The Witcher 3 remains one of the greatest role-playing games of all time nearly seven years after it was released, with an active fanbase which continues to modify and add to the story of Geralt and company. For such avid fans, the game’s New Game+ mode isn’t always enough, which is where community-made challenge runs come into the picture.
There are a great number of self-imposed challenges a player seeking to master The Witcher 3 could choose from, but four of the most immersive and difficult options are Disabling the Mini-Map, No Level and Health Bar Display, Campfire Meditations Only, and the infamous No Quen Sign Challenge. Any player able to master all of these challenges will have undeniably earned their School of the Wolf medallion by the end of it.
Disabling the Mini-Map Challenge
Disabling the mini-map in The Witcher 3 can initially seem like a relatively minor inconvenience — until three ghouls silently leap on Geralt’s back with no warning. Removing the mini-map from the player’s HUD requires them to stay constantly focused on the present moment, whether watching their surroundings for enemies or simply searching for trails or points of interest on the map. A casual stroll for materials can suddenly become a frantic melee as Geralt stumbles upon an unseen monster nest.
Keeping track of landmarks and notable terrain features becomes vital as Geralt wanders the landscape from quest-to-quest, which incidentally can lead to a much deeper appreciation for the beauty of the game’s scenery. The sunsets and woods become much more notable because the player isn’t simply following the dotted line on their mini-map, but instead immersed in exploring the world itself.
No Level or Health Bar Display
A challenge that couples particularly well with turning off the mini-map is disabling the level and health bar indicators of enemy monsters and warriors. One of the most frightening experiences of any young witcher’s career is the first time they encounter a monster with a red skull icon over their name. No blows, however swiftly or powerfully delivered, seem to do anything to the creature’s health bar. This is usually a good cue to turn tail and live to fight another day, but without that dreaded red skull hovering over the monster or a seemingly impervious health bar, how would Geralt know to retreat?
That level of immersion is what this challenge offers. Without the benefit of the metagame knowledge of levels and health bars, a player has to pay careful attention to how long a fight is lasting and whether it seems at all winnable. Particularly when an enemy might be capable of killing Geralt in a single swipe, every fight needs to be approached as if it could be a boss battle, which is bound to create some truly memorable moments for the player.
Campfire Meditations Only
The staggering evolution of The Witcher games has meant there aren’t many connections left between the first and third installments, which means some early mechanics were left behind. One which many challenge-loving fans appreciated was the necessity of a campfire for any sort of meditation or alchemy in the original Witcher game.
Unlike disabling the mini-map or the levels and health bars of enemies, this challenge relies on the honor system to complete. There are numerous campfires (plus inns or taverns, which qualify as viable resting places) littered across The Continent which Geralt can rest at to recover health, brew potions, and craft bombs. By restricting the locations where Geralt can meditate, it means the player must really consider every bomb used or potion drunk because there may be an encounter just down the road where they’ll really wish they still had said bomb or potion.
No Quen Sign Challenge
Perhaps the greatest challenge a hard core Witcher 3 fan can embark on is the No Quen challenge. It’s as simple — and as grueling — as it sounds. Quen, the Sign which creates a protective forcefield around Geralt, is entirely off limits. While there’s no specific narrative or metagame reason Quen would be off-limits to Geralt, this is the perfect challenge for anyone who wants to truly test their skill by relying on rapid parrying and lightning quick footwork alone. To make it even more difficult, set the game to Death March, where many enemies can bring Geralt down in a single swing.
In The Witcher‘s lore, young candidates seeking to transform into a witcher must undergo an ordeal called The Trial of Grasses, described as an immensely fraught and lethal process which leaves them supernaturally gifted if they survive. While Geralt has already survived this process, any player wishing to put him (and themselves) through their paces can use challenges like these as an entirely new type of trial to test their mettle and prove just how great a witcher they are.