The Witcher 2 presents its plot as a series of quests, with the option to take on additional side quests as Geralt explores the world around him. Since where Geralt is in the story usually dictates which quests he can complete, quests are covered in a suggested order for completing them in the walkthrough. Many quests are time-sensitive and are automatically failed if you progress the story such that Geralt leaves an area with quests incomplete. It’s usually clear when the game is giving you a bit of downtime between plot points that you can use for completing side quests. Completing quests intelligently is crucial to leveling up, since many quests offer hefty XP rewards for completing them and may offer bonuses for completing them in certain ways. It is extremely difficult to reach the game’s level cap if you’re skipping side quests.
When it comes to making decisions that affect individual quests, you need to be careful. It is possible to refuse or fail many quests by saying the wrong thing. There are even situations where you can die in a cutscene if you say the wrong thing. The walkthrough tracks all of these instances on a quest-by-quest basis. Each version of each chapter offers a suggested order for completing quests, which you can follow by simply playing along with the way the section is written. In addition, a player who wants to play mostly “blind” and consult the walkthrough only when stuck on a quest can do so.
The guide also notes other things story-oriented players can do to get extra information about the setting, usually by obtaining certain books or speaking with certain NPCs.