There are a lot of things trying to take your unlife in The Blood of Dawnwalker. However, at the top of the food chain are the vampires that make up Brencis’ court. Each one controls a different region of the map, and you’ll want to beat all of them if you want to weaken Brencis before your fight.
One of these three is Ambrus, the youngest of the group and the vampire who oversees all the blood harvesting for the court. However, like many things in this game, getting to and defeating Ambrus is not that simple. Here is everything you need to know about unlocking the Ambrus fight, his quest, and how to defeat this boss.
How To Unlock The Ambrus Boss Fight
To trigger the Ambrus quest, you will need to first disrupt his plans enough to make him come out of hiding. This is done via raising his Anger meter in the Court sub-menu. You can increase this meter by destroying his leech farms, blood storage, and stopping prisoner transports along the road.
All of these activities will be marked on your map when you’re near them with the symbol of Brencis’ court and will show Ambrus’ face when you highlight it with your cursor. Completing any of these activities takes time, and it will take a few days of in-game time to finish enough activities to force Ambrus out.
Once the Anger meter is filled, a new quest will be available when you go to the small town of Maragir (shown above). This is on the east side of the map and is south of the Maragir Wealds text on your map. It will be marked on your map as a question mark, so don’t expect to be instantly guided to where you need to go.
The quest itself is called The Gilded Gauntlet.
The Gilded Gauntlet Quest Walkthrough
Investigate The Scene
The first step of this quest tasks you with investigating the strung-up villagers in the town square. It turns out Ambrus has taken offense at your meddling and is punishing the locals for your trouble. When you arrive, speak to the villagers gathered around the dead bodies to trigger a brief cutscene where you learn that the dead men were the family that oversaw Maragir.
You’ll then learn that Ambrus has challenged you to a fight to the death; however, before you can accept, the vassal of Ambrus will request your presence at his hunting lodge. Now, you can either choose to go with them to hear him out or just ignore the invitation and go right to the duel.
I recommend going to the vassal, so make sure to pick the dialogue options:
- “What does Codrin want with me?”
- “Fine. Where is he?”
Visiting Codrin will cost you a single segment of time.
If you agree, you’ll instantly be transported to Codrin’s lodge and go right into another dialogue exchange. When speaking with Codrin, you will learn that Ambrus actually prefers to drink straight from a living person rather than the barrels of blood the rest of the court uses. This, surprisingly, is actually against the rules of Brencis’ court.
Codrin explains that before the duel, Ambrus always drinks, and we can poison that person to weaken him before the fight. The problem is, this will kill the person you poison, so you’ll need to willingly sacrifice Ambrus’ slave to make his boss fight easier. You will have the option to turn down this plan, but if you want to go through with it, pick the dialogue option:
Once Coen agrees, Codrin will offer to take you to a poisoner he knows to make the toxin for the duel. You can either go with Codrin right away or agree to meet him there later if you want.
The Bittersweet Toast Walkthrough
Find Vera
Agreeing to see the poisoner Vera will unlock The Bittersweet Toast quest. As you make your way to the poisoner’s home, you will be attacked by wolves. Fight off the beasts and approach the house to discover the dead body with a very suspicious trail of slime leading away from the corpse.
Codrin will approach Vera’s house and, after knocking, learn that she has disappeared. You will now need to investigate the home for any clues, but before doing so, I recommend looting the chest in the main work area and her bedroom. You’ll get two recipes and a nice amount of medical supplies for your trouble. Once you’re done ransacking her home, activate Focus Mode and interact with the glowing yellow table in the back right corner.
Interacting with the table will cost you a single segment of time.
Three items will be on the table that you can inspect further. The note will explain that the only ingredient she’s missing is salamander skins. With this info, go back outside and speak to Codrin. He will confess she is a witch, and in order to poison Ambrus they will need something a bit more powerful than traditional toxins.
Now follow the path of salamander cages across the bog until you find one that has actually been interacted with by Vera. You will find her footprints next to the cage, so activate your Focus Mode and follow the trail she left behind. You’ll eventually come across Vera’s body, which causes Codrin to breakdown.
