Witcher 2 insane difficulty - Getting the mad man achievment

I want to help the completionists and achievement hunters out there on getting the mad man achievement. This guide will be straight forward and will not be a complete speed run. I will tell you all the materials you need right from the start so that you can save them in chapter 1 and use them later without worrying. Also the amount of xp you get from this walkthrough is more than enough to help keep you alive. No farming is involved although looting flotsam is optional but highly recommended. I got this on my first try and hope you do too and remember insane difficulty isn't all that hard - no enemies will one shot you nor have ridiculous amount of hp like in dark mode, it's just that once you die you have to restart the game from the begining that makes it "feel" impossible.

Introduction

I got this achievement in one go and let me tell you. Insane difficulty is EASIER than dark mode difficulty. With that said I highly recommend playing the game on dark mode before doing insane difficulty. Since anything and everything can one shot you in dark mode difficulty it forces the player to learn how to doge effectively and use skill points wisely. Even with dark mode special armour and weapons you still have to be on your guard constantly. With that said play insane difficulty with confidence and trust me you will get this achievement in one go like I have.

Strategy

You can approach insane difficulty with 2 ways :

1. Speed run - should you fail you will fail faster and recover quicker
2. Confidence run - Take your time to do the quests, get good armour and weapons (don't worry you don't have to do much crafting or spending) and more importantly skill points. Do avoid bull sh*t boss quests tho .... * cough * operator * cough *

I personally prefer the confidence run. 1 isn't necessarily better than 2 or vice versa - it all come's down to personal preference. This guide primarily focuses on roche's path (it's the most easiest and in my opinion the most quickest path). This guide will be more oriented towards the confidence play style.

I CAN do a no armour run with pleb weapons but that would be boring for me XD

weapons and armour

At the end of this I'll compile a list of all the items you need to craft said weapons and armour so do note them down. Sell the rest of the crafting components. You don't need a lot of money or crafting components to craft and buy them so don't worry.

You need a total of 9 diamond armour reinforcement to upgrade kayran carapace armour, Zireal's armour and Vran armour.

buy a total of 10 ysgith runes from the mysterious merchant in Act 1 or Act 2 for the weapons you get in act 2 and 3. Mind you the mysterious merchant is only available in Act 1 and 2

prologue

should you find any armour enhancements use them on your starting armour

1. Temmarian sword - This sword can first be found hidden behind a breakable wall in the sewers leading to the Temple

Act 1

upgrade these weapons with the runes you already have and then sell the rest of the runes. You really only need ysgith runes from act 2 onwards.

number of weapons to craft : 2
number of swords to acquire : 1
number of swords to buy : 0

1. Jagged blade - This sword diagram can be bought from the dwarwen smith. It can be crafted while completing the edrega contract. Alternatively if your'e luckily you could get the espadon steel sword from the guards quatars. In 4 of my playthroughs I got the sword in 3 of them with out having to reload my save so there's a fairly high chance you could get it. If you do get espadon then no need to craft jagged blade.

2. witchers silver sword - the quest

3. Sword of Kaer Morhen - Found on a skeleton lying between the two rocky outcrops directly south of the ledge you jump down from in order to start the fight against the arachas. Tell iorveth you need to do something so you can go grab this sword and the loot from the monster.

number of armour to craft : 1
number of armour to acquire : 1
number of armour to buy : 0

1. Astrogarus’ Armor - While sneaking in loredo's house you will get this armour along with the kayran trap component.

2. Kayran carapace armour - Best armour for the rest of act 1 and a good chunk of act 2. Remember to upgarde with 3 diamond reinforcement.

