You will encounter a Dragon during the Enter the Dragon quest in the third chapter of The Witcher 2. You must throw everything at it to win this last boss fight. The Dragon is not an easy foe and will test your mettle by giving you one of the toughest fights.
You will not last long if you are unprepared for this Boss fight. Moreover, at the end of the fight, you can make an important choice to unlock a secret achievement. Before starting the fight, you must know what equipment you need, so let’s start with these.
Best equipment for defeating the Dragon
For armor, you must go for the Armor of tir Na Lia, as it will protect you from incineration attacks. You can purchase it from Bras of Ban Ard, located at Loc Muinne.
You can combine this with the Superb Temerian Leather Breeches. Equipping these breeches will increase the fire resistance by an additional 20 percent in Witcher 2.
Moving onto the weapons, you will need the most powerful weapons, like Silver Swords, Addan Deith, and the Deithwen. Each of these swords can be acquired once you complete The Gargoyle Contract.
In terms of empty enhancement slots, you can fill them with the following options:
| Enhancement Slot | Stats |
| Fire Rune | Provides 20 percent resistance to incineration |
| Ysgith Rune | Inflicts an additional 8 percent bleeding effect on an enemy |
| Rook | Increase your sword damage |
| Swallow | Vitality regeneration |
| Golden Oriole | Increases resistance to (Poisoning, Incineration, and Bleeding) by 30 percent each. |
| Falka’s Blood | Increases your sword damage to Max. |
How to defeat the Dragon in The Witcher 2
Once you are ready, go to the Mage’s summit. You must head to the tower by climbing the ledge to take on the Dragon in a boss fight.
Remember that before heading inside the tower, it will be your last chance to meditate. You should take the potions before engaging in this boss fight. As you move up the tower using stairs, the Dragon will attack you at different instances.
Fighting the Dragon inside the Tower
Use the Quen shield to avoid taking damage from the Dragon and keep it up through the remainder of this specific boss fight. Make sure to add enhancements such as Falka’s Blood onto your silver sword before you land the first strike.
During the first phase of this boss fight, the Dragon appears in one of the large openings of the tower. You will need to target its head with multiple strikes. This should bring down the Dragon’s health to 80 percent in the Witcher 2.
The Dragon will start tearing the room’s roof and spit fire at you. You can roll towards the other side, inflict two more heavy strikes on the Dragon’s neck, and immediately roll back.
A pillar will be at the tower’s center; you should run towards it after each attack. This way, you can easily dodge the incoming strikes. The best move here will be to avoid its physical strikes and bait the Dragon into using the Fire breath.
Following this tactic can bring down the Dragon’s health to 60 percent. However, the Dragon will be enraged and damage the tower. You must go to the roof area to fight the remainder of this Boss fight.
Fighting the Dragon at the roof of the Tower
At the roof area, you will enter the second phase of the Dragon boss fight. This time, the Dragon will have more room to damage you. Wait for the Dragon to climb over the edge, and then you must rush towards it and target its neck area with a quick attack.
After the initial strike, you must immediately roll back, as the Dragon will target you with a vicious claw attack in The Witcher 2. The Dragon will swipe at you, so you must watch for that attack.
Keep repeating the quick attack and roll dodge strategy, and after getting hit the third time, the dragon will dive down. Now, you will observe its large, deadly tail. It would be best to run as far away as possible when you see this because the Dragon will use its tail to strike you down.
Moreover, the Dragon will target you with its massive fire-breathing attack, so you need to wait out this attack. As soon as the Dragon hunches back, you must perform a heavy strike and dodge away. If the dragon takes flight, it is best to rotate around the top floor as this will cause the Dragon to lean over the edge of the Tower, allowing you to strike it down.
You will need to use Quen throughout this battle to avoid fire damage. Keep the Dragon busy with quick attacks, then move in for those heavy strikes after the fire breath to slay this beast with relative ease.
Should you Kill or Spare the Dragon in the Witcher 2
Don’t relax just yet once the Dragon’s health is almost depleted. You will need to react to two cinematics, after which the Dragon will crash land and get impaled by a tree. However, it will not kill the Dragon; you can kill or spare it.
In my opinion, the best choice here would be to Spare the Dragon. Moreover, if you have followed the events of the main quest and helped an NPC character called Philppa, you will get an important item. This special magic dagger can be used to save the dying Dragon, heal Saskia’s (Dragon) curse, and turn her back into her original human form in The Witcher 2.
Furthermore, by sparing the Dragon, you can unlock the achievement called Dragonheart.
