This page contains IGN's walkthrough for Evil's First Soft Touches, the first main quest of The Witcher 3's first DLC expansion, Hearts of Stone.

Not Just Another Contract

To begin the Hearts of Stone questline, go to and read the Notice Board at the Seven Cats Inn to the South-East of Novigrad.

Take the contract for the "Monster in the Oxenfurt Sewers," (as well as any other notices you may fancy) and head east past the Dancing Windmill until you reach the estate.

Discuss the contract with the company members inside - note that calling them a "bunch of idiots" will result in having to fight the biggest and dumbest of them. After the conversation, head upstairs to speak with Olgeird von Everec.

Once you return to the main foyer, accept the contract to continue the mission.

The Sewers

Make your way back to Oxenfurt and climb down the ladder into the well in the marketplace near Oxenfurt Harbor (outside of Borsodi's Auction House). Once at the bottom, follow the path to the next chamber, eliminate the Drowner and proceed through the grated door to the left of where you entered from to trigger a cutscene and meet Shani.

After discussing her ordeal, use your Witcher Senses to locate the weak section of wall on the right side of the smashed gate. Use Aard to demolish the brickwork and proceed to the far side of the adjascent room, where a torch lies burning on near a large hole in the floor.

To locate the key to the sewers below, turn around 180 degrees from the mouth of the pit and proceed to the wall opposite you. Search the body of the captain to find the key, then head to the gate and unlock it to enter the lower sewer.

Eliminate the Drowners (there are six of them) in the room beyond the door to trigger a cutscene. Examine the body to proceed and deduce that the creature is drawn to the scent of strong alcohols.

Continue through the doors until you reach the boarded up barrier. Pass through it to enter the monster's lair.

Frog "Prince" Boss Battle

This boss battle can be made easier if you keep two things in mind:

• If you attempt to get close, you will get hurt.
• You can damage the Frog with fire, but he's also weak to Yrden.

This means your best offense is going to be a combination of the Igni sign and explosive bombs. Grapeshot and Dragon's Dream work well, but the best bomb to equip for this battle is Dancing Star - it's wide AoE will help set the beast alight better than either of the others.

Between fire blasts, use Yrden whenever possible to capitalize on its weakness, and if you need to slow the rampaging frog, try using the Northern Wind Bombs to slow it considerably.

Once you do away with roughly 90-95% of the monster's health, a cutscene will trigger and the battle will end.

The Olfiri Ship

Upon awaking in a cell aboard an Olfiri ship, Geralt can has several options for conversation with his new cellmate and captors, though they all have the same result: he's trapped without a decent way out.

Thankfully, this is where we reconnect with Gaunter O'Dimm, a.k.a. Master Mirror, a.k.a. that dude from the beginning of Wild Hunt that you probably said "this guy's got more going on with him." Again, your conversations have but one outcome: O'Dimm agrees to help you escape, and you get branded and forced into servitude in return.

Boss Battle: The Sand Mage

To defeat the Olfiri mage, the best course of action is to first defeat his entourage. Use your dodge / roll to avoid the mage's magic attacks - if you're lucky, some of his henchmen will get caught in them - and deal with the soldiers as they advance on you.

Once his guards have been taken care of, the Mage is fairly simple to get rid of. His biggest weakness is Axii, especially if you're using an upgraded version, or Aard - though Aard can be tricky because you need to close distance on him before he recovers from the stun attack.

Once the mage and his soldiers have been defeated, make your way to the Crossroads to meet O'Dimm. After that dialogue ends, head back to the manor house to speak with von Everec about his three requests.