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[Kyaw]

Do you guys not find the SweetFX coloring/contrast straining on your eyes?

Just from looking at the screenshots/comparisons, I can feel my eyes straining because of the stark contrast and slightly crushed blacks. I mean it looks nicer but the original coloring is a bit easier on the eye in the long term.

 

[shinobi602]

They are not side quests, they are all just quests. There happens to be a few prolonged, interwoven quest lines that form an over arching narrative but defining the abundance of interesting and fun missions as sidequests is doing them a disservice.

...any quest thats not required to complete the game is an optional sidequest, there's really no disservice intended lol. Why does "sidequest" hold a negative connotation?

 

[Anung]

Just spending today doing monster contracts and exploring. I love the main story quests but the side stuff is so good I think I might actually prefer it.

Some of these contracts have some decent use of strategy to them with the spell and alchemy. Actually have to plan ahead of the fight.

 

[Corpekata]

You reckon Bioware would be inspired/influenced to take a few design notes on their side quests with this game for the next chapter? I sure hope they do, I'd rather that than close the million fade rifts

I doubt they'd need this game to tell them that. It was probably one of the most common feedback they got about the game. If they release a big xpac for DA:I I fully expect it to be far more story driven.

 

[pahamrick]

PC with Imported save, and that important character is still alive.

That's pretty weird.

Quest spoilers

Spoiler

Way it worked for me was after I talked to the woman and she said to loot the chest for payment, I go there and there's no monsters but traps everywhere. Disarm all the traps, eventually wander into the barn where there's more traps.

Climb to the second level of the barn and find Letho, which leads to a small quest line (roughly 3 fights) where you help Letho out.

Here's what my imported save looked like as far as some major choices in case that changes things.

Spoiler

Sided with Roche
Henselt Dead
Helped Roche save Foltest's daughter
Foltest's daughter given to Natalis

 

[Bytes]

I had an fun experience doing the contract called

Spoiler

Woodland Beast

. Long story short, I ended up being in a fight with several

Spoiler

Scoia'tael while only able to use my fists and my signs

. It was a hard fight, but it was so satisfying when I won. This is on Blood and Broken Bones difficulty, by the way.

Spoiler

And mysteriously the Scoia'tael leader somehow resurrected a few minutes after I killed her, requiring me to kill her again.

 

[boskee]

So I came across a bandit camp with a merchant locked inside a cage. After killing all the bandits, I've rescued the prisoner and looted nearby chests and stuff. Not a big deal, but:

- the surrounding had slain horse and a destroyed cart, no doubt belonging to the unfortunate merchant.
- I followed the prisoner and he actually returned to his camp and started selling stuff
- I went through the items I looted and found a letter from one of the bandits to his wife, in which he brags about the wealth he's acquired and telling her to let the children know Daddy's going to buy them tons of sweets, etc.

I love this game.

 

[Danneee]

Pro tip:
Drowners underwater dies from one crossbow dart.

Just snipe them from afar and the only thing you have to worry about is the controls drowning you.

I had an fun experience doing the contract called

Spoiler

Woodland Beast

. Long story short, I ended up being in a fight with several

Spoiler

Scoia'tael while only able to use my fists and my signs

. It was a hard fight, but it was so satisfying when I won. This is on Blood and Broken Bones difficulty, by the way.

Spoiler

And mysteriously the Scoia'tael leader somehow resurrected a few minutes after I killed her, requiring me to kill her again.

I think some fights where you just have your fists are bugged. This particular fight I cleared with weapons and I've encountered at least one more fight where everybody just used their fists with no apparent reasoning behind it, I even looted weapons from them after the fight.

 

[Courage]

I have a bug in the 'Get Junior' quest

Spoiler

I'm supposed to talk to Dijkstra regarding his Redanian ties but the bathhouse isn't popping up in the map. Does anyone know how to bypass this or know where the bathhouse is exactly?

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

...any quest thats not required to complete the game is an optional sidequest, there's really no disservice intended lol. Why does "sidequest" hold a negative connotation?

bioware thats why

 

[Tigress]

Yup. As long as you have alcohol your whole stock replenishes.

