Before we start with individual achievements here are some general notes about this game:

-You are free to move around the open world after the credits roll. This enables you to tie up any loose ends and complete most of the contracts and side quests you might have missed. Certain secondary quests that tie into the main story are an exception.

-It is possible to earn all achievements during a single playthrough. This however requires you to complete the main story on the hardest difficulty setting (without changing it until the end). In this case I recommend going after some of the harder combat achievements after unlocking the difficulty-based ones since you are free to change the difficulty level after the main story is complete.

-I recommend creating a new save file after each major story mission. This will be of great help if you miss any achievements along the way.

-I have tried to keep spoilers to a minimum throughout this guide but the achievement descriptions and quest names themselves may contain some minor ones.

These achievements are awarded for completing story missions and cannot be missed as a result.


"Lilac and Gooseberries"
Find Yennefer of Vengerberg.


Awarded for completing the prologue.


"Family Counselor"
Find the baron's wife and daughter.


Awarded for completing the "Family Matters" quest in Velen.


"A Friend in Need"
Find and free Dandelion.


Awarded for completing the "Poet Under Pressure" quest in Novigrad.




"Necromancer"
Help Yennefer extract information from Skjall's body.


Awarded for completing the "Nameless" quest in Skellige.


"Something More"
Find Ciri.


Awarded for completing the "The Isle of Mists" quest near the Skellige isles.


"Xenonaut"
Visit Tir ná Lia and convince Ge'els to betray Eredin.


Awarded for completing the "Through Time and Space" quest in... well, you'll see.




"The King is Dead"
Defeat Eredin.


Awarded for defeating the final boss.




"Passed the Trial"
Finish the game on any difficulty.


"Ran the Gauntlet"
Finish the game on the "Blood and Broken Bones!" or "Death March!" difficulty levels.

"Walked the Path"
Finish the game on the "Death March!" difficulty level.


Awarded after completing the epilogue. Achievements for higher difficulty levels will only unlock if the difficulty level remained unchanged throughout the game.

This section deals with achievements awarded for completing various side quests. Most of these are closely related to the main story-line and are hard to miss.


"Friends With Benefits"
Complete the subplot involving Keira Metz.


You will meet Keira during the Velen section of the main quest-line and she will ask you some favors afterwards. Complete these side quests (the last one is called "A Favor for a Friend") to earn this achievement. Remember to tell her to go to Kaer Morhen once the subplot is concluded. This is required fot the "Full crew" achievement.


"Kingmaker"
Complete the subplot about choosing Skellige's ruler.


This subplot becomes available during the Skellige section of the main story. You can help the contestants as you see fit by completing their own side quests before concluding the subplot with the "King's Gambit" quest. The achievement unlocks after the coronation ceremony.


"Full Crew"
Bring all possible allies to Kaer Morhen for the battle against the Hunt.


Be sure to complete all three "Brothers In Arms" side quests before initiating the siege of Kaer Morhen. I got the achievement by inviting the following people: Keira, Letho (spared him in the previous game), Roche, Zoltan, Hjalmar and Ermion. Triss was invited by Yennefer automatically since she was no longer in Novigrad. Letho is apparently optional (confirmed by Breuger).




"Assassin of Kings"
Take part in the assassination of King Radovid.


This subplot consists of two side quests: "A Deadly Plot", which becomes available during the Novigrad section of the main quest-line and "Reason of State", available after the siege of Kaer Morhen.

All contracts can be taken from notice boards in various villages and towns throughout the world. Boards with available contracts are indicated on the world map by yellow icons.


"Geralt: The Professional"
Complete all witcher contracts.


There are a total of 28 contracts in the base game. 1 in White Orchard, 11 in Velen, 8 in Novigrad and 8 in Skellige. One of these ("The Griffin from the Highlands") is tied into the "Master Armorers" quest in Velen. DLC contracts are not required for getting the achievement.


"Shrieker"
Complete the contract on the shrieker.


The contract is available in Crow's Perch. Recommended level: 8.


"Fearless Vampire Slayer"
Complete the contract on Sarasti.


The contract is called "Mystery of the Byways Murders". Recommended level: 22.


"Fiend or Foe?"
Complete the contract on Morvudd.


"Contract: Missing Son", available in the village near Kaer Trolde. Recommended level: 29.




"The Doppler Effect"
Resolve the doppler problem in Novigrad.


