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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cover
Developers
CD Projekt Red
Publishers
CD Projekt
Engines
REDengine 3
Release dates
Windows May 19, 2015
Reception
Metacritic 93
OpenCritic 93
IGDB 92
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, RPG, Open world
Art styles Realistic
Themes Fantasy
Series The Witcher
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on HowLongToBeat
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on IGDB
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on MobyGames
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Wikipedia
The Witcher
The Witcher 2007
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 2011
The Witcher Adventure Game 2014
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game 2018
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales 2018
Gwent: Rogue Mage 2022
The Witcher: Remake TBA

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a singleplayer third-person action, RPG and open world game in the The Witcher series.

The Witcher 3's Next-Generation update released on 14 December 2022 for everyone who owns the game as a free update. This includes DLSS 3, FSR 2.1, ray-traced global illumination, ray-traced ambient occlusion, ray-traced shadows, ray-traced reflections (on some surfaces and bodies of water), dynamic resolution scaling, more broader implemented screen space reflections (previously exclusive to water surfaces), improved texture resolution, improved environmental geometric detail, high-resolution self-shadowing, with a new Ultra+ settings to significantly increase visual fidelity on several fronts: number of background characters, shadow quality, grass density, texture quality, foliage visibility range, terrain quality, water quality and detail level.[1]

The next-gen update also featured a photo mode, cross-platform saves, new DLC quest (In The Eternal Fire's Shadow) and costumes based on the Netflix show, Quick Sign Casting option, tweaked fall damage, easier herb looting, dynamically hidden minimap, minimap filter to reduce icon clutter, scalable subtitles, expanded controller customization, pausable cutscenes, previously pre-rendered cutscenes are now real-time, Chinese Simplified and Korean audio, and several bugfixes related to quests, cutscenes and general gameplay.[1]

The game has received a couple of patches after the next-gen update, adding a performance mode for ray-traced global illumination, motion blur slider and refraction to water reflections. It additionally improved stability and performance, fixed various bugs and more, such as Screen Space Reflection not working, and horizon-based Ambient Occlusion missing on PC.[2][3][4][5]

General information

PC Report
Official Forums
Official Witcher Wiki (Fandom)
Official Witcher Game Series Wiki (Gamepedia)
The Witcher 3 Nexus Mods
GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
DRM-free
Initial retail release requires the launch file.
Launch file requirement removed in later retail releases.
Patches and DLC are only available by activating on GOG.com.[6]
GOG.com key
Windows
Epic Games Store
DRM-free after installation through Epic Games Launcher (notes may include more details)
Complete Edition.
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
GOG.com key
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Complete Edition also available.
Windows
Humble Store
GOG.com key
Complete Edition also available.
Windows
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
DRM-free when launched directly from executable.[7] Complete Edition also available.
Windows
Origin (unavailable)
DRM-free after installation through Origin client (notes may include more details)
DRM-free.[8]
Removed on June 13, 2022 and thus does not receive the Next-Gen Update[9]
Windows
Amazon.com (unavailable)
GOG.com key
Windows
All the digital distribution versions come with free bonuses that include the soundtrack in MP3 and FLAC formats.
No version of the game requires either GOG Galaxy or any type of authentication, activation, or digital distribution software.
The initial 2015 release has 4 DVDs, while the 2016 Complete Edition release has 6 DVDs.
If you wish to revert to it, the Legacy version (pre Next-Gen) is available on applicable store fronts[10]; on Steam, under the beta branch options; and for GOG.com, offline installers for this version were moved to the Extras section in the library as well.

Monetization

Type Notes
DLC The minor DLC include cosmetics, items, quests, or the new game+ mode.
Expansion pack Expansion packs include campaigns separate from the main one.
One-time game purchase The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
'Ballad Heroes' Neutral Gwent Card Set Free.
Windows
Alternative Look for Ciri Free.
Windows
Alternative Look for Triss Free.
Windows
Alternative Look for Yennifer Free.
Windows
Beard and Hairstyle Set Free.
Windows
Blood and Wine Included in Game of the Year/Complete Edition.
Windows
Elite Crossbow Set Free.
Windows
Expansion Pass Includes Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions.
Windows
Hearts of Stone Included in Game of the Year/Complete Edition.
Windows
New Finisher Animations Free.
Windows
New Game + Free.
Windows
New Quest 'Contract: Missing Miners' Free.
Windows
New Quest 'Contract: Skellige's Most Wanted' Free.
Windows
New Quest 'Fool's Gold' Free.
Windows
New Quest 'Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear' Free.
Windows
New Quest 'Where the Cat and Wolf Play...' Free.
Windows
Nilfgaardian Armor Set Free.
Windows
Skellige Armor Set Free.
Windows
Temerian Armor Set Free.
Windows

