There are dozens of ways to build Geralt’s kit in the Witcher 3, allowing players to focus on the gameplay style that they enjoy the most. The skill tree allows for a wide range of options, letting you customize him in areas such as combat, Signs, alchemy, and more. Naturally, this allows for different builds to crop up, and with the release of the Next Gen update, this is a great time to grab your swords and jump back into the world of the Witcher.
We have selected six strong and fun builds to help you on your journey or to try something new, and they all work very well whether you’re just starting out, or are going for New Game+, and even Death March difficulty. Even with some nerfs and buffs to skills that came with the update, there is a wide variety of flavors that you can pick from to suit your style among the best builds in the Witcher 3.
Related: The best mods for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The best builds for Geralt in the Witcher 3
Aard Control (Signs build)
This build lets you use the Aard Sign to devastating effect, by empowering it through a variety of buffs. With everything lined up, your Aard will be a source of crowd control, AoE damage, as well as healing.
The gameplay revolves around setting up a Yrden field around you to set off the Griffin School set bonuses, then spamming Aard for damage and healing, weaving in Quen and Igni as needed. With this build, you will barely ever need to unsheathe your swords.
The main enabler for this build is the Piercing Cold Mutation, and here are the full details of the build:
General Tree:
- Griffin School Techniques
- Adrenaline Burst
Signs Tree:
- Far-Reaching Aard 3/3
- Aard Sweep 3/3
- Aard Intensity 3/3
- Shock Wave 3/3
- Firestream 3/3
- Sustained Glyphs 2/2
- Active Shield 3/3
- Magic Trap 3/3
- Supercharged Glyphs 3/3
- Yrden Intensity 3/3
Alchemy Tree:
- Acquired Tolerance 3/3
- Protective Coating 3/3
- Synergy 3/3
- Fast Metabolism 3/3
Mutation: Piercing Cold (Aard has a 30% chance of freezing opponents. Enemies that are knocked down and frozen simultaneously die immediately.)
Mutagens: 4 Greater Blue Mutagens
Glyphs: 4 Aard Glyphs, 2 Yrden Glyphs
Decoctions: Greater Leshen Decoction (for Stamina regeneration), Ekhidna Decoction (for health regeneration while casting)
Gear: Full Griffin School set (ideally Legendary Grandmaster)
Runeword Enchant: Entanglement (armor)
Bloodbath (Combat build)
This combat build heavily relies on your finesse and skill because one of the prerequisites is to be capable enough at dodging so that you don’t take any damage. The Quen Sign can help mitigate a mistake here and there as well. Meanwhile, you’ll be looking to build up and maintain your Attack Power bonus from Bloodbath.
With this build, you can raise your Attack Power to extreme heights, which allows you to plow through enemies like they’re nothing, as long as you don’t take any damage. You can leverage bombs to help you stun and soften up the enemies.
Your gear plays a large role in this build too, especially because light armor and Cat School Techniques synergize so well. The full build consists of:
General Tree:
- Cat School Techniques
Combat Tree:
- Muscle Memory 3/3
- Precise Blows 3/3
- Crushing Blows 3/3
- Razor Focus 3/3
- Whirl 3/3
- Rend 3/3
- Sunder Armor 3/3
- Counterattack 3/3
- Deadly Precision 2/2
- Arrow Deflection 2/2 (Optional for damage mitigation)
Alchemy Tree:
- Acquired Tolerance 3/3
- Synergy 3/3
- Fast Metabolism 3/3
- Fixative 3/3
- Hunter Instinct 3/3
- Killing Spree 3/3
Mutation: Bloodbath (Each blow increases attack power by 5% (up to 250% maximum) as long as you’re not hit.)
Mutagens: 4 Greater Red Mutagens
Glyphs: 4 Quen Glyphs
Decoctions: Superior Tawny Owl (for Stamina regeneration), Wyvern Decoction (for extra Attack Power), Ekimmara Decoction (optional, for health regeneration while fighting)
Gear: Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword, Aerondight, Nilfgaardian Guardsman’s Gauntlets, Legendary Manticore School Armor+Trousers+Boots.
Runeword Enchants: Severance (on Aerondight), Levity (on Manticore gear)
Euphoria (Combat/Alchemy build)
This build used to be the be-all-end-all build before the Next Gen update came around. Even though it was slightly nerfed, it’s still a strong build with a few tweaks to its original form. It plays mostly similarly to how it did before, leveraging combat skills with running several decoctions.
Just like most other light-armor builds, you will look to use fast attacks combined with Whirl, with a strong attack mixed in here and there. Your choices of decoctions can vary depending on the situation, but the best practice is to pick ones that help enhance your close combat potential and survivability.
As the name suggests, the Euphoria Mutation is a huge enabler for this build, and here’s what it looks like:
General Tree:
- Cat School Techniques
- Metabolic Control (optionally for extra damage, swapping out a defensive talent)
Combat Tree:
- Muscle Memory 3/3
- Strength Training 3/3
- Precise Blows 3/3
- Crushing Blows 3/3
- Razor Focus 3/3
- Whirl 3/3
- Rend 3/3
- Sunder Armor 3/3
- Counterattack 3/3
Alchemy Tree:
- Acquired Tolerance 3/3
- Heightened Tolerance 3/3
- Protective Coating 3/3
- Synergy 3/3
- Hunter Instinct 3/3
- Killing Spree 3/3
Mutation: Euphoria (Each point of Toxicity increases damage dealt by swords and Sign Intensity by 0.75%)
Mutagens: 4 Greater Red Mutagens
Glyphs: Greater Glyph of Mending (in every available slot)
Decoctions: Ekimmara Decoction (for health regeneration while fighting), Succubus Decoction (for increasing Attack Power), Arachas Decoction (for damage mitigation), Water Hag Decoction (for extra damage based on health)
Gear: Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword, Aerondight, Nilfgaardian Guardsman’s Gauntlets, Legendary Manticore School Armor+Trousers+Boots.
