Witcher 3 Next-Gen update version

So, I've got my game all loaded up and ready to go. Although I'm still experiencing some lag issues, the game plays well enough to handle low levels, especially since I've played before and more or less know what I'm doing.

The updated game looks absolutely beautiful. I hope they come up with a performance update soon; apparently this is in the works for the PC version.

Annoyingly, I have forgotten how to play Gwent. I was Gwent Champion in my last two games, so this is a humiliating setback for dear old Geralt, who just got trounced in his first game. He's going to have to pull up his socks; or does he even wear socks? Maybe not -- britches, then.

I'm off to talk to the Redanians about Yennefer.

I just started a new game a couple of days ago. I went ahead and did the training figuring I'd forgotten everything in the two years since I last played!

Yeah, I'm totally not doing that Griffin contract as a Level 1 Witcher! Need to go kill more stuff in the swamps or something.

I've been avoiding that Griffin, too. I remember in my first game foolishly heading straight for it and being insta-killed. I'm just wandering around killing Drowners and Ghouls and other low-level monsters. And picking flowers.

Same! I spent a couple of days trying to kill the Griffin the first time I played before I figured out it wasn't gonna happen. Got some "jobs" for the board at the Tavern I need to tackle too.

I downloaded the newest NVidia driver, the one specifically touted for this game, and I think the performance is a little better.

I'm going to spend a couple of hours tomorrow relearning all the crafting menus before I go off adventuring. That's one of the things I love about this game; there's always something to do.



EDIT: The good folks over at Razer Support have got my game running like silk. Now I can REALLY get going.


Right. I'm out of White Orchard and into the larger game world. That Griffin didn't stand a chance by the time I finally got to it. I think I was supposed to shoot it as it flew away with my crossbow but I couldn't work out how to use the bow, so I chased it on foot until it trapped itself against the side of a building and then I killed it with my sword. A bit cheesy, but it worked.

I don't even HAVE a crossbow yet! I finally got to level 2 though killing drowners and wolves. Still having issues keeping my health up though. Need to find a merchant and sell a bunch of stuff.

The town in White Orchard has a merchant if you saved him earlier. Otherwise the Nilfgardian compound in the ruined castle has a quartermaster. I'm pretty sure one or two of the other towns has a merchant. There's also the Dwarf Blacksmith who will buy from you if you complete his easy quest.

I went into a cave I should have avoided, managed to kill ten or so dead things several levels high than me by repeatedly blasting them with Igni, only to end up in a battle with an impossible enemy. I think there's a way back out if I leave before the final battle. If I have to reload a much earlier save at least I'll know what to expect next time. It was fun, but there isn't a chance I'll bet this particular monster until I'm a much higher level.

Yeah, I completed the quest for the Dwarf Blacksmith and have vised the merchant too. Right now I just don't have enough orens! Might try that Noonwraith at the Well quest again later today. Also did one in the swamps for some merchant who wanted a small box. He was lying and I didn't give him the box, so I may do that one again. It just involved a few wolves and 4 drowners.

Orens do seem to be in short supply early in the game.

I am spending a few orens to catch up my gwent skills so that I can make a bit of money that way, too.


Once I've a high enough level to wear the special armour sets I got I'll be able to start marauding my way round the countryside. Right now a couple of level 9 drowners can take me out if I'm not careful.

I actually have the stand-alone Gwent game - I should go spend some time in it to hone my skills as I just keep getting beat!

I love Gwent. What's the stand-alone called? I should get it. It's be way better than playing 500 games of Spider Solitaire on my phone.

I got it from GOG some time ago. I think you can get the app for phone and maybe even from the Windows Store. Look for Gwent: The Witcher's Card Game.

Thanks. I will.

Oh, shoot. Now I'm back to major lagging, worse than ever. it's only every now and then, fortunately.


EDIT: This game is kicking my rear end! Even a couple of low-level Alghouls can take me out. Anything more than three or four Drowners is too much, unless I draw them off one by one. I'll have to start doing low-level quests instead of cruising around because I've forgotten how punishing the game can be for the unwitting and unwary. Having no money doesn't really help much, either.

Maybe I'll go back to White Orchard and look for low-level random enemies.

Oh, no! Sure wonder why a powerhouse like your laptop has lagging. My desktop with far less powerful components is having no problems. I did random low level quests until I hit Level 3 and am now going to try the Griffin. Vesimir has finally given me the crossbow. But for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to equip and use it! I kept putting it in a slot with my other weapons and of course it wouldn't work. Finally did a search on the internet and found out it has to go in with my signs and other abilities. Who knew!

The crossbow is annoying. I actually found a better one but managed to sell it by mistake. At the moment all I use it for is to draw off one or two monsters from a larger group.

The lagging seems to be only on horseback, which is, apparently, a thing. I spend most of my time running around on foot anyway.

Yeah, I find being on horseback really annoying and run around on foot.

The only real reason to travel on horseback is to get proficient enough to win the more difficult races. I always just summon Roach whenever I go a long way. I like to think he (she?) is just following along behind me.

Just ran into a werewolf. it regenerates. I though it was supposed to be an easy quest. I guess I'll be back later.


I am playing on a more difficult level than in the past, but I'm finding the game punishingly hard. I suppose once I hit a higher level and can wear better equipment I'll do better, but right now a small pack of level 6-7 drowners can take me down if I'm not really careful. Two more levels and I can start wearing the good armour in my storage.

