This mod is created for original game version 4.04.
No Levels mod comes in 2 versions:
1) Lite - which does mostly only level-related changes. And some bugfixes.
2) Normal - has all Lite changes and adds extra "quality of life" features on top. And some things no one asked for.
Both versions are backward compatible. Do not add or remove any data from save files. May be installed/uninstalled anytime.

Version history
Description for No Levels v1.3.3 (for original game version 1.31-1.32)

Installation:
Manual. Read "how_to_install.txt" in archive.
Or watch this video: https://youtu.be/jxPYSUNUTdE

Warning! Original game (OG) has been getting some updates in the last year (2023). New versions of original game may have changes, which make existing No Levels (NL) versions not compatible with new OG. Just in case, disable automatic OG updates and do not update, until new NL version is released, or existing NL version is confirmed to be partially/fully compatible with new OG version. You can play game without Steam/GOG/anything else by launching it with "The Witcher 3\bin\x64\witcher3.exe". When OG update arrives, check posts and file descriptions.

No Levels Lite features
- Some mod features can be enabled/disabled/configured using modNoLevels/content/scripts/game/modcode/modConfig.ws, modSpells.ws and other text files. Some options have console commands, which allow to change themon the fly, without restarting the game. But changes done with console commands are temporary and will reset after game restart.
- Some changes of the mod are aimed to make more stuff playable.
- Because all ingame gear/entity stats were 90%-99% level dependent, and level effects were removed, all ingame gear/entity stats were manually redefined, so weapons and creatures and else have more reasonable stats relative to each other.
- All items have no level requirements, can be equipped immediately.
- Player weapon damages depend on weapon quality and its built-in properties.
- Most armor damage type resistances were redistributed, so there is more monster and elemental damage type protections for all armors which did not have those at all.
- In terms of damage, signs, crossbows and bombs do not become obsolete over the course of the game:
    - Crossbow damages have been improved:
        - Consider shooting enemies with split bolts at point blank range or craft a pack of explosive bolts.
        - Default bolts still have low damage because they are infinite, but serve tactical purpose.
        - Make sure to visit Hattori (Novigrad master blacksmith) and Yanne (Kaer Trolde blacksmith) for high quality bolts, which can not be crafted, only bought.
    - With this mod, sign intensity also improves these spells:
        - Igni Firestream burning damage-over-time.
        - Aard Shock Wave and Piercing Cold damage.
        - Yrden Magic Trap and Supercharged Glyphs damage.
        - Axii Puppet duration.
    - Disabled burning entities extinguishing, when they are playing "I am burning!" animation and are hit with anything. Similar to entities which ignore burning and not extinguish when hit.
- Skills and slots changes:
    - All regular skill and mutagen slots can be used without having required level. Configurable in modConfig.ws - mRegularSkillSlotsAlwaysUnlocked, mRgbMutagenSlotsAlwaysUnlocked.
    - Skills do not require spending points into a skill tree to be learned. modConfig.ws - USE_SKILL_TREE_REQUIRED_POINTS.
    - "Blood and Wine" mutation skill slots can be used without researching mutations and without even activating any mutation. But "Turn and Face the Strange" quest must be completed first. Or use console command enablemutations(1). modConfig.ws - mMutationSkillSlotsAlwaysUnlocked.
    - Skills of any color can be equipped into mutation skill slots. Even yellow. modConfig.ws - MUTATION_SKILL_SLOTS_ANY_COLOR
    - Mutations can be researched in any order. modConfig.ws - MUTATION_RESEARCH_ANY_ORDER
    - Default "+10% attack power per adrenaline point" skill can be turned off in modConfig.ws - mAdrenalineAttackPowerBonus. Console command NL_AdrenalineAttackPowerBonus(0/1).
- Random weapon/armor stats are set to maximum values. For instance, if some item originally was to be generated with +5..+20% sign intensity enhancement, this mod always sets +20% sign intensity.
- Monsters can be killed with steel, non-monsters can be killed with silver. Just moderately less effective.
- Companion damage debuffs were nullified so now your companions hit enemies hard and not just distract them.
