Griffin Silver Sword - Superior¶

Now that you’ve come this far, you might as well explore the rest of the peninsula. Besides, it can be quite lucrative to do so. Head south-east along the shore, your goal being the south-eastern most tip of the peninsula. Along the way you’ll have to deal with some Mudnixers (level fifteen) and White Wolves (level fifteen), just stay away from the mountain, as a Forktail (level thirty) flies around up there… hence why you’re not taking the road. Another reason, however, is the cave you’ll find near the shore as you make your way to the south-eastern tip of the peninsula.

Enter the cave and kill a Bear (level sixteen), dwelling near the entrance. Once done, head north then turn west when you run out of north and go up some stairs, following the tunnel the stairs lead to west and north-west. Ignore the first passage to the north-east and continue heading north-west until this tunnel bends north, then north-east. Eventually you’ll reach some subterranean ruins to the west, where, down some stairs, you’ll find a large sarcophagus. Dispatch a Wraith (level twenty-three) provoked by your presence, then find two chests along the western end of the room, one of which contains the “Diagram: Griffin Silver Sword - Superior” . With a level twenty-six requirement, it’s not a bad upgrade for the near future, if you kept your Enhanced Griffin Silver Sword.

Guarded Treasure (Level 17)¶

Exit the cavern via the way you entered and continue running along the shore to the south-east. At the end of the peninsula you’ll find Elverum Lighthouse, which is guarded by some Sirines (level thirteen) and the dominant Ekhidna (level nineteen). Kill them and head up the nearby lighthouse, where, on the third floor you’ll find a treasure chest.

Guarded Treasure (Level 19)¶

There’s another Guarded Treasure worth getting, but it’ll take a bit of running. From the Elverum Lighthouse and follow a road running west until you reach a three-way split. Instead of going up some stairs head downhill to the north and follow this road until you reach a cove occupied by some Sirines (level thirteen) and an Ekhidna (level nineteen). Kill them and loot a chest in their seaside recess.

Bandit Camp (Level 17)¶

Return to the road and follow it north to reach Fyresdal again, from which you should fast-travel back to Holmstein’s Port. Leave the town and head north-west along a road where, just past a crossroads, south-east of the road, you’ll find a Bandit Camp. Kill the Bandits (levels fourteen and seventeen) then loot a chest near the campfire.

Guarded Treasure (Level 21)¶

Head west to reach the coast, where you should find two abandoned - but intact - longships. The boats themselves are uninteresting, but there’s a few parcels and crates you can loot on the shore nearby. Once done, follow the shore a long distance to the north-west, along the way you’ll need to dispatch (or avoid) a Bear (level twelve) and just about every White wolf (level fifteen) on Skellige. Eventually you’ll find a Cyclops (level twenty-one) near its lair. Kill the aberration (remember Igni!) then loot a chest in its den. If you venture south-east of the Cyclops’ den you’ll find the “Wild Coast” signpost.

Wolven Silver Sword - Superior¶

Make your way east through the lightly-wooded hills to reach a road running north-south between Arinbjorn and Holmstead Port. Make your way back to Arinbjorn, or rather, to the four-way fork just south of Arinbjorn. At this fork take the previously unexplored road to the south-east to reach some barrows. The road will lead to some stairs, which are framed by mossy, ruined stone walls, just go up these stairs and head north-east into the first (northern-most) barrow. Inside this barrow are several containers you can loot, including a small chest to the north, which contains the “Diagram: Wolven Silver Sword - Superior” .

Place of Power¶

Return back north-west to the four-way fork south of Arinbjorn and this time follow the north-eastern road to return to the Abandoned Site you liberated earlier. From here follow a road south-east (you may have to fight or avoid a pack of White Wolves (level fifteen) along the way) to find the abandoned town of Fornhala. It’s more than just a signpost, though - there’s plenty of loot to be found in and around the buildings here, some of it quite valuable. You MIGHT come here later on a quest, but that’s by no means guaranteed, so there’s no harm in looting it now, and worse case scenario, you’ll already have the signpost if you need to backtrack. Loot the town thoroughly and exit via a road along the south-western edge of the village.

