melmer

The Witcher 3: What Geralt Wants

Recommended Posts

So I've been playing since it got dark (my projector room has a small window that doesn't have thick curtains and it's getting close to the longest days of the year). One problem: I keep dying in random surprise-fights (at the blood and broken bones level) and the game keeps crashing when I reload. Luckily it is real quick to boot, though. It takes getting used to to handle surprises, and some are legitimately too deadly for my current level. But I'm getting the hang of it. Fighting seems quite similar to Witcher 2, but somehow improved.

 

The game world and the quests are amazing so far. It's one of the best open world games ever, I think, from what little I've played (just met the Bloody Baron). It seems to do so many things right. I'm sure as the game progresses my opinion on this could change, but I kind of like the way it nudges you towards an authored path through the story by giving certain suggested levels to quests. I always seem to be lagging a level behind, though. I just got to the point where I got a boat and realized that I have now several quests of the same level available. I deviated a bit from where the dialogue had been nudging me towards and went to see the Baron instead.

 

The No Man's Land part of the world reminds me of Far Cry 2 by having waterways next to roads and bandit camps on the latter. It also somehow reminds me of Red Dead Redemption, with Geralt being a rough equivalent of John Marston. It seems like this game has everything, and yet it doesn't feel like a random mishmash of stuff as it's all very coherent.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bit and got the game.

At first I was having frame troubles on my 660gt but I turned a few post processing effects I hate off (blur) and got rid of hairworks, pushed everything else to high and started playing on a comfortable high 30's frame rate.

As for the game I'm really loving it. I was playing the Witcher 2 to catch up but I'm happy to leave that game mid act 2 to start this (still enjoy 2 though).

Currently the monster quests are the all star favourites even if they can be a bit simple. I'm on blood and broken bones and the games' pretty fun; I have to watch my way around most things or they'll wipe me which is fun.

So far I think I like it more than Dragon Age 3 But that game isn't limited by role playing how Geralt would feel. So if I could take my Inquisitor and put her into this game I'd be super happy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This game...

 

goes on forever. I am level 9. I have quests and recipes for level 30+. I am twenty hours into the game. Granted, some of it is from reloading after dying over... and over, and I haven't skipped any dialogue. But there's so much video game here. HOLY SHIT.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This game...

 

goes on forever.

 

Yup, that was exactly what I thought when I first opened the map in Velen.

 

 

Also, I think I'm addicted to Gwent...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours-ish in and I'm still wandering around White Orchard, the starter area that's pretty bloody big to be fair. Loving just walking around the world - the combination of high / ultra and post-processing settings I'm using has it locked in at 60 frames / 1080p and the whole thing has an awesome, colourful painterly look about it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This game...

 

goes on forever. I am level 9. I have quests and recipes for level 30+. I am twenty hours into the game. Granted, some of it is from reloading after dying over... and over, and I haven't skipped any dialogue. But there's so much video game here. HOLY SHIT.

 

Yeah, it's nuts.  My time logged on the game shows 26 hours, I'm level 12, and I've just cleared all the single digit level quests from my log.

 

The scope of this game is nuts, and yet I don't have that fatigue you get in so many open worlds where the missions are all so same-y that you just give up on them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm making sure to play other games while also playing the witcher. I can get bored of open world stuff fast because I'm constantly getting distracted by small things.

Metroid prime 2 is a great accompaniment to the witcher.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anyone else run into crashes that happen soon after loading on PC? (including loading an area after fast travel, or

swapping to Ciri's POV

).

 

I'm getting lots of those so my strategy is to not cause loading when I can avoid it e.g. not die :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Btw Geralt is Sword Batman. It is cool to get two Batman games in one year.

 

 

e: if anyone is having trouble with combat, try not locking on. You still have a "combat" state where you sort of auto-face combatants, and instead of making you dive through 7 dudes because it swapped the lock to the furthest away person and now you're reloading from your last save point, attacks will go after the closest opponent.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I got to Novigrad (sp?) yesterday, and it's part of the same huge map as Velen is... It took me a while to realise this because I kept trying to go there from the world map, and it went back to the Velen map since I had not opened up any signposts

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Btw Geralt is Sword Batman. It is cool to get two Batman games in one year.

