The Witcher series APPRECIATION thread

[Berengar]

Witcher 2 is kinda cool(although maybe a little too ORANGE) and I enjoyed my time with it but the idea of playing through it again always sounds like a fuckin slog to me.

Was there ever a mod that de-console-fied the menus? Normally that shit doesn't bug me but those annoyed me by the end.

 

[Lord_Potato]

If I hated Witcher 3 gameplay, should I bother with the DLCs?

yes. Especially Heart of Stone has an excellent story. Blood and Wine is mostly more of Witcher 3 so it may be less appealing.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Witcher 2 is kinda cool(although maybe a little too ORANGE) and I enjoyed my time with it but the idea of playing through it again always sounds like a fuckin slog to me.

Sorry, but I'm afraid due to the completely different 2nd act due to your decision in the 1st, you are legally required to play it at least twice.

 

[Arthandas]

Controller seems to be the recommended way?

I'm sure you can comfortably play it with a controller, but I would never call it the recommended way - it's a PC game, not a console port (despite the shitty consolified interface). I'm not sure you even have access to all the hotkeys on a controller.

 

[Falksi]

Witcher 2 is kinda cool(although maybe a little too ORANGE) and I enjoyed my time with it but the idea of playing through it again always sounds like a fuckin slog to me.

Was there ever a mod that de-console-fied the menus? Normally that shit doesn't bug me but those annoyed me by the end.

I utterly hated the game for the first 15 hours, but then it all clicked with me and I then I totally thrived on it to the point I replayed it a further 4 times.

I'd say that you don't get to see the story properly without at least 1 replay, and personally I thought 4 full playthroughs gave the full experience (but the last 2 are just all about the small details).

Obviously alternate between which bro you side with if you do replay, and play it on Dark Mode alternating playstyles to in order to give it most variety.

If I hated Witcher 3 gameplay, should I bother with the DLCs?

I detest Witcher 3's sloppy, watered-down gameplay with a passion, but the DLC's are not only both far better paced, varied and more interesting than the base game, but they introduce enemies with some actually half-interesting attack-patterns which make combat far more bearable, dare I say even occasionally enjoyable.

 

[BruceVC]

Witcher 2 is kinda cool(although maybe a little too ORANGE) and I enjoyed my time with it but the idea of playing through it again always sounds like a fuckin slog to me.

Was there ever a mod that de-console-fied the menus? Normally that shit doesn't bug me but those annoyed me by the end.

I utterly hated the game for the first 15 hours, but then it all clicked with me and I then I totally thrived on it to the point I replayed it a further 4 times.

I'd say that you don't get to see the story properly without at least 1 replay, and personally I thought 4 full playthroughs gave the full experience (but the last 2 are just all about the small details).

Obviously alternate between which bro you side with if you do replay, and play it on Dark Mode alternating playstyles to in order to give it most variety.

If I hated Witcher 3 gameplay, should I bother with the DLCs?

I detest Witcher 3's sloppy, watered-down gameplay with a passion, but the DLC's are not only both far better paced, varied and more interesting than the base game, but they introduce enemies with some actually half-interesting attack-patterns which make combat far more bearable, dare I say even occasionally enjoyable.

Did you use M\KB or Controller?

 

[Falksi]

Witcher 2 is kinda cool(although maybe a little too ORANGE) and I enjoyed my time with it but the idea of playing through it again always sounds like a fuckin slog to me.

Was there ever a mod that de-console-fied the menus? Normally that shit doesn't bug me but those annoyed me by the end.

I utterly hated the game for the first 15 hours, but then it all clicked with me and I then I totally thrived on it to the point I replayed it a further 4 times.

I'd say that you don't get to see the story properly without at least 1 replay, and personally I thought 4 full playthroughs gave the full experience (but the last 2 are just all about the small details).

Obviously alternate between which bro you side with if you do replay, and play it on Dark Mode alternating playstyles to in order to give it most variety.

If I hated Witcher 3 gameplay, should I bother with the DLCs?

I detest Witcher 3's sloppy, watered-down gameplay with a passion, but the DLC's are not only both far better paced, varied and more interesting than the base game, but they introduce enemies with some actually half-interesting attack-patterns which make combat far more bearable, dare I say even occasionally enjoyable.

Did you use M\KB or Controller?

Controller. M/KB just doesn't work for me on Witcher 2

Remember though, I'm an old school consoletard who...alongside my BBC Micro...played Master System, Mega Drive and SNES games for years before getting a PC, so I feel more than comfy with either.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Only played the first game, was soured by what i perceived to be l1brul bias though i felt the quests and writing was better than what the Codex opinion of the game (Twitcher lol) had me believe.

Now that i'm reading the books i understand there's a more subtle context, even if Sapkowski is in fact a l1brul and Geralt's attitudes to religion are literally reddit tier, so this isn't something the games invented.

