Forums

Topic: The Witcher 3 PS5

Posts 1 to 20 of 23

Mega-Gazz

Playing the new port of TW3 can’t find an active thread….

I noticed all the online info about skills don’t match what I see in game.. e.g. ‘muscle memory’ has 3 levels for 30% damage instead of 5 levels for 25%. Is this part of the DLC or changed with this release?

Mega-Gazz

rjejr

Weird that this is the only TW3 forum but so be it, I won’t start another.

Finished the main story and 2 expansions on PS4 awhile back and b/c I pay for PS+ was able to upload my save files to the cloud and then onto the PS5. Is it true that despite paying for PS+ every year to have the ability to upload and download save files I still need to create a GOG account just for TW3 to import my PS4 save file into my PS5 version of the game? B/c that’s too much trouble for me to bother.😝 Would be a nice OPTION if I wasn’t paying for PS+, but I am paying for PS+ and the save file transfer is done, game just can’t see it.

I never installed the PS4 version on the PS5, it’s on the PS4, but I would if it meant not having to jump through the GOG hoops.🤷🏻‍♂️

Someday we'll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Th3solution

@FuriousMachine I’d like to know how W3 is holding up for you, since it’s your first time to play it.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

FuriousMachine

@Th3solution Just started it last night, but got tired after a long week so didn't make it further than to the first tavern and my first game of Gwent. Mechanics wise it seems like a good fit for my tastes and I decided to give Death March difficulty a go. I love games that allows changing the difficulty mid-game as that allows me to try my hand at more challenging difficulties without the prospect of quitting in frustration late-game.
Story-wise it's too early to tell, but I'll check back in here with an update on how I'm getting along with it when I'm a bit further in. So far it looks very promising

FuriousMachine

rjejr

@Th3solution I'm guessing my question was a butt dial as I see the same question above for someone else. 😂 But since I'm here, I did enjoy it. Probably not as much as others, a bit too brown, and Elden Ring kind of blew my mind in the open world gaming dept, but I certainly wouldn't tell people not to play TW3, it's a classic. I just watched my kid play the original FF7, one of my favorite games of all time, and wow that game does not hold up well, it's basically trash as a game. Characters, story and music are still great, graphics decent enough, but the items, menus, that kind of stuff, what a chore. 🤷‍♂️

Someday we'll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Th3solution

@FuriousMachine Its been a few years but I only made it through the first few hours of W3. For me it was a little too overwhelming from an open world standpoint. I recall seeing just a sea of question marks littered all over the map and with my obsessive compulsions in video games to do everything, I just gave up on it. I’ve always felt like I needed to go back. I think a lot of it was my mood and situation at the time and I needed something shorter and less expansive.

It’s one of many in my gaming graveyard that deserves a second chance but there’s just always something else I’d rather play.

Perhaps hearing some good experiences will motivate to put it back on my list. Having a native PS5 patch certainly helps.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

CaptD

@Th3solution W3 is a great game and yes the question marks can be overwhelming but I think there is an option to turn them off.
As for death march, this is difficult at the start but comes considerably easier after level 5 or so...just be wary that you don't go into the story mission set in a cave (lvl 4 I think) unprepared, best to over level a little bit for that.
I speak as someone who has platinumed it three times. 😳

CaptD

FuriousMachine

@Th3solution I found the abundance of question marks daunting at first, but playing on Death March difficulty I now worry that there are too few XP and cash is scarce pr. encounter so it's good that there are many of them. I have a similar OCD with these types of games that is more of an intense FOMO on content or doing things in the wrong order, so I typically make use of guides when playing. I don't follow them religiously, but I found a useful one on GamerGuides where the walkthrough headlines each section pertaining to a question mark with type and level (for example ""Bandit Camp (5)", so I can pick the ones I feel ready for and head to that one.
Makes it less overwhelming, I feel.
Also, being able to save any time (and not just checkpointing) helps alleviate the worry of stumbling into something I'm not ready for. I'm absolutely loving it

