Published , by Josh Hawkins
Published , by Josh Hawkins
The Pool Where Horror Dwelt is one of the first branching side quests that players will come across in The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos. During the quest, you’ll need to decide whether to side with a Spacer’s Choice rep named Donovan Matthas and ruin the pool or help Rizzo’s pool guard, Dolph, clean the pool.
Minor spoilers for Murder on Eridanos await you below. Read at your own discretion.
Branching quests are a very common thing in The Outer Worlds and each decision that you make can change the outcome drastically. There are two possible outcomes that we know of for The Pool Where Horror Dwelt, though each one offers something different in return.
If you want to go the clean route, then you’re going to want to head to the Sun Parlor and look for the book to the left. It breaks down the various chemicals that are found in the vats to the right. The actual formula that you need to mix can be found on the board just above that book.
According to that board, you need to mix the following chemicals together to make a cleaner:
To mix the cleaning compound, you’re going to want to set the vat to the correct numbers. If you look inside of the book you will see that the chemicals mentioned in the list above correspond to #1, #4, and #5 on the vats. This means you will need to set the displays in front of the vats to those specific numbers in order to mix the correct cleaning compound.
Using that information, go ahead and set the vats to the following order:
Doing this will give you the pool cleaner, which you can then turn in at the pool filter to clean the pool. If you speak with Dolph he’ll reward you with the SLUG Storeroom Key, and you can even press him for some additional Bits for your trouble.
The second option you have is learned about while visiting the Sun Parlor. When reading the notebook beside the vats, you’ll notice that a small entry beneath the chemicals says to meet a mysterious person on the hotel balcony. If you head to the balcony area—the specific location will be marked on your HUD—you’ll find a Spacer’s Choice representative named Donovan Matthas waiting. He’ll offer you a nice sum of money if you ruin the pool instead of cleaning it.
The only real reason to go with this route is if your character’s previous allegiance has been closely tied to Spacer’s Choice, as it nets the least rewards for your trouble. Fortunately, though, it’s also very easy to pull off, as you simply need to create any chemical using any formula other than the correct one listed above. Turning that bad chemical in at the pool filter will cause the pool to be ruined and you’ll earn some experience as well as 1,250 Bits from Donovan for your trouble.
Now that you know the differences between the two paths, it’s up to you to decide which one works best for your playthrough. If you choose to help Dolph out and clean up the pool, you’ll have the added advantage of getting the SLUG Storeroom Key, which has some nifty weapons like a flamethrower. If you choose to help Donovan, though, you’ll end up with a nice chunk of change for a job well done, as well as an increased reputation with Spacer’s Choice. For more help, head over to our The Outer Worlds guide.