The Witcher 3 Alchemy System

[Vigilance.492]

@StaGiors
The problem is that no matter what they do, they can't FORCE people to use potions. If they did, potions would be way too powerful & would start to mean more than the actual combat itself, which is no good. You have to balance potions, signs & swordplay together.. Sadly this means that potions are going to get the short straw because it's the least active, if someone plays on a lower difficulty, or has enough skill, they can outplay the bonuses that a potion provides.

I really don't think that this new system is going to help people get into potions. Sure, it'll mean you don't run out or have to (what some people would call annoying) go out buying/collecting herbs constantly, but it doesn't mean they're actually going to use them. It still requires the effort of ingesting them & activating the effects, if people play for 5 hours & realize they've been surviving just fine without potions, they'll just not bother. These people don't "get" The Witcher & so to them drinking potions isn't something that's a necessary part of the experience, they're just trying to get through the game & if they're enjoying themselves without using potions, they won't ever see it as necessary.

You remove that, it sucks for the core fans who want it to be part of the experience, the trade-off being that maybe a few more people actually use potions.
You keep the system, but provide a few minor changes to encourage potion use (Which frankly they already had with the Witcher Metabolism stuff), it keeps those core fans happy & you will still maybe get a few more people using potions.

 

[StaGiors]

@ReptilePZ: in the books i only remember Geralt using potions twice the Striga and Zeugl fight that is is, for big fights, now is he suposed to pop a potion for fighting 3 drowners?

Well, in the books Geralt did not fight as often as he does in the games. Makes sense too in either format.


@Vigilance

I get you man, I really do, it still refreshing to watch them try to implement changes towards making the game feel more "canon". Who knows if it will work, we will just have to wait and see. I'm sure they won't let us hardcore fans feel "left out".

After all they are hardcore fans themselves. They already made 2 games.

 

[ReptilePZ]

@ReptilePZ : in the books i only remember Geralt using potions twice the Striga and Zeugl fight that is is, for big fights, now is he suposed to pop a potion for fighting 3 drowners?

I'm not sure what your point here is. As you said, witchers use potions when preparing for a big fight (also, those are not the only times Geralt drinks potions in the books) - in TW2 you literally could not use a potion for one of the 3 big monster boss battles, neither did you really require any, unless you specced heavily into the potion path.

 

[501105]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F51TCB6QozU
At 4.40 it does get mentioned a bit, I wish he would go into more detail though.

 

[Vigilance.492]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F51TCB6QozU
At 4.40 it does get mentioned a bit, I wish he would go into more detail though.

Yea it's a really quick mention, not really anything we can gather from that. Haven't seen this interview though, so cheers for the link.

Edit: Man all that beer chinking. I swear if I ever went to E3 I'd just sit at the CDPR booth & chill out drinking all day talking about their games n shit.

 

[Mothra]

Well, the guy also says that they encourage them to drink potions because there is more tactical gameplay. (I guess he is not speaking about normal diff)

 

[Jupiter_on_Mars]

Edit: Man all that beer chinking. I swear if I ever went to E3 I'd just sit at the CDPR booth & chill out drinking all day talking about their games n shit.

More than that. I suddenly feel the urge to apply for a job there!

 

[Scholdarr]

I think both systems can be improved (TW2 and TW3) to stay more true to the canon and to make it more meaningful.

I would suggest a system in which you can drink potions in preparation for serious hunting tasks but there shouldn't be a short timer attached to it. A potion should last several ingame hours with the effect slowly disappearing over time with Geralt getting more and more exhausted ("intoxicated") at the same time until the point he has to sleep or meditate for recovery (exhaustion should come with negative effects on Geralt's stats). Drinking copies should come with serious short and long term effects forcing you to properly examine whether you need them for your task or not. In the witcher world everything comes with a price...

But I guess a system like that would be too hardcore and CDPR need all the casuals to sell enough copies....

 

[Mothra]

Please all take a look at this new post:
http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/30211-E3-Discussion-Thread?p=1329600&viewfull=1#post1329600

 

[blackgriffin]

Originally Posted by Marcin Momot View Post
Let me clear up some things regarding alchemy as I see that it stirred up some vivid discussions over the past few pages:

Right now we drink elixirs during combat, just like it was in our first game. Their effects, however, don't last long but you can drink them at will - you have to keep an eye on the toxicity effect though. To create new elixirs or to upgrade the ones you already have, you will need to find proper ingredients. Already owned potions will be replenished during meditation.

Besides elixirs, there are also mutagens, which are extremely toxic. Opposed to potions, you can only drink them while meditation. Their effects are permanent and they last until cancelled during meditation or replaced by another mutagen effect.

In our opinion this design combines the best features from both of our previous games. Some players may play around with maximizing effects by managing different mutagens and elixirs, while others may just drink a few mutagens and not worry about checking the toxicity level of elixirs and mutagens in combat. Mutagens are permanent.

