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[toastyToast]

Also, anyone find it strange how slow levelling is? Specifically, unlocking the character so you can put more skills into him? Feels sometimes like I'm making no progress lol.

I'm playing on second hardest difficulty if that matters.

You'll get most of your XP for doing the main quests and a decent amount from Witcher monster contracts. The meaty side quests like following up with characters who you dealt with in the main thread also give quite a lot. The smaller quests might contain some nice loot or interesting story but if your main concern is leveling up push the story forward a bit. It won't abruptly end on you if that's what you're concerned about.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Thought the same thing. Also very similar to Psycho from Crysis.

Hah, that is it. Psycho.

I keep thinking to myself that I've seen this guy somewhere but could not quite put it.

 

[Zaru]

Question about Crow's Perch after Family Matters.

Spoiler

Does the little creature that showed up in one of the cutscenes appear again in the story or did I miss the chance to interact with it? I saved his wife and he left to find a healer, Sergeant took over and the men have been out raping and killing and I searched the house (Blocked by a couple of locked doors) and couldn't find it.

I really liked Keira and was planning on "getting to know" Yen a lot more..but after "A Matter of Life and Death" and "Now or Never" I don't see anyone topping Triss.

It's part of the main quest

 

[Mikey Jr.]

It's slow, but it's balanced alongside the content.

There's a mod you can use to increase xp earnt from enemy kills and quests. It's very simple to install (literally drag and drop some files and click once to activate it, a tiny edit to a file if you want to edit quest xp).

Search for TW3 mod thread if you're interested. Be aware that if you use it you'll very likely over level later content.

On ps4, but thanks.

You'll get most of your XP for doing the main quests and a decent amount from Witcher monster contracts. The meaty side quests like following up with characters who you dealt with in the main thread also give quite a lot. The smaller quests might contain some nice loot or interesting story but if your main concern is leveling up push the story forward a bit. It won't abruptly end on you if that's what you're concerned about.

Yeah, been focusing on side quests. OK, I'll push the main story forward.

 

[SinSilla]

Back / Select - Options - Display - Gamma

Jeah, it's gone. I broke my game. Didn't do anything stupid though, just some INI tweaking. Now my gamma setting is gone and i can't equip horse items.

Will continue my first playthrough anyway.

 

[RoadHazard]

Also, anyone find it strange how slow levelling is? Specifically, unlocking the character so you can put more skills into him? Feels sometimes like I'm making no progress lol.

I'm playing on second hardest difficulty if that matters.

It's probably the slowest leveling I've ever experienced in an RPG (I'm playing on the highest difficulty), yes, but I like it. It makes each gained level feel like it's worth something, like you're on a real journey toward becoming more powerful. Sure, constantly getting new abilities can be fun, but this feels more rewarding. New upgrades are not just handed out like candy, you have to work for them.

 

[grimmiq]

It's part of the main quest

Ahh cool, thanks.

I'm completely over-leveled for where I am in the story, a bit paranoid that doing story missions will lock out optionals. Coupled with upgraded oils/bombs I'm pretty much strolling through the game on 2nd highest difficulty, so satisfying entering a story area with 5+ enemies and throwing a single grapeshot and they all explode though.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

I haven't and what do you mean with super harsh?

Spoiler

giving ciri lara dorren pendant leads towards bad ending, where ciri most likely doesn't tell you shes alive

 

[HeliosT10]

Finished Family Matters for reals, and I've got to say the Baron is one of my favorite characters in any recent videogame.

This, a really well written character who could have quite easily become a cliché in less accomplished hands. Really enjoyed his quest line.

 

[kuYuri]

Out of curiosity, can you activate the Steam version of The Witcher 3 on GoG like TW1 and 2?

 

[Venom Fox]

Jeah, it's gone. I broke my game. Didn't do anything stupid though, just some INI tweaking. Now my gamma setting is gone and i can't equip horse items.

Will continue my first playthrough anyway.

Did you not back up your files?

 

[Quick Mustard]

I'm disappointed the hours played doesn't seem to work correctly.

It went from 16 hours to 2 days within 3 hours of play.

 

[Zakalwe]

On ps4, but thanks.

In that case just do as many side quests and contracts as you can. The side quests all have compelling little story threads, so they're all worth doing anyway.

At first I was a little put off by the slow drop of xp, but now I'm just caught up in the world. Taking my time to explore and converse with as many characters as possible is much more rewarding, this game has raised the bar in that regard.

 

[SinSilla]

Did you not back up your files?

No, of course not. Why would i?

I think its related to my savegame which might not be 100% working.