You get the achievement regardless of how you deal with the doppler. Recommended level: 13.


"Ashes to Ashes"
Complete the contract on Therazane.


"Contract: Doors Slamming Shut", available in Novigrad. Recommended level: 24.


"Woodland Spirit"
Complete the contract on the Woodland Spirit.


The contract is called "In the Heart of the Woods" (available in Farylund on Ard Skellig). It's also bugged currently since the only way of getting the achievement is by killing the beast. This will hopefully be fixed in a future patch. Recommended level: 22.


"Even Odds"
Kill 2 monsters you have a contract on without using Signs, potions, mutagens, oils or bombs.

I used the cockatrice and foglet contracts to get this but you can get it during most contracts unless the monster requires the use of signs to defeat (wraiths mostly do). Remember to meditate before the fight to clear any potion effects, make sure no oils are applied to your weapons, clear any mutagens from your character screen, and resist the urge to use signs or bombs during the fight. If the fight is too hard consider coming back to it after gaining some levels and better gear.

This section deals with achievements regarding fistfights, riding and gwent.


"Brawler"
Defeat Olaf, the Skellige champion of unarmed combat.


Defeat the 3 challengers in Skellige to face the mighty Olaf.




"Brawl Master"
Complete all fistfighting quests in Velen, Skellige and Novigrad.


Velen, Novigrad and Skellige each have 3 challengers for you to defeat before you can face the region's champion. After winning all 12 fights you'll get the opportunity to face The Champion of Champions. Defeat him to claim his title and earn this achievement.


"Fist of the South Star"
Defeat an opponent in a fistfight without taking any damage.


Easy enough to do, especially during the early fights in Velen. A useful tactic is to keep your opponent at a distance by dodging backwards. This way he'll always attack you with a right hook which is easy to counter. After following up with 2-3 fast attacks dodge again before he counterattacks. Repeat this until he goes down.


"Fast and Furious"
Win all the horse races in the game.


Horse races can be found by checking notice boards in major settlements. There are 3 in each region with an additional one in Novigrad and Skellige once you've won them all. Winning the 11th race grants you the achievement.


"Gwent Master"
Defeat Tybalt and win the gwent tournament held at the Passiflora.


You'll need to finish first in the tournament during the "High Stakes" quest. These are some of the most powerful decks in the entire game so be sure to get a good number of hero cards before attempting this.




"Geralt and Friends"
Win a round of gwent using only neutral cards.


Every now and again the A.I. will forfeit a round without playing any cards. Simply keep a neutral creature or hero card in your hand whenever possible so you can take advantage and get this achievement the easy way.


"All In"
Play three hero cards in one round of gwent and win the match.


This becomes stupidly easy once you get a decent number of hero cards in your deck.


"Card Collector"
Acquire all gwent cards available in the base version of the game.


This achievement is awarded for completing the "Collect 'Em All" side quest. You only need one of each card, duplicates don't seem to count towards the achievement. Most cards can be purchased from vendors or won randomly from other players. There are a few unique cards that are only available during specific quests. These are:

"High Stakes": The gwent tournament in Novigad.
"A Matter of Life and Death": During the masquerade ball in Vegelbud Estate.
"A Dangerous Game": Available from Zoltan in Novigrad.
"Shock Therapy": Available from a druid in Gedyneith.
"Gwent: Playing Innkeeps": Available from Stjepan in Oxenfurt.
"Gwent: Velen Players": Available from the Baron in Velen.
"Gwent: Big City Players": Available from Vivaldi in Novigrad.
"Gwent: Old Pals": Available from Zoltan in Novigrad.
"Gwent: Playing Thaler": Available form Thaler after completing the quest "A Deadly Plot".
"Gwent: Skellige Style": Available from Ermion in Skellige.

Just keep your eyes open for anyone willing to play you and always check vendors for cards. The only problem I had with this quest was the card vendor in Claywich. You need to rescue him from a nearby bandit camp to gain access to his cards.










If you're interested in the location of any specific cards I recommend the followig guide:
http://node2.projectplanet.cn/@steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=448996152

This section is dedicated to combat-related achievements. Most of these can easily be farmed in the Devil's Pit area in Velen. This quarry is filled with low level bandits that respawn every time you fast travel out of and back into Velen, providing an endless supply of targets.




