Best Witcher 3 Bleed Build – Wolven Slayer

Today we’ll look at a powerful Witcher 3: Remastered build that deals massive bleed damage to enemies. We’ll use the Wolven Armour set to maximise this playstyle. 

The great thing about the Bleed Build is that it is easy to play and build, and we’ve included a skill progression table so you can start from the beginning of a new playthrough if you like.

Now we’ll look at how this build works and how you can make it for yourself. 

Table of Contents:

• Witcher 3 Bleed Build Overview
• Armour and Weapons
  • Best Upgrades
• Skills and Perks
• Mutation
• Potions
• How to Play the Bleed Build

Witcher 3 Bleed Build Overview

This Witcher 3: Remastered Bleed Build is intended to be less overpowered than some of our other builds, such as the Whirlwind Tornado and Aard Explosion Build. It is still strong, but it focuses more on a thematic playstyle that doesn’t remove all the challenge from your playthrough.

The build maximises your bleed chance and uses blade oils to poison enemies and the Igni sign to burn them. This gives you a lot of damage-over-time effects that you can easily apply to enemies.

We’re also using skills to boost your attack power and critical chance, all of which combine to give you very strong melee damage.

Armour and Weapons for the Witcher 3 Bleed Build

In this section, we explain the recommended gear for the Witcher 3 Bleed Build.

Best Armour

For our Witcher 3 Bleed Build, we’re using the Wolven Armour Set. This medium armour set requires you to find the diagrams and craft it, and you can upgrade it as you level up. To unlock the full benefits of the Wolven Armour (additional set bonuses for wearing a certain number of pieces), you need to upgrade it to at least Mastercrafted tier. 

• 3-piece bonus – Applying bleed increases sword power by 1% for each equipped Wolven piece.
• 6-piece bonus – Each Adrenaline Point increases the number of bleed effects you can apply to an enemy.

Best Weapons

We are also using the Wolven Steel Sword & Wolven Silver Sword. Equipping these with all pieces of the Wolven Armour set gives you the full six-piece set bonus.

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 for the Witcher 3 Bleed Build

The table below shows the ideal order to unlock Skills for this Witcher 3 Bleed 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 (x1)	Reduces damage taken while dodging. Only 1 point needed.
Whirl (x3)	Hold the fast attack button to perform a continuous spinning attack that hits all nearby foes.
Razor Focus (x3)	Gain 1 Adrenaline Point when entering combat. Increases Adrenaline generation from weapon strikes.
Strength Training (x3)	Fast Attacks increase the next Strong Attack damage.
Crippling Strike (x3)	Critical Hits from Fast Attacks cripple enemies, increasing their damage taken.
Arrow Deflection (x3)	You can parry ranged arrow attacks. Perfectly-timed parries deflect them back to their source.
Frenzy (x1)	Just get 1 point to progress the skill tree.
Poisoned Blade (x3)	Blade oils have a chance to poison their targeted enemy type.
Hunter Instinct (x3)	When Adrenaline is at maximum, significantly increases critical hit damage against the enemy type targeted by your active blade oil.
Acquired Tolerance (x3)	Each known alchemy formula increases your maximum toxicity.
Delusion (x3)	Increases the effectiveness of Axii in conversations.
Melt Armour (x3)	Igni has an increased chance to set enemies alight. It also decreases enemy armour.
Exploding Shield (x1)	Only take 1 point to progress the skill tree.
Active Shield (x3)	Hold down Quen to sustain a damage shield that heals you when enemies attack. The shield breaks when your stamina is exhausted.
Cat School Techniques (x3)	Each piece of Light Armour worn increases your fast attack and critical hit damage.
Battle Frenzy (x3)	Increases critical hit chance by 9% per active Adrenaline Point.
Griffin School Techniques (x1)	We only need one point to unlock the next skill.
Metabolic Control (x1)	We only need one point to unlock the next skill.
Synergy (x3)	Increases the bonus from slotted Mutagens. Slot red & green skills next to a matching Mutagen!

This build requires a lot of Skill Points, so try not to neglect exploration and side quests. You can also use the build for a New Game Plus playthrough instead, and you’ll have access to most of its features right from the start.

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 Bleed Build

For this Witcher 3 Bleed Build, we’re using the Adrenaline Rush Mutation. This gives you a temporary damage buff at the start of combat that gets stronger based on how many enemies are nearby. 

However, unlocking Adrenaline Rush requires a lot of extra skill points and it is by no means essential for the build. None of the Mutations fit particularly well with a Bleed build, so you can use a different one if you prefer. This build is quite versatile, and changing a few things won’t break it as long as you keep the Wolven Armour set. 

To unlock the Mutation system in The Witcher 3, you need to complete the quest called Turn and Face the Strange, which is part of the Blood and Wine DLC.

Potions for the Witcher 3 Bleed Build

While alchemy is not the centrepiece of the Witcher 3 Bleed Build, we did take the Acquired Tolerance skill so that you can benefit from a few potions and decoctions when needed. Here are some of the most useful examples:

How to Play the Witcher 3 Bleed Build

The Witcher 3 Bleed Build is versatile because it draws on all three main skill trees: combat, signs, and alchemy.

You don’t need to do anything special to get the most out of the build, other than apply  Devana Runestones to your swords and craft Wolven Armour when you can.

Use a mix of sword attacks and Quen and Igni signs in combat, and use blade oils and decoctions when needed.

When fighting groups of enemies, use Igni to stagger them (and set them alight if you are lucky), then use Whirl to fight them all at once.

Later in the game, try to maintain maximum Adrenaline Points, which boost your bleed and critical hit chances.

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