You are leaps and bounds ahead of me, but I'm hoping to get a couple hours of gaming in tonight!

That's because you have a life.

Yeah, and busted water lines!! LOL!

Nailed the griffin with my blade like you did. Gads, that crossbow is useless! Made it to Level 4 finally. Ran across a level 12 bear and quietly tiptoed past him!

It seems as though I've been playing a lot, but I'm STILL only at level 5, coming up on 6.

EDIT: All of a sudden I've gained 4 levels, after two very long quests in Velen. Now I have some power. And I'm able to wear some of the special gear that came with the updates.

I'm finally able to fully explore Novigrad. It really feels like an actual city. The upper levels are full of snotty rich people who literally walk with their chins up and noses in the air. My Gwent pack is starting to fill out.


EDIT: All of a sudden the quest markers don't show on the map. Makes the game impossible to play.


Edit: and now, the game is back to lagging badly. Just don't know...

So, I finally got everything up and running again. The problem seems to be with Synapse. I had updated it, and then somehow it needed to be updated again. I've noticed this before; when my games sound starts to sputter, it's usually something to do with Cortex or Synapse.

As for the quest markers, there seem to be a couple of quests where the markers are missing (Black Pearl being one of them). Very confusing. I'll just have to look at a guide.

Anyway it all runs nicely again. I'm at level 17 and am using the Enhanced Griffin armour set.

I've gone mostly Quen, Yrden and Axii in combat so far, which is surprisingly effective even against many monsters. Normally I use a lot of Igni, but not much so much in this game. I do have some combat skills, too, obviously.

I think I'll continue with a Sign-based build.

I had to set it aside for several days because I've been so stinking busy. I was stuck in the Elve's cave with Keira Metz trying to kill the two dopplegangers when I last played. Hope to get back into it tomorrow night. As I remember I was just closing in on level 4.

I use my signs heavily too and need to level them up once I can get some of my combat skills better.

Strange how we both have Synapse and Cortex and neither one is affecting my game!

There's something about the Synapse installation; when it needs to be updated my computer does experience sound fracturing and lagging. I've noticed it before from time to time. I wonder if it's automatically trying to update while I'm playing?

Anyway, now that everything's all sorted, the game really is running well again. And I'm enjoying playing the tougher level -- except that I can't beat the fistfights; I've had to lower the difficult setting for the occasional situation where I'm forced into a fistfight in the streets! Three peasants can take me down. And annoyingly, for those fights you can't use spells or potions. Otherwise I'd just Axii them away.

I'm really OCD about going after every single question-marked site on the map, so I'm cruising around doing a few of those between quests. In my current quest I'm facing my first vampire of the game.

I'm totally about doing all those side quests too! Helps you get the level up nicely!

It does. Plus some good loot.

For the first time I'm looking at some of the suggestions for how to build Geralt. In the past I built him as predominantly a fighter but I thought I'd focus on Signs this time.

I usually do him as a fighter too. But in previous games, I found the signs to be so effective I built them after I had his combat skill leveled up.

The upgraded alternate version of Yrden is my best friend right now. I just cast it, stand back, and watch even tough monsters fall. I took out two Griffins and a Royal Griffin in one fight literally just using a few castings of Yrden and a couple of swipes with my sword when they got too close.

Obviously I have put this version of Yrden on my list!

The other thing is, the fully upgraded alternate version of Yrden will drop flying enemies, too; Harpies, Griffins, etc. As soon they get too close, wham! they're on the ground.

Upgraded Axii is also good for bringing down airborne monsters.

I tend to upgrade Axii as much as possible too. So, finally defeated the dopplegangers and it's on to the Golem!

Started my game today after hubby went to town and oh, no! It wouldn't launch and I got a crash report. Finally rebooted and it started up just fine. But a moment of panic there!

I'm bouncing around quests right now, clearing up all the low level stuff in Velen and Novigrad, finding all the Places of Power and hidden treasure before I head off for Skellige. I've hopped over there once for a couple of quests but I've still got lots to do here, too.

Mostly I'm playing Gwent whenever I can and building my deck, learning how to defeat a Monster Deck, and so on. Got quite a few Hero cards now, too.

Such a great game.

Defeated the golem and am now trying to fight my way past the Wild Hunt. Kind of anxious to get back outside to do some of the low level quests.

Did you ever download the stand-alone Gwent game?

I haven't downloaded it yet. I'm getting plenty of gwent practise right now.

What quest are you on?

Wandering in the Dark with the sorceress Keira Metz.

Have step-daughter and her SO coming in this afternoon from Virginia. So, I'll have to put The Witcher aside for several days.

I'm over on Skellige fighting an Ice Giant. Again, Yrden comes up roses.

I think it's going to be a LONG time before I get to Skellige!

Skellige is a nice change of pace. Geralt just broke poor Triss's heart and sent her off with the mages, moving the main story line along,so I need to clean up some of the low-level quest left on the board and some of them are in Skellige.

Last of the guests left this morning and I'm heading back in tonight!

I went back to Velen to do a few quests I missed nd to clear the southern part of the map of location markers. Did a quick tour of inns and stores to stock up on alchemy-related booze to make White Gull. Got me some powerful potions! I just made the one that turns poison into healing.

