The 1666 Amsterdam walkthrough part 2 picks up right where the free Prologue leaves off—Noa has learned to sense the demonic entities hiding behind ordinary faces, but now she must track them through the handcrafted streets of Amsterdam and survive her first confrontation with an Original. This is the moment the game's core loop of investigation, tracking, and confrontation truly begins, and getting the first Esbat right sets the tone for everything that follows. If you are coming from the Prologue's thirty-minute taste, expect the full game to demand sharper observation and faster magical reactions.
The transition from the Prologue to the full game is abrupt by design. According to the official 1666: Amsterdam page on Steam, the Early Access release on August 25, 2026 expands the investigation system considerably, layering day-and-night cycles and dual-protagonist mechanics on top of the core witchcraft toolkit. Whereas the Prologue holds your hand through a single linear mystery, part 2 opens up multiple leads across the city, each one requiring a different approach to gather evidence before you commit to a confrontation.
Understanding the Originals and the First Esbat
The Originals are not ordinary demons—they are ancient entities that have lived among humans for centuries, wearing their faces so convincingly that even the Church cannot identify them. Your job as Noa, the Collector, is to pierce that disguise using witchcraft, but you cannot simply attack anyone who seems suspicious. The game punishes reckless accusations, and community reports suggest that confronting the wrong person locks you out of certain questlines permanently.
The first Esbat is your ritual window for confrontation. During this phase, the veil between worlds thins, and Originals become more vulnerable to your magic. According to player experiences shared in Steam discussions, the Esbat triggers after you gather enough Gabblestone fragments from your daytime investigations, with the threshold varying depending on how many leads you pursued. The key is that the Esbat is not optional—it is the game's way of forcing you to act on what you have learned.
Identifying an Original Before the Confrontation
You cannot walk into the Esbat blind. Each Original you face requires specific preparation, and the game gives you three main tools for identification:
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Scent of Witchcraft — a passive ability that makes your screen shimmer when an Original is nearby, but only during the night phase
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Witness Testimony — talking to neighbors and shopkeepers who have noticed strange behavior, which narrows down your suspect pool
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Physical Evidence — letters, bloodstains, and disturbed objects that link a specific person to demonic activity
The table below breaks down how each identification method works and what it costs you in terms of time and resources:
| Identification Method | Time Cost | Risk Level | Best Used When | Failure Consequence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scent of Witchcraft | Instant | Low | You have a shortlist of 2-3 suspects | No penalty, just no confirmation |
| Witness Testimony | 1-2 in-game hours | Medium | You have zero leads and need a starting point | Witnesses may gossip, alerting the target |
| Physical Evidence | 2-4 in-game hours | High | You have narrowed to one suspect | Evidence may be planted, ruining your case |
Most players recommend using a combination of all three, because relying on a single method produces weak conviction. The game tracks your certainty meter for each suspect, and if it is below a certain threshold when the Esbat arrives, the confrontation becomes significantly harder.
How the Esbat Changes the City
When the first Esbat begins, the city of Amsterdam transforms. The streets empty, the fog rolls in from the canals, and the night phase extends well past its usual duration. According to the official game feature videos on Panache Digital Games' YouTube channel, the day-and-night cycle is not just cosmetic—certain doors only unlock at night, and some NPCs only reveal their true nature under the Esbat's influence.
This is where the 1666 Amsterdam walkthrough part 2 diverges from the Prologue. In the Prologue, you had a single target and a single path. In the full game, the Esbat presents you with multiple possible confrontations, and the order in which you tackle them affects the difficulty of each subsequent fight. Community testing suggests that the first Esbat guide many players follow recommends tackling the weakest Original first, because the Esbat timer continuously drains your magical reserves.
Preparing Your Witchcraft Toolkit
Before you confront any Original, you need to understand your magical arsenal. The game gives you access to several spells, but not all of them are equally useful in a confrontation. Your loadout matters more than your reflexes, because each Original has resistances and weaknesses that you can exploit with the right preparation.
| Spell | Effect | Best Against | Weak Against | Charge Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Far Water | Distracts and displaces enemies | Originals that rely on hearing | Originals with enhanced sight | 2 seconds |
| Bindweed | Roots an enemy in place | Fast-moving Originals | Originals that break free quickly | 4 seconds |
| Witchlight | Reveals hidden weak points | All Originals, especially armored ones | No direct counter | Instant |
| Crow's Bargain | Sacrifices health for a powerful strike | Originals with high HP pools | Not recommended below 50% HP | 6 seconds |
Your choice of spells should be informed by your playstyle, but the community consensus is that Witchlight is the most important spell for the first Esbat, because it reveals the glowing weak points that you need to target during the Originals' attack windows. Without it, you are essentially fighting blind, which is why the night combat guide emphasizes spell synergy over raw damage output.
Stealth Routes and Positioning
The Originals are not mindless beasts—they patrol, they react to noise, and they can call for reinforcements if you are careless. Positioning yourself correctly before the fight begins can mean the difference between a clean confrontation and a chaotic brawl. The game's stealth system rewards players who scout the area first.
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High ground advantage — many Amsterdam rooftops are accessible, and Originals rarely look up. Attacking from above triggers a critical hit that staggers the enemy.
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Waterline movement — the canals provide natural cover, and moving through them masks your footsteps. However, the Far Water spell can accidentally reveal your position if you use it too close to the waterline.
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Choke points — alleyways force Originals into single-file, making them vulnerable to area-of-effect spells. But they also limit your escape routes, so commit only if you have Bindweed ready.
The key insight from the stealth-focused Esbat guide is that you should always have two escape routes in mind before engaging. The Originals are programmed to cut off your retreat once they identify you, and players who rely on a single exit often find themselves cornered with no way out.
