The Triss content and the inconsistency of our romance's choice

[Costa417]

well, THAT is something i completely agree. That would be a whole other story. But yeah, the save import was kinda useless. But we got Letho..which is nice. .. i guess

The save import was not useless to me. If u talk to the embassador the first time u visit vizima, the results of your action will be shown and i liked that "war map" part, i admit it. However i believe that they could have handle the save import in a much more impactful way

 

[luc0s]

I think the whole starting off single idea was just to give a blank slate for new players. No commitments to start off with, let the players decide later. It is kinda annoying of those importing saves though.

To be honest it makes perfect sense that Geralt starts single at the beginning of TW3, even for those who imported a save where Geralt romanced Triss (myself included).

Geralt just regained his memories and learned that his one-time lover returned. Geralt has conflicting feelings and clearly still loves Yen. He wishes to seek out Yennefer to see what's up. Triss doesn't like this but she's understanding of it, so Geralt and Triss break up on good terms and Geralt goes off to search for Yen.

Then later in the game when Geralt finally figures out his feelings for both ladies he can finally make a decision who he wants to stay with.

It makes perfect sense.

 

[Costa417]

To be honest it makes perfect sense that Geralt starts single at the beginning of TW3, even for those who imported a save where Geralt romanced Triss (myself included).

Geralt just regained his memories and learned that his one-time lover returned. Geralt has conflicting feelings and clearly still loves Yen. He wishes to seek out Yennefer to see what's up. Triss doesn't like this but she's understanding of it, so Geralt and Triss break up on good terms and Geralt goes off to search for Yen.

Then later in the game when Geralt finally figures out his feelings for both ladies he can finally make a decision who he wants to stay with.

It makes perfect sense.

I agree with you, But the inconsistency remains the biggest point of this thread

 

[Noobseals]

the save import was kinda useless. But we got Letho..which is nice. .. i guess

It is really useless...I have no Letho though I'm sure I didn't kill him in TW2. (tech problem though)

 

[Hazevamp]

You can say "my Geralt" as much as you want but the fact of the matter is that Geralt isn't your character, never was, never will be.

Just because you can make decisions as Geralt doesn't mean he's your character.

Geralt is Andrzej Sapkowski's character first and CDPR's character second. CDPR allows us to make choices as Geralt, true, but they tried to keep each possible choice true to Sapkowski's character. None of the choices you get to make are really out of character for Geralt. So there is some leeway to roleplay Geralt, but ultimately you're playing as a predefined character that isn't yours.

I think CDPR did a really fantastic job at finding a good balance between staying true to the Geralt from the books and giving us some freedom to roleplay as Geralt and making decisions as him. To say "if we were meant to follow the books then there would be no need for choices to begin with" is just false and doesn't make any sense.

I think we've all had situations in our lives where we had to make difficult decisions and I think we all sometimes second-guess our past decisions. I know I have. Our choices in real-life aren't set in stone and sometimes we can change our minds or see merit in multiple options presented to us. This isn't different for Geralt. It's perfectly possible for CDPR to stay true to Sapkowski's Geralt while also giving us multiple options to choose from and I think they did exactly that.

Whelp, I disagree with you.

He is mine. The motivations behind his pre-written dialogue and actions are mine and the game allows me to express his feelings the way I want when I'm given the options to do so. Your opinion can define any RPG character. You select the dialogue, you select their class (if the choice is given), etc. They were all written by someone else and that someone decides what the character says at x time and place and how the world responds to it if they do. That does not mean that you cannot connect to the character and find your own motivations for the character's dialogue and actions.

There is a reason why different actors play similar roles differently and a reason why one can say something like "I prefer Carey Elwes's Robin Hood to Kevin Costner's."

And I don't even believe you really believe what you've written. You just want everyone to accept your narrative, which you personally believe is the only canon outcome of the "real" Geralt. In other words, you simply think your Geralt is the way to go. While at the same time telling others that theirs isn't.

Not gonna fly.

 

[Costa417]

It is really useless...I have no Letho though I'm sure I didn't kill him in TW2. (tech problem though)

The useless part of the import is precisely all act 2 and act 3 (in W2). No matter what path you chose, iorveth or roche, redania will invade kaedwen, upper aedirn will fall into nilfgaardian hands. Saskia and iorveth faith unknown, no mention what so ever.

 

[luc0s]

He is mine.

No he isn't.

