How does XP work in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?

[varonecl]

How does XP work in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?

This may sound rhetorical, but it is a request for information. I hope a Dev can respond. I completed all of the sidequest in Velen due to the wait for patch 1.05. At this point I am level 13. Once I rejoined the Main Quest today by jumping into the Pyres of Novigrad I noticed that upon completion I only received 5XP. I saw that most people completing this quest received 200XP.

After some info searching I noticed that if you are over 6 levels of the recommended quest and that quest is grayed out you no longer receive XP for doing that Quest.

This is where my confusion is, that seems like a level cap system. How can I reach level 70 when the game is capping XP rewards? The majority of players are finishing the game somewhere in the 30-35 range.

Questions: If I do secondary quest then I will outpace the main story and receive no rewards and If i do the main quest I will outpace secondary quest and receive no XP rewards. What incentive is there to play these secondary missions if I am receiving no XP rewards? Why would there be 70 levels in a game where it is not conceivable to reach level 70? Even if I account for 30 more hours of gameplay in DLC how is it that we will conceivable reach a level 70 cap?

 

[Ravici]

You aren't supposed to reach 70. You're supposed to reach 35, hence the achievement.

 

[varonecl]

Why would I only want to reach Level 35? The Devs said there was NO LEVEL CAP, if I am only supposed to reach level 35 and the XP system in place assures that then isnt that a LEVEL CAP?

What is the incentive for going back to complete sidequest if there is no reward for doing them, it makes free roam at the end kid of pointless does it not?

 

[Ravici]

You should be around lvl 35 when you finish the game. That's the target.

Not being a cap means that they don't stop you from going past 35 but there's bugger all point... currently.

 

[varonecl]

SO if you wanted to go past level 35 how would you be able to accomplish this?

You would essentially receive no xp for completing anything left at the end of the game. Presumably everything would be either at level or below level to have any real XP gains worth farming for. That just sounds like a level cap and a silly one given that the best in gear for the Witcher sets all seem to hit at around level 29-31.

 

[Ravici]

You are correct. To go much above 35 you have to grind or cheat the system.

And as for the sets... don't believe the hype, they are not the best you will find in the game. Many of the lootable pieces are better than the set pieces.

 

[varonecl]

I have been noticing that some of the relic gear has been better than the Witcher Sets along with people posting about diagrams for levels beyond 35, but why put that in there if there is no means short of DLC to get to that level. That means the XP in DLC would have to be exponentially inflated.

I guess maybe i'll hold out hope for a New Game + system announcement, that is just extremely disappointing to learn what with them saying there was no level cap and all.

 

[Ravici]

I have been noticing that some of the relic gear has been better than the Witcher Sets along with people posting about diagrams for levels beyond 35, but why put that in there if there is no means short of DLC to get to that level. That means the XP in DLC would have to be exponentially inflated.

I guess maybe i'll hold out hope for a New Game + system announcement, that is just extremely disappointing to learn what with them saying there was no level cap and all.

Why do you want to be higher than 35? I actually went into the final section at 34 and dinged when the final fight finished.

Going any higher is pointless :/

 

[varonecl]

I just wanted to have a reason to actually go back and do the secondary and side quest. Not receiving any XP for going back and completing those seems pretty silly to me. Most people I know are getting to 30 without completing the areas and just sticking to the main quest and its necessary side quest.

Really no point in going back and doing those quest for no XP is there? I just expected there to be NO LEVEL CAP, not the illusion of NO LEVEL CAP.

For instance when I played Skyrim or Dark Souls, No Level Cap meant No Level Cap. I could keep playing with those same characters and gain levels by exploring all of the content. Of course I could beat Skyrim before I was level 40, or Souls on NG before 50, but the option was there to continue that grind, that is part of the fun of open world RPGs.

 

[RedBehrend]

Ok think of it this way, it's their game and they have plans for it.
They don't want you to be a super high level and were nice enough not to put a cap so you can mess around.
The more you push, fight, complain just proves more why games need to put a cap on the intended level to prevent you're over greed of wanting what isn't made/released yet.
They have some cool stuff coming up so relax.
They have redkit 2 coming up.