 

[fantomena]

Spoiler

giving ciri lara dorren pendant leads towards bad ending, where ciri most likely doesn't tell you shes alive

Spoiler

Okay, but when Ciri dissappears in the bad ending, where does she go?

 

[Beefy]

That is interesting. Only quests though right? there aren't any new areas?. Still this game feels gigantic. It's not exaggeration to say that you probably need 100-200 hours to see everything.

Is the yellow area in the map unlockable? If not could see it being dlc.

 

[Sephon]

Also, anyone find it strange how slow levelling is? Specifically, unlocking the character so you can put more skills into him? Feels sometimes like I'm making no progress lol.

I'm playing on second hardest difficulty if that matters.

I really liked it that the levelling was so slow, made me grow accustomed to my gear and abilities before moving on to the new ones, also made the choises matter more.
On the other hand I think the levelling picks up too fast later on, now I'm overlevelled to most of my secondary quests (and main quest), which is boring since I love to be 4-5 levels below my enemies (playing on normal)

 

[ironcreed]

The game does forests and wilderness better than any game I've seen.

It does a lot of things better than any game I have ever seen.

- Character interactions and their spot-on expressiveness in conveying emotion
- World building
- Quest structuring and amazing stories within stories that you actually care about
- Choices and consequences
- The atmosphere that binds it all together in an unforgettable world that you feel compelled to explore

 

[Salaadin]

I'm disappointed the hours played doesn't seem to work correctly.

It went from 16 hours to 2 days within 3 hours of play.

Mine bounces around now. Yesterday morning, it was 1 day, 7 hours. Last night, it was 1 day, 3 hours.

The GOG timer says Im 27 hours so I guess it sort of corrected itself? I dont know.

 

[Venom Fox]

It's probably the slowest leveling I've ever experienced in an RPG (I'm playing on the highest difficulty), yes, but I like it. It makes each gained level feel like it's worth something, like you're on a real journey toward becoming more powerful. Sure, constantly getting new abilities can be fun, but this feels more rewarding. New upgrades are not just handed out like candy, you have to work for them.

I agree that the way you level in this game feels more natural, at first I was saying to myself that it should be more like skyrim Etc.
But I then realised that after 3 hours in skyrim I felt like a god and decided TW3 has a more natural feeling of progression, almost like Geralt is actually learning his new techniques and powers.

This, a really well written character who could have quite easily become a cliché in less accomplished hands. Really enjoyed his quest line.

This game has definitely set a standard in open world level/quest design, someone should really do an article that highlights how special the multi tierd side quests are and how they actually compliment the main story.

I'm being 100% serious when I say that I have never played a game in which the side missions/quests have felt as organic and well thought out than TW3.

 

[Quick Mustard]

Mine bounces around now. Yesterday morning, it was 1 day, 7 hours. Last night, it was 1 day, 3 hours.

The GOG timer says Im 27 hours so I guess it sort of corrected itself? I dont know.

On PS4 here, so will see what it saya when I play later today.

This is the kind of game I love for stats and knowing how long I've played for.

 

[Beefy]

Mine bounces around now. Yesterday morning, it was 1 day, 7 hours. Last night, it was 1 day, 3 hours.

The GOG timer says Im 27 hours so I guess it sort of corrected itself? I dont know.

Mine says 2 weeks(PS4).

 

[Venom Fox]

No, of course not. Why would i?

I think its related to my savegame which might not be 100% working.

So you could revert them to their originals if you mess up.
I'm just trying to help.
Try reverting back to an old save and see if that helps, if not ask someone for a copy of their files.

 

[Yibby]

It went from 16 hours to 2 days within 3 hours of play.

I think there is a suspend/resume bug in the PS4 Version where the timer runs even in suspend mode.

 

[tuxfool]

It does a lot of things better than any game I have ever seen.

- Character interactions and their spot-on expressiveness in conveying emotion

There are lots of games that do it better. However I will say those games tend to use performance capture of fixed faces or they do crazy labour intensive ND keyframe animation.

This game has impressive facial animation for a system with a generalized bone structure, considering the vast amount of characters in the game. There are some weaknesses, for example, when characters have to shout or need particularly exaggerated expressions, which sort of don't work all that well.

 

[SDCowboy]

Around what level do you start finding or being able to wear medium/heavy armor? I'm getting a bit tired of this almost jester-looking armor. lol

 

[Zaru]

Ahh cool, thanks.

I'm completely over-leveled for where I am in the story, a bit paranoid that doing story missions will lock out optionals. Coupled with upgraded oils/bombs I'm pretty much strolling through the game on 2nd highest difficulty, so satisfying entering a story area with 5+ enemies and throwing a single grapeshot and they all explode though.

