The recently released location-based mobile game The Witcher: Monster Slayer brings a light RPG system to the popular GPS gaming formula. Throughout the player's travels across the real world, they will gather materials, items, and gold. Gold can be earned a few ways (or bought with real money) and is used primarily to purchase better equipment in the shop.
Three types of equipable gear are currently available in The Witcher: Monster Slayer, being Steel Swords, Silver Swords, and Witcher School Armor. There are a total of 16 swords available between the Steel and Silver varieties, and though they don't have upgraded base stats like in the main games, their unique player bonuses set them apart from one another.
Updated November 27, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: There is a huge variety of The Witcher: Monster Slayer swords, each with their own unique effects related to their school (except for named swords like Caerme). The Witcher: Monster Slayer best swords are those that provide meaningful bonuses compared to their gold cost, as well as the types of enemies that will likely be weaker to certain weapon types over others. While both Silver and Steel swords share properties if they belong to the same school, players often find that just because the enchantments are the same, their effectiveness against different enemy types varies.
Steel Swords
Steel Swords in The Witcher series have long been associated with non-monster enemies and tend to have a longer blade and a flat crossguard. They are particularly effective against Humans and Non-Humans (which is a different category than Monsters) and the player starts with one automatically.
There are only a few differences between the bonuses granted by Steel Swords and their counterpart Silver Swords of the same Witcher School. However, it's usually best to choose different bonuses on each type that go along with one's preferred playstyle. The exception to this is experience-boosting swords, which every player should try to acquire first to speed up leveling significantly.
6. Kaer Morhen Steel Sword
- Cost: Only acquirable through special The Witcher: Monster Slayer events
- Bonus: Monster slaying Experience increased by 10%
The Kaer Morhen Steel Sword is, unfortunately, no longer acquirable in-game. It was given to players for free during the first week of The Witcher: Monster Slayer's release, and it's not known whether it will be coming back. The 10% boost to Monster kill Experience is a pretty good starting buff and one that plenty of early players take advantage of.
5. Manticore Steel Sword
- Cost: 3200 Gold
- Bonus: Cooldown on casting Signs is decreased by 30%
The Manticore Steel Sword is a very powerful weapon against agile and Fire-weak enemies thanks to its 30% reduction of Sign cooldown. When used with Igni, this leads to much more rapid spellcasting (and thus higher damage output), but the Aard and Quen signs can also be used more often for their interrupting and defensive effects, too.
4. Wolven Steel Sword
- Cost: 3200 Gold
- Bonus: The Critical Hit Meter charge rate is increased by 10%
The Wolven Steel Sword increases the rate that the Critical Hit Meter charges with each hit. It's a small buff, but significant enough that a player can get to the all-important Critical Hit phase a swing or two faster than normal.
3. Griffin Steel Sword
- Cost: 3200 Gold
- Bonus: Effectiveness of Signs is increased by 30%
The Griffin Steel Sword is a weapon similar to the Manticore Steel Sword, in that it buffs the player's ability to cast Signs. However, instead of a reduced cooldown, this sword simply increases the effectiveness of signs. Igni deals more damage, Aard interrupts longer, and Quen becomes a nearly-impenetrable self-buff.
2. Dawnbringer
- Cost: Acquired through the in-game Sword in the Stone quest
- Bonus: Damage at night increased by 10%
Dawnbringer is perhaps The Witcher: Monster Slayer best sword for players who prefer to take to the streets in search of monsters after dark. It increases all damage at night by 10% when wielded during the night, though this restriction makes it functionally useless for players who only take on foes in daylight hours. For those who aren't afraid to pursue Humans and Non-Humans at night, though, that flat extra 10% damage improves a Witcher's prospects of victory significantly.
1. Caerme
- Cost: 6400 Gold
- Bonus: Increases Critical Hit damage by 50%
The Steel Sword category in The Witcher: Monster Slayer only houses one named sword: Caerme. Caerme is one of the most expensive items in the game, and its 50% bonus to all Critical Hit damage is equally huge. Just be prepared to farm Gold for a few weeks (or buy some Gold with real money) to be able to wield this impressive steel blade.
Silver Swords
Silver Swords in The Witcher series are typically associated with higher damage against Monsters and generally have an iconic forward-facing crossguard. If it doesn't look human or humanoid, one can safely bet that a Silver Sword will get the job done.
Unfortunately, the player does not start out with a Silver Sword right away – even the Kaer Morhen variety given to players initially for free is a Steel sword. However, it doesn't take too much regular play to amass enough Gold to buy a Monster-slaying sword, and one can also be picked up in the Starter Bundle available for $4.99 in-game.
6. Wolven Silver Sword
- Cost: 3600 Gold
- Bonus: Increases Critical Hit Meter charge rate by 10%
The Wolven Silver Sword is functionally the same as its equivalent sword in the Steel category, though it costs a significant 400 gold more. It increases the rate at which the Critical Hit Meter charges for both Fast and Strong Attacks by 10%, though it costs a whopping 3600 gold to add to the inventory. It's not the most powerful Silver Sword, but it's still a huge improvement on the featureless Witcher Silver Sword that comes with the Witcher: Monster Slayer starter pack.
5. Griffin Silver Sword
- Cost: 3600 Gold
- Bonus: Effectiveness of Signs is increased by 30%
The Griffin Silver Sword is equivalent to the Steel Sword variety of the same Witcher School. It increases the effectiveness of Signs by 30%, which is particularly useful against Monsters as many are weak to Fire damage and vastly improves the Quen and Aard signs too. It is 400 Gold more expensive than its counterpart, though.
4. Feline Silver Sword
- Cost: 1800 Gold
- Bonus: Increases Fast Attack damage by 15%
The Feline Silver Sword's bonus is a simple one that slightly increases damage output with Fast Attacks (rapid, untimed swipes). It might seem like such a minor buff that it doesn't matter all; however, when one considers that it reduces time in combat by 15% because it means fewer swings to down a Monster, its self-survival benefits become apparent.
3. Ursine Silver Sword
- Cost: 1800 Gold
- Bonus: Increases Strong Attack damage by 15%
Similar to the Feline Silver Sword, the Ursine Silver Sword gives a small damage bonus to the player, this time for Strong Attacks. If a player happens to have both of these Witcher: Monster Slayer swords available, they should always make sure to equip the one associated with a damage type that their foe is weak against before beginning combat.
2. Melltith
- Cost: 7200 Gold
- Bonus: Gives every attack a 15% chance to add Fire damage
The Silver Sword category is home to two named weapons. Melltith is the second most expensive weapon in The Witcher: Monster Slayer, and it gives a pretty good bonus to every attack, no matter if it is Fast or Strong. The chance to inflict Fire damage is small, but considering how many swings it takes to down some Monsters, it's almost guaranteed to proc at least a few times.
1. A'Baeth
- Cost: 12000 Gold
- Bonus: Increases all Experience for killing monsters by 25%
A'Baeth is both the most expensive item in the game and arguably the Witcher: Monster Slayer best silver sword, too. This Silver Sword gives a 25% boost to all Experience for killing monsters. It's a far cry from the puny 10% granted by the Kaer Morhen Steel Sword, and it's well worth the investment (if players can stick around long enough to save up gold to buy it, that is).
The Witcher: Monster Slayer is available for iOS and Android mobile devices.