I always loved the Bear School armor even before the update because of its looks. Long trench coat with scarf is a nice aesthetic. Only problem I have with it is I don’t like the way the boots look so I use the Wolven boots. Gives Geralt a cool Van Hellsing vibe.
So I did a new + play-through and the bear armor is now not as great as what I pick up. Do you need to go through again and rebuild the same armor for it to be better?
@@ddenny6863 Yeah, New Game+ you have to rebuild all the witcher armor for it to be good as NG+ introduces higher level armors, weapons, swords & quests.
thankfully at bare minimum, next gen update did change it so that all the legendary versions do keep the grandmaster bonus (so I've heard), if youre thinking about armor bonus wise (if youre old gen, then, sorry about that)
There are definitely better sets out there but i always go towards the wolf armour. Jack of all trades and keeps it authentic to Geralt, it just feels right. Not to mention it looks awesome!
I'm miles from making a Grandmaster gear, but I think that I'm going to use a Wolf-Bear hybrid, I like to be a tank while also having multiple options.
I agree, bear set makes the game too easy and I feel geralt wouldnt use anything but the wolf set. More than strong enough for this game and allows you to do what you want
For me its either manticore cause I love the look of the similiar armor in 1 and bear armor just cause it look badass i like the gryphon set 2 so thats 3rd
I always prefer the Viper gear because it's such a simple design. It's kinda sad that it doesn't have any bonus. And I'd like to see that build video you mentioned
At least the Venoumous Viper swords are possibly the best witcher swords, having the best crit stats out of all of them and a good poison chance on top of that. The problem just is that if you don't care about set bonuses, there are better swords to use, like Aerondight and Toussaint Knight sword.
i love that set too because not only it looks too but i also love poison damage in games. Nothing more satisfying for me more than watching an enemy melt down because of poison. Note: If any of you could recommend me a good poison build i'd appreciate it! almost done with the base game and i am at level 31.
I think it's only when you start blood and wine, I just started blood and wine and you can buy it and find dyes, plus its only for witcher armour I think.
Same. And I invest a lot in bombs. There’s something so satisfying about throwing a northern wind bomb then a single grapeshot and a high level monster just blows up 😂 (especially with the skill that triples bomb damage)
@@jeanc1622 Agreed, I wanna make a lore accurate Geralt build as possible, meaning no cheesing signs and focusing mostly on sword damage and alchemy, but basically being a jack of all trades. I mean how many times does Geralt use signs in the books?
Grandmaster Griffin Armor with the right runes and potions turns the game into a cake walk at even the highest difficulty with enemy level scaling. Combine it with the Ancient Leshen and Ekhidna decoctions (increased stamina generation for every sign cast during a fight and regain health whenever stamina is used) and you can throw out a constant barrage of signs while healing all the while.
Yep, first time I did the Olgierd fight in Death March, I used the Mastercrafted Griffin set and didnt take any damage. It was rather short, about 1 minute
Griffin School Chads just can’t stop winning. I run a build that made Death March a breeze. Plus one thing that the Griffin Armor has over my other favorite Bear, is fun factor. The Griffin Set is just the absolute most fun way to play the game and I feel like I’m never having to adapt to enemies, they have to adapt to me. It has an answer for everything the game throws at it.
I call it the "Hans, get ze flammenwerfer!" With anchient leshen decoction, Tawny Owl, and the Yrden stamina regen boost, you can absolutely spam signs. With Ekidna it doesnt even matter if you get pummeld by arrows. Youll just heal it away instantly
I really like your appreciation of the game mechanics in the Witcher 3. There aren't enough people who care about it even though this game has awesome RPG-like mechanics. Thank you for your efforts.
Witcher 3 is my favorite game of all time. It's a great game story wise. RPG mechanics are dull, uninspired garbage. Combat is brainless Thank God we have Ghost Mode and Enhanced Edition for that
@@jealousgoose I would say that even the vanilla combat could be good, but the real problem are the levels, oh boy, I hate those things (and RPGs in general therefore) even when are correctly implemented, now the system form (in)* the witcher 3 isn't
Cat school set will always be my favorite. Love the playstyle of having to dodge around to avoid blows, using signs, oils, and tonics just to stay alive, all while dealing insane damage from a flurry of blows. Really feels like what a Witcher should fight like.
Cat armor was fun, really forced me to dodge and parry, while feeling fast, and at the end setting up beautiful executions. Also looks the best other than the viper, however both the wolf and bear are beautiful sets as well, and with the right color scheme griffen can look nice too!
Cat armor combined with a combat/ alchemy build centred around metamorphosis, you can cut down enemies with whirl whilst replenishing health with decoctions based on damage output. It's super OP and you don't even have to dodge at that point.
Imo cat armor is the only option. Witcher 3 is a fairly easy game and you should just max dmg output. Taking lethal damage is super rare because dodging is easy. Combat also gets easier as the game progresses.
I like Feline best because fast attacks just feel so nice compared to the clunky signs and strong attacks + you can just have a quen shield as a backup when you get hit
for me the cat build is the fairest, because as you said it is the one that gives Geralt a lot of damage with his swords, but nothing more, making the use of signs become something much more strategic and the chance of dying in the game along with the difficulty still remain to some extent, you deal a lot of damage, but you can die if you are not careful.Of course considering a fully combat focused build with no alchemy or signals, but my favorite is the manticore because of a simple think. **CABOOM**
I always loved the look of fully upgraded Ursine (Bear) gear, paired with Levity for a solid swords and alchemy playstyle. For the lore, I like to think after the base game, Geralt is a bit of an "aging" witcher, reflexes are getting slower so he puts more value on his armour. After all, he might also value his own life a little bit more, he does have a "family", sort of, with either one of the romance options and Ciri, and also a nice place to call home. :)
I'd absolutely LOVE a ten best builds video! I normally go for a jack of all trades style, but seeing some of what you're pulling off is really making me want to do a specialized one! though in terms of builds I have no idea what I'm doing.
@@writerlairchannel2636 signs builds are a bit boring. You just spam aard or igni. And considering the books lore, signs are not that powerful as they are in the game. Res/Green builds are much more fun to play for me.
