The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to defeat Ambrus
Overview & Key Takeaways
Ambrus is one of three Boyars in The Blood of Dawnwalker, serving in Brencis's court alongside Xanthe and Bakir. Many of the quests you're given will encourage you to destroy their hold on Vale Sangora, but as you do so, you'll anger them. Eventually, they'll want to fight, and as the story progresses, you're likely to take down Ambrus as your second Boyar.
In this guide, we'll reveal how to defeat Ambrus in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and what can happen if you choose to veer from our guidance.
Ambrus is one of three Boyars in The Blood of Dawnwalker, serving in Brencis's court alongside Xanthe and Bakir. Many of the quests you're given will encourage you to destroy their hold on Vale Sangora, but as you do so, you'll anger them. Eventually, they'll want to fight, and as the story progresses, you're likely to take down Ambrus as your second Boyar.
In this guide, we'll reveal how to defeat Ambrus in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and what can happen if you choose to veer from our guidance.
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How to defeat Ambrus
Here's the steps you should take to defeat Ambrus once and for all:
- Anger Ambrus
- Head to Maragir
- Meet with Iulian
- Follow the Bittersweet Toast
- Meet with Ambrus
- Fight Ambrus
- To drain or not to drain?
- Reap your rewards
1. Anger Ambrus
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In the Court tab of the menu, you'll be able to keep track of what quests you've done directly related to Brencis's Boyars. Focus on Ambrus's quests and you'll also notice that you can reach a certain point when you've enraged him enough. It says: "When Anger Level reaches maximum, you will unlock a sidequest tied to this vrakhir." Turns out in The Blood of Dawnwalker, sidequest means an opportunity to have a big ol' fight.
2. Head to Maragir
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Once you've angered Ambrus to a boiling point, you'll trigger The Gilded Gauntlet, which will tell you that something's going down in Maragir that you need to go and see. You'll notice a crowd gathering in Maragir, and as you approach, a servant will tell you that you must meet Boyar Ambrus for a duel at a location of his choosing.
The servant, Erdene, will ask you to meet with Iulian Codrin, Ambrus's vassal. It might be tempting to ignore him, but there's a good reason not to.
3. Meet with Iulian
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Despite being suspicious, it's worth hearing what Iulian has to say. He comes with a warning - that meeting Ambrus on his own turf under his rules is an impossible battle. Instead, he wants to help you kill Ambrus (how handy). He explains that Ambrus will drink his blood before the duel, but he wants to poison his blood first and in turn, poison Ambrus.
4. Follow The Bittersweet Toast
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After speaking with Iulian, he wants us to meet with his poisoner friend, Vera. Now, here comes the first crossroads. You'll also notice that you can meet Ambrus for the duel at night, and totally ignore Iulian's proposition. It's entirely up to you, but I suggest you follow Iulian, and I'll explain the repercussions of this choice later.
In The Bittersweet Toast, you find Vera killed in the middle of an ancient circle. Fortunately, we can still use her ritual instructions that can be found nearby using Focus Mode, and we also have the brew. You'll need it to be daytime, but if it's not, you can wait it out or go off and do other things before returning.
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The ritual includes lighting the pillars with Astral Communion, fighting the Fallen Witch and a swathe of undead, and forcing Iulian to swallow the brew. Now, you'll have an advantage when showing up to the duel.
5. Meet with Ambrus
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You have the option to attend the duel on time, and if you want Iulian's blood to still be poisoned then you'll need to be prompt. Note: It's worth levelling up the Death from Above ability in the Vampiric Skill tree, as this deals more damage to bosses and tough enemies, of which you're about to come up against.
After ringing the bell, Ambrus will arrive. He wants to toast to a juicy slaughter, and offers up Iulian to drink some of his blood. You know it's poisoned, but Ambrus doesn't seem to mind you opting out. Now, if you didn't choose to follow Iulian's plan, a random woman called Raluca will be offered up to you, who of course isn't poisoned.
6. Fight Ambrus
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Upon drinking Iulian's blood, Ambrus grows notably ill and that, in turn, will weaken his defenses. Perfect. Only there's still going to be a slight problem, but we'll arrive at that shortly. Fight Ambrus with all the skills you've learned up to this point. Unfortunately, this part's up to you.
7. To drain or not to drain?
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Now, once you've defeated Ambrus, like Xanthe, you'll get to choose whether you kill him or drain his blood. If you drain his blood, you'll head to Anachora and the choice of whether you get to let Ambrus in or leave him up there to rot. Inviting Ambrus in lets him speak to you from within your mind, which may or may not be advantageous.
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But, if you've poisoned Ambrus, draining his blood will also poison you upon your return to Vale Sangora. And this poison will deplete your health constantly for up to nine time tokens. The easy solution for this is to run to the nearest Shrine and spend some time tokens on levelling up skills. But, if you're short on time, this might not be the best option.
Alternatively, you can fight Ambrus unpoisoned and prepare yourself for a harder fight. Or, you can kill Ambrus instead of draining his blood. The choice is yours.
8. Reap your rewards
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Whatever you decide, you'll find yourself the victor with some lovely loot to collect. Firstly, you'll get a Song of Valour, a level 21 Epic Shortsword that has perks in Damage against Mortals, Passive Activation Charge Restoration and Activation Charge Restoration from Actions.
That's great, but even better is Ambrus' Cuirass, a Legendary Heavy Chestpiece with 329 Armour, reduction of the Vampiric Ability Cooldown and Attack Stamina Cost, as well as buffs to Activation Charge Restoration from both Attack and Perfect Block.
If you have carried out Iulian's plan, you also get the choice to bury Iulian's body. This will cost you one time token. You won't receive any benefit from burying him, except for perhaps a clear conscience.
Defeating Ambrus darkens his space on the Court tab in the menu, but his quests still remain active. Completing them will increase your Infamy, but I did notice that on one quest after I'd defeated Ambrus, he was still spoken of as if he were alive and planning something in Maragir. At least you can carry on safe in the knowledge that Ambrus is gone, no matter what the NPCs might say.
Congratulations on defeating Ambrus and weakening the forces of Brencis in The Blood of Dawnwalker. If you're searching for more assistance as you take on additional Boyars, check out our guides on the best weapons to get first, and the best skills to get first. And if it's additional quest help that you're after, take a peek at our guide to all locations in A Pilgrimage for Power.