He will admit that he is the blood cow and wants to die to ensure Ambrus also perishes. You will once again be given the opportunity to abandon this plan to poison Ambrus before the duel. If you want to continue, select the following dialogue option:
- “With Vera dead – what happens now?”
Picking this dialogue option will cost you a single segment of time.
If you decide to continue this plan, follow the blood trail deeper into the swamp. You will eventually come across Vera’s notes on the ground, along with a massive trail of slime leading into a cave to your right. Looking through the notes, you will find what you need to make the poison for Codrin.
Inspecting her notes will cost you a single segment of time.
Defeat The Pale Ravager (Optional)
If you’re looking to get some payback for Vera, follow the slime trail into the cave. Sliding through the crack will trigger a boss fight with this massive reptile. The Pale Ravager is a brutal beast, as it boasts several close-range attacks, including an unlockable shockwave it will launch around itself. Before the fight, I recommend equipping any jewelry or armor that will increase your damage to animals and reduce any physical damage taken.
When the fight starts, the Pale Ravager will almost always burrow towards you and emerge right in front of you. This is its most dangerous attack, and to avoid it, you will want to dodge backwards twice right as soon as it comes out of the ground. Doing so will put enough distance between you both to ensure you aren’t hit.
Its other unblockable move is an acid spit, which it will launch at you from range and can be avoided by dodging to either the right or left. Pale Ravager will sometimes repeat this attack multiple times in a row, so be prepared to dodge multiple projectiles in a row. Finally, the Pale Ravager has multiple claw swipes that can all be parried and don’t come out that quickly.
So long as you avoid the body slam attack, you shouldn’t have much trouble defeating the Pale Ravager. While it can hit hard, the rest of its moves are slow and easy to block or dodge. Just make sure to always be on guard the moment it goes underground, since that shockwave deals the majority of its damage.
Once defeated, you’ll get a great human amulet to wear, the Tatzel Wurm gland, and you can grab the Large Lizard Moult in the back of the boss’ den.
Brew The Poison
Return to Codrin and speak to him near Vera’s body. He will ask if you’re ready to make the potion and explain that he is leaving the making of the actual toxin up to you. When you’re finished speaking to him, approach the cauldron near where you found Vera’s body and interact with it. Add the salamander skin next to the cauldron to make the poison and then go speak to Codrin again.
He will explain that you need to feed him the rest of the poison halfway through the Hex. Speaking of, you will now need to interact with the correct stone pillars in the right order. Thankfully, this is pretty easy as Vera etched a big white X on the ones you have to interact with. Specifically, look for the pillar with a single X across from where Codrin’s feet are on the slab.
Then, look for the pillar with two Xs carved onto it and interact with that next. Repeat this for the third pillar with three Xs on it to trigger a brief fight with some ghostly skeletons. Once the apparitions are killed, ignite the fourth and fifth pillars. Make sure the ones you are lighting have the Xs etched in front and are in numerical order!
After killing the next wave of ghosts, you’ll have a boss fight with the Fallen Witch. This boss relies on ranged attacks and quick knife strikes that attack in succession. Her unblockable moves consist of an AoE (area of effect) shockwave that will hit you if you’re close. You can avoid this by dodging backwards before she releases the energy.
The second unblockable move sees the Fallen Witch launch crows at you. You can either stun her out of this by hitting her or just avoid them via dodging to the side. Once in close, she will quickly attack with her knife, throwing out multiple strikes in a row. However, performing a perfect parry against any of them will stagger the witch, leaving you an opening to hit her.
Closing the gap is key to this boss fight, as she is much weaker up close and easy to stunlock. Try to always ensure you’re in her face and be ready to dodge back if you see the red skull, as this indicates her shockwave is about to be released.
With the Fallen Witch defeated, approach Codrin and interact with the altar he’s on. Doing so will advance time by three segments.
During the final parts of the spell, you will need to ensure that Codrin actually drinks the rest of the brew. If you don’t, the poison will not work, and Codrin’s wishes will not be granted. Because of this, make sure to select the following dialogue option when presented:
- “You have to eat the rest of the brew.”
