Shaelmaars are one of the new creatures that were introduced with the Blood and Wine expansion pack of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. They are extremely rare and unique in the sense that they use sound instead of sight to hunt their prey.
Shaelmaars are large in size and are completely blind. They also have strong natural armor that protects most of their bodies from all kinds of attacks. However, there is a way to bypass their defenses.
The following guide will tell you the weaknesses of a Shaelmaar and how you can kill them in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Where to find Shaelmaars
Shaelmaars mostly live in underground tunnels and caves. You will come across four of them in the game, all of which are tied to some of the main and secondary quests of Blood and Wine.
Your first encounter with a Shaelmaar will be during a tournament as part of The Beast of Toussaint quest. The creature will get loose in the arena and you will have to either spare or kill it in the end.
You will also encounter a Shaelmaar after picking up The Tufo Monster contract where the creature is said to be terrorizing a vineyard.
Another Shaelmasr can be encountered during Duchaton Crest, a secondary contract, where you must clear out a nearby cave.
Finally, there is the What Was This About Again? treasure quest. There is a Shaelmaar guarding the tunnels that lead to a valuable reward.
How to kill Shaelmaars
Shaelmaars have hard armor on most of their bodies, especially on their backs. The only weak spot is its underbelly and for that, you must flip it on its back.
Shaelmaars can roll in a ball before charging at you at high speed. All you have to do is lure it to crash into a wall or obstacle. That will flip the creature on its back for a few seconds, allowing you to inflict damage.
However, Shaelmaars are not that dumb. They will often stop their rolling charge attack just before reaching a wall. So, you can either lure them by moving out of the way at the last second or stun them into crashing into an obstacle.
To stun a Shaelmaar, you can either cast Aard or throw Samum bombs at them. Just keep in mind that the creature needs to be rolling at full speed and you need to be in front of a wall for this to work.
| Bomb | Effects | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Samum | Blinds enemies | 1x Saltpeter, 2x Celandine |
| Enhanced Samum | Blinds enemies for a longer duration, does physical and silver damage as well | 1x Samum, 1x Stammelford’s Dust, 1x Phosphorus, 1x Foglet Teeth, 1x Celandine, 1x Blowball |
| Superior Samum | Blinds enemies for an even longer duration, the first hit is always critical | 1x Enhanced Samum, 1x Alchemists’ Powder, 2x Phosphorus, 2x Foglet Teeth, 2x Celandine, 2x Hellebore Petals, 1x Aether |
You can also apply some Relict oil on your silver sword to increase your damage.
| Oil | Effects | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Relict Oil | +10% damage against Relicts | 1x Dog Tallow, 5x Mistletoe |
| Enhanced Relict Oil | +25% damage against Relicts | 1x Relict Oil, 1x Bear Fat, 1x Water Hag Tooth, 1x Cave Troll Liver, 1x Beggartick Blossoms, 1x Hop Umbels, 1x Green Mold |
| Superior Relict Oil | +50% damage against Relicts | 1x Enhanced Relict Oil, 4x Alchemy Paste, 1x Devourer’s Blood, 1x Hop Umbels, 1x Beggartick Blossoms, 1x Green Mold, 1x Nigredo |
When one-third of its health remains, the Shaelmaar will start to spin and fling rocks in all directions. You need to take cover during this attack but be ready to go in because the Shaelmaar will be vulnerable after its spinning attack ends.