I've had to just go back to doing minor quests and running around killing drowners. I'm just shy of level 5 and just don't have enough power to do anything. Working on the botchling part of the Bloody Baron quest right now. Had to abandon the werewolf quest as I just don't have enough oomph to defeat him yet. It's a slow slog right now!

There were a couple of supposedly low-level quests that really were far too hard, I thought, especially on the harder playing level. I honestly found that once I leveled up my Yrden and got to the alternate version of it, things got much easier because almost nothing could defeat me. I would just cast it and watch multiple low-level enemies get zapped while I avoided them. It even worked on the Ancient Leshen in Skellige.

Also leveled up Axii really helps with human enemies.

I'm in Skellige and finding it very difficult to level up, even with completing all of the little secondary quests that come up. I'm just not getting enough points. I suppose I need to make some progress on the main questline.

Yrden is my next one to level up. I've already done Axii twice. I agree that some of the low-level quests are really tough. My goal is to get to level 7 before I start taking them on.

I'm cleaning up all the old quests I should have done several levels ago. I also haven't been able to find all of the Gwent cards in Velen, and it's annoying me!

I'm still working on the getting botchling to turn into a lubberkin. The second set of wraiths get me every time.

That's a nasty quest at low levels. Yrden makes the wraiths solid.



I'm doing the ridiculously annoying quest on Skellige where you have to herd a sheep towards a Forktail and the silly thing runs around in circles. I even tried to kill it just for the fun of it.

I've decided to get out of it and go kill some Drowners. I'm using Yrden, but there are just too many of them.

Good plan. Do some of the other easy quests.

Yrden becomes really useful when you get the alternate version of it. I have Yrden levelled up completely now, and it made a huge difference taking down a level 30 Fiend in the quest I just did. I just took a Cat potion and ran around avoiding it.

I've also spent a few points increasing my potion tolerance, which is very helpful. I haven't spent many points on swordplay, though. I'm thinking it's not as helpful as the Signs in my current game. I'll be levelling up Quen and Igni next.

Well, I finally got some quality time in with Geralt today due to the weather! Got some better armor and have a nice pot of money. Working on the Treasure Hunt finding all the diagrams of Griffin School gear.

But my eyes kind of hurt, so I'm going to put in some drops and try to get in some TWD tonight!

I went with Griffin this time, too. And I'm watching TWD, so we're living parallel lives at the moment. Neegan is just about to enter the picture, and I find him tedious, so it'll be a two-season slog through his speechifying and one-note viciousness.

Today I did one of the funniest quests ever, in any game. It's when Geralt goes back to Kaer Morhen and the boys decide to have a drinking night. I won't spoil the fun for you, but it was hilarious. I'd forgotten all about it.

I always found Neegan in his evil phase tedious too. A character I'm growing fond of in the last episodes is Princess. I also found Alpha tedious in the later episodes. This last season is getting interesting.

I just finished a quest with the huge Witcher Otho. Now I'm off to try to do a couple of other quests here, but I think the Graveyard Hag is going to be out of my league.

All of a sudden I'm level 34 and wearing Mastercrafted armour. I'm left with races and fistfights in Velen and Novigrad. Might as well get those cleared up. Then it's back to Skellige to search and destroy all those points of interest floating around the sea. I spent all my money on that Runecrafter so I need as much loot as I can find. Then I'll head off to the Isle of Mists to find Ciri.

I'm trying to decide if I should do the Toussaint DLC before finishing the Main Quest.

I can only DREAM of getting to level 34! I've been spending some quality time with Geralt the last two days cleaning up unknown locations and clearing out ghoul nests in Velen and am almost about to hit level 7! We've got a couple days of snow coming in, so I'm looking forward to some serious gaming on Wednesday!

I really started to gain levels when I went to Skellige. Armed with his fully upgraded Yrden and a handful of potions, Geralt slew many high-level monsters.

The best quests for raising levels are the hunts for the Witcher gear. They take you everywhere.

Am going to go back and try to finish the Griffin Gear quest once I get at least one or two more levels. Didn't figure there was any point in going to Skellige at this low level.

I think I started Skellige at around level 18 or so. Even at that level a single Drowned Dead can take you out if you aren't paying attention!

I've cleaned up all but one of the points of interest on the Velen/Novigrad and White Orchard maps. There's one area that is part of a quest and isn't accessible now. I love the way you can just spend a day or two wandering around in this game. There's always something around the corner.

That's what I was thinking - maybe I'll tackle it around level 15! Just got to level 7 for now. It seems frustratingly slow, but in a way I don't mind it as I can head in for an hour or two and get a little bit more ahead.

Heading for level 9! Finally got the Wraith Decoction and was able to get past them. Followed the lubberkin and am now supposed to go find Anna. We are supposed to get 7+ inches of snow tomorrow, so should be able to get some good gaming in!

Oh, good. Glad you're getting up there finally.

I just finished the first part of the Hearts of Stone quest, where Geralt goes to a wedding in the country. Lots of fun and general silliness. Interestingly, that quest line gives Geralt a full ponytail, which is not an available style at any of the barbershops. I think I'll just keep it that way.

I'm going to kill some more time cruising around the smuggler's cargo sites in Skellige. And I had forgotten about the whales!

