The Witcher 3 Alchemy System

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The Witcher 3 Alchemy System

  • Yes

    Votes: 250 24.3%
  • No

    Votes: 270 26.2%
  • I need to see it in action to be sure

    Votes: 294 28.6%
  • I prefer the system of TW1

    Votes: 363 35.3%
  • I prefer the system of TW2

    Votes: 104 10.1%

  • Total voters
    1,029
Actually, i would say that RPGs with action combat are far more accessible than traditional RPG. Quest markers can be turned off, so who cares that they are there? I also have no idea what "simplistic quest design and side mechanics" you speak of.

Actually I wasn't talking specifically about The Witcher 3.
An example for "simplistic quest design" could be every side quest of Inquisition. Go to A from B following a quest marker, do something (often a fight) and get XP.
 
A lot of peaple consider boring even follow a well made quest reading the journal.
So evil devs created quest markers, and then they put them in Inquisition and Skyrim.
A dev simply can't please everyone.

I am with you on that but in all honesty, it's true that no developer can please everyone. I mean right now there are people in these forums who are happy with the decision of not having to pick herbs all the time and there are also people who aren't happy about it. It's the way of things :)

As for the quest markers, it's a very long conversation. In the current state of games and gamers, if you want your game to sell well (which all companies do to be honest) i think it's a no brainer to include quest markers, arrows in the minimap etc.

Most people are casual gamers who don't want to spend hours reading a journal and looking around a village for an NPC. I am against this personally, i do like "investigating" and putting effort to achieve things but i don't think that it would do good to many games out there. The best thing to do is to have an option to disable all the helpers to keep everyone happy.
 
Actually I wasn't talking specifically about The Witcher 3.
An example for "simplistic quest design" could be every side quest of Inquisition. Go to A from B following a quest marker, do something (often a fight) and get XP.

I agree DA:I is awful, the quest markers are the least of its problems though. Just because Bioware made some huge mistakes doesnt mean everyone else who uses similar feature will do the same. Ex: CDPR included quest markers, and theyve given us the option to turn tHem off so that everyone wins.
 
A lot of peaple consider boring even follow a well made quest reading the journal.
So evil devs created quest markers, and then they put them in Inquisition and Skyrim.
A dev simply can't please everyone.

indeed, something you'd expect for those new commers to the RPG genra.
also,if the auto-refill was optional, then maybe i'd be ok with it, but sadly it's not the case.
some here said that they don't know how this is an attempt at dumbing down the game for new commers. well ? what about the new and simplified "à la dragon age" skill tree ? and what about the overly assisting UI ?
sure you can get rid of all of those "helping" features, but still. and in case anyone haven't noticed, both the helping stuff in the UI as well as the auto-refill are features you can find in MMORPGS as well as "RPGs for dummies" like skyrim and DA:I.
 
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Just a question...

Anybody does mind to reproduce the exxact word from CDPR's team about alchemist in TW3?

Because I see a lot of speculations about an issue which we lack the whole information... or, if I'm wrong, then please, reproduce those words (avoid interpretation of them).

Thank you very much
 
Just a question...

Anybody does mind to reproduce the exxact word from CDPR's team about alchemist in TW3?

Because I see a lot of speculations about an issue which we lack the whole information... or, if I'm wrong, then please, reproduce those words (avoid interpretation of them).

Thank you very much

This. We need a FAQ. Reading this thread just makes me more confused. Maybe after the Kinley/dev interview we can get clarity on how alchemy really works.
 
This. We need a FAQ. Reading this thread just makes me more confused. Maybe after the Kinley/dev interview we can get clarity on how alchemy really works.

If I remember well, the first time they talked about alchemy was in one of the interviews at E3 2014.

---------- Updated at 09:59 PM ----------

[video=youtube;-CvA3reLuH8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CvA3reLuH8[/video]
 
If you think that looting herbs in TW2 was boring, it is your problem. Looting was very generous in TW2, and you found herbs everywhere.
And "boring" can't be used in a critical analysis, because is subjective. What is boring for you it isn't for another playe

Yes i know its subjective, but im trying to explain what is the probable intention of the developers behind the system, not if its good or not, im not trying to impose my taste in the post.

Experiment? You need to brew a potion one time. In what do you have experiment, if there aren't sub-ingredients and all potions and its improvements are hand-holding?

