Ranking My Most/Least Favorite Quests in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

[@TheChaoskg]

"Possession" was one of my favorites. I lost my shit when Geralt threw the baby into the oven, very unexpected moment.

[@revan5293]

I had to pause the game. Laugh out loud. Then throw the baby in the oven

[@leonrussell9607]

Unexpected? They set it up so obviously that I'm surprised geralt felt guilty at all

[@Of_Neptune]

@@leonrussell9607Pretty sure he had to feel guilty as a part of fooling the Hymn; Been a while, so apologies if that’s dead wrong.

[@leonrussell9607]

@@Of_Neptune you're exactly right, but geralt knows that you have to trick it so surely he would know that cerys wasn't actually asking him to cook a baby

[@minhkhoapham950]

​@leonrussell9607 my headcannon is that he feels guilty due to Uldaryk's reaction. Like imagine pranking one of your friends by pretending to shoot his dog, yeah you know you didn't kill the dog, but seeing how your friend cries and screams as he holds his dog in his arms would make all but the psychopathic feel guilty.

[@My6119]

They did Dijkstra dirty in the end of Radovid's assassination and pretty much assassinated the smartest character in the witcher series in the dumbest way possible. He deserved better, and seeing as the game is constantly getting updated after less than 10 years, that one quest deserves to be revamped to the way it was always meant to be without the time constraints holding it back, even if it means having the voice cast add new lines.

[@Giddog40]

At the very least I’d like them to just say that he really was a doppler in that quest

[@ATM_Elly]

Thats why i always shove dijkstra forcefully, so i can not get that quest

[@BananaWasTaken]

@@ATM_Ellybut then Radovid lives which is also a terrible option. Best case scenario is probably going through and killing Dijkstra, but that does mean Emyhr wins the war which is also a bad option.

[@ATM_Elly]

@@BananaWasTaken it just doesn't sit right with me tbh i (or geralt) will never reveal crucial information about CIRI to DIJKSTRA of all people especially considering dijkstra's history (i'd rather not spoil if you haven't read the books)

[@BananaWasTaken]

@@ATM_Elly Good point. Thanks for not spoiling (I’m currently reading baptism of fire at the moment). He’d never give that information to Dijkstra. He _might_ consider killing Radovid but a good case could be made either way. And at the end of the quest he’d never just walk away and let Dijkstra kill Roche, Ves and Thaler.

[@charliemijatovic8562]

Having seen a clip in the intro I have to say how much I adore Fool'd Gold. There's just something about it that always makes me smile right from "them done cook Yagoda...the WAZZOCKS"

[@_MadRat_]

There is a plethora of quests that are really interesting in various ways, either through the structure, or through the game mechanics. However, the one that struck me the most was the quest to find Bloody Baron's family. Maybe because I'm a father myself, or maybe due to phenomenal voice actor in my language version... This quest made me cry. Additionally, what another youtuber pointed out, this quest does not paint a black and white narrative here. It shows the player what happened, lets both sides speak their points of view, but never insists that anyone is more guilty than the other. It leaves this entirely to the player. Finally, a small animation detail that made an impression on me was how the Baron was so stunned by what happened with Ciri that he needed several attempts to sheathe his knife. A minor thing, but very nicely done.

[@scrublordstephen5109]

Agreed!!!

[@somersetcace1]

My first playthrough of `Through time and space` was a nightmare! I had the toughest time figuring out how to navigate the poison fields, and I decided to be stubborn about it and not look it up. Once you get it it's kind of a fun break from the usual, but that first time was pretty frustrating.

[@biggusotongus1121]

6:00 I also really like this questline. It's super interesting to see the world explored like that. Almost makes you wish there's a lore book somewhere that explains/explore these worlds more.

[@Cireee1512]

Can we all just agree that this game has some of if not the best music for a game that there is.

[@scrublordstephen5109]

True!

