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Yeah I plan on NG+, but I’ll take a break first.
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Oct 13, 2019 03:00
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Look Sir Droids posted:And I think I’m done. I did all of the contracts. None of my leftover secondary quests look super interesting right now. I was going to do all the horse races now that I’m probably unbeatable, but tbh that just feels like busy work. You're practically unbeatable in any of the horse races right from the beginning regardless.
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Oct 13, 2019 03:14
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WhiskeyWhiskers posted:You're practically unbeatable in any of the horse races right from the beginning regardless. Does it still work to kind of just get in your opponent's way and the AI not being able to get past you while you're recovering stamina?
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Oct 13, 2019 10:36
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GrossMurpel posted:Does it still work to kind of just get in your opponent's way and the AI not being able to get past you while you're recovering stamina? Yep.
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Oct 13, 2019 11:50
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The No Levels mod just went from good to awesome when I faced my first endrega nest. The workers swarmed me and then a warrior came and nearly ended me. Fights are still pretty fast but they're a lot more lethal now, so you need to be on your game with dodging to keep ahead of all of the enemy attacks. It makes getting Witcher gear more impactful since it's the difference you feel being able to take a few more hits before getting punked that gives that sense of power. All of that sense of accomplishment without dealing with level requirements and it feels much better.
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Oct 14, 2019 00:16
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The level gating doesn't make sense both because Geralt should start at level 50 and because Ciri's story doesn't even chronologically match the standard Velen -> Novigrad -> Skellige flow
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Oct 14, 2019 02:05
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Also I killed Gaetan this time because my Geralt is an upstanding proponent of his trade and massacres are bad for business. Also I've been thinking about one of the endings and its implications. In the Witcher Ciri ending, Geralt returns to Emhyr and tells him she's dead. Emhyr accepts this report and tells Geralt he never wants to see him again. Now on one level this could be seen as a bad man finally realizing what a lovely father he's been, but on reflection Emhyr is a lot more cunning than that. If you know anything about him he can plainly see through Geralt's lies, which begs the question of why he let Ciri go rather than continue pursuing her. The answer comes down to his reasoning for wanting her back in the first place. Emhyr ostensibly wants Ciri back to be his heir, which is true on a surface level reading. However his need for Ciri is more involved than that, and is actually the result of coincidence and quick thinking. Before Ciri reappears, Emhyr is in a bit of a bind. He's launched a third invasion into the North that has stalled out and become deeply unpopular back in Nilfgaard, which has led to the machinations of various guilds to remove him from power and cut the Empire's losses. Morvran Voorhis is the son of one of the guild leaders, is part of the nobility, and is a general in the army. He's basically a spy in Emhyr's court as well as a reminder to the Emperor what the cost of the war's failure will be. According to the books, Voorhis succeeded Emhyr to the throne, but how this happened is not apparent. Ciri suddenly returning offers Emhyr a third option: announce her as his heir, abdicate, and then marry her off to Voorhis to satisfy the guilds, ensure his dynasty continues, and establish a stronger tie with the northern monarchs due to Ciri's royal lineage. The thing is, Emhyr doesn't need Ciri. She's just the ideal solution to his problems; diplomacy rather than force. Emhyr is in one of two states in the Witcheress ending: he's either won the Northern War or he's lost it. Both of these states don't require Ciri's involvement. If he's won the war, he can focus his attention on his rivals at court and keep his rule for longer. If he lost to Radovid/Dijkstra, finding Ciri no longer matters because his legacy is in ruins anyways. So, he lets Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri walk away, on the condition that he never see them again. With this interpretation, his order to not see them is more of an instruction to keep up the ruse, veiled in the words of a man apparently grieving the loss of his daughter. Besides all of that, he still has the fake Ciri to keep up appearances, rumors or not. So it's less of a lament and more of an agreement hedged in code words. Emhyr is a savvy fucker. Arc Hammer fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Oct 14, 2019 |
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Oct 14, 2019 03:42
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I just assumed that Emhyr had two thoughts: either Geralt is being honest and she’s dead, or he’s lying. And if he thinks he’s lying then telling him to leave means if he has spies on Geralt he’ll find out the real truth. If he killed Geralt he knows he’d never see her again we’re she alive and there was a chance.
