Witcher 3

[Ashvis]

I keep talking about how amazing and brilliant Witcher 3 is on other threads. I thought it was probably about time we had a dedicated Witcher thread (though I do like getting derailed and talking about other games too). So, who else is playing/has played/wants to play? Anyone else obsessed with Gwent? Triss or Yen? What big decisions have you made? I'm on my second play through, on game plus mode. I've got the first dlc pack but need to be a couple levels higher before I can play the new missions. I know some of you out there love it too, right?

Yay, I will come back and join you when I've progressed a bit!

Gwent flummoxed me the first time I played, but I will persevere. Is the purpose of Gwent just to up your cash? And I guess it's like a kind of side-game to the story?

There's a couple quests where you can play Gwent, and there are some Gwent specific quests too - helps to up your level and a wee bit more money. I didn't play at all on my first game (mainly cause dh kept banging on about it and I'm contrary) but I was in less of a rush to do stuff this time round so I gave it a try. I'm hooked. Once you start getting good cards it's easier, and it's totally addictive, trying to get all the cards so you've the best deck. I got really excited when I got my Geralt and Ciri cards. It's really tactical and it's fun. You can adjust the Gwent difficulty in the options menu as well - I only just found that out today! But it is totally optional, you can complete it without playing at all. I do like comparing tactics though!

I forgot trophies - there are PSN trophies for Gwent too! I played on dh's PlayStation account for ages, now I've my own and I want my own trophies in my own name damnit!

Hey, just thought I'd check in again. How's the Gwent playing going?

I'm level 6 at the moment, still chasing around after the Baron's family. Just had a wander round Oxenfurt, looked in the shops, had a gentle stroll round the docks, haha.

It makes me laugh every time I talk to someone there's the 'Play Gwent' option, like it's all Geralt wants to do and I'm making him do all this questing.

Taken me a while to get used to the combat, it really isn't just for grinding is it, but feel like I'm getting the hang now. The other thing I'm finding is that I'm playing it less often than I'd like to because it isn't possible to just do an hour or so here and there (but maybe that's just me).

One of the better things about being a single mum is that I am able to indulge my passion for video games without too much guilt once the little one has gone to bed. TW3 is hands down the best game I've played. I've finished it now and am playing the DLC. Love it. Should be mandatory viewing for anyone who says video games can never be art.

The Gwent is awesome, but I've now finished all the Gwent quests! And it's almost impossible to find new cards, but it's still fun. Dh and I got a couple real life Gwent decks with the dlc so have played that a couple times. Annoyingly we don't have the Northern Realms deck which is my favourite (hoping it'll be released with the second set of dlc), but it's fun getting to know the others better! I spent last night wandering around Oxenfurt too, I like the town. Oh, the baron's family quest is a good one!

Palerfire, I'm on the new dlc too, it's loads of fun! I just did the frog prince bit last night - thought I would be able to save and do something else but landed in a huge (and awesome) cut scene. Might I suggest an enormous geek if you're ever looking for a partner at some point - dh and I are both obsessed with gaming and at no point in nearly 11 years have either of us complained to the other about the amount of gaming we do. I also agree, games can be an wonderful art form. Did you play Okami or Okamiden? Stunning. Just beautiful. How was your game ending - were you happy with your choices? I made some romantic missteps, one of the reasons I'm on a second play through.

We did recently have a phase where ds was up ridiculously early and by evening I was just too shattered to game, and he wasn't settled at nursery so no time during the day either. Just kept repeating "this too will pass" to myself, and it did. Fortunately ds now loves nursery and is there for the full morning so, even if up crazy early, there's usually a little time to play during the day, or catch up on more sleep so I can play in the evening. For a good while though, I felt like I was neglecting my other child (my PS4). Nice to get stuck into a game again, even if I'm sometimes neglecting the housework...

I love this game! But I'm around 80 hours in and still can't figure out how the hell you're supposed to play Gwent I've just started the third act so might treat myself to the dlc for Xmas...

If you want to learn Gwent, I found the best way was to just play it and pick it up as you go - the worst that happens is you lose a small amount of money, and you can go to the gameplay menu and lower the difficulty of Gwent to easy. The decks you get to start with are a bit rubbish but once you start getting some good cards it can get quite addictive. Traders and innkeeps often sell them.

I've just started the third act too! But I'm taking a break from the main quest to play the dlc. I'm really enjoying it yet I've a horrible feeling Geralt may be about to cheat on Yen. He's professed undying love for her on this play through having been a love rat on my first. I know she's a figment of someone's imagination, as is Geralt, but I want their love to be pure damnit! I like Triss well enough, but all she wants to do is go to balls and fancy parties and I'm not convinced Geralt likes that sort of thing. Besides, she thinks of Ciri as a sister and he thinks of Ciri as a daughter.

