There are a lot of things to do in The Witcher 3 that can keep the players busy for a long, long time. Because of the game’s complexity, fascinating side quests, and fun gameplay, players are still discovering new quirks in the game and fun things to do. As a result, they can spend hundreds of hours playing the game and still be coming across new details.
Whether it’s getting into a boxing match with a troll, bewitching animals, taking psychedelic mushrooms, or knocking flying enemies out of the sky, here are some things in The Witcher 3 most players probably weren’t aware of when they first played the game.
Updated January 2, 2023, by Kath Leroy: Even seven years after its release, The Witcher 3 continues to captivate new players thanks to the game's rich world, complex characters, and dozens of side quests and discoveries that are often easy to miss, especially for a first-time player. With the next generation of the game recently released, players will find even more surprising details in The Witcher 3. But even without playing the updated next-gen version, there are plenty of small and bigger things that people didn't know they could do. While not all of them have a major impact on the game, others change the story significantly.
14 Punch Ciri's Future Husband
One of Geralt's most prominent character traits in The Witcher 3 is that he's fiercely protective of Ciri. As such, it makes sense that he would initially act negatively toward any man who would show a romantic interest in Ciri — especially if it was obvious he was planning to use Ciri to become an emperor. Morvran Voorhis makes a remark that his father will choose the right emperor for the empress (Ciri), making it obvious he's thinking of marrying her.
Funnily enough, Geralt can then punch Morvran Voorhis repeatedly in the face when he encounters him at baroness la Valette's house in Novigrad. This seems to be a bug as Morvran doesn't defend himself when Geralt hits him. The guards nearby don't react either, but it's still a fun little detail regardless of that.
13 Talk To Vesemir About His Former Lover
If the players start the DLC Hearts of Stone before fighting the Wild Hunt at Kaer Morhen, they're in for a few surprises. Normally, when Geralt meets Countess Mignole, Vesemir's former lover, Vesemir is already dead by this point, having sacrificed his life to protect Ciri during the battle. However, if Geralt encounters the Countess before that, he can instead tell her Vesemir's alive and doing well.
What's more, he can later talk to Vesemir about Countess Mignole at Kaer Morhen and ask him whether he's going to go and see her. What makes this exchange even more tragic is that Vesemir says yes, he can go and see her... but once the battle is over. Of course, he doesn't survive, and the two lovers never reunite either way.
12 Ask Gaunter O'Dimm About Ciri / Ask Yennefer, Triss, & Ciri About His Mark
Another thing that changes if the player doesn't finish the base game before starting Hearts of Stone concerns Gaunter O'Dimm. If Geralt lets Olgierd die and Gaunter takes Olgierd's soul, Geralt can ask Gaunter about Ciri as his reward for assisting Gaunter. Gaunter tells him that he'll find Ciri, and he also provides him with clues (albeit somewhat cryptic ones) how to avoid the so-called bad ending in which Ciri presumably dies.
Alternatively, Geralt can ask Yennefer, Triss, Ciri, and even Regis about the mark Gaunter placed on his face to ensure Geralt's cooperation. Of course, it's not possible to do both of these things in a single playthrough. The player can either have Geralt ask Gaunter about Ciri or ask Ciri about the mark, not both of these things.
11 Do The Main Story Out Of Order
Normally, The Witcher 3 first leads Geralt to Velen, then to Novigrad, and finally to Skellige before he can find Ciri and fight the Wild Hunt. But if the players decide to visit the locations out of order, they'll get unique lines of dialogue with various characters, such as Keira Metz, Dandelion, the Bloody Baron, and the list goes on.
While this is entirely possible, it's not often done. Skipping Velen and Novigrad, for example, and going straight to Skellige after Vizima usually means that Geralt is too weak to fight his opponents, especially on higher difficulty levels, such as the Death March. It still deserves mentioning and trying out, though, especially for those who are replaying the game.
10 Calm Roach
While Roach is a solid horse for combat against humans, the poor critter has a tough time with monsters. If her fear levels rise high enough she’ll kick Geralt off and flee, which can be problematic if the player is trying to reach safety and doesn’t want to fight.
One way to help mitigate this problem is to cast the Axii sign on Roach. This powerful sign will drop her fear levels significantly and can keep her calm enough to get the player through a problematic forest or evade tough enemies.
