Act I: Vizima

After the CS in which you re-connect with Yennefer in White Orchard you get a lengthy CS set of your chase and escape and your arrival in Vizima, where you need to be prepared for your audience with the King.

During the preparations you are bathed and then interviewed by a General from one of the armies.

The purpose of this interview is to establish HOW you played the previous two games in the series and, specifically what your moral decisions were. This is important as it will shape the basic story elements of the adventure to come because obviously if you killed a character or made a specific choice that needs to be reflected in the story, right?

It is important for you to understand that there are no right answers here, ust tell him what you actually did in the previous games and all will be as it should be...

If you did not play the previous games, tell him what you think makes sense from your own moral point-of-view as this is how the game is going to set up some of the events that follow. As we said there is no wrong answer but your answers will shape some of the future content in this story.

Take a moment to carefully read the following subsection as we try to impart the crucial elements of this briefing and quiz and how it effects your game, alright mates?

The Saved Content & the Witcher Story

If you played the previous games on PC it is possible to import your save and thus allow the game to interpret your actions in the previous adventures in order to bring the current world in line with the choices you have already made.

The thing is that only applies to the PC editions of the games - and as this guide is for the console versions, rather than importing the actual save files, what you will be doing is simulating the process by answering a set of questions that basically accomplish he same function.

Important Story Notes

IF you want to experience the special quest lines that involve Letho of Gullet (that quest line in the game is called Ghosts of the Past) when asked what you did with Letho you need to say that he still lives. If you say that he still lives the game will unlock the special cameo-based quest line Ghosts of the Past. If you say you killed him - which for us was the truth - that sub-plot will not be unlocked.

As we say we killed Letho and as we want the game story to properly reflect what actually happened in our personal story, we told the truth and did not get to play the Ghosts of the Past sub-plot.

If you want to experience the sub-plot that involves Sile de Tansarville later in the main quest,story you need to not tell General Voorhis you allowed her to die. Even if you did. Which we did. Not informing him of that fact will add this sub-plot to the story.

As we did allow her to die, well, we told him that. So that sub-plot did not appear in our game.

Finally there is the question of Aryan LaValette and the sub-plot all that will result is that the conversation that you have with his mother late in the game will be different. That is all.

The XP you unlock as the natural part of the battle at the Inn in White Orchard combined with the XP you get from your interactions should unlock Level 4 for your character. That is a good thing really.

Filling in the Blanks: General Voorhis

The answers that you provide below will shape the story that is about to unfold as you take this very personal battle to the Wild Hunt, and with any luck, rescue yoru adopted daughter Ciri, save the world, and oh yeah, re-connect with your lost love!

In the midst of your bathing and dressing you meet once again with the likes of General Voorhis who has been sent to complete the file on you for the Royal Intelligence Service...

What this really is though is the path by which the game gets adjusted to reflect the key decisions that you made both for moral choice and story choices in the previous two titles in the series.

Normally this sort of thing would be addressed by the game accessing the save files for the previous games - but in this case the first game was PC only, the second PC and Xbox 360 - so that is easier said than done!

Note: IF you played the PC edition of the previous title - and you are playing the PC edition of THIS title, you CAN import the save file for this. Otherwise, not....

Bear in mind that the choices you make here will either enable and add entire quest lines OR conceal them depending on your answers. So in place of the automatic census as it were, we instead provide the answers that are required for the key questions. For your reference they are as follows:

(Q1) "So, Geralt of Rivia. Place of birth - unknown, parents - unknown, age - unknown... All insignificant details. Let us proceed to more recent events - the siege of La Valette Castle. The fate of the defending commander, one Aryan?"

(A1a) I killed Aryan during the siege. Just happened that way.

(A1b) I spared his life. He escaped.

(Q2) "You then found shelter in Flotsam, and there made your way to Vergen. My question is - How?"

(A2a) Got out of Flotsam with Vernon Roche

(A2b) I joined Iorveth, he helped me out.

The choice that you make for the second question above directly impacts the form and content of the next - third - question...

(Q3a - Roche) "The infamous summit at Loc Muinne. You were there. And once again meddled in the affairs of the mighty?"

(A3a1) Had to save Triss.

(A3a2) Helped Roche rescue Anais.

(Q3b - Iorveth) "The infamous summit at Loc Muinne. You were there. And once again meddled in the affairs of the mighty?"

