The Witcher 3: Definitive Gwent Guide [Strategies & Tricks]

There are many other things to do in The Witcher 3 apart from the main story, such as playing the Gwent mini-game. For some people, Gwent might not be very familiar, and these specific people will have a hard time understanding the ins and outs of Gwent. Luckily, we’ve got some tips and advice for you in this Gwent Guide for Witcher 3!

1. Hero Power And Card Attributes Are Important

The best card of the game includes heroes that disregard debuff from other cards, making them a lot more difficult to counter in a game that doesn’t feature direct card removal.

Even though Scorched will still demolish your hero cards if they reside in the most valuable lane. But you should know that that’s only a single removal card in a set that includes 149 other components and special cards.

This will also get you ahead of the game if you execute your techniques early in the game. Players running Northern decks should not hesitate to exchange out the Impenetrable Fog if it shows up in their opening hand, provided that they are still using King of Temeria as their boss.

This is because the King grants the power to pull and play an Impenetrable Fog from your deck only once during the match. Clear Weather and Lord Commander do the same, too.

2. Keep An Eye Out For Value Plays

In the Gwent game, keep your eyes peeled for the components containing Swarm and Tight Bond because the components/units you draw more cards aren’t the only ones to watch out for.

There’s also Medic, which will let you revive one unit from the cemetery, including spies, and you can then jump back into the battlefield immediately. But the first two can really raise the player’s average round score.

Focus on getting enough Crinfrid Reaver’s Dragon Hunters and Blue Stripes Commandos to be actually able to win at least one round with less than five component cards reliably. This isn’t always effective, but you will be glad you have this tip in mind ahead of those rare cases when needed.

3. Round One Is Not That Important

Gwent is a very different game, and when it comes to the very first rounds of it, they aren’t important. Stop worrying about the first round, even if you lose. Slow playing your opponents is the key to success in Gwent. The way you play the opening exchange matters.

If you’ve got some decent drawing cards on your side, go ahead and load up your opponent’s side of the field, take a pass, and then enjoy any unnecessary plays they make. It is pretty easy to get card advantage above your opponent; this will force your opponent to divide their hand between more than two rounds thus giving yourself a significant advantage in the full process.

4. Play Spies Early

At first, you might think that giving your opponent’s points /components is bad. But once you know that the first match is not really important, it’ll be much easier to get the full value of the Northern deck’s draw cards.

You can purchase cards like Sigismund Dijkstra and Prince Stennis from the merchants and innkeepers throughout the Continent. Try getting the cards as soon as you locate them; replace the weak cards from Geralt’s starter pack. Try drawing the cards as soon as you can.

5. Using Your Decoying Abilities

You might not be lucky enough to have a Spy in your starting hand, but it doesn’t stop you from using your mind skills to get an extra card or two. Always keep decoy cards in your deck to keep all of the opposing sides of spies busy; decoys will also give you advantages for your own.

You can buy a decoy card from the Quartermaster in Crows Perch, which will come in handy for you when you decide to challenge the Bloody Baron.

6. Learn What To Expect From Each Deck

Creating the Decks is one of the keys to winning a Gwent battle. Always try to visualize what kind of deck your opponent might have; these are the main factors that decide whether you will win.

The Northern deck is a good starter pack if you want to get started. You can combine special cards with units, win your rounds with it and it will entitle the player to an extra card for their hand. “Scoia’tael” players always have the chance to go first, which is very handy for controlling momentum, and the people using the “Nilfgaardian” deck take W in the event of a draw.

Finally, the Monster deck is basically designed to discharge creatures onto the battlefield until the opponent simply can not keep up with your component’s swarm ability.

7. Don’t Use More Than 22 Unit Cards

Keeping more than 22 Unit Cards in your deck is unnecessary because The Witcher 3’s best combinations still leave a lot of room for the players to stick with Gwent’s minimum unit requirement. The idea is kind of obvious: you should keep the best units in your Gwent Deck.

8. Wagers Won’t Effect Card Prizes

While it is fairly easy to use Gwent for extra income for the main purposes of the game, so you should make sure you can the person you’re challenging before betting the most of your earnings.  You should keep in mind that you should never let yourself discourage you from betting light at first.

As long as it’s your first time playing an opponent, you will be given a new card for winning. Always play safe during your first matches, and then try going big once you’ve gotten the hang of it. Always bet big when you know that your Gwent deck is superior.

9. You Don’t Need Special Cards In Quantity

It is quite captivating to load your deck up with weather changes and other cards that have special abilities. But if you do that, you will find yourself with too many special cards in your hand and too few units to claim the final round in the Gwent game.

However, Yes, you will probably need a few special cards to compliment your Gwent Deck of choice, but there’s absolutely no reason to stuff up your deck with special cards to take down Geralt’s early Gwent opponents.

10. Buy Cards Every Chance You Get

Isn’t this obvious? But still, this is a very important aspect of Mastering and dominating your Gwent games.  Every time you beat someone at Gwent, you will get a new card for your collection. But you must do more shopping to hunt down all Gwent cards available in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Most of the game’s vendors will only have a couple of cards to offer you, although some don’t. But keep checking the stock of the traders of Gwent cards, they update their stocks frequently enough to make it worth checking. As you buy more cards, you will also get the Card Collector achievement.

The Gwent Mini-Game is a great way to play a game within a game, forcing players to adapt to new gaming techniques and strategies. Keep buying and winning every game you can get your hands on. You never know which Gwent Card will be on the Most Wanted list next.

There’s a lot more to talk about Gwent-Cards besides the details. This Gwent Guide for Witcher 3 is adequate enough to get you started with the massive Gwent Mini-Game.