The Witcher 3

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
Ok, so I have been playing this game for a while now. So far, I have received the pass and entered Oxenfurt. There are a couple of gripes I have with this game that I feel compelled to vent about.

1. Unfair difficulty spikes.

While roaming, I encounter a guarded treasure that's guarded by a level 10 Forktail (I was level 5 or something low like that) and when I engage the beast I feel like I am hitting it with a twig. I do miniscule damage even with the Thunderbolt potion. On top of this the Forktail does a tail sweep attack that causes bleeding and there is no reliable way to avoid this other than rolling away and making space between yourself and the beast. Couple this with the miniscule damage and this makes the fight even slower. Even abusing Axii does not work because of the low damage. The final option is to break away from the fight and retreat, which really sucks. You are Geralt of motherloving Rivia, hunting monsters is his literal job and he has to run away like a little b***h simply because a number next to an enemy's healthbar is larger than a number next to your healthbar. This is incredibly stupid and cheap. It would have been better if the mechanic was that you cannot defeat certain enemies or even high level enemies unless you do some prep, you know, drink certain potions, apply certain oils, etc. so that you can stand a chance. But the game literally nerfs your damage against high level enemies, so you don't stand a chance.

Compare this to a game like Dark Souls, which also has it's share of difficult and tanky enemies. If you encounter these are a low level, you will do miniscule damage here as well, but even then it is still viable to defeat such enemies at low level because there are reliable mechanics to crit them even with mediocre weapons. You can either backstab them or hit them enough times to stagger them for a crit, or you could exploit their blindspots and chip away at their health. In other words, there are reliable ways of crit-ing an enemy instead of whacking at an enemy hoping to get one crit every ten or so hits. And the enemy soaks it up anyway, so tough luck there.

Sometimes the game forces you in such a situation as well. There is a scene where a couple of bandits are burning a house with a woman inside, right on a street. I was level 3-4 I think when I encountered this scene on the road. When I approached them, a cutscene played out and my options were "F*** them up" or "P**** out and leave". Being the noble knight in shining armour I was, I chose the first option. Now I am facing four bandits, three of whom were level 7. Needless to say I got my a$$ handed to me time and time again. Given the scenario, I don't think you have the luxury to say "Just hold on a sec while I farm a couple of hundred drowners and return after levelling up" when there is someone being burned alive. If these lowlife bandits can make Geralt of Rivia, professional Witcher, the butcher of Blaviken, who defeated the King of the wild hunt in W1 and huge monsters in W2, into their b****, these bandits could and should single handedly conquer the whole continent instead of harassing peasants on the streets. I did beat them though after abusing Yrden and Axii, but my point is how absurd is it that you have to put so much effort to beat a bunch of lowlifes? Hell, lowlife bandits shouldn't have have this much level ffs. It would have been okay if it were some Nilfgaardian knights or something understandably high level like this but bandits? That's just absurd.

More gripes to come in following posts.
 
Last edited:

Nerevarine

Incarnate
Witcher never had exceedingly good combat, and it's questing is basically running from point a to point b. Storyline is impeccable but those two are it's weaknesses.
Would like your comparison of Dark souls combat with Shadow of mordor/war combat.
 

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
Witcher never had exceedingly good combat, and it's questing is basically running from point a to point b. Storyline is impeccable but those two are it's weaknesses.
Would like your comparison of Dark souls combat with Shadow of mordor/war combat.
Haven't played Shadow of Mordor/War yet. Will probably try it next after finishing W3. But since the combat of Shadow of Mordor and War look similar to the combat of Arkham series, I think they would be similar.

Sent from my GM1911 using Tapatalk
 

chimera201

Wise Old Owl
Ok, so I have been playing this game for a while now. So far, I have received the pass and entered Oxenfurt. There are a couple of gripes I have with this game that I feel compelled to vent about.

1. Unfair difficulty spikes.

While roaming, I encounter a guarded treasure that's guarded by a level 10 Forktail (I was level 5 or something low like that) and when I engage the beast I feel like I am hitting it with a twig. I do miniscule damage even with the Thunderbolt potion. On top of this the Forktail does a tail sweep attack that causes bleeding and there is no reliable way to avoid this other than rolling away and making space between yourself and the beast. Couple this with the miniscule damage and this makes the fight even slower. Even abusing Axii does not work because of the low damage. The final option is to break away from the fight and retreat, which really sucks. You are Geralt of motherloving Rivia, hunting monsters is his literal job and he has to run away like a little b***h simply because a number next to an enemy's healthbar is larger than a number next to your healthbar. This is incredibly stupid and cheap. It would have been better if the mechanic was that you cannot defeat certain enemies or even high level enemies unless you do some prep, you know, drink certain potions, apply certain oils, etc. so that you can stand a chance. But the game literally nerfs your damage against high level enemies, so you don't stand a chance.

Compare this to a game like Dark Souls, which also has it's share of difficult and tanky enemies. If you encounter these are a low level, you will do miniscule damage here as well, but even then it is still viable to defeat such enemies at low level because there are reliable mechanics to crit them even with mediocre weapons. You can either backstab them or hit them enough times to stagger them for a crit, or you could exploit their blindspots and chip away at their health. In other words, there are reliable ways of crit-ing an enemy instead of whacking at an enemy hoping to get one crit every ten or so hits. And the enemy soaks it up anyway, so tough luck there.

Sometimes the game forces you in such a situation as well. There is a scene where a couple of bandits are burning a house with a woman inside, right on a street. I was level 3-4 I think when I encountered this scene on the road. When I approached them, a cutscene played out and my options were "F*** them up" or "P**** out and leave". Being the noble knight in shining armour I was, I chose the first option. Now I am facing four bandits, three of whom were level 7. Needless to say I got my a$$ handed to me time and time again. Given the scenario, I don't think you have the luxury to say "Just hold on a sec while I farm a couple of hundred drowners and return after levelling up" when there is someone being burned alive. If these lowlife bandits can make Geralt of Rivia, professional Witcher, the butcher of Blaviken, who defeated the King of the wild hunt in W1 and huge monsters in W2, into their b****, these bandits could and should single handedly conquer the whole continent instead of harassing peasants on the streets. I did beat them though after abusing Yrden and Axii, but my point is how absurd is it that you have to put so much effort to beat a bunch of lowlifes? Hell, lowlife bandits should have have this much level ffs. It would have been okay if it were some Nilfgaardian knights or something understandably high level like this but bandits? That's just absurd.

More gripes to come in following posts.

Witcher 3 is a linear game in an open world. You basically have to follow the suggested levels mentioned in the journal. You can't explore the world as you wish. Even if you manage to defeat a high level enemy you cannot equip the loot it drops since it also requires a higher level. Suppose you find the last level chart/diagram of the witcher armor, you cannot actually make that armor until you find first, second, third level in sequence :facepalm:
The basic movement also sucks. You can't loot 10 corspes in one try without failing. I just worked around that problem by pressing the loot button while running over it.
I can never call this game a masterpiece. And the ending is the worst. I don't want to spoil it.
 

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
You basically have to follow the suggested levels mentioned in the journal.
This mechanic should not even be there. If the player is underleveled, don't spawn high level contracts. Even if you do, there should be a fair combat system that makes it viable to complete it without getting my a$$ kicked. I undertook a contract to find a guys missing brother, I explored the whole cave and found out that it was an arachas queen (level 20, I was 4 or 5). I didn't know the suggested level requirement and I could not understand why I was doing do little damage when I was having no problems beating the arachas workers. I had to leave without finishing the quest. This really breaks my immersion, Geralt of Rivia is supposed to be an experienced monster hunter and one of the best swordsmen in the world and yet he has to p**** out because of unfair difficulty scaling.
 

Nerevarine

Incarnate
This mechanic should not even be there. If the player is underleveled, don't spawn high level contracts. Even if you do, there should be a fair combat system that makes it viable to complete it without getting my a$$ kicked. I undertook a contract to find a guys missing brother, I explored the whole cave and found out that it was an arachas queen (level 20, I was 4 or 5). I didn't know the suggested level requirement and I could not understand why I was doing do little damage when I was having no problems beating the arachas workers. I had to leave without finishing the quest. This really breaks my immersion, Geralt of Rivia is supposed to be an experienced monster hunter and one of the best swordsmen in the world and yet he has to p**** out because of unfair difficulty scaling.

