The Witcher 3 Monster Guide: How to Beat the Woodland Spirit

The Woodland Spirt contract in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an odd one. For starters, it doesn’t actually appear as a contract, rather a secondary quest. When pursuing the quest, you will come across a clan that is divided on how to deal with the sudden surge of horrific deaths that have been taking place in and around their village of Farylund (Skellige Isles). Geralt of Rivia is going to have to do a bit of investigating before you can even properly pursue this mysterious killer. This will start the In the Heart of the Woods quest (recommended level 22).

After some investigation, you will find out that the Woodland Spirit is actually a powerful Leshen. Now you will have a choice to make. The heads of each faction, Harald and Sven, have different ideas for how to deal with this powerful beast. Harald would like for a sacrifice to be made in order to appease the Woodland Spirit. It is what his people have always done and it has always worked. Sven, on the other hand, would like for you to put the powerful The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to rest. Depending on which path you choose, you will receive a different ending to the quest.

Harald’s Route

Harald’s method goes along the path of least resistance… for the most part. He wants you to make a sacrifice of wolves’ hearts to the Woodland Spirit. So, head on over to the indicated location and slay the white wolves that appear. For some reason, these wolves seem more powerful than normal, but you should have no issues whatsoever. Once defeated, loot their corpses and take the hearts to the designated altar. Here, you will see a raven inspect the hearts and approve of your offering. A spiral of ravens will appear in the sky signaling your success.

Head back to Harald to turn in the quest. Sven will be angry and try to kill Harald, so once again you’ll have to make a choice. Do you defend Harald and slay Sven and his men, or do you go and be a neutral witcher in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. No matter which way you go, the quest will end and you will receive your trophy/achievement.

Sven’s Route

Sven’s method actually takes a bit longer. Leshens are pretty much immortal as long as they mark a human, and that human stays alive. Your first task is to figure out who exactly has been marked, and that ends up being a woman named Hilde. Inform Sven that he needs to get rid of her and then proceed on to the next objective. Geralt will now have to locate and destroy all of the Woodland Spirit’s totems.

You’re now ready to confront the beast. Unlike other Leshens in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, instead of calling wild animals in the middle of combat, The Woodland Spirit shows up with a few friends in tow. In order to make your life much easier, take care of the wolves first. If you’re around Level 20 they should die in one hit, so it’s much easier to just deal with them quickly so you can focus on the Woodland Spirit.

This fight will play out in pretty much the same way your encounter with Kernun did (if you happened to face him). Wait for the Woodland Spirit to crouch down in order to summon the roots to trap you, then move in quick for your assault. Burning damage, whether it be from Igni, Bombs, or Runestones, will make this fight go by quickly. Just like with other Leshens in the game, the Woodland Spirit can be interrupted and forced to teleport, giving you the upper hand for the entire fight once you start your onslaught.

After defeating the beast, collect your trophy then head back to Sven. When you return to the village you will see that Sven has murdered Harald along with all of the other elders of the village. There is no way to prevent this from happening if you choose Sven’s method, so keep that in mind. You can share your displeasure with Sven or just ignore it. Either way, the quest is now over. Congratulations.

There you have it, another contract completed and another trophy/achievement obtained. Which course of action did you choose? Did you appease the Woodland Spirit, or did you burn the beast to the ground? Let us know in the comments. For more guides, tips, tricks and information on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt be sure to check out our handy wiki.