The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt [2015]

[Katphood]

Just because I know how much you guys enjoy The Witcher 3 fan art:

 

[BruceVC]

Two days ago I finished the main story of W3....the game was better than I could have ever imagined. It was superlative 

 

The Witcher series has now become my favorite RPG of all time, W3 has surpassed my normal favorite RPG which is BG2: TOB

 

What an amazing  game and I loved the ending....I was very worried about what I thought might happen 

 

Anyway well done CDPR, you have loads to be proud about ...I'm now playing the W3 expansions 

[Tale]

My Gwent sets just arrived.

 

That is all.

[GhostofAnakin]

Two days ago I finished the main story of W3....the game was better than I could have ever imagined. It was superlative 

 

The Witcher series has now become my favorite RPG of all time, W3 has surpassed my normal favorite RPG which is BG2: TOB

 

What an amazing  game and I loved the ending....I was very worried about what I thought might happen 

 

Anyway well done CDPR, you have loads to be proud about ...I'm now playing the W3 expansions 

 

Play it again.  You'll get a vastly different ending to fret about.

[the_dog_days]

You chaps still playing might want to have a look at the enhanced edition mod for the Witcher 3 now available on the Nexus. Rather impressive rebalancing by the looks of it.

Thanks for the tip. I downloaded the mod and I really like what I've seen so far.

[WDeranged]

I've been reading the books.  Currently on the second one and quite enjoying it, though I'm not usually a fan of short story compilations.  I just got to the part where Geralt first meets Ciri 

[Nonek]

The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny anthologies are (in my opinion) the highlights of Sapkowski's Witcher/Ciri chronicles.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Nonek

[Lexx]

I like them the most as well. Read through them a few times already.

[WDeranged]

That's a bit of a downer really.  I'm enjoying the short stories for what they are but I was looking forward to getting my teeth into a proper novel 

[Nonek]

Oh the novels aren't bad by any means, but they are a different beast and tend to focus on aspects I was less interested in, Ciri for instance. You may well enjoy them, they are still well written and interesting, and at points excellent. I'd still recommend them, and I admit I have a bias for the short story format.

[Lexx]

Yeah, I only wanted to read stories about Geralt, so everything else didn't really interest me so much either. They aren't badly written or something, but Geralt is what brought me into it and not necessarily the world and its politics, which the "real books" deal a lot more with.

 

/Edit: I mean these small excerpts out of the witchers lives. That was what made it so great for me. Doesn't necessarily have to be purely about Geralt, though.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Lexx

[the_dog_days]

No surprise to anyone, I'm sure, but the Witcher 3 is getting a GOTY edition.

 

Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DWViB3B-5D-k&ved=0ahUKEwiXp8Kd6rnOAhXF5SYKHYjoCccQqUMIQDAA&usg=AFQjCNFpHZmKK7N-Lkqe3RBT_7AfIYvyaQ

[Orogun01]

It's a good thing that I modded my game so that white raffard works with delayed recovery, otherwise I would be more pissed about how poorly designed is the fight against Imlerith.

Its like Dark Souls 2 all over again.

[Humanoid]

I thought it was a terrible fight too, not because it was difficult (admittedly I'm a normal difficulty scrub) but because it was boring. Dodge for seemingly forever until he's vulnerable, hit him once, repeat ad infinitum. It's like a Bowser fight, except that in Mario games you only have to do the cycle three times. Here it just goes on and on and on.

[WDeranged]

I'm near the end of Blood of Elves, very much enjoying it.  My only complaint is that Sapkowski's portrayal of children is a bit simplistic and stereotypical.  Everything else is pretty damn good, I'm pleased with the intricacy of the wider world and statecraft 

[redneckdevil]

Anyone know what best witcher 3 mods that don't deal with graphics are?

[the_dog_days]

Anyone know what best witcher 3 mods that don't deal with graphics are?

Are you looking for a specific effect or aspects of the vanilla game that you'd like to change? I don't know any new quests mods (those, if they do show up for a game, start appearing around the Internet two years later).

[Humanoid]

The most important by far is No More Rolling Down Stairs. The only other mod I ran was Disable Storybook Videos. If I played again I'd probably try Auto Apply Oils as in my first playthrough I reckon I could count the number of times I used consumables (other than health potions) with my fingers.

 

Another one that unfortunately came too late to be of use to me is toggle walking speed while playing on the gamepad. By default the game has a walk toggle mapped to the keyboard, but as soon as you start using a gamepad the setting is ignored and you have to tediously tilt the left stick halfway in order to walk. As someone who likes to walk everywhere for immersion reasons, this was incredibly frustrating. As I said though, I haven't tested this mod, though according to the comments there it seems to work well enough.

[redneckdevil]

Tyvm, yeah was looking at overhauls and story quests. For the most part, there's nothing really I see ingame that really needs changing for me to enjoy it.

Was wondering because gonna pick up again with the game once I'm done with my current playthru in morrowind.

 

Ty for the links, I'm gonna download the stairs one lol.

