End Game Levels

[jss1138]

[NO SPOILERS PLEASE]

If I look over the list of quests available at IGN, The Isle of Mists is getting pretty close to the end. After that there are only 7 more quests in the main storyline, out of 38 total Main Quests.

But I'm still at level 25, and there are quite a few side quests already in my journal that require me to be well into the 30's. Mastercrafted gear seems to require a level of 34 before it can even be used.

I've chosen to do the quests in order of their level, whether Main, Secondary, Contract or Treasure Hunt, in an effort to keep pace with the quests and not get too overleveled. But I'm concerned that I might end up finishing the Main Quest long before I ever get to a high enough level to complete some of those side quests, or use Mastercrafted gear.

Now I know that once the game is complete, we get dropped back in so we can finish other things if we want to. 2013's Tomb Raider offered this option as well. But I am firmly of the opinion that the final quest of the Main storyline in any game should be the most difficult to complete, and thus require the most powerful gear/abilities in order to complete. There should never be a secondary objective that that requires a higher level than the final objective of the Main storyline. When the Main story is done, I consider the whole game done, and I'm ready to move on to the next game. I want a big trumphant finish, I want to feel satisfied that I've done everything I need to, and that if anything got left undone, it's very minor and can be left undone while still considering the game complete. Tomb Raider was such a game. Skyrim failed at this.

Yet with the few Main Quests left, it seems I'm heading in the very unsatisfying direction of Skyrim, rather than Tomb Raider.

So...what I want to know from folks who have finished the game, without spoiling anything for those of us who haven't finsihed it, is "Tedd Deireadh, The Final Age" the highest level quest? Are their secondary quests higher in level? Can I get to that final Main quest with Mastercrafted gear, or will I be so far above that quest level at 34 that it becomes far too easy?

[Soz Alface]

If you do everything in the game, you´ll finish the game at level 34 or 35.
The highest level quest is a contract at level 33 or 35 I think.

[Cookie]

Emm... so the hardest thing in the game is not the end. If you are worried that you will not be hight lvl enough to beat the game, don't. After finishing all main quests (failed one), all contracts and all secondary quests, (never played gwent or any related quests) i am almost lvl 35.
Do not forget that there is Game+ and 2 expansions on the way. If you still have any questions - feel free to ask me.

[Cookie]

34 is the highest gear/quest lvl.

[jss1138]

Originally posted by Cookie:

If you are worried that you will not be hight lvl enough to beat the game, don't.

Actually, my concern was that after doing all the Secondary, Contracts and Treasure Hunts, I might be overleveled for the final Main Quest.

Like I said, I want that to be the last thing I do in this game.

[jss1138]

Originally posted by Cookie:

34 is the highest gear/quest lvl.

Thanks. Is Tedd Deireadh, The Final Age a level 34 quest? [REMEMBER, NO SPOLIERS.]

It would be very poor game design if the final Main Quest was level 29, and there were still secondary quests of a higher level than that. (*cough*Skyrim*cough*)

[Cookie]

Yep. If you want to do EVERYTHING you will be waaaay higher lvl than your currect story quests. But it does not matter since there is a limited number of skills you can use. Your abilities get more diverse, but not OP.

[jss1138]

Originally posted by BuzzardBee:

Suggested level 30.

Damn. That's what I was afraid of.

[Bite]

Games have been doing this for years though, even going back to any Final Fantasy, the biggest and hardest enemies were completely optional.

The final sequence of the game is rather weak in regards to difficulty, but it has become kind of a trend with The Witcher games, there's always a boss early on that seems seriously hard to beat on your first go (The green demon dog in The Witcher 1, the first Letho fight in The Witcher 2, the NIthral fight in The Witcher 3) but as far as the whole experience goes, what happens after the final quest is pretty sweet. Imo,

As far as I know, the toughest challenge in the game is one overpowered griffin that's guarding a treasure in Skellige (I honestly don't consider this a spoiler, it's literally just an Arch Griffin guarding a chest).

Some reviews have been stating that the Hearts of Stone expansion coming up next week brings some decent challenge into the mix (With 2 particular bosses that go beyond anything you see in the main game, and a new "horde" kind of enemy that can overpower you with it's numbers). We'll have to wait and see for ourselves though.

[jss1138]

Originally posted by Bite:

Games have been doing this for years though

I definitely consider myself a casual weekend gamer, having played maybe a dozen or so titles in half as many years. So it would be entirely fair to call my experience "limited".

However, in that experience, only one game still had major content available after the end battle - Skyrim. And as much as I enjoyed that game overall, Bethesda definitely got that part wrong.

Games end with the final Main battle. That's just how it is. Doing it any other way is plain wrong.

[Y Ddraig Ddu]

The way TW3 gives level-scaled XP rewards and huge huge huge payouts for main quests but minor payouts for almost everything else (except those *area liberation* activities, for some odd reason) means that you don't have to worry about being too underlevelled at any point for main quests really, but you definitely DO need to worry about being overlevelled if you do much more than the main quests and the major side quests.

It's a catch 22; either you force main missions to be extremely high-level so you're FORCED into completing minor quests (which many don't like), or you end up having to skip content to keep yourself from being overlevelled, which many also don't like. The direction CDP-R went was the latter, which is clearly the more console/casual friendly option.

[Jarilo]

Originally posted by BuzzardBee:

The Main Quests at the end give a ridiculous amount of experience points. Don't worry about it. You will level up pretty quickly.

I think the point is that doing side quests once you have done the main quest is pointless. I mean who cares what level you get to, you already did in the world your main thing you were supposed to do. Time to take a vacation or start a new game Geralt .lol

[Bite]

Originally posted by jss1138:

Games end with the final Main battle. That's just how it is. Doing it any other way is plain wrong.

The thing is that this, and Skyrim (since you already cited that) are open ended games, they're not meant to end with the final scripted battle. Storywise the story is very conclusive in TW3, but the game simply doesn't end. Skyrim does have a much wider spectrum though, to the point where the "final quest" isn't really any kind of resolution to anything but one more of the many plotlines of the game.

[Y Ddraig Ddu]

Originally posted by Bite:

Originally posted by jss1138:

Games end with the final Main battle. That's just how it is. Doing it any other way is plain wrong.

The thing is that this, and Skyrim (since you already cited that) are open ended games, they're not meant to end with the final scripted battle. Storywise the story is very conclusive in TW3, but the game simply doesn't end. Skyrim does have a much wider spectrum though, to the point where the "final quest" isn't really any kind of resolution to anything but one more of the many plotlines of the game.

I agree about Skyrim, but not this game. TW3 is a story-driven open-world action RPG that has a clearly defined beginning, middle and end; the very fact that the only way you can "keep playing the game" is by porting the player back to a time before any of the major events transpire is clear evidence of this. TW3 is heavily narrative-driven, and once that main narrative ends...

[jss1138]

Originally posted by ydraig:

either you force main missions to be extremely high-level so you're FORCED into completing minor quests

That is good game design. You want the player to have to complete some of the optional portions of the game in order to handle the requried portions.

[jss1138]

Originally posted by Bite:

The thing is that this, and Skyrim (since you already cited that) are open ended games, they're not meant to end with the final scripted battle.

And I'm saying that's bad game design.

Games end with the final Main battle. That's just how it is. Doing it any other way is plain wrong.