Couples of theories 1. Maybe Katakans consider themselves to be higher because of their intelligence, rather than go off of the Witcher classification 2. He may see himself as superior to other vampires because of his goals. He's a religious zealot serial killer, so might think he's "higher" in the sense of he's serving a noble cause 3. He's just lying to try to intimidate Geralt before he fights him.
well, he is a Katakan when he goes into the feral form, and acts like a Katakan, and also gets killed once and for all like a lil' bi**h. So he is not a ture Higher Vampire. But remember, particularly old lesser vampires (and we know him to be very old) are very smart and can go undistinguished from regular people (look at Orianna, being a Bruxa and whatnot), and we know that Katakans are among the smart races of lesser vampires, that are a minority (basically just Bruxae and Katakans can pull this off easily, Alps and Neukrats can do this with a lot more difficulty, and moolas, fleders, garkhains etc. can't do it at all). So for me, it's the 1. Maybe they see themselves as Higher Vampires because they are smarter than the feral species. On the other hand, it might also be just his delusion, since Orianna never states she is actually a Higher Vampire, unlike Regis. But I think his delusion is not related to the Eternal Fire, he is just a stuck-up prick
Spoilers for one of the endings In one of the endings dandelion says her voice has healed and she has started singing again, and that in his opinion it sounds even better
well, actually I think her voice was just made a bit deeper, Dandelion comments on how it sounds better, and considering the only flaw I see in her voice is it's a bit too high pitched, it might be a good thing
Technically priscilla is able to recover and get a deeper voice, but I agree, nobody touches our Priscilla and gets away with it, not after listening to wolven storm
I believe that the Coroner is like you said a higher grade of vampire. Not truly a higher vampire like Regis but higher than the average katakan or ekimara you find in caves and obviously powerful enough to have a human form and blend in civilization. Oriana is the same way. She’s likely not a true higher vampire, just a “higher” Bruxa.
Haley Lamm I completely agree. Plus, while in Toussaint, the Alps are able to disguise themselves as fair maidens before assuming their true form. Who's to say that this Katakan isn't doing the same thing, only to a greater degree? He is able to assume a position in human society and even speak. The latter being a trait that the Bruce's and Alps in Blood and Eine can't use.
@@Matt-vr7lg You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
We only have the coroner's word he is a higher vampire. Given the relevant power levels of a higher vampire and the difficulties faced in killing them this could have been an attempt to intimidate Geralt before the fight?
a lot of lesser vampires can assume human form, like Alps, Moolas, Bruxas, Katakan (precisely) and some very old Nosferats/Neukrats. You maybe are confusing them with the very similar Ekimmaras, which are purely feral
During the Contract "The Oxenfurt Drunk", Geralt hunts down a different Katakan after he's given the contract from a Redanian Officer. After he kills the katakan, Geralt tells the officer that the Katakan was a higher vampire. I just played the quest, Geralt says it with his own words.
Hubert.... hubris..... I'm sure a lot of vampires claim that they are higher vampires, having never met a true higher vampire. I have a feeling most don't even know the elder vampire exists.
@@WitcherGeorge You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
@@oshura2506 overthinking isn't coming to a basic conclusion. The game changed the definition of higher vampire with blood and wine, it's pretty simple to understand.
He claimed he is a higher vampire due to his greater capabilities in social skills and with his higher intelligence. Most importantly, he has a greater self awareness compared to the lesser vampires. That is exactly why. Regis species name is a mystery and even probably non - existent, as it has been well known that these kinds of higher vampires are extremely secretive and rarely show their true capabilities to the world. Hence, humans didn't come up with a name for them and just classify them with their lesser kind.
Regis species is higher vampire, even though there may be variations within the species and the species is secretive, Regis is still a higher vampire. A vampire wouldn't claim to be of a species unless they belonged to it (or wanted to scare their opponent) he may consider himself as a higher grade of vampire, as stated in the video and if he does consider himself a higher vampire (despite appearing as a katakan) that would make him delusional or perhaps in cdprojektred lore higher vampires can transform into their lower species forms.
@@kristopherdickson6606 Nope, these is how Witcher classify sentient Vampires, they all lump them up in one category of intelligence not in terms of potency. I doubt no regular witcher would survive a confrontation of a vampire like Detlaff or an wandering Unseen Elder.
@@Tonius126 I doubt most Witchers would survive a confrontation against a Katakan, we only know of Geralt and Eskel managed to, but Katakans are no joke.
I always loved "Oxenfurt Drunk" was one of the first contracts i did on my first playthru, about 15 levels below suggested, and actually just barely killed gael. Will never forget it lol
@@Tonius126 You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
I do believe he Is a Higher Vampire, there's a lot of información that indicate so, I think his apearence is due just because CD Projekt havent designed the higher vampire apearence for the base game so they gave him a look that they already had. And the same goes for Orianna at the time the trailer was released the expansion wasnt ready so they gave her a look which would make sense in the base game,but its stated that she is a Higher Vampire too
Just a thought didn’t Regis say each higher vampire is exceptionally unique and dettlaff has that beast form so maybe this higher vampires unique ability is to take a katakan form.
Dank Memes don’t higher vampires need to be killed by another higher vampire?
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this guy is not even a higher vampire, his head is so far up his ass he's boasting and self proclaiming. Higher vampires are in a whole other plain of existence compared to these regular ones, and they don't even need to brag about it. For one, they look completely different than every lesser vampire (katakan, fleder, bruxa etc..). They can't be killed by no man or even witcher, only another higher vampire can do so but it is forbidden . Third, had geralt been engaging one alone he would have been killed. Remember how dettlaf nearly killed geralt had it not been for regis' interference.
Yes one of the best side quests. He fooled me got me thinking the whole time Nathanael was the murderer till I watched this video. Now it's time to go back n do the quest again
There are higher vampires. and among higher vampires there superior and inferior ones. The superior ones are the best ones which are truly immortal and can only be killed by other vampires. Inferior ones like bruxas are still extremely powerful and intelligent but can be killed by other creatures like a human witcher.
Or, you know, seeing as Regis does say that every higher vampire is unique in some way, and the fact that Regis' and Dettlaff's vampire forms being so very different from one another being the manifestation of that little chestnut, it could simply be that the Coroner and Oriana are higher vampires that just so happen to resemble their lower brethren whenever in combat. Hell, maybe neither is truly dead whenever Geralt 'kills' them, and they merely enter the run-of-the-mill higher vampire psuedo-death state as you said in the video. Or I could just be stupid. Either works.
I think I just see it as there being 3 grades of vampires in the game lore. Lesser. Higher. High. This really helps with all the slight changes to vamp lore in the game.
