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The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine - Main Quest walkthrough

A full guide to the main storyline in The Witcher 3's final expansion.

Mat Hall avatar
Guide by Mat Hall Contributor
Updated on

In this guide, we'll take you through all the quests in the main storyline of The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine DLC expansion. It's mostly fairly linear, although of course you can divert off this path to do secondary quests, contracts, Gwent games and the like at will. There are tips on where to pick up quests and find Relic armour along the way.

Note that at the end of the quest The Night of the Long Fangs, the storyline splits in two directions depending on a decision you make. There are two rather different quests to follow. After these, the plots recombine for your final confrontation with the expansion's ultimate villain.

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How to start the Blood and Wine expansion

As with the previous DLC, Hearts of Stone, this new expansion can be started in a couple of ways. If you're still playing the main campaign you can simply carry on and play the DLC alongside the plot, or you can start a new game and have it create a suitably equipped Geralt for you. Taking the second option puts the game in a post-ending state - no plot quests from the Wild Hunt campaign are available - but it's recommended that you're around level 32-34 to take on these challenges, so if you're using your own Geralt, it's likely you'll be at or near end-game anyway. Whichever option you choose, though, your adventure begins in the town of Mulbrydale...

Envoys, Wineboys

Head for the noticeboard in Mulbrydale, read the new note, and then make your way to Stonecutter Settlement. As you approach, a cut-scene will play - your dialogue choices in the ensuing conversation have no impact on the outcome, and you'll eventually find yourself facing off against a group of bandits. There are quite a lot of them and they'll try and outflank you with crossbows, but they shouldn't provide too much resistance overall.

Once combat is over, you'll find out a little bit more about why you've been summoned, and once you've accepted the contract, the quest will complete and you'll be transported to the new areas of Toussaint.

The Beast of Toussaint

Your peaceful introduction to the area doesn't last long and you'll soon be facing off against the giant Golyat. He's vulnerable to Ogroid Oil and Quen, and he's quite slow and lumbering, so as long as you stay out of range while he's swinging his makeshift club, you should be reasonably safe. Once he's down and the conversation is over, loot the corpse and then follow Milton to the edge of the river.

Use your Witcher senses to locate the trail of footprints and follow them along the river. After a few yards you'll have your first encounter with Scurvers. Tese are very much like Rotfiends, so watch out when their health is low: when they reach the "ready to blow" stage, hitting them will stun you and they explode, and give off splash damage.

When the coast is clear, continue to examine the area with your Witcher senses. Examining the net on the furthest of the small islands will then prompt you to examine the others for more clues, so jump into the river. There's some debris on the bottom, but the key item (a monogrammed handkerchief) is just to the left of the shorter posts with the nets still attached. Once everything has been inspected and you have the clue, head towards the inn for some more dialogue - again your choices have no impact on the outcome.

On your way out of the inn, check the noticeboard to the left to pick up a handful of side-quests - Wine Wars: Belgaard, Knight for Hire, Mutual of Beauclair's Wild Kingdom, and Gwent: To Everything - Turn, Turn, Tournament! - and the contract Big Game Hunter.

Head for the marker. As you approach you can hear a fight, but you'll arrive too late. Use your Witcher senses to examine the corpses, then read the new bestiary entry to learn about Bruxae (vulnerable to Moon Dust bombs, Vampire Oil, Black Blood, and Yrden) before you head into the cellar. (You can also optionally examine the cart and cloak that are nearby for a bit more information.)

Use your Witcher senses to follow the trail of footprints. When you reach the door, prepare for a fight. Your foe will start the fight invisible so start by throwing down a Yrden trap so you can actually see what you're dealing with, and once she's visible use target lock to keep track as she moves very quickly.

When the fight is over, examine the body in the alcove then head for the next marker and have a chat with Palmerin, a conversation that will culminate in a faceoff against a Shaelmaar. The beast is pretty tough and immune to direct attacks, so your only hope is to lure it towards a wall with a Samum bomb or a blast of Aard - if it gets enough of a run-up, it'll stun itself, giving you a few seconds' access to its vulnerable underside. When it's on the move, keep your distance, and be ready to roll to the side as it has a couple of ranged attacks.

After the fight, there's another cut-scene, and you'll eventually find yourself outside the palace. Follow the duchess to the gardens, and then quickly choose a conversation option - it doesn't really matter which one, as you still have to find both items.

  • Golden Fish: Head to the boats in the lake below, then dive and use Witcher senses to examine the fishes. Once you've looked at a few, you'll realise you were a few seconds too late, then a cut-scene will take over and you'll end up with a key.
  • "Unicorn": As you approach the marked area a cutscene will play and the "unicorn" will run off. Grab the apple from the nearby picnickers and then follow your quarry to collect the second clue.

Once you've grabbed them both, head for the next marker: the answer to the riddle is "greenhouse", which will trigger a dramatic chase cut-scene and a meeting with The Beast. Don't worry too much about the ensuing fight as it's unwinnable - when either you or your opponent gets low on health, an old friend will intervene - but it's a good opportunity to gain some familiarity with its tactics, so get in a few blows if you can.

Our Witcher 3 walkthrough and guide can help you with the main story, including the Wandering in the Dark and Family Matters missions, and eventually, one of several Witcher 3 endings. There's plenty of side content, too, including Witcher 3 Contracts, White Orchard quests, Velen quests, Novigrad quests and Skellige Isles quests. Elsewhere, learn about the best Witcher 3 builds, the best Witcher 3 mods, how to make money in Witcher 3, find Places of Power locations, and learn how to do Witcher 3 crafting and Witcher 3 Alchemy And when you're done with all those - we can help you through expansions with our Hearts of Stone walkthrough and Blood and Wine walkthrough.

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