Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden – How to solve a haunting

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has lots of scary ghost encounters, but each one is different. Here’s how to solve a haunting in Banishers.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s hauntings will test your morality and lead you to make some difficult choices about who lives, who dies, and who gets to experience peace everlasting.

While each haunting is essentially a side quest, they make up the meat of the game and take you closer to unlocking one of its several endings. After all, each one offers you the ability to sacrifice a human life, making it easier to resurrect Antea – should that be the path you choose to take.

However, none of the hauntings in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden are simple when it comes to which path to choose. The quests themselves are fairly straightforward to resolve, each one posing a mystery to investigate by following a series of clues. The tough part comes at the end when you must decide the fate of everyone involved, not to mention how it impacts you and the overall story regarding Antea’s resurrection.

Hauntings explained

You’ll come across a lot of NPCs in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden who are being haunted by a ghost. This could be a figure from their past or someone they have a connection to for some other reason. For example, they may be living in the former home of the deceased and are struggling to co-exist. Some ghosts may be haunting their murderer or the architect of their misery in life, while other spirits may be lingering to protect those they love from other malevolent forces – be they alive or dead.

The job of a Banisher is to send the spirit to the unknown afterlife, as the longer a haunting goes on, the more dangerous it is for those nearby. Ghosts can become hostile as they hunger for life, and this makes them increasingly dangerous. This also includes friendly ghosts who have good intentions.

All ghosts feel this hunger, and just as they were in life, ghosts are fallible and prone to self-preservation. Some once well-meaning ghosts are also prepared to justify feeding on humans as a means to complete their task, seeing the murder of others as a necessary evil to continue protecting their loved ones. Or more selfishly, to remain on earth living a semblance of the life they used to have.

Banishers: How to solve a haunting

Once you become aware of a haunted individual, the quest will appear in your journal, as will any clues and character notes on how to solve it. You’ll need to determine who is haunting this NPC and why. This information can be found by exploring their home, items they own, and places they’ve visited. Information can also be obtained from other NPCs who may be involved or connected to the person being haunted.

You’ll eventually need to perform a summoning ritual to speak to the ghost in question. This will likely shed some light on why the haunting is happening and what the ghost wants. Some ghosts mean you no harm and will be happy to speak to a Banisher. Some may be willing to move on, but others will take some convincing. Other ghosts may be hostile to Banishers, either because they have malevolent intent or simply do not want to be separated from someone they love.

There is often another problem to solve before the ghost will agree to move on. They may need to be talked down from vengeance, require a confrontation with the person they’re haunting, or simply be heard. Other ghosts may require you to complete some other task to satisfy them. It may be as simple as securing their legacy or having one final conversation with a spouse. Other ghosts may need to resolve the issue that cost them their lives before they can move on, and depending on what you do, they may agree to it or not.

Banish, Ascend, or Sacrifice

Eventually, you’ll need to make a decision on how to resolve the haunting, and there are several things to take into account:

• Is the ghost willing to move on?
• Does the ghost represent a threat to the living?
• The innocence of the human(s) being haunted

You’ll need to decide what becomes of the ghost and those being haunted. Now, there could be a clear antagonist here, such as a vicious ghost intent on staying on Earth through force. Or the ghost could be the injured party, having been murdered by the living person. However, the killing may be a misunderstanding, with neither side truly being in the wrong. The ghost could also be entirely innocent and the human is fully to blame, and it’s they who represent a threat to others more than any ghost.

Some situations are much more morally grey and will require you to make a difficult choice based on your own values. Essentially, you’ll be meting out justice and will be judge, jury, and potentially executioner. Whatever you decide will end the haunting. Oh, and you can also choose to be fully self-serving if you like, gobbling up a (guilty or innocent) human soul for yourself to reunite your two protagonists.

You’ll need to choose one of the following solutions:

Ascend: This peacefully allows a willing ghost to move on to the next life, their business concluded and leaving them comfortable in the knowledge that their loved ones are safe, or that justice has been served. The only catch is that ghosts have been known to return after being Ascended, meaning it’s not always an airtight solution.

Banish: This forceibly sends ghosts to oblivion, forever severing their connection to this world – while also seemingly hurting them. Banishing ghosts means they can never return, but it’s also not as humane as Ascending them. This is a solution for ghosts who refuse to leave, or who you suspect are manipulating you for their own ends. Even innocent ghosts may be consumed with the desire for vengeance or to remain in the land of the living.

Sacrifice: This kills the person being haunted, consuming their lifeforce and giving it to Antea to help her either remain a ghost for longer, or get her closer to becoming human again. It also ends the haunting, as the human the ghost was connected to no longer exists. This can be used on the wicked in cases when they’re being haunted for murdering the ghost in question, or if they are just evildoers in general and are hurting New Eden and its people.

Of course, you can spare evildoers by simply Ascending the ghost and going on your way… although this could lead to more blood on your hands later, especially if they kill again or continue to do evil things. The Ascended ghost may also return if this is the case. Don’t forget, letting an evildoer get away will create an enemy among the population of New Eden, as you know what they did – so it may be wise to tie up this loose end instead.

Regardless, you may have decided to sacrifice as many haunted people as possible to bring back Antea. If that’s the case, then you’ll need to Sacrifice that person regardless of whether they deserve it or not. You get the lifeforce you need and end a haunting, win-win. But can you live with Sacrificing the innocent for your own selfish desires?

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