Check the ability and the required manual first
Anca teaches Compel Soul, Astral Communion, Burning Blood and Mercurial Fervour around the prologue’s end. Their later ranks can still require manuals.
Open the exact skill you want and read its next requirement. Match the manual name before collecting or buying a copy. This page covers ability manuals; it is not a complete catalog of passive-perk manuals or a spending order.
After collecting or buying the named manual, open your inventory, select that manual and choose Read. Then reopen the skill’s next-rank requirements and check whether it still needs a Skill Point or another prerequisite. PowerPyx explicitly documents this Read step for the Ravenous Flock reward; receiving that item alone does not unlock its next rank.
One documented route for each manual
| Manual | Landmark or quest | Gate to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Burning Blood | Ancient Circle southwest of Eerie Knoll Shrine. | Complete the activity and collect its reward. |
| Soul Reaping | Ancient Circle east of Maragir village. | Complete the activity; check the named manual. |
| Soul Stigma | Ancient Circle northeast of St. Tyna’s Grove Tower Shrine. | Complete the activity. |
| Cycle of Ruin | Ancient Circle west of Coward’s Path Shrine, toward the western end of Cursed Chasm. | Use the descending path; finish the circle encounter. |
| Ravenous Flock | Reward for A Pilgrimage for Power: Bear Trouble, west across the river from Laslea Gate Shrine. | This is a quest reward, not a loose book at the shrine. |
| Unholy Vitality | Haunted Site southwest of Eerie Knoll Shrine. | Resolve that activity; an Ancient Circle is not the same marker. |
| Mercurial Fervour | Top floor of the convent library during Echoes of Silenced Bells. | Progress through the convent quest to the library. |
| Life Lock | Buy from Mevasser after the ability unlocks in Who Pulls the Strings. | Complete the preceding quest chain first; the tower unlock is not a manual pickup. |
The PowerPyx catalog and PC Gamer’s ability guide list additional copies and vendors. These selected routes do not claim every copy is available at the same time.
Finish the Ancient Circle before searching for its reward
- Navigate to the named circle rather than any nearby question mark.
- Activate the circle’s encounter and defeat the attackers.
- Collect the reward after the encounter, then check the manual name against your intended upgrade.
- Open your inventory, select the collected manual and choose Read.
- Reopen that skill’s requirements before spending a Skill Point. If it is still locked, identify the remaining prerequisite instead of assuming another character level will remove it.
The recorded circle section shows the encounter setting and map route. Its narration confuses Cycle of Ruin with Soul Reaping’s effect; use the in-game description for effects. This page uses the footage for the activity route, not that effect claim.
Two locations depend on longer quests
Convent library: Mercurial Fervour’s listed copy is inside the library reached during Echoes of Silenced Bells. A map marker outside the convent does not bypass its passage and quest steps.
Life Lock: The ability unlocks during Who Pulls the Strings, after Manumit’s earlier quests including The Firebrand, Shadows in the Woods and Where Loyalty Lies. Afterwards, PC Gamer reports manuals sold by Mevasser. Find him in Neustadt: from the square’s central tree, enter the house on the left near the stone archway. Check his stock after unlocking the ability; no price or restock rule is established here.
If the upgrade is still unavailable
- Manual received but rank still locked: select the manual in your inventory and use Read, then reopen the skill. If it remains locked, check the displayed point and prerequisite requirements.
- You found the right area but no book: check whether the table names a chest, activity reward or quest reward; reaching the landmark alone is not completion.
- You already learned the ability: read the next rank’s requirement before buying another manual.
- The listed quest is not active: finish its named prerequisite instead of treating the location as a guaranteed pickup.
- A vendor or alternate copy differs: consult the additional-location sources and your current journal. No universal vendor price, restock cycle or missing-item recovery is established here.
Questions before you continue
Do Witchcraft manuals replace Skill Points?
No. Read the collected manual from your inventory, then check the skill’s remaining Skill Point and prerequisite requirements before purchasing a rank.
Is this an exact Witchcraft build order?
No. It is a location reference for eight ability manuals. It does not establish a level-by-level point budget or an optimal route.
Related guides
Sources and coverage
- PC Gamer: Witchcraft ability manuals — Starting abilities, selected manual locations and longer quest prerequisites.
- PowerPyx: skill manual catalog — Witchcraft manual locations; this page does not cover its Swordmastery catalog.
- RageGaming: Ancient Circle route — Ancient Circle route at 16:08–17:03. The narration mixes up an ability effect, so check effects in the game’s skill description.
- PowerPyx: reading a skill manual — The Bear Trouble ending requires reading the scroll in inventory to unlock access to the next Ravenous Flock level.
Reviewed September 7, 2026. This guide combines the attributed launch-version walkthroughs and footage; it is not a report of a separate playthrough by this site. Check your current quest journal and action-cost prompts when a patch or choice changes the route.