The Witcher 3 Pre-Expansion Thread

[Doktor Best]

Most games have better mechanics than lego. And i cant really go out and explore a fantasy world full of adventure.

But i can very easily go and find thousands of books with much better writing and story than some polish potato game.

So try again.

So you can tell me where to find actual interactive books where you can explore a world as detailed as in witcher 3?
Storydriven rpgs are not like a book only because they emphasize on the narrative. This shit argument has to stop, it makes people sound retarded and starts unnecessary discussions.

 

[Paul_cz]

I'm in disagree with his vision of the Witcheress and Empress finals of the game, but he is right about the Deus ex machina of Ciri saving the world. It looks something rushed and a waste of potential. Looks like Cd Projekt hadn't enough developing time.

Fuuuuck, I wanted to quote your post and it quoted that entire spergfest in the spoiler tag.

That guy really, really loves the sound of his own voice.

Anyway, it is not hard to agree that White Frost was handled a bit underwhelmingly, but frankly, to me that was always the least interesting part of the books/games, so I didn't really care that they handled it so ambiguously and perhaps not consistently with the books.

 

[deranged]

I wanted to hate it but by the time I've finished it I just couldn't ... Excluding the countless bugs, there are a multitude of other issues, from the problematic pacing to the unbalanced combat/loot, but in the end you can't help but feel amazed from all these memorable and emotionally charged moments, which added weight and significance to every little choice you made... Also MAJOR

Spoiler

the fact that the less patronizing you were towards ciri the more chance she develops enough confidence to survive in the end must be one of these rare gaming moments that you feel treated like a thinking adult rather than a mindless drone or a 12 year old.

Kudos for that.

 

[Sodafish]

Just finished it. Got the "good" ending I suppose:

Spoiler

Shacked up with Yenn, Nilfgaard wins the war, independent Temeria, Ciri becomes Empress, Cerys rules Skellige etc

Some really good characterisation and writing/dialogue, plus very nice world building. Some really good side quests (Baron of course being a highlight), but most of them were too cookie cutter as has been mentioned. Main quest is too boring also and has serious pacing problems. Combat gets pretty boring quickly, and is way too easy once you pass ~ level 10 (I was playing on one below Death March). The level scaled items are seriously retarded, as is having multiple copies of named, previously unique weapons.

I was playing light armour with Cat school techniques, which probably made things even easier (dem crits); if I play it through again I'll probably go medium style with that Wolf school gear DLC.

All in all though, for an AAA game it was pretty well done and enjoyable.

 

[Eirikur]

Just finished it. Got the "good" ending I suppose:

Spoiler

Shacked up with Yenn, Nilfgaard wins the war, independent Temeria, Ciri becomes Empress, Cerys rules Skellige etc

In regards to the last part (Ciri's fate), you got the bittersweet ending. There's a much happier ending for Geralt and Ciri. Tsk tsk, you're too loyal to Emhyr.

 

[Sodafish]

Yeah I know there's one where she lives the Witcher lifestyle with you if you dont go and see Emperor Tywin and encourage her to be a bit more reckless.

 

[Paul_cz]

I much prefer the

Spoiler

empress

ending tbh. It is just more interesting.

 

[Cyberarmy]

New game + is coming as last DLC. Hope they make it pretty hard (read: not only frigging HP sponges)

https://twitter.com/witchergame/status/625712013235191808

 

[Eirikur]

I like how all three crones are based on different interpretations of the creature Baba Yaga from slavic folk lore.

Some examples (there's very many alternatives):

 

[Gerrard]

New game + is coming as last DLC.

https://twitter.com/witchergame/status/625712013235191808

For what purpose?

Hope they make it pretty hard (read: not only frigging HP sponges)

ohwaityoureserious.jpg

 

[Wulfstand]

I'm on the 3rd and final act right now, and while I've really enjoyed the game so far, I couldn't help but have some of the major fan complaints reiterate themselves inside my mind, during the playthrough.

