User:Rootsrat/TheWitcher3 Return Of The White Wolf Test

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CURRENTLY SUPPORTED GAME VERSION:
1.08.4

LATEST UPDATES:

FULL UPDATE LOG

XX/09/2015 - MAJOR UPDATE

Template:Warning

- General changes:
  - Minor text updates in the various sections of the guide (typos etc.)
  - user.settings section updated
    - Updated [HUD] section to make new Friendly HUD mod work correctly
    - Replace your existing [HUD] section with the new one
  - mods.settings section
    - Delete all the entries you have in the mods.settings file so far.
    - Add new entries as per the new instructions.
- Guide section changes:
- Mods Updated:
  - Assorted Mod Patches - combined into just 1 mod
    - New patches were created to support the below mod changes.
    - Uninstall all the patches
    - Install the new, combined patch.
  - No Automatic Camera Centering
    - New 1.2 version installed.
    - Uninstall old version and install new one.
- Mods Removed:
  - Buffs in radial menu
    - Replaced by Friendly HUD
  - Enhced Console Commands
    - This mod was not useful for the normal gameplay. Unnecessary addition.
  - Fix Exp For Quests
    - This mod is unblanced and while it was OK for a main-quest-only speed run of Witcher 3 it will actually make the player character overpowered when playing normally with side quests, witcher contracts, searches etc.
  - HUD Key Toggles
    - Replaced by Friendly HUD
    - Navigate to your Documents\The Witcher 3 folder and edit input.settings file
    - Delete all IK_F3=(Action=ToggleHUD) entries, save the file and exit
  - Immersive HUD - iHUD
    - Replaced by Friendly HUD
  - Sit On Demand
    - Replaced by Friendly HUD
    - Navigate to your Documents\The Witcher 3 folder and edit input.settings file
    - Delete all IK_T=(Action=Sit) entries, save the file and exit
  - Spawn Companion console command
    - This mod wasn't really that useful and required compatibility patches. Unnecessary addition.
  - World Map Unlimited Zoom
    - Replaced by Friendly HUD
- Mods Added:

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Introduction

This guide's main aim is to make the game a better experience, improving all of the game aspects to make it more challenging and realistic, better scaled and prettier to play, while remaining friendly to The Witcher universe lore, including the previous games and the books. This part is very important to me, so you can rest assured that if you follow this guide, you'll get The Witcher experience as close to the books as possible and the one that will be realistic and serious.

Please be aware of your hardware limitations. If you are struggling to get the game running on Ultra details, you'll probably want to skip the non-mandatory part of configuration files modification.

The guide will be updated with new mods and better tools as they are released, so expect a lot of changes until all the basic tools are released and modding scene for The Witcher 3 matures. The game itself is also being updated and the developers are working on the bugs, with the updates being released every so often, so please also bear in mind that the guide is written for a specific version of the game and may not work with the future versions of The Witcher 3. I will make clear indication which game version is the guide compatible with.

Another thing to note is that I am using GOG Galaxy version of The Witcher 3, not the Steam version, so adjust all the file paths accordingly if you use Steam instead of GOG Galaxy.

The guide is using step-by-method to instruct users how to install the mods. It's listed from top down and it is advised to install the mods in that order to make sure that all directions are followed correctly and no steps are missed.

Without the support of STEP, this guide would not be possible. If you would like to make a donation, that would be awesome! Do so with Paypal.

ALL donations are applied to hosting expenses.

System requirements

The below is taken from The Witcher 3 Support website.

Please note that the game is both graphics- and processor-intensive and it’s the graphics card and the processor not meeting the minimum requirements that will often be responsible for performance problems with the game.

Minimum requirements:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1). DirectX 11 is necessary to run the game.
Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz, AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
Finding a Gaming CPUs performance chart and comparing one’s CPU with our minimum is suggested.
Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 660 or AMD GPU Radeon HD 7870
Please mind that we only officially support full-size desktop graphics cards. Finding a graphics card performance hierarchy chart online and comparing one’s video card with our minimum is suggested.
RAM: 6GB
Disk space: 40 GB

Recommended requirements:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1). DirectX 11 is necessary to run the game.
Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 3770 3,4 GHz, AMD CPU AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 770 or AMD GPU Radeon R9 290
RAM: 6GB
Disk space: 40 GB

Note that the below guide will be demanding on your system and it's recommended for user that have suitable rigs to ruin it. The settings will be adjusted to go BEYOND the in game Ultra settings, which are very demanding for most of the systems already. Please be cautious and realise that I don't take the responsibility for any damage that your system may take when using the below guide.

You have been warned.

I play on the following system, so if you have similar or better machine, you don't have to worry.

