• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Witcher III: Blood & Wine |Reviews Thread| Pour another goblet

S

Stoze

Member
Exentryk said:
Yup. That's why Rend is so amazing coz it's a known fixed animation.

PcrbMCF.gif
Click to expand...

Exentryk said:
Yeah! It's called Severance. Have it on both of my swords. Would have been nicer if the effect was global so only one sword needed it, but oh well.
Click to expand...

That looks awesome. I've been planning on resetting my build (light attack/cat) and going half heavy attack half signs. Admittedly I haven't really done any of the runeword and glyphword stuff.
 
I

iz.podpolja

Neo Member
UnrealEck said:
It's a shame the combat hasn't been improved, yet the expansion is getting such high reviews. It's the biggest gameplay element of the game and one of the elements of the entire game they had the opportunity to improve upon in this expansion. From what I played of the game (maybe 15-20 hours) it was just not very fun.
Click to expand...
Well, they added the new mutations system - it's definitely an improvement.
The biggest problem with combat is when you try to play the game "pure melee style" - for the plethora of reasons mentioned before, it just doesn't work. Somebody asked what was the reason for mechanics restrictions introduced by CDPR - here's my theory: they wanted players to use all tools at their disposal, all the non-melee stuff there is, mixing up signs, bombs & so on. But they ultimately failed, IMO because of the quen loophole, that allows you to circumvent all deliberately placed obstacles (like i-frames disabling, and automatic counter-attacks), and turns the combat into a slower, more cumbersome and much jankier version of Souls, sucking all the satisfaction out of this element of the game. Their other failure is that the system their implemented is quite complex and rather unintuitive, as posts of people finishing the game and claiming there are no i-frames show, ie a lot of stuff seems random, even if it isn't, and this hurts player's confidence, and works against the devs' intent.
It's worth noticing, that in DLCs they are attempting to break the common patterns of combat with enemies that are too bothersome to play this way, however old habits die hard & I honestly doubt they will be successful.
For what it's worth I'm enjoying the combat for what it is (even though I have my own gripes - broken hitboxes being the most glaring one) and I'm looking forward to new enemies in Blood&Wine. My advice for others would be - If you want to have fun with the combat, try to embrace it for what it is & never, ever play pure-swordsman (or pure-mage for that matter), other-wise just drop the difficulty and go with button mashing with the occasional finisher squish for added flavour.
 
Exentryk

Exentryk

Member
GeeTeeCee said:
I feel like I never used Yrden effectively in combat. Outside of making Wraiths corporeal it always seemed like other enemies just shrugged off its effects.
Click to expand...

Yrden (and almost all other Signs for that matter) need high Sign Intensity to have a big effect. Patch 1.10 nerfed Yrden a lot though, so now regardless of Sign Intensity, the effect is pretty minor, and thus Yrden isn't worth using much for the slowdown effect.

Stoze said:
That looks awesome. I've been planning on resetting my build (light attack/cat) and going half heavy attack half signs. Admittedly I haven't really done any of the runeword and glyphword stuff.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I use a hybrid build that lets me do everything. Fast attack with Whirl, strong attacks with Rend, high sign intensity, Igni burning, Aard knockdowns, multiple decoctions and potions, etc. It's great to have an answer to anything the game can throw at you, and jump between various play styles as required.
 
J

JustCheezze

Banned
Lol some people make it sound like the whole combat system of Witcher 3 is as complex as SF + VF + Tekken + DMC + NG combined.

Jesus christ, Witcher 3 has a shallow combat mechanic. Stop trying to make it sound like spells added with certain mutagens make a whole lot of difference, because they don't.
 
T

tuxfool

Banned
JustCheezze said:
Lol some people make it sound like the whole combat system of Witcher 3 is as complex as SF + VF + Tekken + DMC + NG combined.

Jesus christ, Witcher 3 has a shallow combat mechanic. Stop trying to make it sound like spells added with certain mutagens make a whole lot of difference, because they don't.
Click to expand...

Likewise stop insisting it doesn't have any complexity. It has problems, but it isn't necessarily because it doesn't offer options.
 
I

iz.podpolja

Neo Member
JustCheezze said:
Lol some people make it sound like the whole combat system of Witcher 3 is as complex as SF + VF + Tekken + DMC + NG combined.

