Witcher 2 Walkthrough - The Endrega Contract
This is a fairly standard Witcher’s contract, but it won’t require much preparation. Endregas are quite nasty, and they’ve apparently decided to take over a good chunk of the forest. There’s a nice payday in it for us, if you can just kill the two queens.
You can get a book on endregas from Einar Gausel, which will make things a bit easier. For those that don’t want to read your notes, just note that you want to always use strong attacks with a silver sword with Endregas. It staggers them, does a ton of damage and they’re usually too slow to block it.
How to Fight Endregas
There are three types of endregas. The basic ones will die in two hits from a silver sword, if you use strong attacks. They can basically just bite you or charge you, which isn’t really a threat. Be as aggressive as you wish, since they aren’t much of a threat once you’re well equipped with your sword.
The warriors are much more nasty. They have a stinging attack that they can do, which will not only do a lot of damage upfront, but also cause pretty severe damage from the venom for the next five seconds. You can not let these guys get close enough to attack. Move in, hit them with one strong attack, and then back off. Dodge backswards or to the side to avoid the sting.
The guards are actually a little easier than the warriors. Just threat them like slightly tougher basic ones, as odd as that may sound. Note that the basic endregas and the warriors can appear anywhere on the map, while the guards will only be by cocoons.
Preparation
While the contract talks about burning the cocoons, you can actually just smack them with your sword. In order to do the first part of the contract, you’ll need to find the nests. The first is to the south of Flotsam, right at the big tree on the map. The second is to the southeast of flotsam, just above another tree on the map. Move in cautiously and kill the endregas. If you are having trouble with the numbers, then fall back and use traps against them. Basic snares aren’t bad, but things like biters and other tougher traps will do wonders. Bombs aren’t a bad choice either. There isn’t really a wrong way to face the basic ones, so it’s up to you.
Once the area is clear, look for three cocoons. They kind of look like a sideways Venus fly trap. Approach this pod, and open it up to reveal the babies inside. Just slash it a lot with quick attacks and they’ll fall apart.
Before you kill the third one, you may want to prepare. Meditate and drink a swallow potion. After that, you’ll need to decide whether you want to use traps. Something as simple as snare traps can make a huge difference. In fact, if you want to make the fight really easy, you can simply lay a bunch of snare traps (around 10 or so should take off half of her health) in a line or around a spot and then lead the queen through the traps. They will really slow the queen down, and cause a surprising amount of damage. It also doesn’t cost anything, since you can just pick them up when you’re done.
If you don’t want to use that many traps, it’s still a good idea to put a few on the ground. It’s nice to be able to buy yourself a moment of peace during the fight. Once you’re done, you should cast Quen and then break the last cocoon. The queen will then spawn in and start the fight.
Killing the Endrega Queen
She can occasionally charge you. The only real counter is to dodge to the side. The bite attack has a chance of causing poison or bleeding effects. Don’t stay in front of her for very long, and you should be able to avoid this. She can also spray a jet of poison, so be ready to roll out of the way at a moment’s notice. If you’re able to keep moving, this shoulldn’t be a big deal.
There is actually a very simple trick to this fight. Engaging the queen normally will be fruitless. She can block a lot of attacks and counterattack brutally. You need to use Yrden. Use the sign to lay a trap on the ground, and draw the endrega queen over to you. Then roll backwards slightly and wait for the trap to hit. She’ll only be stunned for a few seconds, so rush in and go for two or three strong hits. Don’t get greedy, or she will counterattack and take off a good chunk of your health. Fall back and get to the side, then lay another Yrden and repeat. If you mix in some snare traps around the area, she should go down fairly quickly.
Once she dies, loot the body for a lot of ingredients (and proof of the kill), and then move on to the next nest.
Once both nests are destroyed, you can go back to Louis Merse in his house in the town square and report your success for a decent reward.
References
All information and screenshots from a “Normal” difficulty playthrough of Witcher 2
Due to the branching nature of the game and its different options for equipment, your experience may differ_._ Please feel free to comment on any differences that you note below.
This post is part of the series: Witcher 2 Walkthrough - Chapter 1 Side Quests
There are a lot of missions available for a Witcher in a dangerous frontier town. If you want to learn how to handle Troll Trouble, the Nekker and Endrega contracts, Malena’s nvestigation or In The Claws of Madness, then you can just look here.
