The Blood of Dawnwalker: Can you defeat Brencis in the Prologue?

Brencis, chief vampire of The Blood of Dawnwalker, makes Coen's life a living hell over the course of this dark RPG. That said, he isn't one of those final bosses who lurks in his castle, only to come out in the finale. The first time you face Brencis in combat is actually during the Prologue of the game, at the end of the mission "Bad Blood". You'll be under-levelled, under-equipped, and incredibly weak when confronting the full fury of his might, and you're not supposed to win the fight.

That said, it is technically possible to beat this ultimate foe with nothing but Coen's starting armour and sword. This guide will explain what happens if you defeat Brencis in the Prologue of The Blood of Dawnwalker, which the developers themselves have called a "feat worthy of legends" in a promotional trailer.

Note: it goes without saying that this guide contains STORY SPOILERS!

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What happens when you defeat Brencis in the Prologue?

Once you get the parry and dodge timing down, Brencis is fairly predictable, though it takes forever to carve through his large health bars with your puny starter sword. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

Beating Brencis in the Prologue is possible if you focus on parrying and avoiding his unblockable attacks, which include flinging a blood projectile at you (when he's standing far away) and summoning blood weapons to slash at you when he's up close.

Doing so shows off a cool cutscene where Coen knocks Brencis backwards, and the vampire lord becomes supremely annoyed. He then proceeds to teleport Coen to the final battle of the game, which takes place in an arena in Anachora, the hellish vampiric afterlife. You'll immediately unlock a new region - Greifberg Castle, which is where the climactic fight against Brencis normally takes place - and the Realmwalker Achievement, which is granted when you visit Anachora for the first time.

Hello, endgame boss showing up after only three or so hours into the game! | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

Unfortunately, you'll now have to face Brencis' true form - Brencis, Grotesque Ascendant. Doing so at this early stage of the game is viciously hard, even on Story mode, since a single attack from Brencis is enough to one-shot you. Frankly, while I've been able to defeat Brencis multiple times in regular combat during the Prologue, I haven't been able to beat his second form yet, which is obviously intended for a fully levelled-up Coen.

If you manage to beat Brencis' normal form, you'll start this second fight with full health, but one attack is enough to kill you. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Rebel Wolves

That said, Brencis can be defeated by a truly expert player at this early stage, and publisher Bandai Namco told our friends over at Eurogamer that only a few internal devs have managed to do so: "Yes, you can finish the game at the end of the Prologue by defeating Brencis if you are good enough; it is a possible ending...[but] it's extremely hard to actually do".

Beating Brencis at this early stage presumably gets you one of the game's 7 endings, and we'll update this guide once we know the exact details. (Chances are, by the time you're reading this, a streamer has already beaten him senseless multiple times.) At the moment, it seems most likely that it triggers The Folk Hero ending, which is achieved when you sneak into Greifberg Castle to kill Brencis early without help from any of the game's other potential allies.

There you have it - if you're one of those people who just can't rest easy when they're confronted by an unbeatable boss, now you know what happens when you beat Brencis in the Prologue of The Blood of Dawnwalker. If you'd rather play through the game the normal way, check out our other collection of guides, including the best weapons to get first and the best skills to get first. We've also got a guide on how to defeat Ambrus, if you're looking for assistance on bringing down Brencis' vampire lieutenants.