The Witcher 3 Remastered: All Ursine Gear Diagram Locations

The Witcher 3 has several excellent armor sets, but Bear School gear, also known as Ursine gear, is one of the best options if you want to play Geralt as a heavy-armored tank. The set provides strong protection and works well with Strong Attacks, Adrenaline, and Quen.Fortunately, Remastered did not change the locations of the old diagrams, so the set can still be collected gradually across Skellige, Velen, and finally Toussaint. As in the original game, there are five main tiers: standard, enhanced, superior, mastercrafted, and grandmaster.

How to find every Bear School diagram: quick overview

If you just want to check that you have not missed anything:

• Standard: Clan Tuirseach Castle near Yngvar's Fang for all four armor pieces. Ruined Inn for the steel sword. Fort Etnir for the silver sword. The cave south of the Old Watchtower for the crossbow.
• Enhanced: Grotto for the armor. A cave north of Kaer Muire for the boots. Ruins northeast of Rogne for the gauntlets. An island northeast of Marlin Coast for the trousers. Kaer Almhult for the steel sword. Ruins near Kaer Gelen for the silver sword.
• Superior: A cave northwest of Hanged Man's Tree for all four armor pieces. Ruined Tower for the steel sword. A cave southwest of The Orphans of Crookback Bog for the silver sword.
• Mastercrafted: Destroyed Bastion for all four armor pieces. A cave behind the Pellar's hut northwest of Blackbough for the steel sword. An island northeast of Olena's Grove for the silver sword.
• Grandmaster: The ruined house in Flovive for the armor, gauntlets, and silver sword. Owl Eye Grottos for the trousers, boots, and steel sword.

How to start the Bear School Gear scavenger hunt

The standard diagrams are on Skellige, so you need to unlock the archipelago through the story first. The quest Scavenger Hunt: Bear School Gear can be started in the usual way by simply finding one of the diagrams. For the upgrades, it is much easier to buy Ibrahim Savi's maps from the armorer at Kaer Trolde. They add the relevant search areas to your journal and save you from wandering around blind.The main set tiers are:

• standard from around level 20.
• enhanced from level 25.
• superior from level 30.
• mastercrafted from level 34.
• grandmaster from level 40 and only with the Blood and Wine expansion.

Standard Bear School Gear

Most of the first set is found on Skellige. You need four armor diagrams, two swords, and a separate crossbow. We recommend starting with the armor near Yngvar's Fang and then traveling around the other islands for the weapons.

Armor, gauntlets, trousers, and boots

Travel to An Skellig and follow the road toward Yngvar's Fang. Slightly below the summit are the ruins of Clan Tuirseach Castle. Enter from the southern side, descend into the dungeon, and find the lever that opens the cell gates. Go through one of the newly opened cells and continue farther down. At the end of the route, you reach a room containing a chest with all four diagrams: Ursine armor, gauntlets, trousers, and boots. Wraiths appear along the way, so we recommend refreshing Quen before going down. The corridors are tight, and fighting several spirits at once is not particularly comfortable.

Steel sword

Travel to the Ruined Inn southeast of Fyresdal on Ard Skellig. Go down into the cellar of the burned building and deal with the wraiths. The Ursine steel sword diagram is in a chest in the adjoining room. This is one of the easiest parts of the set. If you have already unlocked the fast travel signpost, the entire stop takes only a couple of minutes.

Silver sword

The silver sword diagram is at Fort Etnir, north of Rogne. The ruins are guarded by gargoyles and an ice elemental, but you do not need to kill them if you arrive well before the recommended level. Stay along the southern side of the ruins and run toward the collapsed annex. A skeleton lies on the ground there. Search it to collect the diagram. We recommend casting Quen beforehand because even if you decide not to fight, one stray gargoyle hit can end the sightseeing tour very quickly.

Ursine crossbow

The crossbow is hidden on Spikeroog in a cave south of the Old Watchtower. At the first fork inside, turn right, climb over the rocks, and cross to the neighboring ledge. The diagram is on a skeleton. The crossbow has a higher level requirement than the standard armor, and most importantly, it has no enhanced, superior, mastercrafted, or grandmaster versions. Once you find it, you can safely forget about upgrades and come back to it only if you want the complete set for your collection.

Enhanced Bear School Gear

The diagrams are much more spread out at the second tier. Most are still on Skellige, but you no longer get the armor from a single chest. This is where Ibrahim Savi's maps start saving a serious amount of time.

Enhanced armor

Travel to Grotto east of Kaer Muire. The entrance is on the coastal side. Follow the cave almost all the way to the end and inspect the area around the stalagmites. One of the chests contains the Enhanced Ursine armor diagram. The enemies inside are noticeably stronger than those around the standard set. If you arrive too early, we do not recommend forcing yourself to clear the entire cave. Grab the diagram and leave.

Enhanced boots

North of Kaer Muire, find the cave east of the main road. Rock trolls have settled inside. Near their campfire, beside a large rock, are several chests. One contains the Enhanced Ursine boots diagram.

Enhanced gauntlets

Look for the ruined tower northeast of Rogne and southeast of Fort Etnir. Climb into the ruins from the eastern side and use Witcher Senses to find the chest containing the gauntlets diagram.

Enhanced trousers

Travel to Undvik and head to the coastline northeast of the Marlin Coast signpost. A small island near the shore has an entrance to a grotto. Dive into the water, swim inside, and search the chest containing the Enhanced Ursine trousers diagram.

