The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gives players a truly astounding number of quests to undertake, with each quest offering players numerous options and opportunities to choose the path Geralt takes on his adventure. Questing can also be rather valuable, providing players with numerous rewards and every valuable XP.
This guide for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt focuses on one such quest, ideally taken on at around level 24, in Novigrad. The quest "Of Swords and Dumplings", which has Geralt helping a master swordsmith negotiate for the supplies he needs, so that Geralt can make use of his services. Despite the simple-sounding premise, the quest proves more challenging than it first appears as Geralt has to contend with several obstacles to secure the supplies.
Starting the Quest
The easiest way to learn about the quest "Of Swords and Dumplings" is by asking blacksmiths about forging master swords, which will have them direct players to Eibhear Hattori in Novigrad. Heading to his house in Novigrad will have him offer Geralt some dumplings, and after a while he'll explain his problem. A Rival Swordsmith has partnered with Cleaver's Gang to eliminate his competition via a mix of intimidation, debt, and cutting off supplies, and Hattori will be unable to forge swords for Geralt until this is resolved.
Aggressive Negotiations
In order to solve his supply problem, Hattori intends to strike a deal with the King of Beggars' men. He wants Geralt's help with this and asks to meet at the Docks around Dusk. Head to the location and look for Hattori, meditating to pass time if he hasn't arrived yet. Agree to head to the meeting and Hattori will lead Geralt to Tinboy to negotiate for the supplies. Geralt has three options here, and there's a trick to getting the best deal.
Let's Negotiate | Gets Tinboys offer to 35% |
Tell Him He's Crazy | Gets Tinboy's offer to 35% |
Fine. Let's Get This Over With | Tinboy's offer stays at 50% |
In order to get the best deal, players need to choose one of the first two options and then refuse to agree to a deal, then stand their ground once the timer starts and say "Fine, no deal." This will cause Tinboy to make a final offer at 25%, which is the best outcome here.
Regardless of the option chosen, a group of Cleaver's Men will arrive to break up the meeting, leading to a fight. After they've been eliminated Tinboy will suggest Hattori find some protection until a deal can be made, and Hattori will panic and leave.
Getting a Bodyguard
After heading back to Hattori's house and convincing him to keep trying, Hattori will ask Geralt to enlist the aid of a Pirate named Sukrus. He can be found outside the Golden Sturgeon having a fist fight with a Merchant. Intervene, win or lose to him, and then join him for drinks at the bar. No matter the player's choices here, Sukrus will ask for a favor in exchange for his help.
Sukrus wants his Brother-In-Law dealt with, and there are two ways Geralt can do this. He either needs to convince Sukrus' Brother to pay his debt, or smash up the Mead barrels and incur the wrath of his brother's men. Convincing his Brother requires Axii (Delusion Level 2), while destroying the barrels is as easy as casting Aard on them and then dealing with the incoming hostiles.
Once the Brother-In-Law has been dealt with, Sukrus will agree to help, players can head back to Hattori, and the next stage of the quest begins.
Getting the Supplies
Now that Hattori has a bodyguard, the remaining issue is getting the supplies Hattori needs. Under the circumstances he suggests stealing the supplies needed from the Rival Smith who started this whole mess, Erst Van Hoorn. Sukrus has a plan, and soon players will find themselves heading to a warehouse, where they run into the Brother-In-Law again along with a dwarf who recognises Geralt.
There are three options for bypassing the guard, as seen here:
- Pay 200 Crowns
- Use Axii (Delusion Level 3, grants more XP than paying)
- Head Straight In (Only available if players imported a save file for the Witcher 2 where they sided with Iorveth)
Once inside, players will have to use Witcher Sense to locate and mark the three needed crates, and then take on Van Hoorn and his men. Luckily Sukrus and his Brother-In-Law assist in this fight, and players needn't worry about defending them since they'll revive after the fight if they go down.
With Van Hoorn dealt with, and the supplies retrieved, players need only stop by Hattori's house again to ask about the sword. He'll ask Geralt to come back later for the reward, and waiting around 6 hours before returning to Hattori will yield the "Blade From Bits."
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis available for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
