Hearts of Stone, the first major expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, introduces quite a few new things to the game, including a few dangerous beasts for you to slay. In fact, the adventure kicks off with you battling a rather powerful one in the sewers under Oxenfurt.
The Toad Prince is a fairy tale turned nightmare that devours any and everything that steps into its slime-covered lair. This huge, dangerous beast is your very first contract and will prove to be one of the most dangerous fights you will have encountered up until this point. But have no fear, we will help you get past this difficult foe.
Before stepping into battle, check to see if you have any of the Toad Prince’s weaknesses. He is weak to Yrden (the magic trap), Cursed Oil, Golden Oriole, and the Norther Wind bombs. If you’re using a save file that boosted you up to 32 so you can play Hearts of Stone immediately, chances are that you don’t have any of the items, but you’ll still do fine. Only thing is, the fight will just take a bit longer.
When the fight begins, the Toad Prince will be standing in the center of the fighting area. He has four attacks you need to be aware of. If you’re in the area to the front of this beast, he will either shoot his tongue out at you (which pierces Quen and does a sizable amount of damage as well as stuns you), or he’ll shoot a small glob of poison at you. If you happen to be standing really close to this boss, he will also utilize a tongue whip which will strip you of Quen, but won’t do any more damage.
If you’re standing anywhere that’s not in front of the Toad Prince, the monster will send out 3-5 poison blasts from its back that leave small pools of toxins on the battlefield. They glow slightly so make sure not to step in them. The pools dissipate after about 15 seconds. Standing really close to the Toad Prince will cause it to jump, which removes Quen, does massive damage, and stuns Geralt.
Now that you know all of the Toad Prince’s attacks, it’s time to take down Hearts of Stone’s first boss. You’ll want to use Quen for this one. While it doesn’t bombard you with fast attacks, if it does manage to hit you, the Toad Prince packs a wallop. Luckily, Quen will take the poison damage for you instead of you immediately losing health if you step into a pool by accident. Any bombs that aren’t Northern Wind are completely useless, as are arrows.
Although it’s not on the Vulnerable Against list in the Bestiary, Axii is useful for slowing the Toad Prince down, and much easier to use than Yrden since you don’t have to get close and hope to pull it off before the boss jumps.
Now that you have that situated, it’s time to dance. You will need to slowly circle around the Toad Prince as you inch closer. If you have any of the Northern Wind bombs, chuck one every now and then to help you out. Once next to the toad keep to its side. It will jump in the air a few times. Just roll when it’s about to come back down and you’ll take no damage. Get off two swings then back away or you’ll be hit by the next jump.
The Toad Prince’s weak spots are its cheeks, so make sure to keep at its side so you can continue to do max damage. If you get behind the beast, you’ll be able to do decent damage as well, but it will then jump across the fighting space leaving you to have to inch close to it once again.
If at any point the boss jumps and has its back against the wall, do not approach it. Instead, get really far to lure it towards the center of the area once more. It’s hard to dodge its jumps when the wall is to the beast’s back, so always avoid that.
Rinse and repeat the dance until the boss dies. It never changes its attack pattern as you weaken it, which makes this fight much simpler than it seems. But never get lulled into a sense of over confidence. While it may not be the most complex of battles, few monsters are able to dish out the damage as easily as the Toad Prince in Hearts of Stone. If you find yourself taking damage, don’t press on. Instead back up, heal, then go back in for some more action.
After a lengthy battle with a well armored toad, you will emerge victorious. The Toad Prince is slain, and Geralt is now a magical princess…okay well maybe not, but the plot thickens after your victory (something we won’t spoil for you).
How did you fair against Hearts of Stone’s towering monstrosity? Let us know in the comments below.
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