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 Avatar 720 wrote:
The only 'package' quest I've come across was also part of a longer chain, and actually served a very visible purpose in it, unlike RPGs where you get someone an item and the last you ever hear of it is in the Quest Complete screen.

Sweet.

Just purchased mine. See you guys in 50 hours.

Yeah, the great thing about this game is that everything has a story to it. Even a simple FedEx quest wouldn't be very simple in this game.

First reaction two hours in... I want to throttle the controls, my keyboard, and Geralt all at the same time...

 Enigwolf wrote:
First reaction two hours in... I want to throttle the controls, my keyboard, and Geralt all at the same time...

I think would be handier to use a controller hooked up to your pc then... I'm considering doing so and is apparently how the first two games were designed to be played.
I just grit my teeth and keep going haha

Snapped and bought a PS4 on saturday, just so I could play this.
My wifes reaction to one of the "investigation" portions was brilliant
"What the hell are you playing?! CSI: Gondor?"

I had lots of chores planned for this past 3 day weekend. Stuff like cleaning the bbq grill and re-caulk the tub. Instead I played Witcher 3 morning, noon and night. Was gonna grill up some steaks on sunday, perfect day for it, instead I ordered pizza.

I spent most of sunday afternoon investigating every ? on the lower half of the map and much to my chagrin they were mostly all bandit camps or monster nests. What happened to all of those places of power from the first map? There were a whole bunch. Or was that just a tease? I found 1 so far on the 2nd map and that wasn't even marked, it was over by the haunted tree quest, just sitting there like "Hi, here I am"

Right now I'm level 14 and doing novigrad quests, and it seems like they never end. I think I might ditch and go back to the wilderness for a while for a change of scenery... soon as finish kicking Whoreson Johnny's teef in.

 Enigwolf wrote:
First reaction two hours in... I want to throttle the controls, my keyboard, and Geralt all at the same time...

Yup. To quote another Dakka member: "he has the turning circle of a battleship".

Glad I play on Xbox, then

Haven't had any trouble with the controls yet.

It's odd, though. He seems to control just fine when walking, poorly when jogging, but better when running (one wouldn't expect him to turn on a dime when running at full speed).

Yeah, walking around inside houses and in combat is fine, and sprinting is weirdly precise, but jogging--which is annoyingly his standard method of foot-based movement--is downright frustrating. I've taken to just sprinting everywhere, especially since the stamina bar might as well be unlimited outside of combat.

 Pete Melvin wrote:
Snapped and bought a PS4 on saturday, just so I could play this.
My wifes reaction to one of the "investigation" portions was brilliant
"What the hell are you playing?! CSI: Gondor?"

If you bought a PS4, get Bloodborne too. It's amazing.

As to the Witcher 3, I love it so far. I have niggles with it like the controls, but I forgive it. Such an experience so far. 12 hours and level 10.

Got it at the same time as my PS4, it came in a bundle with The Witcher.

Not sold on it so far. Im not a big fan of repetition, and that seems to be what BB is all about. Attack, die, attack, die, attack, die, open gate, die, repeat.

I think Im starting to "get it" but nowhere near as good as the Witcher IMHO

Ah that's fair enough. Not every game is for everyone after all!

The horse controls are kinda stupid, and cameras inside are kinda wonky, but its not too annoying

On foot, the S key (assuming WSAD movement) will do an about-face.

The horse is, yeah, wonky, but I tend to only use the horse to go from town to town, I really dig the auto-pilot function. With some upgrades, though, Roach is less-likely to throw you off at the first sign of trouble.

The interior camera issues have always been a problem, mainly because the camera is "solid" and intended to remain at a fixed distance from Geralt, barring collision with a world-object, and also has a limited arc of movement (which is also why you only get, like, 45 degrees of elevation/declination on the crossbow).

Digging the autopilot too. I don't like how S in combat makes you face backwards. I'd rather he step back as opposed to show his back to his foes.

Oh yea the auto pilot on the road is amazing, when it works

It doesnt seem to like sharp curves.

