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Limited official information
CDPR has shared very little about how character progression works in The Witcher IV. What follows is a mix of confirmed details and educated guesses based on franchise conventions.
Confirmed elements
Skill Points: earned through leveling up and by interacting with Places of Power (standing stones in the open world that grant a free skill point)
Mutagen Slots: equipping mutagens can modify or amplify builds, especially when paired with same-color skills
Manuscript Pages: crafting recipes for alchemy items, found through exploration
Places of Power were scattered across the open world in The Witcher 3, often in hard-to-reach or guarded locations. They rewarded exploration with permanent power increases. Their return is consistent with the franchise's pattern.
Ciri's build paths
Ciri's nature opens multiple potential specialization directions. She is a mutated witcher (sword combat, signs, alchemy), a trained sorceress (Yennefer's magic), and carries Elder Blood (diminished but still present). See Ciri's Combat and Abilities for the full breakdown of her toolkit.
Potential build archetypes based on her abilities:
Swordsmanship focus: maxing melee damage, chain weapon combos, and sign imbuing
Magic focus: investing in advanced magic like Bolt, sign intensity, and area-of-effect spells
Alchemy focus: potion duration, toxicity thresholds, decoction synergies, oil effectiveness
Hybrid builds combining elements of all three
Lessons from Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 launched with a skill tree that many players found unfocused. The Phantom Liberty expansion overhauled it completely, replacing the sprawling web of small percentage bonuses with a more streamlined system where each perk felt meaningful. The rework was widely praised.
Many analysts expect The Witcher IV to carry those lessons forward. Sebastian Kalemba was creative director on Cyberpunk 2077 and would have been closely involved in the Phantom Liberty redesign. A progression system that avoids "1% damage increase" filler perks and instead offers build-defining choices would be consistent with CDPR's stated direction.
What we do not know
How many skill trees exist and what they cover
Whether there is a level cap
How respeccing works (if it is available at all)
Whether progression is gated by the main story or purely experience-based
How mutagen colors and skill colors interact specifically