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The Witcher 3’s Bestiary is the most reliable answer to “What is this monster weak to?” Open the creature’s entry before a contract, read its vulnerabilities and immunities, check the health-bar sword cue, apply the matching oil, and equip the listed Sign, bomb, or potion. Class rules are efficient starting points, but a named creature can override them.
How the Bestiary should guide every hunt
Monster classes provide useful defaults, not unbreakable rules. The individual Bestiary entry takes priority because it records exceptions for particular creatures and encounters. Read both the vulnerability list and the immunity list: a listed immunity means that repeatedly using the corresponding effect is wasted effort, while a listed vulnerability identifies the preparation most likely to create an opening.
The entry also helps you decide what to carry. A weakness may call for a Sign, bomb, potion, or a change in how you approach the fight rather than a different sword. Prepare those items before entering the encounter area; opening the menu while surrounded is a reliable way to lose control of the fight.
“The key to success in monster hunting is preparation, and knowing your enemy will make all the difference.” — PlayStation beginner guide, quoted by iTechGuides Team (2026).
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Choose the correct sword from the health bar
Geralt’s target health bar supplies a fast visual check:
- Grey health bar: use the silver sword for monsters.
- Red health bar: use the steel sword for humans and wild animals.
Check the Bestiary if the encounter appears to contradict that rule. Beasts normally use steel, but the Beast of Beauclair is a documented silver-sword exception. This is why relying on a creature’s appearance alone can fail: a named enemy may not follow its class convention.
Make the sword check before applying oil. An oil chosen for the wrong weapon does not solve a weapon-selection mistake, and changing swords after combat begins can cost the positioning you need to survive.
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Oil defaults and the important exceptions
Weapon oil is the efficient baseline for each monster class. Apply the class oil shown below, then override that plan only when the individual entry or the encounter provides a specific reason.
| Monster class | Default sword and oil | High-value counters listed for the class |
|---|---|---|
| Beasts | Usually steel; Beast Oil | Bears list Quen. Wolves and dogs mainly require steel and oil. The Beast of Beauclair uses silver. |
| Cursed Ones | Silver; Cursed Oil | Moon Dust suppresses werewolf regeneration. Devil’s Puffball and Igni recur against werewolves and Ulfhedinn. |
| Draconids | Silver; Draconid Oil | Aard grounds flyers. Grapeshot is common, and Golden Oriole helps against poison spitters such as basilisks and wyverns. |
| Elementa | Silver; Elementa Oil | Dimeritium is the recurring counter for elementals and golems. Northern Wind, Quen, Igni, or Axii depend on the individual entry. |
| Hybrids | Silver; Hybrid Oil | Grapeshot is common. Aard grounds griffins and many flyers; sirens and melusines also list Igni. |
| Insectoids | Silver; Insectoid Oil | Golden Oriole is common against poisonous spiders and endregas. Yrden helps against giant centipedes and pale widows; Kikimores list White Honey and Igni. |
| Necrophages | Silver; Necrophage Oil | Igni helps against drowners and some wights. Moon Dust helps foglets, Black Blood appears against grave hags, and Rotfiends require retreat before their death blast. |
| Ogroids | Silver; Ogroid Oil | Quen absorbs heavy blows from trolls and giants. Northern Wind appears against nekkers and Hagubman; Dancing Star and Igni appear for Cloud Giant. |
| Relicts | Silver; Relict Oil | Devil’s Puffball is listed for chorts and fiends. Dimeritium plus Igni recurs against leshens, spriggans, and woodland spirits; Aard and Samum help shaelmaars. |
| Specters | Silver; Specter Oil | Yrden materializes wraiths, and Moon Dust keeps many specters visible. Ethereal lists Blizzard, while hymns list Igni. |
| Vampires | Silver; Vampire Oil | Moon Dust and Yrden pin phasing vampires. Black Blood punishes bites, and Igni appears against higher vampires and some ekimmaras. |
Signs, bombs, and potions: what each counter is doing
Quen for safe openings
Quen is the safest general defensive Sign. Use it before a difficult exchange, especially against trolls, giants, bears, or an elemental whose attack pattern you have not yet learned. The shield lets you absorb a mistake, but it is not a reason to stand still and trade blows; refresh it, reposition, and resume short attacks.
Igni for pressure and fire vulnerabilities
Igni is valuable when the Bestiary lists fire vulnerability. It recurs against werewolves, sirens, melusines, drowners, some wights, higher vampires, ekimmaras, kikimores, woodland spirits, and Cloud Giant. Treat the entry as the deciding factor rather than assuming every creature burns in the same way.
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Yrden for speed and incorporeal targets
Yrden slows fast enemies and makes ethereal enemies tangible. It is the core tool for wraiths, and it also appears against giant centipedes, pale widows, phasing vampires, and other encounters where movement or intangibility is the problem. Place the trap where you intend to fight, then keep the enemy inside it instead of chasing outside its boundary.
