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Cheapskate's Guide

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Spoiler warning: Significant plot details follow.

Are you frugal? Thrifty? Economical? A miser? A tightwad? A Scotsman? Alright, a cheapskate? Does that extend to your behaviour when you play The Witcher? Well it does for me and I'm not even Scottish, so in keeping with that philosophy, here are a few tips on saving orens in the game. Also, in the game the trade-offs are usually between time and money, and since time seems to stretch infinitely, money is key. The tips are especially useful in the first 3 chapters (or acts). After that, you'll have pretty much all the cash you need.

New ! Handy-dandy price lists

Contents

[edit] Don't advance the plot

Don't advance the narrative prematurely. Take your time (remember, it's pretty much infinite in the game). A nifty feature of the game is that very, very few quests are time-sensitive (a couple are, so do be careful, see the note below). The sequence of quests can be important, but rarely the actual time it takes or when you do it. Talk to all the minor or incidental characters first and get what information and goods you can before you start chatting up major players. I don't leave many quests half done, unless forced or permitted to do so by the narrative.

Note: The Source can be delayed for most of Act III. This saves on screechy encounters with whomever did not get to take care of Alvin. All optional quests are just that, optional, so you can do them anytime. A Long Way from Home does involve a time sensitive task, so don't dilly-dally.

[edit] Don't pay cover charges

Are you cheap and bloodthirsty too? If so, you save even more orens by killing Ramsmeat's guards outside his house. If you let them live, you'll have to pay them each time you want to enter and that adds up. Don't forget to grab the key! Additionally, this is the only key in the game which is not a quest item, so it is possible to lose it. Two guards = two keys, so what I do (because I'm compulsive that way) is leave one copy in storage, just in case I lose the other one (or have to dump it to pick up something valuable to convert to cash).

However, it has been pointed out that Ramsmeat's men respawn with amazing regularity and they all have keys, so worrying about losing the key is rather needless.

[edit] Maximize your harvests

Make sure you have all the bestiary entries you need for any given chapter. This way you'll get the most out of your kills, whether that means quest items, ingredients for potions or just stuff to cash in, it's worthwhile. Of course, this does cause some consternation when trying to buy as few books as possible, but it can be done. Just take your time when you first get to a new area and speak to only minor NPCs, don't initiate conversation with any of the major characters until you've exhausted all the freebies available without advancing the plot.

Use the first two silver talents you get to get the Ingredient Extraction attribute from the Intelligence attribute tree (requires level 3 Intelligence). This means you will get two of the base ingredients from every monster you kill (drowner brains, ghoul blood etc). You will more often than not also get secondary ingredients such as cadaverine, Ginatz's Acid and other potentially valuable things from kills and have a higher chance of getting two herbs from a single plant. Even for things like drowner brains that only have a 1 oren selling price, the numbers stack up really quickly. Kalkstein buys any and all monster ingredients and all herbs can be sold to either the Gardener or the Elder druid for a fair price.

There is a nearly endless supply of salamanders in acts II and III. They are piece of cake so you don't need a potion. They carry salamander badges which can be sold for 10 orens per unit to Leuvaarden's messenger at the Hairy Bear. Selling them to Declan might seem like a better deal as he pays 20 orens each, but he will only do this a limited number of times as it part of a quest. Sometimes they leave fisstech in their remains. That can be sold to Coleman or the Order Armorer for 20 orens a box. The best way to maximize these potential harvests is to kill salamanders before embarking on any quests in the nonhuman district and the prime time is around 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM. Resting between battles at one of the houses nearby.

Typically three to four salamanders appear per night. Sometimes there is a bit of respawning so it is a good idea to double check the nonhuman district after completing any nighttime quests. There is some evidence that killing salamanders after interacting of certain NPCs will cause a change in the number of Salamanders who appear and also cause them to drop more gems, rings and wine (all are decent items to sell, though rings are of course much more lucrative).

In act III just cruise around the Trade quarter at night, beware of kikimores!

Three of the most profitable monster ingredients that are easy to obtain:

For those with less fortitude (fighting Bloedzuiger can be a pain) or time, you might want to stick with picking herbs.

