The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will get another share of the spotlight when the remaster launches later this year and one of the game's most engaging customizable mechanics even in the current version is its potions/decoctions feature. The game expectedly has some of the conventional RPG consumables genre fans would expect, but players can get more creative with Geralt of Rivia's approach to combat with special formulas.
It's in line with the canon of the world of The Witcher, as the titular monster hunter brews different kinds of magical co*cktails to gain an edge against monsters. Potions like the Swallow would fit with the classic RPG trope, while the likes of the Killer Whale potion are for more unique situations.
Killer Whale Potion
The Killer Whale is something that players will find particularly useful for Geralt while exploring the vast Isles of Skellige. This potion increases his lung capacity by 50 percent, allowing for longer ventures underwater before needing to come up for air. Likewise, it also improves Geralt's vision underwater.
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Skellige is covered with swathes of open ocean and treasure buried underneath, so this is a natural fit for players trying to check off their treasure hunting list. The same applies to The Continent's wider and deeper lakes, as well as more easily fending off Drowners and the like attacking Geralt from the depths.
Troll Decoction
Trolls are a type of monster that features in some of the best side quests in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, at least in a darkly humorous sense. Just as well, trolls also provide ingredients for another one of the more useful healing consumables in the game.
The Troll Decoction lets Geralt quickly replenish health in and out of combat. When out of battle, it recovers 100 Vitality and an additional 20 when in combat. From food to potions, there are several ways to recover health, and the Troll Decoction is another good option to have on the side as a backup.
Fiend Decoction
While mechanics like encumbrance are nicely negated through mods in games like The Witcher 3, potions can help mitigate the nuisance for those that prefer a vanilla experience. The Fiend Decoction is fairly straightforward as it adds an extra 20 points to Geralt's carrying limit.
Being over-encumbered is always frustrating in RPGs, especially when players are far away from any kind of chest -- or in this case, Roach -- to store excess items. Having some Fiend Decoctions on hand is incredibly useful, including during treasure-hunting excursions where carrying capacity runs at a premium.
Superior Thunderbolt Potion
In terms of offensive potions, the Thunderbolt variants will be many players' bread and butter in combat. There are many kinds of monsters on top of the human enemies that Geralt will face, but the Superior Thunderbolt potion ensures both his Steel and Silver swords will cut deeper.
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It provides a 30 percent boost in damage output and at an extended duration. The potion's effects last for 90 seconds as opposed to the base version's 30 seconds and the Enhanced version's 60.
Enhanced Black Blood Potion
While the likes of Vampires are prominent in the equally acclaimed The Witcher 3 DLC expansionBlood and Wine, both they and Necrophages (e.g. Drowners) can be encountered in different forms across the lands of The Continent. The Enhanced Black Blood potion is the upgraded variant of the base version, and it provides a knock-back effect on these two types of monsters.
Vampires and Necrophages have tendencies to overwhelm Geralt with fast and/or swarming attacks, and this knock-back effect plus reflecting 20 percent of the damage at them will allow for more breathing room in a fight.
Werewolf Decoction
The Witcher 3 stands as one of the best modern open-world video games, which means that traversal and exploration are key. Riding on Roach certainly speeds up part of the traversal/exploration element, but for when Geralt needs to go by foot to uncover The Continent's various areas and secrets, players should have Werewolf Decoction handy.
Managing Stamina is normally a must since Geralt can't simply run endlessly without tiring, but this potion makes it so running, jumping, and sprinting when outside of combat doesn't deplete Stamina.
Superior Petri's Philter Potion
In the world of The Witcher, Witchers themselves specialize in melee combat but also low-level magical abilities. These abilities are called Signs, and they're the go-to spells for ranged combat. If players want to greatly enhance the effects of Geralt's magic, Superior Petri's Philter potion is an excellent buff to have.
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It boosts the effects of all Signs -- Axii, Igni, Quen, Yrden, and Aard. What's unique to the Superior variant, though, is that it also ensures that each ability's special effects are always in play when used.
Superior Swallow Potion
The Swallow potion variants fit the aforementioned RPG convention of the players' go-to healing item. In The Witcher 3, the Superior Swallow potion should arguably be the primary healing consumable in combat, especially when playing the game at the more grueling difficulty levels.
They progressively regenerate health both in and out of combat, with the Superior variant replenishing 80 Vitality in the former situation and 150 in the latter. Having passive health regeneration in combat is extremely useful in tense battles of attrition.
Ekhidna Decoction
The Ekhidna Decoction in The Witcher 3 is so powerful that it makes other healing items redundant if players have one on hand. With this potion in effect, every action that Geralt does that uses up Stamina replenishes health/Vitality.
That makes the Ekhidna Concoction a daunting potion to buff against enemies in combat. So long as players keep an eye on and manage their Stamina meter and have leveled up the stat, this is a surefire way to outlast human and monster enemies alike.
Superior White Raffard's Decoction
The Swallow potions might be the most common, but the Superior White Raffard's Decoction perhaps fills its role better. Or, at the very least, in certain situations.
They're not quite as easy to come by, but the White Raffard's Decoction provides an instant heal of 100 percent of Geralt's health as opposed to passive regeneration. The Superior version expectedly has an added boon on top of the instant and full health restoration, in this case with temporary immunity to damage.
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