Support NeoGAF

[Majestad]

Finally finished the game the other day. Steam says I clocked in at 158 hours which is probably only a little inflated.

But holy shit, what a game! I think its easily up there with Baldur's Gate 2 for me in terms of all time favorite games. The world and the story and the characters and character interactions were just fantastic.

Especially all the little character moments Geralt can have with Ciri once you reunite are just fantastic. The facial animations, body language and voice acting between Geralt, Ciri and Yen were wonderful. Especially a lot of the facial animation deserve a ton of credit. I recall thinking The Witcher 2's animations were often really stiff and subpar but the animations they pull off in TW3 really add so much to the characters- all the little smirks and glares and grimaces add so much to the characters.

One of my favorite little moments towards the end is when you're talking to

Spoiler

Avallach about the sunstone and you can ask him about the full version of the backstory behind it, which Geralt asks in this sarcastic way, which Avallach doesn't notice, prompting Geralt and Ciri to share this knowing glance at each other and Ciri to interrupt. That was just such a fun little moment that really imbued some character into their relationship.

All those little fun character moments -

Spoiler

the snowball fight, wrecking Avallach's lab (Yen drawing the goatee on that painting Geralt and the Witchers drunken escapades, Geralt and Yen eavesdropping on Ciri meeting with the sorceresses

- really fleshed out the characters and made the game feel like an old school BioWare game in the same mold of Baldur's Gate 2.

Yeah, I love those small details. One of my favorites was:

Spoiler

Geralt's facial expression after he rescues Ciri and the frost from the White Hunt appears. You know even him was fucking scared, even though Witcher's are supossed to remain calm. Something similar also happens when the White Hunt is ready to attack Kaer Morhen.

 

[Skii]

My progress has been slow ever since I got to Skellige.

The mission I've just started is

Spoiler

Ugly baby. I knew we'd go back to see that creature again. Such a shame that the Baron hanged himself as I'd love to have heard his take on all this. Oh well

I've also "cemented" Geralt's relationship with Yen thanks to her quest

Spoiler

Finding the Djinn to undo the wish Geralt put on them

And finally, I was really disliking the armor I was wearing. Nothing was looking as bad ass as the armor I started the game with. But then I realised that there was Witcher gear diagrams to collect and now I'm donning the the Enhanced Griffin Armor Set. I'm level 21 and just realised I could be creating Witcher gear lol.

 

[Hoplatee]

Guess there is no *simple* way to check what Gwent cards you are missing? Some mod perhaps?

I am now at

Spoiler

final prep. quests

and I honestly don't know which I am missing. I did all the quests so I guess it's just one random I missed and still did not receive from playing vendors or something. I think I played everyone in Velen/Novigrad and quite alot in Skellige.

E) To clarify - I do have all the cards that could be missed.

And then some more about me nearly reaching the end. I expected a bit more from

Spoiler

Reason of State. I defended my bro's, I ain't neutral yo.

I also dont trust that Elf sage one bit but guess we will find out soon! Visitting those other (pretty) worlds was neat!

I will finally finish this in a few hours unless there is EVEN MORE but I just don't see that happening. Sadly

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Guess there is no *simple* way to check what Gwent cards you are missing? Some mod perhaps?

I am now at

Spoiler

final prep. quests

and I honestly don't know which I am missing. I did all the quests so I guess it's just one random I missed and still did not receive from playing vendors or something. I think I played everyone in Velen/Novigrad and quite alot in Skellige.

E) To clarify - I do have all the cards that could be missed.

And then some more about me nearly reaching the end. I expected a bit more from

Spoiler

Reason of State. I defended my bro's, I ain't neutral yo.

I also dont trust that Elf sage one bit but guess we will find out soon! Visitting those other (pretty) worlds was neat!

I will finally finish this in a few hours unless there is EVEN MORE but I just don't see that happening. Sadly

There are websites that have lists of all the cards and where you can acquire them. They're often tricky to read.

 

[twozerotwo]

Finally got to try pop it in today after buying a used copy from a GAFer.

Liking it even though I've barely done anything. I still need to fix the load times, though. I sat through multiple 10-15 minute load screens after dying.

