The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most expansive and exhaustively detailed RPGs released in recent years, providing players with hundreds of hours of questing, crafting, and exploration. Within The Witcher 3’s huge open world, there are plenty of unique items and Gwent cards that players can overlook, causing them to miss out on some interesting content.
This guide will show players where to find all missable items in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, covering items found in both the main quest and in side quests, allowing fans to unlock unique Gwent cards, powerful upgrades, and special dialogue options.
Main Quest Missable Items
During The Witcher 3’s main quest, there are a handful of items that relate to the two primary romances that Geralt can explore with the characters of Triss Merigold and Yennefer of Vengerberg. Moreover, as players complete more of the main quest, new areas will unlock, allowing for the exploration of previously inaccessible areas and the collection of new items. These items can only be obtained during certain main quests, so be sure to keep an eye out.
Crystal Skull – White Orchard, Lilac and Gooseberries
At the very beginning of the game, following Geralt’s tutorial dream, he and Witcher mentor Vesemir will be attacked by Ghouls. After vanquishing the necrophages but before mounting Roach, use Geralt’s Witcher Sense to find Yennefer’s Crystal Bird Skull from the opening cinematic on the ground beside the dirt road. Grabbing this will net the player some unique dialogue with her later in the game.
Rose of Remembrance – Novigrad, Pyres of Novigrad
After entering Hierarch Square in Novigrad, a cutscene will play showing a Doppler and a Sorceress being burned at the stake by the Church of the Eternal Fire. From here, players will enter Triss’ house and another scene will play out as thieves take her abandoned possessions. Once this ends, Geralt is free to explore her house to learn more about where she might be. On the top floor upon a bedside accent table sits the Rose of Remembrance, an artifact familiar to those who romanced Triss in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. This item will bloom in Geralt’s inventory and unlock some special dialogue should he choose to rekindle that romance.
Triss’ Earing – Kaer Morhen, Ugly Baby
After returning to Kaer Morhen with Uma in tow, Geralt will be told be Vesemir of Yennefer’s explosive arrival during which she tossed an entire bed from Geralt’s room. Once players are given control, they can explore the entirety of the Witcher fortress and find the remains of this bed in the castle courtyard behind a washing line. Beside this bed, players can find Triss’ earing which they can give to her in Novigrad when she returns there later in the main quest.
Magic Acorn – Velen, Bald Mountain
At the end of this main quest, at the summit of a previously inaccessible mountain in Velen, Geralt will go up against a member of the Wild Hunt in a boss battle. Upon defeating the warrior wraith, a Magic Acorn can be looted from his corpse and can be eaten to gain two precious Ability Points to strengthen the player’s build.
Side Quest Missable Items
Throughout The Witcher 3, players are encouraged to engage with a variety of side quests and contacts in order to level up and fully immerse themselves in the vast and complex world. With so many quests and so much missable content, this list highlights a few items that cannot be acquired outside the quests they feature in.
Doppler Mutagen – Novigrad, An Elusive Thief
Grabbing the contract from the Novigrad notice board will lead Geralt to a frustrated merchant, flummoxed by the loss of his merchandise to an Imp. This will take the player on a fairly standard trail hunt, ending with an encounter with a Doppler, a shapeshifting Relict capable of transforming into any being around them. In order to obtain the Doppler Mutagen for the offensive decoction it grants, players must elect to attack the Doppler instead of letting them go free. This begins a fun, unique battle against a familiar-looking foe that, when finished, will allow players to loot the mutagen from their corpse.
Succubus Mutagen – Novigrad, Deadly Delights | Skellige, Practicum in Advanced Alchemy
Unlike most mutagens, the Succubus Mutagen can only be obtained at two points throughout the entirety of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first time is during the Novigrad contract “Deadly Delights,” which sees Geralt sleuth out the murders of a number of guardsmen around town. This quest will lead to a Succubus that claims she was defending herself, at which point Geralt can decide to fight or spare her. Killing her is the only way to obtain the mutagen, however.
Alternatively, if players missed their first chance to get the mutagen, they can obtain it from another Succubus during the quest “Practicum in Advanced Alchemy,” who has lured an apprentice away from his work. Similarly, if players want the decoction it grants, they must choose to kill the creature.
