WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The witcher 3 new game plus explained mechanics allow you to restart Geralt’s story while retaining your earned character levels, ability points, equipment, and alchemy recipes from a completed campaign save.
- Level transfer: Geralt begins at his exact level from the clear save, with enemy levels scaling upward to a maximum witcher 3 new game plus level cap of 100.
- Inventory rules: All weapons, armor, potion recipes, stash items, and gold carry over, while Gwent card collections, quest items, and discovered map waypoints reset.
- Gear upgrades: World schematics reset into higher-tier witcher 3 ng+ legendary witcher gear blueprints designed to balance higher enemy health pools.
Starting New Game Plus before unlocking the Blood and Wine mutation system locks out four extra skill slots until late in your second playthrough.
How to Start New Game Plus in The Witcher 3
To launch a New Game Plus run, you must first complete the main story campaign of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on any difficulty setting. Once the final credits finish, create a manual save file to lock in your character state and completed quest progress.
After securing your clear save file, return to the title screen and follow these steps to launch your new run:
- Select New Game from the main menu options.
- Choose your preferred combat difficulty and enable or disable enemy level scaling.
- Select the option to enable New Game Plus when prompted.
- Select your completed manual save file from the save list to load your progression data.
If you want to adjust Geralt’s build orientation before launching your run, review our advice on choosing a starting class in an RPG to plan your skill distribution effectively. Note that you can only launch New Game Plus once per completed save file. The game does not allow stacking sequential NG+ runs off an existing NG+ save file without using third-party PC modifications.
Witcher 3 New Game Plus Explained: What Carries Over and What Resets
Understanding which witcher 3 ng+ items carry over prevents accidental loss of rare materials and equipment. Most of Geralt’s combat progression and personal items transfer cleanly, but narrative-driven collectibles and map features clear out to preserve story flow.
| Category | Item or Mechanic | Status in NG+ | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progression | Character Level & Skills | Carries Over | All level progress, unspent ability points, and active mutations transfer directly. |
| Currency | Crowns | Carries Over | All accumulated gold transfers to your starting balance immediately. |
| Inventory | Weapons & Armor | Carries Over | Equipped gear and all items stored in player stash remain available. |
| Alchemy | Recipes & Oils | Carries Over | All unlocked potion, oil, bomb, and decoction recipes stay fully crafted. |
| Collectibles | Gwent Cards | Resets | Your entire card collection wipes, requiring you to challenge NPCs again. |
| World | Quest Items & Maps | Resets | Keys, plot items, estate trophies, and discovered map waypoints reset completely. |
Trophies mounted on display stands at the Corvo Bianco vineyard in Toussaint will vanish if left on display during transition. Move all mounted weapons, armor, and estate trophies back into your player stash box before launching NG+ to keep them safe.
How Level Scaling and Enemy Difficulty Work
Enemy encounters in New Game Plus calculate their baseline stats directly from Geralt’s level at the moment you import the clear save. If you complete the main campaign at level 30, early-game encounters in White Orchard spawn around level 30. If you complete both expansions and start NG+ at level 54, those same wolves and bandits spawn at level 54.
According to developer CD Projekt Red mechanics verified in 2026, the game engine enforces a strict witcher 3 new game plus level cap of level 100. Enemy levels scale upward alongside player progression until hitting this upper ceiling. If your starting level is higher than level 52, end-game bosses and high-tier Witcher contracts will hit level 100 without scaling beyond fair combat limits.
When fighting scaled enemies on higher difficulty modes like Death March, health pools and incoming damage scale steeply. If you encounter an early barrier, our strategy guide on how to beat a difficulty spike without grinding outlines tactical positioning and alchemy preparations to overcome tough encounters without tedious level farming.
Legendary Witcher Gear and Mutagens Explained
While standard high-tier equipment like Grandmaster Wolven or Manticore armor offers strong percentage resistance stats, raw armor values fall behind early in a second campaign. To fix this gap, special witcher 3 ng+ legendary witcher gear schematics replace standard school diagrams throughout the game world. These diagrams provide significantly higher base defense and damage ratings tailored for post-level 30 encounters.
Mutagens and mutation systems also require careful management. The advanced mutation tree unlocked through the Blood and Wine expansion quest lines transfers into your NG+ save file. This retention lets Geralt keep powerful combat buffs like Euphoria active, but unlocking additional mutation nodes requires consuming Greater Red Mutagens, which are rare in early regions.
Because base gear schematics reset upon restarting, you must collect Legendary set blueprints across Velen, Novigrad, and Skellige to craft upgraded sets. Your existing Grandmaster armor will carry Geralt through the initial 10 to 15 levels of NG+ before basic Legendary pieces outpace them in defense stats.
Essential Preparation Tips Before Starting NG+
Many players launch directly into a fresh campaign without preparing, overlooking why games start with slow pacing before open crafting options fully re-open. Taking time to optimize your end-game save file ensures Geralt enters the second run with maximum advantage.
Follow this checklist before selecting New Game Plus from the main menu:
- Unlock advanced mutations: Complete the Turn and Face the Strange quest in Toussaint to unlock the central mutation tree and additional skill slots.
- Craft superior alchemy items: Upgrade all potions, oils, and decoctions to Superior tier, as high-level crafting ingredients are scarce early in White Orchard.
- Clear your estate display: Remove every sword, armor set, and trophy mounted at Corvo Bianco and place them directly inside your player stash.
- Stock rare mutagens: Farm Greater Red, Blue, and Green Mutagens from Toussaint monster nests or the winter cherry garden at Corvo Bianco to fund remaining mutation nodes.
- Buy a Potion of Clearance: Purchase a skill reset potion from Keira Metz or Yennefer so you can reallocate ability points immediately if you prefer a fresh build style.
Completing these preparations ensures Geralt enters NG+ fully equipped to manage early scaled encounters without hitting progression bottlenecks.