Learn how to get the Viper School gear set in the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The Silver and Steel swords are in White Orchard. This guide will also show you how to obtain the high level Viper Armor and Swords from Hearts of Stone.
This guide is up-to-date for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen version (Update 4.04)
Table of contents
What is the Viper School Gear
The School of the Viper was found by Ivar. The original goal was to find and defeat the Wild Hunt, but it seems that the school’s creator may not have actually told this to his students.
This witcher school was a big different than most of the other schools. Its mentors were ruthless and cold, the vipers did not hesitate to take on contracts for humans, not just monsters. Each student was given a pet to take care for while in the school, then years later, when they are about to become witchers, they have to slaughter that pet.
Among the many full Witcher Gear Sets in The Witcher 3, the Viper School set is a bit of an exclusion to the rule because it consists of only two items in the base game – Viper Steel Sword and Viper Silver Sword; and a full Armor Set and Swords available exclusively in the Hearts of Stone Expansion.
The Viper School swords are a fantastic and easy-to-get upgrade that will give you a great boost in the very early game, especially if you are a new player.
The two items are craftable schematics and you can find and get them as early as level 1 even. If you play on higher difficulties, you may want to level up to at least level 3, unless you prefer to be sneaky and avoid fighting, which is possible, but not easy.
How to get the Viper School Swords
The two swords are located in White Orchard, the first area that you start at in The Witcher 3. It’s a small zone, which you cannot leave until you complete the main quest chain. The true open world game begins after that.
You can always come back to the White Orchard. There are a few things that you should not miss out. Things like The Devil from the Well quest and the Places of Power in White Orchard.
It doesn’t matter which of the two swords you go and pick up first. The Steel sword is maybe a bit easier to get.
How to get the Viper Steel Sword
The Viper Steel Sword is hidden in a treasure chest in the ruins south from the Crossroads sign post. The location is in the southeastern part of White Orchard, west from Woesong Bridge, where you stay in the inn with Vesemir.
The ruins are occupied by deserters. They are level 1 and level 2, but if you play on higher difficulties, even those would present a challenge if you are just a fresh level 1 player.
The wooden chest is inside the square-shaped ruin, on a wooden decking. It contains the diagram to craft the Viper Steel Sword and an Interrogation Report, which is a piece of text that will help you find the Viper Silver Sword’s location.
You will need to take this diagram to a craftsmen NPC with a proper skill – Blacksmith for weapons. In the next segment of the guide I will tell you how to craft the items.
As soon as you get that book from the chest, you will get a new Scavenger Hunt mission. You don’t really need the mission, but it’s nice if you are completionists and want to do every single quest in the game.
How to get the Viper Silver Sword
The Silver Viper Sword is in a cript beneath a graveyard. The location is north from the Mill sign post (where you fight the Griffin for the main quest).
The graveyard is occupied by a Wraith. She is level 7 and for a beginner player, it may be a bit of a challenge to defeat. Use Yrden and Quen to defeat her.
At first, you will meet the Wraith right outside the crypt’s door. You can break the door with the Aard Sign. The Wraith will reappear again inside the crypt.
The Serpentine Silver Sword (Silver Viper Sword) diagram lies beneath a skeleton remains in the northern corner. Don’t forget to open the chest too to clear the “Guarded Treasure” PoI.
The skeleton will give you the sword diagram and another book. If this is the first item of the Viper Set you have found, it will again give you the same Scavenger Hunt quest.
Now you have both of the Viper School swords. You need to craft them!
How to craft the Viper School Swords
The two diagrams you found in White Orchard need to be crafted by a Blacksmith. Also each one of them has a specific requirements for items you need to collect or craft and then give to the Blacksmith to make the sword for you.
Where to find a Blacksmith
There are a number of locations of Blacksmith all around the available space of the Continent in the game. If you are a beginner the quickest and easiest for you to get to would be one in the Nilfgaardian Garrison in the northern most part of White Orchard.
How to craft the Viper Steel Sword
The Viper Steel Sword requires the following items to craft at the Blacksmith:
- Leather Straps – can buy from the Nilfgaardian Garrison blacksmith.
- Iron Ingot – can buy from the Nilfgaardian Garrison blacksmith, craft it yourself from materials you find around White Orchard, or loot some by exploring White Orchard’s Places of Interest (the white Question Marks on the map).
- Emerald Dust – can loot in White Orchard from chests or buy from the Nilfgaardian Garrison blacksmith.
- Venom Extract – can loot from Grouls in White Orchard or get from dismantling some items at the blacksmith.
- For the blacksmith to craft the schematic for you, you will have to pay him silver as well.
- To wield the sword, you need to be level 2 or higher.
How to craft Viper Silver Sword
To craft the Viper Silver Sword from the diagram you found, you will need the following items:
- Leather Straps – can buy from the Nilfgaardian Garrison blacksmith.
