2 things I wish were fixed - Dijkstra and Saskia (spoilers)

[Paul_cz]

2 things I wish were fixed - Dijkstra and Saskia (spoilers)

Disclaimer - I consider TW3 astonishing achievement and my favourite game of all time. It is in fact so good, that these imperfections stand out a bit more because of that.

1. Dijkstra - he is one of the best characters in the books AND in TW3. CDP writers absolutely nailed him in every way, as did the voice actor.
Which only makes his last 5 minutes on the scene even more heartbreaking - not because it is sad, but simply because it was completely out of character. Him going after Geralt was completely illogical and bizzare. I think everyone can agree on that.
Even still - if it would require too much work to rework that part of the game, I at least wish we could dispatch him without slaying him like a common bandit. For example if it was possible to Axii him and then knock him unconscious, I would be a lot happier with that. Although of course ideally his "last scene" would be rewritten to make more sense.
Is there any possibility to see this happen?

2. Saskia - I went with Iorveth in TW2 (to me that path is more fun, and makes more sense, since Geralt would go with his friend Zoltan IMO). Saskia is one of my favourite characters in TW2, so I decided to cure her. I was saddened when I found out she was not present in TW3 (4 years ago, I started a thread here asking "which characters do you want to see in TW3" and Saskia was the first I mentioned). Then I was glad, when in dialogue with Philippa, that I can at least ask about Saskia.
Imagine by disappointment when Geralt asks Philippa:
"Did she manage to get herself free of your spell?"
I mean, I freaking cured her. I imported the save. So perhaps Geralt should not be asking this
Philippa says that she lost control of Saskia when the war broke out and does not know where she is.
So at least she is alive.
Still, I would like to see that line ammended to reflect what was done in TW2 - it was really jarring like this.
Ideally of course I would love to see Saskia again, as well as Villentretenmerth, in a DLC/Expansion

Then there are few more things story related that could stand improvement (Wild Hunt/Eredin etc) but those have been elaborated a lot here.

 

[Toyen]

Yes Saskia, big disappointment : (

Could you please upload a video of the dialogue you get with Philippa about her?

 

[Paul_cz]

Yes Saskia, big disappointment : (

Could you please upload a video of the dialogue you get with Philippa about her?

I uploaded it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZPA2ElnUg

I really wish it got patched to reflect the save state and Geralt said "I managed to free her of your spell, any idea where she is?" or something similar.

 

[Toyen]

Thanks a lot!

Yes this dialogue option should only pop up if you did not free saskia and did not kill her leaving her under Philippa´s control.

Otherwise it makes no sense.

 

[Paul_cz]

Yeah basically it would be nice if it was patched up to provide alternative lines depending on which savegame gets imported.

 

[Willowhugger]

I'd like a retcon that the Dijkstra you kill is a Doppler.

It would explain why he's quoting MacBeth and his bizarre behavior.

Also, why he'd be stupid enough to be there during an ambush with Geralt.

 

[Paul_cz]

I'd like a retcon that the Dijkstra you kill is a Doppler.

It would explain why he's quoting MacBeth and his bizarre behavior.

Also, why he'd be stupid enough to be there during an ambush with Geralt.

I actually liked Dijkstra quoting macbeth, that was funny. But yeah Doppler explanation would be interesting, but I am not sure how it squares up with Dopplers being incapable of evilness.

 

[Willowhugger]

I actually liked Dijkstra quoting macbeth, that was funny. But yeah Doppler explanation would be interesting, but I am not sure how it squares up with Dopplers being incapable of evilness.

Eh, I would assume it was Dijkstra's plan. It's just the Doppler screwed it up to be theatrical.

"He was supposed to kill Roche and Thaler and Ves, but thought to do it when they were with you. Idiot."

 

[Paul_cz]

Eh, I would assume it was Dijkstra's plan. It's just the Doppler screwed it up to be theatrical.

"He was supposed to kill Roche and Thaler and Ves, but thought to do it when they were with you. Idiot."

No I meant that Dopplers are supposed to be inherently good afaik, so any killing should be out of the question for them, Geralt or no Geralt.
But as I said, I do think the doppler idea could probably be handled in a way that would make sense. I hope CDP will find a way to rework this, whatever the way.

 

[Gerald01]

No I meant that Dopplers are supposed to be inherently good afaik, so any killing should be out of the question for them, Geralt or no Geralt.
But as I said, I do think the doppler idea could probably be handled in a way that would make sense. I hope CDP will find a way to rework this, whatever the way.

I thought the passages referred to Dudu specifically not all dopplers.