FuriousMachine

Th3solution

@FuriousMachine That’s a useful tip. I have a mixed experience with guides. I have traditionally used them liberally and found that it does help enhance my enjoyment and improves efficiency in some games. For example, Souls games benefit greatly from at least using some form of build guide as well as assistance with knowing the order of places to go, in some cases. But I’ve started to stray away from using guides as often as I used to, especially for open world games. Lately I’ve just glanced at a guide if I get stuck or if I chasing some trophies that I want to make sure I don’t miss. But the big open world games I’ve played over the last year — Spider-Man 2, Jedi Survior, Hogwarts Legacy, FF16 — I just roam about gobbling up map icons, collectibles, and side activities at my own pace and preference. But maybe following some form of guide will make Witcher less daunting to me. Alternatively, I could make it a goal to just mainline the game on easy and see how that goes. Problem is, the prevailing opinion is that W3 has best-in-class side quests, so I think the experience would suffer by not doing the extra content.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Ravix

@Th3solution @FuriousMachine

TW3 gameplay loop breakdown. Start main quest and learn some stuff > go to a town or village and look at the contract board > be a witcher to earn money to be able to survive and thus be able to learn more stuff relating to your overall goal. And also > use photo mode at every new location (since the ps5 update) haha 😁

It shouldn't be too daunting once you get in to that flow of things, and stumbling into stuff you can't tackle yet can be rectified by turning round and coming back later. Sometimes it's best to find a thing and know that you can come back later, rather than just avoid it. And sometimes you even surprise yourself by tackling something you think you can't, which is always nice.

But the absolute main thing is to always make sure to hoover up those contracts anywhere you see them, and then you can simply follow them through when you're within a few levels (a few quests do seem to always get passed level wise with natural gameplay progression as there are so many, but even still... they are not to be missed even if you have outeveled them)

Honestly, I feel like the game balances personal discovery and scripted brilliance, so "bin those guides" especially once you're in the flow of how the game works would be my advice to anyone, or you might ruin the quests foe yourself and be too focused on following a road map to actually absorb the storytelling within the world.

For a tutorial area White Orchard can be hit or miss for people, and I did struggle at times when I was new to fantasy games and was just following the story not really understanding what I was supposed to be doing, so I initially took a break before coming back, but it's definitely one to go back to. And do not mainline it on easy TS, the game gets incredibly easy once you know what you're doing, and you can switch difficulty at any time if you want anyway.

It is a game that is so easy to enjoy once you get properly started, and then it rewards you with two massive DLC's once you are finally done with it and that is when you really fall in love with the game, honestly 😁😁😁

When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎

Th3solution

@Ravix I see. Yeah, I reckon that there’s a game flow that I just never quite achieved. It’s been about 5 years since I tried playing it and I figure I’m due for a retry at some point. I also think that I understand Geralt as a character better now. At the time I found him annoying and bland. But I realize now that he’s supposed to come off as aloof and leaden, whereas before I just thought the dialogue and voice work was uninspired.

The time commitment is large, so who knows if my retry will happen anytime soon.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Ravix

@Th3solution no better way to spend gaming time than discovering new IP's to fall in love with though 😉 there's only a few generational titles available, so might as well play all of the best games out there.

Honestly, I got stuck when I first played it and gave up as it was so overwhelming for someone who was inexperienced at that type of game at the time, but then when I had played RDR2 and every other game after was disappointing me and this was just sitting on the shelf staring at me with its "over 800 awards" front cover, I thought "there's a chance I was just playing it wrong and gave up way too early" and I was right 😁

My first build was awful, I was leaning in to magic like a fool and denying myself the fun of whirling about in combat and simply using signs to create openings for more sword play and I was too focused on trying to follow a story I had no emotional tie to early on, instead of doing a witchers work and letting the story come to me a little slower.

