New Game Plus (NG+)

Start The Witcher 3 REDkit New Game Plus with your best gear and skills. Learn to optimize your NG+ playthrough and face new challenges across the Northern Rea.

Embarking on a New Game Plus (NG+) playthrough in The Witcher 3 REDkit offers a fresh challenge and the opportunity to experience the Northern Realms anew with your hard-earned gear and skills. This comprehensive guide will walk you through optimizing your NG+ experience, from preparation to advanced strategies.

Preparing for NG+

Before initiating your NG+ run, strategic preparation is key to a smooth and rewarding experience. This involves consolidating your inventory, maximizing your character build, and ensuring you have all necessary resources.

• Inventory Management:
  • Sell Excess Gear: Clear out any redundant weapons, armor, and crafting components. Focus on keeping only your absolute best sets (e.g., Grandmaster Witcher Gear, Relic Swords like Aerondight or Toussaint Knight's Steel Sword) and essential crafting materials.
  • Stockpile Crafting Materials: While some materials carry over, having a healthy supply of rare components like Dimetirium Plates, Draconid Leather, and Infused Slyzard Hide will be invaluable for crafting new gear at higher levels.
  • Alchemy Ingredients: Ensure you have a full stock of all your preferred potions, oils, and bombs. Ingredients for Superior Swallow, Superior Thunderbolt, and Dancing Star are particularly useful.
  • Mutagens: Keep all your Greater Mutagens (Red, Blue, Green) as they are crucial for maximizing your character build in NG+.
• Character Build Optimization:
  • Respec Potion: Consider purchasing a Potion of Clearance from merchants like Keira Metz (Velen) or the merchant in Novigrad's main square. This allows you to reallocate all your ability points, ensuring your build is perfectly optimized for the increased difficulty of NG+.
  • Ability Point Allocation: Prioritize core combat skills, sign intensity, or alchemy depending on your preferred playstyle. For a balanced approach, invest in Muscle Memory, Precise Blows, Quen Intensity, and Heightened Tolerance.
• Currency and Runes:
  • Orens and Crowns: Accumulate as much currency as possible. NG+ features more expensive crafting, repairs, and merchant items.
  • Runes and Glyphs: Ensure your best weapons and armor are enchanted with powerful runes and glyphs (e.g., Greater Igni Glyph, Greater Severance Rune). These enchantments carry over and provide a significant early-game advantage.

Starting Your NG+ Journey

Once you've completed the main story and are satisfied with your preparations, you can initiate NG+ from the main menu. Your character level, abilities, money, and most inventory items will carry over.

• Difficulty Selection: NG+ offers an opportunity to challenge yourself further. Consider increasing the difficulty to Blood and Broken Bones! or even Death March! for a truly demanding experience.
• Early Game Strategy:
  • White Orchard Revisited: While familiar, enemies in White Orchard will now scale to your level. Don't underestimate them. Use your superior gear and skills to quickly clear contracts and gather early experience.
  • Focus on Main Quests: Prioritize the main questline initially to unlock new areas and progress the story. Side quests can be tackled as you feel comfortable.
  • Witcher Gear Upgrades: Your Grandmaster Witcher Gear will eventually become outdated. Keep an eye out for diagrams for the Legendary versions of your preferred Witcher sets. These will offer significantly improved stats.

Advanced NG+ Strategies

As you progress through NG+, the challenges will intensify. Employing advanced strategies will be crucial for success.

• Enemy Scaling and Tactics:
  • Higher Health and Damage: Expect all enemies to have substantially more health and deal greater damage. Dodging and parrying become even more critical.
  • New Enemy Abilities: Some enemies may exhibit new or enhanced attack patterns. Adapt your combat style accordingly. For example, a Grave Hag might now have a wider area-of-effect attack.
  • Exploiting Weaknesses: Always consult your bestiary. Oils, bombs, and signs tailored to an enemy's weaknesses are more effective than ever. For a Fiend, for instance, Devil's Puffball and Relict Oil are indispensable.
• Gear Progression:
  • Legendary Witcher Gear: Your primary goal for gear will be to acquire and craft the Legendary versions of your chosen Witcher sets. These diagrams are typically found in the same locations as their standard counterparts, but at higher levels. For example, the Legendary Grandmaster Ursine Armor diagrams are found in Toussaint.
  • Relic Weapons: Don't overlook powerful relic weapons that scale with your level. Aerondight (from Blood and Wine) is particularly potent as it gains permanent damage bonuses with each kill.
• Alchemy and Mutagen Management:
  • Decoctions: Utilize decoctions strategically. Ekhidna Decoction (restores stamina with actions) and Troll Decoction (regenerates vitality during combat) are excellent for sustained engagements.
  • Mutagen Synergy: Ensure your mutagens are synergized with your chosen abilities. Placing a Greater Red Mutagen next to red combat abilities will significantly boost your attack power.
• Exploration and Side Content:
  • Unexplored Areas: Take the opportunity to explore any areas you might have rushed through in your first playthrough. You might discover hidden quests, unique items, or challenging monster nests.
  • DLC Content: The Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions offer some of the most challenging and rewarding content in NG+. Ensure you are adequately leveled and geared before tackling them.