Act 2

You will get the best swords the instant you reach the kaedwen camp. These swords and armour are the best till act 3 even better than the dun banner sword and princess xenthia's sword. Remember to upgrade the swords with ysgith runes.

number of weapons to craft : 1
number of weapons to buy : 1
number of weapons to acquire : 0

1. Robust red meteorite sword - the diagram is available to be purchased from the smith at the camp.

2. Poisoned Zerrikanian saberra - Available to be purchased from the mysterious merchant

number of armour to craft : 0
number of armour to acquire : 1
number of armour to buy : 0

1. Zireal armour - You will get this from deathmold automatically by completing the main quests.

Act 3

Again you will get the best silver sword from the start and the best steel sword before you even fight a human enemy. Again upgrade them with the ysgith runes.

number of weapons to craft : 1
number of weapons to buy : 0/1*
number of weapons to acquire : 0/1*

1. Deithwen - The sword Deithwen can be looted from one of the skeletons near a ruined wagon, a short distance past the entrance to the caves east of Loc Muinne. It is guarded by two arachas so be careful. Kill the aracha behind you then the aracha near the wagons.

* as for steel swords you have two options. Either craft " Caerme " or buy Short Elven Sihil from Bras of Ban Ard. I recommend crafting " caerme " it's cheap plus crafting components saved from act 1 and 2 can be used.

1. caerme - complete the enchanted manuscript quest acquired while doing the gargoyle contract.

number of armour to craft : 1*
number of armour to acquire : 1*
number of armour to buy : 0

*You must do the gargoyle contract to get the elder blood set. This quest is ridiculously easy with the silver sword Deithwen due it's extra 25 % dmg to gargoyles.

* acquire the Ysgith armour and craft the Vran armour

The complete list of crafting materials you need

edrega teeth - 15
queen edrega pheromones - 1
warrior necker blood -1
iron frame - 1
kayran skin - 1
Iron ore - 38
silver ore - 11
red meteorite ore- 2
timber - 4
diamond dust - 47
amethyst dust - 1
twine - 39
oil - 20
robust cloth - 14
cloth - 17
hardened leather - 10
studded leather - 4
leather - 2
armour of ysgith - 1
vran armour enhancement - 1
harpy feathers - 4
harpy egg or rotfiend tongue-1
bullivore brain - 1

optional items :
troll tongue - 1
edrega embryo - 1
arachas eyes - 1
essence of death - 1
This is the complete list. Note this down and sell the rest of the crafting components.

General rules to always follow

ATTENTION
Several people have reported on the forums that if you play the tutorial at the beginning of the game and then beat the game on Insane, the Madman achievement doesn't appear ....... If you're after the achievement, make sure to start a new game on Insane but skip the tutorial.

• Disablequick time events from the options
  
  
• Pick every plant you see
  
  
• Swallow and Rook potions are your best friend - easy to make and extremely effective
  
  
• Samum bombs are useful too agaisnt ganks. when ever you're out numbered use bombs. They
  are easy to craft too so don't be afraid. Grapeshot works too.
  
  
• don't shy away from using blade oils. They are easy to craft too and can be used in the middle of battle. The diagrams are worth the money in my opinion but buy them after getting the haggling abilty as armour and weapons should always be prioritised over blade oil diagrams.
  
  
• Focus primarily on the swordsmanship tree. You will need parry abilities and feet work to increase roll distance. In act 2 the eternal battle locks geralt out of alchemy and magic so you're only limited to your swordsman abilites
  
  
• When you're down to one vigor point don't use it unless it's an emergency.
  
  
• Learn the art of rolling around an enemy to get behind him and back stab him.
  
  
• If a fight is not going your way reload your save. Never take any unnecessary risks.
  
  
• Use aard to stun an enemy and get an easy finisher. Samum bombs have the same effect too
  
  
• After playing dark mode your doging skills will be more than enough.
  
  
• Some boss fights can actually be cheesed - I'll go more into detail later. Letho and Draug can be cheesed very easily.
  
  
• Mystic river quest is a must. It gives you the best armour and with this armour + elder blood set
  you can literally dance in dragon fire and laugh at mages throwing fire balls
  
  
• don't buy anything you don't really need till you get the haggling ability
  
  
• buy hanged man's venom at flotsam after killing the kayran and getting the haggling ability
  
  
• Get the the following abilites : Pyromaniac and Sapper ability the instant you get out of the tent in prologue. Do remember to get assassin, Cover, Experienced and resistance to magic abilty.
  