I'm going to try the whole uninstalling and reinstalling offline trick tomorrow.

 

[danthefan]

How is the story of this game generally viewed? I'm late to the party here so missed all the talk around the time the game released, but I'm 30 hours in now and it's really gotten its hooks into me. I'm really really interested to find out where Ciri is and who or what the hell The Wild Hunt are, and the fact I've had so little interaction with them so far is building that.

On top of that, the stories they build into some of the side quests are incredible.

No spoilers please!

 

[Hoplatee]

How is the story of this game generally viewed? I'm late to the party here so missed all the talk around the time the game released, but I'm 30 hours in now and it's really gotten its hooks into me. I'm really really interested to find out where Ciri is and who or what the hell The Wild Hunt are, and the fact I've had so little interaction with them so far is building that.

On top of that, the stories they build into some of the side quests are incredible.

No spoilers please!

Judging from Neogaf thread - regarded as pretty damn great. Even more so if you played all three the games. I honestly don't recall seeing many negative things about it since I follow this thread. The few negative ones I saw were from people who W3 was their first Witcher experience and those were pretty minor.

As for myself that enjoyed and adored all the Witcher games - I don't think there have been that many games who come close/top the trilogy in terms of story(telling/delivery).

 

[Coreda]

How is the story of this game generally viewed?

Well received, if that's what you're wondering. The character interaction and quests are considered one of the game's strengths. Some feel certain parts/characters could have been more developed but generally satisfaction has been high.

If you don't have a ton of time I'd just stay on your current playtrough and do the side quests.

Probably the best idea with the first expansion round the corner.

Another soundtrack teaser for Hearts of Stone:
https://twitter.com/kwazol/status/646692378653364224

Can't wait to hear this in-game on proper speakers.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Yeah, I love those small details. One of my favorites was:

Spoiler

Geralt's facial expression after he rescues Ciri and the frost from the White Hunt appears. You know even him was fucking scared, even though Witcher's are supossed to remain calm. Something similar also happens when the White Hunt is ready to attack Kaer Morhen.

Absolutely! I'm really curious whether they used any facial mocap for some of the animations or if they just did everything by hand or with some sort of procedural system like I think BioWare does.

Like the emotion you see in Geralt when

Spoiler

he sees Ciri seemingly dead in the cabin. Just the shock and sadness and anger you see in his face as he turns her body over and she's just lifeless is pretty amazing, especially if that's just all hand done and not mocap of some kind.

Especially coming off of how stiff the facial animations in TW2 were, the animations in TW3 are outstanding.

 

[Hoplatee]

Finished it earlier today. Thoughts will follow later. I already have that '... uh what now?' feeling. I invested so much time in these games and I will really miss the universe. Maybe I should read the first book.

Random ending questions in spoiler

Spoiler

Are there huge changes storywise if you pick Triss over Yen? Or just a few lines and the ending slide? Does Triss actually die if you ignore her quests? That would be interesting..

I got the best ending I think (she leaves, saying goodbye was so crushing). Youtubed the other good one which was cute. Will rush through the last act to play the bad ending for myself and I just want to kill the last Crone

And damn. That threesome stuff haha. Hilarious to watch after finishing the game.

 

[illusionary]

Late to the party, but I've just been getting into the game now - pretty much done with the prologue and enjoying it very much! It's been a while since I really got properly stuck in to a decent RPG.

It's not something that I enabled right at the start, but having just spotted and enabled the colour-blind friendly witcher senses I'm *very* glad to have done so - I was rather struggling with spotting things up until now.

 

[painey]

90 hours in and I have every Gwent card.. and now I'm sad because I don't need to ever play it again!

 

[Jinjo]

90 hours in and I have every Gwent card.. and now I'm sad because I don't need to ever play it again!

There will be new Gwent cards to collect in the new expansion DLC!

 

[misho8723]

More than 180 hours in (still far from finished) and only now I played the sidequest with Blueboy Lugos - The Cave of Dreams... what a really great, fantastic quest it was

 

[Karl Hawk]

Finished it earlier today. Thoughts will follow later. I already have that '... uh what now?' feeling. I invested so much time in these games and I will really miss the universe. Maybe I should read the first book.

