When you begin your adventures in The Witcher 3, Geralt has nary a penny to his name– Enough to buy two Gwent cards and a mug of mead! Though his profession pays well, it would seem that Geralt has spent all of his money or left it behind at Kaer Morhen!
If you’re new to The Continent following The Witcher 3’s next-gen console update on December 14th 2022, you’ll likely be wondering how to make money in the Witcher 3. And, the good news is there are a handful of ways to stack that gold relatively quickly.
Whilst poverty may seem like the fate of Geralt in the early game, with these 7 simple tips, you’ll be basking in riches before you know it.
Let’s get you stacked with gold! 👇
How To Make Money In The Witcher 3
While there are many methods to make money in The Witcher 3, you will have to be cunning and somewhat frivolous. Yes, that means you should probably be cleaving the local cows in twain to get at their precious pelts, openly stealing from the townsfolk, and causing general bankruptcy wherever you can!
Play Gwent all the way to a luxurious villa in Toussaint if you like, but some ways will have you sipping wine by the vineyard sooner than others.
Here are 7 easy ways to make money in The Witcher 3:
- Scrimp & Save
- Collect, Steal & Loot.
- Smugglers Cache’s
- Cow Hides In White Orchard
- Complete Contracts
- Sell Goods High
- Disassemble & Dismantle
Keep scrolling to learn all there is to know about making money in The Witcher 3 or click the links above to skip to the section that interests you most! 👇
Scrimp & Save Money
One of the easiest ways to make money in The Witcher 3 is just simply scrimping and saving where you can. Rarely is it necessary for you to buy a blade or balm from a merchant and your coin purse will thank you if you just use what you find lying around.
Besides, all too often you hand over your hard-earned gold for a shiny new sword only for it to lose its lustre in a level or two anyways. Instead, save your monster-hunting money for only what cannot be obtained any other way. Witcher set upgrades, quest items, and of course, Gwent cards are not readily available as loot so keep your precious pennies for items such as these.
Otherwise, you’ll be kicking yourself when you see that the gambeson you bought only sells for a tenth the price. Whenever you see the dialogue “show me your wares” just run for the hills. It’s that simple.
Collect, Steal & Loot
As soon as you can, you should invest in a good set of saddlebags.
Throughout your travel, you’ll be piling towers of trash onto your faithful horse, Roach and your saddlebag will be critical to ensuring you can collect as much as possible as you venture through The Continent. Rarely do bandits or monsters carry more than a handful of coins. Instead, their valuables are what you’ll want to stuff your pockets full of.
Swords, trinkets and even sea shells can be sold for a fine price if you know where and how to sell them. And if you’re feeling brave, go ahead and empty that chest while the Redanian guards stand about firing off insults.
After all, if you’re going to fully upgrade your Witcher gear, you need those dwarven spirits and that handful of dried fruit far more than they do.
Smugglers Cache’s
Smugglers’ cache treasures of the tributary and oceanic opals are simple barrels of loot that float around in the water. Sometimes you’ll have to fight Drowners or Sirens to get at them, but it’s always worth the trouble.
Velen and White Orchard have a handful of these for you to crack open, but the grand majority lie off the coasts of Skellige. Don’t feel the need to collect all of these, as the randomized items improve with your level (and there are close to sixty). Instead, whenever your coin purse is feeling light, find a dinghy and sail out from Ard Skellig to harvest one of these bounties of the beach.
Cow Hides In White Orchard
For a long time, cow hides were the peak of commerce in the Witcher 3.
Slaughter a few of the farmers’ beloved bovines, sell them for a tidy profit and enjoy a glass of milk. That was how it went. Now that CD Projekt Red has patched that exploit out, you can still wreak havoc on ruminants, but you’ll enjoy a slim profit margin. It’s not the best way to make money in The Witcher but you’ll still be glad you spent some time here.
Unless you pay a visit to Woesong Bridge in White Orchard and kill six cows of course! Then, you’ll be treated to a secret boss – a Level 27 Chort will bravely defend the livestock, and you’ll end up with a much more valuable hide to pawn off during your next visit to Novigrad.
Complete Contracts
Another fast way to make money in The Wither 3 is by simply accepting contracts.
The poor and beaten townsfolk have scrounged up a heavy bag of gold for you to kill that grave hag or fiend, and if that’s not enough you can haggle for a few coins more. Whenever you pass through a village, have a look at their message board for notes with a red wax seal, these pay the best and often have unique monsters for you to slay.
It will often be a tough battle for Geralt, so take precautions. And while you’re beheading that basilisk, you may think the life of a Witcher is pretty grim. But seeing your employer count out that currency for you makes it all worth it.
Sell Goods High
It is a sad truth that not all merchants are created equal.
Unless you’re selling food & junk (visit the Inn at the Crossroads), you’ll want to be selling everything in either Novigrad or Oxenfurt. So, another great way to make money in The Witcher 3 is to turn your nose up at the poverty-stricken merchants of Velen and Skellige as they won’t pay top dollar for your wondrous wares and worn-out weaponry.
The Hierarch square in Novigrad is your new place for peddling. The blacksmith, herbalist and bookstore all know the value of your goods, and if you have the DLCs, even better– Bouclair in the Duchy of Toussaint will pay the best prices for your travelling trash.
Disassemble & Dismantle Items
It may come as a surprise, but some items are worth more when you’ve smashed them to pieces. Jewellery, Dimeritium junk and any shell you manage to skim from the sea will sell for more once you’ve dismantled them at a blacksmith or armourer. Yoana in Crow’s Perch is the best and cheapest option for this method of making money.
So, instead of tossing the innkeeper a couple of clams for his chowder, you’re selling black pearls to an upmarket jeweller. There was even an exploit where players would buy shells from one merchant, extract the pearls, and then make a steep profit from another merchant. But nowadays you’ll have to farm sea shells the old-fashioned way, by looting Drowner nests or the bodies of Sirens.
If you’ve got a bunch of unwanted jewellery, sea shells or junk in your backpack, dismantle your items to make more money at a merchant in The Witcher 3.
The Final Word
While these aren’t the only ways of making money in The Witcher 3, for new players and early game endeavours, following these tips will give your bank balance a sizeable boost.
Although many of the money hacks are now patched, there are still endless scams and flim flams for a clever player throughout the game. Which, most of the game’s quests involve weaselling your way into the safes and lockboxes of the locals where you can find plenty of wares to steal.
Djikstra has his missing money for you to find, and the Passiflora holds a Gwent tournament that you need not win to make off with the winnings. That said, the above strategies will go a long way toward getting the breached wall of Kaer Morhen fixed and toward keeping Geralt in silver swords and Sansretour chardonnay.
Know of any other tips on how to make money in The Witcher 3? Hit the comments below, and don’t forget to check out my other tutorials, roundups and walkthroughs of your favourite games.