Been thinking about this allot lately. Take out the whole "greater vampires can only kill greater vampires" and replace it with "vampires must be killed with a specific quality silver" and we still get Regis's Resurrection and the ability to kill Orianna (who was obviously intended to be higher), they only rolled back her status so theres a point to go after her. Regis can still do the killing blow on Dettlaff with Garelts sword over the matter of morality. They retconned it for Regis's resurrection and it messed up everything else like a chain.
I was scared as hell when this dude claimed to be a higher vampire. I was like what the hell, this early in the game ?!?!? I thought maybe this was a fight you couldn't win and someone or event would come to save you through plot armor. The second I saw the giant man bar form I was relieved. I think my heart would have dropped if he stayed in a humanoid form.
Yeah I was confused cuz I saw the text in the loading screen that said higher vampires are so strong that even Witchers rarely take contracts on them, but this guy wasn’t all that tough even at death march difficulty. Also it makes no sense that he’s a higher vampire of the same class as Regis or Detlaff because you actually kill him, and higher vampires can only be killed by another higher vampire
@@dathunderman4 You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
"In flagrante delicto or sometimes simply in flagrante is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence. The colloquial "caught red-handed" and "caught rapid" are English equivalents. The phrase combines the present active participle flagrāns with the noun dēlictum." Incase you didn't know what that meant like me lol, never heard that phrase before.
Regis did explicitly state that each vampire has a unique talent that makes them difficult to classify. Regis and Dettlaff can turn into bat-like creatures, it's possible than Orianna is able to take the form of a Bruxa, and Hubert is able to take the form of a Katakan
I always considered higher vampires to have two different yet similar subgroups. 1.) Higher Vampires: such as bruxa, apls, and etc. Can be killed by mortals and have the ability to appear human along with having abstract/logical thought at or beyond a human. 2.) True Higher vampires: Regis, Dettlaff, unseen elder (really beyond this level). Can not be killed by mortals while sharing the same ability of abstract/logical thought. Higher vampire could really be man's way of generalizing a group of intelligent vampires that are able to appear human and is used due to the difficulty of classifying them individually. It would make sense as how many people in the witcher lore have been able to study vampires to a great extent? First hand short encounyers are all they are able to go off of if I recall correctly.
Witcher George! Unrelated to this video but I just realized that to undergo the trial of the grasses you need a manticore poison gland. Since they are basically extinct it would be almost impossible to make new witcher's😭
At least in the shown clips he never said he was "a higher vampire". He said he was a vampire, before clarifying: "vampire - higher obviously." I think that's essential because I think he meant it as an adjective. That is to say he was saying that he was higher than lessers. Almost like he was saying that he was a "higher katakan".
I like to think Hubert & Oriana are higher vampires that have gained the ability to shape-shift into bruxa or katakan etc. Maybe they do so to gain an edge in battle or as a scare tactic. As a normal thug would be more scared of a big katakan than an average human looking vampire.
@@franciosdeaeruiu7555 oh shit, you think it might be the same thing as the creep you track to the brothel? That he isn't the real criminal, but a scapegoat.
Regis and Dettlaff are higher vampires right? When they fight they turn into other creatures too (no idea what they're called) including that flying beast (Dettlaff's final form). We don't know much about higher vampires other than their ability to look exactly like humans and being extremely strong and theoretically slayable only at the hands of their own species or through undiscovered means, what if these higher vampires have many forms they can turn into including Katakans and Bruxaes?
Not sure... maybe Geralt knew he wasn't a higher vampire. I don't know. It's just something that came to me while I was watching the video. The guy does seem very full of himself.
As I understand higher vampires from the books, they can only be “killed” by another higher vampire, but killing one leaves the vampire incapacitated until it heals enough. Regis was killed in the books and was “dead” for about 50 years until he healed enough to be able to roam among the living. Likewise, if Detlaff didn’t act to restore Regis the second time he died, he would have stayed in that “dead” state as he was too decimated to regenerate.
Isn't it more likely that there are different opinions of what a higher vampire is? I mean he and his peers would consider themselves as higher vampires, but Dettlaff and Regis would consider them a lower tier. Just as humans consider themselves a superior species, while the highest tier vampires see humans as bothersome cattle.
I just think cdpr kinda forgot they even made this a thing because with b&w they should've updated his player model to match at least the first transformation for higher vampires the one with claws but no wings
I know I'm a bit late to the discussion but I remember seeing a while ago a developer who worked on the witcher stating that the coroner is supposed to be a higher vampire. But that they merely didn't feel like it was worth devoting the time and resources to giving him a unique model like the did for Regis or Dettlaff. Not really sure how true this is but it does seem fairly likely for a development standpoint given that it's not only a side-quest but also one that you can fail rather easily if you're not careful.
Good of you to keep it simple. I tend to write these things off to the Fog of Lore. I find it all those theories with their tortured logic, trying to justify every word in a game or book, a lot more jarring then just accepting it as a mistake or lie.
In the book baptism of fire chapter four, it is stated by regis himself that Katakan's are considered "higher vampires" Sidenote I haven't finished the books yet so I don't know if the law changes later, so sorry if I've made a mistake.
Ah after reading it more carefully I see your confusion. Regis was discussing which vampires tear their victims to peices, he states that higher vampires never do then goes on to say that alps katakans, mulas, bruxas and nosferats victims are also not torn to pieces as well. He does not say they are higher vampires and in fact this shows that regis does not consider them higher vampires as well.
WitcherGeorge and like some ancient lessers can become a higher ones, but cannot become a true higher vamp’. And an ancient True Higher Vamps’ can ascend to the Unseen Elder state.
We already discussed this in the comment under the vampire lore video. Their our conclusion was, that higher vampires all have different fighting forms. Like the lady in the trailer for blood and wine.
Just something interesting...the katakan you fight in the contract "The Oxenfurt Drunk" also appears to be able to take on a human form, seemingly disguising himself as a citizen shouting at Geralt for his obscene singing before appearing in his vampiric form to attack him. I just have it in my head that katakans, as they age, grow in power and intellect, being able to successfully guise themselves as humans, likely through some illusionary power or alchemy, learn human speech, and integrate into society as to have easier access to their prey.
Jeez, getting formaldehyde poured down your throat...I can't imagine a worse kind of punishment as a singer. I was so sad when that happened to Priscilla. You could possibly heal enough to sing again, but I don't think your voice would ever be the same.
The world of the Witcher compendium answers this if you have access to it, it states that ‘many experts include alps, mulas, katakans, bruxae and nekurats’ in the higher vampires group because of their powerful abilities but that ‘genuine higher vampires are a separate, extremely powerful breed’
Maybe higher vampires have all or most of the vampire transformations at their disposal. Bram Stoker's Dracula could turn into more animals than just a bat.
