Monster Hunter: World’s Witcher crossover: How to complete Geralt’s mission and sidequests
Monster Hunter: World’s Appreciation Festival is still ongoing, a party celebrating the over 11 million Hunters who’ve played the game since its launch last year. And while we knew the game would be crossing over with CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher sometime soon, we didn’t know it’d happen in the middle of the anniversary celebration. Geralt of Rivia can now be played in Monster Hunter World, and his mission is a little more involved than the expeditions and investigations your Hunter is used to.
Read on and we’ll let you know all about Geralt’s quest, as well as the rewards you can earn by completing it.
One Of Iron
Before you can accept this quest, you’ll need to be Hunter Rank 16 or higher, meaning you’ll need to have completed the main story.
Geralt’s arrival in Astera is preceded by an odd creature no one has ever seen before. The small humanoid followed a Tailraider Safari back to the Third Fleet’s Research Base, hovering over the Rotten Vale. The researchers there sent a trio of Palicoes to Astera to ask for your help, and you can find them behind and to your character’s right just after you load up your game.
Speaking to the cats will start a conversation where they ask you to visit the Research Base and look into the matter. There’s very little reason to return to the Research Base after playing through the story missions, so you may not have stopped by for a while. In case you’ve forgotten how to get there, you’ll need to exit Astera without accepting a quest first (as though you were heading out on an expedition), then select the Research Base from the map.
Once you’ve arrived, you’ll notice a character with a blue exclamation point over her head, down and to the right of your arrival point. To her left is the mysterious creature that got the Palicoes all worked up, and you can see for yourself, it’s quite unlike anything else you’ve encountered. She’ll tell you more about how it arrived, and after talking with you will decide that the matter needs to be brought to the Commander’s attention.
Once the Commander arrives, there’s a meeting that’s interrupted when a portal to another world opens up, depositing Geralt of Rivia in front of the researchers. He recognizes the strange beast as a Nekker, a minor monster from his homeworld. Geralt explains that both he and the Nekker were brought to this world by magic, which takes the Commander by surprise.
The Research commission isn’t normally equipped to handle magical threats (which may be why the Behemoth is such a tough fight), so Geralt offers to look into the matter on their behalf. At this point, you’ll be given the option to take on a special assignment as Geralt, one which borrows some mechanics from Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
One Of Silver
Geralt’s quest is different from most previous crossovers, because it’s not a limited time event and can be repeated as often as you like. The developers took extra care with this quest to make it feel more like an event in Geralt’s home game, letting him use his heightened senses and magical ability to do more detective work than a Hunter usually bothers with. There are several side quests along with the main mission, and completing all of them in a single run makes this event quite a bit more challenging. Expect your first playthrough to take about an hour.
Geralt is subject to a few rules that don’t apply to Hunters. He can’t benefit from meals, and isn’t allowed to enter the tents at campsites to change his loadout. What’s more, you can’t do this quest with a Palico or online partner; Geralt works alone. Fortunately he comes stocked with tons of healing potions, and there are more in the stash box at any of the Ancient Forest’s campsites if he happens to run low. On the plus side, he has a unique ability called Igni Sign: a short-range fire spell he can use about once every 15 seconds.
This ability is crucial for the fight ahead.
Geralt’s armor can’t be changed, but his weapon can be swapped out by speaking to the Smithy Apprentice you’ll encounter as you head along the path. His starting weapon is the Witcher’s Silver Sword+, a Sword & Shield with impressive stats. If you’re unfamiliar with the Sword & Shield, you can swap it for any of the other 13 weapon types and receive reasonably good armament in return.
If you like the Sword & Shield, you’ll be able to make one for your Hunter after completing this quest a couple of times.
After leaving the Smithy Apprentice, you’ll encounter another member of the Research Commission examining the body of a dead Aptonoth. The herbivore seems to have been killed in an unusual manner, and the trail leads towards the southwest camp. Follow the markings, and you’ll discover another dead Aptonoth, this one surrounded by a flock of Revoltures. These birds are usually scavengers, so their aggressive behavior is extremely abnormal. Use Igni Sign to disperse the flock, and you’ll be able to examine this corpse for further information. Geralt hypothesizes that the birds are being controlled by something not native to the forest.
Geralt will find a new trail, one which seems to indicate a chase and a researcher running for their life. Following these tracks to their conclusion, Geralt will discover the Botany researcher trapped in a cage of roots, unable to free himself. He’s not the only one who’s been trapped; Geralt will pass a Pukei-Pukei who’s been strangled to death by roots, and has the option to free a second one, behind and to the left of the researcher. (Freeing this Pukei-Pukei is optional, and doing so will trigger a side quest for Geralt later in his journey.) Geralt recognizes the root attack and animal control as the work of a Leshen, and sets out to find the monster’s totem.
