Nightwraiths are very tricky monsters to deal with, even for an experienced witcher. As Geralt of Rivia, players will come across a contract in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt while traveling through the small town of Midcopse that pertains to a particularly powerful nightly specter named Jenny o' the Woods.
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After some investigation, it becomes clear that this strong specter was a townswoman who was murdered in cold blood and has returned as a nightwraith due to her premature and violent death. However, the only way to save Midcopse from Jenny o' the Woods is to beat her in combat, though that is easier said than done. Thankfully, there are a few tricks all witchers in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are capable of that can aid them in putting this twisted spirit to rest.
Updated on September 27, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman:Knowing the enemy is half the battle, so reading up on nightwraiths can be greatly beneficial before going into battle against Jenny o' the Woods. Thankfully, the game does a pretty good job of making such information available.
Taking a look at the lore and notes regarding any monster can help players gain insight into the best combat methods against it, though, there are definitely some original methods that can be implemented to great effect. Just be sure to have a backup plan in case one's primary tactic fails.
Force Them Into Physical Form With Yrden
Nightwraiths spend most of their time in an ethereal form as they attack with ghostly claws. In this state, they cannot be hurt very much by physical means, not even a witcher's silver sword. To land any meaningful hits, players will have to force Jenny o' the Woods into her corporeal form with the Yrden sign to possibly defeat her.
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Since the radius of Yrden is quite small, players will end up backstepping or rolling out of it when evading the specter's attacks, though a way to alleviate some of this annoyance is to constantly walk in a circle along the borders of the magical sign's perimeter. This will keep one within the circumference enough to gain the positive buffs as well as luring the nightwraith into its area of effect.
Use Moon Dust As An Alternative To Yrden
Another way to kill Jenny o' the Woods by forcing her into her corporeal form is to shower her in silver slivers by lobbing a Moon Dust bomb in her direction. This will have the same effect as the Yrden sign, though without having to keep the specter within a certain area of effect.
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This shimmering cloud will keep the nightwraith in a state where she can be hurt for 20 seconds if one is using the most basic form of the Moon Dust bomb. The Enhanced upgrade will do so for double the length of time at 40 seconds, though the most ideal version to use is definitely the Superior Moon Dust bomb as it permanently forces this spectral threat into physical form. Many witchers find this method much more convenient than dancing about a Yrden trap with having to re-apply it every so often.
Coat One's Silver Sword In Specter Oil
As with most types of monsters, applying the proper kind of oil to one's silver sword can help to take down foes a lot quicker. The less time a witcher is battling foes, the better, for despite being gifted with increased strength, speed, and stamina, witchers are still human and can get worn down while their supernatural foes cannot.
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The ideal oil to use on one's silver sword while fighting Jenny o' the Woods is, as one would expect, Specter Oil. At its base form, it grants a bonus of 10% attack power against specter enemies for 20 hits. The Enhanced upgrade grants a bonus of 25% for a generous 40 hits. Finally, the Superior version bestows a tremendous bonus of 50% attack power on the next 60 slashes dealt. The highest upgrade may be overkill, though, as the old saying goes, "If it is worth doing, it is worth overdoing".
Kill It With Fire!
As with most monsters and humanoid enemies, the Igni sign can be of great use to beat Jenny o' the Woods. However, it is still best to force her into corporeal form before unleashing gouts of flame upon this specter, and combining one's fire damage with that of a silver sword is infinitely more efficient.
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Just be sure to not overextend oneself and use up too much stamina, which can leave one vulnerable. Alternating using Igni and attacking with an oil-coated silver sword is the best way to keep up the damage while also allowing one to dodge accordingly when the wraith strikes back.
Dispell The Copies With Ranged Attacks
Jenny o' the Woods will sometimes spawn ethereal copies of herself to confuse the player. It is best not to let these mirages linger, for they simply complicate the fight. Thankfully, they can be dispelled in a single hit, though one should not waste time running after them to strike their presence away with one's sword.
Bombs of many kinds can dissipate them, though it seems a bit wasteful to use perfectly good bombs on illusions. A better method is to use one's crossbow to launch bolts at the offending wraith images as this is the quickest way to deal with them.
Other Tips For Beating Jenny O' The Woods
Some of the more common tactics can help to speed up the slaying of this hateful specter as well. Quen is always a useful sign to have active due to its prevention of at least a single hit's worth of damage. A witcher should still try to dodge Jenny o' the Woods' attacks instead of tanking them, though having a Quen shield up will save the player from taking unnecessary damage.
Another common boon in battle would be to quaff a Thunderbolt potion for its universal attack power boost. The base version of this potion boosts one's attack by a bonus of 30% for 30 seconds with the Enhanced upgrade granting the same damage boost for twice as long at 60 seconds. As usual, and appropriate, the Superior version is the best to drink before battle as it offers a 35% bonus to attack power for a length of 90 seconds. With these common tactics in addition to the nightwraith-specific ones, players should have a much easier time defeating Jenny o' the Woods.
About Jenny O' The Woods & Nightwraith Lore
In-Game Journal Entry For Jenny O' The Woods
"While in the area around the village of Midcopse, Geralt decided to look around and see if there wasn't anyone in need of a witcher. It just so happened there was--on the local notice board hung an offer of a bounty for ridding the area of a monster called Jenny o' the Woods. Geralt decided this was something he should look into.
Geralt discovered that the monster the locals called Jenny o' the Woods was in fact a common nightwraith. This unfortunate being had been born of a woman murdered by her rejected lover. The story of their star-crossed fate moved me to pen a tear-jerking ballad...but the witcher was mainly moved to find a way to bait and destroy the wraith.
Geralt drove off the nightwraith that the unfortunate Zula had become. I derive some small pleasure in knowing that a person to whom life had been so cruel found at least this measure of relief after death..."
Lore About Nighwraiths
As can be gleaned from Dandelion's writing in The Witcher 3's journal entry above, nightwraiths are the result of terribly sad and violent events. Much like other spirits found in this dark fantasy universe, the wrongfully murdered women return from beyond to wreak havoc on whatever community allowed such an unfortunate passing to occur. Nightwraiths are most commonly found in rural areas, however, it is not known whether this is due to such cruel deaths being more common in rural areas or if these spirits can only manifest in less crowded regions, though, with that said, it very well may be both of those reasons.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch.
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