Sword Shards in The Blood of Dawnwalker are needed to build the Sword of St. Mihai, a weapon that'll give you a serious edge against Brencis. You'll likely end up around Val Songara's Svartrau Cathedral following the A Monk and a Saint questline that has you following the footsteps of St Mihai, said to have battled Vrakihiri himself. Find where he's buried, and you may find the perfect vampire hunter gear, including the legendary silver sword of St. Mihai, which is arguably the best weapon in The Blood of Dawnwalker.
The road to the best gear is never simple, however, and this is actually a multi-step process that, once started, you may need to come back to later on. The quest markers themselves don't give you an awful lot of guidance, meaning you'll have to figure out some steps yourself or by poking around Vale Sangora. Or, simply ask us. As, below, I have collected together steps that'll ensure you get your mitts on this legendary sword for yourself.
How to get Sword of St Mihai in The Blood of Dawnwalker
The main quest to track down the Sword of St Mihai, and St Mihai's crypt, is called "A Saint and a Monk". This takes place in Svartrau, and has you tracking down a scholar by following markings in Focus mode within the Middles District around the city walls before heading to the unmissable Svartrau cathedral.
If you don't have this quest yet, one way to get it to appear is to follow Anca's questline past your excursion to St Tryna's, clearing Echoes of Silenced Bells and researching books with her in Beyond the Words. There may be other routes, but this one definitely works, and it allows you to build up one of The Blood of Dawnwalker romances along the way, if you're interested.
Once A Saint and a Monk takes you to Svartrau Cathedral at night, you'll find the quest marker is quite big, and there are some dead ends that can make progression unclear. Though the crypts outside the cathedral are obvious and glow yellow, Coen won't be able to decide on which one is St Miha's until you obtain more information, especially his emblem. Even though you can find caves within a nearby well that go near the crypt, and research about St Mihai in the library (entered through the unlocked door on the balcony), these don't progress the quest.
Instead, you'll need to gain access to the cathedral via the scaffolding on the belltower (on the opposite side to the crypts). Inside, you'll find Xanthe, who is quite dangerous. She can be avoided, and studying the frescos on the interior roof will reveal St Mihai's mark.
Pick up the rooftop key to exit near the crypts, and explore within. After some fighting you'll obtain the Broken St Mihai's sword. It needs to be restored by collecting three silver shard pieces, and getting a blacksmith specialist to repair it – kicking off the "Forge It Anew" quest line.
All Sword Shard locations in The Blood of Dawnwalker
At first, Forge It Anew does not direct you to any specific locations. The three pieces are hidden in caves across Vale Sangora, though as you approach one the quest name 'Forge It Anew' with a subtitle will be added to your Journal so you know it's correct. Each cave has a map for the other ones, so you only really need to find one. I found my first by just exploring, though some books and other clues in other areas give some hints as to where they may be found as well.
The first location is in the western wilderness of Vale Sangora, not too far from Uriash territory, beneath some large crags (so, approaching in a westerly direction is best). Within, you will fight a big kobold called Munch-Munch, who guards the shard. Pay attention to markings on the walls to learn more about the story, as well as mark quest circle locations for the other two Forge It Anew caves on your maps (though these can be done in any order).
The second location is in the north-east, and is probably intended for lower level characters – though it's tucked away enough I didn't notice it early in the game. If you're struggling to find it as I did, focus mode will help you observe and follow evidence of a guard patrol that was hunting down kobolds, leading you right to the entrance. Inside, you'll find several of the monsters as well as dead soldier bodies to loot, and the shard itself. Like before, more markings can be observed here too.
The third location gets a bit more complex. To do it as intended, the cave is in the south-east, but you'll find it empty, with clues pointing you to one of Xanthe's camps nearby as they looted the shard already on her behalf. Simply follow the path to the camp, and clear out the difficult enemies, and you'll find it lying within the main tent.
Where to find the Uriashi Blacksmith
Now you'll need someone to reforge the sword. The Uriash Hermit with the rune-powered forge is the one you're looking for, at the very north-west of the map if you discount your village starting zone from the prologue. She's so near the starting area that I actually found her very early in the game, but she refused to talk to me until I was pursuing the Forge It Anew quest. She'll explain everything you need, though you may need to be careful using haste powers around her as it makes her scared and un-interactable for a few seconds.
With all three shards, she will reforge the sword into a formidable weapon, but your task isn't done yet. She points you towards a nearby cave, slightly further in the north-west, where you can have the sword blessed to restore it to its true former glory.
How to temper St. Mihai's sword
Reforged sword in hand, the cave entrance is a short sprint from the blacksmith's, within a cave covered in red vines that make it impenetrable until now, marked as part of the quest. Pressing a button will have Coen simply destroy this strange growth.
Inside will be the red supernatural glow you'll likely be familiar with from other ancient sites. There are plenty of spectral enemies to face here as you navigate a short sequence of platforms, including an Echoing Anger mini-boss.
Once you've cleared the enemies, you can interact with the ancient site to temper St Mihai's Sword, finally upgrading it into a Legendary Greatsword: the Imbued Sword of St. Mihai.
The exact level, like most loot, depends on your own when obtaining it, but it's a very powerful sword that boasts large bonuses to damage against supernatural enemies, higher critical hit rate, and more, though obviously you'll have to pick out the best perks in The Blood of Dawnwalker for Swordmastery to get the most out of it. I ended up using it through to the end of the game, though depending on your specific build, you might still struggle to choose between claws or swords in The Blood of Dawnwalker, as your talons can still be very powerful if upgraded right.
For more help with the world of Vale Sangora, find out how long is The Blood of Dawnwalker from beginning to end, or check out how to unlock armor proficiency in The Blood of Dawnwalker for defense that's as good as your offense.
© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.
