The Witcher 3’s hardest quest is probably Collect ‘Em All. It’s not that Gwent is particularly difficult (with our guide to how to kick ass at Gwent, you’ll be triumphant in no time), it’s that it’s very hard to track what you have and haven’t got, or know in advance what needs to be done to avoid missing unique opportunities.
Most “answers” to this problem give you a list of every card in the game, sorted by faaction, and vaguely describing where to find them. Reconciling these lists with your current Gwent deck is a pain thanks to how cards are sorted in the deck menu, and there are so many missable cards that consulting this list at the end of the game can be heartbreaking.
Here’s my proposed solution: a list of everything you need to do in order to collect every Gwent card. If you follow this guide, you too can know the joy of seeing the Card Collector achievement notification.
There are three ways to acquire Gwent cards, in addition to those granted to you at the start of the game: purchase them from vendors, win them during quests, and win them during random matches. Let’s look at each in turn.
In order to complete your Gwent collection you must purchase every card on sale in the Northern Realms. That means if you upset or kill off a vendor, you’ve messed it up and will need to reload an earlier save. Do whatever you need to do to make sure you can buy every card they offer (usually three to four) immediately.
Make sure you exit the vendor’s store front and then pop back in; sometimes you can purchase duplicate cards this way. Having multiple Decoy and Commander’s Horn cards can make your life a lot easier when you go after rare cards.
Here’s a list of all the vendors you need to visit to purchase every card. If you trot round all of these as soon as you have access to each major area, you’ll have gathered a pretty varied deck with little to no effort – just a bit of galloping past high-level threats.
Note: as of patch 1.05, fail-safes have been added to allow you to obtain Dijikstra and Lambert’s cards after they become unavailable in-game. At time of writing this patch is not yet available on consoles.
There are several quests allowing you to battle better than average opponents, which will reward you with cards you can’t get anywhere else (even though random NPCs use them in their decks). Here’s the low down on each of them. All of these quest are missable.
You receive this quest after the tutorial match in White Orchard. Battle Stepjan at the Alchemy Inn in Oxenfurt, the unnamed Barkeep at the Inn at the Crossroads, and Olivier at the Kingfisher Inn in Novigrad. Complete this quest before secondary quest Now or Never, or miss out forever.
It’s not listed as a side quest, but it does reward you with a card not found anywhere else, unlike random opponents. Note that you can come back to the palace and beat him at any time; you don’t need to do it on your first visit.
You receive this quest by checking the notice board in Crow’s Perch. Battle The Bloody Baron at Crow’s Perch, the Old Sage at Beken, the Boatmaker at Oreton, and the prodigy Haddy at Midcopse. If you do not complete this quest before the conclusion of Family Matters, when the Baron leaves his castle, search his rooms thoroughly after Return to Crookback Bog to find his card and a lead on the next player.
You receive this quest by playing Gwent with Vimme Vivaldi, or by checking notice boards around Novigrad. Battle Vimme Vivaldi at the bank in Novigrad, Marquise Serenity at the Passiflora in Novigrad, Sigismund Dijkstra in the Bathhouse in Novigrad and the Scoia’Tael Trader in the camp near Lucian’s Windmill. Complete this quest before Reason of State or risk missing out forever.
Receive this quest by challenging Zoltan Chivay or Vernon Roche. Battle Zoltan Chivay at the Thyme and Rosemary in Novigrad any time after reporting back to him during Broken Flowers; Vernon Roche at the Temerian Partisan Camp outside Novigrad any time he is not absent due to quests such as A Deadly Plot and An Eye for an Eye (feel free to wander in as soon as you cross the Pontac); Lambert either in The Nowhere Inn during Pulling the Thread (you have to tell him you’ll meet him at your next objective, then talk to him as he walks out) or at Kaer Morhen; and Thaler either during A Deadly Plot or at the Seven Cats Inn thereafter. Complete this quest before The Battle of Kaer Morhen and Reason of State or risk missing out forever.
Receive this quest by challenging Crach an Craite or Ermion. Battle Crach an Craite at Kaer Trolde; Ermion at Kaer Trolde or Gedyneith; Sjusta the Tailor (barber) at Kaer Trolde Harbour; Germist the Druid at Gedyneith after completing the secondary quest Practicum in Advanced Alchemy; and “Madman” Lugos at Kaer Muire. Complete this quest before Battle Preparations or miss out forever.
The only way to get the Dandelion card is to be victorious at the three-game tournament optionally playable during secondary quest A Matter of Life and Death.
Complete this side quest for Zoltan Chivay to receive three cards not available anywhere else. At the end of the mission you can elect to keep the cards or take the money. Keep the cards.
Complete this quest at Gedyneith, harassing a druid into speaking, to receive the Iorveth card.
This secondary quest is available as soon as you arrive in Novigrad, but you need 1,000 crowns to enter and a tournament-ready deck. Save this one for later on, as you’ll need the best cards you can find; it’s not easy. Warning: This quest is easy failed so make back up saves. Do not spend the night with Madam Sasha; she will steal some of your cards.
Note: as of patch 1.04, you can purchase the White Orchard innkeeper’s cards from the merchant by the bridge leading to White Orchard.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Gwent Master(Bronze) #PS4share pic.twitter.com/4qLSaHJsVx
— Biscuits Hellfire (@draqul) May 24, 2015
The rest of the cards are won by winning matches against opponents. There are a few things to bear in mind here:
There are opponents to be found in almost every town – check innkeepers, merchants, blacksmiths and armorers.
That’s it! Not so difficult, right? If you’re missing or looking for a specific card, feel free to ask me (nicely) on Twitter and I’ll point you towards it. I, you see, have them all:
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS every #Gwent card is mine
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Card Collector(Bronze) pic.twitter.com/p8ZxS7Qg0x
— Biscuits Hellfire (@draqul) May 26, 2015
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