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Role-playing game · First release 2015

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

Olgierd, Iris, Shani and Gaunter O’Dimm: the main route, both endings and missable Viper pieces. This guide distinguishes optional romance, crafting investment and story rewards.

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What this guide covers

The main story includes decisions and endings, Shani’s romance, named side quests and all nine general treasure hunts. The equipment catalog covers all six venomous Viper pieces and their one-time windows, Ofieri gear and translation, all four New Moon relic pieces, Order equipment and special rewards. All nine runewords and fourteen glyphwords list workshop tiers and ingredients; quest alchemy and Runewright investment are explained separately. Random quality variants are not guaranteed chest pickups. Saving Olgierd and choosing O’Dimm’s wish items are alternative routes. Classic/4.x acquisition routes are distinguished from documented Remastered changes. Checkmarks count guide tasks, not a save file that can obtain every alternative in one playthrough.

Story routes, decisions and endings may contain spoilers. You can show or hide marked sections.

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Check your edition

Editions & platforms

EditionPlatformDifferences & notes
Erweiterung / Complete / RemasteredAlle genannten HauptspielplattformenRequires the base game or an edition that includes the expansion. Switch 2 through Remastered (2026).

Starting and preparation

The noticeboard at the Seven Cats Inn starts Evil’s Soft First Touches. The normal expansion route expects a high-level Geralt; the standalone expansion start supplies a prepared character but does not reproduce your individual base-game history. Repair gear and prepare Golden Oriole and a silver sword before the sewers.

Olgierd’s three wishes: the main story arc

Story details & possible consequences
  1. Evil’s Soft First Touches

    Meet Olgierd at Garin Estate, explore Oxenfurt’s sewers with Shani and fight the toad prince. Avoid poison pools, wait for jump landings and strike briefly. After captivity and the shipwreck, follow O’Dimm’s bargain.

  2. Dead Man’s Party

    Visit Shani in Oxenfurt and take Vlodimir’s ghost from the family crypt to the wedding. Finish games and conversations before midnight; do not leave immediately afterwards if you want Shani’s scene.

  3. Open Sesame!

    Attend the Borsodi auction in Oxenfurt. Talk to every guest before it starts, especially Mignole. Then organize the heist team and diversion; inspect every vault container before the story takes you outside.

  4. Scenes From a Marriage

    Investigate the von Everec estate, fight the Caretaker and Iris’s ghost. Complete the painted memory scenes using their objects. The rose choice affects Iris’s resolution but does not by itself decide whether Olgierd is saved.

  5. Whatsoever a Man Soweth…

    Before meeting O’Dimm, visit Shani and question Professor Shakeslock in Oxenfurt. His knowledge unlocks the option to challenge O’Dimm. Keep a separate save before the temple.

Both endings and the riddle

Story details & possible consequences
RouteApproach / result
Save OlgierdIntervene using Shakeslock’s information and accept O’Dimm’s riddle. The answer is a reflection. Run through the dream world to the house and dry fountain; break the cracked wall with Aard so water creates a reflection.
Stand asideDo not intervene for Olgierd. O’Dimm takes his soul and offers alternative rewards; only one of those bargains can be selected.
Use a saveThe riddle world, Iris and O’Dimm’s alternative rewards cannot all be collected along one normal ending route. Save beforehand.

Shani: gift and romantic conclusion

After the wedding quest, stay with Shani in A Midnight Clear. Use witcher senses to find a gift; a rowan branch or chamomile suit a romantic outcome. Alcohol produces a different variant. Accept her walk and show interest in the conversation. The encounter does not end a committed Triss/Yennefer relationship.

Viper armor, swords and Iris: one-time windows

ItemWhere?Requirement
Four Viper armor diagramsAuction, Countess MignoleBefore the auction starts discuss witcher equipment and buy all four diagrams. This shop window closes after the auction.
Viper venomous steel swordBorsodi vaultTake the diagram from the chest near Maximilian Borsodi’s house model. Check before leaving the vault.
Viper venomous silver swordO’Dimm’s riddle worldAccessible only on the rescue route. Pull the finished blade from the stone along the raised side path before the timer and fountain end the area. It has no crafting diagram.
IrisOlgierd after his rescueSolve the riddle and speak with Olgierd afterwards. This steel sword is his personal reward.

