Gwent is a mini-card-game in The Witcher 3. Geralt first learns to play Gwent in a small village of White Orchard. You’ll find plentiful of NPCs and several on-going tournaments to test your skills in Gwent.
For more help on The Witcher 3, read our Romance Guide, Alchemy Recipes Guide and Crafting Guide.
How to Play Gwent Cards Game
In this guide, I’ll share everything you need to know about playing Gwent.
General Guidelines
- First player turn is decided by a coin toss
- The player to win first two rounds wins the entire game
- Each player draws 10 random cards from their deck followed by discarding two cards and replacing them with others
- The game continues until all cards are exhausted or a player’s strength outmatches his or her opponent’s strength
- Once the game starts, a player places a Unit Card on the game board (one card per turn)
- Each Unit Card has certain strength points which add to make up a player’s total strength
Types of Decks
There are a total of 4 decks in Gwent comprising of Unit Cards, Leader Card, Weather Cards, and Special Cards:
- The Northern Realms
- The Nilfgaardian Empire
- The Scoia’tael
- Monsters
Below you’ll find everything you need to know about different cards in a deck:
Leader Cards
The Leader Cards have special abilities which can be put to use during a player’s turn – only once per match. Moreover, a Leader Card has different variants which can be earned, purchased, or found; each one with unique special abilities.
Unit Cards
The Unit Cards are a player’s primary means of earning points in Gwent. There are a total of 3 types of Unit Cards which are Closed, Ranged, and Siege. Like Leader Cards, Unit Cards also possess special abilities which can be used to turn tides during a match.
Special Cards
The Special Cards allow a player to inflict a wide array of effects during a match. These cards provide a player’s Unit Cards to come up with additional responses to deal with opponent’s moves. A common example of a Special Card is Weather Card.
Furthermore, a Weather Card can deplete the Strength of all cards at a player’s and his or her opponent’s disposal. In addition to this, there are certain special Weather Cards which negate all other Weather Cards in a match. Lastly, there are a total of 3 types of Weather Cards which affect different Unit Cards:
- Snow Weather Cards affect Closed Combat Cards
- Fog Weather Cards affect Ranged Combat Cards
- Rain Weather Cards affect Siege Combat Cards
Hero Cards and Neutral Cards
The Hero Cards are always stronger than regular Unit Cards and are immune to Special Cards which gives the players with these cards a huge advantage. The Neutral Cards, on the other hand, don’t belong to any specific decks such as Special Cards or Unit Cards.
These cards possess special abilities which enhance the effects of other cards. The Neutral Cards include Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Ciri.
Tips and Strategy
Since a player can only draw 10 cards, it’s recommended NOT to use these cards too early.
A player needs to win 2 rounds to win a match so always be careful with them. There is no shame in passing a turn if you think your opponent’s card is too strong for your card. Furthermore, passing a turn doesn’t mean quitting the game.
Aside from certain early opponents, you need to possess a strong deck to defeat high level Gwent players.
Remember that you can always buy new cards from the Inn at the White Orchard – the same place where you first learn to play the game. Moreover, add strong cards into your deck as soon as you get them.
Always be careful with the Weather Cards. Since these cards affect the cards of both players; only use them when you’re sure that they’ll affect the opponent’s card more than your own cards. Lastly, Geralt will come across a number of Gwent players during certain side-quests.
These players sometimes possess the best cards out there, so if you’ve an interest in collecting them all; challenge them! There are a total of 197 Gwent Cards in the game and this is one of the ways to acquire some of them.
Share your own Gwent tips and strategies with us in the Comments Section below.