@@kater92 Its not really a signs build, just quen (i still die preaty fast on Blood and Broken Bones), alternate yrden when enemy is far with occasional igni when enemies are close to each other - this makes you think about when to use what and it makes combat fun in my opinion
Before the next-gen upgrade, I liked to run half Wolf and half Griffin, because I used the triple blade oil perk a lot and I liked the idea of the double-casting. In practice I didn't find myself double-casting a lot, so I may end up switching to the Bear armor just for the adrenaline point gain since the Wolf perk was moved to a skill that I already ran (Fixative).
Nice part about the bonus moving to Fixative is that it's not a pure QOL skill anymore. You rarely have to fight multiple enemy types at once, but when you do, the triple oil is very helpful. And of course it also adds to the QOL aspect even more.
@@wombat4191 Right? I ran Fixative and the Wolf perk just for QOL, so I wasn't having to change oils all the time for general exploration. Keeping the QOL benefit and freeing me up to get another bonus on top of that is very nice.
I went through the whole list going "that's my favorite armor! No, _that's_ my favorite armor!" And ironically the best armor was the bear armor, the one I completely forgot and never use. I like cat armor, and potion and sign builds. Bear armor is clunky. I will try that trick to get it to work like a light armor tho. Mayhaps it will magically turn it into my new favorite armor set 😂
10:11 You're not alone. With a proper color fully upgraded gear looks awesome. It looks like a real armor, no like a biker jacket or trench coat, or pseudo assassin's creed armor. Also signs on a next-gen feels fantastic.
I'd argue Witcher's aren't meant to use "real armour". They would only use light armour so they can have mobility and have some form of protection if by chance they get hit. imo, Griffin does not feel like a Witcher armour. The armour set that closely resembles a witcher armour in my eyes is Mastercrafted Feline armour, Viper armour or the starter armour. that being said, I absolutely love the Griffin aside from the looks tho.
@@ToVoMo Thats right since realistically a slash from most monsters would tear you apart, no matter the armor you have on. So it makes sense to have the lightest armor possible and invest in being agile as a witcher.
@@adreak9868 well, I know, and it's definitely not like anything we have in game (maybe Heart of Stone armor). Not like any witcher gear we have in game. So, what's your point?
Yeah, but witchers aren't suppose to use normal armors .. did you read the books ? Do you know the lore about witchers? Manticore and probably the Wolf School armors are the most true Witcher accurate armors in the game.. Witcher 1 and 2 have even more true to the books and lore armors than pretty much any armors you can find in Witcher 3
after the update with the changes to how to use signs i immediately wanted to use a sign build, the griffin set also in my opinion looks good at all levels as well so that was a bonus, really enjoyed that play through
Regarding the Wolf Armor and the sign + sword build being sub-optimal, I appreciate the little extra challenge and just like fighting that way so it works out fine for me. It also looks the most like clothing.
Personally, I loved using the grandmaster level Griffin armor. Combined with the right perks, such as the potion perk that lets you have more resistance to toxicity the more filled out your recipe list is and the super-powerful Aard that deals frost damage to enemies. I loved this set for my playthrough once I got it fully upgraded.
I love the wolf set because the gameplay feels like Geralt. No Spamming heavy attack or signs at enemies. It might not be the strongest, but its the one that suits geralt the most.
My favs are also Griffin and Bear schools, but I don't like the look of the Bear set, so I usually combine it with something else. Btw, I like that you recorded your fights in different beautiful places with various enemies for every set, it is really cool and interesting to watch.
I liked the forgotten armor focusing on yrden and aard playstyle. I have not watched season 2 and was not very pleasantly surprised how the armor changed looks so dramatically but most of the enemies died in 2 fast aards and yrden was surprisingly powerfull too to me. The endgame then became quite boring. I imagine going full bear and watch them kill themselves or rend everything is not screaming action too though.
This is why i gimp myself with the gear. I use melee build mostly. I added qlchemy because its strong but i divided in sign too. I only increase the jedi mind trick. I level up the shield. And i only use the variant of the ydren (like just add point to the variant skill). It gives me a oh shit button. But i have to "be a witcher" dodge everything, ise appropriate potion and keep the game fun. And my strongest asset is sword fight. I was thinking about ysing the wolf set. But if i am too strong, i will just mix and match what i like visually.
Personally swapped from Ursine to Griffin a few days ago. I get that being an absolute supertank gets you to survive a ton, but it's mainly just Quen and that damage reduction that shines imo. Having way more fun spamming Signs left and right using Griffin.
You're not alone in liking Griffin set looks. Aesthetically there is nothing in the game that comes close to it dyed white. It's absolutely luxurious combination of golden etchings on white field makes it worthy of royalty. Also its utility is outstanding, allowing builds that totally annihilate any number of foes without even use of sword leaving them no chance to touch Geralt.
I would love to see a best/most fun builds video, only really started thinking about a build on my second playthrough of wild hunt and actually ended up going with a bear armor tank build since I like tank builds in other games as well. Only became aware of how many builds were broken through your video about the armor changes
Nicely put video pretty much sums it up. When I 1st played witcher 3, I used the feline gear the most up until the end. It gave me the most thrill since every damage taken counts
I'm loving your videos. I like all the extra detail and variation and I would for sure be interested in watching everything you put out regarding deep dive build options. Keep up the great work!!
Based on looks. I absolutely love the starting armor. I have made sooo many playthroughs on different difficulties. Using nothing but the starting armor (upgraded green). Close second is the Bear armor. Third is either the Wolf or the Manticore armor.
Same here, i love the kaer morhen armor, its a shame the cdpr dont give the chance of impruve that armor i play the hole game with starting armor plus the manticore
My first playthrough and I started on Death March out of the box, no spoilers, no hints. Once I got a grip of the armor set mechanics I went for the cat armor set, it was really fun, lethal and old school swordfighting. On my second playthrough though I went for the bear armor set and it felt PHENOMENAL, you can just waltz your way through the game.
Great video. Would be interested in seeing a video about builds that mix different gear pieces. For example in the old gen some people were using the new moon pants or the nilfgaardian gauntlets in alchemy builds with great success. Maybe similar things can be done in the new gen with alchemy or other builds.
