Feline Build - Cat School - Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This post will cover the best Feline Cat School build in Witcher 3. This school is notorious for assassins that concentrate on critical hits and are extremely nimble.

Feline Cat School Build

With this build, we will try to replicate a Witcher from the School of the Cat. The idea is to maximize speed, precision, and agility to easily get behind enemies' backs. To do that we will take any options available - alchemy, combat, and grenades

Sadly, the build is not very effective in encounters with a high number of enemies. This is because using Feline armor does not provide a lot of protection. However, thanks to perks like Fleet Footed, Cat School build is nimble and has large windows of invulnerability when dodging

To maximize close combat we will mix both strong and fast attacks. This is deliberate as some of our skills and Feline armor set to encourage this, with various attack bonuses

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

Skills allocation

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

Alchemy Skills

Name	Description
Acquired Tolerance	This skill will increase total toxicity with each new alchemy recipe that Geralt unlocks. As you progress through the game, the ability will be better and better allowing you to chug more potions.
Delayed Recovery	The cornerstone of this build. Potion effects don't wear off as long as Toxicity is above 55%. This will allow using potions like Superior Blizzard infinitely.
Synergy	Increases mutagen effectiveness by 50%. This will result in much higher attack power as Red mutagens will give more damage.
Killing Spree	The most effective skill in increasing critical chance. If toxicity is above 0 (it will always be) each killed enemy will improve critical chance by 30%. When fighting multiple enemies this makes reaching 100% very easy.

I did not take Hunter Instinct. The problem is that this build constantly uses up Adrenaline points, due to this it is unlikely that you will have 3 of them for a prolonged time

General Skills

Name	Description
In Combat's Fires	A strange build to use this skill. However, if you think about it, it is perfect. Because we want to confuse and blind opponents I recommend using grenades like Samum, which also affect Geralt. This ability will make the witcher immune to Grenade effects.
Cat School Techniques	Increases fast attack damage and critical damage by 25% for each light piece of armor.

Combat Skills

Name	Description
Strength Training	Strong Attack damage increased by 30%
Crushing Blows	Increases strong attack critical chance and critical damage
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
Muscle Memory	Improves fast attack damage
Precise Blows	Improves fast attack critical chance and critical damage.
Resolve (optional)	This serves two purposes - progression and negating any adrenaline loss from damage. The Feline build uses Adrenaline points to stun opponents, so we do not want to lose any of them if being hit. However, you could also argue, that the wielder should not even be hit with this build, so using it defeats the purpose. It's your call whether to use it.
Razor Focus	An important skill that increases adrenaline point generation and instantly gives 1 point at the start of the combat.
Rend	Unlocks alternative version of Strong attack. Although it is a slow attack I think it fits the build perfectly. Once you get behind enemies and have Superior Blizzard active, use that second to activate Rend and deal extremely high damage.
Sunder Armor	Reduces enemy damage resistance by 30%. Mix this together with the Feline armor bonus (increased fast attack damage) and this will increase the effectiveness of both Fast and Strong attacks.

Mutations

Name	Description
Euphoria	I prefer this mutation for the cat school build. Due to constantly using potions, you will have a high toxicity. Euphoria is extremely useful at utilizing this and can provide 100-150% additional damage, without any other prerequisites.
Metamorphosis	I think this mutation also deserves a mention. In this build's context, it may not be the best. However, it perfectly matches the Delayed Recovery effect allowing to have 5+ potions and then 5 decoctions active on top.

Optional skills

Name	Description
Whirl	This is an excellent ability that allows spinning the sword around Geralt while using up stamina. It is extremely deadly at close range. However, I did not take this one, as with this build I preferred simple fast attacks.
Metabolic Control	A great perk that increases total toxicity by 30 points. This will allow using 1 decoction in addition to numerous potions if using Euphoria mutation.
Efficiency	In case you love using grenades, this can be extremely useful for the Cat school build. You can use more of Samum and Norther Wind.
Cluster Bombs	Upon detonation, bombs separate into 4 explosive fragments. Another great ability that will allow something like Northwe Wind to cover the whole battlefield.

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	This is the path that I recommend taking. Our goal is to get bonuses for fast attacks and unlock Rend. It will be the finisher
2	Resolve
3	Precise Blows
4	Strength Training
4	Crushing Blows
5	Rend
6	Razor Focus	These abilities will improve overall combat effectiveness. Moreover, you should be able to have Feline armor by this time.
7	Cat School Techniques
8	In Combat's Fires
9	Acquired Toleranthe ce	These are the main alchemy skills to utilize potions to their full potential
10	Spend 9 skill points in alchemy tree
11	Delayed Recovery
12	Fleet Footed	Increases the effectiveness of dodge

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

Order	Skill	Description
13	Toxic Blood	Unlocks the main Euphoria mutation that I recommend for this build. With these the core of the build is done.
14	Euphoria
15	Synergy	Finish the build by unlocking these skills. They will improve the effectiveness of the build
16	2 mutations
17	Sunder Armor
18	4 mutations
19	Killing Spree
20	4 mutations

Tactics

In this section, I would like to share some tips on how to best play Cat School build in Witcher 3

Combat rotation and flow

The build is very versatile in terms of combat. It can effectively use both Strong and Fast attacks. There is a reason for that. By mixing Strong attacks with Fast ones you can activate:

• Sunder Armor, which reduces enemy damage resistance by 30%
• Feline armor set bonus, that improves fast attack damage bonus by 60%

As you can see, by using the first attack we activate both of the mentioned effects. Moreover, as we hit the enemy from behind, they got stunned. This opened an opportunity to use Rend for maximum damage. Because the Fiend was still alive we finished it with a few fast attacks that got the damage boost from previous strong attack debuffs.

