Witcher 3 follows a powerful character pursued relentlessly across the world.
Witcher 3 follows a powerful character pursued relentlessly across the world.
There are obvious and significant changes between 2018 and the current version. Weapons needed to kill creatures have jumped from a level 7 requirement to above level 10. The guides all confirm these changes, showing the difficulty has increased substantially. It feels like the game has shifted into a much harder experience, almost like a different title. There’s an added challenge with extra difficulty settings that I can’t disable. I’m now worried about repeatedly destroying monster nests because I’ll have to constantly generate more enemies to reach the levels needed for gear. I had to resort to cheating and following detailed walkthroughs just to find manageable quests, which explains the inconsistencies I noticed. Some quests are completely missing now.
I thought about it. It showed up soon after I reached the main map, so I’d need to begin the game at level 3 or 4 from the white orchard tutorial. I’d then have to replay everything in real time for two weeks. This time the name was “Leshen.”
So these 2018 guides highlighting a 40% difficulty shift seem unique to me. Are they made up? Hasn’t this always been the case? There’s definitely a bias here. Maybe I’m just not as sharp anymore. My hands tremble and my eyes take longer to react—something I’ve noticed. I remember learning that the combat is quite similar to a twitch game in many aspects. Mastering these elements could really boost your performance. Changing sign types during fights and counter-attacking are big perks. What bothers me is that when the game launched and gained popularity, it suddenly demanded those skills to progress. It wasn’t always necessary for high difficulty or even to complete the game. There are other titles like Dark Souls and certain platformers that fit this style. I don’t usually enjoy them, but I understand they’re different now. When most players praised the game, it felt like a change in tone. At least that’s what I see from the reviews I’m reading.
This challenge seems clearly personal, especially since I've been playing for a long time. I find it hard to give up.
So the issue is that I haven’t gone through the game many times yet, and it’s been adjusted for players who have already done that. I believe this is what I meant when I mentioned earlier. I’m curious if the game would have been seen as enjoyable if it were played the way people liked it back then, when newcomers appreciated it. I’m aware there are two expansions included with the game. These updates might have altered the rules so much that new players without strong reflexes could find it unplayable. I didn’t face much difficulty with the white orchard area. When I entered Valen, I received warnings about Heart of Stone and another one. I allowed them to load because in other titles I played, adding DLC mainly introduced new content. It seems they also perform game balancing. Maybe I should revisit the start and play without the expansions, which would be quite different from Fallout 3 or 4.
Just a thought, what challenge are you tackling? (No pressure, I'm just noting) I've faced some tough moments in battles. Right now I'm going through Death March as a third playthrough, mostly dodging rather than directly confronting Yrden. It's especially important against noon/nightwraiths like Jenny from the Woods, since they become vulnerable inside a circle—similar to how Moon Dust bombs work. The plan is to draw her into an Yrden formation, then strike. Once the duplicates show up, eliminate them quickly with a sword, bomb, or crossbow to stop her from draining your health. And if you can, use some Specter Oil. If it doesn't work, keep going until you reach a few levels higher and try again—just be careful not to exceed the quest level or XP rewards drop off.
I haven’t found substantial proof that attacking inside the yrden circle causes more harm than attacking without it. The area is quite limited—perhaps just a couple quick strikes before it clears. I abandoned power attacks and counterattacks altogether; both seem to need precise timing that I can’t achieve. I’ve got a fast attack, a defensive stance, the ability to move aside (without dodging), and clear signals. That’s about it. Anything else would be a gamble. I spent a long time on the tutorial, but it dragged on. I might give it another shot. I’m roughly halfway through level 11, and completing it here could help me test if it becomes viable. I attempted to clean up blood, wine, and heart of stone, but it seems the only option is a full restart—possibly uninstalling the game and starting over, which would require re-downloading. I also made a big mistake in leveling up, thinking melt armor would help; I spent five levels but the damage range is still poor. It feels more like a fan attack, effective only when surrounded by several enemies within a wide arc—something that puts me at risk. It might be useful later, but not right now. I experienced a bit of delusion and managed to survive, though it was tense. Delusion could cause a ghoul or shield user to drop their stance, which helped me. I worked on the grave hag, but it didn’t work for Jenny. My strategy now is to figure out a way to climb to level 11, equip the Griffin armor and weapons, and use the point from level 11 on Yrden to see if it gives me enough advantage. If that doesn’t work, I’ll restart without blood, wine, and heart of stone to reset the difficulty.
It works too. Keep in mind the wraith must stay inside the circle, not you. You should also use the silver sword if you haven't already—just toss things around as needed. It's okay to leave it aside for later; focus on the basics first. Heavy assaults are tricky to hit because they move slowly, so I mostly rely on quick attacks and using all the available signs. Still, Yrden remains crucial when dealing with wraiths. Apparently, only B&W and HO/SO raised the maximum level cap. The increase in minimum level requirements probably came from a general update patch.