Those who have played the Hearts of Stone expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt might be familiar with the horrid beast lurking in Oxenfurt's sewers. The Toad Prince, so named for their amphibious existence and many warts, is actually Prince Sirvat, heir to the throne of the Ofiri. Upon visiting, he was offered the hand of Iris, the woman who would be Olgierd von Everec's wife. However, Olgierd was enraged by this and cursed Prince Sirvat, turning him into a gigantic, hideous toad-like monstrosity.

RELATED: The Witcher 3: A Guide To All 4 Major Boss Fights (& The 6 Hardest Battles In The Game)

Repulsed by the world, the Toad Prince fled to the sewers under the city, where it then lurked...until met by a certain witcher. Geralt can pick up the contract to slay this cursed one at Oxenfurt's Seven Cats Inn and even speak to Olgierd himself about it, though the Redanian officer will only tell the witcher that it is a monster. One that is poisoning the city's water with its filth and that the toxins are making people sick. If Geralt accepts the contract and heads into the sewers to slay the beast, he will encounter one of the toughest monsters in the game. One that requires excellent reflexes as well as sound tactics to defeat.

As one would expect from Olgierd's intel, the Toad Prince produces a lot of poison. This can damage Geralt over time during a period when that would be the worst: against a fast, powerful foe. To alleviate this, it is highly recommended to use a Golden Oriole potion.

This shining drink will grant the consumer near immunity to all poisons, venoms, and noxious gases that can be encountered. Better yet, Superior Golden Oriole potions actually make it so that such poisons heal Geralt instead of hurting him. With a total of 5 charges, which last 180 seconds each, players will have lots of poison immunity if they bring a single stack to this fight.

Some other potions can be brought along to make the battle less taxing. White Raffard's Decoction is always a great one to have around due to it being able to instantly restore Geralt's health by a large amount. Neither the base form nor the upgraded varieties require ingredients that can be considered rare, so there's little reason not to stock up on these potions.

Another that's often helpful is Thunderbolt. Granting a boost to attack power, albeit only for a relatively short duration, can help one cleave through the Toad Prince's massive pool of health quicker. Like White Raffard's Decoction, the ingredients needed are not exceptionally difficult to come by.

Like against most monsters, Geralt can apply an oil to his sword to cause something like a severe allergic reaction in specific monsters that harms them with each strike, albeit only for a certain number of slashes. One of the easiest to make, though of the weakest level, is basic Cursed Oil. This oil can be made from 1 part Dog tallow and 4 parts Wolfsbane. Apply this to one's silver sword for a bonus of 10% damage per hit for 20 landed-blows against the Toad Prince. If one has the resources to spare, it is recommended to upgrade it to Enhanced and then Superior quality.

RELATED: The Witcher 3: The 10 Best Silver Swords, Ranked

At the final level, Superior Cursed Oil adds a tremendous 50% damage bonus to each of Geralt's attacks for 60 strikes. When going up against a cursed one with as much health as the Toad Prince, that added damage can make this fight a lot less tedious. The ingredients required to upgrade Cursed Oil are a bit rare, however, and include items that can only be found from hunting other monsters, like the hide of an Ekimmara and the liver of a Cave Troll.

Despite being huge, the Toad Prince can launch attacks rapidly. Firstly, players should never hang out in front of it, for that is when the beast lashes forth with swift tongue attacks that are very hard to dodge. However, when flanking the fiend, they will continuously reposition themselves with jumping slams that can also be dangerous. The slams are preferable to deal with because the Toad gets quite a lot of hangtime on each leap, making them very easy to see coming.

Besides the tongue attacks and jumping slams, this toxic prince sometimes kicks at Geralt with his powerful, webbed legs. These can be tricky to dodge as they are as fast as its other attacks, so almost continuously dodging to either the right or the left, circling the beast, is often the best technique for avoiding damage. Frequent simple dodges are often more useful than complete dodge rolls. Most importantly, keep an eye on the prince's cheeks, as they will expand and glow a putrid yellow each time that the monster is about to attack.

There are three of the magical signs that stand out as useful against the Toad Prince. Firstly, there is Yrden. Normally, this sign is meant for the less corporeal foes, such as Noonwraiths. However, it is greatly helpful in slowing down the gigantic toad's lightning-fast movements. This grants Geralt bigger evasive windows that will result in less dodge-spamming.

RELATED: How To Use Signs In The Witcher 3

Next is the ever-useful Quen. Since the brute from bellow packs a lot of power with each attack, getting hit even once can drop Geralt's health down to critical levels. Having a golden shield up can prevent the great amphibian from landing a sneaky hit. If one chooses to incorporate Quen into their strategy against the foul prince, it is recommended to have it up as much as possible. Making it the prime tactic to dump stamina into will result in a much safer fight.

Igni is always a great offensive tool, though against the Toad Prince it can be a very risky strategy. On one hand, it offers decent damage despite the cursed one not having a weakness to flames. On the other, the toad's poison is flammable, and if one's Igni impacts a cloud directly in front of the witcher, it will cause an explosion that will hurt Geralt more than the toad, usually leading to the White Wolf getting completely knocked down.

NEXT: The Witcher 3: 10 Vampire Slayer Tips To Kill Dettlaff