Octopus Overlords

I didn't restart; I finished the main W3 story in 2016 and Hearts of Stone in 2020. Took an hour or so to get back into the controls and UI, but it's not a problem anymore. That being said, I have a backpack full of stuff that I have no idea what it is anymore.

Lol thats me. So much junk and I have no idea why I kept it. I finished the game in 2016 I think. But I backed up my save. I have it sitting on my hard drive so when I reinstall Ill just copy it over and then start up the DLCS

Yeah, I’ll echo the suggestion that you don’t need to replay the whole game to get to the DLC, though it’s worth knowing that the difficulty in HoS ramps significantly over the base game. So if you are someone who gets rusty when you don’t play a game for a while, keep that in consideration.

And if you do replay the base game, I think HoS fits in even better during the game than after. There is dialog that suggests it too.

Blood and Wine is truly its own game. Witcher 4. It’s so awesome as a whole, and such a great way to end the story. You shouldn’t miss it. But while it might be better as a whole, no mission in it comes close to the mission that is HoS, which is probably my favorite mission in any game ever made.

Full of spoilers, but I'm really amazed at the level of detail - and the subtle differences I saw that I'd just assumed were the only way.

I watched that video. Damn I miss that world. Is it time for a 3rd play through yet? Hmmm...

I discovered several of the things on my 2nd time through the game that he calls out, like

But I missed Geralt's behavior at the auction if you choose not to participate, which is really more in character than him participating.

I am just a few hours into Blood and Wine and it's reaffirmed my original feeling (actually, increased it) that this is the best game I've played in a decade. Others (a few, in truth) have come close. However, this game is firing on all cylinders - pacing, story, writing, voice acting, set pieces - everything is just so damn perfect.

Once again I'm simultaneously angry and beyond thrilled that I didn't play the DLC back in 2016; I need this now.

TW3WH is on sale today. Any reason NOT to fork over the extra few bucks to pick up the GOTY edition?

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:35 pm TW3WH is on sale today. Any reason NOT to fork over the extra few bucks to pick up the GOTY edition?

You haven't read the last couple pages have you J? No reason at all..pick it up so you have the DLCs and the free stuff.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:43 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:35 pm TW3WH is on sale today. Any reason NOT to fork over the extra few bucks to pick up the GOTY edition?

You haven't read the last couple pages have you J? No reason at all..pick it up so you have the DLCs and the free stuff.

I looked at them but I was just being sure. I seem to remember one game a while ago on Steam where the GOTY edition nerfed some of the content of the original game. Just wanted to be sure no one had any issues with it.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:47 pmI looked at them but I was just being sure. I seem to remember one game a while ago on Steam where the GOTY edition nerfed some of the content of the original game. Just wanted to be sure no one had any issues with it.

All of it. Buy everything. Every minute of this game is a treasure.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:49 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:47 pmI looked at them but I was just being sure. I seem to remember one game a while ago on Steam where the GOTY edition nerfed some of the content of the original game. Just wanted to be sure no one had any issues with it.

All of it. Buy everything. Every minute of this game is a treasure.

Buy it and hold off just a little while because CDPR is going to update the whole thing presumably when some of the team can be redirected off of Cyberpunk. This was easily the best RPG of the 'generation' and maybe all-time.

malchior wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:57 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:49 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:47 pmI looked at them but I was just being sure. I seem to remember one game a while ago on Steam where the GOTY edition nerfed some of the content of the original game. Just wanted to be sure no one had any issues with it.

All of it. Buy everything. Every minute of this game is a treasure.

Buy it and hold off just a little while because CDPR is going to update the whole thing presumably when some of the team can be redirected off of Cyberpunk. This was easily the best RPG of the 'generation' and maybe all-time.

Game bought! I like the idea of it being updated. Hopefully someone will publish a time estimate of the update sometime during the next couple of months.

Looks like I started but only put .8 of an hour into Witcher 2. Do I need to play 2 before I play 3?

It's not necessary but I think you'll enjoy W3 more if you play W2 first. For whatever reason, the second game is much shorter - I think you can finish the the core story and a whole bunch of side quests in close to ~30 hours total.

I don’t think it’s necessary. I had beaten The Witcher 2 but didn’t really remember any of it when starting The Witcher 3. And W3 is so much better than W2 (which was good, but nothing incredible) that I wouldn’t suggest playing 30 hours of an inferior game just to get the backstory. That’s what YouTube is for.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:12 pm I don’t think it’s necessary. I had beaten The Witcher 2 but didn’t really remember any of it when starting The Witcher 3. And W3 is so much better than W2 (which was good, but nothing incredible) that I wouldn’t suggest playing 30 hours of an inferior game just to get the backstory. That’s what YouTube is for.

