The sorcerer who heals
The Volkhv curses his allies into explosive creatures, so you have to kill him first.
An enemy that never charges
The Upyr Volkhv is a support enemy, and the studio explains why in its own post from 20 August 2026.
The reasoning starts with a question they asked themselves: how would a sorcerer who cheated death choose to fight? Their answer is that he would not charge into melee. He would manipulate from the shadows.
So he heals and empowers other unclean creatures while controlling the battlefield from a distance. The whole role, in one line.
One mechanic that matters
One ability gets named in detail. He can curse his allies, turning them into unstable, explosive monstrosities.
It makes a priority call for you: kill him first, or accept that the arena turns into chaos. Watt Studio says so outright, and it is the clearest tactical statement in any developer post.
His story, short
He began as a respected sage. As old age closed in, fear drove him to forbidden rites. He stole years from villagers through curses, enchanted objects, and drinking blood. Each ritual restored his youth and erased a little more of his humanity.
Death caught him late, and unclean. He had kept his mind and his sorcerous power, and Veles would not let his soul rest. He became a hostage corpse: an upyr.
Why the studio built him
The 7 March post on Slavic ritual history explains the underlying belief. In that system, the difference between a pure and an impure dead person is not what they did in life but how they died. Violent or premature death leaves a soul that may not settle.
That framework is what makes an upyr possible at all, and it is why the whole enemy roster could be built from folklore rather than invented.
Position in the roster
Four enemies are documented: Upyr, Upyr Warlord, Soothsayer Crow, Indrik. The Volkhv is a later addition, published in August rather than with the original roster in February.
That means the roster has grown since the first post, and it may grow again before release. What is here is what has been published.
The four named roles are on the enemies page. The folklore behind the Warlord is here.
