Should I sell old swords in The Witcher 3?

Hey friend, if you‘re wondering what to do with all those old swords piling up in Geralt‘s inventory in The Witcher 3, you‘ve come to the right place. As a fellow fan who‘s sunk hundreds of hours into the game, I‘ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you decide whether to sell, dismantle, or keep your swords.

Introduction

Managing gear is an key part of mastering The Witcher 3‘s deep RPG systems. You‘ll constantly be looting new swords and armor as you journey across the Northern Kingdoms.

But Geralt can only equip so much at a time! Deciding what to sell versus dismantle or keep can be tricky. But have no fear – follow this guide and you‘ll be getting the most value out of every sword you loot!

Here‘s what we‘ll cover:

• Make sure to sell swords to blacksmiths for maximum profits
• Dismantle swords for crafting materials or sell for cash?
• Best swords worth keeping and upgrading
• Crafting requirements – swords needed for witcher gear
• How to make fast gold with your swords
• Additional items to sell and dismantle

Let‘s dive in!

Sell Your Swords to Blacksmiths for the Best Prices

Whenever you arrive in a new town, make sure to check the local blacksmith and sell your unwanted swords directly to them. Blacksmiths will pay far more for swords than general merchants.

In fact, according to testing by Reddit users, blacksmiths will pay 60-70% more for swords than innkeepers and other merchants!

This adds up to huge profits if you sell all your loot swords directly to blacksmiths. Each sword might only sell for 10-50 crowns more, but in aggregate that means thousands extra over the course of the game!

One exception is the Grandmaster Blacksmith Lafargue in Beauclair – he pays the highest price and buys an unlimited number of swords. When in doubt, go see Lafargue!

Dismantle Swords for Crafting Materials or Sell for Cash?

Once your inventory starts overflowing with swords, you‘ll have to decide whether to dismantle them into crafting materials or sell for gold. Here are the best practices:

Dismantle swords that give rare crafting materials like:

• Meteorite Ore
• Glowing Ore
• Dark Steel Ingots
• Leather Straps
• Precious Gemstones

You‘ll need a steady supply of these rare components to craft high-level witcher swords and gear. Each dismantle gives 1-4 crafting materials.

Sell more common steel or silver swords especially if they are lower level and outclassed by your current gear. Basic loot swords don‘t yield rare crafting mats so they are safe to sell once you outlevel them.

For example, early loot swords like the Cudgel of the Goat Blacksmith or Recruit‘s Steel Sword only dismantle into rough leather straps, timber, and basic crafting components that quickly become obsolete. You‘ll make better money and inventory space by selling them.

Here‘s a quick reference table showing what I typically dismantle vs sell:

Dismantle	Sell
Witcher gear	Basic steel swords
Relic swords	Basic silver swords
Named swords	Low level loot swords
Swords with meteorite ore	Common relic swords
Swords with glowing ore

Keep Witcher Gear Swords & Upgrade Them

One type of sword you should never sell are the witcher school gear swords like Feline, Ursine, Griffin, etc. These are unique witcher set swords that complement their matching armor sets.

For example, the Feline set focuses on light armor and critical hit damage. The Feline steel and silver swords increase critical hit chance by 5% and 10% respectively!

Make sure to equip swords that match the bonuses of your preferred witcher gear set. Then invest resources into upgrading them as you level up.

Upgraded witcher swords quickly outclass loot swords. A level 20 Ursine silver sword will be vastly superior to a level 15 relic silver sword found in Skellige.

Plus, upgraded witcher swords have badass new appearances! Nothing beats wielding fully upgraded Grandmaster legendaries.

The Best Swords Worth Keeping

All witcher gear is worth keeping, but a few ultra rare named swords stand above the rest. Keep your eye out for these legendary blades:

Aerondight – This unique silver sword available in Blood and Wine levels up with you and does increasing damage as you use it! It quickly becomes the most powerful silver sword in the game.

Iris – Found in Hearts of Stone, Iris is a steel sword that grows in power the more you kill with it, maxing out at +50% bonus damage. It‘s on par with the best witcher gear swords.

Ofieri Saber – This rare curved sword boasts a unique appearance and high critical hit damage. Ofieri gear is quite rare, don‘t sell it if you come across it!

