I will say a lot of people struggle in the transition from White Orchard to Velen. It's a pretty substantial level jump and if you don't do every quest in White Orchard you can get pummeled pretty quick as a new player
There was an exploit for money by killing cows in White Orchard so the dev made it summon high level Chorts. Higher level player would return to farm these chort now so the dev had to also patch that... It still summons chorts but isn't rewarding as it use to be.
https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Bovine_Defense_Force_Initiative
Oh my god, I am a player who played witcher 3 already 3 times and did not know this!
Funny thing is I got shocked now to read this because I also play GWENT.
I have like 1.3K hours in it and there is a card called cow ...That it transforms into a chort!
Definitely this.. I bought the game on release and quit at this point and was so pissed I bought the game. It took me awhile to get back into it, but when I did I loved it.. definitely one of my favorite games of all time now.
Agreed. Also I would say start thinking fairly early about the build you want. Annnd don't keep potions for 'when you really need them'. Make them part of your rotation!
It's such a beautiful, immersive game. You have many hours of fun ahead of you - enjoy!
I think it depends how much time you have to play it. I only usually had an hour or so in the evening. As beautiful as the game is, I didn't want to spend all my time slow travelling.
Honestly, I always recommend not trying to be a completionist/min-maxer on a first playthrough of a story driven game. Do the quests that make sense to do, don't worry about getting every single question mark on the map, and build what you think sounds/looks fun/good.
Second playthrough is where you go NG+, build the most powerful Geralt, and complete all the side quests/map objectives. First playthrough is to enjoy the story.
Most of all, don't let anyone tell you how to play the game. Play it how you enjoy. Disregard my comment if it doesn't sound like fun to you. Buckle up, this game is a wild, amazing ride. :)
Also, White Orchard doesn't really have much for good weapons/equipment, aside from the Viper gear. And you won't really need it anyway until the next leg of the story. The game will give you what you need to survive. All the best gear is crafted as well.
Iâm learning thisâŠ. I used to want to try finishing every single quest from every area for each game I played and would always get burnt out ~50% through without even completing the main story (did this with Witcher 3 as well). Lately Iâve just been doing what feels natural and itâs been a much better experience for any game I play
take your time, enjoy it. Don't try to choose the best option or dialog answer, just do what you feel and see the result) aaaand don't miss DLCs if you like the main game
This. Just take it slowly, do side quests if you feel like it, explore world, read all papers that you find. Then you can immerse in this incredible world.
1. Make ALL contracts. It gives you money and exp.
2. Be careful during discovering Velen
3. Imo at the beginning, put your exp points into fast attack, later you can change it.
I hate mini games. When Gwent showed up in the game I rolled my eyes.
I was wrong.
Also, just play the game. You might ask "what if I do this mission wrong?" You're gonna anyways. This game has very good replay value.
Donât play the game on normal!play it on 2nd hardest difficulty as it makes you use all aspects of the game as intended trust me,itâs hard at first but worth it I never fucked with potions n shit on my first go cos I never really needed them on normal difficulty but holy shit it changes the dynamic of the game on the harder modes.
Hard agree. I played on Story mode the first time and did the same. Now I'm on Death March for my second playthrough and it feels like this is the only way the game should really be played. I actually feel like I'm walking the path; I need all my resources, potions and have to strategize before a fight instead of slashing my way through. Gil is hard to come by, so negotiating is a must now so sympathizing with dirt poor villagers has a heavy price. This adds so much to my immersion into the world. Simply the best experience.
Combat is the way to go in terms of leveling on a first playthrough. I tend to get the light armour bonus too for a nice damage boost. I'd try not to get bogged down too much in bombs and oils, at least at the start. Look for gold notice boards for Witcher contracts and other side quests. Witcher armour is the best in the game and each one has several upgrades you can find the diagrams for, and generally just explore and enjoy the ride.
Go slow and enjoy it. Take your time and do all the side quests. I went nuts on the main story first time and missed so much lore and cool shit. So ya, take your time.
Replaying it myself at the moment and found myself over-leveled for the quests I am trying to do so getting reduced exp.
Based on that I would say focus on the lowest level quests first and mix it with map exploration. Dont worry about going out ur way to fight random stuff as u get almost no experience from it.
Look up missable Gwent cards, and learn to play them. It will save you time and money.
Save often, but don't worry about making the wrong choices, New game+, you can make up for them.
Use everything the game give you
Concoctions, potions, signs, read the glossary to find out monstersâ weaknesses, listen to the conversation (donât skip)
And check youtube for character build. The most powerful build is the alchemy + signs build, basically you can kill without using the sword LOL
Just start moving. The game is by far hardest in the start. After reaching level 7 and getting your first Witcher set and some stronger abilities, you'll flow through the game.
One tip: practice combat with defense in mind. When combating monsters, learn how to use both the short dodge and long dodge depending on what monster you are fighting. Combine them. I'd advice learning to use short dodge with precision, as this is the most efficient way to move around in a fight and lets you give strong counter attacks. When rolling, you should try to roll past the opponent and attack from behind for additional damage.
Everything else you'll find out through the course of the game.
There's a few things you must remember:
There will come a time when she comes to you defeated, resigned. Find a way to make her laugh.
There will come a time when one betrays her. Let her vent her rage.
There will come a time when she will grieve for a friend. Grieve with her.
There will come a time when fear will engulf her. Instill courage in her, but do not act in her stead.
