There are two kinds of Witcher 3 players.
The first rushes through the main story wearing whatever trousers happened to fall out of a drowned corpse five minutes earlier. The second becomes completely obsessed with hunting down Witcher gear diagrams, climbing through monster dens and abandoned ruins just to squeeze out another 3% sign intensity.
This guide is for the second group. Frankly, Geralt deserves better than random trousers.
Witcher gear remains some of the best equipment in The Witcher 3 because it scales beautifully through upgrades, looks genuinely brilliant, and actually feels tied to the identity of a Witcher rather than a travelling loot goblin. Each school has its own combat style and personality, which means choosing gear becomes part stat-build, part fashion statement, part roleplay.
Below is a complete breakdown of where to find every major Witcher gear diagram set in the game.
How Witcher Gear Works
Each Witcher school gear set comes with multiple upgrade tiers:
- Basic
- Enhanced
- Superior
- Mastercrafted
- Grandmaster (Blood and Wine expansion)
You usually unlock these hunts through treasure hunt quests purchased from merchants, armourers, and blacksmiths. You can still discover many diagrams naturally while exploring, though realistically most players eventually turn into medieval archaeologists with a checklist.
The major schools are:
- Griffin School
- Cat School
- Bear School
- Wolf School
- Manticore School
- Viper School
Griffin School Gear Locations
The Griffin School gear is perfect for sign-focused builds. If you enjoy setting people on fire, blasting bandits off cliffs, or turning combat into magical crowd control chaos, this set becomes ridiculously strong.
It also gives Geralt the vibe of an experienced travelling scholar who has definitely corrected somebody’s grammar in a tavern.
Basic Griffin Gear
Location
Found largely in Velen around Hindhold and Dragonslayer’s Grotto.
Key Diagram Locations
- Steel Sword, ruins near Hindhold
- Silver Sword, inside Lornruk lighthouse
- Armour pieces, Dragonslayer’s Grotto
Recommended Level
Level 11
The lighthouse section is particularly memorable because it feels like classic Witcher exploration. Fog, monsters, ruined stone towers, suspicious corpses. Just another Tuesday for Geralt.
Enhanced Griffin Gear
Location
Scattered around Velen and Novigrad.
Key Areas
- White Eagle Fort
- Frischlow
- Cave systems near Oxenfurt
Expect plenty of necrophages and annoyed deserters guarding these locations.
Superior Griffin Gear
Location
Mainly Skellige.
Key Areas
- Giant’s Toes
- Fort Ussar Ruins
- Cave networks near crossroads
This is where the Griffin set really starts looking elite rather than “wandering hedge wizard who got lost”.
Mastercrafted Griffin Gear
Location
Found around eastern Skellige islands.
Key Areas
- Ruined fortresses
- Hidden caves
- Monster nests near giants’ territory
Crafted by master armourer Yoana and master blacksmith Hattori.
Both artisans have questlines because apparently nobody in this universe can simply agree to do their job normally.
Grandmaster Griffin Gear
Location
Toussaint, Blood and Wine expansion.
Quest
“Master Master Master Master!”
The diagrams are mostly hidden in Mont Crane Castle.
The Grandmaster bonuses turn sign builds into complete madness. Yrden becomes terrifyingly effective and Igni starts deleting enemies from existence.
Cat School Gear Locations
The Cat School set is built for fast attacks and critical hits. It is basically the armour set for players who think dodging is cooler than blocking. Which, to be fair, it is.
Geralt also somehow looks permanently annoyed while wearing it, which feels accurate.
Basic Cat Gear
Location
Velen and Novigrad.
Key Areas
- Temple Isle
- Aeramas’ Abandoned Manor
- Cave systems beneath Novigrad
The armour diagrams are hidden in a cave accessed through a secret tunnel. Expect puzzles, traps, and a deeply unhealthy number of skeletons.
Enhanced Cat Gear
Location
Eastern Velen.
Key Areas
- Est Tayiar ruins
- Oxenfurt outskirts
- Hidden monster dens
Some diagrams require careful exploration because CD Projekt Red occasionally decided every chest needed to be hidden behind a wall nobody would logically inspect.
Superior Cat Gear
Location
Skellige.
Key Areas
- Kaer Gelen
- Small ruined towers
- Coastal caves
The island weather somehow makes everything feel ten times more dramatic. Even opening a chest becomes cinematic when there is thunder overhead.
Mastercrafted Cat Gear
Location
Far southern Skellige.
Key Areas
- Abandoned fortifications
- Cave ruins guarded by high-level monsters
Recommended for players around level 34.
Grandmaster Cat Gear
Location
Toussaint.
Quest Area
Locked inside a large estate linked to vampire attacks.
The bonuses massively reward aggressive combat and constant movement. If your combat style involves spinning through enemies like an angry Beyblade, this set becomes absurdly powerful.
Bear School Gear Locations
The Bear School set is heavy armour designed for tank builds and raw survivability.
This is the gear for players who looked at Geralt and thought: “What if he fought like a furious medieval fridge?”
And honestly, it works.
Basic Bear Gear
Location
Skellige.
