Werewolves in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are classified as "Cursed Ones" under the monster identification umbrella. Individuals from both human and nonhuman races can be afflicted with lycanthropy, which warps them into horrid beasts when the moon is full, though these people don't remember their actions while in beast form. When someone transforms, they lose the rational side of themselves, letting the primal nature of a creature in hungry agony take over. This results in werewolves possessing the intellect and sadistic cruelty of a person as well as the vicious nature, rapid movements, and beastly power of a wolf.
As a type of creature that only began appearing in the world of The Witcher series after the Conjunction of the Spheres, they understandably possess supernatural powers beyond that of natural furred fiends like common wolves and bears. Werewolves are remarkably fast and powerful, though their most difficult trait to overcome in battle is their constant health regeneration. Even the most skilled Witchers need to watch their step around these apex predators and consult known tactics in order to gain the advantage, for strolling up to such a monster in the light of the moon while unprepared can lead to a gruesome end for Geralt.
Updated February 27, 2022 by Jason Van Duine: Werewolves are some of the toughest enemies players will come across while playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Knowing just how to defeat them is crucial for several missions as well as general survival. While they may be difficult to bring down, it isn't impossible. A wide variety of spells, weapons, and strategies can be employed and utilized in order to beat this beast of the night. By following several useful tips, players can learn how to kill The Witcher 3's werewolves with ease so that Geralt lives to see another day.
Use Moon Dust To Block Health Regeneration
This bomb is primarily used as a way to stop certain monsters from teleporting or transforming, as it leaves a cloud of silvery powder in the air that blocks magic. However, against werewolves, it has a different function. When a Moon Dust bomb explodes and makes contact with a lycanthrope, it halts their health regeneration. This is the most straightforward method of blocking a werewolf's incredibly fast healing. It can also be used in conjunction with other methods that damage Geralt's furry foe over time for excellent results.
Each basic Moon Dust bomb that hits its mark will disable the great wolf's restorative abilities for 20 seconds, with the enhanced version lasting 40 seconds, and the superior upgrade permanently blocking the return of health points to the moonlit monstrosity.
Move Around Often
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While players are likely to stay light on their feet when it comes to most enemies, this is doubly true of enemies such as werewolves. Werewolves not only move around the environment quickly but also have a wide range as far as melee attacks go, given their mutated state. Since werewolves can also summon a pack of wolves to help them out in a tough fight, Geralt's plan of attack should involve a lot more than simply standing around and fighting.
This means, yes, moving around the environment during combat, but also utilizing the game's controls to the best of the player's advantage. Heavy attacks might do more damage, but keep in mind that lighter attacks are faster and allow the player to move around more. Also be sure to roll alongside pacing or sprinting, as rolling can help the player cover more distance quickly. Dodging between attacks is also a much better strategy than just attacking over and over again.
Use Devil's Puffball To Deal Damage Over Time
Another great bomb to use against werewolves is Devil's Puffball. As lycanthropes are not immune or resistant to poison, using it against them can immensely help counter their annoying health regen; essentially canceling it out while the beast is within Geralt's toxic cloud. If stacked with the effects of a Moon Dust bomb, it can quickly drain large chunks of a werewolf's health.
All levels of this bomb deal out a flat 100 points of poison damage per second, so the most important difference between the basic, enhanced, and superior versions are the effect durations. The lowest level has a 10-second effect, the next level up has a 30-second effect, and the final form of Devil's Puffball has an effective time of 33 seconds.
Handling Reinforcements
Werewolves are used to physically dominating every confrontation that they find themselves in. This usually involves them hunting, mauling, or murdering people as well as animals with little to no resistance. However, when faced with a challenge such as a Witcher of similar speed, strength, and resilience, lycanthropes will howl for backup. This summons a pack of regular wolves to their aid, which results in a very different kind of fight.
