Official Thread The Witcher 3

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Most crafted items do not required rare components so there should be no stopping someone to craft. I have played over 125 hours and my experience is, there is no clear winner between loot or crafted.

The key thing is to look at what you have, & what can be crafted. If a craft item is better, craft it, otherwise, just use what you already have.

Also, some gears can only be crafted, & required you to go on a multi stage quests, like Griffin gear set, which can be upgraded 3 times (enhanced, superior, mastercraft)
 
Based on what I'm hearing so far, I'll probably craft some Witcher gear but skip the rest. Despite the hundreds of hours of my life I've spent in RPG menus, I'm not a tinkerer by nature. I'm more interested exploring and adventuring. Crafting has always seemed like a chore you had to do, in order to get to the good stuff. I'd rather skip it, if I'm not penalized too harshly for it.
 
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I'm only 10 hours in but just going to say it. Best RPG ever? Someone said CD Projekt Red crafted a masterpiece. I think this goes beyond a masterpiece. The Witcher 3 is the real deal. I mean, i thought DA: I and Bloodborne were amazing but this is on another level right now.
 
I don't think Death March is all that hard. I think it is just less XP.
 
Based on what I'm hearing so far, I'll probably craft some Witcher gear but skip the rest. Despite the hundreds of hours of my life I've spent in RPG menus, I'm not a tinkerer by nature. I'm more interested exploring and adventuring. Crafting has always seemed like a chore you had to do, in order to get to the good stuff. I'd rather skip it, if I'm not penalized too harshly for it.

A lot of components you pick up on your travels but if you want to craft Witcher gear you have to go on big treasure quests. I think it took me nearly an hour to run around crafting my first set but about 40 minutes for my next one so depends if you want to do all that running around, normal difficulty is not that hard at all except for when you face stronger foes.

If you do plenty of witcher contracts there's usually a new sword at the end of it.
 
That's why I said with respect to ME: Andromeda, Bioware is going to have to step up its game.

I just played the new quest, "Where The Cat and Wolf Play". Very well done even if I knew where it was going early on.

Yup, I appreciate the difference.

I should add, though, that a majority of the side-quests are still pretty simple "go here, kill that" affairs, at least based on my limited exposure to the game. Most of the question marks I've explored, for instance, have been very simple tasks -- kill the drowners, collect the loot ... kill the ghouls, collect the loot ... kill the bear, collect the loot...etc. There have been several beefy side-quests, but the majority have still been the old "go there, kill that" format.

That's to be expected, of course. It would be impossible to fill an open world entirely with creative, in-depth side-quests, each complete with cutscenes, interesting little mini-stories, and multiple steps. That's just not practical.

Anyhow, I think the point is, this game has a lot more of those types of side-quests than other games.

A lot of components you pick up on your travels but if you want to craft Witcher gear you have to go on big treasure quests. I think it took me nearly an hour to run around crafting my first set but about 40 minutes for my next one so depends if you want to do all that running around, normal difficulty is not that hard at all except for when you face stronger foes.

If you do plenty of witcher contracts there's usually a new sword at the end of it.

Hmm. Ok, thanks for the input. If it's a part of a quest, I'll probably take it on, but if I have to go hunt everything down for myself, I'll probably just make do with what I have.
 
Question: Is crafting essential in this game, or will I be able to find/buy most of what I need in the field? I understand that there are always advantages to crafting -- for people who put the time and effort into crafting, it always pays off -- but I'm wondering if I can forgo crafting without compromising the power of my character too much.

I ask because I've never been a fan of crafting -- it's always seemed like busywork to me -- and I'm hoping there's a way to bypass it, or at least minimize it. If I had my druthers, I'd rather find or buy the stuff I need, rather than go through the hassle of crafting.

I'm playing on normal difficulty.

