choice. His bonuses increase your life pool and regeneration, enhancing your ability to absorb damage and stay alive longer in fights. The added physical damage also supports melee combat effectiveness.

If your build is unusual or doesn’t align well with any of these bonuses—or if you simply want the most freedom with your passive skill tree—killing all three bandits to gain two extra skill points is a strategic option. These two points can be used to shore up your defenses, increase damage, or unlock key nodes tailored precisely to your build.

Preparing for the Bandit Fight

If you choose to kill all three bandits, you will have to face them in combat. Each bandit is a challenging mini-boss with unique abilities:

Oak uses powerful melee strikes and can stun you.

Kraityn attacks from a distance with bows and traps.

Alira casts elemental and chaos spells.

To succeed in this fight, be prepared with strong gear, plenty of healing flasks, and mobility skills that allow you to avoid damage. Focus on killing them one at a time rather than rushing all three simultaneously. Using crowd control and kiting strategies can also help mitigate the damage you take.

Long-Term Impact of Your Choice

The bonuses or skill points you gain from this quest will benefit you throughout the game. Bandit bonuses offer passive buffs that save you from having to allocate passive skill points for similar effects, which can free your skill tree points for other enhancements.

The two extra passive skill points from killing all bandits give you greater customization but require more careful skill tree planning. In either case, your choice can affect how quickly you clear content, your survivability in tougher zones, and the efficiency of your build.

While later in the game gear and passive skills dominate your power, early and mid-game benefits can make your leveling experience smoother and more enjoyable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I redo the bandit choice later in the game?

No. This choice is permanent for your character. To experiment with different options, you’ll need to start a new character.

Does the bandit choice affect endgame gameplay?

Indirectly. The bonuses help early and mid-game progression. By endgame, your gear and passive tree have a more significant impact, but the initial bonuses can still influence how quickly you reached that stage.

What if I’m unsure about my build?

If you are new or unsure, killing all three bandits for the extra skill points is often recommended because it provides the most flexibility.

Conclusion

The “Deal With The Bandits” quest is one of the first major impactful choices in Path of Exile. Understanding each bandit’s bonuses and how they align with your build is crucial to maximizing your character’s effectiveness.

If you are a caster or elemental damage dealer, Alira is likely your best bet. Physical attackers will benefit from Kraityn’s offense and defense boost. Tanky life-based melee characters should strongly consider Oak’s bonuses. Alternatively, if you want maximum passive skill point flexibility, killing all three bandits grants you two free points to buy Path of exile currency exactly how you want.

Choosing wisely sets you on a smoother path through the dangerous world of Wraeclast. With this knowledge, you can confidently make the best decision for your character and enjoy a more powerful and tailored gameplay experience in Path of Exile.