How to beat the Caretaker — Hearts of Stone
The Caretaker, in Scenes from a Marriage, is the meanest single fight in the DLC at appropriate level. He regenerates health by drinking from his urn between phases — if you don't break the regen pattern you can't kill him.
Setup
- Specter Oil on silver sword. He's classified as a specter.
- Moon Dust bombs — locks him out of his urn-drink for ~6 seconds.
- Quen active at all times.
- Black Blood decoction if you have it — makes his life-leech hurt him.
Phase 1 — Standard combat
- Stay at mid-range. His shovel sweeps; never hug him.
- Roll backward through his swing, not sideways — his hitbox is wider than the animation.
- 2-hit combos only, then dodge. Three attacks gets you smacked.
Phase 2 — Urn regen
- At ~60% HP, he kneels and drinks from a glowing urn.
- Throw a Moon Dust bomb at the urn the second he kneels. Disrupts the heal completely.
- Hit him 3x during the disrupt window for free damage.
Phase 3 — Final
- He starts a wide spinning combo at low HP.
- Aard breaks the spin.
- Igni when he finishes the spin — he's vulnerable for ~2 seconds.
- Finisher QTE.
Loot
- Caretaker's Shovel — a 2-handed weapon Geralt can wield. Heavy attack only, but stagger is huge.
- A Tale of Sir Eustace book (lore).
If stuck: if you have no Moon Dust bombs, the alternative is Yrden + Quen — Yrden slows him at the urn; Quen tanks the regen-recovery hit. Slower kill, same outcome.