Heliotrop or Heliotrope is a magical sign used by witchers. It is made by crossing one's wrists, and works as a buffer against physical attacks, combat magic and impacts with walls, ground etc. Contrary to Quen, which is active until broken or dispelled, the Heliotrop is active only for a moment and cushions from a single powerful attack or damage.[1][N 1]
Adaptations
Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni
Heliotrop works as a shield against charms, spells, sounds and other energies directed towards it, but is useless against purely physical attacks.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Heliotrop sign is the ultimate skill (Sense of Magic) on the Magic tree of Geralt's skill set. To use it you must fill the adrenaline bar by using any of the other signs. Once the bar is fully charged, activate the sign, this will cause adrenaline to reset to zero. The Heliotrop sign creates a temporary immobile circular force-field area around Geralt, which considerably slows down everything inside the field except himself.
- The adrenaline bar can start refilling immediately, even while the field is in effect.
- Note that in the case of Quen, casting does not increase adrenaline, but its discharges from receiving blows will - so if you are already under attack, it's usually worth starting the adrenaline buildup with Quen.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
In the leaked materials for the third game, Heliotrop was mentioned, like under the cut content for Ifrit. However it was never implemented in game.
Trivia
- The name of the sign refers to the Greek word for sunflower, heliotropio, from helios (sun) and trepein (turn/change). ('Heliotrope' is sometimes used in English to refer to the color usually seen in sunflower petals.)
Notes
- Heliotrop is the only named sign along with Somne not included in The Witcher.
- In the books, Geralt uses this spell several times. When he first met Yennefer, when he was fighting Vereena, and when he fought against a vigilosaur.
Gallery
Footnotes
- ↑ The sign appears consistently throughout Andrzej Sapkowski's work as a protection against physical attacks, impacts with walls and combat magic. However, fans from the author's original website mistook it with another sign, Quen, which appeared only once. The consecutive adaptations repeated the mistake.