Thankfully, common wild canines are not nearly as much of a threat as their therianthrope kin. Witchers should focus on eliminating these lesser beasts quickly, as they can be quite a pain to deal with while fighting the much tougher werewolf adversary. Utilizing Group Style techniques can help clear out a pack. If used in tandem with Aard can yield opportunities where Geralt can fully knock down one or more wolves with this windy magical sign, which lets the Witcher perform a finishing move to instantly rid himself of one enemy. Rinse and repeat until only the werewolf is left.
Choose Which Oil To Apply Onto One's Silver Sword
Although cursed ones like werewolves are only susceptible to the kind called Cursed Oil, it may not be the best coating for one's silver sword. Although all variants of Cursed Oil grant a helpful damage boost against resilient lycanthropes, players should think about using Beast Oil instead. Beast Oil has no effect on werewolves, however, is greatly beneficial when dealing with the regular wolves that the monster summons to their side.
Against a foe that will recover huge amounts of health every second, taking out distractions and other threats quickly is vital. Getting delayed over the course of a whole battle can grant the werewolf many chances to recover health points, which will constantly put Geralt at a disadvantage and prolong the fight. Such a situation could lead to the Witcher running out of potions; a very dangerous position to be in. The highest level of Beast Oil offers a significant 50% damage boost per slash for 60 successful attacks, which can help one cleave through a pack of wolves at record speeds.
Use Geralt's Spells
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Fire might be the best type of magic to take down werewolves, but Igni isn't available until players have leveled up. Besides, Igni isn't the only useful spell to Witchers when battling werewolves. Yrden, for example, is the game's slowing spell. Since werewolves can sometimes move quickly around the area, casting Yrden can help slow them down and make them easier to catch up to and attack.
Another useful spell for fighting werewolves, or really any enemy, is Quen. Casting Quen will form a protective field around Geralt. If the player needs a moment to heal themselves, then Quen can be highly effective. Quen also diminishes the amount of damage a werewolf can inflict upon Geralt, making it easier and safer to perform deadly attacks against the cursed creature. Axii can also be useful, especially if the werewolf begins healing itself.
Use Dancing Star Bombs To Deal Fire Damage
Igni is highly effective against werewolves, but since it isn't available until later in the game, players will need to find another way to use fire as a weapon early on. One method of dealing fire damage is through the Dancing Star bombs. Throwing these will cause a fiery explosion and set any nearby enemies aflame, which will obviously deal a ton of damage to any werewolves in the vicinity.
There are three versions of the Dancing Star bomb; standard, enhanced, and superior. All three deal the same amount of damage, though the duration and amount of charges increase with each level.
- The standard Dancing Star bomb is the easiest to craft, requiring only 1 saltpeter and 2 sulfur.
- For an enhanced Dancing Star bomb, players will need 1 standard Dancing Star bomb, 1 phosphorus, 1 sulfur, 1 nostrix, 1 sewant mushroom, 1 stammelford's dust, and 1 hellebore petals.
- To craft a superior Dancing Star bomb, players will need all the same ingredients needed for an enhanced Dancing Star bomb, along with an already-crafted enhanced Dancing Star bomb.
Use Igni For A Devastating Combo
The Igni magical sign is probably the most used out of all the signs by Witchers the world over for its excellent versatility in most situations and the amount of damage it does, even against foes not notably susceptible to fire. Against werewolves, Igni is the most useful sign to use as lycanthropes are weak to fire and get stunned briefly when impacted by a Witcher's scorching blast. This can open them up for a few silver sword slashes or make them stay put long enough to be hit by a bomb.
The best strategy to take down a werewolf in The Witcher 3 actually uses this very method. Devil's Puffball, in addition to wreaking havoc on a werewolf's health bar, is also incredibly flammable. If one's target is within a lingering cloud of the noxious green fumes produced by this bomb, unleashing Igni (from a safe distance) can cause a devastating explosion that will send any lycanthrope reeling.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.