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Fists of Fury is a fist-fighting competition spread across the Continent's main regions, the Skellige Isles, and Toussaint's capital city of Beauclair, in The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion. Geralt may be a renowned monster slayer, but does he have what it takes to become the reigning fisticuffs champ of the entire Continent and Skellige combined?
Updated on November 29, 2022 by Quinton O'Connor: The Witcher 3 is a phenomenal RPG. But wonderful as it is, its combat system hasn't always clicked with players, and that's triply true of the game's brawling mechanics. We think there's no better time than today to build on this article, to further imbue newcomers to Geralt's epic adventure with a sense of fisticuffs strong enough to fell a bear. Yes, a bear.
Fistfighting Basics
In general, a reliable tactic for fistfights is to distance Geralt from his opponent (just out of their range, but close enough to aggro them). This will usually cause them to shuffle towards him, giving Geralt room to time a parry and create an opening to strike. Land a couple of strong punches, then dodge backward to regain distance and repeat. This won't always work as some competitors prefer taking up the defensive themselves, but this should be Geralt's go-to tactic when his opponent is on the offensive.
Brawling In Velen
The Velen fist fights consist of four bouts. Geralt must defeat the first three in order to earn the right to face the Baron's Sergeant up at Crow's Perch.
Note that this set-up of qualifying matches followed by besting the regional champion will be the same throughout Novigrad, Skellige, and Beauclair.
Stan Fishgulper
Geralt will find a group of brawlers outside the Inn in Lindenvale, to the East of Crow's Perch. This first brawl isn't so much a test of brawn for Geralt as it is a test of his moral compass. Stan pulls Geralt aside before the fight and admits he has no chance of beating the Witcher but pleads that he needs the reward to feed his family.
Geralt can choose to throw the fight, so Stan can take home the sack of flour offered as the victor's reward. In this case, Geralt can challenge a rematch and beat Stan the second time around to advance in Velen's Fists of Fury competition. However, Geralt will have already placed his bet before discovering Stan's greater need. If he was confident in his fist-fighting abilities and placed an exorbitant bet (the maximum being 70 crowns), that's a good chunk of coin to forfeit so early on.
Unless you bet the minimum of one crown, it's not suggested that Geralt throw the fight. Instead, Geralt can win the fight, then approach Stan afterwards and give him five crowns, so he may feed his family.
Smithy
There will be another group of fist fighters outside the Inn at The Crossroads, north of Crow's Perch. This one can be a bit trickier as the fight takes place indoors, meaning Geralt will need to avoid getting backed into a corner.
Luckily this is Velen, and none of the contestants are overly aggressive, so Geralt can take the offensive without much risk. Once he has backed Smithy into a corner rather than allowing himself to lose the spatial advantage, it's essentially game over for Smithy.
Jonah
Jonah is in Blackbough, West of Crow's Perch. Geralt will find a match in progress across from the Blacksmith in the tiny village.
Jonah tends to circle more than Stan or Smithy and takes up the offensive more often. But as long as you give him space, you can easily parry his blows and create an opening to land a few hits of your own. Don't start hauling away on him, though. He will eventually parry Geralt and counter-attack.
Sergeant
After winning the three qualifying matches, Geralt should head to Crow's Perch to take on Velen's reigning champion, the Baron's Sergeant. You will find Sergeant outside the Baron's fort near the large dead tree in the yard's center.
Unsurprisingly, Sergeant is the most aggressive of all the Velen matches. Geralt can still parry him and create an opening that way. But because he throws punches more frequently, Geralt can also try to dodge to the side or behind the Sergeant and use the Sergeant's momentum against him by landing a few hits as Sergeant recovers from missing his target.
Brawling In Novigrad
To enter Novigrad's Fists of Fury circuit, Geralt can head to The Golden Sturgeon (west of the Hierarch Square signpost, past Vivaldi's Bank) and talk to Master Claytop.
