Big choices that affect events are common in Avowed, and the choice of whether to free or leave the stranger, Ilora, from her prison cell is the first you’ll need to make.
Found locked inside her Fort Northreach cell, her brash attitude, and the suspicious circumstances around her confinement, might make you question your trust in her. However, your decision to abandon or take her with you has much bigger implications in the game than you would have thought.
Should You Free or Leave Ilora in Avowed?
While you find a way to burn through the brambles, you should choose to free Ilora from her prison in this opening mission as it’s the best decision for multiple reasons, including an added benefit to a side mission later in the game.
What Happens if You Free Ilora?
Choosing to release Ilora from her cell will unlock her as a second companion for the rest of Avowed’s opening mission now that she’s free.
She uses a Common Pistol, which not only makes her more reliable for long-ranged combat as you fight loads of Xaurips along the way, but she will come in handy in the first boss battle against Steadman Ralke as well.
What’s more, having her join your party makes for some fun additional conversations with you and Garryck as you make your way through the rest of the island.
She’ll leave the party at the end of the mission once you use her boat to reach Paradise, but freeing Ilora from her cell is more useful than not as a helping hand in combat.
Ilora During The ‘Escape Plan’ Side Mission
If you do free Ilora, she’ll be among the band of smugglers who are trying to overcharge Leoflaed and Glaedwine for their services in getting them to Thirdborn safely during the ‘Escape Plan’ side mission.
As you negotiate with Captain Soldis, you can still avoid having to kill them without your old friend by offering to cover the new cost yourself. However, with Ilora present as you select the “Honor the original deal…” dialog option, she’ll vouch for you and convince Soldis to settle the deal with no charge, saving you 1000 Gold.
What Happens if You Leave Ilora?
In contrast to releasing Ilora from her prison cell in Avowed and having her join your party, the decision to leave her behind will come back to bite you as she frees herself to come find you and seek revenge.
Just as you reach Steadman Ralke, the last madman of Fort Northreach standing as your first boss, Ilora will appear to fight you as an additional foe.
While using her pistol, Ilora can be a massive pain shooting at you, dealing supplemental damage while you try to dodge Ralke’s huge swings of his hammer. By continuously dodging and prioritizing the use of a wand and grimoire and dealing damage to both from a distance, you can still kill both of them on medium difficulty. It’s going to be a much harder fight than it could have been, though.
You can also get the following loot from Ilora’s corpse, in addition to the Common Great Hammer and Senior Officer’s Reprimand letter you can take off Ralke:
- 30 Copper Skeyt
- Common Pistol
- Health Potion
- A Last Call (Document)
The “A Last Call” letter is also a slightly sad read, with Ilora leaving a posthumous farewell to the crew she had before being imprisoned. If you freed her so that she lives, it’s hopeful she’ll be reunited with her comrades.
On the other hand, you can choose not to free her if you feel like an extra degree of challenge in your Avowed adventure. Even if you select not to release her, exploring the area around Ilora’s cell can still get you extra weapons and other loot that’s ideal for this early stage of the game.
At the current stage of our playthrough in which Ilora lives when writing, we’ve yet to see her again after parting ways at the end of the ‘Escape Plan’ side mission. Be that as it may, we will be updating this guide as soon as we know more.
Since you have just jumped into the game, find out what digital pre-order bonuses you can get with Avowed if you’re able to upgrade like the premium skin packs.
Published: Feb 13, 2025 01:00 pm