First of all I don't know if there wont be sub-ingredients, and second, that doesnt really add to experimentation much, because the outcome is already measured and known, thats not experimentation, it may be customization or non-linear upgrading but its not experimental.

In TW1 you make a potion by experimentation, ok, after you get what you get? thats it, no more experimentation unless you move onto trying to create a different potion or result, the same could apply in TW3 as far as we know. You can mix whatever ingredients you want, and then see what happens, and then do it again, auto-refill doesnt change that.

So to be clear, im saying experimentation is something not affected by autorefill as far as we know now, it could be affected? sure, is it? not so far.

And by saying all potions and their ingredients are hand holding you're going to have to be more specific because i dont understand why you think they are hand holding and in which way for you.

The point is that you don't have to do absolutely nothing, except one time, because all potion are automatically refilled.

Why dont you calm down your emotions and come up with a rational and realistic answer? absolutely nothing? in what context? what does that even mean? Previous witcher games didnt have potion upgrades, and TW2 didn have alcohol requirements, TW3 does, so you'll probably be doing that like I said.

Saying that CDPR wants you to do "absolutely nothing" in their game is in my opinion something ridiculous and absurd.

What's the point in auto-refill, then? To solve a problem that actually doesn't exist?

If the problems exist or not is subjective, like you know, since you told me something can be boring or not depending the person, I do think its a problem that if I want to use potions all the time, I also have to walk clicking the ground with zero thinking, strategy, or challenge, so I rather not have to do something tedious and with no challenge or value if possible, thats my personal opinion, take it how you want it.

And in any case, Konrad said it already, they made the auto refill idea because in their opinion TW3 would be better if we can use potions more, and experiment with different combinations of them easier, and integrate them more into our adventure, if its the best thing to do or not is something im not discussing right now, just clarifying.

Again, potions and improvements are limited. And once you have unlocked the enhanced potion, you can't even return to use the previous one.
The same thing can be achieved using Albedo, Rubedo and Nigredo, sub ingredients which make a better version of the same potion adding some buff.

I never heard the upgraded potions replaces the old one, if its confirmed thanks for the information then. Regardless, we dont know how many potions are there in the world and how many herbs they require, so saying that herbs have to be useless because there is autorefill is a short sighted statement, you dont even know half of what you need to know to "predict" that, i dont either.

And if we add rationality to the analysis, do you really think CDPR would put thousands of useless herbs in a huge open world, if they become irrelevant after 10 hours or less? does that actually make sense to you? does it seem believable or rational? not to me. Is it possible ? yeah, but they would have to intentionally want their game to be worse, and i dont think they want TW3 to be bad, stupid, and illogical.

Just the fact that you have a limited inventory means that you have to manage it.
It wasn't complex in the previous ones because the game structure was linear HUB patterns. And the fact that wasn't complex doesn't mean that it have to be cut off.

Yes, but in practice it doesnt. If I give you room for 1000 herbs, and in the game there are only 700 to pick up, you are limited, and you dont have to manage anything at the same time, simple as that. It wasnt complex because the developers didnt intend to make inventory management of herbs something realistically present in gameplay, a HUB approach to game structure doesnt limit that at all.

I agree it didnt have to be cut off, but it wasnt helpful for anything either, because like i said, in practice there was no inventory management to make. I would love if there would be in TW3, but it sounds like they are continuing what they did in the previous games unfortunately.
 
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Just a question...

Anybody does mind to reproduce the exxact word from CDPR's team about alchemist in TW3?

Because I see a lot of speculations about an issue which we lack the whole information... or, if I'm wrong, then please, reproduce those words (avoid interpretation of them).

Thank you very much

it's not speculation, there are sources that seem to indicate that. evern marcin made a statement about it in this thread (check the link below):

"To clarify. Auto-refilling is still there as long as you have the base for each elixir, which is alcohol, it will refill when meditating. You will, however, require ingredients to craft an unknown potion or a better version of the one you already know. There will also be stronger elixirs based on mutagens which will be harder to craft and will require lots of ingredients (their effects will last longer though)."

