The Wandering in the Dark quest has Geralt and Keira head into a mysterious Elvish ruin, filled with puzzle,s tricks and wonder. Without spoiling the quest, this is a massive quest chain, filled with twists and turns the deeper into it you go. To help guide you through, we have compiled our Witcher 3 Wandering in the Dark walkthrough, and even offering the tips you need to solve the Magic Lamp Puzzle too.

Wandering in the Dark Walkthrough for Witcher 3¶

Accept Keira’s offer and the two of you will travel to the meeting spot, far south of Midcopse. Head inside the ruins and Keira will conjure some light, presumably more for her benefit than yours, since Witchers can see well in the dark. Follow her down the stairs and loot a chest near a doorway for some quality goods.

Go through the doorway and Geralt will see these Elves you’re looking for… who just so happen to be members of the Wild Hunt. Geralt will ask Keira to teleport them to the other side of a gap, which she’ll promptly do, albeit after complaining. Who can blame her? Who in their right minds would pursue the Wild Hunt? Geralt of Rivia, that’s who. Head to the end of the ruins currently accessible to you and Keira will make the portal. Follow her into it and you’ll appear in a cave, separated from Keira… so continuing Geralt’s misfortunes with - and subsequent hatred of - magical portals.

Head south and dispatch a trio of Drowners (level four) then go for a swim in the flooded tunnel beyond. Grab a chest to the left as you swim your way south, then eventually surface in some more tunnels. Two paths lie before you; south or south-west. Both paths lead to the same place. Either go south and drop down a ledge to reach a large cavern, or go south-west, blast a wall with Aard, kill a Foglet (level four) head south, then turn east and blast another wall with Aard.

Either way, you’ll end up in a large, watery, gas-filled chamber. Along the western end of the chamber you can find several Drowners (level four), and in the waters to the east lurks a Water Hag (level seven). There’s also gas near the Drowners that needs to be cleared with Igni. A few treasure chests lie scattered around, but only one contains loot of particular interest. From the western entrance to this chamber, lure the Drowners out of the gas (or blast the gas while they’re standing in it) then head onto a stone structure to the east, climb some stairs, then descend some more stairs further east. Turn south and head west around the stairs you just descended to find a small campsite, where you can find this chest.

Loot the chest, then continue east to reach a crossroads. A doorway leads you further into the ruins whether you head south or east. Going south is faster, going east is more lucrative. Head east and loot two chests, kill another Foglet (level four) then continue down a hallway to the south and up some stairs to reach a small room with a shrine, being otherwise unremarkable. Go through a doorway to the west, then south through a natural cavern, and finally west through another doorway to find Keira in grave peril, beset by, of all things, rats. Apparently she has an acute fear of the rodents, even going so far as to erect a magical barrier around herself. And who can blame her? Do you know the diseases they spread? Anyways, strain your Witcher prowess to the breaking point by dispatching these pests, then blow up their nests with bombs or with a blast of Igni. If Geralt ever becomes a cripple, he’s always got a fallback career as a rat exterminator.

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Save Keira from the wrath of the rats which assault her (left) then progress to find the projection of the mysterious mage you’re looking for (right).

After rescuing Keira, Geralt will convince her to continue exploring the ruins with him. Because she’s been a great help so far. Anyways… go through a doorway to the south, up some stairs, into a new tunnel, then head west to receive a message of sorts from the Elven mage you’re searching for. Geralt, being somewhat of an expert on all things Ciri, deciphers the message’s meaning.

Go south through another doorway, then yet another to reach another large, water-logged, gas-filled chamber. Hooray. Head down some stairs and both Geralt and Keira will comment about the scenery on hand. Blast some of the gas and make your want to a large stalagmite, around which the gas isn’t immediately present. Make a stand against a host of Wraiths (level five) who show up, and witness Keira finally making good use of her talents, namely by zapping Wraiths with lightning as the opportunity arises. North-west of this stalagmite you’ll be able to find two treasure chests (once the gas around them is cleared, anyways) and to the west lies your destination.

Of course, you can score extra treasure by heading off the beaten path. If you go south into a smaller tunnel you’ll find a small chest at its mouth, and a large chest near the end. Along the southern end of the chamber you’ll find a tunnel leading east into some water. Take a swim (Keira will sit this one out) and loot a chest to your left shortly after diving in, and another one to your right further down. Surface in a gassy chamber to the east, at the eastern end of which you’ll find yet another chest with valuable loot inside, and a smaller, less lucrative chest nearer the water. When you get near the eastern-most chest a group of Wraiths (level five) will show up to contest your prize. Smite them and swim back west to reunite with Keira, then head down the proper tunnel.

