The Witcher 3 Pre-Expansion Thread

[WhiskeyWolf]

Spoiler

Did you find the optional illusion passage in the laboratory, the one that was hidden behind a wall/door that you destroyed by Aard?

Spoiler

Not sure if I found that particular one. I think I must have missed something because I got the unique gloves and pants but I suspect there must be a full set.

Spoiler

The entrance is on the floor you fought the elf on.

So I guess not all stuff was obvious.

 

[Perkel]

So how long is it ? I just cleared the white orchard in a few hours and there are like 2 big zones only.

depends on if you skip cutscenes and what def you are playing.
For me i am playing on death march and i watch all of them. 55h inn and i can't see fucking ending. Also i have like zylion quests in my log.
I fallow mc mainly for my first playtrough and it seems it will be something like 70h for me. If i would do side content then sure as hell it would be way more than 100h.

 

[Dookins]

Yup, Crone design was awesome, shades of Jan Svankmajer all over. Also, that discordant string piece that played in the area was great.

 

[APGunner]

So how long is it ? I just cleared the white orchard in a few hours and there are like 2 big zones only.

depends on if you skip cutscenes and what def you are playing.
For me i am playing on death march and i watch all of them. 55h inn and i can't see fucking ending. Also i have like zylion quests in my log.
I fallow mc mainly for my first playtrough and it seems it will be something like 70h for me. If i would do side content then sure as hell it would be way more than 100h.

I've beaten all(most) main and side-quests in about 56 hours and skipped all card game and horse racing quests. It was on one of the easier difficulties.

Spoiler

Following only the main quest might not get you an ending you want. Some side-quests are pretty much mandatory, the ones related to main characters. Witcher contracts are just for gear though, they can be skipped altogether.

 

[Gerrard]

I was level 8 about 20 hours in as well. Start doing the main quest exclusively and you'll be level 25 in about 8 hours. There's literally a part that gives you like 10 free levels (10000 xp I think), whereas sidequests rarely give more than 100 xp.

If there's a single quest that really gives 10000XP that sounds like a bug. Like someone put one zero too many there.

As for lack of "endgame content" please buy the DLCs expansions.

 

[made]

Spoiler

Did you find the optional illusion passage in the laboratory, the one that was hidden behind a wall/door that you destroyed by Aard?

Spoiler

Not sure if I found that particular one. I think I must have missed something because I got the unique gloves and pants but I suspect there must be a full set.

Spoiler

The entrance is on the floor you fought the elf on.

So I guess not all stuff was obvious.

So I went back to have another look (yay for not closing off the entrance)

Spoiler

Turns out I missed the illusory wall (didn't think to go back with the mcguffin) but there was only a unique sword at the end there, still missing the boots from the set (Zabójcy). There's also another secret room above the great hall that you can jump to but can't enter from this side and that part of the dungeon appears to be inaccessible without the portals. Dammit, now this will torture me for the rest of the playthrough.

 

[Rivmusique]

Sounds like it's time to start a new game to me. What, you're going to continue until the end of that playthrough? Is it even a playthrough if you're missing content like that?

 

[Morkar Left]

just stumbled overthis: http://af.gog.com/support/support_v...ily_unavailable_fix_in_progress?as=1649904300

It seems regional pricing is biting them in the ass.

 

[made]

HA! I actually found another passage that lead me there, along with other very cool stuff.

Dungeon Crawler GOTY!

 

[J_C]

I will tell you this guys, if I disappear from the Codex in the following days, I have slit my wrist because of this fucking shitty UI in this game. Why do I have to smash the fucking Esc 6 times until I can finally exit the shop or inventory or whatever menu. And I have to do this each and every time I use a shopkeeper or want to equip something. The game has the worst UI in the whole series. The game is great but this shit really testing my nerves.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Also, here's a sort of gripe I have with W3. There's never really an opportunity to feel *accomplished*. Yes, peasants fear you, kings and sorcerers respect you, and people mention all your past heroisms yadda yadda yadda, but this ends up taking away from the experience because everything you do during the actual game is taken for granted. Nobody is going to mention how I slayed an Archgriffin or foied a coup or whatever because I'm Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf slash Butcher of Blaviken (sp?), and this is but another minor feat to tattoo on Roach's butt. And because Geralt is a prewritten character, there's not really any room for you to "enlargen his legacy" or something by becoming a guildmaster or buying a super expensive stronghold and populating it or whatever. Even when I won this super secret Gwent maestro competition nobody commented on my unusual achievement.