I'm glad to hear that because I've bought The Witcher 3, having never played the previous two games.

jztemple2 wrote:

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:12 pm I don’t think it’s necessary. I had beaten The Witcher 2 but didn’t really remember any of it when starting The Witcher 3. And W3 is so much better than W2 (which was good, but nothing incredible) that I wouldn’t suggest playing 30 hours of an inferior game just to get the backstory. That’s what YouTube is for.

I'm glad to hear that because I've bought The Witcher 3, having never played the previous two games.

I never played W1 or W2. I consider W3, and it's DLCs, like many in this thread it appears, my favourite game of the past 5+ years.
I'm sure I missed out on some aspects by not having the background from W1/W2, but it certainly felt like there was more than enough self containment to W3.

Jiffy wrote: ↑Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:03 pm

jztemple2 wrote:

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:12 pm I don’t think it’s necessary. I had beaten The Witcher 2 but didn’t really remember any of it when starting The Witcher 3. And W3 is so much better than W2 (which was good, but nothing incredible) that I wouldn’t suggest playing 30 hours of an inferior game just to get the backstory. That’s what YouTube is for.

I'm glad to hear that because I've bought The Witcher 3, having never played the previous two games.

I never played W1 or W2. I consider W3, and it's DLCs, like many in this thread it appears, my favourite game of the past 5+ years.
I'm sure I missed out on some aspects by not having the background from W1/W2, but it certainly felt like there was more than enough self containment to W3.

Yeah not necessary to play 1 or 2. I think reading the books is actually more informative since the game follows the cannon in the books, but still not necessary to enjoy the game.

You could also watch season 1 on Netflix to get a good idea of some of the back story.

I got this for the PC and I can't figure out how to run from combat. I think there was a tool tip once that explained it was possible, but I've been unable to find it and the online help all seems centered around consoles. Anyone remember?

Have you tried facing away from your opponent and running?

hepcat wrote:Have you tried facing away from your opponent and running?

That's pretty much it...run away from your opponent until they give up the chase. Nothing fancy

hepcat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 12:26 pm Have you tried facing away from your opponent and running?

Gerralt keeps turning back to face the threat. I've taken to rolling away until I am far enough to break the contact, but it's not very dignified.

You can typically break a target lock just by running the opposite direction, but if it won't let go, press whatever button/key sets the target lock and you should be able to escape.

Urgently dropping f-bombs while you're running also seems to keep him on track.

hepcat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 12:26 pm Have you tried facing away from your opponent and running?

Sig-worthy advice

It'll be included in the tutorial for the next Blood Dragon.

"To jump, press jump."

I don't know if anybody else has realized this yet, but this is a really great game. I've spent 15 hours on it and am only Level 4. Normally I might bemoan my lack of progress, but I spent 5 hours playing yesterday without stopping, only gained 1/4 of a level, and not only didn't realize it had been 5 hours, but loved every minute of it! For story reasons, I really wish I had played 1 & 2, but they seem to do a pretty good job giving me backstory (although I felt really out of my depth when questioned about my past by Morvran Voorhis while getting my face shaved before meeting the Emperor). Also, I might be the cause of global warming in this land as I apparently have plans to corner the market on all herbs and have difficulty passing a plant without collecting it.

Yeah, I've spent most of my Christmas vacation so far playing Witcher 3.

I'm level 14 and running around in Novigrad, but I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of the game.

Holman wrote: ↑Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:49 pm Yeah, I've spent most of my Christmas vacation so far playing Witcher 3.

I'm level 14 and running around in Novigrad, but I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of the game.

I spent my whole break playing this (when I was allowed on the computer - which was only a few hours each day before the kids got up). Really enjoying it. My biggest complaint is I don't know how to manage my inventory. Some questions in no particular order - Like, do I really need all these reagents I keep collecting? I can Meditate and recreate all my potions - does that use anything other than the alcohol? Once I create an oil, it seems to last forever - but do the Decoctions? I keep getting blueprints, but there doesn't appear to be a way to know the stats of what I'm getting and if it's better than what I have. And should I be selling my leftover swords and armor, or deconstructing it for the bits and pieces?

