The Eternal Battle quest in The Witcher 2 appears in both Roche’s and Lorveth’s storylines, which makes it integral to the main story. The quest requires the players to fight with the vengeful ghosts and their leader, who is a wraith named Draug.
Here is the complete walkthrough for the Eternal Battle quest of Witcher 2 that explains both Roche and Lorveth pathways, including points where they differ and stay the same.
Roche’s Path
After the awakening of a curse, the mist appears, which makes you follow King Henselt to the Kaedweni camp. Here, go to the tent of Dethmold and speak to him. Ask him about curses, and he’ll reveal that four artifacts would be required to break the spell: artifacts that symbolize hate, death, Faith, and courage.
Lorveth’s Path
If you’re following Iorveth’s path, the curse will be awakened soon after the player arrives in Vergen, along with Iorveth. Go to Philippa Eilhart’s house, which is on the far west side of the map of Vergen, to learn about how the curse can be broken.
She tells about the four artifacts that are needed for the process, out of which she’ll take care of the two, Faith and Courage, and the other two, which are your responsibility, hate, and death.
How to get the four artifacts for the curse?
For Roche’s path, leave Vergen and look for a stone archway present after the burned village. Through the archway, you’ll find the road split into three paths. Take the leftmost path, which leads to the Tunnel of the Founders.
Make sure you have something to see around, as this place is really dark. Additionally, the place is filled with enemies, so beware. Once you fight a bullvore, you’ll come across a room, and nearby, you’ll find Zoltan and Saskia in The Witcher 2. Talk to them, and they’ll hand over the sword to you.
However, if you’ve sided with Iorveth, you don’t need to do anything other than wait for Saskia to recover. After the A Matter of Life and Death quest, Philippa starts the process of healing Saskia, who, upon regaining consciousness, offers the Vandergrift’s Sword, adding that you could have taken it even without her permission.
Symbol of Death
In Iorveth’s path, Cecil reveals during the With Flickering Heart quest that you’ll find the symbol of Death, Dun Banner Standard, in the Dwarven Catacombs present towards the north side outside of Vergen.
The only difference is that for Roche’s quest, Skalen Burdon and Yarpen Zigrin would give you the information about the Dwarven catacombs being the standard location. Find them at the Gates of Vergen to get this information.
Once inside, keep an eye out for corpses, as many contain wraiths if you disturb them. At the end of this location, you’ll find a ghost named Ekhart Henessy. Answer his question correctly, and you’ll get the item. If you mess up, don’t worry. You can just kill him and proceed. To save some effort, here are the answers. Start by saying I served in the Banner.
| Statement | Names of Northern Army leaders |
| The positions of the northern armies | You got it wrong. |
| Name the chief Nilfgaardian commander at Brenna | Menno Coehoorn. |
| He won’t be able to attack the North again | Coehoorn is dead. |
| How did you survive the battle of Brenna? | Vandergrift and Seltkirk. |
| How did you survive the battle of Brenna | He won’t be able to attack the North again |
If you miss some correct answers, you can still buy his trust with the Dun Banner Cloak and the Beaver Cap. Once tricking him or defeating him works, search around for a sarcophagus to find the Dun Banner Standard and a Sword as a bonus in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
Once both of the artifacts are collected, go back to Philippa, who would warn Gerald about the Visitor, who is not present, and instead, a powerful demon named Draug has taken its place. The next step is to go into the mist and defeat the demon.
Symbol of Courage (only Roche’s Path)
Once you talk to Dethmold during the Conspiracy Theory quest, you can find the artifact for the curse right away. Keep going through the Conspiracy Theory quest until you find Vinson Traut. This will start a fight, so defeat him and take his armor from the corpse, Seltkirk’s Armor. This is the Symbol of Courage.
Symbol of Faith (only Roche’s Path)
To get the symbol of Faith, you’ll need to get King Henselt’s medallion, which is a trophy from a priest after the Battle of Brenna. Zyvik gives this information, so go and ask Dethmold about this medallion. Conversation with him reveals that you’ll only get it after the curse is lifted.