- This mod makes New Game Plus equal to New Game. Enemies do not get increased stats, neither do Geralt. But you can use items and skills gained in previous run.
- For completing quests and killing enemies, player is rewarded with full XP as if player had exact level as quest or enemy in original game:
    - x0.9 and x0.8 difficulty experience multipliers are removed.
    - Player levels exist only to grant skill points and do not affect your damage/spell_power/health stats.
    - You may disable this XP change using modNoLevels\content\scripts\game\modcode\modConfig.ws - ALWAYS_FULL_XP_FOR_QUESTS = false;
- This mod is not designed to make game hard, but difficulty can be tweaked:
    - I recommend playing on "Blood and broken bones". On this difficulty Geralt and NPC damage multipliers are set to be 1:1 equal (without taking into account superhuman witcher abilities).
    - On easier difficulties player receives only 25% and 50% damage.
    - On "Death march" difficulty:
        - Geralt's dealt damage is 50% and damage received by player is 200%.
        - Ciri uses other damage multipliers - 70% and 112%.
    - Difficulty damage multiplier is applied after all damage calculations are done, right before subtracting health from entity. This way every damage increasing/reducing tool is equally useful across all difficulties.
    - Tweak multipliers to your liking in scripts/game/modcode/modDamage.ws in function GetDifficultyDmgMult.
    - You can also change NPC vs NPC damage multiplier.
    - Console commands which allow to change and reset damage multipliers on the fly:
        - NL_PlayerDmgMults( vsNpc : float, vsPlayer : float ) // example: NL_PlayerDmgMults(0.1, 0.1)
        - NL_SwitchPlayerDmgMults(0/1) // turns temporary multipliers from NL_PlayerDmgMults command off/on
        - NL_NpcDmgMult( v : float ) // this is for NPC vs NPC
        - NL_SwitchNpcDmgMult(0/1)
    - If you feel like the game is too easy, consider challenging yourself by not using overpowered stuff. Or do not use red/green/blue mutagens with give +40% attack power/sign intensity/vitality, because they provide permanent effect with very little effort involved. Or use some skills with only 1 upgrade out of 3.
- No levels in user interface (UI):
    - Item levels are not displayed.
    - NPC levels and red skulls are hidden. Configurable in modConfig.ws - SHOW_ENEMY_LEVELS.
    - Quest levels and red skulls are hidden. Configurable in modConfig.ws - SHOW_QUEST_LEVELS.
    - Hard lock/lock-on icon has been hidden, but you may toggle it back using modConfig.ws - SHOW_HARD_LOCK_ICON.
- Added few stats to character stats page: spell power percent for each sign, attack power, adrenaline gain, "potion duration and bomb damage", toxicity decay rate, arachas decoction. Arachas decoction stat appears only when used.
- Aerondight level-based permanent damage increase is disabled.
- Generic non-relic items from base game, randomly found over the world, have slightly lower stats than their same-looking crafted versions. Just like with the items from "Hearts of the Stone" and "Blood and Wine".
- Changed Yrden Supercharged Glyphs skill damage type from DirectDamage to ShockDamage, just like from alternatively casted Magic Trap. Not many enemies have shock damage resistance, but at least it is not direct damage which cannot be reduced by anything.
- Changed Netflix (yrden + aard) damage from Direct to Force and Shock. Greater aard sign intensity = greater force damage. Greater yrden sign intensity = greater shock damage.
- Changed "Piercing Cold" mutation damage type from ForceDamage to FrostDamage.
- All item prices are static and low, all merchants sell items for the same prices:
    - Money received from quests became bigger part of income.
    - Quest specific prices like bribing, giving help or buying tickets now make sense.
    - Trading ratio is 1:5 but may be configured (see scripts/game/modcode/modPrices.ws).
    - Many very cheap items became unprofitable to sell (can just give them to traders for 0 crowns per item).
    - You can turn default price system back on, by setting MOD_PRICES_ENABLED = false in modConfig.ws. Beware that leveled items' (like swords and armors) prices are calculated based on their raw stats by original game pricing system, so you will get different prices with No Levels.
    - Did not find a way to mod ofieri runewright dialogue prices, unfortunately. Use console command "addmoney(10000)" and pay whatever price you think is meaningful.
- Whenever the game tells you something scales with someone's level - don't believe it. Levels are not real.
- Bugfixes
- Secrets