Windows 10
Intel Core i5 4590 @ 3.30 GHz	
Corsair Vengeance 8.00 GB @ 1600 MHz (9-9-9-24)
MSI Z87-G45 GAMING (MS-7821)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 ASUS Strix

The Witcher 3 modding

I. Overview

As of game version 1.08 Witcher 3 supports mods created with help of the official ModKit tool. This is not the full editor RedKit 2 that we're all waiting for, but it allows for easy access to the game files and also for modifying game scripts. This means new, more advanced and complex mods are being released for Witcher 3. The mods are installed into \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\Mods directory now, and it needs to be manually created.

Note that Nexus Mod Manager supports Witcher 3 and it's being used as the Mod Manager of choice for this guide. It allows for automated download, installation and management of the mods, which makes the whole process very easy.

The old, pre-Modkit and pre-NMM method of modding the game still works (modifying the bundle files of the game (which contain the archived game files that ModKit allows now to extract easily) and some mods in this guide are still installed with this old method. As the modders will be converting their mods to the new format the old method will eventually be redundant and this guide will no longer support it. The bundle files are located in "The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\content" and "The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\DLC*\content" and subsequent directories. More details and a mod making tutorial can be found on this Nexus mod page.

Note that Nexus Mod Manager does not support these old mods and they need to be installed manually.

Another way of modding the game is editing the setting files. There are 2 types. One is called "user.settings" and it's located in "Documents/The Witcher 3" directory. This file stores all your game settings, including HUD, Audio and Video settings, the ones that you can change via the Options menu in game (and many more similar options). The other ones are INI files located in "The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\config" sub-directories.

A few points to note:

The Witcher and GOG Galaxy in general should not be installed in the Program Files or Program Files (x86) directory.
Make sure The Witcher 3 directory is clean from any other modding previously done.
Delete the user.settings file from The Witcher 3 in the Documents directory and start the game so a new one can regenerate. This will allow the config file to revert back to vanilla before starting.
Remember to make a backup of every file that you modify. This will save you time reinstalling the game should things go south.

II. Pre-modding hardware and software configuration

Monitor Calibration

This is very important step - it will assure your monitor has correctly calibrated colours, white balance etc.

Navigate to Control Panel (Win8/10 users: right click Start menu and select Control Panel)
Select View by: Large Icons
Select Display
Select Calibrate Colour
Follow on screen instructions

nVidia Control Panel settings

For nVidia users only

Open nVidia Control Panel (you can access it from your PC Control Panel or - if you use GeForce Experience - from this application's icon in the tray). Follow these instructions:

Select "Manage 3D Settings" from the left hand side menu
Go to "Global Settings" tab
Expand DSR Factors setting and activate all multipliers
Leave DSR Smoothness at 33%
Select Apply and close the application

You will be now able to select DSR for your display up to 4K.

nVidia Inspector settings

For nVidia users only

Download the file if you don't have this program. It's a portable application, so extract it wherever you want to store it on your disk.

Run the application
Select "The Witcher 3" from the Profiles drop down list
Force Anisotropic filtering mode by setting Anisotropic filtering to "User-defined / Off".
Set Anisotropic filtering setting to 16x. 
Set Texture Filtering - Quality to High Quality.
Click Apply changes twice and then close, accepting any overwrite when prompted.

DLC

Navigate to GOG Galaxy and install all the DLC content apart from Alternative Look for Yennefer (it's not lore friendly in my opinion, but you can install it if you like it).

I also didn't install Alternative Look for Ciri DLC, as I didn't think it fits the game story very well, but feel free to also install it if you like it.

III. Configuration Files Edits

user.settings

User.settings is the file where The Witcher 3 saves all your settings, including HUD, Audio and Video settings.

Run the game and set all the graphical options to your liking and according to your PC capabilities. Keep in mind that if you will want to use the ReShade preset (introduced in the guide later on), it will cost you about 8-10 FPS. Many popular ReShade presets require you to set these specific Graphics and Post Processing options as follows:

AA Disabled Depends if preset of your choice provides it's own method of AA. Double check now and you won't have to worry about it later on. The rest should be as below:
Full Screen Mode
HBAO+ 
Sharpening Low
Chromatic Aberration Off
Vignette Off
Sun Shafts On
Bloom On

Now exit the game, navigate to "Documents\The Witcher 3" directory and make a back up of the "user.settings" file first (IMPORTANT! - you'll most likely need it in about 5 minutes), then right click the file and select Open With. Then select a text editor of your choice (I recommend Notepad++).

Search for the below values and ensure they are set to:

GammaValue=1
TextureMipBias=-0.7
ShowCompatWarning=false

Now add the following to the end of the file (directly below MaxVisibilityDepth)

[Streaming/Textures]
UseMipRefiner=true
CinematicModeMipBias=-0.3

Now find [Hud] section, delete all the entries from it and replace them with the below.