I get/hope that you are just trolling, but for others who are reading for impressions, people do hear of your accomplishments and mention them. It's just usually very specific. E.g., killing a bunch of thugs in a bar will get you noticed by the bartender's relative and the local baron.

Or do you want things like Skyrim et al, where random jackholes salute you for your great accomplishments? You think the kings or peasants are going to even know about half the things you did beyond vague rumors, let alone give a shit during a war? People are too busy killing, getting killed, or hoping they don't get killed to stop and say "oh look, it's the arch magister of the mages guild! how is your ego, sir? can I inflate it a bit for you even though i have no logical reason to speak to you or even know who you are?".

Power fantasies are a very integral part of RPGs and I'm kind of surprised CDPR doesn't seem to appreciate this.

I'm surprised you actually wrote that on so many levels.

They aren't an integral part of RPGs, they are a marketing gimmick to get guys like you invested easily. That said, TW is a total power fantasy. It's not enough for you to be superman AND get a blowjob every now and then for being superman, you want *everyone* in town blow you too?

People hate witchers. That's established lore, so it really shouldn't surprise you when not everyone high fives you after you kill a monster like everyone expected you to anyway.

 

[Dookins]

Because you're not using a gamepad, obviously. Hit start and it exits shops/screens instantly. Can't imagine anyone thought KbM controls were anything other than an afterthought with how late they were added to the game.

 

[Cromwell]

Geralt even mentions that with the short movie at the end of the baron quest, as a witcher you do your job, you dont meddle, and you are expected to pick up the coin purse they throw at your feet and ride the fuck off without a complain. I feel powerful enough if some highwayman wants money and you only have to point to your wolfs amulet to get them to bow to you and get out of your way.

 

[Gerrard]

I will tell you this guys, if I disappear from the Codex in the following days, I have slit my wrist because of this fucking shitty UI in this game. Why do I have to smash the fucking Esc 6 times until I can finally exit the shop or inventory or whatever menu. And I have to do this each and every time I use a shopkeeper or want to equip something. The game has the worst UI in the whole series. The game is great but this shit really testing my nerves.

You can just press the same key again to exit the screen (I for stores). I find it more annoying that there's no alternative to Esc when, for example, reading signs. Why can't I just use RMB or something.

 

[Rahdulan]

I will tell you this guys, if I disappear from the Codex in the following days, I have slit my wrist because of this fucking shitty UI in this game. Why do I have to smash the fucking Esc 6 times until I can finally exit the shop or inventory or whatever menu. And I have to do this each and every time I use a shopkeeper or want to equip something. The game has the worst UI in the whole series. The game is great but this shit really testing my nerves.

What I find most annoying is that mandatory confirmation to skip dialog lines. Do they really fear I'll skip them by accident or something? And yes, shopkeepers are particularly grating because even a simple "lemme see your wares" option has Geralt saying it so I need to skip it, which requires two key presses to get through. Same for "goodbye" option.

 

[Metro]

Because you're not using a gamepad, obviously. Hit start and it exits shops/screens instantly. Can't imagine anyone thought KbM controls were anything other than an afterthought with how late they were added to the game.

The newfag Witcher hype train keeps adding more and more people.

 

[bminorkey]

Power fantasies are a very integral part of RPGs and I'm kind of surprised CDPR doesn't seem to appreciate this.

I'm surprised you actually wrote that on so many levels.

They aren't an integral part of RPGs, they are a marketing gimmick to get guys like you invested easily. That said, TW is a total power fantasy. It's not enough for you to be superman AND get a blowjob every now and then for being superman, you want *everyone* in town blow you too?