9 Pied Piper
It turns out the Axii sign not only works on Roach, but other animals such as cats and deer. They become bewitched by the Axii sign and follow Geralt around so long as they’re within the aura of his sign.
Players have also found out that the Axii sign is incredibly useful in the main quest A Princess In Distress. Instead of trying to use the bell players can use the Axii sign to bewitch her into following. Admittedly it makes progress slower, but animals under this spell are much more compliant.
8 Repair Weapons In Combat
The game does a pretty good job of forcing players to plan out their upcoming fights and make preparations ahead of time rather than at the moment. There’s nothing more illogical than being able to pause a fight against some horrific beast and apply oils to weapons or concoct potions.
There is one mechanic that the developers either failed to consider or intentionally left out, however. It turns out the player can still pause the game and repair their weapons and armor in mid-combat. It’s hard to imagine that going down in real life, but it is handy for those long engagements when Geralt's sword starts to break down.
7 Knock Monsters Out Of The Sky
Flying monsters can be complicated foes to fight and oftentimes can be annoying engagements. Fortunately, the player can use the Aard sign to knock them out of the sky and leave them a stunned heap on the ground.
In fact, if players advance their character enough the Aard sign will become so powerful it’ll one-shot kill weaker flying enemies, causing them to go flying into the distance or drop to the ground like stones. It’s not only helpful but makes for some very amusing gameplay.
6 Roll Out
The Witcher 3 is unique among games in that it recognizes fall damage and isn’t very forgiving about it. It’s more than likely that many players died after forgetting they couldn’t jump off cliffs after playing a game where they could.
While this trick doesn’t remove fall damage, it does mitigate it a little and can give Geralt a second chance at life or open up shortcuts. If the player enters a roll just as their character is about to hit the ground it will lessen the impact of the fall. Think of it like Parkour enthusiasts rolling out of jumps, as that's the basic idea.
5 Roach’s Infinite Stamina
There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to escape a dangerous situation on Geralt's horse or trying to quickly get from one side of the map to the other only to have to wait for Roach to regenerate her stamina.
What many players have failed to realize is that there is a way to travel at a full trot without losing stamina. If players stick to the roadways while on horseback Roach will automatically follow them and no longer lose stamina. It doesn’t help when escaping a forest, but traveling the highways goes much faster.
4 Fist Fight A Bear
In Skellige players can get into the local fight club and knock opponents silly for money and glory. If Geralt can take down the three fighters in the Skellige chapter, Valgard, Grim, and Einar, he qualifies for a fistfight to the death against the reigning champion, Olaf.
It turns out Olaf is a large bear and packs a mean punch. It’s likely not a development most players will expect but makes for an epic quest to complete. Afterward, citizens of the area will refer to David and Goliath moments as “pulling a Geralt” in reference to the witcher's impressive feat.
3 Fist Fight A Troll
It turns out Olaf is merely a qualifier for an even bigger and more ridiculous tournament to prove Geralt's fighting prowess. If the player manages to become the fist-fighting champion of the three regions, Velen, Novigrad, and Skellige, they then qualify for the fight of all fights.
It turns out the reigning champion is a massive rock troll and understandably has never been beaten. If Geralt manages to take him down with his fists he becomes crowned the Champion of Champions and the player receives the Brawl Master achievement.
2 Respec Geralt
In the beginning, it’s hard to decide which build the player is going to follow and what style of play they’ll enjoy. This often results in players having developed a character that doesn’t feel right, is limited in some way, or simply want to try something else.
Fortunately, the game has included the Potion of Clearance which allows the player to respec all of Geralt’s skill points to quickly switch play styles and builds without having to start the game over. There’s no limit to how many Potions of Clearance the players can buy, as long as they have enough coin for it.
1 Cave Of Dreams
One of the more interesting things the player can do in The Witcher: Wild Hunt is the side quest The Cave Of Dreams. Here Geralt joins a group of men seeking to explore the Cave of Dreams where it’s said the manifestations of people's darkest fears reside.
The player enters the cave and after consuming the hallucinogenic mushrooms inside will awaken in a mysterious cave filled with each member’s nightmares, cultivating in the group facing what Geralt fears the most, the Wild Hunt.