Do the main quest "Conspiracy Theory" up through talking to Dethmold, then do "In Cervisia Veritas" by talking to one of the soldiers yelling 'Odrin!' [Those guys will keep yelling until you finish it, and they get to be very annoying.] Go out the southwest gate and find the sot at the entrance to a cave. You'll have to pick him up and carry him a couple of times. I also recommend setting him down just outside the Cantina so you can save. When you get to the Cantina Tent, a conversation will start. If you're too obvious, the quest will fail, so instead use the conversation options that beat around the bush.
Time for most of the side quests: Against the Blue Stripes, Bring it On: Kaedwen Camp, From a Bygone Era, Little Sisters, Lost Lambs, Poker Face: Kadwn Camp, and The Rotfiend Contract.
Then do the main quest "The Butcher of Cidaris" to open up Ave Henselt.
Advance the rest of the main quests as far as you can. During "The Blood Curse," as you approach the Visionary's Hut, you'll be attacked by endless waves of Harpies. You can kill them until you have enough feathers for A Sackful of Fluff and Oathbreaker's Outfit - 126 total.
For "Assassins of Kings," talk to a guard to get permission to talk to the elf. Turn on subtitles before doing so, because 95% of the conversation with the elf is in Elder Speech.
Advance "The Blood Curse" until it's time to cross the mist. Endless enemies will spawn, so just run straight past them all and out the other side of the mist. Bear right to do A Sackful of Fluff, though you can return and do it later. Zoltan will stand on the path you need to follow in order to advance the main quests, so follow him into Vergen. Be thankfull that most of this town is closed off to you. It's pretty easy to just follow your quest markers on this path.
For "Death Symbolized," in the southwest corner of the Catacombs, knock down a wall with Aard, and you'll find a ghost. If you don't want to fight him, choose the following responses: "You got it wrong," "Menno Coehoorn," "Coehoorn is dead," "Vandergrift and Seltkirk," and "I was led out by a priest." Once you have all the quest items, "The Blood Curse" will direct you back across the mist.
When it's time to perform the ritual at the end of "The Blood Curse," do it in this order: Petrified Bread, Black Candles, Goat's Skull, Scorched Tree, Raven's Corpse, Sour Milk, and back to Pixie Ring. Then, rather than actually casting Igni, just left-click somewhere on the dust lines. After the fight, return to camp to finish the quest, and another fight. Just before you meet with Dethmold for the necromancy, Meditate and use Alchemy to make a Gadwall's Potion, then drink it. You can talk to Dethmold beforehand, but Geralt will just say he's not ready, and that he needs to drink the aforementioned potion.
When "The Siege of Vergen" starts, you're offered two ways to get through the ravines. Take the southwest one, and you'll encounter a troll. Either talk to her or kill her, then loot the chest on the boat for Mystic River.
Once in town, you're given what seems to be a choice to help Iorveth or go after Phillipa. Helping Iorveth is just an optional objective, and you'll wind up at Phillipa's anyway. You'll then have to decide Henselt's fate:
A cutscene and conversation with Roche introduce Chapter III
last modified 25 June 2020