Jade Figurine with Winged Helm – Novigrad, A Dangerous Game
During this quest for Zoltan Chivay, Geralt and the Dwarf will visit the house of Caesar Bilzen where they will get drunk and talk about fishing. Eventually, Geralt will be tasked with exploring the house to find the unique Fringilla Vigo Gwent card; in the hidden room on the top floor, players can find this figurine in a cupboard to the left of where Geralt enters the room. Like the Nobleman Statuette, this will trigger a quest that can be completed before “Now or Never” or after “Blindingly Obvious.”
All Missable Gwent Cards
All over The Continent, important NPCs and commonfolk alike are willing to put their best cards on the line in a game of Gwent. In order to get the trophy “Card Collector,” players must acquire every single one of these cards by purchasing them from merchants and winning them in games. While this list won’t cover every single card, it will feature those that can be missed by not being acquired during certain sections of the game.
Gwent: Playing Innkeeps – Velen and Novigrad
The first game of Gwent that can be played is against Aldert Geert in the White Orchard inn during the quest “Lilac and Gooseberries.” Winning or losing this game has little effect, but completing it introduces players to “Gwent: Playing Innkeeps” which must be completed before “Now or Never.”
Oliver, Innkeeper at the Kingfisher Inn – Novigrad
Similarly, while Geralt can play Oliver for his card in “Gwent: Playing Innkeeps,” a certain choice during “Now or Never” may lead to his demise. As such, players should empty his selling inventory of unique Gwent cards before starting this fateful quest.
Gwent: Big City Players – Novigrad
This quest is obtained most easily by playing Vimme Vivaldi at the Vivaldi Bank on Hierarch Square. Winning against him will point players toward the other big city players and their special cards. One player, the mysterious crimelord Sigi Reuven, can only be played against after meeting him during the main quest “Get Junior.” Furthermore, actions taken against Sigi may make him unavailable; therefore, players should strive to win his card before the quest “The Isle of Mists.”
Gwent: Old Pals – Novigrad, Kaer Morhen
The best way to start this quest is to play Zoltan during the quest “Broken Flowers” after reporting back to him after speaking with each of Dandelion’s many lovers. Alternatively, speak to him after “Poet Under Pressure” after he gives Geralt a separate quest. From here, Geralt will be directed to play Vernon Roche, found in a hideout east of the city, and Lambert, who can only be played at The Nowhere Inn during or after “Following the Thread,” or at Kaer Morhen during “Ugly Baby.” This quest must be completed before "Reason of State."
Gwent: Playing Thaler – Novigrad
This quest may not appear if players have already completed “A Deadly Plot” prior to defeating Roche, in which case, Thaler will be included in “Gwent: Old Pals.” To play Thaler, regardless, players must complete “A Deadly Plot” (doing this quest alone will have no story impact), at which point Thaler can be played as he leaves the Troll cave or at the Seven Cats Inn until the quest “Reason of State.”
Gwent: High Stakes – Novigrad
This secondary quest becomes available upon entering Noivgrad’s Passiflora where players can pay a 1,000-crown entrance fee to partake in a high-stakes game of Gwent should they have a tournament-ready deck. In order to obtain all the cards and achieve the “Card Collector” and “Gwent Master” achievements, players must successfully beat all four tournament champions without losing a single game. Luckily, players can drop saves in between the first two matches, allowing some save scumming for those struggling. These opponents are some of the strongest in the game, so it’s recommended that players leave this quest until the late game when they have a strong selection of Gwent decks.
A Matter of Life and Death – Novigrad
Partway through the main quest “Count Reuven’s Treasure,” Triss will part ways with Geralt, mentioning a problem she could use some help with. Visiting her at her Novigrad hideout will begin the side quest “A Matter of Life and Death,” which will take the pair to a glamorous masquerade party at a country estate. Upon arriving at the manor, head down the path and up the stairs to engage in a conversation with a masked sorcerer; after the conversation ends, go through the door behind him to enter the garden proper. Take an immediate right onto a small wooden platform on which Geralt can find a group of Gwent players. Defeat each of them to earn some unique cards.
A Dangerous Game – Novigrad
After rescuing Dandelion in the quest “A Poet Under Pressure,” Geralt may return to the Rosemary and Thyme in Novigrad to find a group of thugs threatening Zoltan. Speaking with him will begin “A Dangerous Game,” during which Geralt must navigate Novigrad’s criminal card-dealing underworld to obtain three one-of-a-kind cards. At the conclusion of the quest, Geralt can choose to keep the three cards as his reward.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is currently available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.