Geralt's popularity as a Witcher commonly gets associated with his skill in the blade and the magical arts. However, Geralt's depiction in CD Projekt Red's acclaimed title stays true to the Witcher's portrayal in The Witcher series. In both the novels and the books, Geralt's skillset extends far more than his pair of steel and silver swords, magics, and trinkets. In fact, Geralt demonstrates prowess in martial arts as well.
In The Witcher 3, as well as other games, Geralt can fight his opponents with his bare fists. Most of these situations happen in taverns and bars. Moreover, some of these fighters become quite the challenge to take down. However, despite the rather tricky nature of fistfights in The Witcher 3, Geralt does have a few tricks up his sleeve.
Updated March 8th, 2021 by Rhenn Taguiam: Fistfights in The Witcher 3 remain one of the most entertaining yet technical aspects of the game. Players who feel a bit overwhelmed with Geralt's more intense hand-to-hand incursions can refer to more tips in this guide to ensure they succeed - Witcher style!
15 Reloading Works
Players don’t necessarily have to win every single fistfight they encounter during the first try. After all, some fistfights like the progressive difficulty of the Fists of Fury quest line can get incredibly challenging for first-timers. However, players may learn a thing or two by just reloading or restarting the fight after a loss.
Remember, in real life, some of the world’s best MMA fighters also lose in some of their sparring sessions. Players may learn a thing or two by just letting enemies pummel through them the first few times during their match-ups. That way, players can study the usual movesets of their enemies so they can better plan their counters the next time around.
14 When In Doubt, Wait
Geralt shouldn’t always whip out his fists as soon as his enemies approach him. Remember, a successful duck and counter from the enemy can stun Geralt into submission. Instead, players should bide their time and wait for enemies to move. Essentially, players force the enemy to make an advance. That way, players thin out their movement options to line a perfect counter.
Moreover, players shouldn’t try to get aggressive if an enemy isn’t moving on the get go. If they wait, the enemy will likely make the advance and leave themselves open for a dodge or a quick counter.
13 Mind The Movement
Fans of boxing or MMA matches might notice that combatants often move around the ring to finish the countdown for the round. However, this strategy isn’t just reserved as a delaying tactic. In fact, some fighters actively use this to avoid enemies from catching them off-guard. Remember, consistent movement gives a fighter the room to dodge or duck much faster compared to when they’re stationary.
Interestingly, the same logic applies to fistfights in The Witcher 3. Essentially, Geralt should never stay stationary, especially in fights in tight spaces. When he moves around, he forces enemies to constantly move instead of locking an attack. This strategy may force them to stay put to make a punch. However, by then, Geralt would already be on their side and prepared with a harsh counter.
12 Push Enemies To A Corner
Fans who watch combat sports might notice that fighters who corner their enemy usually have a winning edge. After all, there aren’t a lot of exits for a cornered fighter when attacks are coming from their escape points. In turn, Geralt should follow the same philosophy in fist fights. Aside from avoiding getting cornered, he should also try his best to box out enemies in a corner as well.
Essentially, Geralt could do this by making sure he’s slowly moving to a wall or a corner during a fight. That way, enemies follow him and try to make an advance. In the right moment, Geralt can dodge before a light attack. This should put them to an opponent’s side, where the enemy should be facing a wall or a corner. Hopefully, this should leave room for a counter-attack that involves blocking an enemy’s exit.
11 Take Time
Players shouldn’t rush to finish a fistfight, regardless of how audiences seem to “hype” the match. Remember, Geralt rushing in too quickly can end up with the enemy dodging or making a fierce counter-attack. Instead, Geralt should stay patient and try to predict the enemy’s movement patterns and attack patterns. By waiting it out, Geralt puts the enemy at a disadvantage as they have to show their hand.
Essentially, by the time the enemy tries to attack, players now have the means to become defensive. Remember, it’s much easier to pull off a combo after a counter-attack instead of being aggressive up front. In turn, it may pay off on Geralt’s end to wait for an enemy to attack first instead of being aggressive on the get-go.
10 Remember Fighting Games
When Geralt triggers a fistfight in The Witcher 3, players should remember that the game at this point transforms into a 3D fighting game. As such, they can't use any of Geralt's weapons and potions. Instead, he relies solely on his fists (and sometimes feet) to attack, dodge, and defend.
As such, players should prepare their mindset for such an occasion. As soon as the fistfight occurs, moves have to be calculated and precise. Unfortunately, reckless movement and button-mashing become the prelude to a crushing defeat. This caveat can make fistfights a challenging ordeal.
