Bloedzuiger

Bloedzuigers are swamp monsters in The Witcher, modeled on leeches but much bigger and far less useful to a physician. They lie hidden in muddy water and surface when something warm-blooded comes close. On their own they are slow, but a swarm of them can overwhelm a victim. The name is Dutch for “leech”, literally “blood sucker”.

The bestiary entry explains why peasants are so afraid of them: a bloedzuiger pours digestive juices over the wounds of victims who are still alive, then feeds on their half-digested innards. Its acidic stomach handles blood and guts alike.

In The Witcher

Geralt can learn about bloedzuigers in Act II. Once he has brought five celandine to Shani in the quest Old Friend of Mine, he can ask her for a lesson in monster anatomy, and the bloedzuiger entry goes into his Bestiary. Without that entry, their carcasses yield no bloedzuiger blood.

The creatures matter most in Act V, at the swamp cemetery. The druids there say the bloedzuigers are ruining the swamp’s unique ecosystem, and in The Bloedzuiger Contract they ask for ten samples of bloedzuiger blood to help craft a spell that will wipe out the species. The monsters live right there in the swamp, so there’s no need to stock up in advance. Collecting the samples is a messy business, and Geralt admits he has never seen so much blood at once. The druids pay 200 orens, and the contract is worth 7,000 XP.

Combat strategy

Bloedzuigers are slow and easy to stun, but their death is the dangerous part: a dying bloedzuiger bursts in a spray of acid that burns Geralt and anything else standing close. Hit hard with the silver sword, then step back as it dies.

They are sensitive to silver and fire, and immune to poison.
Strong style works best. Avoid group style, even when several attack at once.
Skip finishers, since Geralt can’t move until the animation ends and the acid will catch him.
The acid also kills nearby drowners and drowned dead. You can still loot them, but those kills give no experience.
Loot: bloedzuiger blood (only with the Bestiary entry), Albar’s crystals and abomination lymph.