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The Witcher 3 Advice and Tips!

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Hello everyone!

That's right, I have just started to play the famous and super acclaimed The Witcher 3 game yesterday and I am totally new to the Witcher franchise. In this thread I would like to hear some advice and tips from more experienced players of this game, and also eventually share advice that I develop myself over time.

I am playing the PS4 version of The Witcher 3.

My first impressions of the game: The world of Witcher looks unbelievable! I would say that it's even prettier and more detailed than Horizon Zero Dawn. Very impressive graphics, and I love the colorful forests and sunsets. Geralt the Witcher seems to be a very cool protagonist so far, and the combat system has a good feel and energy to it.

At the moment, I am tracking down a Griffin somewhere and I am supposed to find some herbs to attract it. Also, Geralt is looking for his sorceress girlfriend and there is a missing little Witcher girl somewhere... At least, that's what I gather after paying very little attention to the dialogues and story.

What I am disliking already:

My gaming time is limited to around 75 minutes every night, sometimes not even an hour. The Witcher 3 already seems to be full of characters talking, research missions and plenty of dialogue options, quite similar to Horizon Zero Dawn... and I find that quite frustrating, because I want to invest my limited time on something more entertaining than some kind of interactive gaming movie.

Is the entire game very focused on dialogue and story development all the time? What happens if I suddenly start to ignore the main quest and just explore the world in order to enjoy combat and monster hunting? Do you really need to level up a lot in order to stand a chance in this world?

All advice and tips are welcome!
 

Gray-Hand

Minstrel
You can absolutely ignore the main quest line and explore the world on your own. There are tons of very well written side quests scattered all over the place that don’t affect the main story.

I recommend the following:
1. Easiest money maker is selling enemy weapons.
2. Only armour and weapons worth using are the special Witcher gear.
3. Specialising in Fast Attacks is very powerful.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Hello Gray Hand and Welcome to Mythic Scribes!

Thank you very much for your advice and tips, I am sure that they are going to be very helpful during my adventures with Geralt of Rivia in his beautiful and yet extremely dangerous world. I really want to earn loads of money quickly so Geralt gets to enjoy an easier time, and I also seek to master a simple and yet effective method of combat.

Oh guess what, I have killed the Griffin!

Well, Geralt's old Witcher friend helped but I delivered most of the hits and we quickly destroyed the beast. Now I have to go and visit the military commander or whatever that wanted this Griffin dead in exchange for information, and let's see if we can find Geralt's lost girlfriend soon after having completed this little adventure.

I know that this is barely the start of Witcher 3, but it already feels better than Horizon Zero Dawn.

As a Bloodborne player, I take great pleasure in a good combat system and the slaying of monsters and opponents alike. That's why I quickly disliked HZD you see, since destroying some damn robots just cannot bring the satisfaction of bloodshed and death that I enjoy so much... In the other hand, it seems that The Witcher 3 is going to make me very happy as I advance into the game.

The game mechanics of Witcher 3 are somewhat complex if compared to Bloodborne, but I'll get used to it.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
My Witcher 3 Adventure Update!

I took Geralt to see this military officer or whatever that wanted the Griffin dead. I think the money was a good reward, even though I am not sure of how much the payment actually was. Information about the girlfriend's whereabouts, great! The brawl at the little pub was nice, then the sorceress shows up and we ride away together.

At this point, the main quest of Witcher 3 started to feel like a chore.

I know that the quest is very focused on story, but if I drop the controller three times just to watch and listen and yawn for a good time like it was a damn TV show it cannot be a good signal. Perhaps this game is only for people that have read the Witcher books and played the previous games already, or simply the developers expect that you are going to sit there and play for five or seven hours nonstop.

Okay, so I spent most of my little and valuable gaming time tonight in a visit to this palace, watching as the staff bathes Geralt and shaves his beard and after that he chooses some boring formal suit and learns how to bow properly in order to meet the local emperor or whatever. It turns out that the missing Ciri is the daughter of this powerful leader, and Yennefer works for him (I think?) and Geralt is sent to track and find Ciri.

At the moment I am not sure of how to travel to the new area where Triss and Ciri are located, but I'll figure it out!

If the main quest continues to feel like this, I'll just start to explore and try to level up with the side quests. At least Geralt and Yennefer alike are great eye candy, the graphics are crazy beautiful and the world has a very nice atmosphere and dazzling sunsets.

I hope that The Witcher 3 is not going to be yet another huge disappointment...
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Adventure Update!

I have traveled to this country called Velen, which seems to be a very sad place torn apart by crime and war. It was a little fun to track Hendrik, especially because I met some hostile thugs in the forest and killed the three of them in battle.

Eventually I reached some kind of fort, which turned out to be the home of this disgusting Bloody Baron character. Geralt must find the Baron's missing family, so I ended up back in the forest in a quest to rescue a goat for this old shaman or something.

