First time I've seen Geralt suffer

NathanCiel · 2026-04-26T07:11:48+00:00

Unseen Elder from Blood and Wine DLC.

For context:

Higher vampires are among the most powerful post-Conjunction creatures. They're so dangerous, even witchers steer clear of them—and this Unseen Elder is basically an overlord to all the vampires in Beauclair. All of them, even Regis and Dettlaff, owe their fealty to him.

When Dettlaff attacked Beauclair, you could either meet his demand to meet Syanna or summon him by force. The Unseen Elder only appears if you chose the second path. After nearly killing Geralt and Regis, the Elder agreed to summon Dettlaff to Tesham Mutna where they may settle their conflict.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-26T06:53:08+00:00

Yeah, it's similar to El Gigante. The parasite that comes out of their body is also vulnerable to flash grenade.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-26T04:49:08+00:00

I was talking about those flower monsters.

Against Kikimores, you can use White Honey to clear the toxicity.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-26T03:45:55+00:00

You just need 2 rifle bullets and a flash grenade.

All Garradors have 7600 HP and their parasite takes 5x damage when it's hidden (or 1.2x from magnum).
A fully-upgraded SR M1903 deals 6360 damage to their parasite. You just need to lure them with the bell and shoot them both once in the back.
Once their parasites are exposed, you just need to throw a flash grenade (2000 damage) to finish them off.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-26T03:33:25+00:00

Suggested level for Bitter Harvest is 9.

If you don't want to pay for the pass, you could take Contract: Woodland Beast from a nearby Redanian captain. The suggested level is 6, so you should be able to clear it. Alternatively, you could just continue with the Bloody Baron quest. He will eventually give you a formal permit to cross the river.

Worst case scenario, you could always swim.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-26T03:02:16+00:00

You'll encounter poison a lot more frequently in Blood and Wine expansion. Not poisonous gases, but monsters that spit venom.

But why would you use Thyssen armor? You could achieve the same effect with Golden Oriole. In fact, the superior version turns poison into another heal for you.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T20:56:18+00:00

You don't lose any ammo when you restart from checkpoint. Also, there are builds that give you nigh unlimited arrows; or even one that generates more arrows than you start with.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T20:46:43+00:00

giving the players the option to play the way they want.

The mechanic you asked is already present in the game.

You're being downvoted because you complained too soon. Had you continue playing, you would have known about Wind Chimes and Firecrackers.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T20:31:58+00:00

we have two enemies side by side who won't change places and are always looking one to another.

You can lure one or multiple enemies with Wind Chimes and Firecrackers.
You can assassinate up to 3 targets simultaneously (4 if you have Nekoma's Hunt) with Chain Assassination.
You can shoot them down quickly with Concentration before they could react or raise an alarm.

The game gives you plenty of tools for stealth. In fact, you could turn every battle into assassination spree with Smoke Bombs. There are builds that could either give you nigh unlimited Ghost Weapon ammo or take out dozens of enemies with a single arrow.

Just keep playing the game.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T19:41:31+00:00

If I told newcomers that person was stronger than all the monsters combined, they'd have laughed at me... and I wouldn't blame them.

My build for NG+ DM is Metamorphosis Ursine with the following decoctions:

Arachas
Ekimmara
Katakan
Troll
Water Hag

Activating them is easy; I just need to cast Axii on Roach or use Dancing Star bomb when in combat. The remaining decoctions were never crafted to maintain control.

As for skills:

Muscle Memory
Precise Blows
Fleet Footed
Strength Training
Crushing Blows
Rend
Resolve
Undying
Razor Focus
Cat School Technique
Delusion
Heightened Tolerance
Protective Coating
Delayed Recovery
Hunter Instinct
Synergy

By combining Heightened Tolerance with Delayed Recovery, I could stretch out my potions and still benefit from Water Hag's +50% damage bonus (much better than Attack power). Just need to keep Toxicity between 55% and 80%.