Travel down this tunnel east, then north, grabbing mushrooms as you go. The food of the gods, as it were… Climb some ledges to the north and continue north-west until you return to the ruins. Go through a doorway to the west and find another mage-message, this time telling you to look for a horse. Cryptic mages…

Ignore the obvious symbols throughout this room (they’ll glow red when viewed with your Witcher Senses) and dive into the pool in the center of the room. Search a rock to the south to find the horse symbol you’re looking for, then dive and loot a chest before swimming down a tunnel to the south-west. When you reach a dead-end surface, and scale a wall to the north, head up some stairs and search the wall to the west to find another horse run. Turn north-east and continue up a slope, then drop down a ledge to return to the room you were in earlier. As Keira will exclaim, a door will open near the mage message.

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Dive into the water to find the correction symbol (left). Defeat the Golem after taking a portal to progress deeper into the ruins (right).

Head through the doorway you just opened and continue north-west until you find a portal with the swallow sign above it. Use your Witcher Senses to highlight a smaller swallow sign near the door and activate it, which opens the portal. On the other side of the portal, Keira will make a “calm before the storm” reference, so make sure you’re at full health… or fair enough, anyways. Head north-west into a larger chamber where you’ll encounter a Golem. Despite being set up as a boss, this critter is a push-over. Use Quen to protect yourself, then just attack-dodge until it’s dead. Keira will even help out with lightning, which occasionally stuns the beast. Loot it once it falls, then search the northern and southern ends of the room to score two chests-the one to the south being more lucrative.

When you’re ready, continue west and climb a ledge, loot another generous chest along the western wall, then go through a pair of doorways to the south to reach another split in the path. This time, however, the tunnels don’t unite later on, so it’s a pretty simple choice. Head south into another tunnel, at the southern end of which is a chest half buried in rubble. Save its poor contents and offer them a home in your pockets, then go through a doorway to the east. The door will seal behind you, and at the eastern end of the hall a Gargoyle (level six) will attack. It’s no more of a threat than the Golem was, however. Use Quen and chop it down, then loot another chest to the south.

Backtrack to the split in the path and now head east through a doorway and down some stairs to find room with another teleporter in it. Despite Keira’s suggestion, there’s no rush. Activate the swallow sign at your leisure, then head through the teleporter. When you arrive you’ll get the unhappy news that the Wild Hunt is well ahead of you-apparently being able to reliably teleport allowed them to bypass all that nonsense we just did. Head up some stairs to the north and make a note of the fact that the Wild Hunt can easily dispatch the Golems here, too, then head up another two flights of stairs.

Continue north past another frozen Golem and go through another doorway to enter a large chamber where you’ll encounter the Wild Hunt. In order to delay us, one of them will conjure a freezing spell. Keira now takes center stage, casting a barrier to protect us from the frost. She’s also capable of closing the portals conjuring the frost, but as for the beasts emerging out of the portals… that’s up to us.

Follow her to the first portal and she’ll begin closing it, which everybody knows is a process that takes time and effort, otherwise how could games throws waves of enemies at us? Your foes here will be Hounds of the Wild Hunt (levels two and four), which are easily smote. Just stand beside Keira and fast strike foes as they cross Keira’s threshold, releasing bouts of Igni periodically for good measure. It should go without saying, but stay out of the blizzard-it deals significant damage fairly quickly. Once the beasts are dead Keira, exhausted by her endeavors, will fall into Geralt’s arms, at which point you’ll get a timed dialogue response. Picking the top option “just don’t faint on me” will elicit a flirty response from Keira.

She’ll recover quickly enough, tough girl that she is, and remove some ice blocking our path to the south-east. Take some time to loot the hound corpses and some scattered chests, which contain Water in them, in case you need some healing. Once you’re done looting, join Keira to the south-east and go through a doorway, then up some stairs. Continue along a linear path through another doorway, down some stairs to the south-east, then down another flight of stairs to the south-west, as Keira forces a confession out of Geralt.

Our destination is to the south-east, but if you continue south-west you’ll find a wall that’s susceptible to Aard. Blast it, then ignite some gas on the other side of the wall with Igni before heading through the hole you made. Loot a chest behind a barrier to the south to score some meager loot, then climb a ledge to the west and go through a doorway to reach a small chamber with a chest just opposite the door. Be wary, though, as a Foglet (level four) is lurking around waiting to spoil your loot-high.

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At the end of the dungeon, the Wild Hunt warrior Nithral awaits you (left). Defeat him and the Hounds he summons to continue searching the lab for answers (right).

