Banishers Ghosts of New Eden: The Beast Walkthrough and Thickskin Choice

1 – Start The Beast Haunting Case at the Hunters’ Camp: Hints 1 and 2

Location: The Dark Woods – the Hunters’ Camp
Hints: 1 and 2 of 9

After you solve the hauntings of the blacksmith in Hammer and Tongs and the cook in Prudence in All Things, Red meets the camp leader Thickskin in the highest building of the Hunters’ Camp. There is a rumor of a beast in the Dark Woods, and Thickskin wants Red to kill it to lift the settlers’ spirits. Talking to her gives you the first hint.

Hint 1 of 9 – Kate
Kate wishes to prove herself as tough as her sister.

Now find Kate at the location shown below. Red is supposed to take Kate’s musket, because Thickskin says she protects Kate and Kate doesn’t need it anymore. Talk to Kate to get the musket as a new tool. You also hear Kate’s side of things and get a hint about Thickskin.

Hint 2 of 9 – Thickskin
Thickskin’s creed is that only the strong survive.

2 – Hunt the Beast: Grim Groves and Hint 3

Location: The Dark Woods – the southeast bridge and the Grim Groves
Hints: 3 of 9

Before you run off to hunt the beast, check if you can upgrade the musket you just received. If you can, quickly return to your house and upgrade it at the campfire.

Then head to the bridge in the southeast and talk to the guard there, Beloved. He lowers the bridge so you can leave the camp and also gives you a hint about Kate.

Hint 3 of 9 – Kate
Kate once had her heart broken and has never recovered.

Follow the path into the Grim Groves, a sub-region of the Dark Woods. Here, you get some target practice with your new musket. Keep heading southeast along the path until you reach a small house with a chest glowing in blue.

3 – Find a Way through the Mines (Escape the Mines)

Location: The Dark Woods – the mines
Hints: none in the mines

To reach the beast, you first have to pass through the mines. Shoot the beam above you to unlock the entrance. Once you have dealt with the ghosts, you can head further into the mines.

Inside the mines, head down and through the passage going northwest.

At the end of this passage, push the mining cart forward to enter a new room. This is the room where you exit the mines, but you have to do a couple of things first.

You need to reach the highest point of the room so Antea can use Leap to get you out. Notice the second mining cart in this room: it is stuck and you can’t push it. Move to the side and you see that another cart is hanging onto it. The glowing joint shows you where to shoot to free the cart from its burden.

The ghosts attack if they are unhappy with your actions. After defeating them, move the mining cart backward and use it as a step to reach the higher level. Keep going up until you reach the level where Antea can use Leap. Of course, a hanging bunch of logs blocks the way.

Cross the nearby bridge to the other side. Push away another mining cart to reach a corridor with a climbable wall. It leads to a platform from where you can shoot the logs down.

After another fight with unfriendly ghosts, Antea can finally use Leap to get you both out of the mines.

4 – Investigate the Area: Hints 4 and 5

Location: The Dark Woods – the path northeast of the mines
Hints: 4 and 5 of 9

Outside the mines, head northeast along the path. Antea points out unusually large tracks in the mud. Keep going and you come across a group of wolves that, as Antea suggests, were not killed for their meat but by specters. Further ahead, there is another group of wolves with puppies that were slain by the beast. Look for a small puppy on the ground and interact with it for a hint about the beast.

Hint 4 of 9 – The Beast
The Beast is a vengeful Scourge.

After defeating the ghosts, head east towards the beast until you reach an area with an echo. When Red’s hand starts to glow, something is lurking nearby. Switch to Antea and follow the green lines to a special object. As you approach, the angry ghost of the settler Nicholas Doolan appears. Defeat him, then examine the spot where he appeared while playing as Antea. This gives you a new hint about Thickskin.

Hint 5 of 9 – Thickskin
Thickskin gave the slower settlers whistles with which to call for help.

5 – Track the Beast: Kate’s Bivouac and Hint 6

Location: The Dark Woods – the cave at Kate’s Bivouac
Hints: 6 of 9

Continue on and climb up until you reach the Kate’s Bivouac campfire. Light it before you continue, so you can fast travel here later.

Inside the same cave, look for Kate’s burned journal. It lies just a few steps away from the campfire and gives you another hint about Kate.

Hint 6 of 9 – Kate
Kate wishes she’d have the courage to protect the woman she loved.

With all of Kate’s hints found, leave the cave to keep tracking the beast. Outside, don’t miss the Altar down below. It enhances Antea, and there is also a collectible next to it.

Follow the path north to a destroyed bridge. Switch to Antea and look for the Leap point. In the screenshot below, you can see it with the destroyed bridge in the background.

6 – Find the Lost Settlers: Hint 7

Location: The Dark Woods – the valley behind the destroyed bridge
Hints: 7 of 9

Once you have crossed the bridge, keep playing as Antea. Follow the green glow to a small valley where you find the remains of the lost settlers. Pure devastation. Before you can continue, you have to find and scan the hidden spots here. As Antea, start with the glowing tree stump.

After Antea removes the glow, Red scans it right away. Then look for the next glowing, concealed spot not far from the tree stump.

The next spot is south of the other two.

For the last spot in this area, head north. Look for a wooden cart that you can push forward, then scan the spot that was under the cart.

This gives you the last hint about Thickskin.

Hint 7 of 9 – Thickskin
The whistles Thickskin gave the settlers attracted wolves.

7 – Find the Beast’s Lair: Summon and Beat the Beast

Location: The Dark Woods – the Beast’s lair north of the valley
Hints: 8 and 9 of 9

Press on to the north, where you find more of the beast’s tracks. This time, they are much smaller than before, which gives you the eighth hint.

Hint 8 of 9 – The Beast
The Beast is made of the specters of the lost settlers.

Soon you arrive at the Beast’s lair. Perform the Summon Scourge Ritual at the location below to start the boss fight.

How to Beat the Beast
The boss fight has three parts, and each one has its own weak point:
Part 1: target the glowing head
Part 2: target the glowing leg
Part 3: target the hind leg

During the cutscene and fight, you get the last hint of the case.

Hint 9 of 9 – The Beast
The Beast accuses Kate Newsmith of betrayal.

8 – Should You Spare or Sacrifice Thickskin?

Choice: End of The Beast
Affects: Kate, Thickskin and how Love Finds a Way plays out

Once the Beast is down, you confront Thickskin and her sister Kate. The Beast is made of the souls of the settlers Thickskin sent to their deaths. Unlike other Haunting Cases, there is no ghost to ascend or banish here, because Kate and Thickskin are both living settlers. Instead, you decide Thickskin’s fate: Spare or Sacrifice.

Spare Thickskin
Thickskin lives. Kate makes peace with the ghost of her lover Deborah, and Thickskin pays you for killing the Beast and lifting the curse on the Dark Woods.

Sacrifice Thickskin
Red claims that Thickskin is possessed by a malicious spirit and kills her with the Blame ritual, while Kate tries to stop you. Deborah emerges from the Beast, but Kate can’t make peace with her. She mourns her sister and runs off, and there is no one left to pay you for the Beast.

What Happens Later
Your choice changes the main quest Love Finds a Way. If you spare Thickskin, Kate leaves the camp after a quarrel with her sister. Thickskin asks you to find her, which starts the side quest Distended Ties, and you have to finish it before Love Finds a Way can continue. If you sacrifice Thickskin, Kate runs the Hunters’ Camp and you can talk to her there directly.