[@mr.chilldill1338]

Contract: The Mystery of the Byways Murders is one of my favorites. It was pretty basic at the start but in the latter half it got really interesting and hyped up a fight against an Ekkimara. It did a really good job of that, and for my first time seeing one its design amazed me

[@scrublordstephen5109]

True! I played that for the first time yesterday!

[@element1111]

Ha, was going to mention liking Carnal Sins, but then noticed it was a dishonourable mention. A shame, it was one of the quests together with Towerful of Mice that was one of the more memorable to me. The one quest that I hated was Fencing Lessons - abrupt ending that made me google to see if I missed something ( I didnt )

[@tobybll]

Carnal Sins was such a great quest. Took me multiple playthroughs to realize that by selecting the 3rd dialogue you get the other evil guy in this quest.

[@masson5775]

carnal suns dragged a bit for me specially because of the witcher senses being used so much, as the video guy said, but the story, characters, twist and fight at the end definetly make up for it. for sure one of the best side quests in the game (take this with a grain of salt though, have done only one playthrough and didn’t do all side quests)

[@DaoistYeashikAli]

My favourite one is Dead Man's Party from Hearts of Stone

[@arsenii_yavorskyi]

Hearts of Stone as a whole is excellent. that musical theme…

[@chrismaxwell2274]

God I hate doing that part of HoS lol

[@DaoistYeashikAli]

@@chrismaxwell2274 why because he kisses Shani?

[@derdennis5850]

Dijkstra didn't even got a dying cutscene or Like give me the choice to lock him in a Temerian prison. But it was also satisfying to cut that snakes head of cuz who lets him kill Roche, Not Like Dijkstra Roche helped at the Battle of Kaer Morhen.

[@derricklepper3102]

I’ve played the Witcher 3 four times and have over a thousand hours into this game and have never heard of quest #5. That’s how deep and amazing this game world is!!!

[@luissosa320]

TBH In reasons of state questline, I can't help but popping Dijkstras knees everytime, It's just too funny and the book call back just gets to me!

[@bibbaaah]

I just gotta say, I absolutely love the Witcher 3. It is SUCH a good, deep, intriguing game. I played Skyrim for years until I bought Witcher. I still play Skyrim but I think I love the Witcher so much because imo it's similar to Skyrim but much more adult and really requires player input and choices. I love the morality parts in the Witcher and the mythology and find the monsters so fascinating.

[@nerdoutreachprogram5358]

Skellige’s Most Wanted is outstanding. I love the quest where you can choose to either fight or appease the Woodland Spirit, a Leshen, and then save the village elder if you chose the latter (if you’re fast enough). I’m not finished with the video yet so maybe that’ll be on your list too. The old man’s question “aren’t Witchers made at a similar cost?” fucking awesome writing. Edit) now I’m thinking the quest is just called the Woodland Spirit maybe 🤔

[@kireta21]

Old man's question makes for double-bottom box in my opinion, because it's pretty clear none of surviving witchers wants more witchers to be made, exactly because how many lives and how much suffering it costs. That's why they're not too happy when Yennefer recreates mutation process, having it lost to time was convenient excuse to let their trade die out.

[@Truthster772]

So in Possession, the point wasn’t to “trick Geralt,” it was to trick the Hymm. Meaning, he was tricked to assume Geralt would feel guilty, thus detaching himself from the clan chief and rearing up on Geralt. He couldn’t attach himself cause Geralt didn’t feel any guilt or reject, hence why it was defeated. At least that is how I took it. In that context it makes complete sense.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

The quest works under that interpretation, but unfortunately it does directly contradict what Geralt says about "the trickster can't know it's a trick" and that they "must truly believe they committed a foul deed." Otherwise, for the quest to work you have to stretch the premise a little bit by just ASSUMING that Geralt felt genuine remorse in that instance due to the sudden, shocking nature of the situation and that there was just enough doubt in his mind that maybe the baby wouldn't be alright, in order for the Hym to switch over the Geralt. I find that a little hard to go along with, especially with Cerys explicitly saying "trust me" at the end of the instruction, to the point of practically winking and nudging Geralt in the process.