Mixing? Here's one I recently put together for a late-game hybrid build: Incorporate just once piece of Manticore armor into your set. Personally I am using a couple unique swords, and three pieces of Wolf gear, and Manticore gloves. But it really does not matter if you want to choose a different 3 piece set for its bonus. The reason I did this is the +5 toxicity will put you from 184 to 189 max, after Acquired Tolerance and the Toussaint formulae. Now, without the yellow toxicity perk, and with Heightened Tolerance, you can safely run 3 decoctions instead of 2. Combined with Metamorphosis and Crippling Strikes, I very quickly reach 8 decoctions in any fight. Keep only your 8 top choices brewed to guarantee they're selected every time. Not saying this is OP or anything. Clearly things like what the video shows with pure Griffin or Bear are still stronger. But this is single player combat and everyone can do what they want for roleplay fun. I just enjoyed finding this little number trick with a simple +5 tox unlocking an additional decoction within safety. It feels nice not needing the yellow toxicity perk which makes your mutagen benefits less efficient.
This was very helpful! Thank you. I am just now getting into W3 and have half my GrandMaster Bear gear so far. Oddly enough, AFTER playing Hogwarts Legacy and looking for something similar. The Levity + Cat School Technique will be NICE! +Exploding Quen when I get the full set.
I would say the new grandmaster forgotten wolven gear is actually the best now if you set it up well. I used to use ursine until I discovered how strong the yrden+aard forgotten wolven build is. And its much more fun than ursine also.
The forgotten wolf set makes death march a complete joke. Can’t believe he ranked it 6th. You can compete the game without ever using your swords or taking any damage at all. I actually did a no damage play through. However I’m trash and did end up taking some arrow shots. But it’s the best by miles and even makes the game boringly easy honestly.
@@realdreamz8124 It really is broken, I also beat death march with little issue using the yrden+aard build. It was fun for a while, until the game was just too easy. That doesn't change the fact that it is the best build though
I went with a bleed and alchemy build with the wolven set. The set bonus builds off of bleed, and with Flood of Anger I got the benefits of the sign intensity buffs without needing the investment. I used decoctions, adrenaline points, and all the buffing alchemy skills to more or less imitate an all round build.
forgotten wolf set is one of my favourites, its not the best but fits perfectly into my playstyle. besides griffin is so overpowerd in combination with euphoria that forgotten wolf is a nice step back to keep things more playable
I'm with Griffin, good for crowd control. Constant use of fully upgraded signs like Igni + Eruption that explodes enemies while catching others on fire. Even more devastating is Aard + Piercing Cold. However outside of the dialogue I found very little use for Axii.
I don't like the bear set that much as it just doesn't feel like a witcher armor. What I love about Wolf set is that it is best of all. Moderately every stats is good in it. While others focus only on one thing, either sign or sword or alchemy or other stuff. Wolf armor really gives witcher vibes too no matter if its stats aren't that good.
Definitely put a best builds video together. And maybe also a "best builds without Witcher gear" where you explore some of the best base-game/base-dlc loot out there. I just did a self-imposed "no Witcher gear" playthrough and it was fun experimenting with all of the different swords and armors that you get just from exploring the world.
Boi does this game give. So far spent 80 hours and I haven't even frequently touched the armor crafting/ upgrade aspect of the game and it is deep indeed.
For me personally, I really love Wolf Gear for it's look but disappointed of it's effects. On the other hand, Griffin set is absolutely broken but it looks absolutely horrible. So I use a mod to change Griffin set appearance into Wolven. Best of both worlds I'd say.
My favourite set has always been the manticore set followed closely by the bear set. They both just offer a playstyle that feels fun to me especially when combined with the levity perk. I once even did a build that got the 3 piece bonus from each of them, it definitely wasnt as effective as each individually but still surprisingly good
Is it just me, or does it also matter where you are playing in the game on what armor you want? During late main story, bear armor was my pick. Doing the expansions, it felt like I was wearing winter gear in the summer, so I switched to wolf set and have so much fun with being a sign and sword build.
Very true. I don't normally care much for immersion but when I did a playthrough with the cat armor and went to skellige for the first time I kept asking myself if geralt was freezing his ass off with no sleeves lol
Yep. To me it’s Bear armor for Skellige, Wolf for Velen/Novigrad and Cat for Toussaint. The game is easy enough that we can sacrifice efficiency for aesthetics lol
Quick casting xpadder profile was one of my first "mod" to install when playing with controller all those years ago. Im glad they made it innate to the game and for me that is the biggest QoL change they could have added.
Aesthetically, I love the wolf gear, but griffin is probably my all around favorite to play in once it’s grandmaster level. I would also to see your list on the best steel and silver swords in the game. Thanks for the videos!
Something about the cat set that you didn't mention is that on top of the normal pieces it also has a crossbow that contributes to the set bonus, meaning you can replace one of your other pieces with something else and still get the full bonus like replacing the silver sword with Aerondight.
I would very much enjoy a builds video like you mentioned in the video. With all the changes that have been made with the recent updates finding up to date builds online is very hit or miss, so having a video would be very useful.
Wolf is the only way to go for me, it feels like Geralt is using all of his abilities at the very best possible way he can. The bleed and instant quen is super useful aswell.
Regardless of the quality of the netflix show, it was a cool homage from cdpr simply because I bet they had a fucking great sales period when the show first aired
I used Griffin during my first playthrough (have to admit it was on Story and Sword) and loved it, both the appearance and utility of it. Now, thanks partly to this video, I plan on using Cat during my Blood and Broken Bones playthrough, and finally, I will use Bear during Death March.
Currently finishing my third platinum of TW3 and in all of my experience trying builds I have to say the Griffin set is definitely my go to. With the grandmaster bonuses and sign intensity options you can absolutely melt almost every opponent without even getting hit - which means no trips to repair your equipment either. There is something very satisfying about facing a menacing opponent and deleting them without Geralt even getting scratched.
Thanks for the video!! Really would love to see the builds video! Planning to have another full run of Witcher after reading the books so it would come in handy.
I'm using a "critical hit / critical damage bonus" set. It consists of: Manticore chest armor New Moon Trousers Nilfgardian Gauntlets Manticore boots It's not the best-looking set, but it works. I am using the entanglement runeword. My character is a Signs build using 'Magic Sensibilities'. My swords are Aerondight and Belhaven Blade. What do you recommend to improve this?
I for one, would love to see the builds. Especially the bear gear build. I always went with it in my playthroughs, but never really built upon it in depth. I'd love to see more!
Never realised how powerful the Bear armour was compared to the others. I always went with it because I liked how it looked, and the bonuses were good...
