Step again into the shoes of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer, this time hired to defeat a ruthless bandit captain, Olgierd von Everec, a man who possesses the power of immortality. The expansion lets you choose your own way through an adventure that includes recruiting a crew of break-in artists, spending a night partying with a ghost and outsmarting the most bizarre creatures Geralt has ever faced.
Launching October 13th, 2015, Hearts of Stone packs over 10 hours of new adventures and introduces new characters, powerful monsters, unique romance, and a brand new storyline shaped by gamer choices. The expansion also introduces a brand new system of Runewords that significantly affects gameplay. Each Runeword will impact a different aspect of in-game mechanics and will allow the players to experiment with various strategies and tactics.
Along with the digital release, gamers will also be able to purchase a special, limited boxed edition of Hearts of Stone (SRP $19.99/19.99€) available at selected retailers worldwide. The box contains a digital download code for the expansion, two masterfully crafted physical decks of Gwent, the card game set in the world of The Witcher, and a detailed manual explaining the rules. With two unique sets of cards, Monsters and Scoia’tael, ready to go, players can now engage in tactical combat on a grand scale outside of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt!
The studio launched a special initiative for owners of the digital Expansion Pass that will enable them to purchase the cards separately. All information about the initiative can be found at redeemgwent.com.
The Hearts of Stone follows the 16 free pieces of DLC that the Witcher 3 has already released. Game dev Marcin Momot confirmed on Twitter, that the expansion will be playable after or during the main story. The initial requirement for the quests would be 30+, which would ramp up if you are playing the New Game + mode.
The Hearts of Stone is the first of the 2 expansions planned for the Witcher 3, with the second one being Wine and Blood which is primed for an early 2016 release. Witcher 3 has been one of the game of the year so far, providing thousands of gamers with hundreds of hours of adventuring and monster hunting.