Part of preparation is making sure you have the right items in your item slots. Wearing your best armor and using your best swords is obvious advice. Having the right consumables and bombs set up for quick use can mean the difference between life and death.
- Quick-Use Consumables should have immediate effects: Potions like White Raffard’s Decoction, for immediate burst healing, or Thunderbolt, a short burst of increased attack power, are excellent for the quick use item slots. In place of White Raffard’s Decoction, you can use any form of healing food to speed up health regeneration in combat. Potions like cat, or decoctions, which have very long lasting effects compared to most other potions, are best accessed from the Inventory menu.
- Tailor quick-use potions to your strategy and build: You can build Geralt to focus on his swordsmanship and crossbow skills; his Sign use; the bombs, potions, and enhancements gained through alchemy; or have a spread of skills throughout all of his ability trees. Likewise, there are potions that can greatly enhance the effectiveness of these aspects. If you want to have high-powered signs on demand, use Potions that power up their intensity. If you want your swords to hit harder, Thunderbolt is an obvious choice.
- At least one bomb should be general use: There are many types of bombs, but you can have only two set up for on-demand use. Grapeshot is an excellent general purpose bomb that falters only against fire resistant foes. Samum is also good for its ability to blind or stun enemies caught in the blast radius.
- Your second bomb slot should fit the situation: There’s little reason to carry two bombs that accomplish similar tasks. If you know you’re up against enemies weak to fire, switch in Dragon’s Dream to set up a powerful combo with Igni. If you know you’ll be battling large numbers of enemies, Northern Wind can literally bring the fight to a standstill, allowing Geralt to calmly pick out a priority target to bring down first.
