Hi guys,

I accidentally met the two soldiers from Toussant but declined to go with them, as I was only level 15 and still had more exploring in Valen. What I noticed thereafter was how all the question marks now had level 30-35 monsters,. many of the monsters you meet as you explore were also that level. I am wondering if I changed the game by meeting those two soldiers, as I am now struggling to level up!

Hi! If the question marks you're talking about are located in the northern part of the map, then it's intended: I haven't met those two yet on my current playthrough, and yet I'm still unable to explore that part of the map (I'm lvl 25 or so - I'm not sure, cause I haven't played the game for a while now since my laptop had to undergo a slight repair)

If you mean the northern half of the map from west to east, then yes, that's where I was exploring. For example, I found level 35 drowners just outside Oxenfurt, and this surprised me.

the two soldier from toussaint are for the blood and wine expansion. it's best to go with them after you've completed the main game

Yup,

But once you meet them you go into a cutscene and only get the option to go or not. I think that cutscene makes the game think your level 30+, meaning question marks in Valen now contain creatures too high a level for me.

Take a look at the screenshot attached. I'm lvl 23 right now, the southern part of the map is cleared out. The question marks indicate places with creatures that outlevel me, so that I cannot clear those. (I'm grinding Skellige and Kaer Morhen now.) If your question mark pattern is more or less the same, then it's intended. Just go on with the main story and level up until you're able to go through those undiscovered locations.

EDIT: The two lowest question marks (near Abandoned Manor) are easier, I've been there just now, they have creatures lvl 23 (with enemy upscaling on), while the question mark near Est Tayiar has lvl 33 bandits whom I hardly managed to escape. Also, you should be able to reach the Upper Mill (top right on the map) which has some interesting NPCs, but you should evade any creatures on your way (there're two high leveled nekker nests iirc)

This is very useful information. Thank you.