Crafting most weapons and armour is pointless. What you want to concentrate on is the Witcher Gear upgrades. Each set, light, medium, and Heavy has 3 upgrades to make them better. Upgrades and other sets are found via treasure missions.
  • Viper School Gear - White Orchard. This is an early game Steel & Silver sword set.
  • Cat School Gear - Novigrad. This is a complete set of armour & swords call Feline. This is also your light armour set.
  • Griffin School Gear - Velen. This is a complete set of armour & swords called Griffiin. This is your Medium armour set.
  • Bear School Gear - Skellige. This is a complet set of armour & swords called Ursine. This is your Heavy armour set.
Each set has 3 upgrades, Enhanced, Superior, and Master Crafted.

Also, in General upgrade tree you can pick a trait that ties specifically to the weight class of armour you choose. These offer some nice buffs or perks.

  • Cat School Technique will offer a Critical hit damage increase of 25 and a fast attack damage increase of 5%
  • Griffin School Technique will give sign intensity boost of 5% and endurance regeneration by 5%
  • Bear School Technique will increase strong attack by 5% and maximum health by 5%
 
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I got the DLC armor the wolf school and it's stats are better then Griffin.
 
Yup, I appreciate the difference.

I should add, though, that a majority of the side-quests are still pretty simple "go here, kill that" affairs, at least based on my limited exposure to the game. Most of the question marks I've explored, for instance, have been very simple tasks -- kill the drowners, collect the loot ... kill the ghouls, collect the loot ... kill the bear, collect the loot...etc. There have been several beefy side-quests, but the majority have still been the old "go there, kill that" format.

That's to be expected, of course. It would be impossible to fill an open world entirely with creative, in-depth side-quests, each complete with cutscenes, interesting little mini-stories, and multiple steps. That's just not practical.

Anyhow, I think the point is, this game has a lot more of those types of side-quests than other games.


Hmm. Ok, thanks for the input. If it's a part of a quest, I'll probably take it on, but if I have to go hunt everything down for myself, I'll probably just make do with what I have.
I do not know how far you have go, but the game only started opening up at Velen. White Orchard is kinda dull.

The best 'side' quests are those linked with the main story, & involve key NPCs.

I didn't a lot of Witcher contracts, but its a good way to get relic weapons. I find them to be more dull, & also you get easily overlevel doing so.


Tips for Qwent.

Don't leave it late like I do. I started trying to play Qwent seriously at around level 20plus.

Its best to play qwent when the chance arises, like meeting a new merchant that play qwents. When you win (at least the first time), you get a card from them. Buy from venders when available.
The game to not show you where the Qwent players are so its kinda hard without a guide if you decided to play qwent later.
If you do not play with the merchants/armorers along the way, you will not have enough decent cards, when you take on the qwent quest players (in the qwent quest), you will be ripped apart.
I enjoyed Qwent, but I get burned out after 3-4 rounds, & have to do somethign else, which is why I think its better to play qwent as you adventure along, instead of a Qwent world tour. .
 
Crafting most weapons and armour is pointless. What you want to concentrate on is the Witcher Gear upgrades. Each set, light, medium, and Heavy has 3 upgrades to make them better. Upgrades and other sets are found via treasure missions.
  • Viper School Gear - White Orchard. This is an early game Steel & Silver sword set.
  • Cat School Gear - Novigrad. This is a complete set of armour & swords call Feline. This is also your light armour set.
  • Griffin School Gear - Velen. This is a complete set of armour & swords called Griffiin. This is your Medium armour set.
  • Bear School Gear - Skellige. This is a complet set of armour & swords called Ursine. This is your Heavy armour set.
Each set has 3 upgrades, Enhanced, Superior, and Master Crafted.

Also, in General upgrade tree you can pick a trait that ties specifically to the weight class of armour you choose. These offer some nice buffs or perks.

  • Cat School Technique will offer a Critical hit damage increase of 25 and a fast attack damage increase of 5%
  • Griffin School Technique will give sign intensity boost of 5% and endurance regeneration by 5%
  • Bear School Technique will increase strong attack by 5% and maximum health by 5%

Thanks, menace. I appreciate you going into detail like that. I remember you being heavily into crafting in DA:I, so I was wondering what you'd say about crafting in Witcher 3.
 