Edited August 17, 2016 by redneckdevil

[sorophx]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I just finished both the main campaign and HoS, and I'm done with the game. I don't know if it's oversaturation (like it was with New Vegas for me, where I went through all the DLCs right after finishing the main game, and I only managed to finish one of them, losing steam in the middle of Old World Blues) or just me getting tired of all the bull****, but Blood and Wine killed the will to play this game in me. 

 

this would've been a great game, if not for all the small annoying stuff (like the balance issues, the terrible combat system, the awful skills system, the cheating fist-fighters, the stupid horse getting stuck everywhere, uneven writing, crappy quest design in some instances etc.), but simply the amount of stuff you can do is the game's saving grace, I think. when I got tired of one thing, I'd just move onto the next, and that kept the game fresh for me for the duration of the main story line. 

 

HoS is another story, though, I don't remember when the last time was I cringed so much. it's just ridiculous, and in some places just plain stupid. but it's short, and it has that one quest, that was lifted straight from Bloodlines, and its boss fights are more interesting than anything in the main game, so it gets a passing grade from me. but I still found myself just clicking through cut scenes closer to the end (I was alternating between the main game and HoS, and at some point my patience for this "writing" ran out, I stopped caring about any of these characters). so much so, that I still don't know what the whole Wild Hunt's deal was. I killed all of them simply to get the whole thing over with. I still don't know who they were and what their motivation was. were they really the villains of the story? I don't know. who gives a ****?

 

I did feel satisfaction when I accidentally got the best ending for Ciri (she was by far the most interesting character for me, I'd go as far as saying she was the real protagonist of the story, which made the whole thing even more annoying, because I wanted to play as her, but got very few possibilities to do it).

 

in contrast, I felt completely stupid for having to swing a certain way in the HoS finale simply to get the "best" ending (mostly it's best in terms of rewards, but I think it's also what CDPR considers the proper ending, those hacks!), which conflicted with my personal wishes (the fact that the last sequence is poorly designed and felt rushed made things even worse; I reloaded and watched the other outcome that felt more natural, and I had a strong urge to leave it at that, but the loot you get for "properly" ending it was too much to let go of).

 

I wanted to elaborate on the things I strongly disliked, but I don't see the point anymore. who cares? it's a flawed gem of a game. I still enjoyed it. for one thing, it's beautiful to look at, and there's always somewhere to go. it reminded me of Morrowind and Dragon Age Origins for some reason, and I have only good memories about those games. there were two sequences I really liked, though, to the point of being the best gaming experience I've had all year: Avallach's personal end-game quest and the mission to retrieve the purple rose in HoS.

 

I also loved the whole noir aspect of it. investigating murders in the city, saving dames, listening to Geralt narrate his experiences during the investigation was really fun, I didn't expect the game to go that way, and some quests were too simple to warrant the whole investigation angle, but overall it felt really cool.

 

ultimately The Witcher 3 lifts too much from other, better games without giving much back. and now I think I would've preferred a DLC about Ciri and her adventures as a witcher (and for those of you who say, "oh, she's too powerful for that, how would they make it interesting" - just look at the DLC for Shadow of Mordor where you play as Celebrimbor; you play as the most powerful being in the realm, having the more powerful versions of all of the abilities from the base game unlocked from the start, and it's still a harder game than the original, because all missions are designed around the player having these abilities and using them) instead of that poor excuse of a story that was HoS.

 

edit: oh, I forgot to mention. I felt repulsed by Geralt's smug face for the duration of the game, so much so, that when I got to Novigrad and found a shop keeper with masks in stock, I bought one, put it on, and that made the whole experience so much better! I kept imagining that Geralt was a fantasy version of Moore's "Guy Fawkes" - V. I made up a small back story, that Geralt's face had been disfigured at some point between the events of W2 and W3, so he doesn't take off his mask. it went really well with his cat-eyes and his neutral voice, and it played nicely into HoS's schtick with Geralt getting branded by the Mirror Man (I laughed out loud every time Geralt would ask someone, "do you know how to get this thing off my face?"). the game actually acknowledged it in one quest! when Geralt is making preparations for the big heist, one of his crew members comments on how they all need masks, with Geralt being the only one already having one on. these small touches are what made the game enjoyable for me.

Edited September 1, 2016 by sorophx

[Drowsy Emperor]

So as someone who liked the first game but was disappointed with the second one, is the Witcher 3 for me?

[the_dog_days]

So as someone who liked the first game but was disappointed with the second one, is the Witcher 3 for me?

Tonally, the story is a fusion of the two. It can deal with darker, disturbing themes similar to tW2, and is quick to adopt a lighter, down to earth tone of tW1. The amazing thing for me was how well the writers went from one to the next with leaving me confused or making that switch feel contrived.

[BruceVC]

So as someone who liked the first game but was disappointed with the second one, is the Witcher 3 for me?