"The Enemy of My Enemy"
Use the Axii Sign to force one opponent to kill another. Do this 20 times.


You'll need the Puppet skill to turn enemies against each other. Monsters with high damage and relatively low health (wolves, nekkers, drowners...) make ideal targets.


"Humpty Dumpty"
Kill 10 opponents by knocking them off somewhere high with the Aard Sign.


Lure enemies near a ledge and use Aard to push them over it. The conditions at Devil's Pit are ideal.


"Environmentally Unfriendly"
Kill 50 opponents using the environment (e.g. swamp gas, insects or objects).


Clouds of swamp gas and exploding barrels are common enough and both can be ignited using Igni. I have unlocked this one surprisingly early, which makes me believe that kills resulting from most kinds of indirect damage (fire, bleeding and poison) may count towards the achievement.


"Kaer Morhen Trained"
Perform 10 effective counterattacks in a row without getting hit or parrying.


Easier to do during a fistfight against a single enemy. Lock on to your target and keep your distance by dodging backwards. He'll attack you with a right hook which is easy to counter. The counterattack will also knock him back enough so that he'll use the same attack over and over again. Once you get the timing right the achievement should be easy to earn.


"Can't Touch This!"
Kill 5 foes in a fight without taking damage (except for Toxicity) and without using the Quen Sign.

Can be accomplished by wiping out a pack of low level wolves with Igni. For a more methodical approach you can alert the bandits at Devil's Pit and lure them towards the exit. They'll never cross the gate and should line up for you to take them out with your crossbow.


"That Is the Evilest Thing…"
Ignite the gas produced by a Dragon's Dream bomb using a burning opponent. Do this 10 times.

When facing the last member of a group of weaker enemies ignite them with Igni, roll backwards and throw a Dragon's Dream bomb at them. You don't actually need to kill them with the blast.


"Butcher of Blaviken"
Kill at least 5 opponents in under 10 seconds.


You'll most likely earn this without even trying. If not, find a pack of low level wolves around Hanged Man's Tree and burn them to a crisp with Igni.


"Triple Threat"
Kill 3 opponents in one fight using 3 different methods (swords, bombs, crossbow, Signs, etc.).

Another one that'll most likely trigger organically if you vary up your play-style even a little bit.


"Overkill"
Make an opponent suffer from bleeding, poisoning and burning simultaneously. Do this 10 times.

The key to this achievement is creating a silver sword that has a decent chance (at least 10%) of inflicting all 3 effects, preferably early in the game. I recommend the Feline Sword since it can be upgraded and already comes with a chance to inflict bleeding damage. Add some runes for poison and burning and you're all set. Be patient and the achievement should unlock eventually. There are also some skills that can help you: Poisoned Blades increases your chance to poison foes when applying the appropriate oils and Crippling Strikes adds guaranteed bleeding damage to fast attacks. Liberal use of the Igni sign also helps you to set foes on fire and the Piromaniac skill can enhance your chance of doing so.




"Master Marksman"
Kill 50 human and nonhuman opponents by striking them in the head with a crossbow bolt.

Can be frustrating since headshot detection in this game is somewhat unreliable. Successful headshot kills result in the camera shaking for a moment. You can use Axii to immobilize targets and get in close for the kill for easier aiming. The Lightning Reflexes skill can also be immensely helpful. The easiest way of farming this involves lining up the bandits of Devil's Pit along the gate as discussed previously.




"What Was That?"
Attack, counter, cast a Sign and throw a bomb (in any order) in under 4 seconds.


My preferred order is counter, attack, Igni and bomb. Try getting it while facing a lone opponent to prevent interference. If for some reason you have trouble unlocking this one, you can always start a new game and get it during the tutorial in Kaer Morhen (confirmed by SAITAMA).

These achievements are related to exploring points of interest, gaining experience and gear.


"Dendrologist"
Acquire all the Abilities in one tree.


Simply save your game, use a respec potion and saturate a chosen skill tree with points. You can do this with as little as 10 points if using the General Skills tree (thanks to Filavorin for pointing this out and confirming it). Feel free to reload your savegame afterwards. Respec potions are expensive after all.




"Mutant"
Fill all mutagen slots.


The final mutagen slot unlocks at level 28. Any mutagens will do provided all 4 slots are taken.




"Globetrotter"
Discover 100 fast travel points.


