The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a game that needs no introduction, with this title quickly becoming known as one of the greatest Western RPGs of all time. The world of this game is massive and filled to the brim with interesting stories, memorable characters, and challenging combat encounters. Geralt is far from a pushover and will rise to the occasion at all times to fulfill his goals.
The next-gen upgrade for The Witcher 3 gives players another reason to either check out this masterpiece for the first time or explore the Continent once again. Of course, people who are unaware or have forgotten about the game's economy may be wondering how it works. For these people, here are some items that players should never buy from merchants if they want to build up a sizeable pile of orens.
8 Regular Equipment
The sheer amount of things players can loot by exploring the game map is extensive. Most humans are bound to have low-level equipment with them, which can be looted from several random containers too.
So, it's only a given that buying this normal equipment from merchants is pretty much a waste of money. Most people will obviously shy away from doing the same, although recommending this course of action is harder early on in the game when players don't have great crafting materials or equipment.
7 Lesser Runes & Glyphs
Runes and glyphs can be attached to weapons and armor respectively. These items come in three tiers, with the Greater variant being the best one by quite some margin.
So, it's better to invest in these variants if players have the coin to spare. However, the lesser ones are abundant in the game world, and buying them is a colossal waste of money because of how marked up their prices are.
6 Common Alchemy Ingredients
Alchemy is an important part of The Witcher 3, with Witcher potions being invaluable while fighting against especially tough enemies. It's important to brew potions, decoctions, and oils beforehand so that players can whip them out in battle against a particularly fearsome foe.
Players will find a ton of alchemy ingredients when they're just roaming around the world map. Buying them off a herbalist isn't necessary in the slightest, and it's better to save up Geralt's funds for rarer ingredients instead.
5 Repair Kits
Weapon and armor degradation is a pain to deal with no matter what game it's featured in unless the integration is thoughtful. The Witcher 3's degradation is more of a hindrance than anything else, which can make equipment maintenance quite annoying.
This can tempt people to buy repair kits for their weapons and armor...but this doesn't need to be the case. After all, these kits can be found as players explore the world organically, and spending money on them is totally unnecessary if players visit blacksmiths and armorers at regular intervals anyway.
4 Food & Drink
At higher difficulties, meditation is used mostly to replenish alchemical items. It doesn't restore health at all, prompting players to devour their stash of food and drink at all times.
Once again, these items can be obtained through regular looting without too many problems. Purchasing these items from innkeepers is pretty unnecessary, and it's better to just diligently loot every container Geralt finds.
3 Horse Equipment
Roach is Geralt's trusted mount who is a godsend for exploration. Players can use saddles to increase this steed's stamina, get saddlebags to hoard more loot, and make him wear horse blinders so that he doesn't get scared by the many enemies in the game.
All of this equipment can either be looted or is available as a reward. The bonuses aren't so impressive that they justify buying slightly better equipment for Roach, and players will realize this after getting a surplus of all three forms of horse equipment in the game.
2 Books That Aren't Quest Items
The lore of The Witcher 3 is quite impressive, and players can genuinely get lost in the detailed world of the game. This is especially true once they start looting books and reading through the history of the Continent and its many varied inhabitants.
Lore hunters aside, players don't really need to go to merchants to get as many books as possible. Chances are that players will exhaust the books they can read in the game anyway, so going out of their way to buy more will just expedite this process.
1 Basic Crafting Materials
Crafting is another huge part of The Witcher 3 and the only reliable way to get gear that is appropriate for Geralt's level at the time. Players need to unlock a master armorer and blacksmith to craft the best equipment in the game.
While it's easier to buy the materials required to craft these items, they can cost a pretty penny and eat into the player's orens after a point. Players are better off either making these materials or dismantling items to achieve the same, which will allow them to reserve their funds for the more intense requirements present in the DLCs.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.