People hate witchers. That's established lore, so it really shouldn't surprise you when not everyone high fives you after you kill a monster like everyone expected you to anyway.

I don't see why it's surprising. One of the big points of RPGs is character growth. Since RPGs are almost always heavily tied to war and power, this character growth usually expresses itself in power your character comes to possess, i.e. new spells, new levels, allies, money and recognition, et cetera. For the sake of realism I want RPGs to accurately reflect this and get disappointed when they don't. If I - playing a level 112 witcher - get forced to run an errand for a bunch of dumb farmers so they'd open the door to their house for me, I look at this as a flaw because the game doesn't appropriately react to my character's growth or his/her supposed status in the world. Why can't I just bash the fucking door open?

True, sometimes the W3 does let you slash away the peasants instead of listening to their shit, but more often than not it isn't the case. Why can't I just Aard the dumbass dwarves' door away in the Mystic Isles? Why can't I max-upgraded Axii the drunk retard baron to tell me where Ciri went? Why do I need to+am even encouraged by the story to take care of everyone's trifling personal business when the world is purportedly at stake?

Now obviously there's limited time and money at stake here and the developers can't possibly be expected to write a custom scenario for every possible course of action your character might take. But you don't really need to do that. It's as much a symptom of the setting and the writing as it is of the amount of reactive content that is actually in the game. In the first place, filler quests like the Mystic Isles' shit shouldn't be there, and the Baron's questline should've been written with a better excuse for the witcher to embark on it than "Baron has some irrelevant piece of info for me". What if the Anna knew something interesting about Ciri? Wouldn't it make a whole lot more sense for Geralt to help out then?

To respond to the rest of your post, no, I don't want everyone in town to give Geralt a blowjob. I want them to fear and revile him. I want them to react to him in a way that reflects who he is said to be, and in the same way they do in the books. I don't feel like W3 captures this. Yes, some peasants go screaming when you come near them, and you can intimidate some random bandits with your witcher's medallion, and yes, most characters superificially "revile" Geralt. But these things just feel like props put there as an afterthought. Dude X might fear Geralt to the death, but he'll still ask you to escort his daughter to the village next door. Gal Y might revile Geralt, but she'll still help you out in any way you could possibly want for after a few formalities of "oh no you're a witcher why should I trust you" "because I'm here to help blah blah" "oh ok". It never really poses an obstacle or makes me feel like being a witcher limits me in any way from doing what normalfag NPCs can, or a stereotypical RPG protag can.

I don't know if you experienced any of what I'm saying. You should ask yourself whether this game actually made you feel like Geralt. Maybe it did. It didn't, for me.

 

[Dookins]

The newfag Witcher hype train keeps adding more and more people.

Typical wannabe oldfag posing.

 

[toro]

I think I have like 20H in the game and I got mixed feelings.

Good parts:
- Swimming/Climbing/Horse - it's really really awesome to be able to explore underwater caves. Fuck, I did not realize how much I missed this feature. Or the climbing.
- Story - there are really good and fleshed-out quests but there are also stinkers. It's basically the ONLY reason why I still play the game at this point.

Bad Parts (aka almost everything else):
- Combat system is a complete mess for multiple reasons.

1. You can dodge and shit when fighting 1 or 2 opponents but strategy goes our of the window when you have to handle 5+ enemies. It devolves in a button smasher: try to do most damage asap. Occasionally roll. This is worse than TW2.
2. The combat system is designed for pads therefore you should get a fucking pad if you want to enjoy it. Changing signs during a fight is intentionally non-intuitive.
   
3. Who was the imbecile designing 6+ wraiths fights !? Not to mention damage sponges.
   
4. Armour is useless. Again wraiths are making like 350+ damage. But maybe it will improve in the future.

- Exploring is in strait-jacket mode:

1. The main problem is the world design: it's just quantity instead of quality. 15 years ago Piranha Bytes was able to craft a game world where you could recognize places based on their geography. This is no longer the case. You can recognize castles, villages and certain structure but everything else is a blur. They overcrowded the world with useless roads, foliage and boring fields.
   
