All Game Items Guide for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This guide covers every major item category in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, including the Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone expansions. Items are grouped logically with details on acquisition, use cases, and important synergies. All information applies to the base game and the Next-Gen Update (v4.0+).

1. Weapons

Weapons in The Witcher 3 are divided into Steel Swords (for humans, beasts, and non-magical foes) and Silver Swords (for monsters, wraiths, and supernatural enemies). Geralt can also use a crossbow, bombs, and a few other melee weapons.

1.1 Steel Swords

Note: Many unique relic swords (e.g., Winter's Blade, The Emmentaler) are best sold or dismantled once you have better witcher gear. The Witcher School swords (Griffin, Cat, Bear, Wolf, Manticore, Viper) are the most versatile and upgradeable throughout the game.

1.2 Silver Swords

1.3 Other Weapons

• Crossbow: Used to shoot down harpies, drowners, and to detonate barrels. Upgrades (e.g., Trophy Crossbow) improve damage. The Ofieri Crossbow is craftable and very strong.


• Bombs: Grapeshot, Dimeritium Bomb, Moon Dust, etc. Each bomb type has specific uses (see Consumables section).


• Torch: Lights dark areas, can be thrown to ignite gas clouds.

2. Armor

Armor is categorized by weight class (Light, Medium, Heavy) which affects stamina regeneration and movement. Full Witcher armor sets provide set bonuses at higher tiers (Mastercrafted, Grandmaster).

2.1 Witcher School Armor Sets

Each school has a unique appearance, weight class, and bonuses. Diagrams are found in treasure hunts starting at level 11 (Griffin) and scaling to level 40+ (Grandmaster).

Acquisition: Complete the "Scavenger Hunt: [School] Gear" quests from notice boards or map markers. Diagrams are in chests/guarded ruins. Upgrade at master blacksmiths (Junod at Crow's Perch or Yoana at the Seven Cats Inn for up to Enhanced) and grandmaster smith (Lafargue in Beauclair for Grandmaster).

2.2 Relic and Unique Armor

• Nilfgaardian Armor Set: Obtained from early quests (e.g., "The Nilfgaardian Connection"). Light armor, good for early game.


• Temarian Armor: Crafted from quest reward (e.g., the "Armorer" quest in Novigrad). Medium armor with decent protections.


• Ofieri Armor (Hearts of Stone): Crafted from diagrams in auction house or from the Ofieri merchant quest. Unique appearance.


• Hansa Armor (Blood and Wine): Random drop from Hanse bases. Decent stats.


• New Moon Armor: Found in the Hearts of Stone main quest (the wedding). Light armor with critical hit bonuses.




3. Consumables





3.1 Potions


Potions are crafted using alchemy formulas (some found, some learned from books). They require Dwarven Spirit (alcohol) to refill during meditation. Key potions:

• Swallow: Health regeneration over time. Most basic healing potion.


• White Raffard's Decoction: Instant heal +33% HP. Better than Swallow in combat.


• Thunderbolt: +30% attack power. Essential for melee builds.


• Tawny Owl: Faster stamina regen. Use before combat or signs.


• Blizzard: Slows time. Requires toxicity management.


• Full Moon: Temporarily increases max vitality. Good for boss fights.


• Cat: See in darkness. Useful in caves.


• Golden Oriole: Heals from poison (turns poison into health). Very useful against poisoned creatures.


• White Honey: Clears all toxicity and potion effects. Use after combat.


Upgrades: Enhanced and Superior versions increase duration, effect, and toxicity threshold. Find formulas from merchants or loot. All potions can be brewed with alchemy materials.



3.2 Decoctions


Decoctions are long-lasting (30 minutes) and highly toxic. They are made from monster mutagens. Each grants a powerful passive effect:

• Ekhidna Decoction: Damage dealt heals you for 10% of damage. Top-tier healing.


• Ekimmara Decoction: Reduces damage taken while attacking by 15%. Good for tank.


