Every Witcher 3 side quest and how to complete them

Note: The Hearts of Stone DLC adds land to the north and east of Novigrad. Geographical references in the following quests pertain to this new region.

Enchanting: Start-up Costs

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 32

When you check the notice board at the Seven Cats Inn - this initiates the DLC - you'll unlock this quest. Head to your new marker at the Upper Mill to speak with the runewright. He's lost his tools and needs a lot of coin to start crafting again. Pay him 5000 crowns to get things going.

Enchanting: Quality Has Its Price

Prerequisite: Complete "Enchanting: Start-up Costs." | Recommended Level: 32

After giving the runewright seed money, you'll learn that he also needs jade to complete his work. Start by heading up the hill to the marked house and grabbing the pickaxe outside. Three makers will appear on your map, to the west. Head there and use your Witcher Senses in each spot to check the deposits.

The centre spot will lead you into a cave known as Bloodrot Pit. How inviting. Search the opening cavern to find the hunk of jade you need, then return to the runewright. The quest will end, and you'll be able to craft runes and enhance your equipment!

Races: Swift as the Western Winds

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 32

Head to the Upper Mill, just across the lake east of Brunwich. Speak to the Ofieri merchant there about horses, and you'll have the option to race him. Win (watch out for some rolling barrels along the way!) to earn yourself a fantastic saddle.

From Ofier's Distance Shores

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 33

Buy something from the Ofieri merchant, and he'll tell you of some legendary diagrams that were stolen from him, initiating the quest. Start by heading south the robbery site. Use your Witcher Senses to follow the footprints and bloodstains (the path will break up a few times), and you'll reach a trap door. Open it up and drop inside for a quick scuffle with some fallen knights. Then use your senses to find a special chest inside.

After looting a diagram and a special letter, read the letter to learn the locations of the remaining diagrams. From here, it's a simple task of raiding those camps and looting the diagrams. There's one just to the north, one at the northern border of the region, and one southeast of the Upper Mill. Return all diagrams to the merchant, and he'll offer to copy them into a language you can understand. Wait a day and return to him to receive this and complete the quest.

Rose on a Red Field

Prerequisite: Begin "Evil's Soft First Touches." | Suggested Level: 32

Visit the Garin Estate to accept the contract (this is part of the story), and you'll encounter Adela on your way out. She wants you to find the man who killed her friend; accept the offer to begin this quest. Start by heading to Bowdon, a town at the northern edge of the map that's been overrun by ghouls. Take them out, then use your Witcher Senses to find a scent trail leading into an abandoned hut.

Examine the hut for clues, and you'll find footprints leading out the window. Exit and follow the trail to find Adela's dead friend. Check along the nearby fence to find the footprints of his killer, then follow them. This will lead you to a Bandit Camp, so take out the goons and check the wagon for an important note. Read this to create a new marker, at the killers' hideout.

This hideout is a small hut in a valley north of Brunwich. Deal with the guards however you'd like - you need their key to get inside, though. Once inside, you'll see that the hut is actually an entrance to a large cave. Head to the back to meet Ulrich, the ringleader of these fallen knights. Kill him and his cohorts, then report to Adela in Oxenfurt. She'll be glad to know you've avenged her pal.

A Midnight Clear

Prerequisite: Begin "Dead Man's Party." | Recommended Level: 33

Proceed through "Dead Man's Party" until you're free of your possessor. This side quest will then unlock, so be sure to complete it before leaving the wedding. You need to cheer up Shani, and if you read her entry in the glossary, you'll know that rowan is the way to do it. Use your Witcher Senses at the indicated spots to locate some rowanberry brandy, then take it to her. You'll have a few choices during the ensuing cut scene, which can lead Geralt and Shani to a romantic evening on the lake. Quest complete!