Which honestly I dislike, it's too cheaty. I like gathering ingredients for potions. I think a better compromise would have been you can either replenish it with alchohol by meditating or you can just make it (but alchohol is rare so there is incentive to just make it).

Somehow my play time jumped up 10 hours out of nowhere. I was at 10 hour and 20-something minutes and I checked within the next hour and it had spiked to 20 hours. Very strange.

Using PS4 suspend/resume had also given me about an extra hour and a half but that was before the massive spike. I don't suspend the game anymore.

Oh really? I'm not going to have a very accurate way of telling how long I play the game then. I always suspend the game (and always put my PS4 on rest, not off).

 

[Horse Armour]

What do people suggest as a difficulty setting for someone who's completed W2 3 times, 2 of those on dark mode? Is going with the hardest setting on my first go too ambitious?

 

[King Cobra]

So is it safe to sell the contracts once you've completed them? they are taking up a bit of space now.

 

[BabyFaceKillah]

How long does it take for your beard to grow back after you shave it off?

 

[Raptor]

Seriously is there a stamina bar or something?

Not that it matters anyway since combat is not of the type you need to worry about stamina.

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

So I came across a bandit camp with a merchant locked inside a cage. After killing all the bandits, I've rescued the prisoner and looted nearby chests and stuff. Not a big deal, but:

- the surrounding had slain horse and a destroyed cart, no doubt belonging to the unfortunate merchant.
- I followed the prisoner and he actually returned to his camp and started selling stuff
- I went through the items I looted and found a letter from one of the bandits to his wife, in which he brags about the wealth he's acquired and telling her to let the children know Daddy's going to buy them tons of sweets, etc.

I love this game.

Where was this?

 

[dragonelite]

I stumbled across a graveyard and

Spoiler

got attacked by a wraith 4 levels higher than me. After i got him down to half health he disappeared. I was like, wtf. Oh well and activated the sign of power. Looked around and blasted open the church door with my telekinetic power, went downstairs and found a treasure. The wraith reappeared with half health and i killed him. Found a nice sword. Things like this me happy. This wasnt a side quest or anything, just a random encounter that felt well thought out. So goooood.

Spoiler

Its actually part of a quest or will start a quest
Not sure given i also beat it and looted the treasure

 

[Inferno313]

Seriously is there a stamina bar or something?

Not that it matters anyway since combat is not of the type you need to worry about stamina.

Yeah it's the yellow bar below your health. Rolls, Dodges, Parries, and Signs all drain from it.

 

[Veritigo_X]

Seriously is there a stamina bar or something?

Not that it matters anyway since combat is not of the type you need to worry about stamina.

There is a stamina bar and it is something you should worry about in combat.

 

[Lunar15]

I was walking up to buy things from a merchant and a warg showed up out of nowhere and killed the guy before I could stop it. No more merchant

Spoiler

I laughed.

 

[Chitown B]

Not sure this is the place, but are there more people having a difficult time having fun in Witcher 3? I'm almost 4 hours in, just met Yen for the first time. I'm absentminded during cutscenes, and the controls feel... tight, yet almost too responsive. Can't count the times I've missed my horse by turning too hard. The fight with the griffith was boring on Broken Bones difficulty, mostly because it took so long to get his HP down, and when you're used to BLoodborne, this feel to button-mashy... I think.

I guess I have to get used to the vastness of it all. I have to get used to progressing non-lineary. I have to get used to the controls. The technical aspects amaze me. And I've barely made it past the 'tutorial world', I know. But there is a chore-like quality to games this big that I need a different mindset for, I think, or maybe just keep playing on normal mode because dying isn't necessarily a moment of reflection, it's just... stupid, underpowered, button-mash, running out of food. At least that's what it feels like at the beginning of the game.

yeah the controls are too tight, so much that you're always turning at right angles. But the camera on the other hand doesn't pan around behind you fast enough.

 

[WhiskerFrisker]

How long does it take for your beard to grow back after you shave it off?

3-4 in game days I believe.

 

[Rnr1224]

Absolutely in love with this game so far. Usually how I play open world games is to do that main quest first and then all of the side stuff later. This game is different, though. I tried my usual method in the beginning but was really under leveled for some encounters. Now I'm doing the other quests and absolutely how long they last and how they are interwoven together.

 

[Inferno313]

I feel like I'm really bad at making decisions in this game... Nearly every quest so far has gone south.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Hey Gaffers, remember that card game called Gwent...

Well, I do and it's keeping me from playing actual side quests. All other priorities have been shoved to the side until I beat the Innkeeps.\Fuck me.

 

[Cathcart]

What do people suggest as a difficulty setting for someone who's completed W2 3 times, 2 of those on dark mode? Is going with the hardest setting on my first go too ambitious?

You can change difficulty mid game so it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. The first fight or two can be pretty rough, though, so don't worry if you get your ass kicked there. Once you get a couple of ability points and can brew up some potions you should have a better feel for the actual difficulty.

 

[boskee]

Where was this?

Velen,

Spoiler

North of the Hanged Man's tree

 

[VE3TRO]

I stumbled across a graveyard and

Spoiler

got attacked by a wraith 4 levels higher than me. After i got him down to half health he disappeared. I was like, wtf. Oh well and activated the sign of power. Looked around and blasted open the church door with my telekinetic power, went downstairs and found a treasure. The wraith reappeared with half health and i killed him. Found a nice sword. Things like this me happy. This wasnt a side quest or anything, just a random encounter that felt well thought out. So goooood.

Spoiler

It's part of a quest. I believe there is another sword to it in a different location. It will be in one of the books and once read added to the quest list.

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

This got lost in this stupidly active OT but

So I finally beat the

Spoiler

werewolf,

what I love about this game is I am fixated on doing the side missions because they actually set them up extremely well. I cant stop looking at all the lore. What option did you chose for the

Quick questions though. Is there a way to find out how far along I am?

ALSO

Spoiler

I have just done the mission with the sorceress whos mascarading as a witch, can anyone provide info on her from the previous games. I know she was part of the order who tried to take power but did she actually appear in W1/W2?

 

[WhiskerFrisker]

Which honestly I dislike, it's too cheaty. I like gathering ingredients for potions. I think a better compromise would have been you can either replenish it with alchohol by meditating or you can just make it (but alchohol is rare so there is incentive to just make it).

I don't know, it makes Death March much more manageable. I don't know how well Witcher 2 combat system would work in an open world game.

 

[Veritigo_X]

Hey Gaffers, remember that card game called Gwent...

Well, I do and it's keeping me from playing actual side quests. All other priorities have been shoved to the side until I beat the Innkeeps.\Fuck me.

You mean the actual game? It's cool that they added fun little side quests like finding Ciri to this awesome card game.

 

[Granadier]

Do the constant hurricane winds ever stop?

Seriously, Geralt was in a basement last night and his hair was blowing all over the fucking place and a giant rope was swinging.

Do you even nature CDPR?

edit: words

 

[Exuro]

Hey Gaffers, remember that card game called Gwent...

Well, I do and it's keeping me from playing actual side quests. All other priorities have been shoved to the side until I beat the Innkeeps.\Fuck me.

After getting manhandled by the guy in Vizimia I figured I'd rather go questing and check out merchants for better cards to build a non terrible deck.

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

Velen,

Spoiler

North of the Hanged Man's tree

I gotta explore more, I was so fixated on beating the damn

Spoiler

werwolf

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

Contemplating whether I want to continue on Blood and Broken Bones difficulty. Nearly every enemy is really damn difficult and is made worse when there are groups of them on top of you.

Maybe switch back to normal so to keep a more enjoyable pace with the game? I

Spoiler

haven't even killed the Griffin yet

, so I don't know how difficult it truly gets.

 

[boskee]

Seriously, Geralt was in a basement last night and his wind was blowing all over the fucking place and a giant rope was swinging.

