The Witcher 3 builds: The best alchemy, Death March, Sign builds and other combat builds to use

If you're looking to overpower the many monsters that Geralt faces, then you'll want to know the best builds for The Witcher 3.

Whether you want to spin around like a windmill of blades, or you prefer setting everything on fire, we've got something for you on this Witcher 3 builds page.

While picking just one of the best builds in The Witcher 3 can be tricky, it's far easier to simply find a build that fits your playstyle.

There are countless builds out there, and you could spend days or weeks tweaking individual ability points to find your own perfect balance, but we've put together a list of them so you have a starting point or something to aim for.

We also explain how to tinker with builds to make them your own - which will involve learning how to reset ability points.

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If you're looking for more assistance, our Witcher 3 walkthrough can help.

How to choose the best build for you in The Witcher 3

Planning a character build in any RPG is a daunting and time-consuming affair, often because you need to think about what stats to allocate where, which gear will help you the most, and which quests to undertake to unlock special abilities and abilities.

Thankfully, The Witcher 3 is a bit simpler than that, but you still need to know what you're doing.

You unlock ability slots as you level up, and while unlocking abilities is part of the process, you also have to equip them. Once you hit level 30, you'll have the maximum amount of ability slots, which is 12.

Each of these impacts how you play and fight, so while you can unlock other abilities if you want, they won't count unless you equip them. On top of that, you can also use mutagens to enhance your stats as well as using mutations to enhance certain abilities.

Mutagens can be harvested from monsters as you slay them, and the colours correspond to different ability types. Red mutagens will be boosted by being linked to three red abilities, for example.

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Also, you can only unlock mutations once you've completed the quest "Turn and Face the Strange" in the Blood and Wine expansion though, so you won't need to worry about it for a long time. As such, we're going to focus on the builds you can work towards and then complete when you hit level 30.

Whether you use these as a template or follow them to the letter, they should help you get the most out of the combat. Also, you can invest multiple points into many of the abilities; it's worth maxing them out most of the time.

The best Alchemy build in The Witcher 3

Sometimes you just want to use poisoned blades, bombs, and drink potions, and that's a very respectable wish. Playing with a focus on these things often means a larger amount of preparation time before big fights, but that's quite a lot of fun in and of itself.

The best armour for this build is the Manticore Gear, as it gives your bombs a chance to deal critical hits and increases the charges for your alchemy items.

• Heightened Tolerance: Increases potion overdose threshold.
• Refreshment: Each potion taken restores health.
• Poisoned Blades: When using oils you gain a chance to poison enemies with each hit.
• Protective Coating: You gain protection against the monsters that your oil targets.
• Fixative: Improves the duration of your blade oils.
• Hunter Instinct: When Adrenaline Points are at max you deal additional critical hit damage against the targeted monster type.
• Steady Aim: Increases the time slow down when aiming a bomb.
• Pyrotechnics: All bombs deal additional damage, even ones that don't normally deal damage.
• Efficiency: Increases the number of bombs you can carry.
• Cluster Bombs: Makes bombs separate into explosive fragments.
• Frenzy: If potion toxicity is above 0, time slows when an enemy is about to counterattack.
• In Combat's Fires: You ignore all bomb and special bolt effects.
• Mutation: Metamorphosis: Applying critical effects to opponents activates a random decoction with no toxicity cost.

The best beginner build in The Witcher 3

This build is one for those who aren't all that into the combat of The Witcher 3. If you're here for the story, you're probably playing on a lower difficulty, and that means you just want to get through combat without thinking about it too much.

This build is designed to be simple and easy to use, simply smash your light attack button repeatedly until everything in front of you is dead. You're best off wearing light armour (like the Feline Witcher armour) for this build to be at its most effective.

• Muscle Memory: Increases fast attack damage
• Precise Blows: Increases chance of landing a critical attack with fast attacks and the damage they cause
• Whirl: Holding fast attack allows you to perform a continuous spinning attack
• Crippling Strikes: Fast attacks now cause bleeding.
• Resolve: Lowers Adrenaline Point loss upon taking damage.
• Undying: When Vitality reaches 0, Adrenaline Points will be consumed to restore it.
• Razor Focus: Instantly gain one Adrenaline Point when entering combat and generate more with sword blows.
• Survival Instinct: Increases maximum Vitality by 500.
• Cat School Techniques: Each piece of light armour increases critical hit damage and fast attack damage.
Heightened Tolerance: Increases potion overdose threshold.
• Refreshment: Each potion taken restores health.
• Metabolism Boosts: Allows Adrenaline Points to be consumed to reduce toxicity of potions.
• Mutation: Mutated Skin: Each Adrenaline Point decreases damage received.

The best defensive build in The Witcher 3

If you're more into surviving damage than dealing it out, this is the build for you. You're going to be a slow-moving indestructible witcher. A good choice for those who like to feel like nothing can harm them, or those who worry about getting hit.

Heavy armour (like the Bear Witcher armour) is the best choice here, and you'll be using a lot of strong attacks.

• Survival Instinct: Increases maximum Vitality by 500.
• Resolve: Lowers Adrenaline Point loss upon taking damage.
• Undying: When Vitality reaches 0, Adrenaline Points will be consumed to restore it.
• Razor Focus: Instantly gain one Adrenaline Point when entering combat and generate more with sword blows.
• Metabolism Boosts: Allows Adrenaline Points to be consumed to reduce the toxicity of potions.
• Gourmet: Eating food regenerates Vitality for 20 minutes.
• Bear School Techniques: Each piece of heavy armour increases maximum Vitality and strong attack damage.
• Attack is the Best Defense: Each defensive action generates Adrenaline Points.
• Strength Training: Strong attack damage is increased.
• Crushing blows: Increases strong attack critical hit chance and damage.
• Rend: Deals additional damage based on Stamina consumed. Ignores armour and increases critical hit chance.
• Sunder Armour: Reduces enemy damage resistance.
• Mutation: Second Life: When your Vitality reaches 0, you become temporarily invulnerable and regain all of your health.

