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Gamebase Guide

Beginner Combat Guide - Witcher 3 Remastered

Guides

Witcher 3

By Ratore

Updated on Sep 30, 2026

Sep 30, 2026

Overview

If you're just starting out Geralt's journey on The Witcher 3's Remastered update, you'll want to be learning the essential basics and features of combat.

This guide goes over exactly what you need to know!

Offense

Which Sword?

Geralt carries two swords: one for Humans, the other for Monsters.

The Steel Sword is used against Humans, which have RED Health Bars.
The Silver Sword is used against Monsters, which have SILVER (white) Health Bars.
- It is very important to use the correct sword type against each enemy, otherwise you may find your damage severely lacking.

Stamina

Stamina is represented by the yellow bar below the Medallion icon at the top left of the screen.

The main use of Stamina is castings Signs. Casting a base Sign consumes the entire Stamina bar. Geralt's Stamina needs to be fully charged for him to be able to cast a base Sign.

During combat, Stamina regeneration is slower, and sprinting can also consume Stamina if the bar is still recharging.
Parrying and Countering attacks also briefly interrupts Stamina regeneration.

You can increase Stamina regeneration through investment in Skills and/or consuming certain potions.

Adrenaline

Adrenaline is represented by the dark bar (red when filled) that's below the Stamina bar at the top left of the screen.

Adrenaline is both a boost and a resource:

It increases the damage of Geralt's attacks based on how high it is.
Certain actions like striking an opponent can generate Adrenaline points, while certain Skills use it as a resource.

Adrenaline-related generation and functionality boosts can be acquired through investment in Skills. Certain potions and decoctions may also influence Adrenaline.

Sword Attacks

At base, Geralt can perform two types of attacks with his Swords: Fast Attacks and Strong Attacks.

Both Attack Types have Skills that interact with them directly which can be invested in, adding additional effects and/or amplifying existing traits.

There's technically a third type: Special Attacks, which are the Whirl and Rend Skills from the Combat Tree.

Fast Attacks

As implied by the name, Fast Attacks are quicker. They cannot go through the guard of enemies, but are easier to fit in.

Strong Attacks

Strong Attacks are slower, but can hit harder against tougher enemies. They can go through the guard of weaker targets.

Special Attacks

These are the Whirl and Rend Skills. After invested in, they can be used by holding the respective inputs for either Fast or Strong Attacks.

Whirl is a spinning attack, good for causing AoE damage with your Swords, and is not even bad for single-target damage. It costs Stamina and Adrenaline to maintain.
Rend is a chargeable big hit that ignores enemy defenses. Its damage is increased proportionately to the Stamina consumed by charging it. It can be further increased by Adrenaline.

Signs

Signs are handy, simple magical spells used by Witchers.

Casting a base Sign consumes Stamina. The Stamina bar must fully regenerate for another Sign to be cast. There are a total of 5 Signs:

Aard, a telekinetic blast that can push and stagger enemies, interrupt attacks and bring down flying enemies if they are close enough.
Igni, a fiery blast that causes impact damage and potential fire damage over time.
Yrden, a magical trap that slows down enemy movements.
Quen, a protective shield that can absorb damage.
Axii, which can influence enemies' minds and stun them, or be used in dialogue to achieve specific goals.
- Signs have alternate modes or additional effects to their base available to them, which can be unlocked by investing in Skills of the Signs Tree.

Hand Crossbow

Early on in your journey, you will be acquiring the Hand Crossbow (you can't miss it).

The Hand Crossbow's primary use is of a very useful tool against flying enemies: it lets you bring them down to ground level to hit them with your swords.

The Crossbow has access to multiple Bolt types that have different effects. They can be acquired from merchants or found through looting.
The default Crossbow bolts are infinite, so you always have the basic functionality available.

While underwater, Geralt can use his Crossbow against any underwater enemies to quickly dispatch them.

