The best bandit choice in Path of Exile depends on what your build needs most. Help Alira for 15% to all Elemental Resistances, help Kraityn for 8% increased Movement Speed, help Oak for +40 to Maximum Life, or kill all three bandits and speak to Eramir for 1 Passive Skill Point. Optimized endgame builds often choose the passive point, while Alira, Kraityn, and Oak can provide more immediate value during the campaign and early mapping.
Deal with the Bandits is an Act 2 quest involving Alira, Kraityn, and Oak. You must either help one leader and kill the other two or defeat all three. The decision affects only the character completing the quest. It remains active permanently on that character, but it can be changed later with a Book of Reform.
Pre-release notice: This guide was checked against the Path of Exile 3.29 patch notes before the update's scheduled launch on July 24, 2026. No change to the current bandit rewards was announced for 3.29.
PoE Bandit Rewards at a Glance
| Choice | Current Reward | Best Use | Main Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help Alira | 15% to all Elemental Resistances | League start, SSF, resistance-starved gear | Loses value after resistances are solved |
| Help Kraityn | 8% increased Movement Speed | Fast leveling, mapping, speed-focused builds | Provides no direct damage or defense |
| Help Oak | +40 to Maximum Life | Life builds, Hardcore progression, early survivability | Does not directly benefit Energy Shield or Chaos Inoculation builds |
| Kill all bandits | 1 Passive Skill Point from Eramir | Optimized endgame builds and flexible passive trees | The point is only as useful as the passive it enables |
These rewards have been in their current form since the bandit rework in version 3.25. Older guides may list several bonuses for each bandit or claim that killing all three grants two passive points. Those values are no longer current. Players comparing updated characters can also review the PoE 3.29 build overview before making the final choice.
How to Complete Deal with the Bandits
All three bandit leaders are found in separate Act 2 areas. Their camps remain in predictable zones, although the exact layout changes whenever an instance is generated.
- Kraityn: Found in The Broken Bridge, reached from The Crossroads.
- Alira: Found in The Western Forest, reached from The Riverways.
- Oak: Found in The Wetlands, also reached from The Riverways.
When speaking to a bandit, choose Kill to fight that leader or Help to form an alliance. If you help one bandit, you must kill the other two and bring their quest amulets to the leader you supported. If you kill all three, return the three amulets to Eramir in The Forest Encampment. The chosen quest giver combines them into The Apex, which is required to continue the Act 2 story.
Do not select Help simply to postpone the decision. Helping a leader records that choice for the quest. You can reverse it later, but doing so requires a vendor recipe and 20 Orbs of Regret.
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Should You Help Alira
Alira grants 15% to all Elemental Resistances. This means 15% Fire Resistance, 15% Cold Resistance, and 15% Lightning Resistance from one permanent reward. It is usually the easiest option to use during a fresh league or SSF start because it reduces the resistance pressure on every equipment slot.
Alira is especially convenient after the permanent resistance penalties applied during the campaign. The reward can make it easier to replace weak leveling equipment without immediately falling below the resistance cap. It can also free suffixes for attributes, Chaos Resistance, spell suppression, or other needed modifiers.
Builds That Can Benefit from Alira
- League starters using inexpensive or frequently replaced equipment.
- SSF characters with limited access to resistance crafting.
- Unique-heavy builds with few rare item slots available for resistances.
- Characters entering Maps before their final equipment is ready.
- New players who want simpler gearing during the campaign.
Alira becomes less valuable once the build can comfortably cap elemental resistances without her reward. At that point, changing to Eramir's passive point may improve damage, defense, a Jewel Socket, or access to an important passive cluster.
Current Alira does not grant Mana Regeneration or Global Critical Strike Multiplier. Recommendations based on those bonuses were written for an older version of the quest. Critical builds should choose Alira only when the elemental resistance reward itself is valuable.