No Levels Normal extra features
- Option modSkills.ws SOME_SKILLS_ALWAYS_ACTIVE. Some skills are active even when not equipped. But they have to be acquired, at least level 1. I chose whirl, rend, arrow deflection and alt sign modes by default. But you can try to turn on any other skill you want in the same file. Still, some skills won't work until equipped, because some code must be executed when equipping and unequipping skills.
- Monsters can be hit with fists and Geralt won't stagger. Configurable in modConfig.ws - MONSTER_FIST_HIT_COUNTER_STAGGER_ENABLED.
- No horse speed limit is settlements. Configurable in modConfig.ws - HORSE_SPEED_LIMIT_ENABLED.
- Alchemy:
    - Most potion durations were increased to 1-3 minutes to emphasize focus on fighting and not be distracted by potion drinking every 30 seconds.
    - Fiend decoction allows to carry extra 60 kg instead of just 20 kg
    - Cat potion is toggleable. Drink potion to enable effect, drink potion again to disable. Unlimited duration and amount of uses. This can be disabled using modConfig.ws - CAT_POTION_TOGGLE = false;
        Pro-tip: you can make any potion effect toggleable, by adding its EEffectType to game/gameplay/effects/effectManager.ws function IsEffectTypeToggleable.
        EEffectType enumeration is located in game/gameplay/effects/effectTypes.ws .
- Signs
    - Yrden slowdown effect is not capped in 20%-45% (at 0%-400% sign intensity) and can slow down enemies down to 0% with infinite spell power
        - formula: Slowdown = 1 - (3 / (spellpower + 3))
        - examples: 25% slowdown with 100% (1.0) spellpower, 40% slowdown with 200% (2.0) spell power
        - can use original yrden formula by changing config in modSpells.ws - ALTERNATIVE_YRDEN_SLOWDOWN_FORMULA.
    - Quen. Basic spell can now be penetrated if player is hit too hard. With 100% spellpower, quen shield takes 100 points of damage to break. Any damage above 200 points is reduced by these 200 points and hurts player. Configurable in modSpells.ws - PENETRABLE_QUEN.
    - Alternative "Piercing Cold" mutation. Aard Sign has a 60% chance of freezing opponents for 10 seconds. Deals 200 frost damage. All values are scaled with aard sign intensity. No instant kills. modSpells.ws - ALT_PIERCING_COLD.
- Ciri gameplay improvements:
    - Ciri is invulnerable while performing special attacks (Blink and Charge), but not during "charging" of these attacks.
    - Ciri with 'Ciri_Rage' ability (during quest "On Thin Ice") does not dash to enemy when using light attack button. When using heavy attack button - Ciri dashes.
- Place of power effects last whole witcher-day. And effects are stronger (+50% sign intensity)
- Received boat damage is reduced by a factor of 10. Can be configured using modConfig.ws - BOAT_DMG_MULT
- If you are wondering why "The Moving Merchant" does not sell rare items anymore (since v1.2.1) and Grandmaster in Toussaint sells no Manticore-to-Raven upgrade diagrams - there is its own mod now for it: Rare Items Merchant
- All oils can be applied both to steel and silver weapons, no restrictions
    - configurable in modConfig.ws - ALLOW_OILS_ON_ALL_WEAPONS
- All quest items weight is equal to 0
    - configurable in modConfig.ws - QUEST_ITEMS_ZERO_WEIGHT
- Option modConfig.ws EARLY_SET_BONUSES. Non-grandmaster witcher gear will provide set bonuses.
- In crafting/dismantle menu:
    - Amount of already owned crafted items/dismantle parts is displayed near item's name in brackets. Configurable in modConfig.ws - SHOW_AMOUNT_OF_OWNED_CRAFT_ITEMS.
    - When dismantling items, amount of received parts is displayed in preview. All craftsmen give you maximum amount of parts from dismantling. Original game logic may be enabled in modConfig.ws - DISMANTLE_ALWAYS_GET_MAX_PARTS.
    - Added Master/Magic enhancements tip for craftable weapons and armors. This is original game feature, just not explained anywhere.
- Reduced drunkenness duration, can be configured in modConfig.ws - DRUNKENNESS_DURATION_MULT
- Euphoria mutation visual effects can be disabled in modConfig.ws - EUPHORIA_MUTATION_VFX_ENABLED.
- Option modConfig.ws ALT_RETRIBUTION. "Retribution" glyphword for armor. When enabled, damage type changes from DirectDamage to ShockDamage. Instead of fixed value = armor points * multiplier; returns total damage, from last hit, blocked by armor points and resistance percents. Meaning, if received damage is 200, and armor has blocked 100 damage, with 30% chance, it will return 100 ShockDamage. Returned damage is scaled by Attack Power stat.
- Added critical effects to Aerondight sword to resemble The Witcher 1 version. Damage reduced from 200 to 150 for balance purposes.
- Olgierd's sword Iris heavy strike now drains not 15% of vitality, but 150 vitality. So player may opt into high damage or high vitality at preference.

