re: Tips for a Witcher 3 noob?

Most of the merchants that are in the small towns scattered around dont have that much coin - you will likely get all of their gold by going to them and selling stuff. The larger cities have merchants where that wont be an issue. Pick up weapons and loot off of everyone and sell it, you'll have plenty of coin. If I remember right, the various merchants will give you different prices on stuff too. It's kind of tight in the beginning, but you'll have more than you can spend if you keep it up.

Kill archers first - they'll stay in the back and pick you off. Freakin bandits. If you see a red skull on an enemy, dont mess around, they will mess you up. Save often. Quen is your friend.



Mild spoiler:





There is a quest early-ish in Velen that doesnt seem too tough, but the final fight leads you in to a cave and there is your first experience with a tough monster - I think it's a werewolf. This can be a really tough fight early on, so be prepared with oils and bombs.

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I’ve been picking up so much junk to resell that I had to invest a point in the “strong back” skill to double my capacity.

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Strong back is an excellent skill.

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Is there any piece of junk that is particularly valuable to collect and sell?

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There wasnt really anything I ever needed until I got into the expansion packs, then I seem to remember wishing I had certain junk items. Seems like I needed a LOT of gold at one point.

The game is pretty good at putting items for quests in a different part of the menu so you wont sell something vital.

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Also, is it worth breaking down items into components versus selling them?

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Ehh, not really. You can, and probably will as you build the high-end witchery gear. But not really for anything else. You can store stuff in a chest in places like at a bar/hotel, and those are always accessible from everywhere. Chest == Chest. So if you store it in one town, you can open the same chest in another town. So, if you think it's worth keeping put it in there. You'll probably come back at some point and sell it all anyway. The buy back price is always a RIP-off, so if you're trying out some different armor or whatever, just keep it in your chest until you're sure its junk.

I'd also recommend identifying a combat style you like and start searching for the Witcher armor set that fits it best.

I liked being quick with counter attacks and dodges, so I went with the Feline armor set. Start that quest and find all that armor and weapons. That will get you a lot of treasure and gold as well.

I didn't do a whole lot of signs, but I did use Axii and Quen a lot. Axxi is very helpful when battling a bunch of people.

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My go-to strategy right now is to spam quick dodge, mash fast attack, rinse and repeat. I sprinkle Quen in there every now and again when I’m getting overwhelmed as the explosive shield has been

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Even on Death March you can basically use this strategy all the way through the game - particularly with human enemies. Monsters will often require different tactics.

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Does it help to load out your skills to match one particular color or mutagen as opposed to being more well-rounded

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It's definitely best to max out one area and not try to go Jack-of-all trades. Theres lots of different builds that focus on either combat, magic, or alchemy. They all utilize skills from every branch, but you should pick one to specialize in.

Like someone else said, there are ways to buy items to respec if you feel you need/want to.

Good luck. And keep us updated on your progress. It's fun to re-live the journey with others.

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That being said, it’s an easy combat system to pick up, but seems difficult to master. My go-to strategy right now is to spam quick dodge, mash fast attack, rinse and repeat. I sprinkle Quen in there every now and again when I’m getting overwhelmed as the explosive shield has been handy in a pinch.

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This was largely my strategy and why I went with the Feline armor set. Axii on some humans and instant decapitation animation

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Does it help to load out your skills to match one particular color or mutagen as opposed to being more well-rounded? I’ve already found myself switching between various skills based on the fight (probably the point), but I didn’t know if you eventually found a go-to loadout or not.

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It has been a while since I played, but i generally set mine up to match my play style and didn't change them up much. I was big on sword attacks so most of mine were centered around that. I had some sign mutagens in there for when I did need to use them, as well as some vitality, but mine was heavy on the attack power.

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The expansions are worth it, IMHO, especially if you can get a package deal. They really do add a lot.

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The Witcher 3 DLC made me change my mind about DLC. Both are fantastic and both are as long as most games. This isn't some tacked on or removed content. Full story line with lots of quests.

They are both so good I can't pick one over the other.

Another tip that's really helpful against certain monsters, is you can use AXII on them. Those beasts that take over the little towns, the put up some spikes which work as armor for them and makes them tough to damage. But when you hit them with AXII it doesnt stun them, but it makes them pull their spikes in so they can be damaged easier.

I just ran into one of those little bastards this evening, an alghoul, I think. It was guarding a chest and I hit it with my typical dodge/fast attack combo, but it would regenerate health after every hit. I got fricking mulched :haha:

So, I tried Igni. Mulched. Quen...mulched. I think Axii was the last one I tried, and when it worked I felt like a mad scientist. Super basic shite, I’m sure, but still a fun moment.

There's a perk that makes food heal you for 20 minutes. Get that.

Yeah, health management has definitely been an issue for me as well. Am I missing something or do you have to manually go through the inventory to eat one food item at a time and back out to the game to heal?

I tried eating multiple food items at once thinking the vitality would stack, but after 5 seconds it stops just like I ate one. Needless to say, I was pissed that I burned through like 10 pieces of bread to only get the benefit of one :haha: