Get Reacquainted With the Game
With it being over six months since Hearts of Stone was released, it’s possible that you haven’t played The Witcher 3 in a while. Especially when you look at the number of games that have released between now and then. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re reacquainted not just with Geralt and the world, but your progress in the game, and most importantly the controls.
Blood and Wine is set to have you stacked up against some really tough and creepy enemies, so it’s always a good idea to make sure you know exactly how to nail those combos you learned all of those months ago. It may seem like a dumb idea now, but trust us, a quick couple of hours will help you sharpen up your combat much more than you thought.
Complete Hearts of Stone
While Blood and Wine is certainly set to be the larger of the two DLC’s that The Witcher 3 will receive, Hearts of Stone is also a great expansion based in the world of the main game. Introducing a number of new abilities and characters, as well as showing us a completely different side of Geralt, you really do owe it to yourself to experience it.
Hearts of Stone takes roughly 10-12 hours to complete, so if you’re waiting around for Blood and Wine to release all day, why not get this finished and out of the way. Not only will it help you to strengthen your character, but players will also receive some pretty sweet gear from it, too.
Level Up
While Blood and Wine does offer players a pre-leveled Geralt to play through the new expansion with, there’s nothing like playing the expansion with the Geralt you’ve got to know over the course of your adventure. While the level 34 Geralt that you’re offered will be no slouch in combat, he’ll never come close to the one you’ve poured hours into, with all of your gear, Oils, and Mutagens at your disposal.
If you’re below Blood and Wine’s recommended level, why not try and complete some Side Quests, Contracts, or even a main quest or two. With any luck, by the time Blood and Wine releases, your character will be leveled up and ready to take on anything the new country of Toussaint can throw at him.
Prepare Your Mutagens
Blood and Wine doesn’t just bring a new storyline with it, but a bunch of new gear and features. One of the more interesting ones for those who like to get really deep into the RPG mechanics of The Witcher 3 is Mutations. These allow you to combine Mutagens with Ability Points to add powerful new perks to Geralt, such as the ability to have your Signs cause critical damage.
Therefore, it’s always a good idea to make sure that you’ve not only got the best possible Mutagens available to you (remember, combining smaller Mutagens to make bigger ones boosts their effects), but a couple of spares to throw into this new system, too. This will mean that when you come across the Mutations system in Blood and Wine, you’ll be all set to make the most of these powerful new perks.
Sort Your Inventory
If its been a while since you last traveled the lands with Geralt, it’s highly likely that you’ll open up your inventory to find you have a ton of items that you no longer need that are just clogging up your inventory needlessly. Before embarking on your new adventure to the land of Toussaint, we’d suggest clearing out your inventory and removing anything you definitely won’t be using.
While we’d suggest doing so before heading out on any sort of lengthy adventure with Geralt around Novigrad or Skellige, it’s particularly important to do so prior to your Blood and Wine adventure. With over 100 pieces or armor and gear available to you, the last thing you want is Geralt over-encumbered because you’ve got too many inferior swords wasting your space. Find a chest at one of your safehouse locations, deposit anything and everything you won’t need, and be ready for that sweet, sweet loot.
And that’s all of the preparations we can suggest for Blood and Wine. Of course, if you want to find out more about your upcoming adventure, be sure to check out our review.
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