Midgame Alchemy Tank Build Guide - Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Build Overview 

This build boasts a fantastic baseline of offensive and defensive stats. However, it shines the brightest when you take the time to meditate and prepare before battle. This enables us to ramp our power through several methods, such as imbibing the ideal decoctions, swapping skills, and drinking potions. This makes for the most authentic Witcher experience.

The Mastercrafted Ursine Armor is the most versatile chest armor in the game, offering great resistances against monsters and good against humans. By level 34, we should unlock the Runewright, allowing us to infuse the armor with Levity, for a sizeable damage, and stamina regeneration boost. This enables us to use the Nilfgaardian Guardsman Gauntlets if the circumstances call for it.

Combined with decoctions such as Arachas, Ekkimara, Troll or Ekhidna, Geralt becomes a near-unkillable tank. This durability affords us the luxury of equipping the Mastercrafted Feline Boots and Trousers, for 20% added attack power. The Assassin gauntlets continue to make an appearance, as they are our best "reliable" damage option.

Gameplay

Maribor Loop Explained

The "Maribor Loop" is an infamous combo in The Witcher 3, that grants Geralt 3 adrenaline points at the start of every fight. Each adrenaline point translates to +10% attack power, letting us enter combat with +30% attack power. It is performed by having the Superior Maribor Forest and White Honey potions bound to adjacent hotkeys, and then pressing them in an alternating order, starting and ending with Maribor Forest.

This will rapidly trigger the Superior potion effect multiple times, giving us 3 adrenaline points instantly. The superior effect of the Maribor Forest cannot be triggered while the potion's duration is still active. Thus we must first clear it with White honey, before drinking it again for more adrenaline. 

With Metabolism Boosts, we can enter any fight and drink all potions without paying the toxicity cost.

Magic Mushroom Healing Cloud

Once we have access to the Maribor Loop, Metabolic Boosts and Superior Golden Oriole, we can bypass the toxicity cost of Golden Oriole. This makes it advantageous to use that potion before throwing a Devil's Puffball and standing in the poison cloud. With Golden Oriole, the poison damage heals us, and due to our high quantity of active green skills, the healing is quite noticeable, as is the damage to our enemies.

Acquired Tolerance - DLC and Beyond

Once we find 2 of the 19 alchemical formulas found in Blood and Wine, Acquired tolerance will increase to +75 Toxicity. This enables us to substitute Metabolic Control for Metabolic Boosts, while still having 3 decoctions active with 25 toxicity to spare. We can now benefit from toxicity-free potions every fight, without the Maribor Loop.

Final Skills

• Razor Focus -  Whenever Geralt enters combat, we start with 1 adrenaline point. Additionally, sword strikes generate 30% more adrenaline points. Sequencing is important, first enter the fight to trigger Razor Focus, then drink Superior Maribor Forest, otherwise you will not trigger the skill. 
• Crippling Strikes - Solid source of added damage, as it contributed to our red mutagen synergy. Best against humans and bosses, though is easily replaceable.

• Protective Coating - Increases our armor's resistances by 15%, if our blade is coated in the correct oil. When combined with the Mastercrafted Ursine Armor, this significantly increases our survivability. Irreplaceable.
• Hunter Instinct - While we have 3 adrenaline points, and our blade is coated in the correct oil, our crits deal 100% more damage. Easily set up with Maribor Loop / Razor Focus. Outperforms Whirl.
• Killing Spree - Every enemy killed in a combat increases crit chance by 30%. Removes the need for Katakan Decoction, and Assassin's Gauntlets. Best damage skill in the game against groups. Does nothing in single enemies and boss fights. Best used with the Nilfgaardian Guardsman Gauntlets.

• Metabolism boosts - With this skill, whenever we consume a potion, each point of adrenaline reduces toxicity cost by 33%. This skill is bugged and does not take away our adrenaline points. Once we get to 3 adrenaline points, all our potions can be consumed for free, assuming we have enough available toxicity to drink the potion if the perk wasn't there.

