The Witcher series

[Duzeom_]

I can't believe that there are not topics about The Witcher 3 game. I am really astonished by every single detail of it. Thanks to Th Witcher, I don't have time for anything else (including mapmaking). I started even read the books, and they are even better. I wonder if it is only appealing to me because I am a Polish? What are you opinions on the game and the universe?

[Kalah]

I bought that this Christmas but haven't tried it yet.

[Galaad]

The Witcher is an awesome series, and last opus was elected game of the year I think. I'm waiting for summer vacations to buy it because I know when I'll start I won't do anything else than playing it.

[Pol]

I grown up with Sapkowski lore and really liked it a much. These books were often large volumes, so you could immerse and get lost for a few days. Have no idea, if there plays some role a fact that I'm from neighborhood country, so the book come fast here.

In spite of that I wasn't born for playing Witcher, it's not my type of game, don't feel the hype here. That I'm saying like owner of Witcher1+2 and that also means that I'm not going for Witcher 3. It seems that there is some tight line between MM and Witcher, where bigger world in Wicher means less fun for me.

Somewhere I noticed that Witcher 3 got "2015 best game award", in some category. So, for last year, it's by many considered to be the best title.

[Banedon]

I found Witcher 1 and 2 both really good, so I'm absolutely getting Witcher 3. But not yet - waiting for all the patches and enhanced editions etc to be released first!

[iLiVeInAbOx05]

Definitely interested in The Witcher games. I've got 1 and 2, but haven't played them yet (got stuck on HOMM4 and haven't made it to the next games on my list yet ) I also noticed there were some Witcher books at Half priced books, so I'll have to look into where they fit into the lore so I can read them as well

[Kalah]

Just finished the first game. T'was good.
Will wait until I have my new video card working before I try the second.

[Kalah]

I have to say... While The Witcher 1 was one of the best game I've played in a long time, The Witcher 2 is rubbish. They've changed all the controls so that they no longer work as well, they've made the interface really unprecise and not to mention that the game isn't so much a game as it's a movie with intermittent gaming ...

[parcaleste]

Never been fan of the first two, but the third I loved - played it for the last 4 months. The expansion "Hearts of Stone", storyline wise, is at least step forward than the original game, where the Bloody Baron story was perhaps the only really good one there. Gameplay wise, well, the battles with humans kinda reminded me of the ones you had in Rune back in the day, so this is kinda OK (cause I've played LotR: Shadow of Mordor and had a BLAST with it's battle system), but the gwent cards mini game is pure gold. Only really annoying thing about the game is the randomized "throwing" for the top tier recipes through all the possible shitty corners on the maps. Sometimes even putting them back in treasure chests you have already opened. FN irritating. Good that there are mods that can give them to merchants to sell them, it can drive you nuts. Cause it is a VAST world to explore and it can get really boring after a while, especially in Skellige.

[Angelspit]

The Witcher 2 is rubbish. They've changed all the controls so that they no longer work as well, they've made the interface really unprecise and not to mention that the game isn't so much a game as it's a movie with intermittent gaming ...

I was unable to really get into it (on the Xbox 360) and put it aside. I plan to try again someday...

[Kalah]

Changed topic title.

I just installed my new video card, and after finding the Kayran fight in W2 impossible yesterday due to the fact that I couldn't really see what was happening, this time I had it done in less than 5 minutes.

[Kalah]

Just finishing The Witcher 2 now. That last Dragon fight was impossible and I realized my silver sword was not good enough. Thankfully, I could reload an earlier save and buy Gynvael Aedd from the merchant in the Amphitheatre just before; I had tons of money, and all my other equipment was good enough. Then it was just a matter of watching a youtube video to pick up some pointers, throw back some potions and presto! One defeated dragon.
Then a cutscene where Geralt rides the dragon and takes it down rodeo style.


Ouch! That's gotta hurt...
My Geralt is pretty badass; he's got the Forgotten vran sword, and is basically a one-man army. The final fight against Letho shouldn't be too hard.

(5 minutes later)
I was right; it was over in twenty seconds.


Time to fire up game no. 3, I guess.

[Banedon]

Lol twenty seconds, what difficulty did you play at?

I recall the dragon fight being decently difficult, but not because I can't kill her fast enough - more of a case of me dying in a few hits. I'm surprised you could still upgrade your weapons! I had the best equipment long before that happened. The fight against Letho is easy though. There's so much open space, I can just run around, place Yrden, and kill him.

With that said, if I were Geralt, I would not have fought Letho. I don't think he did anything wrong; the game tries to make it a choice, but it looks quite obvious to me. The major choice of Act 1 is a bit odd too in that sense. Why would anyone side with Iorveth over Roche? You know Roche from before, while all Iorveth's been doing is act like an ass - he won't even tell you his plans! While I personally think the Iorveth path is the more fulfilling one of the two, I just don't see how that would even be a choice if I had to make it in real life.