Now the fort is burning, I had a fight with the Baron and the quest at this point is to get rid of some kind of fetus monster?

Alright, I knew that finding Ciri was not going to be easy... but this is starting to get a little weird!

It was fun to play as Ciri for awhile in a flashback quest, and I managed to kill a huge bear during the Goat quest. Good things, but The Witcher 3 keeps feeling like some kind of interactive movie instead of a game.

Also, how come that I can land over twelve sword blows on a guard and he takes little damage, but he hits me one time and I am almost dead?

I thought that a Witcher was supposed to be very powerful, but Geralt is a wimp!

It's all about leveling up, I guess.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Here Comes yet another Adventure update!

Yeah, I keep playing The Witcher 3 even though the game remains unable to hook me so far. Now, about that little Fetus monster or whatever that it was... I tried to take the good path so it would transform into a positive spirit of some kind (I think?), but it kept attracting those evil ghosts in large numbers and I would lose the fight over and over again.

Who knows, perhaps my Geralt is very under-leveled and I should just explore the world instead?

In the end, I thought Screw This! and I decided to destroy the Fetus instead. The battle was difficult, but I managed to kill it quickly even though I have no idea of how I did that after all. The Baron did not like this, but screw him. I went to see the shaman dude again, some ritual happened, more evil ghosts appeared... After that, I traveled to talk to some isolated family in the woods and I learned more about the story and whereabouts of the missing women.

The Baron provided me with some kind of passport so I could go and find his daughter, which I did not use because I simply swam my way into the town of Oxenfurt and nobody batted an eye about my presence there. That was curious, I guess! The funky daughter is some kind of rough adventurer now, and I do not blame her.

It seems that now my task is to find the Baron's wife... and I have no idea of how to do this!

I did encounter and murder a variety of thugs and strange creatures on my way to that Oxenfurt town. Killing thugs is fun, and I especially enjoy setting them on fire. Hunting monsters is... fun too I guess, but still nothing even remotely comparable to the extreme beauty and powerful adrenaline of Bloodborne.

I hope that The Witcher 3 becomes better very soon, and I am not sure yet of why people love it so much.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Weird Game!

I am still not very convinced that Witcher 3 has the potential to become an enjoyable game for me, but I have continued my travels and adventure in that world anyway. The game was not giving me any directions anymore after talking to the Baron about his renegade daughter, I was simply clueless and so I decided to start doing the side quests at Velen.

One of them was an easy duel against some clueless idiot even weaker than Geralt, but in another quest I faced some kind of monster and it happened to be so powerful that it killed me with a single blow... What is the problem with Geralt? I know that leveling up is important just like in Bloodborne, but this guy is almost a joke of a monster hunter.

At that point, I decided that traveling back to White Orchard was a good idea.

The quests there are easier indeed. I completed one about a ghost that roamed a well, and now I am just about to kill a werewolf that has set lair inside of a dark cavern in the forest. I desperately want to level up, and earn more money for poor Geralt!

I returned to Velen after the ghostly quest, and suddenly the quest indicators are back! I am supposed to take a boat and travel to some place called Skellige, but this seems to be connected to the Ciri quest... Then, what about the Baron's wife?

What should I do? Advice please!

Witcher 3 feels like a convoluted mess... What exactly is so great about this game?
 

Gray-Hand

Minstrel
The main draw is the likeable characters and the depth of the ingame world. The narrative is pretty good once you focus on the story quests - which happens after you get out of Velen, where there is a lot more free roam.

It sounds like you are seriously underpowered for where you are in the story. If you have played a lot of Bloodborne, Witcher 3 combat should be a piece of cake. What armour are you wearing, what weapons do you have and what have you spent your talents on?
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Hello Gray Hand and once again thank you for your advice!

Alright, I am going to forget about the Baron's wife since that does not seem to be part of the main quest. I have to take the boat, go to Skellige and enjoy a better open world and gameplay from then on. It does sound good, and it was no fun to try and fix the Baron's family matters after all... oh and he is a jerk, so just screw him.

It sounds like you are seriously underpowered for where you are in the story. If you have played a lot of Bloodborne, Witcher 3 combat should be a piece of cake. What armour are you wearing, what weapons do you have and what have you spent your talents on?

I am wearing the same armour set from the start of the game, same swords and apparently I have not spent any talent points yet. Are those the same as Experience Points? What are the Mutagens and Mutations? Just how exactly am I supposed to level Geralt up? Wait, I did upgrade his boots (I think) and I have repaired the swords several times at the various blacksmith locations.

Bloodborne is more challenging in many ways, but Witcher 3 is more... complicated, or perhaps just convoluted as I said before.