Should You Help Kraityn
Kraityn grants 8% increased Movement Speed. The bonus applies without requiring a flask, kill, hit, or temporary buff, making it useful throughout the campaign and endgame. It improves travel between packs, manual avoidance during boss fights, and general mapping pace.
Kraityn can be a strong leveling choice when the passive point would only provide a minor damage increase. Movement speed also feels valuable on builds that cannot maintain a fast Quicksilver Flask or do not gain substantial speed from an Ascendancy.
Builds That Can Benefit from Kraityn
- Campaign characters prioritizing faster zone traversal.
- Mapping builds that value constant movement speed.
- Labyrinth runners and other speed-focused characters.
- Builds with limited movement speed on boots or equipment.
- Characters that rely on walking to avoid dangerous ground effects.
Movement speed is useful but does not directly increase damage, maximum hit taken, or recovery. Builds that already move primarily with a fast movement skill may notice less value from the reward. Compare it with the exact passive that one additional point would allocate.
Kraityn no longer grants Attack Speed, Cast Speed, ailment avoidance, or dodge. Those bonuses belong to earlier versions of Deal with the Bandits. A current PoE League Starter build should list the modern 8% Movement Speed reward if it recommends helping him.
Should You Help Oak
Oak grants +40 to Maximum Life. This is flat maximum life, so it is scaled by applicable increases to maximum life on the passive tree and equipment. The final amount shown on the character sheet can therefore be higher than 40.
Oak is a practical campaign option for life-based builds that need immediate survivability. Additional life helps against both physical and elemental damage, although it does not replace capped resistances, mitigation, avoidance, or recovery.
Builds That Can Benefit from Oak
- Life-based melee builds that regularly fight near enemies.
- Hardcore characters prioritizing a larger life pool during progression.
- League starters with low life rolls on early equipment.
- Builds with substantial increased maximum life scaling.
- Characters whose next passive point would provide less effective life.
Oak is generally unsuitable for Chaos Inoculation because that keystone sets maximum Life to 1. Pure Energy Shield builds also receive no direct Energy Shield from his reward. Hybrid life and Energy Shield characters can still benefit, but the result should be compared with Alira, Kraityn, or a passive point.
Oak no longer grants Life Regeneration, Physical Damage Reduction, or increased Physical Damage. A physical attack build should not help Oak for damage unless the current +40 Maximum Life is also the reward it wants.
Should You Kill All Three Bandits
Killing Alira, Kraityn, and Oak allows Eramir to grant 1 Passive Skill Point. This is the most flexible reward because the point can be allocated anywhere the character's existing passive path can reach.
One point can complete a notable, reach a Jewel Socket, satisfy an attribute requirement, add a Mastery, strengthen a Cluster Jewel setup, or save a longer path elsewhere. Its value usually increases as the build becomes more optimized and every passive point gains a specific purpose.
Builds That Often Kill All Bandits
- Endgame builds with a finished Path of Building passive tree.
- Cluster Jewel setups that need every available passive point.
- Minion builds because none of the three bandit rewards directly improves minions.
- Chaos Inoculation builds that do not need Oak's life reward.
- Characters with capped resistances and sufficient movement speed.
- Builds that need one more point for a Keystone, Mastery, or Jewel Socket.
Killing all is not automatically the strongest choice during leveling. If the added passive only buys a small travel node, 15% to all Elemental Resistances, 8% Movement Speed, or +40 Maximum Life may provide more noticeable value. The correct comparison is the bandit reward against the exact passive you would take.