I've accidentally ended up with Triss, because my Geralt also went through a bit of a cad phase and romanced them both, then by the time he had to choose one it was too late to salvage anything with Yen so it was Triss or no-one. I kind of regret it but hey ho! I've never played any of the previous games so didn't have any idea what I was doing really.

Now I don't know whether to finish the main story then do the dlc, or just get it now and incorporate it. I may need to learn Gwent just to clear up my secondary quest list a bit , I picked up all the quests just to get rid of the exclamation marks and now they're sat there annoying me. Also the horse racing stuff, Roach just seems determined to get herself stuck on every tiny rock and I'm just rubbish at them...

Lucky you, after romancing them both I didn't have the chance to make it up to either of them! He's not short of love interests, is he?! And Triss is fine enough, she's got awesome hair, a good sense of fun - Geralt could do much worse!

I haven't done the horse racing either, Roach really is more interested in running into objects than following the path with me too! Beginning to wonder if the horse is blind. I was comparing trophies with a mate and saw he completed all the fist fights and horse races so thinking I might give it a try. And I do like the trophies.

I've left Avallach sitting in the inn waiting for me while I do the dlc stuff, and it's great. Could it be an early Christmas gift to yourself? There is a fair bit of humour in it, it's quite different in a lot of ways but I like that it's familiar at the same time. And there's new Gwent cards and opponents to keep me happy too. I don't think it matters which order you do things in, think I'm about halfway through the dlc main quest but might head back to the overall main quest soon just to finish it off. I am thinking about the graphic novels for Christmas though, never read them but I'd like to know more about the back story.

Geralt is quite the studmuffin, apparently! Had to skip through all the sex scenes though, bit cringey...

I've quite enjoyed the fist fights, need to do the Skellige ones yet. Am just trawling around looking for Witcher Gear upgrades at the minute to postpone going any further in the plot. Got a couple of contracts to do still too - I've also left Avallach in the inn! And all the sorceresses are milling about somewhere waiting for me to catch up to them and do some questing for them. But I sometimes find I've spent an hour playing and all I've really done is buy/sell/craft stuff.

I have to confess, I'm playing it on the easiest setting! I don't feel I have the time to spend frequently dying playing it mostly during toddler naptime so I just want to be able to crack on in the hope of finishing it in my lifetime...

I might look into the books, I can't get away with graphic novels though.

I played on the easiest setting for my first play through. Played on the second setting for most of my second, but found I wanted to be a couple levels higher than the recommended so I didn't get killed all the time. I've put it back down to the easiest setting and feel I'm making more progress. There's no point playing a game unless you find it achievable! FWIW, most of my gamer friends think the same way. Gaming is the only form of entertainment I can think of where they penalise you for not being good enough to access all the content - nobody stops you halfway through a book or movie to see if your comprehension is good enough, games should be playable!

Toddler nap times, so lucky! Mine is about to turn 4 and naps are few and far between now. At least there's nursery and I can do some gaming then. I think I played most of Skyrim during ds' nap times. Yy to housekeeping stuff, last night spent ages selling and crafting and I'm going to be doing more next time I play too.

The sex scenes are definitely cringeworthy! Dh was giving ds lunch not so long ago and I decided to play some Witcher. Next thing I know, Geralt starts getting busy with Yen, not realising the curtains are wide open. Dh then tells me he was about to come back through to the living room - never moved so fast in my life! Romance, kissing, not so bad, but sex and video games are just a bad combination.

Hah! Yep, what's wrong with a nice fade-to-black?! DH was a bit shocked by it I think It's true what you say about books vs games, I'm really glad they went with adjustable in-game difficulty levels. I have low tolerance for frustration!

Oh, I loved Skyrim too, keep checking for any news on the next one but it seems they've been focusing on Fallout 4 I never could get into Fallout, it all just seemed a bit...deserty. I like more variation in my scenery.

YY to nap times, of course he's meant to be napping now but I can hear him flinging himself about in his cot! I'll be devastated when he drops the nap. Hopefully he'll be old enough then that I can play without him yanking the controller out of my hand though

After talking about it, I've been replaying Skyrim for the last couple days! It was the snow that did it, and when I heard the music, aaaahhhh, it was like coming home! No one has told me they used to be an adventurer like me till they took an arrow in the knee yet. Disappointing! I earned a bunch of trophies on dh's PSN account and now I have my own, I'm looking forward to earning my own trophies! Quite cool having dh playing Fallout at the same time.

