The trio of Boyars that you'll need to take down to weaken the strength of Brencis before your final showdown are all a formidable foe in their own way, with some of the most nuanced quests the game has to offer.
Bakir is no different, presenting players with a sort of masquerade ball meets Hunger Games scenario where you need to fight to no longer be vermin.
It's all a grand plot to get in a room alone with the big guy and lay waste to the powerful Vhakhir. But, even the best laid plans can go awry. That's why we have compiled a guide to rig the Lunar Game in your favor.
How To Start The Lunar Game
Farkas appears after completing 8 Bakir side missions.
To start The Lunar Game, you'll need to rattle Bakir's cage, and to do that, you'll need to disrupt his various operations. Which means killing soldiers, clearing camps, performing some vigilante justice, and freeing prisoners. Whatever it takes to get his attention.
You'll need to complete at least 8 of the side quests associated with Bakir, at which point a man named Farkas will get in contact with you.
They will tell you that an annual event Bakir hosts is taking place soon, and you could enter his competition to get an audience with him, catch him off guard, and take him down.
You can meet him at the Lunar Manor when you are ready, and you can begin the quest.
The Pre-Game Drinks
A discussion with The Marten
Before the action, you have a small window of time where you can rig the game in your favor slightly. You have two ways of doing that.
- One is that you can head over to the nearby bush, where a semi-toxic plant is growing, which you can pick and then sprinkle into the jar of alcohol in the tent nearby.
- Second, you can spend some time getting to know your opponents, endear yourself to them, and potentially gain the upper hand through sheer charm and politeness alone.
Or if you prefer, you can just sit on a bench and wait for the whole wretched event to get underway.
Generally speaking, these are the outcomes that come from speaking to the different NPCs within this Pre-Game section:
- Speaking to the Porcupine will allow you to go your separate ways during the games, avoiding a potential fight.
- Poisoning the drink will weaken the Cockroach, meaning you can either kill them easily, or simply ignore them entirely.
- If you inform the Marten of your plans to kill Bakir, before she dies, she will give you a magic item.
Before The Games Begin
Coen attending Bakir's pre-game speech
Once inside the maze, you will have an initial audience with Bakir, where he will address his masked combatants. Here, it's all about keeping up appearances, cheering where necessary, and answering passively when spoken to directly.
Remaining quiet raises suspicion, and revealing your true identity naturally starts a boss fight that is twice as difficult as the solo fight against Bakir, as you need to fight the Khan's entire klan.
Instead, play the game, and you can set off to try and win the Lunar Games.
Inside The Maze
Make all those loose supplies count
The Lunar Game is a trial of endurance, and one where you can't rely on the strength of your gear, or your vampire abilities to get you out of trouble. To avoid blowing your cover, all vampire powers are off the table during this event, and you are stripped of all your regular gear.
You begin with nothing, and what is key to survival is checking every container you come across, as this might have a weapon, a piece of armor, some blood, or a consumable item that can help you survive against the various perils the maze has to offer.
But calling it a 'maze' is being very kind. It's a linear run where you'll encounter various monsters, one puzzle, and a few of the combatants from the Pre-Game Drinks.
This will start with a fight against a Hellhound. Your gear will be at its absolute weakest here, so don't underestimate them, and try to rely on your abilities to deal serious damage. You will then have to fight another pack of hellhounds not too long after this.
Heading onward, you'll then need to fight a group of specters. Arguably a lot less dangerous than the hellhounds, and you should have better gear at this point. Take them down and then head through the crack in the wall.
A truce with Porcupine
This is where you'll encounter The Porcupine. If you had a pleasant chat with them, they'll offer to simply walk off, and you can avoid the fight entirely. However, if you didn't, you'll need to fight them. You'll have the option to spare them, but they aren't long for this world regardless.
It's best to avoid this fight, because right up ahead you'll have a fight with a Murohn to get through. As tempting as it might be, don't Shadowstep during this fight, as it will give away your disguise.
Solving Bakir's puzzle
The Lunar Games: Which Hole, Left, Middle or Right?
After this comes the puzzle. You'll be able to stick your hand into one of three holes in a box, one offering safe passage, and the other two poisoning Coen. You'll want to stick your hand in the left hole, and the gate will open ahead of you.
Then comes the final combat section and the biggest test of all. The fight against the Great Bog Wurm. Tatzelwurms are a nightmare to fight against, so do your best to avoid their poison spit, and close the gap when they burrow underground to get as many shots in as possible. Also, be sure to loot the Tatzelwurm Gland, as this is a legendary ingredient that is hard to come by.