My first instinct was to use bear school armor, but the better cat school bonuses made me go for the cat school. But since i'm still a noob i didnt know that it was possible to turn bear armor into light armor. So I'm happy to be able to go back to the bear school!!
Can’t really go wrong with build videos. Different play styles help add even more replayability to a game that already has several different paths to play it.
Nice video! When I learned about Cat School bonus, I never thought that any set can beat it... Until now when you told about Levity rune thingy... :) Next time I play Witcher, I will totally try Bear set.
great video as usual ! i would personnaly love a video or even a serie of videos detailling each witcher armor build as you showcased a bit there along with runes, skills needed and where to fit them, mutagens (even if mostly a given) just basically a in dept look at your best build for each witcher set im deeply in love with the GR wolf, but will have to resort to mod to get the look but benefit of other, better school set...
Yes Mr please do make such a video in which you show off 10 comprehensible builds. First and only run I did so far was just running in through, not caring a bit about my equipment, looking forward to increase difficulty in a new run to actually make use of the combat system etc
Just found your channel. Loving your content! Love your diction, explanations, and your voice is just right for these sort of detailed breakdown videos. Would absolutely love to see a ‘ranked builds’ video. I’ve been putting off going after the Death March(!) achievement for years now, and have finally decided to go for it once I finish my current playthrough to give myself the best New Game+ start possible. Anyways, I know how difficult Death March can be, and I’d like to min-max my way through it. Hence I’d love to see the aforementioned video come to fruition. P.S. As a lifelong Witcher fan, and a TW3 player since launch, I do agree with you on the armor sets, especially regarding the Ursine set. That being said, I get so immersed in the game… that I can’t stand seeing Geralt run around in Toussaint in the Bear School gear. It looks wildly uncomfortable in even mild climates. I always break down and have Geralt wear all Wolf School gear w/ Cat gauntlets, Bear silver, and Manticore steel (for the AP stat) while in Toussaint. Anywhere else, he’s rocking full Bear. Cheers :-)
Perfect timing, just made last night an Excel sheet of all armours and on what level I have them in my current playthrough, I can organize them in your ranking order to make sense 😅
Ursine ftw! I use it a lot with Flood of Anger (3 adrenaline points spent to boost a cast Sign to max level) to make my signs pretty strong too. Use it with Aard for example and you knock everything around you on the ground for a good 10ish seconds. Enough to walk up to a lot of targets and just stab them to death. That and I'm also a sucker for the looks of it x)
Another fantastic video, thank you! I'm about to start my first Death March playthrough after my current one in NG+ and I'd love to see you do another video on the best builds in the game.
Right now, I am using the Bear set. I love it. I love the look and the bonuses. After the bear, I really love the cat armor for flexibility. But either way I love this game!!
5:50 Bleed use is best when fighting multiple enemies, hit one and get the bleed effect then change targets, repeat until all is dead. Your causing damage to an enemy they cannot avoid while not targeting them making them weaker for when you target them again. Multiple target encounters are not high health ones so the bleed effect causes decent damage and can get kills before targeting them again. As for myself, Cat school gear is the best, I prefer fast attacks and rarely signs. You get a bonus from fast attacks with light armor, Cat is the only light armor so it is the best set for a fast attack build.
I always loved the Bear School armor even before the update because of its looks. Long trench coat with scarf is a nice aesthetic. Only problem I have with it is I don’t like the way the boots look so I use the Wolven boots. Gives Geralt a cool Van Hellsing vibe.
So I did a new + play-through and the bear armor is now not as great as what I pick up. Do you need to go through again and rebuild the same armor for it to be better?
@@ddenny6863
Yeah, New Game+ you have to rebuild all the witcher armor for it to be good as NG+ introduces higher level armors, weapons, swords & quests.
@@SuperflyMiceguy Yeah but it would be dope to be able just use the grandmaster gear from the get go all through the game as it does look dope.
thankfully at bare minimum, next gen update did change it so that all the legendary versions do keep the grandmaster bonus (so I've heard), if youre thinking about armor bonus wise (if youre old gen, then, sorry about that)
@@bluegem8582 ye they do all keep the bonuses
There are definitely better sets out there but i always go towards the wolf armour. Jack of all trades and keeps it authentic to Geralt, it just feels right. Not to mention it looks awesome!
As a recent admit into the Wolf School, I agree. Combat should be mobile.
I'm miles from making a Grandmaster gear, but I think that I'm going to use a Wolf-Bear hybrid, I like to be a tank while also having multiple options.
To me the wolf set is the canon armour.
I agree, bear set makes the game too easy and I feel geralt wouldnt use anything but the wolf set. More than strong enough for this game and allows you to do what you want
For me its either manticore cause I love the look of the similiar armor in 1 and bear armor just cause it look badass i like the gryphon set 2 so thats 3rd
I always prefer the Viper gear because it's such a simple design. It's kinda sad that it doesn't have any bonus. And I'd like to see that build video you mentioned
It looks cool, but my problem with it is that (especially in nextgen) it makes geralt look cartoonish
At least the Venoumous Viper swords are possibly the best witcher swords, having the best crit stats out of all of them and a good poison chance on top of that. The problem just is that if you don't care about set bonuses, there are better swords to use, like Aerondight and Toussaint Knight sword.
It gives you complete immunity to poison though which I guess is one less thing to worry about
@@BenAF82 that's not really that big of an upside when Golden Oriole can turn poison into healing.
i love that set too because not only it looks too but i also love poison damage in games. Nothing more satisfying for me more than watching an enemy melt down because of poison.
Note: If any of you could recommend me a good poison build i'd appreciate it! almost done with the base game and i am at level 31.
200 hours of gamepay and no one told me we can dye armor
I think it's only when you start blood and wine, I just started blood and wine and you can buy it and find dyes, plus its only for witcher armour I think.
I am almost certain it says so in the tips during loading screens
i think you get a notification when you start the dlc
... yeah they do....
200 hours and you dot pay attention to the world you inhabited
@@zanetas4743 Same... i failed to hear the rest of the video after the dye part
Build ranking would be nice.