Once i'm done with the books i'll take on this series once and for all. Will have to check this thread then.

 

[BruceVC]

Only played the first game, was soured by what i perceived to be l1brul bias though i felt the quests and writing was better than what the Codex opinion of the game (Twitcher lol) had me believe.

Now that i'm reading the books i understand there's a more subtle context, even if Sapkowski is in fact a l1brul and Geralt's attitudes to religion are literally reddit tier, so this isn't something the games invented.

Once i'm done with the books i'll take on this series once and for all. Will have to check this thread then

I have never read the books but the narrative choices in W1 are much more nuanced and complex than trying to define them as liberal vs Conservative

And this is after playing them all years ago and now replaying them

I would say most of the choices are interesting " grey " choices. You can see both sides of the argument but then you make up your mind after consideration and I ended up having to consider many factors which the game provides

As I mentioned thats what the Witcher series really delivers on. The subtle context around choices you need to make

 

[BruceVC]

liem Witcher 2 is kinda cool(although maybe a little too ORANGE) and I enjoyed my time with it but the idea of playing through it again always sounds like a fuckin slog to me.

Was there ever a mod that de-console-fied the menus? Normally that shit doesn't bug me but those annoyed me by the end.

I utterly hated the game for the first 15 hours, but then it all clicked with me and I then I totally thrived on it to the point I replayed it a further 4 times.

I'd say that you don't get to see the story properly without at least 1 replay, and personally I thought 4 full playthroughs gave the full experience (but the last 2 are just all about the small details).

Obviously alternate between which bro you side with if you do replay, and play it on Dark Mode alternating playstyles to in order to give it most variety.

If I hated Witcher 3 gameplay, should I bother with the DLCs?

I detest Witcher 3's sloppy, watered-down gameplay with a passion, but the DLC's are not only both far better paced, varied and more interesting than the base game, but they introduce enemies with some actually half-interesting attack-patterns which make combat far more bearable, dare I say even occasionally enjoyable.

Did you use M\KB or Controller?

Controller mate. M/KB just doesn't work for me on Witcher 2

Remember though, I'm an old school consoletard who...alongside my BBC Micro...played Master System, Mega Drive and SNES games for years before getting a PC, so I feel more than comfy with either.

I use Controller for games that are designed for that like Far Cry or Assassins Creed but there is mixed opinions on W2

I typically use M/KB but I will use Controller for W2

 

[Lyric Suite]

Only played the first game, was soured by what i perceived to be l1brul bias though i felt the quests and writing was better than what the Codex opinion of the game (Twitcher lol) had me believe.

Now that i'm reading the books i understand there's a more subtle context, even if Sapkowski is in fact a l1brul and Geralt's attitudes to religion are literally reddit tier, so this isn't something the games invented.

Once i'm done with the books i'll take on this series once and for all. Will have to check this thread then

I have never read the books but the narrative choices in W1 are much more nuanced and complex than trying to define them as liberal vs Conservative

And this is after playing them all years ago and now replaying them

I would say most of the choices are interesting " grey " choices. You can see both sides of the argument but then you make up your mind after consideration and I ended up having to consider many factors which the game provides

As I mentioned thats what the Witcher series really delivers on. The subtle context around choices you need to make

I haven't gotten to the novels yet. People say they are kinda boring i don't know for now, but i can vouch for the short stories.

So far they have all been highly entertaining and fairly clever both in terms of their plots, themes and even in the dialog which is usually a weak point in fantasy writing (the only exception is Geralt's tendency to say nothing whenever the author couldn't think of a clever line for him. That gets old after a while lol).

As for any biases, the world is actually fairly nuanced with a myriad of shades of grey. Only Geralt seems to have a fixed ideological position but that isn't reflected by everybody in the world. For instance, he'll scoff at the idea the gods exist in his conversation with a priestesses but she obviously believes in her goddess and finds Geralt's attitude amusing so even if you were to argue Geralt's is a vehicle for the author's own point of view he doesn't try to beat you over the head with it.

 

[Lyric Suite]

BTW, one of the earlier stories is literally titled The Lesser Evil and it sets the tone for any choice or action Geralt is compelled to take, which i think the games tried to adhere to, or at least the first one did.

 

[BruceVC]

Im having a great time in W2, its a beautiful game aesthetically and I cant stress enough how appreciated it is when you see attractive and normal women in the game like the various sorceresses

Im at the stage where Im preparing to fight the Kayran

I am now comfortable with using the Controller and the overall combat mechanics and Im enjoying the different quests and the main narrative around the Kingslayer makes you feel like you really part of a huge political change in the world, exciting stuff

 

[Arthandas]

Funny how you started this topic without actually playing the games or reading the books xD

 

[Falksi]

Im having a great time in W2, its a beautiful game aesthetically and I cant stress enough how appreciated it is when you see attractive and normal women in the game like the various sorceresses

Im at the stage where Im preparing to fight the Kayran

I am now comfortable with using the Controller and the overall combat mechanics and Im enjoying the different quests and the main narrative around the Kingslayer makes you feel like you really part of a huge political change in the world, exciting stuff

Nice.