Random ending questions in spoiler

Spoiler

Are there huge changes storywise if you pick Triss over Yen? Or just a few lines and the ending slide? Does Triss actually die if you ignore her quests? That would be interesting..

I got the best ending I think (she leaves, saying goodbye was so crushing). Youtubed the other good one which was cute. Will rush through the last act to play the bad ending for myself and I just want to kill the last Crone

And damn. That threesome stuff haha. Hilarious to watch after finishing the game.

Spoiler

Just some lines and the ending slide if you pick Triss. Though, from what I hear, the romance is not as well developed as Yen's. And don't worry if you ignore her quests, she'll still live throughout the game. Though, I prefer doing her quests just to piss off the Witch Hunter scum.

Matter of fact, it is possible to avoid the threesome. For Geralt romancing Yen, you just have not to kiss Triss during A Matter of Life and Death or beg her to stay at the end of Now or Never (Don't worry, she'll return later on). Vice versa for a playthrough romancing Triss, just don't do The Last Wish side-quest and say to Yen that you love her at the end of the quest

 

[Denton]

I played this for 210 hours and completely missed Cave of Dreams quest. Oh well, something new to look forward to for next playthrough.

 

[Hoplatee]

First day without W3 was boring. Still sad it's over ;(

More than 180 hours in (still far from finished) and only now I played the sidequest with Blueboy Lugos - The Cave of Dreams... what a really great, fantastic quest it was

Ah yes. That one was lovely. Funny as well. Very easy to miss as well if you do things in a weird order due to outleveling content so fast.

180 hours though? Goddamn! Think it took me 120 hours doing everything I could find / quests aside from many ?'s in the sea in Skellige.

There really needs a way to sort completed quest by name or order you did them. Reading quests after completing them can be horrible. Such a long list.

Spoiler

Just some lines and the ending slide if you pick Triss. Though, from what I hear, the romance is not as well developed as Yen's. And don't worry if you ignore her quests, she'll still live throughout the game. Though, I prefer doing her quests just to piss off the Witch Hunter scum.

Yeah. Just googled around a bit and it really seems like

Spoiler

picking Triss gives you nothing. It's never mentioned and most other char dialogue is unchanged and about G & Y. Odd. Already feared it since you rarely ever could talk to Triss.

Guess I'll wait to replay once they added the dialogue

Spoiler

Matter of fact, it is possible to avoid the threesome. For Geralt romancing Yen, you just have not to kiss Triss during A Matter of Life and Death or beg her to stay at the end of Now or Never (Don't worry, she'll return later on). Vice versa for a playthrough romancing Triss, just don't do The Last Wish side-quest and say to Yen that you love her at the end of the quest

Ah yeah, sorry. My wording kinda sucked - I didn't get that scene but did check it later on Youtube

Thinking about Replaying W2 now and side with our dear Elf. Never did that part.

Changelog for the new patch is huge according to some dev. Won't be avaiable before october though.

 

[Finalow]

I need help with a matter of life & death quest.

since I'm trying to go for the platinum, I need to get the cards in the quest because they're missable. now, in order to do that I need to win 3 gwent games. the problem is that my deck is awful so how do I make a really good one? What cards do I need and where do I buy them. also, can I still do this quest after finishing the stuff in Skellige?

and a general question: am I supposed to finish all/most of the side-quests in the game in order to get the platinum?

 

[Korosenai]

When does the collectors edition for the dlc go live? I want those gwent cards.

 

[LonelyGreyWolf]

When does the collectors edition for the dlc go live? I want those gwent cards.

It releases on the same day as the digital DLC.

 

[zeox]

man, I am still having problems with the game crashing (PC) seemingly at random . any hot tips? I have a 970.

 

[squadr0n]

So what is the general concensous of the second half of The Witcher 3? I ask because after the game launched there was a ton of talk about the game and its first few hours of story but after that it seemed like everyone just stopped talking about the game and its buzz died off pretty quickly.

Currently im at the part of the game where im looking for Dandelion in Novigrad. I guess what im wanting to know is should I keep playing or does the game just start to get repetitive and slow?

