Beholder: Conductor
Beholder: Conductor

Game Endings and Consequences

Learn how your choices shape the future in Beholder: Conductor. Guide your landlord through moral dilemmas and Ministry decrees to reach different endings.

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Game Endings and Consequences

In Beholder: Conductor, your journey as a newly appointed landlord in a dystopian apartment building is fraught with moral dilemmas, political intrigue, and personal sacrifices. Unlike the train-based mechanics of other games, your "conductor" role here involves managing tenants, enforcing the Ministry's ever-changing decrees, and navigating the treacherous waters of a totalitarian state. Your actions, big and small, directly influence which of the multiple endings you will achieve. This guide will detail the primary endings, the specific steps required to unlock them, and the profound consequences of your choices.

Understanding the Core Mechanics

Before diving into specific endings, it's crucial to understand the fundamental mechanics that drive your progress and influence your ultimate fate:

  • Ministry Directives: These are your primary tasks, issued via your apartment's Communication Device. They range from installing surveillance equipment (Hidden Cameras, Microphones) to reporting specific tenants for violations. Failing to complete these or completing them poorly will incur Ministry penalties.
  • Tenant Requests: Tenants will frequently approach you with requests, some innocuous, others potentially illegal or subversive. Fulfilling these can earn you money, reputation, or access to new questlines, but often at the risk of Ministry disapproval.
  • Surveillance and Reporting: Your core duty is to observe tenants, gather evidence of their violations (e.g., possession of Forbidden Books, Foreign Currency, or engaging in Subversive Conversations), and report them to the Ministry. Each reportable violation has a specific decree number.
  • Reputation: You have a reputation with the Ministry and various underground factions (e.g., the Resistance, Smugglers). Your actions will increase or decrease these reputations, opening or closing off certain opportunities.
  • Money: Essential for buying items, bribing officials, or escaping the country. Earned through rent, completing tasks, or illicit activities.
  • Family Needs: Your family (wife and children) have needs (food, medicine, education). Neglecting them can lead to negative consequences, including their departure or even death, which can impact certain endings.

The "Loyal Servant" Ending

This ending sees you fully embrace your role as an obedient servant of the Ministry, prioritizing state security and order above all else. It's a path of moral compromise but offers personal safety and advancement within the system.

How to Achieve:

  • Strict Adherence to Decrees:
    • Report All Violations: Consistently monitor tenants using Hidden Cameras (purchased from the Black Market Dealer or found in Ministry Supply Crates in the basement) and Microphones (installed in tenant apartments, e.g., Apartment 2A, 3B). Document every violation, no matter how minor, in your Tenant Dossier and report it immediately.
    • Example: If you observe Patrick Schmidt (Apartment 1B) possessing Foreign Cigarettes (Decree 102), report him. If Maria Glinka (Apartment 3A) is heard discussing "free elections" (Decree 105), report her.
    • Confiscate Illegal Items: When ordered, search apartments (e.g., Apartment 4C for Illegal Radio Transmitter) and confiscate prohibited items. Always turn them over to the Ministry, never sell them on the black market.
  • Prioritize Ministry Tasks:
    • Complete All Directives: Respond promptly to all Ministry directives received via your Communication Device. These often involve specific surveillance targets, planting evidence, or evicting "undesirable" tenants.
    • Example: The directive "Operation Nightingale" requires you to plant a Bugged Watch in Karl Ranke's (Apartment 2B) apartment. Ensure it's placed in his desk drawer without being detected.
    • Avoid Resistance Contact: Do not engage with or assist any characters associated with the resistance (e.g., George Duremar, Anton Grimaldi). Refuse their requests for help or information.
  • Maintain High Ministry Reputation:
    • Your Ministry reputation bar (visible in your Landlord Ledger) should remain consistently high. Each successful report and completed directive boosts this.
    • Avoid actions that incur Ministry penalties, such as failing to report violations, allowing tenants to escape, or being caught with illegal items yourself.
  • Family Management:
    • Ensure your family's needs are met to avoid distractions, but do not prioritize them over Ministry duties if a conflict arises. For instance, if you need money for your daughter's medicine, but a Ministry task requires you to spend it on a new surveillance camera, choose the camera.

Consequences:

You are recognized as a loyal and efficient servant of the state. The ending typically shows you receiving a promotion, perhaps to a higher-ranking Ministry position or a more prestigious building. Your family is safe and well-provided for, but the narrative often emphasizes the moral cost of your actions, hinting at the oppressive nature of the regime you've helped uphold. You live a comfortable life, but one built on the suffering and betrayal of others.

The "Revolutionary Spark" Ending

This ending sees you actively working against the Ministry, aiding the resistance, and contributing to the downfall of the totalitarian regime. It's a dangerous path requiring cunning, sacrifice, and a strong moral compass.