We wanted to solve a problem that's present in RPG's since we can remember - saving consumables for later, and that later never comes. We keep waiting and stashing more and more, sometimes even hundreds of potions/bombs/etc. in the inventory. We think that this solution will be better

 

[StaGiors]

I want to say "I told you so" so much right now. So here goes.... bah nevermind.

 

[Ifrit30]

@Marcin Momot

Right now we drink elixirs during combat, just like it was in our first game. Their effects, however, don't last long but you can drink them at will - you have to keep an eye on the toxicity effect though. To create new elixirs or to upgrade the ones you already have, you will need to find proper ingredients. Already owned potions will be replenished during meditation.

this sounds great, but to me it seems that you just have to upgrade them and than you have quite a overpowered potion system which always replenishes.

I'd rather have that only the normal (low) potion gets replenished and the upgrades disappear after a while (like the potions/oils in Witcher 2 with ~ 15 minutes duration), so that you always have to get ingredients if you want to upgrade it, otherwise it's too easy even if you can only use the potion a few times until it gets replenished.

 

[blackgriffin]

the sistem sounds great just eliminate the autorefill for FREE and it will be perfect ....oh and add alchool

 

[Villentretanmerth]

I'm one of those players that tends to hoard any type of consumables in an RPG. Infinite potions would definitely get me to use them more often, knowing that I wouldn't be wasting them when I don't need them. So yeah, it makes sense to me why they would implement the whole infinite potions thing.

 

[huber1989.365]

Actually I have more of a problem with those mutagens. I mean, seriously: you can't mutate something back and forth all the time just because. Mutation should stay a long-term, final decision. If you want to have longer lasting potions with higher intoxication, that's fine - but that mutating roulette is a bit over the top.

I think the refilling potions will be fine if there's still enough incentive to gather herbs. A reasonable approach (for me) would be to have refilling potions without OR with herbs, improving the effects if you use ingredients. So for example you'd have five times "Swallow" which is automatically refilled whenever you meditate. But while meditating you'll have the option to either:

a) refill without ingredients (standard), which results in "Swallow" adding a +100% hp regen after consummation.
b) refill with ingredients (optional), which results in "Swallow" adding a +150% hp regen after consummation.

That would combine an easily accessible alchemy system which awards players who prefer to gather their herbs 'old-school style'.

 

[Mohasz]

Slightly different topic: How about custom potions, maybe experimental brewing? Have these been discussed earlier? It might be an interesting feature.

 

[GHOSTMD]

Sorry folks.... but.... this system sounds just wrong.... maybe right for a "storytelling super easy" difficulty setting but for
normal or hard gameplay? no.... but ok i have an IDEA to solve this issue CDPR:

Use THIS potionsystem as "simplyfied alchemy option" in TW3 and for all the looters among us just put back in the
TW1 system as "complex alchemy option" in the game? Everybody ok with this?

Seriously... looting and searching for ingredients is an element of RPGs and of course in TW1/2 not to have that "traditional"
system in it would feel just wrong...

Owly i want to search for incedients and mix them together to get a potion i need .... even if it would be exhausting to search and
loot for them.... please CDPR don t force it on us *puppy eyes*

 

[Mohasz]

Just wanted to add my voice to those who dont like auto-replenishing potions. It just sounds incredibly gamey and artificial.

Maybe potions could have several uses or 'charges' before they are depleted. Say you start with a small bottle which you can drink from 5 times before having to brew some more potion. Then, later on, you can replace your small bottle(s) with bigger bottles that can hold more 'charges'. I think this system could encourage players to use their potions more often.

I'm quoting this here as well so it won't go unnoticed.
How would you like a compromise as such, guys? I personally would be satisfied with it. The system would still require regular harvesting but the grinding would be more worthwile and less frustrating. I think I might use potions more this way.

I'd imagine Geralt mentioning in a monologue that a specific potion is about to deplete (i.e. one sip left). Then we would have to gather the ingredients and brew the potion again and we would be ok for the next 5 or so gulps.

 

[OptoNick]

Use THIS potionsystem as "simplyfied alchemy option" in TW3 and for all the looters among us just put back in the
TW1 system as "complex alchemy option" in the game? Everybody ok with this?

Owly i want to search for incedients and mix them together to get a potion i need .... even if it would be exhausting to search and
loot for them.... please CDPR don t force it on us *puppy eyes*

I'm ready to sign a protest petition against auto-refill system I like improved combat system, but alchemy shouldn't be downgraded so drastically. Exploration is a spirit of any open-world game and this auto-replenishing and big red signs GO THERE, GERALT just killing it.

 

[dragonbird]

I don't mind the auto-replenishing, I don't like the idea of only needing the ingredients the first time. It sounds like the way that DA2 did it, and it basically took away all of the concept of crafting. That goes a lot further than just removing grinding from the game.