Many games out on the market have incorporated a crafting system and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has a crafting system all of its own to help Geralt build the finest pieces in The Continent. The crafting system is intended as a great way to upgrade Geralt's gear to make him stronger for enemy encounters. It also has the benefit of changing his appearance due to wearing different pieces of equipment. The crafting has a few different layers that definitely need to be fleshed out to make a bit more sense of it and we're here to help along the way.
There is a caveat before we begin our journey through the crafting realm. This system is not simply comprised of crafting but also repairing equipment, removing upgrades and dismantling components that all have a part to play in crafting. There are some layers that might be familiar to most gamers although, new gamers might be intimidated and it's a step by step process we'll be doing to make life in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt easier.
Crafting Recipes in Witcher 3
Before even thinking about crafting, Geralt needs to get a hold of crafting recipes which are called Diagrams. These Diagrams can be gotten in various methods which include finishing quests, chests, vendors, and more. Inside these Diagrams contain the actual recipe which lets Geralt know which materials he will need to get to make the desired piece. Once the Diagram is acquired, don't forget to read the Diagram by selecting it and reading it or the recipe won't be fully stashed in Geralt's crafting inventory. After a while of obtaining many Diagrams, a list of all the recipes can be seen by going to the Glossary and selecting the crafting sub-option.
Crafting Materials in Witcher 3
Now that we know what a crafting recipe in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is, we need to know how to build the actual piece that Geralt needs and for that, materials are needed. To know which materials are needed for a crafting recipe, from the Glossary menu select the Crafting sub-menu, go to the piece on the left side of the screen and in the middle area of the screen, the required ingredients will appear. Each required material will have a number showing how many Geralt has on the left and how much is needed on the right. If he doesn't have enough materials the materials box will be red as a visual cue for the player. A nice feature, even if there are not enough materials for the recipe, is the ability to pin the materials so that in the shops, they will be highlighted making it easier to find them. Materials are not only at vendors but can be obtained by killing enemies, finishing quests, and opening chests among some of the more traditional ways. A method that might be overlooked is the Dismantling section at the Blacksmith/Armorer. By heading over to this section at the Blacksmith/Armorer's menus the list of what can be broken down into materials will be on the left side of the screen while what materials you get from dismantling is on the right. There is a fee for doing this process so make sure you have enough dough to make it work. A quick side note on materials, there might be pieces that Geralt might need to craft first to make another piece such as making copper ingots or steel plates that are needed for stronger pieces.
Crafting Requirements in Witcher 3
Now that the materials for the recipe are in Geralt's pockets, what's next? Those shiny new gloves won't build themselves. Geralt isn't able to craft the pieces on his own and needs an Armorer to craft for him. There are different levels of Blacksmiths/Armorers and they all have different pieces they have the ability to make. One of the first Armorers Geralt meets is Willis and he can only make pieces up to a certain level, unlike Yoana who will be able to make master level pieces. These Blacksmiths/Armorers will only be able to craft if they have the required materials and a small fee for their trouble. There can be multiple Blacksmiths/Armorers in each region so be sure to find them all. The ability of each Blacksmith/Armorer can be found when speaking with them and opening the menu. It will show on the top right of the screen what level they are at.
Bonus Crafting Tips in Witcher 3
A few final words on crafting that will prove very useful as crafting becomes more used is to look at the upgrades section of the crafting sub-menu of the Glossary. In here, the diagrams are geared more towards Glyphs and Runestones. These are add-ons to gear to give extra power to them. A great example is crafting a chest piece with a Lesser Glyph of Igni attached to give a higher intensity of the Igni sign when cast. these small upgrades go a long way and could potentially mean the difference in a fight. These runestones and glyphs can also be dismantled into materials as well if needed for another piece. Also, there is a great option at the Blacksmith/Armorer called Remove Upgrade that allows Geralt to remove a runestone or glyph from a piece it was added to but the removal comes at a price.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC