Side Quests: Velen

To make this guide easier to use we break each of the Acts up into their logical components, with the Side Quests divided as makes sense for that purpose. The following are the side quests for the main story that take place during the period in which you are based in Velen...

A Barn Full of Trouble

Kill the monsters in the barn

Flagged in a small village on the outskirts across the river - Suggested Level: 11

Near Novigrad Geralt came across a village whose inhabitants had themselves a bit of a ghoul problem. These nasty necrophages had taken up residence in their barn and posed a threat to the living. Geralt agreed to help the peasants - for commensurate pay, of course.

Objectives

• Kill the ghouls

A Favor for a Friend

Find the missing ingredients for Keira

Flagged when you complete A Towerful of Mice quest - Suggested Level 6

When the devil cannot go himself, he sends a woman - and when a sorceress is indisposed, she sends a Witcher to do her errands. That, at least, was Keira Metz's approach.

Finding herself in a bit of a pinch, she asked Geralt for yet another favor. This time she needed him to track down a merchant's wagon which had been carrying some rare magic ingredients her way. It had never arrived, and she had begun to fear the worst.

When you reach the search area you may have an encounter with some local wildlife, but you will also find the wagon tracks and trail them to where the merchant was bushwhacked. Recover the cargo for Keira - and track the now dead merchant to the tree where he died and search him - he has a letter.

Take the cargo back to Keira and chat her up and you will learn that this shipment? It was more about seduction than magic it seems...

THIS may be the bit that Conan O'Brien was talking about when he announced that this game was all about getting through the fighting parts so you can get to the sex parts which, Conan has decided, is what the game is REALLY about!

Hopefully you beat her to the dinner so you don't have to do the dishes! After a pleasant meal, you have a game of hide-and-seek - no, seriously - and then yeah, you night want to kick the kids out of the room for this bit okay? Really!

The question I have is this - why is it that every sorceress thinks it is col to use a Witcher like this for sex and then magic them to sleep so they can fulfill their real motives>!

Well either way that concludes this quest. The Witcher got laid, the sorceress got the info she was seeking, and they both got a good meal out of it! With any luck you gained a level from this as well... I you did, be sure to spend the Ability Point you gained as well, right?

Objectives

• Find the ingredients from the missing transport using your Witcher Senses

• Bring the ingredients to Keira

• Race Keira to the meadow

• Find Kiera using yoru Witcher Senses

A Greedy God

Address the Allgod using the alter

Flagged from villagers at an alter - Suggested Level 7

In the backwoods of Velen Geralt came across an altar, and next to it - two troubled villagers .

When asked the source of their worries, the peasants told Geralt the deity they worshiped - the awe-inspiring Allgod - had rejected the offerings they had brought him. The Witcher was not a particularly gods-fearing individual, yet nevertheless promised that he'd intercede for the peasants with their deity.

You can ask them for more details about this Allgod - and they will tell you what they know. Then you can use the alter - to speak with the "god" - use your Witcher Senses to detect clues around the alter and then follow the scent of the wine to the underground chamber.

Don't know about you but that was NOT what I was expecting to find LOL...

You convince him to accept the lesser offerings - or risk being chopped to bits - and he naturally agrees. Then you deliver the news to the peasants and complete the quest.

Objectives

• Address the Allgod using the altar

• Find the Allgod using your Witcher Senses

• Talk to the peasants

An Invitation from Keira Metz

Meet with Keira in her lair

Flagged after completing the Keira portion of the Missions - Suggested Level 6

Geralt and Keira's journey to the elven mage's lair had forged a tight bond between them, the kind harrowing life-or-death experiences forge between soldiers at war or students during exam week. And so when it was all over Keira invited Geralt to stop by her hut sometime, in a way that suggested that she did not mean for an afternoon of tea and crumpets.

When you arrive you find her in conversation with some other dead mage via the Magic Lantern - and then you talk... there are a number of conversation paths you can go down, including doing business with her.

Note: Do NOT skip doing business with her! She has a buntch of Diagrams and Manuscropt Pages - some of which you may want. Just saying.

When you finally get down to brass tacks she starts talking about the Cursed Isle out on the lake, and tells you what she knows about it before asking if you will help her lift the curse there. To aid in the quest she will give you the Magic Lamp that you helped her get from the mage's lair.

You ask her how it works - at least we HOPE you did - and then she gives you a Xenivox so that you communicate with her from a distance. Basically it is a magical cell phone...

This completes the quest and flags the next related one, A Tower Full of Mice.

Objectives

• Talk to Keira

A Tower Full of Mice

Solve the mystery and lift the curse on the island.

Flagged by completing the quest An Invitation from Keira Metz - Suggested Level 6

A horrible curse had befallen Fyke Isle and the tower that stood upon it. Half a year prior, Lord Vserad had moved his court there, seeking shelter from approaching Nilfgaardian armies. While famine raged all around, the lord of Velen wallowed in excess and cared not a whit for his suffering vassals.

The gods saw fit to punish him and, towards this end, cursed him. One day, a host of mice scurried into the tower and proceeded to devour everything, including Vserad, his court and his redident mage, Alexander.

