When you start Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, you are greeted by the Main Menu. This allows you to select from the following options:
- Continue: If you already started a New Game, this enables you to continue from the very last save point, so you don’t need to scroll through all your saved games.
- New Game: Select this when you wish to begin a brand new adventure. You are granted a number of choices, and then difficulty settings, which are discussed below (see “Starting a New Game”).
- Load Game: Every time you save your progress during your adventure, you can access it from this menu selection. This allows you to choose a save point from wherever you like, in case you wish to try finishing a quest by making a different decision, for example.
- Options: You are presented with a wealth of self-explanatory options, allowing you to tweak and fiddle with a variety of settings, from audio levels to the buttons on your controller. Some interesting and important ones are discussed below (see “Options of Note”).
Downloadable Content: If you have downloaded any of the 16 (free) pieces of Downloadable Content, as well as the two Expansion Packs, they are listed here. Where appropriate, content you can turn “on” or “off” is available in the “Options” menu within this menu.
Starting A New Game
Begin a new adventure by selecting this menu. This allows you to select from the following menu choices:
- Fresh Start: You can begin a new game with any installed expansions included, but the main storyline quests must also be undertaken. This is a brand-new adventure.
Hearts of Stone Only: The main storyline quests are disabled, and your gear and level are enhanced and raised so as to be suitable for the quests of this expansion. Choose this if you are primarily interested in playing this expansion as quickly as possible.
Blood and Wine Only: The main storyline quests are disabled, and your gear and level are enhanced and raised so as to be suitable for the quests of this expansion. Choose this if you wish to play this second expansion as swiftly as possible.- New Game +: Play the game again with added difficulty, by loading a game save you created after finishing the “base game” (the Critical Path adventure) and watched the Endings. A Planning Primer to make the most of this highly-entertaining mode is detailed later in this chapter (see “New Game +: A Planning Primer”), and some specific character archetypes have been created for this mode.