Hearts of Stone or Blood and Wine? Which is better?

[Setharim]

I'm currently playing through the Hearts of Stone main quest. Beginning was great with the giant toad, but I'm currently at the three wishes part and I'm getting really bored. Feeling like some errand boy. So I'm so far not very impressed with this expansion.
Does it get any better? And how is Blood and Wine compared to it?

[Mutare]

Apples and oranges.

[Setharim]

Originally posted by Mutare:

Apples and oranges.

Pretty sure it's a case of two apples.

[Mutare]

I meant, they are both fruit. Yummy, sweet and tasty...but every person has a preference for one over the other.

[schnozz]

You'll have more freedom with the Blood and Wine expansion if that's what you're asking. A lot more to do, and less of one man's errand boy.

[Till Lindemann]

The story in Blood and Wine seemed a little shorter, because it was all straight forward with less running around. But with a new area, new level of gear, new enemies, etc. It ends up being the "Better" of the two. I very much enjoyed both, but Blood and Wine is more well rounded.

[Setharim]

And story-wise?

[Y Ddraig Ddu]

Hearts of Stone, from a storytelling and character POV, is better in pretty much every conceivable way. It may actually be the single best story CDP-R has ever told, and given that this is the company who wrote the godly Witcher 2, that's really saying something.

I'm having difficulty even finishing Blood & Wine's main quest; it's dull and uneventful, and only one character is even remotely interesting.

[Till Lindemann]

Yea its story is definitely not as good as the vanilla game or the HoS expansion. But they added some nice stuff, which evens it out for me. I was actually surprised by how short the game is, seems like half of HoS.

Originally posted by ydraig:

Hearts of Stone, from a storytelling and character POV, is better in pretty much every conceivable way. It may actually be the single best story CDP-R has ever told, and given that this is the company who wrote the godly Witcher 2, that's really saying something.

I'm having difficulty even finishing Blood & Wine's main quest; it's dull and uneventful, and only one character is even remotely interesting.

[DarkChaoX]

Originally posted by Hitopopamus:

I'm currently playing through the Hearts of Stone main quest. Beginning was great with the giant toad, but I'm currently at the three wishes part and I'm getting really bored. Feeling like some errand boy. So I'm so far not very impressed with this expansion.
Does it get any better? And how is Blood and Wine compared to it?

they are both amazing i would get both if i could afford them (and i already have). However if thats not the case for you go for the Blood and Wine. In my opinion it has MUCH more to offer and
SPOILER ALERT:
You get a true ending for the game being with one of the characters from the main game. Cant spoil you with who but you will LOVE it!

[biodtox]

Originally posted by Mutare:

Apples and oranges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIUOyAVGm0

[RIOT|Stalkermaster]

Well I guess it depends on what you want.
Stone doesnt add much exploration wise or enemy wise. Its all about the story so you want this one then you get it for just the story and gear
Wine adds everything, new story (shorter then stone for obvious reasons) a new land, lots of exploration and new enemies. So you have to pick the one that you think you want. Though getting both is a treat in itself

[Haze]

Hearts of Stone is all about how much you enjoy the backstory of Olgierd, Iris, Vlodimir and Gaunter O'Dim. Hearts of stone is about how much you enjoy Geralt being a badass, killing vampires and driking wine.

[giltheone]

Without spoiling it, I can only recommend you play HoS a little more. If it helps, think of its main storyline as a rather lengthy contract which Geralt cannot simply back out of, with its own additions to the map, and a set of side quests mostly associated with its main quest --- mind you, that is a very simplified point of view, but I don't want to give anything away, I can only recommend you don't give up on it.

Now, the main storyline of BaW is fairly straightforward, but it adds a huge map and a large set of side quests. I will be honest, I'm not done with it, but so far I've enjoyed it quite a bit, and don't foresee not liking it when I'm done --- I've pause the main story to avoid finishing it too quickly. However, from a review or two I've read, it seems it's probably much better to finish BaW after HoS --- I have an inkling as to where the story is headed, and without spoiling anything I think they may be right.

As to which one is better, well BaW is larger because it's such a big addition with so many things, but HoS is more story-driven, so I can only say it's like comparing two different pieces of beautiful art --- say, like comparing a painting by Salvador Dali to a symphony by Beethoven: liking one doesn't exclude liking the other, and a comparison is difficult as they are even a different form of art. Well, I exaggerate for effect, it's more like comparing a short story by Dostoyevski with a novel by Leo Tolstoy: you can expect both to be compelling but different, and beautiful in their own right

[Shadywack]

Both great. Love HoS, love BaW. To be perfectly honest I will say that the story substance in HoS is a bit better. The creativity in the writing is without peer, I walked away from the ending pretty blown away, walked back and checked out the other ending and was more blown away.

I do like the variety of possibilities that BaW can take, and I'm replaying through it with some subtle changes that end up changing whole conversations and huge story development. I will say that in comparison the baseline lore between the two are very different with HoS being more invigorating with better plot twists.

The strong side of BaW, however, is in the artwork, music, and enemies. Where HoS was heavily imbalanced toward favoring story above most other things BaW pushes more toward the visual design and gameplay aspects being far superior to HoS. You can't look at some of those vistas and not be struck by them. I wasn't so moved by the artwork and amazing visuals since the first Halo, or the first Unreal game when you step out of that ship. It just hits you, over 16 million colors over a splendid vista that no other game has ever boasted before.

So, take that for what you will, you can say if you like story better HoS is for you. If you like gameplay and graphics better BaW is for you. If you're just a witcher fan and don't mind paying 25 bucks for two xpacs that are better than most $60 games then just get both. Deciding which one's better than the other is just insipid.

[Bulbasaur]

I liked blood and wine better