Mutagen Farming

If you are struggling to upgrade your mutagens, check out my mutagen farming guide.

Alchemy

This build is constructed around the frequent use of various monster decoctions and witcher potions. Knowing your alchemical arsenal and how to use it is necessary to make the most of this build.

Decoctions

Mutagen	Decoction	Location
Succubus		Acquired in the Contract "Deadly Delights"
Troll		Acquired by killing Trollolo the Troll in "The Volunteer" secondary quest found in Oxenfurt.
Ekkimara		Acquired by starting the  Unraveling the Thread quest in Novigrad. Acquired by completing the "Mystery of the Byways Murders" contract.
Ekhidna		Acquired by completing the "Here Comes the Groom" contract on Spikeroog, Skellige.
Katakan		Acquired by completing the Oxenfurt Drunk witcher contract. Acquired by completing the "Now Or Never" side quest series with Triss, in Novigrad.
Arachas		Level 30 Arachas can be farmed Northwest of the Druid camp in Skellige.  Can be acquired by completing the "Missing Brother" Witcher contract.

Potions

Potion	Information
Thunderbolt	Recipe obtained as part of the main quest. +25% / 30% / 35% Attack Power. Superior potion special effect grants Geralt 100% crit chance during thunderstorms. 30/60/90 second duration.
Cat	Available at game start. Grants Geralt Nightvision. +5% / +7% / +10% Critical Hit chance. Superior potion effect grants immunity to Hypnosis, such as the Fiend's darkness-summoning roar.
Superior Maribor	Increases adrenaline gain from sword blows by 15%. Superior potion ability grants 1 instant point of adrenaline when first consumed. This effect can only be triggered once while the potion is active. Superior recipe can be purchased from Gremist in Skellige. Core part of the "Maribor Loop"
White Honey	Removes all active Alchemy effects, and removes toxicity. Ends the duration of Maribor forest while maintaining the free point of adrenaline. Enables us to instantly generate 3 adrenaline points at the start of every fight, using Maribor Forest. Core part of the "Maribor Loop"

Skill Order

Order	Skill	Description
1	Muscle Memory	This is the first ability that I recommend getting. It will instantly increase the damage output with fast attacks
2	Cat School Techniques	Increases light attack regular, and critical hit damage while wearing light armor. +5% damage and +25% crit damage for every piece of Light gear.
3	Resolve	Each adrenaline point increases Geralt's sword damage by 10%, but we lose them when we take a hit. This skill allows us to preserve that damage bonus.
4	Precise Blows	Gives an additional 12% chance to crit with a light attack, as well as increasing the damage of those crits by 75%.
5	Acquired Tolerance	With each new formula, you will increase Geralt's toxicity limit. This will allow you to use more potions before any negative effects appear.
6	Poisoned Blades	Poisoned Blades is an interesting tool that we can use when fighting certain single dangerous enemies, especially monsters of high level.
7	Tissue Transmutation	At max full upgrade level, this Skill gives us 900 health (~20%) for every decoction we consume. This skill is the cornerstone of the build, and will greatly boost our survivability going forward.
8	Endure Pain	This skill increases our total health by 30%, and is applied after bonuses from Tissue Transmutation, gear, or mutagens.
9	Protective Coating	This skill increases our damage resistance by 15%. I recommend enabling automatic oil application in-game settings for improved QoL.
10	Synergy	A powerful skill and a staple in many builds. This skill increases the stat bonuses from mutagens by 50%, giving us more attack power and vitality.
11	Metabolism Boosts	A completely broken skill, that enables us to bypass potion toxicity. Take this as soon as you gain access to the Maribor Loop.
12	Hunter Instinct	This is our Boss-killing tool. This Skill grants us +100% critical hit damage, which synergizes with our very high crit chance on light attacks.
13	Metabolic Control	An excellent skill that becomes most useful once Acquired Tolerance grows past +50 toxicity. Consider it if you have the skill slots to spare.
14	Undying	Filler skill, needed to get to the next tier.
15	Razor Focus	Fantastic QoL skill, reducing our reliance on Maribor Loop for our damage.
16	Killing Spree	The most powerful damage skill against humans, and any other battle with multiple enemies. +30% chance to crit for every kill this combat.
17	Whirl	An underwhlming skill on this build, stepping stone toward Crippling Strikes. It consumes adrenaline, which disables Hunter Instinct.
18	Crippling Strikes	Very solid damage skill against Bosses that can bleed and humans. Nice supplement to our damage for when we do not need to use Razor Focus
19	Delusion	As the final build is now complete, we can comfortably take this skill to give ourselves an easier time in dialogues, earn extra exp, and avoid unnecessary fights.