But when I got back to it I leaned more in to swordplay, I let the emotional stuff build slowly until I actually understood the characters and their motivations, and by the time I'd finished Blood and Wine I was quite misty eyed at the journey I'd been on with them all. And that is when I read all the books to keep the journey going, and then I understood on a whole new level just how much heart, soul and love CDPR had put into this game because of their love of the source material.

Are you playing much at the moment? I know there's a few great games you have been wanting to try out, and maybe it is time to commit to one of them and see where it leads you 😄

When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎

Th3solution

@Ravix That’s a great anecdote about your own initial failure on the game, followed by a successful retry. From time to time I’ve had those experiences, most recently with Dark Souls 1, where the initial attempt failed and the return was a fantastic experience coming at it much later from a different mindset and a more fervent commitment. Sometimes the timing just has to be right.

And it’s also interesting that if my memory serves, I had played RDR2 right before my attempt at Witcher 3. I recall this because i distinctly remember one of my trivial gripes was how unrealistically Roach maneuvered in comparison to my horse in RDR2. 😂

Ravix wrote:

Are you playing much at the moment? I know there's a few great games you have been wanting to try out, and maybe it is time to commit to one of them and see where it leads you 😄

Yeah, I have some great games on deck and part of my challenge is trying to balance them. I really try to avoid playing too many similar games back-to-back and also try to mix in shorter and more manageable games between (or during) longer more epic games. I think it helps me from getting too much gamer fatigue. Like two huge open world games in sequence is a recipe for potential genre burnout for me. 😄

So I’m committed to my Marvel run at the moment and soaking up Spider-Man 2 alongside Midnight Suns - I was craving another deck builder after finishing Inscryption last month.

I’m due for my semi-annual FromSoft game soon so I have plans for Dark Souls 2 after Spidey is dusted off. Then I should be in the mood for something turn based again and Baldur’s Gate 3 should be next. I might have to mix in some smaller titles between some of these longer games, just to keep the variety going, like Crisis Core and an indie here and there. After all that, then it might be time for an open-world action time-sink, with Horizon Forbidden West, Witcher 3, or FF7 Rebirth being candidates.

I agree with you that with the rate games come out and the way time becomes more limited as an adult, I have to prioritize on just playing the best titles and not waste time on the fluff (which is why I avoid things like Fortnite and COD like the plague 😜) but I also feel an obligation to give a few lesser known quantities occasionally and try and play the frequent smaller titles to round out my experience. There’s some value in that, from a personal standpoint and from a gaming community one as well.

Either way, I love reading the community’s experiences with games I’ve played or have interest in. Often it sways me to try a game before I would otherwise. 😄

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

FuriousMachine

@Ravix Great anecdote and it raises a salient point: Sometimes a game is a better fit with one playstyle than the other and it might not be immediately obvious that that's the reason a game doesn't "click". Also, I may have subconscious (or even fully conscious) preconceptions of what the game should play like and then wind up simply feeling "not for me", when just a change to the approach is all that's needed to fall in love with it.

I think you also hit the nail on the head about Geralt as a character. In the books it is comes across that he's trying to be a gruff, cynical devil-may-care grump, even if he's basically a big softie that cares a lot (and often suffers for it)

@Th3solution Absolutely agreed re.: reading about other people's experiences, even if the dreaded backlog typically only grows from such activities Speaking of, I have yet to pick up Midnight Suns again. I had it pre-ordered and tested it on release (I'm still a Marvel fanboy). Loved it, but I was in the middle of another large-ish game so I put it on the backlog where I actually managed to forget about it!
Not too long ago that I finished Miles Morales, so Spidey 2 can wait a little bit longer, though. Still, very comforting to know that it is there and waiting for me

FuriousMachine

Th3solution

@FuriousMachine I wish I had a dollar for every game that I started, was enjoying, but somehow abandoned and never went back. I’d be a rich man if so!