By this point you may have encountered some strange markings on the walls and trees of the Ancient Forest. These hieroglyphs are the work of the native Gajalaka tribe, and Geralt can’t understand them on his own. You don’t have to decipher these runes to finish your quest, but taking some time out to investigate will help Geralt finish another side mission and gain the trust of the native Gajalaka tribe. We’ll detail how to complete this sidequest a little later.
Check your map after speaking with the researcher, and you should see a red reticle near the center of the Ancient Forest. Place a marker here, and your scoutflies will bring you right to the Leshen’s totem. It will be marked red in Geralt’s vision, a crude wooden sign with a deer’s skull and antlers on top. When he approaches it, he’ll be attacked by a vicious pack of Jagras. Normally these yellow lizards aren’t much of a challenge, but the Leshen’s influence has made them much more formidable. Cut down the pack and prepare yourself to fight a most unusual monster.
In The Heart Of The Woods
MHW-Witcher-Leshen.Jpg
The Leshen doesn’t look like anything else in Monster Hunter: World, much more human-shaped than the dragons and beasts of Astera. It’s a very tall humanoid covered in vines and loose wrappings, with a deer skull covering its head and obscuring its face. It has natural camouflage in the Ancient Forest, and you may find yourself losing sight of it if the battle becomes heated. It doesn’t help that the creature can teleport at will, and you’ll lose your lock-on every time it does.
As you might expect from its appearance, the Leshen uses a variety of plant-based attacks against Geralt, and it’s weak against fire attacks like Geralt’s Igni Sign. It can also summon swarms of Jagras and Revoltures to defend itself. There are several abilities to watch out for, though a few won’t show up until the later stages of the fight.
If you’re more than a few feet from the Leshen, it may launch a wave of Revoltures at you. This move doesn’t do much damage, but it can knock you down, interrupting healing or combo attacks.
The most common attack the Leshen will perform is to jam its left claw into the ground and launch a wave of spiky roots at Geralt. If you’re far enough away this is easy to avoid, but if you’re in melee range it’s a bit tougher. This attack can be done at a distance or in a semicircle surrounding the Leshen’s front. Watch for the Leshen to lean over, and when it does, back away or try to get behind it.
If the Leshen sticks both claws into the ground, it’ll cause a root explosion to erupt underneath Geralt a short time later. This is tough to avoid, and it’ll launch Geralt into the air if it hits him. Getting hit by a few of these in a row will cause Geralt to become stunned and may set him up for further damage. The creature will raise both arms skyward before using this attack, so if you see this behavior try to dodge roll and move in any single direction as quickly as you can.
The Leshen can protect itself with a short fence made of spiky roots before using either of these attacks. You can burn it away with Igni Sign, or use a reach weapon like the Lance or Longsword to attack through it. The Igni Sign is Geralt’s best friend during the fight, and successfully burning the Leshen will leave it vulnerable for a few seconds and unable to defend itself.
During the second stage of the fight, the Leshen will begin summoning packs of Jagras to distract you. These lizards don’t have very many HP, but they hit much harder than you might expect and can prevent you from healing yourself or using an item. Try to take them out before returning your attention to the Leshen.
If you’re attacking from melee range, the Leshen may lash out at you with its claws, causing a Bleed effect. If you’re hit with this status your health bar will turn pink, and you’ll rapidly lose HP if you try to run, dodge, or attack. Sheathe your weapon and crouch for a few seconds to clear the effect, or eat one of the provided Astera Jerky from your inventory. If you start bleeding when there are Jagras on the field, they can bash you around and keep you from healing or clearing the bleed effect.
If you do fall during the battle, don’t forget to re-buff yourself by consuming a Max Potion and Well-Done Steak to raise your maximum HP and Stamina. You can also eat an Adamant Seed to temporarily boost your defense, though these wear off after a bit. Be sure to sharpen your weapon every time the Leshen moves to a new location. And watch for opportunities to use the terrain to your advantage: the Leshen can be poisoned by Poisoncups and stunned by Flash Bugs. You’ll also find some poison and paralysis knives in your stash which you can use with your Slinger.
The Leshen moves through several different areas as you whittle down its HP, and the fight usually ends in the Southwest region of the map near the very first campsite. Once it’s defeated, Geralt can carve the body to claim the skull and a few more crafting items for later use.
Upon his return to the Research Commission, Geralt declines his promised reward, noting that the local currency won’t be worth anything when he returns home. He notices that your character isn’t present, and the Handler informs him that they were tasked with clearing the Forest of other threats while he dealt with the Leshen. Geralt is impressed, and provides the Handler with a runestone which will allow the Hunter to imitate his Igni Sign and cast a minor flame spell in case a Leshen ever returns.
