Just making this post to say thank you to CD Project Red, since they own GOG, and also trying to add a friend, which is way too complicated by the way.
Playing the Wild Hunt was a magical experience, and I mean that literally as I don't remember eating in the last 6 days.
I really, really loved /everything/. The plot, the music, the combat system, the architecture, and oh, the WORLD! So alive! Thank you for Yenn and Ciri, and even Triss. I don't thank you for Priscilla cause that was really badly handled.Thank you for all the dad jokes. For all the Kear Morhern quests. For not forcing me to play Gwent. For making me fall deeply, deeply in love with my Slavic roots. For Roach. And Roche. And that old lady who was really attached to her frying pan. And for exploiting my fear of deep water, for once leaving my arachnophobia alone.
I remember finishing my playthrough of TW2 with applause. Yeah, I clapped to the monitor, sue me. This time I ended it in complete silence. I was content and empty at once. I'm still empty (and still bitter about Priscilla), but I think I'll live. I might spend the rest of the week trying to learn to play Gwent. And then I might replay the entire series again.
Love,
Iva.

What a lovely post.

I do have to disagree with you about Triss, though. <span class="podkreslenie"><span class="bold">Her lack of content</span></span> -- I went all through TW1 & 2 with her as a LI -- left me quite bitter. It was shocking the way she was just tacked on as an after-thought, after two games being the main romance option. I still seeth after playing through TW3 three times. Oh, and I'm not bashing on Yennefer, far from it. I think she's wonderfully done, and she's more fanciable than Triss as far as I'm concerned, but that doesn't alter the fact that CDP totally ignored everything that had gone on in the previous two games (forget the books).

What was wrong with the Priscilla quests?

@Hickory - haha I check that thread every day for new Red posts and to see how big its gotten. I'm hoping they do something in response. Would seem uncharacteristic for them not to.

Excellent post, OP. I just finished my first playthrough last night (I have three young children so game time is very limited these days), and I was absolutely floored. I simply didn't want it to end. I'm forcing myself to take a short break (probably until the 1.07 patch hits), and then I can't wait to do another playthrough to see how certain choices play out the other way.

Wild Hunt was my first entry to the series, but I was so eagerly anticipating it that I had read up on the storylines from the first two games, especially since I knew I wouldn't have the time to play them (oh, how I sometimes miss my days of marathon gaming sessions!). Nevertheless, I'm tempted to play them now just so I can revisit this world. They'd essentially feel like prequels to me at this point.

With respect to the characters you mentioned, I have to agree with @Hickory that Triss didn't get the screen time she deserved. I also had issues with the fact that if you choose to tackle secondary quests as you receive them--and I did so because I wanted to finish as much as I could in Velen before departing for Skellige--you really are forced to choose a life with or without Triss before really getting to know Yennefer, and Triss takes such a back seat during "The Adventures of Geralt and Yennefer" for the last third of the game, even if you choose her as your love interest. In a game packed with so much content, and one that particularly excels at changing the world state in a manner that actually reflects your choices and makes them feel like they have serious weight (something Skyrim failed to do in my opinion, but I digress), I was pretty disappointed with how the Triss path played out. As much as I liked her character, I found myself wondering "what if?" far too many times based on the quantity and quality of time I got to spend with Yen later in the game.

I had read so many posts on so many forums that bash Yennefer and label her as a cold b*tch, and I must admit I thought the same during the early portions of the game. That was, of course, until I saw and got to spend time with the real Yennefer in Skellige. In short, I think she's completely misunderstood by a lot of people and I really felt like an a-hole when I broke her heart (in fact, it was at that point that I was determined to do another playthrough as soon as possible).

So, to summarize my babbling, I think CDPR did a GREAT job with Yen, and at best a serviceable job with Triss. Incidentally, one character I wasn't expecting to like nearly as much as I did was Ciri. Absolutely loved how they developed that character and her relationship with Geralt. And everything else was knocked out of the park--the story, the gamepay, the music, the overall feel of the world--just perfect

Bravo, CDPR!

I normally have tons of problems with how serial killers in fiction always target women, but that wasn't the case in this scenario, so I don't hold anything against the quest per se. I really disliked the lack of... idk, reaction from Dandelion? after the quest has ended. I mean, when we come back to Novigrad after the battle of Kaer Morhen, he's just as cheerful as ever. It felt like they (he!) completely forgot about her, and I'm probably not gonna tackle it in my next playthrough. Anyway there's not nearly enough Dandelion for my taste this time around. Eh, Yen's always been mistreated and misunderstood by the fandom, and frankly her relationship with Geralt can be toxic at times. I'm a life-long fan of the world of the Witcher (and a life-long lover of Yen), and I was really scared that CDPR would destroy her. I think they did a magnificent job with the "cold on the outside, lovely on the inside" trope. She's a very pragmatic person who doesn't care about others' opinion, and I've always admired that about her, but she might come off as a "bitch" for that sometimes (especially to men who expect every woman to kneel before they speak, and there's plenty of those in our sweet gaming community).
I'm terribly sorry they treated Triss like a side dish this time around, even if I'm still bitter about how they put Yen's brilliant quotes in Triss' mouth in the first Witcher. I think it's mostly because of Ciri.
She did get a better DLC dress though, so I think we're even ;)

Uh oh, waifu wars again.

Anyway, here is the latest CDPR comment on the Triss stuff.

@ivanesca - yeah, I see what you mean about the Dandelion/Priscilla stuff. I was surprised at the relatively small amount of Dandelion in this one too, considering how present he was in the last game.

Ugh! She went from classy to trashy. No. Just... no!

Extra dialogue (probably for Triss) was just confirmed by CDPR.

While this is welcome news, one has to wonder that it takes a massive fan backdraft to bring it about, and on that note I will be withholding praise/judgement until something comes of it. Let's hope it's more than just token juggling of current content, with a few lines thrown in for good measure. Triss deserves more. We'll see...

awesome!

@Hickory come on, that dress makes her look like some exotic bird, or a river. I love the fabric! Though I guess it is a bit revealing.

No, it does not. It makes her look like the business end of some cheap feather duster, complete with fishnet covered pole. The outfit is about as far from 'class' as it's possible to get, as opposed to her original stylish garb. Revealing has nothing to do with it.

idk, man, I'd totally wear it if it wasn't for that plunging neckline.

Here is another one from CDPR. I should get a job as a video games journalist.

Quote:
"Please understand that this is not a case of us changing something simply because fans want it. This is because fans alerted us to something which we, internally, discussed (hence the long silence in between replies) and eventually agreed that it did not fit our core philosophy of including consequences to the choices the player can make."

So what they're saying is, hey guys we screwed up as designers and writers. You kicked our arses for that, and we hear you. Watch this space...

That's a huge deal for a big company to admit something like that. Kudos to CDPR, and let's hope they get it right, not forgetting that you can't please everybody.

Can we hope for some more redhead love in a future enhanced edition?