What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Spoiler warning: This recap reveals major plot details from The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. It does not reveal discoveries, choices, or endings from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Before the third game, Geralt of Rivia has recovered the memories lost after the first game’s opening. He is searching for Yennefer, the sorceress he once sacrificed himself to save from the Wild Hunt. That personal search soon becomes a race to find Ciri, his adopted daughter and the Hunt’s target, while Nilfgaard’s war against the Northern Realms tears the continent apart.
The short version of what happened before The Witcher 3
Geralt begins the series near Kaer Morhen with no memory of his earlier life. In the first game, he deals with an attack on the witchers’ stronghold, investigates the organization called Salamandra, and becomes entangled in Temerian politics. By the end, he has protected King Foltest and is serving as the king’s personal guard.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThe second game opens during a siege of La Valette Castle. Foltest is assassinated, Geralt is found beside the body and blamed for the murder, and he escapes with help from Vernon Roche. His pursuit of the Kingslayers gradually restores the memories that explain his relationship with Yennefer and Ciri. He remembers giving himself to the Wild Hunt so Yennefer could go free.
#1 Best Overall
![NAMCO - CD Projekt Red - The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - Complete Edition, Playstation 5 [English Edition]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51dWUfwFl5L._SL160_.jpg)
- 1205504
- High-quality material
- Durable
- robustness
When The Witcher 3 starts, Geralt’s memories have returned. He is looking for Yennefer, but the larger crisis is Ciri’s disappearance. The Wild Hunt wants the power Ciri carries, and Geralt must find her before the spectral riders do. Meanwhile, Nilfgaard has invaded the Northern Realms, making every road, village and court part of a wider war.
What the first game establishes
Geralt returns with amnesia
Geralt reappears near Kaer Morhen, the witchers’ mountain keep, unable to remember his life before the recent past. This is why the early story introduces important people and institutions through his limited perspective. You are not expected to know his history when the game begins; the missing memories are part of the plot.
Salamandra attacks Kaer Morhen
A criminal and political organization called Salamandra assaults the keep and steals information connected to witcher mutations. Geralt follows the trail through Temeria, investigating the group while local factions and court politics complicate what initially looks like a straightforward revenge mission.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The Salamandra conspiracy reaches the throne
Geralt eventually defeats Salamandra and discovers that the Grand Master of the Order of the Flaming Rose has a much larger plan involving mutant forces. The conflict is therefore not only about the attack on the witchers; it is tied to an attempt to reshape political power through violence and experimentation.
Foltest becomes Geralt’s employer
After Geralt protects King Foltest from an assassin, the king appoints him as a personal guard. That decision leads directly into the second game’s opening crisis. The first game is also where Geralt works alongside familiar figures such as Triss Merigold, Dandelion and Zoltan.
What the second game changes
Foltest is murdered at La Valette Castle
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings begins during the siege of La Valette Castle. Foltest is killed, and Geralt is discovered near the king’s body. Because a witcher is a convenient suspect, Geralt is arrested and accused of regicide.
Vernon Roche helps Geralt escape
Geralt escapes with the help of Vernon Roche, a soldier and intelligence operative loyal to Temeria. He then pursues the Kingslayers, a group of highly trained assassins responsible for attacks on rulers across the North. The investigation moves through competing military, royal and rebel interests rather than following a single simple trail.
The Kingslayers are part of a wider destabilization
The assassinations are designed to weaken the Northern Realms. As Geralt investigates, the political vacuum created by the killings becomes as important as the murders themselves. The second game branches through major regional conflicts, including the paths associated with Roche and the elf commander Iorveth.
Geralt’s memories return
The Kingslayers investigation brings back memories from before the first game. These recollections explain why Yennefer matters so much to Geralt and reveal that Ciri is not merely a name from an old legend. Ciri once rescued Geralt and Yennefer during the violence surrounding the destruction of Rivia.
Geralt traded himself to the Wild Hunt
Geralt remembers that he surrendered himself to the Wild Hunt in exchange for Yennefer’s freedom. The spectral riders had taken Yennefer, and Geralt’s decision was an act of sacrifice rather than an ordinary bargain. The recovered memory restores the emotional history behind his search for her in the third game.
Nilfgaard’s invasion begins
The instability created by the Kingslayers helps clear the way for Nilfgaard’s war against the Northern Realms. By the end of the second game, the continent is moving toward open conflict. That war is already underway when Geralt starts the third game; it is not a distant subplot that can be ignored.
Rank #2
- PLAY AS A HIGHLY TRAINED MONSTER SLAYER FOR HIRE: Trained from early childhood and mutated to gain superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.
- Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic.
- Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities. Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting, and other pleasures life brings.
- EXPLORE A MORALLY AMBIGUOUS FANTASY OPEN WORLD: Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth, and complexity. Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves, and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across the open plains, mountains, and seas. Deal with treasonous generals, devious witches, and corrupt royalty to provide dark and dangerous services. Make choices that go beyond good & evil, and face their far-reaching consequences.
- TRACK DOWN THE CHILD OF PROPHECY: Take on the most important contract of your life: to track down the child of prophecy, the key to saving or destroying this world. In times of war, chase down the child of prophecy, a living weapon foretold by ancient elven legends. Struggle against ferocious rulers, spirits of the wilds, and even a threat from beyond the veil – all hell-bent on controlling this world. Define your destiny in a world that may not be worth saving.
Who the important characters are
| Character or group | What to remember before starting |
|---|---|
| Geralt of Rivia | A professional monster hunter and the protagonist. He begins the third game with his memories restored and is searching for Yennefer and Ciri. |
| Ciri | Geralt’s adopted daughter, also known as the Child of Prophecy. The Wild Hunt pursues her because of the power she possesses. |
| Yennefer | Geralt’s long-lost love. Geralt once gave himself to the Wild Hunt so that she could be free. |
| The Wild Hunt | Spectral riders who previously took Yennefer and now seek Ciri and her power. |
| Triss Merigold | A sorceress and Geralt’s ally during the first game’s events. |
| Nilfgaard | A powerful empire whose war against the Northern Realms shapes the landscape Geralt crosses. |
| Dandelion and Zoltan | Longtime companions from Geralt’s earlier adventures. |
| Vernon Roche and Iorveth | Important figures from the second game’s branching political and military conflicts. |
Why Geralt is looking for Ciri
Geralt’s first immediate objective is to find Yennefer. Once the Wild Hunt’s pursuit becomes clear, however, Ciri becomes the central concern. She is Geralt’s adopted daughter and the person the Hunt wants to capture for her extraordinary power.
This relationship is more than a professional witcher’s obligation. Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri form a family shaped by years of danger, separation and choice. You do not need every detail of their earlier journeys to understand the third game’s premise: Geralt is trying to reach Ciri before supernatural pursuers do, while also reconnecting with Yennefer after the sacrifice that separated them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the war matters to the story
Nilfgaard’s invasion changes the conditions of Geralt’s search. Armies occupy roads and settlements, refugees move through devastated countryside, and local rulers must make decisions under military pressure. Monsters remain a practical danger, but soldiers, spies and political factions can be just as consequential.
The war also explains why Geralt’s travels move between intimate investigations and large political crises. Finding one person may require dealing with commanders, villages, nobles or resistance groups. The setting is not a neutral fantasy map: every region has been altered by the conflict between Nilfgaard and the Northern Realms.
Recommended Free Tools
Do you need to play the first two games?
No. The first two games provide valuable emotional and political context, but they are not required to understand the third game’s central premise. The Witcher 3 establishes the immediate situation clearly enough for newcomers: Geralt has his memories back, Yennefer is connected to his past, Ciri is in danger, and the Wild Hunt is pursuing her.
Playing or reading about the earlier games is most useful if you want to recognize returning allies, understand why Geralt distrusts certain institutions, or appreciate the weight of his relationship with Yennefer and Ciri. You do not need to reconstruct every branch of the earlier stories before starting, and a brief recap is enough to orient yourself.
How to start without spoiling the third game
Keep earlier-game spoilers separate
The events described above are spoilers for The Witcher and The Witcher 2. They explain the backstory that the third game assumes some players will know. The discoveries and outcomes of The Witcher 3 should remain unspoiled, especially if this is your first playthrough.
Let your decisions stand
CD PROJEKT RED describes the game this way: “Make decisions with ramifications for not just you but your allies, enemies, and the entire world.” That means there is no need to search for a supposedly correct route before you begin. Choices can affect relationships, political situations and the wider world, so choosing according to Geralt’s judgment is a valid way to play.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Do not treat marketing-era ending counts as a checklist
A pre-release company strategy update described more than 100 hours of detailed adventures, 36 possible conclusions and three distinct endings. Those were historical promotional figures, not a practical guide to the number of branches you will encounter or a guarantee of how your playthrough will unfold. They should not be used as a checklist or as a reason to look up outcome guides before playing.
Which edition includes the expansions?
The current official game presentation uses the name Remastered and includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions. The publisher says base-game owners can access those two expansions at no extra cost and that qualifying owners can upgrade to Remastered for free. Platform eligibility and purchase details can change, so check the store listing for your specific platform before buying.
A third expansion, Songs of the Past, has been announced for 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The press information describes it as a final chapter set in Letten with Dandelion at the center. It is not needed to understand the base game’s opening or its earlier-story context.
Quick Recap
What to remember when the opening begins
- Geralt’s amnesia is over; his memories of Yennefer, Ciri and the Wild Hunt have returned.
- He begins by searching for Yennefer.
- Ciri is his adopted daughter and the Wild Hunt’s target.
- Nilfgaard is at war with the Northern Realms, so the countryside is already under military strain.
- The first two games explain the history, but you can begin the third without having played them.
- Your decisions have consequences for companions, enemies and the wider world; there is no required spoiler-free route to memorize.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