A few things to note first: some of the below settings are required for the Friendly HUD mod to work as intended and other ones are purely preferential to support the main aims of this guide: realism and increased challenge. With the below settings the minimap is off and you will need to rely on your Witcher senses, the enemy HP bars are off so you never know what level of monster you're up against and also how much health they have left, and the quest hints are also turned off, so that you won't immediately know what you need to do or who to talk to unless you specifically check the Journal. Other HUD elements are also switched off for maximum immersion.

[Hud]
MinimapRotation=false
NPCNames=true
Minimap2Module=false
MessageModule=true
OnelinersModule=false
BossFocusModule=false
ItemInfoModule=false
TimeLapseModule=true
HudSize=0
QuestsModule=false
BuffsModule=false
DamagedItemsModule=true
HorsePanicBarModule=false
ConsoleModule=true
MiminapPoiQuestionMarks=true
WolfMedalion=false
OxygenBarModule=true
EnemyFocusModule=false
EnemyHitEffects=false
HorseStaminaBarModule=false
CompanionModule=true
MinimapTracksWaypoints=false
ControlsFeedbackModule=false
BoatHealthModule=false

Before we continue, please note that the following modifications to user.settings file are purely optional and you need to decide whether you want to introduce them. Some of them will have significant impact on your performance and some just minimal. The FPS hit varies per user and seems to depends on the individual PC build, so the best thing is to introduce the change one by one and check in game what performance impact the modifications have on your game. You can go with even higher values than the ones below, but beware of the performance hit!

Ignore the red text below and don't input it. It's commentary only for the purpose of this guide.

Under [Gameplay/EntityPool] section:

SpawnedLimit=300 This controls how many actors can be active on the scene at any given time. Ultra setting value: 150

Under [Hidden] section:

These two entries control the location of HUD on the screen. These values will move them HUD more towards the edges of the screen. WARNING - APPLIES TO 1920 x 1080 resolution only! For other resolutions experiment with the values.
uiVerticalFrameScale=1.065 
uiHorizontalFrameScale=1.0375

Under [Budget] section

This section controls how much system resource will be spared to run the game.
TerrainTileMipDataBudget=300
TerrainTileMinTimeout=2
TerrainTileTimeout=10
OcclusionQueryAdditionalMemory=5
TerrainTileLoadingTimeout=5

Under [Audio] section:

Subtitles=false This controls the subtitles in the retrospective slides shows during loading a game.

Under [PostProcess] section:

These settings should be set to whatever you like, and some ReShade presets requires them to be set to specific values.
AllowChromaticAberration=false
SharpenAmount=1
MotionBlurPositionTreshold=0.05
AllowVignette=false
MotionBlurRotationTreshold=1
AllowAntialias=false Before switching Anti Aliasing off ensure that the post processing preset you use (if any) supplies its own AA method. If you don't use any presets or if it doesn't supply AA, set this to True.
SSAOSolution=2

Under [Gameplay] section:

Difficulty=4 This can be set between 0-4. I strongly recommend the highest difficulty of 4.
EnableMovement=1 This is the alternative, more responsive movement type for Geralt.

Under [LevelOfDetail] section:

All the below settings control Level Of Detail (trees in the far distance etc.). Ultra setting values, respectively: 200, 80, 60, 20, 60. Setting them to the above values will greatly increase the distant detail at very low performance cost.
SwarmHideDistance=800
DecalsHideDistance=400
DimmerHideDistance=400
DynamicDecalsHideDistance=400
StripeHideDistance=400

Under [Rendering] section:

Note the values in this section can have significant performance hit. Try the below ones and experiment with different values to get the best performance vs quality.
GrassDensity=3600 Self explanatory. Density of grass. Ultra setting value: 2400. Settings above 3600 look messy and not natural.
DecalsSpawnDistanceCutoff=10
TextureStreamingHeadsDistanceLimit=40
GlobalOceanTesselationFactor=128 This controls the water quality. Ultra setting value: 64
WaterGeometryQuality=10 This a new entry, you need to add it. It also controls the water quality.
TextureStreamingCharacterDistanceLimit=200 Ultra setting value: 64
CascadeShadowFadeTreshold=1
HairWorksGlobalWidthLimit=10 Ultra setting value: 5.
CascadeShadowDistanceScale2=4 Best quality vs performance setting for this shadow type: 4. Change it to 2 or 1 if you want.
MaxTextureAnizotropy=16
TextureStreamingDistanceLimit=80000
HairWorksGlobalDensityQuality=1
TextureMemoryBudget=2000 Ultra setting value: 800.
CascadeShadowDistanceScale3=2 Best quality vs performance setting for this shadow type: 2. Change it to 1 if you want.
HairWorkstGlobalDensityLimit=2
MeshLODDistanceScale=8
ScaleformTextureUnstreamDelay=2.5
DecalsChance=1
TerrainReadAheadDistance=1200 Ultra setting value: 800.
HairWorksLevel=2 
TerrainScreenSpaceErrorThreshold=1.6
TerrainScreenSpaceErrorThresholdFar=3.5
MaxTerrainShadowAtlasCount=4
HairWorksGlobalDetailLODFactor=1
TextureMipBias=-0.7
HardwareCursor=true
TextureInFlightCountBudget=12
TerrainErrorMetricMultiplier=2 
CascadeShadowmapSize=3072 Shadows resolution. Ultra setting value: 3072. Feel free to try other settings: 2048,3072,4096,8192.
CascadeShadowDistanceScale0=16 Best quality vs performance setting for this shadow type: 16. Change it to 8 or 4 if you want.
MeshRenderingDistanceScale=4 Ultra setting value: 2
CascadeShadowQuality=4
HairWorksAALevel=2 HairWorks AA. Best quality vs performance setting: 2 or 4, depending on your rig. Input 8 if you want, but it's no visible quality improvement vs performance drop.
CascadeShadowDistanceScale1=8 Best quality vs performance setting for this shadow type: 8. Change it to 4 or 2 if you want.