Just closing in on level 10... can't wait for double digits! Have I mentioned how much I hate Nekkers? I've been taking out tons of Ghoul nests and "liberating" settlements. That usually gets me about 120 points. Been picking up some REALLY good equipment along the way too.

That was fast! Once you get your Yrden up, it's much easier.

I've been casting Yrden in the little boats when I'm out and about and being attacked by Harpies. The sign doesn't travel with the boat but as long as you don't move the boat, it works.

In this game I've become a bit obsessed with crafting the exploding bolts. They're so much fun!

Decided to go back to White Orchard as I know I left a lot of things undone there. Knew there were at least 2 more places of power and a few undiscovered locations. It was kind of strange fighting level 2 ghouls and drowners! Now in Novigard doing the Dandelion quest. It was cool to find Zoltan again! Closing in on level 12!

I'm still cruising around Skellige, cleaning up all the points of interest on the map and in the process cleaning up financially! I went from about 3,600 gold to 55,000 just from all the loot from the Smuggler's Caches. I also ran into a high-level Archgriffin on a lonely Islet, and had to mark it on the map and move on. I'd forgotten about that monster.

I've got the darned Gwent music stuck in my head, though.

LOL! I was going to ask you if you had Witcher 3 music playing in your head all the time like I do!

I have an Archgriffin decoction recipe in my potions.

Every time I play a game I run the risk of having the music get stuck in my head. At least with Fallout 4 I downloaded a mod that added over 100 new songs, so I don't go stark raving mad.

This particular Archgriffin is at least level 40 and it took me out in two flaps of its wings -- and I'm level 36! There's also an elemental I haven't been able to beat, somewhere in the Velen area. After I finish with all the caches I'll get back to the main story.

I slipped back to Velen to finish up a couple of quests I abandoned at level 5. Just finished off the werewolf and am heading for meeting up with Keira Metz. Almost level 13! It's SO much more fun when you don't constantly get killed!

Ran into that Elemental too and left when I realized he was just too powerful to waste my time on.

Ugh. I just ran into...The Caretaker. He regenerates. Even at level 37 I cannot get his health down even a tiny bit. I guess it's time for a strategy guide.


EDIT: two days later....


Holy Smokes! Hearts of Stone is so difficult at the very end.

I didn't have too much trouble last time, on a lower difficulty level, but this time, I had a heck of a time killing the Caretaker. It took many tries and a lot of bad words.

Then came The Wraith, but she wasn't too awful once I figured out her strategy.

Then came the last, final battle and...I'm going to have to lower the difficulty level, which I almost never do, but it's that or start the whole thing again at a higher level.

EDIT: Finished the Hearts of Stone DLC after much difficulty. What a great story. And the music - haunting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKGmZN06lBI

I'm planning on getting Hearts of Stone for sure. I'm closing in on level 18 finally and am going to head to Skellege once I finish up a few minor quests.

Hearts of Stone is one of the very best DLC in any game, in my opinion. Absolutely worth it. Great story, great atmosphere, one segment that is an absolute hoot to play through, and some wickedly hard bosses.

I found levelling up really fast during the level 15-30 phase. Now it's more of a grind. But I finally managed to take out that darned Elemental that was annoying me.

Right now I'm cleaning up the horse races. I was going to do all of the fights, too, but I'm not very good at it. The Tailor in Novigrad beats me every time.

I don't do the fights - I am not good at it and find them more annoying than anything. I will have several level 22+ monster fights to complete later when I am leveled up more.

The fights bug me, too. And it seems out of character for someone who is a monster hunter, not a pugilist. I'll wait until I'm a few levels higher and come back.

Well, this is strange. I would like to visit a herbalist or two in Velen and the option is no longer available. Closing in on level 20!

Sometimes you can change the map icons by mistake. At the bottom left, you can choose which set of icons you want.

I'm doing the second-to-last quest, and when it's done I'm off to Toussaint before the final battle, to sit in the sun and drink fine wines, and level up some more in the lovely countryside.

I know... But in all the icon options as I scroll through, the herbalist icon is missing! I'm in Velen right now, so maybe they have all gone to Novigard! I used a walkthrough to find out where they are located, but it just seems odd the icon has gone missing.

Here's an update - not only is the herbalist icon gone, but when I find them, they either go poof or won't talk to me.

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.

So, I've run into two bugs. One is a quest that just disappeared in the middle of it! It's called Lord or the Woods and is a huge old Leshen... poof! Gone! I can make it active, but it won't show up anywhere on the map. If I go back to the location, nothing is there. The other is I found two Rock Trolls in a cave and they are frozen. I can move them around with Axii, but they are just frozen in place breathing and snorting.

Almost to level 28. I had to abandon the first couple of quests in Hearts of Stone as I'm just not a high enough level. The Toad Prince is going to have to wait as is the Arachnomorph!

That Toad Prince... I, too, abandoned that guest until I was a couple of levels higher. If I remember correctly, Golden Oriole turns poison into healing so that might help. I think for this fight I just plonked down my Alt Yrden and jumped away from his attacks. I always cast another Yrden before the old one died out. Eventually it wore him down. Some of the bombs might be useful, too. Northern Wind? Freeze him?

Also, Your Quen shield will block his attack so you can get away.

The Two Rock Trolls are part of a quest, I'm pretty sure, so you probably can't attack them. I don't want to spoil it, but attacking them would wreck the quest.

