You *have * to try Blood and Wine. Simply put, it makes up for everything before it.
The bright, warm, Southern France -inspired map, great quests, and finally a homestead.
Try Witcher with some QoL mods, like easier fast travel, auto harvesting, auto-applying of oils. Everything that lets you play the game instead of plucking flowers all day.
You had me nodding till the oils. That personally sounds a bit cheaty, but then I quite enjoyed the thoughtful aspect of planning your potions and oils carefully before combat.
But otherwise yeah I played with QoL mods before, mostly to help the UI and map and inventory. Worth the minor effort for sure.
I agree. I love the part of prepping for a monster. It makes me feel like a Witcher, and it is a role playing game after all.
Think of it this way. You're a seasoned witcher. You know the ins and outs of fighting and of the many monsters and oddities out there. You even spent the time to make the oils.
It's just the witcher's learned instinct to apply the relevant oil when fighting a monster. It's second nature. You don't even think about it. It's how it should be, narratively speaking and this is a narrative driven game where you role play as the witcher. It may not allow for min maxing your strategy, but it makes sense and is convenient.
Now, you the player do not always remember to apply it or even do it quickly. But the witcher does. He has the muscle memory down. The witcher is always ready. And you are the witcher.
For me the fun is learning to be more like Geralt. When I start as a player I don't have those instincts, and the progression of collecting more recipes and ingredients and learning what exactly I need to prep for the monster around the corner is an interesting challenge and good feedback loop. I don't want the game to do that for me, it would be too much like autopilot.
You *have * to try Blood and Wine. Simply put, it makes up for everything before it. The bright, warm, Southern France -inspired map, great quests, and finally a homestead.
Try Witcher with some QoL mods, like easier fast travel, auto harvesting, auto-applying of oils. Everything that lets you play the game instead of plucking flowers all day.
You had me nodding till the oils. That personally sounds a bit cheaty, but then I quite enjoyed the thoughtful aspect of planning your potions and oils carefully before combat.
But otherwise yeah I played with QoL mods before, mostly to help the UI and map and inventory. Worth the minor effort for sure.
I agree. I love the part of prepping for a monster. It makes me feel like a Witcher, and it is a role playing game after all.
Think of it this way. You're a seasoned witcher. You know the ins and outs of fighting and of the many monsters and oddities out there. You even spent the time to make the oils.
It's just the witcher's learned instinct to apply the relevant oil when fighting a monster. It's second nature. You don't even think about it. It's how it should be, narratively speaking and this is a narrative driven game where you role play as the witcher. It may not allow for min maxing your strategy, but it makes sense and is convenient.
Now, you the player do not always remember to apply it or even do it quickly. But the witcher does. He has the muscle memory down. The witcher is always ready. And you are the witcher.
For me the fun is learning to be more like Geralt. When I start as a player I don't have those instincts, and the progression of collecting more recipes and ingredients and learning what exactly I need to prep for the monster around the corner is an interesting challenge and good feedback loop. I don't want the game to do that for me, it would be too much like autopilot.