Sacrifice Boon Guide -------------------By Per Jorner Last up- or downdated 070815 070815: All new!

And probably complete, but who knows. The why and how of it: There seems to be a lack of complete Sacrifice guides. Yo u can find spell and unit guides, and at least one web guide that has strategies for each level, but I couldn't find any place where all the boons were listed o r even hinted at. So I snuck a peak in Scapex and played the missions to see how it works out. Stat modifications in parentheses show the actual modifications done by the game script. Presumably they have been pre-calculated based on the normal stats for that particular level (or at least I assume that player stats scale with level), but if your stats have been raised by a previous boon the actual bonus may not correspond exactly to what the in-game message suggests. In other cases it seems clear that the actual and stated figures do not properly correlate (compare the Regeneration bonuses in pe3 and pe4). If there is no value given in parentheses , the script performs the stated calculation. Damage Resistance modifications are not expressed as percentages and never calcu lated as such, so you get what it says... most of the time. The modifier is nega tive because that's how it looks in the script, e.g. +10 means you get -100, but you can assume that low is good here (get all the Physical Damage Resistance bo nuses in the Charnel missions and laugh as you soak up magnifryer beams). ---------------------------------------------------------------------Persephone ---------------------------------------------------------------------Persephone mission 1 Condition: Kill Thestor. How to get it: When the fight with Thestor starts, direct your creatures to atta ck him exclusively instead of letting them pick their own targets. If you do thi s you miss out on a free starting unit in future missions, but hey, boon. Benefactor: Charnel. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% (+100) or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Persephone mission 2 Condition: Defeat Seerix within 72,000 units of time (about 18 minutes). How to get it: Just focus on defeating Seerix, there isn't much else to do. Benefactor: Stratos. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +15% (+200) or Speed +15% (+200). - * -

Persephone mission 3 Condition: Decline help from Shakti. How to get it: Don't select the wrong dialogue choice at the start of the missio n. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +20% (+200) or Regeneration Rate +20% (+200). - * Persephone mission 4 Condition: Get the Mutants to join you. How to get it: After you talk to Jadugarr, 4 Mutants will appear on the left sid e of the map as seen from your altar. They are initially hostile, but if you run up to them there will be a short cutscene. They will join you and Persephone wi ll offer a boon at the end of the mission. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +15% or Regeneration Rate +10% (+250). - * Persephone mission 5 Condition: Banish Abraxus and Acheron. How to get it: Don't approach the Demon Gate, or more specifically don't kill As taroth before dealing with the wizards. You can trigger Abraxus' betrayal ahead of time by attacking her, so you won't have to deal with her and Astaroth at the same time. As an additional note, this is the only boon that is "out of charact er", a Charnel selection handed out by Persephone. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +20% or Physical Damage Resistance +15. - * Persephone mission 6 Condition: Accept Charnel's offer of defection. How to get it: Desecrate Acheron's or Seerix's altar. Charnel will interrupt and offer you a job. If you accept, the mission ends and you get the boon. Perhaps not one for the straight Persephone campaign. Benefactor: Charnel. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +20% (+200) or Physical Damage Resistance +10. ---------------------------------------------------------------------James ---------------------------------------------------------------------James mission 1 Condition: Leave at least 5 Dragon Hatchlings alive. How to get it: There are about 5 Hatchlings not in direct proximity to any of th

e caves, but one or two of them may come running anyway. From the place you enco untered the Farmers, go straight to the cave on the left and back. Go straight t o the next nearest cave, then head for the right-hand one of the two passes betw een the high hills. You will encounter some Troggs chased by a flying Dragon. Th en take out the last three caves in a linear fashion. The mission ends when the last cave is destroyed, so when you get to the last one or two, weaken them from afar with Gargoyles, then order your ground troops to move in and strike the fi nal blow without attacking the nearby Hatchlings. Benefactor: Persephone. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% (+100) or Regeneration Rate +10% (+100). - * James mission 2 Condition: Don't kill Sirocco. How to get it: Banish the Ragman instead of killing Sirocco (she hangs out on th e far left side of the map and will be hostile). This may or may not appear as a n objective depending on who you did your first mission for. In addition to the boon you get Sirocco as a free starting unit in later missions, which isn't too bad. Benefactor: Persephone. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% (+100) or Regeneration Rate +10% (+100). - * James mission 3 Condition: Win the mission. How to get it: Desecrate Seerix's altar. Benefactor: Persephone. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% or Regeneration Rate +10%. - * James mission 4 Condition: Destroy the 4 plague worts. How to get it: There's one to the left by the ziggurat thing, one on the right c lose to the village, one on the way to Sorcha's altar, and one slightly beyond t he altar to the left (the tricky one, since the mission ends if you're too eager to banish Sorcha and already killed the Ragman). Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% or Magical Damage Resistance +10. - * James mission 5 Condition: Join Pyro, or stick with James.