The isle had been haunted since that day, and fisherman feared to sail the lake, putting yet another dent in the already battered local economy. The local peasants thus asked Keira to lift the curse, and she turned to the Witcher for help. Enticed by Keira's charms and her promise of additional rewards,

Geralt took on the task. The sorceress equipped him with a magic lamp he could use to commune with dead souls, gave him a firm pat on the rear for good luck and sent him off to lift the curse.

So for the first part of the journey we are going to need a boat - check the map to find one and head to it. To use the boat you climb in, sit at the rudder and use A to accelerate. Simple enough.

You may have to battle your way onto the island - there are some Rotfiends - a new monster for you - on the shore. At the tip of the island where the Rotfiends are is a submersed chest with some loot you will want to gather.

In dealing with the Rotfiends you need to be aware that once they are badly damaged they sort of self-destruct - and you really do not want to be standing next to them when that happens. That being the case dodging away or, better yet, using the crossbow to kill them is the way to go. Heh.

If you choose to use the Lantern to look for ghosts you should ALSO use your Witcher Sense so that you do not end up allowing monsters to ambush you. The Witcher Sense gives you advanced notice of the presence of monsters remember.

As you work your way along the island towards the tower you will encounter another set of ruins that appear to be the old foundation for a smaller tower. In the dungeon of that is some loot.

As you work your way along you will find bodies you can examine for clues (they will highlight in red).

Once you reach close to the tower you will unlock a Fast Travel Post here - which is good as if you need armor or weapon repairs you can duck on off to one of the Smiths and get that managed now, before continuing!

When you reach the tower instead of going right inside explore around its grounds and you will find some skeletons that trigger the power of the Lamp and allow you to see their dying moments. From that you can gather some information - and perhaps a bit of XP!

As you explore the tower you will encounter Rats - you can use Igni to deal with them quickly. You should keep the Lantern activated because doing so will reveal what REALLY happened here!

As you explore you should loot and examine the clues that have been left behind in addition to the clues that the Lantern reveals.

In the cellar you learn that the roots of the story are not true - the rats were not send there by the gods as punishment, they were BROUGHT there by the noble for some odd reason.

When you finally do reach the top of the tower and find the lab you learn what has really been going on there and likely WHY the disaster that befell it happened. Entering the top triggers a CS in which you have a conversation with the Lord's daughter - and learn a few more details....

It turned out that the peasants did not come for food, they came raiding. And it turns out that the mage who owned the tower? Yeah he was evil...

After you talk to the ghost - Anabelle - you work out the solution to breaking the curse - taking her bones to her love... In the village... Yeah, maybe that will work!

When you arrive at the marker you see a peasant banging on the door to Grahams hut. And you learn that you may be on the right track after all. Knocking on the door triggers a CS and conversation in which you go in and chat with Graham.

From Graham you learn the truth of what happened - and Graham is not totally guiltless for his actions... After you make him understand what really happened you hand him the bones and voila! Curse lifted! So it is time to head back to Keira and let her know...

As you are walking away you hear a scream from Graham's hut - if you go back in you see Anabelle's spirit killing him - and then departing free from the curse. Well we sort of saw that coming, right?

Note: Before you leave the village go see the trader there - he has Rugged Saddle Bags for sale which add 50 to the weight you can carry (that is 70 total I think)

When you reach Kiera you fill her in on the details, and then you discuss the work that Alexander was doing... And it seems that Keira knew about that... She tells you that you can keep the lamp, and then admits she wished she had accompanied you on that quest.

When you try to leave she recruits you for another quest: A Favor for a Friend.

That completes the quest A Towerful of Mice and well done you!

Objectives

• Find a way to get to Fyke Isle

• Use Keira's boat to reach Fyke Isle.

• Head towards the tower

• (Optional) Use the Magic Lamp to find ghosts

• Explore the Tower

• Use Keira's Magic Lamp to investigate Alexander's laboratory

• Use the magic lamp to contact Anabelle

• Take Anabelle to Graham

• Tell Keira you've lifted the curs eon Fyke Isle

Bitter Harvest

Protect the scavengers from monsters

Flagged on the battlefield to the west of the bridge to Novigrad - Suggested Level 9

The Nilfgaardian and Redarian forces had fought many bloody yet indecisive battles in Velen from which both sides had to retreat without Collecting their dead. On one such field Geralt encountered a group of looters robbing the corpses of the fallen.

In another time and place he might have merely gritted his teeth and continued on his way. Yet conditions in Velen were harsh and other sources of sustenance few - so he decided to swallow his revulsion and defend these desperate men from the monsters stalking the battlefield.

After a few waves of monsters you complete the quest and earn your reward.

Objectives

• Protect the scavengers from monsters

Blood Ties

Learn the fate of the noblewoman's missing son

Flagged by talking to the woman at the "!" Mark near camp - Suggested Level 12

Near the Nilfgaardian camp Geralt ran into a noblewoman from far-off Nazair. She had journeyed to the front in search of her son, a soldier. The woman was worried because her son would write her often, but at some point had suddenly stopped.

No one in the camp knew what happened to him, but the woman did not believe they were truly ignorant. She offered Geralt a reward for discovering the truth...

You will meet the quartermaster either for this quest or while you are answering the call for the Witcher Contract Patrol Gone Missing - either way when you speak him you have the option of asking about the woman's missing son.