Avid Collector

Prerequisite: Begin "Open Sesame!' | Recommended Level: 32

Move through the indicated quest until you enter the auction house with Vivaldi. When he points out his friends, be sure to speak to the art dealer. When he asks you to point out a specific painting, choose the portrait, and he'll mention a special painting up for auction. Then when that painting, Starry Night Over the Pontar, comes up, bid until it's yours. Now head to Hierarch Square in Novigrad and visit the book salesman. Sell him the painting to complete the quest.

Without a Trace

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 32

Check the notice board in Brunwich to start this quest, then head to your marker at the Herbalist's Hut outside Oxenfurt. Speak to the proprietor to learn that his apprentice has gone missing in Deadwight Wood. Your new marker is a fairly large search area, so go there and use your Witcher Senses to find an abandoned cart. Follow the blood trail to reach the village of Erde. The only residents are an elderly couple, so speak to them for more information on the missing halfling. Return to the herbalist with this info to end the quest.

The Drakenborg Redemption

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 38

North of Yantra is a new area with some Undiscovered Locations. Head for the one almost due north of the town - it's a Hidden Treasure inside a cave. Examine the corpse near the entrance to find a letter, then read it to learn of treasure deeper in the cave. Fight your way through the arachnomorphs to find a small chest in the ground, then loot it for your reward.

Tinker, Hunter, Soldier, Spy

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 33

Check the Undiscovered Location just east of the Isolated Hut - it's a wooden tower. Scale it and loot the corpse there to find a letter and a key, then read the letter to learn of nearby treasure. Ride south to your new marker at the Moldavie Residence, and use your Witcher Senses to find and open a treasure chest in the water.

The Sword, Famine and Perfidy

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 36

There's a new Undiscovered Location on the peninsula immediately north of Novigrad - it's a small hut guarded by some drowners. Take them out, head inside, and use Aard to blow some barrels off of a trap door. Head down to find a corpse, then loot it for a key and a letter. Read said letter to learn of a sunken ship somewhere in the area. Use the boat in the water nearby to sail out to your new marker, then dive in to find some treasure inside a sunken rowboat.

The Cursed Chapel

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 36

Directly north of the Upper Mill is an Undiscovered Location, a Hidden Treasure by the Old Chapel. Examine the corpse here to find a journal entry, then read it to learn of treasure nearby. Once you step into the courtyard behind the chapel, you'll encounter a trio of wraiths. Led down Yrden and take them out, then check out the mausoleum back here - there's a whole catacomb inside. There's also a boss wraith, the Cursed Mother. Lay down Yrden again and take her out, then loot the corpse by the altar for some sweet runes.

The Royal Air Force

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 36

Northeast of the Temerian Partisan Hideout (and just north of Heddel) is an Undiscovered Location, called Vikk Watchtower. You'll know you've reached the site when you see harpies flying around some ruins. Check by the entrance for a corpse, loot it to find a notebook, then read that notebook to learn of nearby treasure. Head past the piles of bodies to the destroyed tower and start making your way to the top - you'll have to navigate some disheveled platforms. At the very top is a chest containing your prize.

A Surprise Inheritance

Prerequisite: N/A | Recommended Level: 38

In the southeast pocket of the region is a pair of Undiscovered Locations: an Abandoned Site, and a Hidden Treasure. Check the latter to find a corpse near a ballista, then loot it to find a journal page. Read this to place a new marker on your map, and head there to find what appears to be a destroyed house. Find the trap door nearby and drop inside to find a chest containing some sweet loot.

The Secret Life of Count Romilly

Prerequisite: N/A | Suggested Level: 38

In the southeastern corner of the region is another Undiscovered Location, a Hidden Treasure guarded by wolves and a leshen. Take them out and examine the corpse here to find a journal page. Read it learn of treasure in the Arnskrone Castle Ruins up the nearby hill. Head there, take out some more wolves, and look for a staircase to the lower part of the castle. Down here you'll find a splintered door (use Aard), some wraiths, and chest containing a few pieces of nice loot.