Runewright and side quests

QuestStartAdvice
Enchanting: Start-up Costs / Quality Has Its PriceRunewright at Upper MillInvest money and complete the tool quest before enchanting. Higher workshop tiers require further large payments; check the enchantment you actually want before investing.
From Ofier’s Distant ShoresOfieri merchant / scattered diagramsCollect untranslated diagrams and have the merchant translate them. This is a separate set from Viper gear.
Rose on a Red FieldAdela at Garin EstateFollow the investigation through bodies, a scent trail and bandit camps; inspect the letters.
Avid CollectorBorsodi auctionQuestion the art expert, buy the appropriate painting and take it to Marcus T. K. Hodgson.

Every main quest and heist preparation

Story details & possible consequences
Quest / objectiveStart & travelRoute, result & missable conditions
Evil’s Soft First TouchesSeven Cats board → Garin Estate, suggested level 32.Speak to Olgierd, search Oxenfurt’s sewers with Shani and fight the Toad Prince: Golden Oriole counters poison; Igni/Yrden create openings. Re-equip inventory gear after the shipwreck. Meet Gaunter at midnight and Olgierd at the burning estate; the optional duel saves the condemned man.
Dead Man’s PartyShani’s clinic → von Everec family crypt.Use the censer in every crypt room and light the brazier. Vlodimir possesses Geralt; join Shani at Brunwich. Complete all ten wedding activities before the last mandatory one, then Gaunter and the letter to Olgierd. Finish A Midnight Clear immediately afterward.
Open Sesame!Borsodi auction house, Oxenfurt; Vivaldi gets you in.Before bidding, buy Mignole’s Viper diagrams, speak to Yaromir and bid on items. After eviction, plan the heist at the herbalist and complete three subquests. Loot the vault, choose Ewald/Horst and take the miniature house. Ewald can keep the documents and give you the box peacefully.
Open Sesame: Witcher SeasoningsHeist planning at the herbalist’s hut.Craft cleansing mixture from 1 Dwarven Spirit, 2 rotfiend blood and 2 wolfsbane. Eavesdrop on Oxenfurt patrols; bribe the daytime pier cook with 500 crowns or use Delusion 2.
Open Sesame: Breaking and EnteringHugo Hoff in Oxenfurt or Eveline’s circus northwest of Carsten.Hugo’s trail ends at his body in the Pontar; only Eveline can join. Save the performance by shooting apples with the crossbow or pay the refunds.
Open Sesame: The SafecrackerCasimir in Alness or Hans’s mercenary camp.Calm Casimir with Delusion 2 or provoke a fistfight. Alternatively free Quinto by payment, Gwent or fistfight. Casimir causes an alarm and backs Ewald; Quinto permits negotiation and later backs Horst.
Scenes From a MarriageThird wish: von Everec Estate.Enter the wall breach and track the Caretaker. Dodge to prevent his healing hits and kill summoned spirits quickly. Destroy the corridor wraith’s glowing paintings. Bury Iris, enter her picture and repair memories. Taking the rose ends her binding; refusing yields a painted proof for the wish.
Whatsoever a Man Soweth…After Iris: The Alchemy, Oxenfurt.Visit Shani and Professor Shakeslock before Lilvani if you want to save Olgierd. In the wager, reach the large house, ignore mirrors and Aard the cracked wall behind the courtyard fountain: reflected water solves the riddle. Saving him yields Iris; standing aside kills him and permits one Gaunter reward.

Wedding: all ten activities before midnight

First complete six small diversions: dance with Shani, then climb to the hayloft pillow and talk; toast with the dwarves; toast with the women; speak to both elderly women at their separate locations. The barn ladder reaches the pillow conversation and the Cow Gwent card in the hayloft.

