Character Builds, Ability Points, & How to Kick Ass Thread

[Villentretanmerth]

Is the adrenaline points gain from sword attacks based on damage delt, or just the number of hits?

I think it's number of hits. At least that's how it feels to me. I'm fairly sure.

 

[xdevnull]

On the issue of red mutagens, they are indeed way to few. I'm curious how you are supposed to obtain them because in my first play-through (70+ hours) I didn't find enough red mutagens to complete crafting all the potions requiring it. Much less having a full one to buff red mutagen slot.

Unfortunately I think you pretty much have to farm them. There are a couple of spots where lvl 11endregas spawn in Velen. I have one Greater Red and 2/3 on my way to my second one. That's not doing a lot of intentional farming. (Level 22)

But yeah - I have more blue mutagens than I know what to do with. I wish we could use the monster specific ones to make the Greater, but they're for decoctions only (which I haven't even touched).

 

[EliHarel]

Level 16 right now, about to finish Novigrad (pretty sure I spent dozens of hours doing quests there, sheesh), and then finally heading to Skellige for the first time.

I'm at a point where I feel confident enough in my playstyle that I don't need to min-max my skills, and I can afford instead going for things that are fun, even if there are better choices in order to become powerful. For example, I toyed around a bit with the 3/3 version of the improved countering, and what happened was that I knocked back almost every human and insta-killed them while they were on the floor. Highly effective, but just as boring, so I ditched it.

All this to say - I'm debating whether to dip into Aard or Igni for that fun factor now. Any thoughts? Both the fire stream as well as that 360 Aard effect seem cool.

And on a different note - can the crossbow by any good? I enjoyed the throwing knives in TW2 to vary things up a bit here and there, and I'm not against dipping into crossbow skills if they can actually offer actual damage.

 

[Caythwyn]

You can toss my Build in there as well.

http://thewitcher3.wiki.fextralife.com/The+School+of+Bear​

 

[Phinnway]

@EliHarel I tried the firestream Igni ability for a while and I wasn't a huge fan of it. It still has a % chance to set enemies on fire, but because it's a conitinous stream it happens a lot faster than regular Igni. Still though, you can point it right at an enemy and it still can take a second or two for them to come ablaze. Really though, it's a single target skill and that's the main reason why I didn't like it. It's not very good vs groups.

 

[Villentretanmerth]

I'd like some recommendations on what skills should I get next? This is my current build:

http://www.gosunoob.com/witcher-3/skill-calculator/?combat=115_125_215_225_325_355&general=231_321

I'm thinking maybe Sunder Armor? But I don't know if that sounds very useful. Is that going to result in a significant increase in damage dealt? I tried out Deadly Precision, and I don't like it, because some enemies are immune. Flood of Anger might be kind of fun - to add a little variety. But I don't think it will be that useful. I could maybe invest in some signs? I don't know. I don't really see anything that stands out as the next obvious thing I should get.

By the way, my build is a glass cannon - completely focused on dealing out the most damage possible. Recommendations?

 

[Sardukhar]

I'm running a high Signs build right now at level 11. DM still. I can report survivability, once you have Greater Blue Mutagens, Griffin armour and the regen Quen, is much better than the other versions I tried - Undying, high Alchemy, Double concoctions - while also being capable of going for quite a while before meditation.

I'd probably drop the Maxed level 2 Yrden though, in favour of higher Aard in future.

http://www.gosunoob.com/witcher-3/s...2_142_153_233_242_251&alchemy=142&general=241

Need to find more Places of Power. If only I would turn on the map markers again...but I WON'T.

 

[Phinnway]

I'm thinking maybe Sunder Armor? But I don't know if that sounds very useful. Is that going to result in a significant increase in damage dealt?

According to... the game itself... Strong Attacks already ignore enemy armor completely. So the only advantage of Sunder Armor is that fast attacks, bombs, and signs do more damage after hitting enemies with a few strong attacks. Personally, I think it's a waste of ability points unless you have Bear School Training equiped. With Cat School Training and Precise Blows Fast Attacks do so much critical damage they out DPS Strong Attacks even in spite of the ignore-armor bonus.

View attachment 15301

By the way, my build is a glass cannon - completely focused on dealing out the most damage possible. Recommendations?

I think you already know my thoughts on this (stack red mutagens all the way!!!) But in case you don't already know this piece of advice --stack critical-hit-damage and crtiical-hit-chance on your potions, glyphs, and gear.

 

[Gadfly_Jim]

Are there any benchmarks of impact of DSR?

I haven't seen any benchmarks using DSR for this game but some sites have 4k benchmarks which should give you a good frame of reference. it does have a large impact on your fps so a lot of people use it just for screenshots. Most people prefer smoother fps over 4k.

 

[Villentretanmerth]

According to... the game itself... Strong Attacks already ignore enemy armor completely. So the only advantage of Sunder Armor is that fast attacks, bombs, and signs do more damage after hitting enemies with a few strong attacks. Personally, I think it's a waste of ability points unless you have Bear School Training equiped. With Cat School Training and Precise Blows Fast Attacks do so much critical damage they out DPS Strong Attacks even in spite of the ignore-armor bonus.