The best way of uncovering these is simply riding along roads. I got the achievement right after arriving in Skellige.


"Fire in the Hole"
Destroy 10 monster nests using bombs.


"Pest Control"
Destroy all monster nests in the Velen / Novigrad region, or in Skellige.


Easier to do in Skellige since that region only has 5 nests. You should find enough to get 10 without problems while completing witcher contracts and riding around.




"Let's Cook!"
Learn 12 potion formulae.


"Bombardier"
Collect the formulae for 6 different bomb types.


Formulae are most often found in random loot chests. They can also be bought in shops. These achievements will unlock organically during the game.


"Bookworm"
Read 30 books, journals or other documents.


Not much to say about this one. There are tons of books and letters to read in the game, just make sure you open anything you find at least once.


"Armed and Dangerous"
Find and equip all the elements of one set of witcher gear.


Once you settle into your own play-style you should find the diagrams for the appropriate witcher gear (cat, griffin or bear). You can do this by buying treasure maps from vendors. Witcher gear is often superior to regular armor and weapons and can be upgraded later (and looks awesome). Simply equip all the pieces of a set to gain this achievement.




"Power Overwhelming"
Have all possible Place of Power bonuses active at the same time.


Easiest to do in White Orchard. The region has 6 points of power, just visit them in sequence getting all 5 bonuses once.


"Munchkin"
Reach character development level 35.


I had to complete most of the content in the game to get this so using gear that gives extra experience might be a good idea. You can always start a New Game + run to earn more XP though.

Most of these achievements are only available with the Hearts of Stone expansion installed. Be sure to create a new save file before starting the expansion story-line, and as always create a new one after completing a major story mission. This way you'll be safe to try again in case you miss any of these achievements the first time around.





"I'm Not Kissing That"
Kill the prince cursed into a toad.


"Pacta Sunt Servanda"
Finish the "Hearts of Stone" expansion.


These are tied into the main questline and are unmissable.





"Let the Good Times Roll!"
Participate in all the activities at the wedding.


During the "Dead Man's Party" quest you have to complete all 10 activities marked on the minimap before talking to the Man of Glass.




"Shopaholic"
Buy all the items put on the block at the Borsodis' Auction House.


During the "Open Sesame!" quest you'll have the opportunity to take part in an auction. Be sure to take it and buy all three items being auctioned off. You'll need about 1000 crowns to get everything.


"Curator of Nightmares"
Recreate all of Iris' nightmares in the Painted World.


Along the course of the "Scenes From a Marriage" quest you'll get to recreate a total of 8 nightmares. Only the very first one of these is missable, the rest are tied into the story. The first one is in the garden gazebo right as you enter the Painted World.




"When It's Many Against One…"
Provoke all Iris von Everec's Nightmares into fighting you at the same time and defeat them.

Towards the end of the "Scenes From a Marriage" quest you'll find yourself fighting a group of 6 enemies with 5 of them standing still initially. To get the achievement you have to attack all of them at least once to get them active and attacking you. Be sure not to kill any of them before all 6 are moving. The harder part is defeating them all afterwards. The "Whirl" skill can be extremely helpful and be sure to use specter oil to maximize your damage. You can also lower your difficulty setting if things get too hard.



"Return to Sender"
Kill 3 opponents with their own arrows.


An easy achievement that requires at least two points in the "Arrow deflection" skill. Once you get the timing right you'll get this one without any problems.


"Can Quit Anytime I Want"
Be under the influence of seven potions or decoctions at the same time.


Another easy one. Simply chug seven different potions in rapid succession to get it.


"Wild Rose Dethorned"
Defeat all the fallen knights and loot their campsites.


This requires you to clear and loot the 8 bandit camps marked on the map below. Most of these have 6 knights guarding them. Be sure to kill them all and empty all the chests. The achievement should pop upon opening the final one. If you don't get it for some reason, you can always try again by starting a new game with "Hearts of Stone only".



"I Wore Ofieri Before It Was Cool"
Collect all available Ofieri armor and horse gear, and at least one Ofieri sword.


All of the gear can be obtained from the Ofieri merchant at Upper Mill. You can win the saddle by racing him, the armor diagrams can be obtained by completing the “From Ofier’s Distant Shores” quest, and the rest you can simply buy from him directly. The achievement pops once you craft all items and have them in your inventory at the same time.


"Moo-rderer"
Kill 20 cows.


