Rescuing Ciri on the Isles of Mists is the start of the last quest and recommended as level 22, but it comes with a warning that other side quests may be lost forever.

Those that have gone right through on the final quest and defeated the wild hunt are there still many side quests to do? I have gear that kicks in at higher levels like 30 plus and I am at level 27, so should I push on to get higher levels or just do the ciri rescue now!

David

You will continue to level up quite quickly once you start this quest -- there's lots to do. The quests that will be lost are any to do with continuing or advancing the storyline up to that point, and any to do with main characters who you will not see in the world afterwards. All other side quests will still be available after end game.

Thanks for that, I have done all the Triss, Ciri, Yen etc characters so don't see them now, I'll start the final quest tonight :-)

David

Isle of Mists isn't really "end game". It is the end of Act 1. (You should know what your task is, and once you have seen what awaits you on the Isle, have some idea how the end game plays out).

Acts 2 & 3 are probably similar in length to Act 1, but there is a lot of flexibility according to how you have been tackling sidequests and free exploration (if you have done *lots* already there will be a shorter second part, if you have done the bare minimum, then the remainder is rather larger).

Depends on your own game play style and what your preference is ultimately. I wanted to both see and experience everything the game had to offer, as well as maximize my level by doing everything possible, so I would occasionally go do cleanup runs where I completed any unfinished quests of equal or lower level than Geralt. Unfortunately there were some quests that I did not complete in time and moved the main story forward without realizing it might kill some quests on me. I only lost out on the High Stakes quest and one or two others though.

Yup. Not the final mission. It's just a turning point in the story. I think I was around level 26 or something when I Isle of Mists. Finished the game on level 33. Still plenty to do.

Yeah, my buddies who were so happy they are about to "finish" the game with post Isle of Mists events were quite frustrated when I told them there is at least dozen of hours only main-story related missions. /grin
So walk on through the rain, there is a lot of things to do.

Thanks for all of that, Witcher is my first game of this type, normally I'm FPS COD, BF etc, but Witcher was free and have to say I'm hooked.

At the castle now and getting ready for the fight :-)

David