Fighting the Great Bog Wurm
After this, you will run into the Cockroach. If you poisoned him, you won't have to fight him at all, and can continue on to the final room. If you did not, it's a fight to the death.
Then, finally, you'll enter the room where Bakir has tied up the last living player of the game, and tells you that they have swallowed the trinket, meaning you'll need to slice them open and retrieve it. You can choose to do so, or decline. Doing so will curry favor with Bakir, and make it more likely to get your stuff back early, but it's ultimately of no consequence.
A Victorious Feast
Earning the respect of Bakir has its perks
After the games, you'll have a sit-down with Bakir, and it's important that you answer him very carefully to make sure you end up with him alone in the Treasury.
We would suggest following this dialogue pattern:
- I'm sorry, but I'm not taking the mask off.
- With pleasure
- Cheers
- To friendship and good fortune
- I often dream of being buried alive
- Is that all? Can I get my reward now?
Doing this, along with gutting the final opponent in the games, will be enough to earn his respect, which will grant you your stuff back before the battle with him. Something that only happens if he really likes you. So, it pays to play the game.
Note: At this moment, it seems that if you alter your gear during the games, when you get your stuff back, you will not revert to your previous gear, and you won't have an opportunity to do so before the fight with Bakir. So, it can be beneficial to tough it out with minimal gear in the games to make the Bakir fight much easier.
Entering The Treasury
Choosing your spoils
Then lastly, we have the treasury. During this exchange, you have a few options.
You will be offered gold, magic swords, amulets, and rings. But, honestly, none of these items are worth requesting, especially if you are deep into the game. Not to mention, it's a pretty paltry amount of coin you get as well.
So really, you have two options: the amethyst ring, or simply deciding to attack him then and there.
You should initially choose the ring, as this opens up dialogue options later relating to Farkas true intentions. But, ultimately, Bakir will suggest there is no such ring in the treasury.
So, after this, it's time to fight him.
How To Beat Bakir
Bakir's Bird attack
Of the three Boyars, I would say that Bakir is actually the easiest fight of the three. He doesn't really have any sort of gimmick in between his health segments, such as a health regeneration opportunity.
The first phase is relatively straightforward. Bakir will mainly attack with red skull kick attacks and basic punches. The only thing that might catch you off guard is the blood attack where they Shadowstep away, strike the ground, and send a line of blood in your direction. It can be dodged consistently, but your timing needs to be on the mark.
Bakir attacking from distance
In the second phase, the main difference is a new attack where they will launch a series of corrupted birds at you. Much like a boss enemy would do when completing an Astral Communion side activity. Again, these are able to be dodged consistently, but try to be constantly moving left or right to keep out of their flight path.
Then, in his third phase, he will use a series of AOE blood burst attacks on top of his usual attacks. In this phase, it's very helpful to use Shadowstep and trigger your abilities just as they do theirs to cancel their attack, while getting a shot in on them.
Win this fight, and then comes the decision on what to do with Bakir.
Quest Rewards & Outcomes
Amethyst Ring Location in the treasury
When all is said and done, you still have two loose ends to tie up. Bakir, and Farkas.
With Bakir, the best option is to drink his blood, as this will give you access to the Shadowstorm ability if you don't already have access to it. Plus, this will give you the option to invite him in. This will allow him to interject with little comments inside your head throughout your adventure. Or, you can just let him rot in the void if you choose.
As for Farkas, agreeing to help him find the ring will begin a quick side quest conveniently titled 'The Ring'. This will see you search the Treasury for his Amethyst Ring. To save you some time, it's in a lockbox at the back, shown in the image above.
Then, you have the choice of keeping the ring, or giving it to them. If you give it to them, you'll come to find in a non-quest event later that the ring was corrupted, and actually ended up killing his brother, so this is, in fact, the bad ending.
Bakir's Armor looted from his corpse
Instead, you'll want to renege on your deal and bring the ring to Anca. Who notices the danger of this accessory immediately and offers to take it from you, giving you a new magical ring in return, ending this questline.
Alongside this, you will also receive pretty substantial rewards for completing this quest, especially in the manner described, granting you access to all the trinkets and oddities in the Treasury.
But, you will also be able to loot the corpse of Bakir, which will grant you Bakir's Armor, and over 300x Denarius.