As powerful as he is, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s Geralt of Rivia is nothing without a trusty arsenal of weapons by his side, and so it stands within reason that players should seek out the best tools for the job. After all, between hunting down monsters and cutting up miscreants, the Witcher’s profession is immensely dangerous, and wielding a dull, weak blade is a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, by knowing which Witcher 3 weapons are the best (and the worst), players can avoid unnecessarily difficult combat and slice through their opponents with ease and style alike.
The weapons meta in The Witcher 3 will likely remain stagnant for the foreseeable future, as CD Projekt Red has announced new, exciting projects that will inherently soak up the developer’s focus. For one, the upcoming remake of Witcher 1 could dethrone Witcher 3 if done right – and with the game adopting an open-world format, it seems full of potential already. Not only this, but CDPR has also promised a brand-new title for the franchise, which will grant players yet another fascinating perspective into the fantasy universe. With these developments in mind, The Witcher 3‘s best and worst weapons are practically set in stone.
The Worst Weapons In Witcher 3
Geralt’s Fists
Unsurprisingly, using nothing but fists makes for one of the worst weapons in The Witcher 3. While some brawls may give players false confidence, Geralt can ultimately find himself defeated by mere humans in a fistfight – let alone real, fully-blown combat. Although feeding his opponents with a knuckle sandwich might seem like a satisfying way to experience the game, it’s unfortunately not a viable tactic. Narratively, this is odd, considering the several mutations that give him supposedly superhuman strength and reflexes, but it’s a reality that players will need to come to terms with in The Witcher 3.
Witcher’s Steel Blade
Even Geralt has to start somewhere, and the Witcher’s Steel Blade reflects this sentiment. Some players may be tempted to upgrade this sword as they work their way through the first few minutes of the game, but this is ultimately a waste of materials that could impede their progress in The Witcher 3. With steel weapons being so easy to come by, even those who frequent the blacksmith should avoid taking to the anvil and upgrading the Witcher’s Steel Blade, as before long, they’ll find a sword that’s miles above the former. It’s only useful as a means to experiment with The Witcher 3‘s complex crafting system – specifically, by dismantling it for valuable resources and materials.
Wooden Sword
The Wooden Sword in The Witcher 3 is technically a weapon that Geralt can use, but at least it knows its place as one of the weakest armaments in the game. As Geralt is giving fencing lessons, players will have to make do with this unimpressive piece – and although it’s quite easy to defeat Rosa var Attre in combat, it remains one of the most unsatisfying fights in the game. While it’s more effective than using Geralt’s bare fists, the Wooden Sword has little to no use outside this quest in The Witcher 3. However, for skilled warriors who find even Death March difficulty too simple, it can make for an entertaining challenge weapon to try and traverse the game with.
Blade From The Bits
Technically, the Blade from the Bits sword isn’t the worst when it comes to stats, as its Relic variant is certainly better than the common, run-of-the-mill weapon. However, considering that its blacksmith, Éibhear Hattori, claims that his work is of legendary quality, it doesn’t quite live up to its expectations. Apart from a +50% damage multiplier to critical hits, the Blade from the Bits sword doesn’t offer anything of real value. Even though Witcher 3‘s next-gen update made significant changes, its tweak in making this weapon scale with player level wasn’t nearly enough to redeem its reputation. Perhaps Hattori should have stuck to making dumplings instead of smithing subpar weaponry.
Common Crossbow
Crossbows offer a change of pace in Witcher 3‘s combat, by giving Geralt an opportunity to deal damage from a distance. But despite being the introduction to this weapon type, the Common Crossbow fails in displaying any sort of battle prowess. Although damage depends on the type of bolts used, the Common Crossbow barely offers any multipliers, which means the most it can do is slowly chip away at enemies’ health bars. This may discourage some players from using ranged weapons altogether, making it one of The Witcher 3‘s worst weapons by a long shot.
Eirlithrad
Players might expect such an oddly named sword to have equally unique stats or bonuses, but unfortunately, Eirlithrad doesn’t come anywhere near meeting this expectation in The Witcher 3. While some versions of the weapon are slightly less feeble, the crafted version in particular leaves much to be desired. It’s a magic-grade weapon, but, ironically, there is nothing magical about it, as it has no statistical bonuses; the only thing it has going for it is its damage, which is average at best. Eirlithrad’s only proper use is the gold that it’ll sell for when players loot it off enemy corpses.
