The Witcher 3 Remastered rebuilds the skill tree: 80 abilities across the Combat, Signs, Alchemy and General branches now sit on a grid joined by connecting lines, and 52 of them are new or reworked. The core loop is unchanged – you earn ability points, slot learned abilities into up to 12 ability slots and boost each group of three with a mutagen of the matching color. Blood and Wine adds mutations and up to four extra slots on top.
- Four branches of 20 abilities each, every ability with up to three ranks. 52 are new or reworked, 28 come from the original game.
- Each rank adds a small branch bonus on top of its effect – Combat abilities, for example, raise Adrenaline Point gain.
- Only slotted abilities do anything. All 12 slots are open by level 30, all four mutagen slots by level 28.
- A mutagen surrounded by three abilities of its color counts four times: a greater red mutagen then gives +40% Attack power.
- Researching all twelve mutations costs 49 ability points – exactly what leveling to 50 gives you.
What changed in the skill tree
Each branch is now laid out as a grid, with lines linking neighboring abilities. Each page in the abilities database lists those neighbors under “Connected to”, along with every rank and its values. New in the Remastered lists everything that is new or reworked – including some abilities with familiar names.
| Branch | Color | Focus | New/reworked | Bonus per rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat | Red | Fast and strong attacks, dodging, countering, the crossbow, adrenaline | 15 of 20 | +1% Adrenaline Point gain |
| Signs | Blue | Aard, Igni, Yrden, Quen, Axii: range, Sign intensity, alternate modes | 11 of 20 | +0.5/s Stamina regeneration in combat |
| Alchemy | Green | Potions, oils, bombs, mutagens, Toxicity and poison | 6 of 20 | +2% Potion duration time and bomb damage |
| General | Yellow | Witcher school techniques and abilities for any play style | 20 of 20 | +1% Vitality gain |
The bonus scales with rank, so a Combat ability at rank 3 adds +3% Adrenaline Point gain. The only exception in General is Synergy, which carries the Alchemy bonus.
The biggest changes per branch
- Combat: many new abilities reward chaining actions. Muscle Memory boosts Fast Attacks after a dodge, Strength Training turns Fast Attacks into a stronger next Strong Attack (+45% at rank 3). Originals that made the cut include Rend, Undying and Flood of Anger.
- Signs: the new abilities are about combining. Chain Reaction strengthens the next different Sign, Catalyst boosts Aard and Igni against enemies in Yrden, and Resonance powers up your next three melee attacks after a Sign.
- Alchemy: the least changed branch. Most of the new entries are about poison: Toxic Shock, Debilitating Poison and Potent Sting.
- General: all 20 abilities are new or reworked. All six witcher schools now have their own technique that scales with each piece of armor you wear, joined by abilities such as Battle Frenzy, Survival Instinct and Synergy.
The 15 core abilities – attacks, Battle Trance, the five Signs and so on – are still available from the start.
Where ability points come from
Every level-up grants one ability point. Levels cost 1,000 XP each up to level 10, then 1,500, and 2,000 from level 20 onwards – 29 points at level 30, 49 at level 50.
The second source is Places of Power: drawing from one for the first time gives a temporary bonus plus one ability point. The map marks 30 of them: 8 in Velen/Novigrad, 9 on Skellige, 6 in White Orchard, 5 in Toussaint, plus one each in Kaer Morhen and the Other Worlds.
Quick math shows why planning matters: 80 abilities with three ranks each make 240 ranks, yet even with every Place of Power you have just 79 points at level 50 – and mutations want their share too.
Ability slots: only slotted abilities count
A learned ability has no effect until it sits in an ability slot, and you can swap abilities in and out at any time. The 12 slots form four groups of three, and each group has its own mutagen slot:
| Group | Slots unlock at | Mutagen slot unlocks at |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Start, level 2, level 4 | Level 2 |
| Group 2 | Levels 6, 8, 10 | Level 9 |
| Group 3 | Levels 12, 15, 18 | Level 16 |
| Group 4 | Levels 22, 26, 30 | Level 28 |
Until level 30 you will often have more points than open slots. Push a few abilities you actually slot to higher ranks – that beats a learned ability with nowhere to go.
Mutagens: color is everything
Each mutagen slot takes a red, blue or green mutagen. The mutagen gives a base bonus, and every ability of its color in the same group of three raises that bonus by 100%:
| Mutagen | Stat | Lesser | Normal | Greater | Greater + 3 matching abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red (Combat) | Attack power | +5% | +7% | +10% | +40% |
| Blue (Signs) | Sign intensity | +5% | +7% | +10% | +40% |
| Green (Alchemy) | Vitality | +50 | +100 | +150 | +600 |
General abilities are yellow and match no mutagen. With two Combat abilities and one General ability in a group, a greater red mutagen gives +30% instead of +40%. Every yellow ability you slot costs a group 100% of mutagen bonus, so only take the General abilities that are worth it. On top of that, Synergy raises all mutagen bonuses by up to 30%.
