High Stakes Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Quest
Suggested level: 26
Group: Secondary Quests
Location: Novigrad
To receive this quest, read the invitation to participate in the tournament posted on one of the message boards in Novigrad.
Geralt is hardly an ace gambler. He has had a few good runs in dice poker tournaments, true, but these were always local affairs against opponents whose skill level left much to be desired. A tournament in the world's greatest metropolis - now that was a horse of an entirely different color. The high entry fee and stringent deck requirements scared off amateurs, so only wealthy professionals had signed up. Everything was in place for play at a high level in exciting company - in other words, my friends, for pure pleasure.
Warning: Winning matches in a tournament is not required to complete this quest, but it is the only way to get some gwent cards required to complete the "Collect 'Em All" quest.
Related points of interest
Hierarch Square Notice Board
Velen / Novigrad
Farcorners Notice Board
Velen / Novigrad
Gildorf Notice Board
Velen / Novigrad
Passiflora
Velen / Novigrad
Quest stages of High Stakes
1. Find the scribe in the Passiflora and sign up for the high-stakes gwent tournament. / Talk to the scribe.
Go to Passiflora and talk to the scribe who's there. He will inform you that in order to participate in the tournament you must have a strong enough deck and pay 1000 crowns entry fee.
2. Strengthen your gwent card collection by winning powerful cards off other players. Current collection rating: x/5
You will only be allowed to the tournament if you have enough unique cards. Matches are relatively difficult and you will not be able to leave the building during the tournament, as this will cause the quest to fail. It is therefore best to collect all the cards you may need first, buy them from the merchants and complete the other quests in which you acquire the cards.
3. Return to the scribe with a strong deck and a thousand crowns for the entry fee. / Mingle with the other contestants.
When you feel that you already have a strong enough deck, go to the scribe and pay the buy-in. Then you will meet one of the participants of the tournament - a mysterious woman named Sasha. She will tell you a little bit about the other players and suggest that you talk to them while waiting for the tournament to start. So talk to Bernard Tulle, Patrick Hazelnutt, and Finneas.
4. Win your match against Bernard Tulle.
When the tournament starts, your first opponent will be Bernard Tulle. He will use the Northern Realms deck and when you win with him you will receive the Foltest - The Steel-Forged card, and 25 XP.
5. Meet Sasha on the balcony.
When you've finished playing with Bernard, whether you've won or lost, Sasha will approach you and ask you to talk to her in private. Follow her to the balcony and you'll find out what she wants from you.
She will offer you cooperation to take over the prize in the tournament. For now she will not reveal the details of her plan, but will only tell you to wait until the end of the tournament.
It started with an indecent proposal. Sasha, one of the participants in the tournament, made Geralt a proposition so brazen even his jaded jaw dropped: together they were to steal the coin set aside as the tournament's prize.
If at any stage of this quest, you refuse to help Sasha, the quest will end and go to the "failed" tab.
Yet Geralt did not manage to garner the tournament's grand prize. Such is life - you can't win them all, sadly. Geralt could only hope luck's cruelty at cards meant she would shower him with good fortune when it came to love.
6. Return to the common room. / Win against Sasha.
If you won against Bernard, you will have to go back to the tournament room and play another game. This time your opponent will be Sasha. She uses Nilfgaardian Empire deck and when you win with her you will receive the Emhyr var Emreis - The Relentless card and 50 XP.
7. Win against Finneas. / Defeat Finneas.
After winning with Sasha, the next game, in which you will face Finneas, will start right away and you will not have a chance to save the game after winning with Sasha! Finneas uses the Scoia'tael deck. When you win with him you will receive the Francesca Findabair - Queen of Dol Blathanna card and 50 XP. Finneas (27) won't be happy to lose and attack you. You'll have to beat him in a fistfight.
8. Win against Count Tybalt.
The last opponent in the tournament will be Count Tybalt. He uses the Monsters deck. Once you win with him you will receive the Eredin - Bringer of Death card, and 80 XP.
When the last game of the tournament is played, the scribe will come to the hall and inform everyone that someone in the meantime killed the guard guardian watching the prize and stole it. Sasha will ask you to help her find out who the thief is.
Perhaps Geralt would even have been tempted by Sasha's proposition. Before he could accept or reject it, however, another double dealer made his presence known. While they were talking one of the participants stole the coin set aside for the reward, beating Sasha to the punch.
9. Follow the guard to the crime scene. / Investigate the crime scene using your Witcher Senses.
Sasha will convince the guard to take you to the room where the prize was kept. There you will be able to examine the body of the soldier who guarded it...
...the traces by the door to the balcony...
...and an arrow with a rope tied to it, stuck in a post at the balcony. Then you'll conclude that you should look for more traces behind the brothel.
10. Check for clues behind the brothel using your Witcher Senses.
Go outside and examine the rope tied to the column. Then you will smell a scent that you can follow.
11. Use your Witcher Senses to see where the scent leads to.
The smell will lead you to the box lost by the culprit. Based on the symbols on the box, Sasha will determine which warehouse it comes from, and she'll tell you to meet her at its entrance.
12. Meet Sasha at the warehouse. / Find a way to get into the warehouse. / Climb up into the warehouse.
Go to the warehouse located in the northern part of the port. Sasha will be waiting for you at the warehouse entrance. Unfortunately, it is closed and you have to look for another way to get inside.
Go to the back of the warehouse where you will find several boxes and a scaffolding which you can climb up to get to the open window.
13. Check what's going on. / Defeat Bernard and his goons.
Approach the group of men standing inside the warehouse and you will find out that Bernard Tulle is their leader. After a short conversation, you will have to fight Bernard (26) and his henchmen (24).
After defeating Bernard, Sasha will invite you to dinner at the Kingfisher Inn. You can either decline, which completes the quest, or accept the invitation, which provides you the opportunity to have sex with her. In both cases you will receive 40 XP and 4500 crowns.
If you spent the night with Sasha:
A halfling by the name of Bernard turned out to be the thief. This supposed farmer took the coin and hid with it in one of the city's warehouses. The witcher raced after him and defeated him in a final showdown.
As for Sasha, she turned out to be a Nilfgaardian agent known as Cantarella. Her cover blown, she had needed the coin so that she could skip town. As part of my duties as a chronicler I must note that before she left, she spent a night with the witcher, conducting various covert operations until the break of dawn.
If you accepted her invitation to dinner but didn't decide to go to her bedroom.
A halfling by the name of Bernard was revealed to be the thief. This supposed farmer took the coin and hid with it in one of the city's warehouses. The witcher raced after him and defeated him in a final showdown.
As for Sasha, she turned out to be a Nilfgaardian agent known as Cantarella. Her cover blown, she had needed the coin so that she could skip town. Later I learned that she did in fact successfully make it south - but that is another story altogether.