Witcher 3 Death March: First Impressions · 10:52am Jul 1st, 2017
Whoa.
When I announced my intentions to attempt Death March difficulty to the only other co-worker who plays Witcher 3, his response was a resounding and encouraging, "Boy, you're crazy."
Apparently he's also attempted Death March, and never made it out of White Orchard.
And indeed, seeing a third or a half of my health bar vanish from a single hit from a drowner or wolf is quite humbling, but so far I have only died once; in no small part due to my chosen mutation from Blood and Wine; Second Life, where a depleted health bar activates a Quen shield, and temporary invulnerability while vitality is restored to full. But this can only occur once every three minutes, so it is by no means a crutch; you still have to maintain situational awareness. Having nearly completed all of the prologue quests in White Orchard, I can tell the hardest part of this attempt at Death March will be battles against multiple foes.
I am also fearing the sections where Ciri is playable; as she doesn't have access to Signs, just her teleport ability, which I never mastered.
When it comes to monsters, my saving grace has been a unique weapon from Blood and Wine:
Aerondight. This unique silver sword has made an appearance in every Witcher game. Here, it is the only sword that levels with you. Every successful strike increases the attack power, up to 10 successive strikes in a row, fully charging the sword; any strikes after 10 are guaranteed 100% Critical strikes. A kill with a fully charged sword resets the charge counter and permanently increases the attack power for your current level. When you level up, this process resets, thus the sword continually increases in power and never needs upgrading or replacing.
As of yet, it is by no means maddeningly difficult. Rather, it is exactly what I was expecting so far; taking each and every fight seriously. Approaching it like, well, a Witcher. I find myself looking in the Bestiary, brewing oils and potions, preparing ahead of time, for the first time in my 300+ hours in this game.
Hopefully, it will remain this challenging, and this fun. Hope to have this beaten by the end of summer.
Any tips for someone just starting the game? (like me)
So far I'm still flumoxed by the brewing/crafting. Everything says "components missing"!
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For me, it took a bit getting used to. Getting surrounded is sure to get you killed fast. Roll out of the center and come at them from a new angle.
The Quen sign is a newbie's, and tank's best friend. It is my most used sign tenfold, get it upgraded to Active Shield asap.
Also unexpectedly surprising to newcomers is how long it takes to level up. This is a very narrative driven game. Doesn't matter what you kill, you'll only get 1-3 xp. Experience comes from completing quests and performing mind tricks with Axii.
Enemies do not scale with you. You can encounter things you are not geared to fight yet. If you see a red skull and crossbones, RUN.
Hope that helps, and I hope you give it more than one chance if you're struggling; this is one of those groundbreaking games that raises the bar for every other fantasy RPG out there.
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And when it comes to building gear or alchemy components, explore the wilds. Going to Hidden Treasures, Guarded Treasures, and especially the Smugglers Caches in Skellige, raiding the chests clean, and selling what you don't use, can not only net you rare crafting materials, but also thousands in gold. If you're still having trouble finding what you need for oils and potions, visit an alchemist, they usually have what you need.
I rarely needed an oil for a "Story and Sword" difficulty playthrough.
4588827 I couldn't get into it. The crushing poverty and random unavoidable death from enemies 20 levels above me with crossbows that killed me before they drew in wore down my patience before I got very far.
Also, Gwent is possibly the worst card game ever invented.
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Ah. True, no game is for everyone; I myself can't understand the draw behind some widely-acclaimed titles. And yes, the world of Witcher 3 is very sombering.
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Ah, thanks!
I've been hoarding everything I can steal in the game, but haven't come across anything immediately useful. I did find a random guarded treasure surrounded by scorpion-spider things. Several deaths later, and I got the contents of that, but it was mostly junk and alchemy stuff...
Sometime I will have to look into levelling up my signs. Currently don't know how, and I'd like more mind rape abilities when talking to villagers.
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Gwent is awful. I tried it once, lost (twice), and have pretty much ignored its existence since.
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Gwent is okay. The standalone game is in beta and is praised. The reason a lot of people don't like it is because the game gives you a shit deck to start with.
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Hm... To each their own, I guess.
I didn't get much into Hearthstone either, and this is pretty much that with more obscure rules.
Having ran through the Witcher 2 on both paths I'm actually glad to hear the next installment is just as good if not better than it's predecessor. I've got the complete edition sitting and waiting to be played I've just been trying to clear out some backlog first since I know once I start playing it I'll have to finish it.