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Oct 14, 2019 04:54
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Arcsquad12 posted:Also I killed Gaetan this time because my Geralt is an upstanding proponent of his trade and massacres are bad for business. I think your analysis is pretty spot-on. If Emhyr wins the war, he's got some breathing room to appease his political opposition back in Nilfgaard. If he loses, he's totally hosed. Either way, securing Ciri as his heir doesn't really change things much. It'd be nice, but the success or failure of the war is more immediately important. Emhyr and Pavetta (Ciri's mom) were genuinely in love and then things got complicated. Emhyr does truly care about Ciri even if it's mostly pragmatic. He accepts her "dying" because that's her choice.
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Oct 14, 2019 06:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXuQAC28z5E I always like hearing live arrangements. All the games have solid gold soundtracks.
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Oct 15, 2019 15:13
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Didn’t Emyr have a fake Ciri for political machinations or something.
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Oct 15, 2019 15:28
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Avalerion posted:Didn’t Emyr have a fake Ciri for political machinations or something. Yes. Poor thing. He needed Nilfgaard as a nation to believe he had his poo poo under control while his many spies with many eyes were out looking for the real deal ciri holyfield.
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Oct 15, 2019 15:31
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So I just finished the game (along with DLC). Trying to decide to either a) take a break b) Ghost Mode c) NG+ Anyone have any recommendations?
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Oct 15, 2019 19:52
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:So I just finished the game (along with DLC). Trying to decide to either
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Oct 15, 2019 20:00
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:So I just finished the game (along with DLC). Trying to decide to either Have you played the first and second games?
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Oct 15, 2019 20:03
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Pellisworth posted:Have you played the first and second games? I just checked the list of games I own and never played, and Witcher 2 is among them! Does the gameplay and graphics hold up relatively well?
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Oct 15, 2019 20:17
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:I just checked the list of games I own and never played, and Witcher 2 is among them! Does the gameplay and graphics hold up relatively well? Yep. Witcher 1 is rather janky graphics and gameplay (good story though) but W2 holds up pretty well. edit: the gameplay in W2 will feel pretty familiar coming from W3, it's broadly similar.
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Oct 15, 2019 20:21
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Read all 8 books then start Witcher 1. Then import into and play Witcher 2 and then start NG+ in Witcher 3. See you in 2021!
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Oct 15, 2019 20:23
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:I just checked the list of games I own and never played, and Witcher 2 is among them! Does the gameplay and graphics hold up relatively well?
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Oct 15, 2019 20:27
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Thanks all, off to disappear for another 100+ hours. Are there any vital mods to get, or is vanilla the best way to play W2?
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Oct 15, 2019 21:10
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:Thanks all, off to disappear for another 100+ hours. Are there any vital mods to get, or is vanilla the best way to play W2? W2 is quite a lot shorter than W3, it's maybe 30 hours? Though it branches in the second chapter and you really ought to play it through twice to understand all the political machinations. No mods, no masters
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Oct 15, 2019 21:59
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:Thanks all, off to disappear for another 100+ hours. Are there any vital mods to get, or is vanilla the best way to play W2? If you play dark mode difficulty and if you go for the dark mode gear, I'd get the mod that dumps the dumb screen darkening effect. And you should definitely play dark mode. But the gear is optional and not really worth it unless you like hording ladders and forks.
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Oct 15, 2019 22:23
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The combat mod for Witcher 2 doesn't drastically change the flow of that games combat but it does give you the ability to pirouette which is way more intuitive than the base game's diving roll getaway dodge.
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Oct 16, 2019 00:20
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I just picked this game up on Switch. Never played it before, and I really know nothing about it, are there any big gotchas I should avoid or go for in the early game?