Under [Rendering/SpeedTree] section:

These settings control drawing range of grass and foliage. They hit performance heavily so you need to experiment with what is best for you. I have them set up as follows. They cause my game to stutter if I set them any higher than that, but feel free to experiment.
GrassDistanceScale=1 High and Ultra setting values, respectively: 1.0, 1.5
FoliageDistanceScale=1 High and Ultra setting values, respectively: 1.0, 1.8
FoliageShadowDistanceScale=32 High and Ultra setting values, respectively: 16, 54
GrassRingSize=4194304 High and Ultra setting values, respectively: 4194304, 16777216. IMPORTANT! If you want to increase this setting ensure the value is a multiplication of 4194304

Under [Foliage] section:

Again, this depth of grass and foliage. This setting also can have performance it, so - again - experiment with what's best for you. Ultra setting: 24.
MaxVisibilityDepth=36

When you're finished editing Save the file and exit. Now, set the file to Read Only (right-click the file, select Properties, place a tick in Read-Only box, select Apply and then OK).

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gameplay.ini

This change will disable blurred edges when using Witcher Senses (foucs) mode. The screen will still dim and sounds will be muffled. This is not required and only personal preference.

Navigate to \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\config\base directory
Edit gameplay.ini file
Change MotionSicknessFocusMode=false to MotionSicknessFocusMode=true 
Save the file and exit
Set the file to Read Only (right-click the file, select Properties, place a tick in Read-Only box, select Apply and then OK).

mods.settings

This file controls the mod load order and it is used to ensure the mod are loaded into the game in the correct order, to achieve all the required effects and changes. It can also be used to check for mod conflicts (more on that later). Follow these instructions:

Navigate to your \Documents\The Witcher 3 folder
Create a new text file
Name it "mods.settings" and remove the .txt extension
Edit the file
Add the following contents:
  
  [modAMP]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=1
  
  [modSilverSwords]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=2
  
  [modBear]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=3
  
  [modRelicWeaponsRedone]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=4
  
  [modFSRestoredIcons]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=5
  
  [modCiriHair]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=6
  
  [modHairLodMainNpc]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=7
  
Save the file and exit

The patch is now installed and will be loaded into the game as last (and therefore AFTER the conflicting mods).

IV. Modding the game

Tools and Utilities

Nexus Mod Manager

Author: Nexus
Version: Always Latest
Installation: Click on the relevant Download button. Follow these instructions:

Run the installation program and follow on-screen instructions
Run the program
Wait until scan for all the compatible games is finished and confirm
Select Witcher 3 from the menu
Select Mod Downloads location and leave the Install Info in the default location
Navigate to your The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt directory and create a new directory in there called Mods

The Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) is a free and open source piece of software that allows you to download, install, update and manage your files through an easy to use interface. It integrates with the Nexus sites allowing you to download the compatible mods using Download With Manager button on the mod pages. When you will use this functionality for the first time you'll be required to log in, using your Nexus credentials.

The mods will be downloaded to the directory of your choice and installed into your \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\Mods directory, which needs to be manually created.

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W3HC - Witcher 3 Hunter's Config

Author: MelekTaus
Version: 0.7.7
Installation: Download "W3HC 0.7.7 - Standalone version" file. Follow these instructions:

Navigate to your game main installation directory: X:\GOG Games\The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\
Unzip and copy everything to that directory 
Navigate to "\The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\config\base\", create a new directory and name it "ReShade"

This is a standalone tool that allows to change many options in the user.config file and various INI files without the need to manually edit the files. The program also allows for very easy Re-Shade preset management and this is it's main role in this guide. We will do this later on in the guide, for now just install the tool.

