Welcome to the Official Guide to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and all expansion content! As you can tell, no stone has been left unturned (or griffin un-bludgeoned) in our attempts to provide a thorough and informative strategy guide. In order for you to receive the most enjoyment from this weighty tome, it is wise to understand what the different chapters are, and how they relate to each other:
Introduction And Characters
After a short story about an evil fairy, the major characters you encounter during your adventures are given a brief introduction. These include the Witchers of Kaer Morhen, the Sorceresses of the Lodge, Friends of the Witcher, the different factions; Nilfgaardians, Redanians, the Zealots of Novigrad, The Big Four, the Temerian Two, the Downtrodden and Deviant, and the numerous races and peasantry you’ll encounter. Also present are the Islanders of Skellige, the Leaders of the Wild Hunt, and the characters appearing in the expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine.
Training – Surviving As A Witcher
This chapter introduces the movement, combat, interactions, and other activities. There’s advice on difficulty settings, the in-game heads-up display, Witcher Senses, mapping and the environment, interactions (including looting and repairing items), conversations, items of all kinds, shops and merchants, crafters, the general economy of the Northern Realms, alchemy and crafting, meditation and preparation, and a helpful section on basic combat along with using Signs.
The second part of the Training chapter focuses on developing your character, including the different facets of experiencing and gaining levels, and the huge benefits you can obtain from abilities (and ability branches), as well as mutagens. There’s information on combat abilities to enhance your bloodletting, Sign abilities to back up your two swords and crossbow, alchemy abilities to help keep you strong in even the most arduous of fights, and general abilities influencing your overall character. This section concludes with a variety of character archetypes to model your adventuring on, some good general tips for making money, and a selection of recommended weapons and armor you should think about utilizing.
Gwent – A Game Of Cards
This chapter reveals the intricacies of this fabled dwarven card game. After giving general information on who plays Gwent and how to obtain cards, a general overview of how a Gwent game works is shown, along with an introduction to each of the five Deck Factions. Card abilities are detailed, before a more advanced section with in-depth tactics for each card type, and how card abilities are related to (and used in unison with) other cards. Numerous tactical examples (to ensure you win every Gwent bout) are shown, before a section on deck-building advice and management, and a table showing every single card with an ability. A true master class awaits you!
Quest Walkthrough
This is a gigantic part of the guide, providing information and tactics for all available quests. These are further sub-divided based on when you can access them (the Critical Path), or the location they begin in (Secondary Quests).
At the start of each quest in this guide, you receive the following bounty of knowledge:
- Related Quests: Any related quests that start or finish during the quest you’re reading
- Locations: Areas you will be exploring, along with a named reference to a Signpost or Unmarked location, so you can check the location in this guide’s Atlas for any pertinent maps or optional treasure, if applicable.
- Characters: Entities you encounter, usually (but not always) friendly.
- Enemies: The foes you’re likely to fight, which you can cross-reference with this guide’s Bestiary if you need further help.
- Recommended Items: Whether an amount of money, Axii Delusion ability, or other items are needed before you start the quest.
Objectives:Also present is this objective box, listing the tasks you need to accomplish, before the text beneath explains how this is completed. |
Major Effect / 
Minor Effect
Every minor and major choice you make (which can affect everything from how a character treats you, to the fate of an entire realm) are also listed in these quest chapters.
These quests are segmented into two different orders:
- Chronological Order: for Critical Path and Main Quests (and Secondary Quests that can only be accessed via a Main Quest)
- By Territory and Alphabetical Order: For all other types of quest.
The Alphabetical quest listing in the following section links you to the section where you can find every quest in this guide.