Using Grenades

I think the Cat School build should heavily rely on bombs. They allow freezing, blinding, and disabling enemies and this is an important part of this build. It makes it much easier to get behind their backs

This is the reason we take the skill In Combat's Fires so that Geralt would not be affected by Greandes.

Potion management

This is a very important part of the build that ensures the maximum effectiveness of the build. Before starting combat or at the start of the encounter you should drink enough potions to reach toxicity at about 60% - 80%. Please note, that this includes only a light green bar, and dark green is disregarded

With this, the Delayed Recovery perk will activate. I recommend the last potion consumed to be Superior Blizzard. This ensures that it stays on once Delayed Recovery is active.

As time passes the potions will start blinking, meaning that their duration has expired and they are only active thanks to the perk. As more time passes check your potion toxicity. Try to sustain it above 55%, otherwise, the potions and decoctions effects will disappear.

I recommend checking the equipment section for the best potions to use with the Feline Cat School build.

Equipment

Here is my suggested gear for the Feline build in Witcher 3

Weapons

Steel Swords

Item	Description
Grandmaster Feline steel sword	As we are aiming for a Feline 6-piece armor set, this sword is mandatory. Have in mind this is more for role-playing rather than maximizing damage. Check the options below for the highest damage.
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	This sword can be a perfect contender for a Feline build. It has a unique effect where Geralt's strong attacks become overpowered at the cost of HP. Moreover, you can easily negate its HP drain with Superior Swallow

Silver Swords

Item	Description
Grandmaster Feline silver sword	As we are aiming for a Feline 6-piece armor set, this silver sword is mandatory. Have in mind this is more for role-playing rather than maximizing damage. Check the options below for the highest damage.
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	Because the build uses Adrenaline Points to stun enemies from behind, this can come in extremely handy. For each enemy killed you get an Adrenaline point. This way you can jump from one enemy to another.
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 Chernobog Runestone	Increases the base attack power. Use it until you can obtain runewords
Greater Perun runestone	Another alternative that increases adrenaline point generation. With three slots this will provide a 15% bonus generation

Armors

The main question that could popup. why not use Nilfgaardian Guardsman's Gauntlets? The build concentrates on attacking enemies from behind and the Feline armor set (6 pieces) gives bonus damage. Moreover, it allows stunning opponents at the cost of 1 adrenaline point, which makes combat even more elusive.

Item	Effects
Grandmaster Feline Armor	+22% Attack Power +12% Resistance to piercing damage +17% Resistance to slashing damage +17% Resistance to damage from monsters +46% Resistance to elemental damage
Grandmaster Feline Gauntlets	+11% Attack Power +5% Resistance to piercing damage +5% Resistance to slashing damage +5% Resistance to damage from monsters +6% Resistance to elemental damage
Grandmaster Feline Trousers	+11% Attack Power +5% Resistance to piercing damage +7% Resistance to slashing damage +7% Resistance to damage from monsters +16% Resistance to elemental damage
Grandmaster Feline Boots	+11% Attack Power +5% Resistance to piercing damage +6% Resistance to slashing damage +6% Resistance to damage from monsters +6% Resistance to elemental damage

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

Upgrade	Description
Deflection	A quality-of-life upgrade that automatically deflects incoming arrows. I think this is extremely useful, as a stray arrow could easily kill Geralt.
Protection	Activates Quen every time Geralt enters combat automatically. I think this is a great quality-of-life upgrade, in case you forget to use this sign.
Greater Glyph of Mending	This glyph provides some health regeneration. It is not a game changer, but still a good bonus, that will not require constantly eating food.
Greater Glyph of Quen	I think the only sign that this build could use is Quen. For this reason, you could use this glyph. However, it will not change much, only improve duration. It will still protect from one hit.

Potions and tonics

The Feline 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 without any duration limit. This is what I recommend:

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. It will allow easily getting behind the enemy's back fully exploiting the build's strong points.
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 or 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. The Delayed recovery will also make it active indefinitely
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 will cause them to bleed and knockback in case Geralt gets hit

Decoctions

Which decoctions and how many you can use depends on what mutation you picked.

• Euphoria - if you take Metabolic Control, it allows using one decoction. Choose the one that you prefer
• Metamorphosis - this is a bit more difficult. However, the idea is that 5 decoctions will be activated from your inventory. So you should leave only those that you plan to use.

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
Wyvern Decoction	Works similarly to the Bloodbath mutation. Each successive hit boosts attack power. However, you lose all of the bonuses if getting hit one time, but you can avoid this by using Quen.
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 Feline Cat school 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