My take: Hubert is an old katakan. They get smarter as they age. See; Oxenfurt Drunk, which spoke but was impulsive and careless. Bruxae seem to be as smart as people by default. Key things about Katakans; they need blood, it is not optional for them, they use illusions primarily; it is possible that Hubert can’t actually shapeshift but instead uses them. We also often find advanced alchemy ingredients on Katakans, they likely are using them
If you go to the Witcher 3 wiki and onto the Katakan page- the human form picture is quite literally the coroner. This confirms the coroner to indeed by a Katakan.
Aside from obviously being a technical and lore mistakes on part of CDPR, in my headcanon,all not so high higher vampires are actually hybrids of higher and lower vampires. We know interracial ofspring in Witcher is completly normal, like for example Saskia being half golden dragon, which made her unable o polimorf to more than one form, unlike her father. Maybe mixed vampires inherited higher inteligence and human form from their higher parent, but their transformed state and overal power is of the lesser one.
Me, during the very first conversation with the coroner on my first playthrough, without any prior knowledge: "Oh, this dude is *definitely* a vampire." Coroner: "You haven't guessed everything about me, or you would have drawn your silver sword" Also, as far as the lower/higher vampire thing, I think it's a sliding scale, and where exactly the line falls is blurry. I mean, in W1, there's a gravier who's a mutant and can talk. So it could be that towards the middle, they would go either way
My friend said something I thought was interesting, he said that the coroner being a higher vampire isn't incorrect. Rather that it only pushes the fact that the world knows little about the vampires society. Evidence of this is heavy in blood and wine, the one thing that stands out is when the unseen elder is talked about. That's when it hit me, higher vampires aren't a type of species.....but a moniker for vampires of a specific age and intelligence. So most katakan seem to be lesser vampires, because most can't determine the existence of a higher vampire even when face to face.
Think of it this way: Lesser vampires like Ekimmaras are in their true form, feral if you understand. Then you got the Katakan, who can not only have intelligence, but a human form. So, from that logic, you can consider the Coroner and the one sleeping in a grave to be "higher" or at least a lesser version of higher, since they contain intelligence and human forms. Hope this helps.
Perhaps a Higher Vampire has the power to choose what creature it wishes to manifest as, thus it can either fight in its current form, or transform into a different form that will best counter his enemy / suit his current environment and what not (See Detlaff and the forms he chose to fight in).
I think the katakan confusion is less complicated than we make out. I like to think he is an acc higher vampire and cdpr just didnt want to make a new vampire model for a already large side quest but fucked themselves up with the rule of higher vampires only being killable by their kin
Its possible there was just some confusion during development Or they took liberties at times because they already had a katakan model and combat mechanics
One fact that i noticed nobody metioning and it was left out of the video is that Hubert is still alive and is still leaving notes around Novigrad signed as - Concerned Citizen, meaning he regenerated after Geralt killed him. I tried going back to the morgue and looking for him but couldnt. I usually find notes around the marketplace and on my way to the blacksmith in Novigrad, no matter how many times i pick them up they reappear. As far as the katakan transformation goes, In the DLC Regis says each higher vampire has a unique skill or talent. Maybe some can transform into the form of a lower vampire to give them an advatage during a fight such as a Bruxa or a Katakan, or maybe it could have something to do with the vampire clan they belong to, possesing different unique abbilities?
When i got to this quest i assumed he is "Regis or Detlaff class" high vampire and he changed to Katakan form just to fight. Regis also changes in combat (more subtly). Same with Oriana. Pure human form is just not good enough to fight a Witcher. And in the end, both Oriana and Coroner can be probably resurected by other vampire like Regis was.
@@WitcherGeorge I agree. They probably made the whole high /higher vampire hiearchy too complicated. But in the end it was one of my most favourite quest, and vampires in witcher world are interesting.
You could very much assume that higher vampires are seen as almost dirties to the other vampires. The lesser vampires, the ones that don't talk or think, are on the other side if the scale and seen as animals at best, but still kin. Given that, you could imagine that these passable vampires, those with their own thoughts and feeling, fetishes, wants and needs, preference, etc, look at the higher vampires as what they wish they were, or could be, maybe. So when a Katakan or Bruxa lives for quite a while (they seemingly don't die from old age at least?) they do get stronger, and they develop a bit of an ego. They start to believe they are or are becoming a higher vampire. "Higher, of course" makes a lot of sense under this context, and I really wonder why they didn't go with this as a plot point. Have Geralt call him out while fighting, or after killing him. It would have been more interesting to me if they introduced it as more of a cast system by birth, where you're lower and can rise up, but overcoming your "defects" was going to take you 100s of years. He's certainly more than the others we've seen until now, and the Bruxa are too. There is clearly something else about them, and it could just be age, but it would be interesting to know if they can elevate their status or not. All that being said I've always wondered how the Vampires work. Are they all from the same world? If so do they just all share traits similar to how humans do? But you could imagine their society diverging and shunning lesser and lesser vampires creating very very distinct "races." I wonder what their world would be like with all of those creatures. What do they all feed on? It's clearly better back home, but why? Is their food docile, controllable? Why are they all such incredible hunters seemingly adapted to hunting much stronger prey than humans, but they struggle here? There must be some huge differences somewhere. Or are all Vampires completely different species, similar to humans vs chimps vs tigers. They're all related but only in the sense that this is how predators develop on their world. That still leaves so many questions about their prey, or what they all feed on back home. And why seemingly none of the prey came over too.
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Cool video! Thanks George! But now, let's all admit that in the first gameplay we thought that Nathaniel was the killer. Hahaha
also a thing I find interesting about this guy is that at least regis wrote in his thought diary that vampires dont apparently have gods. this guy follows the eternal fire and its really what lead him to kill in the first place. which is interesting since if they dont have gods, what kind of mental gymnastics or events drive vampire into religion, to an extend where they seek to destroy those their faith considers to be degenerates.
Well, seemingly age determines everything in vampire society so its possible that Hubert was just a really old Katakan and Orianna was just a really old Bruxa. Old enough so they can call themselves higher rank.
Its weird because i just did a Katakan contract that i somehow missed on my last few plays and when turning it in Geralt calls it a “higher vampire”. So its either a error on CDPR or maybe a “higher vampire” is any vampire with a certain level of intelligence and the higher vampires we know by definition like Regis and Detlaff are a completely different breed.
Great vid man. Please tell me your working on making that Falka lore video. Id still love to see it. I read some of her lore and i think its really interesting. I might be mistaken but i think there was something about her in the second game.
You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
During the Contract "The Oxenfurt Drunk", Geralt hunts down a different katakan after he's given the contract from a Redanian Officer. After he kills the katakan, Geralt tells the officer that the katakan was a higher vampire. I just played the quest, Geralt says it with his own words.