Moonblade – Forged from a meteorite ore, this steel sword deals 20% bonus damage against elementa, specters, and conjurers. Very useful against certain foes.

Caretaker‘s Spade – Want to massacre monsters with a gardening spade? This easter egg relic sword has crazy high damage but looks totally silly. One of the rarest swords in the game.

Check Swords Needed For Crafting Witcher Gear

Before selling relic swords, always double check if they are needed to craft witcher gear. Certain named relic swords are used to make enhanced Feline, Bear, Griffin, Manticore, and Viper armor and weapons.

For example, the Pang of Conscience silver sword diagram is needed to craft the superior Griffin steel sword. I sold this sword before realizing I needed it later! Don‘t make my same mistake 🙂

Here are some other relic swords that are components for enhanced witcher gear:

• Harpy Relic Silver Sword
• Bandit‘s Bladesteel Sword
• Dwarven Saber-steel
• Elven sword Gwyhyr
• Dwarf Damascus steel sword

Check your crafting menus before selling relic loot to avoid having to re-collect these swords later!

Sell Basic Relic Swords For Cash

Any regular relic swords that aren‘t needed for crafting upgraded witcher gear are fine to sell for profits.

Relics like Reaver‘s Steel Sword or Kaedweni Cavalry Officer‘s Sword are just generic loot and provide no special value. Feel free to sell them once you have better gear equipped.

You‘ll come across dozens of basic relic swords that only serve to be sold for gold or dismantled for common crafting materials. Don‘t get too attached to regular loot relics!

What Else Should You Sell or Dismantle?

Along with selling old swords, here are some tips for managing other loot items:

• Sell animal hides, leather scraps, and pelts to innkeepers and merchants. Don‘t dismantle hides – sell them instead!

• Sell excess crafting materials like timber, draconid leather, hardened leather, etc if you have over 100+ in stock. Keep rare resources like dark steel ingots.

• Sell monster ingredients like drowner brains, nekker hearts, etc to herbalists and alchemists. Price depends on type.

• Dismantle armor and clothing to build up a stash of crafting materials like dwemer cloth, draconid leather, leather straps, etc.

• Sell books after reading them if you need cash. Keep books for higher level alchemy/crafting recipes you haven‘t learned yet.

• Sell quest items once the associated quests are complete. Feel free to sell off excess swords, armor, documents, diagrams and crafting components needed for quests you‘ve finished. They no longer serve a purpose after the quest is over.

In general, sell excess crafting components and monster ingredients that you have over 100+ of in stock. Dismantle gear and weapons to stockpile rarer crafting materials you have lower quantities of.

How to Make Fast Crowns with Your Swords

If you really need gold in a pinch, here are some exploit methods to earn thousands of crowns fast by repeatedly selling swords:

• Purchase shells from the merchant near the warehouse by the docks in Novigrad. Sell them to the blacksmith right next door. Rinse and repeat for infinite profit!

• Another method is to buy shells from the merchant in Oxenfurt, then sell to the swordsmith across the bridge, resting and repeating.

• During the "Open Sesame" quest, loot the bandit camp cave near the Nilfgaard garrison and take their swords. Sell to the nearby blacksmith, then meditate and repeat the cave section to respawn the loot.

But take care not to overuse exploits! The most satisfying way to get gold is exploring the open world, taking on witcher contracts, looting bandit camps, and selling your organically acquired loot.

In Summary

Hopefully these tips will help optimize your inventory management when deciding what to do with swords in The Witcher 3:

• Sell swords to blacksmiths to earn way more gold
• Dismantle swords with rare crafting materials, sell common ones
• Never sell or dismantle witcher school gear swords! Keep them equipped and upgrade over time.
• Cherish legendary swords like Aerondight, Iris, Ofieri Saber
• Check if relic swords can craft upgraded witcher gear before selling
• Sell basic relic swords and excess crafting materials for profit
• Take advantage of merchant exploits if you really need fast gold

Implementing a smart sell and dismantle strategy will keep your inventory clutter-free while ensuring you get the most value from every sword on your journeys. Your future grandmaster gear depends on collecting rare crafting materials early on!

Hope you‘re enjoying the path, wolf. Glory to the witchers!