The best Signs build in The Witcher 3

If you like the idea of flinging spells about in combat, then you're probably going to have to compromise a little bit. Unlike other RPGs, you'll struggle to get through The Witcher 3 just using magical might.

The good news is that you can combine the signs with your sword to become a whirlwind of death and destruction, and that's a lot of fun. You can choose a few different signs to commit to here, but this build is all about Yrden. The Griffin Armour is a great choice for this build.

• Sustained Glyphs: Increases sign duration and sign charges.
• Magic Trap: Alternate Sign Mode: Damages and slows enemies and destroys projectiles.
• Yrden Intensity: Increases Yrden Sign intensity.
• Supercharged Glyphs: Enemies under the influence of Yrden lose Vitality or Essence.
• Muscle Memory: Increases fast attack damage.
• Precise Blows: Increases chance of landing a critical attack with fast attacks and the damage they cause.
• Whirl: Holding fast attack allows you to perform a continuous spinning attack.
• Crippling Strikes: Fast attacks now cause bleeding.
• Gorged on Power: Allows bonuses from a Place of Power to last indefinitely, but only lets you have one at a time.
• Adrenaline Burst: Increases Adrenaline generation and using signs now generates Adrenaline Points.
• Rage Management: Allows you to use Adrenaline Points to cast signs if your Stamina is too low.
• Resolve: Lowers Adrenaline Point loss upon taking damage.
• Mutation: Deadly Counter: Sword attacks deal extra damage to human enemies that can't be counterattacked and monsters. Counterattacking an enemy under 25% health will kill them instantly.

The best Death March difficulty build in The Witcher 3

This is considered the best possible build in The Witcher 3 and is generally used on the highest difficulties, as that's where you really need to worry about the specifics of your build. It takes a little bit from everything in Geralt's arsenal, utilising fast attacks, the Quen Sign, lots of potions, and the Cat School Armour for extra damage.

It's a great choice if you want to take on the harder difficulties, and will keep you safe as you master the combat. The Feline armour is, once again, an excellent choice for this build.

• Muscle Memory: Increases fast attack damage
• Precise Blows: Increases chance of landing a critical attack with fast attacks and the damage they cause
• Whirl: Holding fast attack allows you to perform a continuous spinning attack
• Crippling Strikes: Fast attacks now cause bleeding.
• Exploding Shield: Quen pushes back enemies when it breaks and eventually deals damage.
• Active Shield: Alternate Sign Mode: Creates an active shield that restores Vitality by absorbing damage.
• Quen Intensity: Increases Quen Sign intensity.
• Quen Discharge: Allows Quen to reflect incoming damage.
• Heightened Tolerance: Increases potion overdose threshold.
• Refreshment: Each potion taken restores health.
• Resolve: Lowers Adrenaline Point loss upon taking damage.
• Cat School Techniques: Each piece of light armour increases critical hit damage and fast attack damage.
• Mutation: Euphoria: Each point of Toxicity increases damage dealt by swords and Sign intensity.

How to make and amend your own builds in The Witcher 3

Right, you've seen our suggestions, but you might also be wondering how to go about building your own The Witcher 3 builds. Well, there are no hard and fast rules here, but it's worth taking note of a couple of things.

First of all, you're better off focusing on one of the melee attacks then dipping into both; so either choose fast or strong attacks to invest in.

Likewise, it's worth focusing on a single Sign as well. Spreading yourself too thin rarely leads to anything other than feeling a little underpowered.

There aren't any specific abilities that every build should have, but it's usually worth investing in the Axii skill. While it's not listed in the above builds, it affects some conversations and can allow you to charm your way through some altercations and avoid fights altogether in some instances.

It's not essential, but it's great if you fancy playing a pacifist.

Our Witcher 3 walkthrough and guide can help you with the main story, including the Wandering in the Dark and Family Matters missions, and eventually, one of several Witcher 3 endings. There's plenty of side content, too, including Witcher 3 Contracts, White Orchard quests, Velen quests, Novigrad quests and Skellige Isles quests. Elsewhere, learn about the best Witcher 3 builds, the best Witcher 3 mods, how to make money in Witcher 3, find Places of Power locations, and learn how to do Witcher 3 crafting and Witcher 3 Alchemy And when you're done with all those - we can help you through expansions with our Hearts of Stone walkthrough and Blood and Wine walkthrough.

How to reset ability points and your build in The Witcher 3

Good news, none of these choices are permanent. You can actually buy a Potion of Clearance from a few different merchants. Drinking this will reset your Ability Points and allow you to respec. Be aware that they cost 1,000 crowns a piece though, so do try to plan ahead.

On top of that, only a few merchants sell them. You can buy one from Keira Metz after the Magic Lamp quest.

There is a merchant to the southeast of the St. Gregory's Bridge signpost in Novigrad who will sell you one, but only if you ask him about certain artifacts. He restocks every 24 hours though.

There are also two merchants in the Skellige Isles who sell them, both of whom are near the Gedyneith signpost in the eastern section of Ard Skellige, though one of them won't sell it until you've finished the Practicum in Advanced Alchemy quest, the other is far easier to deal with.

Both of them have five bottles each.