  
• Never let your self get surrounded and know when to riposte and counter attack an enemy when dealing with ganks (multiple enemies).
  
  

Character development, mutagens and play style.

As I said before we'll be focusing primarily on swordsman skill perks. As for magic extra sign dmg and vigor points are always useful and leveling up quen can be good too. I suggest getting perks from swords man path first THEN magic. If you want you can get perks from alchemy tree too. I managed to get my self to level 29. Mind you we are gonna do all the quests of act 1 and only little sisters quest in act 2 then speed run our way in quest 2 and 3. If you wanna do a full on speed run be sure to get the parrying and riposte skills as these will help you in the eternal battle. Stating the obvious you cannot roll in eternal battle so you really have no choice but to get these skills.

As for mutagens I used only the gretaer vitality mutagens.

Training Tree

• vigor regen up to level 2
  
  
• hardiness up to level 2
  
  
• parrying up to level 2
  
  
• fortitude up to level 2
  
  The points distributed in the training tree are to make your mistakes more forgiving and give you enough time to evaluate the situation and decide if you should reload your save. Along witht the parry you will get extra vigor so your character has 3 vigor now which is more than enough. I personally don't like dagger throwing or arrow redirection. Never really used them in my previous play through nor found them useful in my insane run.
  
  Swordsmanship Tree
  
  
  
  
• Position up to level 2
  
  
• Riposte up to level 2
  
  
• Foot work up to level 2
  
  
• Violence up to level 2
  
  
• Guard up to level 2
  
  
• Tough guy up to level 2 or level 1 - your choice
  
  
• schemer up to level 2 or level 1 - your choice
  
  
• Hardy up to level 2
  
  I didn't find whirl to be a smart choice because you should avoid attacking multiple people head on.
  Postion, Riposte and foot work is a must for level 2. Your default roll distance is pathetic so you will need it. From the whole skill tree I started with foot work then made my way to Hardy.
  
  Magic Tree
  
  
  
• Destructive Magic up to level 1
  
  
• Enhanced Quen Sign up to level 1
  
  
• Magical Vigor up to level 2
  
  Alchemy Tree
  
  
  
• Synthesis up to level 1
  
  I only had 2 points to spare so I decided why not more vitality. Also use the greater vitality mutages as soon as you can.
  
  This was MY build. You can choose which perks fit your play style however do keep in mind magic is not that effective especially against bosses and the eternal battle section where you're playing as other characters. The whole point of this build is to minimize the punishment you get for making any mistakes with the high vitality. Also to give you both high sword dmg along with vigor to help maintain your sword dmg (fatigue). As for signs we increase the sign effectiveness just once to increase our chances of stunning the enemy with aard and enhanced quen to keep quen up longer. In my run I did bow before the summer shrine to upgrade my quen futher. Remember samum bombs do stun enemies jsut like aard so if you're in trouble against ganks do spam those bombs to pick them off with finishers. With footwork perk and assassin abilty learn to roll around enemies and back stab them. With our perks, armour and swords we won't have much trouble. I always use the rook and swallow combo for all fights so I didn't feel the need for perks that increase your resistance to potions.
  
  
  

Prologue

Prologue is a bit annoying seeing as your roll distance is minimal and reaching Aryan La Valette reqires you to get past a squad of crossbow users. Just bait out the enemies and pick them off one by one. Prioritse archers first so you can keep you Quen up with out worrying.

• Remember to get the abilities pyromaniac and sapper. Destroy the training dummies to get the experienced perk.
  
• You can talk to new boy to get the talisman if you want. I did this quest only to get more xp plus the extra armour buff. It really comes down to your choice really.
  
• Remember to check the assassins body to get the assassin ability
  
• when reaching Aryan La Valette use axi on this crossbow user circled in the image below, the X marks where you can safely use axxi on him. Then bring up quen and use the hit and roll style to finish off the crossbow squad. You can use aard to throw them off too.
  
