If you’re playing through The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for the first time (or even for the fiftieth time), you might be wondering what’s so special about the Witcher Gear sets of armour. When it comes to playing The Witcher 3, there is a multitude of armour pieces that Geralt can equip. Sometimes, on your first playthrough especially, you can miss out on the added bonuses that obtaining the Witcher Gear sets can bring. This is because finding this specialised equipment is no mean feat.
In this post, we’ll be taking a look at the different and best sets of Witcher Gear that can be found in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This should help you decide which set might work best for your playstyle, and which treasure hunt you might want to prioritise in order to obtain it. Before getting into the details of how to locate them though, let’s jump in and take a look at the different sets of Witcher Gear that are available.
What Are The Best Witcher Gear Sets?
In short, the best Witcher Gear sets for you will be those that reflect your playing style. Witcher Gear is a set of matching, coordinated armour and weaponry that’s specially designed to enhance Witchers’ skills and abilities. As such, each Witcher School (Cat, Griffin, Bear, Wolf, Manticore and Viper) has its own specific set of armour, swords and occasionally, crossbows that represent its school’s attributes.
Finding Witcher Gear Sets
Each gear set has its own set of diagrams that first need to be recovered from various locations on the map before the items can be crafted by a blacksmith or armourer. In addition, the gear sets are fully upgradeable from the base gear to Grandmaster Legendary gear level. The only exceptions to this are Manticore and Viper School gear, which only upgrade to Legendary level in New Game +. Working out the best Witcher Gear sets can be a bit tricky for new players. So, let’s look at each gear set in a bit more detail.
Cat School Witcher Gear (Feline)
Style: Light armour
Bonuses: Strong Attacks increase Fast Attack damage for 5 seconds by 10% for each piece of the set (3 pieces)
Rear attacks deal 50% more damage, and also stun the opponent at the cost of 1 Adrenaline Point (6 pieces)
Improved stats: Boosted attack power and elemental defence
The Cat School gear is one of the best witcher gear sets for attacking and mobility.
Cat School Gear is a set of light armour that offers set bonuses to Fast Attack damage (with three pieces of the set equipped) and Rear attacks (when all six pieces are equipped). The cat school gear is also known in-game as Feline gear and comprises a piece of light chest armour, trousers, gauntlets, boots, steel and silver swords and a crossbow. These items (with the exception of the crossbow) are all fully upgradeable up to Grandmaster Legendary level.
Feline armour looks stealthy and also pretty cool, combining a mix of navy blue light leather with fine chainmail woven underneath. If you enjoy looking fancy while slicing up your foes in a fast-paced playstyle, then the Cat School Witcher Gear set is one of the best witcher gear sets for you and the one to prioritise.
Initial Feline Gear crafting diagrams can be located in Velen and around Novigrad. Check out this guide on where to find the diagrams and how to locate the different Cat School Gear items.
Griffin School Witcher Gear (Griffin)
Style: Medium armour
Bonuses: After using Stamina to cast a Sign in its standard mode, the next Sign cast within 3 seconds will be cast in standard mode without using Stamina (3 pieces)
The size of Yrden traps is increased by 40%. While you are within a Yrden trap stamina regeneration is increased by 5/s and sign intensity by 100%, and damage is reduced by 20% (6 pieces)
Improved stats: Boosted sign intensity
If your playstyle is all about casting signs, then Griffin School Gear is one of the best witcher gear sets for you.
Griffin School Gear is a set of Medium armour that’s really effective if picked up in the early part of the game. Based upon the armour used by the legendary Witcher George (the Velen dragonslayer), this set is ideal if your playstyle involves a lot of signs during combat encounters. The Griffin Gear set looks like a green leather-based version of a knight’s armour, perhaps a nod to its dragon-slaying roots in Witcher lore.
The full Griffin School Witcher Gear set consists of a leather chest piece, trousers, gauntlets, boots and a set of silver and steel swords. The most upgraded versions of the armour also include metal knee plates that feature griffin detailing on them. If you want gear that provides a decent level of general resistance and makes your signs pack a stronger punch, then the Griffin School Witcher Gear set is ideal for you.
Initial Griffin Gear crafting diagrams can be found fairly early on in a couple of different locations in Velen. Check out this guide on where to find them and how to locate the different Griffin School Gear items.
Bear School Witcher Gear (Ursine)
Style: Heavy armour
Bonuses: When a Quen shield shatters, there is a chance a new one will be cast at no Stamina cost. The bonus increases by 5% for each piece of the set (3 pieces)
Damage dealt by Abilities involving the Quen Sign is increased by 200% (6 pieces)
Improved stats: Boosted adrenaline point gain
Bear School Gear is one of the best witcher gear sets for players who enjoy a tank-like playstyle.
Bear School Gear is a set of Heavy armour that’s great if your playstyle is quite tank-like. It is also known as Ursine Gear in-game. If you’re planning to incorporate Quen usage into your combat style and enjoy the look and feel of some heavily protective armour then you’ll want to prioritise obtaining Bear Gear. The Bear Gear set includes a full-length piece of chest armour, trousers, gauntlets, boots, steel and silver swords and a crossbow. As with Cat Gear, these are all fully upgradeable except the crossbow.
The Bear School Gear set is probably one of the best witcher gear sets for players who enjoy using strong attacks and shielding themselves from heavy damage. Plus it looks pretty mighty even at the base level.