What you learn is that there is no great mystery here at all - the patrol that the boy belonged to ran - and while some of them were chased down and executed the majority made it into the swapmps and escaped - including the son.

The quartermaster preferred not to deal with the distasteful matter at all, so it was swept under the carpet, and all of the members of the patrol reported as executed so that no other patrols had to be sent into the swamps in pursuit of them. That is why the issue is being stonewalled - because if they admit that there IS an issue, then they will have to address it. And nobody wants to do that.

As you are completing the Witcher Contract Patrol Gone Missing, during the end stage after you have killed the monster and are bringing the trophy back to the camp at an unmarked spot in the marshes that is almost directly west of the Hidden Treasure spot (which IS marked) you will encounter a set of gibbets upon which some Nilfgaardian soldiers have been hung.

If you examine the soldiers you will find one with red hair. This might be the missing son... Using your Witcher Senses you can find, on the ground near the hung red-haired soldier an unfinished letter to his mother. Pick that up and the Side Quest is updated.

So how cool is that? You are working a completely unrelated Witcher Contract and you pretty much solve a Side Quest!

When you return to the noblewoman she assures you that she must know the fate of her child. So you tell her, as gently as you can - lying about how he died sot hat she believes her son died a hero. She pays you your fee and that ends the quest. So well done I guess...

Objectives

• Talk to the quartermaster about the noblewoman's son

• Find Hrodeberth's body using your Witcher Senses

• Search the site for personal artifacts using your Witcher Senses

• Return to the Mother

Ciri's Room

Search the room that Ciri used in the Bloody Baron's Keep

This is flagged at the end of the second conversation with the Baron - Suggested Level 5

Having learned which room Ciri had staying in during her time at Crow's Perch, Geralt, for whom any excuse to paw through others' possessions is a good one, decided to search it and see if she had left anything behind that might help him find her.

On your way downstairs and before you depart the Keep on your way to Pellar's Hut for the Main Mission Family Matters briefly change the Quest Flag in the Quest Journal to the Side Quest Ciri's Room - and follow the path to the marker that designates the room that Ciri used while she was staying at the Keep.

Inside the room use your Witcher Senses...

There are a number of clues in the room:

• A Spinning Top Toy

• Discarded clothing on the floor

• Book: The Natural Obscurity of Curses (on the table)

When you are done searching the room step across the hall into the Kitchen and find Gretka; talk with her and work your way through the various chat options to learn that Ciri exchanged confidences with the girl, and that Gretka thinks that Ciri left on her own for no reason...

Gretka tells you that Ciri told her she was looking for you and "a Sorceress" - then mentions a friend that Ciri evidently told the girl she wanted to help. Gretka does not know who the friend is - or where Ciri went. She relates that the Baron told her that "she'd left" and that Gretka was too little to understand why.

That sums up pretty much all you are going to get from the girl.

Now open your Inventory to the Quest Items Tab and take a moment to actually read the book entitled The Natural Obscurity of Curses - which is the book you found on the table in Ciri's room.

Pay close attention to the dedication of the book AND the contents of that page. The reading of the book very nicely completes this Side Quest!

Objectives

• Examine the room where Ciri stayed using your Witcher Senses

• Go to the Kitchen to talk to Gretka

• Read the book entitled "The Natural Obscurity of Curses" from Ciri's Room

Costly Mistake

Find the Treasure

Flagged by searching the body at the Hidden Treasure on the West Coast - Suggested Level 18

The gradual expansion of literacy in the Northern Realms pleased Geralt greatly, for this meant he happened across more and more interesting notes and missives - such as those be once found on the banks of the Pontar, near Oxenurt....

After reading the letter and swimming down by the sunken hull to loot the red-glowing chest, the quest is completed There will be monsters to battle of course, but still this is pretty easy pickings!

Objectives

• Read the letter you found.

Death by Fire

Help the Elf

Flagged automatically as you approach the scene - Suggested Level: 10

Men can be terribly cruel, especially to those of different races. The Witcher had seen humans persecute nonhumans far too often. This time he witnessed a particularly appalling scene - a group of thugs wanting to burn a she-elf alive.

Fortunately, the Witcher managed to defeat the bandits and save the elf. Unfortunately, the Witcher cannot be everywhere at once and not every victim of racial persecution can count on his help.

As you are riding on the road you will approach the house which is just off of it and automatically flag/see the quest. Talk to the mob and then defeat it. Once you have you need to quickly clear the doorway by using the Aard Sign, releasing the she-elf. Talk to her when she is out for your reward.

Objectives

• Defeat the bandits

• Clear the doorway and free the elf

• Talk to the survivor

Defender of the Faith

Fix the 3 damaged Shrines

Flagged randomly at one of the damaged Shrines - Suggest Level 10

Geralt has a "live and let live" policy regarding the gods and their worshipers: if they don't bother him, he returns the favor. Sadly, not everyone follows this sage precept. A distraught woman in Velen informed him someone had been destroying the shrines that dot that region's roadsides.

She begged him to repair the damage and, if possible, punish those responsible. Though he did not share the woman's devotion or outrage at this sacrilege, he decided to help all the same.

Simply use the action button to repair each of the three Shrines when you encounter them.

When you arrive at the third you encounter the people who are destroying the shrines - a couple of idiots from a group called the Heralds of Lightning...

