Each quest in the 'Xanthe's Recruiters: Come Home' quest series of The Blood of Dawnwalker involves a choice, and of the three, this final one escalates things the most.
The series started off with Taste of Power, a simple choice, and was followed up with Just a Bit More. Now we have Come Home.
Tl;dr: Deal with Yanos, then collect the blood from the Reliquary to grab the Phial of Bakir's Blood, which unlocks Shadowstorm in the Vampirism tree. If you'd rather bag the Family Ring and keep your Corruption clean, pay Yanos off with 250 Denari instead.
Table of Contents
- How to start Xanthe's Recruiters: Come Home
- Dealing with Yanos
- The Reliquary choice
- What is the Phial of Bakir's Blood?
- Unlock Shadowstorm
- Which choice should you make?
How to start Xanthe's Recruiters: Come Home
Located southeast of Svartrau city and south of the St. Tyna's Grove (Echoes of Silenced Bells Quest), Come Home is the third and final of the Xanthe's Recruiters quests.
Dealing with Yanos
First, we need to decide how to deal with Yanos.
Option 1: Kill Yanos
Push him, and you can fight and kill Yanos outright. Go this route, and you carry on to the Reliquary, which is where the blood and the Phial of Bakir's Blood come in (more on that below).
Option2: Pay him off (250 Denari)
If you've got 250 Denari spare, you can just pay Yanos to clear off. He'll trot back home, and then you're left to fight the guards. Once that's done, his mother rewards you with the Family Ring. A cleaner route if you don't fancy the Corruption hit, and the only way to get the ring.
Option 3: Intimidate Yanos (Threat-Locked)
If you've got enough threat level (we had level 3 and it was not enough), you can intimidate Yanos. It will work, save you 250 Denari, and he'll leave without putting up a fight.
The Reliquary choice
Once you've handled Yanos, this is the same setup as the other Xanthe's Recruiter jobs. Loot it, and you've got two ways to go.
Destroy the Reliquary
Smash it, and that stage ends on the spot, spilling a bit of blood in the process. This is the pick if you're running a deliberate low-Corruption, non-vampire build and want to keep it that way. You walk away with nothing extra, though.
Collect the Blood (recommended)
Collect the blood instead, and you bag the Phial of Bakir's Blood, a Legendary Consumable that unlocks Shadowstorm in the Vampirism tree. Drink it, and your Corruption shoots up, which is exactly what you want if you're leaning into the vampire playstyle.
What is the Phial of Bakir's Blood?
The Phial of Bakir's Blood is a Legendary Consumable and your prize for collecting the blood rather than smashing the Reliquary. Drink it to obtain Shadowstorm in the Vampirism tree, and brace yourself, because it significantly increases your Corruption in the process.
Unlock Shadowstorm
Shadowstorm is one of the active skills in the Vampirism skill tree, and drinking the Phial of Bakir's Blood is how you get it. It's a Night-only ability with a hefty 90-second cooldown, and it slows down Time around you, which is exactly as strong as it sounds when you're swarmed.
It doesn't come cheap to fire off, mind. Each cast costs 2 Activation Charges and 12% of your Health, so it's a commit-when-it-counts sort of skill rather than something you spam.
Level it up, and it gets nasty. Higher ranks stretch the duration out, pile on +20% and then +25% Attack Damage while it's active, and can even extend the duration every time you kill an enemy. Like the rest of the Vampiric kit, you'll need to level up your Corruption to make those improvements available.
Which Choice Should You Make?
For a vampire build, you want to drink the blood as always. What you do with Yanos really doesn't matter too much. If you want to save some coin, then kill him or threaten him if you can.
If you are looking to avoid Corruption where possible, and it's worth remembering that these Phials give you a guaranteed level of Corruption. Then you should avoid drinking them.