Side Quests: The Chief Issue And The Trapped Pukei-Pukei
That’s not all there is to this story, however. There are a couple of side missions you can undertake while tracking down the Leshen, and one of them really lets Geralt put his Medieval Batman training to the test.
This side mission begins when Geralt notices the runic writing left behind by the local Gajalaka tribe. He can’t read it, but knows the Research Commission has promised to help him in whatever way they can. All he has to do is find someone who can read the writing for him.
Fortunately, the Lynian Research expert is standing by in the Forest, and is happy to help Geralt understand the strange writing. You can find him in zone six. There’s a yellow exclamation point on the map where he’s standing, though it can be hard to pick out if you have a lot of other markers active. He’s standing above the northern section which contains multiple Poisoncup plants, as seen below.
The Lynian Researcher tells Geralt that the markings are a summons to the rest of the Gajalaka tribe, telling them to meet at the very top of the highest tree in the Ancient Forest. He suggests Geralt go there and see if he can speak to one of the Galajaka in person.
You’ll be familiar with this section if you’ve ever tried to steal eggs from the Rathalos. If you have it available, use a Wingdrake to fly to the Ancient Forest camp in the Northeast section of the map. As you get close, you’ll hear Gajalaka talking to one another. Follow the path to the Dam, as seen below.
Since Geralt arrived ahead of the researcher, he has no one to tell the Galajaka he’s not here to fight. You’ll need to subdue them before the Researcher arrives and can help translate. He explains that the Gajalaka are in an uproar because their chief has gone missing, and he only left the cryptic clue “Supreme Healer, Tree Abyss.” Geralt thinks this might have something to do with alchemy, and seeks out the Handler to find out more. Wingdrake to the Southwest camp and speak with her.
The Handler doesn’t know about the plants Geralt is looking for, but has some useful information about the Supreme Healer and the Tree Abyss. She thinks it might be referring to the massive Vigorwasp that lives in a hollow tree in area 13. If the chief felt as though he were cursed, he might seek out this insect to try and make it go away. You can find the giant Vigorwasp just where she says it is, as seen below. The giant wasp will fully heal Geralt, so try to save it for the end of the battle if you can. Alternatively, if you haven’t caught one in your bug net already, you can do so now for a big pile of research points.
The Chief is much larger and tougher than most Gajalaka, and has a pair of personal bodyguards with him at all times. Beat them up before turning your attention to the Chief himself. You’ll be able to knock some sense into him long enough for the Researcher to arrive and explain the situation. Geralt thinks the same creature who teleported him here is responsible for the curse put on the Chief. After completing your business with the Chief and the Researcher, you’ll be able to return to the main quest and defeat the Leshen as normal.
There’s one other side quest Geralt can do on his way to defeating the Leshen, but it’s not nearly so involved. Simply use Igni Sign on the trapped Pukei-Pukei after freeing the Botany researcher trapped in the roots. If you do, the beast will show its gratitude by fighting the Leshen at your side during the last stage of the fight. Defeat the Leshen before it kills the Pukei-Pukei to complete this side quest. This is easier said than done, and you’ll need to very carefully manage the summoned Jagras and try to keep the Leshen’s attention away from the mutant chameleon. Completing every side quest in one playthrough will unlock the “Wild Hunt” title for use on your Guild Card, but serves no other purpose.
Journeyman Blacksmith
Defeating the Leshen provides your Hunter with a variety of strange new materials, and that means it’s time for a trip to the forge. Leshen parts can be used to create a new set of armor which will let your Hunter take on the appearance and voice of Geralt, and there’s a new weapon to craft as well. If you don’t have enough parts for everything after a single playthrough, check the “Special Assignments” section of the quest board for the “Contract: Trouble in the Ancient Forest” quest. You can replay this as often as you like, though the script never changes.
You may need to defeat the Leshen a few times before you have everything you need, especially if you want to craft the Witcher’s Silver Sword. This weapon is a Sword and Shield with 252 attack value, white sharpness, high Elderseal capability, one level one slot for decorations, and a chance to do 300 Dragon element damage with each strike. To build the blade you’ll need 32,000 Zenny, one Leshen Skull (A guaranteed drop at the end of the fight), four Cursed Bones, two Leshen Antlers (easier to get if you break the head, which can be done twice) and two Carbalite ore. The blade can be upgraded into the Witcher’s Silver Sword+, but players will have to wait until Ciri’s quest to defeat a much stronger Leshen goes live before they’ll be able to upgrade the weapon.
The Leshen pieces Geralt brought back can also be used to craft a set of armor which will let your Hunter walk around in Geralt’s shoes for a while. The armor must be crafted and worn as a full set, and can’t be mixed or matched with other armor. Fortunately, it has some unique properties which make it worth investing in.
Crafting the Geralt α set will cost you 60,000 Zenny, one Leshen Skull, three Leshen Claws, four Cursed Bones, and two Leshen Resin. The full set provides 350 physical defense (upgradeable with defense orbs) and offers good resistance against the Fire and Dragon elements, but isn’t great against Thunder or Ice.
Each piece of the set provides specific benefits, and wearing the full suit helps boost your health regeneration beyond its normal limits. These stats and benefits are what Geralt has when he’s on the hunt for the Leshen as well.
- Geralt’s Head α has two level one slots for decorations. It provides two ranks of Weakness Exploit and one of Recovery Speed.
- Geralt’s Body α has two level one slots for decorations. It provides three ranks of Health Boost and two of Attack Boost.
- Geralt’s Arms α has one level three decoration slot. They provide two ranks of Recovery Speed and one rank of Marathon Runner.
- Geralt’s Torso α has one level two decoration slot. It provides two ranks of Bombadier and one of Weakness exploit.
- Geralt’s Legs α have one level two decoration slot. They provide two ranks of Marathon Runner and two of Critical eye.
The main reason to use the Geralt set is to take full advantage of the Runestone the Witcher provided before departing. Wearing Geralt’s armor vastly upgrades the fiery Runestone into a perfect copy of Geralt’s Igni Sign, boosting the damage by a factor of ten. The fire attack can be performed by using the Runestone from your inventory, or by equipping the “Witcher 3:Flame Manipulation” emote. The gesture version has the advantage of not taking up an inventory slot, but is a little harder to pull off using radial menus. Both techniques share the same cooldown, so it’s up to you which version you prefer.
What…. Is That Thing?
Returning to Astera after defeating the Leshen will unlock a new Critical Bounty from the trio of researchers in the center of the Tradeyard. Instead of crafting a set of Palico clothes from extra Leshen parts, you’ll need to fulfill a strange request and capture another Nekker before you can change your Palico to match Geralt’s style.
You’re given a few hints about how to catch a Nekker: They’re only seen at night, they don’t hunt for themselves, and they’ve only been seen in the Ancient Forest. While the first and last clues are easy to decipher, the middle one might not make much sense if you haven’t observed the habits of the Great Jagras beyond shoving sharp things into their soft bits.
If you leave a Great Jagras alone for a while, it’ll swallow an Aptonoth and start waddling around the map with the beast distending its enormous belly. Follow it back to its lair, and it’ll share the meal with the lesser Jagras by barfing up some of the meat in front of them. You have to hide to observe this behavior, so you’ll need to bring your Ghillie Mantle or crouch in the bushes while you wait.
The Nekker only shows up at night and only eats the leavings of high-rank Great Jagras, so you’ll need to choose a quest which fulfills all the requirements. The optional quest “Hard to Swallow” meets all the criteria, but you may have to wait for a while if it’s still daylight when you start the mission. Practice fishing, cook your raw meat, or drill with an unfamiliar weapon if you need to wait for nightfall. It may take a couple of tries before the Nekker shows up, but it’s quite distinctive and easy to spot when it makes an appearance. Equip your bug net and grab it, then return to Astera.
The Nekker is far from cute, but returning it to the Research commission will earn you some special cards which can be used to modify your Palico’s appearance. The Nekker Card (Weapon) can be traded in at the Forge to create the Cursed Staff α. This weapon resembles a cow skull on a stick with some dark feathers attached, and costs 600 Research points in addition to the card. It’s a blunt weapon which does 78 melee damage or 32 when thrown. It has no elemental properties, and carries a -15% penalty to affinity when held. It’s not especially useful as a held weapon, but definitely provides a unique look when equipped.
The Nekker Card (Armor) can be traded for the Palico Nekker α full armor set. Wearing this will turn your cute cat into a fleshy abomination, but you may feel it’s worth the tradeoff for the stats this armor provides. The Nekker armor costs 1500 research points in addition to the Card. It provides 395 physical defense, and boosts all elemental resistances except Water by two. Water resistance is reduced by eight. Unlike most Palico items there’s no way to earn pieces for another set, so make sure to keep the Nekker gear in a safe place and never sell them back to the forgemaster. You can also display the captured Nekker as a pet in your living quarters.
There’s more to come from the Witcher collaboration, and Hunters can look forward to a second quest involving Ciri and a more advanced version of the Leshen later this week. Hunters will need to be at least rank 50 to tackle the Ancient Leshen, and it’s safe to assume the rewards for this quest will allow the Witcher’s Silver Sword to attain its final form. Other rewards including a set of special Dual Blades and the Ciri set α will also be tied to this quest, called “Contract: Woodland Spirit.”
We’ll let you know more about this mission once it goes live. In the meantime, don’t miss out on the Appreciation Fest or the new quest to hunt a tempered Lavasioth for multiple decoration rewards. Defeating the beast guarantees at least two warped Feystones, the rarest decorations available.
