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The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone Expansion

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/116...-heart-of-stone-details-trailer-incoming.html

A report on DualShockers featuring a handful of quotes from CD Projekt RED community manger Marcin Momot across a post on the official forums and Twitter appear to indicate that we'll be getting a teaser trailer for The Witcher 3's first expansion pack, Hearts of Stone, as soon as tomorrow. Additionally, we learn that it will feature level 30+ quests and that they'll scale accordingly for the recently added New Game+ mode. Word is:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s expansion Heart of Stone is scheduled for an October release, but CD Projekt has been quite stingy in terms of details about it. Today Community Coordinator Marcin Momot confirmed on the official forums that a “teaser” trailer is coming soon.

As a matter of fact, something interesting might come in less than 24 hours (even if we don’t know if it’s the teaser trailer), as Momot mentioned that he’s working on something “really important” for tomorrow, winking smiley included.​
 

Nryn

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Divinity: Original Sin 2
Teaser trailer is out:



Screenshots as well:

hos-info-3.jpg


hos-info-2.jpg


hos-info-1.jpg
 
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RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In
Yeah, Peter Pan is back ans still lusts after Sephirot's dick, what could be better?

Actually if I was warking at CDP marketing department I'd call it. Witcher 3: Heart of Shani - 10 hours of Shani adventure both in Oxenfurt and Outside.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-witcher-3s-hearts-/1100-6430475/

What You Need to Know About The Witcher 3's Hearts of Stone Expansion
No hearts of glass.

Now that all the free DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been released, attention has turned towards the game's two upcoming expansions. The first of the two--called Hearts of Stone--is set to release next month, and the excitement behind it is already building up.

Recently, I got the chance to sit down with game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz to talk about what players can expect from Hearts of Stone. In the discussion below, Tomaszkiewicz shed light on the expansion's plot, its accessibility, and the possibility of a a physical standalone version of Gwent.

Apart from some broad details about a Man of Glass that you'll encounter, we don't really know too much about Hearts of Stone. What can you tell us about the expansion's narrative?

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz: There's not much I can tell you at this point without spoiling the plot too much. Hearts of Stone is definitely on par with what Wild Hunt established in terms of the depth of characters and story. If you liked quests like the Bloody Baron one, you know what I mean. This time around Geralt gets mixed into dealing with a man who's...immortal. And ruthless. But, and this somewhat became The Witcher's calling card, things are not what they seem, and players will once again have to make some serious decisions and see the consequences play out.

Without going into too many spoilers, will Hearts of Stone continue Geralt's story and where he and other characters end up at the end of Witcher 3?

No, the story told in Hearts of Stone is pretty much standalone from the events that took place in Wild Hunt, so even players who have not finished the game can play.


Is Hearts of Stone providing only one, major narrative? Or have new sidequests, Witcher contracts, and other missions been included as well? Can you give us any examples?

Hearts of Stone consists of all those things packed together to give you 10 hours of new adventures. However, I'm pretty sure that we're a bit conservative with that number (remember the 100 hours needed to complete everything in Wild Hunt?) and you'll be able to have a lot more fun than that. In a nutshell, HoS features one major narrative that branches out to give gamers alternative ways of completing it; adds a few side-quests, random encounters, and monster hunts.

Can we expect a whole cast of new characters? Or will some old faces--including from previous Witcher games--make an appearance? Of course, we're asking specifically about Shani, who a lot of people are guessing will be in the game.

With HoS, we introduce a few new really powerful characters, but long-time fans should definitely be happy with one character in particular. I won't give you a more direct answer not to spoil the fun; gamers will have to see for themselves.

You've previously stated you can start Hearts of Stone without completing the game (in New Game or New Game Plus). Is it more beneficial to have actually completed the game's main narrative?

You don't have to finish the game to dive into Hearts of Stone since the plot is not connected to the main storyline of Wild Hunt. However, we do recommend to level up a bit before you embark on this adventure. A level 1 Geralt doesn't have the necessary tools to combat what's ahead.

What level should players ideally be before tackling this content?

