Witcher 2 Weapons, Armor and Items Guide: Quest and Item Help

Page 7 of of the Witcher 2 weapons, armor and items guide by blue_devil_99.



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Quest and Item Help

This section gives more details on several hard-to-obtain items, including a few that require completion of quests or gathering of items over multiple chapters. Note that, for sidequests that span multiple acts, you will often get a 'Quest Complete' notice in a given chapter even though the quest continues in the next chapter. This is normal. Usually it doesn't matter as long as you acquire the right item(s).

** THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS **


Getting Caerm

Caerm is the best steel sword in the game and is obtained in Chapter 3. To get it, you must progress in the Gargoyle Contract sidequest in Chapter 3 as detailed below. You also need to have several items that MUST be obtained in previous Chapters and brought with Geralt to Chapter 3.

Getting the sword:
  • You need to find a magical tome from a chest during the Gargoyle Contract sidequest (see below). You CAN get the tome before starting the quest.
  • The tome is in a room beneath a courtyard guarded by Gargoyles. To reach the courtyard, start at the entrance to Loc Muine from the Order camp. There are 3 doors that lead deeper into the city; take the left most door and you will eventually reach the courtyard. If on Iorveth's path, you actually pass through this area shortly after entering Loc Muine with Iorveth.
  • Take the tome to the mage merchant/craftsman in Loc Muine's marketplace.
  • The mage will tell you he needs a Queen endrega's Pheromones, a Nekker Warrior's Blood, a Necrophage's Skin, and one of either a Harpy's Egg or Rotfiend's Tongue. You only need one of each.
  • The Queen endrega's Pheromones MUST be acquired during the endrega Contract sidequest during Chapter 1. The pheromones are listed as a quest item. BE CAREFUL: the pheromones are also an alchemy ingredient (the red one) and can be used up in potion making if you are not careful. To be safe, I recommend farming a few Essence of Death from the wraiths in Chapter 2; these seem to get priority by default when making potions involving this ingredient.
  • The Nekker Warrior's Blood must be obtained either in Chapters 1 or 2. To my knowledge there are no Nekkers in Chapter 3. The blood is labeled as a quest item and is NOT an alchemy ingredient, so just be sure not to sell it. 
  • The Necrophage's skin drops from Rotfiends and (I think) Drowners. It MAY be attainable in Chapter 3 from Rotfiends in the Loc Muine Sewers, but it is best to keep one on you to be safe.
  • The Harpy's Egg is an uncommon drop from harpies but can be farmed either outside the city or on a small upper area of Loc Muine where harpies spawn.
  • Deliver the four items to the mage to receive the schematic for Caerm.
  • Fortunately the ingredients you need to craft the Caerm are no problem. You need four harpy feathers but again these are farmable in Chapter 3.


The Gargoyle Contract (Caerm, Addan Deith, and Elder Blood Set)
This is a sidequest in Chapter 3. There are three courtyards in Loc Muine guarded by gargoyles. Each courtyard has stairs leading down to an iron gate, beyond which is a room with four large glowing runes and a chest surrounded by a red magic field. These chests contain or lead to some of the best items in the game.

Each has four large glowing runes on the walls and floor which Geralt can interact with. Touching the four runes in the correct order deactivates the field, allowing Geralt to open the chest. Touching them in the wrong order damages Geralt (Quen can prevent this).



About the Runes:

use
  • The meaning of these runes is explained in four books sold by the mage merchant/craftsman in Loc Muine market.
  • The same four runes occur in each room:
  • Sky: a diamond shape with a line through the center (like a pair of lips)
  • Animal: an S-shaped snake like symbol
  • Art/beauty: Looks like a harp, roughly triangular with a vertical line
  • Time: Looks like an hourglass
  • In each room is a bookstand; interacting with it displays three lines of verse
  • Each verse mentions something related to the sky (like a comet or lightning), an animal, something related to art or beauty (like a painting or the word beauty itself), and something related to time.
  • Interact with the four runes in the same order in which they appear in the room's verse


Mystic River (Varn Armor)

This quest spans all three Chapters. You need to pick up a key in Chapter 1, which you use to open three chests, one in each of the game's three chapters. The final chest, in the Loc Muine sewers, contains the Varn Armor schematic.