9 Block First And Foremost
Geralt should block as soon as the battle begins. Some opponents all over the game world might try to sneak in a cheap shot as soon as combat starts, which can ruin a player's "flow" in the fight. To avoid this caveat, players should hold Block at the beginning of the battle. Of course, players might want to get the first hit. However, it's much safer to hold Block to avoid sudden attacks.
If players are sure opponents won't try a cheap shot when the battle starts, then they can start altering their strategy from there. Like in a fighting game, the best option against a button-masher is to keep on blocking until they leave an opening.
8 Maintain The Distance
As with most battles, players will want to take control of the situation immediately. Instead of going headfirst into an opponent, they should keep their distance first. It's ideal for Geralt to have at least two person's worth of distance between him and his enemy. That way, Geralt can still dash in if they leave an opening or dodge quickly if they attack. However, players may also want to keep themselves a dash away from opponents.
Point is, players should pressure the opponent into attacking them. That way, they become open to dodging and parries.
7 Dodge When In Doubt
Players should always choose to dodge whenever they worry about making a parry. Despite the usefulness of parry, doing it the wrong way will most likely force enemy attacks to land on Geralt. This situation becomes very bad, as Geralt will stagger for a few seconds and leave himself open for another combo.
As such, players should always dodge attacks whenever the enemy rushes in for an assault. This becomes a great way for players to scoot away from bad corners and get back to an open area.
6 Wait For The Strong Attack
Players will want to end difficult battles as soon as possible. However, in the case of fistfights, players should secure victory conditions first before they rush in for the kill. As such, distance matters not just to help Geralt avoid attacks. Rather, this distance should at some point provoke enemies from making a Strong Attack.
Unlike Basic Attacks, Strong Attacks become much easier to recognize. As such, they become much easier to predict and avoid. Players should keep their distance and wait for the enemy to launch a Strong Attack.
5 Cancel Strong Attacks With Dodge
Players who try to move around annoying opponents might want to dash in for a Strong Attack if they're open. However, opponents might see this same opportunity to make an attack. In these situations, Geralt can simply Dodge to cancel the Strong Attack animation and regain their footing. That way, they can quickly retaliate and punish opponents with another combo. Thanks to this, Geralt can easily cancel his own Strong Attacks much faster and avoid risking leaving an opening.
However, players should remember that enemies can Parry and Dodge their attacks, too. As soon as this happens, players should immediately keep their distance or hit Block as soon as possible.
4 Parry With Timing
Players should keep their hands on Block to avoid cheap shots. However, they should release Block if they have a considerable distance from the opponent. That way, they have room to press Block as soon as the enemy makes the attack animation. Timing is key here, and the best time to press Block is just when opponents raise their fists for an attack.
If players Block correctly, they Parry the attack and leave enemies open for a harsh counter. This becomes the perfect time to dish out some sweet punches.
3 Greed Is Bad
When Geralt successfully parries an enemy attack, the opponent becomes open for a counter-assault. This becomes the perfect opportunity for Geralt to strike back. Players will likely have a go-to combo when dealing with fistfights. However, a Fast Attack with some Strong Attacks strung in between works perfectly fine against most opponents.
However, players shouldn't be greedy. Attacking too much will leave Geralt open for Parries and counter-attacks. As such, one or two combo sets should be enough and Geralt should take distance as soon as possible.
2 Keep On Parrying Multiple Opponents
Given the intricate nature of fistfights, Geralt fighting many opponents easily becomes disadvantageous for him. However, this caveat doesn't make the challenge impossible. In these situations, Geralt should focus on parries with short counters instead of button-mashing against all of them. That's because, when Geralt counters after a parry, opponents get stunned with enough time for Geralt to deal with other opponents.
As such, Geralt can parry and counter Enemy 1 to leave them stunned while he deals with Enemy 2. After that, Geralt can go back to the freshly-recovered Enemy 1 to do the same thing. Thanks to this strategy, Geralt can deal with multiple opponents in fistfights, albeit in an extended fashion.
1 Focus On Retreat When Surrounded
Geralt being cornered by one opponent is one thing, but Geralt being cornered by multiple opponents becomes very bad extremely quickly. If Geralt gets surrounded, players should focus on holding Block and dodging as soon as possible. The sooner they exit the corner, the better. As such, players should also avoid to do any attacks while surrounded as enemies can easily punish Geralt for this.
When facing multiple enemies, it's also advisable to lure each opponent away from the pack so Geralt can deal counterattacks much more easily.