Defeating them nicely wraps up the quest and earns you your reward.

Objectives

• Fix all the damaged Shrines 3/3

• Defeat the vandals

Fake Papers

Obtain a pass to get over the bridge to Novigrad

Flagged from the dealer near the bridgehead

When you try to cross the bridge you get a CS in which the guards there tell you that you have to have a pass - no pass, no cross. He then suggests that you may be able to obtain one from the dealer at the bridgehead.

You can either pay him 100 Crowns for the pass, or you can dicker and pretend to leave which will cause him to offer you a deal on the pass if you help his brother (that takes you to flag the Side Quest Better Harvest). Or you can use your Witcher ways on him if you are high enough level.

While the passes he is selling are indeed fake, the guards at the bridge cannot tell the difference. But you do not have to pay this guy 100 Crows, as the Witcher Contract: Woodland Beast includes a Pass as part of its reward.

Note: If you buy the pass and then do the Contract when you cross the bridge one of the quests will disappear from your journal as you can only use one pass at the bridge. It will likely be this one. Fair warning.

Objectives

• Obtain the pass

The Fall of the House of Reardon

Clear out the Manor House and Grounds

Flagged from Dolores in Lindenvale - Suggested Level 6

Continuing his tour of rural Velen, Geralt stopped by the village of Lindenvale. There he came across a grief-stricken old woman. The cause of her woe? She was homeless, a monster having made its nest in her family manor and forced her into a rental situation elsewhere that had recently proven unaffordable.

When Geralt approached her, she asked him to rid her manor of this beast. In return she gave him a precious token - the key to the chest in which she claimed to keep her life savings. Geralt couldn't refuse to help an elderly person in need, especially not one so eager to reward him handsomely for it, and so decided to do as she asked.

Although the quest says to kill the monster IN the manor house, what you actually need to do is kill all of the Wraiths - and they may be OUTSIDE the house. In fact when we did this one of them was outside the property on the outside of the walls!

So look for the dots on the radar map for the Wraiths and be sure you kill them all. Shen you have the quest will update.

Objectives

• Ask Dolores about the monsters in her manor

• Kill the monsters in teh manor

• Return to Dolores

Fists of Fury: Velen

Defeat the opponents in Fist Fighting

Flagged from the Notice Board in the Baron's Keep - Suggested Level 11

When Geralt found out a fistfighting circuit was operating in Velen, he decided to test his strength and enter. You must know Velen bouts were remarkable for their dirty and no-holds-barred fighting, but to someone who fights monsters dirtily and leaves no holds untried on a daily basis, this was no worry.

To get the quest started head to the Inn at the Crossroads to battle Smithy - and win of course!

Next head to Blackbough to battle Jonah - a few heavy blows works wonders.

The next destination is Lindenvale, where you fave off against Fishgulper.

When you begin the fight FIsh tries to get you to take pity on him and throw the fight. You could do that if you wanted to but that will end the quest without you facing the sergeant - the champion in other words - which is the whole point. You do as you like but we chose to beat him!

So now that you have beaten the contenders head back to Crow's Perch to take on the champ - the Sergeant!

This fight is easily won by simply spamming Heavy Blows... Defeating the Sergeant completes the quest.

Objectives

• Defeat Smithy

• Defeat Fishgulper

• Defeat Jonah

• Fight the sergeant for the Velen Title

Fool's Gold

Solve the Mystery (This is one of the Free DLC quests added to the game)

Flagged automatically when you encounter the village - Suggested Level: 10

During his travels through Velen, Geralt survived many a bizarre adventure, but few more memorable than that which I will now recount. For who would have thought a routine stop ina village strangely empty save a few bandits arguing with a local dunce would end in such a curious fashion?

The Witcher surely didn't, though he did have his suspicions. After he dealt with the bandits and talked to the fool, Yontek, he set about visiting the village's huts and the pigs who dwelt in them. Yes, that's right, pigs.

When you arrive a group of non-hostile bandits are broiling a dead pig on a spit while the local village idiot is freaking out. Seems that he knew the pig? You sense something is not right here, and your reluctance ends up angering the bandits, who attack you!

After you deal with the bandits the fool sort of explains what happened, but you must investigate to be sure...

Objectives

• Defeat the looters

• Use your Witcher Senses to examine the pigs in the village of Lurtch

• Talk to Yontek

• Find the Hog Hut

• Go inside the Hog Hut

• Talk to the pig

• Look for clues in the Hog Hut using your Witcher Senses

• Herd Size 9/9

• Use the Axii Sign to make the cursed pigs follow you

• Gather all of the cursed pigs under the windmill 9/9

• Kill the wolves attacking the pigs

• Escort Yontek and the cursed pigs to the Hog Hut

Forefathers' Eve

Help the Pellar complete his ritual

Flagged automatically during the Family Matters Mission - Suggested Level 7

During his travels through No Man's Land Geralt ran into the Pellar once more. The strange fellow had a favor to ask of the Witcher. He wanted Geralt to help him perform a cherished local peasant rite known as Forefathers' Eve.

During this ritual, he explained, lost spirits are summoned and their deeds judged - fantastic material by the way, for a poet looking to make his name with an atmospheric ballad. This Forefathers' Eve was set to be held at midnight on Fyke Isle, and Geralt, having no other plans and his curiosity piqued, promised to attend.

