With the release of the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition and the next-gen upgrade many of you might be wanting to jump into the game. However, you might wonder when you should be starting the 2 incredible DLCs, Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine. In this guide, I’ll answer just that and more!
Both the DLCs in Witcher 3 are gated behind certain character levels. Ideally, you should play Heart of Stone as soon as you reach the appropriate level. You may begin the Blood and Wine DLC once you’ve finished the Main Story for the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
There is no one set pattern or order to experience the content in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. However, Veteran players do believe that there is an optimal way to play the game. This is largely constructed based on what makes the most logical sense for the events of the Witcher to be. Read on to learn more!
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Best Time To Start the DLC in the Witcher 3
If you’re wondering what the best way to experience the various DLC expansions of the Witcher 3 is then you’ve come to the right place. The Main Story of the Witcher takes around 50 hours to complete. Whereas the two expansions both combine for a large chunk of playtime.
So it’s pertinent for you to know when you can begin to experience the Main Story of the Witcher. And when you can begin to do the two individual DLCS. In this section, we’ll be going over that in detail. And highlight some necessary to know aspects of the storyline as well.
Heart of Stone
The story of Heart of Stone follows our titular protagonist Geralt. At a point between the end of the Main Storyline. Any players that are hoping to begin that DLC can thus start the Heart of Stone storyline. This is assuming that they meet the level requirement. Otherwise, your character might have difficulty completing the content.
You can begin the Heart of Stone expansion, as soon as Geralt reaches Level 30 within the Witcher 3. At this point, you will have experienced quite a bit of fragile information that would require a few different interpretations.
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Blood and Wine
Unlike the storyline for Heart of Stone, which occurs between the timeline of the Main Story. The Blood and Wine DLC’s storyline content occurs after the events of the Witcher 3. At this point in the story, Geralt is considered to be retired.
And the events all follow him establishing his vineyard. And solving the issues of the people that belong to that particular part of the world. It’s interesting to know that Geralt is engaging with individuals not merely as a Witcher. But also as a regular person that has been bestowed items and lands in Toussant.
You can begin the content for Blood and Wine at Level 35. This is very similar to Heart of Stone. And you can begin both expansions after finishing the previous one, but we recommend that you continue with the experience of the story.
That is to say, you should finish as much story content as you can until level 30. Then you should continue to complete the Heart of Stone Expansion. After you’re done with that storyline, continue to finish the game. Once the main storyline is done then continue to finish the Blood and Wine DLC.
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Do You Miss Any Content If You Finish the Main Story First?
A common question that many people have is whether they can experience the content of the DLCs even if they finish the Main Story first. The answer is relatively simple. Regardless of whether you finish the Main Story first, or any of the DLCs, you can still experience all the content that the other DLC has to offer.
This means that even if you find more joy in completing the Blood and Wine DLC, you can complete it and still get all the necessary content from everything else in the game. And that’s precisely what makes the game so compelling. There are no arbitrary restrictions on your playthrough.
This also makes future playthroughs through the game far easier. This is because you can make an active decision on what content you do and don’t want to engage with. And it’s by this choice that you can curate the experience for yourself specifically.
So if you’re hoping to get the best experience possible then experiencing the Main Story > Heart of Stone > Blood and Wine, is the best order to experience the game.
If you’re wondering if you’ll miss anything, by playing the game in a certain order. Then no there is nothing to worry about in terms of missing out on content.
The DLC content will be entirely available for you to go through once you’re done with the Main Story, or after you’re finished with the story of other DLCs. The Witcher 3 allows you to play how you want to and does not gatekeep you from important missions and quests.