Mutagens drop from slain monsters. With the right formula, three lesser mutagens make a normal one and three normal ones a greater one – see the alchemy formulae for the recipes.
Mutations and Strengthened Synapses
Blood and Wine brings twelve mutations. Each costs mutagens and ability points, most require another mutation first, and while you can research all of them over time, only one can be active.
| Mutation | Color | Cost | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic Sensibilities | Blue | 2 blue mutagens, 2 points | – |
| Toxic Blood | Green | 2 green, 2 points | – |
| Deadly Counter | Red | 2 red, 2 points | – |
| Bloodbath | Red | 3 red, 3 points | Deadly Counter |
| Piercing Cold | Blue | 3 blue, 3 points | Magic Sensibilities |
| Euphoria | Green | 3 green, 3 points | Toxic Blood |
| Conductors of Magic | Red, Blue | 2 red, 3 blue, 5 points | Piercing Cold |
| Mutated Skin | Red, Green | 2 red, 3 green, 5 points | Euphoria |
| Adrenaline Rush | Red, Blue | 2 red, 3 blue, 5 points | Piercing Cold, Bloodbath |
| Cat Eyes | Red, Green | 2 red, 3 green, 5 points | Bloodbath, Euphoria |
| Second Life | Red, Blue, Green | 3 red, 2 blue, 2 green, 7 points | Adrenaline Rush |
| Metamorphosis | Red, Blue, Green | 2 red, 2 blue, 3 green, 7 points | Cat Eyes |
The full set costs 49 ability points plus 18 red, 15 blue and 16 green mutagens. To price out your own path including prerequisites, use the research calculator.
The real payoff is Strengthened Synapses, which levels up on its own: at 2, 4, 8 and 12 researched mutations it opens an extra ability slot. Those slots only accept abilities in the color of your active mutation – Signs only with Magic Sensibilities, more choice with a multi-colored one like Second Life.
What to keep in mind when spending points
- Pick a play style first. Sword, Signs or alchemy decides your mutagen colors, armor and mutation. Hybrids work, but mixed-color groups waste mutagen bonus.
- Match school technique and armor. The techniques scale per armor piece: Cat School wants light armor such as the Feline Set, Bear School heavy armor such as the Ursine Set. The Wolf, Griffin, Manticore and Viper techniques all work with medium armor. Wolf School Techniques at rank 3 add +6% weapon damage and +6% Sign intensity per piece. All sets: Witcher Gear.
- Adrenaline ties the branches together. Focus (Signs) adds up to +30% Sign intensity per Adrenaline point, Battle Frenzy (General) up to +9% critical hit chance per point and Rend (Combat) up to +30% damage per point. Adrenaline Burst lets Signs generate Adrenaline, and Anger Management lets you cast Signs with Adrenaline once your Stamina runs dry. Sword-and-Sign hybrids are built on this.
- Keep points in reserve for Blood and Wine. The first mutations cost 2 to 3 points, the strongest 7.
- Check the neighbors. Catalyst, for example, links directly to Focus and Chain Reaction – connected abilities often suit the same play style.
Signed in, you can try your own ideas in the build planner – tree, slots, mutation, mutagens and gear – and publish them under Builds. Everything else is in the Witcher 3 database.
FAQ
How many ability points are there in The Witcher 3 Remastered?
One per level-up, so 49 by level 50, plus one for the first use of each of the 30 Places of Power – nowhere near enough to max all 80 abilities.
Can you respec in The Witcher 3 Remastered?
Yes, with a Potion of Clearance, which refunds every spent ability point; Keira Metz and the Alchemists in Toussaint sell it, among others. Swapping abilities between slots is free at any time.
At what level are all ability slots unlocked?
The twelfth slot opens at level 30 and the fourth mutagen slot at level 28. Up to four more slots come from the Strengthened Synapses mutation in Blood and Wine.
What does a mutagen do in the character panel?
A bonus to Attack power (red), Sign intensity (blue) or Vitality (green). Each ability of the same color in its group of three raises it by 100%, taking a greater mutagen to +40% or +600 Vitality.
Which abilities are new in the Remastered?
52 of the 80: 15 in Combat, 11 in Signs, 6 in Alchemy and all 20 in General, including techniques for all six witcher schools.
How do I get the extra mutation slots?
By researching mutations. Strengthened Synapses opens one slot each at 2, 4, 8 and 12 researched mutations, and those slots only take abilities in the color of your active mutation.