[@lukeroberson2115]

​@@TheNocturnalRambler To be fair, doesn't Geralt only know OF Cerys, having never met her directly? Even Geralt thinks you can't trick a hym. I think it's more than reasonable for Geralt to falter and believe Cerys's plan failed, especially as he watched Udalryk pound on the over door hopelessly after throwing the baby in the fire. Hell, I'd feel awful even if I knew the baby would be safe. Geralt probably had some doubt creep in, which let the hym move to him.

[@markozerdin9784]

Reasons of state has Radovid as a fool who would, rather than just sending a battalion of witch hunters with dimeritium to hunt philipa do it himself

[@Hellion73]

Agree with you in putting the Ladies as the best quest in the entire game and Reason of State as the worst, cos it is, even if I would argue that that was the only time Gerald would've pick to be involved in politics directly, because he knew how dangerous Radovid was at that point in the story to every one of his closest friends, like Zoltan but specially for his lover/friend sorceress and he would've never sided with the truly out of characters Djkstra for shure🤦‍♂️. Only wish than the lady who wrote the LOTW quest was in charge of the writing of the whole game😣

[@Mrityugata]

6:09 You seem to be getting this backwards -- Geralt doesn't care about the White Frost, it's his antagonists that do. Eredin's plan is to evade it by migrating his people into another world. Frost following wherever the Hunt goes appears to be a side effect of the particular form of teleportation they use. I don't think the game ever actually explains that, but I assume the idea is that White Frost is what fills the space between worlds, and that the Hunt travels through it.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

Thank you for the clarification. I admit I didn't fully grasp that concept, but my choice of wording was still somewhat poor in that instance; the white frost isn't exactly something he's been "fighting against" per se, but has been tangentially involved with and specifically foreshadowed during his adventures dating all the way back to TW1. Though it's been like 15 years since I played TW1 so my memory of the specifics is a bit hazy.

[@Marco1995Mega]

@@TheNocturnalRambler This is actually where the games diverge from the novels. In the games, the White Frost is this seemingly interdimensional force, but in the novels, the White Frost is... the Ice Age. Just your regular ice age, that would occur sometime in the world's future via the planet tilting; no magic or anything supranatural. It would be especially catastrophic in the Witcher world because 90% of the world's population inhabits the northern hemisphere. The whole reason Ciri's lineage exists is to have someone who could tear open portals between dimensions, created by the Tir na Lia elves to allow for the migration that was mentioned. Of course, that same race of elves also planned to use the lineage to conquer other worlds. I do think W3 fucked it up by making this change, since just having the Wild Hunt go after Ciri for the sake of being able to conquer would be more than good enough. Instead, we got a plot point that felt haphazardly thrown in to have a more climactic finish. The result, to me, felt very disjointed instead.

[@biggusotongus1121]

I don't think it's ever implied that Wild Hunt's teleportation/magic is causing the white frost so I'm not sure how you got that conclusion. They specifically were escaping the white frost since their world were about to/were already consumed by it.

[@Mrityugata]

@@biggusotongus1121 Weaponizing, not causing.

[@Mrityugata]

@@Marco1995Mega Maybe they needed that change to set up the final conflict. Without the White Frost being magical the story would end with Eredin. Would be hard to justify Ciri working with Avallach, too. And, honestly, staying fully faithful to the novels, it's hard to justify a sequel in general.

[@imlegend8108]

I feel like feeling bad for not doing sth and risking to miss out is not a bad feature. Its part of the roleplay. In the real life you can also say „Nah Im out“ when friends invite you. But you will miss out. Maybe even think that you wouldve rather went in hindsight. Especially since those decisions have consequences in the end I think its really well done. Sth similar happened in Enderal where you could basically miss the whole Rhalata quest. A major quest of the DLC if you said you do not want to deal with the underworld. The quest giver will then call you a coward and disappear

[@nerdoutreachprogram5358]

Subbed for any channel doing Witcher 3 content. I still love Wandering in the Dark with Keira. I like all of Keira’s quests actually.

[@shahanalikhan8879]

Possession is better when you choose the other option to not trick the hymn but stay the night inside the possessed house. I did that in my first playthrough. It felt so haunted it was awesome. I don't agree with the youtuber putting possession and carnal sins in dishonorable mentions category.

[@tobybll]

Witcher 3 will forever be untouched by any other game imo *also, one of my favorite quest's was hunting this one vampire creature where you had to get drunk in Oxfurt.

[@louiskennedy9065]

Well you might want to check out the series called Mass Effect, it's a 3 game series but it all ties together nicely. Also it's a game that you will play multiple times, but it not as massive as Witcher 3 but the story is great would highly recommend. It is in my top 5 games of all time

[@scrublordstephen5109]

Oooh! I played that one yesterday, that Vamps voice had me on edge, I kept worrying about a potential jumpscare lmao 😂

[@Egeslean]

I pretty much agree with all of these.

[@AnsuKumari-i2x]

I have a wrinkle to add to the ladies quest line. On my first play through I ran into the tree spirit out of sequence. Just running around looking at stuff and I found the tree and the spirit inside before the ladies, yet I had no context for the decision, so I chose poorly. That’s the problem with open world unscripted stories. You can do things they don’t intend, accidentally. :p

[@louiskennedy9065]

I know this is late, but I don't see that as a problem but a benefit of the open world as it forces you to think more about the world as a connected an not just separate parts to a larger story. Think of it like would you rather not have the tree spirt there until you have completed the previous quest then it suddenly appears in that area or have to make a choice without context then learn later there was a larger story about it.

[@konferansjer]

Great choice for the first spot, I absolutely agree.

[@arsenii_yavorskyi]

hey, welcome back to KZbin! pretty sure "Reason of state" is the most hated questline in the whole game. nobody likes it. it's the black mark on a game with otherwise solid writing.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

It may have been erroneous of me to suggest that was a popular quest, but when I was writing this list out in 2020 it was definitely showing up enough times from people praising its storytelling or ranking it highly on their lists or being promoted as one of the "most important" quests and "quests you shouldn't miss," and so on, so it seemed notable enough to mention given the issues I (and seemingly many others) had with it.

[@arsenii_yavorskyi]

@@TheNocturnalRambler well, I don't actually know if it's hated by everyone, but it was often mentioned whenever a discussion about bad quests in The Witcher 3 was happening. it could be that normies don't have a problem with it, and only those invested in the franchise would notice the flaws.

[@louiskennedy9065]

No mention of the new quest added in the Next-Gen update, In the Eternal Fire's Shadow.

[@mcw-lg2dm]

Is that the one with the possessed witcher and miasmal? If so that was an awesome quest and pretty solid boss fight.

[@louiskennedy9065]

@mcw-lg2dm yes it is, but also a small sidequest I enjoy because it just funny is Wannabe Witcher

[@NgaBalkan]

I didn’t like tracking dandelions girlfriends and then sword lesson with one of them 😒 Or the small quest with looking for keys in novigrad, the in where you’re stopped at the bridge by a woman that claims her home is infested by ghosts or something

[@AndyDarkKnight]

Nothing beats this beloved masterpiece!!!

[@darkssz]

carnal sins and possession were so cool

[@chrisherzog1367]

Reason of State’s ending is unanimously loathed (I think it’s somewhat a victim of cut content IIRC), but I don’t think it’s a stretch for Geralt to involve himself. He (and the player if they’re series veterans) does care about Roche, Ves, Thaler, Triss and even Temeria itself to a lesser extent. Not to mention his time in Vizima and the Temple of Militele were key stories in the books. Geralt says he doesn’t like politics but is constantly in contact with nobility, spies, and generals. Granted, it is mostly him falling into political situations but it really is a theme of the series. I do agree though that saying no is ALSO in character, given that the characters themselves tell you you’re allowed to turn them down. So that + Dijkstra’s betrayal means it does kinda suck yeah.

