Witcher 3 remaster tank build (Witcher 3 remaster tank build) is a setup built around Bear armor, high health, and toughness in melee. The Remaster gave us a fully reworked skill tree and with that everyone’s favorite builds broke apart. Some you can rebuild almost the same, some you cannot. You just have to get used to the new tree and adapt.
How the build works
This tank build is aimed at maximum defense, health recovery, and toughness. At the start I honestly did not give it much chance, but I found that I enjoy playing it quite a bit. It combines Bear armor, the right decoctions, and a skill tree spread that mainly upgrades alchemy-related stuff and raises health.
The build is aimed purely at health and toughness. You only add a few offensive abilities that give you Whirl with heavy strikes and the Undying ability, which at zero health spends adrenaline points and saves Geralt. The build is also aimed at quickly refilling adrenaline points and keeping adrenaline at maximum, which is the key to the right decoctions and to the Mutated Skin mutation.
What the build is good for
The build is good mainly for toughness. In the video you will see that I took Geralt against a whole Nilfgaardian camp on Death March. On the max damage build they often killed me in two hits. Here Geralt is a real durable tank and soaks dozens of hits almost as if you were playing on the easiest difficulty. Attack is lower and it takes longer to beat someone, but then you can enjoy the fight more.
What is great about the build is that you are tough against a group and against a single enemy alike. It suits people who do not enjoy combat that much, or who are switching from keyboard to gamepad and have to learn Geralt’s controls again. In the video you will see Geralt fighting in a Nilfgaard camp and he is almost unbeatable, even though he wounds so many soldiers that his health barely moves. At the end I tried to stop fighting and it took almost a minute before the soldiers cut me down, and even then Undying kicked in and blocked death with the adrenaline I had built up.
What you need for the build
You definitely need the full Bear armor set and in my video that is the mastercrafted legendary Bear set. Six armor pieces again give you the set bonuses for the whole set. Bear armor is ideal for raising adrenaline, armor value, and health.
On weapons put the Elation runeword from runewriting. Each fatal blow from the sword adds one adrenaline point, which is the key for the right decoctions and for the mutation. On armor put the Deflection glyph so that no arrows can hurt you.
You drink three decoctions: Ekimmara Decoction refills your health on a hit based on the damage you deal to the enemy, Nightwraith Decoction raises maximum health for each enemy killed in combat, and Griffin Decoction raises resistance with every hit until you meditate. I summarize recipes and more potions in the best elixirs overview.
In the skill tree add points as in the screenshot below. Pick Mutated Skin as your active mutation, because each adrenaline point reduces damage taken by fifteen percent, up to forty-five percent. That is why you need adrenaline topped up, otherwise the mutation will not give you full protection.
Video
In the video you will see Geralt fighting in the Nilfgaardian camp with this build and how long he lasts against a whole group of soldiers. It is on Death March with the setup above and no mods.
Tank build showcase on Death March, Nilfgaardian camp, no mods.
Where next
A more balanced sword variant is the sword build. More Remaster setups are in the build overview. I write about the game in The Witcher 3 review, and more guides sit on the game hub.