This is the first Witcher I've played, so maybe it would be more obvious if I was a seasoned player. Also, I'm not using the fast travel points - I walk/ride everywhere because the world is so beautiful and I think it adds to the story. Like - I better do everything I can in a certain area because getting back here is going to be a pain! I'm nearly level 12 but haven't made it as far north as Novigrad yet.

Started playing this one again finally over the break as well. I do hate dying because I forgot the controls, but I think I'm over that now. Catching up on quests and where I am, not so much.

Picked up again at level 23 in Skellige. Did a couple of quests to get back into things and picked up the main story again. There are a lot of cool side quests in this game, but I really needed to get back to the main questline again. Bonus is that completing the step I was on triggered some dialogs/cutscenes which helped me remember the things I had done years ago.

stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 10:58 am And should I be selling my leftover swords and armor, or deconstructing it for the bits and pieces?

If I recall correctly, I started off by selling anything that was just normal swords and armor for the cash, then deconstructing any non witcher gear for the parts so I could use that to upgrade/craft witcher gear. It really comes down to getting the right witcher gear for your fighting style (i went all cat).

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:10 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 10:58 am And should I be selling my leftover swords and armor, or deconstructing it for the bits and pieces?

If I recall correctly, I started off by selling anything that was just normal swords and armor for the cash, then deconstructing any non witcher gear for the parts so I could use that to upgrade/craft witcher gear. It really comes down to getting the right witcher gear for your fighting style (i went all cat).

There are fighting styles? I probably have to get further into the game. I think I'm only like 35 hours at Level 11.5.

The witcher gear is GEARED (see what I did there?) towards specific fighting styles in that cat is lighter and allows you to dodge more during a fight, while bear will allow you to absorb more damage and go toe to toe with a baddy. Those are just examples and there are other schools too (wolf being Geralt's default school).

I went wolf school. But I really never bothered for much of the game. Right before the end I made en effort to finish it all off to GM armor and GM swords with them enchanted.

I bought Witcher 3 years ago but didn't play it at all because I never finished the first Witcher game.

Maybe I need to just skip the first two games and play Witcher 3.

Victoria Raverna wrote:I bought Witcher 3 years ago but didn't play it at all because I never finished the first Witcher game.

Maybe I need to just skip the first two games and play Witcher 3.

Yes you should! I didn't get far in the first game and skipped the second one. Witcher 3 with all the DLC has been one of the most enjoyable and moving games I've ever played.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 05, 2021 8:49 am

Victoria Raverna wrote:I bought Witcher 3 years ago but didn't play it at all because I never finished the first Witcher game.

Maybe I need to just skip the first two games and play Witcher 3.

Yes you should! I didn't get far in the first game and skipped the second one. Witcher 3 with all the DLC has been one of the most enjoyable and moving games I've ever played.

Ditto for me. I played 1 for quite awhile, but didn't finish, never played 2 because I didn't finish 1, but 3 is really good (though, per above, I didn't finish that the first time either, but I'm back after a year or 2 at least.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Tue Jan 05, 2021 12:58 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 05, 2021 8:49 am

Victoria Raverna wrote:I bought Witcher 3 years ago but didn't play it at all because I never finished the first Witcher game.

Maybe I need to just skip the first two games and play Witcher 3.

Yes you should! I didn't get far in the first game and skipped the second one. Witcher 3 with all the DLC has been one of the most enjoyable and moving games I've ever played.

Ditto for me. I played 1 for quite awhile, but didn't finish, never played 2 because I didn't finish 1, but 3 is really good (though, per above, I didn't finish that the first time either, but I'm back after a year or 2 at least.

Yeah, I played Witcher 3 without playing either of the first two games. There's a part at the beginning where you talk with Yennefer and have dialogue choices that establish the key decisions made in the prior two games. I didn't know what the hell they were talking about and made semi-random choices, which was fine.

I actually went back and played through Witcher 2 afterwards, since I liked Witcher 3 so much. Held up pretty well.

One thing that I will say for people playing through Witcher 3 now is that it's probably worth looking up the key decisions that determine whether you get the good ending or the bad ending. They're not intuitive or obvious at all IMO (I got a good ending, but when I went back I was surprised by what mattered, and I *barely* avoided the bad ending), and the bad ending is a massive bummer. I'd be happy to post the key ones in as non-spoilery a way as possible if that would be helpful.

Not playing Witcher 1 & 2?? Heretics.

After all the "it's the biggest thing since sliced bread" comments I bought Witcher 3 from Steam during the sale, but was told to wait to play till they released a updated graphics package. Any idea yet on when this will occur?