Georgious 'Piledriver' Georg
Talking to Claytop enrolls Geralt in a match against Georgious Georg. This is an interesting encounter as Geralt is once again asked to forfeit the match, though for a much better price but not nearly as good of a reason.
Geralt will be offered 80 crowns in addition to doubling the return on his bet if he throws the match. This makes Geralt's maximum possible takeaway 240 crowns, which is a pretty payoff for such a simple request. Geralt may again ask for a rematch to continue the Fists of Fury competition if he accepts this bribe. There's also an additional 25 experience thrown on top to sweeten the deal a bit further.
This is one of those times The Witcher 3 tempts even the most steadfast good-hearted role-players with the promise of something shiny. There's no long-lasting negative recourse for agreeing to forfeit the match, and the going price is quite attractive. We'd say 'just do it', but if you'd prefer to keep a more prideful hero complex, we totally get it.
When you do take on the 'Piledriver' fair and square, the match takes place indoors. Unlike the indoor challenge against Smithy in Velen, it's not as effective to back Georg into a corner. He is better at fending off Geralt's blows than Smithy was and has an easier time of counter-attacking, meaning it's useless to haul away on him while he is in a defensive stance.
Unfortunately, Georg maintains his defensive stance nearly the entire match, except for when he is throwing punches. Georg also hits hard, taking nearly a fourth of Geralt's vitality when he lands a blow. This mix of hard-hitting and defensive tactics means Geralt's best counter-tactic is to remain patient and dodge, rather than parry. If you can, dodging behind George will earn Geralt a longer opening to throw additional punches before he needs to resume his squirrely manoeuvres.
Archibald O'Neill
This match is tucked away just North of the Portside signpost. After crossing the bridge and entering the Novigrad gates, take an immediate right. There will be a fight taking place in a niche to the left as Geralt descends the stairs.
Though not indoors, this match still takes place in an enclosed space. However, Geralt doesn't need to worry as much about getting backed into a corner. O'Neill is easy to block and extremely susceptible to Geralt's parries, opening him up for a barrage of counterattacks.
Iron Mortimer
Mortimer Ferreo can be found in a courtyard West of the Southern Gate signpost across the river. Once across the bridge, turn left. Right before the brick archway hang another left down the secluded alley (a bushy tree obscures it), it will lead into the courtyard where the fights are taking place.
Captain Mortimer is another solid defender, though he doesn't hit quite as hard as Georg. Still, breaking his defense is a tough feat, so it's best to remain patient and put a bit of distance between the Captain and Geralt. Then wait for Mortimer to lunge and either parry or dodge the attack. Successful parries cause Mortimer to stagger more than Georg, leaving a bigger window for Geralt to counterattack.
Durden, the Tailor
The regional championship match against Tailor Durden (a reference to Tyler Durden from Fight Club) occurs in the town square between the Glory and Portside gates. A Notice Board with a tall post topped with a bird's nest marks the spot.
Though he likes to think so, Durden isn't special among fist fighters. He takes an aggressive approach, so the standard tactic of letting him advance, parrying his blow, then countering with a couple of strong attacks is the best approach.
Brawling In Skellige
It's no secret Skelligers are among the brawniest of fighters, and the most well-seasoned too. It's likely Geralt will stumble across one of these voracious brawls soon after arriving in Skellige.
Valgard
There will be a match taking place in front of the inn at the Kaer Trolde Harbor as Geralt passes through on his way up to the keep. Here he can sign up to take on Valgard, who boasts a deceptively tough exterior. Geralt will once again be asked to forfeit the fight, this time in the name of love. There's no extra reward in it for Geralt this time, so answer as you wish.
Though he keeps his guard up, Valgard isn't incredibly skilled at blocking. He'll drop his defense with plenty of time to sneak a punch in before he takes a swing at Geralt. Still, Geralt will want to regain some distance after a couple of punches and reset for another go. Despite his heavy build, Valgard's hits are also fairly easy to parry, not to mention he has a wide swing, so the standard approach of parry or dodge, punch, retreat, and repeat works well.
Einar
The next contestant can be found in the village of Harviken, on one of Skellige's smallest islands located in the Southwest region of the map.
