I remember using an oil for the blade … spectral something-or-other I think it was called. It did wonders for the amount of damage I could deal out against the beast and essentially won me the match. However, on my first attempt I didn't have any with me so I had to backtrack quite a bit to the point just before the whole beast encounter thread was set into motion.

I was ready to delete the game and throw it out at that point but people kept saying how great The Witcher was so I retraced my steps up until the beast encounter and finally beat it … man, am I glad I rode it out and experienced the rest of this gem.

Actually, I think I'm ready for a replay about now even though I'm not looking forward to the beast encounter