However, before you go and take up the offer of a parlay, there are a few new optional side paths now accessible to you. These will set you up with a good supply of Lei and food to spend upgrades for the endgame. Or you can follow the signs northeast to the stronghold straightaway. Whatever you decide, back at the Duke, there are some new items and upgrades to look through. We’ll go through the optional side paths first, before moving onto the stronghold.
Well puzzle and Fish
First up, using the crank, you can now lower the drawbridge on the Lone Road to the left of the Duke and get the items on the other side.
Get in the boat at the end of the jetty and go forward. Disembark at the end of the valley and you’re back at the foot of the castle.
To your left is a crank bridge which leads to a well with secrets inside, while the right leads to a set of double doors. Lower the bridge on the left, go through the house, and use the Well Wheel on the well.
This reveals a ladder with a secret puzzle at the bottom. You need to climb up to the right, then move the lights on the console to give you a path across.
Push the top left button, then the centre top button, then go across to the other side of the room and push the cart up so you can get at the other cart in the middle.
Now push the cart on the platform off the side. Then you can use that cart to climb over to the other side.
You get explosive rounds from the crate, magnum ammo, flashbangs, and in the chest, is the large pigeon blood ruby.
Combine it with the one hole necklace and you’ve got the whole shebang. This turns it into Dimitrescu’s Necklace, which is worth a massive amount of Lei. Return to the drawbridge. Then go inside the double doors on the right, and you’re in another secret area. Shoot the brazier towards the unlit pillars and it will open the doors on the left and right.
This will release a ghoul, but also give you access to some ammo on the right and lei on the left. The Ghouls will constantly spawn from the right, and have you noticed they don’t drop anything? What you need to do to open the door at the top is lead a ghoul to the flaming brazier or shoot it at it to light it on fire, then lead the flaming ghoul to the pillar in the last room to light it.
This gives you the golden lady statue and completes the riverbank treasure house. Return to the boat and ride it back down to the drawbridge. Go past the jetty and down the canyon to the bottom. Disembark at this new pier, and take the path around to the left.
The pool here is full of fish, and is where you’ll find the Finest Fish for the Duke’s recipes.
The path to the right leads into a cave, with another base of operations with a ton of ammo, and an antique coin like the ones you used to unlock bonuses in Resident Evil 7.
There’s also a recoil reducing shotgun grip in the case.
Return to the boat, then the drawbridge and the Duke. Now go right to the Maiden of war and Graveyard. There’s now a black goat here, which you can harvest meat from, then go to the six-winged door past the top right of the graveyard. On the other side, there’s a sign that says “good luck” and a path to the left towards Otto’s Mill.
Otto’s Old Mill
To get the Cannibal’s Plunder treasure, take the path to the mill first. In front of the mill, the door on the right is locked, so wade through the stream on the left to the gate that you can knife the padlock off of, grabbing the item from the crate beside it.
On the other side of the gate is a crystal fragment, a pig to harvest meat from, and some mines and pistol ammo on the left. When you’re ready, go through the door into the mill.
Head through the next two sets of doors, then into the larger room. Here, you’ll find a large gentleman hauling a giant axe, grinding some bones to make his bread.
Ready your grenade launcher, magnum, and other powerful weapons - you’ll need them to take him out. Next lay out some mines on the floor to lead him across. When you start the battle, he’ll rush you ruthlessly. You’ll need to try and keep him at bay with explosions and headshots.
After he’s taken some damage, some gargoyles will come to complicate things, but if you keep leading him over mines and hitting him with shotgun, sniper, or magnum blasts, he’ll drop. With them defeated, search the mill. There’s handgun, sniper, and explosive ammo dotted around on the first and second floor. Then go to the far wall and knife the three padlocks off the door.
Inside there’s meat, poultry, fish and metal scrap. Go around into the hallway and you’ll find Father Nicola’s angel in a chest - this is the Cannibal’s Plunder.
Take the remaining loot and unlock the door to get back outside, and now head off towards the good luck sign, taking out the Lycans who’ve taken an interest in the commotion. Now you can either go back to the Duke to deposit your food and sell your spoils. Or go into the cave next to the Good Luck sign, and at the top of the stairs you’re in the forbidden woods area.
