The Witcher 3 Bombs Guide

Bombs are one of the deadliest alchemy items in The Witcher 3 and to help you master them, we have crafted this guide.

Witchers are masters of the sword and wield basic magic to help them slay monsters that now plague the world. Besides their blade and magic, Witchers depend heavily on alchemy items like bombs to help them take out monsters more easily in The Witcher 3. 

You get access to several tools that are at your disposal in your journey to find Ciri and take down the Wild Hunt. One of the best items in your arsenal is your selection of bombs. Geralt can get his hands on several different types of bombs in The Witcher 3, all of which serve different purposes.

Here, we will help you learn about the different bombs, how to get them and how to use them efficiently.

How bombs work

We don’t need to explain what bombs are. Small canisters that go boom. That’s it! You can throw these bombs almost anywhere at a limited distance. If you are locked to a target, Geralt will automatically throw a bomb at the target’s feet, making it much easier to throw bombs quickly in combat.

Bombs have a limited area of effect where they cause damage. The AoE diminishes as the range from the center of the explosion. Enemies close to the bomb will take damage, and those farther away will be immune to the effect of the bomb. The same goes for Geralt; try to throw bombs from a safe distance, so you don’t get caught in your explosion.

Since bombs are tied to the alchemy skill trees, you can even improve their effect by upgrading the appropriate Alchemy abilities.

How to get Bombs in Witcher 3

You can easily purchase bombs from the vendors you meet in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. Almost all vendors carry basic bombs that you can buy. Other than this, you can craft your bombs, which is the recommended way to get your bombs.

Crafting allows you to get access to a large variety of bomb types, and you can also craft enhanced and superior versions of bombs. 

As you roam the world of The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt, you can gather all of the ingredients that you need to craft bombs pretty easily. You only need a handful of basic ingredients and pure alcohol to craft bombs for yourself.

When you start the game, Geralt has a few basic bomb recipes on him, allowing you to craft basic early-game bombs without any hassle. For crafting other variants of bombs, you need to get their recipes or diagrams. 

How to get Bomb recipes

Similar to purchasing bombs, many of the bomb recipes can be directly purchased from vendors in the TW3. Most of these recipes do not spawn early in the game, and as you progress, you will see bomb recipes in vendor inventories. 

The recipes for enhanced and superior variants of bombs are never found for sale and are found in the treasure chests that you loot in TW3 Wild Hunt.

Random chests can contain random recipes for better bomb variants. Some unique bomb recipes can also be found here that don’t normally spawn in the world. 

How to use Bombs

Using bombs is very easy in TW3 Wild Hunt. You get to learn how to use bombs in the tutorial for the game. Still, since you can skip the tutorial at the start, many players might have missed out on the tutorial.

On Playstation and Xbox, you need to hold the left lower bumper (L2) and select the bomb from the quick menu that opens. After you have equipped the bomb from all the available ones, you can press and hold the right bottom bumper (R2) to aim the bomb.

You do see a line that depicts the trajectory of your throw, but keep in mind that the bomb will roll after it hits the ground, so you need to decide where you want to throw the bomb. On PC, press the middle mouse button to throw bombs. Holding the button allows you to aim, the same as for consoles.

If you are locked to a target, simply pressing the throw button will result in Geralt automatically throwing the bomb at your target’s feet. This allows Geralt to get a perfect throw without aiming during combat.

