Board 8 > When does Witcher 3 get good

(+) Yeah! (+)

Right now I'm really not getting it, but it is still very early on I guess. I'm looking for the Baron's wife and kid at the moment and it just feels so ho-hum and boring. I imagine the combat will get better once I unlock more good shit but I'm very unenthused by this at the moment, and am tempted to drop it entirely. Is it a "stick with it" type deal or should I be in love by now?

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When you get to the big city IMO.

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The combat doesn't get a whole lot better but you'll get better at using your signs probably. Yeah a few hours after first big city is maybe a stopping point if you're not feeling it then.

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Yeah the Baron isn't too exiting a starting quest, honestly. The Novigrad and Skellige storylines are much better and where a lot of the good characters live.

The combat is basically serviceable to slightly above average, but I will say that it depends a lot on making a good build. It gets less clunky the more you specialize, and if you think it's too much of a cakewalk and pressing left click to win then you should bump up the difficulty.

Also if you don't like the current questline you're on just leave and go to Novigrad now.

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Did you play the first 2 games

Like I haven't played 3 yet because I wanted to play those first 2 games and now that I finished those I don't see myself disliking it no matter what the game plays like because I'm so invested in the story and characters

Just waiting until I have a PS5 and it gets that update before actually start playing it

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ninkendo posted...

Did you play the first 2 games

In fairness no, but was reliably informed I'd like it regardless, so

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I think a lot of the appeal for me is Geralt himself.

Like I'm not a huge fan of these more traditional fantasy settings, I was never able to get into skyrim for example, but Geralt gives me some real Solid Snake vibes in terms of his personality so I just enjoy playing as him.

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I liked it but the claims it is the best game ever are unfounded in my opinion.

Maybe all the hype has tainted your time with it?

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As someone who generally dislikes open world games, I still had a lot of fun with it but i skipped a lot of quests that looked lame.

The dlc's are definitely the best part of the game, but there's a lot of engaging quests throughout the game.

I'd say if you're still not feeling it after getting to the major city, then you can drop it just fine. The characters are one of the bigger draws, but it does take a while to get running and out of the tutorial areas.

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Never, imo. I played it this spring/summer while quarantined and that's really the only reason I finished it. It has a few good quests and the DLC is actually good, but I was thoroughly unimpressed. Also by far the worst menu system in recent memory.

colliding posted...

Also by far the worst menu system in recent memory.

Its the issue of open world games made for consoles. Skyrim has the worst menu of all time to make it ok for controllers. This isn't a dig at consoles - devs just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Anyway, Witcher 3 is alright. The story is great once you push past the start, but everything else is bleh. If you're not feeling it once you hit Novigrad just drop it. It's more of the same

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I'd recommend putting the game down and picking it back up when you feel inspired to, and I'm saying this as someone who loves the game

I'm terms of gameplay, the combat never gets great. It's ultimately an rpg.

The game's really about the story and setting. You have to be in the mood to play as geralt and enjoy the slow pace of a peasant's low magic world. If you're not in the mood to play detective, find the monster of the week, and slow boil some relationship drama, you'll be so much happier holding off until you are.

Heavy rpgs do this to me. I didn't like witcher 3, mass effect, or morrowind the first times i played them. For each game, I put them down, and then a summer or two later really felt like i wanted to see what was going on in those worlds and didnt mind it taking a while to get there

I thought the baron chapter was strong- well written and full of believable characters. so if you're not enamored by this point you probably won't be a huge fan of the remainder, even if the scope and power level picks up from there

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I put down the game less than 2 hours in. For someone whose signature picks in the bracket were half taking W3 to the finals, I certainly don't enjoy Witcher games very much. I played W2 a little longer, but I felt like I was just playing Cutscene: The Game, with a side of Gwent and some really stiff, clunky combat once in a while. Maybe I'll give it another try, but it certainly wasn't setting itself up to be very good.

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basically everything SHINE said

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I think I made this exact same topic during the early weeks of Covid. My initial impression was surprise - primarily at how janky and clunky Geralt/the overall mechanics felt compared to controlling Link in BotW. I thought about dropping it at around the 8-hour mark but persevered and finished with well over 100 hours invested (along with both DLCs and most major side quests completed).

I also wasn't that interested in the Baron questline, so I "got over the hump" by prioritizing Witcher contracts. Those were my favorite parts of the early game - fun little self-contained missions which promoted exploration and taught you the combat against unique enemies. They really helped me learn and appreciate the combat system (it's serviceable, nothing too special), which in turn helped me power through to more interesting parts of the main story.

Like others have said, imo the best parts of the game are tucked at the end (Skellige and the two DLCs).

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ninkendo posted...

Did you play the first 2 games

Like I haven't played 3 yet because I wanted to play those first 2 games and now that I finished those I don't see myself disliking it no matter what the game plays like because I'm so invested in the story and characters

This is a big part of it, but also not. I would say playing the first two games definitely enhance my experience of the game. I'm attached to the characters, and having them show up in different parts of the game whether through small cameos, or bigger roles made me care more.

Game is great standalone, imo, but the game does have moments of dullness. Others are right though, the beginning is going to be the sloggiest of the the bunch.

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banananor posted...

I thought the baron chapter was strong- well written and full of believable characters. so if you're not enamored by this point you probably won't be a huge fan of the remainder, even if the scope and power level picks up from there

The Baron quest line is the most polarizing in the game so hard disagree on pinning all expectations on it

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I got bored and quiet after about 15-20 hours. No shame in moving onto another game if it's not your jam.

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It's my second favorite game, and sometimes feels like it should be #1. I played 2 before jumping into 3 and that set the stage quite well. I also decided to read the first few books too. The atmosphere of TW3 is so on point.

I also never had an issue with the combat. Playing on Blood & Broken Bones difficulty, I found it methodical and rewarding. Particularly with the more predictable human enemies.

It clicked for me in White Orchard, pretty early on. I'm not sure what you'd need to have it click for you. Although I haven't played the game in over 3 years now, maybe time would change my impression of it a little.

tbh whenever I see these topics I don't think I've ever seen people come around to enjoying the game in question.

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Peridiam posted...

tbh whenever I see these topics I don't think I've ever seen people come around to enjoying the game in question.

This is my experience as well. It usually feels more like either a dare to the board to convince someone of something subjective, or just a desire for some sort of external motivation.

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scarletspeed7 posted...

This is my experience as well. It usually feels more like either a dare to the board to convince someone of something subjective, or just a desire for some sort of external motivation.

It's the latter probably? I'm kinda just surprised at how not into it I am. But I'll keep going for now

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