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For a single player narrative-driven experience, Vampyr sure does have a lot of boss fights! We've put together descriptions of, and tactics for fighting, all the big bads that Dr. Reid will run into during his memorable time as a vampire doctor on the streets of London town. This includes all the mini-bosses that pop up on the streets, as well as the big staged events in the sewers or certain buildings – right up to the final, endgame boss. It's a one-stop shop.
If you're looking for a guide on the regular enemies, we've got one of those too.
William Bishop
Where do you fight William Bishop in Vampyr?: In a docks warehouse, at the end of the first chapter of the game and the mission Eternal Thirst
How to fight William Bishop in Vampyr: William Bishop is the first boss fight in the game and is essentially your introduction to fighting Skals, which means your main enemy is actually you yourself still figuring out the combat controls. William attacks like other Skals i.e. with his claws. The biggest danger he poses is that he'll occasionally charge at you and if you don't dodge in time he'll latch on and bite you, regenerating some of his health. Like all Skals, he deals aggravated damage and is resistant to melee and ranged attacks, but he shouldn't give you too much trouble.
John Doe
Where do you fight John Doe in Vampyr?: John Doe is lurking in the basement of the old morgue at the hospital, which you have to go into to get supplies for Nurse Crane for the mission Night Shift.
How to fight John Doe in Vampyr: Congratulations on meeting your first Blinker Skal, the most annoying enemy in the game. Ol' JD is resistant to ranged attacks, and is hard to get hold of because Blinker Skals teleport short distances around the area. John Doe will also spawn a shadow version of himself when he blinks, which will usually attack from behind you. Whenever he moves, make a couple of dodges away from where you were standing to avoid these attacks, and try using a mace (which deals high stun damage) to slow John Doe down; don't bother attacking his shadow clones as they disappear by themselves, so just concentrate on avoiding them. You should also make judicious use of any offensive powers you've levelled (Shadow Mist, Blood Spear, etc.)
Sewer Beast
Where do you fight the Sewer Beast in Vampyr?: The Sewer Beast lives in, uh, the sewers – the ones near the hospital. You run into him whilst following a thug as part of the A Rat in the Hospital mission
How to fight the Sewer Beast in Vampyr: Beasts will also turn up later in the game, so this guy is a warm up. He's resistant to melee and blood attacks, and hits pretty hard with chained swings of his claws. Luckily, he telegraphs his attacks, so keep your distance until he's finished a combo of swings and pauses for a breather. Then you can dodge in and get some hits in yourself. We recommend using a two-handed cudgel (which you should have picked up by now) to stun him and deal damage at the same time. Just be careful to keep some stamina left so that you can dodge back out again. Guns are also good to slow him down, but remember it's hard to get enough space to reload them when he runs at you.
Roger 'The Wall'
Where do you fight Roger 'The Wall' in Vampyr?: He's the last big fight on Whitechapel Road before you enter the Whitechapel non-combat zone at the start of the Blackmail in Whitechapel mission.
How to fight Roger 'The Wall' in Vampyr: Although I couldn't help but read his name as an imperative rather than a title, one shouldn't take Roger for granted as an easy win – although he shouldn't give you too much trouble either. Roger is a Brawler, so he can block your attacks with the shield on his forearm, soaks up a lot of damage, and deals a lot of damage with his shotgun and general punching. Deal with the scrubs around Roger first and then dodge around to avoid his attacks. Stunning him is a great way to get some free hits in, but watch out for when he's blocking.
Toby and Vincent Sheen
Where do you fight Toby and Vincent Sheen in Vampyr?: You'll run into Toby and Vincent after talking to Dorothy Crane in Whitechapel at the end of the mission Blackmail in Whitechapel — as you leave the district to go back to the hospital, there they are.
How to fight Toby and Vincent Sheen in Vampyr: Luckily you already know how to deal with these lads: Toby is a Priwen Guard Executioner and Vincent is a Priwen Guard Brawler, and you've fought regular versions of these already. The Sheen brothers are just a bit tougher, that's all. Take out Toby first, because he's squishier and will stay at the back firing at you from distance. Kill him and you only have to avoid Vincent swinging wildly and firing his shotgun where you were three seconds ago instead of where you are now, which isn't so hard.
Reverend Kane
Where do you fight Reverend Kane in Vampyr?: This bad boy hangs out around Whitechapel too (because why wouldn't he), on the Whitechapel Old Road.
How to fight Reverend Kane in Vampyr: Kane is the first Priwen Chaplain you meet, which is to say he has a big cross on a stick and will shout about God at you. While hitting you with the cross is very annoying, Kane has a secondary ability whereby he can use it to shine holy light at you, draining your stamina if you're caught in it. Kill the other Priwen Guard with Kane first, and then keep moving to stay behind him as much as possible. Kane is resistant to your vampiric abilities, so if you have a shotgun I can confirm that is highly effective. Otherwise it's an unfortunate case of dodging in and out and landing hits where you can until he falls over and doesn't get up again.
Jimmy 'The Spark' Barlow'
Where do you fight Jimmy 'The Spark' Barlow in Vampyr?: Alright so you've gotta go to see Sean Hampton as part of the story mission The Sad Saint of the East End. But what's this? A big fella with a flamethrower is blocking your way through a warehouse at the docks?
How to fight Jimmy 'The Spark' Barlow' in Vampyr: Jimmy himself isn't too bad, but he's accompanied by two other Priwen Guard members and when you kill them two more will drop down, so ignore your instinct to take them out first and concentrate on J-Dawg. It's easy enough to avoid his flamethrower, because he doesn't swing it around too much, but he's got ranged defense so taking him out with a gun is a tough option. Get in behind him and smash him with your strongest melee weapon, and spam any Shadow or Blood attack abilities you have — you can use his two accomplices as blood bags. If you're low on blood before the fight then swing around to the right side of the warehouse before you enter, 'cos there are a bunch of rats there that you can use to top up.
Fergal
Where do you fight Fergal in Vampyr?: In chapter three Sean Hampton sends you into the sewers under the docks to prove he's not a murderer. Here you'll find Fergal (although it's not the first time you've met him, as he does turn up to yell mysterious things at you in Whitechapel, like every other vampire in the game does).
How to fight Fergal in Vampyr: Fergal is a bruiser. He's resistant to melee and shadow damage, and these are also his preferred methods of attack i.e. he will hit you very hard and can spawn multiple shadow clones of himself to also hit you very hard. You'll know when he's summoning them because he'll raise both arms to the sky; whenever you hear a *poff!* noise behind you, dodge to the side or forwards to avoid the shadow clone attacks. He'll summon more of these clones in the later stages of the fight.
Fergal also stomps for area attacks that damage you and knock you back, and in the second and third phases of the fight he'll sometimes jump up and crash back down somewhere else in the area. It's easy to avoid where he'll drop during these attacks, as the ground is marked by light and falling debris before Fergal lands himself.
Because of all these factors (and that he can grab you to feed and regenerate some health), it's best to keep at a sort of mid-distance from Fergal, darting in and out to deal damage but without draining all your stamina. Beating Fergal, like many fights in Vampyr, is really about patience.
Mary
Where do you fight Mary in Vampyr?: At the end of chapter three, in the mission Burying the Past, you'll chase a vampire to the cemetery where your sister was buried. That vampire is, dun dun dun…
How to fight Mary in Vampyr: Yes, it turns out you accidentally sired your sister. Mary has been stalking you and doing some Bad Murders for the early part of the game (so if you killed Dorothy Crane, for example, she will yell at you about Dorothy Crane). Mary is highly resistant to blood damage, so if you have any shadow attacks then now's the time to bust them out. Mary's weapon of choice is the cross that marked her grave because she and this game are extremely extra, and she'll swing it at you to great effect. The best time to get a melee attack in on Mary is when she pauses after one of these swings.
Mary will also sometimes pause to vomit on the ground. Don't be tricked into using this opportunity to attack, as what she's actually doing is causing huge rose bushes of blood to grow, which will explode and deal a lot of damage to you if you're standing near them. Keep your distance and be ready to dodge.
Halfway through the fight Mary will drink the blood of the priest in the graveyard and regenerate a big chunk of her health.You can stop this happening by killing him yourself, but this will break your no fatalities run if you're going for a vegetarian vampire playthrough. Under no circumstances should you bite Mary yourself, because this just heals her too.
Priscilla and Roger McPherson
Where do you fight Priscilla and Roger McPherson in Vampyr?: In chapter four the hoity-toity Ekon vampires in the West End need you to figure out how their district got infected. The McPhersons live near the park and have a few Skals lurking around outside.
How to fight Priscilla and Roger McPherson in Vampyr?: Priscilla is a Blinker Skal with melee and blood damage resistance, and Roger is a Ferocious Skal with melee and ranged resistance. Honestly, you should really break a sweat with these two. The only real advice is to take them out one at a time to make the fight easier for yourself.
Eliza Mullaney
Where do you fight Eliza Mullaney in Vampyr?: Eliza Mullaney is the other source of infection in the West End. She lives on a side street and there are some Guard of Priwen (including a Chaplain) knocking on doors on her street.
How to fight Eliza Mullaney in Vampyr: Eliza, much like the McPhersons, is an easy enough fight. She's a Dazzled Skal with a side helping of plague, so she throws up and screams at you, and is resistant to supernatural attacks. She's even easier than the McPhersons, really.
Doris Fletcher
Where do you fight Doris Fletcher in Vampyr?: Doris turns out to be the main source of the plague in the West End. You must fight her in her theatre, in the mission Grand Guignol.
How to fight Doris Fletcher in Vampyr: Doris can be a tough fight if you get cocky. In her first phase she attacks you with her sword, and will call down other Skals to run at you; these Skals are actually really useful, as they stun with one hit and can then be used to top up your blood and regen health.
In her second phase Doris reveals the plague has given her a mutated tentacle arm, which she can use for extremely long range and 360 degree sweeping attacks. She will continue to call down Skals, but they'll arrive in groups of three. Doris is also capable of projectile vomiting to impressive ranges, Exorcist style. Use the tactics you've built up with other boss fights, i.e. patience and a lot of dodging, and you should get through this one fine.
Leon Augustin
Where do you fight Leon Augustin in Vampyr?: After you've taken out Doris Fletcher, the Ascalon Club will ask you to turn Aloysius Dawson (a gross old capitalist afraid of dying) into a vampire. To get to his house, you have to enter some sewer tunnels in the West End. In these tunnels you come across Leon.
How to fight Leon Augustin in Vampyr: Fighting Leon is essentially the same as fighting Fergal in the docks sewers, but slower because there's less room to move and pillars in the way. If you survived Fergal you'll survive Leon: you've got the shadow clones, you've got the punches. All Fergal's greatest hits, hyuk hyuk.
Geoffrey McCullum
Where do you fight Geoffrey McCullum in Vampyr?: In the mission And By Your Sword You Die, you must return to Pembroke Hospital. There you discover that Dr. Swansea has been kidnapped by the Guard of Priwen. Following the trail leads you to a lift on the top floor of the hospital that then takes you back down to a secret, anti-vampire chamber Swansea had made as a precaution.
How to fight Geoffrey McCullum in Vampyr: This fight can be tough. McCullum uses spotlights that recreate the effect of the sun, and you have to avoid them. Not even 'I'll just stand in them real quick to get some hits in.' They'll kill you very quickly if you haven't upgraded your health bar a lot, and will deal aggravated damage.
In the first phase of the fight McCullum will make an initial attack with his sword, before moving to stand in a single file row of spotlights that cut across the room, making melee attacks hard. McCullum will use his crossbow to fire single shots, but will also shoot several in a row (up to five or six) at times, so keep moving and wait for him to pause to use any ranged abilities you have. If you have a decent gun, like Milton's Shotgun from Milton at the Pembroke, you can knock some chunks of damage off here quite easily — just be sure to switch any mods to add additional damage to humans.
Once you've knocked his health bar down a bit, McCullum will move to attack you with his sword again. Periodically he'll switch the spotlights on again, which will cover larger and larger areas of the floor as the fight continues. It is, however, very easy to lure McCullum out of them where you can attack him safely. Once you've worked out his patterns, McCullum ain't so tough.
This fight will be much easier if you can use your blood powers, so it's a good idea to stock up on blood vials before you start the fight, since otherwise your only source of blood in the fight is McCullum himself, and like all enemies he gets progressively harder to stun.
Disaster Harriet
Where do you fight Disaster Harriet in Vampyr?: In the sewers below the docks, where the Skals lived.
How to fight the Disaster Harriet in Vampyr: She's a gimme. She'll die suspiciously easily because the real boss is actually…
The Red Queen's Avatar, the final boss
Where do you fight the Red Queen's Avatar in Vampyr?: Immediately after Harriet has died. The floor becomes covered in ankle deep blood and you have to splash about fighting a very tall blood lady.
How to fight the Red Queen's Avatar in Vampyr: The Red Queen is resistant to shadow and blood damage, and will use abilities like Shadow Mist and Blood Spear against you, so keep an eye out. When you retreat to range she'll eventually charge at you, and will periodically summon smaller version of herself from the blood around you. These will attack you, but will disappear quite quickly, and you can stun them in one hit for a top up of blood (because, despite the fact you're standing in a pool of it, you don't get to just lap that up, apparently).
Once you've worn her health down to half she'll be like, 'This isn't going as well as I'd planned, I need to bring some sickles to this blood party,' and will then, in fact, start attacking you with a pair of large sickles.The less health she has, the more often she'll use her special attacks.
Get in an ultimate attack at the top of the fight and wait for it to recharge, and keep moving. If you've leveled Shadow Mist down the path that channels blood to you, it'll be really useful in this fight to keep your blood levels up and give you continual access to Autophagy. The Red Queen can't be stunned, so you're looking to do damage only. Choose a weapon that does a lot of it and move in and out, getting in a couple of hits where you can. She's a tough old Queen, but you'll defeat her in the end.
