Summary
There’s a reason why characters inThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntare so desperate for Geralt of Rivia’s help. Witchers like him are hard to come by, but it’s only them who have the necessary skills to successfully defeat a monster that’s plaguing a village or haunting a mill. As the player progresses through the game and collects Ability Points, they can unlock special skills to make Geralt a stronger Witcher.
There aresome exceptional skills availablethat make Geralt a formidable force to be reckoned with. However, despite how many excellent skills there are, some aren’t as useful as others. That doesn’t mean they can’t occasionally come in handy and work for specific builds, but considering players can’t unlock all the skills in the game, they have to carefully select the best skills for their build. These next skills are ones that players are typically better off avoiding.
10Aard Sweep
Alternate Aard With Better AOE But Less Effect
Besides steel and silver swords, Signs are very much a Witcher’s bread and butter. That’s whyThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntincludesalternate versions of each of the five Signs. However,Aard Sweepis perhaps the weakest of these alternates. Aard Sweep looks great at first glance, able to hit all enemies around Geralt with a great area of effect. However, the chance of knocking enemies down is reduced by 21%, negating the very purpose of using Aard in the first place.
9Firestream
Alternate Igni With Limited AOE And Damage
Most players would assume that a burst of fire would be apowerful alternate form of Igni, but that’s not really the case withFirestream. This alternate version of the Sign still has limited damage compared to other Signs and sword attacks. Yet even when Igni’s intensity is upgraded, Firestream’s lack of AOE damage makes it less useful than a regular Igni Sign.
Although Igni might not be as powerful as previous games inThe Witcherseries, it still has its uses, exploiting weaknesses and even setting off bombs. It’s much more worthwhile investing Ability Points into the Pyromaniac or Melt Armor skills instead.
8Domination
Confuse Two Enemies Into Attacking Each Other
Axii’s best used in dialogue scenes when players use it much like a Jedi mind trick for Geralt to get his own way. It can be used to great effect in combat too, butDominationisn’t really worth the Ability Points required to unlock it, and most players would be better off unlocking other skills to improve Axii.
Axii is great for crowd control, and players can have great fun using the Puppet skill. Domination might let players use the Puppet skill on two enemies at once, but in order to keep the game balanced, the effect is weaker until upgraded to Level 3. Even then, players have to take the time to cast the Sign twice, and will likely struggle to do this when surrounded by multiple enemies.
7Frenzy
Slows Time When Enemies Counterattack
Admittedly,Frenzycan be a pretty immersive skill that gives players a Witcher’s lightning-fast reflexes. However, for most players, it’s not really useful enough to be worth the Ability Points required. Frenzy slows down time whenever enemies counterattack, giving players more opportunity to respond. The problem is thatparrying isn’t too difficultas it is, making this skill mostly unnecessary.
Frenzy might be temporarily helpful for newer players or those who find parrying a challenge, but as players get better at the game, it becomes less and less necessary. In fact, the sudden slow-motion might even throw players off their timing. Besides, Geralt only receives this benefit when his toxicity is above 0, meaning it’s not constantly active anyway.
6Steady Aim
Slows Time While Manually Aiming Bombs
Seeing as Geralt can only carry a limited number of bombs, some players appreciate the option of having an extra moment to aim carefully and ensure they hit their target. However, precision isn’t really required with bombs; when they explode, they affect a wide area anyway, and so they don’t call for perfect accuracy.
In fact, manual aim isn’t always necessary anyway. All it takes is a simple tap of a button for Geralt to throw a bomb in front of him, often landing in a crowd of enemies. In these sorts of situations, slowing time doesn’t necessarily make the game easier, and players would be better off spending their Ability Points somewhere other than onSteady Aim.
5Trick Shot
Shoot An Extra Crossbow Bolt
Although introduced especially forThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, crossbows have limited uses in the game. They can be useful to knock harpies and other flying monsters out of the sky, but they’re not particularly useful for much else beyond than keeping enemies at a distance.
Like most crossbow skills (with the exception of Crippling Shot),Trick Shotisn’t as useful as other skills in the game. While it’s convenient to have another bolt ready to fire at another harpy before reloading, it’s often unnecessary, and players can usually make do with firing one bolt at a time.
4Cold Blood
Each Crossbow Hit Increases Adrenaline Points Slightly
To be fair toCold Blood, it’s significantly more useful as of Patch 4.0, released in December 2022. Beforehand, the Cold Blood skill just added 0.04 Adrenaline Points for each bolt that hit an enemy. Comparatively, the updated 0.1 Adrenaline Points make this a stronger skill.
Nevertheless, there are several other skills that offer farmore efficient ways of building up Adrenaline Points. Unless a player is developing a build in which they use both the crossbow and Adrenaline Points frequently, most players can safely avoid this one.
3Arrow Deflection
Parries Arrows While Blocking
The first level ofArrow Deflectionmight be useful to players early on in the game, but its use is quickly trumped by improving the Quen Sign. As a result, most players would be better off either investing points into Quen, or simply taking out archers first in combat.
Many players will say Arrow Deflection is worth it from Level 2 onwards. Although it’s admittedly fun and satisfying to not only parry arrows but to deflect them and send them back to damage enemies, it’s not really worth the required Ability Points just to look like an average Jedi knight. Then again, although the strongest builds would be better off using Ability Points for more useful skills, players who just want to have fun can get a lot of enjoyment out of Arrow Deflection.
2Advanced Pyrotechnics
Bomb Damage Gives A Slight Boost To Adrenaline Points
Since 0.1 Adrenaline Points is very minimal,Advanced Pyrotechnicsis only really worth it if players can use several bombs at once. However, Geralt only carries a few bombs at a time, making this skill fairly ineffective on the whole.
That’s not to say there’s no point in investing inskills to improve bombs; mixing Efficiency to boost the number of bombs with Heavy Artillery to triple damage can be a lethal combination. However, these make Advanced Pyrotechnics seem quite weak in comparison.
1Fixative
Gives Blade Oils Increased Charges
There are some fights where players need all the help they can get, especially onthe “Death March!” difficulty setting. When a player coats Geralt’s blade with oil, pairing the right oil with the right enemy can make the difference between success and failure, giving Geralt’s attacks a huge boost in damage. However, oils don’t last forever and need to be reapplied after a certain number of attacks.Fixativeallows these oils to last much longer, but isn’t really necessary at all.
Players can’t craft oils whenever they wish, but they can reapply oil at any moment. Even in the heat of combat, it’s very easy for a player to reapply oil whenever it runs out. In fact, once a player upgrades an oil to Superior, it lasts even longer and needs reapplying less frequently. Although oils will last indefinitely at Level 3 and players can have three coats applied at one time, the easy reapplication of oils during combat makes this skill ultimately not worth the required Ability Points.