What difficulty you on Bruce?

 

[BruceVC]

Funny how you started this topic without actually playing the games or reading the books xD

I played all the Witcher games when they were first released but I didnt use Mods and I also didnt know anything about the Witcher lore. W3 is my second favourite RPG of all time

But I havent read the books. And the nice thing about playing them a second time is I have forgotten large parts of the narrative but not the main things. I remember who the Kingslayer is and why he is killing the kings of the North but its still exciting because I dont remember how the chapters unfold

Im having a great time in W2, its a beautiful game aesthetically and I cant stress enough how appreciated it is when you see attractive and normal women in the game like the various sorceresses

Im at the stage where Im preparing to fight the Kayran

I am now comfortable with using the Controller and the overall combat mechanics and Im enjoying the different quests and the main narrative around the Kingslayer makes you feel like you really part of a huge political change in the world, exciting stuff

Nice.

What difficulty you on Bruce?

Normal, I generally always play on normal\recommended

Do you recommend Hard because I can see you can change it in the game?

 

[Falksi]

Funny how you started this topic without actually playing the games or reading the books xD

I played all the Witcher games when they were first released but I didnt use Mods and I also didnt know anything about the Witcher lore. W3 is my second favourite RPG of all time

But I havent read the books. And the nice thing about playing them a second time is I have forgotten large parts of the narrative but not the main things. I remember who the Kingslayer is and why he is killing the kings of the North but its still exciting because I dont remember how the chapters unfold

Im having a great time in W2, its a beautiful game aesthetically and I cant stress enough how appreciated it is when you see attractive and normal women in the game like the various sorceresses

Im at the stage where Im preparing to fight the Kayran

I am now comfortable with using the Controller and the overall combat mechanics and Im enjoying the different quests and the main narrative around the Kingslayer makes you feel like you really part of a huge political change in the world, exciting stuff

Nice.

What difficulty you on Bruce?

Normal, I generally always play on normal\recommended

Do you recommend Hard because I can see you can change it in the game?

Witcher 2 needs at least 1 replay, so I'd suggest playing through it first on Normal, then replaying it on Hard or Dark Mode after.

Dark mode really emphasizes the need for a good character build and is the most fun, but it's down to how you feel playing it.

I'd suggest leaving a save slot towards the end of chapter 1 before you make your "bro-choice" to return to for later plays if you don't want to replay the early game again. The game is wildly different in Chapter 2 depending on your choice.

 

[Mark Richard]

Funny how you started this topic without actually playing the games or reading the books xD

I played all the Witcher games when they were first released but I didnt use Mods and I also didnt know anything about the Witcher lore. W3 is my second favourite RPG of all time

But I havent read the books. And the nice thing about playing them a second time is I have forgotten large parts of the narrative but not the main things. I remember who the Kingslayer is and why he is killing the kings of the North but its still exciting because I dont remember how the chapters unfold

Im having a great time in W2, its a beautiful game aesthetically and I cant stress enough how appreciated it is when you see attractive and normal women in the game like the various sorceresses

Im at the stage where Im preparing to fight the Kayran

I am now comfortable with using the Controller and the overall combat mechanics and Im enjoying the different quests and the main narrative around the Kingslayer makes you feel like you really part of a huge political change in the world, exciting stuff

Nice.

What difficulty you on Bruce?

Normal, I generally always play on normal\recommended

Do you recommend Hard because I can see you can change it in the game?

Depends on the experience you're looking for. Normal is enough for most people, but doesn't require you to engage with all the game's systems. In The Witcher there's supposed to be a build-up to a monster contract that is part of the job. Mutated as he is, Geralt is still a mortal man fighting beasts many times his size and strength, so he has to level the playing field through preparation. Finding out the identity of the monster and its weaknesses, collecting herbs, brewing the right potions, obtaining the right equipment, etc. Normal difficulty essentially bypasses that process.

 

[BruceVC]

Funny how you started this topic without actually playing the games or reading the books xD

I played all the Witcher games when they were first released but I didnt use Mods and I also didnt know anything about the Witcher lore. W3 is my second favourite RPG of all time

But I havent read the books. And the nice thing about playing them a second time is I have forgotten large parts of the narrative but not the main things. I remember who the Kingslayer is and why he is killing the kings of the North but its still exciting because I dont remember how the chapters unfold

Im having a great time in W2, its a beautiful game aesthetically and I cant stress enough how appreciated it is when you see attractive and normal women in the game like the various sorceresses

Im at the stage where Im preparing to fight the Kayran

I am now comfortable with using the Controller and the overall combat mechanics and Im enjoying the different quests and the main narrative around the Kingslayer makes you feel like you really part of a huge political change in the world, exciting stuff

Nice.

