How to get the Manticore Gear in The Witcher 3

This guide will show you how to start the Scavenger Hunt quest for the Manticore Gear witcher set in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt next-gen update, where to find and obtain all the diagrams and the requirements to craft the armor and weapons!

What is Manticore Gear and who is it for

The Manticore witcher set is for level 40. Released with the Blood and Wine Expansion of The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt, this set is not an upgrade to an existing one from the base game. It’s a brand new witcher gear that you can get in Toussaint.

It’s a medium armor set that boosts Resistances, Experience earned, Maximum Toxicity threshold, Crit Hit Chance and Crit Hit Damage bonus.

The set is of Grandmaster quality, the highest tier of witcher gear in the game. At this tier, you get Set Bonuses. The more pieces of the same set you have equipped, the more bonuses you receive.

There is a bit of confusion with the naming of this set. While it is of Grandmaster quality and is found in Toussaint, the word “Grandmaster” only appears on the quest title. The diagrams and all crafted gear pieces are simply called “Manticore”.

The Manticore set includes set bonuses that promote using bombs in combat and alchemy items. It is designed for more advanced witchers, who have found and crafted enough bombs at higher tiers to make them useful. More on that later in the guide.

How to start the Scavenger Hunt quest

To unlock the quest, you need to unlock and access Toussaint. This is the new region added to The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt with its second expansion Blood and Wine. If you don’t own the expansion, you can’t get the quest and the gear.

When you get to Toussaint, find the workshop of Lazare Lafargue. It’s located north of the Mettina Gate signpost.

This is the only Grandmaster craftsman in the game. He is an Armorer and Blacksmith “2 in 1” . Talk to him and ask him about the Manticore gear diagrams hidden somewhere in Toussaint. This will grant you the Scavenger Hunt quest for the six diagrams of the Manticore set.

You can start and complete this quest at a lower level. The opponents you will have to fight are nothing extraordinary. You will need to be level 40 to wear the gear, though.

Visual Overview of the Manticore set

The Manticore gear set is a reference to the outfit Geralt was wearing in the first game. When you talk to Lafargue about it, Geralt will make a remark on that fact.

The set features a dark brown vest with a white shirt underneath with leather straps around his arms and the same dark brown colored gloves. The pants and boots are lighter brown in color. Two leather straps around Geralt’s chest carry his pouch and potions.

Where to find the Diagrams

All six Manticore gear diagrams are in Toussaint. To find them, you will have to literally go all around Toussaint. This is a great journey to introduce you to all four corners of the new region.

You do not need to start the quest from Lafargue or even follow the order in which I list the locations. However, if you do, the story behind this witcher set and its origins will unfold before you the way the developers have intended it.

Manticore Steel Sword Diagram Location

The first part of the quest sends you to the Bastoy Prison ruins, located not too far from Beauclair, to the northwest of the city. The prison is just west of the lake where you get the quest for Aerondight, so you could start that one as well if you haven’t yet.

Near the marked location, you will find a locked chest and a hooded woman. This is another treasure hunt quest and the hooded figure is an Alp. You can skip them if you are here just for the Manticore scavenger hunt.

On the upper floor of the ruined stone tower in the northern end of the prison ruins, you will find the Manticore Steel Sword diagram and a prisoner’s journal. You can climb up from either side of the tower. I am showing one of the possible ways in the image below.

Manticore Armor Diagram location

In southeastern Toussaint, near the Termes Palace ruins where you find the Grandmaster Wolven witcher set, you will get a piece of the Manticore gear – the armor.

There is a group of level 35 Arachnomorphs near the entrance, but you can avoid them by approaching from the west or southwest. Along the path south of the entrance, in the valley, there are two Panthers level 41 that you may encounter. You can use Beast oil and Yrden against them.

There is no fighting inside the chamber. There are, however, a ton of notes on the walls. The one you need is Merten’s note, hung on the southeastern wall of the chamber. Pick it up to obtain the Manticore armor diagram.

Manticore Trousers and Boots Diagrams location

Head to the area where the giant statue of Lebioda is. It’s located on the banks of the river in northern Toussaint and is still under construction.

Opposite the entrance, there is a weak wall segment. Break it with Aard and enter the inner chamber.

Immediately as you enter, you will be attacked by the Great Beggar’s Ghost. It’s a level 40 Specter, so use Specter oil to increase the damage you deal with your silver sword.

On the floor in the corner you will find the bones of the Great Beggar. This is a small secondary quest. You can pick it up and bring it to the opened sarcophagus in the outer chamber.

On a small wooden pedestal, near the wall opposite the entrance to this chamber, you will find a small wooden box. Inside are the diagrams of the Manticore Trousers and Boots along with The Great Beggar’s Journal.

Manticore Silver Sword Diagram location

A couple of hundred steps south of the Beauclair’s Palace Gardens, you will find a cave with a hidden chapel. The entrance of the cave is on the south side and is half-submerged underwater.

Inside, there is only one path (with some optional loot on the sides of the cave). Follow it. There will be purple gas that will cause you to start hallucinating.

You will see two young women near the underground lake. These are level 40 Bruxae. Use Vampire Oil and Black Blood against them. Yrden and Moon Dust are also helpful.