Runeword Enchants: Severance (on both swords), Levity (on Manticore gear)
Juggernaut Geralt (Tank build)
If you wanted Geralt to be able to take all sorts of punishment and keep on fighting, then this is the build for you. It’s especially good for players only now dipping their toes into Death March difficulty, and want a build that can survive the damage spike, while still being decent in combat.
The crux of the build is around managing Adrenaline points in combination with the Ursine School gear and the Mutated Skin Mutation. In combat, you’ll want to rely on survivability and the Quen Sign, while hitting with strong attacks and bombs.
This is what the full build looks like:
General Tree:
- Bear School Techniques
- Survival Instinct (optionally, if you feel like you need even more health)
Combat Tree:
- Strength Training 3/3
- Resolve 3/3
- Crushing Blows 3/3
- Rend 3/3
- Razor Focus 3/3
- Undying 3/3 (optionally, it gives you an “extra life” by healing you from 0)
Signs Tree:
- Exploding Shield 3/3
- Quen Intensity 3/3
- Quen Discharge 3/3
Alchemy Tree:
- Acquired Tolerance 3/3
- Protective Coating 3/3
- Tissue Transmutation 3/3
- Endure Pain 3/3
- Synergy 3/3
- Hunter Instinct 3/3
- Killing Spree 3/3
Mutation: Mutated Skin (Each adrenaline point decreases damage received by 15 % (45% maximum))
Mutagens: 2 Greater Green Mutagens, 1 Greater Red Mutagen, 1 Greater Blue Mutagen or 4 Greater Green Mutagens (for maximum survivability)
Glyphs: Greater Quen Glyphs (in every available slot)
Decoctions: Ekhidna Decoction (for health regeneration after casting), Troll Decoction (for health regeneration)
Gear: Full Bear School gear (armor and weapons, preferably Legendary Grandmaster)
Runeword Enchants: Elation (on both swords), Protection (on armor)
Metamorphosis (Combat/Alchemy build)
The Metamorphosis build is a rock-solid option for players who like a good mix of choices. It revolves around dealing Crit damage to proc Metamorphosis and while it takes a little bit of setup to get going, the damage output is well worth it.
For instance, before a major fight (boss or large groups), you should pop a few potions to boost your Toxicity rating, such as Superior Blizzard, Maribor Forest, and Swallow. You can even fudge the way Metamorphosis picks random decoctions, by having only those you want it to pick crafted because it can’t pick decoctions you don’t have.
The full build involves:
General Tree:
- Cat School Techniques (optionally, if you’re running full light armor)
Combat Tree:
- Resolve 3/3
- Precise Blows 3/3
- Crushing Blows 3/3
- Razor Focus 3/3
- Whirl 3/3
- Rend 3/3
Signs Tree:
- Magic Trap 3/3
Alchemy Tree:
- Acquired Tolerance 3/3
- Tissue Transmutation 3/3
- Protective Coating 3/3
- Endure Pain 3/3
- Synergy 3/3
- Fixative 3/3
- Delayed Recovery 3/3
- Hunter Instinct 3/3
- Killing Spree 3/3
Mutation: Metamorphosis (Applying critical effects to opponents activates a random decoction (from those you’ve crafted) for 120s with no toxicity cost. Up to 5 decoctions can be active at a time.)
Mutagens: 4 Greater Red Mutagens
Glyphs: Any
Decoctions: None, Metamorphosis will trigger them for you.
Gear: Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword, Aerondight, Nilfgaardian Guardsman’s Gauntlets, Legendary Grandmaster Bear School Armor, Legendary Manticore School Trousers+Boots.
Runeword Enchants: Severance (on both swords), Levity (on Bear School armor)
Pyromancer (Signs build)
If you think of Geralt as more of a battle mage with a fiery flair, then this build is a great way to play it out. You will be able to burn everything in sight with Igni, while supplementing it with Yrden for the Griffin set bonus.
Related: The 10 best armor sets to use in The Witcher 3
This is a very fun build to try even if you don’t like Signs, because it turns Geralt into a flamethrower of destruction on the battlefield. With this build, several Signs will have two versions, with alternative versions adding variety to what you have been used to.
The cycle revolves around casting Quen, then Yrden to stand in, and then spamming Igni and Firestream. The full build is:
General Tree:
- Griffin School Techniques
Signs Tree:
- Sustained Glyphs 2/2
- Exploding Shield 3/3
- Firestream 3/3
- Active Shield 3/3
- Igni Intensity 3/3
- Quen Intensity 3/3
- Quen Discharge 3/3
- Magic Trap 3/3
- Yrden Intensity 3/3
- Supercharged Glyphs 3/3
Alchemy Tree:
- Acquired Tolerance 3/3
- Protective Coating 3/3
- Delayed Recovery 3/3
- Synergy 3/3
- Adaptation 3/3
Mutation: Conductions of Magic (Adds 50% of the equipped sword damage (only magic, relic, and witcher applicable) to Geralt’s Sign damage.)
Mutagens: 4 Greater Blue Mutagens
Glyphs: Greater Igni Glyphs (in every available slot)
Decoctions: Greater Leshen Decoction (for Stamina regeneration), Ekhidna Decoction (for health regeneration while casting)
Gear: Full Griffin School gear (armor and weapons, preferably Legendary Grandmaster)
Runeword Enchants: Rotation (on armor)