I think 30+ is roughly what will give you the best experience, but lower level players can try to test their skill as well.

Apart from the narrative, will Hearts of Stone also bring about any other changes or fixes to the main game?

In terms of new mechanics, we're introducing something called Runewords. Runewords are created by combining glyphs and unlock special buffs for Geralt. These can vary from increased resistance to certain types of attacks, to enhancing Geralt's combat ability with an array of magical effects. We’re also introducing a new NPC that will help Geralt research Runewords--the Ofirian wizard.


You're releasing a physical retail version of the expansion with some Gwent decks. Does that mean you're finally releasing Gwent as a physical, standalone product?

Every day we are getting emails about a physical version of Gwent--and that is a pure joy to read. What we are doing now is trying to answer those requests, but this is not a standalone card game product. Gwent was created as a single-player minigame for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt specifically, but we understand that people would like to play against their friends--they know the game and they want it, so we tried to provide a solution.

That being said, we would have to change a lot in the game to make it a standalone physical card game and there are no plans for that in the near future.

So how many cards in each deck? 30? What's your plan with the physical version of the game?

We have 77 cards per faction so a total of 154 cards in this set.

Why release a physical, limited edition retail version of Hearts of Stone at all?

We strongly believe that RPG fans are collectors. Hearts of Stone is an old-school expansion and I think people will be happy to get a special, limited one time only boxed release. Also this was a cool way to do physical Gwent that is still a part of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-09-28-the-witcher-3-hearts-of-stone-preview

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone doesn't quite fulfil its expansion billing
Details and impressions of Geralt's new adventures.

jpg


By calling Hearts of Stone an expansion, Polish developer CD Projekt Red set an expectation - an expectation of something grand, and something extraordinary. Ordinary, you see, is downloadable content. Expansions are rarer, bigger beasts. But in the case of Hearts of Stone, 'expansion' is misleading. Sure, it's £8, so it's not comparable to a £35 World of Warcraft expansion, and it has only been in development for around five months, but still: it doesn't quite live up to the billing.

Hearts of Stone is for level 30 characters, and there's one provided gratis if you don't have one. The main focus is a 10-hour story, which you begin by heading to a notice board marked on your map, and everything that then unfolds takes place in the same world you've already explored, albeit in less-trodden areas. As such it never feel as shiny and new as the best expansions do, and it takes a while to stand apart and resemble something more than yet another quest in an already abundant game. But Hearts does get better.

Two characters in particular stand out: the two key figures of the Hearts story. One you've met before, and I certainly never expected to see again, and the other is an immortal - something CD Projekt Red has already announced (I don't want to spoil more than that - look away from the gallery at the bottom of this article to preserve secrets). Discovering their motivations and their secrets pulls you along. There's also another romance to pursue with a character old Witcher-game fans will recognise, and doing so doesn't affect your relationship with Yennefer or Triss - it's guilt-free in that regard. And when these stories warm up, Hearts really gets going. This is CD Projekt Red relaxing after the serious work of the main game, playing around with what you think you know about how certain characters behave, particularly Geralt. At points, Hearts hits genuinely funny notes.

jpg

Oh, Geralt has a new scar. It's more of a brand and it will be removed at the end of Hearts of Stone. This is one of the lighter, playful moments.

The gameplay benefits from a similar approach, as the team now has feedback about how you play, and about the kind of tactics you use. The first of two bosses I fight, in the two hours I play, has a powerful and stun-inducing stamp to penalise me for getting too close to its flanks, for instance. That was one of my go-to tactics in the main Witcher 3 game. The next boss I fight is a magic user I can barely get a hold of, which upsets my default game plan again. Hearts isn't fiendishly difficult - I play on Blood & Broken Bones and survive each battle (albeit the magic-boss fight by the skin of my teeth) - but it will challenge you.

Mechanically, not much is different. The most notable new addition are Runewords and Glyphwords, which are powerful enchantments specifically for swords and chest armour - pieces with three available sockets to use. Runewords and Glyphwords are available from an echanter who you find and unlock by completing a side-quest early in the new content. I don't do this because I am directed towards the story content at the preview event, but I ask questions about it.

