by RootSec
Every independent game developer dreams about creating a critically acclaimed game that is also a commercial hit, and the best example of this is Bungie with the Halo franchise, but CD Projekt Red achieved the same thing in 2007 when they released The Witcher. The game went on to have two sequels, including The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is considered by many to be one of the best video games ever made.
A Witcher is a warrior who was mutated, trained, and conditioned as a child to fight monsters with standard medieval weapons and magic. Over the course of three games, we have seen several Witchers from multiple schools, but none of them are the same in terms of overall strength, and this list will try to properly rank ten of the strongest known Witchers.
Updated April 29th, 2021 by George Voutiritsas: There has not been a new entry in the main Witcher series since 2015, but the franchise is still the most popular IP to come out of CD Projekt Red. The order of Witchers was founded in the 10th century, and over the course of centuries, dozens of warriors were created and trained to fight monsters that wreaked havoc across multiple kingdoms.
Every Witcher is skilled and incredibly strong, but there are certain Witchers who appear in the main series, the Gwent card game, and the lore, who are stronger than others. The second season of Netflix’s Witcher series will be airing sometime within the next year, and as the premiere date draws closer, the games will begin to garner more and more attention. Therefore, it seems like a good time to revisit the series and take a look at some of the strongest Witchers who have appeared in the games in some way.
12 Coën
Coën came from the School of the Griffin, and although he did not play a major role in the series’ main story, he was still one of the Witchers who helped train Ciri, and this happened when they both found themselves at Kaer Morhen. Witchers are known for being immune to diseases, but Coën had disease-related scars under his beard, which means that he became a Witcher later in life.
Sometime after their training concluded, Ciri saw Coën die in a vision, and much to her dismay, this vision came to fruition. Coën died after getting stabbed with a twin scythe during the Battle of Brenna, one of the Second Nilfgaard War’s most famous battles.
11 Jad Karadin
Jad Karadin comes from the School of the Cat, which was more or less eradicated by humans who were not fond of the questionable actions committed by the feline Witchers. Jad survived because he was not at the massacre, and he went on to become the leader of a band of assassins who at one point murdered Aiden, another Witcher from the same school.
In Witcher 3, Geralt agrees to help Lambert track Karadin down to avenge Aiden, and Lambert does get his vengeance, despite the fact that Karadin left the assassin’s life behind to start a family.
10 Gaetan
Gaetan is another Witcher from the Cat School, and we run into him during the “Where the Cat and the Wolf play” quest in Witcher 3. It turns out that Gaetan was betrayed by the villagers of Honorton following a job, so he decided to murder them all.
When Geralt tracks him down, he has a choice to make, but the two fight no matter which path is chosen, and Gaetan manages to hold his own against the White Wolf, hence his appearance on this list.
9 Berengar
Like Geralt, Berengar is from the School of the Wolf, and the two briefly work together in the first game. It is during this quest that we learn that Berengar is not fond of Witchers because the order robbed him of his humanity.
These feelings cause Berengar to challenge Geralt to a duel, and if Geralt chooses to spare him, he aids you in defeating a powerful alchemist, but if we kill him, we collect a very powerful medallion from his body. Either scenario though proves just how strong the resentful Witcher was.
8 George Of Kagen
The School of the Griffin was known for producing Witchers who followed higher standards of social etiquette, but they were also efficient in magic and fighting multiple opponents at once. George of Kagen may have not appeared in the main Witcher games, but he is mentioned in GWENT: The Witcher Card Game, which is where we learn that he was a legendary warrior.
George looked like a knight, and he died shortly after sustaining fatal injuries from a green dragon. Defeating the dragon was a spectacular feat because he went into battle with just one sword, as he forgot to take the diagram of his new silver sword before heading out.
7 Erland of Larvik
Every Witcher school had a founder, and Erland of Larvik is the man who founded the School of the Griffin. This happened when he and thirteen of his closest friends decided to leave the remnants of the order, and he made sure that his school would adhere to the noble knightly goals that the Witchers were originally meant to follow.
As a grandmaster, Erland was highly respected, to the point that kings invited him to court for his council. He may have been a teacher, but Erland continued to hunt monsters, and he managed to take down the cyclops of Ard Skellig. When he and his fellow Witchers eradicated most of the monsters, kings began to suspect their motives, and this allowed sorcerers to attack the school’s headquarters. Erland wasn’t there during the attacks, but when he saw what happened, he wrote all his knowledge in a journal and left it in a cave. His current whereabouts are unknown.
6 Letho
The School of the Viper is the most secretive of all the schools, but it produced a very well-known Witcher by the name of Letho, who led a small group of Witcher assassins in the North. Their mission was to spread chaos in the Northern regions by assassinating kings and sorceresses.
Letho is massive, as he stands over 6 ft tall and weighs nearly 300 pounds. His arms are actually thicker than most men’s torsos, and seeing as he is the final boss of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, you know that the Temeria native has to be strong. If Geralt chooses to spare him though, the protagonist actively searches for Letho to recruit him for the battle against the Wild Hunt. If Geralt can recognize his strength, so can we.
5 Eskel
Eskel was born in 1175, and although he is almost 100 years old, he looks like a 6 ft tall man in his late 30s. He possessed a strong magic aura, and although he was not as renowned as Geralt, he was still known for being a very reliable and responsible Witcher. He and Geralt were like brothers, and if you’re a former student of Vessemir, it automatically means that you’re a formidable fighter.
Eskel showed his strength in The Witcher 3, where he managed to stand toe-to-toe with Caranthir, one of the Wild Hunt’s best fighters, for a time before being defeated and subsequently saved by Ciri.
4 Lambert
By all accounts, Lambert is a very young Witcher, and although he is known for being quite rude at times, he is a very skilled fighter, and we see just how skilled he is in Witcher 3 during the Battle of Kaer Morhen.
During the battle, Lambert can be seen taking on the forces of the Wild Hunt alongside Geralt, and the pair end up fighting side-by-side in one of the series’ best fight scenes, and if he can keep up with Geralt, he must be a very talented fighter.
3 Vesemir
Vesemir survived the attack at Kaer Morhen which wiped out the entire School of Wolf, and he also trained Witchers like Eskel and Geralt, so you know he’s strong. Vesemir also happens to be 350 years old, which is basically unheard of for a Witcher considering how dangerous their job is.
He may have been past his prime, but Vesemir was still able to fend off the king and the second in command of the Wild Hunt, so all of his experience still made him one of the most skilled fighters alive.
2 Geralt
Given his long list of accomplishments, it was only a matter of time before Geralt of Rivia appeared on this list. Geralt was born on May 5, 1168, which means that he is in his late 30s, and he stands at an impressive 5 ft 10 inches. He’s slain a dragon and many other beasts, but he also took on and defeated any Witcher that was foolish enough to challenge him.
Geralt’s biggest achievement, however, is successfully fighting and defeating the King of the Wild Hunt, who was literally Doom incarnate. Under normal circumstances, the King would defeat an opponent by simply deciding that they were doomed. If Geralt was able to beat someone that powerful, his strength is truly unreal.
1 Ciri
Now Ciri may have not gone through the mutation process, but she essentially became a Witcher after being taken in by Geralt, who became her adoptive father. Ciri was born in 1153 to Pavetta and Emhyr var Emreis, and by the end of the series, she is a 21-year-old woman who stands at about 5 ft 9 inches. She may have been trained by several Witchers, but what really makes her a fearsome warrior is her blood.
Since she possesses the Elder Blood, Ciri is capable of manipulating both time and space, which allows her to teleport. She is also able to release immense destructive bursts of power, which actually makes her the strongest character in the games.
