A crossbow would be a useless weapon without ammunition or bolts in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Gameplay
There are two main types of bolts: finite specialized bolts with unique properties and infinite bolts.
- Finite bolts can be found, looted, purchased, and crafted. When crafted, they always come in stacks of 20.
- Infinite bolts come with the default crossbow as part of Geralt's starting equipment during Lilac and Gooseberries.
- Infinite bolts are not denoted with a quantity but with an ∞ symbol, and can always be used with a crossbow if no other type of bolt is equipped.
- There are two types of infinite bolts: standard bolts and underwater bolts.
Bolts (game item)
Default infinite bolts cannot be sold or dropped, though it is possible to leave them in the stash.
Bolts (underwater)
Whenever Geralt submerges, a default set of bolts is automatically equipped. These do twice the base damage, and 100 times the silver damage of the above set. These "harpoon bolts" are also infinite, and don't appear in the inventory unless added with a console command.
List of Bolts
| Image | Name | Tier | 
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Blunt crossbow bolt (crafted) | Master | 0.06 | Yes |
 |
Blunt crossbow bolt (basic) | Master | 0.06 | No |
|
Blunt crossbow bolt (relic) | Relic | 0 | No |
 |
Bolt with bait | Master | 0.06 | Yes |
 |
Bolts | Common | 0.06 | No |
|
Bolts (underwater) | Common | 0.06 | No |
 |
Broadhead bolt (crafted) | Master | 0.06 | Yes |
 |
Broadhead bolt (basic) | Master | 0.11 | No |
 |
Exploding bolt (magic) | Magic | 0.11 | Yes |
 |
Exploding bolt (relic) | Relic | 0.21 | No |
 |
Precision bolt (crafted) | Master | 0.06 | Yes |
 |
Precision bolt (basic) | Master | 0.14 | No |
 |
Split bolt (magic) | Magic | 0.06 | Yes |
 |
Split bolt (relic) | Relic | 0.16 | No |
 |
Tracking bolt | Master | 0.06 | Yes |
Notes
- According to the Prima Official Game Guide, at one point the standard infinite bolt was named "Bodkin bolt" and was meant to be crafted with fiber, iron ore, silver ore, and feathers. This was later removed, though the item ID still retains the original name. The diagram is also still present in the game files, entirely untouched, but doesn't appear during gameplay.