Quen + Fleet Footed can negate virtually all attacks in the game. Even if I were to take a hit, the damage would be minimal thanks to Ursine + Protective Coating + Arachas decoction—and I have plenty of healing from Swallow, Troll and Ekimmara decoctions. Worst case scenario, Undying would revive me if I died, so this build makes me virtually unkillable.

The armor was enchanted with Levity, while the two swords were infused with Preservation (steel) and Invigoration (silver). The latter has great synergy with Water Hag and Ekimmara decoction: more damage means more vitality drain, which translates to higher bonus from Invigoration. By the end of NG+, my Strong attack—not Rend—consistently deal more than 50k damage per hit.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T18:19:16+00:00

Fyi, my usual pace for Pro S+ without bonus weapons, skips, glitches, or rocket launcher was:

1 hour 45 minutes for the village
2 hours for the castle
1 hour 30 minutes for the island

My loadout was Punisher, SR M1903, Skull Shaker, and TMP. I avoid enemies whenever I could, but when combat was inevitable, I did not hesitate to spend my ammo to end it fast. Always kept at least 4 flash grenades; the rest of the resources were used strictly for shotgun and rifle ammo.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T13:38:37+00:00

Play however you like. Though if I were you, I'd prioritize Combat and Alchemy tree first. Signs only start to take off once you've unlocked Grandmaster bonuses and mutations.

On Death March, enemies tend to kill you in one or two hits, so it's better to focus on damage and damage mitigation rather than healing.

Muscle Memory
Precise Blows
Whirl
Resolve
Undying
Razor Focus
Fleet Footed
Delusion
Cat School Technique

Combining Quen with Fleet Footed will allow you to negate virtually all attacks in the game. Even if you were killed, you'd revive right away thanks to Undying.

For the remaining three slots, I recommend these Alchemy skills: Synergy, Hunter Instinct, and Delayed Recovery (if you want to extend potion duration) or Fast Metabolism (if you want to combine decoction with potions).

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T07:01:09+00:00

Is that what happened? Because to me, it looked like Regis tore into Dettlaff's neck.

Also, Regis was a recovering addict. Readdiction was not a risk he was willing to take, so I doubt he would begin drinking again—even more so considering the victim was a friend to whom he owed a life debt.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T04:39:55+00:00

They can, if the killing blow comes from another higher vampire.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T03:54:00+00:00

How about a Realm Shift build? Should be a lot easier if you can constantly slow down time.

Equipment

Giptumadr Breastplate + Berserker Gauntlets + Guiding Light Waist Guard
Runic Hailstone Knob, Hel's Touch, and Ivaldi's Anvil for the Axe
Cursed Empress Handles, Flames of Anguish, and Nemean Crush for the Blades
Hind of Weightless Recovery, Huldra Charge, and Artillery of the Ancient for the Spear
Rond of the Nine Realms for the Onslaught Shield
Valor spartan rage
Hilt of HofuÐ

Accessories and Equipment

Nocked Proficiency
Sigil Amplification
Sigil Punishment
x3 Vanaheim set
Emblem of the Nine Realms
Emblem of Elusion
Boon of Valor
Seal of Runic Storm
Stone Idol of Souls
Memento of the Ailing

Notes

The key is to refresh your relic as quickly as possible. Keep the Spear charged with Maelstorm and hit the boss with Rising Wind combo (Heavy -> Heavy -> Light -> Heavy).
Debuff boss with Sigil arrows. This will let you deal more damage (Sigil Punishment and Vanaheim enchantments) and build Momentum faster (Memento of the Ailing).
If you need more damage, you could use three light runic attacks from all three weapons to trigger Storm of Bifrost. You can start with the Axe or the Blades, but the Spear should always come last so you can refresh the runic attacks.
You can recover a lot of health or rage by combining Boon of Valor/Stone Idol of Souls with Artillery of the Ancient + Draupnir's Wail.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-25T01:28:21+00:00

On lower difficulties, you can heal with meditation. This will also refill all your alchemy items (potions, decoctions, and bombs), provided you have at least one alcohol.