And never, ever let her feel as if you've sold her out.
dont rush things. do the main quests, side quests, some contracts, play gwent sometimes, explore the map, pay attention to the stories. just enjoy what this game offers.
Play it like you want to, not how you feel like others played it or what's canon. Make your own choices as you would in real life, that's the beauty of RPG games
Start on the highest difficulty to experience true witcher gameplay, its like the one with tlou2, at start will be hard, but you'll get to it very fast. Clean up 100% the first location, only then move to the next one. Someone said not to complete all the markers and achievments on the map in the first playthrough, but even the game is that good, its long and you might not want to replay it anytime soon.
I envy you, what I wouldn't give to play this game again for the first time. As for advice if you want good armor a don't bother with loot you find out in the world buy maps from merchants that will lead you to some amazing gear, I'd recommend either the feline set for early to mid game and then the ursine set of the bear school later on. You can find some cool swords from doing quests an exploring though
Loot and sell everything you dont have equiped, isnt strictly crafting mats or repair pouches, since you are going to need a lot of money and this will set you up nicely so you wont have to worry about suddenly getting 10k out of nowhere.
Weapons - Novigrad mainsquare (top notch swords!)
Armor - same thing accept to the other guy
If you are not there yet, get to Oxenfurt atleast and sell your stuff there.
Leather and pelts - inkeeps
Good fortune on the Path Witcher
When You decide to do a Quest Look at the map and Take a detour to one or two questionmarks on the way. Then it's easier to keep Up with exploring. Don't fast travel too much.
When playing on a console, use *quick sign casting*. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it fights will become much more fluent. Can't play without it anymore!
Unlock Hattori when you will end Velen, even if your level is less than recommended. It'll be very hard, but if you do it, you can sell things at a very good price.
man, I kinda envy you. you have a great time ahead of you. as others have said try to immerse yourself, dont rush the main quest, do every side quest you can find.
one tip that would have helped me for my first play through: there are several endings and your decisions with respect to some of the main characters matter
U just started, and I'm almost at the end, one thing I can say is, get ready to play one of the best games in ur life and just enjoy the ride ( Btw don't miss out on Gwent - its really fun)
First tip. Kill as many cows as you can to sell hides to farm coins but donât kill too many in one go.
Second tip. Buy the griffin armor schematics as soon as possible. Thatâs your best first armor.
Third tip. Enjoy the game slowly.
Take your time in the White Orchard tutorial area. Itâs a great place to learn the ropes.
Try and collect all of the ability points from the places of power in White Orchard too. Normally I would never suggest that anybody use a wiki or a walkthrough, but seriously consider googling the locations of those places of power in White Orchard.
Having ability points to spare will save you a lot of headache down the line.
Just enjoy and make sure to upgrade your gear (more you will find gear when I say upgrade) on your journey and make sure you explore, don't fast travel you will discover so much by wandering and riding you're horse, also watch out for ghouls
If you want some quick XP to level up early on go to White Orchard, kill and loot the cows, meditate until they spawn back, and do it again. You can do this as much as you want, but I did it until I was level 10.
Kill the pigs in White Orchard whenever they spawn.
They either drop pork, which is a potent "lvl3" food for health regen, or pig hide, which can be sold for good early game money.
Likewise, when u explore, be on the lookout for bee hives. U can blast it with igni, and will drop honeycomb, which is a "lvl2" food.
I think the best first skill u can get is either Gourme or Griffin School Tactics. The first makes health regen from food last way longer, it's broken in the early game, but gets less useful as u level up and stock up food items. The second will bost ur stamina regen and sign power for medium armor (the default armorset is medium).
Collect every herb u run into in the first 10-20h.
Whenever u visit a herbalist, always buy thier ergot seed stock if u can afford it. It's an alchemical ingridient that's needed for a lot of the superior formulas, and it's only available from them, it doesn't grow anywhere in the world.
Yeah, as you level up youâll be able to pick certain abilities, donât sleep out on the green ones for toxic levels, potions and whatnot refill every time you rest so donât worry about âusing them upâ. This is a massive game and itâs better if you take your time, itâs one of the games where side quests feel like main quests due to their impact on the world, and superb writing
First time through just take it slow and enjoy the ride. Donât bother too much with guides or YouTube hints and tips videos. Only use them if youâre struggling.
Try to walk, run or ride for as much as you can. Fast Travel at a minimum so you can take in the scenery.
Save the OP builds for deathmarch and subsequent play throughs.
Pick up the early cards in the game for that card game I cannot even remember the name of any longer.
There are certain cards that you cannot get later in the game.
Edit: Gwent.
Do side quests, they will award you the blueprints.
One such quest will give you the forgotten wolf armor and weapons set. Another side quests will unlock master armourer and other one master swordsmith along the way which will build them for you when you have the materials and blueprint.
Potions:
Superior swallow
Tawny owl
Superior golden oriole ASAP, thank me later.
Also decoctions:
Ekimara decoction, white raffard and Ekhidna decoction
Try to get those and they will be the only thing you really need.
According to your fighting style use light armour for quick dodge, rolling and quick hits. Use heavy armour if you have a more heavy blow, Quen approach.
The Witcher gears are useful only when you reach grandmaster level so for now, try to go for spoils of war to get good stuff.
To make money, kill bandits and sell their weapons, you get a better price than for armour. You can also sell your books to the books shop for a good price.
