Witcher 3 Best Build: Hybrid Crit

This build has unparalleled damage output alongside superior survivability. It requires a decently high level, but there are modifications one can make to bring the requirement down significantly and still get 90% of the effect. A playthrough with this build on Death March will start to feel like you are playing ‘Just the story.’

PLAYSTYLE BASICS:

This build revolves around stacking Toxicity by using 4 decoctions in combination with the Euphoria mutation (+210% damage and sign intensity), stacking crit damage alongside items and abilities ensuring near constant criticals, buffing stamina regeneration and using adrenaline points to have constant Quen to maintain full health, and stacking damage boost at full health. Basically, the idea is to deal massive damage to end fights quickly whilst ensuring full health with life steal (Ekimmara decoction) plus constant Quen and other means.

MUTATION:

Euphoria (Alchemy)

• Easy to get earlier on and at the core of this build. With 4 decoctions it adds a 210% buff to both damage and sign intensity. This is increased temporarily to around 224% when you pop Superior Tawny Owl.

MANDATORY SKILLS:

Combat (6)

• Muscle Memory 5/5: Pure added damage for fast attack.
• Strength Training 5/5: Pure added damage for strong attack.
• Precise Blows 5/5: Critical boost for fast attack. The extra 75% CD is huge.
• Crushing Blows 5/5: Critical boost for strong attack. As above.
• Resolve 5/5: If you do take damage, ensures you keep adrenaline points to throw up a Quen with the yellow ‘Rage Management’ ability.
• Razor Focus 5/5: Boosts adrenaline and gives you an instant Quen in reserve.

Signs (1)

• Exploding Shield 3/3: Gives you some breathing room when enemies break Quen as they are pushed back and take a tiny amount of damage.

Alchemy (5)

• Acquired Tolerance 3/3: Hugely important, as with most alchemy recipes allows you to run 4 decoctions simultaneously.
• Heightened Tolerance 5/5: Stops you becoming overdosed when you pop your decoctions.
• Tissue Transformation 5/5: Gives you an extra 4000 health for added survivability.
• Synergy 5/5: Depending on if you fully complete the build with optional skills, gives you an extra 50-60% attack power.
• Killing Spree 5/5: Basically ensures constant critical hits on any group of enemies.

Yellow (2)

• Rage Management 1/1: Huge for survivability as it means you never really have to wait to throw up a Quen.
• Cat School Techniques 1/1: With the levity rune on your armor, gives you a nice 100% critical damage boost and 20% fast attack damage boost.

OPTIONAL SKILLS:

These add to the build, but if you want to reduce the level needed to complete it – by not having to shell out the last 40 or so ability points to unlock all those extra mutation skill slots – these can be skipped over as not integral. There will only be two remaining slots, but I offered multiple options to allow you to customize the build to your own playstyle. It is worth noting that each Combat Ability chosen here will add 15% attack power due to the Synergy ability.

• Rend 5/5 (Combat): This already incredibly powerful single-target attack gets super-charged with this build. The critical hit chance boost allows you to proc the build’s huge critical damage every time on the first enemy from the first hit, plus a nice dose of extra damage for good measure. If your Rend timing is good, I would suggest this.
• Sunder Armor 5/5 (Combat): Gives a nice boost to strong attack damage.
• Fleet Footed 5/5 (Combat): Since this ability has been fixed, it simply provides a bit more survivability when dodging. Some attacks that would always hit and break your Quen regardless (see: Griffin) will now miss.
• Metabolism Control 1/1 (Yellow): Gives another 30 Toxicity, which allows you to use Superior Tawny Owl for a stamina regeneration buff that is permanent during the night. Also an option if you have not yet obtained enough alchemy formulae to use four decoctions.

DECOCTIONS:

• Water Hag: Gives a 50% damage boost at full health, which should be near-always.
• Ekimmara: Gives life steal, which synergizes with the huge damage output to keep full health.
• Ekhidna: Gives health when using stamina, which synergizes with your buffed stamina regeneration to maintain full health.
• Ancient Leshen (if fixed): Buffs stamina regeneration to keep Quen constant / Doppler (until then): When attacking from behind this gives one a nice 50% critical damage, and corresponding life steal, buff.

MUTAGENS:

Four Greater Red Mutagens to maximize damage and corresponding life steal.

WEAPONS:

Runes: Both swords should be given the ‘Invigoration’ rune which gives +50% damage when at full health which, as said before, should be near constant. Added to the Water Hag decoction, this is a near constant +100% damage boost.

• Silver Sword – ‘Aerondight’ – Won’t spoil how you get it for those who have yet to get it, but Blood and Wine sword that gives you 10% damage boost per ‘charge’ and when fully charged has 100% critical chance. You lose charges when you take damage, but you shouldn’t be taking damage because of your constant Quen. Basically ensures on single-target monsters you are critical hitting constantly after a short time. In conjunction with Killing Spree this ensures single, large monsters, or big groups of small monsters are getting critical hit with every blow.
• Steel Sword – ‘Touissant Steel Sword’ – This sword isn’t necessarily the best for the build as others (e.g. ‘Faithful Friend’, etc.) have slightly more critical damage, but my personal preference is for this sword as the 15% burning is a nice touch to slow down mobs. Comes with +75% critical damage.

ARMOR:

As you can see, all armor pieces are chosen to stack critical hit damage. The chest should be given the ‘Levity’ rune to make all pieces act as light armor and proc the +100% critical damage from the ‘Cat School Techniques’ ability.

• Manticore Chest: +25% critical damage and +10 Toxicity (also a nice 31% resistance to monster damage).
• Manticore Boots: +25% critical damage and +5 Toxicity.
• New Moon Trousers: +20% critical damage and +4% critical chance.
• Nilfgaardian Guardsman’s Gauntlets: +50% critical damage.

SUMMARY:

Damage:

• +100% damage from Water Hag decoction and Invigoration rune.
• +210% damage from Euphoria.
• +295% critical damage (can be up to 395% on steel sword) w/ near constant criticals.
• +150-180% attack power from mutagens (depending on optional skills).
• +25% fast and strong attack damage.
• Up to +100% damage on monsters with a fully charged Aerondight.

Survivability:

• Constant Quen to soak up hits and avoid really any damage.
• +4000 Health from Tissue Transformation ability.
• Life steal from Ekimmara decoction.
• Health regeneration from stamina use with Ekhidna decoction.
• 31% resistance to monster damage.