The 4 Witcher school gear sets — Bear, Cat, Griffin, and Wolf — are the best available armor in Witcher 3 when upgraded to their final grandmaster version. There’s also the Forgotten Wolven set added in the next-gen update.
In addition, there are the two low-level Viper swords, the Witcher sword Teigr, and two expansion Witcher sets — Viper gear in Hearts of Stone, and Manticore gear in Blood and Wine — which cannot be upgraded.
The complete sets consist of 6 to 7 pieces: 4 armor, 2 swords (one silver and one steel), and a crossbow (Feline and Ursine set only).
Although the Witcher school weapons are not necessarily the best in Witcher 3 (there are several better relic weapons), they’re still worth getting to maximize the set bonuses that come with the four Grandmaster-level sets and the Manticore set.
Here’s a guide to crafting and upgrading Witcher gear sets and a comparison of their stats and bonuses.
You must find the diagrams for the specific armor and weapon pieces (armor, boots, trousers, gauntlets, steel sword, and silver sword) to obtain the Witcher gear sets.
Then, you need to collect the required crafting materials and go to an armorer (for armor pieces) or blacksmith (for swords) to craft that specific piece.
Crafting diagrams are the key items required to craft Witcher school gear. The easiest way to find them is to purchase maps from specific armorers/blacksmiths in the game (only available for Bear, Cat, Griffin, and Wolf gear).
When you use these maps from your inventory, they will start a “Scavenger Hunt: School Gear” quest for the given Witcher set (or its upgrade) and show you a location on the map where you can find the diagrams.
You do not NEED to purchase the maps, but it does make finding the diagrams easier, especially if you don’t want to follow a guide and do it on your own:
The four main Witcher School gear sets (Bear, Cat, Griffin, Wolf) start at the basic level and can be upgraded four times:
Each time you upgrade the pieces, they increase in level and stats. You’ll need the previous tier piece to upgrade each level of Witcher gear.
For example, if you want to upgrade your Enhanced Ursine silver sword to superior, you’ll need the superior diagram, the enhanced sword (which will be consumed during the crafting process), and the additional crafting materials. Then, you can craft the upgraded sword at a blacksmith.
Keep in mind that armorers and blacksmiths have different skill levels that correspond to the tier of Witcher gear they can craft. For example, only mastercraft armorers and blacksmiths can upgrade your gear to the mastercrafted level, and you’ll need to complete a special quest to unlock their services.
Additionally, the runewright can also craft mastercrafted gear (both weapons and armor) if you’ve unlocked his services, but for a higher fee.
The mastercraft armorer Yoanna is found in Crow’s Perch in central Velen (requires completion of level 24 quest “Master Armorers“).
The mastercraft blacksmith Hattori is found in Novigrad (requires completion of level 24 quest “Of Swords and Dumplings“).
The final Grandmaster tier is available in the Blood and Wine expansion and can only be crafted at the grandmaster blacksmith and armorer Lazare Lafargue in Beauclair.
You can also get higher-level “legendary” versions of the same Witcher School gear sets when you start your new game plus (NG+) playthrough.
You’ll have to find the diagrams all over again and craft them from scratch for every upgrade tier, but they will be scaled up in level, so the stats will be much higher.
Here’s a quick comparison of the total combined stats and level requirements of the seven main Witcher School Gear sets. The Viper and Manticore sets have only one tier which is comparable to the Grandmaster tier for the five main sets.
| Set | Basic | Enhanced | Superior | Mastercraft | Grandmaster |
| Feline (light) | Level: 17, Armor: 245, Aard intensity: 12%, Atk pwr: 20%, Bleed chance: 10%, Piercing res: 8%, Slash res: 11%, Monster res: 11% , Ele res: 40%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 3 | Level: 23, Armor: 311, Aard intensity: 14%, Atk pwr: 28%, Bleed chance: 20%, Piercing res: 12%, Slash res: 17%, Monster res: 17% , Ele res: 50%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 7 | Level: 29, Armor: 377, Aard intensity: 14%, Atk pwr: 39%, Crit chance: 10%, Bleed chance: 20%, Dismember chance: 5%, Piercing res: 17%, Slash res: 23%, Monster res: 23% , Ele res: 60%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 34, Armor: 432, Aard intensity: 15%, Atk pwr: 50%, Crit chance: 20%, Bleed chance: 30%, Dismember chance: 10%, Piercing res: 22%, Slash res: 30%, Monster res: 30% , Ele res: 70%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 40, Armor: 509, Aard intensity: 30%, Atk pwr: 55%, Crit chance: 20%, Bleed chance: 30%, Dismember chance: 20%, Piercing res: 27%, Slash res: 35%, Monster res: 35% , Ele res: 74%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 15 |
| Griffin (medium) | Level: 11, Armor: 179, Sign intensity: 30%, Piercing res: 9%, Bludgeoning res: 6%, Slash res: 19%, Monster res: 26% , Ele res: 22%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 3 | Level: 18, Armor: 256, Sign intensity: 48%, Piercing res: 15%, Bludgeoning res: 10%, Slash res: 26%, Monster res: 33% , Ele res: 25%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 7 | Level: 26, Armor: 344, Sign intensity: 69%, Crit dmg: 50%, Dismember chance: 10%, Piercing res: 22%, Bludgeoning res: 15%, Slash res: 33%, Monster res: 43% , Ele res: 31%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 34, Armor: 432, Sign intensity: 90%, Crit dmg: 50%, Crit chance: 10%, Dismember chance: 10%, Piercing res: 30%, Bludgeoning res: 20%, Slash res: 40%, Monster res: 50% , Ele res: 40%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 40, Armor: 509, Sign intensity: 97%, Crit dmg: 50%, Crit chance: 10%, Dismember chance: 20%, Piercing res: 35%, Bludgeoning res: 22%, Slash res: 45%, Monster res: 54% , Ele res: 45%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 15 |
