Drowners are a type of Necrophage creature that can be found in The Witcher 3. Necrophage type monsters are often referred to as "corpse eaters" by the NPCs in the game since that is exactly what they do. (The word "necrophage" also has Greek origins for nekros - corpse, and phagein - to eat.)

• Weak to: Necrophage Oil, and the Igni sign

Drowners can be encountered in multiple zones throughout The Witcher, and are most often found near bodies of water (lakes, swamps, ect). They are a distinct looking creature; humanoid in nature and pale blue skin, making them easy to pick out at a distance. They can generally be found in groups of 3 or more, often guarding some treasure that seems to have washed ashore or sunk to the bottom of a lake.

Attack Patterns

Because these creatures are often found in groups, they tend to try and gang up on Geralt. They will often attack at the same time, and a couple may even try to circle around. For the most part it seems they only have one attack; a lunge with an arm swipe. While manageable in small numbers, fighting more than 3 at a time may prove challenging, as their hits will interrupt Geralt's swings.

It has also been noticed that at times they might ... "disappear into the ground." This seems to be some sort of hiding mechanism for them, and they will reappear when you get closer and attempt to surprise you.

How to fight

As mentioned above, Drowners are relatively easy to kill in small numbers, but they can easily overwhelm an inexperienced or headstrong fighter. It is best to survey a group of them from a distance, find 2 or 3 that seem a bit isolated, and draw them away from the rest of the pack.

Being water based creatures, they are particularly vulnerable to fire, and thus the Igni sign is recommended. It may also be worthwhile to throw a Dragon's Dream bomb into a group of them before casting the Igni sign in order to do a large amount of damage to multiple Drowners at once.

Other than that, fighting Drowners is fairly straight forward, and Geralt will make quick work of them even at 4-5 levels higher. As long as Geralt does not get surrounded, he will do just fine.

• Note: It is probably not the best idea to swim out into the middle of a lake and attempt to fight the ones swimming around. Mostly because you can't fight in water, and they will kill you.