  
  
• stating the obvious convince Aryan to stand down. Once you save him from the dungeons you get extra carry weight too.
  
• Remember to loot the houses and save the civillians to get more xp and cash.
  
• Remember to grab the Temmarian sword in the sewers.
  
• spam the samum bombs on the 3 enemies you meet in the tower when you leave the sewers and see the scoia'tael.
  
• use stealth to escape the dungeons

Act 1

I recommend doing all the side quests in Act 1. It's not that hard or time consuming plus while doing the troll quest you can go the bnadits hide out to get more cash and get the quen sign buff using the shrine.

ATTENTON

Mystic river quest is an absolute must so please remember to do it. Even if you intend to speed run.

Gearing up

• If you're over the carry weight from all the looting drop the weapons you're planning to sell. You can come back to pick them up later and sell them to the inkeep
  
• with the Temmarian sword the squirrels won't be much trouble. Do remember to stay with in Triss's shield t get the cover ability.
  
• After saving your friends go destroy the training dummies to get the experienced perk and the loot all the houses in flotsam (takes like 5-10 minutes) afterwards craft your silver sword and then craft the jagged blade if you didn't get the espadon. You can craft the jagged blade after completing the edrega and necker contract. The nests are very close to each other and it's easy to finish it.
  
• Go meet loredo and remember to grab the kayran trap component and the Astrogaru's armour
  
• When checking the Kayran lair with Triss use the samum bombs on the drowner pack and remember to check the shipwreck to start the mystic river quest.
  
• Now you can do all the side quests (don't do melitele's heart yet) and then go after the kayran but it's your choice. I did all of them and then went after the kayran.
  
  The Kayran boss fight
  
  
• For this fight you should be wearing the Astrogaru's armour with any random enhancement you looted.
  
• Before you fight the kayran drink up the mongoose potion and then swallow.
  
• when fighting the kayran first use the trap to cut off the tentacle to your right ( near the shipwreck ) after that hug the edge of the map to avoid getting hit.
  
• Now run to your left and use yerden
  
• Remember if you get hit once your health will be down by roughly 45%. Reload your save at once if you get hit when quen is down. Do avoid it's attacks even with quen. You will have 3 vigor slots by this fight so cutting off the last 2 tentacles will be doable even with quen.
  
• After killing the Kayran remember to loot his corpse and collect your reward BEFORE buying anything. As you will only get the haggling ability after collecting your reward.
  
• Remember to buy at least 5 ysgith runes for act 2. or you could go all out and buy 10 of them instead of buying the remaining 5 on act 2. Also do buy the hanged man's venom diagram.
  
  Getting ready for letho
  
  
• visit Sendler in Lobinden to craft the kayran armour and buy the diamond armour reinforcement diagram and craft 9 pieces (as much as you can if you can't craft 9)
  
• When going with Triss remember to reject her to get the resistance to magic ability.
  
• When fighting the aracha keep quen up and bait it out to yerden. Once it's trapped simply roll around to it's back and keep back stabbing it and it will die very quickly.
  
• when meeting Iorveth do remember to be nice with your dialogue options ... if not it's an insta kill.
  
• After the meeting tell him you will meet him there to get the Sword of Kaer Morhen and loot from the arachas (for melitele's heart quest)
  
• Just before meeting Iorveth drink up the usual rook and swallow combo. Use a whetstone on your steel sword.
  
• Do NOT give Iorveth his sword
  
  Letho boss fight
  
  the very instant you start the fight ... use Aard. Letho will be off balance and you can throw in 2 strong heavy attacks. Again use aard and he'll be off balance so sinse and repeat. Should you do this cheese method well you will finish this fight in less then 20 seconds. If you miss your Aard no worries keep rolling around and don't stay too far away from him. Infact stay a bit close to him. As soon as his quen is down throw in the 2 strong heavy attacks. This boss fight requires you to bring down his health to half and complete the dialogue so you it won't take too long. The reason why you should not stay far away from him is because Letho will spam signs and bombs. Also you need the short distance to spam your Aard and do the cheese method.
  
