Beginner's Guide to The Witcher 3

New to monster hunting? Everything Geralt needs to know.

Combat Basics

  • 1Dodge (Alt) for small attacks, Roll (Space) for big attacks. Never stand still.
  • 2Use Quen Sign before every fight. It absorbs one hit for free.
  • 3Fast attacks (LMB) are generally better than strong attacks until you get specific skills.
  • 4Parry human enemies, dodge monster attacks. Most monsters cannot be parried.
  • 5Apply the correct Oil to your sword before tough fights for +10-50% damage.

Signs & Magic

  • 1Quen is the most important Sign for survival on any difficulty.
  • 2Igni is great for early game damage and setting enemies on fire.
  • 3Yrden is mandatory against wraiths -- they cannot be hit without it.
  • 4Axii Delusion upgrade unlocks dialogue options that give bonus XP throughout the game.
  • 5Signs scale with Sign Intensity, which comes from Griffin gear and blue mutagens.

Alchemy & Preparation

  • 1You only craft potions and bombs ONCE. They refill automatically when you Meditate with Alcohest.
  • 2Read every alchemy formula you find. Some are missable.
  • 3Decoctions are extremely powerful but have high toxicity. Learn tolerance skills.
  • 4Swallow (healing) and Thunderbolt (damage) are your two essential early potions.
  • 5Grapeshot bombs are excellent general-purpose damage against groups.

Exploration & Economy

  • 1Explore every ? marker on the map. They contain gear, loot, and quests.
  • 2Sell weapons to blacksmiths and armor to armorers for the best prices.
  • 3Dismantle items with rare components (Dimeritium, Dark Steel) instead of selling.
  • 4Complete Witcher Contracts for good money and unique rewards.
  • 5Loot everything in bandit camps -- even junk sells for coin.

Gwent Tips

  • 1Collect Gwent cards from merchants, innkeepers, and quest rewards.
  • 2Build a Northern Realms deck first -- it has the strongest spy cards.
  • 3Use Spy cards to draw extra cards, giving you card advantage.
  • 4Never play all your strong cards in Round 1. Win Round 1 efficiently, then dominate Round 3.
  • 5Decoy card lets you replay Spy cards for massive card draw advantage.