Essential improvements

Patches

The retail release requires a launch file to play. Further patches require activating on GOG.com.[6]

Skip intro videos

Use Skip Movies mod[11]
  1. Download the Skip Movies mod
  2. Extract the contents of the archive to <path-to-game>\mods.

Skip loading screen narration videos

Edit user.settings config file[citation needed]

Add this setting:

[LoadingScreen/Debug]
DisableVideos=true

It will auto-skip loading screen videos (which you can also skip by pressing space on a keyboard and square/X on PS4/Xbox controllers respectively).

Skip REDlauncher on start-up

Add --launcher-skip command line argument[12]

Do note that this will launch the DX12 version. This can be changed by editing the launcher-configuration.json file.

  1. Open <path-to-game>\launcher-configuration.json with a text editor.
  2. Change "fallback": "DirectX 12" to "fallback": "DirectX 11".

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/292030/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\gamesaves\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/292030/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Origin
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Cross-save is available with all console versions of the game.[13]

Video

In-game graphics settings.
In-game graphics settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
See Widescreen resolution for setting a custom resolution if needed.
Multi-monitor
Cutscenes are 16:9. See the related WSGF thread.
Ultra-widescreen
Cutscenes are 16:9. See the related WSGF thread.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Default is 60°. Use FOV Tweak by wghost81.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Controlled by Texture Quality setting. Low is 1x, Medium 4x, High 8x and Ultra 16x.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
FXAA, TAA
High-fidelity upscaling
TAAU, FSR 2.1, XeSS 1.1, DLSS 2.5
Dynamic resolution scaling is only available when using TAAU or FSR 2. FSR 2 and DLSS are only in DX12 version. DLSS Frame Generation is supported.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
FPS cap can be configured to 30, 60, 75, 90, 120, 144 or unlimited in options menu.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
Automatically enabled when connected to an HDR screen. A calibration menu was added in Patch 4.04.[14]
Ray tracing (RT)
Ray-traced global illumination, ambient occlusion, shadows and reflections.
Color blind mode
Improves visibility of tracks, marks, footprints and scent clues.[15]

Widescreen resolution

Edit user.settings config file[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\user.settings with a text editor.
  2. Find Resolution=XXxYY and set your resolution (e.g. Resolution=1152x648).
  3. If you want to use a resolution lower than 1024x768, also find FullScreenMode=X and change X to 1 or use borderless mode.
  4. Save the file and launch the game.

Change in-game cinematic framerate

Modify user.settings file[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\user.settings with a text editor.
  2. Change MovieFramerate to which you desire (e.g. 60 or 120).

Disable Cinematic Supersampling

Modify user.settings file[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\user.settings with a text editor.
  2. Add MovieUbersampling=false under [Visuals] section.

Disable radial blur when using Witcher Senses

Modify user.settings file[16]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\user.settings with a text editor.
  2. Add MotionSicknessFocusMode=true under [Gameplay] section.

Input

In-game control settings.
In-game control settings.

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Since version 1.04 all keys can be remapped.[17]
Mouse acceleration
Under Video Options, enable Hardware Cursor to disable mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Can only be changed if Hardware Cursor is disabled. Can be set seperately for menus and gameplay.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
X-axis inversion is also possible.
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Possible by editing the input.settings file or with mods, some user-made presets are available on the Nexus.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
X-axis inversion also possible.
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
DualShock 4, DualSense
PlayStation button prompts
Light bar support
Blue on the Main Menu, Green in Gameplay, Red on Game Over.[18]
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes Wired, Wireless (Bluetooth)
Generic/other controllers
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M
Rapidly changes button prompts. Prompts can be set to fixed by changing LockControlScheme in <path-to-game>\bin\config\base\hidden.ini to 1 (KB/M) or 2 (controller). 0 enables switching between prompts. Enable Steam Controller support here.[19]
Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Hook input (legacy mode)
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller.
Steam Controller button prompts

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Master, music, effects and voice.
Surround sound
Up to 7.1 (no in-game option).
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Loading screens and cinematics (FMVs) do not mute on focus lost.
Royalty free audio
HRTF mod for headphones can be found here (x3daudio1_7_hrtf seeming to work on top of Wwise).