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Aard can ground flyers, making it particularly useful against griffins and draconids. Axii can create a stun opening and is one of the options listed for some elementals. These Signs are positional tools: cast when the target is approaching or airborne, then use the brief opening to strike or reposition.
Bombs and consumables for specific mechanics
Moon Dust suppresses werewolf regeneration, keeps many specters visible, and helps pin phasing vampires. Devil’s Puffball appears against werewolves, chorts, and fiends. Grapeshot is common for draconids and hybrids. Dimeritium recurs against elementals, golems, leshens, spriggans, and woodland spirits. Golden Oriole is useful against poison spitters, poisonous spiders, and endregas, while White Honey is listed for kikimores. Northern Wind appears against elementals and nekkers, Samum helps shaelmaars, and Dancing Star is listed for Cloud Giant. Black Blood turns a vampire or grave-hag bite into a liability for the attacker. Carry only the item named by the entry when a creature has a specific requirement; a generic bomb is not automatically a substitute.
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Class playbooks for the encounters players ask about most
Wraiths and other specters
Start with Specter Oil and a silver sword. Cast Yrden before the wraith commits to an attack so it becomes tangible inside the trap. Moon Dust is the additional tool when the entry calls for keeping the specter visible. Ethereal entries list Blizzard, while hymns list Igni, so read the exact creature page rather than treating every ghost as identical. Wraiths punish long strings of attacks; land a brief sequence in the Yrden field, dodge out, and reset the trap.
Werewolves and Ulfhedinn
Use Cursed Oil on the silver sword. Moon Dust suppresses the regeneration that otherwise erases your progress. Devil’s Puffball and Igni recur in the listed counters, giving you ways to pressure the target while it is healing or creating distance. Keep Quen available for the lunge that closes space, strike briefly after an opening, and dodge rather than attempting a prolonged parry exchange.
Griffins, sirens, and melusines
Hybrid Oil and a silver sword are the default. Aard is the high-value control tool for griffins and other flyers: cast as the creature approaches or takes off, then attack once it is grounded. Grapeshot is common for hybrids. Sirens and melusines also list Igni, so switch to fire pressure when the individual entry identifies that weakness. Do not chase a flying target into open terrain; make it come through your prepared position.
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Elementals and golems
Apply Elementa Oil to the silver sword and consider Dimeritium first, because it is the recurring counter for this class. The remaining choice depends on the entry: Northern Wind can create control, Quen absorbs a heavy hit, Igni supplies pressure where listed, and Axii can produce a stun opening. Elementals punish greedy combos, so take one or two strikes after a control effect, then move out of the attack arc.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A preparation workflow that works before any contract
- Open the Bestiary entry. Read both the vulnerability and immunity lists for the exact creature, including a named variant.
- Confirm the weapon. Use the grey health-bar cue for silver and the red cue for steel, then check the entry for exceptions.
- Apply the class oil. Use Beast, Cursed, Draconid, Elementa, Hybrid, Insectoid, Necrophage, Ogroid, Relict, Specter, or Vampire Oil as appropriate.
- Override only with a reason. A listed immunity, regeneration effect, phasing mechanic, poison attack, or flying phase can justify a different preparation priority.
- Equip the listed tools. Put the named Sign, bomb, and potion where you can reach them without opening the inventory in the middle of a swarm.
- Choose the arena. Put Yrden where an ethereal enemy must pass, keep room behind Geralt for a dodge, and avoid being surrounded.
- Engage with defense ready. Cast Quen when the first exchange is uncertain, then use the creature’s specific control effect before committing to attacks.
Combat habits that matter more than raw damage
Monsters are generally less suited to a parry-focused approach than human opponents. Strike briefly, dodge or roll, and keep every enemy in front of Geralt. This prevents a second creature from attacking from off-screen and leaves a clear escape route when a special attack begins.
Use the environment and spacing to separate a group. Reposition whenever two enemies can reach you at once, refresh Quen after it breaks, and return to the prepared Sign area instead of chasing a target blindly. Against a Rotfiend, the critical timing is its death state: retreat from the body rather than standing nearby for a final hit. Against flyers, wait for Aard or another listed control effect instead of wasting stamina on attacks that cannot connect.
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How to handle a failed first attempt
- Your attacks feel ineffective: check the sword cue and confirm that the oil matches the class or named exception.
- The target keeps healing: reread the entry for an anti-regeneration tool such as Moon Dust.
- You cannot hit the enemy: look for a phase or ethereal note; Yrden or Moon Dust may be required.
- Poison is deciding the fight: check whether Golden Oriole is listed for the creature and stop standing in its projectile path.
- You are dying while your preparation is correct: change positioning. Quen, short attacks, dodges, and keeping enemies in front of Geralt are safer than repeating a long combo.
- A named monster ignores the class plan: follow its individual Bestiary entry. That page outranks the class default.
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