• Katakan Decoction: +25% critical hit damage and +10% critical hit chance. Best for crit builds.


• Foglet Decoction: Increases damage by 15% when enemy is under status effect (e.g., burning, poisoned).


• Water Hag Decoction: +50% damage when at full health. Excellent for one-shot builds.


• Ancient Leshen Decoction: +15% damage for each active decoction (max 4). Stackable.


• Archgriffin Decoction: Each hit reduces enemy armor by 1% (stack up to 30% for 5 seconds). Great vs. high-level foes.


Note: You can only have one decoction active unless you use the Acquired Tolerance skill to increase toxicity cap. Decoctions last until meditation or using White Honey.



3.3 Oils


Oils are applied to swords to increase damage against specific monster types. They last for 20 hits or until meditation. Craft and upgrade (Enhanced, Superior) for better bonuses.

• Hanged Man's Venom: Humans and non-humans.


• Necrophage Oil: Drowners, ghouls, etc.


• Cursed Oil: Wraiths, werewolves.


• Elementa Oil: Golems, elementals.


• Beast Oil: Wolves, bears.


• Draconid Oil: Dragons, wyverns.


• Hydragena Oil: Vampires (both lesser and higher).


• Insectoid Oil: Spiders, endriaga.


• Ogroid Oil: Cyclopses, ice giants.


• Relict Oil: Leshens, chimeras.


Upgrades increase damage bonus. Use appropriate oil before fights for up to 50% more damage at Superior tier.



3.4 Bombs


Bombs are crafted with alchemy. Each has a specific use:

• Grapeshot: Explodes with fire damage. Good for groups. Upgrades increase radius.


• Dimeritium Bomb: Negates magic (enemies cannot use signs). Excellent against mages and wraiths.


• Moon Dust: Stops vampires from regenerating and prevents wraiths from becoming ethereal.


• Northern Wind: Freezes enemies. Useful for crowd control.


• Devil's Puffball: Poison cloud. Does damage over time.


• Samum: Flashbang effect - stuns enemies for a few seconds.


• Dancing Star: Ignites enemies. Good against necrophages and werewolves.


• Dragon's Dream: Creates gas cloud that explodes if ignited. Tricky but powerful.


Bombs can be upgraded to Enhanced and Superior to increase damage and radius. They replenish during meditation (if you have Dwarven Spirit).



3.5 Food and Drink


Used for health regeneration out of combat. No toxicity. Best early game healing. Examples:

• Bread, Roasted Meat, Chicken Leg: Basic heal over time.


• Water, Dwarven Spirit: Remove poison? No, water just heals. Dwarven Spirit is used for alchemy refills but can be drunk for minor toxicity.


• Excellent Food (e.g., Bacon, Ham, Pork): Heal about 50HP over 10s.


• Wolfsbane Potion (alchemy item, not food): Actually a potion.


Food is better than potions for early game because it doesn't use toxicity. Consume before meditation to keep health up.



4. Materials





4.1 Crafting Components


Used to craft weapons, armor, and items. Sorted by rarity:

• Common: Linen, Leather Scraps, Timber, Iron Ore, Steel Ingot, etc. Bought from smiths or looted.


• Magic Items: Meteorite Ore, Dimeritium, Cursed Stones, etc. Obtained from monster loot or dismantling magic gear.


• Relic Items: Enriched Dimeritium, Tormented Leather, etc. Used for Grandmaster gear. Rare.


• Alchemy Ingredients: Aether, Essence of Wraith, Monster Blood, etc. Used for potions/decoctions.


Important: Always dismantle excess gear at a smith to get rare components. Do not sell crafting materials unless you have 100+.



4.2 Alchemy Ingredients


Required for potions, oils, and bombs. Collected from plants (celandine, arenaria, etc.), monster parts (nekker hearts, drowner brains), and looted from bodies. Key ingredients:

• Dwarven Spirit: Used to refill all consumables during meditation. Always keep a stock of 50+.