Key Areas
- Fort Etnir
- Clan Tordarroch ruins
- Ice giant territory
The basic Bear gear hunt is one of the coolest in the game because it sends you through harsh mountain environments packed with danger.
It genuinely feels like uncovering lost relics from a forgotten Witcher order.
Enhanced Bear Gear
Location
Main Skellige islands.
Key Areas
- Ruined inns
- Coastal caves
- Fortress basements
Prepare for sirens. Endless sirens.
Superior Bear Gear
Location
Northern Skellige.
Key Areas
- Ancient crypts
- Hidden mountain ruins
- Smuggler hideouts
Heavy armour starts becoming genuinely powerful at this stage, especially combined with Quen-focused builds.
Mastercrafted Bear Gear
Location
Remote Skellige regions.
Key Areas
- Giant-infested ruins
- Ancient towers
- Cave systems
The armour appearance here becomes incredibly imposing. Geralt stops looking like a wandering swordsman and starts resembling somebody who collects dragon skulls recreationally.
Grandmaster Bear Gear
Location
Toussaint.
Key Areas
- Cave beneath ruins
- Ancient strongholds
- Hidden laboratories
This set turns Quen into borderline cheating.
Wolf School Gear Locations
The Wolf School gear is closely tied to Kaer Morhen and feels like the most “canon” Witcher set for Geralt.
Balanced stats make it ideal for hybrid builds.
Also, the aesthetic is fantastic. Clean, practical, intimidating without trying too hard. Basically the opposite of Nilfgaardian armour.
Basic Wolf Gear
Location
Kaer Morhen.
Key Areas
- Signal tower ruins
- Hidden caves
- Bastion remains
The diagrams are scattered throughout the Witcher fortress region and require a fair amount of climbing and exploration.
Enhanced Wolf Gear
Location
Kaer Morhen valley.
Key Areas
- Iron mines
- Destroyed watchtowers
- Forest caves
This hunt feels deeply nostalgic because so much of it explores the fading remains of Witcher history.
Superior Wolf Gear
Location
Northern Kaer Morhen.
Key Areas
- Ruined keeps
- Lakeside caves
- Mountain trails
Several diagrams are extremely easy to miss if you sprint through the area during the main story.
Mastercrafted Wolf Gear
Location
Western Kaer Morhen.
Key Areas
- Hidden crypts
- Collapsed ruins
- Abandoned laboratories
The final upgraded set looks phenomenal during late-game cutscenes.
Grandmaster Wolf Gear
Location
Toussaint.
Key Areas
- Bastoy Prison ruins
- Ancient crypt systems
This set rewards balanced sword and sign gameplay, making it one of the most flexible builds in the game.
Manticore School Gear Locations
The Manticore School set arrives in Blood and Wine and heavily references the original Witcher games.
It looks rugged, practical, slightly terrifying, and very “professional monster killer who absolutely charges extra for vampires”.
All Manticore Diagram Locations
Location
Toussaint exclusively.
Key Areas
- Bastoy Prison
- Abandoned shrines
- Cave systems
- Lakeside ruins
The diagrams are found during a dedicated scavenger hunt involving old notes and hidden clues.
Alchemy builds become extremely powerful with this gear thanks to increased toxicity bonuses.
If you enjoy turning Geralt into a chemically enhanced nightmare creature powered entirely by potions and poor decision-making, this is your set.
Viper School Gear Locations
The Viper School set is smaller but still iconic thanks to Hearts of Stone.
It carries serious assassin energy.
Viper Venomous Steel Sword
Location
Auction House during Hearts of Stone.
Miss it and you may need New Game Plus to recover it, which has caused emotional damage across the Witcher community for years.
Viper Venomous Silver Sword
Location
Found near the end of Hearts of Stone inside the Von Everec estate sequences.
Very missable.
Very painful if forgotten.
Viper Armour Set
Location
Hearts of Stone expansion.
Key Area
Inside the Borsodi Auction House during the heist questline.
You need to explore carefully before progressing.
This is classic Witcher 3 design philosophy:
“Here is an incredible armour set. We hid it behind a wall during a timed mission. Good luck.”
Best Witcher Gear Set Overall
Honestly, there is no single “best” set because it depends entirely on your build.
Here is the simplest breakdown:
| Gear Set | Best For |
|---|---|
| Griffin | Sign builds |
| Cat | Fast attack and crit builds |
| Bear | Tank and heavy builds |
| Wolf | Balanced hybrid builds |
| Manticore | Alchemy builds |
| Viper | Stylish aggressive builds |
Most players eventually end up emotionally attached to one school anyway. The moment you fully upgrade your favourite set, random loot stops mattering completely.
You become loyal to the drip.
The Seven Swords Takeaway
Tracking down every Witcher gear diagram is one of the best long-term activities in The Witcher 3 because it rewards exploration properly. You are not just ticking icons off a map. You are uncovering fragments of forgotten Witcher schools, wandering through abandoned ruins, and piecing together relics from a dying profession.
It gives the world texture.
Also, let’s be honest, half the fun is finally crafting a full Grandmaster set after twenty-seven hours of hoarding monster teeth and wondering why Geralt can somehow carry three thousand pounds of crafting materials without spinal damage.
Worth it though. Absolutely worth it.
