The frustration is palpable in this thread, and I love it! I have faith someone in CDPR will notice and take to heart the criticisms because they are pretty valid and consistent with addressing a fault in their product. As others have noted, they have done a fantastic job in tying gamers to characters both major and minor, which is a great feat in storytelling. Since they have set a high standard for themselves, it shouldn't be hard to understand the complaints on Triss as romantic option and overall character. She is simply much too irregular, distant, and silent to be the Triss they formed in the earlier games and even in the Novigrad segment. Nothing suggests that she would become a non-responsive and uninvolved party to the final epic events.
One way of handling her and interpersonal interactions better would have been to wait until the third half to provide closure for all the main characters, which was sacrificed in exchange to Ciri development. The Ciri moments are important and crucial, but Geralt's romances should have figured more prominently in dialogue or cutscenes somewhere given the magnitude of what's to come. It would have been a perfect time to see what these characters mean to one another and validate their charge into the abyss for each other. Where Geralt spent most of the time in Act I and II dealing with external issues in regions he visited--the Bloody Baron in Velen/ "No Man's Land" and rulership in Skellige--the third act could have been devoted to dealing with Geralt's personal dilemmas with everyone, including Ciri. Ciri, Triss, and Yen would have had screen time and romances, familial ties, and friendships could have been addressed. It's time that Geralt deal with issues that are similar to those seen in the Bloody Baron and Skillege story archs when it comes to his own personal relationships. Instead, It feels like a balance was not reached because the devs were trying to wrap up the main storyline, and it was massively complex already as it stands with too main problems needing resolving: the Wild Hunt and the impending armageddon. The end result is off-handed comments about the Ciri/Yen/Triss/Geralt dynamic from NPCs with more emphasis on Yen/Geralt than necessary, if the romance choice was Triss. It appears like the devs saw the narrative holes and wanted to fill them with NPC banter as best they could to give a veneer of impact on the world, but it falls short because of the narrative inconsistency. I give praise to CDPR for the ambition and vision, but can't help but feel stiffed when it comes to the treatment of a beloved character. The solutions don't have to be monumental in order to give satisfaction to Triss fans and casual Witcher fans alike. We just need something CDPR! :-[
The Karen Mohren segment is a perfect example of the unbalanced storytelling that was implemented in the second half of the game. Just because Triss and Yen had ample interactions with Geralt earlier does not mean you postpone interaction until the third act and in such brevity for Triss in particular. It felt completely unnatural for Yen and Triss not to approach Geralt on Vesemir's death. It could have been done in such a way that remained consistent with their personalities. Have Triss initiate conversation with Geralt and vice versa Geralt with Yen.
If what you posted first came after this one, is it simply that they keep butting heads over Geralt? Seriously, that first one is vicious. Both of them but particularly Yen. Hard to imagine them still being friends with that much tension between them. Also, since you clearly know the books, do they fight like that often or is that a rare occurrence?
