Quick Answer
Yes. In the normal main-story route, you need to deal with Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe before progressing to Brencis in The Blood of Dawnwalker.
The three are Brencis’ major Court vassals. Defeating them is what advances the Court storyline toward Brencis and the final quest.
The normal progression is:
- Complete Court Activities for Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe.
- Raise each vassal’s Anger enough to reach their confrontation.
- Deal with all three Court bosses.
- Advance to Brencis and the final stage of the story.
You can tackle the three vassals in different orders, but Brencis normally comes after all three have been dealt with.
Do You Need to Defeat All Three Court Bosses?
Yes. Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe are all part of the normal progression required to draw out Brencis.
Each vassal has a separate set of Court Activities. Completing enough activities raises that character’s Anger and eventually gives Coen the opportunity to confront them.
Once all three have been dealt with, the campaign advances toward Brencis.
You therefore cannot simply defeat one Court boss and expect the normal Brencis finale to become available immediately.
Does It Matter Which Court Boss You Defeat First?
No. Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe do not have to be defeated in one mandatory order.
You have considerable freedom in deciding which Court member to pursue first.
A practical progression is:
Ambrus → Bakir → Xanthe
because their difficulty generally increases in that direction. But this is a recommended route rather than a story requirement.
The available boss orders and recommended progression are explained in Can You Fight the Court Bosses in Any Order in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
What Happens After You Defeat All Three Court Bosses?
Defeating all three moves the main story toward Brencis.
After Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe have been dealt with, Coen reaches maximum Infamy through the normal Court progression.
After progressing to the following day, the Infamy Edicts sequence can occur and Brencis sends a message requesting a parley.
This leads into the final quest, A Deal with the Devil, where major choices determine how Coen approaches Brencis and which ending route he follows.
Do You Have to Kill Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe?
You need to neutralize all three as threats, but that does not mean every Court boss must necessarily be handled in exactly the same way.
Ambrus and Bakir ultimately have to be removed as obstacles in Coen’s campaign against Brencis.
Xanthe is different because her normal questline can provide an opportunity to spare her and form an alliance instead of simply killing her.
That route can still resolve Xanthe’s place in the Court progression and allow the story to continue toward Brencis.
Xanthe’s alliance outcome and its later consequences are covered in What Happens If You Spare Xanthe in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
Can You Go to Brencis Before Defeating All Three?
The normal campaign does not unlock Brencis’ final quest until you have dealt with the three Court vassals.
The game is deliberately open in how you approach Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe, but Brencis functions as the target at the end of that progression.
So if you are waiting for the story to tell you to confront Brencis and nothing is happening, check whether one of the three Court members is still unresolved.
Their individual progression is flexible; Brencis’ position at the end of that progression is not.
Is There Any Way to Reach Brencis Early?
Yes, but this is separate from the normal main-story route.
The game contains unusual ways to reach Brencis outside the standard progression, including the possibility of going to his castle much earlier.
There is even a secret outcome connected to defeating Brencis extremely early.
However, that should not be confused with the regular campaign structure. If you are following the main story normally, the intended progression is to deal with Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe before reaching the final Brencis sequence.
Do You Need to Complete Every Court Activity Before Brencis?
No. You need enough Court progression to deal with the three vassals, but you do not need to clear every Court Activity on the map.
Court Activities primarily serve to increase each vassal’s Anger until their confrontation becomes available.
Once you have done enough to resolve that Court member, completing every remaining activity is not a requirement for eventually reaching Brencis.
This distinction matters because Court Activities consume Time Segments. Clearing absolutely everything is not necessary simply to advance the main story.
For more detail on what happens to unfinished activities after a Court boss is defeated, read What Happens If You Kill a Court Boss Before Completing Their Activities in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
Can You Reach Brencis Before the 30-Day Deadline?
Yes. You do not need anywhere close to all 30 days if you focus primarily on the Court storyline.
The deadline gives you room to explore side content rather than requiring you to spend all 30 days just reaching Brencis.
However, how you use your Time Segments still matters. If rescuing Coen’s family is your goal, you need to progress through the three Court vassals and reach the final storyline before the deadline expires.
So you should not interpret the freedom to pursue the bosses in any order as meaning the overall deadline can be ignored.
The deadline and what happens after it expires are explained in Can You Keep Playing After the 30-Day Time Limit in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
What If You Have Defeated All Three but Brencis Is Not Appearing?
You may need to advance to the next day for the final progression to trigger.
After resolving all three Court bosses through the normal route, the game does not necessarily teleport you straight into a Brencis fight.
The subsequent Infamy sequence and Brencis’ invitation lead into A Deal with the Devil.
If Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe are all resolved but you are wondering why Brencis has not immediately appeared, progressing the game to the following day is an important next step.
The Bottom Line
Yes. Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe all need to be dealt with before Brencis in the normal Blood of Dawnwalker main-story progression.
You are free to approach the three Court vassals in different orders, and you do not need to complete every Court Activity associated with them.
Once all three are resolved, the story progresses toward Brencis and A Deal with the Devil.
So the important distinction is:
- Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe: Flexible order.
- Brencis: Normally comes after all three.
