The Witcher 3 High Stakes

In our The Witcher 3 High Stakes guide, we offer some tips on how to win the Gwent tournament at the Passiflora in the heart of Novigrad

The Witcher 3 High Stakes - Geralt walking down a street

There are two kinds of people on The Continent, those that love the collectable card game Gwent and those who despise it. Well, if you happen to belong to the former, there’s a tournament you might want to take part in, and in our The Witcher 3 High Stakes guide, we offer some advice on how to win the entire competition.

If you want to know even more about the man of the hour in Wild Hunt, our The Witcher 3 Geralt guide is a great read. Then, if you need a little help deciding  what the monster slayer should wear, our The Witcher 3 best armor article can help you out.

Anyway, here’s all you need to know about The Witcher 3 High Stakes.

What is The Witcher 3 High Stakes?

High Stakes is a secondary mission in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, though you can’t access this quest until the final arc of the game. You can find it at the Passiflora in Novigrad, where a group of Gwent specialists are keen to put all their cards on the table in an attempt to win the grand prize.

The quest is essentially split into two halves, the first of which is the tournament itself, while the second is the fallout – no matter what, you can see this quest to the end, even if you don’t win the tournament.

The Witcher 3 High Stakes - Sasha stood talking to Geralt

The Witcher 3 High Stakes tips

During the tournament segment of the quest, there are four matches for you to take part in:

Bernard Tulle

Bernard is your first challenge, and he’s quite a tough opponent as he uses the Northern Realms deck to great effect. However, if you go into this with a Nilfgaardian Empire deck, you can overwhelm him fairly easily due to the number of medic cards you can take into battle.

Sasha

This is perhaps the toughest Gwent game you come across in the whole of The Witcher 3, as Sasha not only uses the Nilfgaardian Empire deck but also relies heavily on spy cards, which can cause all sorts of problems depending on the cards she draws. Honestly, we suggest you match her with your own Nilfgaardian Empire deck – may the cards fall in your favour.

Finneas

In all honesty, Finneas is the easiest battle as he uses the Scoia’tael deck, which you can combat with practically any other deck you choose. Furthermore, the Scoia’tael deck relies a lot on ranged cards, so keep a fog card or two in your deck, and you can decimate his approach.

Count Tybalt

Count Tybalt uses a Monsters deck, which you can easily fight off with a Northern Realms or Nilfgaardian Empire deck.

The Witcher 3 To catch a Thief

You only get access to the second part of High Stakes if you accept Sasha’s offer partway through the tournament and win all of your matches. To Catch a Thief is a simple quest, and each objective is clearly described to you.

There you have it, everything you need to know to win the Passiflora Gwent tournament in The Witcher 3 High Stakes. If you happen to enjoy the card game, our Gwent decks guide is a great read.