The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition

[Beowulf]

Sure.

 

[veskoandroid]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/117594/ or search Witcher 3 GOTY best mods, since this isnt thread for mods specifically. Ill add more info soon.

Edit: so im. Obviously having some trouble with pricing glitch. It could be a leftover from trademan or lore friendly economy when i was testing mods. But prices are messed up now and i cant fix it. Selling is 200% and buying 12-20% if i try new game hos or b&e its doubled selling price, about 400%.

Ive completely reinstalled game but it persists. Does anyone know any hidden files where this part is stored?

I deleted witcher docs, full game, cleaned registry even, nothing helps. The only step left is to revert acronis image pre witcher 3 install and reinstall game.

Help?

So ive started new game and these are shopping prices with first gryphon merchant in white orchard:

Selling:
Kaer mohren armor-19, trousers-10, boots-4,gauntlets-3
Silver sword-19, steel-4
Ghouls blood-5

Buying:
Temerian armor-485, trousers-151, boots/gauntlets-202,
Water-21, foltest card-50

Could someone please confirm if these are real prices, i only played on ghost mod, and these seem unrealistic. Really hope these are vanilla prices.

Ps beowulf in case you didnt find link im posting newest changes here

 

[veskoandroid]

These are what i gathered so far

#Graphics overhaul:
-HD Reworked Project(a must upgrades textures and details)
optionals(i go with RCT/UREAL, but Compilation is also great)
-Compilation
-Ultra Realistic Environment and Light(UREAL)
-Realistic Contrast Textures(UREAL has it)

#Reshade
-E3FX Reshade(My fav)
-Wiedzminsky Reshade(great but complex to install)

#Full/Combat overhaul:
-Ghost Mod(GM) + Wraith Mod(optional, removes item lvl requirement) - great overhaul mod
-Witcher 3 enhanced edition(W3EE) - amazing changes but game breaking for me was long/short atack switch and frustrating targeting system, too much accentuated dodging system. Runewords changes were awesome though
-Better Combat Enhanced - great skills/signs and other changes overall. Just installing freshly, but from what i saw in endgame save file, combat is real and great. Will report after fresh install.

#Alchemy system overhaul:
-Primer(integrated into w3ee) - prefer it over Preparations, W1 alchemy system
-Preparations(works well with GM, but refill system was too simple)

#Multi System overhaul:
-Grand Balance Repair(GBR) - great many changes, if no GM/W3EE, but freaking hell to merge with other mods
-Pro Mods(not as in depth) - opposite of GBR, love it, bloody heaven to install, aio pack or pick separately, just works. My favs are Enchantment, Food... Hell they are all great

#Equipment Overhaul
-The Enhancement System
-Upgrade
smaller mods
-New Swords
-Scrapped Bombs

#Visual aids, QoL:
-ImmersiveCamera, Friendly HUD(Enhanced Markers is optional, I don't like/use it), Colord Map Markers, All Quest Objectives On Map(only good hud, cam and map mods), Sensible Map Borders(doesn't teleport you forcefully out of map)

#Trading/Economy
-TradeMan(gives options, but...)
-Lore Friendly Economy(im lazy and prefer it done for me)
sidenote, LFE might mess up shopping prices if mods are reinstalled, it did for me at least...)

FML Mods
-Primal Needs(the lower parts of this mod go perfectly with TMod. never tried , but its just hilarious for interested parties)
-Testicles

#Oils
-Very Interesting Oils
-Simple Oil Balance Changes
-Oils overhauled for Better Combat Enhanced(very similar to Very Interesting Oils, just adds extra effects )

#Runes(if no W3EE, GM, GBR)
-Pro Runes
-New Runestones and Tweaks

#Enchantments
-Pro Enchantments
-All Gear Enchantments

#XP curve
-Better Experience Curve(BEC)
-Improved Level Curve and XP Mod

#XP multiplier
-Set XP

#Enemy scaling
-ESGO
-T.and.M - Threatening and manageable
-No Lvl Diff Adjustment

#Looting
-Autoloot Configurable All In One
If not possible
-Convenient Looting
optional
-Increased Creature Loot
-Enhanced Herbalism

#Weight
-Over 9000 - Weight limit mod(simple)
-Adjustable Weight Limit(tweak yourself to death you bastard!)