I myself prefer manticore armor with alchemy sword build. Whirl and rend are so much fun :)
Same. And I invest a lot in bombs. There’s something so satisfying about throwing a northern wind bomb then a single grapeshot and a high level monster just blows up 😂 (especially with the skill that triples bomb damage)
Rank 1 metamorphosis with delayed recovery, rank 2 piercing cold spam, rank 3 I quess euphoria tank build
I would love a build video
@@jeanc1622 Agreed, I wanna make a lore accurate Geralt build as possible, meaning no cheesing signs and focusing mostly on sword damage and alchemy, but basically being a jack of all trades. I mean how many times does Geralt use signs in the books?
Cringe
Grandmaster Griffin Armor with the right runes and potions turns the game into a cake walk at even the highest difficulty with enemy level scaling. Combine it with the Ancient Leshen and Ekhidna decoctions (increased stamina generation for every sign cast during a fight and regain health whenever stamina is used) and you can throw out a constant barrage of signs while healing all the while.
Yep, first time I did the Olgierd fight in Death March, I used the Mastercrafted Griffin set and didnt take any damage. It was rather short, about 1 minute
Yeap it's basically cheating, standing in aard sign and constantly casting igni
Griffin School Chads just can’t stop winning.
I run a build that made Death March a breeze. Plus one thing that the Griffin Armor has over my other favorite Bear, is fun factor. The Griffin Set is just the absolute most fun way to play the game and I feel like I’m never having to adapt to enemies, they have to adapt to me. It has an answer for everything the game throws at it.
@@EvILTarNgespecially with the rotation mod for igni.
I call it the "Hans, get ze flammenwerfer!"
With anchient leshen decoction, Tawny Owl, and the Yrden stamina regen boost, you can absolutely spam signs.
With Ekidna it doesnt even matter if you get pummeld by arrows. Youll just heal it away instantly
I really like your appreciation of the game mechanics in the Witcher 3. There aren't enough people who care about it even though this game has awesome RPG-like mechanics. Thank you for your efforts.
Witcher 3 is my favorite game of all time. It's a great game story wise. RPG mechanics are dull, uninspired garbage. Combat is brainless
Thank God we have Ghost Mode and Enhanced Edition for that
@@jealousgoose enhanced edition is fucking awesome. Its a shame that it isnt updated for next gen...
@@jealousgoose So he is working on an update??
@@lucawasserer it's already out and playable
@@jealousgoose I would say that even the vanilla combat could be good, but the real problem are the levels, oh boy, I hate those things (and RPGs in general therefore) even when are correctly implemented, now the system form (in)* the witcher 3 isn't
Me running around in the elegant beauclair doublet: "Interesting"
Cat school set will always be my favorite. Love the playstyle of having to dodge around to avoid blows, using signs, oils, and tonics just to stay alive, all while dealing insane damage from a flurry of blows. Really feels like what a Witcher should fight like.
do this in death march then your only hope is how good you dodge 😆
Cat armor was fun, really forced me to dodge and parry, while feeling fast, and at the end setting up beautiful executions. Also looks the best other than the viper, however both the wolf and bear are beautiful sets as well, and with the right color scheme griffen can look nice too!
Yeah car armor reminds me of the Witcher 2 especially with the hoodie
Cat armor combined with a combat/ alchemy build centred around metamorphosis, you can cut down enemies with whirl whilst replenishing health with decoctions based on damage output. It's super OP and you don't even have to dodge at that point.
Imo cat armor is the only option. Witcher 3 is a fairly easy game and you should just max dmg output. Taking lethal damage is super rare because dodging is easy. Combat also gets easier as the game progresses.
00:02 what is one of the witches from the swamps doing there ? , after all, they can only be found in cutscenes and on bald mountain
@@Arthurm25mods
I like Feline best because fast attacks just feel so nice compared to the clunky signs and strong attacks + you can just have a quen shield as a backup when you get hit
for me the cat build is the fairest, because as you said it is the one that gives Geralt a lot of damage with his swords, but nothing more, making the use of signs become something much more strategic and the chance of dying in the game along with the difficulty still remain to some extent, you deal a lot of damage, but you can die if you are not careful.Of course considering a fully combat focused build with no alchemy or signals, but my favorite is the manticore because of a simple think.
**CABOOM**
I agree on top of that. It doesn't take away the challenge of playing.
And it reflects how Geralt always fought in the books
you definitely have no idea how fun sign builds of griffin, specially yrden + aard.
@@ChonkyBoi_yt i have idea of be a gatling of magic
I always loved the look of fully upgraded Ursine (Bear) gear, paired with Levity for a solid swords and alchemy playstyle.
For the lore, I like to think after the base game, Geralt is a bit of an "aging" witcher, reflexes are getting slower so he puts more value on his armour. After all, he might also value his own life a little bit more, he does have a "family", sort of, with either one of the romance options and Ciri, and also a nice place to call home. :)
I'd absolutely LOVE a ten best builds video! I normally go for a jack of all trades style, but seeing some of what you're pulling off is really making me want to do a specialized one! though in terms of builds I have no idea what I'm doing.
I always go for signs skills because combat skills look pointless to me and very situational like blocking arrows, alternate yrden is a must
@@writerlairchannel2636 fair, but counter point. Whirl is freaking AWESOME.
@@writerlairchannel2636 signs builds are a bit boring. You just spam aard or igni. And considering the books lore, signs are not that powerful as they are in the game. Res/Green builds are much more fun to play for me.
@@kater92 Its not really a signs build, just quen (i still die preaty fast on Blood and Broken Bones), alternate yrden when enemy is far with occasional igni when enemies are close to each other - this makes you think about when to use what and it makes combat fun in my opinion
Before the next-gen upgrade, I liked to run half Wolf and half Griffin, because I used the triple blade oil perk a lot and I liked the idea of the double-casting. In practice I didn't find myself double-casting a lot, so I may end up switching to the Bear armor just for the adrenaline point gain since the Wolf perk was moved to a skill that I already ran (Fixative).
Nice part about the bonus moving to Fixative is that it's not a pure QOL skill anymore. You rarely have to fight multiple enemy types at once, but when you do, the triple oil is very helpful. And of course it also adds to the QOL aspect even more.
@@wombat4191 Right? I ran Fixative and the Wolf perk just for QOL, so I wasn't having to change oils all the time for general exploration. Keeping the QOL benefit and freeing me up to get another bonus on top of that is very nice.
I went through the whole list going "that's my favorite armor! No, _that's_ my favorite armor!"
And ironically the best armor was the bear armor, the one I completely forgot and never use. I like cat armor, and potion and sign builds. Bear armor is clunky.