Hmm. Sunder Armor says it reduces enemy damage resistance. Is that really the same as enemy armor? Because if it is, then that is a pretty crappy ability. I will have to test this and see if it does any more damage. But if Sunder really is that crappy, I don't know where to put my next few points into.

I think you already know my thoughts on this (stack red mutagens all the way!!!) But in case you don't already know this piece of advice --stack critical-hit-damage and crtiical-hit-chance on your potions, glyphs, and gear.

Yeah, I'm already using all red mutagens. I farmed a Fiend for a while to create a greater red.

 

[Uhtred1084]

http://www.gosunoob.com/witcher-3/s...1|9xgeneral_2_3|10xalchemy_1_2|11xalchemy_3_2

My planned build. Light armor, all out DPS. I couldn't put a skill in slot 12, which would have been Adaptation. I'm a far way off from this build. So far I have Sun and Stars as I'm playing on Blood and Broken Bones, which helps me regen vitality during the day and allows me to keep food items and Swallow handy for when I really need it, I just left White Orchard. I have 5/5 in Muscle Memory, and 2/3 in arrow deflection.

 

[Phinnway]

Hmm. Sunder Armor says it reduces enemy damage resistance. Is that really the same as enemy armor?

Apparently it's not. But that begs the question: what is the relation between restances and armor? Do resistances modify your armor values against certain attack types? Or do they reduce incoming damage by a percentage before it gets further reduced by your armor value?
And then there is still the question of how effective reducing enemy resistences will be. It seems to me it would be most effective at further reducing enemy resistances to damage types they are already vulnerable to. So take drowners for example; they are vulnerable to fire damage. Reducing their resistance would make Dancing Star (fire bombs) even more effective against them.

View attachment 15340

Yeah, I'm already using all red mutagens. I farmed a Fiend for a while to create a greater red.

How effective was that? I've never gotten Red mutagens from enemies in the open-world e.g. that aren't part of quests.

 

[Villentretanmerth]

How effective was that? I've never gotten Red mutagens from enemies in the open-world e.g. that aren't part of quests.

The fiend drops a mutagen every time, whether it's blue, green, or red. So if you farm him enough, you'll get red ones eventually. I had about 60 or 70 fiend eyes when I finished. So that's about how many times I had to kill him to get 9 lesser reds. If you use this video, you can do it too. I'll add one piece of advice though: you may have to reload your save, in addition to meditating, to make the fiend respawn. That's what I had to do. But I heard that it might only be ps4 owners that have to do that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyaVFKDvjlA

 

[Phinnway]

@Villentretanmerth Thanks for that piece of advice, I had no idea Fiends could drop red mutagens, or that one spawned in Velen.

Personally, I hope they just buff the drop rate and nerf the bonus. If Red Mutagens are so OP there is no reason to make them so rare, just make them less OP instead.

 

[EliHarel]

Alright, I reached a point in Death March where I'm comfortable enough with the controls and my skills to not be worried about optimizing my build and min-maxing. Instead I'm going for as many active abilities as I can. Or just anything that isn't solely an increase to numbers. I'm enjoying the combat, but I find it grows stale after dozens of hours if you focus mostly on passive skills. I've toyed around a bit with a hybrid build that has more active options, and it's a breath of fresh air, with every fight having a much broader potential of developing in different ways.

So the obvious things are:

Whirl
Rend
Alternate Aard
Alternate Igni
Alternate Axii
Alternate Yrden (?)

I don't think I'll go for alternate Quen because I don't want to be lulled into playing very defensively. I don't find it as enjoyable, even if it's a surer way to win.

The only other things that come to mind are Arrow Deflection, and Frenzy ("If potion toxicity is above 0, time automatically slows when an enemy is about to perform a counterattack").

What do you guys think? Anything else that's worth taking that offers a nice new touch to combat, which isn't just a numbers upgrade?

And how did you find alternate Yrden? Doesn't sound as fun as the others by its description, but I haven't tried it out.

(Also, did you guys find out any new sword animations that are unlocked with skills other than Whirl and Rend?)

 

[luc0s]

Whole game has been easy for me on blood and broken bones.

I have zero points in sword and signs. ALCHEMY IS THE STRONGEST NO CONTEST!!!

1) Get general skill: Cat. In full light armor you now almost have the same sword strength as 5 points in fast attack (combat tree) for ONE skill-point.

You now have very strong sword attacks in light armor for only one skill point.

2) Get aquired tolerance in alchemy and metabolic control in general for a huge boost to max toxicity.

You can now use TWO mutagen concoctions instead of one, + a normal potion. Very powerful.

3) Protective coating

Flat 25% mitigation vs mobs that you use oil agains, very strong in fights that actually matter.