As you navigate the winding mountain road you should spot a Place of Power off the road to the west. You’ll have to leap some ledges to reach the isolated peak the Place of Power is on, but it’s well worth a bit of jumping to gain one free ability point.

Enhanced Ursine Boots¶

Once you’ve slurped up another lovely ability point make your way around the rocky edifice housing the Place of Power, where you should find a cave entrance to the north-west. Enter the cave and eventually you’ll come across three aggressively flatulent Trolls (level sixteen). Put them down, then loot east of their campfire to find a chest. South of their campfire, near some logs, you’ll find a chest containing the “Diagram: Enhanced Ursine Boots” . More lootable containers can be found to the west, and further south.

Guarded Treasure (Level 19)¶

Return to Fornhala and head north-east from the town to find a lake. There’s no path to follow, just pick your way down the hillside to find the lake, which is protected by a Cockatrice (level twenty). Slay the draconid, then head up some hills to the north of the lake to find a Guarded Treasure event, located on the southern shore of a smaller body of water. Kill an Ekhidna (level nineteen) which is lurking about, then loot a corpse to find - among other things - a “Short Letter” . There’s also a container next to the corpse.

Mastercrafted Griffin Silver Sword¶

Head back south to return to the lake, which you should cross to reach its eastern shore. Here you can find Find a ruined tower - the most impressive remaining vestige of a larger structure - near a Monster Den. Ignore the Monster Den for a moment and instead head into the tower find a chest, which contains the “Diagram: Griffin Silver Sword - Mastercrafted” . Kind of anti-climatic just waltzing in and grabbing one of the better sword diagrams in the main game, but… well, there it is.

Monster Den (Level 12)¶

If you’re more adventurous, you might as well tackle this Monster Den while you’re here, which is north-west of the tower. Head on over there and drop down a ledge to find a doorway leading into some ruins… ruins which are infested with Nekkers (level six). Kill a mass of the pests, then note a locked chest along the western wall. Of more immediate interest, turn your attention to the eastern wall and go through an empty, uninteresting room and into a second room, where you’ll find a corpse slumped against the western wall near the doorway. Search the body for a “Crumpled Letter” which explains their purpose here. Fortunate how so many corpses have letters explaining their motivations, eh?

Return to the hallway, where you should notice a blood trail on the floor leading north-east down the hall, and through another door at the end of the hall to the west. Follow the blood trail (it doesn’t highlight under you Witcher Senses, so you’ll just have to use your own eyes to spot it) through the doorway, then through a hole in the wall to the west and down a natural stone passage. At the end of this tunnel you’ll find a Nekker Warrior (level twelve), which should be little more than a nuisance to you by now. Swat it, then search a nearby body to find an “Alchemist’s Key” and a “Letter from an Alchemist”.

Continue east and climb a pair of ledges then follow the linear tunnel beyond until it apparently ends. Whip out that Eye of Nehaleni, however, and it’ll vanish like the good little illusion that it was. Continue north-east until you reach a fork, at which loot two parcels in the dead-end tunnel to the east, then continue north-west until the path forks again. The path the north-west is another dead-end, but there’s a chest at the terminus, so it’s worth heading down there and looting. Once that’s been done return to the fork and continue north-east to reach the exit to the cave, near which you’ll find two crates and a parcel to loot.

This end of the cave exits a good way to the east along the mountains south of Fayrlund. Of course, you’re not quite done in the west, yet… or rather, on land you are, but there’s still some treasure in the sea to find around Arinbjorn, which is back west. There’s nothing stopping you from just heading north to Fayrlund and fast-traveling to Arinbjorn, of course, but do remember to return to the entrance of the Monster Den back west and use the Alchemist’s Key to open the locked chest.