Geralt of Rivia is a monster slayer, and during his adventures in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt he faces a lot of different creatures, from friendly ones like Goblins to hazardous ones like Leshens. Specters are not an exception, and Geralt will encounter plenty of these monsters while he is fulfilling his duties.
Specters are ghosts with different aspects that inhabit all the significant regions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's world. They cannot be fought with the standard techniques a Witcher uses when facing other creatures; in fact, they cannot be approached with the same bombs, signs, swords, or tactics Geralt would use against other monsters.
Barghests
Barghests are phantom dogs that hunt the roads at night and appear in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's second expansion, Blood and Wine. Usually Witchers do not believe in Gods, but they accept that Barghests exist and are always connected with some tragic event, resulting from a curse or a concentration of ill will. Together in packs they surround their prey, leaping at it and tearing it apart with their teeth. If their prey defends itself too determinedly, they strike it with a blast of phantom fire. Since they are fast and agile, they can easily evade attacks, but they are vulnerable to the signs Yrden and Axii, Specter oil, and Moon Dust.
Banshees
Old gossips claim Banshees are the spirits of women stuck between life and death. Their wails and howls are considered ill omens of imminent, inevitable death, though they are said not to attack the living themselves. They often appear in the form of pale, tear-streaked women with shriveled faces and wrinkled, corpse-like bodies.
Longlocks is a unique Banshee in the Blood and Wine expansion. She's found at the top of her tower in the Land of a Thousand Fables. However, unlike the fairy tale, she cannot be rescued as she uses her long hair to hang herself, and her spirit will attack once Geralt enters her room.
Ethereals
Ethereals are demon-like creatures that first appeared in the Heart of Stones expansion. They inhabit the painted world created in the mind of Iris von Everec. For her, this monster invokes her biggest fear and wears the face of his husband. Geralt will encounter these dangerous creatures during the "Scenes From a Marriage" quest. They attack in groups one-by-one; when the first one dies, the next one engages in battle. They are susceptible to Specter oil and Blizzard.
Hyms
Hyms are particularly formidable in that they don't outright attack their target, but instead they feed on the target's guilt, tormenting them to the point the person goes completely mad or commits suicide. According to scholars, Hyms are one of the most terrifying and dangerous demons that cannot be exorcised traditionally. These Wraiths only latch onto particularly despicable individuals who have committed unspeakable crimes. To all others they remain entirely invisible, but they appear as a tall, shadow-clad, humanoid silhouette with long, sharp claws.
Once a Hym is exposed to possessing a victim, the Witcher way of exorcism comes into effect. Moon Dust bombs are unnecessary, but a silver sword coated with Specter oil can help finish the fight quicker. Luckily, Hyms do not move quickly compared to other Specters, making them easier to attack.
Nightwraiths
Compared to other creatures of the night, Nightwraiths might not seem all that dangerous, and they are only found in rural areas. One known and powerful Nightwraith is Jenny o' the Woods, who hunts the fields near the village Midcopse in Velen. Travelers fall victim to them most often, but if legends are to be believed they also sneak into huts at times and murder peasants in their sleep.
When they attack, Nightwraiths remain immaterial for most of the time. They only take on more tangible form for the brief moments in which they strike. When weakened, they will create several projections of themselves which cannot attack directly but act as transmitters through which the Nightwraith can sap her victim's energy. In order to force one to take on corporeal form, Geralt must trap it with the sign Yrden or hit it with the blast of a Moon Dust bomb.
Noonwraiths
Noonwraiths are spirits of young women and girls who died violent deaths before their weddings, found in Velen and White Orchard. They appear on particular summer days when the sun reaches its zenith, and they resemble sun-scorched women dressed in long, white robes. Driven mad with pain and anger, they wander the fields searching for their unfaithful lovers or backstabbing rivals, though they will kill anyone who does not get out of their way in time. Geralt will encounter two particular Noonwraiths during the "Devil by the Well" and "The White Lady" contracts.
Noonwraiths are only known to haunt rural places and usually stay near the site of their deaths. They do not bleed and are, for the most part, immune to the effects of Witcher signs. They can create mirror images of themselves that circle their victims in a kind of morbid dance, draining their victims' life energy while adding to their strength. Noonwraiths can also manipulate the physical world to a limited degree, kicking up clouds of dust that temporarily blind and disorient their opponents.
Like Nightwraiths, Noonwraiths can turn immaterial and are very difficult to wound. To force a Noonwraith to take corporeal form, Geralt must use the same techniques used for Nightwraiths. Once the monster has regained physical presence, the player can mount a fast attack with a silver sword coated in Specter oil.
Plague Maidens
When plague ravages a region, a spirit sometimes walks its lands; a ghost resembling an ill woman whose flesh rots off her bones and in whose wake crawls a cavalcade of rats. No one knows whether this spirit brings the pox with her or is merely drawn to it like a moth to a light, yet she delights in dealing pain and suffering.
These Wraiths take the appearance of females, though precisely why that remains a mystery. Some speculate they, like other such Specters, arise from the powerful emotional charge associated with specific circumstances of death. Plague Maidens can be found in Velen and they undoubtedly pose a significant danger, though a Witcher's immunities should at least prevent him from catching the contagious illnesses they carry.
Umbras
Umbras are invisible Specters that can only be seen using a powerful hallucinogenic, but they are visible to animals like horses. They can take on any form and are primarily found in Toussaint, a region in the Blood and Wine expansion.
During his adventures in Redania, Geralt determined that this phantom was the ghost of a recently-deceased knight who had committed a terrible deed while alive and now visited the hermit to demand forgiveness. In his wraith form, he drank her blood and systematically deprived her of life energy. Like all Specters, Umbras are vulnerable to Specter oil.
Wraiths
Wraiths are usually encountered at night near cemeteries, catacombs, and other burial places around the areas that were important to them in life: abandoned homes, crumbling castles, or forgotten bridges in White Orchard, Velen, Toussaint, and Skellige. Wraiths suffer endless, indescribable pain. They are filled with anger and a sense of being wrong; they both envy the living and brim with overwhelming hatred. They are immaterial, not harmed by fire, poison, or weapons designed to provoke bleeding.
However, the player can force them to reassume a physical presence by trapping them with the sign Yrden or by hitting them with slivers from a Moon Dust bomb. As with any such ghostly being, Geralt knows he has to fight them using silver swords, preferably ones smeared with Specter oil, and that they are vulnerable to the sign Quen.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