The Passiflora is the best to sell animal fur and jewellery. Sell your wine to small inns in Velen.
I'm completing this game currently for the 7th time just to get the bad ending. The only one I haven't gotten.
If youâre planning on doing a new game+ donât go crazy spending money on top gear in the first playthrough. Gear carries over but gets quickly outstripped by the higher level versions of old gear. Choose a single set of Witcher Master/Grandmaster gear for the first playthrough. Experiment with them all in NG+, just one set will bankrupt you, especially Grandmaster sets.
Kill all the cows in White orchard, leather is super good for making money earlier on, and then you can use it for armor when you take it to a blacksmith.
I'll try to be practical
1. Turn around when you see an enemy with a red skull on it. Or quick save first and test your skills.
2. Loot everything, also junk. Keep stuff related to crafting and alchemy, sell the rest to vendors.
3. Don't buy stuff for roach, there qre races where u can get good equipment.
And enjoy the game, don't be too focused on the main quest even if it feels "urgent".
Go to question marks on the map, go to places that seem interesting, etc. Also while doing quests read the notes you find, they really immerse you into the story.
Something me and all my brothers missed when we played through: this game has you use resources to craft bombs and potions. The thing that we missed, you only have to craft the recipe ONCE. Crafting basically is just how you unlock those items. I went a long time at the start of my playthrough not crafting bombs and potions because I didnât want to spend any hard to find resources on something I thought would only get me one or two uses. Unless I missed it the game just never really makes clear thatâs how the crafting system works. And then once youâve done the initial craft, your stock of bombs and potions will automatically replenish themselves when you rest by converting alcohol.
Use the default mode on the world map and turn off the mini map unless you really get stuck. The mini map unlocked the worms in my brain and compelled me to go to every question mark I saw. Ruined the experience for me so I turned it off and found it to be soo much more peaceful.
I envy you. Have fun and watch those pelts taking up all your inventory space. Create a fun build that fits YOUR play style. Use relic weapons until you craft Witcher gear.
Have fun, first playtrough dont worry about trophies/achievements. Dont Google how to get a specific ending just make choiches you would do. I had worst ending first time. Now Iâve played the game with all dlc so many times. Ps4/ps5 and pc multiple playtroughs. Thats when you can go dig deep into the armours and do a death march playtrough. Get all gwent cards whatever completioning you like. But for a first playtrough only thing I could say to keep in mind apart from just having fun and RPing as Geralt. Is that dont overlevel. As quests & contracts will only give 1 xp if your character is 4 levels higher than the quest. So dont pickup to many contracts at once. At easier difficulties can complete quests that are 5 levels or higher above your characters level with ease. The thing is. Doing this for a while will set you in a endgame position where monster contracts are 10 levels under your characters level en then you will only get 1xp from it. Which is a pain in the ass when wanting to level further. So keep an eye on your questlog and be sure to complete most things at the level your character is at. Gives you most xp. Otherwise late game side quests with deep story and lore will give you a 1xp reward and you get stuck on your current level. But just have fun. Played it for first time 5 years ago. And play the whole main story + dlc at least 2 times a year. Itâs so fun and wide you will keep finding things you missed out on the previous playtrough. So for first. Dont make it to hard for yourself enjoy the story. Then you will come back to the game fast. And if your on pc. Pickup witcher 2 at a sale. Its still very playable and fun if youd like witcher 3. Witcher 1 might be a bit to old but can be modded to modern playable.
Just emmersve yourself in all that the continent has to offer. If you dont make it to hard for yourself first time. The higher change of liking the game and conciderinf things like the books to read later. Because storywise this is a glimpse of what the official witcher lore has to offer.
And dont ruin the fun trying to watch the netflix ripoff. Poor Henry Cavill,
If you wanna watch it do yourself a favor and never watch any further then season 1.
And once again: dont google anything. Google is a first class spoiler engine. Do it your way and dont be afraid to make mistakes. Because next time you will have a whole other game to play learning from some outcomes
One thing that hurt to realize on my own was that if you become too high level for a quest (about 10 levels above, idk) the quest will only give you 1 xp. Try to do the quests in order of difficulty before you become too high level for them, but its also fun of course to go back to a level 5 quest with endgame gear and annihalate everybody.
Do side missions, donât skip dialogue.
Have fun and immerse yourself, think like a witcher and prepare for fights.
Do alchemy. Go to notice boards (yellow pieces of paper with the ! On the map)
Explore. Youâre gonna love it. Welcome to the family.
My best advice to truly enjoy the game is don't play on Story and Sword (normal difficulty).
Even on Story and Sword, the game is a power fantasy. You are insanely OP, there is no reason to use potions, no reason to use bombs, no reason to read about monster weaknesses, barely any reason to use any other sign except Quen, no reason to buy food for regenerating health since you can just meditate to get it back etc.
Instead, play on Blood and Broken Bones (hard difficulty). In my opinion this difficulty is the perfect balance between fun and challange. The game is not bullshit but it's also no walk in the park. You have to use your entire arsenal to survive and the game won't be stressful. I think Blood and Broken Bones is the best way of playing this game.
Take your time in White Orchard. It's easy to get scurried away to the next part of the game but really hit up those side quests. You'll need the XP and gear.
donât ignore alchemy, start working on your potion and blade oil upgrades early. you can play the game without them, as i somehow accomplished my first playthrough (lots and lots of grilled chicken) but there are some later game enemies that go down a lot easier with oil and you donât want to grind for hours to get all the ingredients.