There are 14 Glyphwords for chest armour and nine Runewords for swords. Glyphword examples include Glyphword Deflection, which makes your armour deflect arrows; Glyphword Protection, which activates the Quen Sign for free each time you enter combat; and Glyphword Rotation, which makes your Igni Sign blast out in a full circle around you. There's another Glyphword that can change your armour's weight category, allowing light armour-specialised Geralts to repurpose more sturdy heavy armours for instance.

The Runeword that catches my ear is one that charges your sword with a property related to whichever Sign you cast (the Sign casts as normal - the charge, which consumes an Adrenaline point, is a bonus). Casting Axii produces a stun charge; Quen produces a self-heal charge; Igni deals fire damage; Yrden slows enemies down; and Aard knocks down or stuns an enemy. The charge lasts until the end of combat.

jpg

The new enchanting options. This Runeword is new to me: the ability for Armorer's Table and Grindstone buffs to never wear off. Nice.

Other Runewords include Runeword Placation, which increases health regeneration when you've built up enough Adrenaline; Runeword Rejuvenation, which gives you back a bit of stamina after you kill an enemy; and Runeword Invigoration, which has properties that are best quoted (from a CDPR spokesperson): "any type of healing you do when your Vitality is at maximum will be used to increase damage of your next sword attack".

Runewords and Glyphwords are divided into three tiers and require certain runes or glyphs to create. They are not physical items but enchantments applied directly to swords or pieces of chest armour, and you unlock the more powerful tiers by spending "lots of money" with the enchanter, says the spokesperson.

In addition to Runewords and Glyphwords, there's a small mechanical change to the d-pad quick inventory system that allows you to assign two consumables to 'up' and 'down' presses. You hold down either command to cycle between items. Hearts also introduces 10 new Gwent cards, including new leader variants for each faction. Apparently it's mostly the monster faction focused on.

Hearts of Stone improves and deepens with every objective I complete, and I'm confident that several hours later it will be one of the quests I remember the game for. But there's nothing screamingly essential in what I see, or dazzlingly different - just more of the kind of thing that's come before. It's not really what I hoped for from an expansion. Nevertheless, £8 for 10 hours of carefully crafted story still looks like good value, if more story is what you desperately want. But the main event, it feels like, will be the game's second expansion due in Q1 2016: Blood & Wine.

Hearts of Stone will be released 13th October for £7.99 alone or in a £20 box with physical Gwent cards. There's a £20 Expansion Pass that includes Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine, the latter of which will be more expensive, meaning you'll save a bit of dosh overall by buying the Pass. Blood & Wine will be $20 (there's no European pricing yet).

Should have called it "Part 1". :cool:
 

Roguey

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Because cossacks. Look it up.
I'm looking, and while goofy, traditionally it's a single lock of hair. It seems as though it didn't become indistinguishable from the hipster mullet until recently.
 

bonescraper

Guest
Jesus Christ why are all these dumb Europeans putting sidecuts into their old timey fantasy games

http://images.eurogamer.net/2013/ar...buried_The_skies_weep.png/EG11/resize/1920x-1 Geralt takes on four 21st century hipsters
:retarded:

I'm looking, and while goofy, traditionally it's a single lock of hair. It seems as though it didn't become indistinguishable from the hipster mullet until recently.
:retarded:

Because cossacks. Look it up.
It was also popular among Polish nobility, the so called "Sarmatians".

006.jpg

zdj26jpg_wphpsww.jpg

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zdj22jpg_wphpses.jpg

zdj20jpg_wphpsnq.jpg

zdj16jpg_wphpsxe.jpg

zdj15jpg_wphpsxp.jpg

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zdj13jpg_wphpsrs.jpg

zdj12jpg_wphpsrn.jpg

9efe0a54290b3a4a26740e36af219e8f,14,1.jpg
 

bonescraper

Guest
Looks like they added a bunch of new screenshots.
1920x-1

1920x-1

1920x-1


Fuck, i'm reinstalling this game.