Jesus christ, Witcher 3 has a shallow combat mechanic. Stop trying to make it sound like spells added with certain mutagens make a whole lot of difference, because they don't.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree. Failure to understand how the system works and a lot of confusion & myths surrounding it, show pretty well that it is quite complex (and not very well explained) - of course not nearly the level your hyperbole suggests. The game is quite easy, so it rarely forces you to utilise the arsenal at your disposal, so u can play inefficiently and still "win", but it doesn't make the system "shallow".
 
E

endlessflood

Member
JustCheezze said:
Lol some people make it sound like the whole combat system of Witcher 3 is as complex as SF + VF + Tekken + DMC + NG combined.

Jesus christ, Witcher 3 has a shallow combat mechanic. Stop trying to make it sound like spells added with certain mutagens make a whole lot of difference, because they don't.
Click to expand...
I actually really enjoy combat in The Witcher 3. It offers a lot of tools: dodge, roll, parries, counters, light and heavy attacks, special attacks like whirl and rend, bombs, signs, the crossbow, potions, blade oils, mutagens.

I don't think you can use all of those things and call it shallow, even if you don't enjoy it. I do understand that if you only use some of them that it would feel very shallow though.
 
J

JustCheezze

Banned
tuxfool said:
Likewise stop insisting it doesn't have any complexity. It has problems, but it isn't necessarily because it doesn't offer options.
Click to expand...

iz.podpolja said:
I have to disagree. Failure to understand how the system works and a lot of confusion & myths surrounding it, show pretty well that it is quite complex (and not very well explained) - of course not nearly the level your hyperbole suggests. The game is quite easy, so it rarely forces you to utilise the arsenal at your disposal, so u can play inefficiently and still "win", but it doesn't make the system "shallow".
Click to expand...

endlessflood said:
I actually really enjoy combat in The Witcher 3. It offers a lot of tools: dodge, roll, parries, counters, light and heavy attacks, special attacks like whirl and rend, bombs, signs, the crossbow, potions, blade oils, mutagens.

I don't think you can use all of those things and call it shallow, even if you don't enjoy it. I do understand that if you only use some of them that it would feel very shallow though.
Click to expand...


I exaggerated obviously.

Like you all said, the game doesn't force you to use any certain tools, spells, "techniques" in order to win.

Likewise, many of the things given to you to do the job are clunky to use. It's what people are complaining about, the combat is a clunky clusterfuck of mechanics. At the end of the day, just melee everything that moves, problem fixed, next quest please.

Then, for those who actually try to use everything in Geralt's disposal, well.. how much of a difference does it make? Not a whole lot. That to me, is shallow.
 
R

RespectThySole

Member
iz.podpolja said:
I have to disagree. Failure to understand how the system works and a lot of confusion & myths surrounding it, show pretty well that it is quite complex (and not very well explained) - of course not nearly the level your hyperbole suggests. The game is quite easy, so it rarely forces you to utilise the arsenal at your disposal, so u can play inefficiently and still "win", but it doesn't make the system "shallow".
Click to expand...

Good post. Normal difficulty does a poor job of inducing you to utilize all of the tools at your disposal due to how easy it is.
 
T

Tenacious-D

Member
Spring Drive said:
Can CDProjekt do any wrong?
Click to expand...

As much as I like CDPR, this circle-jerk needs to end. They're a company like any other, and they've made a bunch of mistakes with TW3.

They said that we would get the full REDKit modding tool shortly after launch. It's been a year, and all we have is the limited MODKit, which isn't very good.

They said that TW3 would be coming to SteamOS and Linux. It's been a year, and every time it gets brought up, the question is dodged. I have no idea how they thought they'd do this, as TW3 uses HLSL shaders. Converting those to SPIR-V for Vulkan isn't easy.

They said, as late as Jan 2015, that there would be no visual downgrade, and that players would be able to achieve VGX and SoD graphical fidelity. As of Jan 2015, the renderer had been changed for at least half a year already, so they knew that wasn't true, but they said it anyway.

They said that the Wild Hunt and Eredin would not be some ancient evil, but a memorable antagonist and Geralt's personal nemesis. Eredin's 5 minutes of screen time and 11 one liners of dialogue were memorable, in the worst way possible.

They said that Iorveth would be a main character and that the Scoia'tael would have a big role in the game. Yeah... the Scoia'tael are absent outside of a minor short quest, and we know that a bunch of content got cut very late.
 
