This guide will show you how to start and complete the Scavenger Hunt quests for the Enhanced Ursine Gear from the Bear School witcher set in The Witchr 3 Wild Hunt next-gen update, where to find and how to obtain all the diagrams as well as the requirements to craft the armor and weapons!
This guide is up-to-date for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen version (Update 4.04)
Table of contents
What is the Enhanced Ursine Gear and who is it for
The Enhanced Ursine witcher set is for level 25 and is an upgrade to the basic Ursine witcher gear, which is for level 20. It’s a heavy armor set boosting Attack Power, Crit Hit Chance, and Adrenaline Points Gain. It also provides great resistance to damage from monsters, slashing damage, elemental damage and more.
You need to craft the Basic weapons first as they are part of the requirements to craft the Enhanced version. More on that in the Crafting Segment later in this guide.
This set is one of my personal favorites and it works great in almost any sword-heavy build. It looks stylish and lightweight, despite being classified as a heavy armor set in the game.
How to start the Scavenger Hunt quest
There are two map fragments you can purchase from the Kaer Trolde armorer NPC. These will start for you the following Scavenger Hunt quests:
- Scavenger Hunt: Bear School Gear Upgrade Diagrams – Part 1
- Scavenger Hunt: Bear School Gear Upgrade Diagrams – Part 2
Each of the quests gives you locations for three of the Enhanced Ursine gear diagrams.
Picking up the map fragments and starting the Scavenger Hunt Quests is optional. You can go to the places I will describe in detail in the next section of the guide and pick up the diagrams yourself. Obtaining all diagrams will complete these two quests for you anyway.
The Enhanced Ursine gear can be used at level 25. You can pick up the diagrams at a lower level if you prefer. If this is your first playthrough, I recommend going there at level 20 or higher.
The whole adventure of obtaining the diagrams and crafting the armor and swords should take you between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on what difficulty you plan on and how many Fast Travels you have unlocked in Skellige.
Visual Overview of the set
The Bear School witcher gear is simple but very Skellige-like and stylish. It is perfectly suitable for the cold weather conditions the islanders have to endure. And later, when fully upgraded, it turns into the best-looking armor set (in my opinion).
Where to find the Diagrams
There are six diagrams of the Enhanced Ursine Bear School gear. All of them are in the Skellige Islands. The order in which you get the diagrams doesn’t matter. Finding all six, will auto-complete the Scavenger Hunt quests related to them.
Enhanced Ursine Armor diagram location
The Enhanced Ursine Armor diagram is in a cave at the Grotto Fast Travel post. This is on the southeastern shores of Ard Skellig, the main island of the Skellige archipelago.
Depending on what and how much you have explored so far, you may or may not have a short path to the cave. But another important tip everyone learns sooner or later is that Fast Travel is not good in The Witcher 3, because you are missing out on a ton of fun exploration and secrets on the path.
The Bear Symbol you can examine to get a more precise location hint is on the left of the entrance.
Hug the right-hand side of the stone walls and follow the path until you reach Manfred, Hegel and Jesse Grossbart (level 26). The chest with the diagram is at the back of the camp of the three brothers.
Enhanced Ursine Gauntlets diagram location
The gauntlets diagram is north of Miner’s Camp and northwest of Rogne. If you have not unlocked these, your closest starting point would most likely be the Crossroads Fast Travel post.
Outside the ruined tower on the side of the road, there will be two respawning level 23 Wraiths. They are too closer to the tower, so you would not be able to avoid fighting them. Wraiths are a good source of Mutagens, so it never hurts to farm a few more.
Go under the stone bridge and turn right and up. The chest is inside the ruins of the stone tower.
Enhanced Ursine Boots diagram location
The chest with the diagram is a cave just south (under) one of the Skellige Places of Power. The location of this cave is north of Holmstein’s Port and southeast of Arinbjorn, in the southwestern part of Ard Skellig.
The bear symbol is on the right side of the cave’s entrance. This is the “famous” cave where you will meet three “famous trolls”. I say this because the trolls are nothing special in terms of HP or abilities. But their names – Joe, Jesse, and Dodger, are references to three popular YouTubers.
Fighting Cave Trolls is a slow and tedious process. You can speed things up with Orgroid Oil on your Swords. Remember to move back when they “shield” themselves and dodge the incoming thrown rocks.
Side note: These three trolls will drop Cave Troll Liver, an important and rare crafting ingredient for the Blade Oils.
The chest containing the Enhanced Ursine Boots diagram is at the very back of the cave.
Enhanced Ursine Trousers diagram location
You will find the crafting diagram for the Enhanced Ursine trousers on a very tiny island northeast of Undvik’s Marlin Coast Fast Travel post.
On the south side of this island, there is an entrance to a small cave. In it you will find the chest containing the diagram. No enemies to fight in that cave. It’s just a bit of swimming to the island or you can take a boat.
Enhanced Ursine steel sword diagram location
The diagram for the steel sword upgrade is in a well-defended fortress on a small island west of Eldberg’s Lighthouse, which is the westernmost Fast Travel point on Ard Skellig.
