Kaer Morhen (Quest)

Before you start

• None. No suggested level and no earlier quest. The quest starts automatically on a new game, after the settings screens and an opening cinematic, according to one source.
• A mouse and keyboard or a controller. Default Witcher Senses is hold right-click on mouse or hold left trigger on controller. Check your own bindings if the defaults were changed.
• Optional: a few minutes for the movement and combat lessons. On New Game+ both optional parts are skipped automatically.

1. Start in the guest room and look for the key

After the opening scenes you control Geralt in the guest room of Kaer Morhen, in a dream sequence. The bedroom door is locked. Hold the Witcher Senses button. Quest-essential items glow red. Scan the room for the red highlight on a book near the exit door. Sources describe the book slightly differently: one puts it on a table near candles, another to the right of the door, but all agree it is by the door. Other highlighted objects trigger short conversations with Yennefer. They are optional, and the quest does not need them.

Checkpoint: You pick up the bedroom key and the door unlocks. If you are still in the room, keep holding Witcher Senses and look near the exit for the red glow.

2. Leave the bedroom and go downstairs

Open the door, leave the room and take the stairs down to the lower level. Walk toward the bottom landing. A cutscene triggers there in which Vesemir wakes up and Ciri is seen practicing in the courtyard below.

Checkpoint: The cutscene plays and you gain control again near Ciri, with the courtyard training area ahead.

3. Talk to Ciri

Approach Ciri and start the conversation. The dialogue choices with her and Vesemir have no real consequence according to the Fextralife wiki, so pick whatever suits your Geralt. At the end of the talk she offers a race along the ramparts.

Checkpoint: You are offered the race option and can accept or decline it.

4. Optional: race Ciri along the ramparts

Accept the race if you want the movement tutorial. You climb a nearby ladder, cross ledges, practice climbing a series of ledges and traverse platforms until you reach the courtyard below. Sprint is a held button, for example A on Xbox and X on PlayStation, so use the label for your controller. If you decline, you skip this section and continue to the courtyard. The race result gives no reward or penalty.

Checkpoint: You arrive in the courtyard, either by the race route or by skipping, and Vesemir is waiting to offer combat training.

5. Decide whether to take Vesemir's combat training

In the courtyard, Vesemir offers combat training. To decline, choose the line 'Let's go straight to free training.' The sources disagree on what skipping does. One says skipping completes the quest and moves to the next one. Another says you can still have a practice fight with Vesemir afterward. This guide could not settle the question from the sources. If you want the structured lessons, do not pick the skip line.

Checkpoint: If you accept, the first training task appears in the quest log. If you skip, you either move on to the next quest or enter free training. This varies by source and is unconfirmed.

6. Learn basic sword attacks

Draw your sword and lock onto Vesemir. On a controller, lock-on is a press of the right stick (R3). Perform 3 fast attacks. Then perform strong attacks. They are slower but deal more damage against tough opponents. One source lists 3 required and an older one lists 2, so just keep going until the counter completes.

Checkpoint: The on-screen counters for fast and strong attacks fill, and the log advances to the defensive moves.

7. Learn dodges and rolls

Dodge twice and roll twice. Fandom lists these as separate objectives. Dodges are quick and suit fast enemies. Rolls cover more ground and suit slow, heavy attacks. The game briefly pauses when Vesemir first swings and shows a prompt, so you can dodge successfully. Use the displayed button for your platform.

Checkpoint: The dodge and roll counters each reach 2 of 2.

8. Learn parries and counterattacks

Hold the parry button and approach Vesemir until he swings. You need 3 parries. Then perform 3 counterattacks by pressing parry just before his strike lands. The counter window is fairly generous.

Checkpoint: Parry and counterattack counters reach 3 of 3.

9. Cast the Signs

Use the Signs when prompted. Fandom's list gives Quen, Igni, Aard, Axii and Yrden. One source's summary lists only three. Expect to cast all five, and follow the on-screen prompt for each Sign.

Checkpoint: Each Sign requirement is ticked off in the log before the bomb training begins.

10. Throw bombs

Open the quick menu, select a bomb and throw it at Vesemir. Then stand on the marked spot, aim at a highlighted training post and throw again.

Checkpoint: The bomb objectives complete and the game lets you move freely in training mode.

11. Free training and ending the quest

Practice as long as you like. The sources recommend using this time for dodging, countering and keeping Quen up. When you are done, sheathe your sword. The dream ends after an unsettling intrusion.

Checkpoint: The quest completes and Lilac and Gooseberries begins.

Choices and things you can miss

• Race Ciri or skip: purely optional and without consequence. The race outcome has no reward or penalty.
• Dialogue with Ciri and Vesemir: no meaningful consequence, per Fextralife.
• Combat training or skip ('Let's go straight to free training'): this is the only meaningful choice. Nothing is lost permanently, since you can practice fighting later in the game. The sources disagree on whether skipping ends the quest immediately or still leaves a practice fight with Vesemir. Treat that as uncertain.
• Optional Witcher Senses objects in the bedroom: Yennefer comments, but nothing is needed.

Rewards

• No rewards were found. No XP value for this quest appears in the sources, so any amount is unknown.
• The real benefit is practice with the controls before the next quest.

Troubleshooting

• Cannot open the bedroom door: hold Witcher Senses and look near the door for the red-highlighted book holding the key. Do not search elsewhere.
• Vesemir seems to disappear or cannot be hit during training: Fandom notes he can no-clip through the main gate during training and cannot be attacked until he walks back. Wait for him to return.
• Dodge or parry counter not rising: wait for his swing, when the game briefly pauses and shows the prompt, then press the dodge button. For counters, press parry just before the hit.
• Objective count looks different from a guide: the sources disagree on strong attack requirements (2 or 3) and on how many Signs are required. Follow your own quest log.
• Do not confuse this quest with the later The Battle of Kaer Morhen. A Yennefer-spawn bug on Steam forums also belongs to a later quest elsewhere, not this one. No confirmed bug for this quest was found.

Release and platform notes

On New Game+, Geralt automatically skips both optional parts, the race and the combat tutorial. Fandom adds that he remarks they are short on time. Platform differences found are limited to button labels, for example sprint is hold A on Xbox and hold X on PlayStation. No source describing next-gen update or DLC changes to this quest was found, so any such changes are unverified. The sources use base game quest log names.