The Eternal Battle

Your guide to 'The Eternal Battle' quest in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition. Learn how to navigate Iorveth's and Roche's paths, face the Mist and the Draug.

Alright, let's talk about 'The Eternal Battle,' a quest you'll encounter in Chapter 2 of The Witcher 2. It pops up regardless of whether you're siding with Iorveth or Roche, so pay attention! ### Iorveth's Path This quest kicks off the moment Geralt arrives in Vergen with Iorveth. During a meeting with King Henselt and his pals, a nasty curse gets unleashed, and a spooky mist blankets the Battlefield. Your first stop is Philippa Eilhart's place in Vergen. She'll tell you that to break this curse, you need to gather a few things: a symbol of death, a symbol of hatred, a symbol of faith, and a symbol of courage. Philippa will handle the faith and courage symbols, but you'll need to fetch the death and hatred ones yourself. Once you've snagged the Standard and the Commander's sword, head back to Philippa. She'll let you know that the spirit of Vandergrift has been twisted into a powerful demon of war – a draug. Then, it's off to the Battlefield entrance to step into that mist. ### Roche's Path This one starts right after you escort King Henselt and his crew out of the Battlefield, just as that cursed mist appears. You'll need to chat with Dethmold in his tent. He'll explain that you need four artifacts to break the spell: a symbol of hate, a symbol of death, a symbol of faith, and a symbol of courage. You'll also need to appease Sabrina Glevissig's ghost by performing a ritual with the king's cooperation. After you've sorted out those tasks, return to Dethmold and tell him you're ready. He'll reveal that Vandergrift's spirit has transformed into a fearsome draug, a demon of war. Your next move is to leave the Kaedweni camp and enter the spectral mist. ### The Mist As soon as you enter the mist, Geralt gets possessed by a ghost, and a fight breaks out. You'll first relive the experience of an Aedirnian soldier from three years ago, tasked with capturing the enemy's standard. During this bit, you can't use your witcher abilities – it's just swordplay: hit and parry. You'll face three wraiths and a Draugir in a confined area. Heads up: You can't save your game here, but the game auto-saves after any cutscene. This fight can be a real pain, especially on Hard or Dark Mode. Don't rush! Focus on parrying and dodging the Draugir's charges. Take down enemies one by one, leaving the Draugir for last. They don't have a ton of health, so a few hits should do them in. A neat trick: you can lure the soldier wraiths into the ring of fire surrounding the area; they'll often burn themselves out. Use the riposte ability against the Draugir – it's effective, though it's more resistant to fire and will keep coming at you. After that scrap, a second vision begins. This time, your job is to deliver a message to the unit commander. It's basically a running sequence, dodging a rain of flaming arrows. Listen for the horn that signals incoming arrows. Don't dawdle, but don't stay behind cover too long either, as a second volley could take you out. Warning: This part is super stressful! Getting hit even once means instant death. You'll need patience and good timing between the horn blasts. In the next scene, you'll witness Vandergrift, now a Draug, arguing with Sabrina Glevissig about her battle performance and her threat to tell Henselt. The scene then shifts to Sabrina consulting the Lodge of Sorceresses about using Melgar's Fir...