Best Bandit Choice by Build Type
| Build or Situation | Recommended Starting Choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| New league character | Alira or Kraityn | Alira simplifies gearing, while Kraityn speeds up campaign travel |
| SSF character | Alira | Permanent resistances reduce dependence on specific rare items |
| Life-based melee build | Oak or kill all | Oak adds scalable flat life, while a passive point may improve a finished tree |
| Fast mapping build | Kraityn or kill all | Movement speed improves pace, but optimized trees may need the point |
| Minion build | Kill all | The passive point can buy minion power, while bandit rewards do not affect minions directly |
| Chaos Inoculation build | Kill all, Alira, or Kraityn | Oak's maximum life does not help a character whose Life is fixed at 1 |
| Unique-heavy build | Alira | Resistance suffixes may be difficult to obtain when many slots use Unique Items |
| Optimized endgame build | Follow the final passive tree, often kill all | The additional point can complete an efficient passive or Jewel setup |
| Hardcore progression | Oak or Alira | Choose life or resistances according to the character's current defensive weakness |
These are starting recommendations rather than universal rules. Passive tree position, equipment, league economy, and character goals can change the result. More campaign and build resources can be found in the Path of Exile guides and services section.
Best Bandit Choice for Leveling and Endgame
The best leveling reward and the best final reward do not have to be identical. Alira can solve early resistances, Kraityn can shorten repeated campaign travel, and Oak can improve a weak life pool. After equipment and the passive tree are complete, Eramir's point may become more efficient.
A practical approach is to take the reward that removes the largest immediate problem and change it only when the replacement produces a clear improvement. Spending 20 Orbs of Regret during early progression is rarely worthwhile for a tiny numerical gain, especially when those Orbs are needed for passive tree corrections.
For a final decision, load the character into Path of Building and test the exact passive you would allocate. Damage builds should compare real damage, not tooltip assumptions. Defensive builds should compare maximum hit, effective health, resistance pressure, recovery, and movement rather than looking at one stat in isolation.
How to Change Your Bandit Reward
You can change the Deal with the Bandits reward after completing the quest. Sell 20 Orbs of Regret together with the correct amulet to any vendor. The vendor returns a Book of Reform corresponding to the desired new choice.
| New Reward | Vendor Recipe |
|---|---|
| Alira's favour | 20 Orbs of Regret plus 1 Lapis Amulet |
| Kraityn's favour | 20 Orbs of Regret plus 1 Jade Amulet |
| Oak's favour | 20 Orbs of Regret plus 1 Amber Amulet |
| Eramir's favour | 20 Orbs of Regret plus 1 Onyx Amulet |
Use the Book of Reform and confirm the change. Moving from Eramir's reward to a bandit removes the passive point, so the character must have one unallocated Passive Skill Point available. Moving from a bandit to Eramir grants the point after the book is used.
An unused Book of Reform can be sold to a vendor to recover the 20 Orbs of Regret used in its recipe. The amulet is not returned.
Enter /passives in the in-game chat to review quest passive rewards and identify the current bandit choice. You can also speak to Eramir in The Forest Encampment for dialogue related to the bandit you supported.
If a character's gear, passive tree, and bandit choice need to be planned together, a custom Path of Exile build can provide a complete setup instead of treating the reward as an isolated decision.
Common Bandit Choice Mistakes
- Following a pre-3.25 guide that lists obsolete rewards.
- Expecting Eramir to grant two Passive Skill Points instead of one.
- Helping Alira for Critical Strike Multiplier that she no longer provides.
- Helping Kraityn for Attack Speed or Cast Speed that is no longer included.
- Helping Oak for Physical Damage or Life Regeneration that is no longer included.
- Choosing Oak on a Chaos Inoculation build.
- Spending 20 Orbs of Regret before confirming that the new reward is a meaningful upgrade.
- Comparing the passive point without identifying which passive the build will actually allocate.
- Assuming the decision is irreversible and restarting a character unnecessarily.
Final Recommendation
Choose Alira when elemental resistances are the main gearing problem, Kraityn when permanent movement speed matters most, and Oak when a life-based character needs a larger health pool. Kill all three bandits when the build has a valuable use for one additional Passive Skill Point.
For most players, the safest rule is to follow an updated build guide during leveling and reassess the reward after the character reaches Maps. Because a Book of Reform can change the decision, the Act 2 choice does not need to remain optimal for every stage of the character's progression.
