Archetype 5: The Warlock Of Kaer-Top Mountain

(* Additional Abilities to swap in, or insert as 16 Slots are unlocked through Mutations)

Armor: Ofieri Armor

Swords: Ofieri Sabre, Griffin Silver Sword

Crossbow: Any

Bombs: Dragon’s Dream, Northern Wind

Potions: Petri’s Philter, Tawny Owl, Swallow

Decoctions: Ancient Leshen, Basilisk, Ekhidna, Ekimmara, Foglet

Glyphs: Aard, Igni, Yrden, Quen, Axii

Runestones: Stribog, Veles, Zoria

Glyphwords: Beguilement, Depletion, Eruption, Entanglement, Ignition, Protection, Possession, Rotation, Usurpation

Runewords: Dumplings, Placation, Replenishment

Mutations: Magic Sensibilities (2 Research Points), Conductors of Magic (10 Research Points)

Once you’ve chosen your only General Ability, Griffin School Techniques which immediately adds to your Sign Intensity, and you’ve procured some Medium armor so this ability is useful (look for the Ofieri armor by visiting the merchant at Upper Mill to start your search), it is time to build up your Sign Intensity (just as with any Sign-based Archetype), but with special attention paid to every single section of the Signs branches of the Ability Tree. Though you’re not going to be able to fully level up all five Signs branches, you can increase the potency of all five magical abilities to such a potent level that foes won’t be able to withstand your power! Swords are a secondary thought; choose Griffin blades when you can, or any blade that improves your Signs Intensity (such as the Ofieri Sabre).

Other Signs Archetypes may falter when facing a foe who is impervious to their main focused Sign (Archetype 6: Incendiary Sorcerer, for example, has great difficulty with Fire Elementals). Not so with this Archetype; the flexibility of choosing any of the five Signs to deal with adversaries most troublesome is the key to success here:

Far-Reaching Aard and Aard Sweep are generally used for humans and crowd-control, before finishing with swords or Igni. Firestream is your main roasting attack (it is used on every foe that you can damage with fire), and Melt Armor was ignored in favor of unlocking more potent abilities in other Signs branches. The Yrden branch was fully unlocked (with 16 Abilities), limiting the maneuverability of foes (particularly fast-moving ones); Magic Trap is used to prevent ranged attacks from striking you, as well as damaging already sluggish enemies. Quen allows you to withstand damage while healing yourself (with Active Shield employed), and Quen Discharge reflects damage back should a foe strike you. Finally, Axii Puppet enables foes to fight your battles for you, and causes general confusion. This Archetype’s strength is in the full range of Signs Abilities (both regular and alternate), backed up with the defensive posturing of Quen and a full complement of Yrden abilities.

For other complementary elements, pick a Crossbow most potent for your level. When using bombs, partner Dragon’s Dream with Igni for even more devastation, and to a lesser extent, pick Northern Wind to slow foes down; a help in almost every combat situation.

With all this powering up of your Signs, both the Combat and Alchemy branches are neglected completely, forcing you to use only a few Potions and especially Decoctions, as your Toxicity constitution is low. Petri’s Philter makes your Signs more powerful, an obvious bonus to such a focused build. Tawny Owl is your other key potion, as Geralt needs to have as much Stamina regeneration as possible if you want to survive (though you may find adventuring at night, when Superior Tawny Owl never expires, is a favored activity). Decoctions are troublesome as you’re very susceptible to toxicity, but for that extra boost, the Ekhidna decoction is a good choice in more desperate situations, restoring Vitality whenever you use Stamina. At other times, the Ancient Leshen decoction is an almost automatic Stamina regenerating buff. Another one to think about choosing is Basilisk decoction, though the Sign intensity given is random: However, as you’re using all Signs, this has less of a drawback!

You have a wealth of Glyph choices; the five Signs Glyphs (Aard, Igni, Yrden, Quen, and Axii) are all optimal picks; focus on the Signs you need extra Intensity power for, or those you use more often. As with other Signs Archetypes, Runestones are also easily picked; Veles grants you extra Sign intensity, and is your main focus. Secondary choices are Stribog (which can stagger) or Zoria (which can freeze); both crippling the movements of foes.

You’re spoiled for choice with Glyphwords: If you enjoy roasting foes with Igni, Eruption (foes set alight explode and ignite others), Ignition (struck foes have a 25% chance to ignite others within two yards), and Rotation (Igni basic attacks strike 360 degrees but don’t burn) are great options. Protection enables a “free” Quen shield when entering combat and Entanglement sets another Yrden trap when Yrden first hits them. As you’re using all five Signs, Beguilement (enemies affected by Axii are affected twice as long for each blow they land), Possession and Usurpation (when an Axii-affected opponent dies, the effect transfers to a nearby target, with duration increase for each enemy blow landed for Possession), are all great choices when employing Axii. Depletion (striking foes with Aard reduces their Stamina) is the only Aard choice, so you may wish to imbue multiple Igni or Axii effects instead.

Runewords are easier to choose from; Replenishment (which consumes an Adrenaline Point after you cast a Sign, before imbuing your sword with the power of that Sign on your next sword attack) is a favorite, but Dumplings (food regenerates more Vitality) is a good way to make the most out of your non-Quen healing, and Placation (using Adrenaline Points to regenerate Vitality and Stamina) are also good, if situational, picks.

As with other Signs archetypes, you’re likely to enjoy both the following pure-Signs Mutations: Conductors of Magic (increasing your Signs intensity of your blades are of high quality) and Magic Sensibilities (Signs have a critical hit chance which scales with the power of the Sign, exploding the enemy upon death). As long as you correctly predict and prepare for each battle, and know the Sign your foe is weak against, you are assured victory!