When you arrive meditate until Midnight and then talk to the Pellar to begin the quest. Your job is to protect them it seems - and not just from ghouls but from Witch Hunters as well!

Things quickly go all pear-shaped - deal with the attackers then talk to the Pellar and learn the location of his father's body. Go there in the swamps and burn it with Igni, then visit the Pellar to complete the quest.

Objectives

• Meet the Pellar in the stone circle on Fyke Isle at midnight

• Protet the ritual's participants

• Defeat the Witch Hunters

• Defeat the Wraiths

• Find the body of the Pellar's father in the swamps using your Witcher Senses

• Talk to the Pellar

For the Advancement of Learning

Figure out what Keira is up to...

Flagged immediately after completing the quest A Favor for a Friend - Suggested Level 8

Nothing about sorceresses should be taken at face value. Their faces least of all - those perfect, ever youthful visages have as little to do with nature as Hierarch Hemmelfart has with charity. If anyone should have learned to think twice when dealing with them, it was Geralt, and yet still he accepted Keira's dinner invitation.

During what Geralt naively thought to be innocent conversation between friends, Keira tricked him into revealing information about the mage Alexander's laboratory and then, when he was least expecting it, sent him to sleep with a spell so he could not stop her from carrying out her nefarious plans...

I bet you thought that the quests and missions involving her would be short and easily completed, right? I bet even more that you did NOT think it would go on for this long, right? Yeah, me either...

When you arrive at the tower you get an update and some XP, and a CS in which you encounter Keira - who approaches you down the stairs and admits that she found what she came for.

You ask her about the papers - and learn that she feels that the research has value. And she admits that she is doing it with pure profit motives too. THAT I believe!

At the end of this conversation you have three options:

1. Can't let you do that. - Positive Moral Outcome

2. Thousands may die. It'll be on your head - Neutral Moral Outcome

3. Can't believe we (censored) - Negative Moral Outcome

Understand that choosing either of the last two means that you do not oppose her and so share in the negative morality. But choosing the first dialogue means battle. And she is supposed to be your friend - with benefits...

So yeah, you have to decide what to do here. WE chose the high road and opposed her... Sadly that meant killing her. Then burning the notes. It sucks but there you have it. That is the price of being a good Witcher!

After that bit is concluded that concludes the quest For the Advancement of Learning - and it also unlocks the Achievement: Friends with Benefits (15g) Complete the subplot involving Kiera Metz.

So yeah that pretty much wraps up this very long subplot that was very surprising both in its length and how it ended (if we are a good Witcher). We imagine that had you chosen either of the other options you still would have unlocked the Achievement, but who knows what the impact would have been on the story later? Plague death over the land? Cannot allow that!

Objectives

• Find out what Keira is doing on the tower on Fyke Isle.

• Find Keira

• Defeat Keira

Funeral Pyres

Burn the bodies on the battlefield

Flagged from the Priest of the Eternal Flame - Suggested Level 3

In No Man's Land Geralt was given a contract by an Eternal Fire priest. His task: to burn the bodies of soldiers who had fallen during the recent battle in order to keep necrophages from eating them.

Head to each of the three pits, defeat the monsters or animals that are present, then pour on the holy oil and use the Igni Sign to ignite it, thus burning the bodies.

At the third site you run into a man who tells you about a deal he had with the priest - and how the priest attacked him. It turns out that the priest lied to you...

Objectives

• Find and burn the bodies lying in pits on the battle field 3/3

• Return to the Priest of the Eternal Fire

Ghosts of the Past

Solve the Mystery / Help Letho

Flagged during the quest at the Reardon Manor -- Suggested Level: 6

This is an Alternate Path Quest that will ONLY appear if you tell the General that you did NOT kill Letho in the previous game. You will not see this if you said you killed him...

What does one expect to find inside an abandoned country manor? Dusty crockery? Moth-eaten doilies? A moldy trophy buck, perhaps, if its inhabitants trod on the wild side?

Certainly not the most wanted man north of the Yaruga. Yet that, dear reader, is exactly who Geralt found when he entered such a manor in Lindenvale. The assassin of kings himself, Geralt's old acquaintance, his sometime friend, and sometime enemy: Letho.

He was hiding there from bounty hunters out for his scalp. Geralt, now fully able to remember how Letho and two of his colleagues once saved Yennefer's life, could not refuse him help.

Objectives

• Find a ladder using your Witcher Senses

• Search the farmstead

• Search the barn

• Enter the barn

• Kill the bounty hunters

• Ride with Letho and find Louis

• Kill the bandits

• Ride with Letho to Lindenvale

• Accompany Letho around Lindenvale

• Deal with Vester and his men

Gwent: Velen Players

Play Gwent with the Players in Velen

Flagged at the Notice Board in the Baron's Keep - Suggested Level None

Though you might think it unlikely, even war-ravaged Velen boasted many prominent Gwent players. They possessed certain valuable cards which Geralt wished to add to his Collection. To do that, he needed to defeat them. The first on his "To Fleece" list: the Bloody Baron.

After you beat the Bloody Baron that opens the quest up to other players - and gains you his unique card.

Simply work your way through the rest of the players that unlock to complete the quest!

Objectives

• Win a unique card from the baron.