Getting the Key (Chapter 1):

  • The key is located in a shipwreck at the back corner of the Kayran's lair.
  • You need to pick up the key off the ground and use it to open a chest on the ship a few steps away
  • You receive the Mystic River sidequest upon picking up the key. Upon searching the chest, you find a manuscript, which you are then prompted to return via the Royal Mail. I am not sure if you actually need to return the manuscript to get the armor (in theory you should just need the key) but it's easy to do it just to be safe.
  • The Royal Mail box is located in the same building where you received the rewards for the Nekker and endrega Contracts. Talk to the same NPC who gave you these rewards and convince him (via Axii) to let you look in the chest.
  • On Roche's path, there is another Royal Mailbox near the end of the act. Searching it gives you a 'Quest Complete' message but is not necessary to continue the quest in Chapter 2

Finding the Second Chest (Chapter 2):

  • The second chest is also located in a shipwreck in the ravines on the Vergen side of the mist, near two trolls' lair.
  • On Iorveth's path, you have to find the trolls as a part of the main story fairly early in the Chapter.




From a Bygone Era (Zerrikaterment, Operator's Staff)

This quest opens a portal in the Loc Muine sewers. The portal leads to a secret area with an NPC, the Controller, who will reset Geralt's abilities if you wish. You can also choose to fight the Controller, who drops a dragon scale (needed for crafting Zig..) and the Operator's Staff. Note that these options are mutually exclusive: if you choose to reset Geralt's abilities you lose out on the scale and staff.

To do this quest, Geralt must obtain a set of magical notes from the Hut on the Cliff in Chapter 2 and show them to the mage merchant/craftsman in Loc Muine market. He must then use the notes to deduce a password that opens the portal.


Getting the Notes (Chapter 2):

  • These notes are obtained during the Little Sister sidequest in Chapter 2, Roche's path. You can also obtain these in Iorveth's path after crossing the mists to the Kaedwani side later in the chapter, though in this case there is no quest leading there.
  • To reach the Hut on the Cliff, start from the Kaedwani Army Camp exit and head right. Run down the small creek between the brothel tents and the Blue Stripes' camp. Go straight until you hit the cliffs; a little to your right you will find a pass through the cliff. Follow this path, turn right at the fork, and you will reach a beach area with a hut (surprise) on a cliff.
  • On the far side of the hut is a cluster of barrels. Approach these barrels and you will receive a prompt to cast the Aard sign. You need to press the button shown onscreen to cast the sign (don't cast it like you would in combat). Doing so scatters the barrels and reveals a trap door.
  • Beneath the trap door is a room with three altars. You need to light the candle atop each in the right order. Facing the doorway you entered through, I think the correct order is middle, right, left. If you get it wrong, a wraith will spawn, but you can try it again.
  • Lighting the candles in the correct order opens a secret door. The notes are in the room beyond, on a table.
  • For Roche's path, you can show the notes to Dethmold. He will feed you some BS and offer to buy them. DO NOT SELL THEM.

Finding and Entering the Portal:
  • On reaching the Loc Muine market, show the notes to the mage merchant craftsman. He will explain they contain a password which opens a secret portal. Geralt must deduce the password from the notes.
  • The next time you visit the Loc Muine sewers, a large portal opens just after you pass through the door at the bottom of the stairs. You are prompted to give the portal guardian the correct password by choosing from a bunch of gibberish words in the correct sequence.
  • I'll save you some time. The password is:
  • 'Zi Uddu-Ya Ia Ia Gat Exa Nibbit Kanpa Gat Uddu-Zi' (NOTE: 'Ia Ia' is one word and should only be chosen ONCE)
  • The portal leads to a room where you need to light a bunch of braziers to open the door. I never bothered to figure this puzzle out, just light them randomly and the door will open soon enough.

Dealing with the Operator:
  • An NPC named the Operator is in the room beyond the door. Dialog with him commences with him automatically when Geralt enters the room.
  • Choosing the second dialog option, something like 'How does it work', and then 'Lets get started' will reset Geralt's abilities. All skill points Geralt has spent are refunded, and you are taken to the character screen. Afterward the controller disappears and you must leave via another portal.
  • Choosing the first dialog option, 'I am no chosen one' causes the Operator to attack. Note that this forfeits the option to reset Geralt's abilities.