Maybe they operate a bit like the Nekomata? This cat yokai (or demon) of Japanese lore STARTS as a normal cat, but the older they get, the smarter and more powerful. Eventually, they get old enough to gain new powers, such as transformation. Maybe all the higher vamps started as lesser vamps like katakans, ekimara, and bruxa, and as they got older they gained intelligence, the ability to take human form, and finally neigh invincibility in the form of only being able to be killed by the bite of an equally powerful vampire? Therefore, Regis and Detlaff are old enough to be only killed by the bite of a vampire, but the coroner isn't quuuuuuuite there. Give him another 100 yrs, and he'd gain that too.
Higher Vampires have the ability to shapeshift into vampiric creatures. Dettlaf turned into two already during his last battle. Same as werewolves. There are werewolves which have a permanently and monstrous disposition and sentient werewolves which can turn back to human form.
For me Hubert is a higher vampire that maybe can take the form of a katakan. After all we've only see just a few true higher vampire, it's hard to tell what are all the power they can have. Also he don't make the witcher medallion thrill, but neither the bruxa in the hill at the beginning of Blood And Wine, and also an other one i don't remember where, so it doesn't mean much. I believe we didn't kill him. I kept finding his propaganda after "killing" him, at first i thought that i had not yet went through that street, so i would not have found them. Then life keeps going on, i did the blood and wine expension, and for whatever reason came back to Novigrad, and i kept finding the flyers. In streets i was SURE i already been on! Like main street, not some dark weird alley... It clicked in my head, "he is not dead. Because he is a higher vampire, we didn't kill him. He is just resting somewhere under Novigrad." Or my game file is bugged. Did this happened to someone else?
I remember i saw a video about elder scrolls lore that is related somehow to this.Basically what npcs like guards and peasants and other minor characters say is not cannon just their point of view about the world.So just because a peasant in the game states something that doesn't mean its true.The video i saw explains it better but i cant remember where i saw it.So mabe this vampire says he is a higher vampire but he is lying or he is ignorant.Either way his statement does not contradict what cannon lore higher vampire is.
Maybe, but that may only specifically work for elder scrolls lore, this characters actions have affected the world and major characters around him (for example Dandelion, Geralt and of course Priscilla)
Or he's a higher Vampire that takes a form resembling a Katakan for the fight. Dettlaff takes the form of a spooky fleshy boi in the final fight, so their shapeshifting abilities are pretty well established. Him simply being a higher vampire that takes a form the game devs had a model done for already is the most occamsy razory explanation. The only issue with this explanation is that we know you cannot kill off Higher Vampires without the help of another. So, if the Coroner returns, then we'll have an answer.
The interesting part is that Higher vampires can choose every form they want. Who knows if we truly killed the coroner? Or Orianna? We dont know that. The form a higher vampire chooses can differ, because the true form they have is so much more.
Vamps.... very cool! Still if he dies by normal means he ain't higher. We can clearly see the tromendous potential a Higher Vampire has in Blood and wine. That dude is not even half as strong and fast as Regis if you ask me. Edit: Yea it might be the fact that he's not dumb. Witch is why Ori and the Coroner are "Higher" yet can still be killed by a non-vampire creature.
Perhaps a higher vampire is simply a vampire that has gone through a series of metamorphosis, much like how detlaf becomes a massive batlike creature during the fight. Perhaps the only reason it requires a higher vampire to kill one another is because their cells have an immune response to other vampires bodies and their living cells so to speak prevent another vampire from regeneration permanently. But who really knows.
![F.HERO Ft. JSPKK x ลำไย ไหทองคำ x M-PEE - ไม่สนิทบิดหมด (Thai Riders Anthem) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kPJZ0UihBfk/mqdefault.jpg)
Couples of theories
1. Maybe Katakans consider themselves to be higher because of their intelligence, rather than go off of the Witcher classification
2. He may see himself as superior to other vampires because of his goals. He's a religious zealot serial killer, so might think he's "higher" in the sense of he's serving a noble cause
3. He's just lying to try to intimidate Geralt before he fights him.
I think number 2 is most likely, he is completely delusional after all
well, he is a Katakan when he goes into the feral form, and acts like a Katakan, and also gets killed once and for all like a lil' bi**h. So he is not a ture Higher Vampire. But remember, particularly old lesser vampires (and we know him to be very old) are very smart and can go undistinguished from regular people (look at Orianna, being a Bruxa and whatnot), and we know that Katakans are among the smart races of lesser vampires, that are a minority (basically just Bruxae and Katakans can pull this off easily, Alps and Neukrats can do this with a lot more difficulty, and moolas, fleders, garkhains etc. can't do it at all). So for me, it's the 1. Maybe they see themselves as Higher Vampires because they are smarter than the feral species. On the other hand, it might also be just his delusion, since Orianna never states she is actually a Higher Vampire, unlike Regis. But I think his delusion is not related to the Eternal Fire, he is just a stuck-up prick
3rd one would make sense i reckon
Good ideas!
4. CDPR didn't have to time/resources to make an entirely new model for every off-story higher-vampire
I'll bet the elder vampire could explain all of this. Somebody other than me should ask him a bunch of questions and report back. We believe in you.
Victor E “he came back...well at least his bloody notes did...and a few other bits.”
They say his best mate is still holding his beer to this day...
This is a job for Witcher George.
I will bring an offering of a bag of doritos.
And they were never seen again...
I hate him for ruining Pricillas voice
Poor pricilla
I get you Bruh! FOR Priscilla that Thing will ALWAYS die in EVERY Playthrough except my First one!
Spoilers for one of the endings
In one of the endings dandelion says her voice has healed and she has started singing again, and that in his opinion it sounds even better
well, actually I think her voice was just made a bit deeper, Dandelion comments on how it sounds better, and considering the only flaw I see in her voice is it's a bit too high pitched, it might be a good thing
Technically priscilla is able to recover and get a deeper voice, but I agree, nobody touches our Priscilla and gets away with it, not after listening to wolven storm
I believe that the Coroner is like you said a higher grade of vampire. Not truly a higher vampire like Regis but higher than the average katakan or ekimara you find in caves and obviously powerful enough to have a human form and blend in civilization. Oriana is the same way. She’s likely not a true higher vampire, just a “higher” Bruxa.
Haley Lamm I completely agree. Plus, while in Toussaint, the Alps are able to disguise themselves as fair maidens before assuming their true form. Who's to say that this Katakan isn't doing the same thing, only to a greater degree? He is able to assume a position in human society and even speak. The latter being a trait that the Bruce's and Alps in Blood and Eine can't use.
@@Matt-vr7lg You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
yess!! i love this theory abt orianna. she’s no ordinary bruxa
We only have the coroner's word he is a higher vampire. Given the relevant power levels of a higher vampire and the difficulties faced in killing them this could have been an attempt to intimidate Geralt before the fight?