Thanks, menace. I appreciate you going into detail like that. I remember you being heavily into crafting in DA:I, so I was wondering what you'd say about crafting in Witcher 3.

Don't let it stop playing withouther gear though. If you fined something you like, upgrade it, and keep it for as long as it is useful. Just do not throw away your witcher gear
 
Am I the only one that hates the boxing mini game in Witcher 3. I find boxing opponants harder than 99% of enemies I face. Its also pretty lame, when you can get KO in like 2 hits for some opponants. Its especially bad in confined spaces, & you constantly get hit off screen, & half of the battles are spent adjusting the camera. Most matches that I lost was due to stuck at a corner, or hitted by offscreen attacks.


Some skill tips.

We know that decoctions are very useful, but due to its high toxicity, many people end up not using them. A tip, which I gathered from WItcher forum, is to put 1-3 points to "Accquired Tolerance" skill.

1 points will allow you to use a decocton & also one or 2 other potions, like swallow.
2 points allows 2 decoctions & a few potions
3 points you can have 2 decoctions, & drink potions like tea.

I put 3 points by the way, since you have only 12 slots for skills, might as well maximise the effect of each skill slot.

Whether you choose sword fighting tree or sign, Get the alternative quen shield (active shield) its a bit OP, as its a quick & good way to recovered HP.
 
Am I the only one that hates the boxing mini game in Witcher 3. I find boxing opponants harder than 99% of enemies I face. Its also pretty lame, when you can get KO in like 2 hits for some opponants. Its especially bad in confined spaces, & you constantly get hit off screen, & half of the battles are spent adjusting the camera. Most matches that I lost was due to stuck at a corner, or hitted by offscreen attacks.


Some skill tips.

We know that decoctions are very useful, but due to its high toxicity, many people end up not using them. A tip, which I gathered from WItcher forum, is to put 1-3 points to "Accquired Tolerance" skill.

1 points will allow you to use a decocton & also one or 2 other potions, like swallow.
2 points allows 2 decoctions & a few potions
3 points you can have 2 decoctions, & drink potions like tea.

I put 3 points by the way, since you have only 12 slots for skills, might as well maximise the effect of each skill slot.

Whether you choose sword fighting tree or sign, Get the alternative quen shield (active shield) its a bit OP, as its a quick & good way to recovered HP.
Boxing is easy as hell. I can decimate enemies 10 levels higher. Just wait till they wind up the swing (when his arm is back), then press and hold the parry trigger. Boom, He is stunned/staggered. Wail away. Otherwise just block. if you are stunned, just jump away- you will snap out of it. The fist fights are the easiest thing. Now, when there are more than one, that's a problem. I got smoked by the dock-workers when it was 2 on 1.
 
Question: Is crafting essential in this game, or will I be able to find/buy most of what I need in the field? I understand that there are always advantages to crafting -- for people who put the time and effort into crafting, it always pays off -- but I'm wondering if I can forgo crafting without compromising the power of my character too much.

I ask because I've never been a fan of crafting -- it's always seemed like busywork to me -- and I'm hoping there's a way to bypass it, or at least minimize it. If I had my druthers, I'd rather find or buy the stuff I need, rather than go through the hassle of crafting.

I'm playing on normal difficulty.

IMO crafting is damn near useless. I spent a few hours crafting the "Mastercrafted" Ursine Armour, only for it to be weaker than the amour I found/bought a quest later. There is usually better gear to be found in shops or in non-crafting side quests. And sometimes when you're just randomly wandering, you might come on on something really good.
The only plus I can find is that aesthetically, the crafted witcher gear looks better than everything else IMO.
 
