Before a fight in The Witcher 3, prepare one sword matched to the monster, the oil for its class, and the Signs, bombs, or potions listed for that specific creature. The class tables below give you a dependable starting point. The creature’s own Bestiary entry gives the final answer, and it wins whenever the two disagree.
Choose the sword from the health bar cue
PlayStation’s beginner guide for the game explains that the colour of the health bar tells you which sword to draw. A grey bar means silver. A red bar means steel. The guide describes silver as the weapon for monsters such as griffins, wraiths, and werewolves, and steel as the choice for bandits and wild animals.
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In practice, most monster-class entries call for silver, while beast entries commonly call for steel. Named exceptions exist in both groups, so the entry-level answer is the one to trust.
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- Open the monster’s Bestiary entry from the pause menu before engaging, and read the listed vulnerabilities.
- Check the health bar when the fight begins. Grey indicates silver; red indicates steel.
- Equip the matching sword from your inventory and keep the second sword ready if the monster’s class is unclear.
Match the oil to the creature’s class
Oils are the most reliable preparation step because each class has a matching oil. Treat that oil as the default for every creature in the class, then check the entry for anything that changes it. The table uses the class groupings from AllThings.How’s Bestiary table, which covers 11 classes.
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| Class | Class oil | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Beasts | Beast Oil | Steel is the usual sword. The Beast of Beauclair is a listed exception and takes silver. |
| Cursed ones | Cursed Oil | Several entries add Moon Dust or Devil’s Puffball; the Toad Prince has its own set. |
| Draconids | Draconid Oil | Many flyers add Aard and Grapeshot. Silver Basilisk’s package differs. |
| Elementa | Elementa Oil | Dimeritium recurs across the class. Pixies are listed with Elementa Oil alone. |
| Hybrids | Hybrid Oil | Harpies take Grapeshot but not Aard, so check the entry before assuming Aard. |
| Insectoids | Insectoid Oil | Golden Oriole is common in entries for poisonous species. |
| Necrophages | Necrophage Oil | Rotfiends explode when they die or get close, so keep your distance. |
| Ogroids | Ogroid Oil | Quen appears on several giant and troll entries. |
| Relicts | Relict Oil | Forest spirits take Dimeritium and Igni. The table lists Godlings as “n/a” and not fightable. |
| Specters | Specter Oil | Yrden and Moon Dust recur, but not on every entry. |
| Vampires | Vampire Oil | Moon Dust, Black Blood, Yrden, Devil’s Puffball, and Igni vary by vampire. Dettlaff’s entry differs from the lesser-vampire pattern. |
Signs, bombs, and potions follow patterns, not rules
Certain items recur across a class, and knowing those patterns speeds up preparation. Yrden and Moon Dust are common against many specters. Aard appears against many flying draconids and hybrids. Dimeritium is common against many elementa and forest relicts. Each pattern has exceptions, so use it to narrow your kit rather than to settle it.
For reference, the Signs named in these tables are Aard, Axii, Igni, Quen, and Yrden. The other items are bombs or potions: Moon Dust, Devil’s Puffball, Dimeritium, Grapeshot, Dancing Star, Blizzard, and Northern Wind are bombs, and Black Blood, White Honey, and Golden Oriole are potions.
Named entries with their own lists
These examples come from the AllThings.How table. They illustrate how one class can split into different packages, and they are not a substitute for the entry in your game.
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- Cursed ones: Werewolves list Moon Dust, Devil’s Puffball, and Igni. Ulfhedinn list Moon Dust and Devil’s Puffball. The Toad Prince lists Northern Wind, Golden Oriole, and Yrden.
- Draconids: Silver Basilisk lists Igni in place of Grapeshot.
- Elementa: Fire Elementals list Northern Wind. Gargoyles list Quen. Hounds of the Wild Hunt list Igni and Axii.
- Hybrids: Erynias and griffins list Grapeshot and Aard. Sirens and Melusine list Igni.
- Insectoids: Giant centipedes and pale widows list Yrden. Kikimores list White Honey and Igni.
- Necrophages: Drowners list Igni. Grave hags list Black Blood, Quen, and Yrden. Water hags list Northern Wind, Quen, and Igni.
- Ogroids: Nekkers and Hagubman list Northern Wind. The Cloud Giant lists Dancing Star and Igni.
- Relicts: Chorts and the Howler list Devil’s Puffball. Leshens and spriggans list Dimeritium and Igni.
- Specters: Ethereal lists Blizzard, and Hyms list Igni.
Read the entry before you rely on the list
A listed weakness tells you what works well, not everything that can work. Prima Games’ Bestiary guide for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Complete Edition makes this point directly: an item missing from the list is not necessarily useless. If you have a potion or bomb you trust, test it on a weaker monster of the same class and observe the result before committing to it in a boss fight.
The Bestiary entry itself remains the authority for edge cases. Check it when you encounter a named boss, a variant, or a creature you have not met yet. Keep the class table for quick preparation and the entry for the final decision.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What these sources do and do not establish
AllThings.How’s Bestiary table, updated September 28, 2026, states that it covers the base game, Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine across 11 classes. It is a gameplay reference, not a developer database, and it does not show a reconciliation that proves every Bestiary entry is listed under those 11 classes.
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GamesLantern’s Bestiary index reports 126 entries, a count from a fan reference site rather than a figure published by the developer. Its index also shows an Unclassed group, and its taxonomy does not match AllThings.How’s line for line. Use the class tables as a helpful guide, and verify any monster-specific claim in the Bestiary of your own game version.
PlayStation’s beginner guide supplies the official framing for this approach. It says: “The key to success in monster hunting is preparation, and knowing your enemy will make all the difference.”
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The sources cited here are PlayStation’s beginner guide for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, AllThings.How’s Bestiary table (updated September 28, 2026), Prima Games’ Bestiary Legend page for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Complete Edition Guide, and GamesLantern’s Bestiary index (version 4.04 label, year not stated).
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