For some reason, after a certain point in the story (it warns you though), a few quests (5+ maybe, nothing major or anything that looked overly interesting to me) were marked as failed. Everything else stayed until after the story ending.

 

[Salaadin]

Man, I don't know what's up but the ps4 version crashes on me so much anymore. First two days, no crashes. Past two days, probably close to 7.

Event viewer is showing an nvidia driver crash that coincides with the witcher crashing so I'm betting it's their new, faulty driver.

 

[Tc91]

I had 700 coins yesterday, now I've got 3.1k. Selling most armour/weapons and the stuff in the 'Other' tab hides etc.

Not sure what to sell in the Alchemy and Crafting tab so I've kept it all. Debating whether to craft the Griffin armour set.

 

[ys45]

Holy shit my quest turned out completely different! We must've picked completely opposite choices because I wouldn't have seen that coming. I guess spoiler warnings for quests aren't even enough with this game.

LOL I'm curious, how did the quest end for you ?

 

[Corpekata]

Around what level do you start finding or being able to wear medium/heavy armor? I'm getting a bit tired of this almost jester-looking armor. lol

8ish. The first Witcher set you'll likely find is around that level and is medium.

 

[SDCowboy]

8ish. The first Witcher set you'll likely find is around that level and is medium.

What's it called? Because I'm level 12 and am still wearing, what I assume, is light armor.

 

[ironcreed]

There are lots of games that do it better. However I will say those games tend to use performance capture of fixed faces or they do crazy labour intensive ND keyframe animation.

This game has impressive facial animation for a system with a generalized bone structure, considering the vast amount of characters in the game. There are some weaknesses, for example, when characters have to shout or need particularly exaggerated expressions, which sort of don't work all that well.

I don't care what system they used. The facial expressions are done down to conveying even the slightest and most subtle emotional response at pitch-perfect times. It makes me care about and relate to the characters more than in any other game I can recall. It's so good that I even get invested in side mission characters.

 

[Quick Mustard]

I think there is a suspend/resume bug in the PS4 Version where the timer runs even in suspend mode.

Yea, I read about that but I havent suspended it since I got it, so I think its just bugged in general.

 

[Mutombo]

In that case just do as many side quests and contracts as you can. The side quests all have compelling little story threads, so they're all worth doing anyway.

At first I was a little put off by the slow drop of xp, but now I'm just caught up in the world. Taking my time to explore and converse with as many characters as possible is much more rewarding, this game has raised the bar in that regard.

I'm slowly getting into the right mindset too. But the thing that's a bit weird is that t level 4/5 I keep fighting level 7-10 enemies. Even though I've read (and tried) that a more difficult setting is more fun, at this point I just can't really be bothered because I die a lot in really normal skirmishes, and I don't want the difficulty to hamper my exploration and progress. But it does make me wonder if I should try to level or put some effort into the main quest first. Then again, I think you're always supposed to fight monsters a bit higher than you, right?

Oh and I can't seem to find oils in my inventory; are they used as normal potions/consumables?

And when did you guys start upgrading your sword? I'm in need of some emerald dust.

 

[Liamc723]

Yea, I read about that but I havent suspended it since I got it, so I think its just bugged in general.

The timer has broken for me too. I was on 32 hours but then it constantly reset to 0, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

 

[Darkstorne]

I'm slowly getting into the right mindset too. But the thing that's a bit weird is that t level 4/5 I keep fighting level 7-10 enemies. Even though I've read (and tried) that a more difficult setting is more fun, at this point I just can't really be bothered because I die a lot in really normal skirmishes, and I don't want the difficulty to hamper my exploration and progress. But it does make me wonder if I should try to level or put some effort into the main quest first. Then again, I think you're always supposed to fight monsters a bit higher than you, right?

Oh and I can't seem to find oils in my inventory; are they used as normal potions/consumables?

And when did you guys start upgrading your sword? I'm in need of some emerald dust.

I'd say put more time into the main quest. I ignored it a lot at first, in favour of exploration, and regret it now. Not just for the huge XP boosts main quests give, but also because of the insanely high quality of the quest design and dialogue, and that they send you to smaller villages regularly, all at your level range, allowing you to engage in appropriate side quests along the way.

 

[CoolOff]

The fight in Ladies of the Wood against

Spoiler

the Wild Hunt dogs and Drowners (why are they even there?!)

is driving me crazy. I

Spoiler

dash around

like a madman but I always seem to hit edges or a tree, and get cornered like crazy.

Any tips?