 

[Goodmongo]

I'd like a retcon that the Dijkstra you kill is a Doppler.

It would explain why he's quoting MacBeth and his bizarre behavior.

Also, why he'd be stupid enough to be there during an ambush with Geralt.

But siding against Dijkstra gets you a Nilfgaard win. So to me it's a choice of evils. Kill a friend or have Emhyr win. I would have loved an option to convince Thaler, Ves and Roche that they are short sighted and that the Emhyr will lose. Then a secondary option to force Dijkstra to let Tameria go independent. But that would be like having your cake and eating it to.

 

[Gerald01]

But siding against Dijkstra gets you a Nilfgaard win. So to me it's a choice of evils. Kill a friend or have Emhyr win. I would have loved an option to convince Thaler, Ves and Roche that they are short sighted and that the Emhyr will lose. Then a secondary option to force Dijkstra to let Tameria go independent. But that would be like having your cake and eating it to.

But those are meta reasons, while Willow was talking of the characters' pov.

 

[Willowhugger]

But those are meta reasons, while Willow was talking of the characters' pov.

Yeah, there's also the lack of a "WHAT THE HELL, ROCHE?" option. Which is something which should exist in a bit stronger language than "Emhyr will screw you."

As I posted in the Politics thread.

‘Ciri was right,’ whispered the Witcher. ‘Neutrality . . . Neutrality is always contemptible.’

‘What?’

‘Nothing. But what about Kaedwen, Dandelion? Why didn’t Henselt of Kaedwen come to Demavend and Meve’s aid? They had a pact, after all; they were bound by an alliance. But even if Henselt, following Foltest’s example, pisses on the signatures and seals on documents, and the royal word means nothing to him, he cannot be stupid, can he? Doesn’t he understand that after the fall of Aedim and the deal with Temeria, it will be his turn; that he’s next on the Nilfgaardian list? Kaedwen ought to support Demavend out of good sense. There may no longer be faith nor truth in the world, but surely good sense still exists. What say you, Dandelion? Is there still good sense in the world? Or do only contemptibility and contempt remain?’

Geralt's opinion of Temerians looking out for themselves at the expense of Aedirn and Lyria is....pretty damn clear.

It is NOT understanding.

 

[devivre]

Disclaimer - I consider TW3 astonishing achievement and my favourite game of all time. It is in fact so good, that these imperfections stand out a bit more because of that.

1. Dijkstra - he is one of the best characters in the books AND in TW3. CDP writers absolutely nailed him in every way, as did the voice actor.
Which only makes his last 5 minutes on the scene even more heartbreaking - not because it is sad, but simply because it was completely out of character. Him going after Geralt was completely illogical and bizzare. I think everyone can agree on that.
Even still - if it would require too much work to rework that part of the game, I at least wish we could dispatch him without slaying him like a common bandit. For example if it was possible to Axii him and then knock him unconscious, I would be a lot happier with that. Although of course ideally his "last scene" would be rewritten to make more sense.
Is there any possibility to see this happen?

2. Saskia - I went with Iorveth in TW2 (to me that path is more fun, and makes more sense, since Geralt would go with his friend Zoltan IMO). Saskia is one of my favourite characters in TW2, so I decided to cure her. I was saddened when I found out she was not present in TW3 (4 years ago, I started a thread here asking "which characters do you want to see in TW3" and Saskia was the first I mentioned). Then I was glad, when in dialogue with Philippa, that I can at least ask about Saskia.
Imagine by disappointment when Geralt asks Philippa:
"Did she manage to get herself free of your spell?"
I mean, I freaking cured her. I imported the save. So perhaps Geralt should not be asking this
Philippa says that she lost control of Saskia when the war broke out and does not know where she is.
So at least she is alive.
Still, I would like to see that line ammended to reflect what was done in TW2 - it was really jarring like this.
Ideally of course I would love to see Saskia again, as well as Villentretenmerth, in a DLC/Expansion

Then there are few more things story related that could stand improvement (Wild Hunt/Eredin etc) but those have been elaborated a lot here.

i agree on point 2 but I don't see an issue considering Dijkstra.

 

[OptoNick]

Don't really care about Saskia (and even glad that there's no Iorveth), but the death of Dijkstra was really badly motivated. It falls in the same category of bullshit if Emhyr would try to fight with Geralt on swords for some reason.

 

[Goodmongo]

I think the majority will agree that Saskia was an interesting and sympathetic character. But if you are honest you will also have to admit that she's a very minor character. In reality she was about as important as Yerpin. So while I can understand that people would want to hear about or see her it should also be understood that she really has no impact upon the war or this story.

