Quen and side step a lot during combat. Focus on getting sets of armor and weapons because they are better than whatever weird ass stuff you throw together from loot. So that means you’ll have to visit armorers a lot. Do not ignore Gwent. It can be fun. Pick one girl and do not romance them both. Make sure you make Ciri as happy as possible. A lot of quests are about choosing the lesser evil. So basically you’re setup to make a bad choice no matter what. Which makes it interesting honestly. This game is really interesting and rich in story. Explore everything. Have fun.

Banging prostitutes sometimes gives xp

Ignore the advice you saw in this thread, except for the one about trying the DLCs, and enjoy the game however you wanna play it. Romance both options if you want, be a terrible dad if you're so inclined, etc. Have fun, it's your first playthrough so enjoy it unspoiled ane cherish it, you will love it and go for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even more runs and you can minmax things later on in these runs.

The only thing I'd say you shouldn't do is skip the dialogue and cutscenes, and sidequests. This game has a very well-crafted story (which is the main attraction) and that goes also for the sidequests so enjoy them fully.

Pace yourself.

This is a huge game, i thought i was right before the end game twice but it just keeps on going. I have yet to start on the DLC’s and i was actually hoping to have moved the other sp rpgs on my todo list by now.

Its great though, if only cyberpunk was this big but they purposely kept it short because 70% of witcher 3 players didn’t get to the halfway point

Oils

Kill all the cows in White Orchard. Repeatedly. Farm them. Good early game coin selling their hides.

Always buy new shoes in the afternoon - after your feet have expanded.

…Oh, you mean about the game?

Pick lots of ballise fruit in White Orchard. It is tougher to find later on.

No advice really, just wanted to say I absolutely love the game and have played through probably 6-7 times now. Very addicting and is especially comforting to play in the winter, with all the beautiful scenery and sounds.

Don't romance them both.

The story was difficult to follow, for me, and plays a significant role in the game and is likely to influence your decisions. What I wish I did and what I recommend you, is make sure you pay close attention to it in the beginning, knowing who's who, who's battling who and why. Consider taking notes haha

Edit: the story and the game are fantastic, I hope you enjoy it like I did. I recently finished the game and started with the extensions.

Keep Quen up, roll about, hit stuff.

There's a couple of enemies where this doesn't work, but it should get you through the trickier combat sections.

Don't forget the DLC, and for all the praise Blood and Wine got because of it's size, don't sleep on Hearts of Stone - it's the most memorable part of the game for me.

There's a mod that makes picking up loot less of a pain in the ass. Game is unplayable without it imho.

Witcher 3 can be played like the puzzle game on max difficulty.

You don't have to grind level or have good controller skill to beat those boss in max difficulty. In fact, it like puzzle game. If you know how to beat the boss (read in game wiki), or have oil, spell, or do something before, ... you can beat a boss easily, without need much skill or overlevel.

Pay attention. The game wouldn't always lead you to what you need to do. Some times you'll have to figure things out. There isn't just a marker on the map for what you need to do next. That messed me up because half the time I was following a marker but then there would be a line about giving someone an item or something in my inventory I missed. Ignore 100%ing every quest. Learn to parry and roll. Also, explore! I've run into very cool side quests! It feels really cool to just stumble into a story before a character even sends you out on the quest.

Just one: enjoy.

beware the botchling (don't progress to far to fast, level up or things like the botchling will be frustrating)

No not use any DLC equipment. While the combat in the game is far from perfect, using the viper gear (I think that's what it's called) ruins it further.