[Morgoth]

There is a substantial difference between the books and the game when it comes to characters and their.. umh.. character. I've read the novels translated into english, and already there I found the Geralt Yennefer relationship to be unpleasant. I'd partially agree with Ment's description of Triss in the books, but even there she treats Geralt like a person and not a particularly valuable object. In the games there's really no reason to like Yennefer, though maybe things will change as the story develops.

[Rictus]

So apparently there are 3 major endings, with lotsa minor variables. I think I got the happily-ever-after one. However, I did some research into what triggers which ending. Some of these moments seemed quite inconsequential at the time. One semi-important character kicked the bucket because I told her to do what she thought was best. Neutrality kills, friends.

As for the ladies: after what she pulled in the game, I sent dearest Yen packing. The way the smile froze on her face was fucking priceless. Team Triss!

[Traveller]

By the way, for those of us scrolling UP through the page, spoiler tags would have been welcome!

I agree that from solely playing the games, so far Yennefer has not done anything to impress. I took an instant dislike to her when Geralt finally caught up with her. And after all that chasing and speculation in W2, I was expecting someone.. nicer.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 03 June 2015 - 08:03 PM

[Gothos]

OK, so I played a bit more, level 14 now and in the middle of Novigrad shady deals. They got the feel perfect, I think. I'm also about 73% certain that the King of Beggars is a doppler. I wonder if he knows Dudu? Or he is Dudu? That'd be rich.

In any case, gotten a bit more control over combat, though I still sometimes get caught with my pants down due to the sometimes sketchy targeting in group fights, where sometimes instead of your intended attack on an overextended or flanked enemy you suddenly charge through an entire group towards the guy at the far side.... meh.
Loving the horse riding feature. It feels the best mounted movement of any game I played. Kinda fun, too. Also that you can actually attack from horseback, which can let you defeat some tough enemies with careful cavarly tactics.
Absolutely loving the side quests and witcher contracts.
Not all that sure I like the new leveling system. I think TW2's was superior, even if the trees were not balanced.




As for the girl teams, I'll try to get this point across as spoilerless as possible... I'll actually use a parallel from NCIS (yes.):

You know, a dog will have his favourite bone it gnaws on... you can throw it a fresh steak, and it'll happily devour it, but... it will go right back to the bone after it's done.
Ever since the Last Wish, Yen and Geralt have been, for each other, kind of like a two way dog-bone relation. They've been driven apart and brought back together, then driven apart and so on. With the lengths Yen's gone to protect and rescue Ciri, she also earns an eternal spot at my_geralt's side. Their story is tragic and, imo, beautiful.

So yeah, Yen can come off as a cold hearted bitch, and she is to a large extent - but she's hellishly serious Mama Bear wherever the witcher or their kid are concerned. Triss plays nice but really, she's kept this part of Geralt's past from him so she could have her own pass at her crush, which is a pretty big deal in my eyes. I couldn't forgive something like that, and neither will my_Geralt.

I'm guessing they tried to make it more "Betty and Veronica" but the books leave no room for error as to who's the chief here. First two games it felt all wrong. I'm not sure how much of the saga you guys could've accessed by now, so there's a lot in there potentially that could maybe clear your mind, but.... Despite everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, Geralt can trust Yenna... more than anyone. Especially where Ciri is concerned. And that's what matters to him the most. TeamYen4Life.

[Mentalist]

what he said.

My latest playthrough I basically told T'riss there was no love. T'riss is Lodge. Lodge is bad business.

Imho, the thing is, in the books, the entire "family" dynamic is purposefully dysfunctional. Geralt, Yen, Ciri and T'riss are all people with lots of issues. In the games, Geralt has no issues, b/c he starts out a blank slate for players to mold, and well, few players would make their char dysfunctional on their own. T'riss is playing nice to get Geralt, and Yen is the only one written as dysfunctional as the books, and hence the disconnect the player feels.

[Aptorian]

I think I ran into the experience bug last night.

I'd been playing for 3 hours and noticed that it didn't seem like my xp had moved at all. Finished that cheese mage quest and got nothing for it.

