Hard Times Witcher 3 | How to deliver a letter to the blacksmith
“Hard times” is a secret quest that can be found on Ard Skellige. The task has no time frame, so you can find and make it at any time, even completing the walkthrough of the game. The secrecy of the task is that it does not appear on the map, and you will not find it on the bulletin board. How to get it then? This we now consider. Also, many players encounter problems during this quest. This guide will describe how to solve or avoid them. Let's start.
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt “Hard times” - detailed quest walkthrough
So, what is this task? This is not an order or a side quest from the SPC, so you can call it a “road quest”. It is activated only if Geralt comes running to the location of the mission. In addition, this mission is intertwined with one free DLC task and can even screw it up (glitch from the developers, or “idea”, who knows it), but more on that later.
So where to go? The task activation site is located almost in the center of Ard Skellige, northwest of the village of Blandare. It is exactly on the road, but I'd rather show it with a screenshot.
Just drive up to the meeting point carefully, you can accidentally fly into the one-eyed trouble, which is located right in the middle of the road. Here you can see it well.
The cyclops will simply stand and twist their heads around, or lie down to sleep right in the middle of the “carriageway” - it doesn't matter. As soon as you get close to anything, the one-eyed monster will immediately attack the witcher.
The Cyclopes belong to the class of ogres, which means that we need butter against them. Yes, it is “Oil against ogres”, the higher the quality, the better, of course. About the damage taken care of, and now it is necessary to think about survival. The Cyclops are pretty strong and very tough opponents. But because of its size, it is extremely slow and cumbersome. Use Quen to not accidentally get hit on the head, constantly use rolls to get to the side or back and make a couple of punches from the safe zone. The main thing - do not fall under his special attack, during which he runs and waves his arms, she hits the hardest.
After defeating the "giant", be sure to collect loot. Cyclops are not found very often, and reagents from them are needed for crafting potions and bombs. Now we have the task “Hard times” in our journal. What did the cyclops in the middle of the road? The answer is not long in coming, because we can immediately notice the inverted carriage and, apparently, the driver, who was very unlucky. Use witch flair to inspect corpses. Yes, times are really hard.
The mare is gutted, a dead driver and fresh blood are near the wagon, and this is where the crime scene is. We will not find anything interesting around the wagon, but if we cross the road, we can see a trail near the wheel of the wagon.
It is he who is needed to advance the plot of the task. The trail leads to the thicket, but be careful - you can immediately run into two bears. The animals are big, they hurt, health is full. It is good that Igni deals well with them. Without turning off the witcher's instinct, we move deeper into the forest deeper into the thicket until the traces lead us to a bunch of Nekker.
In any case, it is necessary to fight them, and they are not such strong opponents as to the witcher's fear. Having dealt with the petty bastards, we notice another body, where they ran. The poor girl tried to escape from the Cyclops attack and met the Nakers. Unfortunately, nothing can help her, but you can find out what is in her pockets. And there is a subject for assignment - a letter to Yonn, a blacksmith from Kaer Trolde.
The letter was written by the mother, and the dead girl, apparently, by sister Yonne. The family does not get along with the money, so the mother asks her son to attach her sister to work in Caer Trolde, and then maybe the whole family will live there together. It is sad to realize that now they will definitely not be. We should pass on this message to Yonne, which we will do.
Witcher quest "Hard times" - how to give a letter to a blacksmith?
We leave for the home of Kraytov, where Yonne is located. The blacksmith, along with the armor and gunsmith of the castle, is located in the corner near the castle storerooms.
Attention! If you have just arrived on Skellige and have not yet performed the storyline, then the gate is closed for you in the castle. Finish the task right now will not work. First you need to meet with Collapse en Krayt and go through a little story line until you are let into the castle. After this, it will be possible to meet with the blacksmith. We come to the quest mark, we see three artisans. One is called the Gunsmith, the second is Bronnik, the third is the Blacksmith. That's exactly the blacksmith we need.
Important! As I said at the very beginning, this task is related to one of the free DLCs. Namely - the addition of “A set of elite crossbows”. After the assignment, it is likely that Yonn will no longer talk to you and cooperate in any way. And to buy the “Skelligsky Crossbow” is no longer possible. Therefore, before you talk to him about the letter, buy whatever you want. Or make the save before the task. And besides the crossbow, he sells a set of Skellig armor and horse harness. All this can also become unavailable, so it’s better to dig up money, buy everything, and then hand in the task. And at this stage of the task, many players are faced with a problem - “I can not give the letter”, “I can not talk to the blacksmith”, “The task does not work, is not executed”, “The character does not give the letter” or Yonn is simply not active. Do you know such a problem? The thing is in one little hitch that is not mentioned anywhere. There is nothing even in the magazine.
How to give a letter? Yes, very simple. The smith will talk to you only if you come to him after 9 o'clock in the morning. In the evening and at night there is no blacksmith at the site at all, and early in the morning he will not want to talk to you. Understandably, the working hours have not yet begun. So just meditate until 9-10 in the morning and the glitch will pass!
Solutions and consequences
The outcome of the task depends on your choice and whether Yonn will trade with you in the future, or not. We are telling Yonne that we have found a letter for him. The following response options:
- I found it at your sister's body — the blacksmith will appreciate the witcher’s honesty, and that he did not pass by the carnage. Yes, and the letter delivered to the recipient. As a reward for the task Geralt will receive 20 kroner and it will be possible to trade with Yohn later.
- You'd better not know about it - the blacksmith will be angry with the fact that the witcher is trying to feel sorry for him and is hiding something. Or maybe it was the witcher himself who robbed the blacksmith's sister and took the letter? Or did she kill her? Before the fight will not come, but where far away he Geralt will send. After that, it will be impossible to trade with Yonn until the end of the game.
This completes the “Hard Times” side mission. I do not know, this is a trick of the developers, or a bug that you can’t talk to a blacksmith until 9 in the morning, but it is as it is. After we have completed the task, nothing will change - the blacksmith still does not speak with Geralt until 9 in the morning. So, if you visit him again at night - do not forget to meditate until 9-10 am.
Quest video
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