I will try that trick to get it to work like a light armor tho. Mayhaps it will magically turn it into my new favorite armor set 😂
10:11 You're not alone. With a proper color fully upgraded gear looks awesome. It looks like a real armor, no like a biker jacket or trench coat, or pseudo assassin's creed armor. Also signs on a next-gen feels fantastic.
I'd argue Witcher's aren't meant to use "real armour". They would only use light armour so they can have mobility and have some form of protection if by chance they get hit. imo, Griffin does not feel like a Witcher armour.
The armour set that closely resembles a witcher armour in my eyes is Mastercrafted Feline armour, Viper armour or the starter armour.
that being said, I absolutely love the Griffin aside from the looks tho.
@@ToVoMo Thats right since realistically a slash from most monsters would tear you apart, no matter the armor you have on. So it makes sense to have the lightest armor possible and invest in being agile as a witcher.
Do you know what Geralt was wearing when fighting the striga in the books? A kaftan. Now look up what a polish kaftan looks like.
@@adreak9868 well, I know, and it's definitely not like anything we have in game (maybe Heart of Stone armor). Not like any witcher gear we have in game. So, what's your point?
Yeah, but witchers aren't suppose to use normal armors .. did you read the books ? Do you know the lore about witchers? Manticore and probably the Wolf School armors are the most true Witcher accurate armors in the game.. Witcher 1 and 2 have even more true to the books and lore armors than pretty much any armors you can find in Witcher 3
after the update with the changes to how to use signs i immediately wanted to use a sign build, the griffin set also in my opinion looks good at all levels as well so that was a bonus, really enjoyed that play through
Regarding the Wolf Armor and the sign + sword build being sub-optimal, I appreciate the little extra challenge and just like fighting that way so it works out fine for me. It also looks the most like clothing.
Personally, I loved using the grandmaster level Griffin armor. Combined with the right perks, such as the potion perk that lets you have more resistance to toxicity the more filled out your recipe list is and the super-powerful Aard that deals frost damage to enemies. I loved this set for my playthrough once I got it fully upgraded.
I love the wolf set because the gameplay feels like Geralt. No Spamming heavy attack or signs at enemies. It might not be the strongest, but its the one that suits geralt the most.
I personally think the updated bleed set bonuses for the regular wolven set make it borderline the best set. It can make some fights super easy
My favs are also Griffin and Bear schools, but I don't like the look of the Bear set, so I usually combine it with something else.
Btw, I like that you recorded your fights in different beautiful places with various enemies for every set, it is really cool and interesting to watch.
Yeah I don’t like the look of it either. I much prefer the griffin set
Bro the bear set looks great
I liked the forgotten armor focusing on yrden and aard playstyle. I have not watched season 2 and was not very pleasantly surprised how the armor changed looks so dramatically but most of the enemies died in 2 fast aards and yrden was surprisingly powerfull too to me. The endgame then became quite boring. I imagine going full bear and watch them kill themselves or rend everything is not screaming action too though.
This is why i gimp myself with the gear. I use melee build mostly. I added qlchemy because its strong but i divided in sign too. I only increase the jedi mind trick. I level up the shield. And i only use the variant of the ydren (like just add point to the variant skill).
It gives me a oh shit button. But i have to "be a witcher" dodge everything, ise appropriate potion and keep the game fun. And my strongest asset is sword fight.
I was thinking about ysing the wolf set. But if i am too strong, i will just mix and match what i like visually.
Personally swapped from Ursine to Griffin a few days ago. I get that being an absolute supertank gets you to survive a ton, but it's mainly just Quen and that damage reduction that shines imo. Having way more fun spamming Signs left and right using Griffin.
You're not alone in liking Griffin set looks. Aesthetically there is nothing in the game that comes close to it dyed white. It's absolutely luxurious combination of golden etchings on white field makes it worthy of royalty. Also its utility is outstanding, allowing builds that totally annihilate any number of foes without even use of sword leaving them no chance to touch Geralt.
I like the default colours. I didn't even know you could dye them
I really liked the look of black dyed Griffin Armour together with the Harlequin mask, the gold accents of the armour match the mask great.
The Griffin Armour looks realistic, but it also makes Garalt look fat, so I'll go with the Feline set.
Yea, just download the slimmed down version mod and it's goated
I would love to see a best/most fun builds video, only really started thinking about a build on my second playthrough of wild hunt and actually ended up going with a bear armor tank build since I like tank builds in other games as well. Only became aware of how many builds were broken through your video about the armor changes
I’d like to see that ‘10 beat builds’ personally. Ur content is very informative, and would work well for it!
I started using Bear School armor bc I liked the look of it, and when I saw what bonuses it grants when fully upgraded I was ECSTATIC!
Nicely put video pretty much sums it up. When I 1st played witcher 3, I used the feline gear the most up until the end. It gave me the most thrill since every damage taken counts
I'm loving your videos. I like all the extra detail and variation and I would for sure be interested in watching everything you put out regarding deep dive build options. Keep up the great work!!
Great content! Great pace of info distribution and explaining.
Based on looks. I absolutely love the starting armor. I have made sooo many playthroughs on different difficulties. Using nothing but the starting armor (upgraded green).
Close second is the Bear armor.
Third is either the Wolf or the Manticore armor.
Same here, i love the kaer morhen armor, its a shame the cdpr dont give the chance of impruve that armor i play the hole game with starting armor plus the manticore
My first playthrough and I started on Death March out of the box, no spoilers, no hints. Once I got a grip of the armor set mechanics I went for the cat armor set, it was really fun, lethal and old school swordfighting.
On my second playthrough though I went for the bear armor set and it felt PHENOMENAL, you can just waltz your way through the game.
Great video. Would be interested in seeing a video about builds that mix different gear pieces. For example in the old gen some people were using the new moon pants or the nilfgaardian gauntlets in alchemy builds with great success. Maybe similar things can be done in the new gen with alchemy or other builds.
Mixing? Here's one I recently put together for a late-game hybrid build: Incorporate just once piece of Manticore armor into your set. Personally I am using a couple unique swords, and three pieces of Wolf gear, and Manticore gloves. But it really does not matter if you want to choose a different 3 piece set for its bonus.