The horse Roach is cool, indeed. I love the riding system, and Geralt is really a very likeable character! I love his personality, his voice and he is hot as well, a great protagonist. Great graphics and atmosphere, a lovely world!

I very much hope to enjoy this game later in the story, since it was my birthday present.
 

Gray-Hand

Minstrel
Jesus.

Okay. You need to get geared. You should be wearing some upgraded Witcher Armour and some Witcher upgraded Witcher swords. You should probably be in full Griffin or Cat armour by now. Cat is way better. You should google where to get the armour and sword diagrams from. I think the cat armour is actually a side quest line.

You can get some special Witcher viper sword diagrams (which you take to the blacksmith to craft the swords/armour) in Whitehaven which are guarded by a wraith/ghost thingy in a tomb in a graveyard.

You can get a diagram for griffin armour in a cave that has a griffin(I think) in it near the Baron’s castle.

I meant Skill Points, not talent points, sorry - you get one every time you level up. If you haven’t Spent them already, you can spend them in the character panel to develop special abilities, which make Geralt far more powerful. Mutagens can be put into a slot on that page to further enhance the abilities.

You have been playing with one hand tied behind your back. You will notice immediate effects to Geralts power once you get better gear and spend the Skill Points.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Thank you Gray Hand very much!

I have sadly failed to kill the werewolf in this Wild at Heart side quest at Velen. My strategy was to lure the ordinary wolves and kill them one by one so they could not help the monster, and it actually worked... the problem is that the werewolf remains too strong even without the assistance of its minions, and this thing also regenerates health damage very fast.

In one of my attempts the werewolf only had about a quarter of its health left, and yet it managed to recover and kill Geralt!

Alright, so I need to find this Cat Armour and get better swords as well. I'll dedicate Geralt to that as soon as I have a longer gaming session available, and then the damn werewolf is going to pay! I also want to duel and murder those soldiers and guards, I am sure that their weapons are very valuable and Geralt needs the gold.

The world of Witcher 3 is so beautiful, I just keep taking screenshots here and there and also I love the constant wind!
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
What am I doing Wrong?

Alright, this is the situation: I googled for the locations of the Griffin swords and armor, the places in question were easy to find in Velen's map and I decided to go and try to obtain the diagram for the Griffin silver sword to start with. The location looks like an abandoned little tower at the coast, and there is a small dragon flying around.

I avoided the dragon, descended into the water and swam to find a Place of Power. The problem is that there is a creature there, something similar to a drowner but much more powerful than ordinary drowners at other locations. According to the guide, I have to dive and find an underwater entrance to the building above... but this creature just does not let me do that!

I tried to kill it many times, but I get the same problem all over again: Geralt can hit the creature over twelve or fourteen times with strong attacks, I shoot fire too and the damage done is insignificant. Then, the monster hits me a few times and it's over... Who knows, perhaps I'll just dive far from that place and try to find some other entrance the next time.

Well, I know that I need to level up the swords and armor in order to have a decent Witcher to play with... but it's a little unfair that said upgrade sites are defended by strong monsters, and also contradictory in my opinion. I tried to obtain the Griffin steel sword diagram at a different location to the North of Hanged Man Tree, and the same happened there: A lot of monsters guarding the site, they are pretty much invulnerable to anything that I try against them and I cannot win.

Do I need to get my hands on some kind of magical potions for Geralt and his useless swords? Alchemy? Crafting something else? Is there some other kind of weapon that I have missed so far? And people say that Bloodborne is hard! At least, Bloodborne is fair and far more straight-forward with this kind of thing.

At the moment, I have set course towards the Griffin Armor diagram location in Velen too. I encountered a Bandit Camp along the way, and at least this event was fun because I can actually kill those thugs without much problem.

I had only three skill points available tonight, spent one on a Sign upgrade and now there are only two. I am starting to think that the game wants me to complete every single side quest, question mark and contract available at White Orchard and Velen and talk to everyone and collect everything (some guides actually suggest this), and if that's the case then I am going to lose patience with Witcher 3.

The alternative is to play in story-only mode, but I do not want to give up yet.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
New Formula!

So I have researched online about The Witcher 3 gameplay a little deeper today, and fortunately it seems that I have discovered something actually useful this time.

Somebody in a Forum suggested a different approach to the adventure: Start by completing all the Question Marks, follow with the Side Quests and leave the Contracts in last place.

First in White Orchard obviously, and then in Velen.

This approach takes time, but apparently it's the best way to gradually level up Geralt. In the other hand, I have been trying to level up faster by completing harder quests and it just does not work that way.

This is definitely the kind of game that demands very long gaming sessions and a lot of patience, and I do not have the time for this but... What the hell!

I am not going to sell it, so here we go!
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Adventure Update!