The things we do for achievements... You can find plenty of innocent cows in various villages around the world. I personally farmed this achievement in Blandare on Ard Skellig. Meditate or fast travel to make them respawn.


"Rad Steez, Bro!"
Slide downhill uninterrupted for at least 10 seconds.


Remember that cliff-side where you fought the royal wyvern during the "Phantom of the Trade Route" contract? Turns out it's perfect for getting this achievement. Keep sliding until you get it.




"Killed It"
Win a round of gwent with a total strength of at least 187.


Multipliers are your best method of getting enough points here. I used the Northern Realms deck, but i suspect it's also possible with the Monster deck.

This expansion marks the end of Geralt's story and is a fitting sendoff for our hero. It comes with 13 new achievements, most of which are highly missable, so remember to save regularly in different save files after each major quest.





"The Witcher's Gone South"
Travel to the Duchy of Toussaint.


"Last Action Hero"
Be decorated with the Order of Vitis Vinifera.


"Kling of the Clink"
Serve time in Toussaint.


The first one of these is unmissable, but the latter two are awarded for different endings of the main questline and are mutually exclusive as a result. Be sure to save your game before making your decision during the quest "The Night of Long Fangs" to unlock both.
"Kling of the Clink" can only be unlocked if Dettlaff kills Syanna during the final quest. This requires you to rescue her from the Fablesphere without retrieving her ribbon in the process. All other choices result in unlocking the "Last Action Hero" achievement.




"David and Golyat"
Kill Golyat with a crossbow bolt to his eye.


You'll fight this boss right after arriving in Toussaint at the start of the expansion. Be sure to equip the Lightning Reflexes skill before leaving Velen to allow for precise aiming. When fighting the boss, keep your distance and line up a headshot while he charges you. Missed shots do only minimal damage to him so you'll have ample opportunities to get it right. A successful hit will kill him instantly and trigger the achievement so reload your last checkpoint if it doesn't.



"Embodiment of the Five Virtues"
Be given Aerondight by the Lady of the Lake.


Awarded for completing the "There Can Be Only One" quest, which requires you to stay true to the five chivalric virtues during the expansion. The tourney provides ample opportunities for doing so and should be completed while acting like a true knight. Be generous to everyone, whenever you can, fight with honor and bravery, and show mercy and compassion when dealing with your vanquished foes.




"The Grapes of Wrath Stomped"
Help unite the warring vineyards and have a wine named in your honor.


During the "Wine Wars" series of quests complete all tasks for both Coronata and Vermentino but don't turn in any of the two quests. While doing so you'll find some documents that will trigger the quest "Wine Wars: The Deus in the Machina". Complete this and any subsequent quests and the achievement will trigger after completing "Wine Wars: Belgaard".


"A Knight to Remember"
Obtain a flawless victory in all the competitions during the knights' tourney.


You must complete the tourney during the quest "The Warble of a Smitten Knight" while winning each of the challenges. Most are pretty easy but the race nearly gave me an aneurysm on Death March difficulty. Lowering the difficulty level may make things easier for you if you're having troubles. You should get a piece of gear after each win.




"I Have a Gwent Problem"
Collect all the cards in the Skellige deck.


Awarded for completing the quest "Gwent: Never Fear, Skellige's Here". All of the cards have their own quest markers, so collecting them should be easy.




"Turned Every Stone"
Find all grandmaster diagrams for each witcher school.


Complete all 5 scavenger hunts you receive during the "Master Master Master Master!" quest. Be prepared to fight hordes of bandits.


"Playing House"
Use all available options for developing Corvo Bianco.


Have your majordomo complete every upgrade to your estate during the "No Place Like Home" quest. You'll need about 15.000 crowns to pay for everything.





"Weapon "W""
Develop a mutation.


You'll unlock the ability to gain mutations during the "Turn and Face the Strange" quest. Save up some skill points and greater mutagens.




"Dressed to Kill"
Unlock the bonus for equipping all the witcher gear elements from one School.


You must craft and equip all 4 armor pieces and both swords of a grandmaster witcher set to get this achievement.


"Hasta la Vista™"
Kill a frozen opponent with a crossbow bolt.


Find a low level enemy (or a cow), freeze them with a norhtern wind bomb, and finish them with a single crossbow shot to make Geralt utter the catchphrase and earn the achievement.