Einar prefers to stay on the defensive, though his transition from blocking to striking is not much better than Valgard's. Therefore, the same interruption or parry and counter-tactics apply.
Grim
Back on the main island, Grim can be found in the village of Arinbjorn, on the Western peninsula. The fights will be taking place in the fields beside the village, left from the signpost headed toward the sea.
Grim is a brute with a strong defense and a hard hit. Geralt can block him but not for long, as it will cost a fair chunk of stamina. He's not thrown off balance much by parrying either, but he does have a wild swing. Grim has a longer recovery time from missing his target than some fighters, so being able to dodge behind him to get the maximum number of hits is optimal.
Olaf
There are only two qualifiers before Geralt can take on the Skellige champ, Olaf, the bear. No, that's not a nickname. Olaf is, in fact, an actual bear. This showdown takes place on the island of An Skellige in the northeast region of the map. Head to the ring just outside of Urialla Harbor when you're ready.
As with most monsters, parrying is of no use against Olaf. Geralt will need to roll to evade the bear's charge attacks and attempt to land a few blows from behind. The window to time this is brief, as Geralt will need to roll (or side-step if you dare) just before Olaf makes contact to evade yet remain in range to counter. Unlike the other matches, Geralt is free to open his inventory during this bout, so be sure to pop some damage boosting and regenerative potions or decoctions.
This match is also different from others in that Geralt and Olaf will fight to the death instead of a K.O. Yes, that's right, win this fight, and Geralt can say he's killed a bear with his bare hands.
Champions of Champions
If you thought fighting a bear barehanded was as wild as it gets, think again. The reigning champ of all three regions is — wait for it... a rock troll. This showdown takes place on the island of Spikeroog at the arena in Hov.
It's not as hard as it sounds fighting a rock troll with your bare hands. Just like with Olaf, Geralt is free to open his inventory to apply various buffs. The reigning champ is also fairly easy to dodge, too, as he is an honorable troll fighting only with his fists rather than throwing rocks. The secret to beating him is to dodge his short arm span and get behind him. Even though trolls are typically immune to attacks on their stone-hard backs, this one is somehow vulnerable to bare fists in that same region.
Brawling In Toussaint
Toussaint also hosts a separate Fists of Fury contest. It's made up of three qualifiers and a championship, though only one opponent fights in the traditional style.
Still Waters
Still Waters is the only traditional fist fighter of the three. Geralt can find this competitor in the uptown district of Beauclair near Mountebank Alley (near Orianna's estate). The closest signpost is the Metinna Gate.
Not only is Still Waters a traditional fight, but it's also an incredibly standard fistfight in every way save one. You know the drill by now: parry, punch, punch, retreat, repeat. The twist comes after Still Waters is released from their knightly vow and reveals their face. And no, Still Waters does not request that you throw the fight. Refreshing.
Colossus
Colossus can be found in the lower Beauclair district of San Sebastian. This can be a traditional fistfight if you so choose. However, Colossus will offer to double Geralt's initial wager if the Witcher can parry three of his punches.
The rules are pretty straightforward. Geralt must parry, not block. This means all that distancing and timing practice is about to pay off. However, to win this wager, Geralt must remain on the defensive without throwing a single punch.
Mancomb
Geralt will find Mancomb in the courtyard near the Nilfgaardian Embassy. This linguist prides himself on being a champion taunter rather than doing any actual fighting, meaning Geralt will need to engage in a battle of wits rather than brawn. Honestly, this is one fight that Dandelion would've been better suited for.
No matter, it's a simple matter of keeping pace with Mancomb's rhymes. Geralt should choose his responses based on the last word of Mancomb's taunts in order to win.
Maestro
The Maestro is Toussaint's reigning champ. Geralt will find him at the Beauclair docks near the Beauclair Port signpost. Though this is an ordinary fistfight, there is one twist. The champ is blind drunk and insists Geralt must drink as well.