| Wolven (medium) | Level: 14, Armor: 212, Sign intensity: 20%, Atk pwr: 10%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 15%, Bleed chance: 10%, Piercing res: 7%, Bludgeoning res: 6%, Slash res: 19%, Monster res: 26% , Ele res: 22%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 3 | Level: 21, Armor: 289, Sign intensity: 24%, Atk pwr: 12%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 22%, Bleed chance: 12%, Piercing res: 12%, Bludgeoning res: 10%, Slash res: 26%, Monster res: 33% , Ele res: 25%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 7 | Level: 29, Armor: 377, Sign intensity: 30%, Atk pwr: 16%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 29%, Crit chance: 10%, Bleed chance: 14%, Piercing res: 18%, Bludgeoning res: 15%, Slash res: 33%, Monster res: 43% , Ele res: 31%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 34, Armor: 432, Sign intensity: 40%, Atk pwr: 20%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 40%, Crit chance: 20%, Bleed chance: 20%, Piercing res: 25%, Bludgeoning res: 20%, Slash res: 40%, Monster res: 50% , Ele res: 40%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 40, Armor: 509, Sign intensity: 44%, Atk pwr: 22%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 44%, Crit chance: 22%, Bleed chance: 22%, Piercing res: 29%, Bludgeoning res: 22%, Slash res: 45%, Monster res: 54% , Ele res: 45%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 15 |
| Forgotten Wolven (medium) | Level: 20, Armor: 271, Sign intensity: 15%, Yrden intensity: 6%, Aard intensity: 6%, Atk pwr: 8%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 25%, Bleed chance: 9%, Crit chance: 10%, Cit damage: 30%, Piercing res: 10%, Bludgeoning res: 2%, Slash res: 26%, Monster res: 26% , Ele res: 33%, monster exp: 5% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 4 | Level: 34, Armor: 432, Sign intensity: 30%, Yrden intensity: 10%, Aard intensity: 60%, Atk pwr: 18%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 31%, Bleed chance: 13%, Crit chance: 19%, Cit damage: 45%, Piercing res: 21%, Bludgeoning res: 3%, Slash res: 38%, Monster res: 41% , Ele res: 54%, monster exp: 6% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 12 | Level: 40, Armor: 533, Sign intensity: 29%, Yrden intensity: 12%, Aard intensity: 12%, Atk pwr: 20%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 37%, Bleed chance: 15%, Crit chance: 22%, Cit damage: 55%, Piercing res: 26%, Bludgeoning res: 4%, Slash res: 42%, Monster res: 48% , Ele res: 60%, monster exp: 10% , other exp: 10%, Sockets: 15 | ||
| Ursine (heavy) | Level: 20, Armor: 278, Crit chance: 5%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 30%, Dismember chance: 10%, Piercing res: 11%, Bludgeoning res: 7%, Slash res: 26%, Monster res: 34% , Ele res: 7%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 3 | Level: 25, Armor: 333, Crit chance: 5%, Crit dmg: 50%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 48%, Dismember chance: 12%, Piercing res: 19%, Bludgeoning res: 13%, Slash res: 34%, Monster res: 46% , Ele res: 13%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 7 | Level: 30, Armor: 388, Crit chance: 5%, Crit dmg: 100%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 69%, Dismember chance: 13%, Piercing res: 27%, Bludgeoning res: 19%, Slash res: 42%, Monster res: 58% , Ele res: 19%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 34, Armor: 432, Crit chance: 5%, Crit dmg: 150%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 90%, Dismember chance: 14%, Piercing res: 40%, Bludgeoning res: 30%, Slash res: 50%, Monster res: 70% , Ele res: 25%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 13 | Level: 40, Armor: 509, Crit chance: 10%, Crit dmg: 150%, Adrenaline Point Pain: 97%, Dismember chance: 28%, Piercing res: 44%, Bludgeoning res: 30%, Slash res: 55%, Monster res: 74% , Ele res: 31%, monster exp: 20% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 15 |
| Viper (medium) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Level: 39, Armor: 498, Aard Intensity: 50%; Crit chance: 20%, Crit dmg: 150%, Poison Chance: 30%; Poison res: 100%, Piercing res: 50%, Slash res: 50%, Monster res: 60% , Ele res: 60%, monster exp: 5% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 15 |
| Manticore (medium) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Level: 40, Armor: 509, Armor Piercing: 500; Max toxicity: +30; Crit chance: 20%, Crit dmg: 150%, Bleed chance: 20%, Piercing res: 29%, Slash res: 45%, Monster res: 48% , Ele res: 45%, monster exp: 5% , other exp: 5%, Sockets: 15 |
As we can see, all of these gear sets have similar armor ratings, socket numbers, and experience bonuses. And although their level requirements differ early on, they become similar when looking at the most upgraded versions of each gear set.
In addition, the Manticore and Grandmaster Feline, Griffin, Wolven, and Ursine sets come with set bonuses when wearing 3 out of 6 and 6 out of 6 of the set pieces, which provide even more of an incentive to pair these Witcher gear sets with a specific skill build.
Note: you should always pair your chosen armor type (light, medium, or heavy) with a specific Witcher School Technique skill for powerful bonuses. There are three possible options: Cat School Techniques (light armor), Wolf School (medium armor), and Bear School (heavy armor).
Keep in mind you can also enchant your armor with a glyphword to have all your armor treated as a specific type:
