Geralt of Rivia, our main hero in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has some intense combat skills up his sleeves that he unleashes whenever facing hostiles or monsters. But while his sword does most of the talking in these kinds of situations, know that Geralt also has access to master level wizardry and magic that he can also inflict.
In case you weren't aware, Geralt will have access to as many as five different magic abilities throughout the game: Aard, Axii, Igni, Quen and Yrden. However, to make the magic skills available, you have to make sure that he has a full Stamina Meter first.
But there's more than meets the eye, and here's a guide that will help you learn how to make use of each Sign Magic forms available to Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Use Aard Sign Magic
- Using the Aard Sign magic in combat lets you unleash a wave of telekinetic energy that will knock down weaker foes, while pushing back the stronger ones.
- Aard is also an effective Sign magic trick that will help you move obstructions out of your way, destroy partially damaged walls and even get rid of toxic gas around you.
- When using Aard in combat, it's better if you knock down your foe with it and then slay the enemy almost instantly. You should get the idea from the attack icon on top of the opponent's head.
- Aard will also let you pick and choose the opponents you want to get rid first, if faced with multiple enemies at a single given time. However, you need to level up as much as possible to make more effective use of the Sign magic.
Use Axii Sign Magic
- With Axii, you can control people's minds. To make Axii an even bigger threat, make sure you level up Geralt's Delusion ability as soon as possible.
- One of several uses of Axii involves steering conversations in Geralt's favour – either to bring down the price of something or to avoid fights.
- The best option here is to make it to Delusion level two at the start the game as that would help you manipulate plenty of characters in the world. For more effective results, you can rack up your skill set to Delusion level three.
- With Delusion level three, you can easily get into the mind of your opponent's horse and make it throw its rider to the ground. This gives you a major edge in battles.
Use Igni Sign Magic
- With Igni at your disposal, you can effectively turn Geralt into a brutal killing machine. You can use it to set fire to inflammable objects in the world, lighting torches and even burn beehives for looting.
- Enemies susceptible to fire will take huge amounts of damage from Igni. However, you will have to keep a certain amount of distance to make sure Geralt isn't affected by the Igni explosion as well. Level up your skills as soon as possible.
Use Quen Sign Magic
- Use Quen to create a temporary force shield around Geralt. This will help in absorbing a single strike from opponents that are equal to Geralt's level (including bosses).
- Quen Sign magic also helps you in taking down higher level opponents, and letting you access the sort of gear and weapons that your might not acquire at the start of the game.
- You could combine the powers of Quen with your own dodging skills, making it almost impossible for your opponents to land a counter blow.
- Quen also protects Geralt momentarily if he is taking damage while dodging. It's one of those Sign magic abilities that you should equip before heading into any battle.
Use Yrden Sign Magic
- Yrden is CD Projekt RED's own way of reliving The Matrix. Unleashing Yrden in a battle creates a sort of magic circle around Geralt. When opponents enter the circle, they will automatically slow down.
- Make use of Yrden when facing off against creatures such as Wraiths. Wraiths, while in combat, like to disappear and reappear once again. But having them in the circle rips them off the ability.
- You can create a circle between Geralt and his opponent, creating a sort of pathway that the enemy will have to take in order to approach Geralt. This helps you entrap them in the magic circle.
- Keep levelling up the Yrden Sign magic to make the effect last longer than usual.
[Source: Prima Games]