Combat Sign Hybrid build - Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This post will cover the best Combat Sign Hybrid build in Witcher 3. If you are looking for a mix of Combat and Sign usage this build is perfect. With this setup, you will be able to overwhelm any type of enemy as you will have a counter to any offense.

Combat Sign Hybrid build

The build's idea is to use Adrenaline points to cast Signs and empower them with a bonus of 300% sign intensity. We use melee combat to empower Sing abilities with all upgrades. So the whole idea is to use swords and potions to pump up your Adrenaline. Once we reach 3 points, Flood of Anger will allow casting the top tier Sign by using them up. The great thing is that if you are missing stamina Rage Management will use those adrenaline points instead of stamina.

This is an amazing build. If you are low on HP you can either use potions. However, a better approach is to pump up the adrenaline with close-quarter combat and use Quen's alternative mode for healing.

So what happens with this build, we use stamina for Rend or Whirl and Adrenaline Points for casting Signs.

Another build that you may be interested in Spellsword build which can always use Signs at maximum effectiveness

The Build is tested on New Game+ and Deathmarch difficulty.

Skills allocation

This section covers skills for the Combat Sign build. Be sure to reset skills to be able to allocate skill points as suggested

Alchemy Skills

Name	Description
Acquired Tolerance	This alchemy skill will allow increasing total toxicity by 0.5 for each alchemy recipe that you find. It will help to drink more potions and late in the game even using one decoction.
Delayed Recovery	Another important skill for this build. Potion effects will not wear off until potion toxicity (light green bar) reaches 55%.
Synergy	Increases the mutagen effectiveness by 50%. This will result in greatly improved Attack Power for the build
Killing Spree	Because the Combat Sign build will always have some toxicity, we can use this to increase critical hit chance by 30% for each killed enemy.

General Skills

Name	Description
Rage Management	Whoa, this is the ability that makes this build come together, by allowing us to use of Signs with Adrenaline points. You will be able to mix this together with Flood of Anger and use those 3 adrenaline points to upgrade cast it (no need for any stamina)
Adrenaline Burst	We want to maximize adrenaline generation so this is useful, moreover, now when casting the sign you will get back a little bit of adrenaline.
Metabolic Control	This ability will increase maximum toxicity. Used together with Euphoria, we can use more potions, increase attack power and sign intensity.

Combat Skills

Name	Description
Resolve	This serves two purposes - progression and negating any adrenaline loss from damage. As adrenaline is Combat Sing build fuel, we do not want to waste it
Fleet Footed	I love this ability. It greatly increases iframes of dodging. This allows for avoiding some large attacks without rolling. Moreover, using dodge does not stop Stamina regeneration
Razor Focus	An important skill that increases adrenaline point generation and instantly gives 1 point at the start of the combat.
Flood of Anger	The cornerstone of this build. It will allow using up 3 Adrenaline Points to cast Signs with all upgrades from the Sign skill tree. Moreover, it will boost Sign Intensity by a whopping 300%

For this build, I suggest picking one of three melee combat approaches.

Strong Attacks

Name	Effect
Strength Training	Strong Attack damage increased by 30%
Crushing Blows	Increases strong attack critical chance and critical damage
Rend	The alternative mode of strong attack uses stamina to unleash a deadly single strike. Have in mind, that it will also use up Adrenaline points.
Bear School Techniques	Because this variation relies on strong attacks taking this general skill will improve their damage. You can also take Cat School Techniques as Rend will result in a Critical hit most of the time and a 100% critical damage bonus is also high.

Fast Attacks

Name	Effect
Muscle Memory	Improves fast attack damage
Precise Blows	Improves fast attack critical chance and critical damage.
Whirl	Very powerful upgrade that allows to spin the sword around and hit enemies in a 360-degree arc. The ability consumes stamina and adrenaline points after that. However, it is not as powerful without Severance runeword.
Cat School Techniques	This is an extremely strong general skill as it improves critical damage and fast attacks for each light armor. Because the build uses Ursine armor we will need Levity glyphword for this to work. However, if you wish to use other Glyphwords, that improve your signs just skip this skill

Mixed - strong and fast attacks. My recommended option for this Combat Sign build. It will allow free use of strong and fast attacks based on the situation.

