This section introduces you to the main combat techniques you need to master so that your adventures across the Northern Realms are both bloody and satisfying, rather than a series of panicked sprints away from overwhelming enemies.
Fast Attacks
The basic offensive technique at Geralt’s disposal, fast attacks are light, rapid blows that can be chained together quickly. Against opponents whose guard has been lowered, you can string together three quick strikes before they even have chance to block. Against average humans, a flurry of fast attacks can keep them firmly on the defensive, while more trained opponents can parry or even count a fast attack.
Fast attacks can be alternated with strong attacks, and vice versa. This allows you to string together a series of strikes that not only keeps the enemy on the defensive, but will also be a costly Stamina drain (to them) as they try to block and parry. Watch the small yellow bar beneath enemy Vitality gauges to determine how much Stamina they have.
Strong Attacks
Strong attacks ignore the enemy’s armor and, even if they manage to block the attack, the drain on their Stamina may be more than they can handle. However, as each strike has a wind-up time (a short delay) before Geralt’s sword or fists finally lash out, swift enemies can actually interrupt a strong attack with a fast attack of their own.
All sword or hand-to-hand attacks can be chained into lengthy combination of both fast and strong strikes. Practice in the grounds of Kaer Morhen until you perfect your striking. You can even suddenly switch the direction Geralt is attacking in in mid-combo. This is especially useful when surrounded by enemies. Either quickly shift focus with fast attacks to interrupt enemies striking at your flanks, or surprise them by whirling on them with a heavy attack to knock their defenses aside.
Adrenaline
Every attack you land builds Adrenaline Points. You can have a maximum of three Adrenaline Points. Each point counts as a 10% attack power increase, which makes it exceedingly valuable to Geralt in combat. However, taking damage can cause you to lose Adrenaline, and some Abilities require the use of Adrenaline.
There are Character Abilities that can prevent this, and there are other abilities that increase how much Adrenaline you generate! See the various character abilities later in this chapter to see how you can improve your Adrenaline generation, or even use it to power your Stamina!
Special Attacks
Activating certain abilities in the Character Ability branches unlocks special attacks that use Stamina and Adrenaline Points, which are earned by landing successful attacks on enemies. Adrenaline is lost by sustaining damage, but certain Character Abilities can limit this loss.
There are two special attacks for swords: Whirl and Rend. Whirl is earned by purchasing the ability in the Fast Attack section of the Combat Ability Branch (remember you need to place it in an empty slot in your Character menu!). Rend is found in the Strong Attack section. See the information on the Combat Ability Tree later in this chapter for more details on these abilities. To use them, you must invest Ability Points and then activate either by setting it in an Ability Slot.
Special Attack: Whirl
After ensuring that Whirl is set up as an active Character Ability, you can use it in combat. As long as you have Stamina to spare, hold down your fast attack button to become a dervish of death! This attack cuts anyone that gets close to Geralt as he spins and pirouettes forward, sword lashing out in all directions. The attack drains Stamina and then Adrenaline, so you do not need Adrenaline to start the attack. You only need Stamina to start.
Note that Geralt is still vulnerable to attacks while using Whirl. So be wary of ranged attackers and enemies trying to flank you. Large enemies can also fight through the barrage of attacks to still score an interrupting strike!
Special Attack: Rend
You can use Rend in combat once it’s set up as an active Character Ability. Hold down the strong attack button to begin storing Stamina and Adrenaline for a single, powerful strike. This attack can be upgraded to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit. The more Adrenaline you have while charging the strike, the greater the damage you cause.
To get maximum effect out of Rend, you must spend significant time charging up the strike. This process can be interrupted out of the attack by damage you sustain, so be mindful of the situation and use the attack wisely.
Finishers (Executions)
Mortally wounded human-sized enemies may fall to the ground slowly, gasping out their final breaths. If an indicator appears next to them, prompting you to press your fast attack button to finish them off, Geralt performs a brutal finishing strike to foes still on their feet. For those lying on the ground thanks to a bomb or a blast of Aard, he simply runs them through with his blade. You can also enable or disable Geralt automatically using executions on dying foes in the Gameplay > Options menu.
Fighting On Horseback
Geralt can use his swords (and crossbow) while on horseback to a limited degree. It’s generally not the best option to fight on horseback unless you absolutely must. Your mount can throw you off the saddle if it gets too frightened. Watch the Horse Fear meter to avoid this, which stuns Geralt for quite some time and leaves him vulnerable to the enemy. You can calm your mount by using Axii. Certain upgrades for Roach (Horse Blinders) can also assuage the horse during combat.
Parrying
Geralt can stop fists with his hands, or deflect weapon strikes (and the claws—and even the tongues—of some beasts) with his swords. By holding down the Parry button, Geralt prepares to guard against any strike coming at him. Geralt can parry anything from any direction, but repeated blows can break through his defenses, and some blows cannot be parried at all. Arrows can be parried if you spend points on the Arrow Deflection Character Ability, and you can eventually reflect them back at the shooter!
You cannot parry every physical attack. Humans with massive two-handed weapons easily overwhelm your parry attempts, and some beasts strike with such power and ferocity that they break your guard and land punishing blows regardless of your Stamina level. Damage is reduced trying to parry some of these attacks, but Geralt staggers from the force of the attack. In these cases, it’s best to either evade or dodge roll the attack, or attempt a counter-attack.
Counterattacks
Mastering this skill can be a great help for many of the battles that Geralt faces. If you press the Parry button just before an attack hits Geralt, he blocks the attack, then performs a special counterattack that can either cause damage to foes or knock them off balance, allowing you to unleash your full fury upon them. You cannot counterattack any foe wielding a two-handed weapon, or attacks from larger foes such as giants.