How to get it: Banish Buta before destroying the Dynamo, then accept or decline Pyro's offer. If you accept you get his boon, but James will throw some rocks at you and the mission continues with new objectives. If you decline, James gives you a different boon once the Dynamo is destroyed, making this the only double-b oon scenario. Benefactor: Pyro or James. Choice (Pyro): Maximum Health Level +10% (+100) or Physical Damage Resistance +1 0. Choice (James): Maximum Health Level +15% (+200) or Magical Damage Resistance +1 5 (-200). - * James mission 6 Condition: Destroy all 3 magnifryers. How to get it: Well, you were going to do that anyway. Send in a swarm of fast mle units to attack each magnifryer in turn. You can expect losses - especially if you let your fliers or artillery stray into the firing range of the magnifryers - but just collect the souls and continue. Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% or Magical Damage Resistance +10 (-200). ---------------------------------------------------------------------Stratos ---------------------------------------------------------------------Stratos mission 1 Condition: Sara Bella must be at full health at the end of the mission. How to get it: When approaching the final analysis site, let Sara Bella stay beh ind. Kill the fliers with your Sylphs, then move Sara Bella in and cast Heal on her if needed. If you just rush in and let her do the analysis as the fighting b reaks out, she is sure to draw fire and you probably won't have time to heal her before the mission ends. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +20% (+200) or Speed +20% (+200). - * Stratos mission 2 Condition: At least one Ranger or Druid must survive. How to get it: Park a single Ranger or Druid well out of harm's way. Do what you will with the Scarabs and the rest. Benefactor: Persephone. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +20% (+200) or Regeneration Rate +20% (+200). - * Stratos mission 3

Condition: Banish Sorcha within 40,000 units of time (about 10 minutes). How to get it: Ignore the line of manafounts on the right, instead press into th e centre and move left towards Sorcha's altar as soon as you can manage victory. She should have been sending several Firefists right into your waiting arms to provide souls. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +15% (+200) or Speed +15% (+200). - * Stratos mission 4 Condition: Collect the 24 souls and receive the Silverbacks. How to get it: Let Acheron keep the manalith nearest to his altar, then wait by the next manalith for him to attack repeatedly, hopefully gathering a few of his souls each time. If you just whack all his manaliths as quickly as you can, he' ll probably keep a lot of souls bottled up. Also kill the peasants, there are no repercussions. Once you have 24 souls (you can kill a few of your own creatures if you must), stand by the beacon until they have been syphoned off. In the tim e it takes you to run back to Acheron's altar, six Silverbacks will appear by yo urs. However, you shouldn't need them to finish off Acheron. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +20% or Speed +10% (+100). - * Stratos mission 5 Condition: Win the mission. How to get it: Win the mission! A potentially easy way of avoiding defeat is to head left right away, desecrate Buta's unguarded altar with your Seraph once you get there, then head Buta off as he comes running. If he dies, the manalith win condition is off. Benefactor: James. Choice: Maximum Health Level +10% or Magical Damage Resistance +10. - * Stratos mission 6 Condition: Remove all enemy presence before banishing Shakti. How to get it: Make sure you kill all Peasants (and that none are waiting to be sacrificed), destroy all of Shakti's manaliths, and leave no Persephone creature s of any kind loitering around. You get the boon when the mission ends. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +25% or Speed +20% (+200). ---------------------------------------------------------------------Pyro ---------------------------------------------------------------------Pyro mission 1

Condition: Kill all the Peasants. How to get it: Side with Pyro, then destroy all Peasants. Remember that if you c onvert their souls, they don't count as dead until they've been sacrificed. Benefactor: Charnel. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% (+100) or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Pyro mission 2 Condition: Kill all the Trolls. How to get it: A few arrive to attack you early on, there are two a little bit a head on the right, and another appearing in a mini-ambush in the valley ahead an d to the left. You get the boon at the end of the mission. Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Pyro mission 3 Condition: Offer an alliance to Grakkus. How to get it: Follow the Gargoyles and don't stray too far (you can stay and su mmon the first manalith so you don't have to go back later). When you meet Grakk us, choose the first option. A fight breaks out anyway (even if the Firefists do n't reach the meeting site in time to play their part), and the rest should be e asy. Benefactor: James. Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% or Magical Damage Resistance +10. - * Pyro mission 4 Condition: Find Sorcha. How to get it: She's standing beyond the village at the end of the right side of the map. Just walk up to her and a cutscene will follow. You get the boon at th e end of the mission. Choice: Maximum Health Level +10% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Pyro mission 5 Condition: Gather 10 Slaves within 54,000 units of time (about 14 minutes) and b efore banishing both enemy wizards. How to get it: Not killing the wizards will be the easy part, as they have you c onsiderably outgunned at the start. You can visit three easy factories by going right and teleporting to the nearby manalith along the way. Deliver the first 9

