Ghoul

Ghouls look a bit like people, but the bestiary calls them the complete opposite of everything human. They move on all fours, and their faces show no feeling, no thought and not even a flicker of awareness. All they have is hunger for human flesh. They usually hunt in small packs, sometimes led by an alghoul, and they gather wherever corpses pile up: graveyards, battlefields and places where people were left to die.

One ghoul isn’t much of a danger for a witcher. Trouble starts when the pack is big or the hour is late, since they are bolder at dusk and at night. A wounded ghoul can also fly into a frenzy, attacking recklessly while it regenerates its health.

Ghouls are among the first monsters you meet in The Witcher 3. In Lilac and Gooseberries Geralt and Vesemir run into a group in White Orchard, and more feed on the battlefield in Missing in Action. Across Velen they turn up in quests like Funeral Pyres and Bitter Harvest. In Skellige they share a cave with devourers in For Fame and Glory, and in Toussaint they show up in Contract: Bovine Blues and La Cage au Fou.

Across the games

In The Witcher, ghouls are found in Acts I, II and III. In Act I, the guard Mikul asks Geralt to clear ghouls out of a crypt in the Outskirts in Buried Memories. Inside, Geralt finds the body of a young woman and a small vial. Also in Act I, the alchemist Kalkstein pays for the blood of three ghouls, with 100 orens, 3,000 XP and Basics of Alchemy as the reward.

In Act II, Geralt fights through ghouls in the Temple Quarter cemetery in A Gravedigger’s Gratitude and finds the real Raymond’s body. In Act III, Velerad wants the blood of twelve ghouls and pays 150 orens and 5,000 XP. The Act I contract needs a Bestiary entry on ghouls.

Buried Memories (Act I, main quest)
The Ghoul Contract (Act I, monster contract)
A Gravedigger’s Gratitude (Act II, secondary quest)
The Ghoul Contract (Act III, monster contract)

Combat strategy

Ghouls like to surround you and come at you from the sides, so keep your back clear and keep moving. Fight at the edge of the pack instead of in the middle of it. Focus on one target at a time and finish it before it can enrage and start healing.

An enraged ghoul attacks wildly, which makes it easier to read. Dodge or roll away from the flurry, then counter while it recovers.

Coat your silver sword with Necrophage Oil.
Kill wounded ghouls quickly so their frenzy and regeneration don’t drag the fight out.
Take on big packs in daylight if you can, since ghouls are more dangerous at dusk and at night.
If an alghoul leads the pack, thin out the regular ghouls first so you aren’t fighting both at once.
Keep Quen up in large groups to absorb hits from behind.