Fighting the Operator (OPTIONAL):
  • This is, in my opinion, easily the toughest fight in the game. He casts Igni 2 (the AE version), Quen, can teleport around the room, and worst of all summons Gargoyles two at a time. On Hard, the Operator's Igni and the Gargoyles' attacks take down Quen 2 in 1-2 shots, and will usually kill Geralt in 2 more unless you've gone heavy into vitality/damage reduction.
  • You start the fight alone with the Operator, annoyingly with Geralt's sword sheathed. Immedialy move to avoid his first Igni, unsheathe your STEEL sword (the Operator is human apparently) and go to town on him.
  • When he teleports, stand a short distance away, wait for him to begin Igni, and quick attack. If you have your steel sword out and are too close when he appears, he will often just teleport away again (though this is exploitable if you're between Gargoyle summons and need time for Vitality to regen)
  • There is a sound effect when the Gargoyles are summoned. Remember to switch to your silver sword.
  • This is where things get hairy. The Operator will roast you with Igni while the Gargoyles pound you up close. You need to either keep the Gargoyles between you and him to block the Igni, use the room's pillars to block the Igni (careful, you can still get tagged by the AoE), or be really good at rolling.
  • If you get lucky, the Operator will teleport to a corner of the room and the pillar will block his Igni.
  • You can also try to fight the Gargoyles in a corner where the pillar protects you from Igni. Be VERY careful not to get cornered by the two Gargoyles.
  • If you've upgraded Aard or have +crit bonuses, Gargoyles seem vulnerable to stun. Also, Geralt is invincible during his instant kill animations.
  • Unfortunately I don't have an ironclad strategy for beating him. Sorry.
  • I will say the first time I beat him (on Normal), I didn't realize he was human and used the silver sword the entire fight. He seemed to teleport a lot less and you can still keep him stunlocked between Quens. Anyway, good luck!

Baltimore's Nightmare (Gwyhyr, Chapter 2, Iorveth's path only)
I'm including a short guide for this quest largely because it annoyed me. The bulk of the quest is following a very cryptic set of directions. I spent about an hour running around in the wrong area, so I'll save you some time if you want (feel free to give it a try yourself though!).

  • This quest begins in the Harpy Lair you reach during the main story. Viewing one of the crystals starts this quest (just get all five crystals and watch them all).
  • Return to Vergen and find Baltimore's shop door. It is located right next to the alderman's house (I think). The door is locked.
  • Speak with Baltimore's apprentice, who runs the rune store just uphill from the shop. He will give you a key to investigate the old workshop.
  • Inside the shop is a breakable wall (use Aard) toward the back. Behind the wall is a cryptic set of directions and a key.
  • Here's where I'll save you a bunch of time. Go to the Old Quarry. Just to the right of the gate leading to the Harpies' Lair is a path leading up a small hill. At the top of the path is a chest hidden in the grass. Open it using the key you found in the workshop.
  • Take this key to the shipwreck located in the gullies past the troll lair (same one from Mystic River). Near the front of the boat is a door hidden behind some bushes. At noon, the shadow of the boat's bough plank points directly toward the door (referred to in the poem).
  • Open the door and retrieve Baltimore's notes. You may need to deal with some unfriendly NPCs to obtain the notes, but make sure you get them.
  • Return the notes to the alderman in Vergen to receive Gwyhyr.


DLC Items


Blue Stripes Combat Jacket

  • Damage Reduction: +7
  • Rune Slots: 3
  • +10 Vitality
  • +20% Resistance to Incineration
  • +10% Resistance to Poison, Bleed
  • +10 Damage reduction on block
  • +10% Bleed


Mage's trousers
  • Damage Reduction: 1
  • 10% Magic damage reduced
  • +20% Resistance to Bleed
  • +10% Resistance to Incineration
  • +5 Heliotrope Sign duration
  • +5 Damage bonus on signs
Comments:
- Arguably the best pants in the game for pure mages.



Herbalist's Gloves
  • Damage Reduction: 1
  • 10% Magic damage reduced
  • +20% duration for blade oils
  • +1 additional alchemy ingredients

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thanks to CD Projekt Red for a brilliantly realized game. While not perfect, this game has earned a spot on my shelf next to Baldur's Gate 2, Morrowind, Fallout 3, VtM - Bloodlines, and Dragon Age: Origins. I look forward to great things from CDPR in the future.

Thanks are also due to Crimson Phantom, Isaac_Redfield, Zack_3000, and others on the gamefaqs/gamespot forums who contributed to threads that became the buidling blocks of this guide. Thanks to maurer for providing stats on the DLC items. All remaining errors are mine.


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Posted 5/10/11