The DLC Heart of Stone for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has an interesting main quest with a compelling story for the player to complete, but along the way, the player has the option of embarking on several side quests that can prove lucrative or provide interesting insights into the lore of the area.
Out of all the side quests that you can optionally complete, the following are by far the ones you should consider. Some must be done at specific times, others can be done at your leisure, and each will provide an interesting experience.
10 Avid Collector
The Avid Collector quest is an optional component of the main quest Open Sesame! It’s started by entering the Borsodi Brothers’ Auction House. There you can converse with the art dealer Yarmir, who will question your artistic expertise. If you prove him wrong he’ll provide you with a helpful tip about a painting that can be sold for a tidy sum available for auction.
If you share this information with Vivaldi it will cut into your profits as you’ll have to outbid him, but upon buying the painting you can take it to Hodgson in Novigrad to be sold for a cool 500 crowns. Not bad for either the 20 or 60 crowns you paid.
9 Without A Trace
This quest is one of the more interesting in the game as it leaves you wondering whether you made the right decision no matter what you choose. A Brunwich contract will take you to a Herbalist whose apprentice has gone missing near Deadwight Wood.
You’ll discover he died, somehow, in the woods and a local elderly couple ate him as they claim they’re too old to farm and rely upon discoveries such as his to stay alive. You’re left with the option to let them live or kill them. The game is never clear whether they killed the lad or if they’re a desperate couple trying to survive and you’ll be left wondering long after you turn off the game.
8 From Ofieri's Distant Shores
Once completed, this quest will net you the Ofieri outfit, a fancy looking set of scale armor that can serve you in battle or formal occasions. To start you need to find one of the diagrams to build a piece of the set or talk to the Ofieri merchant located in Upper Mill.
You’ll then embark on a treasure quest to locate the missing diagrams to have Dulla translate them. Once translated you’ll have the blueprints to craft your own unique outfit.
7 The Secret Life of Count Romilly
This dark quest has a fascinating story that makes it worth pursuing even if you find the loot to be underwhelming. Deep within the heart of Deadwight Wood, the player can come across the ruins of Castle Arnskrone. After fighting a Leshen, the player finds a journal written by Count Romilly.
Turns out the count accumulated his wealth by kidnapping people and ransoming them back to their families. Unfortunately, his latest kidnapping was a child that he believed was touched by a Leshen and it brought the whole enterprise crumbling down.
6 The Cursed Chapel
This quest is a straight forward Witcher hunt with Geralt investigating what led to the death of a priest in the Upper Mill near the Old Chapel. What follows is the investigation of a cemetery haunted by wraiths, and Geralt confronting the Accursed Mother lurking in the crypt.
Sure, it might be a bit cliched, but clichés exist because they're effective and they work. Do yourself a favor and track down this deceased priest for a bit of old fashioned Witcher fun.
5 A Surprise Inheritance
Speaking of Witcher fun, the quest Surprise Inheritance is a straight forward quest with a fun battle and a decent bit of loot at the end. It starts when you encounter a body near Stacheier with the Knut Kreutzman’s Journal on it.
This journal will take you to a spot east of the body where the poor soul hid their windfall only to have an Archgriffin make its nest in the same spot, effectively guarding the nest egg. After killing the beast, you can locate the inheritance for a nice bit of coin.
4 A Dark Legacy
The less you know about this quest, the better. But to get you started on this interesting and unique quest line, you must obtain the Count Romilly figurine at the auction house you visit during Open Sesame! It’ll set you back 300 crowns but is worth it for a neat experience.
It’ll take either some cleverness or luck to get this quest started but do yourself a favor and don’t look up a guide or a how-to. Just stumble across it on your own and complete the rest of the quest this way. It’s an interesting experience that’s worth much more than the loot you’ll walk away with.
3 Swift As The Western Winds
If you enjoy horse races and want an incredibly helpful item, then go talk to the Ofieri Salesman northeast of Novigrad. You’ll learn about his fine horse, one thing will lead to another, and you’ll be able to challenge him to a race.
If you win you get a small chunk of experience, but the real reward is the Ofieri Stock Saddle. It’s a magical item that will give +85 stamina to Roach. This is a great saddle to get early on as that boost to stamina will make other horse races much easier to win and makes traveling with Roach much more convenient.
2 The Taxman Cometh
This quirky quest can be incredibly hard to unlock or very easy depending on your playstyle. Once you have 35,000 crowns on your person, the taxman Walthemor Mitty will confront you about the surplus of crowns in your pocket.
He’ll ask you a series of questions that are a reference to common glitches used by players to make money. If you admit to using the glitches he’ll direct you to the Vivaldi Bank in Novigrad to pay 1,000 crowns in taxes after a long and tedious quest, while if you earned your money legitimately and answer the questions accordingly he’ll praise you on your thriftiness and hand you a diploma showing you’re in good standing.
1 The Royal Air Force
This is absolutely the side quest you should not ignore while playing through Hearts of Stone. At the Vikk Watchtower, you’ll come across the notes of a scientist named Nicolas Vogel that details what he’s been working on.
Without spoiling it too much the notes detail his attempts to domesticate Harpies. It’s a dark and hilarious story of a disturbed individual and the tragic outcome of a truly terrible idea.