‘Nature vs. Nuture’ quest steps and walkthrough in Avowed

“Nature vs. Nuture” is a side quest in Avowed that highlights the divisions in Emerald Stair between animancers and everyone else. In a dispute over farming methods, you have to decide which side is right.

This sounds low-stakes, but things quickly turn violent depending on your choices. At the end of it all, though, you get a rare piece of equipment that you can’t find anywhere else.

This Avowed guide includes a full “Nature vs. Nurture” walkthrough, with where to start the quest and what happens if you side with the farmers or the xaurip whisperer, and what rewards you get for doing so.

‘Nature vs. Nurture’ walkthrough in Avowed

You can begin this quest as soon as you arrive in Emerald Stair. It starts at a farmhouse north of the Maxim’s Claim party camp and north of the home where you can grab the Painter’s Regret treasure map. Two farmers, Dolina and Masco, are standing outside their home and pondering what’s to be done about a recent spate of xaurip raids that ruined their animancy machines, though no one was hurt.

Or they should be. Some players have reported the couple is missing when they arrive at the farmstead after completing the first half of “The Animancy Method” main quest, and there’s no way to fix the quest if that happens. Your best bet is to at least start the quest before doing anything else in the region, and then you can complete it at your own pace.

Dolina asks you to investigate a xaurip camp in the northern swamps. The region is dangerous, so you’ll want to either avoid fights or have Fine- or Exceptional-quality armor equipped to keep you safe.

The xaurips are, indeed, not hostile when you arrive. Climb to the top of their camp, and enter the cave. Yet more xaurips are dancing around inside, and at the end of the cave is their leader, a man named Amadio.

Amadio tells you he has a pact with these xaurips, who help him with his goals in exchange for shelter and food — hence their lack of interest in attacking people.

Those goals include dismantling animancy farm gear in Maxim’s Claim, machinery that Amadio believes is causing the Dreamscourge. It isn’t, but you can tell him you’re on his side anyway — or attack him then and there.

Should you side with Amadio or the farmers in ‘Nature vs. Nurture’?

• If you agree with Amadio, return to the farmers and either tell them to call off the rangers or lie to them and say the problem is resolved. The outcome is the same either way.
• If you attack Amadio, he and all the xaurips in the camp become hostile.

Dolina and Masco demand an explanation if you side with Amadio, and they won’t be happy with you regardless of what you say. However, if you tell Dolina to stop using animancy as a shortcut, she’ll listen, though it seems to have no bearing on anything outside the quest.

‘Nature vs. Nurture’ rewards in Avowed

• If you side with Amadio, he gives you the Wolf Boots, which grant you +1 Constitution and an extra 10% dodge distance
• If you attack Amadio, Dolina gives you the Ring of Pain Amplification, which increases critical hit damage by 15%

Technically, the most advantageous route is to attack Amadio either at the start or after initially choosing to help him. That way, you get a lot of experience points from fighting the xaurips, and you can get Amadio’s boots once he’s dead. The downside is that there are a lot of xaurips, and you’d need an Exceptional-quality weapon to make this set of fights easier.

For more Avowed guides, here’s where to collect all Totem of Defiance pieces, or see all of Emerald Stair’s treasure maps: Earthly Aegis, Painter’s Regret, and Practical Pockets.