The Witcher 3 Decoctions: Recipe, Effects, and Ingredients

Aside from standard Witcher potions, Geralt can also use a variety of decoctions in The Witcher 3. These decoctions are made using mutagens from various monsters, and they all have interesting and different effects. Some of these decoctions are considered top-tier and extremely useful, while others aren't as great, but might be useful to certain builds or situations.

Each of these decoctions requires the crafting diagram, which can be found in various places, before they can be brewed. Like other potions, alcohol will be used to refill the decoctions when Geralt meditates, and they can be added to the quick-use menu for ease of access.

For those interested in making some or all of these decoctions, this guide will outline what they do, their ingredients, and where to find the recipes for them.

Decoctions Recipe Sources

While some decoctions, like Ekhidna, have recipes with guaranteed sources, some of the others can be difficult to find. Typically, the recipe diagrams for decoctions can be found in various chests, purchased from some alchemists and other vendors, or purchased from the herbalists that spawn after clearing an Abandoned Site. However, many people report some variations in where they find each recipe compared to other people, so your mileage may vary.

We've marked the guaranteed recipes, which are all available from reading certain books. However, make sure to loot chests and other items whenever possible, because decoction recipes might be hiding inside. Some chests that are known to have high chances of rewarding decoction diagrams include:

• The hidden chest near the Allgod
• The chests near the elven ruins by Byways
• In the courtyard near Triss' first apartment in Novigrad

Also be sure to check the stock of shops run by herbalists and alchemists, as they will often have decoction recipes, as well as the ingredients to make some decoctions. Some reliable herbalists that have stock for sale are as follows:

• Tomira, in White Orchard
• An Herbalist by the roadside shrine near the White Orchard abandoned Village
• Velen Herbalists in the following places:
  • Olena's Grove
  • The Refugees' Camp
  • Outside the Cunny of the Goose
  • In the liberated village near Hangman's Alley, on the coast
  • In the liberated camp near Lurtch
  • In Barrengath, an Abandoned Site southwest of Bowdon, after the site is cleared (Hearts of Stone)
  • Across the river from Heddel, an Abandoned Site near Est Tayiar, after being liberated (Hearts of Stone)
  • Otto Bamber, in the Herbalist's Hut near Oxenfurt

• Herbalists in or near Novigrad, in these locations:
  • Hierarch Square
  • Glory Lane
  • Master Tropical, after being rescued, at his hut near Draken Hollow (Hearts of Stone)

• Herbalists found around Skellige, in these locations:
  • The Ruined Inn
  • Kaer Trolde Village
  • Kvalheim Isle after being saved from bandits
  • The Druids' Camp

• Pinastri in her Hermitage in Toussaint (Blood & Wine expansion required)
• Other herbalists in Toussaint, if the Blood & Wine DLC is purchased, at these locations:
  • Castel Ravello
  • Beauclair's Herb Store
  • Hortense Vineyard
  • Coronata, after being rescued from bandits

Alghoul Decoction

	Alghoul Decoction
Effects	Adrenaline Points are generated more quickly than normal until the first successful enemy attack. Adrenaline generation +50%
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Buckthorn 1x Alghoul Bone Marrow 5x Lesser Red Mutagen

Recipe source: Read the book Ghouls and Alghouls, sold by the Novigrad book seller

This decoction recipe is one of the easiest to obtain because it only requires reading a book. After consuming it, Geralt will generate Adrenaline Points 50% faster until an enemy lands a blow on him. This can be a great way to use special moves and perform other techniques in battle much quicker.

Unlike most decoctions, this one does not require the specific mutagen of the monster for which it is named. Instead, only five Lesser Red Mutagens are needed. However, Alghoul Bone Marrow is still needed, which is, luckily, pretty easy to obtain, as Alghouls are fairly common.

Ancient Leshen Decoction

	Ancient Leshen Decoction
Effects	Each Sign cast increases Stamina regen for the remainder of the fight. Stamina generation +2
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Mandrake Root 1x Ginatia Petals 1x Honeysuckle 1x Ancient Leshen Mutagen

This decoction might be hard to craft if the player is too low-leveled, as it requires a mutagen from an Ancient Leshen, and they are far from easy to defeat. However, players that build Geralt as a sign-caster can find a lot of use in this brew, as it increases how fast is Stamina regenerates after casting Signs, thereby allowing him to cast them more frequently.

Unfortunately, this decoction is bugged and doesn't work properly on older builds of the game. Rather than increasing Stamina regen by +2 after each sign cast, it provides +5 Stamina regen after casting only Axii. However, it does work with alternate Signs that are unlocked through the skill tree, except for Yrden.

In the next-gen update for The Witcher 3 (patch 4.0), the bug is fixed and the Ancient Leshen Decoction works as stated.