Now, for me, leaving aside the horrible tank controls (can't understand why the developers messed this up, since W2 had an arguably good control scheme), MMO type of leveling/gearing/scaling, and debatable pc optimization, what really bothered me the most was the pacing of the game. Throughout the entirety of it (and I can assume that it's pretty safe for me to generalize, since I'm nearly done with the main plot) the player/Geralt has to literally 'run' from one main plot objective to the next (so as to save + defend Ciri and then counterattack the Hunt), which should rarely leave Geralt enough time to actually do side-quests that are not related to or important for the main narrative of the game, not to mention witcher contracts. Why would he stop and help a family of sailors from Skellige get rid of a Hag and a few drowners when the supposed 'fate of the world' lies in the balance. Now of course I understand that the game is just a game, and that I shouldn't follow the main narrative too closely, and instead explore and enjoy the open world, but I feel as if the previous games (at least the 2nd one, since I haven't replayed the 1st witcher in a few years) handled this 'spare time for sidequests' way better, as you would occasionaly have your main plot objective tell you to 'wait for events to follow up on your previous decisions, i.e. do some more sidequests', and said 'breathers' would more often than not feel 'organic', and not out of place. In this regard I feel as if W3 is the only game in the trilogy that expects to be treated as more of a generic open-world 'GTA' game, which might tie in with the whole 'mainstream'-process that some Codexers have been whining about.

Witcher 3 also keeps reminding us the fact that Gerald is old, despite the fact that the game takes place half a year after the previous game, and that none of the previous two games remotely tried to convey this idea (at least from what I remember). It's a pretty minor complaint, and I'm wondering if they didn't add it in just to help the whole father-daughter plot between Gerald and Ciri.

Tl;dr I wish the game was more about political intrigue and how Gerald was such a small pawn in the whole scheme of things, like in the 2nd game, instead of the generic 'let's save the world' plot.

 

[Carrion]

Witcher 3 also keeps reminding us the fact that Gerald is old, despite the fact that the game takes place half a year after the previous game, and that none of the previous two games remotely tried to convey this idea (at least from what I remember). It's a pretty minor complaint, and I'm wondering if they didn't add it in just to help the whole father-daughter plot between Gerald and Ciri.

In TW2 he was planning to more or less retire with Triss, so it's not something that just came out of nowhere. It's also in line with the books where Geralt gets pretty tired towards the end, not caring that much about the witcher work anymore (even giving up being a witcher at one point) and only having the fate of the people close to him motivate him.

Throughout the entirety of it (and I can assume that it's pretty safe for me to generalize, since I'm nearly done with the main plot) the player/Geralt has to literally 'run' from one main plot objective to the next (so as to save + defend Ciri and then counterattack the Hunt), which should rarely leave Geralt enough time to actually do side-quests that are not related to or important for the main narrative of the game, not to mention witcher contracts. Why would he stop and help a family of sailors from Skellige get rid of a Hag and a few drowners when the supposed 'fate of the world' lies in the balance.

Yeah, the implied urgency kind of sucks. I think it's a missed opportunity that they always gave you a very clear goal at all times, where to go to and who to talk to, instead of giving you more vague clues à la the first game or even Fallout 1, where the main quest unraveled piece by piece through interactions with different people, as you talked to people and hoped that one of them would give you a lead that would get you closer to Salamandra or the water chip. Instead of getting a clear quest to go see a specific guy in Velen, you could simply travel around the place, do quests for different people, ask around and maybe have someone eventually direct you towards the Baron, for example. Alternatively they could've just made the threat to Ciri seem less imminent.

TW1 definitely did a great job encouraging you to do as much content as possible without feeling that you were acting out of character, but I don't think TW2 was really all that good in that regard, as it too had a pretty clear sense of urgency most of the time (especially after Triss got nabbed) and the main quest dictated the pacing to a much greater extent, leaving quite little room for doing side quests especially in the first and the last act.

 

[Frozen]

I really enjoy The Retarded Hunt.
In a subgenre of subgenre ( AAA new age story driven RPG?) I think this is the best one so far.
They did failed at main story, namely the Wild Hunt but its not like its terrible only really, really weak.
Someone said that Eredin is not the bad guy in the books. I tend to disagree. He is clearly portrayed in the books as the new big bad...even by Witcher world gray standard he's an evil bastard.
However they should give him more room and something more than corny one liners.
At the end the hunt comes off as stupid bunch...do they have some evil cunning plan or they just sit around jerking off and wait for Ciri to jump through worlds?
I think it came down to resource management- they had to put too much into "immersive open world" because that's how you roll these days. Never mind that its only an eye candy, the game overall would be so much better if they spent that into story/gameplay.
But you have to be open world these days because...Skyrim.
Combat was always lackluster nothing new here. To me the most fun parts where with Ciri and her superpower jump. Character with this and some other superpower shit would be great. The combat problem would fixed itself.
Also is it just me or did they pretty much copy pasted the main story from ME123? in the way it unfolds?- 4 color cupcakes done in orderly fashion( finding Ciri)+ gather your team for a suicide mission ( Kaer Morhen Battle) + defeat the Catalyst after a great battle (Naglfar+ White Frost Tower)
I mean White Frost Ciri flashbacks are the same thing as flashes from Shepard after the Catalyst mindfucks you with his stupid choices.
Its only done a lot better.