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Oct 16, 2019 19:12
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I just picked this game up on Switch. Never played it before, and I really know nothing about it, are there any big gotchas I should avoid or go for in the early game? Nah. I did a spoiler-free newbie post that's in the OP, it might be helpful. A couple early game things: Do all of White Orchard. It's an extended tutorial zone. After you finish White Orchard you'll visit the palace, Voorhis will interrogate you about what happened in W2 which is a way of simulating a savegame from that. It's best to say everyone lived, you'll get some cameos and a cool side quest.
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Oct 16, 2019 19:19
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Yeah, there are a couple other gotchas but they come later in the main game and in the expansion packs.
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Oct 16, 2019 19:23
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Pellisworth posted:Nah. I did a spoiler-free newbie post that's in the OP, it might be helpful. Just completed my first run and can vouch for this. Also, don't shove Djikstra.
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Oct 16, 2019 20:08
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One thing I wish I knew earlier is that different merchants will buy your goods off you for different prices. Significantly. Sell your loot to the blacksmiths in the big cities whenever you can.
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Oct 16, 2019 21:20
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HelixFox posted:One thing I wish I knew earlier is that different merchants will buy your goods off you for different prices. Significantly. Sell your loot to the blacksmiths in the big cities whenever you can. Especially the journeyman ones in Novigrad; the ones in Oxenfurt don't refresh their coin reserves, so they run dry unless you spend money with them. The bookseller in Novigrad is also a good place to offload your miscellaneous items. The game mirrors New Vegas' "sprint to Freeside at the beginning to earn mad money and get stat implants" strategy in that there's nothing really stopping you from just making a run for the Pontar, swimming across, riding Roach through some empty fields, hitting some fast travel points in and around Novigrad, and proceeding to make bank selling whatever gear drops from human enemies for the rest of your playthrough. You can even ride over to the Ofieri merchant for the best horse gear you can get until B&W at that point, and the saddlebags are more than worth the price.
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Oct 16, 2019 23:52
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I just picked this game up on Switch. Never played it before, and I really know nothing about it, are there any big gotchas I should avoid or go for in the early game? Just try to update us every so often with your progress and impressions. Our jaded, old hearts leach the  out of your posts like vampires...  Gwent is fun and you can get cards from beating random merchants. Positioning and dodging is important in combat and the different signs (magic powers) have different effects on monsters. Whenever you encounter something new, it adds an entry to your Beastiary on the best way to kill it, which signs work best, what bombs are effective, etc. You can mostly ignore it if you play on easy and just button mash, but on the harder difficulties it will be pretty essential. Take your time and do whatever you want: the quests are all high quality and you can make money easily by taking contracts. You can haggle to get a better price for contracts, but it's almost universally better to let the quest play out and take whatever bauble is offered with the cash instead of the extra 60 gold you get for haggling. Oh, and you're a terrible monster if you hurt a single troll in this game: we will be very disappointed. 
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Oct 17, 2019 04:22
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Ha, I get what you’re saying, I’ve got hundreds of hours in Breath of the Wild and whenever someone shows up in the thread who has never played before it’s very  Don’t hurt the trolls, got it. As for the gwent cards, I’ve seen options to buy them from NPCs, but I have no idea what gwent is, or if I should be buying the cards?
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Oct 17, 2019 13:11
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Some cards you have to buy, but most are won from NPCs. If there’s a dialog option to play Gwent, take it. Pretty much all innkeepers will sell cards and play with you. The reward for beating them is a new card. Also, I think there’s at least one troll you have to kill. On the plus side it gives you the ingredients for a pretty good decoction.
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Oct 17, 2019 13:25
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Don’t kill the sentient trolls that will talk to you. There’s plenty of rabid trolls you can farm for ingredients. We can tell you the locations of rabid trolls if you need them.
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Oct 17, 2019 13:38
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Shoving Djikstra is a perfectly fine choice if that's how you want to RP. It's what a politically neutral Geralt would do. The only sin the game commits here is it not overtly telling you that you're ending a questline early. Edit: If you ever have a chance to go drinking with your friends, go all the way.
