If you have scoured through Deathbound’s achievements, you may have noticed one is to bring a heart to Pobel. We have you covered as this guide will walk you through how to bring the heart to Pobel and obtain the Choosing Death achievement.
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How to start the Choosing Death quest in Deathbound
The start of the Choosing Death achievement in Deathbound begins once you reach the Higher Streets, after defeating the final boss of Zehnrimal. It’s easy to miss, but near the first Phylactery of Higher Streets, you’ll encounter a building with a guard and an NPC named Pobel to speak to inside.
To reach this building, head north of the first Phylactery of Higher Streets until you reach the first turn in the road. Take a right and continue until you reach two flaming torches next to a giant orange sign on a building. Go through the flaming torches to find the guard and Pobel.
Speaking to Pobel will lead to two dialogue options. You want to select the option agreeing to bring the heart to him. Selecting the option that refuses to bring the heart will lock you out of the Choosing Death achievement.
How to get the heart for Pobel Deathbound
The second step of the Choosing Death achievement begins when you reach the Essence Labs, the biome immediately after completing the Higher Streets. Defeating the final boss of the Essence Labs will reward you with the heart Pobel is looking for. Make sure to grab the essence of Olivia Heinz while exploring the Essence Labs biome.
How to complete Essence Labs
The Essence Labs is a straightforward and linear level, but there is one important fact you need to know. You’ll encounter an enemy with no health bar, stalking you throughout the level. Just know that you cannot defeat this enemy, and instead, it’s all about avoiding (running away) or staggering him to give you breathing room and gain distance. I wasted tons of time trying to beat him, just to realize that it was impossible.
How to beat Master Reanimator boss in Essence Labs
Besides the stalker, Essence Labs isn’t a difficult level. The boss, however, is very difficult. The start of the fight puts you across the boss with a crater in the middle, preventing you from reaching him. Your main focus is to defeat all the minor enemies the boss throws at you in the starting area, and then progress through the door on the left-hand side.
Now do the exact same thing in the hallway and defeat all the minor enemies. Once you complete that, you’ll be able to make it to the side of the main boss and start to deal damage to him. I recommend putting all your focus on the boss once you reach his area, ignoring all minor enemies he throws your way. His health bar drains very quickly and you’ll be able to defeat him before the other enemies have any time to defeat you.
After you defeat the Master Reanimator, you will be rewarded with the heart Pobel is looking for. A short cutscene will commence and you will be transported to a new region called Akratya’s Depths.
How to return the heart to Pobel
With the heart in your inventory, it’s time to get back to where you met Pobel in Higher Streets. Unfortunately, there’s no way to do so at the moment since you haven’t unlocked fast travel at this point. In other words, your job is to progress forward and complete the Akratya’s Depths.
Similar to other levels in the game, Akratya’s Depths is very linear and is impossible to get lost. It’s a short level, but once you reach the end, you’ll be put up against one of the hardest bosses in the game — Dragon of the Deep.
How to defeat the Dragon of the Deep
Defeating the Dragon of the Deep boils down to hitting its weak points to knock it down to the ground, opening an opportunity to unload attacks on him. His weak points are located on his arms, feet, and tentacles. Completely forget about his arms and tentacles, and instead, put all your attention towards his feet.
Hitting a foot enough times will knock the Dragon of the Deep to the ground. Once the beast is on the ground, unload as many attacks as possible on his face. The boss will eventually get back up and you will have to repeat the process by attacking the other foot.
Eventually, you will have to wait for his feet weak points to respawn. Keep your distance until you see the feet glow green again, then move in to deal damage and repeat the process. Knocking him down enough times will allow you to inflict enough damage on his head to drain his health bar.
This boss took me a few tries, but knowing the best build in Deathbound really helped me overcome the challenge. Highly recommend bringing Iulia, Therone, Agharos, and Mamdile into the fight.
Completing the Choosing Death achievement
After defeating the Dragon of the Deep, a path will open up that leads to an elevator. Take the elevator to the top and you will be back at a familiar place, the Higher Streets. Now return to the building where you met the guard and Pobel and speak to the guard in front of the cage. At this moment, Pobel is missing and has relocated.
You’ll have two dialogue options when speaking to the guard, make sure to select “Accept the covenant.” Do not select “Refuse to hand over the heart” or you will lock yourself out of the Choosing Death achievement.
This is the final step and will officially earn you the Choosing Death achievement in Deathbound. While you have completed the quest in question, your job with the heart is not done as the guard wants you to bring it to the Cathedral of Life.
The problem here is that the game gives you zero answers on where the Cathedral of Life is located. If you’re having trouble finding the Cathedral of Life, don’t worry, we have you covered. The bonus section below walks you through how to reach this area.
How to find the Cathedral of Life
To reach the Cathedral of Life and progress the questline of the heart, start from the Higher Streets’ first Phylactery. Make your way north of the Phylactery, passing the giant enemy with swinging arms, until you reach a ladder leading up into a small cottage.
Take the ladder, take a right, and you will reach an area filled with guards. Luckily, these guards won’t attack you considering you completed the Choosing Death achievement.
Take a left here and continue forward until you reach a pathway leading down into the ground. Continue through this pathway, defeating the enemies along the way, until you reach the other side and are back above ground.
Take a left to find another Phylactery and a giant door engulfed in flames and destroyed. Remember how you couldn’t enter this door before the Akratya’s Depths? Now you can.
Following the path through the door will lead you to the Cathedral of Life, the next step on your journey with the heart. Now all you need to do is complete this area and defeat the boss of the area!
What happens if you don’t give the heart to Pobel?
Deciding whether to give the heart to Pobel or not will help determine the ending you receive for Deathbound. There are two endings in the game, each leading to an achievement/trophy. If you give the heart to Pobel, you will receive The Refusal achievement. Meanwhile, if you refuse and trust Alurna’s Plan, then you will receive the Acceptance achievement. The multiple endings formula of Deathbound gives players a reason to play through the journey again.
We hope this guide has helped you complete the Choosing Death achievement in Deathbound. Reaching this point in the game will unlock fast travel, so now you can progress backward if you think you may have missed anything important. For example, Essence. Check out our guide on all Essence locations in Deathbound so you can collect them all.
Published: Aug 9, 2024 11:39 am