The following inventory items are created using Alchemy (though some can be purchased from vendors too, if you wish to expend more crowns instead of brewing your own). Remember that base materials, formulae, and recipes may all be needed in order to create the following items.
Alchemy Substances: Mutagens
As you kill monsters, there’s a chance that a Mutagen will be found amongst the loot you can scavenge. There are different types of Mutagens—some that are exclusive to the beast slain and others that are relatively common amongst a variety of monsters.
Mutagens are used in two separate ways. The first is in connection with your Character Abilities. By placing a Mutagen in the slot next to your activated Character Abilities, you gain a statistical bonus.
The ability trees are color themed; red, blue, green, and yellow. These colors stand for Combat, Signs, Alchemy, and General Abilities respectively. This also holds true with Mutagens, which can be found in red, blue, and green. If you connect a mutagen to activated abilities of the same color, the bonus provided by the Mutagen increases by 100 percent for each ability matching that Mutagen’s color. Geralt can gain thousands of points of Vitality and strike that much harder with his swords. His Signs will see massive intensity boosts. The second use of Mutagens comes with crafting decoctions, covered below.
MUTAGENS FOR MUTATIONS
If you are adventuring in Toussaint, be sure to complete Blood and Wine Secondary Quest: Turn and Face the Strange. Finding Professor Moreau’s mutation laboratory allows you to unlock the Mutations menu. Now, Mutagens are “spent” like Ability points to unlock the most potent mutations of all!
Now Mutagens are able to be created (and their color changed) by locating (or purchasing) diagram recipes scattered throughout this realm. Use the Alchemy > Alchemy Substances menu, and begin to create Mutagens yourself instead of relying on finding them on the corpses of monsters. You are also encouraged to improve the Corvo Bianco Vineyard, as part of Blood and Wine: No Place Like Home, as an improved greenhouse allows herbs to be grown that are essential ingredients to creating mutagens.
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages can be found in every tavern, inn, and watering hole across the Northern Realms, and purchased from Innkeeps there. Visit the Duchy of Toussaint for a masterclass in wine-making. Some of the alcohol you can drink is simply for sustenance. Most allows you to recover from combat during a Meditation (so keep a plentiful supply). But brew Alcohol for alchemic purposes primarily when you require an ingredient for another Alchemic substance, as the following example illustrates:
Bombs
One of the key tools of the Witcher trade is the arsenal of bombs they can craft to suit their needs. Various materials go into making a bomb, and they have a wide range of possible effects that can be used to further stack a battle in their favor. You can option a battle from afar by lobbing a bomb at an unsuspecting foe, or quickly flick one out at a targeted opponent during a heated melee.
Monster nests encountered in the world require specific bombs to completely destroy them. So, if you intend to make a particular area safe to travel through or harvest materials within, make sure you always carry a supply of these explosives. You can set two bomb types in your Inventory menu as “Quick Access” items in the “Bombs” section. If necessary, you can switch out what bombs you have quick access to in the middle of combat as well. As with potions and oils, bombs can be upgraded beyond their initial crafted level to enhanced and superior versions.
A Useful Brace Of Bombs
Bombs are highly specialized weapons that can cause a variety of effects in battle. It helps to craft bombs as soon as possible, especially the higher ranking versions (Enhanced and Superior), so you are prepared for any situation that requires an explosive solution.
Dancing Star: If you’re looking for a bomb with a spectacular explosion resulting in impressive damage to any foes within the blast radius, and additional burning to the already-wounded enemy, choose to craft this bomb. Though it doesn’t supersede your more ferocious Igni attacks, this is excellent for long-range blazes.
Devil’s Puffball: Though the cloud of toxic vapor that this bomb emits when it explodes can poison you (unless you’ve taken a potion to negate the effects), it is meant for long-range damage infliction: lob this at a cluster of bandits in areas where you can easily move around the poison cloud. Or, choose to lob one into confined areas you won’t immediately venture down, but areas with foes who can choke to death on the fumes.
