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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone |OT| Heroes of Gwent
- Thread starter Karl Hawk
- Start date
Now that I finished the expansion like two months ago, I think I articulate my feelings as a whole:
HOLY. SHIT. What an amazing feat by CD Projekt RED. It seems that they really listened to some of the complaints about the base game and improved on them. The boss encounters were truly challenging, and Gaunter O'Dimm was an amazing antagonist (A magnificent fucking bastard, he is). The wedding quest was amazing with Vlodimir possessing Geralt and Shani. Really felt like a breath of fresh air with nice heartwarming moments.
Hell, ''Scene from a Marriage'' felt like a tense and emotional quest-line. You can see how tragedy falled in while playing it
And I believe that EatChildren said it right when Hearts of Stone is like one of those short stories from the Witcher novels. Hearts of Stone feels like a short-story compared to a really long novel (By novel, I mean the Witcher 3, of course
)
With Hearts of Stone that amazing, I'll be truly mindblown if CDPR manages to surpass it with Blood and Wine (A 20-hour expansion with the new and colorful region of Touissant). I'm not exaggerating when I say that its better than the base game (And I really loved the base game).
So I'll just say this: Well done, CDPR. Well fucking done.
HOLY. SHIT. What an amazing feat by CD Projekt RED. It seems that they really listened to some of the complaints about the base game and improved on them. The boss encounters were truly challenging, and Gaunter O'Dimm was an amazing antagonist (A magnificent fucking bastard, he is). The wedding quest was amazing with Vlodimir possessing Geralt and Shani. Really felt like a breath of fresh air with nice heartwarming moments.
Hell, ''Scene from a Marriage'' felt like a tense and emotional quest-line. You can see how tragedy falled in while playing it
And I believe that EatChildren said it right when Hearts of Stone is like one of those short stories from the Witcher novels. Hearts of Stone feels like a short-story compared to a really long novel (By novel, I mean the Witcher 3, of course
)With Hearts of Stone that amazing, I'll be truly mindblown if CDPR manages to surpass it with Blood and Wine (A 20-hour expansion with the new and colorful region of Touissant). I'm not exaggerating when I say that its better than the base game (And I really loved the base game).
So I'll just say this: Well done, CDPR. Well fucking done.
RespectThySole
Member
Now that I finished the expansion like two months ago, I think I articulate my feelings as a whole:
HOLY. SHIT. What an amazing feat by CD Projekt RED. It seems that they really listened to some of the complaints about the base game and improved on them. The boss encounters were truly challenging, and Gaunter O'Dimm was an amazing antagonist (A magnificent fucking bastard, he is). The wedding quest was amazing with Vlodimir possessing Geralt and Shani. Really felt
Hell, ''Scene from a Marriage'' felt like a tense and emotional quest-line. You can see how tragedy falled in while playing it
And I believe that EatChildren said it right when Hearts of Stone is like one of those short stories from the Witcher novels. Hearts of Stone feels like a short-story compared to a really long novel (By novel, I mean the Witcher 3, of course
With Hearts of Stone that amazing, I'll be truly mindblown if CDPR manages to surpass it with Blood and Wine (A 20-hour expansion with the new and colorful region of Touissant). I'm not exaggerating when I say that its better than the base game (And I really loved the base game).
So I'll just say this: Well done, CDPR. Well fucking done.
Hearts of Stone has the best quests in the game and some amazing characters.
Yup. Exactly what I intend to do.
Conkerkid11
Member
Not entirely sure if there's discussion regarding the expansion in the main game OT, but I just finished it today, and that was incredible. That was without a doubt the best expansion I've played. Eagerly waiting for the next.
They outdid themselves with the base game, and they continued to do so with this DLC. Shames so many other poor attempts at DLC from other devs.
Edit: Oh, this was never moved to Community? That's awkward...
Double Edit: Regarding ending
They outdid themselves with the base game, and they continued to do so with this DLC. Shames so many other poor attempts at DLC from other devs.
Edit: Oh, this was never moved to Community? That's awkward...
Double Edit: Regarding ending
Unfortunately didn't realize that when Shani told me to stop by before she left, she meant before finishing the final quest. Came back, and the devs didn't bother changing her house in anyway to indicate that she'd left. Still looks like she's packing, but she's gone.