 Enigwolf wrote:
Digging the autopilot too. I don't like how S in combat makes you face backwards. I'd rather he step back

Hit Alt+S and he'll do just that.

Just want to get the community feels on this....

Once you get to like level 7 or 8 in Velen... everyone just basically stops what they're doing to start "Regulatin'" around the countryside, right?

I mean, killing bandits, allowing monsters to eat those who wronged them and then killing the monsters themselves, killing invading soldiers, regardless of their sob-stories and otherwise just kind of establishing that you are the voice of Down With This Sort of Thing, right?

That's what I did. It started after I ran into some level 10 bandits trying to burn down a house while I was level 4. I had no hope in hell of beating them, so ran away. Now that Im level 14, I'm roaming around the countryside, kicking the ass of most everything I come across (the level 22 Griffin? Not so much. Level 23 Ghouls? Ah, no...)

... but anything +/- 3 levels from me, and definitely anything lower, gets wtf-sorted out right quick if I come upon them engaged in dickery. I've also taken up snorkeling and shooting drowners with my crossbow to take the treasures from the depths of the oceans and lakes.... and, oh my, what treasures they are.

His Master's Voice wrote:

 Enigwolf wrote:
Digging the autopilot too. I don't like how S in combat makes you face backwards. I'd rather he step back

Hit Alt+S and he'll do just that.

Cheers!

Psienesis wrote:Just want to get the community feels on this....

Once you get to like level 7 or 8 in Velen... everyone just basically stops what they're doing to start "Regulatin'" around the countryside, right?

I mean, killing bandits, allowing monsters to eat those who wronged them and then killing the monsters themselves, killing invading soldiers, regardless of their sob-stories and otherwise just kind of establishing that you are the voice of Down With This Sort of Thing, right?

That's what I did. It started after I ran into some level 10 bandits trying to burn down a house while I was level 4. I had no hope in hell of beating them, so ran away. Now that Im level 14, I'm roaming around the countryside, kicking the ass of most everything I come across (the level 22 Griffin? Not so much. Level 23 Ghouls? Ah, no...)

... but anything +/- 3 levels from me, and definitely anything lower, gets wtf-sorted out right quick if I come upon them engaged in dickery. I've also taken up snorkeling and shooting drowners with my crossbow to take the treasures from the depths of the oceans and lakes.... and, oh my, what treasures they are.

I'm just starting on this journey, ha. I was like, "well eff this gak, I'm stuck in a gakky land with no real mission except kill gak". I was nice before, but now feeling like I got exiled for something I did, I'm just killing everything.

If I see people to kill, they get killed.

Unless they're 4+ levels higher then I hide. It's like playing an MMO!

 MrDwhitey wrote:
If I see people to kill, they get killed.

Unless they're 4+ levels higher then I hide. It's like playing an MMO!

I can't even advance the main story to get out of crappy arse Velen because of the level gates.

P.S. does anyone look at some of the requirements for skill traits and wonder at how some require 20+ points in that area to unlock? And then wonder some more at if that's even possible to unlock, given how slow experience is to come by?

Apparently the devs said the game has enough content to get to levels 60 - 70, but the game can be done 25 - 30.

I have been playing the game for a couple of days now and I am enjoying it more and more as I go on.

Combat is quite unlike anything I am used to. Your opponents truly do work as a team and, even on the easiest difficulty level can prove to be quite a challenge. While it can be fun at times, I do get frustrated as I die very regularly. I have taken to fighting on horseback as it is incredibly effective, especially if you do the jedi mind trick thingy on the horse so he doesn't run off.

The quests are all fun though dialogue can drag on at times during the main missions especially with Geralt's awfully monotone voice. The cinematic intros to all the missions really make them feel more important than in say, Skyrim.

Some features of the game still need looking at though, the jogging speed as mentioned already as well as the size of icons when looting and in your inventory. I think this may just be an issue for PS4 users but I should not have to step up super close to my 60" tv to see what I am taking from the corpse of my latest victim!