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/28983-The-Witcher-3-Alchemy-System?p=1522115#post1522115
 
I have to echo @Geralt_of_bsas and add that I just don't see the issue. After reading a lot of anti-TW3 alchemy posts, I still can't shake off the feeling that the previous alchemy systems are a bit over-glorified, and that what we know about TW3's system is also distorted. Experimentation is one such example, which Geralt_of_bsas touches by explaining how it's not (necessarily) exclusive to TW1, and how the possibility to experiment doesn't have anything to do with the presence of an auto-refill mechanic. Another such example is the frequent use of terms like "simplifying", "casualizing" or what-not the system of TW3. I don't see what is "complicated" or "hardcore" about needing to constantly loot herbs and corpses (and forgive me if I'm not using the precise terms, I think the spirit is the same). It's not something that requires planning. It's not a serious matter of inventory management (never in TW1 nor TW2 did I have to choose between this potion or that because I didn't have enough herbs). It's just busy-work, at the end of the day. And that's why I'll wait and see how it's implemented. I see here the potential of hitting two targets with one stone - reducing busy-work that, in my view, is essentially padding content which I don't appreciate, as well as make the alchemy more rewarding and encouraging experimentation (not in the brewing of potions, but in their use). It might suck. Who knows. At the moment I'm honestly not worried and I'll form my opinion when I finally play.

I'll also admit that I get the impression that some of you are hellbent on rejecting the system, no matter what. I usually don't put much stock in internet counseling, but I'll give it a shot anyway - I say clear your minds from it for the upcoming months and approach it as a blank state, without opinions :) You might just enjoy it. There's that faint possibility. I think it's a shame that you'll end up hating it because you approached the game with preconceived notions. Maybe you'll hate it anyway, so no promises.
 
it's not speculation, there are sources that seem to indicate that. evern marcin made a statement about it in this thread (check the link below):

"To clarify. Auto-refilling is still there as long as you have the base for each elixir, which is alcohol, it will refill when meditating. You will, however, require ingredients to craft an unknown potion or a better version of the one you already know. There will also be stronger elixirs based on mutagens which will be harder to craft and will require lots of ingredients (their effects will last longer though)."

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/28983-The-Witcher-3-Alchemy-System?p=1522115#post1522115

It would be pointless in 100 hours of play you only have to accumulate alcohol in order to auto-fill potions.

From what I understand, it is not clear if the Player enters into meditation mod and, on leaving it the potions are filled, or during meditation the player must choose which potion is auto-fill at that time. If you have three bottles of alcohol and 4 empty potions ... which of them will be three lucky in auto-filled? Do you mean CDPR will deny us the control over that?

I do not think CDPR comes to nonsense like this. Besides the fact that secrecy and avoid giving clues about possible spoilers was the premise of every member of CDPR. So that paragraph has many details about the operation of alchemy as, at the time it had, that on Geralt tracking system through this new sense. Too ambiguous to be able to say anything roundly about it.
 
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It would be pointless in 100 hours of play you only have to accumulate alcohol in order to auto-fill potions.

From what I understand, it is not clear if the Player enters into meditation mod and, on leaving it the potions are filled, or during meditation the player must choose which potion is auto-fill at that time. If you have three bottles of alcohol and 4 empty potions ... which of them will be three lucky in auto-filled? Do you mean CDPR will deny us the control over that?

I do not think CDPR comes to nonsense like this. Besides the fact that secrecy and avoid giving clues about possible spoilers was the premise of every member of CDPR. So that paragraph has many details about the operation of alchemy as, at the time it had, that on Geralt tracking system through this new sense. Too ambiguous to be able to say anything roundly about it.

Presumably, the potions that are refilled are the two you have "equipped" in the potion slots.
 
I think people are getting confused, auto refill is in so that you dont have to waste your time doing absolutely boring things like clicking the ground for herbs all the time, and you can still use acquired potions without that.

It has nothing to do with removing experimentation, or removing the need to click and drag herb icons and click the make potion button, those could be in or out, but in any case they are secondary effects.



the point is that you dont have to do boring things regularly to keep an ample supply of potions usable and at hand for fights, and so in turn you spend only time to gather herbs for improving potions and making new ones, or making new bombs and traps, and you can use the ones brewed already for most fights.

Im not saying its good, just clarifying what the hell is actually going on, because it seems some people look like they want to create the illusion that refill was created specifically for the things they hate.



