Merchants

Merchants

You never learn the name of the friendly dwarf who runs the Cauldron, but you should rapidly learn that he sells garbage. He’s mostly useful as someone who’s willing to buy up stuff that’s not worth keeping or storing. You can also talk to the innkeeper to access the Cauldron’s storage and need to talk to him to progress a few quests.

Mysterious Merchant

The Mysterious Merchant in Vergen lingers just to the right of the stairwell that leads down to the Cauldron’s entrance. His shop list is mostly similar to what it was in Chapter 1, so you can pick up discounted diagrams you might want from him. The main thing about his shop list that’s different is the armor and weapon selection, which is more suited to the power level of enemies you face in this chapter. None of it is really worth investing in, though.

Haggard

One of this chapter’s three craftsmen, as well as a merchant and dice player, Haggard sells the diagrams for the robust blue, red, and yellow meteorite swords. Depending on your Geralt build (see the sidebar “Meteorite Swords”), one of these three swords is going to be the best silver sword you can equip him with in the chapter. Buy the right diagram and manufacture the sword as early in the chapter as you can, so you can take advantage of it in the many monster-slaying quests you have to finish here. Haggard also sells diagrams for all of the game’s runes, which really opens up the game in terms of how you can take advantage of socketing your swords. Note that all of this chapter’s best steel swords are going to be looted rather than crafted, but really need to be fully socketed with runes to get the most out of them.

Meteorite Swords

This chapter introduces the red, blue, and yellow meteorite sword lines. These swords come in normal and robust versions in this chapter, with superb variations becoming available in Chapter 3. These swords tend to be very similar in terms of damage potential, but each color offers a distinct type of bonus. Red swords always offer a bonus to instant kill chance, blue swords always offer a damage bonus on signs, and yellow swords always offer a bonus to adrenaline generation. Which type of sword is best for you, especially in this chapter, depends on both your Geralt build and your play style.

Generally speaking, red meteorite swords are best for alchemist builds that have taken (or plan to take) the Berserker skill and swordsmanship builds that have taken (or plan to take) the Sudden Death skill. Blue meteorite swords are ideal for mage builds or any build that has invested in amping up the effectiveness of a particular sign (like Aard or Quen). Yellow meteorite swords are in theory useful to any build that gets an adrenaline ability, but in practical terms give more benefit to mages and swordsmen than they do to alchemists, who can generate lots of adrenaline passively just by having high toxicity.

It is possible to get into Chapter 2 with a Geralt build that is not yet specialized. Since the robust meteorite swords are the best silver swords for this chapter, you should take a few moments to make a plan for Geralt’s development before you invest in one of them. You don’t want to buy a robust red meteorite sword and then discover the hard way that your build just isn’t very good at scoring instant kills.

Earso

Earso fills a role similar to Cedric’s in Chapter 1, selling diagrams for all types of traps and various lures. Basically, anything you decide you want that you didn’t pick up from Cedric last chapter, you can pick up from Earso now. Earso is also a craftsman.

Felicia Cori

Felicia sells a positively staggering array of items, including several that are quest-related. She is the only bookseller you encounter in this version of Chapter 2, as well as the only seller of potion formulas. Now’s your chance to pick up any potions or books you missed in Chapter 1, as well as some new books that describe monsters and other things you encounter in Chapter 2. Note that Felicia’s selection of books is quasi-random, much like Einar’s, so she may not sell a specific item on her possible shop list in your version of the game. Sometimes you can reset her shop list by meditating for a while between visits to her. You can also visit Felicia to change Geralt’s hairstyle if you like. This works the same way it did with Einar in Chapter 1.

Mael

Mael is the third of the chapter’s three craftsmen and otherwise is a merchant who specializes in armor. He sells several types of armor that are much better than what you’re wearing now, including the diagram for the draug armor. If you’ve pored over the item listings in the appendix, you’ve probably noticed that the draug armor is by far the strongest armor you can get in Chapter 2. The catch to this is that you cannot actually manufacture the draug armor in Chapter 2. The actions that allow you to obtain the armor’s final component also trigger a quest that automatically shuts down all merchants in Vergen for the rest of the Chapter.

It’s really Chapter 3 before you can use the draug armor. If you think that’s the armor set you want to use for Chapter 3 and the end of the game, make sure you buy the diagram from Mael before you resolve The Eternal Battle . The draug armor is actually the second-strongest set of armor in a standard (that is, non-dark mode) game, though. If you want to go for the strongest set, the vran armor that becomes available later on in Chapter 3, then you may want to skip the draug armor entirely and save your money.

The best armor you can obtain before the Vergen merchants close down is the armor of Loc Muinne, which you can loot after you defeat a specific enemy who appears as part of the game’s storyline. The second-best is the dragon scale armor you can purchase from Mael. If you want to hold on to your cash, it’s completely possible to make it to the end of the chapter using the kayran armor or hunter’s armor, provided you’ve fully socketed it with good enhancements.

Spark

Spark is basically a “trash merchant.” She doesn’t sell anything you want. Her main use is in selling off loot that’s put you over the encumbrance limit when you’re adventuring beyond the Mahakam Gate. She is the merchant who stands farthest out from the city if Mottle isn’t in your game. If Mottle is in your game, of course, then Spark serves no purpose at all and you can safely ignore her.

Thorak

Thorak isn’t marked in-game as a merchant, but if you talk to him he offers to trade. His shop list is very similar to Haggard’s, but Thorak is noteworthy in that he sells all three types of meteorite ore. It is possible to get Thorak to discount his goods for you, which makes him a bit more useful. It is also possible to remove Thorak from the game completely, depending on what you do during a certain quest.

Bouward

If Thorak is removed from your game, Bouward appears to conduct business in his place. His shop list is overall much better than Thorak’s, though you can’t get him to discount goods for you. It is particularly useful to get Bouward to appear if you really like using throwing daggers in combat, since otherwise you can only buy them in this chapter from Haggard.

Mottle

Take a left as you’re exiting Vergen through the Mahakam Gate to find Mottle’s shop area tucked away around a bend. Mottle is only going to be there to buy and sell things if you saved her from the burning building at the end of Chapter 1. If you instead opted to kill Loredo, Mottle just won’t be there at all. Mottle doesn’t sell anything especially interesting, but she can be useful if you need to quickly sell off heavy loot after an adventure out in the wilderness. You can get to her more quickly than you can any of the merchants who operate in Rhundurin Square. You can also have a romantic encounter with her, which lets you obtain the useful key to the Tunnel of the Founders.