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Grammar of the Path (Text Cleanup Mod) by PaulR0013 and Names from the Path (Full Names Mod) by PaulR0013
Arabic
Simplified Chinese
Added in November 7, 2018 with patch 1.32 (announced in their official Sina Weibo). You can enable it from the game settings. Audio added in patch 4.0.
Traditional Chinese
Czech
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Indonesian
Fan translation by IGTC Team (Indonesia Game Translator Community)
Japanese
Korean
Audio added in patch 4.0.
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Russian Localization Fixes by DJ_Kovrik, download the updated optional file
Spanish
Turkish
Non-English versions also include the English voice files (enpc.w3speech), but those can be safely deleted if another language is used.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
new Geo-11 3D Driver (RTX3000/4000 compatible)
TriDef 3D
UI is 2D by default, occasional rendering problems with distance shadows and decals.
vorpX
G3D, Z3D, AFR-3D Enhanced Edition
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Other Virtual Reality

Enable VR
  1. Install Reshade with full Add-On Support, inclusive the complete Effect Package Depth3D BlueSkyDefender
  2. In the ingame Reshade menu activate SuperDepth3D_VR, follow instructions (Home-Key on keyboard for Menu)
  3. Download Generic_Depth_Mod.Addon64, copy it next to your Game.exe
  4. In the ingame Reshade menu install generic_depth_mod.addon64 (Add-On Tab)
  5. Launch Side by Side 3D on your 3D Compatible TV/Monitor + 3D Glasses or Install Vorpx Desktop Viewer or Depth3D VR Companion App

Issues fixed

Axii's alternative mode not working

This bug occurs when points are spent both in Delusion and Puppet
Disable the Delusion upgrade[citation needed]
Alter the delay to use a sign's alternative mode for keyboard[20]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\input.settings with a text editor.
  2. Find every instance of IK_Q=(Action=CastSignHold,State=Duration,IdleTime=0.2) and set 0.2 to 0.05
  3. Save changes.

Notes

This alters the delay to trigger alternative casting mode from 20ms to 5ms.
Alter the delay to use a sign's alternative mode for gamepad[21]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\input.settings with a text editor.
  2. Find every instance of IK_Pad_RightTrigger=(Action=CastSignHold,State=Duration,IdleTime=0.2) and set 0.2 to 0.05
  3. Save changes.

Notes

This alters the delay to trigger alternative casting mode from 20ms to 5ms.

Proper HUD positioning for different aspect ratios

For 16:10 change the value of uiVerticalFrameScale to 1.1253.
For 21:9 change the value of uiHorizontalFrameScale to 1.3125.
Edit user.settings config file[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\user.settings with a text editor.
  2. If your aspect ratio is vertically greater than 16:9 increase the value of uiVerticalFrameScale above 1.
  3. If your aspect ratio is horizontally greater than 16:9 increase the value of uiHorizontalFrameScale above 1.

Stutter while using a controller

Edit the config file hidden.ini[citation needed]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\bin\config\base\hidden.ini.
  2. Change LockControlScheme=0 to LockControlScheme=2.
  3. Save the file.

Notes

Stutter occurs because the game rapidly changes between controller and keyboard prompts.
This forces the game to use controller prompts.
There won't be any keyboard prompts even while using keyboard controls.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 11, 12 DirectX 12 support added in December 2022 with patch 4.0.
Shader Model support 5
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX v3.3.0
Makes use of some Nvidia-accelerated effects (HairWorks) that may cause slowdown on AMD GPUs. See #Improve HairWorks performance on AMD hardware to mitigate.
Audio Wwise
Interface Scaleform

Enable Debug Console

Modify general.ini file[16]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\bin\config\base\general.ini with a text editor.
  2. Add DBGConsoleOn=true under [General] section.
  3. You can open the console with ` (on an US layout keyboard, might differ for other layouts).

