Why is Aerondight the Best Sword in The Witcher 3?

Aerondight, found in the Blood and Wine DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is widely considered the best silver sword in the game due to its unique scaling mechanics and incredible damage potential. Unlike other weapons with fixed stats, Aerondight’s damage increases as you level up and by landing consecutive hits, eventually leading to guaranteed critical hits and, ultimately, permanent damage buffs when slaying enemies. This makes it an incredibly powerful and versatile weapon capable of scaling throughout the entire game and New Game Plus, ensuring that Geralt is always equipped with a top-tier sword capable of dispatching the toughest monsters. Its dynamic nature, combined with the skill and strategy required to fully utilize its potential, makes it far more rewarding than static, albeit powerful, alternatives.

Aerondight: A Deep Dive into its Power

Aerondight’s superiority isn’t just based on raw damage numbers (though it can certainly achieve those!). Its true strength lies in its mechanics:

• Damage Scaling: Aerondight’s base damage isn’t fixed. It increases as Geralt levels up, ensuring it remains competitive throughout the game. Each level gained allows the sword to gain potential bonus damage.
• Charge System: With each successful, consecutive strike, Aerondight’s charge increases. This means dodging efficiently and maintaining an uninterrupted attack pattern is paramount.
• Critical Hit Guarantee: Once fully charged, every hit is a critical hit, dramatically increasing damage output. When facing enemies with heavy armor or high vitality, this is invaluable.
• Permanent Damage Increase: Killing an enemy while Aerondight is fully charged permanently increases the sword’s base damage. Over time, these incremental upgrades compound, turning Aerondight into a devastating weapon.
• Synergy with Combat Style: Aerondight encourages a fast-paced, aggressive playstyle, rewarding skillful dodging and weaving through enemy attacks. This forces players to improve their combat skills, making the weapon feel earned.

While other swords might offer higher base damage or specific stat boosts, none offer the same level of dynamic scaling and rewarding gameplay as Aerondight. It’s a sword that grows with the player, reflecting their skill and dedication.

Understanding Aerondight’s Leveling Mechanic

The key to unlocking Aerondight’s full potential lies in understanding its unique leveling system. The sword itself tells you how much it will level up, based on your current player level.

1. Initial Acquisition: When you first obtain Aerondight, its base damage will be relatively low, reflecting your current level.
2. Leveling Up Geralt: Every time Geralt levels up, the potential maximum damage of Aerondight increases. This doesn’t automatically upgrade the sword; it merely raises the ceiling. As you level, you may see, “Damage is increased by: (x) (to a maximum of y – increasing along with your character level.)”
3. Charging and Killing: To actually increase the sword’s damage, you must fill its charge meter (by landing consecutive hits) and then kill an enemy while it’s fully charged. Each successful kill in this state permanently adds to the sword’s base damage. This is the most important point to understand.
4. Strategic Farming: To maximize Aerondight’s power, players often seek out areas with easily defeated monsters to quickly build the charge and trigger the damage increase.
5. New Game Plus Scaling: This system continues in New Game Plus, allowing Aerondight to become even more powerful.

Mastering this leveling process is crucial to making Aerondight the best sword in your arsenal. It’s not just about finding the sword; it’s about nurturing it.

Beyond the Numbers: The Psychological Edge

Aerondight isn’t just statistically superior; it provides a significant psychological advantage:

• Confidence: Knowing you wield the best possible silver sword breeds confidence in combat. This translates to better decision-making and more aggressive, successful maneuvers.
• Sense of Progression: The continuous leveling system offers a constant sense of progression. Unlike other weapons that quickly become obsolete, Aerondight remains relevant throughout the entire game.
• Mastery and Skill: Wielding Aerondight effectively requires skill and precision. Mastering its charge mechanic and learning to maximize its damage output fosters a sense of accomplishment.