Northern Stronghold
As you go deeper into the woods, you’ll be attacked by a pack of lycans. Methodically take them out with whatever weapons you have available. The sniper rifle is particularly useful in this open area. Pick up the rusted scrap on the right, then push ahead into the woods. There are more waiting lycans, so shoot first and start the encounter to take the three of them out.
Next, there’s another two who start firing arrows at you from the battlements. It’s best to sniper duel them down with your own sniper rifle, then make your way up to the ruined stronghold.
The crates around you contain sniper ammo to replenish your supply, then collect the mine, scrap, and ammo from the ruins courtyard. Go up the outer pathway to make your way higher in the ruins, but be ready to deal with as many as 6 lycans that appear. At the top, scour the edges of the area for some sniper and handgun ammo, then go up the stairs on the left hand side of the locked gate to pull the lever.
When you pull the lever, absolutely tons of lycans appear, again make use of your sniper - which downs them in one hit, and the explosive barrels dotted around. After the two waves are done, climb the ladder on the right and pull this lever.
The door now opens, and you can advance to the stronghold.
Go through the double doors, then collect the item crates and supplies from the courtyard in front of you. There’s also a save point. Before you go any further, look up to the right, and there’s a gem to shoot out of the stairs.
Then make your way up the spiral staircase and into the main stronghold through the corridor. Inside the den, bear right, then go forward a bit around the path and a load of lycans will spawn. Do your best with this part, because it’s really dark and really annoying - so much so that I’d even consider turning the brightness up.
We’re talking about a ridiculously large amount of lycans, so just hunker in the corner, and take them out methodically with sniper and shotgun fire. Alternatively, you can run through this section, over to the zipwire in the top left corner, and fly across.
Don’t bother going down to the bottom floor, there’s a few bullets but nothing worthwhile. After you’ve zipped, run up the stairs to your left, then take a right at the top and go to the other side of the room. A lot of the lycans will follow you up here, so turn left and shoot the archer lycan. Past him, a metric ton of dudes spawn, shoot a grenade or pipe bomb into them to thin the herd. When they’re down, you’re free to go through the door behind them.
On the other side, take the ammo and gunpowder from next to the suit of armor then go down the staircase on the right. As you descend, you’ll find some metal scrap then a goat of warding on the right at the bottom. Squeeze through the gap, then pick up the first aid meds, explosives, and sniper ammo, before saving at the typewriter. Press on deeper into the caves, then drop down the ledge into the more open cavern.
Urias Boss Fight
From the hole in the ceiling, drops the huge fella from right at the start of the game: Urias.
He’s very similar to fighting the giants like the cannibal’s plunder and Beneviento treasure. Make liberal use of explosives and headshots to keep him at a distance.
Unlike those guys though, he’ll walk through them like they’re nothing, so you need to stay mobile and run past him by his legs if you get cornered. When he jumps back up onto the raised platform and roars, he’s summoning a lycan buddy. Shoot them immediately with your handgun to stop them complicating matters.
When he jumps down from the platform to slam him hammer on top of you, spring underneath him, towards the platform, and you should dodge any damage. After he’s been hit with enough pipe bombs, mines, and explosives, he’ll go down and drop the crystal hammer. Scour the room for any supplies you’ve missed, then go over to the now open door on the right to continue. In this crystal room, you can shoot all the sparkles to pick up crystal fragments.
There’s also a large crystal and yellow quartz. Go down the stairs on the other side of the crystal chamber, then approach the table with the TV.
Go down the next set of stairs behind you, and your objective will change to return to the Duke’s altar, where you can slot the body flasks. Before you leave though, the final optional treasure - the treasure under the stronghold - is on the left before the boat.
With that in hand, get in the boat and go forward. When you disembark, you’ll be underneath the yard next to the church. Before you leave, take the stairs down to the left of the ladder. Here there’s a secret room to search. There’s some money, some chem fluid, then some interesting notes on Lady Dimitrescu, before you find a pipe bomb and some shells.
Return to the ladder, defeating some ghouls on the way, then head through the church yard gates, back across the village to the Duke.
In the next part, we’ll slot the flasks into the Altar!