The W3 is the best RPG I have ever played but I have some advice that is critical to overall enjoyment of the game and not feeling drained when you play it

 

At times the sheer number of quests and things to do can be overwhelming, I can't stress this enough ...you can become put off from the number of quests so the solution is to simply have 2-3 day breaks between playing W3. That way you will always be excited and wont find unnecessary faults or be pedantic about what is wrong with the game 

[licketysplit]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I just finished both the main campaign and HoS, and I'm done with the game. I don't know if it's oversaturation (like it was with New Vegas for me, where I went through all the DLCs right after finishing the main game, and I only managed to finish one of them, losing steam in the middle of Old World Blues) or just me getting tired of all the bull****, but Blood and Wine killed the will to play this game in me. 

 

this would've been a great game, if not for all the small annoying stuff (like the balance issues, the terrible combat system, the awful skills system, the cheating fist-fighters, the stupid horse getting stuck everywhere, uneven writing, crappy quest design in some instances etc.), but simply the amount of stuff you can do is the game's saving grace, I think. when I got tired of one thing, I'd just move onto the next, and that kept the game fresh for me for the duration of the main story line. 

 

HoS is another story, though, I don't remember when the last time was I cringed so much. it's just ridiculous, and in some places just plain stupid. but it's short, and it has that one quest, that was lifted straight from Bloodlines, and its boss fights are more interesting than anything in the main game, so it gets a passing grade from me. but I still found myself just clicking through cut scenes closer to the end (I was alternating between the main game and HoS, and at some point my patience for this "writing" ran out, I stopped caring about any of these characters). so much so, that I still don't know what the whole Wild Hunt's deal was. I killed all of them simply to get the whole thing over with. I still don't know who they were and what their motivation was. were they really the villains of the story? I don't know. who gives a ****?

 

I did feel satisfaction when I accidentally got the best ending for Ciri (she was by far the most interesting character for me, I'd go as far as saying she was the real protagonist of the story, which made the whole thing even more annoying, because I wanted to play as her, but got very few possibilities to do it).

 

in contrast, I felt completely stupid for having to swing a certain way in the HoS finale simply to get the "best" ending (mostly it's best in terms of rewards, but I think it's also what CDPR considers the proper ending, those hacks!), which conflicted with my personal wishes (the fact that the last sequence is poorly designed and felt rushed made things even worse; I reloaded and watched the other outcome that felt more natural, and I had a strong urge to leave it at that, but the loot you get for "properly" ending it was too much to let go of).

 

I wanted to elaborate on the things I strongly disliked, but I don't see the point anymore. who cares? it's a flawed gem of a game. I still enjoyed it. for one thing, it's beautiful to look at, and there's always somewhere to go. it reminded me of Morrowind and Dragon Age Origins for some reason, and I have only good memories about those games. there were two sequences I really liked, though, to the point of being the best gaming experience I've had all year: Avallach's personal end-game quest and the mission to retrieve the purple rose in HoS.

 

I also loved the whole noir aspect of it. investigating murders in the city, saving dames, listening to Geralt narrate his experiences during the investigation was really fun, I didn't expect the game to go that way, and some quests were too simple to warrant the whole investigation angle, but overall it felt really cool.

 

ultimately The Witcher 3 lifts too much from other, better games without giving much back. and now I think I would've preferred a DLC about Ciri and her adventures as a witcher (and for those of you who say, "oh, she's too powerful for that, how would they make it interesting" - just look at the DLC for Shadow of Mordor where you play as Celebrimbor; you play as the most powerful being in the realm, having the more powerful versions of all of the abilities from the base game unlocked from the start, and it's still a harder game than the original, because all missions are designed around the player having these abilities and using them) instead of that poor excuse of a story that was HoS.

 

edit: oh, I forgot to mention. I felt repulsed by Geralt's smug face for the duration of the game, so much so, that when I got to Novigrad and found a shop keeper with masks in stock, I bought one, put it on, and that made the whole experience so much better! I kept imagining that Geralt was a fantasy version of Moore's "Guy Fawkes" - V. I made up a small back story, that Geralt's face had been disfigured at some point between the events of W2 and W3, so he doesn't take off his mask. it went really well with his cat-eyes and his neutral voice, and it played nicely into HoS's schtick with Geralt getting branded by the Mirror Man (I laughed out loud every time Geralt would ask someone, "do you know how to get this thing off my face?"). the game actually acknowledged it in one quest! when Geralt is making preparations for the big heist, one of his crew members comments on how they all need masks, with Geralt being the only one already having one on. these small touches are what made the game enjoyable for me.

Surprised you didn't like the writing in Hearts of Stone. That had some of my favorite moments. Which games do you think W3 cribs from? I see some influences sure, but I wouldn't call it derivative. 

[Fenixp]

Surprised you didn't like the writing in Hearts of Stone. That had some of my favorite moments. Which games do you think W3 cribs from? I see some influences sure, but I wouldn't call it derivative.

The combat system a massive Dark Souls wannabe without actually understanding what made that system tick so well for instance. I don't think there's a single original mechanic in The Witcher 3, even Gwent borrows heavily from Condottiere.