Best Witcher 3 Spellsword Build - Griffin Armour DPS Build

In this build guide for The Witcher 3: Remastered, we’ll create a powerful spellsword build for Geralt. A spellsword is a hybrid archetype that is adept at both sword and magical combat.

While the raw damage output is a little lower than a build that focuses entirely on melee combat (like our Feline Armour Build), the Spellsword makes up for it with its versatility. With upgraded signs, Geralt can protect and heal himself, set enemies ablaze or knock them over, muddle their minds or zap them with magical lightning.

We have included a step-by-step levelling progression table so you don’t need to wait until endgame to use the build.

More Builds: View the full Witcher 3 Builds database.

Table of Contents:

How to Use This Spellsword Build
Armour and Weapons
- Weapon & Armour Upgrades
Skills and Levelling
Mutations
Potions
How to Play the Spellsword Build

Witcher 3 Spellsword Build Overview

This Witcher 3 Spellsword build buffs both Attack Power and Sign Intensity and combines the strongest skills from the red and blue skill trees. It’s important to choose the right skills and set them up properly – if you configure a Spellsword wrong you can end up with very low weapon damage or missing effects on your Signs. But fear not, in this guide we will show you exactly what you need to unlock to get the best of both worlds.

For example, depending on your setup, Geralt’s signs can be used in many different ways:

Sign	Primary Effect	Alternate Effect
Aard	Push back an enemy, possibly knocking them to the ground if you have enough Sign Intensity.	Knock back enemies in a 360-degree radius.
Axii	Stun an enemy for a few seconds, leaving them very vulnerable to a strong attack.	Control an enemy’s mind, forcing them to fight alongside you for a time.
Igni	Set enemies in front of Geralt on fire and debuff their armour.	A single-target stream of fire that sets them alight and does damage over time.
Quen	Protects Geralt from a limited amount of damage. With the right skills, the shield knocks enemies back when it breaks.	Maintain a shield “bubble” that heals Geralt when enemies try to attack. The shield knocks enemies back when it breaks.
Yrden	A magical trap that slows enemies down and forces them to take a physical form. With the right skills and gear, it also does AoE damage and buffs Geralt when he stands in the area.	Create a kind of magical “turret” that zaps nearby enemies with purple lightning, staggering and damaging them.

We used the Griffin School Armour set to gain even more Sign Intensity. When upgraded to Mastercrafted or Grandmaster tier, the armour enhances the Yrden sign, giving a massive 100% buff to Sign Intensity and heaps of extra stamina recovery when Geralt stands in the area.

Witcher 3 Spellsword Build Armour and Weapons

To create this Witcher 3 Spellsword Build, we recommend using Grandmaster Griffin Witcher Gear.

You can craft the basic version of this armour early in the game, but you won’t get access to the fully upgraded version until much later. The basic version is still very strong relative to the enemies you’ll face at that point in the game, even on Death March difficulty. Keep upgrading it when you reach the required level for the next tier, and you’ll stay one step ahead of almost everything the game throws at you.

We need the fully upgraded (Grandmaster) version to maximise this build’s potential; however, it can work without it, but it just won’t be as strong. To learn how to obtain and upgrade the Griffin Armour, check out our Griffin Armour Guide.

Why the Griffin Armour is so Powerful

Here’s why the Griffin Armour is perfect for a Witcher 3 Spellsword Build:

Sign Intensity – All of your signs are stronger.
Free Sign Casting – Whenever you cast a standard sign, you can cast another one for free. This allows you to use two signs in quick succession, making it easier to perform combos.
Yrden Buffs – Standing within the radius of a standard Yrden gives a massive 100% buff to Sign Intensity, plus boosted stamina regen and reduced damage taken from enemy attacks. With this build, you should always start combat with Yrden!

Weapon and Armour Upgrades

Here are the recommended upgrades for your gear:

Grandmaster Griffin Chest Armour – Greater Glyph of Igni (all slots)

Effect – Increases Igni’s intensity. We focus a little more on Igni because it does the most damage and can stun enemies if they start burning.
How to Get – Merchants, random loot, monster loot, or crafted by combining 2x Glyph of Igni.
Alternative – Eruption Glyphword makes enemies explode if killed by Igni, or you can use Glyphs to buff another sign if you prefer.

Grandmaster Griffin Gauntlets, Trousers & Boots – Greater Glyph of Igni (all slots)

Effect – Increases your Sign Intensity.
How to Get – Merchants, random loot, monster loot, or crafted by combining 2x Glyph of Igni.
Alternative – Use glyphs to buff a different sign, if you prefer.

Grandmaster Griffin Steel Sword & Silver Sword – Greater Chernobog Runestone (all slots)

Effect – Increase your attack power with swords. This will indirectly boost your Sign damage once you’ve unlocked the Conductors of Magic mutation.
How to Get – Merchants, random loot, monster loot, or crafted by combining 2x Chernobog Runestone.
Alternative – Use Greater Veles Runestones to increase your Sign Intensity.

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

Witcher 3 Spellsword Build Skills & Levelling

The table below shows the ideal order to unlock Skills for this Witcher 3 Spellsword 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.

Important: Remember to slot your skills to enable them! You’ll unlock more slots as you level up. When you can, get an extra stat bonus by rearranging your skills so they are all slotted next to a matching mutagen (applies only to red, blue, and green skills). The last four slots in the middle open up when you unlock mutations.