Damerman
Member
Just finished it hearts of stone... jesus christ. what a ride... the writing, and the cinematography of the cutscenes. this is really really amazing. I enjoy the gameplay of the base game, so i was not mad with more of the same in this expansion. the pacing was outrageously on point, the characters we all surprisingly deep
. I'm sad again that this ended. I'm eager for the next expansion.
(shani and geralt's romance scenes were the best in any game, hands down)
Haunted
Member
ending spoilers:
CDPR once again managed to not fall into the tired and boring "good/best/bad ending" dichotomy of other, lesser games. The ending other games would call "bad" (where Gaunter O' Dimm fulfills the contract and takes Olgierd's soul) is just fantastic. Yes, in terms of content you do miss out on a cool area, two swords and a little riddle, but it's by far my preferred way to end the story because it fits so well with the tone of the game and this expansion. That's the kind of balance that sets this apart from other ending choices. Just like with the various ending variations in the main game, each one has its advantages and disadvantages.
I finished this the other night. What an amazing piece of DLC. I loved how creative the quests were. I loved the more challenging combat with some better bosses. And I loved the storyline. I think this was as good as the best parts of the main game to be honest plus great value. A lot of content for $10. Can't wait to see what they do with the next expansion.
Don Draper's Hat
Member
Just finished the DLC last night. This firmly stamps The Witcher 3 as the best game of 2015, and it could quite possibly be the best game I have ever played. A masterpiece, it really is.
What's the best way to make coin if I've done EVERY single quest?
For some reason I have about 50 coin. FIFTY! I need to give 15,000 to the merchant enchanter guy. Where am I supposed to get that sort of money?!?
What's the best way to make coin if I've done EVERY single quest?
For some reason I have about 50 coin. FIFTY! I need to give 15,000 to the merchant enchanter guy. Where am I supposed to get that sort of money?!?
Linkstrikesback
Member
Go around clearing bandit areas and selling the weapons/armour is probably your only choice if you're lacking money after doing all the quests.
endlessflood
Member
I found a good trick for that (I also needed to find that coin for the enchanter as well). I'll preface this by saying that I haven't actually used any enchantments on my weapons/arm out though, despite having access to them. There might be some interesting builds you could come up with but I don't think there's anything Earth shattering there.
The trick: go back to white orchard, and find the beehive that's NW from the non-human blacksmith in the town (there are online maps of the beehives in White Orchard if you're stuck).
EDIT: Here's a map of beehives in White Orchard:
Aard the beehive off the tree and AARD drive it back down the roads and deposit it next to the blacksmith (when you get very close to him you won't be able to Aard so just Quen yourself and then 'walk' bump it up to him). This process takes a little while so be patient.
Make sure it's on the same side of the forge as him (so there's no protection or anything between them). Wait a little bit then he'll keel over, at which point you can loot his body and pick up literally every single thing he had for sale, as well as all of his coins. Now meditate for a day and he'll respawn, and the beehive will still be in the same spot. Wait a little bit then he'll keel over again, and you can loot him again. Repeat until you have as much money as you need.
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
did you spend all your coin at the passiflora and crippled kate's?
i gave 15k to the runewright (What a waste), crafted all the witcher gear sets and still have 45k left over..
i made an easy 20k just getting all the ? icons in skellige - most of them are hidden treasures and smugglers caches. many contain relic swords that sell for 800 gold, and heavy armor (zirael, rising run, etc) that sell for over 1500 gold
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
I've encountered an incredibly strange glitch in HoS.
Just fought the
and as soon as I attack him from behind he freezes in place allowing me to just spam my attacks until he dies. I srsly don't know why the hell it's happening, but it might have something to do with another strange glitch that happened when I loaded my game where my sword makes no sound upon contact. In all 120 hours of playing this game I've never experienced this.
Just fought the
Toad Prince,
SanguineShark
Member
Sorry if its been asked before but when does HoS take place? Feels weird playing it when I've finished playing the main story. Did it feel weird for everyone else?
Finished this today.
What an amazing expansion and game. It might be my favorite game ever...
The story of Hearts of Stone was really cool and the characters were some of my favorite of the game.
My only gripe is that I finished it and I'm still level 38, so I can't equip the Viper armor for now and I have to go grind some points of interest that I didn't care about...
What an amazing expansion and game. It might be my favorite game ever...
The story of Hearts of Stone was really cool and the characters were some of my favorite of the game.
My only gripe is that I finished it and I'm still level 38, so I can't equip the Viper armor for now and I have to go grind some points of interest that I didn't care about...
