Opinion on Act 3 (and Epilogue)

[KnightofPhoenix]

Opinion on Act 3 (and Epilogue)

From my experience in BSN, I have seen and heard that a number of people do not look at TW2's Third Act favorably for a variety of reasons, including length (or lack thereof) and because of the cliffhanger.

So I was wondering what people here thought. And please explain your choice.

I personally loved Act 3 and thought it was an ending worthy of the game. It was short yes, but the way it almost seamlessly brought all the political intrigue to bear in such a glorious climax, is impressive imo. I liked the choices and dilemmas in it. I like how Radovid was introduced. I liked the differences between Roche / Iorveth. I liked the Gargoyle contract.
And of course I loved the final confrontation with Letho and being able to walk away.

Could it have been better though? Yes.
A dlc (free ) in Act 3 would be great. Slightly increase its length and hopefully in the process make it informative about lore and what not (such as the Vran).
On Roche's path, I find it inexplicable that Ves vanished. What happened to her? Maybe a DLC with her involved would be great (though Iorveth's path needs something else).

I do not mind cliffhangers and I did not mind the Geralt walking away with friends ending. But an ending cinematic, like the one in TW1, would have gone a long way, imo, to making it a better cliffhanger. An ending cinematic of the Nilfgaardian army crossing the Yaruga would have been epic!

All in all, despite the flaws, I loved Act 3. I do not recall a more satisfying ending in a game. But I wish that CDProjekt does take the flaws into account.

 

[GuyNwah]

I agree that Act 3 is complete and fine as it stands. You have to make a balance between making the action feel urgent and allowing Geralt to wander off on side quests. I think the balance the developers made was a reasonable one. I agree with you: additional DLC or even an expansion dealing with, say, Ves, or the Vran, or a conflict between the factions, would be desirable.

I have a strong suspicion that the ending cinematic, which seems so minimal compared to the TW1 outro, was actually carefully chosen and expressed the developers' intentions exactly. I do not believe that making the central actor a ladybug was mere cuteness, not with the elaborate folklore that surrounds ladybugs.

 

[vaggth]

Even though i loved the witcher 2(it certainly is one of the best RPG's i've ever played)my opinion on act 3 can be described with just two words.......small chaos!anyway i hope they put some more content there over the next...months.

 

[Blothulfur]

I just look at the ruins of Loc Muinne and want to bloody explore the tower with the eye sigil and all the rest, such a visually stunning place with a deep history that i'm pissed off when ladybird time comes.

 

[RageGT]

It gives me closure, no matter which path. It has a huge lot of long conversations too and I love it!

If one thing bugs me on Act 3 is that there's no way to do all the endings and, even more, there's no way to try and seduce the Virgin of Aedirn.

 

[volsung]

I may have mentioned somewhere, or to someone, that Chapter 3 was awesome but just kind of short. It feels short, however, because we are at an impressive setting with a rich background. I just wanted to know more about Loc Muinne, about the Vrans, even about the political intrigue of the factions represented at the summit. There is SO much going on, that it is kind of amazing how everything ends up flowing well.

I hadn't thought about Ves to be honest. I just supposed Henselt did something with/to her... as he himself suggested it (could be bluffing) and she was acting weird! I honestly supposed he r*ped her and she didn't want to follow along. That's why he had to die, the bastard!

I suppose possible DLC's for Chapter 3 could be finding out what happened to Ves if you followed Roche's Path, or becoming more acquainted with Saskia (get your mind out of the gutter!) if you went with Iorveth.

I really liked Chapter 3 though, but didn't love it just because I wanted to stay longer and use my hard earned equipment on more beasties! That's what happens when you do things well, people want more!

 

[blubeetle]

Opinion contains spoilers below:

Spoiler

Personally, I'd prefer having to chase and combat Letho all over the ruined city to save Triss (if we take the Saskia path), while retaining the original dialogs in chunks, and/or in forms of documents, flashback, other means of revelations. In the end, Player is still being given the option of either to kill or release Letho, and then run back to pick up Triss, being hidden somewhere by Letho.

And make it a great cliff-hanger animation(s) if necessary--be it regarding the political turmoil ahead, or The Wild Hunt (my favorite), although I think both of these will be merged so tight in TW3.

This way, although the essence is ultimately the same, at the very least, most Players will not be feel cut short towards the end. Plus, it will give a vast and deeper opportunity for those who are developing emotional attachments towards the relationships--or romance, between Geralt and Triss.

 

[BluesBrotha.966]

The problem with chapter III being so short, is because of the amount of crossroads you can take during it. Don't get me wrong it's a great thing that offers you a different experience each time you replay the game, but personally I wouldn't mind sacrificing some of them for the sake of a little longer chapter III.

Just like Blothulfur mentioned, we get this ancient vran/elven city, but we don't get too many opportunities to explore it and fully enjoy it. I know that delaying the main plot at this point would only bring harm to the whole story, but it could've been done for the sake of the bigger picture, like quests involving the Wild Hunt in some way(like the Addan Deith sword).

It's not a typical confrontation of good and evil, so I can't imagine the Letho issue being resolved in any different way.