Debug Console Enabler Updated

Author: Skomski
Version: 1.08.1
Installation: Download "debug-console-enabler-default" file. Follow these instructions:

Navigate to your game installation directory: \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\x64
Unzip and copy everything to that directory

This mod adds a developers' console (similar to the one in Skyrim) and also enables the free camera.

Enable free camera ingame with "F1". Enable debug console ingame with "~" or "F2".

PhotoMode 2inOne

Author: CAPA
Version: 2.3.0
Installation: Manually download only the main file. Follow these instructions:

Unzip the archive somewhere on your drive
Copy bin directory into your Witcher 3 installation directory and overwrite the file when prompted
Open "mods" directory and use WinZip or 7zip to pack the modPhotomode2inOne directory into modPhotomode2inOne.7z (or zip) archive
Open Nexus Mod Manager and select Add Mod From File icon on the left menu
Navigate to and add modPhotomode2inOne.7z archive as a new mod
Navigate to \My Documents\The Witcher 3 directory
Edit input.settings file
Add the following lines to the end of each section APART FROM [InputSettings] section
  
  IK_R=(Action=Photomode2inOne)
  IK_NumPad1=(Action=TimeScaleDown)
  IK_NumPad2=(Action=TimeScaleUp)
  IK_NumPad3=(Action=TimeScaleReset)
  IK_NumPad4=(Action=SelectWTDown)
  IK_NumPad5=(Action=SelectWTUp)
  IK_NumPad6=(Action=ActivateWT)
  IK_NumPad7=(Action=SelectFXDown)
  IK_NumPad8=(Action=SelectFXUp)
  IK_NumPad9=(Action=ActivateFX)
  
Save the file
Right click the file and mark it as Read Only

The main purpose of this mod is to capture action scenes, which becomes very difficult when you have to bring the console down and type the commands. It also come handy when testing mods.

The main function is to "hide hud and pause" with one button and "unhide hud and unpause" using the same button. Then you can use the Freecam solution of the Debug Console Enabler to take some nice action Screenshots. It's also possible to: - Change Weather (possible Weathers are by area) - Select and Toogle Visual Effects like Sepia, Cat, Toxicity, Low Health, Drunk. - Control Time: Slowmo or FastForward to how much you want.

Note that we've set the "R" button as a "pause" command (IK_R=(Action=Photomode2inOne line we've added to Input.settings file). You can change this button to anything you want, just change the IK_R to IK_Your_Key. The other once you pause the game with R, you can control the mod as follows:

NumPad 1 - Time Scale Down (If is 1 and you press it it will decrement 0.1 until reaches 0)
NumPad 2 - Time Scale Up (If from 0 to 1 increments 0.1, from 1 to 10 increments 1 and from 10 above increments 10)
NumPad 3 - Timescale Reset (Resets multiplier to 1 normal time scale)
NumPad 4 - Weather Down
NumPad 5 - Weather Up
NumPad 6 - Activate Weather (this just activates the selected weather is not a toogle) / Activate Effect (this is the key to Toogle the selected effect)
NumPad 7 - Effect Down
NumPad 8 - Effect Up

Tweaks and Fixes

Active Witcher Zoom

Author: SP3333DO
Version: 4.0
Installation: Download the main "modActiveWitcherZoom (normal)" file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.
Navigate to your Documents\The Witcher 3 directory
Edit input.settings file
Delete ALL the following entries
   IK_MouseZ=(Action=ToggleSigns)
  
Add the following line...
   IK_MouseZ=(Action=ZoomPlayer)
  
...to all the sections APART FROM:
  [BASE_DEBUG]
  [BASE_SHOW_RADIAL_MENU]
  [InputSettings]
  [LootPopup]
  [RadialMenu]
  [SCENE_IS_STARTING_HACK]
  [Scene]
  
Save the file
Right click the file and mark it as Read Only

Active Witcher Zoom allows you to dynamically zoom the camera closer to or further from Geralt while you are playing! Instead of modding either nearer or further fixed distances, this mod allows you to change the distance as you play, adapting the camera to best fit the current situation and environment. You can use mouse wheel for that. Warning! This makes the Signs no longer selectable by the mouse wheel.

Close Cam - Move Camera Closer-Farther-1st person

Author: SunBroDave
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download the Close Cam file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Do not download the optional file. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

The aim of this great little mod is to bring the camera closer to Geralt during exploration. It's the same position as indoors. This makes the game and the character feel more personal and it allows for better immersion in the game world. You will find yourself walking more often, looking at things up close, admiring the surroundings and experiencing the environments - be it woods, city or swamps - more from Geralt's perspective. The camera still zooms out during combat and when Geralt's riding a horse.

Note there is also an optional 1st person camera file available, but it more proof of concept mod and it's quite clumsy at this point.