 

[hivemind]

Gather allies for the final battle with the evil guy is like the video game hero's journey.

 

[Eirikur]

God I love that awkward, uncomfortable kid in the background. Desperately need an emoticon that reflects his expression.

I think his expression is a subdued combination of disgust and pity.

 

[Wulfstand]

Yeah, the implied urgency kind of sucks. I think it's a missed opportunity that they always gave you a very clear goal at all times, where to go to and who to talk to, instead of giving you more vague clues à la the first game or even Fallout 1, where the main quest unraveled piece by piece through interactions with different people, as you talked to people and hoped that one of them would give you a lead that would get you closer to Salamandra or the water chip. Instead of getting a clear quest to go see a specific guy in Velen, you could simply travel around the place, do quests for different people, ask around and maybe have someone eventually direct you towards the Baron, for example. Alternatively they could've just made the threat to Ciri seem less imminent.

TW1 definitely did a great job encouraging you to do as much content as possible without feeling that you were acting out of character, but I don't think TW2 was really all that good in that regard, as it too had a pretty clear sense of urgency most of the time (especially after Triss got nabbed) and the main quest dictated the pacing to a much greater extent, leaving quite little room for doing side quests especially in the first and the last act.

They could've gone about it in a great number of ways. Baldur's Gate 2 SoA offered the easiest workaround for this, imo. 'Gotta get to Oxenfurt but the whole city's in quarantine because of the Inquisition. One of Zoltan's connections can offer you a pass, but it'll cost you 3000 Orens. You'd better stop refusing payment for your contracts.' 'Gotta go and grab Uma from his master, but he'll not part with him without some serious coins. He's got some bullshit bauble with him, so Axii won't be of any use.'

That having been said, I don't expect the devs to cater to these sorts of requests/complaints. To be honest, I'd be content if they'd manage to simply better tweak both the game's optimization and it's clunky as hell controls for the Enhanced Edition.

Having just finished the game, I can't not admire the amount of work that got into it, and while I do find that parts of the game leave quite a bit to be desired, the whole of it feels very good and satisfactory.

 

[Carrion]

They could've gone about it in a great number of ways. Baldur's Gate 2 SoA offered the easiest workaround for this, imo. 'Gotta get to Oxenfurt but the whole city's in quarantine because of the Inquisition. One of Zoltan's connections can offer you a pass, but it'll cost you 3000 Orens. You'd better stop refusing payment for your contracts.' 'Gotta go and grab Uma from his master, but he'll not part with him without some serious coins. He's got some bullshit bauble with him, so Axii won't be of any use.'

Yeah, but it's also kind of a bullshit excuse unless only used in appropriate places, and you'd ideally want to give the player multiple ways to get past such an obstacle (like they did with the pass to get over Pontar, for instance). It also would've required a more fine-tuned economy to avoid the BG2 situation of just running around doing quests despite having gathered the money required to save Imoen a dozen hours ago. You could use some kind of a light reputation system for a similar effect, though, at least when dealing with important people that aren't in a desperate need for a witcher.

I personally prefer the "come back later" route: "it'll take me a couple of days to prepare the ritual", "come see me tomorrow morning", "make sure you're prepared before we go", and so on. Just give the player some leisure time that is perfect for doing side quests and wandering around. TW3 almost never tells you outright that you should hurry (although it does have some random "we have no time for that" dialogue options every now and then), but it maybe could've done a bit more to encourage exploration.

To be honest, I'd be content if they'd manage to simply better tweak both the game's optimization and it's clunky as hell controls for the Enhanced Edition.

Have you tried the newest patch? It makes the controls a lot more responsible and improves performance as well.