The motivations behind his pre-written dialogue and actions are mine and the game allows me to express his feelings the way I want when I'm given the options to do so.

Nope, his motivations are already set in stone by Andrzej Sapkowski and the writers at CDPR. You merely choose which one of the multiple pre-defined paths and motivations Geralt goes with.

Your opinion can define any RPG character. You select the dialogue, you select their class (if the choice is given), etc. They were all written by someone else and that someone decides what the character says at x time and place and how the world responds to it if they do. That does not mean that you cannot connect to the character and find your own motivations for the character's dialogue and actions.

That would be true for a blank-slate character such as the Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition, but that's not true for Geralt, a pre-defined character with a long history who's already completely fleshed-out before the game trilogy even starts.

CDPR gives us some room and leeway to roleplay and get in the head of Geralt, true, but it's all well within the constraints set by CDPR based on the pre-defined character from the books.

There is a reason why different actors play similar roles differently and a reason why one can say something like "I prefer Carey Elwes's Robin Hood to Kevin Costner's."

That is true. That's exactly the kind of leeway I'm talking about when it comes to playing as Geralt in TW3. You could basically say we are the actors and Geralt is the character we play.

But would you say Sherlock is Benedict Cumberbatch's character? Because I would disagree with you. Sherlock is Arthur Conan Doyle's character first and Steven Moffat's character second. Benedict Cumberbatch merely plays the character to the best of his abilities. Same with us and Geralt. Geralt is Andrzej Sapkowski's character first and CDPR's character second. We merely play Geralt to the best of our abilities.

And I don't even believe you really believe what you've written. You just want everyone to accept your narrative, which you personally believe is the only canon outcome of the "real" Geralt. In other words, you simply think your Geralt is the way to go. While at the same time telling others that theirs isn't.

Not gonna fly.

That's not true at all. You can play Geralt any way you want and I'd be completely fine with it.

What I'm not fine with is when people start inserting their own headcanon into the story, especially when it contradicts the pre-established lore or characters and then simply saying "oh it doesn't matter, this is my Geralt and my Geralt is like this". Sorry but no, "your Geralt" does not exist outside of your imagination. The only real Geralt is the one written by Sapkowski and CDPR. Headcanon has no merit when discussing the content of a story, not even in an RPG.

I'm not personally accusing you of doing this. I haven't really read any of your posts except for your replies to my posts, so I don't know if you're guilty of doing this, but I've seen people doing it and I think it's just stupid and pointless.

 

[moonknightgog]

The save import was not useless to me. If u talk to the embassador the first time u visit vizima, the results of your action will be shown and i liked that "war map" part, i admit it. However i believe that they could have handle the save import in a much more impactful way

I'm sorry, but what results?
Kaedwen is fallen along with Aedirn, no matter what. Henselt die no matter what.
Not a mention to Anais, Iorveth and Saskia, Vergen seems not existent.
If you prevent the mage to be accused for the regicide, nothing change, there is a witch hunt no matter what.

 

[DaWitcher]

To be honest it makes perfect sense that Geralt starts single at the beginning of TW3, even for those who imported a save where Geralt romanced Triss (myself included).

Geralt just regained his memories and learned that his one-time lover returned. Geralt has conflicting feelings and clearly still loves Yen. He wishes to seek out Yennefer to see what's up. Triss doesn't like this but she's understanding of it, so Geralt and Triss break up on good terms and Geralt goes off to search for Yen.

Then later in the game when Geralt finally figures out his feelings for both ladies he can finally make a decision who he wants to stay with.

It makes perfect sense.

We can agree on that but like everyone else is saying me included but, after my character make a decision to choose a romantic interest nothing happens. The rest of the game does not acknowledge my choice. Instead the game continues like "hey buddy you are wrong" your choice doesn't matter.

I can go to Mars with Triss and it still would not matter, Ciri will swing by yearly to pick up up for our vacation in the northern realms.

 

[xE1NSTE1Nx2049]

Nope, she was living opently, she had a house (which I believe Yen's refers to as a cozy flat), which you find without needing any directions from anyone, implying that Yen gave you said directions.

The house is ransacked and is being looted as you arrive in Novigrad, implying the event just happened before you arrived. From the clues there you find she was posing as a herbalist/healer. You also find her clothes lying around, pointing to the fact that she had to leave in a hurry.