Name	Effect
Muscle Memory	Improves fast attack damage
Strength Training	Strong Attack damage increased by 30%
Precise Blows	Improves fast attack critical chance and critical damage.
Crushing Blows	Increases strong attack critical chance and critical damage

Mutations

Name	Description
Euphoria	The main mutation for this build. Thanks to it, we will be able to increase base Sign Intensity and Attack Power. We will always have high toxicity due to Delayed recovery and this mutation complements it well.

Detailed Skill Progression

This covers detailed progression for the build as many players will not be high level to have 50+ skill points. So follow the abilities as you progress for maximum effectiveness.

If you are below level 11, I suggest following early game build guides

Order	Skill	Description
1	Muscle Memory or Strength Training	The first goal early in the game is to get decent combat abilities. This will make everything easier. Unfortunately, until you get more alchemy recipes, alchemy tree is useless and does not bring much benefit for this build
2	Resolve
3	Precise Blows or Crushing Blows
4	Fleet Footed
5	2 combat skill points spent
7	Whirl or Rend
8	Razor Focus	With these three abilities, we unlock the last tier of combat skills and can start using 3 adrenaline points to upgrade and cast signs without stamina.
9	Rage Management
10	Flood of Anger
11	Acquired Tolerance	These alchemy skills will allow drinking multiple potions and their effects won't wear off while Toxicity is above 55%
12	9 alchemy skill points
13	Delayed Recovery
14	Synergy	Based on what type of attacks you choose, pick one: Fast attacks - Cat School Techniques Strong Attacks - Bear School Techniques Mix - Cat School Techniques
15	Bear School Techniques or Cat School Techniques

At this point, I recommend having all of the places of power collected. You will need a lot of skill points to fully progress through the build and unlock other skill slots.

Order	Skill	Description
15	Toxic Blood	This will unlock Euphoria, the main mutation of the build
16	Euphoria
17	Adrenaline Burst	Progress by unlocking new mutations and further improving the combat sign build
18	2 Mutations
19	Metabolic Control
20	4 mutations
21	Killing Spree
22	4 mutations
23	Free Slot	There are multiple options that you could take: Attack is the Best Defense - for additional adrenaline generation Undying - for additional survivability

Tactics

In this section, I would like to share some tips on how to best play Combat Sign Hybrid build in Witcher 3

Charge Adrenaline Points fast

The main idea of this build is to charge up 3 adrenaline points and then use them to cast Signs thanks to Flood of Anger. So you should keep these things in mind when in combat:

• Use Superior Maribor Forest to increase adrenaline generation effectiveness and instantly get one point
• Fighting multiple enemies allows for faster adrenaline generation. So this build is the weakest against single enemies
• Having full Urinse gear will further improve Adrenaline point generation

With all of these, it is extremely easy to get 3 adrenaline points.

Equipment

Here is my suggested gear for the Combat Sign build in Witcher 3

Weapons

Steel Swords

Item	Description
Grandmaster Ursine steel sword	Although not the strongest sword, it complements this build well. The Ursine weapons generate additional adrenaline and will also allow getting 6 piece armor set bonus empowering Quen Sign.
Toussaint Knight's Steel Sword	This is the most powerful steel sword in the game. Iris may compare to it in terms of damage, however, this has no confusing mechanics and pure high-damage stats
Iris	The perfect sword for this build if using Strong attacks. You can easily utilize the sword's unique effects. Moreover, you can easily negate its HP drain with Superior Swallow

Silver Swords

Item	Description
Grandmaster Ursine silver sword	Although not the strongest sword, it complements this build well. The Ursine weapons generate additional adrenaline and will also allow getting 6 piece armor set bonus empowering Quen Sign.
Aerondight	This is the most powerful sword in the game. Each attack raises its charge, resulting in higher damage. However, it requires some grinding for it to be at peak effectiveness. Moreover, to add a rune or runeword to it you will need to add sockets at runewright
Gesheft	A mighty silver sword that gives a +100% Critical hit damage bonus and a +15 Critical hit chance.