#Saddles
-Pro Horse
-Crow's Saddle Overhaul
-Improved Saddlebags
-Better Inventory And Saddlebags

#Better Font
-Czcionka
-Morpheus

#Icons
-Better Icons
-Runes Icons

#Roach
-Instant Roach
-Leave Roach Alone
-Roach Never Stops
-Grey Roach

#Witcher Sense
-Instant Witcher Senses
-Unrestricted Witcher Sense(True Minimalist Witcher Sense)
-Witcher Sense Toggle(if no FHUD)

#No Mods
-No Dirty Lens Effect
-No Glare Effect
-No Mud Screen
-No Screen Water Drops
all above are for clean screen in weather conditions and are first to go if i reach mod limit
-No More Rolling Down Stairs
-No Story(skips boring intro movie and loading screen story recap - speeds up loading and saves time)
-No Pesky Sword Trails(if you dont like your sword cutting air...)

-More Shadows
-Enable Mimics(syncs speech to face expresions)
-Vampires have no shadows
-Jump In Shallow Water

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

So ive started new game and these are shopping prices with first gryphon merchant in white orchard:

Selling:
Kaer mohren armor-19, trousers-10, boots-4,gauntlets-3
Silver sword-19, steel-4
Ghouls blood-5

Buying:
Temerian armor-485, trousers-151, boots/gauntlets-202,
Water-21, foltest card-50

Could someone please confirm if these are real prices, i only played on ghost mod, and these seem unrealistic. Really hope these are vanilla prices.

The buy prices sound about right(50 for cards, 400 for the first dlc armor), selling ghoul blood for 5 orens also sounds right, don't know what vanilla sell price for Kaer Morhen armor was since you'd have to be crazy to sell the best looking armor set in the game(thankfully you can always get a levelscaled version with the autogen armor debug command).

 

[veskoandroid]

Thx crunchy, im not interested in selling, i want to be sure prices are realistic.

Remember you're not supposed to merge xml files, and script merger doesn't automatically delete the ones placed outside the Mods folder.

What do you mean by this? Btw i get strange percentage for prices even on vanilla, at least when i install fhud, some percentage is 100,some 200... Is it possible that fhuds showing wrong percentage?

And regarding xmls, i have several mods that are important that have xml, needing merging. How do i deal with them if not by merging?

 

[Multidirectional]

What mods are you using?
And could you write a sentence or two, what's good about them?

I'm thinking about getting back to W3.

I can tell you which ones I used in my previous playthrough.
Lore Friendly Witchers - makes you look more like a mutant.
Auto Apply Oils - sanity saver. Should be more of those in this list, let's see..
Auto Loot - Herbs only version.
Better Icons
Quest Objectives on Map
Disable Intro and storybook videos - another sanity saver, unless you want that fucking narration every time game is loading. It also seemed to actually speed up loading.
No Dirty Lens Effect and No Water Droplets on Screen - must have for those who love a clean screen.
HD Reworked Project - lots of nice texture improvements.
Alternate Light Sources Interaction - Igni only

and.. a cheat mod - All Skills Active. I went for this on highest difficulty and didn't regret it. It makes it so you only use skill slots for mutagen synergies, all the skills you buy are always active. I fucking hated the slot system first time I played. I gotta say, even with this mod I died a lot in some expansion fights.

 

[Ruchy]

I am getting CTD every time I try to Fast travel to Valen after meeting up with that Lippy hussy for the first time, anyone have any idea on a work around? I am only playing with Vanilla+ Expacs.

 

[veskoandroid]

Who's lippy hussy?
Maybe you have fast travel mod installed (wrongly)?

 

[Ruchy]

Who's lippy hussy?
Maybe you have fast travel mod installed (wrongly)?

No mods installed. Yenefer.

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

What do you mean by this? [..], i have several mods that are important that have xml, needing merging. How do i deal with them if not by merging?