Initial Bear Gear crafting diagrams can be bought from the armourer in Kaer Trolde. These will direct you to the items’ locations on The Skellige Isles. Check out this guide for where to find them and how to locate the different Bear School Gear items.
Wolf School Witcher Gear (Wolven)
Style: Medium armour
Bonuses: Up to three different oils can be applied to a sword at a time (3 pieces)
Bombs are thrown without any delay (6 pieces)
Improved stats: Boosted sign intensity, boosted attack power and boosted adrenaline point gain
A great all-rounder, Wolf School Gear is definitely one of the best Witcher Gear Sets.
Wolf School Gear, also known as Wolven Gear in-game, is a Medium armour and weapons set that was added to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as DLC. It’s one of the best witcher gear sets for players who like to use a hybrid playstyle, as it gives boosts to sign intensity, attack power and adrenaline point gain. Aside from giving a good overall layer of protection and bonuses, Wolf gear also looks sleek and durable, combining chainmail and studded leather reminiscent of Geralt’s most recent armour in The Witcher TV series.
The set consists of a leather and chainmail chest piece with metal shoulder epaulettes, trousers, gauntlets, boots and a set of silver and steel swords. These are all upgradeable up to Grandmaster Legendary level. If you enjoy a hybrid style of play that combines attacking with bombs, sword oils and signs, then you should aim to locate the Wolf School Gear when you are able to.
Initial Wolf Gear crafting diagrams can be found in the areas surrounding Kaer Morhen. However, it’s important to note that you can only fast travel back there after it unlocks at the end of the game’s first act. Check out this guide for where to find the diagrams and how to locate the different Wolf School Gear items.
Manticore School Gear (Manticore)
Style: Medium armour
Bonuses: Critical hit chance and critical hit damage also apply to bombs (3 pieces)
The maximum number of charges for each alchemy item is increased by 1 (6 pieces)
Improved stats: Boosted toxicity limits, boosted critical hit chance
Manticore School Gear is one of the best Witcher Gear Sets for those playing with an alchemy build.
Manticore School Gear is a set of Medium armour that was introduced in the game’s Blood And Wine expansion. It is a ready-made Grandmaster level set of gear and therefore can only be equipped once players are at level 40. It can also only be crafted by the Grandmaster level blacksmith in Beauclair. This is one of the best gear sets for players who focus on playing with an alchemy build, as it gives bonuses to potions, decoctions and bombs.
Looks-wise, Manticore School Gear has quite a guerilla-style look to it, with leather strapping across the chest piece with holsters for bombs and potions. It consists of a dark brown leather strapped chest piece, trousers, gauntlets, boots and a pair of silver and steel swords. While less colourful than some of the other Witcher gear sets, Manticore is the one for you once you’re into the higher levels and have focused on prioritising an alchemical playstyle.
Initial Manticore Gear crafting diagrams are obtainable from the Grandmaster blacksmith in Beauclair. Check out this guide for how to locate the different Manticore School Gear items.
Viper School Gear (Viper)
Style: Medium armour
Bonuses: None
Improved stats: Boosted resistance to elemental damage and poisoning
For overall style and poison resistance, Viper School Gear is one of the best witcher gear sets of them all.
Viper School Gear is a set of Medium armour that closely resembles Geralt’s starting Kaer Morhen armour, although it looks a lot deadlier, being darker in colour and featuring a snakeskin pattern. It’s only available to players at level 39 and above. The Viper School Gear set is the only set of Witcher Gear that does not have set bonuses, which does make it a bit less of a tempting option than some of the other sets. However, it does bring with it heightened resistance to poisoning effects and improves Geralt’s resistance to elemental damage.
This set was added in the Hearts Of Stone expansion and consists of a leather and chainmail chest piece, trousers, gauntlets, boots and a set of silver and steel swords. If you’re more into the visual vibe when it comes to armour, then the Viper School Gear is a great choice. It’s a decent set that offers solid poison resistance and looks very cool.
The Viper Gear crafting diagrams can only be obtained as part of the Open Sesame! Quest in the Hearts Of Stone Expansion. Check out this guide for where to get hold of the diagrams and how to locate the different Viper School Gear items.
Low-Level Viper School Gear (Serpentine)
There are two lower-level Viper School Gear sword diagrams that can be obtained early in the game and are definitely worth hunting down as a replacement for your starting gear swords. These are the diagrams to craft a Serpentine Silver Sword and a Serpentine Steel Sword. As part of the Viper School, they have an increased chance to poison enemies in combat and do much better damage than your starting or early game gear. They can be found right at the beginning of the game, in White Orchard. Check out the full Viper School Gear guide to find out where to locate them.
Which Is The Best Witcher Gear Set For You?
So, with an overview of each of the different Witcher Gear sets available in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which one will work best for you? As explained earlier, it really comes down to how you enjoy playing the game. It’s definitely worth collecting them all via the different scavenger hunts as you progress through the levelling process. That way, you can enhance your armour level as you encounter more difficult enemies, as well as get a feel for the bonuses each gear set has to offer.
In general, though, there are multiple gear options for you to choose from to help Geralt on the Path. Experiment and see what works for you! If you’ve got a favourite Witcher Gear set, let us know which one and why down in the comments. Don’t forget to check out our guides on each individual Witcher Gear School to help speed up your scavenger hunting too.