What difficulty you on Bruce?

Normal, I generally always play on normal\recommended

Do you recommend Hard because I can see you can change it in the game?

Depends on the experience you're looking for. Normal is enough for most people, but doesn't require you to engage with all the game's systems. In The Witcher there's supposed to be a build-up to a monster contract that is part of the job. Mutated as he is, Geralt is still a mortal man fighting beasts many times his size and strength, so he has to level the playing field through preparation. Finding out the identity of the monster and its weaknesses, collecting herbs, brewing the right potions, obtaining the right equipment, etc. Normal difficulty essentially bypasses that process.

Thanks, thats quite an important distinction because I like the idea of having to prepare for battles with monsters

I did that a lot in W1 where I researched what I needed to do to be effective against certain monsters

I will change to Hard because thats a more realistic Witcher experience that I prefer

 

[BruceVC]

Im about 25 hours into W2 and Im at Chapter 2 in Henselts camp and busy with all the side quests and the whole Blood Curse and finding all the items

I am enjoying Hard level and it makes combat and strategy more interesting

I had a very rewarding first battle with Letho, it was very tough but I finally defeated him by strategic dodging his signs and bombs and using Yrden to trap him and then attack from behind and then rollaway

The Kayran battle was also very tough but again Yrden saved the day and I have also started using Quen, its become my most useful sign in difficult battles

Lots of exciting lore and narrative outcomes in W2 and I decided to align with Roche, the Scoia'tael just seem more barbaric and unconvincing than in W1 so it was another easy decision

 

[moon knight]

People say they are kinda boring

The plural might not be right in this context. The 5 books tell one continuous story, it feels more like 1 book divided in 5 parts. So it might be boring to some because in this structure, Blood of Elves is basically the prologue.

 

[Semiurge]

Im about 25 hours into W2 and Im at Chapter 2 in Henselts camp and busy with all the side quests and the whole Blood Curse and finding all the items

I am enjoying Hard level and it makes combat and strategy more interesting

I had a very rewarding first battle with Letho, it was very tough but I finally defeated him by strategic dodging his signs and bombs and using Yrden to trap him and then attack from behind and then rollaway

The Kayran battle was also very tough but again Yrden saved the day and I have also started using Quen, its become my most useful sign in difficult battles

Lots of exciting lore and narrative outcomes in W2 and I decided to align with Roche, the Scoia'tael just seem more barbaric and unconvincing than in W1 so it was another easy decision

Dark Mode is the only one that makes sense later in the game. Sure, Flotsam's nekker cave and the wraiths would give you trouble for a while and the dark item sets require A LOT of grinding for gold and ingredients, but they're worth it. Once you've managed to amass the gold and ingredients required by the first set, it feels satisfying. The trouble is that once you've managed that, you'll have to do it all over again twice, and you can't use the individual pieces because they sap your health unless combined with the rest.

 

[moon knight]

and you can't use the individual pieces because they sap your health unless combined with the rest.

You can't use the swords without the complete set, but you can use the armor pieces

 

[Arthandas]

Dark Mode is the only one that makes sense later in the game.

My first run was on Dark Mode and I was greatly disappointed with lack of any real challenge. Using the Dark Mode armor sets trivializes the game even further. I deliberately avoided using them on my recent run, but in the end it doesn't even matter. Every single large enemy (trolls, golems, endregas, arachas etc) can be killed simply by avoiding the charge and then doing a strong attack combo in the back for bonus damage. This even works on Draug and you can literally kill him in a single combo after avoiding his initial charge... Human enemies are extremely prone to riposte, Letho can be trivialized with aard, the last boss is literally strong attack -> roll out of range -> strong attack -> roll out of range -> repeat... There is literally only a single hard fight in the entire game - the Loc Muinne guardian, and that's only because you're fighting 3 enemies in a cramped space with poor hitboxes. IMO the game is completely broken combatwise and the best thing to do is just play on easy to deal with it as fast as possible. Also, do yourself a favor and buy the Position and Footwork skills asap. They look very unimportant, but are actually some of the best talents in the entire tree.

Speaking of combat, I can't praise W3EE Redux enough. It changes combat from a popamole slop with bad AI to something very decent and much more intricate. It's probably the best combat mod I have ever used in any game. I regret not using it for my first playthrough (I went with Ghost Mode, which is good, but stays very faithful to vanilla, so its improvements are very limited). I'm amazed someone was able to code all those new features and mechanics without a Bethesda level editor.

 

[Arthandas]

Look what just released in Proland: