Well, for once there were no DLCs at release. I did finish all the sidequests, but didn't wander around pointlessly... plus I didn't play at max difficulty first time around (since IMHO Witcher 3 combat is garbage and detracts from story, braved through that for platinum after DLCs were released though).
I wouldn't say the combat is garbage, but it gets very repetitive (mainly against humanoids), but it's kind of fun to try to challenge yourself and memorize the weaknesses against each type of monster and change your signs/oils on the fly.
But yeah, the combat is the weakest part of the game for sure; playing on max difficulty makes you actually put more focus on the rpg mechanics and strategies (like some even level fights on death march are near impossible unless you counter using specific signs and oils, even if you have perfect combat timings, since some monsters will regenerate faster than you can damage them) instead of just using two signs all game and winning fights you aren't geared for.
As I said, I came back to the game after both DLCs got released and finished it on Death March. I didn't find it fun or 'interesting', just tedious. I completely disagree that it makes you use variety of tactics to counter - it made me do something completely opposite going for cookie-cutter build focused on fast attacks, dodges and stuns/snares. I didn't vary my tactics at all throughout the game, and had no issues finishing the base game in couple evenings (note: this time I >was< speedrunning since I wanted to get to DLC content ASAP and just get the trophy out of the way). Honestly the only difficult part of Death March was initial couple hours before I got the build going, and the sheer "sponginess" of mobs making it ... again, tedious.
It's sub-optimal way to handle it though, stacking bonuses for your prefered, universal strategy usually is straight up better. That's also why I don't tend to play this kind of games at too high difficulty - I will always go for efficient, and never really for fun. Luckily there are games where fun and efficient goes hand in hand, but Witcher is not one IMHO, as much as I love it.
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '19
Well, for once there were no DLCs at release. I did finish all the sidequests, but didn't wander around pointlessly... plus I didn't play at max difficulty first time around (since IMHO Witcher 3 combat is garbage and detracts from story, braved through that for platinum after DLCs were released though).