The Witcher 3 is already a brilliant game with numerous awards to its name. In addition to its greatest success, CD Projekt Red doubled down with more interesting and challenging content for us to explore. DLCs are downloadable content added to base games that bring in new aspects of gameplay, challenging quests, and new characters to engage with. 

The Witcher 3 has two official paid DLCs – Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone – and an additional 16 free DLCs that were added to the game in an infamous Next Gen update. The bigger DLCs offer more content and complete storylines and feel like standalone games whereas the other content brings small tweaks and side quests. Updated textures for Ciri, Yen, and Triss are aesthetically pleasing additions so I did not add them to our list as they add little content compared with new questlines.

Ranking:

• Fool’s Gold Quest (Decent)
• New Game + (Fair)
• Contract: Skellige’s Most Wanted (Good)
• Blood and Wine (Excellent)
• Hearts of Stone (Best)

5. Fool’s Gold Quest (Decent)

Pigs, cursed gold, and a village idiot are the main ingredients to one of The Witcher 3’s most unique quests.

The Fool’s Gold quest was also added in the Next Gen update as a fun secondary quest. In this quirky adventure, we team up with Yontek, Lurtch’s village idiot, to investigate why the village is inhabited only by pigs. This quest can be avoided completely if you allow Yontek to be killed by the bandits at the quest location but it is fun to play and we would recommend saving him for it.

This quest is one of the quirkiest and most peculiar quests that the game has to offer. It kept me enthralled from beginning to end. The only drawback of it is that the story is relatively short. It’s one of the best additions to the game from the 16 free DLCs added in the Next Gen update.

Fool’s Gold Features:

• This quest is unique as compared to the rest of the game and provides us with some comic relief from the fast-paced, gloomy main questline.
• The quest is relatively straightforward in its objectives, but the intriguing main story makes up for its simple nature.
• We can find valuable treasure chests throughout the quest.

Fool’s Gold Quest Rating: 3/10

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Next-Gen Update Trailer

4.  New Game + (Fair)

Have you ever wanted to start over without losing your finely-tuned character?

New Game + is another free DLC that was added to the game with the Next Gen update. It adds a new game mode reminiscent of every great RPG! Using this mode, we can begin again from that fateful night camping with Vesemir. This time we retain our gold, abilities, and most of our gear.

This distinct game mode allows us to explore Velen, White Orchard, and Ard Skellige with new fervour while keeping our old playstyle, strategies, and abilities. It is a classic RPG addition that every Witcher player should try at least once. We’ve found that this game mode is best to begin after beating the game at least once. The monsters around us and our gear scale up a few levels to reflect a hardened Witcher player entering the story once again.

Be wary of the bugs that infected this game mode. Some Relic items such as Nilfgaardian Guardsman’s Gauntlets and Alder Folk Boots can become unequipable while others remain perfectly fine. As a note to all seasoned Witchers: keep your saves closer than your swords.

New Game + Features:

• Begin a new adventure with your old gear, abilities, and Crowns.
• All items and enemy levels shift upwards to make our second round in The Witcher challenging and more advanced.
• Having our old strategy and character build makes the experience feel new despite replaying the same quests. Every build reacts differently to the adjusted game levels.

New Game + Rating: 5/10

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Next-Gen Update Trailer

3. Contract: Skellige’s Most Wanted (Good)

This Contract forces us to question the blurry lines between humans and monsters. Should we kill them all?

Skellige’s Most Wanted is a quest added to the base game as a free DLC. However, despite being a free addition to the game, this DLC adds a lovely and thrilling quest. It takes us to Fyresdal, a quirky village in Ard Skellige, where Uggo gives us the Contract that takes us on an investigative journey.

Without ruining the questline, this DLC Contract truly makes us question the consciousness of the monsters we slay. We meet more interesting characters, and this quest line uses our moral choices throughout the main game against us. It’s a great DLC that CD Projekt Red gifted us.

Contract: Skellige’s Most Wanted Features:

• Delve into the seemingly simple investigation of a merchant attacked on the roadside and eventually dive into a greater trap against Geralt.
• Meet human and non-human characters with heart-wrenching backstories.
• Choose wisely before entering this quest.
• Gain a unique set of boots upon completion.

Contract: Skellige’s Most Wanted Rating: 6/10

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Next-Gen Update Trailer  

2. Blood and Wine (Excellent)

Explore the magical land of wine – Toussaint – and become embroiled in their political plights!

The Blood and Wine DLC is the second expansion for The Witcher 3 that brings in a majestic new landscape to explore with a fairytale atmosphere that feels like a complete game. This magical tale for advanced Witcher characters introduces us to new characters, a terrifying Witcher Contract that includes hunting a beast of the night, and a vineyard for us to build.

This DLC is an amazing experience for players like us who crave deeper lore and content aside from the action-packed base game. The Contract for the beast that terrorizes Toussaint’s citizens is a mystery that draws us in and challenges us to adapt our playing style. Additionally, the numerous side quests and lively land beg to be completed and traversed.

My favourite part of this DLC had to be the way CDProjekt Red brings well-known fairytales to life and allows us to slay truly frightening beasts in a dreamlike world of knights and princesses. Lastly, our vineyard generates a fair number of Crowns and gives us a new wine-making game mechanic.

Blood and Wine Features:

• Toussaint has over 30 hours of adventures and quests to play.
• Take control of Corvo Bianco, your vineyard that can be upgraded, decorated, and made into a home away from Kaer Morhen 
• This DLC adds 90 new quests, 40 points of interest, and new Witcher sets such as the powerful Manticore.
• Battle wicked fairytale creatures as this DLC adds 20 new enemies to the game.

Blood and Wine Rating: 9/10

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Launch Trailer  

1. Hearts of Stone (Best)

The mysterious Man of Glass ties into the thrilling plot of Hearts of Stone!

A terror-filled adventure awaits us in the first official paid DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Hailed by many Witcher players as one of the most complex and thrilling DLCs to be released for any game, this is a side questline that feels like its own game.

Hearts of Stone invites us into a storyline with clever dialogue and a tragic tale that could compete with the main story. This DLC takes us deep into No Man’s Land and brings to life the quieter town of Oxenfurt. We are also introduced to interesting characters, enemies, and old friends such as Gaunter O’Dimm, von Everec, and Shani.

This DLC is a perfect addition to the game. It fleshes out Oxenfurt, a location that is left relatively empty in the base game. The storyline itself is beautifully crafted and features clever twists and turns in the tale we have ahead of us. This DLC could be a standalone game and we would still play it. However, it ties smoothly into the lore and story that takes place in the Witcher world.

Hearts of Stone Features:

• Take on a mysterious and charming enemy in this side story for advanced Witchers
• Have your mind played with by the Man of Glass, a key character in the Hearts of Stone story.
• Experience Runewords, a gameplay mechanic added by the DLC that improves our strategies.

Hearts of Stone rating: 10/10

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stone (Launch Trailer)

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