 

[jim2point0]

It's about to get all EXPLODEY up in here....

That guard gave 0 fucks

 

[Psoelberg]

I gotta say, travelling through a dense forest on horseback at sunset is just fucking gorgeous. I rarely use the roads anymore.

Definitely some of my favorite moments. It's almost like meditating as I become so calm.

 

[RoadHazard]

On PS4 here, so will see what it saya when I play later today.

This is the kind of game I love for stats and knowing how long I've played for.

Mine says 2 weeks(PS4).

Playing through midnight (there may be other "breakpoints" too, but that's when I've noticed it several times) adds 8 hours to your playtime out of nowhere. Really weird. Also, it counts suspended time on the PS4 as playtime, so that will obviously mess everything up too. I caught both these issues early on, so I've been able to keep my recorded playtime more or less accurate, but yeah, sucks that they messed this up. It's a nice piece of stat to have.

Man, I don't know what's up but the ps4 version crashes on me so much anymore. First two days, no crashes. Past two days, probably close to 7.

Event viewer is showing an nvidia driver crash that coincides with the witcher crashing so I'm betting it's their new, faulty driver.

I'm thinking you probably meant to say PC, not PS4. But what do I know!

 

[-Deimos]

The fight in Ladies of the Wood against

Spoiler

the Wild Hunt dogs and Drowners (why are they even there?!)

is driving me crazy. I

Spoiler

dash around

like a madman but I always seem to hit edges or a tree, and get cornered like crazy.

Any tips?

As Ciri?

Spoiler

You're supposed to run.

 

[Tacitus_]

What's it called? Because I'm level 12 and am still wearing, what I assume, is light armor.

You can check on the inventory screen what class your armor is. And as an aside, medium and heavy armor aren't "better" than light armor, they just have different trade offs. Light has the least armor, while offers +stamina regen. Medium has more armor but doesn't impact your stamina at all. Heavy armor has the most armor but impacts your stamina regen.

 

[phaze]

The fight in Ladies of the Wood against

Spoiler

the Wild Hunt dogs and Drowners (why are they even there?!)

is driving me crazy. I

Spoiler

dash around

like a madman but I always seem to hit edges or a tree, and get cornered like crazy.

Any tips?

Spoiler

It's the Ciri fight in her flashback right ? Look at your objectives, you're not supposed to fight, you're supposed to run away. Took me like 2 times till I noticed it .

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Last time I had a feeling like this exploring an open world was the first time I played Morrowind. I'm just completely immersed in this world. They really hit it put of the park here. I'm just constantly wowed, about 30hrs in and its not getting stale in the least.

 

[ANDS]

How? How did this inventory system get out of play testing? Did no one play testing the game stop and think "Yea, this is all kinds of nuts. No console player is going to enjoy this."

Given how well everything else works in the game, how intricate storylines still hold up despite a myriad of choices to make - to completely and utterly just say "Aww fuck it. This is where the item goes. Done!" is insane.

 

[CoolOff]

As Ciri?

Spoiler

You're supposed to run.

Spoiler

It's the Ciri fight in her flashback right ? Look at your objectives, you're not supposed to fight, you're supposed to run away. Took me like 2 times till I noticed it .

That.... makes more sense....

 

[Beefy]

How? How did this inventory system get out of play testing? Did no one play testing the game stop and think "Yea, this is all kinds of nuts. No console player is going to enjoy this."

Given how well everything else works in the game, how intricate storylines still hold up despite a myriad of choices to make - to completely and utterly just say "Aww fuck it. This is where the item goes. Done!" is insane.

Only thing I want added is to be able to sort my inventory the rest is fine by me.

 

[Liamc723]

How? How did this inventory system get out of play testing? Did no one play testing the game stop and think "Yea, this is all kinds of nuts. No console player is going to enjoy this."

Given how well everything else works in the game, how intricate storylines still hold up despite a myriad of choices to make - to completely and utterly just say "Aww fuck it. This is where the item goes. Done!" is insane.

What's wrong with it? I think it's fine.

 

[Auctopus]

How? How did this inventory system get out of play testing? Did no one play testing the game stop and think "Yea, this is all kinds of nuts. No console player is going to enjoy this."

Given how well everything else works in the game, how intricate storylines still hold up despite a myriad of choices to make - to completely and utterly just say "Aww fuck it. This is where the item goes. Done!" is insane.

All it needs is a few more tabs and the ability to have store chests in places.

I'd just like an indication whether a book is lore related or has an ability point within it, it's tricky remembering the names of books you've picked up in the past. Also which note scraps are integral to quests and which are junk.