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IMO crafting is damn near useless. I spent a few hours crafting the "Mastercrafted" Ursine Armour, only for it to be weaker than the amour I found/bought a quest later. There is usually better gear to be found in shops or in non-crafting side quests. And sometimes when you're just randomly wandering, you might come on on something really good.
The only plus I can find is that aesthetically, the crafted witcher gear looks better than everything else IMO.

Agree with this. Crafting just isn't very rewarding to me.
 
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Boxing is easy as hell. I can decimate enemies 10 levels higher. Just wait till they wind up the swing (when his arm is back), then press and hold the parry trigger. Boom, He is stunned/staggered. Wail away. Otherwise just block. if you are stunned, just jump away- you will snap out of it. The fist fights are the easiest thing. Now, when there are more than one, that's a problem. I got smoked by the dock-workers when it was 2 on 1.

The dock/workers is the easy fight. The beginning ones are easy also. But the later ones can be pretty frustrating, due to camera and they do far more damage then you, KO you in like 2/4 hits, where you need like over 1o hits. so need need to be near perfect.

I can try you advice on the parry part. I played the game for over 125 hours and never bother to parry anyone. Dodging seems too effective and easier.
 
The technical comparison thread had slowed way down, so I folded it back into the main thread. That made v. 3.0 too long. So, this is v. 4.0.

Technical comparison talk can go in here for now. If it gets too dominant, we can split it off again into a separate thread.
 
Finished White Orchard and arrived in Vermire (?), although something tells me that's a Mass Effect planet and not a Witcher 3 city. (edit: yeah, it's Valen... Versemire, Vermire, vermin, Valen, whatever).

Geralt lays on the sarcasm pretty thick sometimes, but he had me laughing a couple of times in the palace. He's got more personality this time around.

The game asked me about my Witcher 2 choices. I couldn't remember anything other than that I'd killed Letho. I have trouble remembering what happened in an episodic game 8 weeks ago, you think I'm going to remember what I did in a game 5 years ago?

I seem to be handling battles better than I expected. I'm only on Normal, but I guess I expected it to be harder. Maybe it'll get harder as I go. I'm not complaining -- it's just how I like it, actually. I've died a couple of times, because of some bonehead move, but otherwise, things are pretty manageable. I'm enjoying the combat.

I'm enjoying the story so far, too. I'm glad it's more personal. Yennifer is beautiful but a bit too glamorous, like she just stepped out of the pages of Vogue or Cosmo or something -- perfect hair and makeup, pouty lips all glossed up. Did she cast a super-sultry-sexy spell on herself or something?
 
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I'm focusing on alchemy upgrades this time around plus the essential spell casting. Tier 3 Alchemy has amazing bonuses like Refreshment in which "each potion dose imbibed heals 25% of maximum vitality." Basically even the Killer Whale, White Honey potions, and all other potions of any kind are now also healing potions. It makes a world of difference.
 
Finished White Orchard and arrived in Vermire (?), although something tells me that's a Mass Effect planet and not a Witcher 3 city.

Geralt lays on the sarcasm pretty thick sometimes, but he had me laughing a couple of times in the palace. He's got more personality this time around.

The game asked me about my Witcher 2 choices. I couldn't remember anything other than that I'd killed Letho. I have trouble remembering what happened in an episodic game 8 weeks ago, you think I'm going to remember what I did in a game 5 years ago?

I seem to be handling battles better than I expected. I'm only on Normal, but I guess I expected it to be harder. Maybe it'll get harder as I go. I'm not complaining -- it's just how I like it, actually. I've died a couple of times, because of some bonehead move, but otherwise, things are pretty manageable. I'm enjoying the combat.

I'm enjoying the story so far, too. I'm glad it's more personal. Yennifer is beautiful but a bit too glamorous, like she just stepped out of the pages of Vogue or Cosmo or something -- perfect hair and makeup, pouty lips all glossed up. Did she cast a super-sultry-sexy spell on herself or something?

I hope you did not pick Letho was killed choice. There is a quest involve him early in the game, if you help him, he assist you later in the game.