All bombs and recipes in Witcher 3

NameIngredientsChargesEffects
Blue Paint Ball3As the name suggests, the bomb releases a splash of blue paint
Dancing Star1x Saltpeter, 2x Sulfur3The incendiary explosion burns all monsters in the vicinity and also destroys monster nests and deals 100 fire damage
Devil’s Puffball1x Saltpeter, 2x Sewant mushrooms2Releases a cloud of poison when detonated. It deals 100 poison damage and the duration is 10s.
Dimeritium bomb5x Saltpeter, 2x Optima mater2It locks all the magic and abilities of monsters who are in the AoE of the bomb. Its effect duration is 15s
Dragon’s Dream1x Saltpeter, 2x Phosphorus2Releases flammable gas, which can be ignited to start a fire. It deals +300 fire damage and its duration is 15s
Enhanced Dancing Star1x Stammelford’s dust1x Dancing Star, 1x Phosphorus, 1x Sulfur, 1x Sewant mushrooms, 1x Hellebore petals, and 1x Nostrix3Same effects as the Dancing Star bomb, but the damage is increased. It deals 200 fire damage
Enhanced Devil’s Puffball1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Devil’s Puffball, 1x Calcium equum, 1x Endrega heart, 1x Sewant mushrooms, 1x Ginatia petals, 1x Green mold3The same effect as Devil’s Puffball, but the damage and duration are increased to 100 and 30s respectively
Enhanced Dimeritium bomb1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Dimeritium bomb, 1x Optima mater1x Powdered pearl, 1x Blowball, 1x Ginatia petals, 1x Bloodmoss3Same effect as the Dimeritium bomb, but the duration is increased to 30s
Enhanced Dragon’s Dream1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Dragon’s Dream, 1x Phosphorus, 1x Optima mater, 1x Mistletoe, 1x Allspice, 1x Bryonia3Same effects as Dagon’s Dream, but the damage and duration are increased to 400 and 30s respectively
Enhanced Grapeshot1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Grapeshot, 1x Calcium equum, 1x Blowball, 1x Crow’s eye, 1x Longrube3The same effect as Grapeshot, but the damage is increased. It deals 600 Physical damage, 600 Silver damage, and 10 Fire damage
Enhanced Moon Dust1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Moon Dust, 1x Quicksilver solution, 1x Sulfur, 1x Hop umbels, 1x Blowball, 1x Honeysuckle3Same effect as Moon Dust, but the duration is increased to 40s
Enhanced Northern Wind1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Northern Wind, 2x Ducal Water, 1x Powdered Pearl, 1x Fool’s Parsley Leaves, 1x Verbena, 2x Allspice3Same effects as Northern Wind, but the duration is increased
Enhanced Samum1x Stammelford’s dust, 1x Samum, 1x Phosphorus, 1x Foglet teeth, 1x Celandine, 1x Blowball3Same effects as Samum, but the duration is increased
Grapeshot2x Saltpeter, 2x Calcium equum2Launches shrapnel on explosion, dealing +350 physical, +350silver, and +5 fire damage. Destroys monster nests
Green paint ball3As the name suggests, the bomb releases a splash of green paint
Moon Dust1x Saltpeter, 2x Quicksilver solution2Launches silver splinter that prevents monsters from transforming. Its effect duration is the 20s
Northern Wind1x Saltpeter, 1x Ducal water, 1x Powdered pearl, 2x Allspice2Freezes all enemies in the AoE. Hitting frozen enemies also deal additional damage. Its effect duration is 4s
Pheromone bomb
Purple paint ball3As the name suggests, the bomb releases a splash of purple paint
Red paint ball3As the name suggests, the bomb releases a splash of red paint
Samum1x Saltpeter, 2x Celandine2Blinds enemies on explosion like a flash grenade and destroy monster nests
Snowball3
Superior Dancing Star1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Dancing Star, 2x Phosphorus, 2x Sulfur, 2x Sewant mushrooms, 2x Nostrix, 1x Nigredo4Same effects as the Enhanced Dancing Star bomb, but the damage is increased to 300
Superior Devil’s Puffball1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Devil’s Puffball, 2x Calcium equum, 2x Endrega heart, 2x Sewant mushrooms, 2x Ginatia petals, 1x Rebis4Same effect as Enhanced Devil’s Puffball, but 100 damage and 33s duration
Superior Dimeritium bomb1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Dimeritium bomb, 2x Optima mater, 2x Powdered Pearl, 2x Puffball, 2x Bloodmoss, 1x Nigredo4The same effect as the Enhanced Dimeritium bomb, but the duration is increased to 30s
Superior Dragon’s Dream1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Dragon’s Dream, 2x Phosphorus, 2x Optima mater, 2x Allspice, 2x Bryonia, 1x Aether4Same effects as Enhanced Dagon’s Dream, but the damage and duration are increased to 400 and 30s respectively
Superior Grapeshot1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Grapeshot, 2x Calcium equum, 2x Sulfur, 2x Longrube, 2x Hop Umbels, 1x Nigredo4Same effect as Enhanced Grapeshot, but the damage is increased. Also ignores enemy armor now. 900 Physical damage, 900 Silver damage, and 10 Fire damage.
Superior Moon Dust1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Moon Dust, 2x Quicksilver Solution, 2x Sulfur, 2x Hop Umbels, 2x Blowball, 1x Nigredo4Same effect as Enhanced Moon Dust, but the duration is increased.
Superior Northern Wind1x Saltpeter, 1x Enhanced Northern Wind, 3x Ducal Water, 2x Powdered Pearl, 2x Verbena, 3x Allspice, 1x Quebrith4Same effects as Enhanced Northern Wind, but the duration is increased. Chance of instant kill now.10s Effect duration
Superior Samum1x Alchemists’ powder, 1x Enhanced Samum, 2x Phosphorus, 2x Foglet teeth, 2x Celandine, 2x Hellebore Petals, 1x Aether4Same effects as Northern Wind, but the duration is increased. The first hit you land on the enemy after blinding them will always be a critical hit now. The chance of a crit hit is increased by 100% and the effect duration is 8s.
Training bomb3Releases smoke on the explosion.
Yellow paint ball3As the name suggests, the bomb releases a splash of yellow paint.

Abdullah Shabbir is a senior guides writer at SegmentNext.com. He is fan of God of War and Call of Duty franchises, spends most of the time praising or playing these games. He recently expanded his ...