'Wild at Heart' is a side quest in The Witcher 3 centered on Niellen, a hunter from Blackbough whose wife has gone missing. Despite its appearance as a relatively ordinary secondary mission, there are multiple possible endings — some of which are far more beneficial than others.
If you're currently trying to investigate the curious case of Niellen's wife, here's a detailed guide to help you figure out how to start the quest, as well as which option you should choose at the end.
Updated on December 2, 2022 by Quinton O'Connor: What's better than a guide on The Witcher 3's 'Wild at Heart' side quest? A guide that's been updated to ensure it meets our qualitative standards. We hope you find it handy!
The Search For Hanna
After picking up the 'Wild at Heart' at one of Velen's noticeboards and heading to Blackbough to meet Niellen, you'll soon become acquainted with the matter at hand. Niellen's wife, Hanna, has mysteriously disappeared, and it's up to you to learn her whereabouts in order to put his mind at ease.
What follows is a short investigation, handled through inquiring with villagers and then following the quest marker to a quick bout with some wolves,. At this point, Margrit — Hanna's sister — shows up and begs you to lie to Niellen by telling him his wife is definitely dead, rather than continuing the quest, in order to spare him from sadness. Agreeing to do so earns you 80 XP and 55 crowns.
You'll also earn more from going back to speak to Niellen at the end of the quest — it's worth noting that taking Margrit's offer and agreeing to lie to Niellen has the highest XP and monetary yield out of any option, meaning that from a strictly theoretical perspective based on maximum possible gain, this is the best option.
If you decide to investigate further, however, that gain is exchanged for a more detailed story.
The Werewolf's Lair
If you continue along the questline after having ignored Margrit's pleas, you'll (a bit comically quickly) come across Hanna's corpse, which Geralt determines is clearly the work of a werewolf. Following the trail from here brings you to a shack, which in turn leads to the werewolf's lair.
Once you arrive here, you'll be given a prompt to meditate, as Geralt often does while he waits for monsters to return to their lairs. After a short amount of time elapses, the werewolf will appear.
Werewolf Fight Strategy
The werewolf is accompanied by three ordinary wolves, all of whom should be dispatched immediately. Although they boast an offensive fighting style, their health is low, and they can be incapacitated in just a few hits — leaving them alone to focus on the werewolf is dangerous and unnecessary in the long run, especially when you consider its second phase.
Like other werewolves, this particular monster gains the ability to regenerate HP after you get his health bar down to half. At this point you'll want to make sure there are no wolves left to annoy you, and focus all of your energy into all-out aggression in order to outweigh the werewolf's regeneration with high damage output.
Using the Quen sign will allow you to take hits while you're in close without taking any damage, even when the werewolf connects with you, making it a necessity for this fight. Focus on fast attacks to avoid losing time with heavy attack wind-ups, and make sure to avoid getting stunned wherever possible.
If you have high damage bombs on your person, now is the time to make use of their burst damage potential, which is highly effective against enemies with regenerative abilities.
Should You Spare Margrit?
Toward the end of the fight Margrit will run in and inform you that the werewolf is Niellen himself. Jealous of her sister, Margrit attempted to show Hanna Niellen's true nature, but Niellen lost control and killed his wife. Ravaged by guilt, Margrit never intended for Niellen to find out what he had done, and instead thinks he will grow to love her in time.
There are no differences in XP outcome here — you get 50 points either way, and a key to Niellen's chest with loot in it. It depends on your perspective — do you save Margrit by forcing her to run away and killing Niellen? Or do you allow Niellen to enact his revenge on Margrit for endangering Hanna, before putting a woeful Niellen out of his misery? Again, there are no monetary or XP differences at this point.
The choice is yours based on who you think is in the right — or, perhaps more accurately, who is less in the wrong, and what the best option for everybody involved is. Niellen dies either way, but if you decide to protect Margrit from him, she can be seen crying in the shack at the end of the quest.