Witcher 3 Blood and Wine: How to Kill Golyat and Get the "David and Golyat" Achievement
We show you how to bring down the Toussaint giant and how to make use of its key weaknesses.
Witcher 3's Blood and Wine DLC offers all manner of new monsters, but the first you'll encounter is the giant Golyat, a barrel-helmeted brute running amok among Toussaint's vineyards. We'll show how you to defeat this monstrosity, as well as how to get the "David and Golyat" achievement in the process.
How to Kill Golyat
The rampaging giant is found after completing the Envoys, Wineboys mission in Holloway, Velen, when you're taken to Toussaint for the first time. The opening cutscene will show Golyat appearing, terrorizing a young knight until you intervene. At this point the fight begins properly.
Golyat's Weaknesses
Killing Golyat will list his vulnerabilities in the Bestiary: namely Ogroid Oil and the Quen magic sign. The former's use is obvious, increasing your sword's damage, but Quen functions as a vital defence, as Golyat tends to make wide, slow strikes that do high damage. These aren't easy to dodge, but there's such a length of time between them that Quen can recharge and protect you from the next one that does land. Golyat also has a third, unspecified weakness that you can use to get yourself an achievement - and an instant kill on this powerful enemy.
How to Get the "David and Golyat" Achievement
The premise of this achievement is relatively simple - kill the big lunkhead in a single hit with a crossbow bolt. That doesn't mean the first shot has to kill him, but there's a specific spot on his body that if struck will end the fight in an instant: the gap in his barrel where you can see his eye. Get a crossbow bolt inside there, and you'll win instantly no matter how much health he's on, and get the achievement for it.
This is easier said than done, of course. It's a very small target, and Golyat is constantly thrashing about the battlefield. There are several ways to make it more plausible, though:
- Get the Lightning Reflexes ability. This slows time by up to 45% when targeting things with your crossbow, giving you a much larger window to pick your shot. If you want this achievement, this should almost be mandatory.
- Use Northern Wind bombs. If Golyat won't stop moving, then make him stop. Northern Wind freezes an opponent in place, giving you a stationary target for a few moments. Keep in mind you'll only have two bombs to use, so pick your moment carefully.
- Watch his attack patterns. Several of the giant's attacks leave him relatively still for a moment, but that usually means he's about to squish you. When he raises his foot for a stomp is often a perfect moment to take the shot, but if you miss, get ready to roll out of the way.
- Just spam a billion shots. It seems a bit cheap, but it is technically possible to get the shot by just shooting at Golyat normally, even without looking down the sights. Get your weakest crossbow, save before the fight starts, and just start taking pot shots for the next hour until one happens to drive itself into his eye. If it all goes wrong, reload your save and try again.
Don't have the lightning reflexes ability? You can find out how to respec your stats and get that skill at our handy guide here. Or if you want to know what level you should be for Blood and Wine overall, check out guide here on the Witcher's biggest DLC to date.