Just got Witcher 3 for £11 - beginner hints/tips

Originally Posted by Zloth
If you're getting over-levelled, there's a mod to reduce your xp earned, I think.

There's also an option to activate level-scaling. I've never tried it because it wasn't there back when I played the game. They added it later in a patch.

Originally Posted by henriquejr
Damn… does that mean the TW3 combat still sucks, like TW1 ????

Nah nothing is worse the the first Witcher's timed rhythm combat. Simply put if you played Witcher 2 it's almost the same with a few changes. It's pure Action RPG combat.

Only time I had trouble was playing on the highest combat difficulty.

Originally Posted by JDR13
There's also an option to activate level-scaling. I've never tried it because it wasn't there back when I played the game. They added it later in a patch.

Oh yeah! That scaled up levels very nicely for almost all of the game. Except the damn rats. There was a big pile of rats at one point that were all supposed to be level 1 or 2 - easily dispatched with just about any area of effect attacks. Except the level scaler brought them all up the Geralt's level! I could barely beat one of them before they slaughtered me! I think they since fixed that.

There was a combination of combat and graphics overhaul mods that sounded interesting. I think it is called enhanced edition.

Originally Posted by Pladio
I can't tell yet
It might just be me doing something wrong

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well, a strong attack option definitely exists, so something is going on!

Look through the keybind list and make sure there's nothing else assigned to the same key.

Originally Posted by Zloth
Oh yeah! That scaled up levels very nicely for almost all of the game. Except the damn rats. There was a big pile of rats at one point that were all supposed to be level 1 or 2 - easily dispatched with just about any area of effect attacks. Except the level scaler brought them all up the Geralt's level! I could barely beat one of them before they slaughtered me! I think they since fixed that.

Kind of an ironic glitch. Maybe CDPR felt like it was time for rats to finally get some revenge.

I'm about 6 hours in and in Velen. Game is way more fun than the Witcher 1 was in every single way for now.

Combat is better and quests are more interesting even some of the minor side quests.

The story is still just starting out at this stage but I like the characters.

Graphics to me are out of this world, although I usually don't care too much about them. They do stand in sharp contrast to Deus Ex HR which I just finished.

Each face is distinct for the important characters at least. The voices are quite good.

I know I'm just starting out but having a lot of fun.



I'm not sure I get the tip of going to Skellige quick. It's showing as a level 15 or something area and I'm just level 4.


Also @joxer I tried the werewolf. Couldn't do it. Will try again later

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Originally Posted by Pladio
I'm not sure I get the tip of going to Skellige quick. It's showing as a level 15 or something area and I'm just level 4.

There's no need to rush to Skellige. Just go with the natural flow of the game. You won't be getting to Skellige for quite awhile yet.

It's possible to go there without doing a lot of the quests in Velen and Novigrad first, but I wouldn't recommend that on your first playthrough.

Thanks JDR

Did you figure out your strong attack issue?

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
Did you figure out your strong attack issue?

Seems to work when I'm very close to a target. Maybe it's because I never us the target lock

I somehow broke my game by going to Skellige really early. It assumed I had done most of the game and skipped about 80% of Ciri's story. I never did go back and replay it. I'm not a fan of the 2nd and 3rd game but I liked collecting in the first one

I liked the first season of the show on TV though. Henry Cavill makes a wicked Witcher.

Originally Posted by Pladio
Game is way more fun than the Witcher 1 was in every single way for now.

Now wait a minute! Dwarves had MUCH better beards in Witcher 1.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I liked the first season of the show on TV though. Henry Cavill makes a wicked Witcher.

Yeah, the show is a nice surprise. I fully expected it to suck, and I doubted the cast when it was first announced. Cavill proved me wrong on that one.

Beginner tips?
Hmm, how about these three:

1. Character build: do NOT go for pure mage. The game is balanced towards a generalist build, leaning somewhat to the sword wielder warrior.

2. Flow: do NOT try to solve all question mark side quests at once. The game will become very repetitive this way -- try to go for the main quest first, but regularly break it up with SOME side quests. If you are a side quest junkie, go for the yellow exclamation marks instead of the white question marks.