Just that some mods seem to warn you not to, for instance:

* Preparations - do not merge effects_ep2.xml file. Make sure the one from this mod has a priority (should be like this by default as modGhostMode is loaded before modPreparations).
* Nitpicker's Patch - do not merge bundled xml files, but make sure Ghost Mode has higher priority (is first in conflicts list). Loading order can be easily changed by renaming modNitpicker folder to modZNitpicker.
* All NPC Scabbards - do not merge bundled xml files, but make sure Ghost Mode has higher priority (is first in conflicts list). Nitpicker's Patch priority is irrelevant as Ghost Mode overrides both. Loading order can be easily changed by renaming modScabbards folder to modZScabbards.

I guess if you do have mods that need to change different parts of the same xml you'd want to merge, though so far the ones I've used change the same parts so it's just a matter of setting their load priority.

I am getting CTD every time I try to Fast travel to Valen after meeting up with that Lippy hussy for the first time, anyone have any idea on a work around? I am only playing with Vanilla+ Expacs.

Sounds like a faulty install, tried verifying game files?

and.. a cheat mod - All Skills Active. I went for this on highest difficulty and didn't regret it. It makes it so you only use skill slots for mutagen synergies, all the skills you buy are always active. I fucking hated the slot system first time I played. I gotta say, even with this mod I died a lot in some expansion fights.

You mean ELys' AllSkillsActive? http://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/546/?

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Catacombs]

Very interesting. I also thought W3 had some of the best cinematic dialogues of any RPG I've played in a while.

 

[veskoandroid]

I guess if you do have mods that need to change different parts of the same xml you'd want to merge, though so far the ones I've used change the same parts so it's just a matter of setting their load priority.

- So what you are saying is its better to set priority than merge xmls? If yes good, since xml merging is time pita, and can mess up stuff. But how do you know which one you merge/prioritize?

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Stop trying to install mods for Witcher 3. It is a great game out of the box, just play on Death March and adjust settings properly (upscaling = on, alternative movement mode = on, etc).

Installing mods is an emergency process, because they often break stuff, and the effort to get everything running takes out from enjoyment to the point where it can sometimes ruin the whole experience. In some cases, it must be done regardless, because the underlying game has fundamental shortcomings that prevent it from being enjoyable. This is not the case with Witcher 3.

 

[Akriel Lukas]

Why mods for that great game? vanilla ftw !

 

[AwesomeButton]

I have to say Ghost mode and the rest of the mods I've installed have significantly improved my second playthrough.

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

So what you are saying is its better to set priority than merge xmls? If yes good, since xml merging is time pita, and can mess up stuff. But how do you know which one you merge/prioritize?

Some mods like ghostmode will tell you which way to prioritize with other popular mods, but I usually just figure which would use the changes made by another. Loading nitpicker(oldarmor) before mod(all)scabbards, or modimmersivecam before modalthorsecontrols for instance.

 

[Lithium Flower]

Stop trying to install mods for Witcher 3. It is a great game out of the box, just play on Death March and adjust settings properly (upscaling = on, alternative movement mode = on, etc).

Installing mods is an emergency process, because they often break stuff, and the effort to get everything running takes out from enjoyment to the point where it can sometimes ruin the whole experience. In some cases, it must be done regardless, because the underlying game has fundamental shortcomings that prevent it from being enjoyable. This is not the case with Witcher 3.

Please. Can installing mods break things? Of course. But let's consider the fact that vanilla upscaling which you just recommended makes certain enemies (Djinn, rats(!!!), wolves) powerful to the point of being borderline unkillable, or that one should just remove the Heavy Attack keybind because light attacks have superior DPS 99% of the time, or that the entire vanilla alchemy system is a Ubisoft-tier upgrade hunt banality. To suggest that modding Witcher 3 will do more harm than good because it is some sort of well-balanced game is ridiculous.

The vanilla's systems are just not at all interesting: mastering the combat system simply requires you to have rudimentary timing over your dodges, sign builds dominate just about every other character type, and there is zero substance to preparation. If you just want to play the game for the story, by all means, but don't pretend that its gameplay is anything other than boredom at best and tedium at worst.

