[Serenity]

Agreed about Aloy's agility, it's marvellous. I can't compare the two games as a whole, myself, cos - apart from the open world - they feel like very different types of games to me. The only thing I can say is that I loved HZD but have no inclination to return to it, whereas I can see myself playing W3 at least a couple more times, with all the different story branches/decisions. I nearly started NG+ last night, less than a week after finishing B&W. My intention is to do that, then go back and play all three games from the start. Don't know if I'll ever get around to it but it's an appealing thought at the moment. It'll take me a hell of a long time, though.

I loved the way B&W ended, the little nod to the player. Brought a lump to my throat, I confess!

This post has been edited by Serenity: 14 June 2017 - 07:30 AM

[WinterPhoenix]

I'm starting to think I'm doing something wrong tbh, or at least that something is up. Wolves 6 levels lower than me take half my health in one hit. Bandits at or above my level barely damage me at all, I got one shot by a level 68 Bilge Hag, but similar level Draconids have been toppled with relative ease.

Im running an alchemy/swords build because it's just godly when built right, and I switch oils for the defensive bonus for every fight, so I'm really not sure how to explain the massive damage discrepancies tbh.

I agree with you about having little desire to return to HZD and previously played content though Serenity. I will be all over the dlc when it's released though!!

[Aptorian]

You say lvl 68? Are you playing a new game+? Otherwise I don't see how you could be running into mobs that heavy.

What difficulty are you playing on? Half way through the game I started to become so powerful I had to crank the difficulty all the way up just to make the normal fights a bit challenging.

[WinterPhoenix]

Yeah I'm doing NG+ on Death March, I understand getting one-shot by the hag, 9 levels my superior on the hardest difficulty, makes sense. What I don't get is why a similar level Forktail and Wyvern are doing considerably less damage. Even stranger is level 54 wolves (5 levels lower than me) hitting me for half my health in one go! I switch oil for every fight, depending on the type of creature, so I always get the 25% damage resistance from the alchemy perk, the wild differences are what's baffling me, I expected everything to hit like a truck lol

[Serenity]

I might try starting NG+ tonight and see what happens to me. I have read on reddit and other places a few comments about NG+ being imbalanced but I figured they were old posts so it might have been fixed by now - maybe it hasn't?

[Traveller]

Argh why does this game not agree with me?

I had another go. I think I'm just playing it wrong, but I just don't get the love for this game.

My main gripes are with the inventory system and monumental amount of crap its possible to accumulate, so I decided to just ditch a load of stuff and go looking for a story.

So Im off walking through the village I'm in, people keep repeating phrases as I pass, but when I speak to them their voices are from different actors and they act hostile, completely at odds with their first greeting. I can go into any peasants hut, loot their food and possessions while they all watch. Right.
Also the things I find are obviously useful for something, somewhere at some point but who knows so already I'm accumulating crap again. And why is it possible to ignite every candle/lantern/torch/fire in sight? Is it really necessary to have the ignite sign appear when it makes no difference to anything - like having an interact button over people who won't talk to you?

Outside again, it's raining which is cool. Thunder is good. I head out of the village, call my horse but he gets stuck on a fence and I have to go and get him.

Interiors are claustrophobic and dizzying, esp that goddamn windmill or tower or whatever it was I just had to get to the top of, only to get sent on a mission which involved two return journeys up the same spiral stairwell.

If you love this game, do you just let all the shabby stuff go? I've played better games criticised more for less immersion-breaking flaws.

I can't help but go back to it though as I feel like I'm missing something?

This post has been edited by Traveller: 15 June 2017 - 07:26 PM

[Aptorian]

Just force push all the shit inside you dont like.

[Serenity]

Traveller, on 15 June 2017 - 07:23 PM, said:

If you love this game, do you just let all the shabby stuff go?

I guess so, cos none of the stuff you mentioned has even occurred to me

Seriously, though, it's far from perfect, but it's a game that I think is marvellous in spite of its flaws.

This post has been edited by Serenity: 15 June 2017 - 07:55 PM

[Serenity]

WinterPhoenix, on 14 June 2017 - 02:53 PM, said:

I'm starting to think I'm doing something wrong tbh, or at least that something is up. Wolves 6 levels lower than me take half my health in one hit. Bandits at or above my level barely damage me at all, I got one shot by a level 68 Bilge Hag, but similar level Draconids have been toppled with relative ease.

Im running an alchemy/swords build because it's just godly when built right, and I switch oils for the defensive bonus for every fight, so I'm really not sure how to explain the massive damage discrepancies tbh.

I agree with you about having little desire to return to HZD and previously played content though Serenity. I will be all over the dlc when it's released though!!

Okay, so I started my NG+ last night, on Death March. I'm running a hybrid build using the Euphoria mutation with six combat skills, three signs skills, and five alchemy skills, along with the Manticore armour and Aerondight and Blave swords. I've fought several packs of wolves now and not had the same problem, in fact I've one-shotted a lot of them. The griffin in White Orchard went down pretty quickly. I did get taken down by an archer in two shots, but he was level 67 and I'm 56, so I guess that was to be expected I haven't come up against any Hags or Draconids yet, so can't say anything on that front. I've only just got to the Inn at the Crossroads, so not that far in, although I've got there considerably faster than I did in my first play through. It's lovely not having to hunt around for ingredients for potions and whatnot.

The only odd things I noticed were at the start, when my Toxicity tolerance level was back at 100 in stead of up near 300 where it should be. I read that un-equipping and re-equippin all armour and skills put it right, and it did. The other was it doesn't seem to have carried over all the mutagens I had stored, just a few of them, which is a bummer for unlocking the other mutations.

I also decided to try out some mods on this go through. At the moment I've got the HD reworked graphics overhaul, which is eye-popping, the Nitpickers one which fixes a lot of minor graphical glitches, and the one which shows the names of all the oils, potions and decoctions on the inventory screen which makes it quick and easy to find the one you're looking for. Might add some more as I go along.

This post has been edited by Serenity: 15 June 2017 - 07:58 PM

[Malankazooie]

I just stored all of the stuff I thought was important (but wasn't using/needed to equip) at those chest locations. The other stuff can be important early on when you need to dismantle it for parts required to craft better stuff. Once I got all my gear built up to max, I ether didn't pick up non essential stuff or if it was worth something I would sell it to the master armorer, master swords maker and master herbalist, etc for best price, because I found (for me anyway) this game doesn't allow you to drown in coinage like other games, so selling the junk became part of managing character logistics so I would have enough money to buy the expensive crafting components (i.e. Dimeritium Ingots).

[WinterPhoenix]

Traveller, on 15 June 2017 - 07:23 PM, said:

Argh why does this game not agree with me?

I had another go. I think I'm just playing it wrong, but I just don't get the love for this game.

My main gripes are with the inventory system and monumental amount of crap its possible to accumulate, so I decided to just ditch a load of stuff and go looking for a story.

So Im off walking through the village I'm in, people keep repeating phrases as I pass, but when I speak to them their voices are from different actors and they act hostile, completely at odds with their first greeting. I can go into any peasants hut, loot their food and possessions while they all watch. Right.
Also the things I find are obviously useful for something, somewhere at some point but who knows so already I'm accumulating crap again. And why is it possible to ignite every candle/lantern/torch/fire in sight? Is it really necessary to have the ignite sign appear when it makes no difference to anything - like having an interact button over people who won't talk to you?

Outside again, it's raining which is cool. Thunder is good. I head out of the village, call my horse but he gets stuck on a fence and I have to go and get him.

Interiors are claustrophobic and dizzying, esp that goddamn windmill or tower or whatever it was I just had to get to the top of, only to get sent on a mission which involved two return journeys up the same spiral stairwell.

