The Blood of Dawnwalker Boss Strategies for Vale Sangora

Boss fights in The Blood of Dawnwalker are directional exams with vampire modifiers. Most encounters ask you to read attack patterns, parry or dodge specific lines, and manage your kit (day or night) against the boss’s own phase shifts. Some bosses are gated to specific clock states; others respond differently depending on whether Coen is in sunlight or darkness.

This page covers the major bosses, their locations, phase behaviour, recommended approach, and companion requirements. Companion-dependent fights are missable trophies — see Achievements for the full list.

The Forgotten Guardian — Deep Down (Prologue)

Location: The mines beneath Laslea, end of the prologue section.

Clock state: Always daytime (prologue).

Overview: The Forgotten Guardian is a human enemy in heavy armor, not a vampire. He guards the exit from the mine after Coen’s conversion. This is the combat tutorial boss — he has a predictable four-direction attack set and limited stamina.

Strategy: Use the omni-attack assist if you have not internalized directional combat yet. Watch for the overhead swing (parry down), the thrust (parry up), and the sides (parry left or right). Do not trade blows — his armor makes him slower but he hits hard. A single Artery Attack execution when his posture breaks ends the fight.

Notes: You are still human. No claws, no hexes from Anca yet. This fight is purely Swordmastery with directional parrying. The controls page confirms your binds before you commit.

Walkthrough complet du jeu

Brencis — Greifberg Castle (Final Boss)

Location: Greifberg Castle throne room, end of the main story.

Clock state: Variable — the final fight can occur at day or night depending on your time management. Night is significantly harder for Brencis because you have access to your full kit.

Overview: Brencis is a centuries-old vampire in full armor with multiple phase shifts. He opens with sword-and-shield combat in the Roman style, transitions to vampiric claw attacks in his second phase, and adds area-of-effect blood magic in his third. He is fast, punishing, and reads inputs rather than following fixed patterns.

Phase 1 — The Senator: Brencis fights in heavy plate with a gladius and shield. His directional attacks are fast and his parry window is short. Do not rely on the omni-block assist here — manual parrying rewards you with posture breaks he will not give the AI. Keep your stamina managed; he will pressure you into spending it all.

Phase 2 — The Vampire: At approximately 60% health he sheds the shield and activates claw mode. His attack speed increases and he gains Shadowstep-style gap closers. If it is night, you have Voracious Bite and Shadowstep in response. If it is day, you rely on Witchcraft hexes and Swordmastery.

Phase 3 — Blood Magic: At approximately 30% health he adds blood magic: floor AoE, ranged blood bolts, and a desperation charge. This is the most dangerous phase. Keep moving. Do not attempt to parry the charge — dodge sideways.

Recommended build: A balanced Dawnwalker kit with at least one crowd-control hex (Ravenous Flock or Burning Blood for DoT), a gap-closer (Charge from Swordmastery or Shadowstep from Vampirism), and an execution finisher (Artery Attack). The build planner should have this configured by the time you reach the castle.

Companion note: You can fight Brencis with Lacra, with Crake, or alone. Each option unlocks a different trophy and a slightly different final scene. Plan this before entering the castle.

Xanthe — Shrike’s Crag

Location: A tower in the Tantari Woods, accessible after a certain point in the main quest.

Clock state: Either, but night is more thematic since Xanthe is a full vampire.

Overview: Xanthe is a blood magic specialist. She does not fight with steel — she throws blood projectiles, creates poisoned AoE zones on the floor, and summons spectral allies. She is the most magic-heavy boss in the game.

Strategy: Close distance quickly. Xanthe is fragile at mid-range but devastating at long range. Shadowstep or Charge into her face removes her projectile advantage. Once adjacent, she defaults to slower melee blood magic which is parryable.

Hex vulnerability: Witchcraft hexes work well here. Ravenous Flock marks her and the DoT keeps ticking while you manage her adds. Life Lock is useful if you get caught in a floor AoE.