How to Achieve:

  • Support the Resistance:
    • Establish Contact: Seek out and establish trust with resistance members. George Duremar (initially in Apartment 1A, later moves) is often your first point of contact. Fulfill his initial requests, such as finding a Hidden Message in the communal laundry room or delivering a package to Anton Grimaldi (Apartment 4B).
    • Complete Resistance Missions: Prioritize missions given by the resistance. These often involve sabotaging Ministry operations, smuggling Propaganda Leaflets (e.g., to Worker's District Station), or helping key figures escape.
    • Example: You might be tasked with replacing a Ministry-approved History Textbook in a school supply drop with a Revised History version provided by the resistance. This requires careful timing and avoiding Ministry patrols.
  • Undermine Ministry Authority:
    • Ignore or Sabotage Directives: Deliberately fail to report violations, or actively destroy evidence that would incriminate resistance members. If ordered to install a camera in a resistance member's apartment, install a faulty one or report that the apartment is empty.
    • Warn Tenants: If you discover a Ministry raid is imminent (e.g., from an intercepted Ministry Memo in the basement office), warn the targeted tenant (e.g., Clara Bellwether in Apartment 3C) to allow them to escape or hide incriminating evidence.
    • Plant Evidence: In some cases, you may be asked to plant evidence on loyalist tenants to discredit them or divert Ministry attention. For example, planting Foreign Currency in Minister Klaus's (Apartment 5A) safe.
  • Maintain Low Ministry Reputation (but not too low):
    • You need to avoid being caught by the Ministry, so don't be overtly rebellious too early. Balance your resistance activities with just enough Ministry compliance to avoid suspicion. A Ministry reputation that is too low can lead to your arrest before you can complete the revolution.
    • Use Bribes or Blackmail (e.g., using Incriminating Photos of a Ministry official found in Apartment 2C) to deflect suspicion if your Ministry reputation drops too low.
  • Crucial Final Mission:
    • The resistance will eventually task you with a critical final mission, often involving the distribution of a Revolutionary Manifesto or the activation of a Broadcast Device (located in the building's attic, requiring a Master Key found in the landlord's hidden compartment). Successfully completing this mission is paramount.

Consequences:

You become a hero of the revolution. The ending depicts the beginning of the Ministry's downfall, with hope for a freer society. Your family may be at risk during the transition, but ultimately, they are part of a new, more just world. This ending often comes with significant personal sacrifice, but the narrative emphasizes the triumph of human spirit over oppression. You may be celebrated, or you may disappear into the annals of history as an unsung hero.

The "Self-Preservation" Ending

This ending focuses purely on your personal survival and financial gain, often at the expense of both the Ministry and the resistance. You become a master manipulator, playing all sides to ensure your own comfortable escape from the oppressive state.

How to Achieve:

  • Accumulate Wealth:
    • Your primary goal is to amass a significant amount of money (typically 10,000+ Credits, though this can vary based on difficulty and specific escape routes).
    • Illicit Trade: Engage heavily in smuggling and black market deals. Buy Contraband Goods (e.g., Foreign Coffee, Luxury Items) from shady contacts (e.g., Boris the Smuggler in the basement) and sell them to wealthy tenants (e.g., Minister Klaus) or the Black Market Dealer.
    • Blackmail: Discover secrets about tenants (e.g., Incriminating Letters in Apartment 2A's safe, Photos of an Affair in Apartment 3B's hidden drawer) using Hidden Cameras or Microphones. Use this information to extort money or favors.
    • Selling Information: Sell information to both the Ministry and the resistance, but carefully, to avoid fully committing to either. For example, report a minor violation of a non-essential tenant to the Ministry for a reward, while simultaneously selling information about Ministry patrols to the resistance for cash.
  • Play Both Sides (Carefully):
    • Maintain a neutral or slightly positive reputation with both the Ministry and the resistance. Do just enough for each side to keep them off your back and to extract resources.
    • Example: Complete a Ministry directive to install a camera, but then sell the camera's feed to the resistance for a profit. Or, help a resistance member escape, but then report a different, less important tenant to the Ministry to maintain your standing.
    • Avoid any actions that would fully commit you to either faction or make you a primary target.
  • Secure an Escape Route:
    • Once you have sufficient funds, you'll need to purchase an escape route. This usually involves contacting a Human Smuggler (e.g., Carl Stein, found near the building's entrance at night) who offers passage out of the country.
    • These routes can vary in cost and risk. A Luxury Escape Package (15,000 Credits) might guarantee your family's safety, while a cheaper Basic Passage (8,000 Credits) might leave them behind or put them at risk.
  • Family Management:
    • Your family's well-being is important for this ending, as you want to escape with them. Ensure their needs are met, but prioritize accumulating wealth for the escape.
    • If you fail to gather enough money, you may be forced to escape alone, leaving your family behind, or to choose a riskier, cheaper escape that endangers them.

