The Witcher 3 armor crafting, types and witcher gear explained

In The Witcher 3, armor is divided into three main categories: Light, Medium, and Heavy throughout the chest, gloves, pants, and boots. Each category has a significant effect on Geralt’s movement, and the choice depends on your playstyle.

Wearing light armor allows Geralt to escape faster without worrying about stamina, but provides less protection. Heavy obviously does the opposite. Medium gear is the most balanced option overall in terms of mobility and protection, while Witcher gear sets are often the strongest options targeting a particular playstyle.

As with weapons, you will need to repair your armor from time to time. Stamina can be regained in The Witcher 3 by paying an armorer or gunsmith, or using kits available from merchants. These, in turn, are divided into different types and vary in how successful the repair will be in terms of durability restored.

There is a lot to take in as literally hundreds of different pieces can be mixed and matched in different categories, sets and rarities. Not to mention using runes to improve certain abilities. So trying and managing them all can be daunting. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to hide while equipping Geralt with the best Witcher 3 armor

Where to find and how to make armor in The Witcher 3

You can find new Witcher 3 armor almost everywhere as you explore. However, your best bet for loot depends on chests scattered around the world with some quest rewards. Merchants also tend to have an interesting selection of armor, so you should visit the nearest armorer in town.

If you want to increase the number of NPCs to buy, always make sure to make contracts that ask Geralt to kill monsters in an infested area. As soon as the job is done, the townspeople will come back to get their homes back, and one of them will likely have something new on sale.

The best hardware comes from crafting, but you’ll need a schematic. These can be found or purchased from vendors used as blueprints to unlock the piece in the crafting menu, where you’ll see the item’s description, stats, and required materials.

Armor crafting materials can be found in the wild in bodies or houses, as well as as loot found inside chests. You can also dismantle unused armor and weapons from a blacksmith for a small fee, which is definitely worth doing – get lower tier weapons and they can be converted into materials.

How do Witcher 3 armor levels and upgrade work?

Armor in The Witcher 3 is level dependent. Find or buy higher level gear for Geralt and it won’t work until you reach the required level (you can disassemble it though.)

Armor pieces can also be upgraded with runes that increase Geralt’s stats as long as the armor has slots. Some will increase the intensity of Marks, others will increase Geralt’s movement speed, defense, etc.

Witcher 3 scavenger hunt sets

The best armor in The Witcher 3 are sets that represent a school of Witcher. You can find diagrams for these, but you have to find all the pieces one by one to get the set. This is tracked through Scavenger Hunts, which are triggered when you find a map or a note mentioning where each piece is. These special items can be purchased from merchants to obtain such quests, but they can also appear on the map and while making question marks in side quests.

There are six Witcher armor sets to find:

• Griffon Set: Diagrams can be found in Velen.
• cat set: Diagrams can be found in Velen and Novigrad.
• Ursine Set: Diagrams can be found on Skellige.
• Wolf Set: Diagrams can be found at Kaer Morhen.
• Viper Set: Part of the Hearts of Stone expansion.
• Manticore Set: Part of the Blood & Wine expansion.

Upgrade Witcher gear sets

When you pick up one of the Witcher sets in The Witcher 3, you will notice that they are called Basic. This is because there are different tiers that can be upgraded from Basic to Enhanced, Superior, Mastercrafted and Grandmaster. It’s not necessary to have the whole set to start using these armor pieces, but the stats will be much better if you wear them all together.

You’ll need to talk to a master armorer to unlock mastercrafted sets. Fergus Graem in Velen, Crow’s Perch unlocks the “Master Armorers” quest, a level 24 quest. Grandmaster gear is exclusive to Blood & Wine and allows you to create level 40 versions of each set. Find and talk to Grandmaster Smith in Beauclair to unlock the Grandmaster scavenger hunts.

To perform the upgrades, you need to find the corresponding diagrams for each tier. It is also recommended that you do not get rid of the previous set, as Geralt cannot create an Advanced set from scratch. So, for example, to jump from Basic to Advanced, you need to have each piece of armor or in your inventory, as well as the necessary materials and crowns. Keep in mind that cost will be significant as armor sets get better stats at each tier (and get even more stylish).

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