 

 

e: if anyone is having trouble with combat, try not locking on. You still have a "combat" state where you sort of auto-face combatants, and instead of making you dive through 7 dudes because it swapped the lock to the furthest away person and now you're reloading from your last save point, attacks will go after the closest opponent.

 

Yeah, I've basically quit locking on.  When you're dealing with a pack, the lock-on isn't helpful, because it's too easy for someone to come from outside the camera's view and hit you.  That's especially rough if you're playing on "Blood and Broken Bones", where you really can't afford to give up free hits.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Locking on is utterly pointless, the one time it would be useful is on boss fights and you can't use them there.

 

I played through about 8 more hours over the weekend and I have turned around on the story and the whole of the game. It happened while doing the Bloody Baron and Crone missions (I still haven't finished it completely) and, man, the game is really playing against my expectations.

 

Really like how much you can tell the baron to go fuck himself.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Locking on is utterly pointless, the one time it would be useful is on boss fights and you can't use them there.

 

Yes you can, and indeed that's the only time I do. It doesn't show an icon when you do it because their health bar is at the top of the screen, but it still seems to move the camera to keep an eye on them.

 

That said some bosses are tricksy and slip from view in various ways.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yup, that was exactly what I thought when I first opened the map in Velen.

 

 

Also, I think I'm addicted to Gwent...

 

I spent 4 hours on Saturday doing nothing but playing Gwent. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I really badly want a Monsters deck for Gwent. At the moment I don't have enough of anything but Northern Realms to field a deck, sadly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it auto-locks you for "boss" fights. Another combat tip- if there is room to do so and you're facing a lot of enemies (best against humanoids), go at them with your horse. You seemingly do more damage, and they have a much lower chance to block.

 

 

I have not touched Gwent, because I'm already in a really deep "playing the witcher" hole as it is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Gwent is great! It's basically a modded version of the actual card game Condottiere published by Fantasy Flight. I definitely spent a good chunk of yesterday just wandering around the map aimlessly trying to find characters that I could challenge.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm absolutely in love with this game. I just made it to Skellige, after uncovering every question mark in Velen/Novigrade and doing every level-appropriate quest there. I'm playing on Death March, and so far I haven't really felt the need to turn down the difficulty. There's been a couple of harder fights, but nothing I couldn't eventually brute force my way through.

 

I started off really on Quen obsessively to stay alive (you die quickly on the hardest difficulty), but I've started throwing some other signs into the mix as well. Igni's alternative mode, a stream of fire, is an absolute pleasure to use against bandits. Axii is also nice against larger enemies, as a stun.

 

Honestly though, I spend most of my time obsessively playing gwent, forcing merchants and innkeepers to give me their cards, as I try to amass my collection.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Igni's alternative mode, a stream of fire, is an absolute pleasure to use against bandits.

 

Alternative mode?!

 

I hope that's something you get at a certain point rather than something I've had all along and not noticed, because then I would feel silly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Alternative mode?!

 

I hope that's something you get at a certain point rather than something I've had all along and not noticed, because then I would feel silly.

 

It's the second tier of abilities under the "Signs" skill tree. Quen's is a continuous shield that absorbs damage and turns it into Vitality.

 

I'm don't remember what the others are, but each one has an alt-mode.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have an important question about a quest line in the swamp.

 

It looks like 2 armies are going to be gathering at the swamp, both the baron and his daughter with some witch hunters. Is this a guarantee, or is it a choice I've made along the way. Because it seems like it's going to be fucking cool, and I've heard it's caused by something you say to the crones once they tell you about Ciri.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That happened to me. Can I ask what decisions you made so we can compare?

Yes, I might need reminding though:

 

I visited the swamp first. Then I told the crones I was going to kill them and basically fuck those crones because they were going to eat Ciri. I then started the Bloody Baron quest line. I made sure I turned the baby into a helpful spirit, then I went to talk to his daughter before the baron himself. Both the daughter and the baron I advised them against attacking the swamp. They ignored me, and I think I said I'd help out despite it being a poor choice.

 

edit: shit I forgot about the tree. I let the demon spirit escape.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

From what I know, I think that's fairly standard. However, there is variance to that quest I believe, it's just coming from how that plays out.

WARNING: Spoiler for where the variance plays in:

The variance is based on whether or not you decided to kill that being trapped in the tree, the mission the Crones sent you on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now