2. The second problem is the map showing all the "interesting spots". It's retarded and it takes all the fun away from exploration. Instead of immersing yourself in the world and learning it's internals, exploration is reduced to a chase the flag game. And yes, I know that I can disable the quest compass but at this point I lost the interest in actually discovering the "world".
3. Maybe derivative from the previous points but the game fails to introduce the world to the player. There is no layered approach, everything is thrown in your face with questionable intention. It really annoys me. It feels like a MMORPG.
4. Strait-jacket mode comes from the fact that you have to make the quests in order of their leves. Yes, you can kill a level 8 mob while being a level 4 yourself but it's a different topic for the quests: you need the correct level for the quests otherwise you might not make it. That's free roaming from you.

- Questionable game design decisions:

1. Trading is retarded. Everything you sell is 10x cheaper than what you buy. Clearly the economics are unbalanced or not different from hundred of other mediocre RPGs.
   
2. Alchemy is another cretinous affair. Impotent potions and a fucking ton of herbs. Meditation allows infinite potions !? Well, thank you CDP for introducing this retarded feature. I guess it took years of studies.
3. Skill system is another mess. It's shallow and mixed up in order to create the impression of complexity but in reality it's just obfuscation. Feeble minds are impressed by this shit.
   
4. UI design is for consoles. UI design is for CONSOLES. UI DESIGN IS FOR CONSOLES!!!
5. Have you ever bought treasure maps from merchants? No!? Now you can. At every corner.
   
6. Here is the meat but you cannot cook it. Because Obama!?

There are lot of other things but I will end it here for now. To be honest, the game feels like a sub-par version of Gothic and it's really fascinating to realize that Gothic did (almost) everything better 15 years ago. Except the graphic update and the story, there is nothing revolutionary.

However I did not finish the game and I'm on the fence about lowering the difficulty and just enjoy the story. This is the 3rd game in which they fail to implement a good combat system. It's hardly mediocre.

 

[cvv]

I will tell you this guys, if I disappear from the Codex in the following days, I have slit my wrist because of this fucking shitty UI in this game. Why do I have to smash the fucking Esc 6 times until I can finally exit the shop or inventory or whatever menu. And I have to do this each and every time I use a shopkeeper or want to equip something. The game has the worst UI in the whole series. The game is great but this shit really testing my nerves.

Dude. You open inventory with "I" and you close it instantly with "I". You open journal with "J" and you close it instantly with "J". Same with map and everything else. You're welcome.

 

[cvv]

snip

Problem with critics like you is you're completely confused about your own expectations. Shallow character system, UI for consoles, actiony combat - you realize W3 is a blockbuster AAA game? Seriously dude, it's like going to see a Peter Jackson movie and then complain incessantly there was too little character depth and too much action. Why the fuck did you buy this game in the first place? What did you expect? A new Wizardry game?

That said there are some good points buried the heap of irrelevant whining. The world really is a bit dull. I suppose they wanted to make it more realistic, no the cartoony over-featured world Bethesda likes to create and they've succeeded but it does have its drawbacks. I don't mind alchemy, it's miles better than in previous two games, but the whole crafting system is incredibly overblown and bloated, as was already pointed out ITT. And yes the pre-explored map is retarded but first, you can switch it off and second, everything marked with the question marks is the most low-level content, basically just treasures, monster nests or abandon sites for some XP. The interesting content is not pre-marked.

 

[toro]

snip

Problem with critics like you is you're completely confused about your own expectations. Shallow character system, UI for consoles, actiony combat - you realize W3 is a blockbuster AAA game? Seriously dude, it's like going to see a Peter Jackson movie and then complain incessantly there was too little character depth and too much action. Why the fuck did you buy this game in the first place? What did you expect? A new Wizardry game?

I'm just desperate. I need something good like Gothic but it seems that this will never happen.

 

[Echo Mirage]

Does the game expect you to hunt down the Witcher gear for upgrades?