Gear Improvements Last Longer

Author: Elenear
Version: 1.1
Installation: Download "Gear Improvements Last Longer (GILL)" main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This simple mod changes the duration that armour and weapon improvements last to more realistic, not exaggerated values. Both improvements now last for a full in game day (roughly 96 minutes) after which they wear off. The vanilla 15 mins was 3h 45 min in game time. Sharpening your sword and improving the armour should last longer than that! A full day makes them more useful and actually worth getting, but also short enough to actively look for the places where we can make improvements when they wear off.

More Realistic Food And Drink

Author: Elenear
Version: 1.1
Installation: Download the main file only by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod changes how food and drink items work to a semi-realistic way. Now the food and drink will heal you slowly over long period of time, which is supposed to simulate satiation and hydration. Both duration and healing rate are randomised to simulate various quality of food within it's in game tier.

Additionally the inventory menu tooltip for food and drink items was removed so that you won't know how long the regeneration effects exactly last until you eat and drink. This is to increase realism - Geralt doesn't know exactly how soon he will be hungry/thirsty after eating and drinking.

No More Rolling Down Stairs

Author: KCS
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod fixes the rolling down the stairs animation by replacing it with Geralt's stutter animation. It doesn't eliminate the problem entirely, but the new animation looks much more natural and is not as immersion breaking as the ridiculous vanilla one.

Random Gameplay Tweaks

Author: pMarK
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download "(Stamina) 10 Sec No Cost Sprint" optional file only by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

With this mod the Stamina consumption from sprinting starts after 10 seconds when exploring. If in combat it starts after 3 secs (which is vanilla default).

HUD and UI

Even Smaller HUD and Lower Opacity

Author: TheLastWitcher
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download the main "modHUD" file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

A tweak to the HUD that makes it even smaller and lowers the opacity.

Friendly HUD

Author: TheLastWitcher
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download the main "modHUD" file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.
Navigate to your Documents\The Witcher 3 directory
Edit input.settings file
Add the following line...
  IK_F3=(Action=HUDToggle)
  
...to every section of the guide APART FROM [InputSettings]
Remove the following line:
  IK_Space=(Action=OpenMeditation)
  
...from [RadialMenu] and add the following lines to this section:
  IK_1=(Action=ConsumePotion1)
  IK_2=(Action=ConsumePotion2)
  IK_3=(Action=ConsumePotion3)
  IK_4=(Action=ConsumePotion4)
  IK_5=(Action=ConsumePotion5)
  IK_6=(Action=ConsumePotion6)
  IK_7=(Action=ConsumePotion7)
  IK_8=(Action=ConsumePotion8)
  IK_9=(Action=ConsumePotion9)
  IK_0=(Action=ConsumePotion10)
  IK_Minus=(Action=ConsumePotion11)
  IK_Equals=(Action=ConsumePotion12)
  IK_1=(Action=EquipBomb1)
  IK_2=(Action=EquipBomb2)
  IK_3=(Action=EquipBomb3)
  IK_4=(Action=EquipBomb4)
  IK_5=(Action=EquipBomb5)
  IK_6=(Action=EquipBomb6)
  IK_7=(Action=EquipBomb7)
  IK_8=(Action=EquipBomb8)
  IK_Q=(Action=SwitchBuffsMode)
  IK_Space=(Action=ShowActiveBuffs)
Save the file
Right click the file and mark it as Read Only
Make sure you have copied [HUD] section over from user.settings file from the beginning of this guide
Navigate to \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\Mods\modFriendlyHUD\content\scripts\game directory
Edit modFriendlyHUDConfig.ws file
Change the following values to be:
  fullHealthRegenAnyDifficulty = true;
  showTrackedQuest = false;
Save the file and exit

This mod modifies the entire HUD and display and adds new functionalities. Please read the below description carefully!

1. New features, introduced by the mod: - 3D markers for tracked quest: this feature shows tracked quest's map marker(s) (and also user map marker) as floating text while using witcher senses (see screen-shots). - Real time meditation: holding a hotkey (N) allows you to enter new "Exploration Meditation" state with no menu and an ability to see world around you while time fast-forwards. It updates buffs and regenerates stats in real time multiplied by acceleration factor. Sun and Stars skill is actually useful now! It also refills your potions while meditating this way. - You can now drink potions and equip bombs while in radial menu with hotkeys (see this screen-shot). Use 'Q' to quickly switch between potions and bombs display and '1'-'9', '0', '-' and '=' to drink potion/equip a bomb. Use 'Space' to show active buffs.

2. HUD controls and customization options: - HUD on/off hotkey: toggle all HUD modules on and off with the F3 hotkey. - Hold-to-see feature: the mod redesigns default keys to work in two different ways - when you hold M (map) key minimap is displayed temporarily; when you hold J (journal) key the same happens to active quest info; holding K (character screen) hotkey temporarily displays character information related modules, namely Wolf Medallion module (health/stamina), Buffs module (active buffs), Items module (equipped items in quick slots) and Damaged Items module; Holding Enter (pause menu) displays character information modules, minimap module and quest info module simultaneously. Pressing these keys still works as usual, bringing up respective menus. - You can change zoom levels for minimap when inside, outside and on boat (by default map is zoomed out when inside and outside twice as compared to vanilla, boat zoom is the same as vanilla).

