Highlights
- Not all skills in The Witcher 3 are created equal, some like Aard Sweep and Firestream are not as useful as others.
- Skills like Frenzy and Steady Aim may sound good in theory, but they are not worth the Ability Points required to unlock them.
- Tricks like Cold Blood and Fixative may seem helpful, but they are not necessary as oils can easily be reapplied during combat.
There’s a reason why characters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are so desperate for Geralt of Rivia’s help. Witchers like him are hard to come by, but it’s only them who have the necessary skills to successfully defeat a monster that’s plaguing a village or haunting a mill. As the player progresses through the game and collects Ability Points, they can unlock special skills to make Geralt a stronger Witcher.
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There are some exceptional skills available that make Geralt a formidable force to be reckoned with. However, despite how many excellent skills there are, some aren’t as useful as others. That doesn’t mean they can’t occasionally come in handy and work for specific builds, but considering players can’t unlock all the skills in the game, they have to carefully select the best skills for their build. These next skills are ones that players are typically better off avoiding.
10 Aard Sweep
Alternate Aard With Better AOE But Less Effect
- Description: Aard strikes all opponents in a certain radius. Knock-down chance is 21% lower (Level 1).
Besides steel and silver swords, Signs are very much a Witcher’s bread and butter. That’s why The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt includes alternate versions of each of the five Signs. However, Aard Sweep is perhaps the weakest of these alternates. Aard Sweep looks great at first glance, able to hit all enemies around Geralt with a great area of effect. However, the chance of knocking enemies down is reduced by 21%, negating the very purpose of using Aard in the first place.
Although upgrading to Level 3 might get rid of this reduction, it requires too many Ability Points to be really worth it just to get the Sign up to par with the standard Aard effect. However, when combined with the Piercing Cold mutation from the Blood And Wine DLC, Geralt can freeze opponents all around him and finally make this skill worthwhile.
9 Firestream
Alternate Igni With Limited AOE And Damage
- Description: Emits a continuous stream of fire that damages enemies.
Most players would assume that a burst of fire would be a powerful alternate form of Igni, but that’s not really the case with Firestream. This alternate version of the Sign still has limited damage compared to other Signs and sword attacks. Yet even when Igni’s intensity is upgraded, Firestream’s lack of AOE damage makes it less useful than a regular Igni Sign.
Although Igni might not be as powerful as previous games in The Witcher series, it still has its uses, exploiting weaknesses and even setting off bombs. It’s much more worthwhile investing Ability Points into the Pyromaniac or Melt Armor skills instead.
8 Domination
Confuse Two Enemies Into Attacking Each Other
- Description: Two opponents can be influenced by Axii at the same time. The effect is 50% weaker (Level 1).
Axii’s best used in dialogue scenes when players use it much like a Jedi mind trick for Geralt to get his own way. It can be used to great effect in combat too, but Domination isn't really worth the Ability Points required to unlock it, and most players would be better off unlocking other skills to improve Axii.
Axii is great for crowd control, and players can have great fun using the Puppet skill. Domination might let players use the Puppet skill on two enemies at once, but in order to keep the game balanced, the effect is weaker until upgraded to Level 3. Even then, players have to take the time to cast the Sign twice, and will likely struggle to do this when surrounded by multiple enemies.
7 Frenzy
Slows Time When Enemies Counterattack
- Description: If potion Toxicity is above 0, time automatically slows when an enemy is about to perform a counterattack (Level 1).
Admittedly, Frenzy can be a pretty immersive skill that gives players a Witcher's lightning-fast reflexes. However, for most players, it’s not really useful enough to be worth the Ability Points required. Frenzy slows down time whenever enemies counterattack, giving players more opportunity to respond. The problem is that parrying isn’t too difficult as it is, making this skill mostly unnecessary.
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Frenzy might be temporarily helpful for newer players or those who find parrying a challenge, but as players get better at the game, it becomes less and less necessary. In fact, the sudden slow-motion might even throw players off their timing. Besides, Geralt only receives this benefit when his toxicity is above 0, meaning it’s not constantly active anyway.
6 Steady Aim
Slows Time While Manually Aiming Bombs
- Description: Time is slowed a further 15% while aiming bombs (Level 1).