 

[Scipio]

So what is the general concensous of the second half of The Witcher 3? I ask because after the game launched there was a ton of talk about the game and its first few hours of story but after that it seemed like everyone just stopped talking about the game and its buzz died off pretty quickly.

Currently im at the part of the game where im looking for Dandelion in Novigrad. I guess what im wanting to know is should I keep playing or does the game just start to get repetitive and slow?

IMO the main questline only gets better and better. (not finished though)

Skellige is the best area in the game too. It's so goddamn beautiful.

 

[squadr0n]

IMO the main questline only gets better and better. (not finished though)

Skellige is the best area in the game too. It's so goddamn beautiful.

Thanks, I hope people dont take that the wrong way. I was just wondering what happened too most of the attention this game was getting after release. I really wanted to hear some impressions of the game after some people had finished it, Mainly Vinny from GiantBomb.

 

[LonelyGreyWolf]

Thanks, I hope people dont take that the wrong way. I was just wondering what happened too most of the attention this game was getting after release. I really wanted to hear some impressions of the game after some people had finished it, Mainly Vinny from GiantBomb.

?

There have been tons and tons and tons of impressions from people who finished it in these OT's. The game has been out for a long while now so of course the thread has died out a little.

Not to worry; most people consider Novigrad and the search for Dandelion to be the slowest pat of the game, but after that it picks up again. The whole story is amazing, from start to finish, so if you enjoyed the first ten hours, you'll enjoy the last ten hours.

 

[Majestad]

I found the game's peak to be at the end

Spoiler

Battle for Kaer Morhen

. All in all, the whole game had great pacing. I loved the supossedly "slow" Novigrad segment.

 

[misho8723]

Is there someone who tried to play only the main missions - the main story? Would be really interesting to play the game that way

 

[Finalow]

I need help with a matter of life & death quest.

since I'm trying to go for the platinum, I need to get the cards in the quest because they're missable. now, in order to do that I need to win 3 gwent games. the problem is that my deck is awful so how do I make a really good one? What cards do I need and where do I buy them. also, can I still do this quest after finishing the stuff in Skellige?

and a general question: am I supposed to finish all/most of the side-quests in the game in order to get the platinum?

anyone? :*(

 

[LonelyGreyWolf]

anyone? :*(

You get Gwent cards by beating random merchants and by buying cards from them. You can get great cards by beating certain quest characters, like Zoltan and other people that you meet in and around Novigrad.

 

[Finalow]

You get Gwent cards by beating random merchants and by buying cards from them. You can get great cards by beating certain quest characters, like Zoltan and other people that you meet in and around Novigrad.

I already know that, I meant which cards are considered the best (or what's considered the ''best deck'') and where can I find them.

 

[LonelyGreyWolf]

I already know that, I meant which cards are considered the best (or what's considered the ''best deck'') and where can I find them.

Northern Realms is the best deck. If you beat everyone in Velen and Novigrad, that quest should be a joke already. It's almost impossible to lose. The "main" characters around Novigrad give you hero cards like Geralt and I think Ciri, who are really powerful. Make sure to use them. The strength of the NR deck however comes with the bond ability; use the catapults that benefit from each other. Make sure to include all of your horns and keep one or two snow cards in case your run into a Monster deck, so that you can easily annihilate that first row. If you got the Dragon, that helps, but it's not necessary. Your catapults should be powerful enough to clear anything, coupled with your hero cards. Make sure to also put all your spies and decoys in your deck, as they are incredibly useful.

 

[Bliddo]

Aaaand done!
Got the 'good' ending with

Spoiler

Ciri becoming a witcher

.
I found the ending to be really satisfying and well executed:

Spoiler

buying the sword and meeting the mysterious person at the inn

.

I have a couple of trophies to get... I'm going to miss this game a lot, it was an amazing experience. The part at

Spoiler

Kaer Morhen

was sheer perfection.

 

[RP912]

Finally finished the game and the final boss fight was glorious. The ending however...was underwhelming :/

Can't wait for the expansion pack to come out in October.

 

[Hoplatee]

man, I am still having problems with the game crashing (PC) seemingly at random . any hot tips? I have a 970.

Make sure borderless window is off. The few crashes I had occured because it switched to that for some reason.

