Look, playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on PS4 in 2026 is a weirdly specific vibe. Maybe you’re revisiting a classic on your old hardware, or perhaps you finally picked up a cheap copy of the Complete Edition to see what the fuss is about. Whatever the reason, you’re probably realizing that this game is massive. It's intimidating. Honestly, even with the performance patches CD Projekt Red rolled out years ago, the loading screens on a base PS4 give you enough time to make a sandwich. You need a plan.
Getting a The Witcher Wild Hunt PS4 walkthrough right isn't about following a straight line. That's impossible here. This game is a messy, beautiful tangle of moral gray areas and monsters that will absolutely wreck you if you're underleveled. You're Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster hunter, and your job is basically to find your adopted daughter, Ciri, while everyone from the Nilfgaardian Empire to the literal King of the Wild Hunt tries to stop you.
Why Velen is Your First Major Roadblock
Most players breeze through the prologue in White Orchard. It’s a nice little tutorial area. But then you hit Velen. It's a swampy, miserable place filled with necrophages and war refugees. This is where most people get stuck because the level scaling starts to bite.
If you try to rush the main quest "The Nilfgaardian Connection," you'll likely find yourself face-to-face with enemies that have a red skull over their heads. That means "run." Seriously. In a proper The Witcher Wild Hunt PS4 walkthrough, the first rule is to stop trying to be a hero. You need to hit the notice boards. Grab those Witcher Contracts. They aren't just filler; they are your primary source of Mutagens and gold (crowns).
The Bloody Baron questline is the meat of the Velen experience. It’s legendary for a reason. You’ll have to choose between a "lesser evil" involving a spirit in a tree and a group of creepy crones. There is no "perfect" ending here. If you're looking for a walkthrough that gives you the "good" ending, you have to decide what "good" even means when children's lives are on the line versus a whole village. Most veterans suggest saving the spirit before meeting the Crones if you want a specific outcome, but even that has consequences that will haunt you fifty hours later.
Master the PS4 Controls Before the Mid-Game
Let's talk about the hardware. The PS4 controller layout is decent, but the "Witcher Senses" on the L2 button can be a literal pain in your finger after a while.
- Quick Casting: If you haven't enabled the Quick Sign Casting in the options menu, do it now. It changes the game from a clunky radial-menu slog into a fluid action RPG. You hold R2 and press a face button to cast Igni or Quen instantly.
- The Touchpad: A lot of people don't realize that swiping up on the PS4 touchpad opens the map directly. Holding it down takes you straight to your inventory. In a game with this much looting, those seconds saved add up to hours.
Combat on the PS4 can feel a bit "floaty." To fix this, go into the gameplay settings and toggle "Alternative Movement Response." It makes Geralt feel less like a tank and more like an actual swordmaster. It’s a night-and-day difference for dodging those pesky Drowners.
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Skellige and the Art of Not Drowning
Once you finally get out of the muddy pits of Novigrad—where you’ll spend way too much time looking for Dandelion—you’ll head to Skellige. It’s beautiful. It’s also a nightmare for completionists.
The map is covered in "Smuggler's Caches" in the ocean. Here is some honest advice for your The Witcher Wild Hunt PS4 walkthrough: Ignore them. Unless you are desperate for gold to craft Grandmaster Witcher Gear, those boat trips are a tedious waste of time. Focus on the "King's Gambit" questline. Helping either Cerys or Hjalmar choose the next ruler of the islands is one of the best-written sequences in the game.
Cerys is usually the "smarter" choice for the islands' future, but Hjalmar's path is pure Viking chaos. Either way, make sure you complete the "Last Wish" quest with Yennefer before you finish the main Skellige arc if you want to pursue that romance. If you wait too long, the quest fails.
The Gear Grind: Don't Buy, Craft
Stop buying swords from blacksmiths. It’s a scam.
The best gear in the game is always the Witcher School sets (Giffin, Feline, Ursine, and Wolven). Each set caters to a different playstyle.
- Griffin: For the "mage" build. You’ll be spamming signs constantly.
- Feline: For the glass cannon. You hit fast and hard but die if a dingo sneezes on you.
- Ursine: For the tank. Heavy armor and massive Quen shields.
On the PS4, managing your inventory can lead to some slowdown if you carry too many crafting materials. Sell your junk. Dismantle anything that gives you rare components like Dimeritium or Glowing Ore. You're going to need a fortune once you hit the Blood and Wine DLC, which, honestly, is better than the main game in some ways.
Surviving the Wild Hunt
The final act of the game moves fast. Once you go to the Isle of Mists, certain side quests become unavailable. This is the "Point of No Return." Make sure you've recruited your allies. If you didn't help Keira Metz in Velen or Triss in Novigrad, your battle at Kaer Morhen is going to be a lot lonelier.
The actual fight against Eredin isn't even the hardest part. The hardest part is the dialogue choices you make with Ciri. To get the "best" ending, you basically need to be a supportive dad. Don't be overprotective. Let her trash Avallac'h's lab. Go have a snowball fight with her. These small emotional beats are what determine if she lives or dies at the end of the game. It’s a brilliant, if slightly frustrating, mechanic that rewards empathy over tactical prowess.
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Essential PS4 Performance Tips
Since you're on a console that's over a decade old, you need to help the hardware out.
- Rebuild your Database: If the game starts stuttering in Novigrad, turn off your PS4, hold the power button until it beeps twice, and select "Rebuild Database" from the Safe Mode menu. It helps with asset streaming.
- Turn off Motion Blur: It looks muddy on the base PS4. Turning it off makes the 30fps cap feel a bit more stable.
- Manual Saves: Never rely on autosave. The PS4 version has been known to corrupt save files occasionally if the console crashes during a load screen. Keep at least three rotating manual saves.
Tactical Next Steps for Your Playthrough
To get the most out of your current run, stop following the map markers for five minutes and just ride Roach into the woods. Some of the best content in The Witcher 3 isn't marked with a yellow exclamation point.
Start by focusing on the Delusion skill in the Axii tree; it opens up dialogue options that let you skip fights and earn extra XP. Next, prioritize finding the Places of Power in White Orchard—there are six of them, and they each give you a free skill point. That’s a massive head start. Finally, keep your silver sword oiled. If you’re fighting vampires, use Vampire Oil. It sounds obvious, but at higher difficulties (Blood and Broken Bones or Death March), that 10% damage bonus is the difference between winning and staring at a loading screen for forty seconds.
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Go talk to the herbalist in White Orchard, finish the "Devil by the Well" contract, and get your gear repaired. The path is long, but it's worth every second.