I would agree that people should play the game vanilla for the first time, if only because 1. modding W3 can be quite difficult and having knowledge of the actual game helps and 2. it would help them appreciate just how great the game can be with proper gameplay mods.

I first beat the game at release. I replayed it a year ago with mods and it was like playing a completely different game. Mods like Preparations or Primer are essential in my opinion, because they make alchemy and the entire process of preparation actually meaningful. A good gameplay mod like Better Combat Evolved and Ghost Mode (didn't play the latter yet, but it looks great) make combat much more engaging and interesting by adding stamina costs to actions or rebalancing scaling, enemy stats, etc.

I would recommend to start with something like Ghost Mode + Preparations since the two mods have been designed to work with another and were made by the same dev. They seem to offer less depth than Better Combat Evolved and Primer, but they appear to be better optimized to work with one another. I don't think playing with either will "break stuff," nor will it be much of an "effort to get everything running", and it will only add to one's enjoyment of Witcher 3.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Maybe I liked it because I played it for the story. For me it was just an interactive movie with the added bonus of C&C. I would sit down after work and play for an hour with the wife watching it like a tv show. The dialogue and worldbuilding are better than any modern fantasy-themed show anyway. A couple of secondary quests or monster hunts, plus the travel time, and you have the equivalent of an episode's time.

The expansion got me really impressed, to the point of wanting to make a trip to Prague and Krakow, just for the architecture.

The second playthrough I want to explore the systems more - the first time I hardly ever used potions and didn't ever use a decoction. I made a mostly sword build, so now I want to look into these areas a little more. And to make them more of a required feature and to get a better balance, I thought I'd better use some mods.

 

[Lithium Flower]

Maybe I liked it because I played it for the story. For me it was just an interactive movie with the added bonus of C&C. I would sit down after work and play for an hour with the wife watching it like a tv show. The dialogue and worldbuilding are better than any modern fantasy-themed show anyway. A couple of secondary quests or monster hunts, plus the travel time, and you have the equivalent of an episode's time.

The expansion got me really impressed, to the point of wanting to make a trip to Prague and Krakow, just for the architecture.

The second playthrough I want to explore the systems more - the first time I hardly ever used potions and didn't ever use a decoction. I made a mostly sword build, so now I want to look into these areas a little more. And to make them more of a required feature and to get a better balance, I thought I'd better use some mods.

Yeah, this was more or less my experience. First playthrough is good for storyfagger. Decent mods, however, add enough complexity and balance to the game's systems that it actually makes replaying with different builds, fucking around with different potions, etc. interesting and viable. Vanilla game simply lacks the depth for that, unfortunately.

 

[DemonKing]

Finally finished the main quest in the core game and have moved onto Heart of Stone. It's a strangely compelling game given that the actual gameplay is nothing special. The graphics are insanely good and some of the quests are very original (I just finished the one where I had to show a dead guy the time of his life, for example). Voice Acting is also great.

I don't like how rewards for quests completed are based on your level though, as it discourages the anal completionist in me from going back and doing unfinished early game quests due to a lack of reward.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

But let's consider the fact that vanilla upscaling which you just recommended makes certain enemies (Djinn, rats(!!!), wolves) powerful to the point of being borderline unkillable,

This is a known bug that affects something like 2 enemies in a 300 hour game (djinn and the rats). Wolves are perfectly killable even on Death March, as long as you don't run into a pack of 20 all at once. So for Djinn and the rats, just turn it off and then back on, twice. No big deal.

or that one should just remove the Heavy Attack keybind because light attacks have superior DPS 99% of the time

There is no such thing in real life as a heavy attack. It's a silly game invention. In any real combat system, it's always quick strikes/attacks, or death. So this is actually a good thing.

The vanilla's systems are just not at all interesting: mastering the combat system simply requires you to have rudimentary timing over your dodges, sign builds dominate just about every other character type, and there is zero substance to preparation. If you just want to play the game for the story, by all means, but don't pretend that its gameplay is anything other than boredom at best and tedium at worst.