Slaves to the Dynamo so they won't keep following you around. This means you nee d just one more. Going for the factory on the left is problematic because both e nemy wizards like to attack you and kill the Slaves while you're heading back, e ven if you stick to the edge (possibly it's easier to avoid notice if you resist the temptation to whack the manalith). I had better luck sneaking along the rig ht-hand side past Grakkus' altar to the factory between the enemy altars. Don't worry if you leave a blue soul or two behind as you run back, as the mission wil l get considerably easier once the Dynamo is up and running. The critical part i s getting at least one Slave out of enemy territory. You get the boon once you b ring the last Slave to Faestus. Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% (+200) or Physical Damage Resistance +15 (-200 ). - * Pyro mission 6 Condition: Win the mission. How to get it: Cast Guardian on a couple of Bombards, defend your home base, tak e souls, etc. Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. ---------------------------------------------------------------------Charnel ---------------------------------------------------------------------Charnel mission 1 Condition: Don't kill the 3 Farmers. How to get it: The Farmers are in a village directly to the left of your startin g location and your creatures won't automatically attack them. You don't even ne ed to go there to finish the mission, since the Troggs and Earthflings that pop up provide more than enough souls for the victory condition. Benefactor: James. Choice: Maximum Health Level +10% (+100) or Magical Damage Resistance +10. - * Charnel mission 2 Condition: Give a soul to the Netherfiend. How to get it: Approach the Netherfiend by the Demon Gate with at least one soul in reserve (you can kill one of your own creatures if you don't have one). Hand over the soul and gain an ally worth two souls, then finish the mission. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Charnel mission 3 Condition: You must have more kills than Ambassador Buta at the end of the missi

on. How to get it: Keep tabs on the kill count and try to make sure the mission does n't end if Buta is ahead. You should have no problems here, really. Note that th e group of Slaves are not on Buta's team even if they're yellow, and can be mass acred for kills and souls. Build an armada of fliers, follow the enemy wizards a round and kill the Manahoars they summon. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +15% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Charnel mission 4 Condition: The Gnomes and the Ranger must not survive. How to get it: The creatures in question are standing in a village on the left s ide of the map. Depending on your standing with Persephone they will offer to jo in you or not. If they do join you can take them along as cannon fodder, but mak e sure they're dead when Jadugarr is banished. The tricky thing is that the way the script is written, they aren't flagged as dead if their souls are converted. Sorcha won't attack them, but will convert the souls if she finds them lying ar ound. Therefore you should help her push up to the last manalith before Jadugarr 's altar, then go down to the village and kill the Persephone creatures before t he end of the mission. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Charnel mission 5 Condition: None. How to get it: You can't! The script checks if you have Gangrel on your side at the end of the mission, but you don't, you have Astaroth; and even if you banish Yogo before Gangrel is switched out, he's not technically on your team anyway. Consequently this is the only boon-less mission. Choice: Maximum Mana Level +10% or Physical Damage Resistance +10. - * Charnel mission 6 Condition: Win the mission. How to get it: Avoid the volcanic bursts, free Charlotte, banish the other wizar ds, etc. Benefactor: James. Choice: Maximum Health Level +15% (+200) or Magical Damage Resistance +15 (-200) . ---------------------------------------------------------------------Selection Advice ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Persephone: The times during a campaign when you really wish you had a higher Ma ximum Mana, as opposed to a quicker recharge rate, are probably going to be easi ly numbered. I would go for Regeneration hoping it would spare me the annoyance of dying during a frantic battle, even if it might be just once or twice. James: This is more of a toss-up, but I lean towards Health. It seems to me that you get hit with Magical Damage less often than Physical, while extra Health wi ll always count. Stratos: Again, the usefulness of extra Mana is limited, while the Speed is not just a convenience when moving across the map, but also comes in handy when coll ecting souls during a battle or zigzagging towards artillery units. Pyro: I would take the Damage Resistance, on the reasoning that it's better not to take the damage in the first place than having a bigger Health reserve. I don 't know exactly how it works out numerically, though. Charnel: Take the Damage Resistance without hesitation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------Endings ---------------------------------------------------------------------Hey, it's bonus content! This is what happens to you and the gods in single-god campaigns. Persephone: Charnel, Pyro and Stratos banished by you, Persephone presumably sla in by Marduk (even after all you did for her). James remains, so you stay and he lp with the rebuilding. James: Pyro and Charnel banished by you, Stratos presumably slain by Marduk, Per sephone's fate unspecified. You stay and help with the rebuilding. Stratos: Persephone, James and Charnel banished by you, Pyro banished by Acheron . You get to choose whether to remain and serve Stratos, a plush job now that th e world is civilized, or to leave in a huff with an offer of hospitality. Pyro: James and Stratos banished by you, Persephone and Charnel presumably slain by Marduk (or Persephone possibly by the minions of Stratos). You get to choose whether to remain and serve Pyro, determined never to back down from a challeng e again, or to call him a fool and presumably leave, determined never to serve a tyrant again. Charnel: Pyro and Persephone banished by you, James and Stratos presumably slain by Marduk. You get to choose whether to remain and serve Charnel, getting mean on Acheron for a start, or to leave and roam the worlds in search of experience.