Yes, this used to be the old system, Morrowind esque if you will.
Oblivion introduced levelled enemies, and honestly I like the old system more. It gives a mental image that, this area is dangerous, I should proceed only when I'm equipped to deal with it.
In case of Morrowind, there used to be a central area full of blight storms, low visibility, high level non levelled monsters ..
Witcher breaks immersion because we are acquainted with geralt and his feats. But from a gameplay perspective, this system is fine.
Always levelling enemies give a sense of non progression, you never feel powerful, Oblivion even if you level up to 30 and get daedric equipment, you would still get pummeled by enemies. Skyrim/ Fallout 4 does it better but even then, enemies just become blade/bullet sponges
 

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
No man, I think nerfing your weapon damage against higher level enemies is a cheap way to add difficulty.
 

sohan_92

In the zone
Ok, so I have been playing this game for a while now. So far, I have received the pass and entered Oxenfurt. There are a couple of gripes I have with this game that I feel compelled to vent about.

1. Unfair difficulty spikes.

While roaming, I encounter a guarded treasure that's guarded by a level 10 Forktail (I was level 5 or something low like that) and when I engage the beast I feel like I am hitting it with a twig. I do miniscule damage even with the Thunderbolt potion. On top of this the Forktail does a tail sweep attack that causes bleeding and there is no reliable way to avoid this other than rolling away and making space between yourself and the beast. Couple this with the miniscule damage and this makes the fight even slower. Even abusing Axii does not work because of the low damage. The final option is to break away from the fight and retreat, which really sucks. You are Geralt of motherloving Rivia, hunting monsters is his literal job and he has to run away like a little b***h simply because a number next to an enemy's healthbar is larger than a number next to your healthbar. This is incredibly stupid and cheap. It would have been better if the mechanic was that you cannot defeat certain enemies or even high level enemies unless you do some prep, you know, drink certain potions, apply certain oils, etc. so that you can stand a chance. But the game literally nerfs your damage against high level enemies, so you don't stand a chance.

Compare this to a game like Dark Souls, which also has it's share of difficult and tanky enemies. If you encounter these are a low level, you will do miniscule damage here as well, but even then it is still viable to defeat such enemies at low level because there are reliable mechanics to crit them even with mediocre weapons. You can either backstab them or hit them enough times to stagger them for a crit, or you could exploit their blindspots and chip away at their health. In other words, there are reliable ways of crit-ing an enemy instead of whacking at an enemy hoping to get one crit every ten or so hits. And the enemy soaks it up anyway, so tough luck there.

Sometimes the game forces you in such a situation as well. There is a scene where a couple of bandits are burning a house with a woman inside, right on a street. I was level 3-4 I think when I encountered this scene on the road. When I approached them, a cutscene played out and my options were "F*** them up" or "P**** out and leave". Being the noble knight in shining armour I was, I chose the first option. Now I am facing four bandits, three of whom were level 7. Needless to say I got my a$$ handed to me time and time again. Given the scenario, I don't think you have the luxury to say "Just hold on a sec while I farm a couple of hundred drowners and return after levelling up" when there is someone being burned alive. If these lowlife bandits can make Geralt of Rivia, professional Witcher, the butcher of Blaviken, who defeated the King of the wild hunt in W1 and huge monsters in W2, into their b****, these bandits could and should single handedly conquer the whole continent instead of harassing peasants on the streets. I did beat them though after abusing Yrden and Axii, but my point is how absurd is it that you have to put so much effort to beat a bunch of lowlifes? Hell, lowlife bandits shouldn't have have this much level ffs. It would have been okay if it were some Nilfgaardian knights or something understandably high level like this but bandits? That's just absurd.

More gripes to come in following posts.

You can actually avoid bleeding by using Quen sign during bleeding effect. And yes you are right, fighting level is unfair in the game. But tbh, in real life noone would randomly jump in front of a 10 times stronger bandit without proper gears. Jokes apart. The Witcher 3 was never meant for Combat style gameplay and skill tree is very bad imo. It is meant to enjoy open-world with beautiful and detailed graphics. Not to mention about the Story and soundtracks, which are absolutely fantastic in their own way.

P.S - Roach is a retard horse.
 

bssunilreddy

Chosen of the Omnissiah
This is totally rumor and has not substance!
There won't be Witcher 4. CDPR clarified like n number of times now.

May be, if Cyberpunk flops, this can resurface!
*www.radiotimes.com/technology/2020-04-01/witcher-4-release-date/
*mashviral.com/witcher-4-release-date-plot-trailer-consoles-4/

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