Try not to think too hard on this 
There are no blockades in Novigrad like in Loc Muinne, and at least Triss has a working megascope. So yes, they should be able to teleport to Kovir with no problems. But where would be the drama in this case?
There are no blockades in Novigrad like in Loc Muinne, and at least Triss has a working megascope. So yes, they should be able to teleport to Kovir with no problems. But where would be the drama in this case? True. Most of the mages don't even seem to be Sorcerers/esses proper, just alchemists, petty practitioners etc. etc.
I like to think that Triss has teleported out probably one or two a day since the beginning.
She was mostly leaving the last ones there until she could get arrangements for where they'll be safe from Radovid in Korvir.
Mages are a stubborn lot anyway. It'd be funny if the biggest problem Triss was running into getting them out was the fact she couldn't FIND THEM TO TELEPORT THEM OUT.
After all, they were in hiding.
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Well, megascope is just a machine. It requires skill to build it, but operation would be not very difficult. Triss teleported herself and Letho with no problems. Sure, she should know coordinates, but it was very easy to send a servant to Kovir long time ago, when the trouble started, to consult with Carduin or some other capable mage, and bring them a set of coordinates for safe teleportation. Sure beats all this sneaking, fighting, dungeon crawling, etc. Triss managed to save only about 30 mages anyway, and on a pretty bad ship. With megascope she could have done it in half a day.
I stopped to pay attention to minor inconsistencies long time ago. I really like the game, like really-really like it, even the political part I find quite great, even though I have to adjust or even invent a sizable share of it, so I am not really into any nit-picking.
One of the handy elements of magic is: "We don't know the precise workings of it."
We never actually see more than a couple of people teleport out.
Also, the issue may be that if they fled to Kovir they'd be arrested.
Triss had to make some arrangements after all and you don't want to tick off Radovid. Providing sanctuary is a bigger deal than a lot of people understand, especially for refugees.
I hate to draw the comparison but a lot of people fleeing the Nazis found doors shut in their faces or were turned away.
There's also mage arrogance to deal with.
How many mages didn't take the Eternal Fire seriously until everything went to hell?
Isn't Triss mansion newly sacked?
Yes it is, however Gerald tells Sigi during dialogue that the mage persecution started "months ago".
Sigi replies it wasn't "on this scale" though.
It's unclear how long has Triss been working on her escape plan.
They may have found themselves trapped ex abrupto more or less in the last few weeks
It might have been done as a gradual escalation too.
Arresting the Lodge of Sorceress members
Arresting their associates
Arresting everyone
The simplest way to deal with it is to explain in-game that there are magical blockades around Novigrad that prevent from teleporting outside of Novigrad area. They can use magic in the city (which may be tracked by witch-hunters as we now track active cell-phones), but no teleportation would be possible, even with a megascope. Radovid kept Novigrad a free city for a long time for all mages on the run to come there, and later shut the trap in order to mop up all survivors. He wouldn't leave any of them an easy way out. It would be quite in his character.
Overall I try not to think about it too much, magic consistency always tend to be weird.
I liked the fact that mages in DA had no teleportation whatsoever, thus avoiding many of issues with it.
As it stands, only explanation I can think of is that it requires a lot of energy. And hence there's a cooldown period of sorts.
Or maybe a mage cannot teleport another mage because of reasons.
Tbh though they don't even need any of this, they can just swim their way out at night.
Still, it made for a dramatic and good moment, so I'll suspend my disbelief.
The issue is not leaving the physical boundaries of the city, it's leaving Radovid (and for some, surely even Nilfgaardian)controlled territory.
Witchhunters + Sacred Fire patrols/agents are operative all round the map with the exception of Skellige and KM, proof of that is during the 2nd Pellar quest where some witchhunters show up, and that's in Velen.
I suppose you have a point, yet there were some scoiatel units in the woods and nobody was bothering them (do they even care about them anymore, Roche certainly didn't).
In any case plenty of places to hide in the forests before the ship is ready instead of being in the center of the hunters power.
Also regarding that quest, it was a ritual that was not exactly secret, so many villagers were present that it stands to reason that word got out and they got there on purpose, not that they were patrolling and just happened to run across them. Even if we admit the possibility that they were cough by accident, the island WAS haunted so maybe the hunters were dispatched to try to investigate the curse.
Well yes you have a point and I'm not saying the game isn't forced regarding the mage in Novigrad ordeal, however fleeing to the woods or wherever instead of straight to Kovir (long term definitive solution) would almost double the risks, as it entails two escapes over one.
Plus, the boat escape is all mages concentrated therefore minimising the risk of raising alarm and awareness, while escaping a bit at the time to a temporary location could entail getting caught for some of them therefore making it much more difficult for the next ones attempting to do the same.
In any plot in any book, a movie, or a game that has magic, teleportation, or time travel, there are MAJOR plot holes at every corner.
Think about it: if mages or sorceresses can teleport, how do you imagine them even getting arrested. In case of a danger they just teleport away. Arresting a mage is close to impossible without close quarters ambush or treachery.
Think about it: if mages or sorceresses can teleport, how do you imagine them even getting arrested. In case of a danger they just teleport away. Arresting a mage is close to impossible without close quarters ambush or treachery.
Because REDs needed drama, that's why. It was extremely hard to capture powerful mage in the books. For example, everyone searched for Vilgefortz, Nilfs and North, and all the mages, and they got nothing. Only Geralt found him occasionnaly. The slaughter of mages, who could blow up all Novigrad is impossible. They can teleport, they have an offensive spells, powerful enough to wipe off an army.