Yes, she did have her own house, but we don't know when she left. Just because there are looters going through it upon our arrival, it does not imply that she had just left. She could have left at any time prior to this. I agree it more likely that looters would be going through her stuff quickly but this is not proof of her recent departure. Since Triss already has her plan for the mages' escape fairly extensively developed, I think this points to the program not being a recent development. When you first find her in her secondary house, her hiding place so to speak, she has all her magical stuff set up and the top floor decorated and all of her belongings unpacked. Another clue that indicates she left a little while ago.

The herbs you find are actually probably from her own personal stash. Remember that she is allergic to magic potions and needs natural remedies for any healing.

They go into great and foolish lengths to find a way to fix the phylactery, using a method that on itself offers little chance of success with great risks involved, when something far more logical and convenient was in hand.

I don't think the method they employ has little chance of success with great risk. It does entail a great deal of risk but I think it also offers a fair to good chance of it getting done. It also serves to get you tied into the criminal underworld.

I mean, just talking to her, how dangerous would that be?

Yeah, I'll give you this one. Just speaking with Triss probably wouldn't have been all that dangerous. Perhaps she didn't even want to chance it though. If Triss gets involved, however, she might get sucked into the whole thing and might not be able to get out. Perhaps Ciri was keeping her distance to try to ensure Triss's safety. This is all to say that I don't mind that Triss wasn't your source of Ciri information. It is explained in a way that is fairly believable and serves as a good plot device.

To elaborate, one of Yen's biggest selling points, and the reason why's forced this way, is because of her relationship with Ciri, the subject of our quest. Had they shown Triss interacting with her, how close they were together, whatever else they might have done together in restoring the phylactery, in the players' eyes, it would have put both women in the same place in that regard. And that would have made Yen's over-presence less justified to them.

I definitely would have liked to have seen a little bit more Triss-Ciri interaction. It would have helped to make her feel more central in the final acts. Not just like she is window dressing after Novigrad. :X

1. White Orchard
2. Velen
3. Skellige (maybe saling from a village along the coasts due to the blockade)
4. Novigrad
5. Caer Morhen as the place where the final choice is made

I think it would have been prudent to not divide the game into distinct regions. Like you go through Velen, you go to Novigrad, you head off to Skellige, you come back to Velen, a little bit more in Novigrad, and finally you wrap up Skellige. And, as you said, you don't need to lock in your choice until just before Kaer Morhen. I rather like the environment of Velen and I was a little bit disappointed that after you are done there, you never really need to go back unless you're looking for the Master Armorer or going treasure hunting.

Dandelion, Zoltan, and Priscilla for example.

Well, like I said before, at least Dandelion's absence is explained for the earlier part. He's in jail. Doesn't explain why there couldn't have been some more of him later. Zoltan too. He could've been there. And with Priscilla, she gets hurt and remains in the hospital for the rest of the game. Kind of bugged me that after a certain amount of time or quests have been completed she couldn't have been moved to the Chameleon to finish her recovery. A lot of characters disappear and I certainly would have liked some more of them but I think Triss is the most grievous example because she is actually physically there. Like she is there in Skellige and she is present at Kaer Morhen, but she doesn't really say much during those sections. As has been stated before, she is mostly decorative in those sections.

I play the Skellige part first, so that Geralt will finish his flirting and shit before I do the Novigrad quests, just for my own narrative

This is what I will do on my next playthrough. Saving the Triss stuff until there has been some closure on the Yennefer side of things.

Finally voted myself.
Think everything I wanted to say has already been said but I wanted to point out that in my opinion the character of triss in w3 is by far the best compared to previous witcher games (there´s so much room for interpreting etc)
Thats also why I think there´s so much potential left.

Welcome :welcome: Thank you for the support. We are trying our best here. I agree there is a ton of potential and she has undergone a lot of character development and that is part of why I am here. I would like for them to realize her potential and possibly implement some fixes.

I've played it how it was supposed to be: Velen - Novigrad and then Skelliege and
i will continue to play in that order, because for Geralt realising his love for Triss
even bound by the "last wish" seems even bigger emotion. (at least that's my interpretation).

I will be doing Velen, Novigrad main quests, half of the side quests and half of the main quests in Skellige (break the bond), and then back to Novigrad for side quests and then finishing Skellige. It'll play out like this in my head: Geralt is focused on Ciri and reuniting with Yennefer throughout Velen. Upon getting to Novigrad and meeting Triss in the first quest and the torture scene, he would realize that there is still something between them. He then continues on the hunt for Ciri, fully intending to pick Yennefer, but after spending some time with her in Skellige he realizes he may have been wrong. The seeds of doubt were planted by his reunion with Triss. He then breaks the Last Wish, and at the last moment, realizes he can't go through with Yennefer because of Triss. He then goes back to Novigrad to get her and she confesses she can't go with him because of the Witch Hunts. You then resolve to help her with her problem and get her back.