So what is the general concensous of the second half of The Witcher 3? I ask because after the game launched there was a ton of talk about the game and its first few hours of story but after that it seemed like everyone just stopped talking about the game and its buzz died off pretty quickly.

Currently im at the part of the game where im looking for Dandelion in Novigrad. I guess what im wanting to know is should I keep playing or does the game just start to get repetitive and slow?

It's amazing. Keep playing. Oh it is so damn good. The part where you are at is considered a bit 'meh' by some but from what I noticed those were mostly from people who W3 was their first Witcher game. As a long time fan I adored it.

Aaaand done!
Got the 'good' ending with

Spoiler

Ciri becoming a witcher

.
I found the ending to be really satisfying and well executed:

Spoiler

buying the sword and meeting the mysterious person at the inn

.

I have a couple of trophies to get... I'm going to miss this game a lot, it was an amazing experience. The part at

Spoiler

Kaer Morhen

was sheer perfection.

I actually dislike that ending the most. I still love it but not compared to the others.

Spoiler

It's cute and all but lacks the emotions the other two give you. I won't spoil it if you still want to see it obviously but it is so much more 'feelz'. But if you really want to know -

Talking to Dand, Yen smiling/laughing, Zoltan being well... Zoltan and talking to some stranger returning from war, talking to the hunter you met in White Orchard, Geralt being loved by the people in White Orchard and welll... those Ciri moments you play/hunt with her. And then boom. Saying goodbye forever. I had a manly tear. Absolutely brilliant way to end it.

Finally finished the game and the final boss fight was glorious. The ending however...was underwhelming :/

Can't wait for the expansion pack to come out in October.

What ending did you get?

 

[Finalow]

Northern Realms is the best deck. If you beat everyone in Velen and Novigrad, that quest should be a joke already. It's almost impossible to lose. The "main" characters around Novigrad give you hero cards like Geralt and I think Ciri, who are really powerful. Make sure to use them. The strength of the NR deck however comes with the bond ability; use the catapults that benefit from each other. Make sure to include all of your horns and keep one or two snow cards in case your run into a Monster deck, so that you can easily annihilate that first row. If you got the Dragon, that helps, but it's not necessary. Your catapults should be powerful enough to clear anything, coupled with your hero cards. Make sure to also put all your spies and decoys in your deck, as they are incredibly useful.

I see, I'll try to get some of those cards then.

 

[RP912]

What ending did you get?

Spoiler

Cirl becoming a Witcher

 

[painey]

right at the end of the game and I'm hitting glitches and bugs more than ever. Such a shame, because it was so polished up to this point. I have 2 unfinishable quests and have had numerous lock ups and bugs in the last 10 hours. I think the pacing kinda went to shit after Skellige opens up.

 

[ebevan91]

right at the end of the game and I'm hitting glitches and bugs more than ever. Such a shame, because it was so polished up to this point. I have 2 unfinishable quests and have had numerous lock ups and bugs in the last 10 hours. I think the pacing kinda went to shit after Skellige opens up.

My biggest issue is that the game progresses pretty slowly for a while until you get to that "crucial" point in the game where it asks you to save and then basically locks you into the main quest for a while. Suddenly the game's pacing skyrockets and then before you know it you're done.

 

[Azzanadra]

Well received, if that's what you're wondering. The character interaction and quests are considered one of the game's strengths. Some feel certain parts/characters could have been more developed but generally satisfaction has been high.

It seems more well-received by the mainstream media, if anything. The weeks following release, the members on the CDPR forums tore this game's story a new one. Everything from the romance to Eredin to the white frost.... a lot of which I agree with. Honestly the story was great until after the Battle at

Spoiler

Kaer Morhen

. After that, the story seemed rushed and unfinished, which may as well be the case with the cut content that was found. Though I will say the Bloody baron stuff is some of the best writing I have seen in Video games, that stuff was simply extraordinary.

Spoiler

Never thought I would sympathize with a wife beater.

Overall I loved the game, and I did think it was the superior game compared to the other games, and probably did have the best story to boot despite the last third being weak. A lot of people seem to prefer the story in TW2 due to the political nature of it all. As Superbunnyhop said in his excellent review, "The Witcher" is closer to Shrek than anything else, including to "Game of Thrones" which is oddly the most common comparison I see.

