Of all the weapons you use in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt perhaps most useful are the silver swords. These weapons are intended for the slaying of mythical, mystical, and magical beasts. While steel swords will carve through human enemies silver swords will cut down any fearsome creature of legend.
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There are a lot of swords to choose from and should be based on your chosen playstyle and the monster you face. But for general use, you should strongly consider one of the silver blades listed below to fulfill your contracts.
Updated on July 22, 2021 by Ben Baker: Upon later review, it became apparent that this article was missing some of the more powerful Silver Sword options available in The Witcher 3. Particularly those awaiting players in Blood & Wine. A few more swords have been added to the ranking and the list has been adjusted to reflect their respective positions of power. The Aerondight is still the strongest sword out there thanks to its permanent damage-boosting abilities, but there are some new strong contenders for the other positions.
15 Bloodsword
- 310 – 380 Damage
- 5 – 20% Critical Hit Damage
- 1 – 4% Critical Hit Chance
- 9% Bleed
- 1 – 2 % Dismember
Found as hidden treasure in Boxholm, the Bloodsword is a solid choice for taking down tough beasts or if you’re under-leveled for the challenge ahead. It deals 227 to 277 damage every hit and raises critical hit damage and the chance of landing a critical.
But the sword’s main benefit is the added chance to cause bleeding and dismemberment. Bleed will deal damage over time making spongier foes fall faster and dismemberment is always helpful. It’s a great sword to attack a few times until the bleed effect kicks in and then back off and play defensively while the bleeding does its charm.
14 Naevde Seidhe
- 363 – 443 Damage
- 8 – 15% Igni Sign Intensity
- 8 – 15% Yrden Sign Intensity
- 10% Stagger
There are actually three ways to obtain this sword; by finding it in a Monster’s Den in Kaer Gelen near the Miner’s Camp, by completing the quest For Fame And Glory, and by finding one in the Ancient Crypt at Ard Skellig.
It’s the ideal sword for players that rely heavily upon signs as it boosts the intensity of Igni and Yrden signs. It also has a chance of causing stagger, which can be useful for getting some distance to cast signs or retreat if need be.
13 Manticore Silver Sword
- 335 – 409 Damage
- 250 Armor Piercing
- 50% Critical Damage
- 5% Critical Hit Chance
- 10% Bleed
- +5% Experience From Human/Nonhumans
The Manticore Silver Sword is obtained from a diagram hidden in a cave beneath the Palace Gardens. It’s guarded by gas and a mysterious stranger, but it’s worth the effort. The sword comes with some powerful stats.
It comes short of the Mastercrafted gear from other schools, but it is more than capable of doing the job. The armor-piercing combined with bleed makes it ideal for tough targets. The experience gain is also handy when facing humans and nonhumans alike.
12 Griffin Mastercrafted
- 369 – 451 Damage
- 20% Sign Intensity
- 5% Critical Hit Chance
- 25% Critical Damage
- 10% Dismemberment
- 20% Experience From Monsters
This is the first Witcher set the player is likely to encounter in the game and is very powerful, even if it is the weakest of the four sets. The diagrams are in Kaer at Ard Skellig.
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It can be obtained in its weakest form early on and upgraded as you go making it a solid sword from the early parts of the game until mid to late game. At Mastercraft state, it has static damage of 410 with a critical hit damage bonus, experience gain bonus against monsters, and a boost to sign intensity.
11 Feline Mastercrafted
- 369 – 451 Damage
- 15% Aard Sign Intensity
- 15% Bleed
- 10% Dismemberment
- 20% Bonus Experience From Monsters
Like the Griffin sword, the Feline silver sword can be obtained early on and enhanced over time to be a powerful weapon. Its diagram is found in the ruins of Est Tayiar behind a secret wall. The sword at masterclass state deals the same 410 damage as the Griffin.
Where it differs, and why it’s better, is that it also has a chance to cause bleeding, increases Aard sign intensity, and grants experience gains from monsters. Instead of relying on criticals for occasional spurts of damage, it gives steady results with bleeding and improved sign damage.
10 Ursine Mastercrafted
- 284 – 348 Damage
- 20% Adrenaline Point Gain
- 75% Critical Hit Damage
- 5% Critical Hit Chance
- 14% Dismemberment
- 20% Bonus Experience From Monsters
One of the strongest of the four Witcher sets, the Ursine silver sword provides great damage and helpful abilities. Its diagram is located on the small island near Olean's Grove. At Mastercrafted state it deals 373 to 457 damage.
Where this weapon shines is in the perks. It grants a boost to critical hit chance, a 10% chance at dismemberment, an incredibly useful 20% boost to monster experience gain, and the piece de resistance is a boost to Adrenaline gain. The longer a fight goes with this sword the more likely you are to kill them in one blow.
9 Sarrim
- 418 – 512 Damage
- 15% Aard Sign Intensity
- 15% Igni Sign Intensity
- 15% Axii Sign Intensity
- 75% Critical Hit Damage
- 10% Critical Hit Chance
To wield the mighty Sarrim players will need to find its diagram located at a bandit camp in the Kilkerinn Ruins. The sword provides a number of boosts in addition to great damage.
This puts the Sarrim ahead of many of the Mastercrafted Witcher school silver swords in terms of raw damage output. The Sign intensity perks are helpful for just about any build and the almost doubled Critical Hit Damage is really nice.