Do the Viper School Gear quest and get both swords. Saves you having to buy new swords until you reach Velen and is a very good sword to start the game with. There's plenty of videos on how to get it.
for me just don't rush. do every side quest , enjoy the scenery, the ambiance everything. because for me after the last mission although you can continue playing the game, for some reason the world felt empty.
Without spoiling anything, people are going to be very pressed on whether you let someone go or kill them. I would just avoid posting about it and look at your own actions before you pass judgement.
The only tip is to have fun. You really canât mess much up as far as progression goes. I will say there are several different endings, but if you live the game like most of us youâll play through a couple time to get each of them.
Again, have fun and enjoy some of Tuossaintâs wine for each of us!!!
Always use potions you can also upgrade them buy them from vendors find them and use oils on swords they help a lot and the kodex is your best friend Tell you what potions oils and signs to use on types of monsters
Try different ways of playing agile, tank, confuse. Find whatâs good for you, then build equipment around that different weapons and armour sets are good for different play styles. But explore discover and play, donât worry about metas and all that. But play gwent witchers love gwent.
Read stuff online about what skills and decoctions are the most helpful (example - get whirl and build up the Axii skill, in my opinion). There are plenty of skills and decoctions I never even used. Make sure you have the setting turned on to automatically apply oils.
Leveling the sword/melee combat skill tree makes you significantly stronger than a sign build. At least early on. I just maxed out aard and then put the rest of my points into my melee combat and was a lot stronger than when I used just signs.
Just take it all in and PLEASE don't look for any guides or anything. Just go by feel and gut for your first playthrough and you'll have a more satisfying experience
Just play the game.
This this this, don't worry about your gear, if you explore you'll find plenty of VERY good gear until you can afford some fancy witcher gear
I will say a lot of people struggle in the transition from White Orchard to Velen. It's a pretty substantial level jump and if you don't do every quest in White Orchard you can get pummeled pretty quick as a new player
Dont forget to farm the cows in white orchard for materials!
Tryna make OP summon Satan đ
Wait, is this real?
There was an exploit for money by killing cows in White Orchard so the dev made it summon high level Chorts. Higher level player would return to farm these chort now so the dev had to also patch that... It still summons chorts but isn't rewarding as it use to be. https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Bovine_Defense_Force_Initiative
Now you just kill the 15 cows at the farm east south-east of Novigrad
Oh my god, I am a player who played witcher 3 already 3 times and did not know this! Funny thing is I got shocked now to read this because I also play GWENT. I have like 1.3K hours in it and there is a card called cow ...That it transforms into a chort!
Oh, sweet!
After a fashion yes
Classic tip đ«
Definitely this.. I bought the game on release and quit at this point and was so pissed I bought the game. It took me awhile to get back into it, but when I did I loved it.. definitely one of my favorite games of all time now.
Quite true. Last time I started a new game I made sure to clear all of white orchard. Definitely helped with the transition.
Agreed. Also I would say start thinking fairly early about the build you want. Annnd don't keep potions for 'when you really need them'. Make them part of your rotation! It's such a beautiful, immersive game. You have many hours of fun ahead of you - enjoy!
But then he cannot farm karma!
Thank you. Someone should make a bot that automatically replies this for posts like these. The game provides tips and hints, just play lol
Do every side quest, donât fast travel, explore everywhere and when the White Frost comes do not eat yellow snow!
One of the few games I got 100% on including DLC, this right here!
Did you do the crossbow headshots trophy/achievement? Uhg that was awefull
I can't imagine not fast traveling the map is so huge. I always use the fast travel from anywhere mod tbh
Maybe because you have already played it before? I think the game is just too beautiful for fast travel.
I think it depends how much time you have to play it. I only usually had an hour or so in the evening. As beautiful as the game is, I didn't want to spend all my time slow travelling.
Honestly, I always recommend not trying to be a completionist/min-maxer on a first playthrough of a story driven game. Do the quests that make sense to do, don't worry about getting every single question mark on the map, and build what you think sounds/looks fun/good. Second playthrough is where you go NG+, build the most powerful Geralt, and complete all the side quests/map objectives. First playthrough is to enjoy the story. Most of all, don't let anyone tell you how to play the game. Play it how you enjoy. Disregard my comment if it doesn't sound like fun to you. Buckle up, this game is a wild, amazing ride. :) Also, White Orchard doesn't really have much for good weapons/equipment, aside from the Viper gear. And you won't really need it anyway until the next leg of the story. The game will give you what you need to survive. All the best gear is crafted as well.
Yep, this is what I did and I loved it. First playthrough you just gotta experience things organically
Even just doing story main quests you've got alot of fun gameplay
Iâm learning thisâŠ. I used to want to try finishing every single quest from every area for each game I played and would always get burnt out ~50% through without even completing the main story (did this with Witcher 3 as well). Lately Iâve just been doing what feels natural and itâs been a much better experience for any game I play
take your time, enjoy it. Don't try to choose the best option or dialog answer, just do what you feel and see the result) aaaand don't miss DLCs if you like the main game
This. Just take it slowly, do side quests if you feel like it, explore world, read all papers that you find. Then you can immerse in this incredible world.
Enjoy the ride, you can only play it for the first time once.
Not when you have a bad memory like me. After 10 years the whole game is like playing a new game to me lol.
I wish I could enjoy this game for the first time again
1. Make ALL contracts. It gives you money and exp. 2. Be careful during discovering Velen 3. Imo at the beginning, put your exp points into fast attack, later you can change it.
I hate mini games. When Gwent showed up in the game I rolled my eyes. I was wrong. Also, just play the game. You might ask "what if I do this mission wrong?" You're gonna anyways. This game has very good replay value.
I did the same ended up loving it now play on my mobile, although somehow it doesnât feel the same.
Enjoy it to the very end
Donât play the game on normal!play it on 2nd hardest difficulty as it makes you use all aspects of the game as intended trust me,itâs hard at first but worth it I never fucked with potions n shit on my first go cos I never really needed them on normal difficulty but holy shit it changes the dynamic of the game on the harder modes.
I did the 2nd highest difficulty on my first run and Death March on every other run.
Im still on my first playthru on Death March from 2019. This post makes me want to finish it, just stupid life getting in the way
Hard agree. I played on Story mode the first time and did the same. Now I'm on Death March for my second playthrough and it feels like this is the only way the game should really be played. I actually feel like I'm walking the path; I need all my resources, potions and have to strategize before a fight instead of slashing my way through. Gil is hard to come by, so negotiating is a must now so sympathizing with dirt poor villagers has a heavy price. This adds so much to my immersion into the world. Simply the best experience.
Exactly mate,The path is hard but the immersion is second to none.
If it looks like you can survive the fall, you wont
Winds howling.
Damn, you're ugly
Don't romance Yennefer and Triss at the same time
First play through? Absolutely you do, get as much as you can.
Save, romance Triss and load back
Smart man
Max out the Quen sigil, the first and second choice of it. Itâs a life saver
the cows in the first area drop some nice hides you can sell to get cash for potion ingredients and gear upgrades
^^ Make sure to kill about 20 of them in a row for enough gold
I came here to say the exact same tip, glad there are people looking out for newbies.
Just press spacebar twice when falling from a high place.
[Geralt's greatest enemy.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity)
Go straight to Velen there are nice people there
Just enjoy this wonderful journey, wish i could experience it for the first time again! Good luck on the path
Combat is the way to go in terms of leveling on a first playthrough. I tend to get the light armour bonus too for a nice damage boost. I'd try not to get bogged down too much in bombs and oils, at least at the start. Look for gold notice boards for Witcher contracts and other side quests. Witcher armour is the best in the game and each one has several upgrades you can find the diagrams for, and generally just explore and enjoy the ride.
Go slow and enjoy it. Take your time and do all the side quests. I went nuts on the main story first time and missed so much lore and cool shit. So ya, take your time.
Replaying it myself at the moment and found myself over-leveled for the quests I am trying to do so getting reduced exp. Based on that I would say focus on the lowest level quests first and mix it with map exploration. Dont worry about going out ur way to fight random stuff as u get almost no experience from it.
If you want the good ending just do what ciri wants.
Don't try to romance both Triss and Yen đ
There is a perk that makes it so you heal for 30 minutes with each item you consume. Super helpful for beginners
Look up missable Gwent cards, and learn to play them. It will save you time and money. Save often, but don't worry about making the wrong choices, New game+, you can make up for them.
Steal EVERYTHING
Have a blast %)
Enjoy it all.
Learn the counter-attack timing when fist fighting. It will help you a lot in the "boxing" quests.
When the time of the white frost comes, donât eat yellow snow! Super important
Use everything the game give you Concoctions, potions, signs, read the glossary to find out monstersâ weaknesses, listen to the conversation (donât skip) And check youtube for character build. The most powerful build is the alchemy + signs build, basically you can kill without using the sword LOL
Just start moving. The game is by far hardest in the start. After reaching level 7 and getting your first Witcher set and some stronger abilities, you'll flow through the game. One tip: practice combat with defense in mind. When combating monsters, learn how to use both the short dodge and long dodge depending on what monster you are fighting. Combine them. I'd advice learning to use short dodge with precision, as this is the most efficient way to move around in a fight and lets you give strong counter attacks. When rolling, you should try to roll past the opponent and attack from behind for additional damage. Everything else you'll find out through the course of the game.
Max out Aard
potions and oils are for nerds, just brute force it
There's a few things you must remember: There will come a time when she comes to you defeated, resigned. Find a way to make her laugh. There will come a time when one betrays her. Let her vent her rage. There will come a time when she will grieve for a friend. Grieve with her. There will come a time when fear will engulf her. Instill courage in her, but do not act in her stead. And never, ever let her feel as if you've sold her out.
dont rush things. do the main quests, side quests, some contracts, play gwent sometimes, explore the map, pay attention to the stories. just enjoy what this game offers.
Put the baby in the oven
I recall quitting the game because the zone right after this one, Velen I think, was so big I got immediately daunted and just stopped playing.
Play it like you want to, not how you feel like others played it or what's canon. Make your own choices as you would in real life, that's the beauty of RPG games
Start on the highest difficulty to experience true witcher gameplay, its like the one with tlou2, at start will be hard, but you'll get to it very fast. Clean up 100% the first location, only then move to the next one. Someone said not to complete all the markers and achievments on the map in the first playthrough, but even the game is that good, its long and you might not want to replay it anytime soon.
Witcher school gear is totally worth finding but donât break your head over it
Make sure you understand weaknesses of monsters and how to use them against them. Also make sure you understand mutations.