I think this sort of a narrative sequence will help a little bit in the early sections. Still won't help with the later sections and the inconsistencies, but it could help ease my mind.

The Now or Never side quest is another matter. I think that quest should be played when the game prompts you to collect allies for the KM battle (Brothers in Arms quest). It would seem to fit better with main quest events at that time than at any other time in the game. It would also make her absence from KM make more sense initially, since you never sent her there until the Wild Hunt battle

This is a good point. This would be a good opportunity to make up your mind about the romance choice. It also would not make her absence form Kaer Morhen quite so striking.

 

[luc0s]

We can agree on that but like everyone else is saying me included but, after my character make a decision to choose a romantic interest nothing happens. The rest of the game does not acknowledge my choice. Instead the game continues like "hey buddy you are wrong" your choice doesn't matter.

I can go to Mars with Triss and it still would not matter, Ciri will swing by yearly to pick up up for our vacation in the northern realms.

I can see why you would feel that way.

I'm not sure what's worse, all the NPCs telling you you're wrong for choosing Yen and saying you should have chosen Triss, or the NPCs not acknowledging your decision at all.

Then again, there isn't much to acknowledge when you romance Triss other than "hey, you chose Triss over Yen? Good for you buddy! Smart!" or something like that. I suppose it's easier to acknowledge Geralt romancing Yen because there is so much to bitch about Yen and the NPCs simply won't leave poor Geralt alone when he decides to romance Yen. It's fucking annoying but I suppose I can live with it. Yen isn't really the most likable person to anyone but Geralt and Ciri, so I can understand why people like Dijkstra and Cerys would discourage Geralt from romancing Yen. Still, I wish they would just STFU and mind their own fucking business.

---------- Updated at 12:20 AM ----------

This is a good point. This would be a good opportunity to make up your mind about the romance choice. It also would not make her absence form Kaer Morhen quite so striking.

Personally I think the best way to fix the inconsistencies in Triss's arch when you romanced her is to make her go to Kovir anyway, even if you romance her.

I know that would not be the preferred solution for many of you folks, but it would be an easy fix for CDPR without having to add tons of new content, which then would only be accessible to half of the players (those who romanced Triss) which wouldn't be entirely fair either.

 

[Costa417]

If you prevent the mage to be accused for the regicide, nothing change, there is a witch hunt no matter what.

That particulary bugs me. Triss explain in the rat-quest that mages are wealthy and radovid hunts mages to requisire their goods to support the war. But it seems too forced imo

 

[FarrySquall]

That's not true at all. You can play Geralt any way you want and I'd be completely fine with it.

What I'm not fine with is when people start inserting their own headcanon into the story, especially when it contradicts the pre-established lore or characters and then simply saying "oh it doesn't matter, this is my Geralt and my Geralt is like this". Sorry but no, "your Geralt" does not exist outside of your imagination. The only real Geralt is the one written by Sapkowski and CDPR. Headcanon has no merit when discussing the content of a story, not even in an RPG.

I'm not personally accusing you of doing this. I haven't really read any of your posts except for your replies to my posts, so I don't know if you're guilty of doing this, but I've seen people doing it and I think it's just stupid and pointless.

This debate again, i am sure you and Sapkowski can become BFF if you meet him

 

[WhiteHot]

Trisses romance is not the only thing that got shafted, her gwent card is the worst compared to all the other hero cards.

 

[Hazevamp]

No he isn't.

Get over it. *shrug*

Nope, his motivations are already set in stone by Andrzej Sapkowski and the writers at CDPR. You merely choose which one of the multiple pre-defined paths and motivations Geralt goes with.

No they aren't. You could have a totally different reason for making a choice you've made.

That would be true for a blank-slate character such as the Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition, but that's not true for Geralt, a pre-defined character with a long history who's already completely fleshed-out before the game trilogy even starts.

It's true even for Geralt. Even the Inquisitor has prewritten dialogue and reactions the player can't control. Actually my biggest issue with the Inquisitor is that I couldn't role play him a certain way. In other words, the Inquisitor belongs to David Gaider and like Geralt belongs to Andrzej Sapkowski. But I can still add my reasoning and input to them as I experience the world.