8 Harpy
- 427 – 523 Damage
- 14% Bleed
The Harpy sword is very simple compared to others on this list, but that simplicity is one of its greatest strengths. It has an incredible base damage of 427 making it a powerful sword on that fact alone and capable of tackling most foes in the game.
But it also has the benefit of providing a 14% chance of causing bleed. A dozen or so swings and if your enemy is still standing they have a good chance of being inflicted with bleed that will siphon off the last of their health points. This sword is great for long brutal fights with tough foes. The Harpy sword can be found at a bandit camp near the Bloody Baron's compound.
7 Wolven Mastercrafted
- 284 – 348 Damage
- 10% Sign Intensity
- 10% Adrenaline Gain
- 10% Critical Hit Chance
- 10% Critical Hit Damage
- 10% Bleed
- 5% Bonus Experience From Humans/Nonhumans
The strongest of the Witcher sets is the Wolven, surprise, surprise. It’s only available if you have the DLC and is found inside the Termes Palace near Beauclair. At Mastercraft state, it deals a stunning 472 to 576 base damage.
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It has a boost to sign intensity, gives a boost to Adrenaline gain, has the familiar boost to monster experience point gain, but setting it apart from the others is a chance to cause bleeding. It’s basically the other Witcher sets wrapped into one with a nice bonus on top.
6 Tah’rel
- 481 – 587 Damage
- 28% Aard Sign Intensity
- 95% Critical Hit Damage
- 12% Critical Hit Chance
- 15% Poison
- +5% Experience From Monsters
The Tah’rel diagram can be a bit tricky to find but is worth it for getting a powerful silver sword. It’s in the large river south of The Silver Salamander Inn to the west of the first major fork in the road. It’s part of the quest What Was That About Again. Once crafted players will have a strong sword with a number of helpful stats.
With lots of damage and an almost doubled critical hit damage, this sword is capable of packing quite the punch. The bonus experience from monsters is also a nice touch and cuts down on some of the end game grinding needed for higher levels.
5 Gesheft (Craftable)
- 508 – 620 Damage
- 30% Aard Intensity
- 100% Critical Damage
- 15% Critical Hit Chance
- 15% Poison
- +5% Experience From Monsters
There are two Gesheft swords in the game, one is guarded by the Cloud Giant in the Land Of A Thousand Fables and the other is a craftable model that’s much more powerful. Gesheft’s diagram is hidden in a monster den northeast of Beauclair at the end of the Dun Tynne Crossroads river.
With such high damage and doubled critical hit damage this actually makes it slightly better than Aerondight, the best sword in the game. The only reason it doesn’t rank higher is that it doesn’t see such a dramatic increase in damage over time as the fabled Aerondight does. Still, if players are looking for a powerful sword that’s low maintenance then this is it.
4 Cantata
- 576 – 704 Damage
- 150 Armor Piercing
- 75% Critical Hit Damage
- 15% Critical Hit Chance
- 15% Bleeding
- 15% Stun
The Cantata is a strong silver sword that can be found during the quest What Lies Unseen. The player will loot a body in search of something to appease the Elder and it’ll be located on that body with a Crumpled Letter. This sword has tremendous potential in Geralt’s hand.
This sword is easily one of the more powerful silver swords in the game for the base damage alone. But the armor-piercing, bleeding, and stun combine to take down the mightiest of foes. It’ll shred any defense, drain their health over time, and occasionally keep them stunned and vulnerable to attack.
3 Tor Zireal
- 540 – 660 Damage
- 20 – 25% Igni Sign Intensity
- 5 – 15% Quen Sign Intensity
- 20% Freeze
- 1 – 2% Instant Kill
As impressive as the Wolven silver sword is it pales in comparison to the top three. Tor Zireal is found behind Kaer Muire and has a base damage of 555 to 679. What’s even more incredible about this sword are the stunning special effects.
It provides +50 to Vitality making you a lot more resilient to dying and each sword swing has a 20% of causing Freeze. Basically you do ridiculous damage while taking ridiculous amounts of damage and wait for the enemy to freeze before hacking them to death.
2 Tlareg
- 540 – 660 Damage
- 2 – 20% Igni Sign Intensity
- 12% Freeze
- 1% Bonus Experience From Monsters
Found in the northern part of the Kaer Muire fortress this weapon quickly outclasses the one above in terms of raw DPS and farming potential. It has a base damage of 692 to 846 allowing the player to one hit many of the weaker enemies in this game.
The perks give a bonus to Igni sign intensity, that familiar chance of causing freeze although it’s less than the Tor Zireal at 12%, but it provides a handy boost to experience points gain which you’ll need to climb the higher levels.
1 Aerondight
- 522 – 638 Damage
- Each Strike Increases Damage Temporarily By 10%
- 100% Critical Hit Chance On Full Charge
- Killing Foes While Charged Permanently Increases Damage
The single most powerful silver sword in the game is also easily the most powerful sword in the game, period. The Aerondight is reserved for those who complete the complicated and nuanced There Can Only Be One quest to prove you are destined to hold this sword, again.
It deals 508 to 620 base damage, but each successful consecutive hit boosts the damage by 10% for a max of 100%. Once at full charge it also gets a 100% chance of dealing a critical, so your damage is doubled and then doubled again. But even more absurd is that when you kill an enemy at full charge the base damage is increased by two and every time you level up the max damage allowed goes up by 10. It’s a sword that deals quadruple damage in battle (assuming you don’t get hit) and grows with you in power.