Arachas Decoction

	Arachas Decoction
Effects	Reduces damage received based on armor and inventory weight. Less weight carried and lighter armor means less damage is taken.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x White Myrtle Petals 1x Arachas Mutagen

Players who tend to travel with a light inventory or wear heavy armor sets will get the most use out of this decoction. After consuming it, Geralt takes less damage for the more empty space in his pack. This number scales with the ratio of filled-to-empty inventory weight, up to a maximum damage resistance increase of +20%. For example, if the player is carrying 50/100 (50% of their inventory is empty), they'll receive 50% of the 20% bonus, meaning a total of +10% damage resistance increase overall. If they are carrying 10/50, that means 80% of their inventory is empty, so they'll receive 80% of the 20% max bonus, or +16% damage resistance increase.

On the flipside, it seems that more armor weight adds more damage resistance, despite the description stating that lighter armor will mean more damage resistance. Light armor offers a 20% damage resistance increase, medium armor offers 33%, and heavy armor offers 50%.

Archgriffin Decoction

	Archgriffin Decoction
Effects	If any Stamina is available, strong strikes will consume all of it and reduce the struck foe's Vitality by 5%, after normal damage calculation.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Ribleaf 1x Blowball 1x Archgriffin Mutagen

This decoction can be a great one for those who like to use strong attacks, but only if they generate enough Stamina to make it worthwhile. After consuming this brew, strong attacks will deplete the enemy's Vitality by 5% of their current total. However, it consumes all available Stamina. If used against enemies with a lot of health, though, like bosses, it can be extremely useful.

This decoction is very effective when paired with the Ekhidna Decoction, which restores Geralt's Vitality when he performs Stamina-consuming actions. Since the Stamina he has is used up when the Archgriffin Decoction is applied, he'll be dealing a ton of damage while restoring his own health, all at once.

Basilisk Decoction

	Basilisk Decoction
Effects	Buffs a randomly-selected Sign at dusk and dawn for six hours.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Blowball 1x Beggartick Blossoms 1x Fool's Parsley Leaves 1x Basilisk Mutagen

Do a lot of fighting in the wee hours of the morning or night? This decoction might help with that. Just before the sun rises and just after it sets, this decoction will buff a randomly-selected Sign from Geralt's arsenal.

In the Witcher 3, this translates to 6am to 12pm (dawn) and 6pm to 12am (dusk). Unlike other decoctions, this one lasts a very long time, totaling six hours of effect. It also causes less Toxicity, at 40 points. It's worth noting that it won't work if drank at 6:00, so be sure to drink it at 5:59.

Chort Decoction

	Chort Decoction
Effects	Provides complete resistance to the Stagger effect and reduces Knock-down to Stagger.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Puffball 1x Cortinarius 1x Chort Mutagen

Hate getting knocked down or staggered by enemies, especially large ones? This decoction provides resistance to those effects, helping Geralt stay on his feet longer. The Chort decoction reduces the full Knock-down effect to a simple Stagger, and eliminates Stagger altogether.

Cockatrice Decoction

	Cockatrice Decoction
Effects	All alchemy creations can be used one additional time.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Cockatrice Mutagen 1x Crow's Eye

Recipe source: Read the book Remarks on Basilisks and Cockatrices.

The effects of this decoction are incredibly simple: when ingested, all alchemical creations (potions, decoctions, bombs) can be used an additional time. Just be sure to keep an eye on Geralt's Toxicity level.

Doppler Decoction

	Doppler Decoction
Effects	Increases the damage of critical hits when attacking foes from behind.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Han Fiber 1x Longrube 1x Doppler Mutagen

This decoction is also straightforward when it comes to effects: hitting an enemy from behind increases the chance of the blow being a critical hit.

However, obtaining the ingredients for this decoction can be extremely difficult, and if not collected at the right time, literally impossible. Geralt has only one single chance to get his hands on a Doppler Mutagen — in the quest An Elusive Thief. However, if he chooses to show mercy and not kill the Doppler, he'll be locked out of ever acquiring the mutagen through gameplay, making this decoction impossible to brew. Those with access to console commands can, of course, obtain the mutagen via these means.

Earth Elemental Decoction

	Earth Elemental Decoction
Effects	Increases resistance to Vitality-depleting critical effects applied during combat. The resistance level is 10% from start to end, though the in-game description states that it rises the longer the critical effect is applied.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Balisse Fruit 1x Pringrape 1x Earth Elemental Mutagen

While this decoction's description states that the resistance to Vitality-depleting effects increases over time, it doesn't do this. In actuality, it offers a 10% reduction to these effects from start to end. However, this is still very useful.

Ekhidna Decoction

	Ekhidna Decoction
Effects	Performing Stamina-consuming actions restores Vitality. Amount is 10% of max Vitality.
Ingredients	1x Dwarven Spirit 1x Ribleaf 1x Berbercane Fruit 1x Ekhidna Mutagen

Recipe source: Read the book Journey to the End of the World.

This is one of the most popular decoctions in the game, and for good reason. After imbibing this potion, Geralt will recover some Vitality whenever he performs an action that consumes Stamina.

While this decoction does not work in conjunction with Whirl, the skill tree upgrade, it does pair extremely well with the Archgriffin Decoction, which causes Geralt's strong attacks to be very powerful. With the two paired together, strong attacks will do massive damage while also healing Geralt.