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The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis one of the most popular RPGs from the PS4 and Xbox One era. However, it can be easy to forget how challenging it can be when fighting monsters and enemies. Surviving these encounters can sometimes be difficult, so it is vital to know how to keep Geralt healthy in and out of fights.
Geralt fights alone, save for the occasional team-up in certain quest. As such, it will be the player’s responsibility to make sure that he doesn’t run out of health during his adventures. There are a lot of systems at play inThe Witcher 3, and healing is arguably the most important, as Geralt’s health doesn’t regenerate over time.
Updated on May 28, 2025, by Michael Llewellyn:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt presents a surprising challenge for gamers, even on lower difficulty settings. Consequently, understanding how to heal, maneuver through the menus, and select the appropriate potions is crucial to those looking to survive the many dangerous encounters featured throughout the game. As such, this guide has been updated to include additional information about food and decoctions. It also provides a few tips that players should take note of when it comes to managing healing items in Geralt’s inventory.
Ways To Heal In The Witcher 3
Geralt has access to various methods of healing both during and outside of combat. However, not all healing items are equally effective, and some can have negative side effects.
Food And Drink
Food and drink are the most reliable and safest methods to restore Geralt’s health, and they are readilyavailable from most merchants, inns, and item shops. Food can be harvested from the surrounding land as well. Whether it’s fruit, meat, or honeycombs, there’s always a source of food to be found inThe Witcher 3’s world. Geralt can even eat raw meat if players wish him to, as Witchers are immune from most human diseases.
Food is easy to come by inThe Witcher 3,so it is recommended that players grab andloot it whenever it’s available. However, it’s advisable to reserve alcohol and spirits forcrafting potions after meditation. Although alcoholic beverages possess healing qualities, consuming them will intoxicate Geralt, impairing his performance. Geralt would benefit most from consuming flavored juices and cooked meats for optimal vitality regeneration.
Below is a list of some great foods and beverages that Geralt can use to heal himself, and they can all be purchased from inns.
Potions And Decotions
Potions and decoctions are consumable resources that Geralt can use to heal himself inThe Witcher 3. Potions like the Swallow come in standard, enhanced, and superior forms and are improved when Geralt finds new recipes/diagrams.The Witcher 3’s potions aren’t just limited to healing; they can also offer protection againstvampires, trolls, and other monsters.
Potions like the Killer Whale Potion will increase lung capacity by 50% for underwater activities, and the Troll Decoction will heal Geralt and boost his combat abilities by 20%. However, these consumables have severe drawbacks if players aren’t mindful of how much they are using.Decoctions and Potions havetoxicity levels, which prevent Geralt from using too much.
Toxicity is represented by the green bar in the HUD, and once it rises above 75 percent, Geralt’s health will be compromised and will degenerate. Decoctions offer more buffs for Geralt to utlize, but they usually have higher toxcity. For instance, the Nightwraith Decoction boosts Geralt’s maximum vitality by 50 for each foe defeated, while the toxicity level stands at 50 out of 100. The Swallow potions and White Raffords decoctions will likely be Geralt’s go-to method for healing in combat and on the field due to their lower toxcity compared to other potions. The first recipe for crafting the Swallow potions will become available duringthe White Orchid quest.
Swallow potions offer vitality regeneration with 20 toxcity, and White Rafford decoctions offer instant healing at 25 toxcity.
Meditation
Meditation is the easiest way to heal Geralt inThe Witcher 3. Unfortunately, it doesn’t replenish the Witcher’s health inthe harder difficulty settings. Players on easy to normal difficulty settings will discover that meditation is an effective method to replenish Geralt’s vitality and advance time.
Meditation will only replenish potions for those playingThe Witcher 3on the higher difficulty levels.
How To Heal During Battle In The Witcher 3
Before Geralt can heal in battle or when he’s exploring the land inThe Witcher 3, players will need to assign food or potions into hisconsumablesslots. When the chosen consumable items are set, players canpress up or down on the D-pad or R and F on a keyboard to heal Geralt.
How To Assign Healing Items
Balancing healing and toxicity can be challenging. Players can utilize White Honey to eliminate toxicity levels, but it’s important to remember that doing so also removes the effects of other potions.
A good standard practice would be to have two dedicated slots for healing potions, one for decoction, and one for food. This will giveWitcher 3players access to a good range of healing methods that they can rely on during tough encounters.