[@garok2412]

Will you be doing video on Witcher 1 Review/Retrospective? I read your blog post.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

I hadn't intended to, though it would be nice to go back and do a full replay at some time. If enough people are interested I'll certainly make an effort to, but there would be several other games in the queue before I get around to it.

[@saggxnoah1979]

That's interesting because I've never heard anyone say they actually think Reasons of state is a good quest, and hearing you say it's seemingly quite popular is news to me. I believe and think most others still believe that it is probably the worst quest conclusion in the game.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

This video is based on a article I wrote in 2020, so it's possible that common opinions may have shifted in the last ~4 years. Admittedly I recall Reason of State receiving similar criticism back then as well, and it definitely wasn't showing up on the majority of lists and discussion boards I was finding at the time. But it still came up often enough from people praising its storytelling or ranking it highly on their lists or being promoted as one of the "most important" quests and "quests you shouldn't miss," and so on, so it seemed notable enough to mention given the issues I (and seemingly many others) had with it.

[@Rifi77]

I always liked "Wild at Heart"

[@scrublordstephen5109]

Oooh is that the werewolf quest?

[@Rifi77]

@scrublordstephen5109 Yes, it is

[@scrublordstephen5109]

@@Rifi77 loved that quest! I was taken aback as this is my first time playing the game and wasn’t expecting the sister to know about the werewolf, I let him eat her and then mercy killed the poor guy. One lesson I’ve learned while playing the game: anyone who seems decent or trustworthy in the game is usually hiding a body somewhere or something worse. It’s an absolute blast, feels like the closest thing to a GOT video game with the harsh world and style!

[@Rifi77]

@@scrublordstephen5109 It was the first side quest I did, so it always stuck to me. The quest did an excellent job showing the grim and harsh reality of life in The Witcher world, where not everyone gets a happy ending. I personally chose to save the sister, since I didn't think Geralt would let a 'monster' harm someone, even if it was all kind of her fault It's also cool that you can interact with the townsfolk if you return later, where they will give you extra information about the sister's and the husband's fates after the quests, depending on your choices

[@scrublordstephen5109]

@ indeed!

[@merenwen4495]

I had the same problem with the Radovid quest and choose not to it, because it didn’t feel like something Gerald would willingly do. Love your picks. I want to add the quest of the missing wife and sister, who turns out to be lured into the woods by her sister and killed by the husband after he turned into a werewolf.

[@MULTIPLANGOD]

I love the Witcher’s getting drunk together

[@dungvuanh6417]

2 quest I don't like is : "Jenny of the wood" and "White Lady", seem like they cut some content involve or just.. lazy writing.

[@QuantumtestGaming]

quick question nick ? what do you think baldurs gate 2 , i usually see people generally say bg 2 is far superior to planescape torment, icewindale anytime i see ranking or many people say pillars of eternity is just a wannabe bg2, is bg 2 that good ? many recent crpg developers like obsidian, owlcat themselves trying to market their crpg as "spiritual successors of bg2" made it seems like bg2 is a standard that havent been surpassed

[@MasterFeidn]

I am not Nick, but still let me give you my (unimportant) opinion. I highly doubt that you see many who say Baldurs Gate is FAR superior to Planescape Torment. The major consensus is that you get more value from Baldurs Gate II as it is the bigger game with more content and better fight mechanic. Also it is a classical fantasy setting which appeals more to many. But when it comes to narrative, atmosphere, story and weight almost everything pales to Planescape Torment. And the story of Baldurs Gate II is just a typical one. Pillars of Eternity is meh. Nothing special, in parts boring and too long, disappointing Party NPCs. Honorary mention for good writing are Arcanum and Vampire Bloodlines (although the Story of Vampire Redemption is better, but Bloodlines is the much better game)

[@stiken4421]

i subscribe to almost ecerything @MasterFeidn has said except "meh" on PoE. I still rank PoE 1 as "somewhat good and worth the time" - mostly due to the world building and environmental narratives that this game have. And Deadfire (Pillars of Eternity 2) has learnt a lot on PoE 1 mistakes and is a great game - almost everything have improved except main quest which went from "too long and overly complex" to "too fast and vague" but side content and worldbuilding is great, well crafted open world, there are many well crafted stories besides core story.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

Like stiken4421, I will also echo MasterFeidn's synopsis with the exception of me really liking Pillars of Eternity. Bear in mind however that I've never properly played BG2; I only ever played 5-10 hours of it some 18 years ago, so I don't really have a proper context to judge it. I've previously reviewed both POE and PT on my blog and was extremely positive towards both, after having previously enjoyed FO1, FO2, and Arcanum as my background for this style of isometric CRPG.