I decided to seek a few more adventures in Velen before my return to White Orchard, so I explored the area that I traveled to last night. This is Eastern Velen, not far from the place where the Griffin Armor diagrams are located according to the guides. It feels quite lonely, and the forests look a little creepier than usual at least in my view.

The good news are that I managed to annihilate two very large Bandit Camps, killing scores of those evil thugs left and right and taking plenty of loot! Too much loot actually, since I was forced to drop some old stuff from my inventory and this reminded me of Skyrim.

There was an abandoned town plagued by wraiths, I destroyed all of them (I think) and nothing special happened after that, not sure why... After that I came to discover another little town, inhabited this time, but it seemed that there was nothing important there. Luckily, I found a violet Place of Power on top of a rocky formation nearby and that was great!

I swam my way back to a more civilized area, reached the nearest Sign Post and traveled back to White Orchard.

Geralt Level at this point: Five.
Ability Points available: Three.
Armor Upgrades: Cavalry Boots and Axeman Trousers.
Swords: Still the same from the start of the game.
Crossbow: I already found a second and more powerful one, but I cannot use it yet.

I repaired my swords and some armor in White Orchard, and now I have to complete everything there...
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
What the Hell with this Motion Sickness!

Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. This Greatest game Ever made and Masterpiece and Game of a Generation and whatnot has been causing me a lot of motion sickness. I had noticed that there was something strange in the gameplay since the very beginning, but I thought that I would eventually get used to it.

I have researched, and loads of other people have experienced the same problem with Witcher 3 as well.

Some people say that you get used to it, but in my case it's just getting worse. I cannot play for more than thirty minutes, the game starts to make me feel very sick and I am forced to quit. I have played a lot of different Assassin's Creed games since the PS3, Super Mario 64 and the legendary Ocarina of Time back with the N64 and also games with very fast gameplay like Garden Warfare, Bloodborne and Horizon Zero Dawn in the PS4 system.

Out of all these games, only Witcher 3 has given me any degree of motion sickness and I find this utterly unacceptable.

Adventure update, anyway: I have completed most of the quests and adventures available at White Orchard. My Geralt is indeed stronger now, especially thanks to the different swords that I am using and various types of clothing and armor that I have discovered here and there. I destroyed the werewolf at Velen as part of the Wild at Heart quest, and that was great.

I want to keep playing this thing just because it was my birthday present, but the motion sickness issue is very serious at least for me. It starts to seem very likely that I am going to sell this game, how sad, but I want to give it a few more tries before taking a final decision.

Why this mess is such a popular game, I have no idea.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Screw this Witcher 3 crap! I liked Geralt of Rivia very much, the combat system was decent and it's a very pretty and interesting world and story, but the motion sickness problem just cannot be forgiven.

I am not one of those people taking Dimenhydrinate just to play this wreck.

Motion Sickness 3: The Wild Sickness goes straight back to the gaming shop!
 

Black Dragon

Staff
Administrator
As I said in our PM, I believe that the developers did a terrible job programming the game's cameras.
You won't have that issue with AC Origins or Odyssey.
As far as everything else is concerned, I hope you're having a great week :D

Indeed. The cameras behave very logically in the latest Assassins Creed games. My biggest problem with the Witcher 3 was that the typeface was too small for me to read from my family room sofa. It was hard to read the quest descriptions or the names of the inventory items. My wife and I ended up borrowing our daughter's low powered binoculars in order to play the game.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
In my experience, there are three serious problems with the camera and visual effects of Witcher 3.

The regular outdoors camera is the less harmful, but it still feels weird and, given enough time, sickening. I believe that this happens thanks to the slight GoPro-like effect that is a part of it, which provides the illusion that objects and places are a lot farther than they actually are. Just bad stuff, it feels weird.

Then, we have the indoors camera which is even worse... and please, what on Earth were they trying to achieve with that crazy Witcher Senses mode effects? Witcher Senses are the worst! The other cameras are bad enough, but the Witcher Senses thing almost made me throw up after some time of being even slightly exposed to it.

There I was, broken and laying on my bed as I tried to stabilize myself and avoid throwing up my dinner and all thanks to this MSID (motion sickness inducing device) that masquerades as a game. I am sorry for my constant negativity regarding this experience, but I just cannot understand why this "game" has not been taken off the market yet.

PC players tweak it here and there in order to make it more playable, and according to my research even then some of them have to take medication in order to play and enjoy the wreck. CD Project Red you suck, you bad developers should be ashamed, you should stop making games and I want my money back!

At least out of this terrible gaming experience I decided to get Destiny again, and I am going to give the harmless Horizon Zero Dawn another try later this month.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
The camera work in the game certainly needs some improvement, but I still love the game quite a bit and know people who are on their third or fourth play through of the whole thing. It’ll be interesting to see if they continue to adjust the gameplay with the next installment.
 
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