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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Gwent in Velen

By
Nathan Garvin

While you scored a starter deck and a few new cards in White Orchard, Gwent doesn’t really pick up until you reach Velen, where a great many of your cards can be found. The lines between Velen and Novigrad are blurry enough as it is, and some quests, like Gwent: Playing Innkeeps will require you to travel between the two in order to complete them, but despite those difficulties we’ll list all the Gwent-related quests, card locations and players in Velen.

Page Breakdown

Gwent: Playing Innkeeps

Unlike in White Orchard there’s no clear place to start playing Gwent in Velen. Your only real lead is the quest Gwent: Playing Innkeeps which tasks you with challenging Stjepen in Oxenfurt, but to do this you’ll need to get a Transit Pass, a task you can go about in various ways. If you want to get to Oxenfurt quickly you can complete the secondary quests Thou Shalt Not Pass, Fake Papers or the contract Contract: Woodland Beast. Stjepen is a difficult player at this point in the game, but not insurmountable, and the "Yennefer of Vengerberg" iconYennefer of Vengerberg is useful in pretty much any deck, being a 7 Strength Hero card with the “Medic” ability.

Defeating Stjepen will also allow you to play the next two quest-related Innkeepers, including the "Innkeep" iconInnkeep at the Inn at the Crossroads and Olivier in Novigrad. Since Olivier is in Novigrad he’s outside of this page’s scope, but the other Innkeep will forfeit the "Menno Coehoorn" iconMenno Coehoorn card, a 10 Strength Hero card with the “Medic” ability. While the Yennefer card is neutral, Menno Coehoorn is exclusive to the Nilfgaardian Empire deck.

(1 of 3) You can find Stjepan in Oxenfurt, and if you beat him at Gwent,

Playing Innkeeps Cards

Gwent: Velen Players

Another Gwent-related quest in Velen is the aptly-named Gwent: Velen Players, which tasks you with besting four notable players, each of whom will forfeit a unique card when vanquished. To start this quest you must advance the main story until Family Matters begins, and progress said quest until after you investigate the two rooms for the "Bloody Baron" iconBloody Baron, whereupon you’ll be tasked with seeking out a Pellar. At this point you can challenge the Bloody Baron to a game of Gwent, and if you defeat him you’ll win the "Sigismund Dijkstra" iconSigismund Dijkstra card, a 4 strength Spy card for the Northern Kingdoms deck.

After defeating the Bloody Baron he’ll tell you about three other players, a Boatwright in Oreton, a Soothsayer in Benek and a dimwitted card savant named Haddy in Midcopse. Defeat the Boatwright or the Soothsayer and you’ll actually be able to challenge Haddy, and defeat all four to complete the quest and obtain their unique cards and "Eredin" iconEredin: Destroyer of Worlds - a reward for outplaying all the Velen Players. All the cards you’ll get during this step are as follows:

(1 of 4) Defeat the Bloody Baron and he’ll tell you about other notable Gwent players in Velen,

Velen Players Cards

Player Card Won
"Bloody Baron" iconBloody Baron "Sigismund Dijkstra" iconSigismund Dijkstra
Boatwright "Letho of Gulet" iconLetho of Gulet
Soothsayer "Crone: Weavess" iconCrone: Weavess
Haddy "Vernon Roche" iconVernon Roche
All 4 Velen Players "Eredin" iconEredin: Destroyer of Worlds

Purchase Cards from Merchants

There’s one obvious downside to winning cards from other players, especially some of the quest-related ones mentioned above: you actually have to beat the opponent to get your hands on these new cards! Most of the players in Velen should be beatable with the starter deck from White Orchard (assuming you bought cards from the Innkeeper there - see Gwent in White Orchard for more details) but this could take a good bit of luck and patience. You can reduce the amount of bother winning these matches can be by acquiring new cards before you get stuck in, and there are several merchants in Velen who will sell you a variety of useful cards, as follows:

(1 of 2) Many merchants in Velen play Gwent,

Many merchants in Velen play Gwent, (left), and a few of them will also sell Gwent cards! (right)

List of Cards You Can Purchase in Velen

(1 of 3) Defeat some Renegades at a Bandit Camp,

If you have the Hearts of Stone DLC installed you’ll find a Merchant northwest of "Carsten" iconCarsten who sells a wide variety of Gwent cards. This is a Novigrad-region merchant, but his functionality makes it worth mentioning early to hopefully avoid potential confusion. With few exceptions, these cards sold by this merchant act as a failsafe for cards that could otherwise be won or purchased elsewhere. If you buy cards from this merchant, you won’t be able to get them from the original source and vice-versa. Just an alternate way to acquire some of these cards. A full list of the cards he can sell can be found belows:

Cards Sold by the Card Merchant Near Carsten

Faction Cards
Neutral "Commander's Horn" iconCommander’s Horn, "Gaunter O'Dimm: Darkness" iconGaunter O’Dimm: Darkness x2
Nilfgaardian Empire "Emhyr var Emreis" iconEmhyr var Emreis: Invader of the North, "Siege Technician" iconSiege Technician
Northern Kingdoms "Catapult" iconCatapult, Foltest: The Siegemaster
Scoia’tael "Barclay Els" iconBarclay Els, "Dol Blathanna Archer" iconDol Blathanna Archer, "Dol Blathanna Scout" iconDol Blathanna Scout, "Havekar Healer" iconHavekar Healer, "Havekar Smuggler" iconHavekar Smuggler, "Mahakaman Defender" iconMahakaman Defender x3, Vhrihedd Brigade Captain

(1 of 2) You can find an elven merchant northwest of Carsten,

You can find an elven merchant northwest of Carsten, (left), and he sells a wide variety of Gwent cards, albeit ones that can usually be obtained elsewhere, as well. (right)

Win Cards From Undistinguished Gwent Players

Finally, you’ll win a new Gwent card from “players of no particular renown or skill” every time you beat said player for the first time. These are usually merchants (sometimes the very same merchants you can buy cards from!), but this broad category includes every Gwent player who can yield a card that’s not part of any quest. It’s worth noting that the pool from which these cards are drawn is random, so any player can yield any card from this pool. What you’ll get from each one is pure RNG and can be save scummed, if you desire. It’s also worth noting that, between Velen, Novigrad and "Skellige" iconSkellige, there are more Gwent players than there are winnable cards, and after you’ve won every card you can from these undistinguished players, you’ll stop getting getting cards. You will also win some random item - usually a crafting component of some description - when you win a game, and you’ll get this (along with whatever crowns you bet) every time you win, even if all the cards in the winnable pool are depleted, even if you’re already beaten that player before. A list of all the “players of no particular renown or skill” in Velen are as follows:

List of Undistinguished Gwent Players in Velen

Player Location
Armorer at "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch In the middle of "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch, past the castle gate.
Armorer at "Midcopse" iconMidcopse Working at his shop along the northern edge of town.
Blacksmith at "Blackbough" iconBlackbough Along the western edge of Blackbough
Blacksmith at "Lindenvale" iconLindenvale At the northern end of town.
Merchant at "Blackbough" iconBlackbough] Along the eastern edge of Blackbough
Merchant at "Claywich" iconClaywich Found in front of the house along the northwestern edge of town. Must be rescued first.
Merchant at "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch In the market in the south-center of "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch.
Merchant at "Downwarren" iconDownwarren) In the northernmost house of the village - play this player before completing The Whispering Hillock as the merchant may become unavailable afterwards.
Merchant at "Lindenvale" iconLindenvale At a stall in the center of town, across from the inn.
Merchant at "Midcopse" iconMidcopse Along the eastern edge of "Midcopse" iconMidcopse, often found chopping wood.
Merchant at "Oreton" iconOreton Along the northeastern corner of town.
Quartermaster at "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch In the middle of "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch, past the castle gate.
Quartermaster Eggebracht In his tent in the Nilfgaardian Army Group ‘Center’ Camp.
Yoana Near the Armorer at "Crow's Perch" iconCrow’s Perch - she’s his assistant and is also a blacksmith/merchant.
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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    CD Projekt
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, Switch, XB One
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    24 June 2015
  • Last Updated
    22 August 2024
    Version History
  • Guide Author
    Nathan Garvin (Haeravon)

Share this free guide:

You are Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster-hunter known as a Witcher. You’ve fully regained your memories since your miraculous revival and escape from the Wild Hunt, and have cleared your name of the false accusations of regicide. In the wake of the assassination of Foltest, king of Temeria, the north have been rent by warfare as Nilfgaard launches its third major invasion, and the northlands have been united under the insane king Radovid. Overshadowing these petty politics is the mysterious return of Ciri - Geralt’s adopted daughter, who is now being pursued by the Wild Hunt.

The guide offers the following:

  • A full walkthrough that’s more than just a listing of quests-it’s an “ideal chronological order” that will get you through the whole game and allow you to see and do everything the game has to offer.

  • Side quests, including monster contracts and treasure hunts for obtaining powerful Witcher sets.

  • Descriptions of decisions, quests, and events that influence the various endings of the game.

  • Crafting and Alchemy information.

  • General strategies on how to take down foes large and small, monstrous and humanoid, boss or mundane.

  • Information on how to complete all the Gwent quests and obtain all the Gwent cards, including detailed Gwent strategies.

  • Trophy/Achievement information.

MASSIVE UPDATE: 7th September 2016 ongoing

  • Added DLC quests “Fool’s Gold” and “Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear”.
  • Organisational changes in the Velen section of the walkthrough to reflect the increased level of Griffin School Gear.
  • Organisational changes throughout the walkthrough to provide a “no skulls” path through the game.
  • Added Death March difficulty tips and commentary throughout the guide.
  • More XP reward numbers included.
  • Walkthrough now includes additional information based on patch changes.
  • Various typo and grammar fixes.
  • Added DLC pages for Blood & Wine, Heart of Stone
  • Lots more quality of life improvements

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