Nope, she was living opently, she had a house (which I believe Yen's refers to as a cozy flat), which you find without needing any directions from anyone, implying that Yen gave you said directions.
The house is ransacked and is being looted as you arrive in Novigrad, implying the event just happened before you arrived. From the clues there you find she was posing as a herbalist/healer. You also find her clothes lying around, pointing to the fact that she had to leave in a hurry.
Yes, she did have her own house, but we don't know when she left. Just because there are looters going through it upon our arrival, it does not imply that she had just left. She could have left at any time prior to this. I agree it more likely that looters would be going through her stuff quickly but this is not proof of her recent departure. Since Triss already has her plan for the mages' escape fairly extensively developed, I think this points to the program not being a recent development. When you first find her in her secondary house, her hiding place so to speak, she has all her magical stuff set up and the top floor decorated and all of her belongings unpacked. Another clue that indicates she left a little while ago.
The herbs you find are actually probably from her own personal stash. Remember that she is allergic to magic potions and needs natural remedies for any healing.
They go into great and foolish lengths to find a way to fix the phylactery, using a method that on itself offers little chance of success with great risks involved, when something far more logical and convenient was in hand.
I don't think the method they employ has little chance of success with great risk. It does entail a great deal of risk but I think it also offers a fair to good chance of it getting done. It also serves to get you tied into the criminal underworld.
I mean, just talking to her, how dangerous would that be?
Yeah, I'll give you this one. Just speaking with Triss probably wouldn't have been all that dangerous. Perhaps she didn't even want to chance it though. If Triss gets involved, however, she might get sucked into the whole thing and might not be able to get out. Perhaps Ciri was keeping her distance to try to ensure Triss's safety. This is all to say that I don't mind that Triss wasn't your source of Ciri information. It is explained in a way that is fairly believable and serves as a good plot device.
To elaborate, one of Yen's biggest selling points, and the reason why's forced this way, is because of her relationship with Ciri, the subject of our quest. Had they shown Triss interacting with her, how close they were together, whatever else they might have done together in restoring the phylactery, in the players' eyes, it would have put both women in the same place in that regard. And that would have made Yen's over-presence less justified to them.
I definitely would have liked to have seen a little bit more Triss-Ciri interaction. It would have helped to make her feel more central in the final acts. Not just like she is window dressing after Novigrad. :X
1. White Orchard
2. Velen
3. Skellige (maybe saling from a village along the coasts due to the blockade)
4. Novigrad
5. Caer Morhen as the place where the final choice is made
I think it would have been prudent to not divide the game into distinct regions. Like you go through Velen, you go to Novigrad, you head off to Skellige, you come back to Velen, a little bit more in Novigrad, and finally you wrap up Skellige. And, as you said, you don't need to lock in your choice until just before Kaer Morhen. I rather like the environment of Velen and I was a little bit disappointed that after you are done there, you never really need to go back unless you're looking for the Master Armorer or going treasure hunting.
Dandelion, Zoltan, and Priscilla for example.
Well, like I said before, at least Dandelion's absence is explained for the earlier part. He's in jail. Doesn't explain why there couldn't have been some more of him later. Zoltan too. He could've been there. And with Priscilla, she gets hurt and remains in the hospital for the rest of the game. Kind of bugged me that after a certain amount of time or quests have been completed she couldn't have been moved to the Chameleon to finish her recovery. A lot of characters disappear and I certainly would have liked some more of them but I think Triss is the most grievous example because she is actually physically there. Like she is there in Skellige and she is present at Kaer Morhen, but she doesn't really say much during those sections. As has been stated before, she is mostly decorative in those sections.
I play the Skellige part first, so that Geralt will finish his flirting and shit before I do the Novigrad quests, just for my own narrative
This is what I will do on my next playthrough. Saving the Triss stuff until there has been some closure on the Yennefer side of things.
Finally voted myself.
Think everything I wanted to say has already been said but I wanted to point out that in my opinion the character of triss in w3 is by far the best compared to previous witcher games (there´s so much room for interpreting etc)
Thats also why I think there´s so much potential left.
Welcome :welcome: Thank you for the support. We are trying our best here. I agree there is a ton of potential and she has undergone a lot of character development and that is part of why I am here. I would like for them to realize her potential and possibly implement some fixes.
I've played it how it was supposed to be: Velen - Novigrad and then Skelliege and
i will continue to play in that order, because for Geralt realising his love for Triss
even bound by the "last wish" seems even bigger emotion. (at least that's my interpretation).
I will be doing Velen, Novigrad main quests, half of the side quests and half of the main quests in Skellige (break the bond), and then back to Novigrad for side quests and then finishing Skellige. It'll play out like this in my head: Geralt is focused on Ciri and reuniting with Yennefer throughout Velen. Upon getting to Novigrad and meeting Triss in the first quest and the torture scene, he would realize that there is still something between them. He then continues on the hunt for Ciri, fully intending to pick Yennefer, but after spending some time with her in Skellige he realizes he may have been wrong. The seeds of doubt were planted by his reunion with Triss. He then breaks the Last Wish, and at the last moment, realizes he can't go through with Yennefer because of Triss. He then goes back to Novigrad to get her and she confesses she can't go with him because of the Witch Hunts. You then resolve to help her with her problem and get her back.
I think this sort of a narrative sequence will help a little bit in the early sections. Still won't help with the later sections and the inconsistencies, but it could help ease my mind.
The Now or Never side quest is another matter. I think that quest should be played when the game prompts you to collect allies for the KM battle (Brothers in Arms quest). It would seem to fit better with main quest events at that time than at any other time in the game. It would also make her absence from KM make more sense initially, since you never sent her there until the Wild Hunt battle
This is a good point. This would be a good opportunity to make up your mind about the romance choice. It also would not make her absence form Kaer Morhen quite so striking.