3. Menu options (map, journal and inventory): - Journal now shows current tracked quest when you open it instead of always showing a very first storyline quest. - Inventory now shows potions tab when opened (can be disabled) - Potions are now sorted in new order by default: oils, bombs, potions, mutagen potions, others.

No Automatic Camera Centering

Author: wghost81 aka Wasteland Ghost
Version: 7.0
Installation: Download only the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod disables the automatic camera centering when you ride your horse.

No Talk Icon

Author: AnotherSymbiote
Version: 1.0.2
Installation: Download only the "No Talk Icon" Main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This small edit hides the speech bubble icon that appear over NPCs who are far away.

Toxicity - Clean Face and Screen

Author: DJ_Kovrik
Version: 0.3
Installation: Download only the "Toxicity - Clean Screen" file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod removes toxicity green swirls from screen corners.

Lighting and Weather

Cutscene Lighting Mod

Author: KNG
Version: 1.10
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.
Navigate to \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\Mods\modKNGCSLM\content\scripts\local\game directory
Edit KNGCSLM.ws file
Find line 24 "envBlendValue = 0.5" and edit the value to what you want.
   This is the intensity of the lighting effects.
   It can be set from 0.1 to 1.0.
   Experiment what works best for you.

This mod for The Witcher 3 changes the default lighting definitions to the one used for cutscene illumination, which is much better than normal gameplay lighting.

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Models and Textures

Black and Grey Mare Roach

Author: Stairz
Version: 0.2
Installation: Download the "GreyRoach" main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod changes Geralt's horse textures.

Ciri Ashen Hair

Author: Rustine
Version: 1.02
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This is a mod that will change the colour of Ciri's hair to better match the lore.

Concept Art Bear Armor

Author: Rustine
Version: 1.01
Installation: Download the Concept Art Bear Armor file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod brings back the design from the 2014 artwork for the Bear Armor. There is also an optional no-bandana version if you prefer that one.

Concept Art Cat Armor

Author: Rustine
Version: 1.00
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod brings back the design from the 2014 artwork for the Cat Armor.

Dearg Ruadhri - The Wild Hunt Redesign

Author: Rustine & PATROL
Version: 1.00
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

The Wild Hunt was also called Dearg Ruadhri - The Red Riders. We wanted to make them darker, more unnatural and out of the world. People were terrified by the sight of the Hunt. They were scared of the riders in skeleton armors, scared of red color of blood, black and dark armors and old, white bones. The mod changes the appearance of the king, the generals the troops of the Hunt and their horses. It also erases Eredin's eyeliner and makes his eyes green, as they were in the books.

Griffin Set Redesign

Author: Rustine & Holgar96
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This is a redesign and retexture of the whole set of Griffin Armor.

Lore-friendly Silver Swords

Author: ErdnussSpass
Version: 0.3
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it.

This mod enhances the appearance of silver swords in the game. The books of Andrzej Sapkowski describe silver swords as very special and unique weapons. The game degrades the silver sword to being the second sword on your back, so it is my aim to add more remarkable optics to it.

The newest version of this mod includes

All silver swords of the game
Wolven Silver Sword, Lvl 1-4 (Wolf School Gear) (DLC)

The mod does not interfere with or change the optical effects of runes.

Lore-friendly Witchers

Author: DazzlingDjango
Version: 0.5
Installation: Download the 3 main files by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate each mod by double clicking on it. Select "No" in the dialog box.

This modification series aims for a more lore-friendly appearance of Geralt and the other witchers. By "lore" I mean the previous games, references in the current game itself and Andrzej Sapkowski's books. So far, three mods have been realized:

Real Witcher Eyes - Makes the witchers' ordinary eyes from the main game look more extraordinary and cat-like as it can be seen on earlier artworks or in the first game.
True Mutantism - Turns Geralt into the sickly-looking mutant he should be.
White Wolf - According to the books and games, Geralt has lost all his hair pigmentation giving him the name "White Wolf". However, as many of my supporters correctly remarked, his hair and beard are too grey in the vanilla game. That's why this mod turns them completely white.

Naked Ciri is Naked

Author: HartXIII
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download "Naked Ciri is Naked v1.0" file. Follow these instructions:

Navigate to your game installation directory: \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\content\content0\bundles
Unzip and copy everything to the above directory
Run the "Install.bat" file
Press Enter to exit the installer

Note THIS IS NOT A NUDE MOD.