The reason I did this is the +5 toxicity will put you from 184 to 189 max, after Acquired Tolerance and the Toussaint formulae. Now, without the yellow toxicity perk, and with Heightened Tolerance, you can safely run 3 decoctions instead of 2. Combined with Metamorphosis and Crippling Strikes, I very quickly reach 8 decoctions in any fight. Keep only your 8 top choices brewed to guarantee they're selected every time.
Not saying this is OP or anything. Clearly things like what the video shows with pure Griffin or Bear are still stronger. But this is single player combat and everyone can do what they want for roleplay fun. I just enjoyed finding this little number trick with a simple +5 tox unlocking an additional decoction within safety. It feels nice not needing the yellow toxicity perk which makes your mutagen benefits less efficient.
This was very helpful! Thank you. I am just now getting into W3 and have half my GrandMaster Bear gear so far. Oddly enough, AFTER playing Hogwarts Legacy and looking for something similar.
The Levity + Cat School Technique will be NICE! +Exploding Quen when I get the full set.
I would say the new grandmaster forgotten wolven gear is actually the best now if you set it up well. I used to use ursine until I discovered how strong the yrden+aard forgotten wolven build is. And its much more fun than ursine also.
The forgotten wolf set makes death march a complete joke. Can’t believe he ranked it 6th. You can compete the game without ever using your swords or taking any damage at all. I actually did a no damage play through. However I’m trash and did end up taking some arrow shots. But it’s the best by miles and even makes the game boringly easy honestly.
@@realdreamz8124 It really is broken, I also beat death march with little issue using the yrden+aard build. It was fun for a while, until the game was just too easy. That doesn't change the fact that it is the best build though
I went with a bleed and alchemy build with the wolven set. The set bonus builds off of bleed, and with Flood of Anger I got the benefits of the sign intensity buffs without needing the investment.
I used decoctions, adrenaline points, and all the buffing alchemy skills to more or less imitate an all round build.
forgotten wolf set is one of my favourites, its not the best but fits perfectly into my playstyle. besides griffin is so overpowerd in combination with euphoria that forgotten wolf is a nice step back to keep things more playable
I'm with Griffin, good for crowd control. Constant use of fully upgraded signs like Igni + Eruption that explodes enemies while catching others on fire. Even more devastating is Aard + Piercing Cold. However outside of the dialogue I found very little use for Axii.
I don't like the bear set that much as it just doesn't feel like a witcher armor. What I love about Wolf set is that it is best of all. Moderately every stats is good in it. While others focus only on one thing, either sign or sword or alchemy or other stuff. Wolf armor really gives witcher vibes too no matter if its stats aren't that good.
Definitely put a best builds video together. And maybe also a "best builds without Witcher gear" where you explore some of the best base-game/base-dlc loot out there. I just did a self-imposed "no Witcher gear" playthrough and it was fun experimenting with all of the different swords and armors that you get just from exploring the world.
Ursine is my favorite. Made a 99% Sword build with Quen bubble to heal.
I'd definitely be interested in seeing builds.
Boi does this game give. So far spent 80 hours and I haven't even frequently touched the armor crafting/ upgrade aspect of the game and it is deep indeed.
6:50 omg i can't stop laughing
That little jump 😂
Big yes to the 10 Best Builds video you mentioned
For me personally, I really love Wolf Gear for it's look but disappointed of it's effects. On the other hand, Griffin set is absolutely broken but it looks absolutely horrible. So I use a mod to change Griffin set appearance into Wolven. Best of both worlds I'd say.
Crushed it. I'm not sure you needed to make an entirely new channel just for Hogwarts, but I'm excited to see the content. I'm loving it so far
My favourite set has always been the manticore set followed closely by the bear set. They both just offer a playstyle that feels fun to me especially when combined with the levity perk.
I once even did a build that got the 3 piece bonus from each of them, it definitely wasnt as effective as each individually but still surprisingly good
I would literally watch anything you put out. Your voice is very soothing 🫣
Is it just me, or does it also matter where you are playing in the game on what armor you want? During late main story, bear armor was my pick. Doing the expansions, it felt like I was wearing winter gear in the summer, so I switched to wolf set and have so much fun with being a sign and sword build.
Very true. I don't normally care much for immersion but when I did a playthrough with the cat armor and went to skellige for the first time I kept asking myself if geralt was freezing his ass off with no sleeves lol
@@Kirbo4004 same, but master feline armour actually looks very cozy and warm so you just need to upgrade it and boom :p
Yep. To me it’s Bear armor for Skellige, Wolf for Velen/Novigrad and Cat for Toussaint. The game is easy enough that we can sacrifice efficiency for aesthetics lol
I always used the Griffin Armor with a sign build, but thanks to quick casting this is now SO MUCH BETTER than it's ever been before.
Quick casting xpadder profile was one of my first "mod" to install when playing with controller all those years ago. Im glad they made it innate to the game and for me that is the biggest QoL change they could have added.
Aesthetically, I love the wolf gear, but griffin is probably my all around favorite to play in once it’s grandmaster level. I would also to see your list on the best steel and silver swords in the game. Thanks for the videos!
very good, substantive video! Good job, very professionall!
Something about the cat set that you didn't mention is that on top of the normal pieces it also has a crossbow that contributes to the set bonus, meaning you can replace one of your other pieces with something else and still get the full bonus like replacing the silver sword with Aerondight.
No that’s incorrect. It doesn’t apply the bonuses. Tried it yesterday
I would very much enjoy a builds video like you mentioned in the video. With all the changes that have been made with the recent updates finding up to date builds online is very hit or miss, so having a video would be very useful.
Wolf is the only way to go for me, it feels like Geralt is using all of his abilities at the very best possible way he can. The bleed and instant quen is super useful aswell.
Same
id love to see that top 10 builds video. Absolutely love your work. Thank you for your time and effort.
The Netflix set looks great. I really think it’s one of the few things that doesn’t completely suck about the Netflix show.
Regardless of the quality of the netflix show, it was a cool homage from cdpr simply because I bet they had a fucking great sales period when the show first aired
Would definitely love to see a video about builds! Hope you do it
Yes we definitely want a video on best builds!! Can’t wait!!
Grandmaster Ursine set is like that one person who watches everyone brawl below, while eating a popcorn.
I used Griffin during my first playthrough (have to admit it was on Story and Sword) and loved it, both the appearance and utility of it. Now, thanks partly to this video, I plan on using Cat during my Blood and Broken Bones playthrough, and finally, I will use Bear during Death March.
