nicked on 22/8/2016 at 11:42
Igni? Don't think I ever used it - Quen sign and constant dodging meant 90% of fights I never took damage.
Malf on 22/8/2016 at 13:59
Yeah, powered-up Igni basically means anything that doesn't require Yrden (or isn't a Golem), doesn't get to attack you as they're constantly burning.
You still have to build around it mind you, using Griffin armour, or maybe Wolf if you want some sword-based flexibility. Personally, I favour Wolf, as while Igni damage suffers from not using Griffin, the added flexibility gives you more options and it just looks better. Griffin makes Geralt look like a pillow with limbs.
Sulphur on 22/8/2016 at 18:06
Sometimes, you realise there are things you didn't know you wanted until someone on an internet forum typed it out, and then you find yourself hollowed out by the powerful, painful desire to make it real.
Thirith on 23/8/2016 at 09:49
I played a bit with the minimap switched off, but I ended up finding this too fiddly and frustrating; perhaps my pathfinding skills, acquired through years of CRPGs, have atrophied too much. Other than that, I've deactivated most of the HUD.
I'm enjoying the game so far (only a couple of hours in), but it hasn't fully clicked yet. It is an absolutely gorgeous world, though, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of it.
Thirith on 28/8/2016 at 15:24
D'oh.
I just found out that I got alchemy completely wrong. For the longest time I kept thinking, "Man, how come I can't make any new Swallow potions? And why is meditation so useless on my difficulty level?"
Yup.
I was going to post somtething about how unfair the game is, but now I'll post instead how it's cool that the game forces you to read and pay attention. Sort of. :p
Thirith on 11/9/2016 at 15:31
Just wanted to say a resounding "Fuck you" to the werewolves in this game. I accept that I'm not the best at fighting in The Witcher 3 (or any game), but the rate at which these fuckers regenerate is insane, and the recommended level for the quests with werewolves is a joke. Even with Igni, Grapeshot, Thunderbolt and Cursed Oil, these guys are killers.
Thirith on 5/10/2016 at 09:33
While I'm greatly enjoying The Witcher 3, there's a part of me that is just a bit bored with it. I love how rich and generous the game is with its content, world and characters; it basically feels like it gets things perfect that the likes of Bioware and Bethesda often cut corners on. The latter are often predictable and lazy with their plots and characters, doing what has worked before until it becomes predictable and stale (and sometimes it wasn't all that fresh to begin with).
At the same time, mechanically I simply don't find TW3 all that interesting. It doesn't bother me much, but it's always there: I wish that *playing* the game was half as interesting as exploring the world, getting to know the characters etc. I like the idea of combat and how it's as much a matter of preparation as actual fighting, but once I'm in combat I find I switch to auto-pilot. Similarly, I like the world, but I find that I actually enjoy the act of traversing the world more enjoyable in Skyrim. There's a range of gameplay elements in the game, but none of them end up being particularly fun for me.
In short, I think The Witcher 3 is probably the best at what it does - but while playing it I sometimes wish that it did something differently.
faetal on 5/10/2016 at 09:48
I only recently completed the main game after a long hiatus for exactly the same reasons. I think the problem for me is that the combat isn't very good. It was terrible in TW1, slightly better in 2 and slightly better again in 3, but it just feels very floaty and lacks anything visceral. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Dark Souls.
Sulphur on 5/10/2016 at 09:52
I'm feeling that sort of dissonance in TW2 myself, but from the other end. It's literally a bit of work to actually sit back and sink into the game, because it's structured in a way that's fairly uninviting: there's a large political backdrop to unravel if you haven't played TW1, and the referencing of people and events you haven't met/seen or only dimly remember is akin to stumbling midway into a season of The Sopranos/The Wire and spending the rest of the hour wondering how to care about what's going on. There are a lot of moving parts, and making sense of it should be a joy as I love piecing stories together, but it's delivered through pure exposition via NPC talk and books, most of which I find tedious and dull.
Outside of that, the core questing loop should be interesting in theory, but even then there's a fair few 'collect X things for Y goal' that need you to traverse a map filled with things that can one-shot you, so Quen and save-scumming is the order of the day. The combat isn't the best, but it's serviceable even if it's a bit Dark Souls-lite at the beginning, and progression's got some interesting facets to it. But then, the inventory and crafting UI is a bloody mess. I imagine TW3 has this bit figured out far better.
On the other hand: there are some things about Dragon Age: Inquisition that are pretty interesting from where I'm standing. There may or may not be a gigantic post about it happening in the near term.
Thirith on 5/10/2016 at 10:08
I'm playing at normal difficulty exactly because of what you describe, faetal; I'm sure the combat would be more challenging at a higher difficulty (and I played my first 10 hours or so on "Blood and Broken Bones"), but it simply didn't feel all that enjoyable, so I finally decided I'd rather have relatively short combat than challenging fights.