I'm talking like this because we keep having the same post over and over about XP and levels lol

 

[varonecl]

That is my point RedBehrend Red2Kit is not my concern, neither is expansion pass content. We are talking about the Witcher 3 as released today.

You are talking as if there is no level cap as the Devs have stated while the truth is there is indeed a level cap. The truth is there is no reason to roam and complete secondary or side quest because you gain nothing by doing so in terms of level, the game is already capped at level 35.

I think the reason you keep seeing threads like these is because it is an issue. If CD Projekt would have said there was a level cap then I doubt people would be complaining about level caps. If CD Projekt released the game without an XP bug then people would not be talking about XP, but that is not the case so people are interested in what is in front of them now.

I like the game its just weird to run around the world to feel like you are working toward a level and then see you are getting no XP because you are not within the linear narative of a modular open world. Not having that content to drive players toward a true No Level Cap game is just poor design, and that isnt being butthurt about seeing post about XP, its just truth.

 

[RedBehrend]

That is my point RedBehrend Red2Kit is not my concern, neither is expansion pass content. We are talking about the Witcher 3 as released today.

You are talking as if there is no level cap as the Devs have stated while the truth is there is indeed a level cap. The truth is there is no reason to roam and complete secondary or side quest because you gain nothing by doing so in terms of level, the game is already capped at level 35.

I think the reason you keep seeing threads like these is because it is an issue. If CD Projekt would have said there was a level cap then I doubt people would be complaining about level caps. If CD Projekt released the game without an XP bug then people would not be talking about XP, but that is not the case so people are interested in what is in front of them now.

I like the game its just weird to run around the world to feel like you are working toward a level and then see you are getting no XP because you are not within the linear narative of a modular open world. Not having that content to drive players toward a true No Level Cap game is just poor design, and that isnt being butthurt about seeing post about XP, its just truth.

You gain little stories, fights, recipes and gear doing side quests if you do them around the same time as they are optional
There hasn't been any reported coded caps in levels
They have hinted at repeatable quests and higher levels and they can't give you what's not finished or created.
If you beat a game and it ends it sucks but then you replay, wait, make your own fun or play another game.
The only difference here is since they allow you to keep playing everyone's complaining that there is nothing to do right now. If they woulda locked it then everyone would complain they can't keep playing so there is no win when it comes to the new kind of gamer

 

[varonecl]

I am an old school gamer. Pen and Paper DnD. I am only saying that when you sell something you get what you pay for. No there is no hard coded cap that says you can't go beyond level 35, but when there is no means to go beyond 35 because the story has run out and the XP generation has dried out that is a design cap. There is no reaching level 70. Main point is when you advertise for level 70 then you should have content to support level 70. If you want to talk about old school gaming, a game was released on day 1 with no need for patch or DLC. I am playing 4-5 other games at the moment.

Should have been an easy fix to have enemy scaling for areas. I am sure the mod community will do a lot with the game. They have already begun and Red2Kit is not out as of yet.

 

[RedBehrend]

I am an old school gamer. Pen and Paper DnD. I am only saying that when you sell something you get what you pay for. No there is no hard coded cap that says you can't go beyond level 35, but when there is no means to go beyond 35 because the story has run out and the XP generation has dried out that is a design cap. There is no reaching level 70. Main point is when you advertise for level 70 then you should have content to support level 70. If you want to talk about old school gaming, a game was released on day 1 with no need for patch or DLC. I am playing 4-5 other games at the moment.

Should have been an easy fix to have enemy scaling for areas. I am sure the mod community will do a lot with the game. They have already begun and Red2Kit is not out as of yet.

I get where your at and if I sound short I have answered this over 100 times so it's nothing personal
Note: I don't think they ever said level 70 at launch I believe they said they plan to have quests without a set cap but they never said when.

 

[varonecl]

No I am sorry if I sound defensive. You do not sound short. I am just bummed to find that out at the moment. I was really ready to invest Skyrim like hours into the game without the aide of the Modding Community. Its just a bit disappointing. I still intend to have fun with the game as much as I can.