What do you mean decisions? Its not a decision, you stumble upon it by chance, if u explore, and the game punishes you by locking you out of npcs/dialogue and doesn't give you xp. You should be able to find those npcs and talk to them by chance as well if that is their design, which obviously isn't, its a bug.
I'm not alone! I had the exact same thing happen...was really disappointed, especially after seeing a Let's Play of that quest and finally getting to see yet another example of rich, complex and layered story telling that I had missed when I was actually on the quest.
I mean it turns out that particular quest hits on some heavy social issues...really bummed I went and explored that griffin nest ahead of schedule. So far though that's the only quest I feel I got punished for my exploring.
Another issue I have is spoilers appearing in the journal. There has been multiple times when just by checking my journal I found out what I did before I did it. I'm still not sure if this is a bug or not, if not it should be. Kind of like skipping ahead with Game of Thrones.
I suppose that got a little off topic but the stories in this game are so damn good they're almost sacred and it's awful when the game itself ruins it for you.
EDIT: I should add that Mislav also figures into the narrative of at least one other questline and I would have had no idea of his backstory and relationship with other characters if I hadn't watched that Let's Play of the quest. Exploration should not = fail state.
I mean it turns out that particular quest hits on some heavy social issues...really bummed I went and explored that griffin nest ahead of schedule. So far though that's the only quest I feel I got punished for my exploring.
Another issue I have is spoilers appearing in the journal. There has been multiple times when just by checking my journal I found out what I did before I did it. I'm still not sure if this is a bug or not, if not it should be. Kind of like skipping ahead with Game of Thrones.
I suppose that got a little off topic but the stories in this game are so damn good they're almost sacred and it's awful when the game itself ruins it for you.
EDIT: I should add that Mislav also figures into the narrative of at least one other questline and I would have had no idea of his backstory and relationship with other characters if I hadn't watched that Let's Play of the quest. Exploration should not = fail state.
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Didn't you make the decision to explore?
Were you able to complete the quest?
Think about it. Do you really want to make a decision whether or not to explore in an open world RPG? It sets a precedent that makes future exploration run the risk of missing out on stories, quests, etc. This is the opposite of the goals of any RPG. You are rewarded for the choice to explore by opening up the world more, not punished by closing it off.
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I did the same thing in Griffin quest, I reloaded save, in order not to miss Minslav's story.
So I can understand this can be a problem for completionist, however I don't see a way it can be avoided, because it would even worse and wouldn't make sense, if you meet a monster in forest, kill him (B), but quest for contract (A) doesn't start and you are not able to get your reward (C).
So CDPR chose lesser evil...
Solution: Just play the game 10 times, to make sure you don't miss anything :hai:
So I can understand this can be a problem for completionist, however I don't see a way it can be avoided, because it would even worse and wouldn't make sense, if you meet a monster in forest, kill him (B), but quest for contract (A) doesn't start and you are not able to get your reward (C).
So CDPR chose lesser evil...
Solution: Just play the game 10 times, to make sure you don't miss anything :hai:
I thought that Mislav's story was worth reloading, even more so for the story than the XP, because you get more background story to why there is a Devil in the Well in the first place.
Although, I had not yet left White Orchard so reloading was okay. A hundred hours in...I don't know what I had done.
I got the Prima guide now though. Won't look in advance, but let's see if I can play and finish quests and not peek in the guide afterwards. :happy:
I really like that solution. ^_^I did the same thing in Griffin quest, I reloaded save, in order not to miss Minslav's story.
So I can understand this can be a problem for completionist, however I don't see a way it can be avoided, because it would even worse and wouldn't make sense, if you meet a monster in forest, kill him (B), but quest for contract (A) doesn't start and you are not able to get your reward (C).
So CDPR chose lesser evil...
Solution: Just play the game 10 times, to make sure you don't miss anything
But seriously I believe the devs could detach Mislav's hunting quest from Beast of White Orchard quest, IF players found site on their own. And of course, the objective would NOT be marked as a failure with that text just because you explored on your own. I mean it doesn't say Failed to help Mislav, or some such, but that you failed to examine griffin attack site using your witcher senses. This is very confusing when you actually did it.
So change that text or detach Mislav quest if you find site on your own. That is if you find site on your own, he could maybe stand in front of his house and be available as a minor quest giver, and you could just help him hunt wild dogs or whatever. And hear his story of course.
Sorry devs, I'm spoiled, but you're the best either way!
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This really really really annoys the hell out of me...I had found the griffins nest several hours back so reloading an old save (if I have one) is not an option nor do I remember how far back exactly I found the nest. It would have been nice if I was still able to TALK to Mislav regardless and still get the info from the corpse and what not for the stories sake. I did track him down but all he says is hello. I have a strong completionists urge so this really rubbed me the wrong way.
Well, it just happened to me again. Just did an excursion with a friendly sorceress(no spoilers from me). A mission objective, 'Search the room using Witcher Senses,' was suddenly marked red, even if I searched everywhere and looked at every clue. I don't wanna think about what I missed that lead up to the failed objective. A nice juicy story perhaps? But I don't wanna reload for it either. Who knows how far back that I did something that lead to another path. I guess I'll just have to forgive and forget and move on.
It's still a great game.
Playing The Witcher 3 for the first time in my life in 2020 and its really a bummer to see that this Issue despite having someone from CDPR replying on it here was not resolved 
I too like to explore and at the same time I am a completionist (it kinda goes hand in hand) and thanks to this situation now I did too get a RED BALD failure indication on my quest...
The problem with this kind of issue is that if one doesn't wanna lose out on the content of the game - he needs to play the game using a wiki open to check everything quest and every dialog to make sure he doesn't run into a bug.
This is a lose-lose situation, or I lose on the game content because of issues like that, or I lose my fun from playing the game without reading head-on every objective ... I am really disappointed
I too like to explore and at the same time I am a completionist (it kinda goes hand in hand) and thanks to this situation now I did too get a RED BALD failure indication on my quest...
The problem with this kind of issue is that if one doesn't wanna lose out on the content of the game - he needs to play the game using a wiki open to check everything quest and every dialog to make sure he doesn't run into a bug.
This is a lose-lose situation, or I lose on the game content because of issues like that, or I lose my fun from playing the game without reading head-on every objective ... I am really disappointed