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
Not really. I wasted a ton of gold on him too, luckily I had a save game and reverted back to it. Runewright is pretty much useless, because even after giving him so much money, he still charges a lot for enchanting the runes.
I'll say make a backup save and experiment with the runes if you want.
usp84
Member
Well too late now.I played a lot since giving him the first 15000 so i cant really go back.At least i will save the rest.Maybe i will give it in the next expansion or something.Thanks!
Broke-ass motherfuckers. I have like 200k crowns even after paying the Rune dude.
Sell your stuff to the guy in the cemetery crematorium north of Oxenfurt bridge just outside of Novigrad. He offers full price for everything, but his limit is only 500 crowns so it takes a while. Sell stuff until he has 0 crowns left, then wait an hour.
HoS takes place simultaneously just like any other side quest. It's more weird to play it during the main story since the main quest has such a sense of urgency. Why would Geralt go off and spend days/weeks focused on the problems of some guy he's never met when he has Ciri and the Wild Hunt to worry about? I've said this before: The Witcher 3's ending is not immediate.
Sell your stuff to the guy in the cemetery crematorium north of Oxenfurt bridge just outside of Novigrad. He offers full price for everything, but his limit is only 500 crowns so it takes a while. Sell stuff until he has 0 crowns left, then wait an hour.
HoS takes place simultaneously just like any other side quest. It's more weird to play it during the main story since the main quest has such a sense of urgency. Why would Geralt go off and spend days/weeks focused on the problems of some guy he's never met when he has Ciri and the Wild Hunt to worry about? I've said this before: The Witcher 3's ending is not immediate.
Whatever happens to Geralt (based on your actions) happens eventually, not right away. This was done on purpose so that it makes sense for you to remain in the area and finish up things that you may have missed before eventually moving on. Nowhere does it suggest that Geralt goes off and has his happily ever after/lonely existence immediately following the conclusion of the main story. If that were the case, you'd be sent to the title screen and not be allowed to remain in the world.
Blue Ninja
Member
It's not exactly specified. It could take place during Geralt's search for Ciri, but also before or after. Just view it as a short story, and not a novel.
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
I have gear that sells for 2k crowns each, can't sell them to a merchant that has a 500 crown limit.
Money is a problem only early on the game. By the time I was done I had close to 50k crowns, another 30-40k in orens/florens, and a vault full of relics that would net me another 50-60k crowns easy.
I've got around 50k now again. I don't think I'm going to cough up 15k for the Runewright if it's disappointing.
I also have ton of relic swords in my chest but I'm not going to sell those because I collect them.
Anyway, I just did the Dead Man's Party quest and it was amazing. Loved seeing a different Geralt.
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
Yeah that's the best quest in the dlc. Loved every bit of it.
Turin Turambar
Member
I think it was the easiest boss fight in the expansion.
I'll try it again later today but I had way less issues with the frog.
EDIT: Just lowered the difficulty. Just weak design imo and a cheap way to drag out the fight.
EDIT2: Same shit with the Wraith? Weeaak. Maybe my game is glitched or something but the wraith in this video heals a lot slower than the one in mine.
Other than that I'm enjoying it.
EDIT: Just lowered the difficulty. Just weak design imo and a cheap way to drag out the fight.
EDIT2: Same shit with the Wraith? Weeaak. Maybe my game is glitched or something but the wraith in this video heals a lot slower than the one in mine.
Other than that I'm enjoying it.
Wraith pro tip:
Max out the crossbow skill that slows down time and get the skill that allows you to fire two shots per reload. As soon as the green glow appears on a painting, aim and shoot it. Time will be moving too slow for her to draw meaningful amounts of health from it. I was not able to beat the wraith using any other method since she'd heal to full health within three or four seconds of the painting turning green.
VanCityGamer
Member
I wonder how long until we receive the 2nd expansion. Soooo excited for it! I predict May...around 1 year after the initial game release. June at the latest.
Mossybrew
Member
Wraith:
The picture that is going to heal her next glows giving you time to get to it before her and slash it with your sword, disabling the heal. I didn't need to use the crossbow or anything, just rolled on over there.
Yeah, I got that but it still heals way too fast imo. Just lowered the difficulty and hacked the thing to pieces. The boss fights were the weakest part of the expansion imo.