Not sure what to think about the Leshen. I did have to verify my files a few times, and also sometimes a bug would be okay after relaunching the game.

I'm thinking about doing the file verification. It's getting kind of "hitchy" at times. I might give a try to uninstalling or at least disabling my Razer Synapse. Although I just have a simple mouse!

I'm just too low right how... Going to get to at least level 30 before I start taking on these hard ones. I tried all of the above with the toad and it just wasn't enough.

Yes, the DLC really are a bit of a challenge at first. I waited until the recommended level before starting them.

I'm still cruising around Toussaint. Quite a few quests left to complete and some mystery spots to explore. There really is a ton of content in Blood and Wine.

I'm laughing at myself because I CANNOT stay out of this game!

GOG released this today:

Witcher 3 hotfix

I know. It's has to be one of the very best games EVER. I tell myself it's time to make dinner but then there's that place-of-interest question mark nearby and it'll only take a minute, and the next thing I know it's an hour later and I have three more secondary quests.

Marian, I'll check that out. I think my game is set on auto-update anyway.

Yes, mine updated first thing this morning. I was in that "one more place of interest" thing and all of a sudden it was 12:30 am last night!

Interesting note... after the hotfix installed, I got the Ancient Leshen quest back in Skellige.

That's good news, Drac.

Glad the hotfix worked. My game was glitchy when I first started playing and I uninstalled/reinstalled twice. Then everything settled down, though I've still had smaller issues.

I'm interested in seeing how Cyberpunk is now, with all the updates. I think I'll play that next. But first, Geralt still has work to do!

Well, I spoke too soon. I activated the quest again, but nope it wasn't there. Oh, well.

Last night I did score three cave troll livers from the farting trolls! Woot! Making those Superior Oils!

Ran into a big nest of level 34 arachnomorphs yesterday. Laughed as I trapped them with Yrden and watched it zap them while I hit them with Igni... very satisfying!

I hope I don't have to defeat that horrid Toad Prince before I can get more Blood and Stone quests! I'm just shy of level 30, but I've also added 4 more points with Places of Power.

I've defeated Big Bads by casting my Yrden and standing back watching them run towards me, get zapped, and fall back.

There's a couple of places in Blood and Wine where you're battling many human enemies, and they can't even get close because of Yrden! Combined with your Quen shield these battles go from "Arrggggh!" to "Wake me when it's over"

Hearts of Stone is pretty linear sine it's a single storyline, but you can always lower the difficulty for the Toad Prince for a few practice runs. I defeated him that way a couple of times, then once I knew the strategy, reloaded and took him out on the higher level.

I might try that with that cursed Toad Prince. I was reading something saying that Yrden is a very under-rated power in Witcher 3.

Fully upgraded Yrden plus fully upgraded Quen is pretty powerhouse. Yrden zaps anything that comes towards you, including arrows, and Quen zaps anything that gets close enough to hit you, including high-level bosses.

I've only upgraded Geralt's fast attacks to the top level for the Whirl, and the slow, heavy attacks to the first upgrade level, and he's doing fine.

I still haven't bought any of the Runemaster's special runes -- BTW he comes with Hearts of Stone so should be available to you now and there are a couple of quests associated with him and his merchant partner.

Yeah, I already did the Runemaster's quests and the merchant's quests. Quen is next on my list to start upgrading. Think I've got my Yrden fully upgraded. I put some points into the potion/poison ability too. It helps when I need to use several at one time.

That's pretty much the way I progressed Geralt, too, increasing the ability to take more potions but pretty much focused on Yrden, Quen and Igni, and enough Axii to influence people in conversations. I now have the Mutagen options that open up in Blood and Wine and they seem very powerful, so I won't be focusing on Signs anymore.

Mind you, by the time I get to that final battle in the Main Quest it'll be a cake-walk, or thereabouts.

How far did you go in the Main Quest before you played the two DLC's? I dropped Uma off at Kaer Mohren and haven't gone back.

I like Igni - it is kins of the Sign that keeps on giving? Watching the Ekhidnas and Harpies just continue to burn is very satisfying!

I got to the point where Ciri is supposed to go and see the Lodge of Sorceresses, which is very close to the end of the game, before starting Blood and Wine. This DLC is kind of like a holiday in the south of France for Geralt before he challenges the end game. You'll see what I mean when you get there. You'd want to stay there, if it were a real place.

I played Hearts of Stone after I completed everything in Velen/ Novigrad and Skellige except for a few races and fistfights.

I am cleaning up all the Unknown locations in Skellige now. Most are out in the water... ugh. Drowners and Ekhindas!

Yrden can be cast on water or the boat. Takes care of the Harpies and other flying annoyances.

I got pretty good with my crossbow underwater after a few of those Smuggler's caches.

I keep forgetting to use my crossbow! Hadn't thought of casting the Yrden on the boat. I have several more to do, so will definitely change my strategy. I've just been taking the damage.

The Harpies are still annoying but if you can stay balanced in the boat you can mostly just zap-and-slash.

I got tired of diving in Skellige and decided to try the Toad Prince again, hoping for at least SOME new Blood and Stone quests! I'm only level 30, but I've found at least 4 more Places of Power, so decided to give it a go. I got him down to just a hair of defeat before I ran out of bombs and health potions! So, that means I can do it - it just may take a few more tries.

