Defeating Boyar Ambrus in The Blood of Dawnwalker puts you face-to-face with your first major post boss crossroad: execution or complete drainage. The short answer is you should drain Ambrus’s blood. Draining him will unlock the Scarlet Shield ability, grant access to a mental guide in Anachora, and cost you nothing in the long run. Here’s the complete breakdown of the outcomes for both choices and why leaving him as a corpse is a big waste of resources (and time).
Should You Drain or Kill Ambrus in Blood of Dawnwalker?
When you defeat Ambrus at the end of The Gilded Gauntlet quest or your raid on Greifberg Castle, you get a split-second execution prompt. This is what each option offers:
| Choice | Outcome | Unique Ability Unlocked | Long-Term Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drain Ambrus | Triggers a scene in Anachora; increases Corruption level | Scarlet Shield Vampirism Ability (Tier 1 unlocked immediately) | Option to invite Ambrus’s soul into Coen’s mind for story commentary |
| Kill Ambrus | Ends the encounter on the spot; no Corruption gain | None (Forces you to hunt rare blood vials later) | Keeps your blood clean and skips the post-battle dialogue |
Why You Should Drain Ambrus
Scarlet Shield is one of the strongest Vampirism passive skills in The Blood of Dawnwalker. When active, every Perfect Block you execute in vampire form converts the enemy’s momentum into instant health regen.
You can technically obtain Scarlet Shield later in the game by collecting vials of Ambrus’s blood, but drinking his blood on the battlefield skips that tedious grind and lets you learn the skill right away. You’ll still have to spend a skill point to equip it, but skipping the scavenger hunt is a massive time saver for your playthrough.
After you drain Ambrus, a cutscene will trigger where Coen and the Boyar will be in the ethereal realm of Anachora. Here, Ambrus will beg for mercy and ask you to invite his soul into your mind. That’s when you get another dialogue choice to invite Ambrus in or refuse. Either way, you will keep the Scarlet Shield.
Further, if you used Iulian Codrin to poison Ambrus during The Bittersweet Toast side quest that happens before the duel, draining his blood will transfer that toxin into Coen’s body and trigger a health-draining debuff for up to 10 Time Segments. However, you will be able to completely clear the poison by resting at any nearby Shrine and advancing time to morning.
Note: The prompt to drain Ambrus only appears if the fight happens at night. If you defeat him at Greifberg Castle during the day, the game defaults to killing him and locks you out of the Scarlet Shield and the Anachora storyline. So make sure to initiate your final push against him after dusk.
No matter what choice you made, you still get to loot his physical body in the real world after the battle:
- Song of Valour: Level 21 Epic Shortsword (Buffs damage against mortals and restores Activation Charge on attack/Perfect Block).
- Ambrus’ Cuirass: Legendary Heavy Chestpiece (329 Armor with high reductions to Vampiric ability cooldowns and attack stamina costs).
His drops remain the same either way, so you can drain his blood without worrying about any consequences for the free passive skill and additional story content.
