Persuade Leah or Steal Tree Branch – In the “Late Bloomer” mission of Starfield, your objective is to obtain a rare hundred-year-old tree branch for your friend Kelton in New Atlantis. This precious branch is safely locked away in the Coe Heritage Museum. However, the museum’s attendant is determined not to part with this special exhibit.
The game presents you with two initial choices: 1. Use your persuasive skills to convince Leah to give you the tree branch, or 2. Take a more covert approach and steal the branch yourself. Additionally, there’s a third option if your persuasion attempts fail. In this article, we’ll explore the consequences of each choice:
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Option #1: Persuade Leah Casler to Give You the Tree Branch in Starfield
After your initial conversation with Leah, during which she adamantly refuses to surrender the Tree Branch, you can approach her again to try and sway her with your words. Here’s what happens:
- A Persuasion mini-game will begin, requiring you to successfully fill four persuasion meters using different dialogue options within three turns.
- If you choose this route, I highly recommend saving your game before the second conversation with Leah. This allows you to reload and retry the persuasion check if you fail.
- If you successfully persuade Leah, she will reluctantly hand over the branch, surprised that she gave in to your convincing. She requests that you return it to her in one piece.
Option #2: Steal the Tree Branch From the Museum Safe in Starfield
The second, less ethical, but still a very viable option in the world of Starfield is to steal the Tree Branch. However, the safe containing the branch is locked with an Expert-level lock, so you’ll need some skill points allocated to Security:
- Wait for Leah to finish her shift and sneak behind the counter to approach the safe.
- Alternatively, if you have high stealth stats, you can crouch behind her and maneuver around the counter to access the safe.
- Interact with the safe to initiate the digipicking mini-game and successfully pick the lock to acquire the branch!
Don’t fret too much about consequences; choosing this less ethical path, assuming you have the necessary skills to bypass the security of the safe, won’t significantly impact the story. Your reputation remains intact.
However, if you’re not keen on stealing and your persuasion attempts fall flat, Leah herself suggests a third option:
Option #3: Buy Another Sample of the Tree Branch from Earl
Surprisingly, the museum’s tree branch isn’t the only one of its kind. If you’re unsuccessful in persuading Leah, she directs you to Earl Fulton, believing that “he may still have some leftover scraps.” When you visit the Alien Extravaganza host, you discover that Leah was correct!
Earl initially downplays the branch’s value but quickly adopts a more bargaining stance when he senses its importance to you. He offers you the Tree Branch for 500 Credits, and in my opinion, it’s a reasonable deal. After all, 500 Credits aren’t too steep a price, and letting this side quest linger in your log for hours until you reach the expert digipicking level isn’t worth it!
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That is everything we have for you to help you decide on whether you should persuade Leah Casler, steal the Tree Branch from the museum safe, or buy another sample from Earl Fulton in the “Late Bloomer” side mission of Starfield.
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