• Win a unique card from the soothsayer

• Win a unique card from the man in Oreton

  Wina uniqe card from Haddy of Midcopse

Hazardous Goods

Help the man

Flagged when you encounter the teamster being attacked -- Suggested Level: None

On one of Velen's muddy roads Geralt came across an unfortunate soul trapped under his cart. The man had an accident while hauling corpses of plague victims. The Witcher decided to help him.

This is actually a very simple quest and it all takes place right there,. Once you rescue the man and free him, you then have a conversation with him, the goal of which is to get him to accept how serious the situation is in terms of the bodies and his cart - which needs to be burnt!

After you succeed in convincing him, cast Igni on the cart.

Objectives

• Help the trapped man

• Help the man burn the bodies

Last Rites

Rid the old woman of the "ghost" that haunts her

Flagged at the golden "!" marker - Suggested Level 9

The old woman looked much like the many other widows of Velen, though her eyes seemed to have seen even more headship than usual. Perhaps that was because the was haunted by the ghost of her husband, who had died at war years ago.

The ghost had asked the woman to bring her wedding ring to his grave. The cemetery was too far-off for an elderly woman to journey to, however, so she asked Geralt if he could make the trip for her. The Witcher took pity and decided to grant her this somewhat unusual request.

When you return to the village you discover that the old woman you encountered was a ghost! That's okay tho as her granddaughter offers you a reward - and the quest ends.

Objectives

• Find the old woman's husband's grave using your Witcher Senses

• Place the ring on the grave

• Return to the old woman for the reward

Love's Cruel Snares

Find the woman's fiance

Flagged at the Abandoned Site west of Midcopse - Suggested Level 10

While wandering Velen Geralt happened across a woman who was weeping violently. She explained that her betrothed had gone into the woods to check his traps but never returned - and she feared the worst. Geralt calmed her and promised to check what had become of her beloved.

Unfortunately when you get into the woods you discover that wild dogs have killed the trapper... So you have nothing for it but to head back and tell her the bad news.

Delivering the news completes the quest.

Objectives

• Find the woman's missing fiance in the woods using your Witcher Senses

• Deliver the bad news to the girl

Lynch Mob

Help a soldier captured by a mob

Flagged on the road near Hangman's Alley

Should a soldier be held responsible for the decisions of his commanding officers? Is collective responsibility justice? To us, dear reader, these are rhetorical questions. Geralt, however, often found himself forced to answer them - and quickly.

For example, once in Velen he happened across a group of villagers preparing to lynch a captured Nilfgaardian deserter. Not for the first time the Witcher had to decide which was the lesser evil...

The Witcher made his decision. he defended the deserter and earned the peasnt's ire. They attacked at once, and thus in order to save one man he had to kill many others.

You should know that the way that the quest unfolded above is not its only solution - I chose to battle the lynch mob but you also could have allowed them to lynch the man...

Objectives

• Kill the peasants

Master Armorers

Locate the special tools of the Master Armorer

Flagged by speaking with the Crow's Perch Armorer and his Assistant / Wife - Suggested Level 24

Witchers live to kill monsters, and so they place great importance on the weapons and armor they use. Bodily harm is all too Common in this profession, so whenever the chance arises to acquire better work clothing, the thinking Witcher pounces on it like a cat on a plump mouse.

Such a mouse skittered in front of Geralt's eyes at one point in the form of the dwarf Fergus, an armorer of great renown. The craftsman promised to forge top-notch equipment for our hero, but first he needed the appropriate tools. Geralt thus set out in search of them.

This quest takes you to the Skellige Isles - so if you have not yet gone there that is a non-starter!

In Skellige

The destination once you land in the Isles is the large volcanic island that is to the west and south on the map. You are going to need to grab a boat and sail there, and when you arrive plan on doing a fair bit of fighting as you make your way along the paths to the marker.

Remember if you are in a boat you can use the map and select an anchor icon that is closer to your destination and Fast Travel there. Just saying that is dead useful going to -- there is a Harbor Marker -- and of course also coming back it is!

As you follow the path yup the mountain you will find a fair number of battles if you want them though some cannot be avoided. You will also find a lot of clues to examine - most for quests you may not have flagged yet - so go easy on following those.

One thing though, do NOT try to take any shortcuts - the path is your best bet.

Eventually you get a CS in which you see a large shipwreck up the mountain and some pretty nasty monsters and you get an entry for an Ice Giant added to your Bestiary!

As you approach the boat you hear a man singing, and then you battle the Sirens before climbing in to talk to the man... His story is, well, sorta messed up. Clearly he is insane.

Try not to get side-tracked here, our goal is to get to the tools, right?

When you reach the cave you will have to defeat the Troll there - it is one of the objectves.

After you defeat the Troll use your Witcher Senses to find the red-glowing chest and loot the High-quality Smithing Tool from that! That is what you came for! There is also a Relic Sword in the chest - it is actually a pretty good sword...

So loot whatever else you can find and then head back to Fergus! When you reach him tell him you got the tools and just as you are about to negotiate your deal some soldier types turn up and push you out of the way....

As Fergus heads off to negotiate with the Nilfgaardian officer his “helper” reveals the TRUTH to you! It turns out SHE is the skill and art behind this particular forge and the person you really need to talk to for making an order.

