With the successful TV adaptation of Andrej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels on Netflix and the promise of an exciting second season, there has been a renewed interest surrounding The Witcher franchise, particularly with regards to CD Projekt Red’s Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. While six years have passed since the game’s initial release, this grand epic offers fans the golden opportunity to delve deeper into the rich world that is The Witcher.
Despite its vast history and lore, Wild Hunt serves as an opportune place for newcomers to enter the universe. However, the colossal open worlds this title boasts can be overwhelming, making many of its stellar side quests easily missable. After completing the tutorial and visiting Vizima, players are dropped into the region of Velen, a dreary swampland hiding some of the game’s most compelling stories.
10 Witcher Wannabe: Understanding The Law Of Surprise
This quest only appears in Lindenvale after Geralt has completed the Merry Widow contract. When Geralt returns, he finds the disgruntled village elder muttering about another witcher nearby. Talking to the ealdorman reveals the witcher had claimed his daughter’s unborn child as a reward for a contract he was fulfilling.
This quest is one of several examples in the Witcher universe that showcases the dubious Law of Surprise. Upon further investigation, Geralt discovers the witcher to be an imposter struggling to kill a ghoul. After confronting the imposter, Geralt must choose whether or not to oust the man to the townspeople.
9 Defender of the Faith: Religion Is A Means Of Survival
As players progress through Velen, they begin to learn that the locale worship deities called “the Crones.” As the Downwarren ealdorman explains to Geralt, their offerings to these occult creatures is their means of survival in Velen. Although Geralt himself is skeptical of this life approach, he nevertheless aids a woman at a roadside in repairing a vandalized shrine.
After doing so, the woman reveals that several of the region’s shrines have been desecrated. Should Geralt choose to fix the shrines, he’ll run across students from Oxenfurt Academy vandalizing the last shrine. To successfully complete the quest, Geralt must engage in a brawl with the young academics who have taken up arms against the faith.
8 Funeral Pyres: The Church Of The Eternal Fire’s Hypocrisy
Funeral Pyres can be started nearby Mulbrydale, the first village Geralt happens upon in Velen. A priest of the Eternal Fire rather condescendingly asks Geralt to burn the dead across three battlefields, as they’re attracting necrophages. Should the witcher comply, he’ll find a man named Titus alive on the last battlefield.
Conversing with the man reveals the priest to actually be a fisstech customer who ordered Titus to be killed upon their last trade, and likely used the witcher to cover his tracks. An excellent introduction to the deep corruption seeded in the Church of the Eternal Fire, this quest also teases one of the major factions Geralt will encounter in Wild Hunt.
7 Thou Shalt Not Pass: Securing Passage Into Novigrad
While not mandatory, this simple quest is typically needed in order for Geralt to cross into the game’s second region (if he doesn’t feel like swimming): Novigrad. However, in order to pass the Pontar, Geralt needs a pass; fortunately, there are three ways for the witcher to get his hands on one.
Progressing the main story in Velen will eventually yield one as the Bloody Baron gives Geralt passage into Oxenfurt. However, if players aren’t interested in hanging out in the swamps, they can either complete the Redanian guard’s Woodland Beast contract or shady merchant’s Fake Papers quest to reach Novigrad more quickly.
6 A Towerful of Mice: Exploring The Curse Of Fyke Isle
A Towerful of Mice is perhaps one of the most wholesome quests in Velen. At the request of Keira Metz, Geralt works to unravel a curse on the deserted isle of Fyke. This quest, however, only unlocks if Geralt chose to help Keira recover a magic lamp after searching for Ciri in the Mysterious Elf’s hideout.
Geralt can then use the lamp to uncover the tragic story of the island’s past. Doing so allows the players to more fully explore his subsequent conversation with the wraith Anabelle. The quest not only shines with a poignant story that epitomizes the tragedy that defines the world of the Witcher so well, but also opens the door for a couple more pivotal side quests.
5 Forefathers’ Eve: Shop Discounts From The Pellar
Immediately following A Towerful of Mice, Geralt will be besieged by the Pellar from Blackbough, who requests the witcher’s aid in enacting Forefathers’ Eve, a ritual that has long been upheld by the people of Velen. Accepting the Pellar’s request takes Geralt back to Fyke Isle where he’ll be tasked with staving off monsters during the ceremony.
Unfortunately, the ceremony will be interrupted by witch hunters from the Church of the Eternal Fire, forcing Geralt to choose between siding with the hunters or the Pellar. By aiding the latter, Geralt will receive a nice discount at the Pellar’s shop upon the quest’s completion, which is particularly useful due to the valuable diagrams, runestones, and glyphs he sells.
4 Where the Cat and Wolf Play: You’re Not The Only Witcher
Inexperienced players should wait before attempting this quest, as the enemies are much higher levels than the rest of Velen (due to it being DLC). What initially starts out as a typical contract takes a dark turn when Geralt comes across a massacre at the village of Honorton.
Upon discovering a frightened girl, Geralt learns that the killing was the work of a witcher, and proceeds to track down Gaetan from the School of the Cat. After a terse exchange, Geralt can choose whether or not to fight the witcher. Fortunately, regardless of Geralt’s choice, Gaetan will either carry or reveal the location of his steel sword Teigr, a cool, unique item that cannot be obtained anywhere else.
3 Ghosts of the Past: A Callback To Assassins Of Kings
Perhaps the hardest quest to “find” in Velen, this quest requires players to either simulate or import a save from The Witcher 2 where the witcher Letho survives events of Assassins of Kings. Should he survive, Geralt will come across a booby-trapped Reardon when first visiting the mansion.
Geralt will proceed to find the Viper in the mansion’s attic, where he’ll reveal to the Wolf that Nilfgaard has decided he needs to be eliminated. As Geralt escorts his fellow witcher, events will quickly culminate to Letho faking his own death, which then opens up the option for him to become a potential ally for a future battle should Geralt invite him to Kaer Morhen.
2 For the Advancement of Learning: A Friend Or A Foe?
This is the last quest in the series of side missions for Keira Metz, and showcases just how dramatic player choices can be in affecting the outcome of events later in Wild Hunt. Beginning immediately after A Favor for a Friend, Geralt wakes up after shaking off Keira’s sleeping spell and notices a light in the tower on Fyke Isle.
Approaching the tower triggers a cutscene that ultimately yields three potential outcomes: killing Keira, letting her bargain with Radovid, or convincing her to depart for Kaer Morhen. While killing her yields the maximum amount of experience possible for the quest, Geralt can also find another future ally in her (like Letho) should he convince her to travel to Kaer Morhen instead.
1 Return to Crookback Bog: Closure For The Bloody Baron
One of the most prolific quest arcs in Wild Hunt is the story of Phillip Strenger, the Bloody Baron. The last quest to his story, however, is only an optional one, but it is an emotional one at that. After discovering that his wife is being hostage by the Crones at Crookback Bog, the Baron takes his men to storm the orphanage.
Should Geralt choose to join them at Downwarren, they will fight off several waves of monsters alongside Tamara Strenger and witch hunters before finding his wife, Anna. The profound element of this quest is that its outcome is determined well before players start it, illustrating the multilayered narrative that makes The Witcher 3 so iconic.
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