Best Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build – Glass Cannon DPS Build

Today we’ll look at a powerful Witcher 3: Remastered build that uses the Bloodbath mutation to give Geralt insanely high attack power. This build is designed for Death March difficulty, and will therefore work just as well on lower difficulties, too. This is a glass cannon build that loses its strongest bonus when you take damage, so it is intended for either experienced players or new players who want a challenge!

To fully replicate the build, you’ll need to be fairly late in the game and own the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine DLCs. However, you can work toward completing the build over the course of a playthrough and still get pretty good results along the way.

This build is also perfect for New Game Plus, where you can use it to its full potential from the start of a new playthrough. 

More Builds: View the full Witcher 3 Builds database.

Table of Contents:

• How to use this Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build
• Armour and Weapons
  • Best Upgrades
• Skills and Perks
• Mutation
• Potions
• Gameplay Video

How to use this Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build

This Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build plays into the Bloodbath Mutation. This late-game upgrade gives Geralt a 5% attack power bonus every time he hits an enemy, stacking up to 250%. But he loses the entire buff every time he takes damage. The build rewards you for playing with great attention and caution in combat, like a real Witcher!

We’re using the Feline Armour to boost Geralt’s attack power and critical damage, but we are not using the Feline Swords. For your Silver Sword, the best option is  Aerondight, a special magical sword that becomes more powerful as you level up. 

You can see how the build works in action in the Gameplay section.

Armour and Weapons for the Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build

For our Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build, we’re using the Feline Armour. This is a light armour set of Witcher gear that you need to find the diagrams for and craft, and you can upgrade it as you level up. To unlock the full benefits of the Feline Armour (additional set bonuses for wearing a certain number of pieces), you need to upgrade it to at least Mastercrafted tier. However, these set bonuses are not really important for this build. We’re more interested in the Attack Power each piece of armour grants. 

To learn how to obtain Feline Armour, check out our Feline Armour Guide.

For the Silver Sword, you should use  Aerondight. This is a unique sword that requires the Blood and Wine DLC. To obtain the sword, you need to complete the quest called “There Can Only Be One”, which you can start by checking the notice board in Beauclair. Earlier in the game, just use the best silver sword you have available. 

Finally, the Steel Sword is not hugely important. You can use a sword from the Feline set to match your armour, or any other Steel Sword you find that has a high damage value and 3 Rune Slots.

Weapon and Armour Upgrades

Here are the recommended upgrades for your gear:

You can find the Runewright in the far northeast of the Novigrad and Oxenfurt region, near the Upper Mill Signpost, east of Brunwich village. 

Skills and Perks for the Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build

The table below shows the ideal order to unlock Skills for this Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build, so you can start using the build from the moment you begin your adventure. The number in brackets indicates how many skill points to invest in each skill.

Skill	Explanation
Muscle Memory (x3)	Gives a helpful early-game buff to your fast attack damage, triggered by dodging.
Three Strikes (x3)	Your third fast or strong attack boosts the damage of the next attack of the same type.
Undying (x1)	Consume your adrenaline points to heal instead of dying. Only 1 point to progress down the tree.
Fleet-Footed (x3)	Reduces damage taken by 100% when dodging.
Whirl (x3)	Hold the fast attack button to perform a continuous spinning attack that hits all nearby foes.
Rend (x3)	Hold the heavy attack button to perform a mighty attack that converts remaining stamina into extra damage.
Cat School Techniques (x3)	Each piece of Light Armour critical hit damage and fast attack damage.
Frenzy (x3)	When Toxicity is above 1, time automatically slows when an enemy is about to perform a counterattack.
Hunter Instinct (x3)	At maximum Adrenaline Points, increase critical damage against the enemy type targeted by your active blade oil.
Acquired Tolerance (x3)	Each learned alchemical recipe increases maximum toxicity.
Battle Frenzy (x3)	Increases critical hit chance per Adrenaline point available.
Razor Focus (x3)	Gain one Adrenaline point upon entering combat. Increases Adrenaline generation from weapon strikes.
Strength Training (x3)	Fast attacks increase the next strong attack’s damage
Crushing Blow (x1)	Just unlock one level to progress the skill tree.
Sunder Armour (x3)	Strong attacks reduce enemy damage resistance by 10%, stacking up to 3 times.
Crippling Strike (x3)	Critical hits from fast attacks cripple enemies, increasing their damage taken by 30%.
Arrow Deflection (x1)	Just get one point to progress the skill tree.
Resolve (x3)	Reduces adrenaline loss by 100% when taking damage.
Griffin School Techniques (x1)	Just get one point to progress the skill tree.
Metabolic Control (x1)	Just get one point to progress the skill tree.
Synergy (x3)	Increases the bonus from slotted mutagens.

There are two ways to get more skill points: each time you level up, you will receive one, and the first time you interact with a newly discovered Place of Power, you’ll also receive one. 

Mutation for the Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build

For this Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build, we’re using the Bloodbath Mutation. This is the centrepiece of this Witcher 3 Glass Cannon Build. 

How it works:

• Every time Geralt hits an enemy, he gets a stacking 5% attack power buff.
• The buff can stack up to a maximum of 250%.
• Leaving combat or taking any damage (excluding damage from Toxicity) will reset the buff to zero.

The Bloodbath mutation also increases the frequency of dismember animations, but the damage buff is the main reason we’re using it.

This mutation greatly incentivises you to play carefully, being patient and measured in combat like a real Witcher, instead of just spamming the attack button with abandon.

Potions for the Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build

Here are the most useful alchemy items for the Witcher 3: Remastered Bloodbath Build.

With these two decoctions and the Bloodbath mutation, Geralt will gain insane damage bonuses in long fights, as long as you manage to stay out of trouble. 

You can also add other potions, such as Superior Swallow for healing,  Superior Thunderbolt for a bigger temporary damage boost, or  Superior Tawny Owl for increased stamina regeneration. Be careful not to push your Toxicity too high, though, or you will take damage over time until the extra toxicity decays. Don’t stress too much about upgrading to the Superior potions; while they are worth making when you can, the basic and enhanced versions are still decent.

You should also utilise blade oils to give Geralt an additional damage boost against various enemy types. You can turn on automatic blade oil application in the games’s accessibility settings if you don’t want to keep manually refreshing these when they run out.

How to Play the Witcher 3 Bloodbath Build

Patience is the key when playing the Bloodbath Build for The Witcher 3: Remastered.

• Avoiding damage stacks huge damage bonuses, but taking even 1 point of damage from an enemy attack resets all your bonuses.
• You can use Quen to give you some leeway, as it protects you from most attacks in the game.
• Fully unlocking the  Fleet-Footed skill allows you to avoid most damage by dodging, making the build easier to play.
• Usually, the safest way to fight enemies without taking any damage is to watch and wait for them to attack, dodge them and then respond with two or three attacks of your own.
• Don’t get greedy and spam attacks, unless you know what you’re doing.

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