Geralt tier revision

[Vaner77]

Hello, fellow witchers (if there are any left on this site xD)

In this thread I'll explain why Geralt, in my opinion, should be rated much higher than just 8-C. Depending on arguments, he can be put anywhere from 7-C to even 6-C. However, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll write down the most important points now. I might add some stuff later.

According to The Witcher Pen & Paper RPG, each elemental is a city-level threat:

Geralt fights various elementals on a fairly regular basis, from ifrits in The Witcher, golems in The Witcher II, and even a djinn and a d'ao in The Witcher III. On several occasions he even had to fight a couple of them at once. To be fair though, the scale of settlements in the medieval-based Witcher universe would make the elementa (and thus, Geralt) closer to town level, rather than city level. Then again, he has fought several at once on occasion, so...

UPDATE: Furthermore, Erland of Larvik, founder and Grandmaster of the School of the Griffin, states that dragons and higher vampires are much more powerful than the elementals such as golems:

Geralt fought and defeated Saskia and Dettlaff, a dragon and a higher vampire respectively. Simple.


Another statement comes from Witcher: The Old World board game, specifically from the Legendary Hunt expansion:

As it happens, Geralt faced a good portion of these legendary monsters in combat, and his trackrecord is pretty solid:

• Toad - The most straightforward case, Geralt beats a Toad in the Hearts of Stone expansion;
• Ice Giant - Another pretty straightforward case, Geralt beats an ice giant during the Lord of Undvik quest in The Witcher III. Granted, he had help from Hjalmar (and, depending on the choices made by you, Folan & Vigi), however the game makes it clear that Geralt was carrying him. He got pinned to the ground and had to be saved by Geralt, and after the fight he outright calls Geralt a Giantslayer, even though technically Hjalmar was the one who dealt the killing blow;
• Frightener/Cyclops - IIRC, the only known instance of Geralt fighting a frightened comes from The Witcher, where he had help from Vesemir, Eskel, Lambert, and Leo. Fortunately, the Monsterbook confirms that the King of the Wild Hunt (Eredin's avatar) is the most powerful enemy in the game, putting him (and Geralt) above the frightener. Furthermore, frighteners are superior to cyclops as shown in Monster Slayer. Plus, Geralt can kill several cyclops in The Witcher III during various quests.
• Unseen Elder - yeah, that didn't go well xD

UPDATE: Exclusive Monster Pack added Kayran to the Legendary Hunt expansion.
As we know, Geralt defeated Kayran.

Another thing supporting this level of Geralt is his cameo in Soul Calibur VI:

While the cameo isn't canon for the Witcherverse per see, it can be considered as such. The devs talk about the need to bring "the full Geralt" in the context of his abilities, and consider his appearance as "expanding both verses in a meaningful way". Also, keep in mind this would apply specifically to a pre-BoW Geralt, meaning a post-BoW mutations Geralt would be even stronger.

All right, that's it for now. Let me know what you think.

 

[M3X_2.0]

According to The Witcher Pen & Paper RPG, each elemental is a city-level threat:

Elementa can destroy cities but that's not what you're thinking. They can destroy the buildings with their strikes, kill a lot of people, etc. They don't have the size or any method of busting a city, not even a small village.

Every representation of Elementas in the Witcher universe has been like, regular golems or just animals infused with elemental powers. This is not City level.

Geralt fights various elementals on a fairly regular basis, from ifrits in The Witcher, golems in The Witcher II, and even a djinn and a d'ao in The Witcher III. On several occasions he even had to fight a couple of them at once. To be fair though, the scale of settlements in the medieval-based Witcher universe would make the elementa (and thus, Geralt) closer to town level, rather than city level. Then again, he has fought several at once on occasion, so...

No it woundn't make them Town level either. These monsters cannot bust a City, a Djinn is a very powerful being that only equally powerful mages can tame and use them as source of their power, and this power far outclasses anything Geralt or any other Witcher has shown.

Unusually powerful mages can capture and tame these beings. The mage can then draw on its energy, using it to cast spells without having to call on Power from traditional sources. Only a sparse handful have managed this feat, however, for djinn fight to avoid such a fate with stubborn determination. To imprison a djinn and bend it to one's will, one must first weaken it - and that is no easy feat.

The Witcher 3 game even makes it more lore accurate: If you have the enemy upscaling option enabled, the Djinn two-shot you at most and you barely do any damage, just like any top tier mage wouldn't.

Another statement comes from Witcher: The Old World board game, specifically from the Legendary Hunt expansion:

Again, none of these monsters have a way or method to bust a city with one attack. They don't have the power nor the range to do so.

Another thing supporting this level of Geralt is his cameo in Soul Calibur VI:

Not canon and don't even try to push this.

 

[M3X_2.0]

All of these "City level" statements are actually just monsters terrorizing cities and not actually busting them because they have no way to do so.

 

[LegendariumOfLies]

frighteners are superior to cyclops as shown in Monster Slayer.