- Silver Ingot – read the next segment below for a few tips on how to get it.
- Venom Extract – can loot from Grouls in White Orchard or get from dismantling some items at the blacksmith.
- For the blacksmith to craft the schematic for you, you will have to pay him silver as well.
- It may be harder to get this sword crafted, but its level requirement is lower – only level 1.
How to get the Silver Ingots
The most expensive and hard-to-find items would be the Steel and Silver Ingots. You can craft them, find them in the world or buy them from merchants.
In case you are stubborn and want to craft the two Viper Swords while still in White Orchard, you will have to farm a little bit for both money and resources.
The longest it would take you to get Silver Ingots. The Blacksmith at the Nilfgaardian Garrison sells Silver, which is an ingredient to craft the Ingot. You will need 10 Silver to craft one Silver Ingot and you need two Silver Ingots for the Viper Silver Sword.
There are two locations in White Orchard where you can find two items that, when dismantled, will give you one Silver Ingot each.
Northwest from Cackler Bridge there is a bandit camp. Inside the tent, in a chest, you will loot a Silver Teapot.
Another bandit camp is south-west from the Abandoned Village. In it you will find a Pure Silver.
Bring these two items to the Blacksmith and dismantle them.
Other options to get the Silver Ingots are to directly buy them from a merchant, but none of the available ones in White Orchard will sell you any.
The Blacksmith does sell Silver, however. It is a raw crafting material, from which you can make Silver Ore and/or Silver Ingots.
Last, but not least, you can find Silver Ore and Silver in White Orchard. Search chests in bandit camps for the best chance to loot any.
How to get the Viper School Armor Set
The Viper Armor Set is a craftable set of schematics that you can obtain only if you own the Hearts of Stone Expansion to the Witcher 3.
The diagrams can be obtained fairly cheaply by completing an optional objective during the main quest “Open Sesame”. While in the auction house with Vimme Vivaldi, he will introduce you to an old lady – a Countess. Talk to her and ask her to browse her collection of witcher items for sale.
Why does she have the witcher gear diagrams, you may wonder. She’s a big fan of the witchers‘ Life and History, it seems. She also, as it turned out, knows Vesemir.
The four diagrams are easy to craft and don’t require any special materials. The Viper Armor Set is Medium Witcher Gear for level 39 in the base game.
To craft the armor pieces you need the following materials:
Linen
Hardened Leather
Leather Straps
Wire
Cured Draconid Leather
By the time you play Hearts of Stone, you will have large amounts of each basic material, and crafting the set should be no issue.
How to get the Viper Venomous Swords
The two swords are high-level alternatives to the first Viper School steel and silver swords you find in White Orchard.
How to get the Viper Venomous Steel Sword
The Viper Venomous Steel Sword is available as free loot during one of the quests from Hearts of Stone. It’s a high-level sword, part of the full Viper School Gear set, added to The Witcher 3 with this expansion.
The diagram is in a chest located beneath Borsodi’s auction house. You go there during the Open Sesame quest. The chest is at the very end of the area, right before you complete your objective, loot the treasures around.
To craft the sword you will need the following materials:
Leather Scraps
Dark Steel Ingot
Monster brain
Emerald dust
All of these are common and relatively easy to find, buy or craft by the time you have reached this content and are high enough level to use the gear.
How to get the Viper Venomous Silver Sword
The Viper Venomous Silver Sword diagram is available during the Whatsoever a Man Soweth quest, again part of the Hearts of Stone expansion.
While looking for the solution to the riddle in the Mirror’s realm, you will find the Viper Venomous Silver Sword. It’s a fully crafted weapon, no need to make it yourself. It is a bit tricky to navigate around this place, though.
Follow the path, and run past a hym Specter level 35 that will spawn right in front of an old gazebo. Right where the Specter creature will spawn, this is a crossroad area. To the right there is a wooden bridge. Cross it. You can stop to fight the Specter, but best run past it. Time is limited in this realm.
After you cross the bridge, take the left path and run through a stone arch.
Look for a shiny red light. Climb the stone stairs to reach a pedestal where the sword is. This place is at the western end of the area.
Witcher 3 Viper School Gear Gallery
Here are a few close-ups of the viper school armor and weapons.
How to get the Legendary Viper School Gear
The Legendary Viper School Gear is available in The Witcher 3’s New Game + mode. The items are located in the exact same places. They are labeled Legendary as they have higher level requirements, stats and bonuses.
The items are named as follows:
- Legendary Viper Steel Sword (White Orchard)
- Legendary Viper Silver Sword (White Orchard)
- Legendary Viper Venomous Steel Sword (Hearts of Stone)
- Legendary Viper Venomous Silver Sword (Hearts of Stone)
- Legendary Viper Armor set (Hearts of Stone)
You can follow this guide to the letter if you are playing NG+ and want to obtain the Legendary versions of the Viper school items.