Quick Fire and Manual Fire

Tap the fire button to quickly auto-fire a Bolt at a nearby/currently targeted enemy.
Hold the fire button to manually aim the Crossbow.

Defense

Evasion - Dodge and Roll

Enemy attacks can be evaded by either Dodging or Rolling.

Dodging is quicker and lets you take action or attack sooner, having fewer recovery frames.
Rolling is slower, but covers a lot more distance, allowing for aggressive repositioning.

There are no I-Frames on either of these. They must be used to actually evade attack hitboxes.

However, the Fleet Footed skill in the Combat Tree can be acquired to effectively enable I-Frames while Dodging.

Parry

Parry here is what would usually just be called 'blocking' in some other games. Geralt can indefinitely Parry attacks while holding the guard button, as long as they are not attacks that can break or go through his guard.

There are a good amount of enemy attacks that can go through your guard or break it, so keep that in mind and learn to notice them. A variety of monster attacks are the primary example.

Counterattack

A Counterattack or Riposte can be done by performing a guard input at the right moment during an enemy's attack.

Usually, this moment can be easily noticed by simply paying attention to when an enemy's health bar gets a red glow during an attack: that represents the window you have for a Counterattack!

A Counterattack will avoid enemy damage while also causing damage to the target.

This mechanic works against both human and certain monster attacks, however do keep in mind that there are some attacks a counter can't exactly save you from.

Alchemy

Alchemy is a major powerhouse in terms of the benefits it can grant to Geralt. Even at a surface level, it is worth to get the basics of it down and have good Potions, Decoctions, Bombs and Oils ready.

That's not even all the potions!

Through exploration and merchants, you will find recipes for all of them. They will have charges or amount of uses, which can be further increased by finding upgraded recipes.

Once crafted, the charges for Potions, Decoctions, Bombs and Oils can be refilled through meditation by simply having an Alcoholic Base in your inventory, like Alcohest, Dwarven Spirit and others.
- These can be bought from merchants and innkeepers.

Toxicity

Each Potion or Decoction consumed will increase Geralt's Toxicity Level based on a point system. Toxicity is represented by the Dark (Green when filled) bar below your Health.

Geralt will start losing health over time if the Toxicity Level gets extremely high.
- Health Regeneration effects and sources can be used to counter this HP drain.
- Geralt's appearance will also change whe nat high Toxicity.
The Maximum Toxicity points can be increased through investment in Skills.
Toxicity Levels naturally drop over time.
The White Honey Potion can be used to instantly cleanse all Toxicity, but will also cancel all active potion effects.

Potions

Potions generally start off at 1 maximum charge, but that can be increased by finding upgraded recipes. They can be drunk for short to medium duration boosts with varying effects.

Imbibing a Potion increases Toxicity by a small or moderate amount.

Decoctions

Decoctions have 1 charge. They can be drunk for a long duration boost with varying effects.

Imbibing a Decoction increases Toxicity by a large amount.

More than 1 Decoction can be active, as long as you have enough Toxicity available for it.

Bombs

Bombs generally start off at 1 maximum charge, but that can be increased by finding upgraded recipes. They can be used in combat, and also to destroy Monster Nests for loot and experience.

Their effects range from Crowd Control and Area Damage to pure Utility, making them versatile and powerful tools.

Quick Fire and Manual Fire

Tap the throw button to quickly auto-throw a Bomb at a nearby/currently targeted enemy.
- Be wary of self-inflicted damage.
Hold the fire button to manually aim a Bomb throw.

Oils

Oils can be applied to Geralt's swords. They grant boosts against a specific group of enemies, be it Humans or a type of Monster.

Monsters are divided in subgroups, meaning multiple monsters are affected by the same Oil. Make sure to check your Bestiary.

Oils work based on 'uses'. Once applied to a sword, the Oil will wear out with each hit and eventually end. The amount of uses can be increased by finding upgraded recipes.