Another thing supporting this level of Geralt is his cameo in Soul Calibur VI:

Why are you using crossovers for scaling?

 

[Vaner77]

Small update and bump.

 

[Vaner77]

Elementa can destroy cities but that's not what you're thinking. They can destroy the buildings with their strikes, kill a lot of people, etc. They don't have the size or any method of busting a city, not even a small village.

Feel free to provide evidence.

Every representation of Elementas in the Witcher universe has been like, regular golems or just animals infused with elemental powers. This is not City level.

Not true. The djinn in The Witcher III cut a gigantic crater in the seabed as a mere side effect of his teleportation spell, as well as affected the weather on a multi-island-level scale. D'ao is repeatedly stated to be capable of moving/smashing mountain(s):

...once moved a mountain because it obstructed the view from his tower. Nobody has managed to do the like, before or since. Because Stammelford, so they say, had the services of a d'ao, an Earth genie.

- The Last Wish

The earth elemental is the younger brother of the legendary d'ao, the genie capable of creating earthquakes and flattening mountains.

- The Witcher II: Assassins of Kings

The only recorded case of a moved mountain mentiones the Mahakam peak named Aar, under which d'ao had buried an elven palace, Muire Deith.

- Witcher: Monster Slayer

As it happens, Geralt fought both of these creatures in The Witcher 3. He flat-out defeated the d'ao, and managed to weaken the djinn to the point where Yen was able to tame him, something she wouldn't be able to do on her own:

Up at the ship's wheel, Yennefer aims to conjure and tame the djinn. It appears, but is too powerful to control!

No it woundn't make them Town level either. These monsters cannot bust a City, a Djinn is a very powerful being that only equally powerful mages can tame and use them as source of their power, and this power far outclasses anything Geralt or any other Witcher has shown.

Speaking of djinn, here's Geralt injuring an "exceptionally strong djinn" with a hastily-conjured Aard (something that shouldn't even be possible considering the djinn's invulnerability to air-based magic):

Geralt reached the head in three laps, swiped his silver sword and slashed it through the middle. The air howled, the head exhaled smoke and rapidly doubled in diameter. The monstrous jaw, now also much larger, flew open, snapped and whistled; the paws pulled the struggling Dandelion and crushed him to the ground.

The witcher crossed his fingers in the Sign of Aard and threw as much energy as he could muster at the head. The energy materialized in a blinding beam, sliced through the glow surrounding the head and hit its mark. The boom was so loud that it stabbed Geralt's ears, and the air sucked in by the implosion made the willows rustle. The roar of the monster was deafening as it grew even larger, but it released the poet, soared up, circled and, waving its paws, flew away over the water.

The same djinn, as a result of his confrontation with Yen, destroyed half of the city of Rinde.
And that last part of your quote? About weakening a djinn? Geralt did it.

The Witcher 3 game even makes it more lore accurate: If you have the enemy upscaling option enabled, the Djinn two-shot you at most and you barely do any damage, just like any top tier mage wouldn't.

"If".
Not only you're appealing to a game mechanic, which is flimsy to begin with, but the said mechanic is a completely optional feature. Throw in the fact that any argument in the line of "creature x can kill Geralt in y blows" is inherently flawed since Geralt, you know, canonically survives the events of the game.

But sure, let's entertain the thought of using game mechanics for a moment.
The journal states that the djinn resisted Geralt with all its might:

There, barging recklessly in where even dragons should fear to tread, they summoned the djinn and tried to capture it. The djinn, however, had no intention of giving up without a fight and resisted with all its strength.

So, by your own logic, Geralt can take a full-power blast from a creature capable of cutting a huge crater in the seabed as a mere side effect of his teleportation spell, as well as affecting the weather on a multi-island-level scale. Nice.

Btw, upscaled djinn one/two-shotting you apparently has been fixed by the Next-Gen Update.

Again, none of these monsters have a way or method to bust a city with one attack. They don't have the power nor the range to do so.

You don't even need to "bust a city with one attack" to be city-level. But while you're at it, prove it.

Also, Gaunter O'Dimm.

Not canon and don't even try to push this.

Doesn't need to be. The same people who put Geralt against the likes of a d'ao, a djinn, and Eredin made it clear that Geralt from The Witcher 3 and Geralt from Soul Calibur are equally capable.

All of these "City level" statements are actually just monsters terrorizing cities and not actually busting them because they have no way to do so.

Uh-huh.

elementa are forces of chaos that can destroy cities.
[...]
They recently crushed the cities of Poviss and Kovir to dust.
[...]
Legendary monsters roam the world, destroying cities in their wake.

Why are you using crossovers for scaling?

For the reasons already stated. The same people who put Geralt against the likes of a d'ao, a djinn, and Eredin made it clear that Geralt from The Witcher 3 and Geralt from Soul Calibur are equally capable.

 

[Hellbeast]

All of these "City level" statements are actually just monsters terrorizing cities and not actually busting them because they have no way to do so.

Basically yeah
The King of the Wild Hunt being > all other monsters in the game is fairly interesting though