Act I Introduction – Witcher 2 Overview

This page is an introduction outlining the first act in Witcher 2. It gives readers an understanding of the act openers, main quests, and side quests. It will also give a rough idea of how to proceed through the act.

As you finish the prologue, you’ll enter a cutscene in which an elf tosses a weird looking animal to an even more weird looking animal. That’s Iorveth, commander of the Scoia’tael, having fun by tossing a nekker to feed arachas. He’ll cautiously approach his encampment in the cave, where he’ll meet the kingslayer, who makes him an offer to kill a lot of kings, while asking no rewards or fame for himself, just the shelter with the Scoia’tael. This presumably happened not too long ago, as Foltest wasn’t dead yet, as the kingslayer says himself. That’s how we learn the connection between the kingslayer and the Scoia’tael.

Immediately after you deploy, Triss and Roche will urge you to join them on the stroll to Flotsam. Don’t worry about their moaning though, take a look around, loot anything you want and make sure you’re not encumbered so that you can run and move freely. There’s a chest (it has red sparkles, like all the other quest related containers/bodies) right in front of the ship on the shore, which has a Diagram: Witcher’s Silver Sword. As this is a quest item, keep it until you reach the town so that you can craft it and finish a side quest A Sword for Monsters.

If you’re playing on Dark mode, be sure to pick up the specially-designed armor and weapon set for that difficulty. The diagrams for those items are bought from the dwarven blacksmith in Flotsam, Berthold Candeleria. More details on what’s needed to craft them over at The Blasphemer’s Outfit.

Once you think you’re ready, go up to Triss and Roche to continue the main quest called A Rough Landing, which is further covered on its own page. Some main quests will take place before all the others as they are used as the Act openers, most notably A Rough Landing, and By the Gods – Stringing Up Sods.

After completing those two main quests, along with progressing a one step or so with the main quest The Kayran (to the point after you talk with Cedric) you’ll be free to do almost all the side quests in Act I as you see fit.

You may do the quests as you wish, just keep in mind that after progressing a lot in the main quests you’ll cut out a lot of side quests, so here’s also a recommended order to do them with optimal time and rewards.

Act openers:
– A Rough Landing
– By the Gods – Stringing Up Sods
– A Sword for Monsters (auto-completed for imported savegames)
– The Kayran (up to talking to Cedric with Triss)

Side quests – the best silver sword in the first act Witcher’s Superb Silver Sword from a Diagram: Witcher’s Superb Silver Sword which is a reward after doing both of these contracts:
– The Nekker Contract
– The Endrega Contract (during which you’ll also acquire ingredients for the best steel sword in Act I – Jagged Blade , recipe from a blacksmith)

Main and side quests – best armor in Act I Kayran Carapace Armor from the reward Diagram: Kayran Skin Armor :
– The Kayran Quest series

Rest of the side quests available (in no particular order):
– Bring It on: Flotsam
– Poker Face: Flotsam
– Troll Trouble
– One on One: Flotsam
– Fight Club
– Hung Over
– In the Claws of Madness
– Malena
– Mystic River
– The Scent of Incense
– Little Shop of Dreams

Main and side quests:
– The Ballista (received during Indecent Proposal)
– Indecent Proposal
– The Assassins of Kings
– The Rose of Remembrance (during The Assassins of Kings)
– Melitele’s Heart (during The Assassins of Kings)
– Where is Triss Merigold?
– Margot’s Disappearance (if you helped Roche)
– At the Crossroads: Scoia’tael
– The Floating Prison
– At the Crossroads: Vernon Roche
– Death to the Traitor!
Happy questing!