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Muscle Memory vs. Precise Blows: Which Witcher 3 Skill Reigns Supreme?

The age-old question: Is Muscle Memory better than Precise Blows in The Witcher 3? The straight answer is… it depends. It hinges entirely on your build, playstyle, and the difficulty you’re playing on. Muscle Memory offers a consistent flat damage boost to your fast attacks, while Precise Blows focuses on critical hit chance and damage. If you’re rocking a build with low critical hit chance, Muscle Memory is the clear winner. However, if you’ve invested heavily in boosting your critical hit chance, Precise Blows can exponentially increase your damage output, making it a powerhouse option. Let’s dive deeper into why this is the case and explore the intricacies of each skill.

Understanding the Skills: A Detailed Breakdown

Muscle Memory: The Consistent Damage Dealer

Muscle Memory is found in the combat skill tree and provides a straight percentage increase to your fast attack damage. It’s a simple and effective skill, especially early in the game when you’re still building your critical hit chance and damage stats. The benefit of Muscle Memory is its reliability. Every fast attack will benefit from the damage boost, making it a consistent source of increased damage.

Pros: Consistent damage boost, effective early game, simple to understand, works well with all builds.
Cons: Damage increase is flat and does not scale as well as Precise Blows with higher critical hit chance, less impactful late game when other damage multipliers come into play.

Precise Blows: The Critical Hit King

Precise Blows, also found within the combat tree, significantly increases both your critical hit chance and critical hit damage for fast attacks. This skill’s effectiveness relies heavily on your ability to land critical hits. Critical hits deal significantly more damage than regular hits, often staggering enemies or causing bleeding, making it a valuable asset in combat.

Pros: High potential damage output, scales exceptionally well with gear and skills that further boost critical hit chance and damage, synergistic with skills like Whirl and Rend.
Cons: Ineffective if you don’t invest in other critical hit-boosting attributes, damage output is inconsistent without high crit chance, requires specific build and gear focus to maximize its potential.

The Crucial Factor: Critical Hit Chance

The deciding factor between Muscle Memory and Precise Blows boils down to your critical hit chance. If you’re hovering around a low critical hit chance (under 20-30%), Muscle Memory will likely give you more consistent and reliable damage output. However, if you’ve invested in gear, mutations, and skills that drastically increase your critical hit chance (above 50%), Precise Blows will likely outshine Muscle Memory.

Here’s why:

Low Crit Chance: With a low chance to land critical hits, Precise Blows is essentially a dead skill. You’re investing points into a skill that rarely activates its full potential. The consistent damage increase from Muscle Memory will offer a more significant improvement to your overall DPS.
High Crit Chance: With a high probability of landing critical hits, Precise Blows becomes a multiplicative damage amplifier. Every critical hit will deal significantly more damage, rapidly increasing your damage output. When combined with the Whirl ability, you can consistently shred through enemies with a flurry of critical hits.

Build Considerations

Your overall build plays a crucial role in determining which skill is superior:

Early Game/General Build: Muscle Memory is a solid choice early in the game because it doesn’t require a specific build. You can invest in it without needing specific gear or mutations.
Alchemy Build: Alchemy builds often revolve around maximizing critical hit chance through mutations like Euphoria and acquired tolerance. Precise Blows synergizes extremely well with these builds.
Combat/Fast Attack Build: If you’re focusing on fast attacks and have dedicated gear to critical hit bonuses, Precise Blows is a formidable choice.
Sign Build: If your main source of damage is from signs rather than swords, investing in neither Muscle Memory or Precise Blows might be a better strategy.

Difficulty Settings

The difficulty level you play on also influences the viability of these skills:

Easy/Normal: On easier difficulties, the difference between Muscle Memory and Precise Blows is less noticeable. You can get away with either skill without a significant drop in performance.
Hard/Death March: On harder difficulties, maximizing your damage output becomes crucial for survival. Precise Blows, when built correctly, can dramatically improve your kill times, making it a valuable asset in challenging encounters. However, if you’re struggling to survive, Muscle Memory’s consistent damage increase might be preferable.

Testing and Experimentation

Ultimately, the best way to determine which skill works best for you is to test and experiment. Respec your skill points and try out different builds to see which one suits your playstyle and offers the best results. Pay attention to your damage numbers, enemy health bars, and overall combat performance.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is Focus worth it in Witcher 3?

Yes, Focus is generally considered a valuable skill. It increases weapon and Sign damage based on your Adrenaline Points. Its versatility makes it suitable for various builds. Many players consider it a must-have.

2. Is Undying worth it in Witcher 3?

Undying is an impactful ability, especially for newer players or those with low-vitality builds. It can restore up to 100% of your health in fatal situations, making it a crucial survival tool.

3. Should I finish Hearts of Stone before Blood and Wine?

The recommended order is to complete the main game, then Hearts of Stone, followed by Blood and Wine. This ensures the best narrative flow, although it is possible to start Hearts of Stone before finishing the main story without causing significant confusion.

4. Should I keep Zoltan’s cards?

Yes, it’s wise to take the three rare Gwent cards from Zoltan. They are helpful for completing the “Collect ’em All!” side quest.

5. Are Crushing Blows worth it in Witcher 3?

Crushing Blows increases the chance of critical hits with strong attacks. While tempting, investing five levels for maximum effectiveness might be excessive, depending on your build.

6. Is any junk worth keeping in Witcher 3?

Most junk can be dismantled for crafting components, which you’ll need later. Sell any useless junk that only takes up inventory space for extra coin.

7. Should I have enemy upscaling enabled in Witcher 3?

Enabling enemy upscaling ensures you receive appropriate experience and loot regardless of whether you’ve played through the region before. It also increases boss levels.

8. What is the maximum level in Witcher 3?

The maximum level is 70 in the base game and 100 with the Blood and Wine expansion. Most players finish around level 50.

9. Does enemy upscaling provide better loot?

Upscaling affects the items dropped by lower-level enemies to compensate for the increased difficulty. Only items dropped from upscaled enemies will receive a boost.

10. Can you be a bad guy in The Witcher 3?

While Geralt is typically a protector, you can choose to ignore your duty and let monsters harm townsfolk, effectively playing as a “bad guy”.

11. Is it better to dismantle or sell weapons and armor in Witcher 3?

Generally, dismantling junk items is better for crafting materials, while selling weapons and armor is more profitable, as they rarely yield worthwhile components for witcher gear.

12. What should I dismantle in Witcher 3?

Dismantle items for gem dust (emerald, sapphire, diamond, ruby, amber) and rare metals, as these are valuable for crafting late-game equipment.

13. Where can I sell my weapons for the most money in Witcher 3?

The armorer in Hierarch Square in Novigrad and Hattori the master blacksmith, also in Novigrad, usually offer the best prices for weapons.

14. Does armor type matter in Witcher 3?

Yes, armor types (Light, Medium, Heavy) significantly impact your play style and influence your effectiveness in combat, especially when coupled with relevant skills.

15. Does it matter which sword you use in Witcher 3?

Absolutely. Silver swords are for monsters, while steel swords are for humans. Check the enemy’s health bar color (reddish for monsters) to determine which sword to use.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the choice between Muscle Memory and Precise Blows is not a straightforward one. It requires a thorough understanding of your build, playstyle, and critical hit chance. Muscle Memory offers a consistent damage boost, while Precise Blows has the potential for much higher damage output with the right setup. Experiment, test, and find the skill that best suits your witchering needs. Happy hunting!

Is muscle memory better than precise blows?