How To Defeat Dettlaff In The Witcher 3

Dettlaff van der Eretein is a higher vampire and one of the most difficult enemies you have to fight in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt during the Blood and Wine expansion.

Known as the Beast of Beauclair for a series of mysterious killings where the nightly creature could never be identified, Dettlaff is a highly skilled fighter with inhuman strength and speed as well as the ability to transform.

Dettlaff van der Eretein is the final boss of the Blood and Wine expansion pack. You will face him two times in total. Your first encounter will be early in the Blood and Wine storyline and is a way of letting Geralt know what awaits him at the end.

The second encounter is where Dettlaff will show his real form and prove why he is hailed as one of the most powerful vampires in the Witcher lore. This will be part of Blood Run, the quest where you need to defeat him.

How to defeat Dettlaff in the first fight

The first encounter is where Geralt discovers that the Beast of Beauclair is actually Dettlaff van der Eretein, a powerful higher vampire.

You will chase him into an old warehouse where Dettlaff will fight in his human form. He has multiple forms, which you will get to see in his second encounter.

Do note that Dettlaff cannot kill you in the first encounter. You also do not need to win this fight. However, if you do, you will get additional experience points. Dettlaff will, however, vanish in a cloud of mist to conclude the fight.

Just like any other vampire, you can apply some Vampire Oil on your silver sword to do increased damage.

Oil	Effects	Ingredients
Vampire Oil	+10 attack power against vampires	2x Dog Tallow, 4x Ducal Water
Enhanced Vampire Oil	+25 attack power against vampires	1x Vampire Oil, 2x Bear Fat, 1x Fifth Essence, 1x Wine Stone, 1x Cortinarius, 1x Wolfsbane, 1x Ribleaf
Superior Vampire Oil	+50 attack power against vampires	1x Enhanced Vampire Oil, 2x Alchemy Paste, 1x Fifth Essence, 1x Wine Stone, 1x Cortinarius, 1x Wolfsbane, 1x Vermilion

You can also drink a Black Blood potion to return a portion of the damage every time Dettlaff lands an attack on you. Drinking a Superior version of Black Blood will also get you a useful passive.

Potion	Effects	Ingredients
Black Blood	+15% damage returned to vampires	2x Dog Tallow, 4x Ducal Water
Enhanced Black Blood	+20% damage returned to vampires	1x Vampire Oil, 2x Bear Fat, 1x Fifth Essence, 1x Wine Stone, 1x Cortinarius, 1x Wolfsbane, 1x Ribleaf
Superior Black Blood	+30% damage returned to vampires, makes them bleed when near	1x Enhanced Vampire Oil, 2x Alchemy Paste, 1x Fifth Essence, 1x Wine Stone, 1x Cortinarius, 1x Wolfsbane, 1x Vermilion

Finally, remember to keep casting Quen to always have your shield up.

How to defeat Dettlaff in Tesham Mutna in The Witcher 3

The second encounter against Dettlaff is the grand finale of the Blood and Wine expansion pack during the Tesham Mutna quest. This is where it all ends, and you finally get another chance to rid the Witcher world of the Beast of Beauclair.

Compared to the first encounter, however, Dettlaff is going to be much harder. He will gain new forms and attacks, which means that you need to be fully prepared with more than just a couple of potions.

Something very important to know is that Dettlaff is immune to fire, unlike the rest of the vampires in the game. While Igni can work to damage Dettlaff, it is better to use Quen to shield yourself against his attacks, especially the bat swarm.

Dettlaff’s only weakness is Vampire Oil and a silver sword, as noted above.

Make sure that you are packing some useful potions and decoctions to heal to increase your survival chances. A Superior White Raffard’s Decoction, for example, will immediately restore your health from zero to full. A Superior Swallow will get you increased vitality regeneration during combat.

You can also get a very useful mutation to give you a second chance at life. Second Life makes you invulnerable for a short period when your health reaches zero. You also get increased health regeneration. The best part is that you can trigger this mutation every 180 seconds in the fight.

Phase 1 (human form)

In the initial phase, Dettlaff is seen in a semi-vampire/human form. This phase is relatively easier to counter since you need to avoid his attacks and take him out using your sword attacks. You need to be aware of his strikes, so use Quen as a precaution in case he gets an opening to strike you.

Next off, make use of the distance during your fight with Dettlaff and use Aard to stun him temporarily and create an opening to land a combo strike with your sword.

Phase 2 (monster form)

During the second phase of the boss battle with Dettlaff, he takes on a monstrous form with wings. This phase is a real challenge for many in The Witcher 3 as Dettlaff has the advantage of flight.

Below are Dettlaff’s attack patterns during the 2nd phase in TW3 and how to counter them.

Attack	Description	Counter
Swarm of Bats attack	The only way to counter this attack is that as soon as Dettlaff starts to gather the bats, start running away and get as far away from him as possible. Then a black cloud-like animation will occur, and at that moment, you need to instantly dodge the attack by rolling to the sides.	The only way to counter this attack is that as soon as Dettlaff starts to gather the bats, start running away and get as far away from him as possible. Then a black cloud-like animation will occur and at that moment you need to instantly dodge the attack by rolling to the sides.
Pool of Blood attack	A pool of blood starts forming beneath you and after a while, a few spikes would emerge from the ground.	During this attack, the only thing you can do is dodge as the spike can trap Geralt.
Swoop attack	Once you counter the first two attack patterns, Dettlaff will get enraged and take to the skies. From there he will perform a swooping lunge attack at you. This attack can cause serious damage if you come in contact with it.	The only way to counter this attack is by using Aard, by which you can stun him temporarily. Then you need to attack him but don’t get too greedy, as he can recuperate and attack you as well. Use the same attack pattern to counter his movement and you will deal damage to him steadily.
Crash Landing	Dettlaff goes up into the red mist and then slams on the ground over the location of Geralt.	This is easier to dodge if you learn to roll off as soon as he comes too near. Practice to get the time right. After it, he stops to recover which gives you enough window to attack.

Phase 3 (destroy Dettlaff’s three hearts)

The third phase of the boss fight will begin in a cinematic sequence when Dettlaff pounces and takes a bite off your neck. After this, he will disappear for a moment, and your surrounding environment will change. It will look as if you have suddenly been transported inside Dettlaff’s body.

Here, Dettlaff will show his final transformation in the form of a bloody monstrosity. You will see three of his hearts in each of the surrounding areas. You will need to evade his attacks and destroy the hearts one by one.

Lock your target onto one of the hearts, evade Dettlaff when he comes to attack you and keep slashing his hearts one by one. By performing this rhythm of attacks, you will end up finishing off all three hearts of Dettlaff.

Once all three hearts are destroyed, you will be teleported back to the arena, approach the injured Dettlaff, and just attack him once to kill Dettlaff and rid Toussaint of his terror.