The Toad Prince is where Olgierd's story line really takes off, and it is a good one.

Hah! Got the cursed toad! In the end, I switched to Igni and that was what brought him down. I'm now in Ofieri...

Is it bad that I'm playing Witcher 3 in my dreams??!!

I hear the music in my head a lot. The one that pops up the most is that pretty Oxenfurt music.

Now I understand why the wedding gave you such a chuckle! And it's so nice to see those points racking up - already hit level 32...

Hoo boy... I see what you mean by the Caretaker! I did manage to get in in small amount of damage before he killed me, but I can see I need to get more than my Level 36 under my belt.

He's a beast.

It's a completely tactical fight and a tough one. I didn't find him any easier with higher levels. Again, I fought on a lower level, worked out the tactics and tried -- more then five times -- on the higher difficulty and finally beat him.

To me he's the absolute hands-down hardest fight in the whole game.

When he crouches after an attack, he is vulnerable for a couple of seconds if you can get in a swipe or two. Quen will stop his attack from causing damage, and then he crouches. My biggest problem was that when I jumped away from his attack, I was too far to rush in and whack him.

I also read that the Doppler decoction is invaluable in this fight. But where the heck do I get a Doppler mutagen unless I kill Dudu!

I've never made the Doppler mutagen, either. The shifters are harmless and Geralt only kills monsters. There are no evil shifters in the game.

I know. I won't be making any Doppler decoction for sure. I've decided to go ahead and head for the Isle of Mists - assuming I can get through the Siren attack!

I just Yrden/Quen'ed them all. Pesty things. They remind me of the Cliff Racers in Morrowind.

I rather enjoyed using Igni on them too. Underwater, I would just finish them off with the crossbow. Got through the Isle of Mists. Darned near as engrossing as TWD!

Yes, this is truly one of the best games around.

I've taken a break for a while to get some packing and purging done around this house. Also I have to give my wrist a break -- I broke the base of my thumb while salmon fishing about ten years ago and every now and then it acts up. It's quite painful.

Sounds like your wrist needs a break for sure! Does weather affect it?

I'm having fun running around in Toussaint killing level 43 arachnomorphs and the giant Spriggen has been dispatched. The poor besotted Knight Francois however, did not survive.

I've already upgraded one of the branches in the enhanced abilities.

I love Toussaint. Sounds like you've caught up to me!

I managed to save the knight, but it tool me several tries.

The joints in my hands are definitely affected by the weather. I've been taking my CBD oil, which usually makes it improve over a few days. It that doesn't work I'll move on to Advil. I should be back in action in a few days.

I know you're taking a break, but I just outfitted Geralt in a complete set of Griffen Grandmaster Crafted armor and swords! I have all the Wolven diagrams too. Had to go back to Kaer Moren to get the ones there.

My hands are feeling a lot better; I decided not to shovel my driveway because that would have made them hurt even more. I use CBD oil and it works most of the time, though it takes a few days.

I'm wearing Griffin, too, and planning on finding every single armour diagram in the game. Some of the other sets look better than Griffin, but to my mind it's the best armour for the way I play. I started playing again today. The Gaunter O'Dimm music started playing in my head yesterday and I knew it was time to come back.

Right now I'm about to help Regis find Detlaff. Earlier today I helped the spoon-obsessed Wraith. These little stories within stories are so much fun!

I've almost cleared the map, but I have to do the tourney race, which I absolutely hate.

I've found all the armour diagrams, but am loving the wide spreading Yrden with the Griffen set. Love the "Yrden = dead Slyzard" with nary a slash from my sword! I may try a couple of the others, but this one is really working well. It was especially helpful for the tough wraith at the "Other than that, how did you enjoy the play?" quest.

I have figured out what I need to do to defeat The Caretaker, but haven't been back to try for a day or so. After his third attack, I go hammer him, but still haven't managed a defeat although I've gotten close a couple of times. Closing in on Level 47.

So glad your hands are feeling better. I'm sure the snow shoveling would have rendered them useless for awhile!

The Caretaker is the absolute worst. It's one of those fights that start out feeling like a fun challenge and end up being a dire slog that you have to get past to get to the rest of the game.

Perfect description. Just a dire slog... I remember one like that in the sewers in the first Witcher. Just a slog... I find it helps a tiny bit to play fights like this one without sound.

You can always play it on the easiest setting if you get frustrated with it. I did that the first time I played the game, just to get past it.

If I can't get past him soon, that's what I'm going to do.

I never play for the achievements anyway.

I finally just did it the easy way just because I was bored with him! I don't play for the achievements either.

The first time I beat him on the normal level I think the fight took me over 10 minutes, maybe longer. On Blood and Bones it was endless. I was just about to give up and drop the difficulty when I finally nailed him. In future I'll just go straight to the easy level.

I tried first in Story and Sword, but quickly got bored and just moved the slider to Story and just got it DONE so I could move on. Olgierd definitely has an interesting story. I was glad defeating O'Dimm was relatively easy.

Still sticking with the Griffin armor set, but I've got enough money to have another set crafted. I may try the Wolven armor set.

I just read another note or journal at a bandit camp I just wiped out. The "colorful" name-calling has made me laugh so many time... so, ummmm... creative!

