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How to Dismantle Junk in the Witcher 3

How to Dismantle Junk in the Witcher 3

One of the major mechanics in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is crafting. This is especially true regarding the equipment utilized by Geralt. Once weapons and armor become redundant, however, it is best to dismantle them for materials. In this article, we’ll be discussing how you can dismantle junk in Witcher 3.

To Dismantle old weapons, armor, or junk you need to locate a Blacksmith or Armorer. They will break down your redundant equipment and junk for a fee. Blacksmiths and Armorers can be found in every medium to large-sized town. They will be marked on your map with an anvil and a hammer icon.

Dismantling can be incredibly useful if you have certain items that you wish to craft but do not have all the basic materials to make them. Often dismantling old gear and junk can provide you with a plethora of useful materials that you can utilize. Read on to find out more about dismantling in the Witcher 3.

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Dismantling Junk in the Witcher 3

Dismantle Menu by Blacksmiths and Armorers
Dismantle Menu by Blacksmiths and Armorers

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was an absolute breakthrough in so many regards for video games. And one of the best aspects that the game had was its involved crafting mechanic that made overworld exploration meaningful. Even finding junk in the game became rewarding because of the dismantling mechanic.

Dismantling in the game serves two basic purposes. The first is that you destroy something that you own, but do not want. Clutter and inventory management are the banes of RPG players, and the Witcher 3 attempts to make that more manageable by simply allowing you to remove items you don’t need.

But simply removing items is never fun, rather the second purpose, which is to get pieces that you can use in other crafts, makes removing unnecessary items a beneficial process within the game. An example of this is when Geralt is tasked with dismantling one of his Silver Swords and receives Silver and Leather in return.

The benefit of those leather straps and silver is that you can create more powerful swords. All you must do is obtain the crafting recipes for those items.

Guide to Dismantling in the Witcher 3

If you have junk in your inventory or equipment that you no longer need, then to dismantle these items you need to go to a Blacksmith or Armorer. Follow the steps we’ll go over in this section to dismantle in the Witcher 3:

  • Find and go to a Blacksmith or Armorer in one of the towns or cities in the Witcher 3.
  • You can identify a Blacksmith or Armorer by the anvil/ hammer icon for a Blacksmith and the hammer and chest plate icon for the Armorer on the map.
Blacksmith and Armor Location in Central Novigrad
Blacksmith and Armor Location in Central Novigrad
  • Speak to either the Blacksmith or the Armorer.
  • Select the Ask to Dismantle option from their speech menu.
  • It will open the Dismantle table in the Blacksmith/Armorer menu.
  • Select items/junk from your inventory.
  • The cost of Dismantling and the items you will receive will be shown on the side window.
  • Click on the Button in the Middle to have the items broken down.
  • Confirm that you want it broken down and continue with the process.

And voila! You will now receive the materials that made up that item that you dismantled in the first place. It is important to constantly be dismantling unwanted junk in your inventory so that your inventory is not clogged up by items that you do not need.

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Which Items Should You Dismantle in the Witcher 3?

Screenshot of the Dismantle Menu, Witcher 3.
Screenshot of the Dismantle Menu

Now that you know how to dismantle the Witcher 3, you will need to know what items you should look out for to dismantle, and which items are better that you keep instead. So within this section, we’ll be discussing how to maximize the process of dismantling to give you the best experience in Witcher 3.

Junk For Income

Although dismantling is a superb way to get materials for crafting, selling the items has its advantages as well. Perhaps the most important advantage is that selling looted junk is one of the primary ways Geralt can build up money within the game. It’s extremely beneficial to sell junk that you can’t dismantle, and get a few extra coins for your Witcher.

Relic Weapons and Armor

Witcher 3 Relic Weapons
Witcher 3 Relic Weapons

Among the type of items that get you a high value at the vendor are Relic weapons and Relic Armor. Especially with Smiths, these items can fetch you quite a bit of money for your trouble. But certain Relic weapons and Relic armor can be dismantled into rare components that are very difficult to obtain within the game.

These components include things like Dimeritium and Black Steel ingots. Both of these are not plentiful in the world of the Witcher. They will require you to plan out your acquisition and utilization of them. If you wish to obtain better weapons and armor in the future.

Related: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Witcher 3

Bear Hides Aren’t Worth Dismantling

Unlike the highly coveted materials that you get from Relic weapons and armor. Bear Hide is quite costly to dismantle and yet only yields very commonplace materials for your trouble. This isn’t too terrible on its own, however. But for some reason, Bear Hides can fetch quite a bit of money for Geralt.

So it is often a better idea to sell Bear Hides than to dismantle them. Bear Hides are dismantled only to provide Leather straps or other more commonplace materials. You will most probably not need these items anyway in the course of your journey, or at least not urgently.

Should You Dismantle Jewelry and Gemstones?

Jewelry in the Witcher 3
Jewelry in the Witcher 3

Jewelry is an interesting item in Witcher 3. We would recommend that it is better to dismantle jewelry rather than try to directly sell it. This is because when you dismantle jewelry you receive many rare raw gems and valuable metals. These items collectively are often far more valuable than the price of the jewelry from selling.

One of the best ways to get silver is through dismantling jewelry. Moreover, some gemstones, like Rubies and Ambers, are necessary to craft certain powerful swords and armor. It is thus the smart move to forgo the momentary bliss of a few more crowns. In exchange for dismantling a few pieces of jewelry, you get a bigger stat bonus through crafted equipment.

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Final Thoughts

At different points in the game, they might require more materials and at other times they might desire more money.

Outdated gear can be particularly problematic because of clutter. So do not be afraid to dismantle it when you need to craft better and rarer items. If you need money then selling items can be useful as well. If you need to get other crafted material then do that without hesitation.


Either way, dismantling can be useful. A vital process to ensure an unencumbered playthrough of the Witcher 3. We recommend seeking out Blacksmiths and Armorers in whichever Town or City you visit in the Witcher 3. And using them to better your equipment and reduce your burden however much they can.

I hope you found this article useful. See you next time! Ciao.