Gaming The Witcher Series (PC RPG of the Forever)

So it's DLC? Do I have to search for it in the online store, or does it automatically come with the latest game update?

 

To get the free DLC you have to acquire it as if it were DLC, so online store or the navigation menu's DLC quick look... thing...

 

Ok thanks.

 

Oh, I wasn't even aware that was a DLC quest because I got the game in late June and saw a ton of free DLC and just downloaded it all without reading what they were, for the most part.

 

Haven't yet tried that Skellige quest.

Anyone had this? A load of Wild Hunt Hounds turn up, lev 12, you kill the lot then a portal opens and another lot turn up, you kill those and it repeats. Any way to know where the portal opens and how to destroy it when it does or is this just a weird glitch akin to the Level 30 Cyclops infinite re-spawn?

 

Couldn't find a link to online content through the regular game menu, but I found and downloaded all free content from the Xbox online shop. So much free content.

I assume that you have to find those additional quests in game after downloading them?

 

Yeah, they're just scattered in like regular quest material. Fool's Gold was out in the middle of nowhere IIRC.

 

Just got to this and had the same result as you. Twice.

Pity, as it's smart in how you can whittle them down. Looks like you can pick a fight with all of them if you want.

 

Well, got further and ye gods, is there any way to kill Yen?

Probably not, but it would be very satisfying to chuck a couple of Dimertium bombs at her and then go nuts, instead had to settle a sarky quip of: "Spectacular view from there."

Oh but wait the hard-as-nails, screw-you-all-I-do-what-I-like attitude hides a caring interior and deep insecurity so she's actually easily hurt? Pull the other one, it's got bells on.

In fact I'm pretty certain if I do a different play-through I'll keep Geralt single and stuff the witches. Romance is over-rated.

 

I started reading the Last Wish. Even though I'm only a few chapters in, I must say, the writing and atmosphere between book and game appears seamless.

 

Just 'cured' Uma and it's all kicked off.

Time to do many secondary quests and Witcher contracts!

 

Man, that fourth horse race in Skellige is brutal.

 

There's 3 strands I have no interest in:

Fist fights
Horse races
Gwent

The rest is excellent.

 

Fist fights are fun as all get out. It's more developed than the old QTE version but still has a comparable rhythmic flow to the fighting that just makes it feel good. Also one of the trophies is FIST OF THE SOUTH STAR.



Gwent is pretty solid if you're into card minigames. I'll agree with you on horse racing, though; I have no patience for it.

Edit: On an unrelated note, New Game+ is coming and there is in fact no escape from Witcher III.

 

Oh damn.

 

I climbed a mountain I obviously shouldn't be on top of again. Doesn't even have a detailed texture. But the view overlooking Kaer Trolde is spectacular.


EDIT: And yes, I was hunting Undiscovered Locations that are in caverns below me.

 

Witcher 3 continued... So I went to the Isle of Mists....

Cue epic section. It starts with a creepy mist-strewn hellhole and a 7 dwarves gag, then it warps to Kaer Morhen and it all kicks off.

One day, video games will nail their big epic moments perfectly and consistently but today was not that day.

It started off great - sneak up on and close portals while maintaining invisibility - great stuff.

Flip back to Kaer Morhen and get Ciri to help Triss unleash hell - OK, can do that too.

Unfortunately it then throws in a rubbish horse sequence - these things are crap. Your horse stamina is rubbish, it goes down, the controls are lacking - a cutscene would accomplish more. It then compounds the error by having fuzzy directions in the sequences that follow. Like having a map direct me to a spot only for there to be no portals to close. It then finishes off its trio of errors by having Ciri help Eskel, it says to take out the warriors but Ciri is weirdly locked while two attacks come in - after that she's allowed to move and kill 'em all.

It recovered well from that succession of screw-ups to unleash a killer cutscene that actually paid off the sequence well. I suppose, like expecting good swimming controls, it was too much to ask of CDPR - no one else has yet nailed it perfectly either. One day maybe....

So hitting the vengeance trail I get to go after the Crones - oh hell yes. Hugely satisfying set of kills after what took place earlier. Then Geralt takes on Imerith and that was quite the duel. Now back in the infernal pit that is Novigrad and no, it hasn't gotten better, it's still a crap-pit.

No matter how much it occasionally irritates, Witcher 3 is the first game in years that I've had to blitz through in the sense of playing it frequently. I haven't rushed the main plot - far from it, but the world construction remains incredible. For example, I've lost count of the times I've done the harbour to Kaer Trolde castle ascent and descent, it's stunning each time due to the design brilliance.

 

What I was really surprised by around the time I got to where you were was how big the big set pieces felt. In a game with as much content as Witcher 3 it would be totally forgivable for them to take it easy - instead, you get the Kaer Mohren sequence, the crone hunt, the... well, I won't spoil it but man was the buildup to the final battle cool, and then the final battle itself. Some people had complaints about the final boss being a bit of an anticlimax, which aren't wrong, but it's only because it's a straightforward duel in a game with that final battle going down. The fight was never going to feel big enough for that.

Also, look forward to patch 1.08 - it mostly fixes problems that were still extant or were introduced by 1.07, but also features a method for mitigating falling damage, which is huge for higher difficulty plays as even a short drop can seriously screw up your health in B&BB.

 

Patch 1.08? Are they taking the piss? Do they realise how bad they are making everyone else look? More seriously, it'll fix the werewolf bug on Skellige's Most Wanted, right? Hmm, knowing these guys, it just might.

Oh and I now, finally, have got all the ? locations in Velen. That just leaves .... Skellige. That's going to take some time.

I really can't remember the last game I played that was quite so fricking addictive as this one.

 

10, 10 ? locations left to go in Skellige.

Earlier I legged it from a super-killer Archgriffin. Still bagged the location.

EDIT: Also did this fistfight in Novigrad that was utter crap. The guy was perpetually regenerating health despite being lv 14 to my 31. My hits did bugger all damage because the bastard practically had infinite health.

 

Got all of 'em bar 2 - and it involved a lot of sailing!

Also have a few boats stacked on top of each other at a few harbours too.

Wish the boat combat was better than it is. Some weird things happen in those battles.

 

That's weird, I don't think I ran into that.

Admittedly my Geralt is perk specced to hit like a tank, but I don't seem to recall healing.

 

It was utterly weird. I'd be hitting the guy, the health go down a bit then before I knew it it was regenerating back up.

There was this offer to throw the fight, which I refused. If the idea is you have to throw it then don't other offering the choice in the first place. Never been a fan of the 'you must fight unbeatable enemy and lose for the sake of the plot' - stuff that, just do a damn cut-scene.

 

Oh, that fight. I definitely didn't see the guy's health regenerate, must be a bug.

 

Hmm, weird - maybe patch 1.08 will sort it out.

Did have a measure of revenge by throwing a bomb at them at on the way out.