[Spoileralert]The toughest decision in the game - The Mad God's Bargain

timidobserver

I'd like to see more quests like. It really made the whole Mage's Guild ordeal feel real because there was some tangible thing attached to your decision. I'd like to see more of that.

roomcreep

Quests like these are what shape ESO for me.
Were you to get the skill points for saving her, then this wouldn't really be a moral dilemma now would it? So this isn't a question of balance.
However, they did play the quest right up from the start introducing Valaste as a nonparticularly happy person... which makes sending her away in her delusional euphoria, skill points or not, the moral choice for me. And I got the skill points as a reward for that.
Great writing on Zeni's part.

loyboys215

I will admit I took the book, she seemed so happy anyway

lucablue

At the end I've decided to save her!
The staff was violet but the eidetic Memory was fun, now I can read any scrap of text I find into the game forever!

And above all for GDR

Elf_Boy

I am leveling all 8 characters.

Certainly my Female, Dunmer, Sorcerer, Vampire, 'mage' went with 'Girl' power and saw a kindred spirit and saved her.

So 300 skill points total? I sure could have spent 2 points on the spot, in the end (2/300)*100 = 0.66 recurring % delta in skill points. 0.7% if you like to round.

Not sure I will miss it.

Elf_Boy

Now that I posted I see this is a bit of an old thread. Same moral conundrum though.

ettavolt

A person is not a body, a person is a soul or a mind.
With Valaste's mind gone, how could we say she can be happy living on the Shivering Isles?

Elloa

Liquidus wrote: »

I sent her away , not for the points but for her own good.. Early in the chain you see visions of her as a troubled person.. Yes her personality is altered but she is finally happy so I felt good about her moving on to butterflies.

This! I didn't knew about the skill points but I choose to leave Valaste to Sheogorath. I was actually hopping there would be a following up quest where I could see what she had become in Sheogorath world!
Valaste was also a bit boring during the whole story, and she suddendly was very fun! Coul not break this right?

d-bramsb16_ESO

Take the skill points from Shammy he knows best after all I didn't spend 6 hrs in oblivion to not take an offer from myself.

Yingzi

When you save her, she does say you've saved her from a fate worse than death. It's no different than being tortured in Coldharbor. Trapped inside your mind. I saved her.

MorHawk

Wow. Random bump.
I suddenly wonder if they're going to release an extra questline that rewards all the people who set Valaste free. I wouldn't put it past them.

MarconiusBal

mandrakethebard_ESO wrote: »

I'll confess that I haven't reached this point yet, but if an immoral choice leads to an obviously superior reward of skill points then I'd say that someone made a bit of an error here... unless there's some sicko dev out there who believes that being bad is "cool."

I agree with loading these choices with real consequences, but no item could be worth 2 skill points. This is more like a punishment to heroes... or an encouragement to players to be nasty. I, for one, have never enjoyed entertainments that glorify the lives of those individuals with an odious nature. I'm disappointed to find an event that seems (upon first observation) to reek of such notions in the midst of a game that I quite adore.

But shouldn't it not matter? If you were good and have done good things, sometimes it will bite you back or cause a setback. That's life and adds a sense of realism in the game instead of some fairytale. You're dealing with daedra... It could only end up one way.

stephen.reid.finkcub18_ESO

AlchemyDevil wrote: »

memmel17b14_ESO wrote: »

Eccentric wrote: »

Huh, is this really true?

It's what they told me, so maybe there is a follow up quest or something that will give you 2 skill points if you decided to save her.

I am VR7, I saved her, and have received no such follow up quest. I am 2 skill points behind a player that decided to send her away.

Perhaps what they meant was everyone would have opportunities to have the same amount of skill points.

Trollwut

I've never seen them again or visited her again. So this is just like every decision in the game: There are consequences, but they won't matter.

Got 2 skill points.

Skeptycal

I am extremely glad I came here before finishing this quest! Bye bye Valaste!

Farorin

Valaste wanted to go with Uncle Sheo, so she gets what she wants, who am I to stop her?

Also.... skill points.

cbbred

Gave her to Sheogarth:

- Talked to Sheogarth
Gained a purple book Folium Discognitum - 2 skill points
- Talked to Shalidor
Gained ability to 'remember' all book/scrolls

Bl4ckSh33p

I also got the "remember" books thing and there were many already in it. Always wondered why so many books are not stored there but it seems after the quest everyone gets to remember all books.

Quests with choices are great. But sometimes I wish there would be more with bigger/"real" consequences.

