First Playthrough Tips

[SOURDOUGH]

I'm about to start my first playthrough of the game, any tips to make it more of an experience? i have both DLC as well, so when should I get into those? I want to take it slow and make the game last, because theres nothing like the first playthrough of a great game.

[Druss-slayer]

If you take it slow you'll probably get 80-100 hrs before touching the expansions. Heart of stone can be done before finishing the main quest, Blood and wine is best done after the main story.

My advice is don't pay too much attention to the quest levels unless they are too high for your level. If you try to do all quests at your level you will be running/fast travelling all over the map like a headless chook. You'll end up at the same general lvl however you tackle them. Follow the general story and explore as you can complete many quests by stumbling onto them.

Play on the harder difficulties and use potions bombs etc, makes the combat much more fun.

Oh and choose yen or triss early on, triss is the cute tender one, Yen probably has a bondage dungeon :)

[SOURDOUGH]

Originally posted by Druss-slayer:

If you take it slow you'll probably get 80-100 hrs before touching the expansions. Heart of stone can be done before finishing the main quest, Blood and wine is best done after the main story.

My advice is don't pay too much attention to the quest levels unless they are too high for your level. If you try to do all quests at your level you will be running/fast travelling all over the map like a headless chook. You'll end up at the same general lvl however you tackle them. Follow the general story and explore as you can complete many quests by stumbling onto them.

Play on the harder difficulties and use potions bombs etc, makes the combat much more fun.

Oh and choose yen or triss early on, triss is the cute tender one, Yen probably has a bondage dungeon :)

Thank you! I'll keep it in mind. 80-100 hours would be awesome, I need to keep busy during the summer

[Cebertus]

I played it in a very unpopular way.

You are able to deactivate most of the interface, for example Questionmarks on the map(because its not exploring when you know where something might be x)),

I played without a minimap, and only used the normal map when i was in a village, so i had to use the sun for navigation. I also deactivated the horse stamina bar, my air bar, enemy lifebar(and level) and at some point i even deactivated my own lifebar. It was an increadible intensive gaming expierence, but it took me very very long to finish the game.

Maybe you would like to play the game this way :) I was very happy when i discovered that CD Project made it possible to play the game the way you like it.

[Gooberface]

Originally posted by Cebertus:

I played it in a very unpopular way.

You are able to deactivate most of the interface, for example Questionmarks on the map(because its not exploring when you know where something might be x)),

I played without a minimap, and only used the normal map when i was in a village, so i had to use the sun for navigation. I also deactivated the horse stamina bar, my air bar, enemy lifebar(and level) and at some point i even deactivated my own lifebar. It was an increadible intensive gaming expierence, but it took me very very long to finish the game.

Maybe you would like to play the game this way :) I was very happy when i discovered that CD Project made it possible to play the game the way you like it.

How can you deactivate the "?"s all over the map? If you please

[Airica Fyresong]

My question is: if I buy the Expansion Pass (which includes both DLCs), will it mesh well with the story line, or should I just play through the main story line first before doing DLC content? I want a complete experience as I *just* bought W3, but now I am not sure if I should pick up the Expansion Pass now or wait.

[Druss-slayer]

you need to be around lvl 30 for the first expansion which will take a long time to get to. Hold off on the expansions and get them when you've played for a few weeks/months, they aren't going anywhere and you might want a break

[Cebertus]

Originally posted by davidssaunders:

How can you deactivate the "?"s all over the map? If you please

Its gone when i deactivate "show undiscovered places on minimap"(it could be something different, since i use the german version and dont know how its called in english), you can find that option in the graphic settings.

[Gooberface]

Originally posted by Cebertus:

Originally posted by davidssaunders:

How can you deactivate the "?"s all over the map? If you please

Its gone when i deactivate "show undiscovered places on minimap"(it could be something different, since i use the german version and dont know how its called in english), you can find that option in the graphic settings.

Yeah that's it thanx

[SOURDOUGH]

Originally posted by Cebertus:

I played it in a very unpopular way.

You are able to deactivate most of the interface, for example Questionmarks on the map(because its not exploring when you know where something might be x)),

I played without a minimap, and only used the normal map when i was in a village, so i had to use the sun for navigation. I also deactivated the horse stamina bar, my air bar, enemy lifebar(and level) and at some point i even deactivated my own lifebar. It was an increadible intensive gaming expierence, but it took me very very long to finish the game.

Maybe you would like to play the game this way :) I was very happy when i discovered that CD Project made it possible to play the game the way you like it.

that actually sounds EXACTLY like how i would want to play, thank you i probably would not have noticed i could do that.
I'm about to boot up the game for the first time in a couple minutes, thank you everyone for your input!

[SOURDOUGH]

Quick question before i start: Controller or keyboard and mouse?

[Sunohara]

Its probably not that hard to play with mouse and keyboard. I just use a controller since i have one already.

[WalrusMan]

Originally posted by BilboSwaggins:

Quick question before i start: Controller or keyboard and mouse?

Personally think the game plays a bit better with a controller. However, K/M works just fine.

[Mittens the Maleficent]

https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/4oe7t9/the_ultimate_newcomers_guide_to_the_witcher_3/ this will help im sure its a very well made imgur link or there are also pdf versions to print out.

[Spock the Vulcan]

1st play through - pick 1 Witcher gear set and stick with it. Don't waste time or money on all of them because in the 2nd play through all your sets will be useless.

1st play through is ALL ABOUT getting money, potions, crafting materials, bombs and decoctions while building up you skill tree. I prefer Fast Attack + Alchemy, no emphasis on bombs.

At the end of Blood and Wine make sure to go to every "?" on the map, especially in the seas around Skellige. This is simple and will make you very rich. Simply shoot the Harpies with your crossbow when you run into them. Try to hit every point of interest on all the maps. Breakdown everything until you have all your potions and plenty of items to make any gear you wish (or money to purchase missing items from merchant).

I'm on my 3rd play-through, I played it the first 2 times when it came out and just recently moved from PS4 to PC so did it again. Right now I still have a ton of places to visit, 16 Greater Red Mutagens, plus the 3 in my skill tree, almost 200,000 crowns (and I haven't even started the seas of Skellige yet). I stayed with Feline all the way until I got a level 53 Trousant Knight armor set. I'll hold onto the Feline and carry it over to the next game, but I won't use it.

The 2nd play through I'll enjoy the story more, not have to tediously hunt items and stick only to the main quests. In the long run, Relic Armor is the best at the higher levels.

Also, collect tons of food in your first play-through, they carry over. No reason at all wasting any money on upgrading New Moon, Manticore or Viper Armor. Get them and sell them.

As soon as you can travel to Toussaint and beat the cyclops, do that, and ignore everything (because you will be ranked too low) but you can open up check points in Toussaint. Just get on your horse and haul tail to the city to open up the Armory just north of the Metinna Gate Fast Travel Post (south part of the city). Then go back to your game and progress as normal, using this armorer to sell your loot to.