How to start New Game Plus
New Game Plus unlocks after you finish the main story. From the main menu choose New Game, then New Game+, and pick the completed save you want to carry forward. You keep Geralt's progression and most of your gear, but the world, quests and story reset to the beginning.
What carries over
- Geralt's level, all spent ability points and your skill build.
- Inventory: weapons, armor, crafting materials, alchemy items, ingredients and money (crowns).
- Alchemy and crafting recipes you've learned, plus your Gwent card collection.
- Trophies, runestones and glyphs, and unspent Greater/Lesser mutagens.
- Bestiary and known formulae stay filled in.
What resets or is removed
- Quests & world state — All quests, map discovery and story choices reset — it's a fresh playthrough.
- Quest items — Story-specific and usable quest items are stripped out, since their quests no longer exist.
- Books & letters — Read books and notes are removed to keep the inventory clean.
- Places of Power — The one-time ability points from Places of Power are refunded into the world to collect again.
Difficulty and level scaling
New Game+ raises the floor: the minimum enemy level is bumped up, and foes scale to stay a threat against your already-high-level Geralt. Gear gets New Game+ versions with boosted stats, and you'll find higher-tier loot. There's a new tier of consumables (e.g. a powerful health potion) added for the mode.
You can pick any difficulty when starting NG+, including Death March. Because enemies are tuned upward, NG+ on Death March is the game's toughest experience.
Should you do New Game Plus?
NG+ is the natural home for the gear and builds you spent a playthrough assembling, and it's the best way to use witcher school sets and high-tier mutations against tougher enemies. If you want to keep your character and crank the challenge, start it. If you'd rather experience the story differently, a fresh save lets you make new choices from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you unlock New Game Plus in Witcher 3?
- Finish the main story once. New Game+ then appears under New Game in the main menu, where you select a completed save to carry forward.
- What carries over to New Game Plus?
- Geralt's level, abilities and build, your inventory and money, learned recipes, Gwent cards, trophies, runestones and mutagens. Quests, the world and story choices reset.
- What do you lose in New Game Plus?
- Quest items, books and notes are removed, and Places of Power ability points are refunded to be re-collected. Everything tied to a specific quest resets with the world.
- Do enemies scale in New Game Plus?
- Yes. The minimum enemy level is raised and foes scale to remain challenging, gear comes in stronger NG+ versions, and you can play on any difficulty up to Death March.