Random rambling aside, I love this game and it is my personal Game of the Year. Though to be fair, I just got a PS4 and am playing through Bloodborne, and I am a huge souls fan so we will see. I would give this game a 10/10 after 2 months from playing it, it isn't perfect but this level of scope and content, especially with a fifteen million dollar budget is amazing. For reference, I am quite stingy giving perfect scores. The last game I would personally give a 10 is The Last of Us, and before that, the original Bioshock.

 

[Zukuu]

Is there a way to find out how long I have played? I'm curious, since I've been playing Witcher 3 for days and days and days already. I did EVERY single thing in Velen / Novigrad. Every marker is explored. Don't really feel like doing it for Skelege as well, since I don't need any other gear and I fucking HATE diving and most of them are in the water, so fuck that.
Currenlty doing every side quest / contract in Skelege, did everyone in Velen already (including high level stuff) and I have yet to meet Yenefer for the wake. lol

Romanced Triss of course.

Spoiler

Giggled like a school girl when they kissed.

One of the best couples in gaming history imo.

 

[Acrylic7]

Want to win at Gwent? Well flip a coin bitch!

 

[Hoplatee]

Spoiler

Cirl becoming a Witcher

Ah yes. In my opinion the worst.

Is there a way to find out how long I have played? I'm curious, since I've been playing Witcher 3 for days and days and days already. I did EVERY single thing in Velen / Novigrad. Every marker is explored. Don't really feel like doing it for Skelege as well, since I don't need any other gear and I fucking HATE diving and most of them are in the water, so fuck that.
Currenlty doing every side quest / contract in Skelege, did everyone in Velen already (including high level stuff) and I have yet to meet Yenefer for the wake. lol

Romanced Triss of course.

Spoiler

Giggled like a school girl when they kissed.

One of the best couples in gaming history imo.

On pc it is Character page and then C. Guess it'll be the same on consoles but then some other button obviously. And yeah, don't bother with the ?'s in the water over there. Waste of time.

I did the same as you so I then could focus on the main story. Glad I did it like that.

 

[zeox]

Make sure borderless window is off. The few crashes I had occured because it switched to that for some reason.

i'll give that a try, thanks!

 

[danthefan]

Question about Triss:

Just did the quest where

Spoiler

her and all the other mages sail off for wherever, is that her out of the story now, or will I come across her again?

 

[Alpende]

Spoiler

.....Yes.....

 

[danthefan]

Spoiler

.....Yes.....

Ok thanks.

Spoiler

I asked her to stay but didn't tell her I loved her, and also have a quest left involving her, I guess

I should have figured when that didn't insta-fail.

 

[dedhead54]

Firing the game up for the first time since I beat the main quest a couple of months ago. First thing that popped up when I loaded in was a little tutorial/mention of Stash. Holy shit. Finally. Time to offload some gear I've been holding on to and get some new shit! Wolf Armor first order of business.

God I forgot how this game gives me serious feels.

Also, what is the general consensus on the alternative movement? Are people finding it to be an improvement?

 

[danthefan]

My play timer seems to have reset itself. Telling me I've played for 4 hours when I've played at least 30 now. Not a big deal but kinda annoying all the same.

 

[Finalow]

right at the end of the game and I'm hitting glitches and bugs more than ever. Such a shame, because it was so polished up to this point. I have 2 unfinishable quests and have had numerous lock ups and bugs in the last 10 hours. I think the pacing kinda went to shit after Skellige opens up.

I don't know, I'm hitting glitches and bugs since I started to play. sometimes cutscenes get fucked, or I get random black screens, or I get a ''blurry-pause'' screen every 5 seconds while I'm in Novigrad, or the whatever bug kills me for no reason. etc.

even with the ''patched'' controls I'm not happy at all with how this game plays on PS4. probably should have waited to get a decent pc and play the game with it.

 

[dedhead54]

Do merchants disappear after completing the main quest? I went to Kaer Trolde to find the armorer near the bridge to get one of the Wolf Armor diagrams and he is no longer there.