It's truly bizarre. They built him up for three games over what...8 years? Not trying to rub it in, but I will never understand what went wrong here. How do you mess up a villain you've known about for that long?
In the first game he was not really a villain, now that the Wild Hunt had to be the main antagonists and there is no mystery around them, the writers just might not have had any really good ideas. But it does not look like the Wild Hunt was a particularly high priority in the development, either.
Geralt: You Bjorn of Dalvik?
Bjorn: Dalvik... is no more.
Geralt: I gotta hear what happened there.
Bjorn: What's it to you? Go! Be on your way,
Geralt: I was following the Wild Hunt, but lost its trail. I was hoping you could help.
Bjorn: Another come to hear the madman's tale? Well, you're out of luck.
Geralt: No one believes your story, right? Took you in like good hosts should, but they don't trust you.
Geralt: Well, that's not me. I might believe you. I've faced the Hunt, got a score to settle with them.
Bjorn: You know nothing. You didn't see what I saw.
Geralt: If you don't want to talk, don't. I just need to know which way the Hunt went.
Bjorn: I saw a long ship, made of the claws of dead men. The wraiths drove everyone to the shore, my daughter too.
Geralt: Naglfar! Which direction did it go? This is important.
Bjorn: East. They flew off towards Hindarsfjall.
Geralt: Thanks for your help.
Bjorn: Tell me, why do you seek them? No man who meets the Hunt, returns to this world.
Geralt: I returned.
Speculating, but I think when the main plot was changed from hunting the Hunt, to tracking Ciri, that's when a lot of the problems occurred.
They also said, in the 2013 interview with Game Informer, that the Hunt would not be another ancient evil, but that they would have had clear motivations and goals. Geralt would also constantly feel their presence lingering over him. Again, I think that was the orignal plan.
Man, I would kill to read these earlier scripts. The dialogue is fantastic.
I disagree with this. I think they had a bunch of reall cool ideas, but most got cut.
They also said, in the 2013 interview with Game Informer, that the Hunt would not be another ancient evil, but that they would have had clear motivations and goals.
Crach: Greetings, White Wolf. You took your sweet time coming.
Geralt: I was hunting a forktail. Udalryk paid good coin for its head.
Crach: Udalryk!? Hahaha. That tight-fisted bastard. Probably haggled like a fishmongers wife, but we'll not talk in the stables. Come! I shall tell you why I summoned you.
Crach: You've no doubt heard about Dalvik? Whole village burned to ashes, its inhabitants gone.
Geralt: Another border skirmish with Madman Lugos?
Crach: Nay! The sole survivor claims it was wraiths. The Wild Hunt, on a raid.
Geralt: Where's this survivor now?
Crach: His name's Bjorn. Lost his child in Dalvik. Now he lives with his brother, in Farylund.
Geralt: I'll talk to him. Could be over the shock by now.
Crach: Foul times are upon us. Always took the Wild Hunt for a dark vision, a nightmare that fades with the rising son.
Geralt: Gotta go to Farylund. If the Hunt's been there, I might find something that'll get me back on its trail
Crach: I was hoping you'd stay for the evening feast. As the years go by, I have fewer and fewer mates who'll join me for a drink, and a few old war stories.
Geralt: Another time, Crach. Need to talk to Bjorn as soon as possible.
Crach: In that case, godspeed! And remember, you'll always be welcome in my home.
Geralt: "You Bjorn of Dalvik?" Bjorn: Dalvik... is no more. Geralt: I gotta hear what happened there. Bjorn: What's it to you? Go! Be on your way, Geralt: I was following the Wild Hunt, but lost its trail. I was hoping you could help. Bjorn: Another come to hear the madman's tale? Well, you're out of luck. Geralt: No one believes your story, right? Took you in like good hosts should, but they don't trust you. Geralt: Well, that's not me. I might believe you. I've faced the Hunt, got a score to settle with them. Bjorn: You know nothing. You didn't see what I saw. Geralt: If you don't want to talk, don't. I just need to know which way the Hunt went. Bjorn: I saw a long ship, made of the claws of dead men. The wraiths drove everyone to the shore, my daughter too. Geralt: Naglfar! Which direction did it go? This is important. Bjorn: East. They flew off towards Hindarsfjall. Geralt: Thanks for your help. Bjorn: Tell me, why do you seek them? No man who meets the Hunt, returns to this world. Geralt: I returned
Here's some more dialogue with Crach about the Hunt. I think this is why he shows up at the end of the game, to fight them.
Apparently, there might have been a battle on the sea between the Wild Hunt and Crach's and Emhyr's fleet, with destroyed ships etc
"Geralt, have some dignity. You know how this will end."
I thought it was said during Cave of Dreams, but it's not there. Is it a combat line, perhaps?
It is in Eredin's voice set (eredin_vset.w2scene), and it does look like a combat line, but I am not sure exactly when it is said.
The way i see this situation is a bit different. I think Eredin having not many lines and the villains side not being detailed fits well with the story. As i see it in the story, Geralt,Ciri and Yennefer did not care who the villain was. In that sense we do not see a lot of details concerning Eredin or Wild Hunt or any other villainous group. Because they didnt care. I felt like Geralt and Yennefer were ready to face anything to save Ciri. They could be wraiths, ghosts, elves or evil clowns for all they cared. At some point Geralt says something like: ''It just so happens we are willing to do anything for some people''. I think that was it. Less talking more doing. He loved Ciri they were gonna hurt Ciri so he reached back to his sword. For whatever might get in the way.
The hunt in TW1 was mysterious Geralt was curious yet not much was known. This here in TW3 is different i think. It s not that he couldnt interact more with the villains because they were unknown. He could. There could be more interaction. But the story i think made it so that Geralt just doesnt wanna interact with them. He s like to heck with who or what they are we gotta look out for one another. I think it would be weird if there was a bunch of interaction between Ciri, Geralt and Yen and Eredin. Eredin wanted Ciri. They werent about to agree.If they were going for a vague, mysterious threat not meant to be fully explained, like the reapers in ME1 or the Hunt in TW1, there are far better ways to do it. The cut content along with other difficulties clearly screwed this aspect of the story. I refuse to believe they thought what little Eredin said would be sufficient. The Reapers, incidentally, are a text book example of how to ruin a villain. They were fucking terrifying in the first game, but seeing how Bioware killed their potential is clear in hindsight. The devs didn't plan it through. It feels similar to the Wild Hunt, actually. When I got to Eredin and everything just fell flat I was thinking it's ME3 all over again.