If you love this game, do you just let all the shabby stuff go? I've played better games criticised more for less immersion-breaking flaws.

I can't help but go back to it though as I feel like I'm missing something?

Yeah honestly, as with Serenity above none of those things ever occurred to me in the same manner, I certainly never thought of them as immersion breaking at all, with the exception of being able to pick clean a peasants house in front of them, which I agree is a little bit ridiculous - also fair warning (in case you do stick at it) don't assume that's the case everywhere, steal in a Nilfgaardian or Redanian camp and watch 10+ high level guards fuck you up for your transgressions.

As for monumental amounts of crap you can accumulate, all I'll say is this, you really do not need to enter every single house to gather enough crafting materials for decent gear even on Death March clearing out every house would be overkill - not to mention harsh on your encumbrance. Now if you're inside a house anyhow for reasons related to play then you might as well, all alchemy related plants and monster parts weigh nothing anyway and can be gathered in the world, so to reiterate you're not missing anything game breaking if entering every house and building is something you're not inclined to do. It would definitely help for money to get the very best gear come the end-game, but frankly it's unnecessary on anything lower than Blood and Broken Bones.

Roach does get stuck on fences pretty often, but honestly considering how big the world is and the calling mechanic works pretty well really. Genuinely don't see why the interact button on candles and such annoys you so much, it's just so that when you do light one it doesn't have the whole Igni animation. I'm guessing that they're included to make interior areas less dark, never bothers me because I hike the brightness up, hate not being able to see.

Think the game's right up there with the best ever in terms on immersion tbh, outside of the obvious fantasy world factor of course.

[Malankazooie]

One thing that almost made me drop the game early on was how buggy it was. There was a bug that prevented me from getting the diagram for a piece of the viper gear. Another bug that affected one of the side quests I think, the one where you fight a succession of monsters, ending with the werewolf (the bug prevented me from finishing off the werewolf).

They finally fixed these, but it took some time, iirc. I soldiered on though, as there were tons of other quests and main story to experience. The viper bug did piss me off though because it was early on and killing that wraith was a summbitch, only to find that the bug prevented me from getting the diagram. I remember trying all kinds of things to see if I could reach it, but to no avail. I then looked it up online to see it was indeed a bug.

But yeah, they seemed to smooth things out after that. There were quite a few patches they sent out over time, so I think most of the bugs have been fixed.

[WinterPhoenix]

Malankazooie, on 15 June 2017 - 09:07 PM, said:

One thing that almost made me drop the game early on was how buggy it was. There was a bug that prevented me from getting the diagram for a piece of the viper gear. Another bug that affected one of the side quests I think, the one where you fight a succession of monsters, ending with the werewolf (the bug prevented me from finishing off the werewolf).

They finally fixed these, but it took some time, iirc. I soldiered on though, as there were tons of other quests and main story to experience. The viper bug did piss me off though because it was early on and killing that wraith was a summbitch, only to find that the bug prevented me from getting the diagram. I remember trying all kinds of things to see if I could reach it, but to no avail. I then looked it up online to see it was indeed a bug.

But yeah, they seemed to smooth things out after that. There were quite a few patches they sent out over time, so I think most of the bugs have been fixed.

Yeah it did have it's fair share of bugs on release, I missed alot of them because despite getting the game early in it's life, I didn't really play it until Blood and Wine had been released for one reason or another. I actually think as devs CDProjektRed did a very good job patching out alot of issues and listening to fan feedback, you sort of expect glitches and bugs in these massive open-world sandbox type games and it was never as buggy as Bethesda generally are, at least in my experience.

EDIT: All the issues Trav brings up, I'm surprised Geralt's choppy movement wasn't one of them, because after playing HZD and enjoying Aloy's seamless movement, it is far and away my biggest issue with this game.