I'm almost finished the Witcher dlc now, definitely been worth the money. Ds is 4 tomorrow - the yanking the controller hasn't changed yet! He is autistic so may be different to other 4 year olds, but he does love watching a whole bunch of games, and is pretty good at Angry Birds! Think I might try him on Mario Kart soon. Can't wait till he starts beating me at games.

My dh had heard the previous two Witcher games were a bit smutty - lots of sex, so he had the curtains drawn already and had me warned in case I got a bit of a shock! BIL has apparently frequented all the prostitutes. I am not surprised at all. I suspect his Geralt may be riddled with stds.

I don't think I ever finished the Skyrim expansion packs, thinking about it...might revisit it after Witcher

DH isn't really a gamer, he used to play the Splinter Cell games though and he's quite happy to sit and read whilst I play and occasionally chip in with helpful comments/repeating the word 'coin' in silly voices. DS has some autistic traits, apparently, although not sufficient for a diagnosis at present. He's obsessed with phones/tablets/laptops so I can see him being a gamer if we ever let him get his hands on a console!

I was vaguely curious as to how the prostitute scenes would play out, but the cringe-factor was so overpowering I couldn't do it! Eww at your BIL, his Geralt probably needs a good scrub with bleach. I do get really tired of all the sexist shit, but not enough to stop playing, clearly

Oh, Happy Birthday to mini-Ashvis for tomorrow!

Ds had an awesome birthday, thank you for the birthday wishes! Being autistic can be pretty awesome - it's a total privilege that we get to share the amazing way he sees the world. And he's super sweet to his friends. Don't get me wrong, it can be really difficult at times, but I honestly wouldn't change him for the world. Especially when he asks me for a "true love kiss". Adorable!

Playing Skyrim again was good, but I was grumpy I couldn't play Gwent with the innkeeps, and desperately wanted to use Witcher senses. Off to play more Witcher in a few minutes. The sexist shit is annoying, but try to remind myself it's a different world, but they make references to things like fairy tales, and quote Madonna and Macbeth and that makes it harder! I do like Ciri and Yen though - they kick ass. That does help a bit. And the shield maidens in Skellige I suppose. I do like you can get a woman ruling Skellige too. Just a shame about some of the outfits...

Having a geeky dh is awesome, though we do need two TVs and PS4s in the living room. Most people find that odd, but I like gaming and chatting at the same time. Good that your dh joins in and helps out though, little worse than havin a hobby your partner doesn't understand!

Bil's Geralt needs the world's supply of antibiotics as well as the bleach. Wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Bil is all kinds of lovely, but clearly has some issues!

Aw that's lovely! And quite reassuring Yes, DS just wouldn't be DS without his 'quirks'! Main issue is speech delay though, which is a nightmare for him and for us, but he is very affectionate and hilarious, bless him.

And YY to the outfits - quite often want to yell at them to put a bloody jumper on, they must be freezing! I would buy the hell out of any game that had female leads in weather-appropriate attire.

Loving your two TV set up, that's excellent At least with DH not gaming I don't have to compete for the TV, he's usually quite happy on his laptop or reading. I like to chat, but he does have a knack for interrupting cutscenes which is a bit frustrating...

The speech delay is the worst! Ds has made super progress in the last 6 months, and by all accounts he's pretty high functioning, but it's so frustrating when they are trying to tell you something and you can't understand it! We had a bottle of champagne recently because I had a 4 sentence conversation about leaves with him - just brilliant. Apparently leaves are messy when they fall over off the trees! Couldn't have been prouder. It's such a shame when they have to try so very hard at something that comes really naturally to us. When it's something he really wants to do though, like go to a toy shop, it's amazing how many sentences he can put together... I do wonder if he just thinks about it too much sometimes.

Yy to a game wth sensibly clad women!! I don't care what the game is, I'd probably buy it! Ciri told me today that she got upset sometimes when people stared at her scarred cheek so she just undid another button. Oh, Ciri! What are you doing to your gender? Skyrim and Oblivion weren't too bad to my recollection, but I want a game with a sartorially savvy heroine who rocks. It's not too much to ask for.

Last night I came across an incredibly difficult opponent in the dlc, so going back to the main quest for a bit. Frustrating but I think it'll take quite a few attempts to defeat said opponent, and the rest has been relatively manageable too. Grrrr.