• Alcohest: Similar to Dwarven Spirit but not used for refills? Actually Dwarven Spirit is the main refill item. Alcohest can be brewed but is not needed if you have Dwarven Spirit.


• Aether: Used in superior potions.


• Queberth: Rare, used in some decoctions.


• White Gull: Required for potions like Superior Swallow. Crafted from specific alchemy.


• Monster Mutagens (Green, Red, Blue): Used to upgrade skills in the skill tree (via mutagens) and also for decoctions. Green = Alchemy, Red = Combat, Blue = Signs.


• Greater Mutagens: Dropped by powerful monsters (e.g., Fiends, Leshens). Used for top-tier decoctions.




4.3 Runestones and Glyphs


Can be inserted into weapon and armor slots (max 3 on each piece with crafting upgrades). Runestones modify weapons, glyphs modify armor. Types:

• Runestones: Ignite, Frost, Shock, Bleed, Poison, Stun, etc. Increase chance to apply status.


• Greater Runestones: Better chance/damage.


• Glyphs: Quen Intensity, Yrden Duration, Igni Damage, Aard Knockdown, Axii Insta-kill, etc.


• Greater Glyphs: Stronger bonuses.


Can be crafted by blacksmiths (if you have the diagram) or found as loot. Best to slot runestones that match your build (e.g., Bleed for critical build, Ignite for sign build).



5. Currencies



The Witcher 3 uses multiple currencies, but the main one is Crowns (Crowns). Other currencies are legacy items from previous games or DLCs.


• Crowns: The standard currency. Used for everything: shops, crafting, bribes, rewards. Earned from quests, loot, selling items, and treasure.


• Orens: Used in the Heart of Stone expansion for some vendors (e.g., the auction house). Can be looted or sold to certain merchants (e.g., the banker in Novigrad's Heiress).


• Florens: Nilfgaardian currency. Can be exchanged at the Vivaldi's bank in Novigrad or used with some Nilfgaardian vendors. Appears mainly in the base game.


• Septims: Not present in Witcher 3. (Oblivion reference).


• Temerian Crowns: Mentioned but not used.


Money tips: Sell junk (tools, pelts, swords you don't use) to merchants. Always haggle for contract rewards. The Geralt's Goodies merchant in Novigrad pays top Crown for relic armor.



6. Collectibles





6.1 Gwent Cards


Gwent is a separate card game within The Witcher 3. Cards are collected from merchants, innkeepers, quests, and special opponents. There are 120+ cards in the base game plus expansions. Key categories:

• Neutral Cards: Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, etc.


• Nilfgaard Faction: Spies, siege, etc.


• Northern Realms: Tight bond, heroes.


• Scoia'tael: Ambush, archers.


• Monsters: Muster, weather cards.


• Skellige (from Blood and Wine): New mechanics.


How to collect: Play every merchant you meet, buy cards from innkeepers, win tournaments (e.g., in Novigrad, Passiflora) and complete Gwent-related quests (e.g., "A Matter of Life and Death" for a Ciri card).



6.2 Books and Notes


Books provide lore, hints, and sometimes increase skills (e.g., A Treatise on the Axii Sign). Some books trigger quests or reveal locations. Notable:

• Bestiary: Learn monster weaknesses and oils.


• Alchemy Guide: Reveals potion formulas (some books teach formulas).


• Witcher Gear Diagrams: Not books but treasure hunt notes found in chests.




6.3 Treasure Maps


Found on notice boards or looted. Start scavenger hunts for witcher gear, relic weapons, hidden treasures.



6.4 Quest Items


Unique items that cannot be removed from inventory until the quest is complete. Examples: Boat of the Sun (from multiple quests), Dandelion's Lute, The Mask of Uroboros. They are not useful after the quest but cannot be sold.



6.5 Trophies


Slain monster heads can be equipped on Roach (mount). Each gives a passive bonus:

• Griffin Trophy: +5% damage to monsters.