  Post Letho boss fight
  
  
• Remember to pick up your sword and loot the corpses
  
• Rolling your way to the water fall to find cedric you'll get ambushed by squirrels so do be careful of that.
  
• Follow roche's plan (bombs can help a lot to kill the guards in the confined spaces) and finish act 1.
  
  Now you have completed the longest part of the game. Following act 1 and 2 will be done very quickly so hold on.
  

Act 2

You only need to do little sisters quest (it gives a massive 600 xp) as far as side quests are concerned. After reaching the camp and getting the weapons just keep doing the main quests and you'll get the best armour automatically.

Reaching the camp and gearing up

• the kaedweni wraiths should be dealt with one on one. Never let your self get ganked by them and you have your allys to distract them.
  
• remember to pick up prince stennis's sword from his corpse to sell it later
  
• once you reach the camp craft the robust red meteorite silver sword and buy the poisoned zerakanian saberra from the mysterious merchant. Fit both these swords with the ysgith runes.
  
• with these swords and your kayran armour you will have no trouble dealing with any enemies.
  
• Do the little sisters quest to get the 600 xp and then start doing the main quests.
  
  Quests before reaching Vergen
  
  
• After this proceed with the main quest and go talk with Henselt and Dethmold. Remember to talk with Zyvik. Leave camp and go to Sabrina’s execution site. I saved the soldiers but it's your choice XD
  
• To get the square coins you can choose to "save" Oodrin or complete Butcher of Cidaris quest. I saved Oodrin because he's funny
  
• Before entering the hideout - drink the usual swallow and rook combo, apply a whetstone and activate Quen. You're gonna be fighting in a really small space against many enemies at once. Stay clam and keep rolling around. Do the occasional Aard, strong heavy attacks and keep throwing bombs and you can easily gain control of the situation. Use block and riposte only if you're sure you won't get surrounded.
  
• Now visit the visionary and pay him since it's quicker. Return back to the camp and talk with tthe relic peddler.
  
• Talk with Dethmold to cross the mist and get Zireal's armour and then fit it with diamond armour reinforcement.
  
  Crossing the mist and Vergen
  
  
• While crossing the mist with Zoltan use your medallion to see the right direction and just bum rush your way to Vergen.
  
• Talk with your dwarwen friends and Leave town to reach the entrance in to the tunnels . Drink Cat, Swallow and Rook. You can ignore most enemies and just roll away. You only need these potion buffs to fight the bullivore. Once you're in the tunnels, take the first left turn you have and then take the door to your right in the middle of the tunnel after that. From there keep going straight. There's no point in exploring the tunnels as you already have the best equipment.
  
• After talking with Zolton and Saskia don't waste time and return to the surface. From there just rush your way to the dwarwen catacombs. You can ignore all enemies even the wraiths in the catacombs by simply breaking the wall and talking with the ghost before they get a chance to properly spawn.
  
• Don't fight the ghost and grab the dun banner sword to sell it. Roll your way back to Vergen entrance and play dice porker with the dwarf to get spear's head. You can get the princess xenthia's sword if you wish to make some cash.
  
• Roll your way back to camp
  
  Lifting the curse and fighting the assassins
  
  
• After guiding the king to draw the correct diagram prepare your self with the usual rook and swallow combo and apply specter oil and begin the fight. You have to fight 9 or more wraiths. Do not leave the cirlce as you will lose vitality.
  
• At midnight before meeting the king drink the usual rook and swallow. Make sure you apply whetstone and get ready for the fight against the assassins.
  
• The assassins can block your attacks ratehr easily so don't attack recklessly. Do the hit and roll style and use Aard to throw them off balance and throw in the 2 strong heavy attacks.
  
• Run to the assassin's hideout. Ignore all the enemies you meet and just keep rolling towards the hideout with your quen up.
  