For this, complete The Blood Curse quest and wait for the King’s invitation for tea. During this, an assassin attack will occur, and Geralt will stop and save the King. As you follow them out, you’ll find two of the assassins, so be prepared. Both are pretty strong.
After the fight, go to Dethmold and get information on the assassins, which will start The Assassins of Kings quest. Complete it and return to Dethmold to get the Medallion and 1500 Experience. This will also start this quest. Now, you have all four artifacts needed to lift the curse.
Once you get all four of the items, go back to Dethmold to continue with breaking the curse. He’ll agree and tell you new information regarding a demon ghost that is not in place of the visitor Geralt was interested in. To stop the demon ghost from causing destruction, he must now go into the mist and defeat it.
What happens in the mist during the Eternal Battle quest?
As soon as you enter the mist, you’ll be possessed by the ghosts. This would happen four times, all related to the four artifacts you have. These ghosts are attracted by the artifacts, which can make them possess Geralt easily.
Also, be prepared as these possessions strip you down of using any ability or spell. The only thing you can do is use the sword and block some minor attacks.
First Ghost: Aedirn soldier
As soon as you enter the mist, you’ll be possessed by the ghost of an Aedirn soldier. His duty is to obtain the enemy’s Standard. You’ll encounter a lot of enemies, so fight them as you run forward. Soon, you’ll find a more giant soldier than the rest who is your target.
This is the standard bearer and larger in stature. He is more powerful than usual soldiers but not strong enough to resist. Defeat him, and the ghost will leave Geralt’s body.
Second Ghost: Messenger
Now, you’ll be possessed by a ghost of a messenger. This messenger has to inform the commander that the Standard is captured. This task requires you to run towards the path ahead of you. As you run, you’ll hear a shout followed by flaming arrows that will be shot in bundles.
Make sure to take cover under wooden shields once you hear the shouts. If you are hit with even one arrow, you’ll have to start over, so be extra careful and take shelter whenever needed. Luckily, the path isn’t too long.
Third ghost: Seltkirk’s Spirit (The visitor)
Lastly, you’ll be possessed by the Seltkirk’s spirit. In this form, you’ll meet the spirit of Vandergrift, who later becomes Draug. Also, several other cutscenes are played that show the actions of Sabrina Glevissig and her secret magic attack. This is purely a fighting task. Fight with anyone who charges at you. Once done, the boss fight will start against Draug.
How to defeat Draug in the Eternal Battle quest?
He is a pretty hard boss to fight, as there is no way you can block his attacks. You can dodge his attacks, which is why it’s best to read his movements and limits before going too close to swing your sword. He has additional health, Shield Health, that needs to end before his actual health starts to be affected.
You can skip this extra step by attacking him from behind once he stops after an attack. If Draug shouts “Archers” or “Trebuchets,” hide behind rocks to avoid flaming arrows and meteors for the latter. Be aware of this, and you’ll soon be able to defeat the Draug in The Witcher 2: The Eternal Battle quest.
To help your defense further, use Quen or Yrden and save yourself from dying. Once defeated, loot his body for valuable items.
Fourth Ghost: The Priest
In the end, another ghost will possess Geralt, which now leads soldiers to shelter. The curse is broken at this point, which causes a meteor storm, and to provide shelter, the ghost leads the way. Make sure no one dies from the flaming meteors that are falling and lead the soldiers to safety.
Soon, you’ll reach the required area, and Geralt will regain one of his memories. Finally, he wakes up in a safe location, which is different for the two paths.
- Roche’s Path: Geralt opens his eyes after his memory ends and finds himself in a Brothel of the camp. A bard is nearby, and he informs him he’s been sleeping for three days after the curse is lifted. Also, Vergen is the next target for Henselt’s army.
- Lorveth’s Path: Geralt wakes up in Philippa’s house and learns that Henselt’s army is headed toward Vergen
And that is how the Eternal Battle quest in The Witcher 2 ends.