1) herbs dont become useless, otherwise they wouldnt be there, you use them not to maintain your potions, but to make new ones, and improve other ones, and the same with bombs/traps, mutagens, whatever.

2) arent you exaggerating? I mean come on, inventory management for herbs? neither witcher game had this at all, you had so much room for everything that "think to manage your inventory and your supplies" was non-existent, holding previous games as perfect ideals or concepts when in practice they werent even close to that isnt very helpful for a comparison.


To be fair Witcher 1 did require management of herbs and ingredients. I always had so many of them and there were so many types that I frequently found myself dumping the last few of one type to collect a variant that was in more common supply in *this* chapter. Had soooo many herbs (including huge stashes in my 'luggage'. This was repeated again the AOK, where I frequently had to dump the very large stores of monster parts (which had weight) at the inn, (though admittedly "true herbs" (and bizarrely books) had no weight).
 
To be fair Witcher 1 did require management of herbs and ingredients. I always had so many of them and there were so many types that I frequently found myself dumping the last few of one type to collect a variant that was in more common supply in *this* chapter. Had soooo many herbs (including huge stashes in my 'luggage'. This was repeated again the AOK, where I frequently had to dump the very large stores of monster parts (which had weight) at the inn, (though admittedly "true herbs" (and bizarrely books) had no weight).

Yeah you are correct, but I didnt count that much because it was all management for maximum efficiency, not for standard gameplay, and because it comes from the fact that there are too many herbs in the witcher games, and ingredients, its like autorefill but with more clicking :p

I wish there was some serious resource management in TW3 honestly, one where its properly integrated into the gameplay. Guess I'll have to wait for mods probably...
 
I would start another line of questioning, but I've a feeling it would end up here eventually. This may have been mentioned elsewhere, but some of these alchemy posts get a bit dense for casual reading -- no offence, all you alchemists.

We know that Geralt will need alcohol to refill his potions, but, do we have any indications that he'll be able to do anything else with the stuff? Has there been any talk of drinking-contests, like in the first Witcher? I know it was confirmed that the drinking animation for potions is out, but what about just regular drinking?
 
I have to assume that if CDPR is the good 'ol CDPR we know and love, there'll be at least one quest tied to drunken shenanigans.

I believe alcohol can function in the same way that food, apparently, does. So you can equip it in your "pockets" slot and consume it whenever you want. Although IIRC one of the previews said there is also no animation for those consumables: Alcohol, Bread etc.
What bonus (if any) it provides we simply don't know, or at least I've not heard of. We know food gives you Vitality regeneration, or perhaps just straight up gives you X amount of HP, but any Gameplay purpose of straight-up consuming alcohol is unknown.
 
I would start another line of questioning, but I've a feeling it would end up here eventually. This may have been mentioned elsewhere, but some of these alchemy posts get a bit dense for casual reading -- no offence, all you alchemists.

We know that Geralt will need alcohol to refill his potions, but, do we have any indications that he'll be able to do anything else with the stuff? Has there been any talk of drinking-contests, like in the first Witcher? I know it was confirmed that the drinking animation for potions is out, but what about just regular drinking?

It was confirmed by developers you can get drunk in TW3, dont remember where, but they said it clearly.
 


So at least there's still a UI dedicated to the preparation process, good.
Should make it a whole lot easier for modders.
 


So at least there's still a UI dedicated to the preparation process, good.
Should make it a whole lot easier for modders.

Another thing I noticed is that the guy seems to create a bomb but the text below it says "you already have this item".
Does this - by any chance - mean that we can create more potions and bombs despite already having the type of item in out inventory?
Would give you at least a way to pretend auto-refill wouldn't exist.

I really want to know how that works, come on. Dev Diary Alchemy....
 
Another thing I noticed is that the guy seems to create a bomb but the text below it says "you already have this item".
Does this - by any chance - mean that we can create more potions and bombs despite already having the type of item in out inventory?
Would give you at least a way to pretend auto-refill wouldn't exist.

I really want to know how that works, come on. Dev Diary Alchemy....

Yea it's why I didn't really bother to come and say anything about what we saw here in the video. The video seems to imply that he's making another of something he already has created, but it's still really not enough to get any proper information out of.

At this stage I'm pretty much prepared to just wait for the game itself and see how it works, but hopefully we'll get some kind of dev diary like thing beforehand.
 
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