The Witcher 3 is divided into a prologue and three acts, spread across multiple locations. The story begins with a tutorial in Kaer Morhen, then a wander through White Orchard as Geralt searches for his lost love, Yennefer, and copes with troubling premonitions regarding his adopted daughter, Ciri.
On our adventures we’ll take in the sights of Velen (No Man’s Land), Novigrad and Skellige before we even make it out of the first act. It’s a lot to take in all at once, but don’t worry – our guide is here to show you what you need to do and when the best time to do it is.
Like you, we’re a little daunted by the scope (and majesty) of CD Projekt’s RED’s first go at open world gaming, but we’ll be adding new pages and content to this guide as quickly as we can – both general guides on how to approach the game as well as detailed walkthroughs. Let us know what you’d like to see first, or more of; we’re open to suggestions.
Good luck, witchers; you’ll need it.
Quest walkthroughs
For easy navigation, we’ve grouped missions into hubs as well as listing them individually. Click the hub links to view the guide in manageable chunks.
The Witcher 3 starts with a modestly-sized map. Feel free to run through the story as quickly as you like if you don’t have any problems with difficulty, but pause before the very end of The Beast of White Orchard to do any secondary quests you want to complete, as you’ll then be automatically transported to the next area, failing some unfinished quests.
Follow Geralt’s quest to track down the sorceress Yennefer, ridding White Orchard of a troublesome monster along the way.
There’s only one Witcher Contract to be had in White Orchard, but it’s a great introduction to these challenging but ultimately super rewarding secondary quests.
How to kill the Devil by the Well easily, how to make Specter Oil, how to find the ingredients for Specter Oil, and more.
Complete every secondary mission before leaving White Orchard for loads of treasure and XP – plus a lot of fun.
Destroy every monster nest, find every guarded treasure and raid every smuggler’s stash, and you’ll be well-prepared to tackle the next section of the game.
Act One of The Witcher 3 includes three main story threads, each of which is broken down further into multiple main quests. Each of these takes place in a particular location. The easiest one is spread across the wilds of Velen (No Man’s Land), while the next most difficult takes place in and around the city of Novigrad, with the third and most difficult focused on the islands of Skellige. You must attack all three in order to complete the quest In Ciri’s Footsteps and Act One.
After visiting Vizima, you’ll be dumped down in The Witcher 3’s huge open world map; if you thought White Orchard was big, you’re in for a shock. Don’t freak out; you don’t need to see and do everything hear just yet, as much of it is too hard for baby witchers on their first visit to this sprawling landscape. We suggest sticking to Velen quests before heading up to Novigrad or across the sea to Skellige.
On the hunt for Ciri, Geralt seeks information from a Nilfgaardian agent in Velen, which leads him to two possible sources of information on his protege’s whereabouts.
Witcher Contracts pay well and hand out lots of EXP but they do require your best skills. Never attempt them unprepared.
Complete every secondary mission in Velen for lots of extra treasure and XP.
This quest only triggers if you attempt to cross the Pontac to Novigrad or Oxenfurt before obtaining a pass. You can earn a pass through story missions, or by completing either of the following quests: Fake Papers – Bitter Harvest
The Novigrad questline of Act One takes place in a much more contained map than the Velen quests, and offers increased XP rewards despite fewer battles with monstrous foes. Explore the twisting streets to discover well-equipped merchants, reunite with old friends, and untangle the mysteries of your bestie’s disappearance.
Geralt hopes his ex-girlfriend Triss, a powerful sorceress, may have information on Ciri. Their awkward reunion is complicated by the religious fervour gripping the city, and the notable absence of the minstrel Dandelion.
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Skellige is a difficult place to explore cross country thanks to an enthusiastically vertical attitude in the local landscape. Skirting the coastline in a boat is much more satisfactory (although you need to beware of storms, monsters and pirates) and merchants will sell you guidebooks to unlock new fast travel points. Investigate local leads with your former lover as you put together the final pieces of the puzzle of Ciri’s disappearance.
Geralt’s former lover Yennefer heads to Skellige, where a strange magical occurrence may be linked to our much-sought child of the elder blood. The white-haired Witcher follows, becoming embroiled in local politics and fending off threats from shapeshifters.
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More coming soon.
Having exhausted all possible leads in Velen, Novigrad and Skellige, Geralt and Yennefer have just one more clue to the whereabouts of Ciri – a cursed individual known as Uma. Reporting in to Emhyr on their progress – or rather, lack of it – the pair retire to the witcher stronghold at Kaer Morhen to attempt to break the curse.
Learn more about the witchers of the Wolf school as you make preparation to free Uma from a powerful curse – and to battle the Wild Hunt. Gather your allies from Velen, Novigrad and Skellige to face the mightiest foe Geralt has ever tackled.
Having faced down the Wild Hunt at Kaer Morhen, but not come through unscathed, Geralt and Ciri are at a loss: they can’t keep running and hiding forever, but they obviously cannot hope to destroy the Wild Hunt through conventional means. Yennefer and Triss opt to gather allies in Novigrad, while Avallac’h believes the answer lies with his people. Meanwhile, Ciri has grave doubts about her future.
Act Three kicks off directly after Blood on the Battlefield, with Ciri and Geralt making for the Sabbath at Bald Mountain. Their actions there give them some confidence for the future and nurse their wounded hearts, but also inspires them to tie up loose ends and prepare to meet their destiny.
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