I've run into massive stuttering and lagging problems, plus a bug that stops me from proceeding with the main quest in Blood and Wine. The lagging is so bad I literally can't play.

Oh, no! Maybe it's time to submit a ticket to GOG. I thought uninstalling the Razer software had fixed it. With a high end machine like you have, this shouldn't be an issue. The components in my desktop are far less that what you have in that laptop and I'm not having any issues. I'm trying to defeat Detlaff and not having much luck! Doing this main quest has really ramped up my level to 53.

Have you tried checking the temperatures of your components? I use Speccy to check my temps now and then.

https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/download

Well, once again it has to do with a Razer update. I'm not sure why this is; I get no notification that there is an update available, but somehow when there is an update available, my computer get laggy. It would be helpful if there was some sort of notification.

Mine is set to auto-update. Maybe change that setting? I would still let Razer know this is happening because it shouldn't in a laptop like yours. Are you using that mouse with all the buttons? Have you tried another mouse?

I'm using a regular mouse right now just to see if it was Synapse again (which is now back on my computer even though I thought I removed it). But I'll see about auto-updating. I thought I'd set it to that but maybe something has changed.

EDIT: I see no setting on Cortex or Synapse for auto-updating.

You know, I think you're right. What I did since it was always updating at inopportune times, was set it to not launch at startup. Although they are launching at startup now. I really think you should reach out to Razer first. This is just not right... I have a Razer keyboard, mouse and mouse mat all connected to my Razer software. But I'm just not getting problems you are.

I have to say, I have given up dealing with Razer Customer Support. Every time I try I just get frustrated because they assume I have more knowledge than I do, and when I ask for further information or guidance, I end up going around in circles, with multiple people responding to me, resulting in m multiple service tickets but nobody actually helping, and then I get multiple emails asking if I've been helped, and I say no, and the whole cycle starts again without resolution. Trying to explain that I don't understand what they're saying just ends up being a dead end.

I'd rather smash my head against a wall.

Oh, good grief! How utterly ridiculous. I really had no idea. I assumed a company with this kind of reach to high end components would be better at customer service.

Seems like this is a known issue. See if anything helps here.

Another discussion of issues with Synapse...

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/droping-fps-thanks-to-razer-synapse-fix/351884

This seemed to be the easiest to try. But the path is Settings/Apps/Apps and Features...

Thanks! I will give those a try. I love this laptop, but there have been a few issues.


in the meantime, my whole hand has started hurting so I had to take a couple of days off. It gave me a chance to do a bit more clearing in the garage. I'll have another car full of stuff for the recycling depot, which always cheers me up.


I almost convinced myself that I need to buy the newest Razer, the 18" one with a 2TB hard drive and the RTX 4090. It's very tempting, but I'll wait until I move, and then I can have this laptop as my roamer and the other as the desktop in the office.

Oooo... an 18" Razer!

And I dispatched Eredin and completed the main game. He was really pretty easy or at least not a long slog like the Caretaker. However, Detlaff in Blood and Stone is NOT so easy. Plus I've run into a game ending bug during the final boss battle. There are three parts to the battle and every time I get to the third part, the game freezes and crashes to desktop. I saw several posts about it on the Steam forums. I posted on the GOG forums, but I'm not holding my breath for a fix. It would be such a bummer to not be able to finish the game.

They released a new update to Galaxy which is supposed to fix the update problem. Unfortunately, it wouldn't work for me like the last time. I was sent a direct link, but got a 404 Not Found error. I sure hope to get that resolved tomorrow.

I'd better get back to the game. I don't have a lot left to do now, just a couple of quests in Toussaint and a few races that I think I'll skip this time.

I didn't do any of the races - just found them too annoying. I DID however complete all the "unknown locations" in all the regions! It was a slog sometimes in Skellige, but I would just go back every couple of days and do more of them.

One other bug I have is being unable to have the Grandmaster Crafted Forgotten Wolven Armour set. I can get everything except the actual armour - the little box that should say what's missing is blank with a strange drop-down box. I HAVE what is needed, but it won't work. I'm quite happy with my Grandmaster Crafted Griffen Armour, but wanted to try another set. That "spreading" Yrden was very helpful in defeating a few Protofleders in the caves of The Unseen.

Just thought of another bug... the frozen Cave Trolls in a cave NW of Hanged Man Tree in Velen. They are still frozen!

Those trolls are part of a quest where you can save them depending on your choice. So you can't kill them unless you choose that option in the quest.

So what are you playing next?

Any ideas?

I never got a quest or contract regarding those trolls! Do you remember what it could have been?

I'm so upset that I can't finish the Blood and Wine expansion. Just not sure what to play next... since gardening season is nearly upon me, I don't want to get too involved in a game like I did with this one!

Bummer about the bug and crashes. I don't remember the quest about the Trolls. It was quite early in the game, though.

I've given up on updating Galaxy for the time being. That's been going on for ages, it seems.

IF they send me a working direct link to the update, I'll post it here. The last one worked just fine to update to 2.0.58. The nag is really becoming a PITA.

I wonder if you're thinking of the farting trolls quest? I did that one, but these guys are different.

Maybe. I know that I didn't have any Troll hearts or whatever it was that I needed for a potion until I got to a long way into the game -- I think it might been have been Blood and Wine.