Glad it's not just my dh who gets chatty during cut scenes, I swear he knows when one is on despite being in another room, and decides it's time for a chat! Every. Single. Time. I'm deeply suspicious, especially when I try to be courteous. Others have mocked our 2 TV set up, nice to meet someone who appreciates it

Aw that's great, I will be getting champagne when we get a first proper word! Although we do have 'oh wow' as the only thing he can say, which is v. cute. The SALT has said he's a 'mixed picture', with some stuff that suggests he's on the spectrum and other stuff that doesn't. I'm not fussed, I just want him to be happy, which he is...except for the talking/frustration, but I think that bothers me and DH more than him to be fair!

Oh, Ciri...you've been spending too much time with Geralt, clearly! No, don't remember Skyrim being that bad. I'm after a new career, maybe I should learn games design, I'm sure the industry would love a feminist hero and I wouldn't get any death threats from trolls at all...

Ohh, that is frustrating. What level are the dlc quests aimed around? Before I really figured out the game I got stuck on one particular contract, bloody wraith must have killed me 20 times before I buggered off, levelled the hell up over about a week and went back and one-hit killed her. Small victories! But also probably a bit cheaty...

I'm sure my ex had a 2 TV set up, thinking about it! So maybe I'm just used to some level of gaming obsession

"Oh wow" is super cute, if he's only going to say one thing, it's an awesome one! It's such a minefield, the spectrum, isn't it. We've been told that not too long ago, ds wouldn't have had a diagnosis, he would be considered too imaginative, too affectionate, too much of a sense of humour - never mind the fact he has over 30 different traits! What a brilliant way you have looking at things too - happy and healthy are the two things that are the most important. We just find other people stressful sometimes - we had one grandmother tell us she'd still love him just the same (as if not loving him because he's autistic was an option!) and the other decided to be in deep, deep denial for 6 months. Both are much better now but made things harder than they needed to be!

Yy to you getting a career in gaming, brilliant decision! My niece is planning on doing just that - she's a brilliant gamer and wouldn't make any character in an outfit you wouldn't wear in front of your mother. What a shame that women in the industry get such a hard time, it's totally nuts. I hope it doesn't put off too many women choosing a career in gaming, nothing will change until enough women come out and say enough! I'd love another strong feminist gaming hero!

The dlc is recommended for level 30 and above, I am a few levels above what I need to be at (not cheaty at all, just well prepared!), but this foe regenerates health each time they hit me, and I usually run in sword flailing and attack - having to be cautious isn't in my gaming nature. I will get there though, eventually. I went back to see Avallach and continue the main quest - very close to the end now! I have completed all the fist fights too - since you enjoyed them I gave it a go, and it was fun! The champion of champions was something else! Thinking about going around hunting the last few Gwent cards too - I'm enjoying the game too much and don't really want it to finish yet.

It is strange, there still seems to be a lot of confusion over what it is/isn't, even from the professionals. Our SALT is being great, though. Oh yes, the denial...my dad is refusing to consider that there could be something that needs further assessment, he's very much of the 'well I didn't talk till I was 3 and I'm fine' line of thinking. Except that I actually think my dad has some traits too...luckily my mum is supportive, and we don't have any GP's on the other side. But I do get raised eyebrows off people when I have to explain to them that he's not being rude if he doesn't reply, he just doesn't talk yet! That's depressing.

Good for your niece! Unless someone is willing to pay me a full time salary while I train I think my game designing dreams will stay dreams, though Of course, once she had her own company, if she'd like to train up an apprentice...

Ok, I'm around level 32, so that's doable. I think DH is getting me it for xmas, purely because I got sick of him asking me what he could get me otherwise I'd buy it myself! I'm a bit worried cause I've had some technical problems with synching and stuff, so hoping a download won't screw up my saved files. I thought I'd lost around 60/70 hours of gameplay a while back, I genuinely cried until my files reappeared! I'm also a hack 'n' slasher, I don't do subtlety. Or skill If I can't hack at it, bomb it or burn it with axii then I tend to avoid it! I'm getting all the witcher gear upgrades at the minute and there's an elemental guarding the last one that keeps battering me I might actually need to use some of the ten million potions I've brewed...I'm going to finish the fist fights after that, not even started the Skellige ones yet!