Weapon upgrades

Upgrade	Description
Elation	The most recommended runeword for Combat Sign build. With it you can get 3 adrenaline points in a few seconds if fighting multiple non-boss enemies.
Severance	Increases the reach of Rend and Whirl. Makes combat much easier, especially with Whirl. However, with this build, you would sacrifice bonus adrenaline generation which is extremely important.
Greater Perun runestone	Increases adrenaline point generation. A good option before obtaining runewords
Greater Veles Runestone	Increases the Sign Intensity for stronger signs. A good option before obtaining runewords

Armors

Item	Effects
Grandmaster Ursine Armor	+22% Adrenaline Point gain +26% Resistance to piercing damage +25% Resistance to bludgeoning damage +32% Resistance to slashing damage +46% Resistance to damage from monsters
Grandmaster Ursine Gauntlets	+11% Adrenaline Point gain +6% Resistance to piercing damage +6% Resistance to slashing damage +6% Resistance to damage from monsters +6% Resistance to elemental damage
Grandmaster Ursine Trousers	+11% Adrenaline Point gain +6% Resistance to piercing damage +11% Resistance to slashing damage +16% Resistance to damage from monsters +25% Resistance to elemental damage
Grandmaster Ursine Boots	+11% Adrenaline Point gain +6% Resistance to piercing damage +5% Resistance to bludgeoning damage +6% Resistance to slashing damage +6% Resistance to damage from monsters

Armor upgrades - there are multiple options here as it depends on your playstyle

Upgrade	Description
Levity	If using Cat School Techniques, this glyphword is mandatory as it will make all armor pieces light. However, if you are interested in empowering Signs check the glyphwords below
Rotation	Amazing glyphword that makes Igni hit in 360 degree arc. Makes fighting multiple enemies easy
Eruption	An improved version of Igni, that makes dying enemies explode. Take this for higher overall damage.
Your preferred Glyph for signs	Go for the Glyphs related to the signs you use. I personally use Quen most of the time with this build so adding Greater Glyph of Quen is the way to go.

Potions and tonics

The Combat Sign Hybrid build uses Delayed Recovery, meaning potions and decoctions will work indefinitely as long as potion (light green toxicity bar) toxicity is above 55%. This allows using multiple potions. Here are my recommendations.

Item	Effects
Superior Blizzard	This potion is mandatory for the build. You will easily generate three adrenaline points for infinite stamina. Delayed recovery will ensure that you have slowed time permanently. More or less you can become invincible with this setup
Superior Thunderbolt	This is the most recommended potion to use. It will improve attack power and grant 100% critical chance during storms.
Superior Tawny Owl	As Rend and Whirl rely on Stamina, this is another potion that will improve Geralt's combat prowess by allowing him to use those attacks more often
Superior White Raffard's Decoction	I recommend having this potion in the quick slot. It instantly restores 100% HP and grants immunity to damage for a short period of time
Superior Swallow	Increases HP regeneration. Use it as an alternative to Troll Decoction when dealing with high Toxicity. Moreover, this potion is much more effective compared to the decoction
Superior Maribor Forest	Increases adrenaline generation and grants one adrenaline point when used.
Superior Black Blood	I recommend drinking this potion when fighting vampires and necrophages. It is made specifically for these encounters

Decoctions

Item	Effects
Ekimmara Decoction	This decoction is the main one for survivability. It will allow you to regenerate HP every time Geralt hits an enemy.
Katakan Decoction	Thanks to this decoction you will raise Geralt's critical hit chance by 10%. This will greatly improve overall DPS.
Alghoul Decoction	Increases adrenaline generation until the first enemy hit. Take this decoction if you think that you are good enough to avoid hits
Succubus Decoction	Attack power grows during the fight by up to 30%. Very useful in prolonged encounters or boss fights. However, could be useless if you take out enemies with a few hits

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the post on the best Combat Sign build in Witcher 3. I covered all essential parts to be effective - skills progression, recommended gear, tactics, and general tips.

If you have any questions or suggestions leave a comment below