This article is part of a directory: The Witcher 3: Full Guide and Walkthrough
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One of the most ambitious western RPGs of the 21st century thus far, The Witcher 3 is full of possibilities. That being said, not all of the possibilities available to the player in such a large game are to their advantage.

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With almost 200 hours in the base game, excluding the DLCs, there are definitely some run-destroying decisions that can be made, and a lot of these decisions aren't immediately recognizable as bad ideas, further complicating the problem. Here, we'll be sharing some choices that can hurt you in the long run from both a gameplay and a story perspective.

10 Not Dealing With Radovid

Radovid witcher 3

When it comes to who controls the city of Nilfgaard for the length of time after Geralt spends there in the game, there are two decisions that the player can make. Players who are new to the franchise and aren't so familiar with the characters are definitely more likely to put Radovid in charge, rather than Roche. While both of these decisions come with certain downsides, Roche is more or less a better person who was a great friend to Geralt in The Witcher 2. Radovid also hates magic-users and magical creatures.

9 Holding Ciri Back

Ciri in The Witcher 3

One of the more difficult parts of Geralt's relationship with Ciri is the fact that Geralt more or less acts like a surrogate father for Ciri. While it might seem like a better idea a lot of the time to protect Ciri to the utmost, this can cause the player to end up with a bad ending, mostly because of the fact that Ciri prefers to be independent, and pretty much anything that Geralt says to her that could undermine her self-consequence can seriously screw her over later on.

8 Romancing More Than One S/o

Yennefer witcher 3

This one should be more or less self-explanatory, and while both Triss and Yennefer have their positive traits, there's really only one correct answer here, at least from a lore standpoint.

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It's definitely possible to romance both of them if you don't know any better or if you wanna see how it'll work out, but the answer to that question is... not well. Romancing both of them, without sharing any spoilers, ends up very badly for Geralt, ya know since these are two very powerful witches he's dealing with.

7 Skipping Over Gwent

Gwent ciri witcher 3

Card games aren't for everyone, and that's totally valid. That being said, the fact that Gwent exists in the game isn't an accident, and for the sake of achievements, it's kind of important that the player at least becomes pretty familiar with it. Not only are there times in the game that Gwent matches being won will allow you access to certain quests, but it's also an entire dimension to the game that's actually not too difficult to pick up on. That, and collecting cards is just fun.

6 Stop And Smell The Roses

Map of the witcher 3

Something that can be very easy to do in The Witcher 3 is to get so caught up in the main quest that there isn't time to look around, explore the world, complete side-quests, get rid of monster nests, and explore the map. That being said, some main story events being completed can lead to certain side-quests no longer being available. That, and the difficulty occasionally ramps up pretty heavily as the game moves on, and if the player isn't properly equipped, it can be pretty tough going.

5 Not Getting Rid Of Junior

Whoreson Junior witcher 3

There are a lot of bad guys in The Witcher 3. They're kind of all over the place, especially since the game takes place in a dark fantasy setting. While there are plenty of scumbags around, perhaps the worst that the player will encounter is a man named Whoreson Jr.

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Whoreson Jr. is a crime boss who operates in Nilfgaard, but aside from activities that the empire wouldn't approve of, he's also a sadistic murderer. In fact, when the player first meets him, he's in a home filled with the corpses of young women. He shouldn't be allowed to plague Nilfgaard any longer than he has.

4 Getting Greedy

Rock troll witcher 3

One of the things that can really screw over any player is getting too greedy. There's really no way to know exactly how much a quest should really be worth, but if someone refuses your haggling once when you're trying to negotiate the terms of a contract, it's a better idea to just leave it alone altogether. While you can make some significant money charging more than the asking price, you can also ruin the game for yourself by canceling side-quests altogether.

3 OP Offense

Fighting in The Witcher 3

In most games, you definitely want the most powerful armor and weapons possible. This is also true in The Witcher 3, the problem comes in however when you realize that on the lower-to-medium difficulties, it can make the game a bit of a cakewalk.

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If this happens, it's better to raise the difficulty than it is to skip through the game in baby-mode but keep in mind that doing this will most likely make it a necessity that your alchemy and sign skills are up to par.

2 Unrealistic Difficulty

Geralt in The Witcher 3

As a segue from the last entry, it's important to keep in mind the difficulty. The game is hard on higher difficulties. Not just kinda hard, but really hard. If you're having a difficult time making sure decoctions and oils are in stock before starting bigger fights with some of the scarier monsters, know that it's totally okay to take a step back and maybe rachet the difficulty down at least long enough to figure out what's going on.

1 Getting Hung Up On Bad Decisions

The Baron Witcher 3

This tip is a bit more of a meta one than it is in relation to any kinda gameplay perspective, but it's still important to remember. During the first playthrough of the game, even if the player thinks they're making all the right decisions, even one little mess-up with a dialog option can screw things up. Not only that, but a select few quests really have no good outcome despite the player making what they think is the best choice. In this case, just remember that you can always try something different for a New Game+ run.

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