How to properly play The Witcher 3

How to enjoy this game the most. We all have our playstyles but your experience playing TW3 your way may actually ruin your experience while you don't even notice at first. This guide is here to provide some handy tips for newcomers but also for many returning players. Enjoy!
(Original name: How to properly play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (and enjoy it the most))

Difficulty

Play on harder difficulties. That way you can feel good when overcoming challenges. First playthrough I was a fool and played on the easiest difficulty. It was too easy. Later I started NewGame+ on "Blood and Broken Bones" difficulty. Then the game was actually good. It also was enjoyably challenging. I also had kind of mastered combat at this point so I knew exactly how to fight. Don't pick the easiest difficulty!!

Later I'll talk more about why...

Save a lot (on PC)

Give yourself room to make mistakes. Save a lot. That way you can always go back if you've either not prepared enough for a quest or you made a wrong story decision.
For example I got the worst ending but thankfully I could just go back a bit. Some people just quicksave. Don't just quicksave. Manual save. It takes a bit longer but you can ensure that you can go back if needed.

Don't rush. Take your time to look around.

Don't think about the game lenght too much. It ends when it ends. You don't need to rush through the game. Also I recommend not to fast travel all the time. Use Roach. Ride around the map. See some nice sights. Find some strongholds to clear. Later in the game you can clear bandit strongholds and sell their swords for a lot (for me in B&W DLC). The map is carefully crafted by the devs. Enjoy it. Also it's super fun to slide down the mountains in Skellige.

Don't rush through the main story either. Do the side quests. There's always a side quest available. Some side quests are even better than some main quests. All side activities are made with players in mind so you don't need to worry that side quests are worse than main quests. This is not Fallout 4. Here is an article by IGN that lists all the best side quests in the game (click the text)

How to combat properly

Always read bestiary and use oils. Always before going on a contract prepare. Always use potions. Prepare potions. Kill beasts like a real witcher. Also you will have to use oils and signs and potions in higher difficulty. If you want to get the best experience then use oils, potions, and signs. Try to counter all enemy attacks.

Always Think through you skills. Learn what each skill does and adapt your selection to your playing style. That way you can get the best fighting experience. Some perks may prove more useful to some players. Again, don't be afraid to try things.

Don't give up in boss fights. Don't use guides too often. Try to figure out yourself. Learning and getting good at something on your own is way more fun. Learning to fight in the beginning may be hard but once you've mastered the combat you can feel like a real witcher. Higher difficulty is just a tool to make you use your brain.

Thanks for reading! :)

Edits:

Thanks to this guide randomly getting a lot of new views I chose to edit it a bit. Fixed some spelling mistakes and updated the guide picture.

[Solitus]

Just play W3EE

[valberrie]

@Cudeech if you play Dark Souls enough to know how to dodge well, you don't need to have a good weapon or memorize each attack, you just dodge properly instead. If you have to grind in Dark Souls, then that is a sign that you need to learn how to play the game better.

[thejackfruitsnack]

Cudeech if you're good you can beat dark souls bosses in 1 attempt

[Cudeech]

not nearly to the same extent, dark souls is just yes i have good enough gear for this boss, yes ive died 10 times to him so i know every move he does and now i can dodge it all take no hits like stfu, in witcher you set your character up for a specific playstyle usually if you want to maximize damage and health etc and then once youre not ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ you wont die the first time or any time and will learn in the middle of the fight, something dark souls players have never heard of

[davey]

dark souls is literally the same with preperation bro have u even played dark souls?

[Алина | Narva | [phone]]

Preparing properly means reading bestiary and using the best signs and oils against an enemy. The lemon guy

[The Lemon Guy]

If you want to slap big monsters for half an hour til they die, play Dark Souls instead. What makes combat in The Witcher unique and interesting is the set up, prepare properly and combat on deathmarch becomes just as simple as on easy difficulty without prep, it's the nuance and forward thinking of each fight that makes it interesting. Not making the most of all tools you have, (oils, signs, potions, etc), makes the game no different from any other hack and slash, it gets dull and others games do it better.

[Refusedkill]

What complete noob plays any game on easy... why are you even playing the game if you don't want a challenge.

[davey]

i prefer memorizing the attack patterns of foes so you truly feel like a witcher and not a plot armor wearing bellend but its good that you can alternate between these two

[Quags]

use of quen is only acceptable on death march and broken bones difficulties