Wouldn't that mean that old katakans can assume human form? I didn't think they were supposed to be able to do that
a lot of lesser vampires can assume human form, like Alps, Moolas, Bruxas, Katakan (precisely) and some very old Nosferats/Neukrats. You maybe are confusing them with the very similar Ekimmaras, which are purely feral
Poissibly, but I don't know, as Geralt doesn't seem surprised when he turns into a katakan
I think he’s just a katakan with delusions of grandeur.
During the Contract "The Oxenfurt Drunk", Geralt hunts down a different Katakan after he's given the contract from a Redanian Officer. After he kills the katakan, Geralt tells the officer that the Katakan was a higher vampire. I just played the quest, Geralt says it with his own words.
Hubert.... hubris..... I'm sure a lot of vampires claim that they are higher vampires, having never met a true higher vampire. I have a feeling most don't even know the elder vampire exists.
That's a nice theory there!
Hubris*
@@WitcherGeorge You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
@@micahben-avraham5635 yeah your definitely the one overthinking things
@@oshura2506 overthinking isn't coming to a basic conclusion. The game changed the definition of higher vampire with blood and wine, it's pretty simple to understand.
He claimed he is a higher vampire due to his greater capabilities in social skills and with his higher intelligence. Most importantly, he has a greater self awareness compared to the lesser vampires. That is exactly why. Regis species name is a mystery and even probably non - existent, as it has been well known that these kinds of higher vampires are extremely secretive and rarely show their true capabilities to the world. Hence, humans didn't come up with a name for them and just classify them with their lesser kind.
Regis species is higher vampire, even though there may be variations within the species and the species is secretive, Regis is still a higher vampire. A vampire wouldn't claim to be of a species unless they belonged to it (or wanted to scare their opponent) he may consider himself as a higher grade of vampire, as stated in the video and if he does consider himself a higher vampire (despite appearing as a katakan) that would make him delusional or perhaps in cdprojektred lore higher vampires can transform into their lower species forms.
Geralt himself considers katakan a higher vampire. In the contract “The Oxenfurt drunk”.
If that's true then CD Projekt Red just done messed up.
@@kristopherdickson6606 Nope, these is how Witcher classify sentient Vampires, they all lump them up in one category of intelligence not in terms of potency. I doubt no regular witcher would survive a confrontation of a vampire like Detlaff or an wandering Unseen Elder.
@@Tonius126 I doubt most Witchers would survive a confrontation against a Katakan, we only know of Geralt and Eskel managed to, but Katakans are no joke.
I always loved "Oxenfurt Drunk" was one of the first contracts i did on my first playthru, about 15 levels below suggested, and actually just barely killed gael. Will never forget it lol
@@Tonius126 You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
I think the Coroner and Orianna are both higher vampires but CDPR didn’t want to make unique models for when you fight them
Most likely
Maybe but there's still the fact that you can kill them without another vampire, so goes for the Novigrad sewers one
I do believe he Is a Higher Vampire, there's a lot of información that indicate so, I think his apearence is due just because CD Projekt havent designed the higher vampire apearence for the base game so they gave him a look that they already had. And the same goes for Orianna at the time the trailer was released the expansion wasnt ready so they gave her a look which would make sense in the base game,but its stated that she is a Higher Vampire too
Beto, the dev stated that Orianna is definitively a Bruxa and not a higher vampire
Nice theory!
Just a thought didn’t Regis say each higher vampire is exceptionally unique and dettlaff has that beast form so maybe this higher vampires unique ability is to take a katakan form.
Dank Memes don’t higher vampires need to be killed by another higher vampire?
this guy is not even a higher vampire, his head is so far up his ass he's boasting and self proclaiming.
Higher vampires are in a whole other plain of existence compared to these regular ones, and they don't even need to brag about it.
For one, they look completely different than every lesser vampire (katakan, fleder, bruxa etc..).
They can't be killed by no man or even witcher, only another higher vampire can do so but it is forbidden .
Third, had geralt been engaging one alone he would have been killed.
Remember how dettlaf nearly killed geralt had it not been for regis' interference.
@ I don't know but even higher vampires have different powers, like dettlaf knocked Regis with one hit
@ yes I don't believe he is
@ I believe it's Just an inconsistency in the classification by cdpr
YOOO THATS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SIDE QUESTS IN THE WITCHER 3
It's great!
Yes one of the best side quests. He fooled me got me thinking the whole time Nathanael was the murderer till I watched this video. Now it's time to go back n do the quest again
Aquiles Q it took me 3 games to get the vampire ending all along I thought it was the Nathan guy
I bet you especially enjoyed viewing the dead body’s goodies. ;)
@@JoshdaKnight wtf
He's a higher vamoire, but CDPR simply had not thought of making higher vampires to look so drastically different.
There are higher vampires. and among higher vampires there superior and inferior ones.
The superior ones are the best ones which are truly immortal and can only be killed by other vampires.
Inferior ones like bruxas are still extremely powerful and intelligent but can be killed by other creatures like a human witcher.
Or, you know, seeing as Regis does say that every higher vampire is unique in some way, and the fact that Regis' and Dettlaff's vampire forms being so very different from one another being the manifestation of that little chestnut, it could simply be that the Coroner and Oriana are higher vampires that just so happen to resemble their lower brethren whenever in combat. Hell, maybe neither is truly dead whenever Geralt 'kills' them, and they merely enter the run-of-the-mill higher vampire psuedo-death state as you said in the video. Or I could just be stupid. Either works.
I love that I have been playing this since it came out and I’m still finding new things
I think I just see it as there being 3 grades of vampires in the game lore.
Lesser.
Higher.
High.
This really helps with all the slight changes to vamp lore in the game.
That it does
I was just playing the other day and in one of the quest, "The Oxenfurt Drunk" Geralt referred Katakan as a Higher Vampire
Been thinking about this allot lately. Take out the whole "greater vampires can only kill greater vampires" and replace it with "vampires must be killed with a specific quality silver" and we still get Regis's Resurrection and the ability to kill Orianna (who was obviously intended to be higher), they only rolled back her status so theres a point to go after her. Regis can still do the killing blow on Dettlaff with Garelts sword over the matter of morality. They retconned it for Regis's resurrection and it messed up everything else like a chain.
By far one of the best quests in this game.
I never even saw him as a vampire when playing the game. I’m on my first play through and during the quest carnal sins I killed the wrong person.
Ah well the more you know
I was scared as hell when this dude claimed to be a higher vampire. I was like what the hell, this early in the game ?!?!? I thought maybe this was a fight you couldn't win and someone or event would come to save you through plot armor. The second I saw the giant man bar form I was relieved. I think my heart would have dropped if he stayed in a humanoid form.
Yeah I was confused cuz I saw the text in the loading screen that said higher vampires are so strong that even Witchers rarely take contracts on them, but this guy wasn’t all that tough even at death march difficulty. Also it makes no sense that he’s a higher vampire of the same class as Regis or Detlaff because you actually kill him, and higher vampires can only be killed by another higher vampire
@@dathunderman4 You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
Stiff atmosphere at the morgue, great ::)
"In flagrante delicto or sometimes simply in flagrante is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence. The colloquial "caught red-handed" and "caught rapid" are English equivalents. The phrase combines the present active participle flagrāns with the noun dēlictum."