I

iz.podpolja

Neo Member
JustCheezze said:
Then, for those who actually try to use everything in Geralt's disposal, well.. how much of a difference does it make? Not a whole lot. That to me, is shallow.
Click to expand...

I doubt this difference is quantifiable, so again IMO - it's way more satisfying, you do the job up to several times quicker - especially when it comes to fights with groups of enemies, comparing to immensely boring quen-hit-hit-roll routine & as a bonus your equipment deteriorates way more slowly.
The situation here for me is like (hyperbole incoming) on one hand driving your car normally & on the other hand driving it all the way on reverse, because you don't need to switch gears this way ))
 
C

CrazyDude

Member
Tenacious-D said:
As much as I like CDPR, this circle-jerk needs to end. They're a company like any other, and they've made a bunch of mistakes with TW3.

They said that we would get the full REDKit modding tool shortly after launch. It's been a year, and all we have is the limited MODKit, which isn't very good.

They said that TW3 would be coming to SteamOS and Linux. It's been a year, and every time it gets brought up, the question is dodged. I have no idea how they thought they'd do this, as TW3 uses HLSL shaders. Converting those to SPIR-V for Vulkan isn't easy.

They said, as late as Jan 2015, that there would be no visual downgrade, and that players would be able to achieve VGX and SoD graphical fidelity. As of Jan 2015, the renderer had been changed for at least half a year already, so they knew that wasn't true, but they said it anyway.

They said that the Wild Hunt and Eredin would not be some ancient evil, but a memorable antagonist and Geralt's personal nemesis. Eredin's 5 minutes of screen time and 11 one liners of dialogue were memorable, in the worst way possible.

They said that Iorveth would be a main character and that the Scoia'tael would have a big role in the game. Yeah... the Scoia'tael are absent outside of a minor short quest, and we know that a bunch of content got cut very late.
Click to expand...
Yeah, none of those bother me in the least.
 
S

shinobi602

Member
Octavianus said:
... You do know he's allowed to have an opinion that differs from yours and 'people' right? It's a possibility. He didn't like it.
Click to expand...
Uh...yes? He didn't understand why it's getting good reviews and I'm saying the people reviewing it also have an opinion and they liked it...that's all there is to it.
 
R

RandomSeed

Member
JustCheezze said:
Then, for those who actually try to use everything in Geralt's disposal, well.. how much of a difference does it make? Not a whole lot. That to me, is shallow.
Click to expand...

If you don't like it, you don't like it, but saying that things other than Quen and hit don't make a whole lot of difference, shows that you really have no idea what you're talking about in this particular case. Bombs can be ridiculously good, be it freezing enemies in their tracks, lighting them on fire, or stunning them so you can get behind them. Setting a group of enemies on fire with Igni so you can focus on a single one while the others burn is so much more efficient that just spamming attack. Luring enemies into a Yrden trap to slow them down, knocking people around with Aard, using decoctions that can do things like heal you when you cast a sign (use stamina), or eliminate the stun/stagger effect when hitting a blocking enemy for example, can also tweak your playstyle.

If you play on a harder difficulty, the enemies will also have enough health that you'd notice they have counter hits when you string together a bunch in a row.
 
D

digitalrelic

Banned
EatChildren said:
Unfortunately the timing of my review key plus downloading on Australian Internet TM means my review won't hit for awhile. I'm still early days to be honest, but it's really fucking wonderful and the map is absurdly huge when you consider the price.

And I mean, it's not just "let's recycle an immense amount of assets from the base game and thus make it huge". Obviously there is a decent bit of recycling, but so much effort has been poured into the new assets and the overall composition of the landscape and focus on an original tone that it really does feel like you're visiting a totally different location compared to the Velen/Novigrad/Skellige/Skellige/Kaer Morhen combo. You're uprooted and taken to a place that aesthetically and tonally is 100% distinct from everything in the base game; the way characters talk and dress, the newly recorded NPC chatter, the shape of the landscape, the colours and tones sweeping the horizon, the clouds in the sky, the bright stars at night, and so on.

I stood in my vineyard, the sweeping, colourful Toussaint valley before me, and upon whistling for Roach I realised CDPR had put a nice little echo as the pitch bounces down the sprawling vista. That's when it hit I was somewhere totally new, and deliberately so.

Here's some cheap pics I took.

blood1nxp0a.jpg

blood2hop13.jpg

undwitcherxform.png
Click to expand...