Dimeritium: If you’re facing monsters that are known as “Elementals” in the Glossary (and this guide’s Bestiary), this is an excellent choice as it halts any of these monsters’ ranged attacks (such as a Gargoyle’s flying ability). Stopping the magical abilities of Elementals isn’t something you’re likely to attempt frequently, so break out this bomb on these special occasions. However, when you’re in Dimeritium’s cloud, you cannot cast Signs, so use with caution!
Dragon’s Dream: This bomb releases a cloud of highly flammable, poisonous gas into the air. But when ignited by Igni, another bomb, a torch, or even a burning enemy, the resulting detonation can set foes on fire! An upgraded Dragon’s Dream can cause enemies it kills to explode, as well! Just beware that the blast can damage you, too.
Grapeshot: This is one of the most useful explosives in a Witcher’s arsenal. You can destroy monster nests and deal powerful shrapnel damage to enemies, while also causing some fire damage that can harm enemies weak to it. Though it doesn’t harm enemies over time (just in one large explosion), it is incredibly potent. Upgraded Grapeshot bombs can make enemy armor completely irrelevant.
Moon Dust: Monsters that are known to transform, such as Foglets, Specters, and Vampires, cannot use this ability when struck by the silver splinters of a Moon Dust bomb. Monsters that can regenerate can find that ability temporarily disabled. The Superior version of this bomb can stop a foe’s regeneration permanently!
Northern Wind: A dangerous piece of alchemy, the Northern Wind bomb freezes enemies within its blast radius, and keeps them in place. If a Witcher improves this bomb, the area of effect grows larger, lasts longer, and enemies struck while frozen suffer greater damage.
Samum: A basic but useful bomb, Samum does not just destroy monster nests; it blinds enemies caught in its explosive radius, giving a Witcher a chance to flank them, and attempt an easy sword strike. Upgraded Samum bombs guarantee a critical strike on a blinded and stunned opponent. Just be careful you don’t blind yourself with your own Samum bomb.
Decoctions
These Relic-type potions offer incredible combat benefits that are long-lasting, but come at the expense of high toxicity. Assuming you are crafting White Honey Potions (that clear toxicity) in conjunction with Decoctions, these can make you extremely potent in combat. Remember you can use more than one Decoction at a time. For experienced Witchers, the high toxicity of a decoction, and all the risks that come with it, are outweighed by the benefits.
Top Five Decoctions
Troll Decoction: Constant Vitality regeneration in and out of combat. For Witchers who are expecting multiple grueling battles against many foes.
Ekimmara Decoction: With this decoction, a Witcher restores Vitality with every successful strike against the enemy.
Succubus Decoction: The longer a battle lasts, the harder a Witcher strikes.
Alghoul Decoction: Adrenaline is generated more quickly by a Witcher in combat, but the effect is broken by the first successful enemy attack.
Werewolf Decoction: Running, sprinting, and jumping outside of combat doesn’t use Stamina; a perfect brew for Witchers exploring large areas.
Oils
To increase the effectiveness of blades, a Witcher can coat them with special oils. These are tailored to damage specific types of foes. Oils that assist against humans should be applied to steel swords, while any monster-specific oils are applied to your silver swords. There are as many oils as there are families of monsters, and so it falls to a Witcher to be prepared for these eventualities. Crafting oils can be done only outside of combat.
Similar to potions, once an oil is crafted, it remains in your inventory. You can find formulae for improved versions of oils, requiring the previous level of the oil and new ingredients. This again follows the standard, enhanced, and superior quality scheme used by potions, bombs, and most other items that can be improved.
Oils do not last indefinitely. Each successful strike on an enemy rubs some of the oil off the blade until eventually there is none left and the effect is no longer applied to the foe. You can reapply the oil by going to your Inventory once again, as long as you have not discarded the oil.
Oils For Common Or Serious Threats
With so many monsters plaguing the land, Witchers must be prepared with a wide variety of oils to counter any threat with expediency.
Hanged Man’s Venom: Sadly, with war raging across the land, humans are as common a threat to a Witcher as any monster. It never hurts to have this oil ready at all times to quickly dispatch soldiers or roaming groups of bandits. This works against any human and nonhuman (but human-sized) foe, so use this on any Scoia’tael you might face, too!