Progression 

Novigrad

If you have followed the early game guide, Novigrad is bound to be a trivially easy section of the game. The main thing to look out for is the level 24 side quest "Of Swords and Dumplings" which unlocks the services of a master bladesmith. Additionally, we want to unlock the Feline set to gain the boots, trousers and swords, as they will boost our damage significantly. We will continue to use the Nilfgaardian Armor until we unlock Undvik Armor in Skellige.

Skellige

You can purchase the Undvik chest armor as soon as you reach Kaer Trolde, and wear it by level 16. Progress the main questline until you meet Ermion and the other druids deep in the forest, with Yennefer. At that point, you can purchase the recipe for the Superior Maribor Forest from Ermion.

I advise you to collect the diagrams for the Bear Witcher armor and swords and craft them for when you reach level 20. The swords are fantastic, and the armor outclasses the Undvik armor when fighting against monsters. However, the Undvik hauberk still reigns supreme against humans.

The Lord of Undvik

Once you complete the main story in Skellige, complete this sidequest and Possession to help Crach an Craite's children. Completing this quest will also enable you to complete the Master Armorers side quest, giving you access to a master smith who can craft Mastercrafted Witcher gear in the Baron's Castle, in Velen.

Equipment

Progression Items

Level	Item	Information
17	The Arbitrator	+50% critical hit damage 3 Runestone slots Diagram can be randomly found starting level 10. Best Steel Sword level 17-20.
16	Undvik Armor	Absurdly strong physical damage resistances Better than Bear armor against humans, worse against monsters. Bought at Kaer Trolde Armorer, Skellige. Upgrade to Zirael Armor at level 22+
22+	Zirael Armor	Absurdly high, well rounded damage resistances Immunity to Bleeding Acquired from the level 35 contract "Beast of Oxenfurt Forest" Contract easily completable starting level 26, if you have Arachas decoction. Best armor in the game besides Mastercrafted Ursine Armor.

Final Gear

Level	Item	Information
34	Mastercrafted Ursine Steel Sword	+75% critical hit damage +20% Adrenaline Gain Fantastic damage The Strongest Witcher steel sword for this build in the base game. Given our high crit chance, +75% crit damage is a monstrous bonus.
34	Mastercrafted Ursine Silver Sword	+75% critical hit damage +5% crit chance +20% adrenaline gain Fantastic damage Best base game silver sword for this build by a sizeable margin. Crit chance and damage are both of our most desired stats besides raw damage.
31-34	Nilfgaardian Guardsman Gauntlets	+5% to all physical and monster resists +50% critical hit damage. Crafting Diagram can be purchased at Kaer Trolde Armorer starting level 31. Universally strongest lategame gauntlets.
11-34+	Assassin's Gauntlets	+10% Crit Chance. Craftable since level 11. Very strong damage item for the entire game. Superior to the Nilfgaardian Gauntlets before the armor is enchanted with Levity. Afterwards, still superior against single targets - bosses and contract monsters.
34	Mastercrafted Ursine Armor	+20% Adrenaline Gain. +25% Piercing Resist. +25% Bludgeoning Resist. +30% Slashing Resist. +30% Monster Damage Resist. Can be infused with Levity at the Runewright. this makes all the armor worn count as Light armor, allowing it to contribute to Cat School Technique, as well as improving stamina regeneration.
34	Mastercrafted Feline Trousers	+10% attack power. Decent elemental resistance. Consistent location.
34	Mastercrafted Feline Boots	+10% attack power. Ok resistances. Consistent Location

By level 34, our "reliable" damage had grown sixfold from where it was at level 11. This does not paint the full picture, as this build offers a variety of distinct micro setups. A big fraction of our damage is conditional, such as with Hunter Instinct, meaning that the DPS number rarely represents this build's capacity. I chose to show only the stats attainable before entering combat.