Wow, amazing! Looks almost as good as Fable.
 
D

Deleted member 471617

Unconfirmed Member
Really tempted to pick up the base game and the expansion pass but at the same time, I kind of want to wait until E3 to see if CDPR announce a GOTY edition with everything in one package. Decisions, decisions.

On a side note, anyone know the file size for the base game and the two expansions on PS4? Thinking that if they can't fit everything onto a single disc and still have pack in codes, no point in waiting.
 
R

RDreamer

Member
Mifec said:
I'd assume by the end of this week, or Monday.
Click to expand...

The game and the first expansion (if I'm remembering correctly) were available to play at 7PM EST on the Monday before release. I'm hoping this will be, too.

I think the pre-load for those went up sometime on the weekend, but I'm not as sure about that.
 
zkorejo

zkorejo

Member
Pre-ordered. I noticed TW3 is $24 on psn for plus members and Expansion BAW is $18 except for $20. Anyone who hasnt played it its a great price.
 
M

Mifec

Member
RDreamer said:
The game and the first expansion (if I'm remembering correctly) were available to play at 7PM EST on the Monday before release. I'm hoping this will be, too.

I think the pre-load for those went up sometime on the weekend, but I'm not as sure about that.
Click to expand...

It is. It launches 1am CEST.
 
F

Flipyap

Member
Tenacious-D said:
They said that the Wild Hunt and Eredin would not be some ancient evil, but a memorable antagonist and Geralt's personal nemesis. Eredin's 5 minutes of screen time and 11 one liners of dialogue were memorable, in the worst way possible.
Click to expand...
Well, they didn't exactly lie there. The Wild Hunt and Eredin didn't become some ancient evil in that game.... the ice age did.
 
Z

ZSeba

Member
EatChildren said:
Unfortunately the timing of my review key plus downloading on Australian Internet TM means my review won't hit for awhile. I'm still early days to be honest, but it's really fucking wonderful and the map is absurdly huge when you consider the price.

And I mean, it's not just "let's recycle an immense amount of assets from the base game and thus make it huge". Obviously there is a decent bit of recycling, but so much effort has been poured into the new assets and the overall composition of the landscape and focus on an original tone that it really does feel like you're visiting a totally different location compared to the Velen/Novigrad/Skellige/Skellige/Kaer Morhen combo. You're uprooted and taken to a place that aesthetically and tonally is 100% distinct from everything in the base game; the way characters talk and dress, the newly recorded NPC chatter, the shape of the landscape, the colours and tones sweeping the horizon, the clouds in the sky, the bright stars at night, and so on.

I stood in my vineyard, the sweeping, colourful Toussaint valley before me, and upon whistling for Roach I realised CDPR had put a nice little echo as the pitch bounces down the sprawling vista. That's when it hit I was somewhere totally new, and deliberately so.

Here's some cheap pics I took.

blood1nxp0a.jpg

blood2hop13.jpg

undwitcherxform.png
Click to expand...

Is that the PC version?
 
T

Tovarisc

Member
JustCheezze said:
As always, all these so called "reviews" will look past the problems Witcher 3 has at its core.

Great game yes, but talk about it as being the best thing to ever happen to the gaming industry? Lol.
Click to expand...

This could be said about any game that is getting 9s and 10s from everywhere. Personally I have hard time putting a lot stock on 9s and 10s as scores because at times it feels like outlets throw them around like free candy.
 
J

JustCheezze

Banned
iz.podpolja said:
I doubt this difference is quantifiable, so again IMO - it's way more satisfying, you do the job up to several times quicker - especially when it comes to fights with groups of enemies, comparing to immensely boring quen-hit-hit-roll routine & as a bonus your equipment deteriorates way more slowly.
The situation here for me is like (hyperbole incoming) on one hand driving your car normally & on the other hand driving it all the way on reverse, because you don't need to switch gears this way ))
Click to expand...

There's something called an auto gearbox.... bad analogy.

In my playthrough, I found very little point in using every tool in Geralt's disposal. Like I said, they were clunky to use. Going in the "souls" way, hit-dodge-hit is way easier.

And when I actually put in the effort to use some of the less used spells, well... it didn't make a whole lot of difference than just slashing away. So again, there wasn't much a point.


