How to Use Mutations in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

There are a lot of good activities available through The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s latest expansion, Blood and Wine, but one players will really enjoy is using mutations. With these, you can unlock new abilities within Geralt’s skill tree, unlocking additional skill enhancements that introduce better moves. Here’s a breakdown of how to unlock and use them!

Obtaining and Utilizing Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

First, you need to complete the Turn and Face the Strange secondary quest. As you make your way through the main story, you’ll come across a messenger with a letter. That’s when the quest will open up. Once it’s done, you can start using the Mutation tree, which you’ll find in your Character menu.

You’ll need to put research into Mutations before you put them to good use, including spending some of your Ability Points and Greater Mutagens, depending on which one you go after. As you unlock Mutations through research, you’ll gain access to new Abilities within the tree. There are 12 to choose from, with particular skill types attached, including Signs, Alchemy, or Combat, as well as combinations.

The thing is, you can only use one Mutation at a time, and they combine with whatever skills Geralt is currently using. You need to make sure the abilities match up with said Mutations, like a Combat Mutation with Bloodbath, alongside similar abilities. By putting a Mutagen into play (particularly the blended types), you can add more skills. They’re broken down below:

Red Combat Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

First up is Deadly Counter. This provides an additional 25 percent behind sword attacks against enemies that have immunity to counterattacks. By doing this, you’ll be able to finish them off automatically if they drop below 25 percent health.

Next up is Bloodbath. This will provide a guaranteed finishing dismemberment or death animation as you take down enemies. Sword strikes also provide an extra 5 percent of Attack power as your attacks become more consecutive. However, if you get hit or the fight draws to a close, you’ll lose it.

Blue Sign Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The first one here is Magic Sensibilities. This will assign Critical Hit damage, along with the chance to go even further depending on how intense a sign you’re using. You can also utilize crits to make enemies explode, nice and gooey-like.

Next, there’s Piercing Cold. This will increase the chance of freezing an enemy in their tracks by 25 percent. If you combine this with your Aard technique, you can kill most of them quite quickly.

Green Alchemy Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Euphoria allows better sword damage and Sign intensity, by about .75 percent, depending on your current Toxicity amount. It can go as high as 75 percent, if you have enough. 

Toxic Blood is up next. If you get injured, you’ll see 1.5 percent of your damage dealt given back to the attacker, depending on the level of your Toxicity. Again, it can be increased, but double the amount of Euphoria, to 150 percent maximum.

Combat and Signs Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

With Adrenaline Rush, you’ll be able to increase both Attack Power and Sign Intensity in a combat scenario by 30 percent, for up to 30 seconds. This can change depending how many opponents you’re taking on. Once time runs out, you’ll see a slight reduction by ten percent, depending on who’s still alive afterwards.

Conductors of Magic will pick up increased Sign damage, depending on whether you use a Witcher sword, Magic or Unique. It can be increased up to 50 percent, based on the damage level of your current sword.

Combat and Alchemy Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Mutated Skin sounds gross, but it actually provides adrenaline points to Geralt, which can drop his damage taken by 15 percent, depending on how many he has available. This can be bumped up to 45 percent.

Cat Eyes helps boost the damage you can do with a crossbow, as well as offering a critical hit chance bump by 50 percent. You can also knock down opponents, as well as stun and pierce them with better accuracy. If you’ve got an enemy coming at you with a full bar of health, this will knock them back by 15 percent – especially with a straight shot.

Combat, Signs and Alchemy Mutations In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Second Life is useful if Geralt runs out of health, as he will gain invulnerability for several seconds, and then refill it again. The only catch is you can only do this every 180 seconds, or three minutes.

Lastly, Metamorphosis will allow you to strike with Critical Hits and create a random Decoction without any cost to Toxicity. This lasts for 120 seconds, or two minutes. You’ll be able to do this three times with the Mutation, and don’t forget to use your Witcher Senses as well, which will pick up tremendously.

Pick and choose which Mutations will work right for you, and take them into battle in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Good luck!

Check out our continuing coverage of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, including this useful Wild Hunt boss guideand how to beat Eredin in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.