Best Witcher 3 Side Quests to Do Before the Main Story
Why Side Quests Matter More Than You Think
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is not a game that rewards rushing. CD Projekt Red built one of the most densely layered open worlds in RPG gaming history, and the side content isn't padding — it's the foundation. Many players who sprint through the main story find themselves under-leveled, under-equipped, and emotionally disconnected from characters they were supposed to care about deeply. Completing the right Witcher 3 side quests early changes everything: you arrive at critical story moments with better gear, higher experience, and a genuine understanding of the world Geralt inhabits.
This guide focuses specifically on side quests that deliver the highest return on investment before you commit to the main narrative path. These aren't arbitrary recommendations — each one offers meaningful XP, powerful equipment, or story context that directly enhances the main questline.
Hunting a Witch (Velen) — Essential Early Context
Before you chase Ciri's trail through Velen, complete "Hunting a Witch" as soon as it appears. This quest introduces Keira Metz, a sorceress with deep ties to the main story and a sharp, complicated personality. The quest itself is straightforward — find a local "witch" the villagers fear — but the payoff is significant. Keira becomes a recurring presence, and the choices you make in her questline ripple forward. Completing her full arc before the main story advances keeps more narrative options open and avoids one of the game's more heartbreaking missable outcomes.
The Witcher 3 Side Quests That Unlock Witcher Gear
The Witcher gear treasure hunts — specifically the Cat School Gear and Griffin School Gear quests — are among the most strategically important Witcher 3 side quests to tackle early. Griffin School Gear in particular is designed for early-to-mid Velen and provides a balanced armor set that scales well through White Orchard and the first half of Velen. The diagrams are scattered across abandoned sites and ruined fortresses, making the hunt feel authentic rather than like a checklist. Completing these before the main story heats up means you'll never feel that gear gap that punishes under-prepared players.
Cat School Gear rewards agile, sign-heavy builds and is slightly more challenging to collect, but the effort pays off in sustained combat advantage across dozens of hours of play.
A Favor for a Friend and Pyres of Novigrad
These two quests are part of Triss Merigold's storyline in Novigrad and should be completed before the main quest "Now or Never" triggers. If you skip them, you lose access to Triss permanently in certain endings — and you miss some of the most emotionally resonant moments in the witcher series. "Pyres of Novigrad" in particular paints a brutal picture of religious persecution that gives the political landscape of the game real weight. Understanding why Novigrad is the way it is makes the main story's events there hit significantly harder.
The Cave of Dreams (Skellige) — Backstory You Shouldn't Skip
Once you reach Skellige, prioritize "The Cave of Dreams" before advancing the main quest on the islands. This quest takes Geralt and a crew of warriors into a hallucinogenic cave where each character confronts their deepest fear. It's one of the witcher game's most atmospheric and inventive quests, requiring no combat skill — just patience and observation. Beyond the storytelling, it grants solid XP and introduces Blueboy Lugos, a character who appears later in the main story. Having this context makes that encounter far more meaningful.
Secondary Quests That Affect Main Story Outcomes
Several Witcher 3 side quests have hidden connections to the main story's ending. "An Unpaid Debt" and "Following the Thread" in Novigrad both connect to the Ciri storyline in ways the game never explicitly states. Completing "Now or Never" (Triss) and "The Last Wish" (Yennefer) before the final act determines which romance, if any, Geralt pursues — and both quests are locked out permanently once the endgame begins. CD Projekt Red designed these as optional, but players who treat them that way often find the ending feels hollow or incomplete.
A useful rule: if a quest involves a named character you've met in the main story, complete it before the next major story chapter closes.
Gwent Quests: Low Priority, High Reward
The Gwent questline — particularly "Collect 'Em All" — isn't urgent, but completing it early in Velen and Novigrad means you'll have a competitive deck when the game's optional Gwent tournaments appear. Gwent is woven throughout the witcher series as a cultural artifact, and winning matches rewards both XP and rare cards. More importantly, some merchants only appear in early-game windows, making certain cards permanently missable if you wait too long. Spend twenty minutes per region playing every innkeeper and merchant you meet, and you'll never scramble for cards later.
Final Recommendation: Build Your World Before You Save It
The Witcher 3 is a game that rewards players who treat Geralt's world as real. The side quests listed here aren't distractions from the main story — they are the main story's emotional scaffolding. Complete them, and when the narrative asks you to make impossible choices, you'll understand exactly what's at stake. That's the design philosophy CD Projekt Red built into every corner of this RPG gaming masterpiece, and honoring it makes for one of the most rewarding experiences in modern gaming.