Every witcher of worth knows the value of mixing the use of one's blades with casting magical signs. These two combat methods combine to multiply a warrior's deadliness against man, beast, and monster alike. The latter of these methods, the signs, are quite varied with five main ones accessible to players in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The most popular of these signs are Igni, to immolate one's foes at will, and Quen, an irreplaceable shield, because of their obvious and straightforward implementation.
However, others should not be ignored, as they offer not only unorthodox combat benefits but boons outside of battle as well. Axii is one that operates in a more subtle manner than its brethren signs, therefore it can sometimes go overlooked by many witchers. It is recommended to try out this simple spell, as there are many reasons that make it a handy tool for many situations.
10 Casting Gesture
As Axii is a fair deal less volatile than other signs, therefore it can be used a bit more liberally with usually less detrimental effects. However, before one can start bending people's minds like some sort of Jedi, witchers need to learn how to cast the sign.
The hand sign required needs the caster's hand to have their ring and pinky fingers bent while keeping the middle and index finger, as well as the thumb, extended. Following this, simply draw the inverted triangle sigil in the air in front of one's desired target and begin manipulating them at will.
9 Oceanic Origin
All of the signs, technically being spells, draw their power from the world's natural sources: the elements. Earth, Air, Fire, and Water all make up the main natural elements that mages draw from during their rituals and while casting sorcery, although there are a few other sources. Manipulation of the Water element is relatively easy compared to trying to work with the other elements, as it is very dynamic and conforms to one's will without too much resistance.
Axii draws its power from both Water and the Mind. Water is usually used in information-seeking like in Divination rituals, whereas Mind magic, born from one's thoughts, pertains to schools of magic like Telekinesis. Axii mixes these traits in order to allow one's will to flow into the mind of a target, albeit temporarily.
8 Immediate Combat Usage
Sometimes combat with many foes can get very tricky. The key to coming out on top in these situations is to utilize crowd control tactics until one thins the herd down to a more manageable size. Axii's most known trait for combat is that it can stun and charm a single target.
This victim will succumb to Geralt's desires and will fight alongside him temporarily (if Axii is upgraded enough), which not only reduces the number of enemies but increases the number of allies as well. This can take a lot of heat off of a witcher as they cut down adversaries. It should be mentioned, however, that this is a tactic mostly effective on humans.
7 Dialogue Options
Depending on the way a conversation goes, a few different things can happen. If Geralt is in a more aggressive position, combat may occur, however, drawing one's sword is not the only path. There are usually other choices besides trying to intimidate the people of the Northern Realms.
Convincing someone with the help of Axii can lead to less chaotic outcomes as well as potentially more information and possibly better rewards. More often than not, Axii will provide the best option when speaking with an individual, though one should be careful when using it in dialogue with multiple characters, as Axii can only affect a single target at a time. The non-targets who see Geralt using Axii will usually freak out, leading to a fight.
6 Familiar Hand Signs
If one chooses to select the Axii option in dialogue, Geralt will go into an animation where he makes hand signs and draws the sign's sigil in the air towards his target. When doing so, some may find that the movements he makes may look familiar.
As opposed to how he makes his hand sign in combat usages of Axii, Geralt will seemingly use American sign language, spelling out a few letters usually interpreted as "A", "X", and "I", when using this magical sign in conversations.
5 Calm Roach & Tame Wild Horses
Axii can be used on more than just man and monster. Animals are quite susceptible to this wave of charm, which can lead to some interesting applications. The most useful being the ability to calm Roach when they are being spooked by threats. This allows Geralt to control his mount easier and makes for much smoother riding.
In a similar vein of usage, the White Wolf can cast this sign onto wild horses to ease their skittish nature. When Axii takes effect, one will see a white aura around the head of the equine, meaning they are now docile enough to be mounted.
4 Befriend Every Cat
Horses are not the only non-hostile animals that Axii can be used on. Throughout much of Geralt's travels in urban environments, he'll come across many felines roaming the roads and other areas. Although there is no practical function for doing so, players can interact with these cats in an unexpected way.
Witchers can cast Axii on these small mammals to make them follow him while sporting the telltale signature white aura of being under the influence of this sign. Besides leading a parade of kittens about town, there is little worth to this animal-related sorcery. Though, that doesn't stop it from being entertaining, which is what video games are all about.
3 Spelling & Translation
The Witcher novels by renowned author Andrzej Sapkowski were originally written in his native language of Polish. While not an issue in any way, the content needed to be adapted into English in order to be marketable in North American markets. During the translation process, as with virtually every non-English bit of content, there were a few translation mix-ups.
Originally known as "Aksji" in the novels, the sign was initially translated into English as "Axia". While not too far from what gamers have today, this would have changed the pronunciation for all usages of this word in the games, making a ripple effect that would have caused numerous questions about the etymology and origin of the term.
2 Upgrades, Perks, & Abilities
Thanks to the versatility and number of options for character development in The Witcher 3, players have a great variety of ways to hunt and slay monsters as well as complete quests. Each sign has upgrades, tiers, and alternate usages that make each playthrough unique and interesting.
At higher levels, upgrades can increase the success of dialogue uses of Axii, force a stunned enemy to fight alongside Geralt in combat, and even allow him to bend two foes to his will at the same time.
1 Hit & Run Tactics
There are quite a few times when players will stumble across a monster that they are not quite ready to face due to the severe level difference. Most of the time, it would make sense to simply come back at a higher level to slay this particular fiend, however, this is not the only option.
Even on some bigger, deadlier adversaries, Axii can stun a target for a few crucial seconds; long enough to get some hits in and retreat to a safer distance. These guerilla tactics are the epitome of cheesing the game's combat mechanics, though can net the player some great loot and experience if one uses this technique against monsters they normally should not be able to handle at their current level.