PS: I love Skillpoints and I play a (sometimes) bad dark elf Vampire, so I took the book. And I am more into cute elf guys, not insane women.

septvestige

I'm daggers and I think a breton mage can perfectly fill her place at the guild on the position of master of...

incuna... incuban... ineckturn... inickel... It's an "i" word, it's definitely an "i" word! Inubian... inecro...
In...
[coughs]
[pause] Okay then... that's it!




I think the toughest decision is at the end of the main story though.

Bl4ckSh33p

Which one do you mean?

septvestige

Bl4ckSh33p wrote: »

Which one do you mean?

Incunabula!

Oh you mean which is toughest decision? It's to choose one of the 4 companions. Because the main story did better job creating some kind of bond with them.

Khazmaal

I SAY :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFJ62vlZbls

Zanfire

I really think this quest suffers from heavy design flaws.

It is so deeply wrong to allow for a permanent rewards against one which have such a limited use.

Sure, 2 skill points are a little drop into the big number of points available through the game, but STILL they are a permanent reward which goes to touch one of the very core aspect of the character, where the staff is simply an item you'll probably deconstruct way too soon.

I felt very cheated by this quest, as I went through it without checking for reward/solution, discovering the truth only later, out of curiosity about the book-reward.

I was lvl 44 with my very first character, at that time, and those 2 points seemed so much to me.

Still, I'm absolutely convinced on how it's very wrong and unfair letting some players have such an advantage (small, but still a PERMANENT advantage) over others just because of a quest's moral choice.

EtherSerra

I keep noticing everyone chooses to send Valaste to the Isles just because of skill points. I for one have encountered one major dilemma. My character is 46 as of this quest completion, I already use skills that fit my playstyle very nicely considering I'm a summon focused sorc and as such most of my slots are taken up by my pets. Looking at it that way, I tend to run around a zone with 7+ skill points still unused because I really have no idea what to put them into now aside from craft and passives. So my choice is rather clear right now, I really could care less about 2 extra skill points that will sit in my skill tree collecting dust until I decide to actually use them on something that will not be noticeable in the end. I chose the more RP styled ending and saved her since no one deserves to go to a plain of Oblivion for any reason other than punishment.

Valaste went mad, yes shes happy and wants to go but can anyone truly say that thats how she really feels? Maybe shes like the Mane, trapped inside her own mind, seeing and hearing but unable to do anything about it. Those visions of her past you saw going through were there specifically to make you think about this choice but I have nothing to think about. The past is the past, she has friends now and sending her to the Isles will disconnect her from the rest of the world forever. Just my 2c lol

failkiwib16_ESO

This was really an easy choice for me. I liked Valaste, and I enjoyed doing the mageguild quests, so I chose to save her. 2 skillpoints out of my 280+ ones don't make any difference for me, doing the wrong choices in the stories however does put a string on my level of enjoyment and satisfaction.

It's hard for me to understand why anyone would struggle making this decision. If you don't care about the story, dislike Valaste, hate mage guild etc. then choose the skillpoints. If you care about saving her, then stop crying over 2 skillpoints and save her, you are still able to obtain all the other skillpoints in this game.

JJSerrault

I chose the way I would have chosen in the real life. I love freedom and I always want every people to have their unshackled freedom as their birthright. Living with delusions ain't happiness, it's eternal torture in the mind prison. Mind prison is a lot worse than physical one and no one deserve to be trapped forever in such condition. I freed Valaste from that madness prison.

Losing 2 skill points ain't a big thing 'cause I'm gonna get lotsa SPs later when I've been in the deeper parts of the game. However, choosing the decisions that my consciousness wouldn't allow will make my level of happiness go down while playing the game. I know this is a game but I'd like to take the decisions seriously. Now my consciousness is at ease and my mood to continue the storyline has gone up quite considerably.

Good job for making deep storyline, Zenimax!

SevenRin

Honestly I don't think it's worth it to take the 2 Skill Points. Buts that's just my morals.

Alucardo

I saved her, and all I received was emptiness

Robo_Hobo

I saved her instead of taking the skill points. It could have been 20 and I still wouldn't have batted an eye. I'm not going to send someone to the shivering isles unless they - in their right mind - decide to want to, regardless of how much someone tries to bribe me. Sheo's not completely a bad guy, but the shivering isles isn't for everyone.

Although, if the book was actually readable and had a lot of interesting things to say in it...It just might have been slightly tempting then. Maybe.

Paazhahdrimaak

Da skill points!