4) Refreshment

Heals 1/4th of your health when you use a potion

5) Endure pain + tissue transmutation

+1000 vitality per mutagen concoction, you can use two - so basically +2000 vitality permanently
+50% HP when toxicity passes the safe threshold, I have it up permanently

Summary:

Good damage
Very high health
25% mitigation bonus in hard fights (oil)
2 x concoction
25% heal of total hp when using any potion

Mutagen potions: The one that restores health when using stamina. Griphon for reducing damage taken or the 10% crit chance one for increasing damge done.
Mutagen slots: All green

At lvl 15 (there about) and to lvl26 (atm) I have been nearly unkillable. Good damage from oils and the cat school point, none needed in ANY combat skill.
Extreme hp + good mitigation + very easy to regain hp (Quen now heals me for 15% of my health per use, a potion heals me for 25%).

Worst part of this build: Game becomes too easy.
Best part of this build (other than being near-immortal): No need to micromanage signs , you can turn to button-mashing with some dodge.

Edit: Just to repeat it: From lvl15+ near30 I have been near-unkillable with good damage. Without using a SINGLE skill in signs or combat tree. 100% alchemy + general skills. I fear alchemy will get nerfed atm.

I went with this build and in top of that I maxed out the first perk under Igni so I can strip enemies from their armor, especially useful against the Wild Hunt.

I also maxed out Delusion but that's mostly for the Jedi-mind-trick/talk-jutsu dialogue options. So instead of using 4 green mutagens I use 4 green mutagens and 1 blue mutagen because I''m using 2 blue perks right now and it helps with that Igni perk that strips armor (the amount of armor it strips relying on your sign intensity with a maximum of 75%, so having a sign intensity of 75% is useful here).

Question: Do monsters have armor too? Or only mobs that actually wear armor, such as humanoids and the Wild Hunt?

 

[dacisco101]

Alchemy all the way. With the right skills, you can use 3 deconcoctions, every potion, all sign buffs, workbench bonus, and grindstone bonus all at the same time.

 

[Phinnway]

Question: Do monsters have armor too? Or only mobs that actually wear armor, such as humanoids and the Wild Hunt?

I assume monsters hav armor. There is no reason for them not to have it --armor is just an abstraction, it does not literally mean "wearing armor." You have to consider that most monsters have have thick skin, scales, hard exoskeletons, and other built in protection.

---------- Updated at 10:37 AM ----------

I need help determining where to go next with my build. I just unocked my 9th skill slot.. This is my buiild so far. As you can see it is Swordsmanship focused, but there is not longer any skill I want from the Swordsmanship tree.

Before I go on: You will notice Crushing Blows isn't fully upgraded. That's because I only used it as a stepping stone to get to T3. I will either upgrade that skill all the way or replace it with something else later on. But finding a skill to place in my new skill slot takes priority.

I am thinking of going into Alchemy or Signs. There are two T1 abilities from Signs and Alchemy that look really good to me.

• Aquired Tolerance: Every known alchemy recipe increase your maximum toxicity
• Delusion: Various Axxi combat improvments. Increases the effectiveness of Axxi in dialogues..

There reason I want Delusion is because Axxi to aboslutely decimates in 1v1 --the dialogue options are just a bonus. I looked at all the T1 Sign skills and decided this one looked the best. But I am open to other suggestions.

If I decided to stay in Sowrdsmanship it would mainly be to get another Red mutagen. If I did, the skills I would consider getting are:
[

• Counter Attack: After a succesful counter-attack your next attack deals bonus damage.
• Whirl: Fast Attack active ability (can anyone comment on the effectiveness of this skill?)
• Redn: Heavy Attack active ability. (can anyone comment on the effectiveness of this skill?)
• Deadly Precision: Each Adrenaline Point gives you a small % chance to intantly kill an enemy.
• Flood Of Anger: When you cast a sign, if you have 3 Adrenaline Points available they will all be consumed and the Sign will unlock all its upgrades for that one cast.

 

[Sardukhar]

I am thinking of going into Alchemy or Signs. There are two T1 abilities from Signs and Alchemy that look really good to me.

• Aquired Tolerance: Every known alchemy recipe increase your maximum toxicity
• Delusion: Various Axxi combat improvments. Increases the effectiveness of Axxi in dialogues..

There reason I want Delusion is because Axxi to aboslutely decimates in 1v1 --the dialogue options are just a bonus. I looked at all the T1 Sign skills and decided this one looked the best. But I am open to other suggestions.

Hey,Phinn.

Youe build link doesn't work. Need the actual build, not just the calc.

I'm heavy into Signs. It's fun - Axii is very nice, as is a fully geared Quen Regen build. One or two hits and my health is back. This is level 13.

But it's a little less visceral than sword or alch. You have the enemies kill each other, and then Aard or Igni the survivors. Very pleasing and quite safe, but not as exciting.

Aard become very powerful when you're wearing Griffin armour, have lots of greater blue mutagens and spec for Signs, though.

 

[Exentryk]

I'm currently on a level 11 Signs build. Signs just let you cheese fights lol. But I like using the different signs more than just sword strikes. Plan currently is to put the rest of the points into swords though. Might tweak later on, but that's the current plan.

My current build can be seen in action here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFjt-9B1pA0