There’s more to do in Oxenfurt, while you’re here and all. New city means new merchants, and in the case of the Armorer and Blacksmith, both are of Journeyman caliber, and are therefore capable of forging some of the Witcher sets you’ll be able to get your hands on sooner or later. The Armorer also sells “Ibrahim Savi’s First Map” , for what that’s worth.

Even better, both the Blacksmith and the Armorer play Gwent, though they’re actually pretty difficult opponents. The Armorer uses a Scoia’tael deck that actually makes use of cards with the “Muster” ability, boosted with obnoxious “Scorch” cards and the odd “Commander’s Horn” card. The Blacksmith is no nicer, utilizing a Monster deck that shows off what seems like it awesome potential, combining some of the most powerful cards with the “Muster” ability with plenty of high-strength hero cards. Flavor with several “Commander’s Horn” cards and you’ve got a foe who can punish you with high-strength hands. The weaknesses of a Monster deck are apparent even here, however, as you need only goad the Blacksmith into wasting a powerful hand to cripple him in the long-term. Another MUCH easier Gwent challenge can be found in the form of a Merchant, who can be found loitering north of the notice board.

South of the notice board, in his inn, you’ll find Stjepen, one of the three innkeepers you need to beat as part of the quest “Gwent: Playing Innkeeps” . He’s a tough opponent, using a Nilfgaardian deck full of “Spy” cards, made worse by the odd “Decoy” and plenty of “Medic” cards which he’ll gleefully use to bring said “Spy” cards back from the grave. Using the aforementioned method he’ll stack his deck with cards that you’ll probably find difficult to compete with. He’s also fond of weather cards, and plays “Emhyr var Emreis, The White Flame” as his leader card, which will disrupt your own leader card. Lastly, he doesn’t make much use of Nilfgaard’s “Tight Bond” abilities, but he backs this seeming deficiency up by using plenty single, high-strength cards.

Beat him, however and you’ll claim his “Yennefer of Vengerberg” Card, which has 7 Strength and the “Medic” ability, making it a worthy addition to any deck. After being defeated he’ll direct you to your next foes; an innkeeper named Olivier in Novigrad, and the innkeeper at the Inn in the Crossroads. Don’t worry, you’ll get back to him soon enough. He also sells several cards, including the “Dwarven Skirmisher” card, the “Mahakaman Defender” card, the “Vrihedd Brigade Veteran” card and a third “Commander’s Horn” card.

Oxenfurt Notice Board¶

Speaking of the notice board… go give that a look. Grab the notices “Beware of Trolls”, “Contract: Monster in Oxenfurt” “Contract: Woodland Beast”, “Contract: Beast in the Oxenfurt Forest” and “Careful! There’s a Swindler About!” to start the quests “The Volunteer” , “Contract: The Oxenfurt Drunk” , “Contract: Woodland Beast” , “Contract: Creature from the Oxenfurt Forest” and “The Truth is in the Stars” , respectively. What a busy little notice board… Most of these quests are a little high level right now, you’ll get to completing “Contract: Woodland Beast” when you start angling to enter Novigrad, and “The Volunteer” is passable, despite its level, but the other two… they’re a long way off.

Enhanced Feline Trousers¶

Head over to the Blacksmith and enter a house south of where he works. Go downstairs to the bottom floor and use your Witcher Senses to spot a cat drawing on the wall to the north-east. Search it, then head down a ladder to the south-east to reach a cellar that connects to a chamber with two gated doors lining it. Use your Witcher Senses to spot a brick you can manipulate along the wall to the north. Doing so will open up a secret door to the north-west, beyond which is a chamber containing a chest, wherein rests the “Diagram: Enhanced Feline Trousers” .

Bandit Camp (level 9)¶

While you’re in the Oxenfurt area, there are a few areas you’ve yet to explore on the larger nearby island to the west, namely the eastern and central bits, so why not do that now? Leave Oxenfurt via the main bridge to the west, then head south-west to reach the Stonecutters’ Settlement. Aside from the signpost, there’s not much here to bother with at this time. Continue south-west to discover the “Devil’s Pit” signpost, north of which is a Bandit Camp filled with Deserters (level nine). They’re rather numerous, but spread out, so you probably won’t have to fight more than two or three at once. It’s also a prime spot to knock foes off ledges with Aard; just parry them, hit them with Aard, and laugh.

Once all the Bandits are dead, get to looting. There’s TONS of stuff to grab in various containers, and if you’re diligent, you’ll end up well-stocked in both alcohol and crafting materials. The good stuff, however, can be found at the bottom of the quarry, where you’ll discover a chest under a tent to the south-east, which may prove very generous.

If that’s not quite enough loot and XP for you, there’s more to be had to the south, as the un-even terrain is home to a pack of Nekkers, most of whom congregate around some pools. Dispose of the Nekkers, then search the pools to find the odd corpse or chest to loot. If you follow the road south-west from the Devil’s Pit signpost you’ll find a three-way fork, the north-western branch of which will lead you back to Mulbrydale. More interesting, however, is the Merchant who congregates at this fork… okay, well, maybe not the merchant himself, but his loot sure is nice, as included in it is a chest which can be very lucrative to loot.

Enhanced Feline Gauntlets¶

Enough of this part of the island, return to the Devil’s Pit signpost and fast-travel back to the Stonecutter’s Settlement signpost. From here take a road to the north-west to discover Codger’s Quarry. Head inside and keep your weapons sheathed to spot a group of armed men looting some corpses on the bottom of the quarry. If you approach while unarmed, they’ll talk to you, only to have the conversation interrupted by a quartet of Alghouls (level six) coming from the darkness of a nearby cave. The men with you have the longevity of a bubble in a wind turbine, so don’t expect much out of them. Try to fight defensively, isolating the Alghouls into smaller, more manageable groups, and use Quen to protect yourself and Axii to force them to retract their spines.