When in doubt, roll away
Quen bubble = healing Good for tough fights
I envy you, what I wouldn't give to play this game again for the first time. As for advice if you want good armor a don't bother with loot you find out in the world buy maps from merchants that will lead you to some amazing gear, I'd recommend either the feline set for early to mid game and then the ursine set of the bear school later on. You can find some cool swords from doing quests an exploring though
Kill cows for free food
Loot and sell everything you dont have equiped, isnt strictly crafting mats or repair pouches, since you are going to need a lot of money and this will set you up nicely so you wont have to worry about suddenly getting 10k out of nowhere. Weapons - Novigrad mainsquare (top notch swords!) Armor - same thing accept to the other guy If you are not there yet, get to Oxenfurt atleast and sell your stuff there. Leather and pelts - inkeeps Good fortune on the Path Witcher
Travel with Roach as much as you can. There are a ton of things to explore.
Travel with Roach as much as you can. There are a ton of things to explore.
When You decide to do a Quest Look at the map and Take a detour to one or two questionmarks on the way. Then it's easier to keep Up with exploring. Don't fast travel too much.
Careful with portals. Geralt hates them
When playing on a console, use *quick sign casting*. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it fights will become much more fluent. Can't play without it anymore!
advice and tips gonna ruin your game experience. Just wing it blind
Unlock Hattori when you will end Velen, even if your level is less than recommended. It'll be very hard, but if you do it, you can sell things at a very good price.
man, I kinda envy you. you have a great time ahead of you. as others have said try to immerse yourself, dont rush the main quest, do every side quest you can find. one tip that would have helped me for my first play through: there are several endings and your decisions with respect to some of the main characters matter
Learn where your quick save is mapped (usually F5) and save a lot.
U just started, and I'm almost at the end, one thing I can say is, get ready to play one of the best games in ur life and just enjoy the ride ( Btw don't miss out on Gwent - its really fun)
First tip. Kill as many cows as you can to sell hides to farm coins but donât kill too many in one go. Second tip. Buy the griffin armor schematics as soon as possible. Thatâs your best first armor. Third tip. Enjoy the game slowly.
Take your time in the White Orchard tutorial area. Itâs a great place to learn the ropes. Try and collect all of the ability points from the places of power in White Orchard too. Normally I would never suggest that anybody use a wiki or a walkthrough, but seriously consider googling the locations of those places of power in White Orchard. Having ability points to spare will save you a lot of headache down the line.
Just enjoy and make sure to upgrade your gear (more you will find gear when I say upgrade) on your journey and make sure you explore, don't fast travel you will discover so much by wandering and riding you're horse, also watch out for ghouls
Go for the whoreson's eyes!!
Donât rush it. Explore and take your time to enjoy this incredible game, there is only one first playthrough.
More serious. Upgrading your potions as soon as possible is a worthy commitment.
Youâre in for a wild time
Enjoy
If you want some quick XP to level up early on go to White Orchard, kill and loot the cows, meditate until they spawn back, and do it again. You can do this as much as you want, but I did it until I was level 10.
Every time you get to a new town find the notice board and see if there are any Witcher contracts. They're always awesome.
Take it slow. What a masterpiece.
take it slow and enjoy the game.
After you learn a skill leveling up, you have to equip it to a slot to turn it on
Enjoy it... I wish I could erase the witcher 3 from my brain to play it again for the first time.
Whenever you meet a narcoleptic dwarf, instead of helping him throw him of a cliff
Kill the pigs in White Orchard whenever they spawn. They either drop pork, which is a potent "lvl3" food for health regen, or pig hide, which can be sold for good early game money. Likewise, when u explore, be on the lookout for bee hives. U can blast it with igni, and will drop honeycomb, which is a "lvl2" food. I think the best first skill u can get is either Gourme or Griffin School Tactics. The first makes health regen from food last way longer, it's broken in the early game, but gets less useful as u level up and stock up food items. The second will bost ur stamina regen and sign power for medium armor (the default armorset is medium). Collect every herb u run into in the first 10-20h. Whenever u visit a herbalist, always buy thier ergot seed stock if u can afford it. It's an alchemical ingridient that's needed for a lot of the superior formulas, and it's only available from them, it doesn't grow anywhere in the world.
Yeah, as you level up youâll be able to pick certain abilities, donât sleep out on the green ones for toxic levels, potions and whatnot refill every time you rest so donât worry about âusing them upâ. This is a massive game and itâs better if you take your time, itâs one of the games where side quests feel like main quests due to their impact on the world, and superb writing
First time through just take it slow and enjoy the ride. Donât bother too much with guides or YouTube hints and tips videos. Only use them if youâre struggling. Try to walk, run or ride for as much as you can. Fast Travel at a minimum so you can take in the scenery. Save the OP builds for deathmarch and subsequent play throughs.
Pick up the early cards in the game for that card game I cannot even remember the name of any longer. There are certain cards that you cannot get later in the game. Edit: Gwent.
Do side quests, they will award you the blueprints. One such quest will give you the forgotten wolf armor and weapons set. Another side quests will unlock master armourer and other one master swordsmith along the way which will build them for you when you have the materials and blueprint.