(A3b1) Had to save Triss.

(A3b2) Helped Iorvethy lift the spell that held Saskia

(Q4) From what I know, shortly afterwards you watched a defective megascope blow your friend Sile de Tansarville to bits?"

(A4a) Sile escaped

(A4b) Got what was coming to her.

(Q5) "National interests call on one to forge difficult alliances at times. Alliances with Witchers included?"

(A5a) That alliance is dead. See, I killed Letho

(A5b) That alliance still alive? What happened to Letho?

That nicely wraps up the quiz and establishes the order of things and who is dead and who is still alive as you begin this third chapter in the saga of Geralt of Rivia! That said, bear in mind that when you replay the game you can change the answers to get a different and slightly shaped alternate story to unfold!

Results

Depending upon the answers that you gave you may (or may not) have unlocked additional quest lines for the story that include the following:

1. If Letho is alive at the end of the last game that will enable an entire new questline in THIS game that is called "Ghosts of the Past" for you to play through.

2. Who was left alive will have an effect / impact upon who your allies may/will be for the last third of the game and its story...

3. So yeah there are those two issues and a bunch of minor - some would say modest - changes to dialogue and actions towards the middle and end of the game story.

Choosing your answers offers you the chance to both continue a story you have already invested hundreds of hours in the telling of and, when you choose the opposing path, reveal facts, details, and story elements that you could only speculate about previously...

So here is the thing - you need to complete the interview, and you need to answer the questions. If you actually played the previous games our advice is to answer the questions honestly, and play through The Witcher 3 as the proper continuation of the story. So tell the General what you actually did.

Then later, after you have completed the story and game and you know how things turned out, you can then play again -- hey, admit it, you WANT to play it again! -- only this time tell him the lies that will add those characters and their sub-plots into the game. So yeah, there you go...

Imperial Audience

Geralt had spent years looking for Yennefer, only to have her find him. She had appeared outside the Inn in White Orchard, escorted by Nilfgaardian soldiers. The one-time lovers could not enjoy their reunion, for the sorceress insisted that they make haste.

Geralt and Yennefer had then left White Orchard accompanies by Nilfgaardians, but only the Witcher and sorceress reached Vizima. Along the way their column was attacked by a cavalcade of wraiths: the moen of war - the Wild Hunt.

Geralt's head was abuzz with questions. What had Yen gotten into? How had THe Hunt found them? Why was it looking for them? Why had he been summoned to Vizima?

He was to get his answers from none other than the Emperor of Nilfgaard himself, Emhyr var Emreis, the White Flame Dancing on the Graves of his Foes. The most powerful man in the known world.

Character Settings

Before you begin this new adventure properly there are some things we need to do first... Open the menu and select the Character Tab - you can now make use of the Mutagen Slot you have unlocked, so go ahead and follow the instructions to place the Vitality Mutagen in the slot now.

Doing so will automatically add the Melt Armor Igni Sign ability to the Ability Slot that is directly next to the Mutagen Slot.

You can then chose what Abilities you want to occupy the other open slots and make use of any available unused points as well.

What we suggest you do - and what we did - was focus on combat and capabilities for now. The choices that we made are as follows:

Muscle Memory: Fast Attack 3/5

General: Sun and Stars 1/1

General: Survival Instinct 1/1

General: Cat School Techniques 1/1

General: Griffin School Techniques 1/1

General: Bear School Techniques 1/1

For Ability Slot One we placed Muscle Memory: Fast Attack.

For Ability Slot 3 we placed Sun and Stars.

You do not have to follow this setup - you can do it the way you think is best - but we liked this setup ourselves...

Updated Data

Now would also be a good time to go through the Bestiary and Tutorial to read up on any new entries there that you have not yet absorbed. When you have completed that, spend a few minutes reading the bio info for the new characters as you will find that of particular interest and use from here forward...

Back on Task

After the interview you need to choose your outfit - just choose the one you like the most... Once you have done so and BEFORE you speak with this guy, use your Witcher Sense to spot the lootable containers and such and then loot!

Among the items you will find and take are some crafting resources, some food, and perfume from the back, but the important things are these five Books:

1. A Sword for Witches

2. The Wonders of Zerrikania

3. The Chronicles of Redania

4. Opposition in Nilfgaard

5. Gnomish Prankings

Read all five - taking and reading Books are actually part of the Achievement: Bookworm which you will unlock over time for reading 30 books, journals and certain other Documents.