Seeing as Geralt can only carry a limited number of bombs, some players appreciate the option of having an extra moment to aim carefully and ensure they hit their target. However, precision isn’t really required with bombs; when they explode, they affect a wide area anyway, and so they don’t call for perfect accuracy.
In fact, manual aim isn’t always necessary anyway. All it takes is a simple tap of a button for Geralt to throw a bomb in front of him, often landing in a crowd of enemies. In these sorts of situations, slowing time doesn’t necessarily make the game easier, and players would be better off spending their Ability Points somewhere other than on Steady Aim.
5 Trick Shot
Shoot An Extra Crossbow Bolt
- Description: You can shoot one additional bolt before you must reload.
Although introduced especially for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, crossbows have limited uses in the game. They can be useful to knock harpies and other flying monsters out of the sky, but they’re not particularly useful for much else beyond than keeping enemies at a distance.
Like most crossbow skills (with the exception of Crippling Shot), Trick Shot isn’t as useful as other skills in the game. While it’s convenient to have another bolt ready to fire at another harpy before reloading, it’s often unnecessary, and players can usually make do with firing one bolt at a time.
4 Cold Blood
Each Crossbow Hit Increases Adrenaline Points Slightly
- Description: Each bolt that hits its target adds 0.1 Adrenaline Points (Level 1).
To be fair to Cold Blood, it’s significantly more useful as of Patch 4.0, released in December 2022. Beforehand, the Cold Blood skill just added 0.04 Adrenaline Points for each bolt that hit an enemy. Comparatively, the updated 0.1 Adrenaline Points make this a stronger skill.
Nevertheless, there are several other skills that offer far more efficient ways of building up Adrenaline Points. Unless a player is developing a build in which they use both the crossbow and Adrenaline Points frequently, most players can safely avoid this one.
3 Arrow Deflection
Parries Arrows While Blocking
- Description: Deflect arrows while parrying (Level 1).
The first level of Arrow Deflection might be useful to players early on in the game, but its use is quickly trumped by improving the Quen Sign. As a result, most players would be better off either investing points into Quen, or simply taking out archers first in combat.
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Many players will say Arrow Deflection is worth it from Level 2 onwards. Although it’s admittedly fun and satisfying to not only parry arrows but to deflect them and send them back to damage enemies, it’s not really worth the required Ability Points just to look like an average Jedi knight. Then again, although the strongest builds would be better off using Ability Points for more useful skills, players who just want to have fun can get a lot of enjoyment out of Arrow Deflection.
2 Advanced Pyrotechnics
Bomb Damage Gives A Slight Boost To Adrenaline Points
- Description: Damage dealt by a bomb’s explosion generates 0.1 Adrenaline Points (Level 1).
Since 0.1 Adrenaline Points is very minimal, Advanced Pyrotechnics is only really worth it if players can use several bombs at once. However, Geralt only carries a few bombs at a time, making this skill fairly ineffective on the whole.
That’s not to say there’s no point in investing in skills to improve bombs; mixing Efficiency to boost the number of bombs with Heavy Artillery to triple damage can be a lethal combination. However, these make Advanced Pyrotechnics seem quite weak in comparison.
1 Fixative
Gives Blade Oils Increased Charges
- Description: Blade oils now have 33% more charges (Level1).
There are some fights where players need all the help they can get, especially on the “Death March!” difficulty setting. When a player coats Geralt’s blade with oil, pairing the right oil with the right enemy can make the difference between success and failure, giving Geralt’s attacks a huge boost in damage. However, oils don’t last forever and need to be reapplied after a certain number of attacks. Fixative allows these oils to last much longer, but isn’t really necessary at all.
Players can’t craft oils whenever they wish, but they can reapply oil at any moment. Even in the heat of combat, it’s very easy for a player to reapply oil whenever it runs out. In fact, once a player upgrades an oil to Superior, it lasts even longer and needs reapplying less frequently. Although oils will last indefinitely at Level 3 and players can have three coats applied at one time, the easy reapplication of oils during combat makes this skill ultimately not worth the required Ability Points.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Switch , PC
- Released
- May 19, 2015
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Expansions
- The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone , The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
