The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Beginner's Guide: Combat, Signs, Potions and White Orchard

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1. Choose difficulty without guilt There are four settings: Just the Story, Story and Swords, Blood and Broken Bones! and Death March!. Starting on Story and Swords and raising it later is sensible, and difficulty can be changed at any time.
2. Take the Kaer Morhen tutorial seriously The game opens with a dream sequence and training at the witcher keep of Kaer Morhen. Dodging, rolling, parrying and Signs are shown here and not explained this thoroughly again.
3. Don't rush White Orchard The first region is small but holds side quests, question-mark locations and a Place of Power. The experience and money you gather make Velen much easier.
4. Prepare for the first griffin hunt White Orchard's main quest leads to a griffin hunt, where you learn to track with Witcher Senses, gather information on a monster and prepare properly — a small rehearsal for every contract in the game.
5. Know steel from silver The steel sword is for humans and animals, the silver sword for monsters. The game usually draws the right one, but you can switch manually with 1 and 2.
6. Read notice boards Village notice boards add side quests and witcher contracts to your map. Contracts are among the best-written parts of the game, both for coin and story.
7. Stack skill points in one tree Rather than spreading points across combat, Signs and alchemy, focus on one style. Touching a Place of Power for the first time also grants an extra skill point.
8. Refill potions by meditating When you carry strong alcohol, meditating automatically refills spent potions and bombs. So don't hoard them.

• Prefer dodge over rollThe short Alt dodge is enough against most human enemies and keeps you in striking range. Save rolls for big monsters' wide attacks.
• Quen saves livesQuen creates a shield that absorbs the next hit. Entering fights with Quen active forgives a lot of mistakes early on.
• Match the Sign to the monsterIgni is fire, Aard knocks back and staggers, Yrden sets a trap and reveals certain spectral creatures, and Axii affects the mind. Read weaknesses in the Bestiary to pick the right one.
• Apply oils to your bladeOils crafted for a monster type boost silver sword damage. Once crafted, an oil can be reapplied from the inventory again and again, so you only craft the recipe once.
• Use Witcher Senses oftenHolding the right mouse button highlights interactive objects in red or yellow. It is essential for tracking, finding chests or hidden passages.
• Watch toxicityEvery potion fills the toxicity bar. If it gets too high, health starts draining. Check the bar before drinking several potions at once.
• Use Roach and signpostsPress X to call Roach. Once you've reached a signpost on the map, you can fast travel from any signpost to it; fast travel only starts next to a signpost.
• Manage inventory weightGoing over the weight limit stops you from sprinting. Sell loot to merchants and keep crafting materials in the stash.
• Start Gwent earlyGwent is taught at the White Orchard inn. Playing merchants and innkeepers builds a deck you can rely on against tougher opponents later.
• Mind expansion levelsHearts of Stone and Blood and Wine quests appear on the map but have high recommended levels. Start them after progressing far enough in the main story.
• Save regularlyThe game autosaves, but a manual save before big decisions is wise. Some side quest consequences only surface hours later.

• Spamming fast attacks without parrying or dodging; groups of enemies quickly surround Geralt.
• Hoarding potions for later; meditation refills them, so not using them wastes preparation.
• Spreading skill points over three trees; one focused style is stronger than an average all-rounder.
• Taking on quests far above your level; enemies marked with a red skull are nearly unbeatable early on.
• Rushing through White Orchard and reaching Velen underlevelled; the first region's side quests give valuable experience.
• Starting expansion quests too early; their high recommended levels lead to lopsided fights.

This guide was written for version: This guide reflects the current The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition on Steam and default PC keys as of September 2026.

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