It looks like Midnight Suns is a pretty long commitment (60ish hours for a thorough playthrough per HLTB) although a pittance compared to Witcher 3 and it’s DLC, which I assume will take north of 120 hrs if doing all the side content. I’ll drop impressions of Midnight Suns, mostly over on the Game Club thread since it’s the choice of the month there.

As for Spidey 2, it’s quite good and you’ll really love it if you enjoyed Miles Morales. It will be a good one to do sometime when you need a fast-paced twitchy action fix. It has such a nice sheen of Sony polish, as their first party tend to have, and the more I play it the more it feels like another level of refinement above MM (which was already a great game). Being PS5 generation exclusive probably helps.

———

Random question (and apologies for the derail but here is as good a place as any):
I was curious if you are usually able to play games in your native language (Norwegian, correct?) or do you just play in English all the time? I have no idea how often there’s a Norwegian localization done, but I suspect it’s not often? On topic (😄), Witcher 3 coming from a European development team might mean that the language options are more expansive, but I don’t know.
How about movies — are you usually watching them in English or are they dubbed? I know you’re a cinephile to boot.

Anyways, just curious. Your English feels native as far as your writing goes, so I assume you could enjoy your media either way.

Edited on by Th3solution

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Ravix

@FuriousMachine how far in are you on your run? And have you taken out lots of contracts? 😁😁

When they did the beautiful PS5 update I started a new playthrough myself and got fairly far, further than I expected for what started as just exploring the world anew with all the sexy Ray Tracing haha. But this thread and playing DD2 has me maybe wanting to pick up that playthrough again, because there's nothing quite like it, and I can't quite remember how much I have left to do in the base game segments, but i'm sure there's some 'monsters' that need a good killing, or sparing, or bedding, depending on Geralts mood 😅😅

When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎

FuriousMachine

@Th3solution I'm really looking forward to both of them. I feel Midnight Suns may actually sneak it's way into my currently planned backlog as I really enjoyed what little I played (loved how the battles played). But, yeah, I believe The Witcher 3 will take me quite a long time to complete, but that's OK if it remains as enjoyable throughout.


Tangent about localization in Norway follows; skip to next post if you're not interested
I honestly don't know for sure, but I don't think there is much localization in Norwegian in games, apart from the ones made for the very very young'uns. Not even subtitles, I expect. It would never be an option for me to play games dubbed in Norwegian, so I've never really checked. Booted up Witcher 3 (on topic!) just now to check, and nothing for Scandinavia there; mostly eastern Europe and Asia.

For movies, dubbing is only done for kids movies and that's only been going on for the last 20-30 years or so. When I was a wee lad, subtitles were all we had. That had the effect of me (and most my age) learning to read at an early age and consequently learning English early as well. There were some Norwegian shows on TV (and some of us were lucky to live in places where we would get the far superior Swedish TV channels), but most cartoons (Disney and Popeye were early favourites) were in their original language with Norwegian subtitles. In the mid or late 80's we got access to Sky Channel and Fun Factory, so a lot of us were taught English by Pat Sharp, He-Man and Optimus Prime

When reading books I will read them in Norwegian if they were originally written in Norwegian, otherwise I prefer reading the English versions. They are more readily available on Kindle, which is my preferred platform, and it allows me to maintain my English to boot.

Long answer, but there you have it

FuriousMachine

FuriousMachine

@Ravix I'm very, very early in, only had the opportunity to play for a few hours a couple of evenings. Haven't even levelled up yet, but have finished a few of the question marks (mostly bandit camps) in the area, the pyromaniac quest (where the Drowners made mincemeat of me time after time until I realized I was supposed to run away) and the Missing Brother quest with the battlefield and the Ghoul nest and the Point of Power.
I'm hoping to play some more tomorrow evening, but these are fairly busy days, so I don't get to play as often as I'd like

FuriousMachine

Please login or sign up to reply to this topic