Incase you didn't know what that meant like me lol, never heard that phrase before.
Regis did explicitly state that each vampire has a unique talent that makes them difficult to classify. Regis and Dettlaff can turn into bat-like creatures, it's possible than Orianna is able to take the form of a Bruxa, and Hubert is able to take the form of a Katakan
I always considered higher vampires to have two different yet similar subgroups.
1.) Higher Vampires: such as bruxa, apls, and etc. Can be killed by mortals and have the ability to appear human along with having abstract/logical thought at or beyond a human.
2.) True Higher vampires: Regis, Dettlaff, unseen elder (really beyond this level). Can not be killed by mortals while sharing the same ability of abstract/logical thought.
Higher vampire could really be man's way of generalizing a group of intelligent vampires that are able to appear human and is used due to the difficulty of classifying them individually. It would make sense as how many people in the witcher lore have been able to study vampires to a great extent? First hand short encounyers are all they are able to go off of if I recall correctly.
Witcher George! Unrelated to this video but I just realized that to undergo the trial of the grasses you need a manticore poison gland. Since they are basically extinct it would be almost impossible to make new witcher's😭
Good point!
At least in the shown clips he never said he was "a higher vampire".
He said he was a vampire, before clarifying: "vampire - higher obviously."
I think that's essential because I think he meant it as an adjective. That is to say he was saying that he was higher than lessers. Almost like he was saying that he was a "higher katakan".
I like to think Hubert & Oriana are higher vampires that have gained the ability to shape-shift into bruxa or katakan etc. Maybe they do so to gain an edge in battle or as a scare tactic. As a normal thug would be more scared of a big katakan than an average human looking vampire.
Or maybe he was a higher katakan just called himself a higher vampire
@huskersmaster through the years he probably learned to take a humans form and thought he was tough shit... Then the white wolf began his hunt
maybe
I find the case interesting, as I kept finding the concerned citizen's sermons after killing him.
Same. I killed the bugger, whos dropping them now?
@@franciosdeaeruiu7555 oh shit, you think it might be the same thing as the creep you track to the brothel? That he isn't the real criminal, but a scapegoat.
Regis and Dettlaff are higher vampires right? When they fight they turn into other creatures too (no idea what they're called) including that flying beast (Dettlaff's final form). We don't know much about higher vampires other than their ability to look exactly like humans and being extremely strong and theoretically slayable only at the hands of their own species or through undiscovered means, what if these higher vampires have many forms they can turn into including Katakans and Bruxaes?
Yes they are extremely powerful higher vampires
Yes, but it's the fact the coroner looks like a katakan aha
“Stiff atmosphere at the morgue”
Nice
Maybe he just liked to think of himself as a higher vampire. Or wanted make himself sound stronger than he was...
Possibly, but for the second theory Geralt doesn't seem confused with him turning into a katakan!
Not sure... maybe Geralt knew he wasn't a higher vampire. I don't know. It's just something that came to me while I was watching the video. The guy does seem very full of himself.
There's also the Higher Vampire who's asleep under Novigrad, in the sewers, he's also a Katakan, but he's got human form and a very funny dialogue.
As I understand higher vampires from the books, they can only be “killed” by another higher vampire, but killing one leaves the vampire incapacitated until it heals enough. Regis was killed in the books and was “dead” for about 50 years until he healed enough to be able to roam among the living. Likewise, if Detlaff didn’t act to restore Regis the second time he died, he would have stayed in that “dead” state as he was too decimated to regenerate.
Isn't it more likely that there are different opinions of what a higher vampire is?
I mean he and his peers would consider themselves as higher vampires, but Dettlaff and Regis would consider them a lower tier.
Just as humans consider themselves a superior species, while the highest tier vampires see humans as bothersome cattle.
Literally did this quest an hour ago! Thanks for the video! =D
Np man, appreciate the comment!
The second that one Dr. said the Coroner hadn't changed in 30 years I was like "He's a damn vampire!"
I just think cdpr kinda forgot they even made this a thing because with b&w they should've updated his player model to match at least the first transformation for higher vampires the one with claws but no wings
Very Possible!
I honestly think that cd project just made a small mistake. They had to do it eventually with the vastness of stuff in the game
Thank you
The game is too huge for everything to be perfect
I know I'm a bit late to the discussion but I remember seeing a while ago a developer who worked on the witcher stating that the coroner is supposed to be a higher vampire. But that they merely didn't feel like it was worth devoting the time and resources to giving him a unique model like the did for Regis or Dettlaff. Not really sure how true this is but it does seem fairly likely for a development standpoint given that it's not only a side-quest but also one that you can fail rather easily if you're not careful.
Good of you to keep it simple. I tend to write these things off to the Fog of Lore. I find it all those theories with their tortured logic, trying to justify every word in a game or book, a lot more jarring then just accepting it as a mistake or lie.
Np mate!
But what about the (concerned citizen ) letters even after you kill him ?
Does that means that he is not the real killer ?
harith kam Been wondering about that for 3 years. Still no answers.
Honestly, I think its a glitch with the choice
That could mean that he is indeed a higher vampire and regenerated, but it might just be a bug.
Normally the letter only keep appearing if you killed the wrong guy, other then that it must be a glitch
Loved this video I can tell that with practise you are improving massively.
Thanks man!
In the book baptism of fire chapter four, it is stated by regis himself that Katakan's are considered "higher vampires"
Sidenote I haven't finished the books yet so I don't know if the law changes later, so sorry if I've made a mistake.
Lore* lol
I just looked through my digital copy of the books (using ctrl F) and found no mention of what you've said here.
Ah after reading it more carefully I see your confusion. Regis was discussing which vampires tear their victims to peices, he states that higher vampires never do then goes on to say that alps katakans, mulas, bruxas and nosferats victims are also not torn to pieces as well. He does not say they are higher vampires and in fact this shows that regis does not consider them higher vampires as well.
How about we just classify them as:
-Unseen Elders.
-True Higher Vampires.
-Higher Vampires.
-Lesser Vampires.
Good!
WitcherGeorge
and like some ancient lessers can become a higher ones, but cannot become a true higher vamp’.
And an ancient True Higher Vamps’ can ascend to the Unseen Elder state.
Why not
Lesser
Higher
High
Elder
Damn leach played me for a fool. Gonna have to rectify that next time around.
We already discussed this in the comment under the vampire lore video. Their our conclusion was, that higher vampires all have different fighting forms. Like the lady in the trailer for blood and wine.
