Oh boy, that's a nasty bug.

There was another update this week. I'm finding that my game's performance has dropped. Maybe that's bugged your game?

That's what I'm thinking too. I finally found an herbalist at the Cunny of the Goose. On about the 5th try, he let me deal with him and magically the herbalist icon showed up again. But it doesn't seem to work for any of the other herbalists that I know their location. I went to a couple of forums and there were a bunch of complaints about game performance after this update.

On a lighter note, I was wandering around the Toussaint countryside in Blood and Wine, and ran into someone singing "Norwegian Wood." Just one of the funny little details that make the game so appealing.

Love touches like that! I still laugh every time it says, "When the White Frost comes, don't eat the yellow snow."

EDIT: Oh, great. Now the merchants won't talk to me.

Maybe time to check the files. I've found that I had to do that a few times in this playthrough. Actually, it might be time for me to do that, too.

I think I will definitely verify files tomorrow.

Did it help? I had to reinstall the game a couple of times earlier in my game because of weird issues. I'm still having the odd slowdown, especially when fighting mobs.


I'm into Blood and Wine now. What an absolutely beautiful wine-country landscape they created for this DLC, right down to the crickets.

We ended up meeting friends in town, so I didn't get to it. Did play long enough last night to get close to level 22 though. It behaved the entire time, so maybe the threat alone did it! We'll see what happens later today. It sure was satisfying killing Whoreson Jr.!

Yes. He is one nasty dude.

I'm off to meet the Duchess of Toussaint.

I finally completed Collect 'em All, and am now working on filling up my Skellige deck, only available in Toussaint.

EDIT: Now my Quicksave isn't working!

EDIT: Restarted my computer. Now my Quicksave works, but now Witcher lags so badly I can't play it. Even just walking is impossible. Verifying the files did nothing.


EDIT #3. I uninstalled Razer Synapse and lo and behold my game's running much better. Performance issues on my laptop often have something to do with Synapse.

Interesting about Razer Synapse. I have it too because I have a Razer keyboard, a Razer mouse and a Razer mousemat. I will get a bit of a "hesitation" while Geralt is running now and then, but nothing like that. Since that is such a high end Razer laptop, I'd definitely contact them.

I'm closing in on level 25 in Skellige! Still have lots of small Witcher Contracts to do there.

Question, should I wait to finish the game before getting Blood and Wine?

It makes no difference to the story, but I like the end of the game to be the end of the game, so I always play Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine before finishing the final quest. Hearts of Stone isn't that high level a quest, though it has some nasty fights in it, but it really fits into the main game seamlessly. Blood and Wine could almost be its own game. You could play it last, but then there'd be no point in having all those high-level skills.

After finishing the two DLC, I'm at a very high level when I go to the final battle. If you haven't played it before, Blood and Wine is as big as Velen, though a bit emptier, and has many hours of play in it, plus some really wonderful quests. I'm closing in on level 45 and I now have access to the special Mutagen categories that are available in Blood and Wine. I'm focusing on Signs in this game, so I've put points there.

I think I'll work in Skellige some more and then go ahead and get Blood and Wine then. It sounds like I will like it! I'm focusing on signs and sword combat. I've got my Igni and Yrden close to being maxed up!

Blood and Wine is like being in French wine country, only with knights and ladies and monsters. It's very pretty. Geralt gets a very special reward for showing up and doing a couple of quests.

Are you not getting Hearts of Stone, or do you already have it? It's fabulous. Olgierd von Everec is one of my favourite bad guys.

No, I plan on getting both of them. Had to quit - my eyes were tired! Just a hair away from level 26!

Oh, good. There's a LOT of hours of play in those two.

So, I'm on a mission to find hydrageum or the formula for it. I've tried every shopkeeper and alchemist I can. I even did a search and the usual people who have it don't - Gremist, the cranky Druid or the fake Priest in Elector's Square. Grrr...

Hydrangeum has to be crafted in Alchemy. The formula is supposed to be sold by the cranky druid after you do his quest, or, per the official Witcher Wiki:

A copy of this formula can be found at the following locations: an Abandoned campsite east of the White Orchard cemetery or in the caves beneath Aeramas' Abandoned Manor.

Cranky Druid didn't have it after I did his quest and neither did the fake priest in Election Square. I didn't find anything mentioning those other two places, so I will check there! Thank you!

EDIT: Nope, not in Aeramas' Abandoned Manor. Just did that quest and didn't leave any possibilities unturned. Now I'll try the White Orchard location.

EDIT 2: Not at the White Orchard location either. Fake priest in Election Square is gone.

Maybe I'm just not allowed to brew the Superior Necrophage!

EDIT 3: Went back to the tunnels under Aeramas' Manor... had to do the stinky cheese maze again! Nothing. Went back to the cranky Druid and THIS time he had it! Bring on those level 30 necrophages!

Glad that's sorted! I never really paid any attention to what I was finding so I had no idea where I picked it up it. It was just there when I needed it. With Alchemy I mostly just bought as much of the White Gull ingredients I could until I had all of the upgraded potions in my inventory.

My alt-Yrden now deals critical hits! WooHoo!

Still in Toussaint. It's huge, and has many, many quests. We also get a glimpse into what goes on in a horse's mind. And we get wine. Lots and lots of wine. And cheese. And ratatouille. Also a new Gwent deck!

I have to say that I am looking forward to still having a long way to go and more places to visit! Unfortunately gardening season is coming up soon, so I'll have to get in as much gaming as I can!

I'm still in Toussaint, with many quests left to do.

One pointer; save some of your skill points for Blood and Wine. When you get to the point where you can get Mutagen skills, you'll want at least 10 skill points. I'm now going through my skills to decide which ones I don't really use or need so I can use them here. There are Places of Power in Toussaint, so you'll get some there, not to mention the levels you'll gain.

Good to know. I'm working on level 27 now. Some of these minor quests only get me 1 or 2 XP's! Then I'll do a harder one and get 250 XP's!

I think I gained a few levels doing Hearts of Stone. It's actually quite long, but very story-focused.

Just purchased Hearts of Stone and will download tonight after I go to bed. Can't wait for more!

It's a great story.