After you chat she asks you for some help - she needs some acid and she needs YOU to help her get some. For that you need to kill an Archgriffin - and those are rare - but it turns out one was spotted in the area recently!

BEFORE you set off for this quest, walk over to the Notice Board and you will see on the radar map it now has a new quest on it! Well, a Witcher Contract actually... And it is FOR that Archgriffin - so flag that as well.

Thus you get a new objective for the quest - bring her some gland acid from that beastie!

So Fast Travel to Heatherton and then head to the marker once you have repaired your Kit and are ready for battle, right?

If you have trouble remember that grffins are weak to Hybrid Oil and Grapshot as well as the Aard Sign...What we found made this an easy battle was to do the following:

Set Grapeshot as the first Bomb Slot

Set Enhanced Dancing Star as the Second Bomb Slot

Set a Silver Damage Bolt as the Crossbow Ammo Type

Save the game

Hear into battle and simply do the following in this order:

Shoot the Archgriffin with a Crossbow Bolt to cause it to drop to the ground

Immediately switch to Grapeshot and throw

Throe the second Grapeshot

Immediately switch to Enhanced Dancing Star and thow if it is still on ground and stunned.

If not, use Crossbow to stun it and get it on the ground

Throw all three Enhanced Dancing Star Bombs one after the other.

If that does not kill it, quickly duck in and finish it off with a couple of sword swipes. And there you go! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Once you have killed it, head back and deliver the gland acid. She makes the armor and then there is a confrontation in which you help prove that her armor is the superior craft.

After the test is successful Yoana askes you to give her a few days to craft your armor... You can use the Meditate to wait out the timer for this. Once the objective changes go and talk to Yoana and she will gift you a set of Witch Hunter's Armor - and that completes the quest!

The armor requires Level 27 to wear and use - and has the following stats:

Witch Hunter's Armor

166 Armor Points

6.07 Weight / 575 Coin Value

+30% Resistance to piercing damage

+30% Resistance to bludgeoning damage

+30% Resistance to slashing damage

+10% Resistance to damage from monsters

+10% Resistance to elemental damage

It also has one Upgrade Slot. But do note this is JUST chest armor. You can either mix and match for the other pieces or have her make you some from whichever School you have all the upgrades for as that will be pretty good for the pieces you do not have that are better. Just saying.

Now be sure you go turn in that Witcher Contract for the Archgriffin next.

Objectives

• Find a Master Armorer in Velen

• Ask if Fergus is a Master Armorer

  Defeat the Troll

• Get blacksmith's tools from Undvik

• Bring the tools to Fergus

• Get gland acid from the archgriffin.

• Take the gland acid to Yoana

• Help test the armor

• Wait one day while Yoana forges your armor

• Collect your armor from Yoana

Return to Crookback Bog

Assist the Baron with his Quest to free his Wife

Flagged automatically at the end of Family Matters - Suggested Level 9

As you recall, the self-proclaimed Baron of Velen had asked Geralt to find his missing family. And so, ever a man of his word, find them he did. Tamara, the Baron's daughter, he found in Oxenfurt, where she had joined the Witch Hunters.

As for Anna, the Baron's wife, she had been kidnapped by the Crones and made their slave, in fulfillment of a bargain she had struck with them earlier. Hearing this, teh Baron swore to free Anna, with or without the Witcher's help, and set off to the place in the bog where Geralt had seen his wife.

Once you arrive at the huts you need to help the Witch Hunters deal with the monsters than find Anna - or what she has become - and then defend her from a Fiend sent by the Hags.

Anna has been cursed and you need to talk to Johnny to find out how. When you arrive his den is being attacked by more fiends... You track him by his footprints using your Witcher Senses and talk to him, learning what happened.

When you end up in the cellar you have to chose between the dolls on the alter - the one you want is the one with the flower - but even though that will break the monster transformation you cannot save Anna... She dies anyway. Sigh.

Talk to the Baron back at the Keep - well, try... But when you get there you find that the Baron is dead. Hanged himself. That completes the quest, leaving the Witcher wondering what choices he could have made different?

Objectives

• Meet the Baron in Downwarren

• Go with the Baron to the Crone's hut in the bog

• Help the Witch Hunters fight the Monsters

• Prepare for a Fight

• Visit Johnny t find out what happened to Anna

• Use your Witcher Senses to find Johnny

• Tell the others what happened to Anna

• Talk to the Baron

The Truth in the Stars

Obtain food and items for the fortune teller

Flagged at the fortune teller "!" - Suggested Level N/A

Deep in the swampy woods of Velen there is a roadside altar praising the glories of one of the forgotten gods. That is where Geralt encountered a shriveled, half-senile old man who claimed he could foretell the future and would read Geralt's fortune - for a small fee.

Heading to the marker you need to enter the cave, defeat the Ghouls, and claim the dragonroot. Take ot back to the man for a prophecy -

Objectives

• Bring the fortune teller something to eat

• Find dragonsroot using your Witcher Senses

• Take the dragonroot to the fortune teller

The Whispering Hillock

Find where the voice is coming from

Flagged automatically as you are doing the Ladies of the Wood Mission - Suggested Level 5

Something about life in dreary backwoods settlements leads their inhabitants to hide the truth with misleading names. This takes the form of both hyperbole - a clump of bare trees called "Dragon Spike Forest" or a hole in the ground two paces deep named "The Chasm of Eternity" - and understatement - a horrid massacre calmly referred to as "the incident."

