Jacob Seed

"I cull the herd. It’s what I do."

- Jacob Seed "The world is weak. Soft. We have forgotten what it is to be strong. You know our heroes used to be gods. And now our heroes are godless. Weak, feeble, diseased. We let the weak to dictate to the powerful and we are shocked to find ourselves adrift. But history knows the value of sacrifice. Of culling the herd so that it stays strong. Over and over, the lives of the many have outweighed the lives of the few, this is how we’ve survived. And we’ve forgotten... and now the bill has come due. Now, the collapse is upon us, and this time the lives of the few outweigh the lives of the many. And when a nation that’s never known hunger or desperation descends into madness, we’ll be ready. We will cull the herd. We will do what needs to be done."

- Jacob Seed

Jacob Seed is one of the three secondary antagonists of Far Cry 5 (along with John and Faith Seed). A former war veteran turned Herald for Joseph Seed, Jacob is in charge of training the Project at Eden’s Gate cultists and preparing them for The Collapse. Jacob believes only the strong should survive and the weak will be purged - something that he greatly enjoys.

He was voiced by Mark Pellegrino.

Background
"My brother Jacob was a fighter. He fought our parents. He fought the government. He fought me. But mostly, he fought himself… The demons that he brought home from the war consumed him. He thought that he was a weapon without a purpose. That he was a warrior without a legacy"

- Joseph about Jacob

Jacob was the oldest brother of John and Joseph Seed. A fighter from a young age, Jacob protected both of his siblings from their parents, meaning that he was the protector.

At an unknown point in his life, Jacob joined the army and fought in Iraq during the Gulf War. After an ambush, Jacob was separated from his unit alongside a soldier called Miller. With no food, radio or shelter the two began walking for seven days until they ran out of water and were being hunted by wolves. Jacob was able to accept his death and, in that moment, realised this was test so he murdered Miller, ate his corpse and was eventually rescued.

After Joseph Seed took total control of Hope County, Jacob became the Herald of the Whitetail Mountain region where he was in charge of cult security and training.

Events of Far Cry 5
Jacob was present when several US Marshals entered Hope County with the intent to arrest The Father. Thanks to the intervention of several cultists, Joseph is saved from arrest. The Junior Deputy and Sheriff Whitehorse escape the cult but Deputy Pratt is kidnapped by Jacob and mentally enslaved by the latter.

The World is Weak
As the Deputy’s progress in the Whitetail Mountains increase, Jacob abducts them, takes them to his hotel and prepares to indoctrinate them. As Pratt ties them down, Jacob explains his viewpoint that the world has become weak and lost its strength due to its reluctance to cull the herd, all the while the Deputy and several other Resistance members are forced to look at predatory pictures to help cement Jacob’s words. He winds a music box that causes the Deputy and other victims to violently spasm and hallucinate a world on fire where they are forced to kill their enemies. When the Deputy awakens they are surrounded by corpses, implying the hallucination caused them to kill the other victims.

We Must Be Strong
Jacob’s hunters kidnap the Deputy yet again. When they awaken they are trapped inside a cage with several other prisoners. Pratt is outside when Joseph and Jacob meet and listens to his brother explain his backstory about his daughter to make a point about sacrifice. Leaving them in Jacob’s mercy, he utilises the music box to make them hallucinate the same battle arena again and they wake up outside in the mountains, surrounded by blood and bodies.

Sacrifice the Weak
Before taunting the Deputy over how they are already indoctrinated thanks to his brainwashing techniques as “Only You” plays yet again, causing them to black out.

The Deputy wakes up inside the same cage where they were before with Jacob sitting outside with food. He claims they’ve been imprisoned for an entire week, whether this is true or a demoralisation tactic is unknown. To showcase his brainwashing abilities Jacob has the enslaved Pratt give him a shave and wash him all whilst explaining his “test” - the time he was forced to kill and cannibalise his army mate Miller when they were separated from the unit, using the anecdote as an example of the weak having their purpose which the Deputy will understand soon before using his music box to place them into the hallucination yet again.

To Jacob’s surprise, Pratt helps the Deputy escape leading him to punish Pratt.

Trivia

 * He is shown wearing a jacket with the insignia of the U.S Army's 82nd Airborne Division. He remarks that this was his unit during his second interaction with the Deputy.
 * The song playing during his indoctrination devices is "Only You" by The Platters.
 * When you try to enter his estate in the north of his region, you will fall to the ground while the song "Only You" begins and you will be ported a few meters/feet back - you cannot enter it.
 * Jacob killed and ate his exhausted army mate Miller during the Gulf War.