==============================================================

What exact stats should I see once mod is installed?
Geralt should have 1000 vitality.
Human NPCs should have 1000 vitality (Health). Some might have 2000-3000 if they are mini-bosses or bosses.
Monster/beasts' essence (Health) should vary from 500 to 10000. Their damage resistances from original game are kept the same (like earth elementals receiving only 20% of damage)

Full set of most cheap armor gives 30 armor points (15 from chest piece, 5 from everything else).
Full grandmaster armor set gives 60 armor points (30 from chest piece, 10 from everything else).

Player's sword damages should vary from 150 to 270.
NPC damage examples:
- wolf - 120 monster
- wraith - 130 elemental (light attack x1, heavy attack x1.15 up to 149.5)
- wild hunt hound - 150 elemental (x1, x1.15 up to 195)
- human NPC with common sword - 200 slashing (x1, x1.15 up to 230)
- human NPC with spear - 230 piercing (x1, x1.15 up to 264.5)
- human NPC with guisarme - 300 slashing (x1, x1.15 up to 345)
- bear - 400 monster (x1, x1.15, super heavy attack x1.5 up to 600)
- leshen roots - 350 monster (x1.5 for boss leshen)
- ice giant - 600 bludgeoning (x1, x1.15, x1.5 up to 900)

THIS MOD WAS POSSIBLE THANKS TO THESE MODS:
ModKit - https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/3173
ModKitchen - https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/389
w3strings encoder - https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/1055/
Unification patch - https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/2134 (created GOTY patch using this mod)

If you seek to learn a bit about Witcher 3 modding or having trouble merging No Levels mod with other mods, check No_Levels_modding_guide.zip in downloads. It contains list of tools and ways to use them. You might also want to check mod source in downloads (miscellaneous files). Source also contains original game files, which can be compared with modded files to see what exactly No Levels does.

Changes which remain after mod is uninstalled:
- Geralt will have around 1000 health. This can be fixed by using/removing anything what changes vitality. For instance, potions, green mutagens and gear.
- After player switches to Ciri by quest/console command with mod installed, Ciri will remain with 1000 mod-vitality instead of default 3500 original-vitality. This can be reverted back to original by using addabl('Ciri_Q205') and rmvabl('Ciri_Q205') console commands
- When uninstalling mod with EARLY_SET_BONUSES option enabled, unequip all set items, because original game won't be able to recalculate amount of equipped set items properly.