 

[Frozen]

That kid just looks like a retard. Probably inbreed.
Common theme in The Witcher universe.
Only thing missing is the banjo.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

That kid just looks like a retard. Probably inbreed.
Common theme in The Witcher universe.
Only thing missing is the banjo.

I added the banjo for you

Spoiler

 

[Wulfstand]

Yeah, but it's also kind of a bullshit excuse unless only used in appropriate places, and you'd ideally want to give the player multiple ways to get past such an obstacle (like they did with the pass to get over Pontar, for instance). It also would've required a more fine-tuned economy to avoid the BG2 situation of just running around doing quests despite having gathered the money required to save Imoen a dozen hours ago. You could use some kind of a light reputation system for a similar effect, though, at least when dealing with important people that aren't in a desperate need for a witcher.

I personally prefer the "come back later" route: "it'll take me a couple of days to prepare the ritual", "come see me tomorrow morning", "make sure you're prepared before we go", and so on. Just give the player some leisure time that is perfect for doing side quests and wandering around. TW3 almost never tells you outright that you should hurry (although it does have some random "we have no time for that" dialogue options every now and then), but it maybe could've done a bit more to encourage exploration.

Fair enough, those sound like viable workarounds. Having actually finished the game, I now know that it lets you continue to play 'with the open world before the final chapter', so I'm guessing Nilfgaardian troops are still around. (haven't actually bothered to play after the final credits, being content with waiting for extra expansions)

Have you tried the newest patch? It makes the controls a lot more responsible and improves performance as well.

I've played the entirety of the game with 1.07 installed, yes. What annoys me is the fact that each square meter is rendered independently, as soon as you come near it. Oftentimes the game finished loading and allowed me to play while the textures were still loading up, not to mention the amount of times I ran into unrendered streets in Novigrad. W2's way of cutting each chapter's map into several large chunks that required individual loading screens worked far more smoothly for me. Eh, you can't have them all.

 

[Jools]

Anyone seen this before?

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

Anyone seen this before?

Min 2:50 - 3:35

Me in RPG games with romances. Always.

 

[Brayko]

Well I'd say finding your adopted daughter as the main quest is better and different than I'm a fikkin badas special dragonborn save teh world shit from Bethesda but whatever the fuck.

I gotta say though the Witcher universe is eerily similar to GRRM, which is not a bad thing if its able to maintain good story telling, which is does.

No need to upgrade Steel Swords if you power focus on Aard sign and stick 'em good when you knock 'em down.

Its good you can turn off all the crappy streamlined features like minimap that shows you everything and where to go. I'm REALLY hoping they added all that crap just to get sales and that they will develop the expansions with more natural questing in mind. Its really my only complaint about the game, too many streamlined map features and mediocre itemization and a poor alchemy system.

 

[Carrion]

I gotta say though the Witcher universe is eerily similar to GRRM, which is not a bad thing if its able to maintain good story telling, which is does.

They clearly draw from some same sources, there are some similar elements (the Wild Hunt and the White Walkers being one of the more obvious ones) and TW3 probably has some direct ASOIAF-influence especially on Skellige, but I don't think they're all that similar. You could never have something like a cursed princess wandering around with seven gnomes robbing and impaling people in ASOIAF, but it's pretty much everyday stuff in the Witcher universe. The style of Sapkowski's prose couldn't be much further from GRRM either, although in the games it's of course not quite as clear to see.

Its good you can turn off all the crappy streamlined features like minimap that shows you everything and where to go.

I tried playing without the minimap, but the game's clearly designed with it in mind. Especially in Novigrad you've got dozens of fake merchants that are indistinguishable from real ones but can't be interacted with, and only the map icons show the real ones. The minimap is also required for navigation in certain parts of the game, like the horse races that don't always have clear markers on where the track goes. It's also easy to initially miss some of the exclamation mark side quests, as people keep shouting at Geralt all the time and certain events are triggered when Geralt is quite far away, which might lead to you missing out on some minor stuff permanently. I think a decent compromise would be the option to remove quest compass from the minimap while still keeping the quest markers on the main map.

There should be a way to get less obtrusive witcher senses, though, so that they'd only highlight stuff like footprints without immediately making every quest-related object and container glow red.

 

[bonescraper]

They clearly draw from some same sources, there are some similar elements (the Wild Hunt and the White Walkers being one of the more obvious ones)

You know that the Wild Hunt is an actual thing, right? P. much everything in TW3 is mythology inspired.