Part 7 - The Witcher 3 - 2nd playthrough - Death March

Okay, the hardest fight so far this playthrough has been killing the three level 2 rabid dogs during the Nilfgaardian Connection quest. I would say the level of enemies and the difficulty of killing them are inconsistent. Once they were dead, I listened to the last survivor of the Heatherton massacre, investigated the spy's house, then went on my way. The above is the tower where Ciri and the baron fought the basilisk (cockatrice? griffin?), right? :)) Can't wait to see Ciri's story again! But first, let's explore...

If this is the treasure guarded by the level 14 red skull basilisk, it is not doing a very good job... Meanwhile, the flock of level 7 harpies that also hang out at this beach were ridiculously easy to kill. And I consider myself an unskilled gamer.

I did some question marks to get food as I had almost completely run out while fighting those damn dogs in Heatherton.

I played Gwent with the merchant in Blackbough, and as his cards were on par with mine and he did something stupid, I won. He could have won otherwise. I played the local blacksmith, too and won again.

Blackbough merchant: "It's ploughin' pourin' again."

You don't say... :)

Ah, grimy, war-ravaged Velen, thunder and rain! This is the atmosphere I was longing for. :)

Still at level 3, I decided to continue with the main quest (level 5) so I ran to Midcopse. Yes, ran. I run almost everywhere and use Roach only for very long distances so as not to miss anything. :) I was hoping for a lower level contract on the notice board, but Jenny o' the Woods is level 10.

I try to play everyone I can in Gwent so I played the local armorer - the one loudly advertising the "Gabrielle" but not selling one. He put down all his cards in the first round when he really shouldn't have. Needless to say, I won. The AI in this minigame needs improvement, I would say. I played the merchant, too and won against his Monster deck.

After this, I defeated a level 8 water hag to get the treasure she was guarding. Maybe I should just accept that I am good at this game. :)

Then I was off to visit Keira.

"No way this is Keira's. This would cover ones tits."

I agree with your reasoning, Geralt.

I found the Hanged Man's Venom recipe in Keira's cellar and had all ingredients for it, woohoo! :)

I remember arriving at Keira's magical forest / bathing pool tower during my first playthrough and thinking, "Wow! This game looks amazing!" :)

Keira in a dress she finds comfortable.

After I spoke with her, I received the Wandering in the Dark quest which I am wary of. As I mentioned before, I hate caves. During my very first attempt at this game, I had to restart after too many unsuccessful tries of killing Nithral, because I was out of food and drinks, had broken equipment and no way of buying or fixing anything deep inside the caves. Granted at that time I didn't yet understand the importance of doing side quests.

Riding off to see the baron and hopefully gain some XP. Not much more needed for level 4.

At the baron's court I played Gwent with everyone I could and picked up the Shrieker contract which is level 8. Not sure if it is as easy as killing a level 8 water hag, but maybe I should try it. For now, I made the decision to try Wild at Heart which is level 7 once I'm level 4.

An example of me winning at Gwent.

"Oi, where the fuck are you going?" the baron's sergeant asked me politely.

He doesn't know I have a serious Gwent addiction and will need to win against everyone here before I go see his lord. :)