  • Berbercane fruit that grows in the Hospital's garden must get good fertilizers, since it magically respawns every time I enter or leave a building or house. 4 Orens a piece if sold to the Elder druid
  • Feainnewedd is probably the most expensive herbal ingredient, and you can find it in abundance in the elves' camp in the Swamp. 10 Orens a piece if sold to Elder druid.

Just a few simple Swamp runs, you can easily afford the Excellent Leather Jacket (5000 Orens) in Act II without having to play dice with Thaler a few hundred times.

Speaking of Thaler, get real friendly with him in Act II. He is just like 7-11, so he works like a 24/7 nonstop merchant (You can even wake him up if he is sleeping). You will no longer need to store all your loot in the Inn until you can sell them in daytime, just dump everything to ole reliable Thaler any time you feel like. The best part is that he buys weapons at the same rate as any other Arms merchant.

[edit] Manage your time

Always take the long lasting potions first if you take several. This way you can meditate for one hour after taking them to remove the toxic effects and still have seven hours left of the effect and zero toxicity. Take the shorter lasting potions after meditating.

Oils and temporary rune stones are actually the most economical thing to help you fight as they last for 24 hours, use them regularly.

Bombs appear to be the most time-consuming toys, but many players reported that they are very handy in some rather nasty battles.

[edit] Sell to the highest bidder

There is a huge difference between certain merchants on what they are willing to pay for your goods. Shop around first. Try to get the best price you can before selling your hard earned loot. The difference between 1 vs 3 Orens for certain herbs can mean the difference of 50 Orens or 150 Orens for the same lot.

[edit] Never pay to sleep

Never pay to sleep somewhere unless you have no alternative. Inns are a rip-off, some even more so than others. There is almost never any reason to pay for accommodation in the game, someone will always put you up for free. Occasionally, some of your would-be hosts stray from their homes, but usually someone is home at any given time.

[edit] Sleep for free in Act I Sleep for free in Act I

[edit] Sleep for free in Act II Sleep for free in Act II

[edit] Sleep for free in Act III Sleep for free in Act III

[edit] Sleep for free in Act IV Sleep for free in Act IV

[edit] Sleep for free in Act V Sleep for free in Act V

and of course, there are always campfires (except in the Trade Quarter, unless, of course, you go into the Sewers).

[edit] Never buy expensive items

Do you hate that the merchants are ripping you off? Why are the items are so expensive? Are they really worth that much? Always think twice before you buy an item. Some items are actually of very little value in the game. For example, the Excellent Leather Jacket is actually considered a rip off by many players. It costs 5000 orens and does not actually provide a very large enhancement to Geralt's armor. For potion bases, a standard base is sufficient, because you can always make White Gull for potions which require higher quality bases.

Additionally, never buy a weapon unless there is no other way to acquire it. Most of the better weapons in the game are received as rewards for quests or good deeds. One "good" sword which can only be purchased is Gwalhir.

[edit] Buy as few books as possible

You can get most of the information regarding plants and monsters by giving gifts you've found and stored to "old women", who are not to be confused with "beggars" or "old peasant women". There are also some very useful morsels of information gleaned from more major characters: for example, the gardener, Shani, some guards, etc. Basically talk to absolutely everyone before you contemplate buying a book. The entries you still can't get using these tips still have to come from books, but this eliminates at least half the books you'll have to buy.

Also, if you feel you have enough cash and aren't using monster parts to supplement your income, I believe you can get all the bestiary entries necessary to complete any contract quest in the same manner. The information can be obtained in the same Act as the contract quest (some even from earlier Acts). Waiting to get the bestiary entires for free can cramp your style a tiny bit. For example, in Act III where you can kill many, many alps, the bestiary entry is only available from a book, but in Act IV, it can be obtained in exchange for food.

[edit] List of free books by Act

In convenient sortable table format, here is a list of all the books in the game. Just click on the "Free" column to see in which Act a book becomes available for free.

[edit] Pick up and sell everything

Well OK, not everything, some things you'll need to keep. But you get the idea. Raid all containers (and I do mean ALL) and once you've decided what to keep, store what you need and sell everything else.

  • If you run out of space in your inventory, go to a merchant or an innkeeper, make more room (by selling or storing stuff) and start again.
  • If you must choose between two items, take the more expensive first. You can always go back for the less expensive items if you are really strapped for cash.
  • If you don't remember the price of the specific weapons (which have only one "spare" slot each in inventory), here is the rule of thumb: Axes first, the swords and later on, hammers are always worth more than any other miscellaneous (if pretty) "junk" (with the exception of torches, which do bring a healthy 40 orens). Exotic/Named weapons are usually worth more ("of the Order", "Dwarven" / "Mahakaman", etc).

Additionally, and especially in Act III, any areas that were accessible in previous acts that remain accessible have been restocked. So you can have a second look around the Temple Quarter and the Swamp making sure to check all the containers again. There are new containers there as well.

Never pass up an opportunity to raid a corpse/remains.

[edit] or Pick up and KEEP everything

There is another way to be thrifty that applies to almost all RPGs. Keep everything you pick up until you know for sure you can get more for free. Never buy anything unless you are sure you can't get it for free. Since there is a huge discrepancy between buying/selling prices in most games, it's just NOT economical to go out and buy stuff every time you need something for a quest or what not.

Most of the time, you just never know what you are going to need in a game unless you have already played it once through. Therefore, keep all the rare (stuff you've never seen before), uncommon (seen it once or twice) and some multiples of common items. If you aren't sure if you need it or not, keep it.

In terms of Witcher, here is the rule of thumb for what to keep:

  • 30−50 beers, since you need it in a few quests, and it's useful for all the drinking games.
  • 20 wines/mead, it's a requirement for a few quests.
  • 30−50 food items. A lot of people will trade expensive journal entries for food (Most of the time, your only other option is to buy the expensive books). i.e.: A brickmaker's wife will tell you about ALL the swamp plants for a measly honeycomb.
  • 50 for common ingredients, 100 for uncommon/expensive ingredients. It's self-explanatory, unless you don't like to make potions/oils/bombs. You should still keep some of the expensive ingredients, since they can be used as a form of emergency cash in case you need something expensive.
  • Three of each of the rune stones / meteorite pieces, unless you are absolutely sure you NEVER want to upgrade your weapons.
  • All of the hard alcohol / liqueur. They are used as potion bases and needed in a few quests.
  • 3−5 of each Gifts. If you want to do any kind of skirt chasing in this game, you'll need gifts. They are too expensive to buy, and they have no further uses other than getting another notch on the bed post. Therefore it's not cost effective to buy ANY in the game.
  • Rings are a bit different. Signet rings are required for a few quests or gaining entry into certain restricted places. As for the others, keep 1 silver, 1 silver with amber, 1 silver with ruby and 1 gold diamond ring and sell the rest.
  • 10−20 skinnable items that aren't ingredients. They are usually for minor contract quests which pay better than selling them to stores.

That should be about it. You don't really need to remember an extensive list of items that you are required to keep if you can just remember a few simple numbers. That makes everything easier to deal with and you won't have to worry too much about money any more.

[edit] Use teleportation

Why pay the ferryman every time you go to or come back from the swamp? In Act II, go see Kalkstein early and get the teleportation crystal from him. Then, at least you can come back from the swamp for free (and from a couple of places in the sewer if need be).

In Act III, you get the use of four teleporters:

No more being nickeled and dimed by the ferryman.

[edit] Play a lot of poker

Play poker. Lots of poker. Save before each game, and if you lose, restore. In Act II, Thaler will play as long as you want to, as will Chireadan in Act IV. Velerad is a reckless bettor (even if he won't play more than a couple games at one sitting). However, leaving the area and returning seems to reset this condition, so any opponent is a potentially infinite pot of gold. see Dice poker players for a list of possible opponents.

Actually, the best way to make money at poker is by play against Merchants. You can purchase as many things as you want from the Merchants (that play poker), and you can just promptly win all your money back. Then you are more than welcome to sell everything you don't need to the highest bidder. This works well because most of the poker players' money is capped at a certain amount, so buying things from them will increase their cap, therefore making every single game much more profitable. You basically get things for free!

[edit] Indulge in a bit of fistfighting

Yes, work out some of those frustrations on the local thugs. Save before each fight, if you are unsure of your prowess. All fighters will let you double the initial bet, so don't settle for the base bet amount! It's easy and fun, just hit, duck, repeat. And never take the cash (or worse, booze) pay out if you are fighting the prize (named) fighters, jewelry and/or rune stones are always worth more.

Significant plot details end here.
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