What you need before the reforge
You can collect the shards and obtain the hilt in either order. Finding a sword piece can begin Forge It Anew after the prologue; you do not have to finish Mihai’s quest before looking for the shards.
| Piece | Where it comes from | What to track |
|---|---|---|
| Sword Shard | Maragir Wealds Kobold den | Do Not Disturb |
| Sword Shard | Munch-Munch’s den | Hostile Takeover |
| Sword Shard | Soldier camp reached from the emptied den | Executive Order |
| Broken Sword of St. Mihai | Mihai beneath Svartrau Cathedral | Night Terrors → A Monk and a Saint |
The three shards are not the hilt. If the blacksmith cannot complete the reforge, check for all four pieces first. Read each time-cost confirmation before accepting it: the published guides disagree about a single total for this entire chain.
Find all three Sword Shards
1. Do Not Disturb: Maragir Wealds
Start northeast of the Upper Maragir Wealds shrine, across the river. Investigate the abandoned camp with Focus Mode and follow the trail into the Kobold cave. Defeat the occupants, then search the broken altar or cross at the back for the shard.
Inspect the wall painting before leaving: it reveals the other shard objectives. Game8 records a three-segment cost along this branch, so check the interaction’s prompt.
2. Hostile Takeover: Munch-Munch’s den
Look southwest of Giant’s Pawns for the low cave entrance marked with a large white X. Crouch through the opening, defeat Munch-Munch and search the nest at the rear. The published route warns of poison on his attacks; use the blocking and dodging guide if the fight is stopping your progress.
Game8 places a three-segment confirmation at the nest pickup. Defeating the boss and collecting the shard are separate steps.
3. Executive Order: the empty den
From the Crossroads Inn shrine, head south and take the left road uphill toward the den. The shard has already been taken. Use Focus Mode to inspect the highlighted bodies and wall painting so the objective changes to a soldier camp.
Follow the updated marker, defeat the soldiers and search the main tent for the shard. The empty cave is an investigation step, not the final pickup location. The guides describe the camp’s region differently, so use the new quest marker to finish this branch.
Get the Broken Sword of St. Mihai
The hilt comes from a separate chain beneath Svartrau Cathedral. If you already have the Broken Sword of St. Mihai, continue to the blacksmith.
- Start Night Terrors at night. Visit the well in the courtyard north of Svartrau Cathedral. Investigate the noise, descend and enter the passage. Search the body and its pouch for the note that starts A Monk and a Saint.
- Leave the cave, then return to the cathedral. While still in the cave beneath the well, defeat the Kobolds. Use Focus Mode to find the highlighted stone and push it aside to open the exit. Return outside to the cathedral’s northern courtyard; its graves cannot be opened until Coen learns Mihai’s symbol.
- Learn the symbol. PowerPyx’s night route enters through the rooftop tower using Shadowstep and Clawride. Inside, reach the last scaffold on the left and inspect its book and fresco.
- Enter the crypt. Return to the courtyard graves. The guide identifies the second grave from the right; inspect its newly recognized symbol. Below, take the first left door and investigate the noisy wall.
- Defeat Mihai. The encounter awards the Broken Sword of St. Mihai. PowerPyx reports that either timed dialogue response after the fight gives the sword.
For the full cathedral route, see A Monk and a Saint. The nighttime entry above is the documented route; it does not establish that every approach or later objective requires night.
Reforge the sword at Uriashi Hermitage
Travel to Uriashi Hermitage in the northwestern part of Vale Sangora, near Briar Sloughs. Look for the hermit by the standing-stone circle. If this is your first meeting, Game8 and VGC direct you to explain that you intend to kill Brencis to gain access to her services.
Hand over the three shards and the Broken Sword. You receive the Restored Sword of St. Mihai, an Epic weapon. Listen to the hermit’s directions for the next location northwest of the hermitage: the reforge is only the first upgrade.
Finish the tempering ritual
- Follow the new objective northwest from the hermitage into the cave and ruins. Clear the enemies along the route.
- Reach the ritual room and interact with the glowing central altar or orb to begin its combat challenge.
- Defeat the summoned enemies, then return to the altar to complete the ritual, following Game8’s recorded sequence.
The closing scene gives you the Imbued Sword of St. Mihai, the Legendary form. PowerPyx also records the Arbiter’s Blade trophy or achievement here. Check the resulting item name before treating the acquisition route as finished.
The weapon directory covers the recorded weapon entries and how to compare their stats; a Legendary label alone does not establish the best weapon for every build.
If Forge It Anew stops progressing
| Where you are stuck | Next check |
|---|---|
| The third cave contains no shard | Inspect its bodies and wall painting with Focus Mode, then follow the updated camp objective. |
| Mihai’s grave cannot be opened | Return to the cathedral scaffold and identify his symbol first. |
| You have three shards but no completed sword | Check for the Broken Sword from A Monk and a Saint as well. |
| The smith gave you an Epic sword | Continue to the northwest ritual; Restored is the intermediate form. |
| The smith’s crafting interaction is broken | Check your installed update. The developer’s Hotfix 1.0.2 includes a fix for her holy-sword crafting. |
The official September 4 patch note identifies that crafting fix. It does not give a universal recovery sequence for every stalled save.
Video route by chapter
PowerPyx’s Forge It Anew video groups the route into these chapters: first shard, second shard, third shard, hilt quests, reforging and tempering.
Questions before you continue
Do I need the hilt before collecting the sword shards?
No. The shard branches and A Monk and a Saint can be completed in either order. You need all three shards and the Broken Sword before the full reforge.
Why did the blacksmith give me the Restored Sword instead of the Imbued Sword?
The Restored Sword is the intermediate reward. Follow the hermit’s next objective northwest, complete the ritual combat and finish tempering to obtain the Imbued Sword.
Where is the third Sword Shard if the cave is empty?
Inspect the bodies and wall painting using Focus Mode. The investigation redirects you to a soldier camp; the shard is in its main tent.
Related guides
Sources and coverage
- PowerPyx: Forge It Anew — Full quest chain, component requirements and final reward.
- Game8: Forge It Anew — Shard order, smith dialogue and ritual sequence.
- PC Gamer: sword shards and blacksmith — Shrine landmarks and route directions.
- VGC: St. Mihai’s silver sword — Hilt, reforge and tempering stages.
- PowerPyx: Night Terrors — Nighttime well and hilt-chain starting point.
- PowerPyx: A Monk and a Saint — Cathedral investigation and Broken Sword reward.
- Game8: Sword of St. Mihai — Names and rarity of the intermediate and final forms.
- Rebel Wolves: Hotfix 1.0.2 — Official Uriashi crafting fix, September 4, 2026.
- PowerPyx: video chapter index — Publisher-provided chapter times; uploaded September 5, 2026.
Reviewed September 7, 2026. This guide combines the attributed launch-version walkthroughs and footage; it is not a report of a separate playthrough by this site. Check your current quest journal and action-cost prompts when a patch or choice changes the route.