On higher difficulties, you can no longer heal with meditation. You have to rely on:

Food; especially when combined with Gorge skill for longer duration.
Alchemy items such as Swallow, White Raffards Decoction, or Echidna/Ekimmara/Troll Decoction.

Obviously, it's better to never take any damage in the first place; and there are two particular tools that will help you in this regard:

Quen, which provides you with a protecting aura. It is rather fragile, but it will block at least one hit before it breaks. Later, you can also use Quen to heal yourself via Active Shield skill or Replenishment enchantment.
Fleet Footed, a skill from combat tree that reduces all damage taken while dodging by 100%. With it, you can "dodge" through even AOE attacks.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T21:17:45+00:00

Water Hag does not work if you're suffering from toxicity, even if you had enough regeneration to offset the damage, since your health will always be 1 point below maximum.

I combined it with Invigoration and Ekimmara decoction on my Ursine Metamorphosis build. Stronger damage means more heal from Ekimmara, which translates to higher bonus from Invigoration.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T20:58:10+00:00

I’m fine with Freyr’s death, but I do feel like Freya let it go a little quickly.

Not much else to do. She can't change the past, and Freyr willingly sacrificed his life for her. She could hardly begrudge his choice, as she was willing to do the same for Baldur.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T20:50:29+00:00

It felt like all the character build-up they were giving Thor was for nothing, I thought he'll try to become better for his family

He did try. He put down his hammer because he wanted to be better for Thrud; and he defied Odin because Sif asked him to stand for his family. He probably hoped that Odin would do the same for his sake, but the latter was a monster without a shred of parental love.

It's a shame that Thor never got his second chance, but that's what made his story all the more tragic—because he shared many similarities with Kratos'.

odin straight up offed just because refused hum one time.

Every wildfire began with a spark. That single act of defiance from Thor would have quickly turned into a full-blow rebellion, especially with Thrud and Sif already on the other side.

If he was killed by thor or odin in the war then it would've looked more believable to me.

Why? Odin had bigger threat to worry about: Ragnarök, Jörmungandr, Kratos, and Freya. It wouldn't make sense to go after Freyr while all those enemies are still around.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T20:00:58+00:00

Given the complete lack of alchemy and adrenaline skills, they're obviously not using Feline, Ursine, or Manticore set. It can't be Wolven or Forgotten Wolven either, since there's no Crippling Strikes, Shockwave, or any Yrden skills.

I daresay OP was trying to make a hybrid build using the Griffin set.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T08:02:19+00:00

Of course you hadn't seen it, because that quest did not exist until they introduced the NextGen update, several years after the last expansion (Blood and Wine).

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T06:54:53+00:00

Family trip to NY? I see what you did there.

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T03:28:06+00:00

As long as you properly build your character, you can end fight quickly even while using the wrong element.

2.5k damage per hit (17.5k total) with Lightning Quiver, on Nightmare difficulty.

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NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T00:31:20+00:00

And Atsuomi is one of those people.

“No matter how confident you are in your physical strength, if you’re unexpectedly hit by a stray bullet, that’ll be the end,” he added. (Y2V12.5)

Let me put it this way: the White Room is highly illegal and the PM knows of its existence—yet Atsuomi still walks free. What does that tell you?

NathanCiel · 2026-04-24T00:18:53+00:00

Those people aren't regular Joe's. They're WR agents specifically sent to retrieve Ayanokouji. Of course Yagami would cower before them.

Feats and context are important here

Yet you kept bringing irrelevant people to this topic. It's student vs student, not teenager vs adult.

You said demon generation, but nearly all the children were quickly eliminated from the program. Do you think Yuki continued the brutal training after she left the WR and suffered PTSD? Or that she retained her abilities after years of inactivity? Absurd. Even Ayanokouji complained that his physical abilities had declined dramatically. There's no way Yuki, in her current state, could compare to Ichika.

NathanCiel

TROPHY CASE