Night advantage: Her claw attacks are faster at night but her blood magic does not change. You have the edge in mobility if you use Shadowstep correctly.

Ambrus — Svartrau Warehouses

Location: The Vrहींaki-controlled warehouse district in Svartrau’s lower city.

Clock state: Day recommended — this fight starts in a human-occupied area and stealth is more viable in daylight.

Overview: Ambrus is physically the strongest of Brencis’s officers but tactically the least sophisticated. He fights with a great sword in heavy armor and relies on overwhelming damage rather than technique. His weakness is that he is a human in a vampire-clan hierarchy — he can be killed permanently.

Strategy: The warehouse fight can be approached as a combat encounter or a stealth sequence. Pulling Ambrus alone from his lieutenants is possible. If you engage him in the open, parry his great-sword swings (they are slow but deal heavy stamina damage) and counter with Acrid Dust to stun.

Companion note: This is the fight where Lacra’s assistance is most mechanically useful. Her combat effectiveness is high and she draws aggro, giving you breathing room for directional parrying.

Bakir — Central Asian War Camp

Location: A Vrहींaki staging camp in the eastern valley, near the steppe border.

Clock state: Night strongly recommended. Bakir is a day-active vampire and fights harder in daylight; your night kit is his weakness.

Overview: Bakir was a warlord in life and his fighting style reflects that — aggressive, momentum-based, and psychologically leveraged. He uses intimidation swings designed to make you flinch and overcommit. His Jan Błachowicz motion capture is noticeable: he fights like a mixed martial artist, not a historical swordsman.

Strategy: Do not bring a great sword. His weapon reach matches yours and he is faster on the reset. Short sword and a full kit of stamina management is the correct loadout. Let him press; punish the recovery frames.

Night: Voracious Bite removes his health advantage. Shadowstep creates distance when his aggression peaks. Blood Surge is a clean execute trigger when he is below 30%.

The Almshouse Monstrosity — Maragir Outskirts

Location: An abandoned almshouse near the Maragir monastery.

Clock state: Either.

Overview: A plague-victim turned monster by Vrहींaki blood experimentation. Not a named character but a unique enemy type — larger, faster, and more durable than standard infected. This is the optional boss that most players encounter by accident while doing the monastery content.

Strategy: Crowd control is essential. Ravenous Flock marks it, Burning Blood applies DoT, and Piercing Shriek (night) buys you recovery time. Its attacks are slow but wide; do not try to parry everything — dodge through.

Mihai — St. Mihai’s Chapel

Location: A small chapel on the hill above Laslea.

Clock state: Day recommended.

Overview: A former Church knight turned by Brencis into a blood-bound servant. Mihai fights with a restored Church blade in a disciplined knight style. He is an optional boss tied to the Arbiter’s sword relic chain.

Strategy: Restore St. Mihai’s sword (Arbiter’s Blade achievement) before this fight — the relic weapon gives you a significant advantage. His combat style is honour-based: he will not use cheap tactics and respects players who fight clean. Parrying his blade art is the cleanest path.

Reward: Defeating Mihai with the Arbiter’s sword restored completes the weapon’s story arc and contributes to the Arbiter’s Regalia set bonus.

Boss difficulty tier list

Boss	Difficulty	Day viable	Night viable	Companion relevant
Forgotten Guardian	Easy	Yes	N/A	No
Mihai	Medium	Yes	Yes	No
Ambrus	Medium	Yes	Yes	Yes (Lacra)
Bakir	Hard	No	Yes	No
Xanthe	Hard	Yes	Yes	No
Almshouse Monstrosity	Medium-Hard	Yes	Yes	No
Brencis	Very Hard	Barely	Yes	Yes (Lacra/Crake/alone)

Before the castle

All of the above bosses (except Brencis) are approachable before the final act. The valley’s open structure lets you tackle officers in any order, but Ambrus and Bakir are both gated by story progression — you cannot reach their areas until the main quest advances far enough.

The map shows the valley regions. Scout towers mark your position and reveal patrol routes. Use them.