[@nerdoutreachprogram5358]

Did you know that at one point during development, each of the alien worlds in Through Space and Time was going to be huge and explorable? I wish they’d stuck with that idea.

[@nikolasthethief]

You got the nature of White Frost completely wrong... The Wild Hunt need Ciri to save them from White Frost, it is not them who cause it... 😢😢

[@zoiuduu]

17:50 to me it was the easiest decision of the entire game, i wanted to free him, and he wanted me to do stuff for him, then i kill him, no one got time for that , man i wish i could kill that guy that makes u go after a freaking goat. i even tried mods, but couldnt do it.

[@peacefusion]

The answer to DRM is just selling PC cds again. It's a crime most pc cases now are built for rgb fans and not cd drives.

[@LVega_]

Ayoo, looking forward to this 💯

[@jarosawerdanowski4295]

Great video

[@backcenter2]

What recent games would you recommend?

[@Jasmin.M-hz5ty]

Witcher 3 should be like Ghost Busters,just about fighting ghosts,monsters,and poisonous creatures.And it would be logical to have just one armor,with 100% on every resistance,and for all enemies.

[@ruairimckinney1983]

Carnal sins is my favourite

[@biggusotongus1121]

Reasons of State is really my only dread on replays, god such an awful quest. How they butchered it like that is beyond my comprehension.

[@trackunity391]

It seems like you replayed game again

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

This video uses footage I recorded during my 2020 playthrough, and is based on a Patreon-exclusive article I wrote during that period, so I haven't actually replayed any since then. I just wanted to make that article into a video since everything was already written/recorded and thus figured it would be relatively quick to edit.

[@Derhone]

Carnal sins one of the best

[@enymetouche2558]

Sadly, despite everything going for Witcher 3 it being open world definitely holds it back. Witcher 1 and Witcher 2 clears.

[@czoborarpi]

Reason of state is not even a liked quest.

[@alittlecreepywhenyou]

Um, Annabelle is not a princess TNR.

[@K_LeShaeya]

All of the Gwent quersts. I hate them, the only way I can do them is to open the command console and force wins via commands

[@Mou_men]

u're missing out

[@K_LeShaeya]

@@Mou_men Cool, don't give a sh!t tbh. The mini-game's rules and gameplay make me tilt and I can never understand them, even after years of playing and watching guides. Just easier for me to skip or force win commands so I can progress through the side quests.

[@iloveblackC]

​@@K_LeShaeyaGwent is one of the simpler and easier to understand card games out there, how tf are you struggling?

[@K_LeShaeya]

@@iloveblackC you say easy and simple, and yet after owning and playing the game for many years now and still not being able to comprehend it leads me to conclude it isn't easy and simple for people who just cannot get into it or wrap their brains around it, of which I am not alone in this regard because searching around for other's thoughts on Gwent nearly hits an even 50/50 split in the community of lovers and haters of Gwent. Now I'm not going to throw sh!t and shade on people who enjoy it, I just can't enjoy it, cause I can't understand it. Skill issue or whatever I just can never comprehend it enough to win matches even in easy difficulty.

[@iloveblackC]

@K_LeShaeya I will tell you how to win every game. All you have to do is play northern realms, find all spy cards, get some decoy cards, and find every good hero card t.ex yennefer, geralt, ciri, and just put in some high value cards, then all you have to do is spam spy cards the first round and bait out his cards so he'll have less cards the 2nd and 3rd round, scorch is also pretty good 👍