[Kalah]

It's at the medium difficulty, so that's not the problem; the thing is that as soon as you're level 34 and have that Vran sword, Letho just can't take your attacks. I liked seeing him use Quen and Igni, like I do, so it was a refreshing fight, but like I said I simply went at him and hammered away until he was dead. To be honest, he looked seriously outgunned and he didn't stand a chance.

You're right about the dragon; you have to finish her off quickly, since the main problem is staying alive long enough to take her HP down low. I could never really do that, so I reloaded and went back to the amphitheathre to visit that merchant for a better silver sword. That sure did the trick.

About the Roche/Iorveth path, it's about getting laid more often. Nah, seriously, I think they did it fairly well with letting the players get some forced choices throughout the game. Both Roche (loyalty and righteousness) and Iorveth (freedom fighter) have their redeeming features that may compel Geralt to choose one over the other. I also liked how some choices were to be made fast: save the Elven women trapped inside the burning building or chase after the villain Roche wants you to catch? When you're being attacked, do you give Iorveth his sword so he can fight back or do you let him be killed? They even tried giving the player some good reasons to let Letho go: he made sure nothing happened to Triss during the witch hunt, and he points out how he was manipulated by the sorceresses. Still, after chasing him for so long and his framing you for regicide, there was really no choice for me: he was going down.

[Banedon]

Well I remember the dragon fight as "keep Quen up as long as possible, chop her to bits". Not particularly difficult once I got used to the attack patterns. Letho fight was always a case of Yrden use, which I'd been relying on for much of the game. Even on Dark difficulty it wasn't hard.

Roche vs. Iorveth I found a lot clearer than you. Iorveth spends so much of Act 1 throwing insults your way. There's even a point where he meets you with a host of archers at his back threatening to kill you. Furthermore, even if you give Iorveth his sword, he still won't tell you his plans. Roche on the other hand is a lot friendlier with you and works closely with you towards a common goal (getting rid of Loredo) as well. Why would anyone work with Iorveth? Also Letho didn't frame you, it was more of a case of unfortunate circumstances. You were the only one there after all. I could see no reason to kill him, so I didn't.

Many of the other decisions are difficult though. On Roche's path the most difficult one is whether or not to kill Henselt, while on Iorveth's path the decision on whether to go after Triss or save Saskia is a tough one. I'd normally go for Triss without question, but Phillipa is such a jerk and her controlling Saskia is unpalatable. In real life I'd probably go for Triss, but with the benefit of a walkthrough I'd save Saskia. Meanwhile on Roche's path you never actually learn who the dragon is, which makes the decision whether or not to kill her much more academic.

One day, I'll play the third game in the series. For now though, I'm overloaded as hell with things to do!

[Pol]

Any spoiler saves, for us busy people?

I may try to quick-play it in the end of 2017, that time I would like to get a new card so may tinkle with it a little

[parcaleste]

Without spoiling - you may have your hearts broken over Roche's fate because of the endings in the third game.

[Kalah]

If you want to play through it quickly, I recommend checking the Witcher wiki dedicated to the series. Find the most relevant guides by googling the name of the quest active in your journal. That can tell you some shortcuts. You'll lose the advantage of running around and exploring at random, but you will be able to play through it faster. I used the guide extensively, but only when I got stuck on something.

Also, I recommend checking the wiki for tips on armor, swords (it's important to know where they are) and boss fights - for instance, what kind of weapons, styles and oils to use on which enemies. Remember to do lots of side quests to gain XP, otherwise you'll be underleveled for the big fights.

[Banedon]

Without spoiling - you may have your hearts broken over Roche's fate because of the endings in the third game.

Would be something to see - I personally don't care much for Roche because Geralt and him seem not like friends but rather allies forced by necessity. Roche has some strong qualities sure, but at the end of it all, it's still Triss, Zoltan and Dandelion that command my Geralt's loyalty. I can imagine a Geralt that sides with Iorveth might also care about Iorveth and Saskia for idealogical reasons though.

[Kalah]

I took a break from Witcher 3 for a while, but this last week I've been playing it a lot. I'm talking about a straight week of almost non-stop playing, all-nighters and all. Reminds me of the good old days before I was a grown-up responsible person.

It was really frustrating in the beginning. Once again, I had to re-learn all the controls and mechanisms, and I considered dropping it completely. Now, though, after customizing the controls and getting over the hump, I've been playing and playing. There are dozens of quests and sidequests. Hundreds of locations and things to do. Chained quests that just go on and on. There's so much to do that I don't think I'll get it all done. Treasure hunts, weapon making, armour collecting, skill developing ... Wheeee! I'm getting a real Baldur's Gate vibe, except of course that you're solo most of the time and that it's an OTS.

Pictures later.