For me, the unsung hero of the game is Gwent. I am totally addicted to playing the card game and will often stop mid quest and play a few rounds. It is an incredibly diverse little game and offers for a bunch of tactics. A hard won victory in a game of Gwent can be just as satisfying as beheading a Griffon at times.

 Psienesis wrote:
Just want to get the community feels on this....

Once you get to like level 7 or 8 in Velen... everyone just basically stops what they're doing to start "Regulatin'" around the countryside, right?

I mean, killing bandits, allowing monsters to eat those who wronged them and then killing the monsters themselves, killing invading soldiers, regardless of their sob-stories and otherwise just kind of establishing that you are the voice of Down With This Sort of Thing, right?

That's what I did. It started after I ran into some level 10 bandits trying to burn down a house while I was level 4. I had no hope in hell of beating them, so ran away. Now that Im level 14, I'm roaming around the countryside, kicking the ass of most everything I come across (the level 22 Griffin? Not so much. Level 23 Ghouls? Ah, no...)

... but anything +/- 3 levels from me, and definitely anything lower, gets wtf-sorted out right quick if I come upon them engaged in dickery. I've also taken up snorkeling and shooting drowners with my crossbow to take the treasures from the depths of the oceans and lakes.... and, oh my, what treasures they are.

That's one of the quests I took issue with. Go back later. It's burned down, no bandits, hidden side-quest now unable to be completed. Even reloading an older save didn't stop it happening, so no idea how far you can be from the area without accidentally triggering it. It's very close to where it drops you, fresh from White Orchard, so I imagine not many people actually manage to do it until their second play-through, unless they managed to miss it until they levelled up a bit further. It's dickish.



The submerged treasure back in WO was a pain, though. The game doesn't mention until sometime later that you can even use the crossbow underwater, never mind that when underwater, the crossbow pretty much 2-shots Drowners. I had to use Google to find it out.

Currently I'm level 12, and have just been contracting and side-questing my way along, with occasional forays into the main questline. Doing one side-quest I happened upon a level 25 Griffon in the middle of a road. That didn't end well. Not too far after that I encountered the 5 level 23 ghouls you mentioned (I assume they're the same ones, anyway). I was level 11 at the time, and the Griffon just nailed me. I managed to take out the Ghouls, though, through excessive rolling, use of Quen, and stuffing my face with food. Enhanced Thunderbolt and Necrophage oil didn't really make the fights any easier than they were without, and I did it mostly by separating one from the pack, herding it into a corner, and relentlessly wailing on it, pausing only to refresh Quen when it breaks. Can't wait to try it on harder difficulties.

One thing I'll mention when fighting bandits/humanoids in general, though: trees don't block LoS from archers/crossbowman, or stop their arrows/bolts. They pass right through as if the tree wasn't there, so don't bother trying to use terrain against ranged enemies.

Crossbows 2-shot drowners in the water? They do pathetic damage on land. How does them being more effective in water make sense? lol

But yeah, I'm on the 3rd hardest difficulty level, and every round of combat stopped feeling tactical... it felt more like Quen/hit hit hit/Quen breaks/roll roll roll till I can cast Quen again/repeat.

The normal trees won't block arrows, but the huge trees and other things like tents and such will. I've used those to avoid bandit archers while killing their buddies.

I hate bandit archers :( Can't they see I'm busy killing their friends and just leave me alone for a minute?

I'm up to 17 now, kinda disappointed though that I let some quests get to the bottom of my list and now I can't get XP for them.. if the name turns gray in your list, you're too big and you won't earn xp. So I'm going back and doing them all, gonna try and stay on top of em now. Looks like it's a range of like 5 levels or so, level 12 is still green but level 11 quests are gray.

This game is so much fun!

Except when you come across 5 Level 7 bandits and you're only level 3, then it's really damned tough, but I got through them in the end!

 Necros wrote:


I'm up to 17 now, kinda disappointed though that I let some quests get to the bottom of my list and now I can't get XP for them.

This is the first thing I'm modding out of the game when I have the chance. I could tolerate it for side quests but not for main storyline content.