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
I disagree. The boss fights in the dlc were a lot better (and harder) than the boss fights in the main game.
I wasn't a big fan of the boss fights in the main game either. It also doesn't help I just generally dislike bossfights with bosses that re-heal themselves.
butman
Member
Just finished HoS just after finish the main game. and lad, GOAT DLC!
- Best boss fights of the whole game. Easily.
- Intriguing and immersive story that's didn't felt like a filler at all.
- Last location was like a wink to Bloodborne's Nightmare of Mensis.
Bravo CPR!
Any date for Blood and Wine?
- Best boss fights of the whole game. Easily.
- Intriguing and immersive story that's didn't felt like a filler at all.
- Last location was like a wink to Bloodborne's Nightmare of Mensis.
Bravo CPR!
Any date for Blood and Wine?
Coreda
Member
The Hearts of Stone theme seems to be randomly triggered and continue to play at various times. Anyone else experiencing this? Fast traveling to Skellige and back fixes it temporarily.
The thing I still can't get over is the changes to item consumption and equipping during combat. Not even eating is allowed now? I liked HoS to a degree but changing the basic mechanics for the whole game that have been there since the beginning is a backwards move, unless it's a bug introduced in one of the last patches.
Post-game question:
Seems odd that they'd mention it if that were the case.
Also looks like a village is perfectly fine leave a burning rooftops lit Tried Aard but to no effect.
The thing I still can't get over is the changes to item consumption and equipping during combat. Not even eating is allowed now? I liked HoS to a degree but changing the basic mechanics for the whole game that have been there since the beginning is a backwards move, unless it's a bug introduced in one of the last patches.
Post-game question:
Shani mentions before the main quest ends that she'll be around still packing her belongings if Geralt wants to see her again. Yet she's not there when I visit. Is she somewhere else or has she just been spirited away like other characters?
Also looks like a village is perfectly fine leave a burning rooftops lit
Tried Aard but to no effect.Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
Yup I tired the same but could not locate her.
Jay Shadow
Member
You have to visit her before the final mission. There was also an extra quest attached to the visit to sneak into Oxenfurt Acadamy for more information on O'Dimm.
Coreda
Member
Is that the one
where you meet the blind guy trapped in the pentagram circle?
she mentions that she'll still be packing after that quest and to come visit if he likes.
Yeah same. The bosses were a shit ton better in the DLC.
Hey guys need some advise. So I just picked the Witcher 3 with the season pass.
I had an old save at the ready, was roughly level 34 on it. What I am thinking is to go for a new game plus play through to get the odd achievement I missed, but more importantly I want to know if it's a good idea to play the expansion on a new game plus? I'm playing on Death March, what can I expect in terms of new gear etc .. Do i need to collect the set pieces again, would they be higher level then before, what do I need to know about new game plus?
I had an old save at the ready, was roughly level 34 on it. What I am thinking is to go for a new game plus play through to get the odd achievement I missed, but more importantly I want to know if it's a good idea to play the expansion on a new game plus? I'm playing on Death March, what can I expect in terms of new gear etc .. Do i need to collect the set pieces again, would they be higher level then before, what do I need to know about new game plus?
Here's what you keep and not keep in NG+.
If you do want to play the expansion on NG+ you'll have to be around level 60 due to the difficulty. You'll have to be around 30 to play the expansion without NG+.
I played the expansion on NG+ and thought it was fine, sure it's a little harder but that's also challenging. I did not enjoy the bosses in HoC on NG+ Death March so I just lowered the difficulty on the last ones. The general opinion is that the bosses in HoC are better than the ones in the main game though so you'll have to decide for yourself.
If you do want to play the expansion on NG+ you'll have to be around level 60 due to the difficulty. You'll have to be around 30 to play the expansion without NG+.
I played the expansion on NG+ and thought it was fine, sure it's a little harder but that's also challenging. I did not enjoy the bosses in HoC on NG+ Death March so I just lowered the difficulty on the last ones. The general opinion is that the bosses in HoC are better than the ones in the main game though so you'll have to decide for yourself.
Agreed,
personally I also enjoy letting Gaunter take Olgierd's soul. Olgierd was a right bastard who deserved what he got and merely sought a way to cheat his way out of the contract he had made with the literal personification of the devil. Olgierd was the true evil of the story to me because he had a choice, Gaunter I view more as a force of nature. I mean he literally is "Evil" itself, so I can't really blame him for his actions.