Return-through the gas and broken wall-to Keira and continue south-east, drop down a few ledges, and encounter a member of the Wild Hunt who remained behind. It’s clear he doesn’t want to be friends. This fight is pretty easy-you can probably tell by his weapon that we won’t be countering his attacks, so the old strong attack-and-dodge strategy works fine here, using Quen to adsorb incidental damage. After a few hits he’ll cast a barrier that will forcibly (and painfully) repel you if you attack him. During this time he’ll also summon a portal through which Hounds of the Wild Hunt (level five) will arrive to harass you, while he regenerates health from the safety of his portal. Kill his mutts and he’ll drop the portal. Repeat until he’s dead. Once done, loot his corpse for a Diagram: Angrenian Cuirass , a Wild Hunt Warrior’s Sword, and a Potion from Tir na Lia, amongst other things. You’ll find a chest filled with worthwhile loot atop some stairs to the west of the pillars where Nithral waited, and along the raised platform to the east you’ll find two less impressive chests.

Ascend some stairs to reach the platform upon which Keira stands and watch another mage message, which tells Ciri to avoid the witches of Crookback Bog and meet “where last we were together”. Not very helpful. Further conversation will suggest that Geralt search for these witches, these… Ladies of the Wood. Keira will give you the book “Ladies of the Wood” , which you should read, then search the lab.

It’s got plenty of containers with valuable alchemical and crafting components inside, but there are also a variety of important items scattered about. On a cage near the stairs you’ll find “After the White Frost” , some burned notes can be investigated near a brazier in the north-western corner of the area, a potion on the table Keira will identify as her own concoction, on a bed you’ll find the book “The Elder Blood” and on a barrel in the south-eastern corner, by a book shelf, you’ll find some herbs. Most importantly, however, is a doorway to the east that can be detected with your Witcher Senses. When you investigate it, Keira will identify the door as an illusion, and give you the “Eye of Nehaleni” , which dispels illusions… and makes you remember her, of course.

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Find the final projection left by the mysterious mage (left). Keira will give you the Eye of Neheleri, which will allow you to dispel illusions (right).

Use the Eye of Nehaleni on the door to make it vanish, but before you continue through it, return back to the west and explore the south-western corner of the chamber where you fought Nithral. Here you’ll discover a section of wall that can be destroyed with Aard. Convince it to fall down, then go through the hole in the wall you made and use the Eye of Nehaleni to reveal some stairs further west, which lead to a watery tunnel. Take a dive and loot a chest to the right, then continue west to find two more chests at the end of the flooded passage. Surface for some air, then dive again, this time swimming down another passage to the south. Surface at some stairs and continue south to enter a small chamber with a lone chest at the end-but a chest that contains the silver sword “Maugrim” . Hey! Another one!

Backtrack to the room where you fought Nithral, then return to the first door you dispelled with the Eye of Nehaleni, finally continuing through it. Follow Keira to the east and she’ll detect a way out… but before she goes, she’ll ask for your help finding a Magic Lamp, the prize promised to Keira by the elf. You can go your own way, or agree to help Keira find her prize. She did help you out through these ruins, at no slight risk to herself, and she did brave rats along the way… sort of. Sure, she probably only did it to get her lamp, but the fact is, she helped you. Don’t be that guy; agree to help her. This ends the quest “Wandering in the Dark” and begins “Magic Lamp” .

Magic Lamp Optional side Mission¶

As you discover the way out of the complex, Keira lets you know that there is a magical lamp the mysterious elf told her resides in these halls. If you want to help Keira out, nows the chance. It also starts chain of quests for Kiera, which does have some long term consequences on the character and her involvement with Geralt in the future. So, if you like story content, this is something you could do.

Also there some hidden treasure that way as well get if you do this quest guarded by another Golem. There’s plenty of plans to get and even more loot you can take out and cash in when you next get the chance. Note there is a puzzle, which you can read our guide on that later.

But if you want out, there is a boat nearby. To get back to the lands you’ve explored, you can pilot the boat nearby - it’s safer and faster than traveling on foot, and you’ll need to get your sea legs sooner or later, so you might as well give it a try now. Climb on inside the boat and head to the helm to take control of the ship. Accelerate with [X], stop/reverse with [Square] and leave the helm by pressing [Circle]. Simple enough. Sail east a bit to clear the land to the north, then swim north, docking anywhere near Midcopse - the inlet to the east of Midcopse, along a road connecting Midcopse and Claywich - is a fine spot. Just be wary of some Drowners that prowl around the flooded bit of low road.

Wandering in the Dark’s Secret Walls¶

By the time you finishing the Witcher 3’s Wandering in the Dark Quest, you’ll have no doubt discovered some secret walls along the way. There are several false walls, typically marked by a yellow glow around debris, collapsed rock walls and other things. These are in fact glimmer used to protect the place from Witchers like yourself.

However, upon completing the Wandering in the Dark questline, you can dispel these secret walls. You should have picked up the Eye of Nehaleni, which is type of medallion. This item will allow you to go back through the cave and underground system and explore those secrets walls through the Wandering in the Dark mission area. You’ll find plenty of lootable items by doing so, so it’s worth going back if you fancy restocking you coffers.