Though it's comparatively weaker than most options available in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a bomb build is a cinematic and flashy way to blast through the campaign with the right skills and gear. This is unfortunate, as one of the few methods for raising the utility and damage output of bombs is to craft their upgraded versions. As a result, it's not until later that players have maxed out their bombs, by which point tougher enemies or better skills make them obsolete.
For starters, there's a branch of Alchemy skills dedicated entirely to explosives: Bomb Creation, Efficiency, and Cluster Bombs. Efficiency will increase the number of bombs Geralt can carry in his inventory, while Cluster Bombs will fragment any thrown bombs into a maximum of six fragments. This increases the area of effect and multiplies the damage by six.
While it may not be the optimal build for players looking to survive Witcher 3's Death March difficulty, there are ways to make bombs functional enough to at least complement the game's more popular and effective strategies. Fortunately, the bombardier build is Alchemy-heavy and having the requisite points to make the most of them also opens the doors to other higher-tier Alchemy skills that synergize well. Namely, it paves the way for additional sword damage via adrenaline and critical hits.
How To Play Witcher 3's Bomb Build
The Pyrotechnics skill is optional in Witcher 3. It does cause bombs to deal additional damage, but it only does so by a small amount (150 max). Worse still, since this skill affects stunning bombs, the damage will negate the stun effect. This undermines the most useful aspects of Samum and Northern Wind. For this reason, Pyrotechnics is one of Witcher 3's alchemy skills that is arguably better if avoided.
The better choice for extra damage with bombs is a General skill called Heavy Artillery. This triples bomb damage but halves the number of bombs available. The Efficiency and Cluster Bomb skills will mitigate this penalty to a degree. Geralt can meditate to refill his potion and bomb slots, but bombs are still a limited resource from fight to fight. As such, this build needs additional complementary elements to round it out.
The Manticore set in the Blood and Wine DLC is best-suited for the bombardier of the available Witcher armors. Besides being the only set to increase the damage of bombs (by giving them a chance to crit), it will also raise Geralt's maximum toxicity. This plays well into the extra skills available under Alchemy, potentially even leading to a Viper School assassin build. Additionally, since Manticore armor also boosts critical hit damage, there are skills, gear modifications, potions, and decoctions that help maximize this aspect of the build.
First off, Precise Blows and Crushing Blows under the Combat Tree are necessary for stacking crit chance and crit damage. These apply to fast and strong attacks, respectively. Then there's the Cat School Techniques under General, which boosts critical hit damage by a massive 25%. This only applies to light armor, and Manticore is, unfortunately, medium, but there's a workaround.
Using Adrenaline In Witcher 3's Bomb Build
With the Hearts of Stone DLC installed, Geralt can speak to and do some quests for the runewright found northeast of Novigrad. After some quests for the runewright, he will offer Geralt a series of unique enchantments to put on his armor. One such enchantment, Levity, will treat the Manticore set as though it were light armor. This makes the Cat School Techniques skill applicable. Players might overlook the Witcher side quests for the Runewright, but they're very much worth doing.
The Manticore swords will increase crit chance by an additional 50%, but the Grandmaster Ursine swords are also a good choice. While they only boost crit chance by 50%, all critical strikes will deal 100% extra damage. Slotting in Chernobog runes can increase Geralt's attack power with the sword, but Perun runes are also a good choice for bolstering the final facet of the bombardier build: Adrenaline points.
Adrenaline in Witcher 3 is accumulated through landing successful strikes and by avoiding taking hits. Each of the three adrenaline points will raise Geralt's overall weapon damage by 10%. This is especially true against single, more formidable enemies like elementals, archgriffins, or boss encounters. Inevitably, the fight will still come down to swordplay. For this reason, while this build makes bombs more powerful in general, their damage output will still rarely be enough to outright win fights on Witcher 3's Death March difficulty.
The Advanced Pyrotechnics skill is a great way to blend bombs and adrenaline, as it makes all damage dealt with bombs generate 0.1 adrenaline points. Start a fight by throwing a couple of bombs, then when the enemy advances, Geralt has enough adrenaline gained to deal 10-30% more damage with every hit. This can also stack with +25% adrenaline gain granted by the Grandmaster Ursine swords.
Using Bombs in Witcher 3
Adrenaline also plays a role in one of the other strongest Alchemy perks in the game, Hunter Instinct. This skill makes adrenaline points increase critical hit damage by up to an additional 100%. Since this build already requires Cluster Bombs, a skill on the most advanced tier of Alchemy, it's well worth investing a few more skill points into Hunter Instincts for this enormous payoff. Since these top-tier skills are not easily beelined, it's best to respec Geralt and change his skills later on.
This rapid adrenaline gain works excellently alongside any of the skills in the Battle Trance branch of Combat skills. It also lends towards two options for Mutations: Euphoria or Mutated Skin. Euphoria is one of the most frequently favored mutations in the game, as it boosts both sword damage and sign intensity as toxicity increases. Additionally, the Manticore armor allows for a higher toxicity level than other armor sets would permit, meaning a higher damage output and more options for combining potions and decoctions.
For most builds, Mutated Skin is less useful, but it's a strong contender for the bombardier. Each adrenaline point decreases damage received by 15%, to a maximum of 45%. Combined with Protective Coating skill, which can be acquired early in Alchemy progression, the appropriate oil can offer Geralt up to 70% protection against even the most terrifying monsters in Witcher 3.
Finally, it's important to consider the combination of potions and decoctions equipped before entering battle with this build. For example, Katakan and Doppler decoctions can stack to increase crit chance and crit damage when attacking from behind. Tack on Thunderbolt to increase attack power alongside the critical hit threshold, and Geralt can deal tremendous damage throughout a fight.
Alternatively, this bomb build can play defensively, combining Swallow, Troll Decoction, and Superior Golden Oriole with an active Devil's Puffball. This effectively covers the fighting ground in poison that damages enemies and simultaneously heals Geralt over time. To maximize the adrenaline, try Alghoul Decoction and Maribor Forest with the Razor Focus perk to start battles off with a leg up and an additional 20% to all damage. In and of itself, the bombardier may not seem like a contender for top builds for Witcher 3's New Game+, but it can work in tandem with other aspects of gameplay to make for a formidable play style.
The Witcher 3 is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
