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The Heart of Stone expansion to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is full of intense story moments and even more intense boss fights. The mission "Scenes from a Marriage" is packed with both, with lots of added backstory about the expansion's focus character Olgierd von Everec and no fewer than three boss battles.
The last battle in the mission is against a creature that goes unnamed within the story, but the health bar calls it "Iris' Greatest Fear" and its Witcher 3 bestiary entry calls it "Ethereal." The Ethereal is infamous for grinding playthroughs to a halt, but the right strategy can make this grueling fight surprisingly simple.
The Setup
Encountering the Ethereal is the easiest aspect of the fight. As Geralt works his way through "Scenes from a Marriage," he helps Iris von Everec remember various moments from her life. The last moment she has to remember is the letter Olgierd leaves her with, and once Geralt reads it six copies of Olgierd show up and surround him. Once the cutscene ends, combat begins, so players should perform any needed preparations before reading the letter.
Combat Strategies
- The Ethereal uses the same combat techniques as Olgierd, and so the same strategies apply. Geralt can parry any of the Ethereal's attacks, and doing so leaves it staggered and open to counterattacks. For the super attacks, only block once the Ethereal's sword turns red to get the parry.
- Also like Olgierd, players should stick exclusively to strong attacks.
- Normally, each Ethereal will attack Geralt one at a time. However, if Geralt damages an inactive Ethereal, it will join the fight immediately. This means players should keep their distance, avoid using signs like Aard and Igni, and avoid throwing bombs.
- Ethereals start weaker than Olgierd, but the more of them Geralt defeats the more powerful the survivors become. The last two Ethereals are just as good at defending as the real deal.
- An alternate strategy is to provoke all six Ethereals to attack at once and then use Whirlwind to damage all of them while they're still easy to hit. It's risky, but doable.
- The Ethereal is a specter and thus vulnerable to specter oil.
- The Blizzard potion gives Geralt a boost each time he takes down an enemy. Since each Ethereal counts as a separate enemy, Blizzard is uniquely useful during this boss fight.
If a player focuses on dodging and parrying, the Ethereal boss battle will go by quickly and easily. It may not be a player's favorite strategy, but it's by far the best one for defeating this enemy.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions launch on December 14.