• Be careful of the gargoyles and golem in the hideout. Use Quen before entering the hide out and use Aard on the gargoyles. As for the golem use yerden - once it's traped roll to it's back and keep spamming heavy attacks and it will die soon.
  
  Now it's the real challenge ... the eternal battle.
  
  The eternal battle
  
  The eternal battle is extremely risky since your'e locked only to your swordsmanship abilities, no rolling and the arrow section is unforgiving .... although you can survive getting hit by just ONE arrow (unlike dark mode where even one arrow is insta kill). Still you shouldn't get hit even once by the arrows.
  
  
• When starting off don't even bother pressing space bar to roll. Keep your block up to repel enemy attacks and riposte when you have a good opening. Since you can't roll do be careful when running away as you could easily get back stabbed and lose a chunk of vitality.
  
• For the arrow section take your time and listen carefully to time your run properly. This might sound too cautious but I recommend watching a video on this section before starting it. I did that and knew exactly where to go and keep my timming on point. Also the cover you get behind can get destroyed so do be careful.
  
• As Seltkirk try not to get surrounded. After killing the first 4 enemies hug the edge of the cliff and draw out the remaining enemies one by one. I couldn't draw out the last 2 shield bearing enemies one by one but I managed to kill them just fine. Do stay away from the barricade as it will get blown up.
  
• Aaah the draug fight ... after knowing his weakness it's ridiculosuly easy. Before triggering his fight try to keep your quen up and apply whetstone. When the fight begins bait out his charge at the start. Simply roll around to his back and keep spamming heavy attacks. He will drop dead in less than 10 seconds ... no joke. He won't even get a chance to call for trebuchet fire or arrows.
  
• If you couldn't bait out the charge from the start it's ok just roll away and place yerden. Once he gets trapped roll to his back and keep spamming heavy attacks. The whetstone makes you do unreal amount of dmg (remember you have assassin's ability so more dmg for back stabs)
  
• If he disassembles him self comes at you like a tornado just keep rolling. If you feel like you could get him to charge the instant the fight begins simply reload your save. Trust me this draug fight is not hard at all.
  
  To Vergen
  
  
• You're gonna have to fight a lot of enemies at once but luckily for you you have plenty of space to run. Plus roche is there to distract them. Remember you have bombs.
  
• While running back to Vergen don't fight the trolls and remember to check the boat wreck to ccomplete the mystic river quest.
  
• Before entering the tunnels drink up cat and apply hanged man's venom to your steel sword and necrophage oil to your silver sword.
  
• Take the same path through the tunnels. If you're unsure just go through the path that has human enemies.The monsteres and mercs will be fighting each other so do be careful on prioritising on who to attack first. Before entering the large area in the tunnels drink the usual rook and swallow combo and apply whetstone. You will be facing a lot of enemies and deathmold so keep rolling around, spamming bombs and attacking at the right moment. When deathmold loses his quen use Aard on him and spam strong heavy attacks.
  
• In Vegen go directly to philippa's house ( don't bother helping Iorveth, the silver sword you get is weaker then the one you have). The golem isn't that hard to kill. Use the usual yerden and back stab (spam heavy attacks).
  
• When king Henselt and his soldiers show up you can stand just inside the door to the inner room so that they have to come at you one by one. If you want some insurance apply hanged man's venom. You can easily take them on tbh use the usual tactic you use against ganks. Roll, spam bombs, Aard and heavy attacks.
  
  Just ... one more chapter ... we're almost there friends.
  
  
  
  

Act 3

Act 3 will be done in less than an hour. You're so close to getting this achievement so still stay focused.

Preperations for saving Triss and fighting the dragon

• down the mountain path reaching the bottom just before going towards the guards, take the path to the right. The path that leads to the cave entrance. You’ll find two Arachas there. One at the end of the path and one will spawn behind you. Kill the one behind you and then the one at he end of the path. Fighting them is totally worth the risk as at the end of the path you’ll find Deithwen – the best silver sword in the game as it does 25% more dmg agaisnt both gargoyles and dragons. Enhance it with 3 Ysgith runes.
  
