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Geralt frequently mentions that drowners are a steady source of income inThe Witcher 3. These zombie-like monsters are enough of a threat that people are willing to pay for their extermination while being easy enough for a witcher to reliably manage. In Skellige, you may take on a contract against some drowners for a hefty coin pouch.
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Unfortunately, this job will not be as straightforward as it appears. These aquatic monsters do not leave any conventional tracks and tracking them down will take some cunning and a strong set of lungs. This guide will point you in the right direction and help you survive to the end.
There arethree waysfor you to start this contract.
Notice Board
In typical fashion, you can find this contract on a notice board. This one is atKaer Trolde Harbor.
Talk To Bjorg
you’re able to find himnext to the Kaer Trolde Harborfast travel point. He will betalking to his colleagues about the problem.You can talk to him about the job once he notices you.
Find The Cave
The contract will start if youfind the cave yourself.This will save you some time butwill not allow you to negotiate your payment.
You will pass throughKaer Trolde Harborin the main questDestination: Skellige.There’s a good chance that you’ll trigger Bjorg’s conversation by arriving, letting youaccept the quest directly from himwithout too much trouble.
Bjorg will give you two leadsif you talk to him before entering the cave. They arehis assistant,who had survived an attack, andTove, a woman recently widowed by the drowners. The former will beworking on a boat near Bjorg.The latter will be further away but stillwithin the settlement.
Talking to the two of them will give you apair oflocations to investigate,one to the north and another to the south.
Searching For The Cave
Both search areas will haveclues that lead you to the cave.The northern areahas a handful of drownersto defeat. Kill them andinvestigate the recently murdered manto pick up a scent. With it, you will have toswim to an underground cavewhilefollowing the scent with your witcher senses.
There is atreasure chest in the northern sitethat will give you some useful loot. The southern areadoes not have such treasure.
The southern area, in contrast,does not have any enemies.Use your witcher senses tofind a pair of basketsthat lead Geralt to the same cave.
Investigating The Cave
You enter the cavethrough different entrancesdepending on which area you search. When inside, look fora chamberwith poisonous gas and drownersinside. Enter this cave andkill the drowners.Once they are dead, go through theeast side of the room,leading you to the next area.
This areais free of enemiesand has several clues to investigate.
Geralt will piece these clues together and identify his real foe;a water hag named Abaya.
Armed with this information, you will need tocraft Drowner Pheromonesto mask Geralt’s scent andhide in a side room.The fight will begin after a short cutscene.
There aretwo treasure chestsin the side room that you should lootbefore you drink the Drowner Pheromones.It will save you a return trip or, worse, forgetting.
Defeating Abaya
You will catch the water hag by surprise, giving you a few seconds to batter her orthe two drowned dead that accompany her.Much of this fight will be focused onmanaging the three enemiesat the same time.
Abaya is adeadlier water hag,using the same attacks as her unnamed sisters while havingmore health and dealing more damage.You will want to watch out for the following attacks.
Claw Swipes
Her most basic attack is toswipe at Geralt with her claws.You should be familiar with these by now. Just dodge out of the way.
Mud Ball
Water hags canthrow balls of mudat their foes. As you would expect, such a projectiledoes not deal much damage.However, they willcover your screen in muckand can evenpop your Quen.She will attempt this aftermoving away from Geralt.
Swimming
She candive underwater, appearing in another area with ease. Keep your eyes peeled forwhite foam,indicating where she will appear next.
Abaya’s mobility isher most annoying aspect.A good strategy is tohalt her with Axiior, if you know where she will reappear,trap her with Yrdenas soon as she surfaces.Northern Wind bombscan leave her frozen and vulnerable, as well.
As a necrophage, Abaya isvulnerable to Necrophage Oilandfire damage.Dragons DreamandDancing Starbombs will work wonders in lighting her up.
Once she is defeated,loot her body for a trophyand other treasure before returning to Bjorg. He will be willing to pay you the agreed amount. That said, considering that the monster was deadlier than expected, you candemand more money.He will be furious butwill pay you a much higher sum.
Next:The Witcher 3: Complete Guide And Walkthrough