Confrontation Mechanics and Timing
When you finally trigger the confrontation, the game shifts into a more action-oriented mode. The Originals are fast, and their attack patterns are designed to punish panic rolling and button mashing. You need to understand the rhythm of each fight, because the Casting Distance between you and your target determines which spells are viable.
The core loop of the confrontation is simple: dodge the Original's combo, use Witchlight to expose its weak point, then unleash your damage spell during the stagger window. What makes this difficult is that the stagger window is short—roughly three seconds according to community frame data—and the Originals recover faster on higher difficulties.
The First Original: The Canal Merchant
Most players encounter the Canal Merchant as their first Original, because the prologue's investigation naturally points toward him. He appears as a friendly tradesman during the day, but at night, his true form emerges. The fight takes place along the canal banks, which gives you plenty of space but also plenty of water hazards.
His attack pattern is predictable once you learn it: he throws weighted crates in a wide arc, then charges forward with a rusted hook. The crates are the dangerous part, because they explode on impact and leave behind hazard zones that persist for several seconds. You need to keep moving and avoid the zones, because standing in them drains your health quickly.
| Attack | Telegraph | Counter | Risk if Failed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted crate throw | Raises both arms overhead | Strafe left or right | Explosion damage + hazard zone |
| Hook charge | Crouches low, hook glows red | Sidestep at the last moment | Heavy damage + knockback |
| Whirlwind spin | Spins in place for 1 second | Back away, then punish | Multi-hit damage, breaks guard |
| Desperation grab | Screen darkens, eyes glow | Use Bindweed immediately | Instant kill if HP below 30% |
The desperation grab is the move that ends most players' first attempts. It triggers when the Canal Merchant drops below 30% health, and it is fast enough that you cannot dodge it reactively—you have to anticipate it. The moment you see the screen darken, cast Bindweed to root him in place, then back away and resume your normal rotation.
Handling Multiple Originals
Later in the 1666 Amsterdam walkthrough part 2, you will face situations where two Originals appear together. This is where the game's difficulty spikes, and many players report that this is the point where they stop treating the game as a straightforward action title and start treating it as a puzzle.
The trick is to use the environment to separate them. Originals do not share aggro—once you break line of sight with one, it will de-aggro after about ten seconds, while the other continues chasing you. You can use this to isolate one target, burst it down, then reset and repeat with the second.
This strategy is particularly effective if you have studied the witchcraft and investigation mechanics, because the same tracking skills you use during the day to find Originals also help you predict their patrol routes at night. Knowing where they will be standing before the fight starts lets you position yourself for the opening strike.
The Aftermath and Choices That Matter
Surviving the confrontation is only half the battle. After you defeat an Original, you face a choice about what to do with its remains and the knowledge you have gained. These choices have lasting consequences, and community reports indicate that they affect your relationships with the city's factions.
| Choice | Short-Term Effect | Long-Term Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Destroy the remains | Gain a Gabblestone immediately | Lose potential faction favor |
| Bury the remains | No immediate reward | Gain favor with the Church |
| Hand them to the Guild | Gain gold and supplies | Locked out of certain Church quests |
| Study the remains yourself | Unlock a new spell recipe | Risk corruption, higher Esbat difficulty |
There is no universally correct choice, which is part of what makes the game compelling. The complete 2026 guide that covers Noa's full journey notes that your choices stack across multiple confrontations, so a pattern of behavior—always destroying remains, for example—leads to a different ending than a mixed approach.
Preparing for Walkthrough Part 3
The conclusion of the 1666 Amsterdam walkthrough part 2 sets up the events of part 3, where the stakes escalate significantly. You will have faced at least two Originals by this point, and the game expects you to have mastered the basic confrontation loop. According to the game's Steam page, the Early Access build includes content that extends well past the first Esbat, so you can expect the difficulty curve to continue rising.
Your preparation for part 3 should focus on three things: upgrading your spell repertoire, building faction relationships, and learning the deeper lore that explains why the Originals are in Amsterdam. Each of these feeds into the other, because faction quests reward spell upgrades, and lore discoveries sometimes reveal hidden faction quests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Prologue and the full game's first Esbat?
The Prologue, available as a free download on Steam, introduces the core mechanics over roughly thirty minutes with a single guided confrontation. The full game's first Esbat presents multiple suspects, a dynamic night phase, and several Originals to track, which demands that you actually use the investigation systems rather than following a linear path.
How do I know when I am ready to confront an Original?
You should have your certainty meter at maximum for at least one suspect, and you should have at least three spells unlocked, including Witchlight. Community data suggests that attempting the confrontation with a lower certainty meter makes the Original significantly more aggressive, so it is worth spending extra in-game hours on investigation before committing.
Can I skip the first Esbat and explore instead?
No, the Esbat is a mandatory story beat that triggers after you gather enough evidence. However, you can delay it by avoiding investigation activities, which gives you more time to explore Amsterdam and prepare. According to player reports, the game does not punish you for delaying, but the night phases become longer and more dangerous the longer you wait.
What happens if I fail a confrontation?
Failing a confrontation does not end the game. You wake up the next morning with reduced health and a penalty to your magical reserves, and the Original you failed to defeat is now more difficult to track because it knows you are hunting it. The game encourages you to re-investigate and try again, rather than reloading an earlier save.
Is the 1666 Amsterdam walkthrough part 2 suitable for players who only played the Prologue?
Yes, but the Prologue's 30-minute narrative only introduces the world—the full game's investigation, tracking, and Esbat confrontation loop begins in Part 2. Expect a significant difficulty spike, so revisit the quick start guide to refresh core systems before facing your first Original.