Enhanced steel sword

The diagram is in Kaer Almhult, a fortress on a separate island west of Kaer Trolde. The location is occupied by a large bandit camp. Enter the inner courtyard, turn right, climb the stairs, then go left. The chest with the diagram is at the end of the passage. Clearing Kaer Almhult can take a while, so we recommend dealing with the ranged enemies first. When bolts are raining down from above while several enemies rush you from below, looking for one chest suddenly turns into a full fortress assault.

Enhanced silver sword

The ruins you need are northeast of Kaer Gelen. Harpies guard the entrance, and alghouls appear inside. Go through the breach in the wall and continue into the far room, where you will find the chest containing the Enhanced Ursine silver sword diagram.

Superior Bear School Gear

At this stage, the hunt moves to Velen and becomes much more compact. All four armor diagrams are stored together again, so you only need to visit three locations.

Superior armor, gauntlets, trousers, and boots

From Hanged Man's Tree, head northwest toward the cave with a monster den. Stay along the left wall once inside. You will quickly spot a small side alcove containing a chest with all four Superior Ursine armor diagrams. The cave is also used during one of the side quests, so you may already have cleared it. If so, just return to the chest. You will not have to fight half of Velen all over again.

Superior steel sword

Travel to the Ruined Tower south of Downwarren, near Crookback Bog. An earth elemental guards the ruins. The diagram is hidden in a chest among debris and vegetation in the corner of the site, so use Witcher Senses instead of circling the tower and hoping to spot it with the naked eye.

Superior silver sword

The cave is southwest of The Orphans of Crookback Bog. One entrance is concealed by an illusion, so the Eye of Nehaleni, which Geralt receives during Keira Metz's questline, is useful here. Once the illusion is removed, go inside and keep to the left. The chest containing the diagram is in a small side passage. There is another entrance if you do not have the Eye of Nehaleni yet, but we recommend returning after Keira's quest instead of struggling with the detour. The artifact will be useful many more times anyway.

Mastercrafted Bear School Gear

The mastercrafted diagrams are also in Velen and are divided between just three locations. Crafting each item requires its superior version, so it is best to have the previous stages completed by this point.

Mastercrafted armor, gauntlets, trousers, and boots

Travel to the Destroyed Bastion south of Bald Mountain. A cyclops guards the ruins, but fighting it is not required. Circle the structure and find the grindstone. A chest containing all four Mastercrafted Ursine armor diagrams sits in a small recess beside the southern wall. If Geralt is still underleveled, we recommend simply taking the loot and leaving. The cyclops does not award a special prize for your sense of honor, and the diagrams can be collected perfectly well without a heroic duel.

Mastercrafted steel sword

Look for the cave northwest of Blackbough, behind the Pellar's hut. Nekkers usually wander near the entrance, while a bear may be found inside. Drop into the larger cave and continue toward the far end while keeping to the right wall. The chest with the Mastercrafted Ursine steel sword diagram is behind a stone pillar.

Mastercrafted silver sword

Travel to Olena's Grove in southern Velen. Northeast of the fast travel point is a small island with a monster nest. The chest is hidden beside a large rock on the island. We recommend destroying the drowner nest first. As long as it remains active, enemies keep appearing, making it much harder to calmly search the ground with Witcher Senses.

Grandmaster Bear School Gear

The final tier is available only in the Blood and Wine expansion. In Beauclair, speak to grandmaster armorer Lazare Lafargue and take the quest Scavenger Hunt: Grandmaster Ursine Gear. The Bear School route is especially convenient because all six diagrams are divided into just two groups of three. Grandmaster items require the mastercrafted versions of the corresponding gear, so we do not recommend postponing the earlier tiers. Once you reach Toussaint, you would only have to go back and craft the entire upgrade chain anyway.

Grandmaster armor, gauntlets, and silver sword

Travel to the village of Flovive in eastern Toussaint. A partially ruined house stands between the village and Tufo Vineyard. Go around the back, find the passage blocked by rocks, and clear it with Aard. Descend into the cellar and immediately search the right side of the room. A chest contains three diagrams: Grandmaster Ursine armor, gauntlets, and silver sword. A journal found there points you toward the remaining pieces.

Grandmaster trousers, boots, and steel sword

Now head to Owl Eye Grottos northwest of Flovive. Giant centipedes inhabit the cave, and at one point another destructible wall blocks the path. Use Aard and then follow the Bear School symbols on the walls. Deep in the cave, you will find the remains of a witcher. Search them to collect the final three diagrams: Grandmaster Ursine trousers, boots, and steel sword. We recommend combining this trip with the contract The Tufo Monster if it is already in your journal because both quests lead into the same cave system.

What does the full Grandmaster Ursine set do?

Bear School gear remains a heavy defensive set centered around Adrenaline and Quen. The three-piece grandmaster bonus gives you a chance to automatically restore a Quen shield after the previous one breaks, with the chance increasing for each piece worn. The full six-piece set further strengthens Quen-related abilities.That is why we recommend Ursine gear for heavy builds and high-difficulty playthroughs. If you are building Geralt around Strong Attacks and survivability, the set works extremely well with the appropriate skills. And if you eventually get tired of the heavy armor look, Remastered lets you keep the stats while changing its appearance through the new customization system. We explain it in more detail in our guide to transmogrification and Reforge.

What happens to the set in New Game +?

You do not need to search for separate new caches in New Game +. The same locations contain Legendary versions of Bear School gear: Legendary standard, enhanced Legendary, superior Legendary, mastercrafted Legendary, and grandmaster Legendary.The route remains exactly the same. Only the stats and level requirements change. The crossbow is still the exception because there is no separate Legendary upgrade chain for it.