Midgame Sign Igni Build - Griffin Armor - Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Overview

Witchers of the Griffin School are great innovators, but also great pragmatists. It was they who first introduced the use of crossbows into the witcher arsenal. Furthermore, it was they who made the biggest leaps in developing the use of magic and Signs to fight monsters and beasts at a safer distance.

Pure Signs is inarguably the most powerful playstyle if we consider pure numbers along with ease of use. With this build though, fighting humans is an exercise in bringing a flame thrower to a knife fight. However, it also offers a variety of tools for all types of enemies.

This build goes all-in on maximising sign intensity and stamina regen through mutagens, gear, and alchemy. It is structured around the Griffin Witcher Set, which significantly increases our sign intensity. Additionally, we want to enchant our armor with the Rotation glyphword as that will enhance our Igni and make us better at fighting against groups. 

Overall, this build proves that the best defense is a good offense. With so many tools to disable enemies while dealing damage to them, and the Ekhidna decoction to heal us every time we cast a sign, there isn't much that can harm us let alone place us in real danger. Meanwhile, the danger that we pose to anything and anyone even remotely flammable is down near legendary.

Gameplay

Offense is the best Defense

Igni sign is the fundamental core of this build. By maximising Sign Intensity, we can achieve a nearly 100% ignition chance against all enemies. This means that we can use Igni defensively, as burning enemies become locked in that animation for the duration of the effect, allowing us to focus on other enemies that still pose a threat. This makes every flammable large monster a complete pushover for this build.

Superior Blizzard

The special effect of this potion gives us infinite stamina for 12 seconds if we have 3 adrenaline points. We can achieve 3 adrenaline points at the start of every fight using the Maribor Loop. Additionally, using those 12 seconds to cast as many signs as possible can be used to charge the effect of the Ancient Leshen decoction.

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. 

Final Skills

• Resolve - Prevents adrenaline loss, allowing us to preserve the infinite stamina from Superior Blizzard, when executing the maribor loop.

• Exploding Shield - Upon breaking, Quen shield will erupt in a blast of energy, damaging and staggering nearby foes. Very good defensive tool, as it can prevent us from being swarmed, and give us time to reposition. Interrupts enemy combos.
• Static Discharge - Excellent source of damage against single targets, and auxiliary damage against groups. Deals damage based on % max health and scales with Sign Intensity.
• Pyromaniac - Increases Chance to ignite an enemy by 33%. This chance is a flat bonus to your chance to ignite from Sign Intensity. Effectively Garantees ignition against all enemies that burn.
• Active Shield - More durable than normal Quen, and converts absorbed damage into healing. This is a panic button, or a safe option used to buy yourself time to assess the situation.

• Synergy - Increases bonuses from Mutagens by 50%. Over 50% net Sign Intensity increase.

• Griffin School Techniques - Triples base stamina regen, and increases sign intensity by 5% more than any blue skill.
• Focus - Every Adrenaline Point increases Sign Intensity by 10%. Increases our peak sign intensity when using Maribor Loop.

Skills Order

Alchemy

While this is not an alchemy-focused build, there are several potions and decoctions which can greatly benefit us.

Decoctions

Decoction	Effect	Mutagen Source
Ancient Leshen		Acquired by completing the witcher contract "Woodland Spirit" in Skellige.
Arachas		Can be farmed by killing Arachas west of the Druids' Camp in Skellige
Ekhidna		Acquired by completing the witcher contract "Here Comes the Groom" in Skellige.

Potions

Potion	Information
Superior Maribor	Increases adrenaline gain from sword blows by 15%. Superior 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"
Blizzard	Slows down time relative to Geralt. Superior Ability - While you have 3 adrenaline points, Stamina is not consumed, and signs can be cast for free. 12 second duration.
Petri's Philter	Increases Sign Intensity by 15/20/25%. Superior ability - While active, signs always trigger their special effects, which in the case of Igni is burning, and knockdown for Quen - exploding shield.
Tawny Owl	Increases stamina regeneration by 5/8/10 per second. Superior ability - Effect does not end during night time.

Gear

Enchantments

This build has several viable enchantments, and they can be switched out to fit any playstyle.

• Rotation - The best choice for an Igni build that prioritizes ease of use. Catching more enemies in the area also increases dps, and saves valuable time wasted repositioning. Recommended.
• Eruption - Enemies explode on death, dealing damage to others nearby. This can be fun, as the explosions cause a lot of gore. The bonus damage can be nice but enemies caught by the same cast of Igni generally die simultaneously, wasting the added damage.  
• Entanglement - Whenever Alternate form Yrden strikes an enemy, a regular trap is spawned beneath them. Excellent for keeping enemies within the Yrden area. added Yrden traps bypass the stamina cost.  Great for a more nuanced or Yrden-focused gameplay.
• Elation - Good option for the Steel Sword. Enables adrenaline generation by finishing burning enemies with sword strikes. enables the use of Superior Blizzard without maribor Loop. 

Glyphs

This armor allows us to install 4 greater glyps to fine tune the build, and focus on a specific sign. Generally, choosing a single sign to enhance is better than trying to improve all of them. 

Glyph	Information
Greater Glyph of Igni	Increase Igni Intensity by 10%. This is my recommendation, as maximising Burning chance from Igni can allow us to avoid using Pyromaniac, freeing a skill slot.
Greater Glyph of Quen	Increase Quen Intensity by 10%. This can be used for a Quen discharge-focused build, or enable increased healing from Active Shield
Greater Glyph of Yrden	Increase Yrden Intensity by 10%. Great choice for maximising Yrden damage and Slowdown %. Best combined with Entanglement enchantment.

Runes

Upgrade	Information
Greater Veles Runestone	+5% Sign Intensity. This is decidedly the best use of rune slots on both swords unless we enchanted the steel sword with Elation.

Equipment

Masterccrafted Griffin armor	+20% Sign intensity +17% Resistance to piercing damage +16% Resistance to bludgeoning damage +22% Resistance to slashing damage +25% Resistance to damage from monsters
Mastercrafted Griffin trousers	+10% Sign intensity +5% Resistance to piercing damage +8% Resistance to slashing damage +7% Resistance to damage from monsters +30% Resistance to elemental damage +20% Specific Sign intensity from Glyphs
Mastercrafted Griffin gauntlets	+10% Sign intensity +4% Resistance to piercing damage +5% Resistance to slashing damage +3% Resistance to damage from monsters +10% Resistance to elemental damage +10% Specific Sign intensity from Glyphs
Mastercrafted Griffin boots	+10% Sign intensity +4% Resistance to piercing damage +4% Resistance to bludgeoning damage +5% Resistance to slashing damage +3% Resistance to damage from monsters +10% Specific Sign intensity from Glyphs

Alternate Build Setup - Inferno

This build variation relies on building up adrenaline to increase sign intensity, and make use of Superior Blizzard potion for Infinite Stamina.

Process

1. Find a safe place to meditate.
2. Replace Quen Intensity and Acquired Tolerance with Focus and Resolve.
3. Execute the Maribor Loop
4. Imbibe Arachas or Ancient Leshen Decoction. 
5. Approach the enemy and drink Superior Blizzard.
6. Spam cast Igni in order to incinerate your enemies.
7. Use Blizzard again after the first potion runs out.