Yeah, the farting trolls in Velen was where I finally got some troll hearts. This cave is a different one.

I decided to load up the original Witcher and see how it went. To my surprise all my saves from 2012 and 2014 were there! I just started a new game. It took me awhile to figure out the fighting sequences and it looks kind of primitive, but I think I'll continue with it. Still hands down, the best opening cut scene in any game ever! Not quite ready to give Geralt up just yet!

I haven't played Witcher for a long time. It's such a great game. But yes, all the old saves are there for my game, too

I keep trying to play Witcher 2 but I get stuck in the first area just trying to figure out how to get places. I've never got past the first town, and I've started the game three times at least. Then I start again, get stuck in the same area, and get bored. It's a navigation problem, not a gameplay problem. Of course when I try to back to it, I can't remember the interface and can't win any fights.

I'm planning on playing Witcher 2 also. I don't remember having any problems getting places! But it's been a long time since I played it... I might just start a game to see what happens.

I finally got a direct link to update GOG. FIrst one didn't work, but this one did. This is to update to 2.0.60.

https://content-system.gog.com/open...lient/2.0.60.2/setup_galaxy_2.0.60.2.exe

It won't install. I've downloaded it, but when I try to install it, it won't install because it claims Galaxy is already running, even though I didn't open Galaxy -- it did, when I tried to install the file.

I'd try uninstalling it and reinstalling, but I'm afraid I'll end up with no version of it on my computer and thus no ability to play my games.

It told me that too. I had to go into my Task Manager and close out all the instances of GOG running in the background. Once I did that, it installed just fine.

That was it, thanks. I was looking in the apps and not in the programs. I should be good to go now!

And no more nags!

By the way, you can choose to let Detlaff go if you don't want to fight him. That's my choice. The long-term consequences of killing him are, for me, far too awful.

I tried both ways. I much prefer the not-killing him option also. I had just grabbed a previous save and went for the other option to see what happened... which didn't work!

Shoot. I am STILL having slowdown issues. Cortex just updated, so I thought that was it, but here we go again.

Did anything in those links I posted help?

I think this laptop just gets too hot sometimes. I have a cooler mat but it doesn't seem to help. It's weird because it isn't all the time, just occasionally.

Right now my CPU is showing 52-54 degrees Celsius while idling. I know that the smaller Razer laptops do run hot, so I don't know if this is normal or not for this particular machine.

About 50 degrees C is a pretty normal temp for a laptop. And I take it none of the other suggestions helped either?

Okay, so I went into Synapse and changed the fan speed to Auto, and now the average CPU temp is in the low 70's. I had the fan turned up to a higher speed before. I just restarted my laptop so I'll see how that goes.

EDIT: I was hoping it was the latest update, but it's my computer, for sure. I just started Cyberpunk to see how it runs, and it's not good either. Not as bad; Witcher is actually unplayable.

EDIT: Oh great, now I can't figure out how to contact Razer Support. Just going around in circles on the website.

The lagging is back, even after uninstalling Synapse. Can't play anything but older games.

How frustrating. Tell me what your computer model is and I'll see if I can navigate it.

It's okay -- I actually managed to get to a person online and sent them the serial number of my laptop and some other information. Hopefully they can work out what's going on. It's weird because one minute everything was fine, and then it wasn't.

Oh, good. How did you finally manage to get to someone?! I'm curious in case I ever had to do the same. Everything from my computer chair to keyboard, mouse and mouse pad is from Razer. I built my desktop computer myself.

If they start getting too "techy" for you, please let me know and I try my best to interpret!

And I'd be SURE to get in there somehow that you were now rethinking your purchase of the larger laptop due to these issues not being resolved...

I finally went to the community forums.

I know we're completely off topic now, but I ordered the 17" Alienware laptop since I had such good luck with my last one. It was on sale and I had it beefed up a bit from the basic spec. The prices have come down from when I bought my last one, about 30% lower! So this smaller laptop, once it's back in action, will be the roaming machine for holidays and deck-sitting and the larger one will be on my desk in the office. It has 2T hard drive so it can be my everything machine.

I've left Geralt in the fantasy land, having forgotten all about that darned ribbon and having to replay the last part of that section. Just for fun I tried to combat Detlaff and almost got him before I ran out of healing potions.

I'm getting into the first Witcher now. So much is familiar, but I also don't remember a lot! I was able to get around the Temple Quarter in Vizima well, but the Trade Quarter is driving me nuts! Probably going to play Witcher 2 after this one. But with gardening season upon me, I won't be playing much after May. As always, I've started WAY too many pepper and tomato plants!

Just finished Witcher 1 - really love this game. Now on to Witcher 2 to see how far I get before I have to start working in the gardens!

I really love the first Witcher. It was so different from other games at the time.

I might try Witcher 2 again. Maybe third time's the charm. I've been faffing around in Oblivion, which is one of my go-to time-filler games.


I'm not even contemplating a garden this year. I suspect my gardening days are over anyway. It was a joint effort and there seems little point now.

My new computer arrives next week and that will give me time to get this one a good cleaning just in case dust and cat hair have gotten into the works and gummed things up. After that I will go step by step through the suggestions I've been given. I haven't done it yet simply because I has so much work going on in my house right now and it's too noisy to think, and my brain is too buzzed to sleep so I'm operating on very little brainpower.