But would you say Sherlock is Benedict Cumberbatch's character? Because I would disagree with you. Sherlock is Arthur Conan Doyle's character first and Steven Moffat's character second. Benedict Cumberbatch merely plays the character to the best of his abilities. Same with us and Geralt. Geralt is Andrzej Sapkowski's character first and CDPR's character second. We merely play Geralt to the best of our abilities.

Yes, How Cumberbatch plays him on screen could be different than how the author envisioned him. I'm a writer and yes every character is mine. However, someone can walk away with a completely different outlook on my character that I've never thought of before. They've seen my character with different eyes and experience and who am I to say they are wrong? It's not the same as getting something factually incorrect. Like a character's birthdate or something.

What I'm not fine with is when people start inserting their own headcanon into the story,

No, your problem is that you believe there is a canon ending and that your Geralt's choices reflect that and all others doesn't. That is what your problem is. This is why you cannot accept the idea of someone else saying "my" Geralt. You're just projecting your own choices as the authors to try and give them more weight.

This is essentially a case of "My headcanon is stronger than yours."

Edit: This is my last reply to you because I don't want to derail the thread away from what it's intended. Which is to bring awareness about the lack of Triss content.

 

[Costa417]

Personally I think the best way to fix the inconsistencies in Triss's arch when you romanced her is to make her go to Kovir anyway, even if you romance her.

I know that would not be the preferred solution for many of you folks, but it would be an easy fix for CDPR without having to add tons of new content, which then would only be accessible to half of the players (those who romanced Triss) which wouldn't be entirely fair either.

I'd rather wait for a substantial change then a fast and easy fix, but i'll take a similar fix if they decide a big change is "worth"

 

[Sammygm]

Nope, his motivations are already set in stone by Andrzej Sapkowski and the writers at CDPR. You merely choose which one of the multiple pre-defined paths and motivations Geralt goes with.

With that logic there is no "my Commander Shepard" "my Hawke" "my Revan". The three characters i've mentioned are all pre-defined characters made by Bioware. I know you love the books, but please stop trying to compare the books to an RPG. Geralt's amnesia made sure we could take Geralt in any direction.

 

[Costa417]

Trisses romance is not the only thing that got shafted, her gwent card is the worst compared to all the other hero cards.

yea like ciri's card and geralt's have 15 points, philippa's card 10. And why the hell is she a close combat unit? wtf? XD

 

[wright1978]

It's not the retiring part that I found out of character, it's him leaving the Northen Realms to live in a land far away (Kovir) that rubbed me the wrong way. He's basically leaving behind all of his friends, including Ciri (!) to live in a land far away that is strange to him, a land he has no connections or ties with, just because Triss wanted it. I don't think Geralt would ever do that, but that's just my opinion, clearly CDPR disagrees with me else they wouldn't have put that ending in the game.

A) Kovir is in the North. About the same distance from Kaer Morhen as Temeria according to the map i have on my wall. Seems a pretty good place to see given the potential upheaval everywhere else. Geralt is a wanderer so i see him as being very happy being with the woman he loves and not bothered by the location.
B) See no reason Geralt and Triss can't visit Ciri or vice versa by magical means or traditional ones.
C) The likes of Zoltan and Dandelion have quite a habit of moving about and the city they currently reside in is rabidly anti anything non-human or magical. So wouldn't put it past them to end up elsewhere too.
D) I very much like the semi-retirement option over the permanent version.

 

[luc0s]

No, your problem is that you believe there is a canon ending and that your Geralt's choices reflect that and all others doesn't. That is what your problem is. This is why you cannot accept the idea of someone else saying "my" Geralt. You're just projecting your own choices as the authors to try and give them more weight.

This is essentially a case of "My headcanon is stronger than yours."

The fuck are you on about? I've never said that. Please quote any of my posts that gave you the idea that I think "my" ending is more valid than "yours". Because that's total bullshit.

Sure, I do see some choices as being closer to the canon than others, but that's just my opinion and I never presented it as anything else than my opinion. I don't care if you make other choices in TW3 than me. Why would I?

I already told you why I don't like it when people say "my" Geralt and the ending has nothing to do with it. You can either take my explanation at face-value or not, but what you're doing now is just completely ignoring my explanation and trying to find some hidden ulterior motive behind what I said, which simply isn't there.