Mods which go well with No Levels or are made to work with NL:
Cheaper Runewright - https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/3116
Due to reduced prices and income with No Levels, runewright's request for total 30000 crowns in too much. This mod reduces total requested money to 5400 crowns.
Clear Damaged Equipments From Merchants - https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/5554
Mod created specifically for "No Levels".

Also, check optional files:
modLockIconsOut - Made by nexus user UncalledTechnician13. Removes lock icons from skills menu. There are 2 versions for OG v1.31 and OG v4.04. Pick the one which matches your original game version.
modNoLevelsOnWorldMap - by UncalledTechnician13. Removes "suggested levels" from world map.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Q: How to make Slots Slots Slots mod work with No Levels?
A: Don't know, I didn't make it myself. Tip: look for MUTATION_SKILL_SLOTS_LIMITS_ENABLED, SLOTS_REQUIRED_LEVEL_ENABLED and USE_SKILL_TREE_REQUIRED_POINTS text in scripts. And remove these changes in favor of Slots Slots Slots.

Q: How to make any mod work with No Levels?
A: There is "No_Levels_modding_guide.zip" in downloads. Also, you may want to use Script Merger.

Q: I have installed mod which adds new weapons into the game. But weapons deal no damage.
A: That is because per-level weapon damage bonuses are disabled in No Levels. Damage of each weapon is specified individually. You may want to extract weapon mod data, add damage to "_Stats" of the weapon, and pack data back. Modding guide from downloads might be helpful.

Q: Why %insert_sword_name% has low damage?
A: For balance purposes. Initially (v1.0-v1.1.1) weapons of the same quality or "grandmastery" had equal damages. Some weapons also had lots of special effects and were obviously superior. Special effects are - increased critical hit chances, bleeding, stun and so on.
Later (v1.2) for every weapon, base damage was reduced depending on type and amount of special effects they have. That's why swords of the same quality are more equal than before. But they have their advantages and disadvantages. Sword with high bleeding chance is great against enemies which bleed and have lots of health (bleeding damage is a percent of maximum health), but not very good against, let's say, golems. Against golems you would like to choose swords with more raw damage and less special effects. Still, both swords are decent and you are not "forced" to carry multiple situational swords.

Q: Why Aerondight damage is so low?
A: Its ability multiplies base sword damage. Which is then multiplied by a sum of other multipliers. Almost squared damage.
Example, for a sword which deals 260 damage average. You use Thunderbolt potion for +25% damage, and your adrenaline gives +30%. Resulting damage is 260 * (1 + 0.25 + 0.3) = 403.
For half-charged (5/10) Aerondight, with 150 base damage, resulting damage is 150 * 1.5 * (1 + 0.25 + 0.3) = 348.75.
For fully charged Aerondight, with basic critical damage multiplier (+25%), resulting damage is 150 * 2 * (1 + 0.25 + 0.3 + 0.25) = 540.
Also, in "normal" version Aerondight has +10% chances for stagger, stun and burning. Many swords do not have so many critical effects.
You can also edit mod data. Aerondight's base damage is specified in "dlc\bob\data\gameplay\items\def_item_weapons_relic.xml".

Q: What enemy upscaling does with this mod?
A: Nothing. Enemies are the same with upscaling on and off.

Q: How to undo "Companion damage debuffs were nullified" ?
A: https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/articles/519

Q: I don't like some change of this mod. Can you make it optional?
A: Yes. No. Maybe. Just in case take a look at this, maybe there is an answer: https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/articles/520

Q: How's work on the mod going? Any plans?
A:
1) No Levels Lite ✔ Done (v1.1)
2) Complete all contracts and make all bosses like bosses ✔ Done (v1.2)
3) New Game Plus ✔ Done (v1.3)
4) Update mod for latest game version (Next Gen / Complete Edition) and reimplement some lost No Levels features ✔ Done (v1.4.2)

Never Asked Questions:
Q: How time consuming was making of No Levels?
A: No Levels v1.0 took 3 months to implement. ≈250 hours of running game testing and debugging, to make sure not a single main quest was broken, everything modded is working correctly and so on. And 50+ hours of pure configuring and coding. Also I have 9/5 job.