Then do the four time-advancing tasks: Gwent with halflings; retrieve Shani’s shoe from the pond; track the fire swallower via dog tracks and protect him from a boar; herd two pigs into the pen. Keep at least one of these four until last. Herd without Axii for the swineherd crown; losing Gwent gives the ass ears.

Iris: eight restored memories

Do the optional garden gazebo first: palette on the table, book in Olgierd’s hand. At the fountain put the goblet in Iris’s hand. In the dining room light the fireplace and the two candelabra matching the painting. Upstairs place the bloody towel by Olgierd’s washbasin.

Studio: grapes left, goblet center, apple right. Study: complete the chalk and put candles on the outer circle; escape the fire through the painting and enter the cellar immediately during the blizzard. Cellar: marriage contract to the father, mug to Olgierd. Final dining scene: small bowl to cat, large bowl to dog, tray to Caretaker. Read the letter and defeat Iris’s greatest fear. For the harder achievement activate every nightmare copy before killing them.

All seven side quests

Quest / objectiveStart & travelRoute, result & missable conditions
Without a TraceBrunwich board → Otto Bamber near Oxenfurt.Find the cart in Deadwight Wood and follow blood to Erde. Investigate beyond the wolf story: track the rotting smell, Aard the crates and enter the cellar. Confront, kill or spare the cannibals; report the truth to Otto.
Rose on a Red FieldAdela outside Garin Estate after meeting Olgierd.Clear Bowdon, follow fisstech scent to the hut and tracks to Kluivert’s body. Shooter and horse tracks lead to a camp; its letter and key open the Fallen Knights’ lab. Kill the leader and report to Adela at The Alchemy.
Enchanting: Start-up CostsRunewright at Upper Mill northeast of Novigrad.Pay 5,000 crowns for tools. This alone does not unlock every service; complete the jade task next.
Enchanting: Quality Has Its PriceRunewright after the first payment.Get a pickaxe from the nearby barn, clear Bloodrot Pit’s arachnomorphs and mine jade. Return it for tier 1; further tools cost 10,000 and 15,000 for tiers 2/3.
Races: Swift as the Western WindsAsk Upper Mill’s Ofieri merchant about horses.Win his race around the lake. Save first; the Ofieri saddle is the unique quest reward and part of the Ofieri collection.
A Midnight ClearStay at the wedding immediately after midnight.Read Shani’s journal entry and give a rowan branch. Walk with her, kiss and stay for the optional boat scene; leaving ends the opportunity. Alcohol changes the scene rather than Geralt’s main romance.
Avid CollectorYaromir before the Borsodi auction.Identify the merchant with a pearl in the art test and buy the van Rogh painting. Keep the tip from Vivaldi for cheaper bidding. Sell it to Marcus Hodgson on Hierarch Square for 500 crowns.