RandomSeed said:
If you don't like it, you don't like it, but saying that things other than Quen and hit don't make a whole lot of difference, shows that you really have no idea what you're talking about in this particular case. Bombs can be ridiculously good, be it freezing enemies in their tracks, lighting them on fire, or stunning them so you can get behind them. Setting a group of enemies on fire with Igni so you can focus on a single one while the others burn is so much more efficient that just spamming attack. Luring enemies into a Yrden trap to slow them down, knocking people around with Aard, using decoctions that can do things like heal you when you cast a sign (use stamina), or eliminate the stun/stagger effect when hitting a blocking enemy for example, can also tweak your playstyle.

If you play on a harder difficulty, the enemies will also have enough health that you'd notice they have counter hits when you string together a bunch in a row.
Click to expand...

Blah blah blah.
Explain the mechanics, cool story man. What's the point of a bomb when slashing away is just as effective. For the record, I don't even use Quen.
 
A

Artdayne

Member
JustCheezze said:
I exaggerated obviously.

Like you all said, the game doesn't force you to use any certain tools, spells, "techniques" in order to win.

Likewise, many of the things given to you to do the job are clunky to use. It's what people are complaining about, the combat is a clunky clusterfuck of mechanics. At the end of the day, just melee everything that moves, problem fixed, next quest please.

Then, for those who actually try to use everything in Geralt's disposal, well.. how much of a difference does it make? Not a whole lot. That to me, is shallow.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. I absolutely use everything at my disposal when playing this game. In fact I'd say it's a requirement on NG+ Death March, particularly in the HoS expansion. Bombs in particular are very important. I do feel the need to use Quen a lot but depending on what I'm fighting I'll mix it up with Aard, Igni, whatever.
 
H

Hystzen

Member
JustCheezze said:
There's something called an auto gearbox.... bad analogy.

In my playthrough, I found very little point in using every tool in Geralt's disposal. Like I said, they were clunky to use. Going in the "souls" way, hit-dodge-hit is way easier.

And when I actually put in the effort to use some of the less used spells, well... it didn't make a whole lot of difference than just slashing away. So again, there wasn't much a point.




Blah blah blah.
Explain the mechanics, cool story man. What's the point of a bomb when slashing away is just as effective. For the record, I don't even use Quen.
Click to expand...

How you even doing harder difficulty just spamming slashes you need use bombs for crowd control and signs. Unless you playing on lowest difficulty just slashing does not work
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
JustCheezze said:
There's something called an auto gearbox.... bad analogy.

In my playthrough, I found very little point in using every tool in Geralt's disposal. Like I said, they were clunky to use. Going in the "souls" way, hit-dodge-hit is way easier.

And when I actually put in the effort to use some of the less used spells, well... it didn't make a whole lot of difference than just slashing away. So again, there wasn't much a point.




Blah blah blah.
Explain the mechanics, cool story man. What's the point of a bomb when slashing away is just as effective. For the record, I don't even use Quen.
Click to expand...

Using signs and tools is most fucking definitely useful man, more so than just striking. Heart of stones is a great example where we have enemies that give you almost no window to attack without using something they're weak against, in both cases I found S sign I could use to stun them.

Then we also have regular combat, where depending on the sign you use it could make the fight infinitely easier. For example using aard against certain human enemies knocks them down and you can 1 shot kill them. Using secondary igni on a shield carrying enemy makes them drop it.

Add oils/potions to it and you can make shit even easier if you've already crafted them and have them readily available.

Can you go through the game just swinging the sword and blocking? Yeah, but it doesn't meant there isn't depth and tactics you can use if you aren't just spamming the sword swing. Many games offer complexity if you want to put in the effort for a better reward, but also give the option to play it a different way.

Heck I just played quantum break where you are given the Tools to play it aggressively how the devs intended it, but plenty of people just decided to play it as a regular cover based shooter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Witcher 3 Sequel Comic Announced by Dark Horse
News
0
475
Draugoth replied
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition rated by PEGI
Rumor
11
3K
StealthGoblin replied
The Witcher 4 Aims to Go Beyond Current RPGs, Says CDPR; It’ll Be a Good Entry Point for New Fans
2
84
5K
Pharaoh 117 replied
How Cyberpunk 2077 Changed CD PROJEKT RED | GameSpot Insider Documentary
News Analysis
2
698
Roni replied
Post your backlog list!
2
82
2K
TheDrunkenMerchant replied
Top Bottom