So I've decided to put down the game until the next patch.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Lucky I haven't hit it

[Aptorian]

I am not entirely certain but I think I might actually have been mistaken. When quests are grey you apparently don't get xp for them. And I know I did a few quests that were very low level.

Anyway I loaded up a mod that is supposed to fix the bug and as a plus this mod makes even grey quests give xp anyway. So I will be earning some extra xp.

It's sort of fun to go back to quests that are grey. You feel like a complete badass when Geralt just kills 4 people in 2 swings and heads and body parts go flying in every direction.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Yeah they go grey if you are I think 5 levels above their recommended level.

[Aptorian]

Patch 1.05 is out. So the xp bug should be fixed.

I haven't been able to check all of the movement stuff but I looked at the alchemy window. Now I can hide all the stuff that is already crafted and suddenly 3/4th of list vanished. So much easier to see what you need to track down.

By the way, where the hell do I find Golden Oriole?

This post has been edited by Apt: 06 June 2015 - 06:14 AM

[MTS]

The recipe for it? I think they're random drops, but herbalists sell potion recipes if you're desperate. Not sure if they're random too, but one of them might have it.

[Gothos]

OK, so I think I may be nearing the endgame soon. Level 32 now, and... that's part of a problem I want to bring up.

There's way too much XP in the main story, imo. I've gone from 26 to 31 just going along with the Island of Mists / Kaer Morhen segment. I blinked and I now outlevel about a dozen sidequests I had. At this point I feel like going around exploring would just be a mopup operation. I have my level IV upgraded set and am nearing endgame levels, but I feel I barely touched about 2/3 of the game.

So, yeah. Bit of a pacing problem here I think.


Other than that, this is continuing to be absolutely spectacular.

[Tapper]

Apt, on 06 June 2015 - 06:07 AM, said:

Patch 1.05 is out. So the xp bug should be fixed.

I haven't been able to check all of the movement stuff but I looked at the alchemy window. Now I can hide all the stuff that is already crafted and suddenly 3/4th of list vanished. So much easier to see what you need to track down.

By the way, where the hell do I find Golden Oriole?

I found mine in a chest above the Elven Mage's cave that you enter near Midcopse as part of the Ciri Quarelled with a Witch bit.
It seems a logical place for it to be 'hidden' given all the poisonous fumes in the cave itself.

This post has been edited by Tapper: 09 June 2015 - 08:46 AM

[Aptorian]

I found out there's a herbalist north east of Oxenfurt that had all the schematics I was missing, he had Full Moon, Golden Oriole, Dragons Dream, White Rafters Concoction and a few more I was missing.

[Morgoth]

Do you guys know of a vendor that sell Monster's eye? The cat School gear requires a whole bunch and monsters rarely drop one.

[Gothos]

Morgoth, on 09 June 2015 - 10:08 AM, said:

Do you guys know of a vendor that sell Monster's eye? The cat School gear requires a whole bunch and monsters rarely drop one.

Hm. I have cat gear now fully upgraded and I never wanted for eyes... I missed some metals at times, as well as monster hair, but eyes.... hm. Try hunting Nekkers, you should be able to breakdown monster eyes from that, no?

[Aptorian]

Okay so what is up with these equipment upgrades you are talking about. Who upgrades your armor and weapons? Or am I supposed to it myself with the schematics I find everywhere?

[MTS]

Apt, on 09 June 2015 - 10:52 AM, said:

Okay so what is up with these equipment upgrades you are talking about. Who upgrades your armor and weapons? Or am I supposed to it myself with the schematics I find everywhere?

Armourers and Blacksmiths craft the various armour and weapon schematics you have. There are various upgrades for the witcher gear that need more skilled craftsmen to make (and more varied ingredients).

[Gothos]

You need to buy special maps from vendors to get the gathering quest for the schematics.

[Aptorian]

Oh no doubt I have pretty much scoured all of Vellen and most of Novigrad for anything of value at this point.

I just haven't seen any upgrade options in the game. I have noticed that to craft some armors and weapons it asks for older weapons but I sell anything as soon as it becomes obsolete. Except for a pair of back-up swords.