All nine Hearts of Stone treasure hunts

Quest / objectiveStart & travelRoute, result & missable conditions
From Ofier’s Distant ShoresOfieri merchant at Upper Mill or first untranslated diagram.Link four bandit sites via their letters, including Kilkerinn’s camp and the underground hideout near Hunter’s Cottage. Return the diagrams and wait a day for translation. Consult the gear atlas for the individual diagram positions.
The Cursed ChapelBody at the old chapel north of Upper Mill.Take the priest’s diary and crypt key, kill wraiths and the Cursed Mother in the crypt, then open its final chest.
Tinker, Hunter, Soldier, SpyBody atop the wooden watchtower south of Mohrin Village.Read the bloody report and take its key. Ride to the lake south of Moldavie Residence and open the underwater chest beside the pier.
The Royal Air ForceVikk Watchtower northeast of Est Tayiar.Kill harpies and an erynia, take Vogel’s notebook and key and climb the ruined tower. The final chest is on its highest level.
A Surprise InheritanceRavaged camp north of Heddel; Knut at the stump.Read journal and take key, defeat the archgriffin by the inherited ruined hut and open its floor hatch. Loot the cellar chest.
The Secret Life of Count RomillyArnskrone Castle Ruins in Deadwight Wood.Kill ancient leshen and wolves; read journal part 2 from the skeleton and take its key. Descend the ruined tower stairs and open the corresponding cellar chest.
The Drakenborg RedemptionBody in Bloodrot Pit; combine with the jade task.Read the yellowed letter and take the bent key. Clear arachnomorphs in the first chamber and the larger one deeper inside; loot the small chest in the rear cavern.
The Sword, Famine and PerfidyBeach hut on the peninsula north of Novigrad / northwest of Cavern.Kill drowners and Aard barrels off the cellar hatch. Take the blood-written letter and key below, then boat to the marked sunken rowboat and dive for the treasure.
A Dark LegacyBid 300 crowns for the eagle figurine during Open Sesame!Have a smith dismantle it, read the will and take its key. Enter Arnskrone’s tower cellar, Aard the wooden door, kill wraiths and open the second Romilly chest in the rear room.

Quest alchemy: genuine formulas and one-off ingredients

Quest mixtureIngredientsExact context
Cleansing mixture1× Dwarven spirit, 2× Rotfiend blood, 2× WolfsbaneOpen Sesame: Witcher Seasonings supplies the formula during Ewald’s heist preparations. Obtain rotfiend blood; hand the mixture to the cook rather than drinking it.
Sources for this section

Venomous Viper gear: all six one-off opportunities

The four armor pieces and steel sword are craftable. The silver sword is found finished: a leftover silver-sword diagram entry is not an additional legitimate treasure. Keep separate saves before the auction house and finale.

ItemTypeAcquisition and missability
Viper venomous armorDiagramSpeak to Countess Mignole during Open Sesame at Borsodi’s auction house; buy before the auction begins. One-time window.
Viper venomous gauntletsDiagramSpeak to Countess Mignole during Open Sesame at Borsodi’s auction house; buy before the auction begins. One-time window.
Viper venomous trousersDiagramSpeak to Countess Mignole during Open Sesame at Borsodi’s auction house; buy before the auction begins. One-time window.
Viper venomous bootsDiagramSpeak to Countess Mignole during Open Sesame at Borsodi’s auction house; buy before the auction begins. One-time window.
Viper venomous steel swordDiagramOpen Sesame: loot the chest left by the pillar in Borsodi’s vault before leaving.
Viper venomous silver swordFinished weaponWhatsoever a Man Soweth: save Olgierd. In O’Dimm’s timed mirror world, take left side path to glowing sword in stone before solving fountain riddle.
Sources for this section

Ofieri: four diagrams, sabers, crossbow and horse gear

Bring the four untranslated armor diagrams to Dulla in From Ofier’s Distant Shores, wait one day and collect readable copies. Craftsmen need those copies. I Wore Ofieri Before It Was Cool concerns the full armor and appropriate Ofieri weapon/horse equipment, not an invented school upgrade chain.

PieceExact route
Ofieri scale armorUnderground bandit hideout southwest of Erde near Vikk Watchtower: track to hay-covered hatch, red chest.
Ofieri gauntletsZuetzer Castle Ruins south of Upper Mill: search camp tent and red-highlighted chest.
Ofieri sharovaryHut in bandit camp near Bowdon, northwest of Brunwich: chest with the leader’s letter.
Ofieri bootsBandit camp southeast of Draken Hollow Outpost: red chest beside campfire.
Ofieri saber / DollechDulla kh’Amanni at Upper Mill sells a finished saber and a diagram for another steel saber. No Ofieri silver sword.
Ofieri crossbowOpen Sesame, Borsodi vault: second chest at the pillar beside Viper steel diagram. Open both before leaving.
Ofieri stock saddleWin Races: Swift as the Western Winds against Dulla kh’Amanni at Upper Mill.
Ofieri blindersBuy from Dulla kh’Amanni at Upper Mill.
Ofieri saddlebagsBuy from Dulla kh’Amanni at Upper Mill.
Sources for this section