Right now I'm level 11 and all my gear is near worthless. All of my armour is 2-4 levels below me. While my swords are still level 8 or so. I went to Oxenfurt expecting better quality armour and swords to be lining the walls. But at best I found a slightly better silver sword. But even that is starting to feel weak right now.

All of my armour crafting plans are for a few levels higher than me as well. While almost all the loot I find is for levels 4-8 at most.

 

[prodigydancer]

Good parts:
- Swimming/Climbing/Horse

/thread

 

[Cromwell]

Does the game expect you to hunt down the Witcher gear for upgrades?

Right now I'm level 11 and all my gear is near worthless. All of my armour is 2-4 levels below me. While my swords are still level 8 or so. I went to Oxenfurt expecting better quality armour and swords to be lining the walls. But at best I found a slightly better silver sword. But even that is starting to feel weak right now.

All of my armour crafting plans are for a few levels higher than me as well. While almost all the loot I find is for levels 4-8 at most.

The first witcher gear after the Viper swords is level 15 (cat school stuff) and I think the other stuff is even higher. I am 12 right now and still use the viper stuff together with armour I found or bought.

I don't see why it's surprising. One of the big points of RPGs is character growth. Since RPGs are almost always heavily tied to war and power, this character growth usually expresses itself in power your character comes to possess, i.e. new spells, new levels, allies, money and recognition, et cetera. For the sake of realism I want RPGs to accurately reflect this and get disappointed when they don't. If I - playing a level 112 witcher - get forced to run an errand for a bunch of dumb farmers so they'd open the door to their house for me, I look at this as a flaw because the game doesn't appropriately react to my character's growth or his/her supposed status in the world. Why can't I just bash the fucking door open?

True, sometimes the W3 does let you slash away the peasants instead of listening to their shit, but more often than not it isn't the case. Why can't I just Aard the dumbass dwarves' door away in the Mystic Isles? Why can't I max-upgraded Axii the drunk retard baron to tell me where Ciri went? Why do I need to+am even encouraged by the story to take care of everyone's trifling personal business when the world is purportedly at stake?

Now obviously there's limited time and money at stake here and the developers can't possibly be expected to write a custom scenario for every possible course of action your character might take. But you don't really need to do that. It's as much a symptom of the setting and the writing as it is of the amount of reactive content that is actually in the game. In the first place, filler quests like the Mystic Isles' shit shouldn't be there, and the Baron's questline should've been written with a better excuse for the witcher to embark on it than "Baron has some irrelevant piece of info for me". What if the Anna knew something interesting about Ciri? Wouldn't it make a whole lot more sense for Geralt to help out then?

To respond to the rest of your post, no, I don't want everyone in town to give Geralt a blowjob. I want them to fear and revile him. I want them to react to him in a way that reflects who he is said to be, and in the same way they do in the books. I don't feel like W3 captures this. Yes, some peasants go screaming when you come near them, and you can intimidate some random bandits with your witcher's medallion, and yes, most characters superificially "revile" Geralt. But these things just feel like props put there as an afterthought. Dude X might fear Geralt to the death, but he'll still ask you to escort his daughter to the village next door. Gal Y might revile Geralt, but she'll still help you out in any way you could possibly want for after a few formalities of "oh no you're a witcher why should I trust you" "because I'm here to help blah blah" "oh ok". It never really poses an obstacle or makes me feel like being a witcher limits me in any way from doing what normalfag NPCs can, or a stereotypical RPG protag can.

I don't know if you experienced any of what I'm saying. You should ask yourself whether this game actually made you feel like Geralt. Maybe it did. It didn't, for me.

When it comes to character growth I think the Witcher is not really suited to be an rpg. I qould love a more action adventure approach since that would solve many problems where the game mechanics clash with what you wold expect from the lore, meaning peasants pose a real threat, witcher contracts to easy, or not doable at all etc. I havent read all the books but I know that while many peasants are not friendly thats not the ase for all of them so im more or less happy with their reaction although the reactivity could be better like it was posted many times before people who spit on you after you helped them or dont react at all to what you do.

 

[Konjad]