- [Force him to swallow]
Doing so will ensure that Codrin is poisoned for the fight with Ambrus and will complete this quest. You can now go to the duel with Ambrus whenever you want; however, it has to be at night since he is a vampire. If it’s still daytime, I recommend upgrading Coen, your gear, and grabbing anything you might need for the boss fight.
Defeat Ambrus
Once you’re ready to fight, head to the dueling spot at night. If it’s still daytime, you can actually loot this area and find a legendary recipe for the Potent Powder of Sharp Mind in one of the chests along the stone wall near the makeshift camp. If you want to advance time without needing to do anything, approach the large bell and interact with the rope. You’ll be given an option to wait for nightfall.
Once Ambrus arrives, go through the dialogue exchanges until he asks for you to toast the duel. You will be presented with Codrin as your drink and a selection of several dialogue choices. Picking the wrong one will either cause Coen to become poisoned or Ambrus to catch on that you’re scheming against him.
To ensure Ambrus actually drinks from Codrin, select the dialogue option:
- “I don’t trust anything you offer.”
Doing so will annoy the vampire and cause him to drink from Codrin first to prove he wasn’t trying to poison you. This, obviously, backfires and ensures that Ambrus becomes weakened from the toxin you created. It will also trigger the boss fight with him, so be ready to fight once you select this dialogue option.
Ambrus Boss Fight
The fight will start with Ambrus doubled over in pain from the poison. Rush at him and get a few easy strikes on him before you back up. Ambrus heavily relies on his unblockable attacks, which are actually quite easy to dodge.
The first is a move where Ambrus spins his sword along his sides like fan blades while approaching you. To avoid this, just keep backing up while he advances, as his speed is fairly slow during this, so you can easily stay out of his range. His second unblockable sees Ambrus teleport through the air and appear right in front of you. When this happens, dodge backwards to avoid his sword strike.
His other move consists of a claw strike from the right and a sword attack from the left. These can be parried and will be your main windows for attacking him. You can also teleport behind Ambrus if he is doing his fan attack, as this leaves his back exposed, making it easy to punish him with some sword strikes.
Ambrus will also occasionally start to wretch from the poison, so if you ever see him bent over, rush him down and start swinging. His attack patterns won’t change here, so make sure to always keep an eye out for when he is about to launch an unblockable attack and prioritize avoiding it over everything.
Once Ambrus’ health reaches 30 percent, he will launch a one-time attack where he makes blood shades of himself. These come at you in fast succession from different directions. Each one can be parried, but do not counterattack. You won’t have any time to actually hit Ambrus, so solely focus on defending against this move.
When all the shades vanish, Ambrus will return to his normal move set for the rest of the fight.
Should You Drain Or Kill Ambrus
Eventually, you will whittle him down to almost nothing, triggering a cutscene where you will be given two options: Drain Ambrus’s Blood or outright kill him.
Draining Ambrus will trigger a unique cutscene where you two will be transported to another dimension called Anachora, raise your Corruption level, and unlock a new ability called Scarlet Shield. One of the best passives in the game, this gives you a chance to restore health after every perfect block while in vampire form.
Killing Ambrus will deny you this ability and will not raise your Corruption level at all. If this is your first playthrough or you want to increase your chances against Brencis, draining him will make your life a little easier.
Keep in mind, if you drain Ambrus you will also become poisoned. This means your health will be at around 30 percent until ten in-game hours have passed. Because of this, I recommend not doing any big quests until you have recovered!
Should You Take In Ambrus
The final choice of this quest will come after Ambrus explains that you’ve been transported to Anachora. He will beg you to take him in, explaining he was just drunk with power for the first time in his life. You’ll then be given the dialogue options:
- I’ll invite you in
- I don’t care. I owe you nothing.
If you decide to let Ambrus in, it won’t have any gameplay effects, and the only story impact will be getting to hear Ambrus occasionally make comments throughout the rest of your playthrough. If you deny him, then he is gone forever, and you’ll never have to listen to him again.
Either way, after you return to the real world, make sure to loot his body because he will have a legendary chest piece that’s great for a night build!