When the Alghouls are dead, make your way to the bottom of the quarry and loot a chest under a wooden walkway to find some “Stoneworker’s Notes” . More interesting however, is a cave to the south-west, where you can find a chest containing the “Diagram: Enhanced Feline Gauntlets” .

Monster Nest (level 6)¶

Leave Codger’s Quarry and follow the road north, then when it bisects another road, follow it north-east through some flooded lowlands until it bisects yet another road. To the southwest is a sundered stone bridge that once promised safe passage over a stream. For a Witcher, however, the stream is more interesting, as it’s home to a monster nest - more specifically, a Nekker nest. Run into the water north of the bridge and eradicate the Nekkers (level six), then blow up their home. ’MERICUH! Ahem. Loot a chest nearby for some quality goodies, then blast some beehives near the water for some Honeycombs.

Monster Nest (level 6)¶

Head back to the road and continue uphill to the northeast to find the ruins of a village, now populated by Ghouls (level two) and Nekkers (level eight). Kill them, loot what parcels remain intact near the houses, then continue on to the northwest to find another Monster Nest, this one populated by Rotfiends (level six) near the remains of an army camp. Kill the Necrophages and destroy - then loot - the nest. When you do, be wary, as there’s a chance a Devourer (level five) will emerge to cause trouble. These things fight like Rotfiends, and they too will explode when they are weakened, but they won’t become immobile when they do so. Whittle it down until it’s nearly dead, then run for it or finish it off with a ranged weapon (bombs work fine).

Hidden Treasure (level 4)¶

From this Monster Nest head north-east onto an island. There are four islands, loosely connected, and each one of them have some quest or event on them. The northern-most and eastern-most of the islands have events that are probably beyond your power right now, but this central island has a Hidden Treasure event on it. The area nearby is guarded by Drowners (level four), but along the way you may encounter Drowners (level nine) and Foglets (level four).

Dispatch the Necrophages, then use your Witcher Senses to follow a blood trail back to a body near a tent. Search the corpse for a “Bloodstained Key” and a “Bloodstained Document” . Picking up these objects starts the quest “Blood Gold” . Activate your Witcher Senses and follow a blood trail to the north-west to find some debris. Part it with Aard to find a chest, inside which you’ll find a variety of loot including the sword “Headhunter” .

The Volunteer (Level 13)¶

Now head to the southern end of the southern island where you’ll find the White Eagle Fort signpost… along with a singing Troll. Discover the signpost and loot the camp the Troll occupies to find the “Diagram: Enhanced Griffin Armor” in a chest just north of the Troll. Nice. Talk to the critter to discover how it got “recruited” and to learn about the mishap that left it alone here.

If you decide the Troll is too dangerous, you can provoke it by voicing your concerns, after which you’ll have to put down the Rock Troll (level thirteen). To do so just use Quen, and the good old Strong Attack/Dodge combo and you’ll whittle it down, just stay at middling ranges, out of melee range, but not so far that you tempt it to throw stones at you. If you’re close enough and it goes to chuck rocks at you, you can take the opportunity to strike it before it manages. Despite its level, it’s not a very tough foe. This completes the quest, but it’s more lucrative to let it live, in which case it’ll ask you to head to town and buy some paint.

Fast-travel back to Oxenfurt and return to the Merchant near the armorer, who happens to sell the “ Paint“ you need. It’ll set you back about 16 Crowns, which is a paltry sum. Buy it, then return to the Troll and give him the paint. He’ll encounter another problem, which you can either help him with, or force him to do himself… to find out that Troll has a surprising artistic bent, and Geralt… should stick to swords and never torture a paint brush again. The reward is the same either way.

Gwent: Playing Innkeeps - Innkeeper at the Crossroads¶

Before rushing off to cross the Pontar, let’s take care of one more bit of unfinished business. Now that you’ve defeat Stjepan in Oxenfurt you’ll be referred to the Innkeeper at the “Inn at the Crossroads”, which you visited earlier during the quest “The Nilfgaardian Connection” . Return there and challenge him to a game of cards. He’s got a rather weak Nilfgaardian deck, just be wary of the card “Villentretenmerth”, a 7 Strength close combat card which will kill the strongest close combat card(s) you have in play, if you have more than 10 Strength in that row (this is a card you can randomly win from playing amateur players). He also might use “Scorch” to kill the strongest units in play, and “Commander’s Horn”, which doubles the Strength of all units in a row. Defeating him will earn you the “Menno Coehoorn” card, a close combat hero cart with 10 Strength and the Medic ability… a very good card, even if it’s only for Nilfgaardian decks.

And with that… you’re done with this area for now. You can finish off the rest of the central island west of Velen later, when you’re a higher level and you’ve a need to make your way north to Novigrad. For now however, it’s time to turn your attention back south. You could return to the Bloody Baron and tell him about your meeting with his daughter, but aside from updating the still ongoing quest “Family Matters” this doesn’t to much. He’ll just tell you to keep looking for his missing wife… whom you have no leads on. That being the case, you might as well look for this “witch” Ciri tangled with. Of course, this gives an excuse to explore everything between your closest signpost (Blackbough) and Midcopse. Don’t worry, most of these events are quite low-level, and can be done briskly. Since you’ve encountered similar events before, they need not be discussed quite as thoroughly as similar events were during the run to Oxenfurt.