After you select the outfit you will wear you talk to the man and he verifies that you have the outfit you like best - you can actually change to another if you do not like the one you chose - just saying...

He then conforms that you know how to properly bow - just do left leg forward and right hand on chest to get past this.

After you follow him into the chamber you get your chance to bow - or not - and then have a chat with the Emperor.... Cilla is back and The Wild Hunt is after her and he wants you to bring her back to the castle. Well did not see that coming!

In the ensuing dialogue you try to learn what you can about the situation with limited success. You have been foisted off on his spies - and then dismissed to see Yen.

The Chamberlain escorts you to the door to the chambers in which Yen is located and reminds you that, when you are done, you need to see him to get your Kit returned to you.

Yen shows you a drawing of Ciri and sort of fills you in - clearly she is cooperating with the Nilfgaardians, but not willingly. She just wants to get her friends out of this mess it seems - starting with Ciri.

You discuss The Wild Hunt, and then she urges you to find Ciri before The Wild Hunt does! She briefs you on what the spies have uncovered, and gives you the name of a contact in the first city - Novigrad. It seems that Triss is in the city - that is something to look forward to...

The Briefing

Once the conversation ends you can do some looting - and you should as there are some good items here. Then you should talk to the Ambassador in the next chamber and have that chat. He briefs you as you run through the dialogue then

What he has to tell you is certainly food for thought... The situation is really very bad! But knowing what the situation is in the three target cities where you will be operating is a good thing.

Return to the Chamberlain and get your Kit back, and that nicely completes this main mission...

Mission: The Nilfgaardian Connection

Geralt traveled to Velen in search of Ciri, an act that attested to the depth of his devotion. Only a man who has been to this land can know just how vile it is. At this time it was commonly known as No Man's Land. Why?

Well the Emperor of Nilfgaard had not yet claimed it, Temeria was in disarray, and the Redanians had already retreated north. No man had been left in charge, and he had proved a terrible ruler.

Geralt needed to find Hendrik, an imperial agent who had been working on Ciri's case, and to collect from him what information he had managed to gather.

Your Inventory

You now have access to your Inventory returned, so before you do anything else verify that you have equipped the items you want to have equipped, and review the new Documents and Books you collected - as in read them!

Getting Started

Okay after you Kit-out and read some Books - and that letter to Yennefer you took - go into the gardens and loot the plants, then talk to the Nobleman with the "!" to flag a new quest -- Gwent: Play Me

Side Quest: Gwent: Play Me

This is the first of a series of Gwent Quests, These are important because many of them are the only way you can obtain some of the rarer cards. Actually we should say that WINNING and completing them is the only way.

Considering that there are 199 cards in total and you have to get all of them to complete the massive Side Quest: Collect 'em All - you should probably take this very seriously!

This bloke plays for money - so decide what you are willing to risk and then build your deck from the cards in your Collection and the ones in your deck. Any good ones you have collected should get swapped into your deck to remove lower point ones.

Unfortunately other than the cards from the Innkeeper in White Orchard we have not had much of a chance to add cards to our Collection. What that means is that while you have sufficient cards for the Units you will probably not have enough Special Cards at the moment. Or Hero Cards for that matter. Still you do have enough to play.

Start by swapping out lower point Unit Cards for the higher point Cards in your Collection as that will make your deck slightly improved. Once you have done that start the game!

Beating the Nilfgaardian Nobleman results in winning a special card so hey, beat him! Bear in mind that you only need to do that once time as you can only win one carf from him no matter how many times you beat him - though you CAN still win money.

The Secret Room

On the wall in the garden is a secret lever - a stone - that you can see highlight in red with Witcher Sense. Push that and it opens a secret door in the corner in which you find a skeleton and some loot - a letter and an Enhanced Saddle.

You may have looted an Enhanced Saddle in White Orchard (we did) but if not, here is your chance to get one!

The old letter relates to events from the previous game - but does reveal how the plot was organized so it is certainly worth reading.

You are free to loot any accessible containers on your way out - and you may want to do that because while there is not a lot of loot there are some fairly decent items!

When you reach the main doors that kicks in the Fast Travel System and you are shown the map - and that very nicely wraps up this stage - so head to Velen (No Man's Land) now!