I beat him on Blood and Broken Bones and after I did all of the side quests, so I think I was pretty OP and that's why I didn't have any issues with him.
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The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Expansion
- Thread starter Infinitron
- Start date
Well, got rid of Syanna, let Dettlaff go, had to serve time in prison and got rescued by Dandelion. Not a bad ending, really. Though will definitely check out the other option soon(tm).
As has been said before, the vampire horde attacking Toussaint was derp. The ending would have been better without it.
As has been said before, the vampire horde attacking Toussaint was derp. The ending would have been better without it.
The choice is not about whether you want to kill Dettlaff or make a deal with him, it's how you want to lure him out. There's no way to force him into a fight "on your terms". You can get to Dettlaff through Syanna or an ancient, extremely dangerous being that you know nothing about, and neither approach is without some major problems. The former route gives you a small possibility of solving the thing peacefully, although it means using her as bait, whereas the latter contains unforeseeable risks. The whole vampire attack occurred because Dettlaff wanted Syanna to meet her, yet she was incapable of doing so as she was imprisoned, so finding her is probably the most obvious course of action in that situation.
As for Syanna being a monster, you can see her as a cold-blooded murderer or just a normal person who's lived a pretty miserable life and grown resentful as a result. I don't see it as out of character for Geralt to let her go. While Geralt is more honorable than almost any knight, he's not really a vindictive or judgemental person, often being sympathetic towards people (and monsters) who have suffered, even if they have done horrible things. He kills monsters that pose a real danger to people, but he isn't really one to punish them for their past sins (although you can do that in the game if you choose to). After all, he's not exactly without fault itself and doesn't pretend to be any better than anyone else. Another quest where this is quite clearly displayed is Where the Cat and Wolf Play, where you can similarly let a murderer walk away, simply because it isn't your place to judge him. Syanna even mocks Geralt for wanting to really see "a happy ending", because even she knows that she's done some pretty bad things, but Geralt doesn't really care about punishment, just what the best outcome would be here and now.
Letting Dettlaff live, on the other hand, would've been stretching it a bit (not because he did bad things, but because he's obviously irredeemable), and I'm glad they didn't go that route.
As for Syanna being a monster, you can see her as a cold-blooded murderer or just a normal person who's lived a pretty miserable life and grown resentful as a result. I don't see it as out of character for Geralt to let her go. While Geralt is more honorable than almost any knight, he's not really a vindictive or judgemental person, often being sympathetic towards people (and monsters) who have suffered, even if they have done horrible things. He kills monsters that pose a real danger to people, but he isn't really one to punish them for their past sins (although you can do that in the game if you choose to). After all, he's not exactly without fault itself and doesn't pretend to be any better than anyone else. Another quest where this is quite clearly displayed is Where the Cat and Wolf Play, where you can similarly let a murderer walk away, simply because it isn't your place to judge him. Syanna even mocks Geralt for wanting to really see "a happy ending", because even she knows that she's done some pretty bad things, but Geralt doesn't really care about punishment, just what the best outcome would be here and now.
Letting Dettlaff live, on the other hand, would've been stretching it a bit (not because he did bad things, but because he's obviously irredeemable), and I'm glad they didn't go that route.
Yeah, the possibility of saving Dettlaff is a part of the choice. Still, even if you really want to kill him for good, going for Syanna might still be the more reasonable choice compared to the Unseen Elder who you know absolutely nothing about, except that he's incredibly fucking dangerous, of course.
baturinsky
Arcane
Russian VO is pretty good too. But sometimes it is noticeably sped up to fit in time frame, and it's annoying. They should have just rephrase it to shorten instead.
baturinsky
Arcane
Reminds me of France-Germany relations in WW2.
Sodafish
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2012
- Messages
- 9,047
Just finished it. Got the "best" ending.
Both sisters live and are reconciled. Killed Dettlaff. Shacked up with Yenn. The reconciliation felt extremely derp though. Very lazy writing. "Oh, you killed four of my knights, terrorised an entire city and caused the slaughter of countless innocents? But you're my sis so no biggie! *tickles & smooches!!!*" 
The Dettlaff fight was fucking ridiculous also. Pure gorgonzola. I played on Death March, and getting one shot killed with those fucking bats - even at full health and with quen active - is the cheesiest/laziest shit ever by the devs. Is that the best they could come up with to make the fight challenging? I know about the running around trick to avoid them, but it didn't work reliably. The worst thing is you have to start the whole fight again from the beginning each time. In the end I just said fuck it as it wasn't worth the tedium. Lowered the difficulty to toddler grade just to get that awful shit over with. Easily the lowest point in the entire series.
Other than that it was a fairly enjoyable ride. Not nearly as good story-wise as HoS, but then that's a pretty high bar. The fairytale land bit was pretty funny.
The Dettlaff fight was fucking ridiculous also. Pure gorgonzola. I played on Death March, and getting one shot killed with those fucking bats - even at full health and with quen active - is the cheesiest/laziest shit ever by the devs. Is that the best they could come up with to make the fight challenging? I know about the running around trick to avoid them, but it didn't work reliably. The worst thing is you have to start the whole fight again from the beginning each time. In the end I just said fuck it as it wasn't worth the tedium. Lowered the difficulty to toddler grade just to get that awful shit over with. Easily the lowest point in the entire series.
