Is The Witcher 3 DLC worth it? If that’s a question you’re asking yourself, you’ve come to the right place. People all over the world are enamoured with The Witcher 3, although as is the case with most modern blockbusters, forking over extra cash for additional, post-launch content can make a person pretty sceptical. If you’ve got the Game of the Year Edition, lucky you - you’ve already got the DLC for free, bud. If not, you’ll have to pay between around five and ten dollars for each expansion - Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine - based on whether or not The Witcher 3 DLC is currently on sale.

If you’re wondering whether or not it’s worth the extra few quid, don’t worry - I’ve logged an embarrassing amount of hours in The Witcher 3 and have played through both DLC packs enough times to know whether or not they justify the price tag. So, if you’re trying to figure out whether you want to get your wallet out, read on.

Related: The Witcher Casting Two Different Actors For Eredin Is Really Weird

Here, I’m going to talk about both Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine as individual expansions of The Witcher 3, and will provide bullet points on the main details of each on top of a comprehensive analysis of how good they are in terms of bang for your buck. Here’s everything you need to know about whether or not The Witcher 3 DLC is worth the money.

The Witcher 3: Is The Hearts Of Stone DLC Worth It?

hearts of stone worth it

 

Hearts of Stone is, without a shadow of a doubt, the single best piece of story content in the entire Witcher trilogy. It takes place in a new area in the northeast of Velen and revolves around characters like Olgierd von Everec and Gaunter O’Dimm, the latter of whom is probably the best video game villain of all time. I’d go into why that’s the case here if not for the fact that spoiling it for anyone reading this article would be doing them a disservice - you’ve just got to play it for yourself.

Here’s everything you need to know going into Hearts of Stone.

  • It takes place in Velen, but it’s still a new area of No Man’s Land.
  • It’s around ten hours long, meaning at $10 you’re getting an hour for every dollar spent.
  • It introduces new characters like Olgierd von Everec, Gaunter O’Dimm, Iris, and more.
  • It can be completed before you finish the main story, meaning it’s a good way to level up before taking on Eredin during Ragh nar Roog.

All in all, Hearts of Stone is probably the best value for money you’re going to get in terms of The Witcher 3, including paying for the base game. I’ve read, watched, and played everything in the Witcher universe, and I firmly believe this is the magnum opus - yes, I reckon it’s better than Sapkowski’s actual Witcher saga. If you came here wondering whether or not you’ll get enough bang for your buck with Hearts of Stone, the one thing you should take away is that I am borderline begging you to play it - it’s just that good.

The Witcher 3: Is The Blood & Wine DLC Worth It?

the witcher 3 blood and wine worth it

Blood & Wine is very different to Hearts of Stone. It transpires in a whole new region, Touissant - which is based on France - and clocks in at around 15-20 hours, making it quite a bit longer than its predecessor. It never manages to reach the narrative heights of Hearts of Stone, mind, but it’s essential for its own reasons - The Warble of a Smitten Knight is one of the best quests in the game, Dettlaff is an incredible boss fight, and the all new Skellige Gwent deck revamps everyone’s favourite card game in an exciting and innovative way.

Here’s everything you need to know going into Blood & Wine.

  • It takes place in Toussaint, a brand new region packed with all kinds of new characters, quests, monsters, and more.
  • It’s around 15-20 hours long, meaning that it’s very good value for money, especially when you consider that time frame in an RPG of this caliber.
  • On top of the main story, there is an enormous amount of side content that will take you hours to fully exhaust and understand.
  • It introduces new characters like Anna Henrietta, Dettlaff, and a beloved vampire from the books, whose name I won’t mention here to avoid spoilers - if you’ve read Sapkowski’s novels and think you know, then yes, it’s him.
  • Blood & Wine will ideally be completed after having taken down Eredin and getting Ciri’s ending, as Toussaint is a very high-leveled region and the conclusion of Blood & Wine is widely regarded as the perfect end to Geralt’s story.
blood and wine worth it

That last point is important, as given that we have no news of The Witcher 4 - which will hopefully give Ciri a starring role - wrapping up Geralt’s saga with a nice little bow is about as much closure as any Witcher fans can get right now. This DLC is specifically designed to do exactly that, and so I’d recommend avoiding Toussaint until you’ve finished the main narrative. Once that’s done, though? Absolutely worth it.

So, there you have it - a full evaluation of whether or not both major Witcher expansions are worth the dough from a bona fide Witcher diehard who knows everything there is to know about this wonderful universe. I personally think both DLC are absolutely integral to the story of The Witcher 3, meaning that the expansions are definitely worth the extra few quid if you haven’t got the game of the year edition already. What I will say is that it’s worth looking for that edition before purchasing the DLC, as it occasionally goes on sale at a price that’s cheaper than the two expansions combined. It will be a hefty install, sure, but game of the year edition comes with loads of other bells and whistles, too - to be honest, although both DLC are worth it, The Witcher 3: Game of the Year Edition is arguably more worth it, coming in at the best value for money you’re going to get for the ultimate Witcher experience.

Just make sure you play the first two games too, yeah? They’re brilliant and woefully unappreciated.

Next: How Does Marvel's Avengers Keep Dropping Ls?