You haven't seen anything about Yen until later. She had a poor introduction to the game, making her feel arrogant & cold. Only later when you get to know her better that you see the charming side.

The game have very poor romantic choice design (making you pick too early (never mind it wasn't even clear) & not given you time, if at all (for Yen) to know both) which I mentioned before.

Actually there was a spell casted to make you attracted to her. :. There is a quest involving that.
 
I hope you did not pick Letho was killed choice. There is a quest involve him early in the game, if you help him, he assist you later in the game.

I told the game I'd killed Letho. Like I mentioned, that's the only choice I could actually remember.
 
I hope you did not pick Letho was killed choice. There is a quest involve him early in the game, if you help him, he assist you later in the game.

Actually there was a spell casted to make you attracted to her. :. There is a quest involving that.

I don't know which version of that you got, but the way mine played out, It's debatable there was a spell at all. Geralt and Yen said they still felt the same, better knowing that any chance of a spell was gone.



Finished White Orchard and arrived in Vermire (?), although something tells me that's a Mass Effect planet and not a Witcher 3 city.

Geralt lays on the sarcasm pretty thick sometimes, but he had me laughing a couple of times in the palace. He's got more personality this time around.

The game asked me about my Witcher 2 choices. I couldn't remember anything other than that I'd killed Letho. I have trouble remembering what happened in an episodic game 8 weeks ago, you think I'm going to remember what I did in a game 5 years ago?

I seem to be handling battles better than I expected. I'm only on Normal, but I guess I expected it to be harder. Maybe it'll get harder as I go. I'm not complaining -- it's just how I like it, actually. I've died a couple of times, because of some bonehead move, but otherwise, things are pretty manageable. I'm enjoying the combat.

I'm enjoying the story so far, too. I'm glad it's more personal. Yennifer is beautiful but a bit too glamorous, like she just stepped out of the pages of Vogue or Cosmo or something -- perfect hair and makeup, pouty lips all glossed up. Did she cast a super-sultry-sexy spell on herself or something?

Yennefer is supposed to be a Legendary beauty. I like the juxtaposition between Triss and Yenn. You know Yenn's flawlessness is on purpose, as even Triss has imperfections in her skin if you look closely. I'm glad I went with Yennifer, as her personality intertwines well with Geralt's well. They are more complimentary than analogous. Externally, He's rough, she is smooth. He's thoughtful and even compassionate, whereas she is impetuous and disregards what others want/care about for her own ends- She is the consummate sorceress.
 
I'm 46 hours in and only on the Crones.
 
Where does it say how many hours you have? If it's on the save data, then I'm at 4+ days which means I'm upward of 96 hours? yeesh. Is that possible? I've barely been to skellege.
 
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Where does it say how many hours you have? If it's on the save data, then I'm at 4+ days which means I'm upward of 96 hours? yeesh. Is that possible? I've barely been to skellege.

I got to it via the Character screen. There's an option on that screen -- R2 or L2, I forget, that brings you to the character stats.

My time is inflated by about 20 hours because I used the suspend/resume function a couple times (no longer).

I like the measure of hours played, but I usually get the best sense of RPGs from how many weeks or months I play. Most Bioware RPGs take me about 6 to 8 weeks. Most Bethesda RPGs take me about 4 months. I'm guessing Witcher 3 is going to be about 3 months. I hope I'll finish in time to get a respite before Fallout 4, another huge 4-month trek. A few of these games can keep me occupied almost the whole year.

p.s. I like that they give you suggested levels for the quests. That's helpful.
 
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Where is this play time counter? I've never known about it.
 
Where does it say how many hours you have? If it's on the save data, then I'm at 4+ days which means I'm upward of 96 hours? yeesh. Is that possible? I've barely been to skellege.
on your SmartGlass app for Xbox just click on the game and it will show you your total hours just like if I click on you since you're on my friends list it will show you your total hours vs my total hours and how many achievements and quest you done in total kills you have VS me. You are at 82 hours ,2076 kills and your progression is 37 percent
 
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