Improve HairWorks performance on AMD hardware

Create a profile via Catalyst Control Center[22]
  1. Create a profile for witcher3.exe in the Catalyst Control Center.
  2. Set Tessellation Mode to Override application settings.
  3. Set the Maximum Tessellation Level to either 2x, 4x, 8x or 16x.

Installing mods

The Witcher 3 Mod Manager by stefan3372, which takes care of DLC/Mods folders and .ini files, is recommended for the not-so-tech-savvy. However, the ideal method is manual installation.
After the Next Gen Update (version 4.00 and beyond) the following mods are now included with the game: The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project, HD Monsters Reworked, Immersive Real-time Cutscenes, Nitpicker's Patch and World Map Fixes.[23]

NPC Physics 60 FPS Fix

Community mod that fixes hair, fur, clothing, medallions, weapons, etc, behavior when the game runs at different than 30 fps speeds. The mod was built to run with the E3 Geralt Hair Physics 60FPS Fix and Hairworks Hair Physics 60fps Fix that fixes the same problem on Geralt's non-HairWorks and HairWorks hair.

True E3 Armour

Aims to bring back the accurate E3 armor textures and mesh for the starting viper armour appearance presented in the pre-release 2014 gameplay demo into the final game. This includes "High definition broken chainmails with accurate leather strings, remodelled boots, pants, gloves, belt, 4k texture maps with realistic leather specular". Also as an optional "shortgloves" are added as dlc.

E3 Roach Collection

Restores the E3 appearance of Roach with Improved skin, Fixed contact shadows, Improved colors & 4k texture maps. Available in multiple variants to choose from.

Performance fix for 2-4 core CPUs

Battle Encoder Shirasé (BES) + instruction - After the patch 1.06-1.07, it's almost impossible to play with 2 core processor. It's a small tool that throttles the CPU usage of the process you “target”: for instance, you can limit the CPU usage of a process which would use CPU 100%, down to 99%, like in this case. As a result, the game becomes playable.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 7
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz
AMD Phenom II X4 940
System memory (RAM) 6 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 35 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GTX 660
AMD Radeon HD 7870
DirectX 11 compatible
A 64-bit operating system is required.
The system requirements listed above are for the DirectX 11 version. With the release of the Next-Gen Update, CDPR has listed additional system requirements for DirectX 12 and ray-tracing.


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/292030/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (292030) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
  2. As of Update 4.00

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Next-gen update list of changes - CDProjektRED - last accessed on 2022-12-13
  2. Patch 4.01 — list of changes - last accessed on 2023-02-02
  3. Another PC Hotfix is available! - last accessed on 2023-02-02
  4. PC Hotfix is available! - last accessed on 2023-02-02
  5. Patch 4.02 — list of changes - last accessed on 2023-03-13
  6. 6.0 6.1 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Retail PC Version FAQ
  7. Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-09-09
    Confirmed witcher3.exe can be launched directly through the game folder without the Steam client running or launching when using the executable.
  8. The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt for PC - last accessed on 2020-04-24
    "Game uses DRM-free technology."
  9. Upcoming Changes to the EA Origin Catalog - last accessed on 2022-12-22
  10. I want to revert to an earlier version of the game - last accessed on 2022-12-16
  11. Verified by User:Klumb3r on 2017-08-22
  12. Verified by User:Shadowstealer7 on 2022-12-14
    Tested on Steam version of the game
  13. IGN - Cross-Progression and Cross-Platform Saves - last accessed on 2022-12-14
  14. HDR Support - last accessed on 2023-07-19
  15. The Witcher - Patch 1.05 for PC out now! - last accessed on May 2023
  16. 16.0 16.1 A compendium of tweaks and fixes for the PC version
  17. The Witcher - Patch 1.04 for PC out now! - last accessed on May 2023
  18. Verified by User:Eleventeen on 2015-12-10
  19. Enabling Steam Controller input icons (even on the GOG version) - last accessed on May 2023
  20. PC holding down q to cast axii puppet does not work in combat - last accessed on May 2023
  21. Credits goes to Luka B in comment section - last accessed on May 2023
  22. Important Information about AMD Catalyst™ Driver Support for Project CARS and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
  23. The Witcher 3 Complete Edition Mods List - last accessed on 2022-12-20