You are free to choose the best swords, bombs, potions, signs, and level up, but only retain the default starting armor; Is it possible?

I managed to complete the said feat with "Swords and Story" difficulty, planning to do just that with a harder one.

well. I basically play as glass cannon, on death march . quen is my armor. so yes it is possible, I keep chest from starting armor in my inventory - because it is awesome =)

it is medium armor, i prefer light - for damage, but i still think it is doable, not in the first run - you have to know exactly where to take qusts for your lvl

I havent finished my first playthrough but i did a lot of red quests - as a result a had the same amount of grey ones that give you 5xp...

High DPS is arguably more important than high armor protection, so yes, it should be perfectly doable. Just need to be more careful about dodging incoming attacks, and maybe use Quen as a back-up.

I'm on my first playthrough and still mostly playing with the starting armor, since it looks nice. :D

i remember killing lvl 25 vampire in oxenfurt being lvl 14 - it one-shots you, the most fun part is that you locked in a box 4x5 metres, so yes - plaing without armor is possible. I wish i could save that white towel from Vyzima's palace - plaing entire game in it will be fun =)

oh and you can keep that awesome wolf mask from Triss's quest - this outfit woutd be stunning

Just finished the game on blood and broken bones with a normal armor. Sign build helps alot. I tried focused on full Axii, Igni, and Quen. Once Quen is fully upgraded there is no need for swallow, and full upgrade of Igni can kill bosses very quickly, let them roast over while your stamina refills for the next douse of flame.