Combat Skills/Talents are one of the 4 Skill Trees in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. These abilities increase your offensive, defensive and crossbow skills. There are 5 branches to this Skill Tree. Each branch has 4 skills and each skill has several ranks, leading to a wide variety of possible builds. As of the Next-Gen Update, all skills in this tree have been changed to only go up to rank 3. You will have access to all Tier 1 Skills from the start of the game, but to be able to get put points into the Tier 2 Combat Skills you will need to spend 6 points in this branch. 12 points will unlock the Tier 3 skills and 18 points will unlock the final Tier.
The Witcher 3 Combat Skills
Combat Skills Comparison Table
Quick Search of All Combat Skills
| Skill Name | Skill Line | Tier | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle Memory | Fast Attack | Tier 1 | Fast attack damage increase by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Precise Blows | Fast Attack | Tier 2 | Increases chance of landing a fast attack critical hit by 2% and fast attack critical hit damage by 15%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Whirl | Fast Attack | Tier 3 | Spinning attack that strikes all foes in the surrounding area. Maintaining the attack consumes Stamina and Adrenaline. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Crippling Strikes | Fast Attack | Tier 4 | Fast attacks now also apply a Bleeding effect. Affected enemies lose 25 Vitality or Essence points per second. Duration: 5 seconds. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Strength Training | Strong Attack | Tier 1 | Strong attack damage increase by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Crushing Blows | Strong Attack | Tier 2 | Increases chance of landing a strong attack critical hit by 2% and strong attack critical hit damage by 15%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Rend | Strong Attack | Tier 3 | Deals additional damage in proportion to the Stamina consumed. Ignores enemy Defense and increases critical hit chance by 10%. Adrenaline Points increase total damage by 100%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Sunder Armor | Strong Attack | Tier 4 | Reduces enemy damage resistance by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Arrow Deflection | Defense | Tier 1 | Deflect arrows while parrying. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Fleet Footed | Defense | Tier 2 | Damage from hits received while dodging is reduced by 20%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Counterattack | Defense | Tier 3 | After a successful counterattack, the next attack deals +30% per skill level. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Deadly Precision | Defense | Tier 4 | Every Adrenaline Point adds 1% to the chance of killing an opponent instantly. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Lightning Reflexes | Marksmanship | Tier 1 | Time slowed by an additional 15% while aiming the crossbow.Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Cold Blood | Marksmanship | Tier 2 | Each bolt that hits its target adds 0.04 Adrenaline Points. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Anatomical Knowledge | Marksmanship | Tier 3 | Increases crossbow critical hit chance by +5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Crippling Shot | Marksmanship | Tier 4 | Critical hits dealt with the crossbow disable monster special abilities for 5 seconds. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Resolve | Battle Trance | Tier 1 | Adrenaline Point loss upon taking damage is lowered by 20%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Undying | Battle Trance | Tier 2 | When Vitality reaches 0, Adrenaline Points (if available) will be consumed to restore Vitality. The amount restored is based on the number of Adrenaline Points used. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Razor Focus | Battle Trance | Tier 3 | Instantly gain 1 Adrenaline Point when entering combat. The Adrenaline Points generated by Sword blows are increased by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
| Flood of Anger | Battle Trance | Tier 4 | When casting a Sign, 3 Adrenaline Points (if available) will be consumed to upgrade the Sign to the highest level (unlocking all bonuses) and increases Sign intensity by 25%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1% |
Combat Skills Gallery
Fast Attack
Perform fast melee attacks with either sword
Muscle Memory
Fast attack damage increase by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Precise Blows
Increases chance of landing a fast attack critical hit by 2% and fast attack critical hit damage by 15%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Whirl
Spinning attack that strikes all foes in the surrounding area. Maintaining the attack consumes Stamina and Adrenaline. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Crippling Strikes
Fast attacks now also apply a Bleeding effect. Affected enemies lose 25 Vitality or Essence points per second. Duration: 5 seconds. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Strong Attack
Allows you to perform strong melee attacks which ignores enemy armor
Strength Training
Strong attack damage increase by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Crushing Blows
Increases chance of landing a strong attack critical hit by 2% and strong attack critical hit damage by 15%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Rend
Deals additional damage in proportion to the Stamina consumed. Ignores enemy Defense and increases critical hit chance by 10%. Adrenaline Points increase total damage by 100%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Sunder Armor
Reduces enemy damage resistance by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Defense
Wolf School defense techniques
Arrow Deflection
Deflect arrows while parrying. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Fleet Footed
Damage from hits received while dodging is reduced by 20%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Counterattack
After a successful counterattack, the next attack deals +30% per skill level. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Deadly Precision
Every Adrenaline Point adds 1% to the chance of killing an opponent instantly. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Marksmanship
Allows you to wield a light hand-held crossbow
Lightning Reflexes
Time slowed by an additional 15% while aiming the crossbow. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Cold Blood
Each bolt that hits its target adds 0.04 Adrenaline Points. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Anatomical Knowledge
Increases crossbow critical hit chance by +5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Crippling Shot
Critical hits dealt with the crossbow disable monster special abilities for 5 seconds. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Battle Trance
Blows landed during combat generate Adrenaline Points. Each Adrenaline Point increases weapon damage by 10%.
Resolve
Adrenaline Point loss upon taking damage is lowered by 20%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Undying
When Vitality reaches 0, Adrenaline Points (if available) will be consumed to restore Vitality. The amount restored is based on the number of Adrenaline Points used. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Razor Focus
Instantly gain 1 Adrenaline Point when entering combat. The Adrenaline Points generated by Sword blows are increased by 5%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
Flood of Anger
When casting a Sign, 3 Adrenaline Points (if available) will be consumed to upgrade the Sign to the highest level (unlocking all bonuses) and increases Sign intensity by 25%. Adrenaline Point gain: +1%