This is one of my favorite locations to visit in Skellige. Here you will obtain so much loot that I advise you to come with empty saddlebags. Here you will also find a Game of Thrones Easter Egg – the body of Tyrion Lannister. Or… you know, someone who looks just like him. Geralt will even say something about Sky Cells and pity the guy for not being able to fly.
As soon as you arrive at the shores and unlock Kaer Almhult, the only Fast Travel for this small island, you will be met by the hostile level 12 pirates inhabiting the island. There are a lot of them, dogs too, in the fortress. The signpost is on the west end, while the fortress and the chest with the diagram are on the east end.
After you defeat the pirates, head to the tower on the back end of the fortress. The chest is on the second level.
Enhanced Ursine silver sword diagram location
The silver sword upgrade diagram is on Ard Skellig, the biggest and main island of the Skellige archipelago. You will find it in a ruined stone fortress.
If you have not been to the region, but have done the Skellige part of the story, you will likely have Redgill Fast Travel post unlocked. If not, you will have a lot of traversing across the island.
The path from Redgill takes you through a hidden treasure guarded by a level 30 Cyclops, which you can skip, of course, as well as a couple of random fights with pirates (level 12) along the way. You will unlock one or two more Fast Travel posts on the eastern shores of the island, for future use. The Whale Graveyard is a good spot for farming Mutagens. The other one is Giant’s Toes, which is on the shores, northeast of the fortress.
There are a few level 21 Alghouls inside the tower. When they flash in red, they reflect damage in this state. Use a sign like Aard or Axii to interrupt them.
Examine the Bear symbol on the right-hand side of the entrance. It will show you a more precise location of the diagram.
As you enter the ruins, turn right and go down to the underground level. At the end of the narrow tunnel, you will have two more level 21 Alghouls to defeat. The chest with the Enhanced Ursine silver sword diagram is behind them.
If you struggle with any of the fights, remember to use Oils and Potions. Reading the Bestiary is one of the important DOs, shared in our Beginner Guide with Tips and Tricks for The Witcher 3.
How to Craft the Armor and Swords
This is the second Tier of the Bear School Gear, you don’t need any rare or special things to craft it. Visit any Journeyman Blacksmith to craft the swords and a Journeyman Armorer to get the armor set.
Crafting Materials Requirements
There are no unique or special super-rare crafting ingredients required for this set. You have to remember to place the Basic Bear School swords and armor pieces on you or in your inventory when you visit the Armorer and Blacksmith to craft the upgrades. You lose the basic versions of the items as they get Enhanced.
Here is a short list of some of the more interesting crafting materials you may not have on you and info on how to obtain them:
Dark Iron Ore
Can be purchased from Armorers and other craftsmen and merchants. You can also craft it yourself from Dark Steel Ingots.
Meteorite Silver Place
Can be purchased from Armorers and other merchants. You can also craft it yourself from Meteorite Silver Ingots or Dismantle certain items to get it.
Meteorite Silver Ingot
Can be purchased from Armorers and other merchants. You can also craft it from Meteorite Ingot and Silver Ingot or Dismantle certain items to get it.
Dark Steel Ingot
Can be purchased from Armorers and other merchants. Can also craft it from Steel Ingot and Dark Iron Ingot/Dark Iron Ore or Dismantle items to get it.
Nigredo
Alchemy substance. To craft it, you need herbs and White Gull. Read the guide to Important Merchants for more info on how and where to get them.
Where to find an Armorer and Blacksmith
It doesn’t matter which NPCs you visit to craft the items, but if you are not sure, I will mention two easily accessible and already available to you from your previous journeys on The Continent.
The Journeyman Armorer’s shop in Novigrad is at the western side of Hierarch Square. The Journeyman Blacksmith in Novigrad can make both swords for you. He is on the northern side of the open market area. This is just west and south of Hierarch Square.
Bonus tip: If you want to be ready for later, you can complete the secondary quests to unlock the Master Armorer Yoana at Crow’s Perch and Master Blacksmith Hattori in Novigrad. Linked above are the walkthrough guides on how to unlock both of them.
Enhanced Ursine Gear Set Stats
The Enhanced edition of the Bear witcher gear is an improvement in any aspect compared to the previous tier. You get an additional rune slow on the Armor and one rune slot on the Trousers.
How to get the Legendary Enhanced Ursine Set
The Bear School Legendary Enhanced Ursine witcher gear is available in New Game Plus (NG+) in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The Scavenger Quest and all diagrams are located in the exact same places as in the normal game.
In NG+ this set is called Legendary Enhanced Ursine. The word “legendary” is added to acknowledge that you are acquiring the NG+ version of the set. It has the same type of stats but offers higher values across the board. It also requires the same types of crafting materials.
This concludes my guide on where to find and how to obtain the Enhanced Bear school gear diagrams and how to start and complete the Scavenger Hunt quests for them.
Your next upgrade will require you to find the tier 3 Superior Ursine Gear diagrams in Velen and I have just the guide to help you find and craft them as quickly and as easily as possible.
If you are looking for more, take a look at the Gear Sets Guides collection we have.