Skill	Explanation
Melt Armour (x3)	Increases Igni’s burn chance, making it much stronger. Also debuffs enemy armour.
Muscle Memory (x3)	Gives a helpful early-game buff to your fast attack damage, triggered by dodging.
Three Strikes (x3)	Performing three fast or strong attacks in a row increases the damage of the next attack, as long as it is of the same type.
Strength Training (x3)	Fast attacks increase the damage of the next strong attack.
Exploding Shield (x3)	Quen explodes when it breaks.
Active Shield (x3)	Hold down Quen to channel a magic shield that heals you when you are hit.
Griffin School Techniques (x3)	Each piece of Medium Armour equipped boosts your Sign Intensity and Stamina Recovery.
Supercharged Glyphs (x3)	Enemies within Yrden lose a small amount of health every second.
Catalyst (x3)	Significantly increases the intensity of Aard and Igni against enemies within Yrden.
Focus (x3)	Each Adrenaline Point increases your Sign Intensity.
Aftershock (x1)	Just spend one point to progress the skill tree.
Resonance (x3)	Casting a sign buffs your next three melee attacks.
Metabolic Control (x1)	Just spend one point to progress the skill tree.
Synergy (x3)	Increases the bonus from slotted Mutagens. Slot skills next to a matching Mutagen!
Sustained Glyphs (x3)	Increases the duration of Yrden, making it easier to use.
Crushing Blow (x3)	Each strong attack has a chance to increase the damage dealt by the next 2 strong attacks.
Sunder Armour (x3)	Strong attacks sunder enemy armour, decreasing their damage resistance by 10%. Stacks up to 3 times.
Undying (x1)	Just spend one point to progress the skill tree.
Fleet Footed (x1)	Just spend one point to progress the skill tree.
Whirl (x1)	Just spend one point to progress the skill tree.
Crippling Strike (x3)	Critical hits from fast attacks cripple enemies, increasing their damage taken by 30%.

You can swap out some of the blue skills with skills that buff other signs if you prefer. For example, if you want to focus more on Axii, just swap out one or two of the Igni or Quen skills. I don’t recommend replacing the Yrden skills though, because we use this sign to buff all our other signs.

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

Mutation for the Witcher 3 Spellsword Build

To unlock the Mutation system, you’ll need the Blood and Wine DLC and to complete the quest called Turn and Face the Strange.

For this Witcher 3 Spellsword Build, we’re using the Conductors of Magic mutation. This is a simple mutation that passively works in the background – just activate it and play as normal. It adds 50% of your drawn sword’s damage to the damage of signs, allowing them to hit very hard.

With this mutation unlocked, the Spellsword Build packs a heavy late-game punch, especially with the Igni sign. It also works great for New Game Plus.

Best Potions for the Witcher 3 Spellsword Build

Here are the best alchemy items for the Witcher 3 Spellsword Build:

Ekimmara Decoction

Heals you whenever you deal damage.
Find the recipe in a chest on the riverbank south of Ransacked Village in White Orchard.

Ancient Leshen Decoction

Accelerates your Stamina Recovery every time you cast a sign.
This is arguably overkill because we already have lots of Stamina Recovery. But if you want to go crazy with it, then this will allow you to.
Find the recipe in the ransacked courtyard outside Triss’ House in Novigrad, or in the Allgod’s cellar in Velen.

Superior Tawny Owl

Significantly increases Geralt’s Stamina Recovery.
Helps with the rapid Sign casting required for this build, particularly when you’re missing items or skills.
The basic version is already in your inventory at the start of the game – most new players overlook this very helpful item.

Superior Petri’s Philter

Increases your Sign Intensity for a short time.

Superior Swallow

Heals Geralt over time.

Superior White Raffard’s Decoction

Instantly heals Geralt for a large amount of HP.
Despite its name, this behaves like a normal potion rather than a Decoction.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all of these right away. The basic and Enhanced versions are almost as good as the Superior version.

Important: You can only use one Decoction at a time because we haven’t invested in any alchemy skills for this build. An active Decoction also means you won’t be able to drink potions as often because of the high toxicity.

You can unlock and slot the Acquired Tolerance skill if you want a higher toxicity limit. This will slightly decrease your attack power or sign intensity depending on whether you replace a red or blue skill. But it won’t be a big deal as long as you only replace one skill with a green one.

How to Play the Witcher 3 Spellsword Build

This build’s playstyle changes depending on how far you are in the game and how much of the recommended gear and skills you’ve obtained.

Early-Game (Level 1-14)

We recommend upgrading Igni right at the start of the game because it helps you to deal with groups of enemies. Setting one or two of them ablaze stuns them and makes it easier for you to isolate and focus on one foe at a time. You can use this tactic throughout your playthrough, so it’s good to learn early.
After upgrading Igni, begin unlocking the early damage buffs from the red skill tree and get used to activating them; for example, dodge often to activate Muscle Memory.
Around level 10, start collecting the Griffin Armour & Weapon Set, which will set you up for the rest of the game.

Mid-Game (Level 15-33)

Once unlocked, start playing into the Catalyst skill, baiting enemies into your Yrden trap and burning them with Igni.
Use the Tawny Owl potion if you need extra stamina recovery. It’s one of the most overlooked potions in The Witcher 3.
Use alternate Quen when you need healing.
Keep upgrading your Griffin Armour as you reach the required levels to wear the next tier.

Late-Game (Level 34+)

This phase begins as soon as you complete the Mastercrafted Griffin Armour and equip it.
Your Yrden AoE is now much larger and buffs Geralt’s Sign Intensity and stamina recovery, while also making enemies within it more vulnerable to Igni.
Try to ensure Geralt and the enemies are within Yrden, then use Igni or your preferred sign to gain the upper hand on enemies, then unleash a flurry of sword attacks.

Important: This build has rather low HP, so it is vulnerable to archers and crossbowmen. Always prioritise them over melee opponents, using Quen to help you. While not suggested in the Skills section above, an optional countermeasure is to put a point in Arrow Deflection. But personally, I didn’t think it was necessary because the arrows are easy to dodge, and it usually takes only a moment to reach the archers.