Next, keep moving north and when you arrive at the beggar ghosts, tip them all as you pass through them.

The next challenge is to defeat three level 40 Kikimore Workers and save the ghost of a man they were attacking. Insectoid oil, White Honey (if you get poisoned) and Igni help a lot against these creatures.

After defeating the kikimores, take the narrow tunnel leading northwest and break the weak stone wall blocking your path.

At the very end, at the top, the ghostly figure will node at you and let you loot the contents of the small wooden chest – the Manticore silver sword diagram and Merten’s notes.

Manticore Gauntlets Diagram location

The final piece of the Manticore gear, the gauntlets, you will find in the Lake of Cleansing. Have you noticed that you haven’t been to the northeast areas of Toussaint for the Manticore scavenger hunt? Now, it’s time to go there.

At the lake’s shores, there are a few level 40 Bandits that will be immediately hostile to you if you approach them. You fight humans with your steel sword. You can put some of the Hanged Man’s Venom oil on it to increase the damage dealt to the bandits.

On the bottom of the lake, you will find the Manticore Gauntlets Diagram and Merten’s last letter.

How to Craft the Armor and Weapons

After you have obtained all of the diagrams, bring them back to Lazare Lafargue. Below you can see the crafting requirements for each item and further down I have helpful information on where to find and how to get the rarest ingredients.

Cured Draconid Leather
Can be purchased from merchants. (it’s a bit expensive but easy to find). Can also dismantle Heavy Armor or Monster Carapace to get it.

Dimeritium Plate
Can be looted, crafted from Dimeritium Ingots, or purchased directly from a merchant (most often found in armorer and blacksmith shops).

Meteorite Silver Plate
Can be purchased from Armorers and other craftsmen and merchants. You can also craft it yourself from Meteorite Silver Ingots.

Dimeritium Ingot
Can be looted, purchased, or crafted from Dimeritium Ore and Glowing Glowing Ore Ingot. You can dismantle some gear pieces.

Ruby and Ruby Dust
Ruby can be looted, purchased, or dismantled from Flawless Ruby. Ruby Dust can be looted, purchased, or dismantled from Ruby.

Before you resort to purchasing an expensive crafting material, make sure you don’t have a way to craft it. All of the above-mentioned ingredients can be crafted. The ingredients for those items are fairly cheap and easy to find and loot. Explore Toussaint and do some of the question-marked optional activities on your map.

Some of the items you can get by purchasing from alchemists, merchants or armorers and blacksmiths. You can also get them by dismantling items at an armorer or blacksmith.

As you may have noticed, the crafting requirements for this set are closer to the Mastercrafted gear sets than to the Grandmaster tier sets in terms of item rarity and prices to purchase.

Gear Stats and Set Bonus

The Grandmaster tier of witcher sets all have unique set bonuses. The more items of the same set you wear, the more bonuses you receive. Below you can read the set bonuses for equipping 3 and 6 of the Manticore pieces.

Bonus for 3 pieces:
Critical hit chance and critical hit damage also apply to bombs. Bombs are thrown without any delay.

Bonus for 6 pieces:
The maximum number of charges for each alchemy item is increased by 1.

Here are the stats of each individual gear piece. The stats are identical in terms of values to the rest of the Grandmaster gear sets. The steel and silver swords have the exact damage min and max values.

How to get the Legendary Version of the Manticore Set

The Legendary Manticore School witcher gear set is available in New Game Plus (NG+) in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The Scavenger Hunt Quest and all diagrams are located in the exact same places as in the normal game.

Visual Appearance

The legendary version of the Manticore set looks different in NG+ compared to the normal Manticore set in the normal game. It’s got more steel armor, specifically in the upper chest area and the knees. The vest is also different, it features short sleeves that cover the leather straps on Geralt’s arms.

The silver sword has a different look as well now. It is more in line with the rest of the silver swords in its handle and cross-guard design, which is a typical V-shape now.

Crafting Requirements

The main difference in crafting requirements is the fact that the Legendary set requires Enriched Dimeritium Plate and Ingots and Infused Slyzard Hide.

Stats

The stats are similar to the regular version of the set from the normal game, but have increased values.

School of the Manticore Lore

The School of the Manticore was born shortly after the School of the Bear fell apart as Ivar Evil-Eye could not take over and the Bear school split off.

The school is not very well known in the Northern Kindgoms because its members prefer to occupy the far east. Its main location is in the Korath desert.

As the story you just completed reveals, one of the school’s members, Merten, travels to Toussaint in search for a legendary armorer to craft him some Grandmaster gear – the very diagrams you found following Merten’s path. Merten converts to Lebioda’s teachings and ditches his witcher life to dedicate himself to the priesthood.

This concludes my guide on where to find and how to obtain the Grandmaster Manticore school gear diagrams and how to start and complete the Scavenger Hunt quests for them. If you are looking for more, take a look at the Gear Sets Guides collection we have.

Now that you have the Manticore set, it’s almost kind of mandatory to get all Bombs in The Witcher 3 and upgrade them to the Superior tier, right? We’ve got just the catalog you need. There you will find absolutely everything you need to know about bombs – how to use them, where they are helpful, where to find all formulas, how to craft them and which bombs are the most useful in general.