Stop feeding him sauerkraut.

 

[thuGG_pl]

What I really miss is the "fog of war" on map. I would really like to know where I've been and what's still to uncover.
Now I need to rely on "?" marks and that just breaks meaningful exploration.
Give me a map like in Morrowoind CDPR!

 

[Dragon1893]

Geralt bows to no man.

Though I did feel a bit guilty when the Chamberlain said he'd be punished for it.

Bah, fuck him, he's annoying. Trolling both him and the emperor by not bowing was too good to pass up.

 

[His Majesty]

After a long trek at night through swampy battlefields I arrived at the Pontar Bridge to Oxenfurt, looks so beautiful from afar. This game desperately needs a toggle for HUD.

 

[boskee]

what I love about this game is I am fixated on doing the side missions because they actually set them up extremely well. I cant stop looking at all the lore. What option did you chose for the

It just shows the quality of the game. I am taking my time exploring and doing side quests. I don't feel compelled rushing through the continent/main story.

 

[Saint9806]

Contemplating whether I want to continue on Blood and Broken Bones difficulty. Nearly every enemy is really damn difficult and is made worse when there are groups of them on top of you.

Maybe switch back to normal so to keep a more enjoyable pace with the game? I

Spoiler

haven't even killed the Griffin yet

, so I don't know how difficult it truly gets.

You're doing something wrong. I killed the Griffen on level 2 on Blood and Broken Bones and found it pretty easy. Make sure you are prepared for the fight. Read the Bestiary about the Griffin. I used Aard to knock it out the air, did a couple of sword attacks, and rolled out the way right before it tried to attack. Repeat several times while being patient and the fight will be over within minutes.

 

[Ultimadrago]

You mean the actual game? It's cool that they added fun little side quests like finding Ciri to this awesome card game.

lol Pretty much

After getting manhandled by the guy in Vizimia I figured I'd rather go questing and check out merchants for better cards to build a non terrible deck.

I've been a man running into a brick wall over and over again until a couple blocks give way with each encounter. Lady Luck is the only constant.

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

It just shows the quality of the game. I am taking my time exploring and doing side quests. I don't feel compelled rushing through the continent/main story.

yeah each side quest is bloody a mini story in itself I made the choices in the

Spoiler

werewolf

because i read the books and notices and felt a moral decision to do it without worrying about whether the game would think bad of me etc. Great stuff

 

[Dragon1893]

You mean the actual game? It's cool that they added fun little side quests like finding Ciri to this awesome card game.

lol

 

[ironcreed]

Dat Fyke Isle.

 

[SilentFlyer]

Any suggestion how do you level up quick? I cleared out Main mission and Quests in first area. Going onto next Trying to understand the game. I'm on level 4 though, can't yet craft any good armor or weapon.

 

[Tigress]

I don't know, it makes Death March much more manageable. I don't know how well Witcher 2 combat system would work in an open world game.

That's not just Witcher 2 combat system though. I'm not talking about being able to take potions while in combat (That change I like a lot), I'm talking about the potions replenishing when you meditate). That's most RPG systems (at least the ones I play <- I don't play combat only type RPGs in general. I like ones with a lot of variety like crafting and such.

 

[cresto]

Stop feeding him sauerkraut.

Not gonna lie; I chuckled

 

[Cathcart]

That's not just Witcher 2 combat system though. I'm not talking about being able to take potions while in combat (That change I like a lot), I'm talking about the potions replenishing when you meditate). That's most RPG systems (at least the ones I play <- I don't play combat only type RPGs in general. I like ones with a lot of variety like crafting and such.

Those parens are freaking me out.

 

[hobblygobbly]

I love the actual map in the game, it's nicely detailed but I wish I could zoom out more. When using the map in Skellige it'll help so much because all the islands don't give you a sense of direction/keep your bearings straight when you navigate and since you can't zoom out the map that much you struggle to know where you are in Skellige, it's quite disorientating. Simply being able to zoom out more will solve that.