Special Attack: Rend
You can use Rend in combat once it’s set up as an active Character Ability. Hold down the strong attack button to begin storing Stamina and Adrenaline for a single, powerful strike. This attack can be upgraded to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit. The more Adrenaline you have while charging the strike, the greater the damage you cause.
To get maximum effect out of Rend, you must spend significant time charging up the strike. This process can be interrupted out of the attack by damage you sustain, so be mindful of the situation and use the attack wisely.
Finishers (Executions)
Mortally wounded human-sized enemies may fall to the ground slowly, gasping out their final breaths. If an indicator appears next to them, prompting you to press your fast attack button to finish them off, Geralt performs a brutal finishing strike to foes still on their feet. For those lying on the ground thanks to a bomb or a blast of Aard, he simply runs them through with his blade. You can also enable or disable Geralt automatically using executions on dying foes in the Gameplay > Options menu.
Fighting On Horseback
Geralt can use his swords (and crossbow) while on horseback to a limited degree. It’s generally not the best option to fight on horseback unless you absolutely must. Your mount can throw you off the saddle if it gets too frightened. Watch the Horse Fear meter to avoid this, which stuns Geralt for quite some time and leaves him vulnerable to the enemy. You can calm your mount by using Axii. Certain upgrades for Roach (Horse Blinders) can also assuage the horse during combat.
Parrying
Geralt can stop fists with his hands, or deflect weapon strikes (and the claws—and even the tongues—of some beasts) with his swords. By holding down the Parry button, Geralt prepares to guard against any strike coming at him. Geralt can parry anything from any direction, but repeated blows can break through his defenses, and some blows cannot be parried at all. Arrows can be parried if you spend points on the Arrow Deflection Character Ability, and you can eventually reflect them back at the shooter!
You cannot parry every physical attack. Humans with massive two-handed weapons easily overwhelm your parry attempts, and some beasts strike with such power and ferocity that they break your guard and land punishing blows regardless of your Stamina level. Damage is reduced trying to parry some of these attacks, but Geralt staggers from the force of the attack. In these cases, it’s best to either evade or dodge roll the attack, or attempt a counter-attack.
Counterattacks
Mastering this skill can be a great help for many of the battles that Geralt faces. If you press the Parry button just before an attack hits Geralt, he blocks the attack, then performs a special counterattack that can either cause damage to foes or knock them off balance, allowing you to unleash your full fury upon them. You cannot counterattack any foe wielding a two-handed weapon, or attacks from larger foes such as giants.
You can either eyeball when to counterattack by watching the incoming attacks closely, or by paying attention to the health and Stamina bars floating over the heads of enemies fighting you. If you see the area around this target information flash red, that’s your cue to parry and perform a counterattack! As with parrying, not every attack can be countered, such as the melee strikes from powerful beasts or two-handed weapons from humans.
Dodging And Rolling
Geralt can dodge away from most melee and ranged attacks. This is ideal for avoiding attacks that Geralt cannot parry or counter, while still keeping him within light or strong attack range.
Some attacks have so much reach that a simple hop backward isn’t enough to keep you safe. In these instances, tap the Roll button while moving him away from the attack to roll to safety. This costs Stamina, and places Geralt well out of range for an immediate counter strike, but it can help ‘reset’ the fight in a one-on-one situation, or get him safely away from opponents that have him surrounded. However, it does temporarily stop Stamina regeneration, so you can’t roll constantly if you want to also make use of his Signs.
Managing Stamina
Managing Stamina is one of the most important aspects of combat. For example, a full bar of Stamina is required to cast any Signs in battle. Stamina is needed for special melee attacks and Signs. Any time you use an ability that requires Stamina its regeneration is temporarily halted. You can boost Stamina regeneration with Potions, and there are Character Abilities that can improve your Stamina recovery.
Crossbow Attacks
The crossbow is a useful tool that can be used before combat begins, or in the middle of a melee. If you take the time to aim the crossbow manually before firing, time dilates, letting you aim with greater accuracy. This effect can be increased through Character Abilities such as Marksmanship.
You can also quick-fire the crossbow. Tapping the Crossbow button once causes Geralt to draw and fire the weapon at the locked-on target. You can also influence where he fires by moving him in the direction of a potential target. This works well for interrupting flanking enemies; just avoid quick-firing explosive bolts at enemies right next to you!
With special ammo loaded or with the standard bolts, the starting crossbow can be fired three times before Geralt must reload.
Crossbows work as amplifiers to the damage ratings of the bolts loaded into them. Always keep an eye out for stronger crossbows to maximize the potential of your chosen bolts, and you absolutely should consider hunting down the recipes for the most powerful crossbows in the game.
Special Bolts
Special bolts can be looted from caches in the field or crafted at a blacksmith. These bolts are what make even the starting crossbow a vicious weapon in any fight.
Special bolts can have a variety of effects. Some cause bleeding damage, others split into multiple shots. One type of bolt can attract wild animals to the victim, another acts as a high-powered bomb! Unfortunately, special bolts are limited in number. Check your Quick Access menu to see which bolts you’ve loaded in the crossbow to avoid wasting good ammunition on petty targets.
Bombs
Similar to the crossbow, you can quick-throw a prepared bomb by first selecting it in your Quick-access menu, then tapping the button to throw it. This quick lob is especially effective against single opponents. If you want to affect multiple targets more reliably, aim where you place your bombs by holding down the Throw button. When you’re dealing with multiple foes that are affected by the same type of bomb, this is a great way to start to any encounter.
Bombs have a wide variety of effects that can be useful for specific foes. Dimeritium Bombs can weaken magic users, Moon Dust bombs can prevent transformations, and the powerful Northern Wind bombs can freeze huge swaths of a battlefield, allowing a Witcher to quickly flank foes.