Here, next to Hanged Man's Tree signpost, you start your adventure in Velen after leaving Royal Palace in Vizima.
The Redanian army had placed blockades on the crossings of the Pontar, something which at one point proved quite inconvenient to the witcher. The guards refused to let him cross without showing a special pass issued by high command.
SignpostsOnce discovered, signposts allow you to travel directly from one location to another. Walk up to a signpost and use it to open ingame map.
SignpostBorder Post
Notice BoardsOffers of work for witchers are posted here. Return from time to time to notice boards you've already seen - new contracts might have been posted since your last visit.
Notice boardBorder Post Notice Board
Contract: Woodland Beast (6)
Notice boardMulbrydale Notice Board
Quest: Wild at Heart (7)
Craftsmen
Witcher Gear Diagrams / Scavenger HuntIt's always some kind of box, chest or a corpse containing witcher gear diagrams required for scavenger hunt quests.
Scavenger huntBear School Gear Upgrade Diagrams - Part 3
Chest in a recess in the corridor leading to the main cavern.
Diagram: Superior Ursine armor
Diagram: Superior Ursine gauntlets
Diagram: Superior Ursine trousers
Diagram: Superior Ursine boots
Scavenger huntCat School Gear Upgrade Diagrams - Part 2
Inside small cave.
Diagram: Enhanced Feline gauntlets
Scavenger huntGriffin School Gear Diagrams
Skeleton and chest inside building.
Diagram: Griffin steel sword
Quest item: Balstick's letter
Quest item: Witcher George's confession
Scavenger huntGriffin School Gear Upgrade Diagrams - Part 2
Chest next to Rock Troll.
Diagram: Enhanced griffin armor
Hidden Treasure QuestsHidden treasure questAn Unfortunate Turn of Events (4)
Loot Unsent letter from the corpse.
Hidden treasure questBattlefield Loot (20)
Guarded by Bilge Hag (18).
Loot Key attached to a crumpled note and Crumpled notes from peasant body.
Hidden treasure questBlood Gold (18)
Guarded by Drowners (4).
Loot Bloodstained key and Bloodstained document from the soldier's corpse.
Hidden treasure questDowry (32)
Loot Unsent letter and Slightly bent key from woman's corpse.
Hidden treasure questLost Goods (-)
Loot Nilfgaardian's notes from the soldier's body.
Hidden treasure questThe Things Men Do For Coin... (12)
Loot Letter and Treasure key from dead body.
Hidden treasure questTough Luck (18)
Guarded by Foglet (4).
Loot Letter from the corpse and read it.
Find Small key in the corpse lying near and use it to open chest.
Hidden TreasuresHidden treasureHidden treasure for An Unfortunate Turn of Events (4) quest
Hidden treasureHidden treasure for Battlefield Loot (20) quest
Use aard sign to destroy barrels.
Hidden treasureHidden treasure for Blood Gold (18) quest
Be careful. Bilge Hag (20) runs nearby.
Relic: Headhunter (steel sword)
Hidden treasureHidden treasure for Dowry (32) quest
Chest next to the boat.
Hidden treasureHidden treasure for Lost Goods (-) quest
Chest next to the boat, guarded by few Drowners (4).
Hidden treasureHidden treasure for The Things Men Do For Coin... (12) quest
Check pile of wooden planks next to pile of bodies.
There is a small box hidden inside.
Diagram: Scoia'tael sword
Treasures
Guarded TreasuresIt's always some kind of box, chest or a dead body containing some goods and guarded by one or more monsters.
Guarded treasure
Special MonstersMonster NestsEvery nest is guarded by monsters of a specific type. Use bombs to destroy it. Do not forget to loot it after its destruction.
Monster nestMonster Nest - Ghouls
Bandit CampsKill all the opponents in the area. There is always a treasure chest somewhere in the camp.
Bandit camp
Abandoned SitesA place abandoned due to monster or bandit attacks. Once the danger is eliminated, it will fill with life once more.
Abandoned site
Persons in DistressThere's a person or a group of people here in need of assistance. Remove the threat and realease a person(s) in need of assistance.
Person in distress
Quests & EventsYou will find more info about quests further below. Warning: Quest descriptions contain a lot of spoilers!
QuestBitter Harvest (9)
Merchant
You have to release him first. Person in Distress SE from here.
Arachas Mine
You have to explore this area during Missing Brother (33) quest.
Spoils of War
Loot Aged key from the skeleton inside the boat then use it to open the chest.
Relic: Moonblade (silver sword)
Secondary QuestsSecondary questFuneral Pyres (3) - Talk to Priest of Eternal Fire.
In No Man's Land Geralt was given a contract by an Eternal Fire priest. His task: to burn the bodies of soldiers who had fallen during the recent battle in order to keep necrophages from eating them.
- Find and burn the bodies lying in pits on the battle field. - Titus Gielas will reveal the truth about the motives of the priest.
- Return to the priest of the Eternal Fire. - You can accept his offer or refuse and kill him and his guards.
Quest completed.
Secondary questWild at Heart (7) - Posted on Mulbrydale Notice Board.
While muddling around the well-shaded village of Blackbough, Geralt happened across a notice. It stated a hunter named Niellen was looking for any help he could get in finding his wife, who had disappeared in the nearby woods a few days earlier. Geralt, already deep in a search-and-rescue vein, decided to help find the woman.
- Talk to the hunter named Niellen.
- Ask the neighbors about Hanna.
- Search for signs of Hanna in the woods using your Witcher Senses. - In the forest you meet Hanna's sister. She will offer you some gold if you say Niellen that his wife is dead. If you agree then...
- Tell Niellen Hanna is dead.
Quest completed.
If you refuse and continue your search then...
- Find the werewoolf's lair using your Witcher Senses.
- Search the werewolf's lair.
- Wait for nightfall. - If you want, you can let him kill Hanna's sister.
- Defeat the werewolf. - He drops a Niellen's key. You can use it to open the locked chest located inside the hut above werewoolf's lair.
Quest completed.
Secondary questThou Shalt Not Pass (7)
The Redanian army had placed blockades on the crossings of the Pontar, something which at one point proved quite inconvenient to the witcher. The guards refused to let him cross without showing a special pass issued by high command.
- Acquire a pass granting permission to cross the Pontar. - You can buy pass from shady trader, the baron can give you one (Family Matters quest) or you can receive one from Captain of the Guard after finishing Contract: Woodland Beast (6) quest.
- Use the pass to cross the Pontar.
Quest completed.
Secondary questFake Papers (-) - Talk to Shady merchant. You can pay 100 gold, use Delusion or ask for a discount, then ...
During the war that pitted the Northern Realms against Nilfgaard, the border along the Pontar river was closed. Whoever wanted to cross at the border posts had to show a pass issued by the Redanian high command. Or, barring that, one of the convincing counterfeits sold by the shady Redanian who hung about near the river crossings.
- See what counterfeit pass seller's brother-in-law needs. - You need to complete Bitter Harvest (9) and supervisor can't die.
- Return for the discounted pass.
Quest completed.
Secondary questBitter Harvest (9)
The Nilfgaardian and Redanian forces had fought many bloody yet indecisive battles in Velen from which both sides had to retreat without collecting their dead. On one such field Geralt encountered a group of looters robbing the corpses of the fallen. In another time and place he might have merely grit his teeth and continued on his way. Yet conditions in Velen were harsh and other sources of sustenance few - so he decided to swallow his revulsion and defend these desparate men from the monsters stalking the battlefield.
- Protect the scavengers from monsters. - Don't let Albin Hart die.
- Talk to the scavengers' supervisor.
Quest completed.
Secondary questDeath by Fire (10)
Men can be terribly cruel, especially to those of different races. The witcher had seen humans persecute nonhumans far too often. This time he witnessed a particularly appalling scene - a group of thugs wanting to burn a she-elf alive.
- Defeat the bandits.
- Clear the doorway and free the elf.
- Talk to the survivor.
Quest completed.
Secondary questThe Volunteer (13)
While meandering through the sunny but war-damaged lands near Oxenfurt, Geralt's sensitive ears picked up a very strange sound - something between off-key singing and the bellowing of a stuck pig. Geralt would be a poor excuse for a witcher if he did not investigate such a matter.
- Find the paint the troll needs. - One of the merchants in Oxenfurt has it.
- Deliver the paint to the troll.
Quest completed. As a reward you will receive: Diagram: Axeman's gauntlets, Diagram: Gven'nel and some crafting goods.
Witcher ContractsWitcher contractContract: Woodland Beast (6) - Posted on Border Post Notice Board
Monsters, like men, each have their own individual tastes and preferences. According to legend, dragons like to savor the delicate notes of virgins, while ghouls delight in the powerful flavors of rotting flesh. In the woods outside Novigrad, meanwhile, a beast had cropped up with a predilection for Redanian transport wagons. Not surprisingly, the captain of the nearby guardpost did not appreciate this culinary choice and put out a bounty on the monster's head.
- Talk to commander of the guardpost by the bridge to Novigrad.
- Examine the site where transport was attacked using your Witcher Senses.
- Follow the tracks using your Witcher Senses. - You can talk to Scoia'tael commander and finish this task peacefully or use the force and ...
- Kill the Scoia'tael.
- Gather squirrel tails as evidence.
- Return to the guardpost captain for your reward.
Quest completed. No matter what you've done, you will receive pass to cross the Pontar.
Treasure HuntsTreasure huntLost Goods (-) - Loot Nilfgaardian's notes from the soldier's corpse.
While meandering the bogs of Velen, Geralt found some notes written by a frustrated soldier. He decided to read them - and they turned out to be a quite interesting read, indeed...
- Read the notes you found.
- Find the lost chest using your witcher Senses.
Quest completed.
Treasure huntAn Unfortunate Turn of Events (4)
While Geralt knew reading other people's correspondence was ill-mannered, he also knew it could prove extremely useful - for one never knows what interesting discoveries one might make...
- Read the letter you found.
- Find the cargo that fell off the ferryman's boat by using your Witcher Senses.
Quest completed.
Treasure huntTough Luck (18) - Recommended level could be a bug, it's much easier to do this quest. Loot Letter from the corpse and read it.
Geralt came across an abandoned cart. A letter which he found nearby suggested it had been carrying valuable cargo. He decided to read the letter carefully, then take a good, hard look around.
- Read the letter you found.
- Find valuables near the destroyed wagon using your Witcher Senses. - Find Small key in the woman's corpse lying near and use it to open the chest on the cart.
Quest completed.
Treasure huntThe Things Men Do For Coin... (12)
Geralt never claimed to be an expert in epistolography, but experience had taught him one of its secrets: dead men carry interesting letters. That's why he decided to sit down and study closely a certain corpse-borne missive he happened across during his travels.
- Read the letter you found.
- Find the looters' valuables using your Witcher Senses.
Quest completed.
Treasure huntBlood Gold (18)
Bodies aren't hard to come by in Velen. But to find a corpse whose hand still grasps a note mentioning treasure - that is a rare thing, indeed. Thus Geralt decided to read them carefully and investigate what strange story they might be hiding.
- Read the notes you found.
- Follow the blood trail using your Witcher Senses to find the hidden treasure.
Quest completed.
Treasure huntBattlefield Loot (20)
Geralt found a mutilated corpse which was carrying some notes. The blood which had soaked through the paper had not completely obscured the writing - and made the witcher all the more curious as to its contents...
- Read the notes you found.
- Follow the blood trail from the battlefield to the loot using your Witcher Senses.
Quest completed.
Treasure huntDowry (32) - Loot Unsent letter and Slightly bent key from woman's corpse.
Travel in wartime can be dangerous. For example, once Geralt came across an abandoned cart by the roadside, and near it found a blood-stained letter written in an elegant female hand. Intrigued, he began to read...
- Read the letter you found.
- Find the treasure chest using your Witcher Senses.
Quest completed.