Overall, despite some flaws, it offers a great ending experience and leaves you hyped for more.

 

[Megakoresh]

Had The Witcher 2 be some kind of seconds-grade RPG and not the most epic game. Especially story-wise, I would probably lived Act III. But in a game like this? Meh. Comparing to the previous 2 acts Act III is VERY damn short, and the ending is rushed, unclear and doesn't look like an ending at all.
My biggest hope is that we will get a good LARGE piece of DLC fixing this nasty problem and continuing the story a little further. I would definitely not mind paying for this DLC, but I guess the name of this DLC will be The Witcher 3, which is sad since I doubt you can make such an epic (or even more epic) game in a year. Even with a fully developed engine.

 

[Blothulfur]

Little bugbear of mine. Armies of knights and soldiers with their baggage trains and camp followers should not be outpacing two men (or a witcher and a man/elf) even if those geezers are on foot, if cdproject wanted to expand the game in act 3 they could have some adventure befalling the gruesome twosome on the way to Loc Muinne or the lads arriving early and being drawn into the the mysteries that haunts the shadows of Loc Muinne.

 

[ratiasu220]

I liked it though would have loved if there was a (longer) ending cinematic.
I'm interested in the elven architecture in general so it was very nice to see a big elven city.

Have yet to try the Roche's path.

 

[coastie65]

I have played both paths and although I liked it, I thought it was a bit short and could have used a bit more. The Draw back would have been on Iorveth;s path as it is a bit difficult to get around in Loc Muinne.

 

[Suilebhain]

I think Act 3 is one gigantic gang rape where I am the one with my ass up over a barrel.

That whole sequence after getting arrested was nothing but 50+ added to my blood pressure. Even after visiting walkthrough sites I still can't figure it out, and visiting the sewers only to find that I can't get in while all these guards mysteriously pop up (where the fuck were they hiding?) is total bullshit.

If this is the way Witcher 3 is going to be, forget me buying it.

 

[dragonbird]

I think Act 3 is one gigantic gang rape where I am the one with my ass up over a barrel.

That whole sequence after getting arrested was nothing but 50+ added to my blood pressure. Even after visiting walkthrough sites I still can't figure it out,

It's a QTE as soon as you get control back. The problem is that the QTE marker is orange on an orange background, which means a lot of players don't notice it at first. If you make sure this quest is selected in your journal, it's easier to watch the "what to do next" text under the minimap. It changes when the QTE becomes available.

...and visiting the sewers only to find that I can't get in while all these guards mysteriously pop up

Are you going down into the hole in the ground in the middle of the market? Wrong sewer entrance. There's a door to the sewers near the area where Numa stands.

 

[username_3236740]

Loved the ending level, so much is revealed.I am just waiting on a sequel or a expansion or something so I can continue playing this game!

 

[mercannis]

I never understood the amount of fuss and bickering surrounding Act III and the epilogue, i thought it was well paced as we were nearing the end of our journey where all our questions would be answered, in the process creating more questions ofcourse.

The meeting of the rulers, how all the political machinations came together, the manouvering of the conclave it all came together beautifully for me. The ending itself having the option to walk away and let Letho go his own way is one of the most memorable endings ive had in gaming for years. All i can say is i want more of this

 

[eviltide]

I thought the game was a little too short over all. Yeah I have to admit, in act 3 I am wandering around looking at every nook and cranny trying to uncover more content I missed. I thought the game ended too abruptly and was a little disappointed with it. I even thought act 2 was over too quickly. The game seemed to keep running out of steam the further it got along in the story line.

Also since 1.3 and 1.35 I have encountered a ton of bugs that weren't there before (the worst one is when your keyboard stops working) I even had to roll back my drivers to get it to run properly, and noticed towards the end of the game where there are more things going on in the screen my computer doesn't like it any more. Didn't previously even have a hitch.

Technical gripes aside, I would have preferred there be more content, and perhaps some deeper side quests. Perhaps next time?

Mind you after complaining about that stuff, I still thought the game was the best story based rpg in years. Probably my fave since bloodlines which was also buggy as hell. I would love to see a more complex in depth game with less bugs next time.

 

[Zi0.306]

The city of Loc Muine was kind of boring to me, it could have some more sidequests and some fun things to do outside the city walls.

 

[freesia.430]

I must agree with the majority here. It was nice, but very very short. An ancient elven city would definitely deserve more time to be discovered... and as for the epilogue - I really appreciate the option to peaceful ending without killing the kingslayer. I´m not saying I went this way, but I didn´t expect such a freedom of choice even though it was claimed everywhere.

 

[godkingofdivineroad]

My main complaint about Act 3 is the same as most others: It was too short and there was too little to do. I found a lot of high-end gear(Deithwen, Zerrakintment, Addan Deith, Operator's Staff, Caerme, Vran Armor, Armor of Ysgith, Draug Armor etc) but by then there was little left to use it on.

Like getting Zerrakintment or Addan Deith, the strongest silver swords in the game only to find there's only one more monster left to fight.

Or like getting the Forgotten Vran Sword or Caerme, the best steel swords, and finding out that aside from a few mooks there's again only one opponent left to fight.

And so on...