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 15 June 2017 - 09:35 PM

[Malankazooie]

Another thing about the game (if you are just not feeling it), is that I've read more then one reviewer explain that early on the game didn't quite "grab them" but somewhere after playing "x" amount of hours the game gets really interesting and good and from that point you're hooked.

I forget how many hours it takes to get its hooks into you, but I experienced the same. Early on I was sort of "meh" by the game, but then after playing for some hours I was like "holy shit, this is getting good". And from that point on, well, it ranks up at the top of my list of best games released for the current consoles.

[WinterPhoenix]

It definitely does pick up after a certain point, I'd agree with that, the whole Kaer Morhen/White Orchard prologue is not as good as the main chunk of the game. I personally was hooked by the entire Bloody Baron quest, which was the first 'main quest' I did, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget some parts of that story, frankly I thinks its just incredible storytelling. Novigrad is full of amazing story moments as well, and Skellige while geographically annoying is just a great in terms of missions.

[Dadding]

WinterPhoenix, on 15 June 2017 - 09:33 PM, said:

EDIT: All the issues Trav brings up, I'm surprised Geralt's choppy movement wasn't one of them, because after playing HZD and enjoying Aloy's seamless movement, it is far and away my biggest issue with this game.

Are you using the "alternate" movement input style? They patched that in a little bit after release and it's a lot better. Still not great, but better.

[WinterPhoenix]

Yeah the alternate is better than original and I am using it, I still think it isn't really very good though, especially relative to everything this game does absolutely brilliantly. I mean I don't know if you've played HZD, but god damn, Aloy's movement in that game is as close to seamless as I've ever seen and it really illustrated just how clunky Geralt is after coming back to this.

[Malankazooie]

As far has horses go. I gotta say, Red Dead Redemption still is the high mark upon which all other horse mechanics strive to be. Roach definitely has his problems. But I remember no such aggravation in RDR.

[Morgoth]

How he follows the path without prompts is pretty brilliant though.

[Traveller]

WinterPhoenix, on 15 June 2017 - 09:33 PM, said:

Malankazooie, on 15 June 2017 - 09:07 PM, said:

One thing that almost made me drop the game early on was how buggy it was. There was a bug that prevented me from getting the diagram for a piece of the viper gear. Another bug that affected one of the side quests I think, the one where you fight a succession of monsters, ending with the werewolf (the bug prevented me from finishing off the werewolf).

They finally fixed these, but it took some time, iirc. I soldiered on though, as there were tons of other quests and main story to experience. The viper bug did piss me off though because it was early on and killing that wraith was a summbitch, only to find that the bug prevented me from getting the diagram. I remember trying all kinds of things to see if I could reach it, but to no avail. I then looked it up online to see it was indeed a bug.

But yeah, they seemed to smooth things out after that. There were quite a few patches they sent out over time, so I think most of the bugs have been fixed.

Yeah it did have it's fair share of bugs on release, I missed alot of them because despite getting the game early in it's life, I didn't really play it until Blood and Wine had been released for one reason or another. I actually think as devs CDProjektRed did a very good job patching out alot of issues and listening to fan feedback, you sort of expect glitches and bugs in these massive open-world sandbox type games and it was never as buggy as Bethesda generally are, at least in my experience.

EDIT: All the issues Trav brings up, I'm surprised Geralt's choppy movement wasn't one of them, because after playing HZD and enjoying Aloy's seamless movement, it is far and away my biggest issue with this game.

I had a longer list! But I didn't want to really lay into something that everyone else is clearly enjoying more than me.

I edited out my Hzd comparisons too as I think I've already mentioned them a few times already.. but yes, movement is more clunky, and everything seems far less impressive for having played Horizon.

I just don't find W3 as fun as I want to. Even the boat is a weird and flat experience with no breeze or waves, they may have well stuck an outboard on the back. And then made the button to get Geralt to actually use the thing really small and inconsistent so you spend five minutes just getting the thing to appear. Oh actually they did that bit.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 16 June 2017 - 07:21 AM