@ltdk92 another good post (#2271). I won't reiterate what you said as it is kind of long and I am still trying to get caught up from last night. Suffice it to say that I fully agree with what you said especially your last point.
However, since CDPR fumbled with the Triss content between having her as a romance option and present in the game, and not having her in any meaningful capacity, I think it needs to be corrected. The fans have noticed and it needs to be addressed to some extent. This was a technical issue they slipped up on and the players noticed.
It's hard to say Geralt and Triss will be safe in Kovir if MAD Radovid won the war, although in the game Kovir seems to be a peaceful place.
Eskel also says that is where the gold is to be made. "You know how much they make per Drowner there?"
Although I think Triss's royal appointment would give them all the stability they need. Another +1 for Kovir though.
As long as Radovid is gone, then Triss is pretty much safe in Kovir, Emyr even said he had no intention of pursuing her, so yeah get rid of Radovid and the rest is pretty much good
That's what I said before. Even though the politics of the North don't interest me a great deal, it becomes your duty to step in when he is possibly threatening those you care about. So he gots to go.
Was doing an interesting quest at Skellige.
Help the village to let the suddenly appeared tower vanish. I went to the tower and met a sorccerer from Kovir. After helping him to break the magical defense he told me to visit him Kovir when I will go for it some day. Maybe a reference to an expansion where you will be able to play in Kovir? With Triss by your side ofc?..
I remember him saying that. I wouldn't get your hopes up but you could sort of imagine to yourself that you and Triss go visit that crazy tower in Kovir. I know, not the same, but still it's something. One more piece of the puzzle.
Well, regarding the curse lifting, Yen is more powerful then Triss, and possesses more magical knowledge... so it made sense for her to do it. I also doubt Triss would have taken the risk using the trial.
I still say Triss could have been there in a supporting role. She could've kept up a simple stabilizing spell. Given Yen a break as she was getting tired or something. In almost any situation (except politics or Geralt's love life) two sorceresses is better than one.
Yes, it does work, as shown in the ending of W2 and many other instances
That's me you're trying to quote. Yeah, it worked but they said they didn't even need to torture her - she told them everything pretty readily. I still stand by that she could do something bold and slightly out of character, but the torture stuff just doesn't seem right at all. She was a torture victim herself so that would likely be one of the last options she would pick up on. I agree that when developing their characters, they should have apparent flaws. I still don't think you've hit the right flaw though. :X Sorry if that seems harsh. Just my interpretation.
As for the rest of it, I like it. Nicely written.
A few more moments of just the two of them and they can talk would've been nice. Not sure about the "sobbing uncontrollably" part. I would have that she tears up a little and is finding it hard to speak. The sobbing seems a little out of character as she is pretty strong-willed herself. But then again, she is talking about/to Geralt who she's loved pretty much since she met him so maybe this isn't too out of place.
I agree with the final point though. It's hard for the Triss interactions to feel as meaningful until you've had some sort of closure on the Yen side of things. This is why I will be saving the Triss quests until after the Last Wish.
I also agree that this would be a huge undertaking and not at all likely. Even something half as involved as all of this would go a long way towards making the whole thing feel more fulfilling. I still think a few small side quests would do the trick quite nicely. That's just me though. I appreciate the time you put into that though - it was pretty enjoyable to read.
Then it appears that they have dropped the ball on this one. The juggling act they did with Triss between romance option/important character and inconsequential figure is pretty clear, and goes against the "choices matter" approach they were going for. It seems they simply could not reverse the strong investments they made early in development.
I agree. There were just too many balls in the air. They were bound to drop on of them and sadly, they dropped the one that I think hurts the player's personal narrative quite a lot. To a smaller extent they also dropped the ball about having her as an important main character as after Novigrad she just doesn't feel completely necessary. Like have you ever been at a party and wondered, "Would anyone really miss me if I weren't here?"
One opportunity I think would work well to address the Triss as well as Yen's relationship with Geralt is when Triss and Ciri are standing beside each other on the boat. I could see banter being put in talking about how Triss feels towards her relationship with Geralt or Geralt's relationship with Yen. It would also give Ciri a chance to voice her opinions on the relationships.
This would indeed have been a good opportunity for it some Ciri-Triss interaction. Which is pretty much non-existent. I thought they had a history? Ah well, another missed opportunity. :X
I actually liked Radovid in the first two games, shame he has gone utterly mad, too mad for his own good. I imagine someone will kill him down the road when people get tired of his brutality, it's just not my business. In my opinion he has already grabbed a large chunk of territory to keep him busy for a while and Geralt and Triss are safe in Kovir. It's a pretty selfish choice, but I imagine witcher as pretty much emotionless, except when it comes to Geralt's closest friends, and I count those on the fingers of one hand.
This a good point. He was a huge prick in the third one and would likely have gotten his comeuppance eventually. Besides, with the war still raging, he was going to be busy for a while. I would've still preferred to do it myself, but I see where you're coming from.
Being able to choose would allow for some very interesting dialogue and scenes for both Triss and Yen. Both at Kaer Morhen, when you're dealing with Uma's curse and after, when you meet up with whomever you didn't invite.
That
would have been interesting for sure. Really would've liked to have seen how that played out. However, it sounds like in what you described Geralt didn't ask for Yen's help because he was angry/upset with her? And she knew it too. And Triss probably knew she was involved in the whole thing. If something similar had happened in the game, it could have disrupted the whole group dynamic. It's important to keep the team together when facing impossible odds. Still I would have liked to have seen something like this.
Lets say if it is before the battle well you can go for Kovir with Triss to already let her show you the house from the fountain.
If they do it before the fountain scene it would render that scene redundant. Why would the house appear in the fountain if they've already seen it/been there? I don't know where it would logically fall in the story. Nor do I even know it is something to consider. Seems a bit too focused on Triss which would get the other side of the romance-camps upset. Don't get me wrong though, I would love to play it if they did make it.