• Leshen Trophy: +10% sign intensity.


• Chort Trophy: +5% resistance to monster damage.


• Nekker Warrior Trophy: +5% gold from containers.

(and many others). Collect from contracts or random monster kills. Switch trophies based on current activity.



7. Key Equipment





7.1 Witcher Gear Diagrams (Treasure Hunts)


12 sets of diagrams (6 schools x 2 tiers for most) plus Toussaint and Ofieri. Find them in specific locations:

• Griffin School: Base diagrams in White Orchard (near the well). Enhanced in Velen, etc.


• Cat School: Base diagrams in Novigrad (the cave near the bridge).


• Bear School: Base diagrams in Skellige (Kaer Trolde cave).


• Wolf School: Base diagrams in Kaer Morhen (during the main quest).


• Viper School: Base diagrams in White Orchard (tomb). Enhanced in Hearts of Stone.


• Manticore School: Blood and Wine only (outside Beauclair).


• Toussaint: Base diagrams from Beauclair smith.




7.2 Quest Equipment



• Ciri's Sword: Zirael? Not obtainable. But there is Geralt's Silver Sword from the start.


• The Moonblade: From the quest "The Truth is in the Stars".


• Hattori's Sword: Obtained after completing the master blacksmith quest for Hattori (Novigrad). A decent steel sword.




7.3 Mount-Related Equipment



• Roach's Saddlebags: Increase carry weight. Buy from merchants or find.


• Roach's Blinders: Visual only.


• Roach's Trophy: See 6.5.




7.4 Tools



• Loot Bag: Permanent item that expands inventory? Not directly. But you have unlimited inventory space for quest items. Miscellaneous items have weight.


• Water Mesh: Used to collect water from fountains? Actually not.


• Repair Kits: Repair weapons/armor at any time. Crafted or bought. Very useful.


• Dismantling Tool: Auto-disassemble? Not in game.




8. Useful Synergies and Upgrades




• Witcher Set Bonuses: Wearing 3 pieces from one school gives first bonus, 6 gives second (Grandmaster). Mixing sets is possible but breaks bonuses. Best to stick with one school.


• Alchemy + Combat: Use decoctions (e.g., Ekhidna) + potions (Thunderbolt) + oils = massive damage. The Acquired Tolerance skill lets you drink more. Synergy skill boosts mutagen effects.


• Sign Builds: Griffin armor + glyphs for sign intensity + Tawny Owl potion + griffin school bonus. Use Yrden trap to slow enemies.


• Critical Builds: Cat armor + runestones for bleeding + Katakan decoction + Thunderbolt. Focus on fast attacks with high crit chance.


• Tank Builds: Bear armor + Quen glyphs + Ekhidna decoction + White Raffard's. Use heavy attacks and absorb damage.


Upgrades: All witcher gear can be upgraded from Basic -> Enhanced -> Superior -> Mastercrafted -> Grandmaster (Blood and Wine). Each tier increases stats and requires higher level. Diagrams found in higher-level regions (e.g., Skellige for Enhanced). The Grandmaster tier requires level 40+ and rare materials like Enriched Dimeritium.



9. Inventory Management Tips




• Keep only 2-3 sets of armor (one for combat, one for signs? But weight is limited). Use stash chests (at inns, Corvo Bianco vineyard) to store excess gear.


• Always carry healing potions (Swallow/White Raffard) and one oil for common enemies.


• Dwarf Spirit is essential; loot every bottle.


• Sell junk weapons/armor that are not witcher gear. Witcher gear is always worth keeping for upgrades.


• Do not dismantle rare monster mutagens (Greater) unless you need them; they are used for superior decoctions.


• Books and notes are safe to read and then sell if needed (they have no further use).

This guide covers every item type that significantly affects gameplay. For specific diagram locations, refer to the interactive map or quest guides. Happy hunting, witcher!