1920x-1

Finally, a proper heavy armor set.
 
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Gerrard

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There are 14 Glyphwords for chest armour and nine Runewords for swords. Glyphword examples include Glyphword Deflection, which makes your armour deflect arrows; Glyphword Protection, which activates the Quen Sign for free each time you enter combat; and Glyphword Rotation, which makes your Igni Sign blast out in a full circle around you. There's another Glyphword that can change your armour's weight category, allowing light armour-specialised Geralts to repurpose more sturdy heavy armours for instance.
:retarded:
 

Trash

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RPS has an article about the expansion. Of course with them needing to mention diversity and racial stereotyping. Yes, this is very important when you preview a game. The entire comment field is then, unavoidably, assholes discussing why white people in a fantasy world based on Slavic medieval mythology is racist. Which in itself is incredibly racist when you think about it. Why are all the characters in Seven Samurai asian? Why don't we have a more varied racial cast in a Spike Lee movie? Why are Bollywood movies filled with predominantly Indian people? Won't hear shit like that but when it comes to white (and in this case even Polish and Slavic mythology) we suddenly demand more diversity in the cast.

Pol Pot was right about intellectuals.

Expansion looks ace. Game is still awesome. I can't wait to see what they'll do with that cyberpunk game.
 

Kem0sabe

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RPS has an article about the expansion. Of course with them needing to mention diversity and racial stereotyping. Yes, this is very important when you preview a game. The entire comment field is then, unavoidably, assholes discussing why white people in a fantasy world based on Slavic medieval mythology is racist. Which in itself is incredibly racist when you think about it. Why are all the characters in Seven Samurai asian? Why don't we have a more varied racial cast in a Spike Lee movie? Why are Bollywood movies filled with predominantly Indian people? Won't hear shit like that but when it comes to white (and in this case even Polish and Slavic mythology) we suddenly demand more diversity in the cast.

Pol Pot was right about intellectuals.

Expansion looks ace. Game is still awesome. I can't wait to see what they'll do with that cyberpunk game.
Excited about playing it when new computer arrives, finaly at a decent fps.
 

Roguey

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Can you please edit those pngs into links, I don't think eurogamer appreciates the leeching nor do I believe it necessary to have 12 mb worth of images on this page.

It was also popular among Polish nobility, the so called "Sarmatians".

Still not quite the same. Additionally, no one's had these stupid fucking haircuts in this series until this expansion.
 

Paul_cz

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RPS commenters are scourge of this planet, worse than youtube fucks

expansion looks ace though
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
I despise people who try to apply modern, 21st century social liberalism to a fictional dark, medieval and unenlightened world.

It is like they don't want fiction at all and would rather every game, film and TV show pandered to their own prejudices. Because that is all they are, prejudices.

I consider myself socially liberal too, but I don't expect creative people to have to create content for my every whim and I certainly don't bitch and whine when they make something I disagree with.

South Park did it best when it comes to this kind of censorship. https://vimeo.com/119408163
 
Joined
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Well, Witcher 3 does need diversity (not the add a negro type). That is, more diversity in faces, just like W1 it suffers badly from sameface. Anyway this morons activelly search for stuff to bitch about.
 

Tytus

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Still not quite the same. Additionally, no one's had these stupid fucking haircuts in this series until this expansion.

True but Kontusz/Kontuszes (Old Polish split-sleeve overcoat) were already featured in the first game. Example:

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/wie....png?version=dfbc5cd034e0dff06175eda93bdb3d36

200px-People_Leuvaarden_full.png



So it's not that big of a stretch to suggest that if Kontusz in the world exist this type of hair-cut would exist also. Stop being a contrarian. Not to mention the game takes places closer to Redania than Witcher 1 or Witcher 2. And Redania was the Poland stand-in in the books.


Also let's not forget about Yarpen from the second game:

http://www.smartage.pl/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/0083.jpg

0083.jpg



Who has the same hair-style like the one of the guys from the screenshot you linked to.
 
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