  
• Now do go grab the vran armour diagram from the sewers and craft it and enhance it with 3 diamond armour reinforcements.
  
  
• You have two choices now. You can either roll with Vran armour and buy a steel sword such as the Short Elven Sihil from Bras of Ban Ard OR you can do the gargoyle contract to get the elder blood gaunlets, trousers and boots along with the enchanted manuscript and craft caerme. Do fit the remaining ysgith runes in your swords. Gargoyle contract is easy with the silver sword you have but still do be careful. The gargoyls can very easily overwhelm you and you have to fight a golem in one of the three rune rooms. If the fight is not going you way just roll away from the combat zone. Remember gargoyles are extremely weak to Aard.
  
  saving Triss
  
  
• Drink the swallow and rook combo before stating
  
• keep your quen up before the cut scene as you might get hit before you get a chance to draw your weapon.
  
• Use the tactics you use agaisnt ganks. Take out the crossbow men first. Keep quen up and keep rolling and prioritisng which enemies to take out with out getting surrounded. Instead of hanged man's venom use whetstone (keep 1 whetstone fro dragon fight)
  
  The dragon fight
  
  Unlike dark mode where you get onshottd by the dragon's physical attacks in insane difficulty you lose about a solid 45 % of your vitality should you get hit. If you do get hit reload your save immediately. As when you get knocked down the dragon can follow up another attack while you're getting up.
  
  
• Before entering the tower use Quen.
  
• When you enter the tower keep moving forward. Do NOT walk. You will fall to your death so keep rolling. Wait for the dragon to finish breathing fire before progressing past the gap in the wall. If you've lost ANY health during the climb up the stairs, reload.
  
• After dealing with sile' apply the whetstone one last time.
  
• As for the dragon fight simply do ONE strong attack and then roll back at once. When you land a single strong hit on the dragon it will always do a physical attack so roll back to doge it and keep your Quen still up.
  
• when it breaths fire keep an eye on your quen timer. If it's gone use quen as soon as the dragon fire stops. Remember with Vran armour + Elderblood set dragon fire does no dmg to you (tho it can remove your Quen shield)
  
• Before climbing up the roof of the tower after the first fight with the dragon drink up rook and swallow.
  
• keep your quen up always and don't get greedy follow the one strong hit and doge tactic and keep an eye on our Quen. If you're paying attention you will never get hit by it's physical attacks.
  
  Epilogue
  
  
• There are some human enemies you gotta deal with just follow the usual tactics agaisnt ganks.
  
• Oh and .... don't fight Letho XD

my final message

I said it before and I'll say it again - Insane difficulty isn't all that hard. Just be confident and just like me you will get it done in one go. I hope this guide was helpful. Now go get this achievement and let me know in the comments once you get it :)

[Tomasmacpro]

thank you

[Tomasmacpro]

i got it yesssssss

[stalker121]

I beat draug in less than 5s xd thx for guide

[Juice Fresh]

@SPIDER thank you so much !

[Spider]

I followed this guide to the letter and I got the achievement! thanks so much for such a good in depth guide.

[Juice Fresh]

yao199 (UA) aah man I see. But no worries like I said insane difficulty is actually easier than hard or dark mode. You'll catch up quickly.

[yao199]

oof, that really makes things much more complicated.I guess before going on Insane, I want to play from start to end on hard first, since I haven't played witcher2 for like 4 years and I forgot a lot of stuff. I'll probably die to Kairan or Leto anyway :)

[Juice Fresh]

@yao199 (UA) sadly you must start from the insane difficulty to the very end.

[yao199]

Am I allowed to start another playthrough in parallel on another difficulty? Let's say I practice on hard or dark before going for the same part of the game on Insane, will it void the achievement?

[Juice Fresh]

@Cardiac Your feed back means so much to me, thank you ^_^