Consequences:

You successfully escape the oppressive regime with your wealth and, ideally, your family. The ending depicts you living a comfortable life in a free country, far from the turmoil. However, the narrative often highlights your isolation, the moral compromises you made, and the fact that you left others to suffer. You are safe and rich, but at what cost to your conscience?

The "Tragic Demise" Ending

This is a catch-all ending for failure, resulting from poor management, excessive negligence, or being caught in too many contradictory actions. It typically leads to your arrest, death, or the complete ruin of your family.

How to Achieve (or Avoid):

  • Excessive Ministry Penalties:
    • Allowing your Ministry reputation to drop too low through repeated failures to report violations, incomplete directives, or being caught with illegal items yourself.
    • Example: Failing to report illegal gatherings (Decree 107) in Apartment 2B multiple times, or being caught possessing Forbidden Literature (Decree 101) during a random Ministry inspection.
  • Getting Caught by the Ministry:
    • Being apprehended while performing illegal actions (e.g., planting evidence, smuggling, breaking into an apartment) without sufficient stealth or alibi.
    • Failing to pay a Ministry fine (e.g., for property damage, unapproved renovations) can also lead to arrest.
  • Neglecting Family Needs:
    • Consistently failing to provide food, medicine, or education for your family. This can lead to your wife leaving you, your children being taken away, or even their deaths.
    • Example: Your daughter falls ill and you don't have the money for Antibiotics (purchased from Doctor Schmidt in Apartment 1A or the Black Market).
  • Alienating All Factions:
    • Attempting to play both sides but failing spectacularly, resulting in both the Ministry and the resistance viewing you as an enemy or untrustworthy.
    • Example: Reporting a resistance member to the Ministry, then trying to sell Ministry secrets to the resistance, only to be discovered by both.
  • Bankruptcy:
    • Running out of money and being unable to pay rent, fines, or your family's basic needs. This can lead to eviction or arrest.

Consequences:

This ending is generally bleak. You might be arrested and sent to a labor camp, executed, or simply disappear. Your family's fate is often tragic – they might be evicted, imprisoned, or left to fend for themselves in a harsh world. This ending serves as a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of the game's setting and the consequences of poor decision-making.

The "Family First" Ending

This rare and challenging ending prioritizes the safety and well-being of your family above all else, often requiring significant personal sacrifice and careful navigation of the game's factions.

How to Achieve:

  • Prioritize Family Needs:
    • Always ensure your family's needs (food, medicine, education, happiness) are met, even if it means neglecting Ministry directives or resistance requests.
    • Example: If your son needs a New Toy (purchased from the General Store) to improve his mood, buy it even if you need the money for a Ministry bribe.
  • Find a Safe Haven:
    • This ending often involves a specific questline where you discover or are offered a way to send your family to a safer location, often outside the country or to a secluded, Ministry-free zone.
    • Example: Old Man Petrov (Apartment 5B), a former smuggler, might offer to take your family to a neutral country for a large sum of money (e.g., 7,000 Credits) and a specific item (e.g., a Forged Passport found in the Ministry archives).
  • Personal Sacrifice:
    • To secure your family's escape, you may need to make a significant personal sacrifice. This could involve turning yourself in to the Ministry to buy them time, or undertaking a dangerous mission that ensures their safety but puts your life at risk.
    • Example: The Ministry might offer to spare your family if you confess to a fabricated crime, leading to your imprisonment but their freedom.
  • Maintain a Delicate Balance:
    • You cannot be overtly rebellious, as this would endanger your family. You also cannot be a loyal Ministry servant, as that would prevent you from finding an escape route for them.
    • You must carefully navigate between factions, doing just enough to survive and gather resources, but always with the ultimate goal of your family's safety.

Consequences:

Your family escapes to safety, free from the oppressive regime. Your own fate, however, is often ambiguous or tragic. You might be imprisoned, disappear, or die, but the ending emphasizes that your sacrifice ensured your loved ones' freedom. It's a bittersweet ending, highlighting the deep bonds of family and the lengths one will go to protect them.

General Tips for Endings:

  • Save Frequently: Beholder: Conductor is a game of consequences. Save often and in different slots, especially before making major decisions or undertaking risky missions.
  • Read Everything: Pay close attention to dialogue, item descriptions, and Ministry decrees. Clues for different ending paths are often hidden in plain sight.
  • Experiment: Don't be afraid to try different approaches on subsequent playthroughs. The game is designed for multiple runs to uncover all its secrets.
  • Manage Resources: Money, reputation, and items are all crucial. Plan your finances and inventory carefully.
  • Observe Tenants: The more you know about your tenants, the better you can manipulate situations to your advantage, whether for the Ministry, the resistance, or your own gain.

Every choice you make as the landlord in Beholder: Conductor reverberates through the lives of your tenants and your own family. Choose wisely, or suffer the consequences!