3. Combat: do NOT try to play W3 as an action game. The game control is very unresponsive, especially if you've played tight action games such as Dark Souls, Dragon's Dogma or Devil May Cry. Try to think about the combat as some flashy QTE instead: press the action buttons as soon as the on-screen animation dictates and try to ignore the movement. I.e.: if an enemy is about to hit you, do NOT run away or strafe sideways -- just PRESS the dodge button, and it will take care of the rest. You will eventually realize that the animation has a rhythm, and so should your button inputs.

Hope you'll find these useful.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I somehow broke my game by going to Skellige really early. It assumed I had done most of the game and skipped about 80% of Ciri's story. I never did go back and replay it. I'm not a fan of the 2nd and 3rd game but I liked collecting in the first one

I liked the first season of the show on TV though. Henry Cavill makes a wicked Witcher.

Ah ok. Well, I'm just playing through some quests here and there then going to do main quest as some people have suggested. Just met the Bloody Baron and did some horse racing after

Originally Posted by Zloth
Now wait a minute! Dwarves had MUCH better beards in Witcher 1.

I don't remember, but I'd say the beards and everything else is pretty good here too.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Yeah, the show is a nice surprise. I fully expected it to suck, and I doubted the cast when it was first announced. Cavill proved me wrong on that one.

I liked some of the cast, but I do find the bard a bit annoying.
Funny enough, one of the first books I found in the game was the bard's story of Geralt

Originally Posted by duerer
Beginner tips?
Hmm, how about these three:

1. Character build: do NOT go for pure mage. The game is balanced towards a generalist build, leaning somewhat to the sword wielder warrior.

2. Flow: do NOT try to solve all question mark side quests at once. The game will become very repetitive this way -- try to go for the main quest first, but regularly break it up with SOME side quests. If you are a side quest junkie, go for the yellow exclamation marks instead of the white question marks.

3. Combat: do NOT try to play W3 as an action game. The game control is very unresponsive, especially if you've played tight action games such as Dark Souls, Dragon's Dogma or Devil May Cry. Try to think about the combat as some flashy QTE instead: press the action buttons as soon as the on-screen animation dictates and try to ignore the movement. I.e.: if an enemy is about to hit you, do NOT run away or strafe sideways -- just PRESS the dodge button, and it will take care of the rest. You will eventually realize that the animation has a rhythm, and so should your button inputs.

Hope you'll find these useful.

Thank you very much. Yes, I was wondering about combat skills. I don't seem to have any issues with regular combat yet, but I was going to go for a quick build with mostly light armour. Hope that works.

Here's a recommendation for the visuals : The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project.


This is considered a "must have" texture modification for TW3. It does not change any of the content of the game and fully maintains the original art style.

It just makes everything look prettier at no additional performance cost. It also does not tamper with achievements in case you care about that side of things. It is only a "simple" but very comprehensive texture mod that prettifies an already pretty game even more .


The current mod version is called "ultimate version" and it was originally possibly supposed to be the last update but the modder "Halk Hogan" has decided to keep on trucking. He is currently working on new updates dubbed "Project NextGen" (his YouTube channel has many comparison videos of his modding efforts).

He has even talked about contacting CD Projekt who are currently working on a remastered version of The Witcher 3 for a collaboration. It will be interesting to see how this develops further.


P.S.: Since it is a simple texture mod, you can absolutely install this on your current version/save game. It is not at all required to start a new game to apply the mod.

Thanks I'll try downloading but I don't have Nexus Premium so apparently will take 2 hours to download

I am using the mod but cant see massive differences. The graphics already looked amazing to me.

I'm enjoying the game still which to me must mean is certainly better than number 1.

Ive done half of the bloody barons quest line and it's very sad.

For now I've not had any issues with fights except for the big bosses which need quite a bit of dodging. After completing the bloody baron quest I'll try my hand at the werewolf again

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Originally Posted by Pladio
I am using the mod but cant see massive differences. The graphics already looked amazing to me.

It's mostly mesh work that adds more detail then the original vanilla textures. He is working on a newer version for Witcher III, and another for Cyberpunk 2077.

Anyway my opinion is it makes the game look much better.