Now that Geralt has a plot fo land, he may do what he wants to Corvo Bianco to make it more homely.

Upgrading Corvo Bianco¶

Finally, before you return to Beauclair and begin clearing out quests there, it’s time to visit Corvo Bianco and see what your lovely vineyard has to offer. Make your way up to the manor house, where you’ll be pestered by your Majordomo, Barnabas-Basil Foulty. After he lists his credentials, get him to tell you more about the place, then opt for a guided tour to acquaint yourself with the grounds.

The tour eventually ends back at the house, and by now you’ve undoubtedly pieced together where this is going. Your estate, as nice as it is, is a money pit, and the Majordomo listed many things that can be upgraded. Some of these upgrades are more functional than others, while some are just to make the place look prettier and to allow you to show off some of the arms, armor and trophies you’ve accumulated until now. That said, there’s a trophy/achievement in it for you if you fully upgrade Corvo Bianco, along with some practical value… although perhaps not enough to justify spending the money it’ll take to do so, especially considering how costly upgrading to grandmaster Witcher sets can cost.

Corvo Bianco Upgrade List¶

There are two tiers of upgrade, the latter of which can only be unlocked after renovating the house the first time, and it’s worth at least upgrading the house one time to unlock an as-of-yet hidden feature of Corvo Bianco. The possible upgrades will be listed below:

As you can see, bringing Corvo Bianco back to its former glory can be a costly endeavor. 14,000 Crowns expensive, to be precise. Perhaps time-consuming, too, although you can simply meditate through the wait, and you can have multiple upgrades in the works at the same time. Your time is arguably better spent raising funds, however, should you have a need, and an easy way to do this is by picking on weakling bandits back in Novigrad and Velen, where they can be found in the fort near Devil’s Pit, at a camp northeast of Alness, and along the shore south or Ursten. All of these areas are close enough to reach via the aforementioned signposts, and while the bandits may be weak, their weapons scale in level… and hence, in value. A single run can net you over 1,000 Crowns, after which you can rest several days for the baddies to respawn. Needless to say, this method also gives plenty of time for upgrades to Corvo Bianco to cook, so there’s no good reason you can’t do both at the same time.

Tier I Upgrades¶

Grind and spend as you will, and after the first house renovation you’ll unlock more potential upgrades (everything listed below “House Upgrade I” on the table above require the aforementioned upgrade). Also, your Majordomo will mention that the workers found something in the cellar while working, and suggests you check it out. Do so now and you’ll find a weak section of wall you can blast with Aard, beyond which is a high-quality and intact laboratory fit for a master alchemist… and more than capable of supporting a naughty Witcher who intends to dabble in mutagens.

Sure enough, search a nearby table to find Julius ban Gavh’e’s Letter which details his great discovery - a method for turning monster mutagens into other, more common mutagens. Use the alchemy lab and you’ll bring up a menu by which you can see the various monster mutagens you’ve collected on the left, and what you can turn them into on the right. This is a free process, and serves the purpose of allowing you to make use of those long-since obsolete mutagens to fund your newfound need of Greater Mutagens. For example, one Wraith Mutagen can now be converted into a Lesser Green Mutagen. That’s not all this place has to offer, either, as you can interact with a small table to the north to replenish your expended alchemical tools (potions, bombs and decoctions) and also to increase your maximum stock of potions and bombs, free of charge.

Return to your house and you’ll see that your money was well spent. Not only is the place much nicer looking, but you can avail yourself of two features - your bookshelf and your bed. By examining the bookshelf in your room you’ll gain a 5% experience bonus for the next hour of gameplay (nice!) while resting in your bed will boost your Vitality by 500 points for an hour.

The grounds upgrades are less impressive, as the addition of a grindstone and armor table merely allow you to temporarily reinforce your arms and armor - the same boon you could get by using any similar implements at numerous blacksmithies throughout the game.

Tier II Upgrades¶

After you’ve upgraded the house once, talk to the Majordomo and peruse the new upgrades that have unlocked, which include upgrades to your stables, garden and bed, as well as some more frivolous upgrades like more weapon and armor racks and a major renovation to the guest room.

Upgrading your stables will, when used, give Roach a Stamina boost of 100% for sixty seconds, so if you still have some races left to finish… well, they’ll be easier than ever with such a boon. A superior bed will also yield superior results from resting, a 1,000 point Vitality boost lasting a whopping two-hours. Finally, upgrading the garden will place various plants in the once-barren garden and in the greenhouse, allowing you to gather ingredients without having to bother leaving the confines of Corvo Bianco. These herbs include Wild Cherry, Blue Lotus Flower, Nazairi Basil, Berbercane Fruit, Beggartick Blossoms, Moleyarrow, Han Fiber, Blowball, Celandine, Fool’s Parsley Leaves, Ribleaf, Wolfsbane and Pringrape. Truly a diverse selection of herbs.

Once you’ve purchased every upgrade in the table above, talk to the Majordomo, who will suggest celebrating your swanky new estate. Indulge him if you wish, after which this quest will finally be complete.

Of course, you shouldn’t feel pressured to complete all this in one go. You can gather the necessary funds and waste time as you complete other tasks, as you wish, returning to upgrade Corvo Bianco as you have the time. Whatever the case, the next target should be Beauclair, where several outstanding, relatively low-level quests await you. These include Till Death Do You Part, Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Granite!, Paperchase, and Fists of Fury: Toussaint.