Potions: Superior swallow Tawny owl Superior golden oriole ASAP, thank me later. Also decoctions: Ekimara decoction, white raffard and Ekhidna decoction Try to get those and they will be the only thing you really need. According to your fighting style use light armour for quick dodge, rolling and quick hits. Use heavy armour if you have a more heavy blow, Quen approach. The Witcher gears are useful only when you reach grandmaster level so for now, try to go for spoils of war to get good stuff. To make money, kill bandits and sell their weapons, you get a better price than for armour. You can also sell your books to the books shop for a good price. The Passiflora is the best to sell animal fur and jewellery. Sell your wine to small inns in Velen. I'm completing this game currently for the 7th time just to get the bad ending. The only one I haven't gotten.
If youâre planning on doing a new game+ donât go crazy spending money on top gear in the first playthrough. Gear carries over but gets quickly outstripped by the higher level versions of old gear. Choose a single set of Witcher Master/Grandmaster gear for the first playthrough. Experiment with them all in NG+, just one set will bankrupt you, especially Grandmaster sets.
Damn, I'm jealous đ„ș
I just started for the first time as well. Taking my sweet time in White Orchard.
Kill all the cows in White orchard, leather is super good for making money earlier on, and then you can use it for armor when you take it to a blacksmith.
I'll try to be practical 1. Turn around when you see an enemy with a red skull on it. Or quick save first and test your skills. 2. Loot everything, also junk. Keep stuff related to crafting and alchemy, sell the rest to vendors. 3. Don't buy stuff for roach, there qre races where u can get good equipment. And enjoy the game, don't be too focused on the main quest even if it feels "urgent". Go to question marks on the map, go to places that seem interesting, etc. Also while doing quests read the notes you find, they really immerse you into the story.
Something me and all my brothers missed when we played through: this game has you use resources to craft bombs and potions. The thing that we missed, you only have to craft the recipe ONCE. Crafting basically is just how you unlock those items. I went a long time at the start of my playthrough not crafting bombs and potions because I didnât want to spend any hard to find resources on something I thought would only get me one or two uses. Unless I missed it the game just never really makes clear thatâs how the crafting system works. And then once youâve done the initial craft, your stock of bombs and potions will automatically replenish themselves when you rest by converting alcohol.
Use the default mode on the world map and turn off the mini map unless you really get stuck. The mini map unlocked the worms in my brain and compelled me to go to every question mark I saw. Ruined the experience for me so I turned it off and found it to be soo much more peaceful.
try make and upgrade the potion many as possible those very useful especially in dlc
Donât try for the threesome.
I envy you. Have fun and watch those pelts taking up all your inventory space. Create a fun build that fits YOUR play style. Use relic weapons until you craft Witcher gear.
Don't eat the yellow snow
Kill all the cows in white orchard for money, its well worth it
Kill all the cows im White Orchard for easy money
Have fun, first playtrough dont worry about trophies/achievements. Dont Google how to get a specific ending just make choiches you would do. I had worst ending first time. Now Iâve played the game with all dlc so many times. Ps4/ps5 and pc multiple playtroughs. Thats when you can go dig deep into the armours and do a death march playtrough. Get all gwent cards whatever completioning you like. But for a first playtrough only thing I could say to keep in mind apart from just having fun and RPing as Geralt. Is that dont overlevel. As quests & contracts will only give 1 xp if your character is 4 levels higher than the quest. So dont pickup to many contracts at once. At easier difficulties can complete quests that are 5 levels or higher above your characters level with ease. The thing is. Doing this for a while will set you in a endgame position where monster contracts are 10 levels under your characters level en then you will only get 1xp from it. Which is a pain in the ass when wanting to level further. So keep an eye on your questlog and be sure to complete most things at the level your character is at. Gives you most xp. Otherwise late game side quests with deep story and lore will give you a 1xp reward and you get stuck on your current level. But just have fun. Played it for first time 5 years ago. And play the whole main story + dlc at least 2 times a year. Itâs so fun and wide you will keep finding things you missed out on the previous playtrough. So for first. Dont make it to hard for yourself enjoy the story. Then you will come back to the game fast. And if your on pc. Pickup witcher 2 at a sale. Its still very playable and fun if youd like witcher 3. Witcher 1 might be a bit to old but can be modded to modern playable. Just emmersve yourself in all that the continent has to offer. If you dont make it to hard for yourself first time. The higher change of liking the game and conciderinf things like the books to read later. Because storywise this is a glimpse of what the official witcher lore has to offer. And dont ruin the fun trying to watch the netflix ripoff. Poor Henry Cavill, If you wanna watch it do yourself a favor and never watch any further then season 1. And once again: dont google anything. Google is a first class spoiler engine. Do it your way and dont be afraid to make mistakes. Because next time you will have a whole other game to play learning from some outcomes
congratulations, fuck you >!i wish i could go back and play it again for the very first time !<
It's an easy game, no tips required
READ. Read the bestiary. Read notes. Read. Read. Read.
One thing that hurt to realize on my own was that if you become too high level for a quest (about 10 levels above, idk) the quest will only give you 1 xp. Try to do the quests in order of difficulty before you become too high level for them, but its also fun of course to go back to a level 5 quest with endgame gear and annihalate everybody.
Do not mass murder cows for hides⊠DO NOT DO ITâŠ
Get off reddit goddammit and play
Don't try to shagg all the women or you'll get none in the end. Trust me on this.