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Oct 17, 2019 17:26
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Hobo Clown posted:The only sin the game commits here is it not overtly telling you that you're ending a questline early. But why would it? Also, a politically neutral Geralt could just not do the Radovid quest. If you get to the point of shoving Djikstra, you're already well past the point of neutrality. You've been undermining Radovid for several quests at that point.
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Oct 17, 2019 17:32
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Look Sir Droids posted:But why would it? Also, a politically neutral Geralt could just not do the Radovid quest. If you get to the point of shoving Djikstra, you're already well past the point of neutrality. You've been undermining Radovid for several quests at that point. Eh not necessarily. It's been a while since I've played through though so I might be remembering details wrong. As always with Geralt he just kind of finds himself in a lovely situation. The pre-assassination quests are finding Philippa for Radovid, rescuing Thaler for Djikstra, and helping Roche with his Ves problem. They're not necessarily steps on his way to getting to kill Radovid, they could be taken as Geralt helping out an old friend in need. Triss wants Philippa to help with the Wild Hunt, which is why he agreed to look for her, and when Djikstra demands that he get to kill her Geralt can tell him to gently caress off and to hell with his conspiracy. There's an RP way to get Geralt to that point while drawing the line at king killing. I don't think the game needs to outright state that you're ending a quest by shoving him, but it always seemed that people's problem with that part was the consequences from that aren't what the dialogue choice suggests.
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Oct 17, 2019 17:58
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Hobo Clown posted:Eh not necessarily. It's been a while since I've played through though so I might be remembering details wrong. As always with Geralt he just kind of finds himself in a lovely situation. The pre-assassination quests are finding Philippa for Radovid, rescuing Thaler for Djikstra, and helping Roche with his Ves problem. They're not necessarily steps on his way to getting to kill Radovid, they could be taken as Geralt helping out an old friend in need. Triss wants Philippa to help with the Wild Hunt, which is why he agreed to look for her, and when Djikstra demands that he get to kill her Geralt can tell him to gently caress off and to hell with his conspiracy. There's an RP way to get Geralt to that point while drawing the line at king killing. I see what you're saying here but he's already balls deep in the conspiracy.
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Oct 17, 2019 19:17
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Hobo Clown posted:Eh not necessarily. It's been a while since I've played through though so I might be remembering details wrong. As always with Geralt he just kind of finds himself in a lovely situation. The pre-assassination quests are finding Philippa for Radovid, rescuing Thaler for Djikstra, and helping Roche with his Ves problem. They're not necessarily steps on his way to getting to kill Radovid, they could be taken as Geralt helping out an old friend in need. Triss wants Philippa to help with the Wild Hunt, which is why he agreed to look for her, and when Djikstra demands that he get to kill her Geralt can tell him to gently caress off and to hell with his conspiracy. There's an RP way to get Geralt to that point while drawing the line at king killing. I think the main problem was that it ended a notable sidequest without much warning in a game that's already very long. Yes, a good portion of people in this thread have replayed the game or plan to. But if you figure ~160 hours for a playthrough of the base game + both expansions, there are a ton of people that simply can't or won't devote time to a second playthrough - is it really a surprise that gating story content like that without making it clear that there are repercussions for your actions is unpopular?
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Oct 17, 2019 19:20
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A dialogue choice that doesn't adequately portray the consequence is a big deal. I can't think of any other notable quest that did this, they were all flagged if not by prompt, then by tone. Fallout 4 was modded precisely for this reason in short order.
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Oct 18, 2019 17:01
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It's a delicate balance. It's an RPG so you want some level of making choices without being able to exactly know all the later consequences, just based on what your character knows. How do you guys feel about Witcher 2 locking off an entire side of a chapter behind a choice? I personally loved it and the fact that you only get the bits of the overall story relevant to your path each time. Wasn't FO4 modded because you couldn't even see the immediate consequences (i.e. no idea what your character will say beforehand)? Kind of reminds me of the very first dialog choice in Witcher 2 being "gently caress you" if you pick the dialog option saying "very funny".
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Oct 18, 2019 21:05
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