Looking at the cut content list for Witcher 3 is like looking at a list of christmas presents and being told you can't have any of it.
1. Iorveth
I miss this bugger like you wouldn't believe. I held off on buying Witcher 3 for years out of spite simply because he was cut out. I eventually gave in and bought it, but the lack of Iorveth and ST content still hurts.
2. The Plague questlines
Nilfgaard gets off way too easy in Witcher 3. Instead of morally grey choice vs morally grey choice it's insane madman (Radovid) vs. asshole who tries to kill your friends (Djikstra) vs. Law and Order dictator (Emhyr) ,or, to make it an even easier choice, a reformed empire (Ciri). Even in endings where Ciri isn't the Empress most people still kill Radovid and Djikstra because the other choices are so unappetizing.
The original plague questline for the Velen/Novigrad region revolving around the weaponization of the Catriona plague and demon summoning by rogue Nilfgaard units is therefore super intriguing and would have actually put some weight on the choice.
3. More fleshed out/interesting Wild Hunt
End game 3 way battle at Novigrad between Redania, Nilfgaard, and the Hunt? Assaulting an actual Wild Hunt base? Learning more about the titular villains of the game rather than just their names before they're all killed 30 minutes later?
The crones were more compelling villains and it's clear that as soon as they're out of the picture the sense of danger drops dramatically. One wonders why Vesemir didn't just Igni Imlerith's helmeted face like Geralt did. If it worked for Geralt so easily Vesemir should have thought of it first. And the fact that he was the only casualty in Kaer Morhen really emphasizes just how pitiful the Wild Hunt is. You murder their goons with so little after thought that even Wiley seems more dangerous. Wild Hunt should be renamed to Wild Incompetence based on how often you trash them throughout their game before even fighting their King. The alerted guards who attack when you steal stuff in Novigrad are bigger threats.
4. Gang questlines for Novigrad
What's the King of Beggar's plans? No one knows. Church + Redania vs. Nilfgaard Occupation vs. King of Beggars/Free City as different endings would have added another dimension to the conflict. But that's all cut. Short of a brief quest where you track down thieves using beggars (who never reappear again or do something interesting) it's all been dashed away.
Honestly I would have traded hearts of stone and blood and wine for all of this to have been developed instead. Hearts of Stone was at least somewhat interesting (although the heist was the biggest anti climax in all of Witcher history), Toussaint was a bore tbh (vampires and stereotypical knights what joy), but they all would have paled in comparison to what could have been added onto the main game.
1. Iorveth
I miss this bugger like you wouldn't believe. I held off on buying Witcher 3 for years out of spite simply because he was cut out. I eventually gave in and bought it, but the lack of Iorveth and ST content still hurts.
2. The Plague questlines
Nilfgaard gets off way too easy in Witcher 3. Instead of morally grey choice vs morally grey choice it's insane madman (Radovid) vs. asshole who tries to kill your friends (Djikstra) vs. Law and Order dictator (Emhyr) ,or, to make it an even easier choice, a reformed empire (Ciri). Even in endings where Ciri isn't the Empress most people still kill Radovid and Djikstra because the other choices are so unappetizing.
The original plague questline for the Velen/Novigrad region revolving around the weaponization of the Catriona plague and demon summoning by rogue Nilfgaard units is therefore super intriguing and would have actually put some weight on the choice.
3. More fleshed out/interesting Wild Hunt
End game 3 way battle at Novigrad between Redania, Nilfgaard, and the Hunt? Assaulting an actual Wild Hunt base? Learning more about the titular villains of the game rather than just their names before they're all killed 30 minutes later?
The crones were more compelling villains and it's clear that as soon as they're out of the picture the sense of danger drops dramatically. One wonders why Vesemir didn't just Igni Imlerith's helmeted face like Geralt did. If it worked for Geralt so easily Vesemir should have thought of it first. And the fact that he was the only casualty in Kaer Morhen really emphasizes just how pitiful the Wild Hunt is. You murder their goons with so little after thought that even Wiley seems more dangerous. Wild Hunt should be renamed to Wild Incompetence based on how often you trash them throughout their game before even fighting their King. The alerted guards who attack when you steal stuff in Novigrad are bigger threats.
4. Gang questlines for Novigrad
What's the King of Beggar's plans? No one knows. Church + Redania vs. Nilfgaard Occupation vs. King of Beggars/Free City as different endings would have added another dimension to the conflict. But that's all cut. Short of a brief quest where you track down thieves using beggars (who never reappear again or do something interesting) it's all been dashed away.
Honestly I would have traded hearts of stone and blood and wine for all of this to have been developed instead. Hearts of Stone was at least somewhat interesting (although the heist was the biggest anti climax in all of Witcher history), Toussaint was a bore tbh (vampires and stereotypical knights what joy), but they all would have paled in comparison to what could have been added onto the main game.