Velen fit the mold in this regard, as Geralt learned as he wandered through it in search of Ciri. There he encountered a trio of highly suspicious magical sisters called the Ladies of the Wood, who directed him to a clump of bogside huts known as Downwarren. Geralt was to solve their "problem";a rash of mysterious murders. He spoke to the ealdorman and learned that the evil power behind the killings dwelled in the Whispering Hillock. Wherever else?

Once you get past the werewolf and into the cave you will meet the source of the voice - a trapped tree spirit thingy... The spirit gives you some info about the three sisters, and asks you to help save it. Sure! Why not?

To do this you need black raven feathers and bones - you arlready have the feathers from Johnny so you just need to follow the marker to the body to get the bones, and then a horse, and you will have the required items.

So first head to the marker and retrieve the bones form the grave, then using the Axii Sign head to the next marker and cast it on a wild horse and ride it back to the cave.

Once you are there you can begin the ritual - and that completes this quest and updates the Ladies of the Wood as well.

Objectives

• Find where the voice is coming from using your Witcher Senses

• Speak to the spirit in the cave beneath the Whispering Hillock

• Find the bones of the spirit trapped beneath the Whispering Hillock using your Witcher Senses

• Calm a wild horse using the Axii Sign and mount it.

• Bring a black horse to the cave beneath the Whispering Hillock

• Complete the ritual

Wild at Heart

Find the missing wife

Flagged at the Notice Board in the Village of Blackbough - Suggested Level 7

While muddling around the well-shaded village of Blackbough, Geralt happened across a notice. It stated a hunter named Niellen was looking for any help he could get in finding his wife, who had disappeared in the nearby woods a few days earlier. Geralt already deep in search-and-rescue vein, decided to help find the woman.

White in Midcopse looking for the Witch we find the Hunter Niellen and talk to him.

Talk to the Blacksmith and some children by the forge to learn that Hanna was not alone when she went into the woods...

Talk to Glenna and you learn that she thinks the Wolves got her.

As you search the woods you come upon a pack of wolves - that you kill - and then you are confronted by Hanna's sister who begs you to stop looking. You are a Witcher of course, so you tell her that you WILL find Hanna and she stomps off in a huff... Did she have something to do with Hanna disappearing? I wonder.

Examine the clues with your Witcher Sense and you realize that it can only have been a Werewolf that did this. Then you find the torn up body or what is left of it - of Hanna... Time to find that laid!

By a large tree at the center of the search area you find more werewolf footprints, though you cannot climb the tree it seems.

Behind the tree is the next clue - a Tuft of Fur... That reveals a scent trail, and that will lead you to a man's clothes on the ground that you then follow to the Hunter's Quarters (there is also a Fast Travel Point there). Getting closer...

Inside the shack you find Mysterious Notes - read them (they are in the Quest Items Tab) to learn that the werewolf is none other than Hanna's husband! Do you think the sister knows?

Outside you find tracks that lead around back to the cellar of the hut, which is the proper lair! Inside you are prompted to wait for nightfall - there are some containers you can loot...

Note: If you are not at around Level 7 or so I would wait and come back to do this part when you are...

When you take on the Werewolf the sister shows up to try to stop you from putting it to death - and yeah it turns out that she set the events into action - and caused her sister's death.

You make the sister run and then you kill the Werewolf which completes the quest. Well done?

Objectives

• Talk to the hunter named Niellen.

• Search for signs of Hanna in the woods using your Witcher Sense.

• Ask the neighbors about Hanna

• Find the werewolf's lair using your Witcher Senses.

• Search the werewolf's lair

• Wait for nightfall

Witcher Wannabe

Unmask the false Witcher

Flagged from the Lindenvale Notice Board - Suggested Level 10

Geralt learned of a Witcher who had earned the ire of several villages in Velen. One of the inhabitants of Lindenvale had even accused him of fathering his daughter's child. The whole affair seemed highly suspicious, so Geralt decided to investigate and find out the truth of the matter...

Now bearing in mind that the Witcher community is not as small as the game sort of implies - the Witcher enclave from which Geralt originates is just one of a half-dozen School-like headquarters in the lands. You get a hint of this from some of the quests - there is the Cat School and the Griffin School to name two... It is a bit like the Harry Potter stories really - there are other schools but we only hear hints about them.

In any event regardless of what school this so-called Witcher is to have originated from, Witchers cannot father children - the process by which their genetic makeup is altered in order to give them their enhanced reflexes and magical powers renders them sterile. So whoever this bloke is, he is NOT a Witcher!

And being as how the reputation of Witchers is an important part of their identity, Geralt is honor-bound to deal with this imposter...

When you arrive at the cemetery you find the "Witcher" about to get dead... And when you talk to him you discover that he has a Witcher Medallion - which he says he bought from a peddler.

He wants you to cover for him but hey, we don't DO that sort of thing. Nope, this moke needs to see the Village Elder! You give them soem advice and complete the quest.

Objectives

• Find out about the contract posted by the residents of Lindenvale

• Use your Witcher Senses to look for the charlatan in the cemetery

• Kill the ghouls