Necrophage Oil: War leaves behind battlefields strewn with corpses, the perfect feeding grounds for necrophages such as Ghouls, Alghouls, and Rotfiends. This oil gets frequent use for most Witchers.
Specter Oil: Another side effect to war is the high number of victims who died with lingering regrets in this world, or died after terrible violence. These dark and powerful emotions have resulted in great numbers of wraiths haunting the living. Prevent them from haunting you by slapping on the Specter Oil!
Elementa Oil: While elementals are not particularly common, their sturdiness against a Witcher’s silver sword makes them incredibly dangerous to fight. Every advantage helps.
Relict Oil: Relicts are as rare as the name suggests, but all creatures that fall under this classification can be considered threats of the highest order. If a hunt demands that you fight a Chort or a Fiend, relict oil is one of the few advantages any Witcher can claim over these monsters.
Potions
Highly toxic to most normal humans, potions brewed by Witchers provide a variety of effects that can improve combat, enhance even a Witcher’s heightened senses, and restore critical energy before, during, or after a battle. However, even a Witcher is not immune to the dangerous nature of these brews. If Geralt’s Toxicity meter reaches critical levels, he begins losing Vitality (a swig of White Honey soon cures this however). All potion effects last for only a short while (especially compared to the even more toxic Decoctions), though the efficacy and duration of potions can be enhanced by investing in the correct Character Abilities.
To brew potions, Geralt needs to know the formulae and have the materials they require. Most alchemy requires plants that can be found and harvested in the field. Other alchemic compounds, such as special powders, monster body parts, and minerals, can be found as loot in chests and bags strewn about the world, or from the corpses of your foes. You may also purchase some of the more rare ingredients from herbalists and alchemists found in or around villages.
Once you’ve brewed a potion, it remains in your inventory, even when it has been used up. Most potions can be upgraded over the course of the adventure, starting with the basic level formulae, Enhanced level, and finally reaching Superior quality.
You either find or purchase formulae for higher-potent versions of potions. These advanced formulae require already crafting the previous-level version of a particular potion, and a new set of ingredients. Upgrading your potions leaves you with the higher level product (which is always better than the basic level).
Always try to have potions readied that fit your current circumstances: Once a fight begins, you can’t tell your enemies to wait a few minutes while you sit cross-legged to play with your herbs. Potions can be used before and during combat from the Inventory screen. You can also set them to be one of your four “Consumables” potions, allowing you to use them in battle. Each potion has a limited number of doses, but can be replenished if you enter Meditation and have enough hard alcohol to use for the replenishment. Geralt automatically does this if he has the necessary supplies, making it important to loot as many spirits as you can while out in the field.
Useful Early-Adventure Potions
Although you start the adventure with little in the way of resources, you quickly expand your knowledge of potion formulae with exploration. Then you must ask yourself which potions you should focus on creating:
Swallow: Vitality naturally regenerates very slowly. Swallow grants high and constant Vitality regeneration. If you’re hit, the effects of basic and enhanced Swallow are suspended for two seconds. Superior Swallow does not have this penalty, and its effects are never suspended.
White Raffard’s Decoction: This potion immediately restores a portion of your Vitality upon use. Try to craft and maintain one of the three levels of this potion to keep a good stash of emergency healing on hand.
Cat: Witcher eyes see better in the dark naturally, compared to the average human, but even they need a boost. The Cat Potions allows a Witcher to see farther and more clearly in dark spaces. At Superior quality, it even delivers immunity to hypnosis and puts a red glow on enemies to make them easier to see.
Golden Oriole: A Witcher’s body naturally resists disease and poison, which makes the poisons that can hurt or kill a Witcher deadly to humans. Golden Oriole grants Witchers temporary immunity to poisons while neutralizing all poisons currently in the bloodstream.
Thunderbolt: Most combat a Witcher faces ends by a Witcher’s sword. Thunderbolt enhances Attack Power, and the effect only increases with each jump in potion quality. It’s a good general use potion against any threat you can face.