Banishers Ghosts of New Eden: The Flesh is Weak Walkthrough and Jacob Choice

1 – Start The Flesh is Weak Haunting Case in The Dark Woods

Location: The Dark Woods – the trappers’ hovel
Hints: none yet, the case starts when you talk to Jacob

The Flesh is Weak is an important Haunting Case in The Dark Woods with real consequences. You can’t skip it either: to get any further in this area, you need a rope that you can only find in the trappers’ hovel. Follow the map below to the hovel to start the case.

2 – Meet Jacob Lynde in the Hovel: Hints 1 and 2

Location: The Dark Woods – inside the trappers’ hovel
Hints: 1 and 2 of 6

Antea already senses that someone suspicious is inside. When you step in as Red, you notice the flies, the stench and the decaying meat. Inside is the trapper Jacob Lynde. He offers you some stew and tells you he is waiting for his friend Ben. Jacob stopped hunting because game is scarce, while Ben, the better hunter, keeps going out anyway.

Talking to Jacob gives you the first hint of the case.

Hint 1 of 6 – Jacob
Jacob Lynde’s friend Benedict Stoughton brings him food.

Before you leave to look for Ben, look around the hovel. The piece of meat on the small chopping table and the sleeping mat on the floor are both crawling with maggots. Jacob clearly isn’t squeamish. Inspecting them gives you the second hint.

Hint 2 of 6 – Ben (Ghost)
The ghost spawns maggots in Jacob Lynde’s hovel.

Also make sure you take the rope from the hovel before you leave. You need it to climb down into the valley in the next step.

3 – Find Benedict Stoughton: Harkening Ritual and Body Location

Location: The Dark Woods – the foggy valley below the hovel
Hints: 3 and 4 of 6

As you leave the hovel, stay on the left side and look for the gap in the rock wall marked in yellow. Squeeze through it. Antea points out the thick fog in the valley below. Keep to the left, where you can climb down with the rope.

Red can barely see in the thick quickmyst, but Antea is not affected by it. Switch to Antea (on PS5 with Triangle). She sees blue interference coming from strange stalagmites, which look like pulsing circles.

Destroy the stalagmites and defeat the ghosts that attack you. Then examine the circular imprint on the ground and perform the Harkening Ritual. It needs 3 Wild Chervil and 1 Lilac Hyacinth, and you can find both in this valley. The ritual shows you what happened at this exact spot.

Hint 3 of 6 – Jacob
Driven to disarray by weeks of nightmare-riven sleep, Jacob pushed Benedict off a cliff.

Benedict’s Body Location
Go to the spot where Jacob pushed Benedict off the cliff. On the opposite side of the cliff, find the yellow stone wall and climb down to the water. Benedict’s body lies at the bottom. Examine it for the next hint.

Hint 4 of 6 – Jacob
Jacob Lynde carved meat from Benedict Stoughton’s body.

4 – Return to Jacob: Make-Manifest Ritual

Location: The Dark Woods – inside the trappers’ hovel
Hints: 5 and 6 of 6

After finding Benedict, head back to the hovel. Jacob is outside now, so you can search the hovel without interruptions. Look for the bowl of stew Jacob offered Red when you first met him. It sits on top of the big chest at the back of the room.

Hint 5 of 6 – Ben
The ghost fixates on Jacob’s bowl and spoon.

Now interact with the glowing circle on the floor in the center of the room to perform the Make-Manifest Ritual. It needs the Bowl and Spoon you just picked up, 3 Wild Chervil and 2 Hoof Fungus.

The ritual summons Benedict’s ghost. Talk to him to get the last hint of the case.

Hint 6 of 6 – Ben
The ghost of Benedict Stoughton wants the truth to out.

5 – Confront Jacob and Bring Closure

Location: The Dark Woods – outside the trappers’ hovel
Hints: all 6 of 6 found

With all six hints, go outside and confront Jacob about what really happened to Benedict. After the conversation, you decide the fate of Jacob and Benedict. You have three choices: Blame Jacob, Ascend Benedict or Banish Benedict.

6 – Should You Blame Jacob or Ascend or Banish Benedict?

Choice: Closure of The Flesh is Weak
Affects: Antea’s ending and Jacob’s follow-up activity

There is no right or wrong answer. If you want to be kind, let Jacob live and let Benedict ascend. If your focus is bringing Antea back, you have to choose differently. Here is what each choice does:

Blame Jacob
Jacob asks Benedict for forgiveness and accepts that he deserves to die for what he did. Red kills him with the Blame ritual, and Benedict’s ghost fades away in peace. Blaming counts toward resurrecting Antea.

Ascend Benedict
Benedict forgives Jacob for killing him and passes on peacefully. Jacob lives. Ascending counts toward Antea’s ascension.

Banish Benedict
Benedict grows angry, curses Jacob and the forest and is violently banished. Jacob lives. Banishing also counts toward Antea’s ascension.

What Happens to Jacob Later
The case has a follow-up activity that changes with your choice. If you ascend or banish Benedict, Jacob later moves to the Hunters’ Camp and becomes convinced he is a werewolf. If you blame Jacob, wolves start appearing around his old camp instead.