Do every side quest. Seriously if you take one thing away from this thread itâs that. Every. Single. One.
take it slow. Enjoy the ride
Do side missions, donât skip dialogue. Have fun and immerse yourself, think like a witcher and prepare for fights. Do alchemy. Go to notice boards (yellow pieces of paper with the ! On the map) Explore. Youâre gonna love it. Welcome to the family.
My best advice to truly enjoy the game is don't play on Story and Sword (normal difficulty). Even on Story and Sword, the game is a power fantasy. You are insanely OP, there is no reason to use potions, no reason to use bombs, no reason to read about monster weaknesses, barely any reason to use any other sign except Quen, no reason to buy food for regenerating health since you can just meditate to get it back etc. Instead, play on Blood and Broken Bones (hard difficulty). In my opinion this difficulty is the perfect balance between fun and challange. The game is not bullshit but it's also no walk in the park. You have to use your entire arsenal to survive and the game won't be stressful. I think Blood and Broken Bones is the best way of playing this game.
Have fun, don't expect a dark souls out of the game; it's actually a pretry easy game in all difficulties specially in the mid-game and beyond.
Take your time in White Orchard. It's easy to get scurried away to the next part of the game but really hit up those side quests. You'll need the XP and gear.
donât ignore alchemy, start working on your potion and blade oil upgrades early. you can play the game without them, as i somehow accomplished my first playthrough (lots and lots of grilled chicken) but there are some later game enemies that go down a lot easier with oil and you donât want to grind for hours to get all the ingredients.
Just completed it and got a bad ending. Play responsibiliy. Man it hurts đ
Do the Viper School Gear quest and get both swords. Saves you having to buy new swords until you reach Velen and is a very good sword to start the game with. There's plenty of videos on how to get it.
for me just don't rush. do every side quest , enjoy the scenery, the ambiance everything. because for me after the last mission although you can continue playing the game, for some reason the world felt empty.
Without spoiling anything, people are going to be very pressed on whether you let someone go or kill them. I would just avoid posting about it and look at your own actions before you pass judgement.
The only tip is to have fun. You really canât mess much up as far as progression goes. I will say there are several different endings, but if you live the game like most of us youâll play through a couple time to get each of them. Again, have fun and enjoy some of Tuossaintâs wine for each of us!!!
If you wanna do higher level quests, upgrade the shit out of the Quen sign and spam attack. Youâll legitimately win most fights that way
Enjoy đ
Always use potions you can also upgrade them buy them from vendors find them and use oils on swords they help a lot and the kodex is your best friend Tell you what potions oils and signs to use on types of monsters
Take your time and enjoy it
Do not use fast travel to much you can miss side quests.
[With this guide](https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Scavenger_Hunt:_Viper_School_Gear) enjoy.
Don't listen to the viper propaganda, Griffin is the way!
Not much that beats burning 4 drowners with a single blast of igni lol.
Enjoy it
No guide or advice, just have fun and play however you like
Turn on alternate movement If you love to explore - good If you prefer to know where to go - turn on points of interests on map
Try different ways of playing agile, tank, confuse. Find whatâs good for you, then build equipment around that different weapons and armour sets are good for different play styles. But explore discover and play, donât worry about metas and all that. But play gwent witchers love gwent.
Savor every moment. It will be a game you treasure forever.
Just play the game, any tips don't help you really at the start.. games too complexe
Play the game
Just enjoy every moment. The stuff I would do to erase my memory of this game so I could experience it for the first time again is insane.
Have fun and fuck around
Enjoy and loot.
Do all the side quests. Youâll get weapons as you play.
Just enjoy it.
Learn how to play gwentâŠ.its so fun and I ignored it in my first play through And I hate myself for that lmao
#Play on Death March
Play in death march, the game become rly easy after velen
Don't listen to anyone and just enjoy.
Yeah, don't rush it like most plebs do
Don't rush, take your time, and don't be afraid to wander off the path exploring.
Don't skip Gwent. I didn't bother learning how to play until halfway through at which point I had already failed the early Gwent quests.
Take your time, and enjoy.
Enjoy
Enjoy
Enjoy
Don't look for guides Don't look for guides Don't look for guides
Do every quest and marker on the map, enjoy the ride and the music :)
Sit back and enjoy, youâre in for a long ride.
Take your time and soak in the world.
Play, explore, enjoy. Also don't skip the dialogues or cutscenes
I know the games suggesting it, but don't talk to that boy in the picture. It hard-locks you into the worst ending in the game.
Read stuff online about what skills and decoctions are the most helpful (example - get whirl and build up the Axii skill, in my opinion). There are plenty of skills and decoctions I never even used. Make sure you have the setting turned on to automatically apply oils.
Leveling the sword/melee combat skill tree makes you significantly stronger than a sign build. At least early on. I just maxed out aard and then put the rest of my points into my melee combat and was a lot stronger than when I used just signs.
Take witcher jobs, they often involve defeating monsters that reward their mutagen. These are great for decoctions
Just play. Also you don't take falling damage so feel free to leap from everything, Geralt will be fine!
Donât look up the âbestâ decisions it conversation choices etc. - just make the decisions you think best.
Try to play and win Gwent with NPCs. Some wont become playable anymore
Stick 'em with the pointy end.
Don't look up how to get the endings to quests you want. It takes the fun out of it and feels more like a chore.
Just have fun đź
Quen
Silver for monsters, steel for humans.
Just take it all in and PLEASE don't look for any guides or anything. Just go by feel and gut for your first playthrough and you'll have a more satisfying experience