As a player who always goes the jack of all trades route, the wolf set is my most used 😅
Currently finishing my third platinum of TW3 and in all of my experience trying builds I have to say the Griffin set is definitely my go to. With the grandmaster bonuses and sign intensity options you can absolutely melt almost every opponent without even getting hit - which means no trips to repair your equipment either. There is something very satisfying about facing a menacing opponent and deleting them without Geralt even getting scratched.
Me too.. it's fun.. set yrden and just spam ard!! 😂
Great video! I can’t get away from a sign build with the Griffin set. It’s devastating! But now after your video I should look into the Ursine set.
Do the build video. Would love that content. Either way, keep up the great work. Loving the vids 😊
You're not alone in loving the Griffin set look -it looks like real armor, convex to deflect blows. I love it.
Thx 4 the amount of effort you put in that vid! Now I know, what set I'm picking! :)
Excellent video, super helpful. Thanks heaps! I love your Witcher vids.
Thanks for the video!! Really would love to see the builds video! Planning to have another full run of Witcher after reading the books so it would come in handy.
The best build vid sounds great you should definitely do it
A build ranking video would be so helpful, i'm always so torn between different approaches i wanna take
Yes Please!!! A build ranking video would be awesome!
Great video as always! Kudos
I'm using a "critical hit / critical damage bonus" set. It consists of:
Manticore chest armor
New Moon Trousers
Nilfgardian Gauntlets
Manticore boots
It's not the best-looking set, but it works. I am using the entanglement runeword.
My character is a Signs build using 'Magic Sensibilities'.
My swords are Aerondight and Belhaven Blade.
What do you recommend to improve this?
Great effort! 👏
Liked and subbed 👍
Thanks, this is great! I'd love to see a best builds video as well!😃
I for one, would love to see the builds. Especially the bear gear build. I always went with it in my playthroughs, but never really built upon it in depth. I'd love to see more!
Never realised how powerful the Bear armour was compared to the others. I always went with it because I liked how it looked, and the bonuses were good...
Would watch any Witcher content you make, so please make the top builds video! Great work as always
Griffin Set built with a hybrid of Aard and Yrden combined with Piercing Cold is for sure the most fun build in the game and extremely powerful.
its pure fashion for me
-feline gauntlets
-wolf chest
-wolf legs
-griffin boots
-wolf swords
-feline crossbow
all dyed black
My first instinct was to use bear school armor, but the better cat school bonuses made me go for the cat school. But since i'm still a noob i didnt know that it was possible to turn bear armor into light armor. So I'm happy to be able to go back to the bear school!!
Can’t really go wrong with build videos. Different play styles help add even more replayability to a game that already has several different paths to play it.
Nice video! When I learned about Cat School bonus, I never thought that any set can beat it... Until now when you told about Levity rune thingy... :) Next time I play Witcher, I will totally try Bear set.
Love the video, would love to see a best builds video
Please do a build ranking/guide video. I didn't know half of what was mentioned in this video, so a build video would be super helpful
Definitely would appreaciate builds video especially after next gen, keep up the good work!
great video as usual !
i would personnaly love a video or even a serie of videos detailling each witcher armor build as you showcased a bit there along with runes, skills needed and where to fit them, mutagens (even if mostly a given)
just basically a in dept look at your best build for each witcher set
im deeply in love with the GR wolf, but will have to resort to mod to get the look but benefit of other, better school set...
Since I don't have much experience with optimizing builds I'd love to see a video on the topic.
i went wolf, just felt right for Geralt. Bear altho i liked the stats just looks to heavy, Cat to light. Also i like options :D
Yes Mr please do make such a video in which you show off 10 comprehensible builds.
First and only run I did so far was just running in through, not caring a bit about my equipment, looking forward to increase difficulty in a new run to actually make use of the combat system etc
Just found your channel. Loving your content! Love your diction, explanations, and your voice is just right for these sort of detailed breakdown videos. Would absolutely love to see a ‘ranked builds’ video. I’ve been putting off going after the Death March(!) achievement for years now, and have finally decided to go for it once I finish my current playthrough to give myself the best New Game+ start possible.
Anyways, I know how difficult Death March can be, and I’d like to min-max my way through it. Hence I’d love to see the aforementioned video come to fruition.
P.S. As a lifelong Witcher fan, and a TW3 player since launch, I do agree with you on the armor sets, especially regarding the Ursine set. That being said, I get so immersed in the game… that I can’t stand seeing Geralt run around in Toussaint in the Bear School gear. It looks wildly uncomfortable in even mild climates. I always break down and have Geralt wear all Wolf School gear w/ Cat gauntlets, Bear silver, and Manticore steel (for the AP stat) while in Toussaint. Anywhere else, he’s rocking full Bear.
Cheers :-)
great video, I beat the game back in 2016/17, I have been looking forward to hoping back into it since the update, finish off my achievements, lol
Really good video. Good job
Perfect timing, just made last night an Excel sheet of all armours and on what level I have them in my current playthrough, I can organize them in your ranking order to make sense 😅
Ursine ftw! I use it a lot with Flood of Anger (3 adrenaline points spent to boost a cast Sign to max level) to make my signs pretty strong too. Use it with Aard for example and you knock everything around you on the ground for a good 10ish seconds. Enough to walk up to a lot of targets and just stab them to death. That and I'm also a sucker for the looks of it x)
Another fantastic video, thank you! I'm about to start my first Death March playthrough after my current one in NG+ and I'd love to see you do another video on the best builds in the game.
I loved the tesham mutna armour from blood and wine. It just looked so cool and the graphic of you absorbing life from dead foes was pretty lit
Right now, I am using the Bear set. I love it. I love the look and the bonuses. After the bear, I really love the cat armor for flexibility. But either way I love this game!!
5:50 Bleed use is best when fighting multiple enemies, hit one and get the bleed effect then change targets, repeat until all is dead. Your causing damage to an enemy they cannot avoid while not targeting them making them weaker for when you target them again. Multiple target encounters are not high health ones so the bleed effect causes decent damage and can get kills before targeting them again.
As for myself, Cat school gear is the best, I prefer fast attacks and rarely signs. You get a bonus from fast attacks with light armor, Cat is the only light armor so it is the best set for a fast attack build.