Disglair
Disglair essentially has the same problem as Eirlithrad; it’s a weapon with a cool name, but its actual statistics and combat abilities may leave Geralt and the player wanting. The crafted version of Disglair is by far the worst, being a magic-grade weapon that doesn’t actually grant the player anything noteworthy. The master version of the silver sword, which can be looted off enemy bodies, does provide some redemption in the stat boosts it offers, but they aren’t anywhere near significant enough to make it one of the best weapons in The Witcher 3.
The Best Weapons In Witcher 3
Harpy Silver Sword
While players will need to be level 37 to actually use the Harpy Silver Sword, one of the benefits of this late-game piece is that it’s one of the easier swords to come across. Despite its powerful capabilities, it can be crafted via a blacksmith after obtaining the Harpy diagram, or alternatively, it can simply be looted off the corpses of enemies. Both versions of this weapon deal significant base damage, making them a powerful secondary sword for Geralt in Witcher 3. But whereas the crafted version has a +10% chance to cause bleeding, the lootable Harpy Relic Silver Sword has a +14% chance to cause this status effect on each hit, making it highly effective against any monster.
Bloodsword
The Bloodsword packs quite a punch, and it only requires that players complete a short treasure hunt called “Inheritance” to get ahold of it. It may require a bit of sleuthing around Skellige, but the perks of this well-rounded (and well-sharpened) silver sword are worth the extra effort. With good base damage, +9% chance to hit a critical strike, and a similar chance to cause bleeding, it’s one of the Witcher 3‘s best swords by these factors alone. But with its extra chance of dismemberment, it quickly becomes obvious that the Bloodsword is named accordingly.
Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword
The Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword is one of the best steel swords in The Witcher 3. As its name would imply, it’s only available to those who can visit Toussaint in The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC. However, those who own it shouldn’t hesitate to equip and use this weapon against any pesky human enemies. The Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword features +300 armor-piercing, +30% Quen sign intensity, +100% critical hit damage bonus, +20% critical hit chance, and +15% chance to cause burning. With such a collection of impressive perks, it’s always worth the detour to grab the necessary materials and craft this blade in The Witcher 3.
Belhaven Blade
Similar to the Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword, the Belhaven Blade is a great sword to use against human enemies, provided players own the Blood and Wine DLC. Although it’s slightly less dangerous than its counterpart, it offers an interesting alternative with some unique perks. The Belhaven Blade comes with +30% Aard sign intensity, +100% critical hit damage bonus, +15% critical hit chance, +15% chance to poison, and +5% bonus experience when killing humans and nonhumans. Its passive buff to the Aard sign and its XP-boosting capabilities make it a blast to use, and its lovely serrated look gives it a slightly edgier appearance than the Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword.
Gesheft
Gesheft is also only available through the purchase of the Blood and Wine expansion, but it’s the perfect pick-up for those who like to focus on magic-based abilities in The Witcher 3. This silver sword adds a whopping +20% intensity to all Witcher signs, and it also has three available upgrade slots. Gesheft’s location in the Cloud Giant’s Castle also makes for one of the most memorable adventures in Blood and Wine; thus, it’s a worthwhile pick-up even for more traditionally melee-centric warriors.
Ursine Crossbow
Some of the worst enemies in The Witcher 3 have the ability to fly or dart around the map at high speeds, and such a nuisance calls for the Ursine Crossbow. Unlike the terribly weak Common Crossbow, this weapon sets itself apart with its +210% damage multiplier, +5% critical hit chance, +2% critical hit damage bonus, +1% Adrenaline Point gain, and +15% bonus experience from slaying monsters. With a plethora of useful perks, the Ursine Crossbow is the best crossbow in The Witcher 3. Even those who don’t enjoy ranged combat should take the detour to find this weapon southeast of the Old Watchtower, as it not only redeems the crossbow category but can also be a serious life-saver in sticky situations.
Aerondight
Conversely, Aerondight is the most powerful weapon that Geralt can get his hands on. In fact, it has risen to such fame within the community that it’s made several appearances (and reappearances) throughout the franchise – even making a cameo as a secret Witcher Easter egg in Cyberpunk 2077. This silver sword doesn’t feature a long list of stat boosts like others, but it has one property whereupon each blow increases damage by a whopping +10%, gaining a charge upon each strike. Once fully charged, it always deals critical damage, and killing an enemy with a fully charged Aerondight increases the sword’s damage permanently, scaling with character level. Every other silver sword pales in comparison, as Aerondight is without a doubt the best weapon in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