Interchangeable Build Setups

One of the advantages of this build is its adaptability. We can switch out decoctions by meditating before an important battle, and our skill point surplus allows us to tailor our skill selection for the fight ahead. This section covers the 3 main setups that this build can switch between, and when to best use them.

Regular Gameplay Setup

This setup minimises the need for meditation and skill-swapping allowing for smooth, uninterrupted gameplay. This makes it ideal for casual exploration, while completing dialogue-heavy quests interrupted by occasional combat. 

Skills

Gear

This setup uses Troll decoction for passive health regen between fights, Katakan for extra crit chance, and Ekkimara for 10% vitality drain. Whenever we enter combat, we gain an adrenaline point from Razor focus, and a second one from the Maribor forest. With Razor Focus, we acquire the third in only 5 light attacks. At this point, we have full adrenaline and Hunter Instinct is online with minimal effort.

Furthermore, we have White Raffard's potion as our panic button in case we, somehow, drop under half health. We are not limited by Arachas decoction and are free to stuff our pockets with every rusty sword we loot off of some poor bandit.

"Geralt the Giantslayer" Setup

This is the optimal boss-killing setup, with all the bells and whistles. Almost every boss / contract fight in the game is well telegraphed by the game, giving you ample opportunity to meditate and switch to this setup right before the battle.

Process

1. Find a safe place to meditate.
2. Replace Razor Focus with Metabolism Boosts.
3. Execute the Maribor Loop
4. Imbibe every potion in your arsenal except White Honey. 
5. Swap Metabolism Boosts for Crippling Strikes.
6. Choose 3 decoctions to drink. 4 if you do not plan to use White Raffard mid-fight. In that order of priority, I recommend Arachas, Ekkimara, Katakan, and Succubus.
7. Set tweaking Geralt loose on whatever poor monster he took a contract for that day.

Skills

(after skill swapping)

Gear

With this setup we have 12800 health, 3500 DPS, 52% crit chance, +275% crit damage, very high damage reduction and damage resistances. Geralt is overdosing, and thus constantly losing health, however between White Raffard's, the Swallow potion, and the Ekkimara decoction, he is close to indestructible for the duration of the fight.

"The Butcher of Blaviken" Setup

This is by far the most DPS focused setup, and the best-performing against humans and any group enemies. With this setup, you can ramp up your DPS to over 5000, by getting your Crit Chance to 100%, and stacking crit damage buffs.

Follow steps 1-6 on the instructions for the "Geralt the Giantslayer" setup, then swap Endure Pain for Killing Spree.

Skills

Gear

Since Killing Spree gives us +30% crit chance for every kill this combat, we can skip Katakan decoction for Succubus, and we do not need cat potion to increase our crit chance. We also can afford to switch out the Assassin Gloves for the Nilfgaardian Guardsman Gauntlets, for that delicious +50% crit damage.

Conclusions

In the Early game, durability was our primary asset. By the end of the base game, this build has flourished into a very versatile and customizable toolbox, that can suit a variety of playstyles. This build can achieve absurd levels of durability, while also supplying very high damage numbers - on par with those achieved by builds that set the highest possible sword DPS as their only goal.

Alchemy offers a huge variety to the gameplay and allows you to completely change your playstyle by simply changing your decoctions. This build will guarantee a smooth adventure through the DLC, allowing you to focus on the story-rich quests and locations. Good luck on the Path!