All nine sword runewords

NameWorkshop tierConsumed stones/glyphs: one each unless statedEffect
Preservation1Lesser Svarog + Lesser Devana + Lesser MoranaArmorer’s-table and grindstone bonuses persist.
Dumplings12× Pyerog + 1× TvarogImproves food healing; exact behavior changes across editions.
Placation1Lesser Stribog + Lesser Devana + Lesser MoranaMaximum adrenaline drains while accelerating regeneration and toxicity reduction.
Rejuvenation2Perun + Svarog + StribogFatal sword strikes restore stamina.
Elation2Dazhbog + Veles + DevanaFatal sword strikes generate adrenaline.
Severance2Zoria + Veles + PerunExtends Whirl and Rend reach.
Replenishment3Greater Triglav + Greater Morana + Greater DazhbogA Sign consumes adrenaline and charges the next sword attack with that Sign.
Invigoration3Greater Devana + Greater Zoria + Greater PerunAt full vitality, further regeneration adds damage to the next strike.
Prolongation3Greater Morana + Greater Perun + Greater SvarogUnblocked blows prolong active potions.
Sources for this section

All fourteen chest-armor glyphwords

NameWorkshop tierConsumed stones/glyphs: one each unless statedEffect
Deflection1Lesser Aard + Lesser Warding + Lesser ReinforcementArmor deflects arrows.
Heft1Lesser Quen + Lesser Mending + Lesser ReinforcementAll equipped armor counts as heavy.
Depletion1Lesser Aard + Lesser Axii + Lesser ReinforcementAard reduces enemy stamina.
Usurpation1Lesser Binding + Lesser Axii + Lesser ReinforcementAxii transfers after its target dies.
Ignition1Lesser Igni + Lesser Yrden + Lesser WardingEnemies burning from Igni can ignite neighbors.
Rotation2Igni + Binding + ReinforcementBasic Igni strikes around Geralt; secondary behavior varies by edition.
Entanglement2Yrden + Axii + BindingYrden trap hits place an Yrden glyph at the target.
Beguilement2Axii + Igni + MendingHits landed by an Axii target extend its influence.
Protection2Quen + Yrden + WardingEntering combat automatically activates Quen without stamina cost.
Balance2Axii + Mending + ReinforcementAll equipped armor counts as medium.
Retribution3Greater Quen + Greater Igni + Greater ReinforcementChance to reflect some received damage.
Levity3Greater Aard + Greater Mending + Greater ReinforcementAll equipped armor counts as light.
Possession3Greater Axii + Greater Aard + Greater BindingCombines Axii transfer with extension from the influenced target’s hits.
Eruption3Greater Igni + Greater Quen + Greater ReinforcementEnemies burning from Igni explode on death and ignite neighbors.
Sources for this section

Runewright: unlocking, investment and replacement

At Upper Mill, start Enchanting: Start-Up Costs, pay 5,000 crowns and obtain jade in Bloodrot Pit during Quality Has Its Price. Another 10,000 opens tier 2 and another 15,000 opens tier 3: 30,000 total investment, plus individual enchantments and materials. You do not need a separate hidden world manuscript for every word; workshop tiers unlock them.

Runewords require a sword with three sockets; glyphwords require chest armor with three sockets. The Runewright can add sockets to suitable gear. An enchantment replaces individual socketed stones. Replacing it or upgrading witcher gear to another tier can remove it, so enchant your final item. Sword effects generally require that sword to be drawn; Preservation is an exception.

Ingredient shorthand: no prefix means regular size; Lesser/Greater specify size. Sign names mean Glyph of …, deity names mean … runestone. Pyerog and Tvarog offer no combat bonus themselves and serve Dumplings. Check The Royal Air Force at Vikk Watchtower for Pyerog’s diagram and the fallen-knight camp around Brunwich/Old Chapel for Tvarog’s. Your installed recipe screen takes precedence over historical inventories.