This is bullshit. I completed the game on Death March difficulty, and although it doesn't have great all around gameplay compared to some of the greats, its gameplay is severely over-criticized. The combat, for example, is better than 90% of RPGs. Rudimentary timing? Try dodging some of the monsters on Death March. Do you even know about the counter-attack/parry that you are supposed to use against humans? Sign builds are for people looking to find some cheat modes, real Witchers used basic magic for utility only.

 

[Lithium Flower]

There is no such thing in real life as a heavy attack. It's a silly game invention. In any real combat system, it's always quick strikes/attacks, or death. So this is actually a good thing.

This is bullshit. I completed the game on Death March difficulty, and although it doesn't have great all around gameplay compared to some of the greats, its gameplay is severely over-criticized. The combat, for example, is better than 90% of RPGs. Rudimentary timing? Try dodging some of the monsters on Death March. Do you even know about the counter-attack/parry that you are supposed to use against humans? Sign builds are for people looking to find some cheat modes, real Witchers used basic magic for utility only.

Oh, boy.

So we've got an arsenal the game gives us by default: a light attack, a strong attack, and signs. As it stands, the former is strictly superior to strong attacks in just about any situations, whereas the latter blows every other tool in the player's arsenal out of the water after some skill investment.

I'd wager that to most people, this would rightfully seem as a fundamental problem with the game's balance. But to you this is actually a "good thing"? Because "realism"?

Yeah, I don't think we are going to get anywhere in this conversation, my dude.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Oh, boy.

So we've got an arsenal the game gives us by default: a light attack, a strong attack, and signs. As it stands, the former is strictly superior to strong attacks in just about any situations, whereas the latter blows every other tool in the player's arsenal out of the water after some skill investment.

I'd wager that to most people, this would rightfully seem as a fundamental problem with the game's balance. But to you this is actually a "good thing"? Because "realism"?

Yeah, I don't think we are going to get anywhere in this conversation, my dude.

You are acting as if there is any RPG out there which does NOT have some cheesy overpowered tools. Like let's build a mage/kensai/thief with robe of vecna and wand of self-cuckery and see if that leads to challenging gameplay. Every 2 steps, some piece of lore in Witcher games tells you that the Witchers user swords mostly, and the signs are simply to compliment then. So if despite that, you build some sort of a Witcher-mage, well, whose fault is that, my dude?

Witcher 3 is a great game, but never do you see me say it has a lot of great builds. It's not that kind of an RPG. But that's ok, because it's still better than 90% of that kind of RPG.

 

[Lithium Flower]

Oh, boy.

So we've got an arsenal the game gives us by default: a light attack, a strong attack, and signs. As it stands, the former is strictly superior to strong attacks in just about any situations, whereas the latter blows every other tool in the player's arsenal out of the water after some skill investment.

I'd wager that to most people, this would rightfully seem as a fundamental problem with the game's balance. But to you this is actually a "good thing"? Because "realism"?

Yeah, I don't think we are going to get anywhere in this conversation, my dude.

You are acting as if there is any RPG out there which does NOT have some cheesy overpowered tools.

Of course every RPG has balance issues and overpowered things, and I am far from a proponent of uncle Sawyer's "ideal balance is ideal" mentality. However, surely there is some fucking difference between a game having "some cheesy overpowered tools" and one of two attack types the player has being completely superfluous to the other. The former is an inevitability, the latter is a sign of a fundamentally broken game design.

Every 2 steps, some piece of lore in Witcher games tells you that the Witchers user swords mostly, and the signs are simply to compliment then. So if despite that, you build some sort of a Witcher-mage, well, whose fault is that, my dude?

Clearly it is the fault of the game designers who have made sign builds so powerful that one must ask why Witchers do not use them exclusively. But in your particular universe, I suppose it is the fault of the player for not LARPING. By the way, did you know that the "increase with use" advancement system, ala Elder Scrolls, is objectively superior to more traditional ways of leveling up? That's because in real life one does not "level up" or "distribute skills," silly, and realism and immehrshun is ultimately what matters most in gameplay. What's game design?