If the tutorial ladder freezes Geralt, preserve your saves and check the Steam installation before replaying the whole game. The October 1–6 thread includes two reports that reinstalling helped. Later claims about particular DLC/bin files are explicitly uncertain; no individual file culprit is verified.
Record the actual blockage
Note the objective, ladder location, full patch number, input device and mod setup. The OP was training with Ciri and could not climb; restarting alone did not help. One reply reports trouble with other ladders too. A single blocked interaction and all ladders failing should be recorded separately.
Keep your current and earlier saves outside the installation you are testing. Disable mods through their documented manager so the baseline is recoverable. Do not overwrite a long-running character just to reproduce the tutorial.
Start with Steam verification
- Close the game. In Steam Library, open this game's Properties.
- Select Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files and let it finish.
- Launch without added mods and retry the same ladder or an earlier recoverable checkpoint.
- Check whether climbing completes and movement remains responsive after dismounting.
CDPR documents verification for game-file problems; it does not specifically certify this ladder repair. Added mod files may remain after verification, so compare the actual installed setup rather than interpreting a successful scan as proof of a clean directory.
If you choose the reported reinstall test
Replies #2 and #3 report success after reinstalling. Make a separate save/configuration backup first and use Steam's uninstall/install workflow for this game. Keep any remaining user-added files identifiable and recoverable before returning to a clean installation. Avoid blindly deleting the whole Witcher Documents folder.
Do not follow the later suggestions to move DLC or every game file into bin: those replies admit they cannot identify which file matters. If a clean supported installation still freezes, send CDPR the objective, build, input and before/after results. For a failure before the menu, use the launch checklist instead.
Sources and version limits
- Steam: Ladder Bug — October 1–6; OP and #2–#3 support the symptom and two reinstall reports; #4–#5 do not establish a specific bad file.
- CDPR: verify game files — Official storefront procedures; verification does not remove every added mod file.
Sources checked October 6, 2026. These are attributed reports and route instructions, not our own test of your hardware or save. A reported workaround does not establish a permanent fix.