Sources for this section

Four additional glyph families and special runes

FamilyUseAcquisition
BindingBleeding resistanceLesser / regular / greater; buy/craft through Runewright.
MendingVitality regenerationLesser / regular / greater; buy/craft through Runewright.
ReinforcementReduced durability lossLesser / regular / greater; buy/craft through Runewright.
WardingElemental-damage resistanceLesser / regular / greater; buy/craft through Runewright.
Pyerog / TvarogNo individual socket bonusDumplings ingredients; see workshop section.
Sources for this section

Hearts of Stone: New Moon, the Order and signature loot

New Moon also has other quality/random variants. These rows identify fixed relic pickups. The Order of the Flaming Rose crafting catalog contains chest, gauntlets and sword; no invented four-piece diagram chain with dedicated Order boots/trousers.

ItemLocation, action and condition
New Moon armor – relicCrane Cape northwest of Novigrad: lighthouse’s second-highest floor, loot container.
New Moon trousers – relicVikk Watchtower: climb highest tower platform and open chest.
New Moon gauntlets – relicCrypt east of Heddel/Est Tayiar: clear ghouls/alghouls, chest inside crypt.
New Moon boots – relicKilkerinn Ruins: climb highest point beside platformed tree, chest.
Order of the Flaming Rose armor – diagramFallen Knight camp northeast of Brunwich or northwest of Sarrasin Grange: fire-side chest.
Order of the Flaming Rose gauntlets – diagramFallen Knight camp north of Garin Estate: cart chest; another copy in a second knight camp.
Order of the Flaming Rose sword – diagramBandit hut northeast of Bowdon: same chest as untranslated Ofieri trousers; alternatively camp southeast of Est Tayiar.
Sarrim – diagramKilkerinn Ruins: defeat Fallen Knights and loot camp chest.
The Caretaker’s spadeScenes from a Marriage: loot Caretaker’s corpse in Von Everec Estate garden after defeating him. Secondary weapon, not a sword-oil target.
IrisWhatsoever a Man Soweth: save Olgierd and accept his gift. Mutually exclusive with O’Dimm’s reward choice that playthrough.
Professor’s spectaclesOpen Sesame: win the auction lot; do not skip the auction window.
Ofieri kilijDead Man’s Party: search Von Everec Estate crypt; distinct from purchased/crafted Ofieri sabers.
Sources for this section

O’Dimm’s items: choose exactly one

These three items are alternatives, not a complete-one-playthrough set. Money and possible information about Ciri are further dialogue choices, not hidden armor. Money amounts vary by edition; historical 5,000-crown figures are not universal Remastered values.

ItemLocation, action and condition
Caparison of LamentDo not save Olgierd; choose to be swift as the wind. Unique saddle for Roach.
Horn of PlentyDo not save Olgierd; choose never to go hungry. Reusable food.
Bottomless carafeDo not save Olgierd; request a constantly full vodka bottle. Alcohol reward, not a crafting formula.
Sources for this section

Unlocks & rewards

Runenwörter

Complete the runewright’s workshop quests and fund the necessary tier.

Iris

Save Olgierd in the finale.

Viper venomous silver

Enter the riddle world and collect the blade before finishing.

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

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Sources & editorial date

Independently written game guidance. The following sources support quest routes, mechanics and edition notes. Editorial date: 22 October 2026.

In-game names may differ between language versions. Report a correction.

Game help

How do I collect the Viper venomous silver sword during O’Dimm’s riddle?The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone · Spoilers

The sword is embedded in a rock in O’Dimm’s timed riddle realm. There is no crafting diagram for this sword.

  1. Save before the finale and choose to help Olgierd in Whatsoever a Man Soweth. That takes you into the riddle realm.
  2. Cross the bridge and bear left at the next fork. Look for the red glow by the stairs and pull the sword out of the rock at the top.
  3. Continue to the manor and find the dry fountain. Use Aard to unblock the water supply and create a reflection.

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