Today we’ll look at a powerful Witcher 3: Remastered build that maximises Geralt’s ability to use Witcher Bombs in combat. This build gives you more bombs, and they’re significantly more potent than usual. The build is also quite versatile and can fall back on melee strikes when needed. The build works on any difficulty and is perfect for New Game Plus.
While you need to be high level to finish the build, we’ve included a progression table in the Skills section so you can start building it from the beginning of the game.
Now we’ll look at how this build works and how you can make it for yourself.
Table of Contents:
- Witcher 3 Bomb Build Overview
- Armour and Weapons
- Skills and Perks
- Mutation
- Potions
- How to Play the Bomb Build
Witcher 3 Bomb Build Overview
This Witcher 3: Remastered Bomb Build focuses mostly on alchemy skills to increase the damage Geralt’s Witcher Bombs deal in various ways. This has the side effect of giving Geralt a high maximum Toxicity, allowing you to use many decoctions and potions without worrying about overdose.
Please note that it is not viable to complete every battle in the game using bombs alone! You will often need to use your sword attacks to finish the job, and some monsters resist all of Geralt’s bombs. But most of the time, using the bombs with this build’s setup will cause all sorts of problems for enemies, dealing huge AoE damage or stun-locking whole groups for long periods.
You can see more about how the build works in action in the Gameplay section.
Armour and Weapons for the Witcher 3 Bomb Build
In this section, we explain the recommended gear for the Witcher 3 Bomb Build.
Best Armour
For our Witcher 3 Bomb Build, we use the Manticore Armour Set, a medium armour set available in the Blood and Wine DLC. You’ll need to find the diagrams in Toussaint, then craft the armour and weapons by visiting Grandmaster crafters.
The Manticore Armour is perfect for us because it directly buffs Geralt’s bombs, allowing them to land critical hits, using the same critical chance as your regular attacks. A full set of Manticore Armour also increases the number of charges your alchemy items have, including bombs.
It takes a long time to obtain the Manticore Armour; before then, you might want to use Cat Armour or loot or buy good armour pieces you find during your adventures. By “good”, I mean high armour stats and resistances to several damage types.
If you want the benefits of Manticore Armour for a full playthrough, you have to start a New Game Plus after crafting it.
Best Weapons
I also recommend using the 
Manticore Steel Sword and 
Manticore Silver Sword. We need all 6 pieces of the Manticore set to get the extra alchemy charges.
Early in the game, use the best swords you find through loot. Damage is usually the most important stat, but look out for other interesting interactions, like weapons with a high critical chance or an increased chance to apply status effects like poison or burning.
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 Bomb Build
The table below shows the ideal order to unlock Skills for this Witcher 3 Bomb 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. |
Razor Focus (x3) |
Gain 1 Adrenaline Point when entering combat. Increases Adrenaline generation from weapon strikes. |
Efficiency (x3) |
Increases the number of bombs in each slot. |
Refreshment (x3) |
Each potion dose heals 30% of max vitality. |
Pyrotechnics (x3) |
All bombs deal bonus damage, even those that usually don’t damage enemies. |
Protective Coating (x1) |
Just take 1 point to progress the skill tree. |
Volatile Compound (x1*) |
Bomb damage increases per point of toxicity.
*Just get one point to start with, then fully upgrade it later in the game when you have a higher maximum toxicity. |
Cluster Bombs (x3) |
On explosion, each bomb splits into several smaller bombs. |
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. |
|
Each piece of Medium Armour increases sword and bomb damage. |
Element of Surprise (x3) |
Hitting enemies with a bomb increases your melee damage for 10 seconds. |
Elemental Attunement (x1) |
Take only 1 point to progress the skill tree. |
|
|
Bombs have a chance to not be consumed when thrown. Geralt is immune to direct damage from his bombs (but not from lingering hazards like poison or flames). |
|
Take only 1 point to progress the skill tree. |
Battle Frenzy (x3) |
Increases Critical Hit Chance by 9% per Adrenaline Point. |
Adaptability (x3) |
Extends the duration of active mutagen decoctions. |
Poisoned Blades (x3) |
Applied blade oils have a chance to poison the enemy type they target.
ALTERNATIVE: Get |
We took a few red skills early in the game to make melee easier for Geralt. You won’t be able to craft many bombs for a while, so focusing on them right at the start is pointless. After that, focus on alchemy skills, specifically those that buff bombs.
There are two ways to get more skill points: you get one each time you level up, and you get one the first time you interact with a newly discovered Place of Power.
Mutation for the Witcher 3 Bomb Build
For this Witcher 3 Bomb Build, we’re using the Euphoria Mutation. This is probably the most overpowered mutation in the game, giving us a flat percentage damage boost to all of our sword and sign attacks based on our Toxicity level.
This synergises well with our build since we unlocked skills that increase our Toxicity limit. The best way to maintain a high toxicity level for a long time is to consume several Decoctions, since the toxicity from these doesn’t decay until the potion duration expires.
Euphoria is the second mutation on the Green line, so in total you’ll need 6 spare skill points and 6 spare Greater Green Mutagens to access it. 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.
Alternative option: You can also try the Metamorphosis mutation, which will activate a Decoction for free with no toxicity cost when you inflict a critical effect (poison, burning, etc.) on an enemy, up to five times. This is technically better than Euphoria if you are fully focusing on bombs, but it costs a huge number of skill points to unlock, so it isn’t really viable unless you’re doing New Game Plus. If you use Metamorphosis, carry only your five favourite decoctions and leave the rest in your stash. That way, you will always have the optimal decoctions active for free.
Potions and Bombs for the Witcher 3 Bomb Build
Here are some of the most useful potions and bombs for this Witcher 3 Bomb Build.
In addition to these alchemy items, you should also aim to craft all other bombs and all the blade oils in the game. The items mentioned here are just the most widely useful.