The awesome thing about having a diagnosis for autism is that when people assume ds is being rude/naughty/weird, I can say "he's autistic" and, even if they don't know much about the condition, they are usually nicer and stop thinking he's rude when he doesn't answer them! Not always, but the vast majority of the time... The denial is the worst, I'm sure my mil still thinks we are just shit and/or lazy (ha!) parents but at least makes vaguely supportive noises now. We've a local charity (NE Scotland) which supports individuals with any additional need which have been a god send - they run preschool sessions and family stay and play groups where you can go along, have a cuppa, safe place for the wee one to play and they will listen to you moan/celebrate achievements/answer your questions about diagnosis or anything at all. I swear they are staffed be angels! The complete acceptance by the staff and other families is amazing and comforting. I don't know if there's anything like that near you but definitely worth checking out.

My niece is only 17 so an apprenticeship may be a while away, but rest assured I'll keep you posted! We used to have some odd conversations about what Bowser and Princess Peach's baby would look like so my guess is she'd make some weird games, but her female characters would do our gender proud!

Is that the elemental at Kaer Morhen? He is a bitch! I killed him a couple days ago and victory danced around the living room! My neighbours must think I'm odd. You can get the dlc off the PlayStation store (if you're on PlayStation, don't know about the other systems) or you can buy a code online or in the shops with a couple Gwent decks too - the pack with the decks is more expensive but lots of fun to play together. It's only the monster and Scoia'tael decks (hoping the others come out with the next lot of dlc), but we've had lots of fun playing real life Gwent recently!

I can see that that would be handy! I'll have a look about for some groups. He's going to have some speech therapy after which they'll decide if he warrants further assessment, might wait and see what they say rather than gatecrash a group only to then be told he's just a bit 'quirky'! I've got the number of a specialist who's invited us to call him with any questions, but I don't even know what I would ask really.

It's the elemental at Boxholm on Ard Skellig! The Kaer Morhen one took me loads of goes too though, had to keep retreating and meditating with that one! They seem to be the things I have most trouble with, it's basically a two hit kill and my Geralt is not exactly fleet of foot because I'm rubbish with the controller. I might be able to run past it, will have another go when I'm off work next. I'm playing on the Xbox, it's a bit temperamental

I'm trying to remember if I've played any games with decent female leads? Seem to remember you could play as a woman in the Resident Evil games, but don't remember much else except being terrified by them. I was a woman in Skyrim too. Your niece sounds awesome

Any group worth their salt would recognise speech delay as an additional need - and not all additional needs are life long, but totally understand where you're coming from. It was our speech therapist that put us in touch with the group. He's one of the highest functioning there, and MiniAsh loves being one of the chattiest there, and they can all flap about and play together without having to talk or worry about being understood - bliss! Have you seen the autism quotient test? You can find it online, it's a tool for adults to see whether or not they have autistic tendencies - I noticed I have a few I didn't even realise when MiniAsh was going through the diagnosis so took the test. The average neurotypical person scores about 16, the maximum for the most autistic is about 50 - I scored 26! No wonder my ds has a diagnosis! Good you've a specialist on speed dial, that's always handy too.

My niece is really is awesome, she's one of my very favourite people. Plus, she has long hair and ds loves to sit on her knee and stroke her locks, and watch her gaming. She's really creative and smart so I'm sure she's got a fantastic future ahead of her . Next time I see her, I plan to talk to her about female characters in games now.

That elemental is really tough too. I'm not sure if I've faced him on this play through, I'm off treasure hunting so will probably see him?it? soon. I've got the game ready to start the final battle now, dead exciting! I've never really played on an Xbox, but my skanky bil swears by his. Can't believe the Xbox got the deal with the new Tomb Raider game - that was a big surprise!

I just did the test, I got 27 Mostly on the social interactions questions I think. So yes, not surprising! That group sounds lovely! I would like to not feel like I'm not being judged because DS is having a screaming fit and hiding from other kids during groups Although he handles them better when the childminder takes him to them; it's like he's very compartmentalised. He knows he does 'social' stuff with other kids with her, and accepts it, but if we try to do stuff with him that we don't normally he can't cope. And if someone is where they shouldn't be he ignores them - I was at home once unexpectedly when my DM brought him back from the childminders and he flat out ignored my existence for about an hour until DM left. Don't know if that's an AS thing or him just being a bit odd...

Oh, exciting Let me know how it goes! I had a good evening, I killed the elemental! I hammered some thunderbolt and just went for it. So I now have a full set of mastercrafted armour that I can't wear until I level up and am trying to make the mastercrafted swords but I can't get hold of the crafting stuff I need.

That is a bit surprising! Just had a look at some pictures, she's still just wearing a vest but they seem to have resisted the urge to pump her up to an H cup or whatever. I haven't played it since the first one on the original PS, I am really rubbish at puzzle solving. I tend to use walkthroughs a lot, I hate running aimlessly around looking for switches.