This psychological edge, combined with the undeniable statistical advantages, makes Aerondight the ultimate silver sword for any Witcher seeking to conquer the challenges of the Continent. This aspect makes it worth studying in the context of educational games and learning. For those interested in how games enhance skills, visit the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Aerondight

1. Can Aerondight be used on humans?

No, Aerondight is a silver sword, specifically designed for fighting monsters. It is relatively ineffective against humans. Using it against human enemies will result in significantly reduced damage output.

2. How strong can Aerondight get?

Aerondight’s maximum damage potential scales with Geralt’s level. Every time you level up, the sword’s maximum damage increases by 10. The base damage is permanently increased upon killing a monster with a full charge. Theoretically, there’s no upper limit, especially in New Game Plus.

3. How do I get Aerondight?

Aerondight is obtained through a specific quest line in the Blood and Wine DLC. You need to prove your chivalry through a series of tests. These tests involve embodying the five chivalric virtues: honor, wisdom, compassion, generosity, and valor. You need to act with compassion at an orphanage, show honor during horse races, show wisdom by solving a riddle, show valor when facing a pack of wolves, and show generosity towards a struggling painter. Upon completing these trials, you will earn the Lady of the Lake’s favor and she will gift you the Aerondight.

4. When should I pick up Aerondight?

It doesn’t matter what level you are when you get it. Aerondight levels with you. Each time you kill someone with it at full charge, its damage goes up by two until you reach its current max, which expands by ten with each level you gain.

5. How does Aerondight level up?

Aerondight levels up in two ways:

• By increasing Geralt’s level, which raises its maximum potential damage.
• By killing enemies while the sword is fully charged, which permanently increases its base damage.

6. What is the most OP weapon in The Witcher 3?

Many consider Aerondight to be one of the most overpowered (OP) weapons in The Witcher 3, primarily due to its scaling mechanics and the potential for incredibly high damage output.

7. What is the best weapon to pair with Aerondight?

For a steel sword, Toussaint Knight’s Steel Sword or Grandmaster Wolven Steel Sword are excellent choices. For crossbows, the enhanced or superior versions of the Wolven Crossbow or the Arbalest from Blood and Wine are great options. Gear choices will vary depending on your playstyle and skill tree choices.

8. Can Aerondight be upgraded with runes?

Yes, Aerondight can be upgraded with runes just like any other sword. Experiment with different runes to find the best combination for your playstyle.

9. Is Aerondight better than the Gesheft sword?

While Gesheft boasts high initial damage and critical hit damage, Aerondight’s scaling and guaranteed critical hits when fully charged ultimately make it the better choice for long-term viability and overall damage output.

10. Does Aerondight’s charge carry over between fights?

No, Aerondight’s charge resets when you disengage from combat. You need to rebuild the charge in each new encounter.

11. What skills synergize well with Aerondight?

Skills that increase attack speed, critical hit chance, and adrenaline generation synergize well with Aerondight, allowing you to build charge faster and maximize your damage output. Whirl, Rend, and fast attack builds are particularly effective.

12. How do I farm enemies to level up Aerondight quickly?

Look for areas with groups of relatively weak monsters. The Hanse bases in Toussaint are good options. Build up the charge on one enemy and then kill it to increase the sword’s damage. Repeat this process as needed.

13. Does Aerondight carry over to New Game Plus?

Yes, Aerondight carries over to New Game Plus, allowing you to continue leveling it up and making it even more powerful. This is one of the key reasons why it remains the best silver sword throughout multiple playthroughs.

14. What are the alternatives to Aerondight?

While Aerondight is generally considered the best, other notable silver swords include Toussaint Relic Swords, Ami, and crafted Grandmaster gear. However, none offer the same level of scaling and rewarding gameplay as Aerondight.

15. Is it worth spending time to get Aerondight?

Absolutely! The time invested in obtaining and leveling up Aerondight is well worth it. It is, without a doubt, one of the best and most satisfying weapons in the game. Its unique mechanics, scaling damage, and psychological edge make it a game-changer for any Witcher.