It's not that different from fighting sober, but keep in mind Geralt's depth perception is slightly off, his stamina drops marginally quicker, and his reaction times are a bit dulled. This means you need to stay closer than usual to the opponent, but Geralt won't be able to block constantly, and dodges or parries may be ever so slightly delayed.
Once crowned Fisticuffs Champion of Beauclair, and after taking on the rest of the Continent and Skellige, Geralt has achieved all there is to achieve in his Fists of Fury career. But the official championship bouts aren't the only opportunities Geralt will have to brush up on his hand-to-hand combat.
Fistfights Included In Other Notable Quests
Geralt will face the decision of whether to raise his fists in order to settle various matters throughout both The Witcher 3's main story and side quests. Here are some of the most notable encounters where Geralt is likely to come to blows.
Family Matters: The Bloody Baron
This fight is triggered towards the end of the Family Matters questline, after the fire at Crow's Perch cutscene when Geralt confronts an inebriated Philip Strenger about his mistreatment of his wife and daughter. Given that the Baron is tankard well out of his wits, he doesn't make for the most worthy opponent. But after what Geralt just discovered, the Witcher is happy to knock him around a bit.
Use the tips we went over earlier in the article to sidestep the baron's boorish assaults. Despite his wild swings, the baron's blows hit like sledgehammers if they land, making it difficult for Geralt to recover.
Of Swords And Dumplings: Sukrus
In the master-crafted weapons quest, Of Swords And Dumplings Geralt will have to help master wordsmith Hattori reopen his shop. In part by ensuring the now dumpling chef's safety in order for him to return to smithing. This chain of tasks will eventually lead Geralt to Sukrus at the Golden Sturgeon, who like many Skelligers, put fists before words.
In order to progress in negotiations with Sukrus, Geralt will have to first beat him in a fistfight. Keep on your guard and Sukrus falls easily enough with a couple of well-placed punches; as long as Geralt is close to the recommended level for the quest.
The King Is Dead — Long Live The King: Madman Lugos
The King Is Dead — Long Live The King is a main quest within The Witcher 3 in which Geralt and Yennefer attend the wake of the recently-deceased King Bran of Skellige. Naturally, there will be multiple noble encounters at such a high-profile event, and Skelliger's conduct their affairs a little more brusquely than royal families on the Continent.
When during one of these encounters the hot-headed Madman Lugos insults Yennefer outright, Geralt can choose to defend his sorceress and challenge Lugos to a fistfight. Geralt should be careful not to lose his head in this matter though, as Lugos is a seasoned level 30 fighter and may well outrank Geralt in brute fisticuffs.
King's Gambit: The Vildkaarl
In King's Gambit, Geralt will meet Hjalmar in the Kaer Trolde feast hall where the jarl's son will try to strike a wager for Geralt's sword. Geralt can accept, in which case he'll have to take on the Vildkaarl, or he can simply pay Hjalmar off and not risk losing his sword.
As with any proud Skelliger, the Vildkaarl can throw down with the best of them, so if Geralt does take the bet, it's not a bad idea to swap out his equipped sword for a junk piece he's willing to lose beforehand. While the Vildkaarl is tough, Geralt can parry the Skelliger's attacks if his timing is on point. Give him space, wait for the right moment, then parry and strike.
By remaining primarily on the defensive and timing his swings well, Geralt can lay the Vildkaarl out in a couple of blows. Geralt can also use the method of backing him into a corner of the feast hall to better his chances.
The Play's The Thing: Sofus The Bull & Hal
In the main quest, The Play's The Thing, Geralt will be tasked with hiring ushers to keep the peace during the performance. It is suggested that he strikes up Sofus The Bull who, he could simply pay 70 crowns to usher on his own. Otherwise, the two can strike a deal in which Geralt must prove himself in a one against two versus Sofus and the other reigning champ, Hal.
The key here is to stay sharp, remain patient, and above all, don't let Sofus and Hal corner Geralt. Being on the pier with numerous barrels, crates, and other obstacles leaves a lot of pitfalls for Geralt to get hung up in.