"Capture the Castle" is a mid-game quest featured in the Blood & Wine expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It follows the investigatory "Wine is Sacred" and "The Man from Cintra" quests, setting in motion a series of events that leads to the story's epic conclusion.
"Capture the Castle" marks a major cutoff point in Blood & Wine, similar to "The Isle of Mists" from The Witcher 3's main story. Once Geralt initiates the mission, it triggers a sort of 'point of no return,' and he will lose nearly all access to merchants and smiths for the remainder of the story. With this in mind, make sure to stock up on repair kits and complete any desired crafting or upgrades before beginning the mission.
Meeting Damien de la Tour to Begin "Capture the Castle"
To begin "Capture the Castle," Geralt must meet Damien de la Tour at the location of the de la Croix murder. As the quest guide indicates, Damien will only be available after midnight.
Geralt and Damien will discuss the plan of attack before heading out to Dun Tynne castle. The main plan involves:
- Rescuing the Duchess' sister Syanna.
- Bringing the blackmailers to justice.
Before beginning the mission, consider upgrading the Hanged Man's Venom blade oil to the highest possible level (superior). Geralt will fight many humans during "Capture the Castle," Hanged Man's Venom will make the fighting significantly easier.
Storming Dun Tynne Castle
Geralt breaks off from the group as they head out for the castle. As he arrives, the assault is already taking place. From the moment Geralt enters the complex he will be facing large groups of human enemies. While single enemies do not pose much of a challenge, large groups can quickly overwhelm Geralt. Use these tactics:
- Hanged Man's Venom: This will be a major boost to every one of Geralt's sword strikes. Keep an eye on the usage count below the health bar. Reapply when necessary.
- Signs:
- Aard: Even at lower levels, Aard can push enemy groups back, creating distance. At higher levels, it can knock enemies down. If Geralt has completed "Turn and Face the Strange," using Piercing Cold can be a major help here.
- Igni: Using the Melt Armor skill will significantly lower enemy armor levels, resulting in far more damage taken per sword-strike. High-level Igni will set multiple enemies on fire at once, giving Geralt breathing room.
- Quen: The Active Shield skill will allow Geralt to recover health while blocking damage. Pairing this with Exploding Shield can push large groups away.
- Axii: Better with smaller groups, but Puppet works well on crossbowmen.
Should Geralt Spare Roderick of Dun Tynne?
After facing two groups of soldiers, Geralt will come upon a cart being readied for escape. Sitting atop the cart, shouting commands to his men, is the head of Dun Tynne castle, Roderick. As far as combat is concerned, Roderick is no different from any other soldier. However, his importance to the quest is revealed once the fight is finished.
After he is defeated, Roderick while slither along the ground, begging Geralt for mercy. As Geralt speaks to him, an unexpected picture begins to take shape: Syanna is not a victim, she is the ringleader. It was she that convinced Roderick to open his gates to the bandits. He very quickly tells Geralt where Syanna is located, admitting that he would have done anything for her.
Roderick is no blackmailer at all. In reality, he is guilty of no more than being a dunce and a patsy. Given these facts, it seems unnecessary to kill him. It also doesn't hurt that sparing him will fulfill the compassion requirement for "There Can be Only One."
To get to the next section of the quest, simply push through the wooden gates behind the cart. Make sure to loot the sword and other valuables from the cart before moving on.
Fighting Iron Borg and His Friends
After Geralt fights Roderick and his group, the next group of enemies will include a unique mini-boss named Iron Borg. He does not have the typical boss-type health bar, but he is far more dangerous than a normal enemy.
While Geralt should try to clear the few regular enemies before taking on Iron Borg, this is also when the brute is the biggest threat. As Geralt tries to avoid attacks from the other enemies, Borg will be taking massive swings, often from off-screen. Try to keep Quen active to protect against these attacks.
Once his friends are clear, Borg is much easier to face. Watch out for his big overhead slices as they can kill Geralt in a single strike, especially at higher difficulty levels. If Geralt can successfully dodge this attack, Borg is left wide open as he recovers.
Meeting Up with Regis and Dettlaff at Dun Tynne Castle
After defeating Iron Borg, follow the quest guide to the next location. There is another group of enemies right after Iron Borg, but there is nothing to be gained by fighting them beyond experience points.
Following the guide up the stairs and through the hallway will trigger a cutscene. Geralt, who had hoped to keep Dettlaff in the dark about Syanna's location, has arrived on the scene along with Regis. The three will have a brief discussion before moving on to the main castle. Once the two Higher-Vampires are in the mix, combat becomes trivial. Oh, to be a vampire...
Liberating Syanna and Rhena from Dun Tynne Castle
The second Regis and Dettlaff take action, they will tear through pretty much all the armed guards protecting Dun Tynne castle. Dettlaff immediately makes his way inside, finding his lost lover Rhena in the top chamber of the tower. The only issue with this is that Roderick told Geralt that Syanna was in the top chamber. Finally, the pieces come together, and Syanna and Rhena are revealed to be the same person. Syanna orchestrated the entire plot in order to force Dettlaff to kill the targets she chose. It would have been perfect, see, if it weren't for that meddling Witcher, and his little vampire friends too!
Geralt tries to call Syanna out for her deception, though it does not matter which of the two dialogue options Geralt picks. When Dettlaff finds out that he has been made a fool of, he swears to Syanna that, should she not show up to Tesham Mutna in three days to explain herself, the entire city of Beauclair will burn.
With this, "Capture the Castle" concludes, and "The Night of Long Fangs" begins.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and its expansion Blood & Wine, is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.