 

[Willowhugger]

I think the majority will agree that Saskia was an interesting and sympathetic character. But if you are honest you will also have to admit that she's a very minor character. In reality she was about as important as Yerpin. So while I can understand that people would want to hear about or see her it should also be understood that she really has no impact upon the war or this story.

Well, she's a minor character in the same way Ves or Roche is a minor character. She plays a rather huge role in the Iorveth arc and many people were invested in the Aedirn story.

Given how important Aedirn was in the Second Nilfgaard War as well as the atrocities there, many people thought we'd at least get it referenced.

 

[Gerald01]

Well, she's a minor character in the same way Ves or Roche is a minor character. She plays a rather huge role in the Iorveth arc and many people were invested in the Aedirn story.

G

Yes but those 2 cannot die in W2. Even Iorveth got the don't ask don't tell treatment, at least till now.
So I'm not saying she should not have guest-starred, but her exclusion is somewaht understandable.

 

[swordsandroses]

Disclaimer - I consider TW3 astonishing achievement and my favourite game of all time. It is in fact so good, that these imperfections stand out a bit more because of that.

2. Saskia - I went with Iorveth in TW2 (to me that path is more fun, and makes more sense, since Geralt would go with his friend Zoltan IMO). Saskia is one of my favourite characters in TW2, so I decided to cure her. I was saddened when I found out she was not present in TW3 (4 years ago, I started a thread here asking "which characters do you want to see in TW3" and Saskia was the first I mentioned). Then I was glad, when in dialogue with Philippa, that I can at least ask about Saskia.
Imagine by disappointment when Geralt asks Philippa:
"Did she manage to get herself free of your spell?"
I mean, I freaking cured her. I imported the save. So perhaps Geralt should not be asking this
Philippa says that she lost control of Saskia when the war broke out and does not know where she is.
So at least she is alive.
Still, I would like to see that line ammended to reflect what was done in TW2 - it was really jarring like this.
Ideally of course I would love to see Saskia again, as well as Villentretenmerth, in a DLC/Expansion

Then there are few more things story related that could stand improvement (Wild Hunt/Eredin etc) but those have been elaborated a lot here.

This is the second most jarring inconsistency, beside Ciri's relationship, if not the biggest issue with carry over from Witcher 2.
It is certainly my biggest disappointment with Witcher 3. I'll try to explain.

Iorveth and Saskia are just as important as Roche and Ves, and arguably more charismatic, better developed and world entwined. Going with them is literally 50% of Witcher 2. That is not small. That is not one of "16" possible endings.
It is a monumental character development and a life choice for Geralt, still recovering from amnesia.

For players who chose to help the non-humans guerrillas and a leader fighting for equal rights, instead helping a hired murderer and a rotten king, for players who saw Geralt helping his dwarven friends and protecting the oppressed, like Geralt in the books always ends up doing, there is no acknowledgement whatsoever.

Now, if we look at Roche and Ves, their role in Witcher 3 is pretty small, we have one small side quest to save Ves, they come help defend Kaer Morhen, and later they take part in Radovid's assassination.
I'm not complaining that their role should be bigger, it's pretty descent for recurring characters (look at poor Letho), and most of all, it's a nice and respectful treat to all players who chose Roche patch.

I fail to see how was implementing Iorveth and Saskia too difficult, or too irrelevant, based on the same game time and involvement from Roche's role in Witcher 3.
- CDPR can literally replace Roche's camp with a squirrel/Aedirnian refugees camp. They replace Roche and Ves with Iorveth and Saskia.
- Instead of saving Ves, now we save Iorveth from getting killed by some soldiers wanting to rape and murder village non humans, and Geralt and Saskia race to his rescue.
- Same applies for Reasons of State, Emhyr cuts a deal with Saskia for Aedirn to become a vassal non-human state, like Dol Blathana, and they in return decide to kill Radovid, who is picking on non humans in absence of mages.
- Thaler can stay regardless, only this time he can complain about working with amateurs and Iorveth responds with jabs of his own.
- They can also come to defend Kaer Morhen, literally just replace dialogue lines and character models, Iorveth's squirrels are basically experts of guerrilla warfare.
I don't see any world wide butterfly effect, that would make this too difficult a task, as far as NPC's reactions are involved.

And it would show consistency and respect for choices made available by CDPR and taken by players. I sincerely hope this is at least considered in the Witcher HQ.

 

[Toyen]

Yeah good points you have there!

I just want to see Iorveth and Saskia so bad : ( I hope they become a couple.

We should start a change.org petition : D