Other than that it was a fairly enjoyable ride. Not nearly as good story-wise as HoS, but then that's a pretty high bar. The fairytale land bit was pretty funny.
baturinsky
Arcane
Fuck. Tragic ending just because I have not read all entries in the diary? Seriously?
Plays a narrative heavy game. Doesn't want to learn more about the narrative. Complains when it backfires on him. What a dumbfuck
Sodafish
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2012
- Messages
- 9,047
I don't give a shit. It's a stupid, lazy mechanic. One bat touches you on death march and you die, so anything less than perfection in placement and timing means you're fucked and have to start the tedium again from the beginning. They could have made it so that it takes off about 80% of your health at worst (like they did for Olgierd's charged red hits). That would make it challenging without being a frustrating cheesefest.
baturinsky
Arcane
Plays a narrative heavy game. Doesn't want to learn more about the narrative. Complains when it backfires on him. What a dumbfuck
Difference was that if Geralt reads all entries, then he tells Sienna that Anarietta loves her. But it was obvious even without diary. From Anarietta's word and orders regarding her sister.
Grimnir
Novice
I got the good ending.
I didn't realize winning a card game would affect the ending. I was expecting Dettlaff to get his revenge. Instead, I was forced to put him down like a rabid dog.
Afterward, I decided to help Syanna so she wouldn't murder her idiot sister. Anna is completely irrational when it comes to family, so I doubt Anna would hang her sister even after learning the truth.
I didn't bother telling the guards about her plan, because I thought I could reason with her. I was hoping Syanna would go to prison, but that silly tickling at the end made it seem like she'll get pardoned.
Oh well, Geralt gets to retire as a hero with Yen. A shame Regis couldn't stay, since he was the only character in B&W that I liked.
The final boss was relatively easy for my alchemy build. I got hit by the bats and I still had most of my health left. Ursine set, protective coating, and decoctions allow you to tank most attacks. Using mutated skin on top of that would probably make you invulnerable.
Afterward, I decided to help Syanna so she wouldn't murder her idiot sister. Anna is completely irrational when it comes to family, so I doubt Anna would hang her sister even after learning the truth.
I didn't bother telling the guards about her plan, because I thought I could reason with her. I was hoping Syanna would go to prison, but that silly tickling at the end made it seem like she'll get pardoned.
Oh well, Geralt gets to retire as a hero with Yen. A shame Regis couldn't stay, since he was the only character in B&W that I liked.
The final boss was relatively easy for my alchemy build. I got hit by the bats and I still had most of my health left. Ursine set, protective coating, and decoctions allow you to tank most attacks. Using mutated skin on top of that would probably make you invulnerable.
rado907
Savant
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2015
- Messages
- 249
Got around to beating this one... Has more and better content than most AAA titles. Lacks the tension of TW3, but is a nice romp. Liked how all characters but Geralt (who is essentially immortal due to plot immunity & being a Mary Sue) are essentially in danger of either being harmed or failing to get what they want. Makes for decent conflict.
With this second expo, TW3 makes for about 100 hours of grade A gameplay. The only game whose length compares that I can think of is BGII (70 hours for a full play-through). Even games like Skyrim, L.A. Noir, FC3-4, SR3-4 and GTAV take 30-40 hours for a play-through (from what I remember).
So TW3 wins a lot of "bests" in my list. Best graphics, most high-quality content, some of the best stories I've seen in games, and some of the most memorable characters (especially Yennefer and Ciri). Game's still not as replayable as BGII because in BGII had charsheet metagaming and multiple cool NPC's and TW3 doesn't. But TW3 remains an insanely good game, the best I've played in ages.
10/10, looking forward to Projekt Red Steampunk. Thank you Projekt Red!
With this second expo, TW3 makes for about 100 hours of grade A gameplay. The only game whose length compares that I can think of is BGII (70 hours for a full play-through). Even games like Skyrim, L.A. Noir, FC3-4, SR3-4 and GTAV take 30-40 hours for a play-through (from what I remember).
So TW3 wins a lot of "bests" in my list. Best graphics, most high-quality content, some of the best stories I've seen in games, and some of the most memorable characters (especially Yennefer and Ciri). Game's still not as replayable as BGII because in BGII had charsheet metagaming and multiple cool NPC's and TW3 doesn't. But TW3 remains an insanely good game, the best I've played in ages.
10/10, looking forward to Projekt Red Steampunk. Thank you Projekt Red!
Great Deceiver
Arcane
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2012
- Messages
- 5,904
The only thing missing from Twitcher 3 is good gameplay. But hey, can't have it all!
sullynathan
Arcane
If it doesn't have good gameplay then it isn't a good video game
Gerrard
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2007
- Messages
- 12,851
- Joined
- May 29, 2010
- Messages
- 36,716
Great role playing experience though.
rado907
Savant
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2015
- Messages
- 249
Yeah at times TW3 feels more like a TV show than a game. Occasionally it feels like the old adventure games from the early 1990s. Maybe they would have done better to balance the game the way titles like GTA, Far Cry and Saint's Row are balanced. Felt weird fighting lvl 40 wolves and bandits in the expansions. You guys are right, the combat balancing is probably the weakest aspect of the game.
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