I'd say it's unlikely just as regis and dettlaff appear to have unique forms, transforming into a lower vampire makes less sense
Reverend Nathaniel is one of my favorite witcher 3 characters.
well then...
Just something interesting...the katakan you fight in the contract "The Oxenfurt Drunk" also appears to be able to take on a human form, seemingly disguising himself as a citizen shouting at Geralt for his obscene singing before appearing in his vampiric form to attack him. I just have it in my head that katakans, as they age, grow in power and intellect, being able to successfully guise themselves as humans, likely through some illusionary power or alchemy, learn human speech, and integrate into society as to have easier access to their prey.
Jeez, getting formaldehyde poured down your throat...I can't imagine a worse kind of punishment as a singer. I was so sad when that happened to Priscilla. You could possibly heal enough to sing again, but I don't think your voice would ever be the same.
The world of the Witcher compendium answers this if you have access to it, it states that ‘many experts include alps, mulas, katakans, bruxae and nekurats’ in the higher vampires group because of their powerful abilities but that ‘genuine higher vampires are a separate, extremely powerful breed’
Coroner might just be a very powerful Catacan also.
I never expect people to watch this vid in 2019 accept me
W. A Same, I’m at this part rn
Maybe higher vampires have all or most of the vampire transformations at their disposal. Bram Stoker's Dracula could turn into more animals than just a bat.
possibly!
My take: Hubert is an old katakan. They get smarter as they age. See; Oxenfurt Drunk, which spoke but was impulsive and careless. Bruxae seem to be as smart as people by default. Key things about Katakans; they need blood, it is not optional for them, they use illusions primarily; it is possible that Hubert can’t actually shapeshift but instead uses them. We also often find advanced alchemy ingredients on Katakans, they likely are using them
You are the best witcher youtuber and i always watch youre videos
Thank you for that man
If you go to the Witcher 3 wiki and onto the Katakan page- the human form picture is quite literally the coroner.
This confirms the coroner to indeed by a Katakan.
Aside from obviously being a technical and lore mistakes on part of CDPR, in my headcanon,all not so high higher vampires are actually hybrids of higher and lower vampires. We know interracial ofspring in Witcher is completly normal, like for example Saskia being half golden dragon, which made her unable o polimorf to more than one form, unlike her father. Maybe mixed vampires inherited higher inteligence and human form from their higher parent, but their transformed state and overal power is of the lesser one.
Me, during the very first conversation with the coroner on my first playthrough, without any prior knowledge: "Oh, this dude is *definitely* a vampire."
Coroner: "You haven't guessed everything about me, or you would have drawn your silver sword"
Also, as far as the lower/higher vampire thing, I think it's a sliding scale, and where exactly the line falls is blurry. I mean, in W1, there's a gravier who's a mutant and can talk. So it could be that towards the middle, they would go either way
When I first caught him in my playthrough I got scared shitless I thought he was gonna go detlaff mode
My friend said something I thought was interesting, he said that the coroner being a higher vampire isn't incorrect. Rather that it only pushes the fact that the world knows little about the vampires society. Evidence of this is heavy in blood and wine, the one thing that stands out is when the unseen elder is talked about. That's when it hit me, higher vampires aren't a type of species.....but a moniker for vampires of a specific age and intelligence. So most katakan seem to be lesser vampires, because most can't determine the existence of a higher vampire even when face to face.
Could you possibly do a video on Jad Karadin and his gang? And/or the bloody Baron Phillip Strenger?
Detlaff is the only higher vampire I acknowledge. Dude literally transformed into a monster from Dead Space/Silent Hill.
finally u did my suggestion ;) u talked about my comment on the orianna video haha
Ah awesome!
Think of it this way: Lesser vampires like Ekimmaras are in their true form, feral if you understand. Then you got the Katakan, who can not only have intelligence, but a human form. So, from that logic, you can consider the Coroner and the one sleeping in a grave to be "higher" or at least a lesser version of higher, since they contain intelligence and human forms. Hope this helps.
Perhaps a Higher Vampire has the power to choose what creature it wishes to manifest as, thus it can either fight in its current form, or transform into a different form that will best counter his enemy / suit his current environment and what not (See Detlaff and the forms he chose to fight in).
I think the katakan confusion is less complicated than we make out. I like to think he is an acc higher vampire and cdpr just didnt want to make a new vampire model for a already large side quest but fucked themselves up with the rule of higher vampires only being killable by their kin
Its possible there was just some confusion during development
Or they took liberties at times because they already had a katakan model and combat mechanics
Battle of sodden hill vid
Good idea!
One fact that i noticed nobody metioning and it was left out of the video is that Hubert is still alive and is still leaving notes around Novigrad signed as - Concerned Citizen, meaning he regenerated after Geralt killed him. I tried going back to the morgue and looking for him but couldnt. I usually find notes around the marketplace and on my way to the blacksmith in Novigrad, no matter how many times i pick them up they reappear.
As far as the katakan transformation goes, In the DLC Regis says each higher vampire has a unique skill or talent. Maybe some can transform into the form of a lower vampire to give them an advatage during a fight such as a Bruxa or a Katakan, or maybe it could have something to do with the vampire clan they belong to, possesing different unique abbilities?
When i got to this quest i assumed he is "Regis or Detlaff class" high vampire and he changed to Katakan form just to fight. Regis also changes in combat (more subtly). Same with Oriana. Pure human form is just not good enough to fight a Witcher. And in the end, both Oriana and Coroner can be probably resurected by other vampire like Regis was.
It's just confusing that he would turn into the form of a less powerful vampire
@@WitcherGeorge I agree. They probably made the whole high /higher vampire hiearchy too complicated. But in the end it was one of my most favourite quest, and vampires in witcher world are interesting.
You could very much assume that higher vampires are seen as almost dirties to the other vampires. The lesser vampires, the ones that don't talk or think, are on the other side if the scale and seen as animals at best, but still kin.
Given that, you could imagine that these passable vampires, those with their own thoughts and feeling, fetishes, wants and needs, preference, etc, look at the higher vampires as what they wish they were, or could be, maybe.
So when a Katakan or Bruxa lives for quite a while (they seemingly don't die from old age at least?) they do get stronger, and they develop a bit of an ego. They start to believe they are or are becoming a higher vampire.
"Higher, of course" makes a lot of sense under this context, and I really wonder why they didn't go with this as a plot point. Have Geralt call him out while fighting, or after killing him.
It would have been more interesting to me if they introduced it as more of a cast system by birth, where you're lower and can rise up, but overcoming your "defects" was going to take you 100s of years.
He's certainly more than the others we've seen until now, and the Bruxa are too. There is clearly something else about them, and it could just be age, but it would be interesting to know if they can elevate their status or not.
All that being said I've always wondered how the Vampires work. Are they all from the same world? If so do they just all share traits similar to how humans do? But you could imagine their society diverging and shunning lesser and lesser vampires creating very very distinct "races." I wonder what their world would be like with all of those creatures. What do they all feed on? It's clearly better back home, but why? Is their food docile, controllable? Why are they all such incredible hunters seemingly adapted to hunting much stronger prey than humans, but they struggle here? There must be some huge differences somewhere. Or are all Vampires completely different species, similar to humans vs chimps vs tigers. They're all related but only in the sense that this is how predators develop on their world. That still leaves so many questions about their prey, or what they all feed on back home. And why seemingly none of the prey came over too.
Cool video! Thanks George! But now, let's all admit that in the first gameplay we thought that Nathaniel was the killer. Hahaha
I was very close to making the mistake aha
Crazy how I thought I did every quest but never saw this one
also a thing I find interesting about this guy is that at least regis wrote in his thought diary that vampires dont apparently have gods.
this guy follows the eternal fire and its really what lead him to kill in the first place.
which is interesting since if they dont have gods, what kind of mental gymnastics or events drive vampire into religion, to an extend where they seek to destroy those their faith considers to be degenerates.
Well, seemingly age determines everything in vampire society so its possible that Hubert was just a really old Katakan and Orianna was just a really old Bruxa. Old enough so they can call themselves higher rank.
I was thinking a Nosferat/nekurat. They are quite similar to katakan but are more powerful and can assume a human form.
a 'higher' vampire he says pft. i wonder what regis would have to say for our cute little katakan
Its weird because i just did a Katakan contract that i somehow missed on my last few plays and when turning it in Geralt calls it a “higher vampire”. So its either a error on CDPR or maybe a “higher vampire” is any vampire with a certain level of intelligence and the higher vampires we know by definition like Regis and Detlaff are a completely different breed.
"is he a higher vampire"
me, pulling my silver sword out of his katakan ass:
"no, i dont think so"
Great vid man. Please tell me your working on making that Falka lore video. Id still love to see it. I read some of her lore and i think its really interesting. I might be mistaken but i think there was something about her in the second game.
I'll get to it eventually, nice idea!
I remember Gerald explaining that every higher vampire has a unique ability. Maybe his was shapeshifting??
You are completely over thinking this. He is 100 percent a higher Vampire. Blood and wine retconned higher vampires to make them more of a "threat" for the plot. During the books higher vampires could be killed by anyone and weren't all powerful unstoppable beings. They were just like they were depicted in carnal sins, intelligent, powerful, undetectable. Blood and wine changed the meaning of higher vampire, Regis in the books was no stronger than the coroner.
During the Contract "The Oxenfurt Drunk", Geralt hunts down a different katakan after he's given the contract from a Redanian Officer. After he kills the katakan, Geralt tells the officer that the katakan was a higher vampire. I just played the quest, Geralt says it with his own words.
Maybe they operate a bit like the Nekomata? This cat yokai (or demon) of Japanese lore STARTS as a normal cat, but the older they get, the smarter and more powerful. Eventually, they get old enough to gain new powers, such as transformation. Maybe all the higher vamps started as lesser vamps like katakans, ekimara, and bruxa, and as they got older they gained intelligence, the ability to take human form, and finally neigh invincibility in the form of only being able to be killed by the bite of an equally powerful vampire? Therefore, Regis and Detlaff are old enough to be only killed by the bite of a vampire, but the coroner isn't quuuuuuuite there. Give him another 100 yrs, and he'd gain that too.
Higher Vampires have the ability to shapeshift into vampiric creatures. Dettlaf turned into two already during his last battle. Same as werewolves. There are werewolves which have a permanently and monstrous disposition and sentient werewolves which can turn back to human form.
For me Hubert is a higher vampire that maybe can take the form of a katakan. After all we've only see just a few true higher vampire, it's hard to tell what are all the power they can have. Also he don't make the witcher medallion thrill, but neither the bruxa in the hill at the beginning of Blood And Wine, and also an other one i don't remember where, so it doesn't mean much. I believe we didn't kill him. I kept finding his propaganda after "killing" him, at first i thought that i had not yet went through that street, so i would not have found them.
Then life keeps going on, i did the blood and wine expension, and for whatever reason came back to Novigrad, and i kept finding the flyers. In streets i was SURE i already been on! Like main street, not some dark weird alley...
It clicked in my head, "he is not dead. Because he is a higher vampire, we didn't kill him. He is just resting somewhere under Novigrad."
Or my game file is bugged. Did this happened to someone else?
I litteraly just did this quest a couple of days ago. Wow thats funny
Awesome quest
Well there is that katakana looking vampire in the tomb you can kill when you disturb his sleep so I guess they are higher vampires..
I remember i saw a video about elder scrolls lore that is related somehow to this.Basically what npcs like guards and peasants and other minor characters say is not cannon just their point of view about the world.So just because a peasant in the game states something that doesn't mean its true.The video i saw explains it better but i cant remember where i saw it.So mabe this vampire says he is a higher vampire but he is lying or he is ignorant.Either way his statement does not contradict what cannon lore higher vampire is.
Maybe, but that may only specifically work for elder scrolls lore, this characters actions have affected the world and major characters around him (for example Dandelion, Geralt and of course Priscilla)
Weren't the higher vampires able to transform and choose a form like Regis and Deatlaff? Maybe that could explain?
Or he's a higher Vampire that takes a form resembling a Katakan for the fight.
Dettlaff takes the form of a spooky fleshy boi in the final fight, so their shapeshifting abilities are pretty well established. Him simply being a higher vampire that takes a form the game devs had a model done for already is the most occamsy razory explanation.
The only issue with this explanation is that we know you cannot kill off Higher Vampires without the help of another. So, if the Coroner returns, then we'll have an answer.
The interesting part is that Higher vampires can choose every form they want. Who knows if we truly killed the coroner? Or Orianna? We dont know that. The form a higher vampire chooses can differ, because the true form they have is so much more.
In the contract the oxenfurt drunk geralt calls a katakan a higher vampire
Here’s what’s going on.... CDPR didn’t think to make a separate form for higher vampires and katakans
Vamps.... very cool! Still if he dies by normal means he ain't higher. We can clearly see the tromendous potential a Higher Vampire has in Blood and wine. That dude is not even half as strong and fast as Regis if you ask me.
Edit: Yea it might be the fact that he's not dumb. Witch is why Ori and the Coroner are "Higher" yet can still be killed by a non-vampire creature.
Perhaps a higher vampire is simply a vampire that has gone through a series of metamorphosis, much like how detlaf becomes a massive batlike creature during the fight. Perhaps the only reason it requires a higher vampire to kill one another is because their cells have an immune response to other vampires bodies and their living cells so to speak prevent another vampire from regeneration permanently. But who really knows.
So he brought the corona, damn vamp
Notification squad where you at?!
What concerns me is that im still finding letters on the ground around Novigrad