This mod will make Ciri wear no bandages during the bath scene, which makes it more realistic. Note Ciri isn't actually naked, it's just her bandages gone. The model was already in game, but wasn't used.

Triss DLC appearance for masquerade only

Author: Sarcen
Version: v1
Installation: Download "triss_dlc_dressonly.rar" file. Follow these instructions:

Download and install the "Alternative Look for Triss" DLC from GOG 
Backup "The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\DLC\DLC6\content\bundles\blob.bundle" in case you want to revert
Extract "blob.bundle" to "The Witcher 3\DLC\DLC6\content\bundles\" and overwrite the existing one.

This mod makes Triss wear the dress from Alternate Look For Triss DLC content only during the masquerade ball, which makes perfect sense, rather than her wearing it all the time. She's supposed to be in hiding and this dress ain't very discreet...

Equipment

Crow's Saddle Overhaul

Author: Crow
Version: 1.2
Installation: Download only the main "Crow's Saddle Overhaul Pack" file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod.

Saddle Overhaul allows players to choose between four different saddle and saddlebag types, each of them having distinct style and uses. You'll be able to immediately tell the difference between the racing saddle and a cavalry one. Each saddle type is divided into four tiers, and you should get new tiers as the game progresses. Now each of those types is a viable option and is best for doing certain things.

Relic Weapons Redone

Author: Mangekyoumadara1987
Version: Recommended
Installation: Download only the main "Relic Weapons Redone with Improved Witcher set crossbows and swords" (version: Recommended) file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod.

Vanilla Relic Weapons are not really useful. Let`s face it, in this moment you got access to your first complete Witcher tier set, you`ll never ever use an ancient relic weapon again. They`re just good for selling, even after you risked your life to got it. Relic Weapons Redone tries to fix this, by bringing diverse more useful and interesting abilities to the blades.

Combat

No Auto Sword Sheath - Unsheath

Author: skyrayfox
Version: 1.1
Installation: Download all 3 files by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the No Auto Sword Sheath - Unsheath - NoAutoSwordSheath file
In Nexus Mod Manager activate the No Auto Sword Unsheathe file and select NO (Install Normally) in the dialog box
In Nexus Mod Manager activate the Combat Distance Fix (with manual combat stance toggle) file and select NO (Install Normally) in the dialog box

A real Witcher has full control over his weapons! This mod will prevent auto unsheathing your sword when before the fight and sheathing it when you get out of enemy's aggro zone. It will also allow to exit the combat stance by pressing the sheathe button and deflect arrows from a greater distance than vanilla game.

Miscellaneous

Fast Travel from Anywhere

Author: JupiterTheGod
Version: 1.0.0
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the file.

This mod allows for fast travel from any point on the map without the need to go to signposts.

Gwent Redone and Alternate Art

Author: Sleemani
Version: 1.1
Installation: Download "Gwent Redone and Alternate Art v1.1" file. Follow these instructions:

Unpack the mod to the location of your choice
Navigate to that location and edit Config.ini file
Change InstallVersion = 1 to InstallVersion = 2
Save the file and exit
Run "GwentRedone.exe" installation program
Confirm the 2 pop ups
Navigate to "\The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\content\patch0\bundles" directory and select "patch.bundle" file
Press Enter to exit the installer

This mod will make use of the additional artwork for some Gwent cards that was already in the game, but was never used.

Hide Readables from Dismantle Screen

Author: TheLastWitcher
Version: 1.0
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button. Follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the file.

This mod hides all readable items like books and notes from the Dismantle Item screen.

Patches

Assorted Mod Patches

Author: Elenear
Version: always the latest
Installation: Download the main file by clicking on Download with Manager button and follow these instructions:

In Nexus Mod Manager activate the mod by double clicking on it. 
Navigate to your \My Documents\The Witcher 3 folder
Ensure the following entry is present in the "mods.settings" file (it should already be there if you followed the guide correctly)
  [modAMP]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=1

This mod provides patches that resolve mod conflicts in this guide. Note there should be other entries in the mods.settings file apart from the modAMP if you followed the guide correctly.

Post Processing

There is no ENB for Witcher 3 (and Boris said he wouldn't make one for that game, I have actually asked...), however there are some alternatives in the shape of post processors such as ReShade, SweetFX, GemFX etc. These post processors are a great alternative to ENB and some really good effects can be achieved with them, including sophisticated AA, bloom, sharpening, DoF and many more similar effects.

You can use any ReShade preset of your choice for The Witcher 3 and I'll guide you how to use Hunter's Config Tool to effectively manage and test and manage them. We'll install ReShade first and then the preset.

ReShade

Author: Crosire
Version: Framework
Installation: Download "Framework" version and fllow these instructions:

Unzip the archive to \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\config\base\ReShade\Name_Of_The_Preset directory. Note: You will need to create the Name_Of_The_Preset directory and name it accordingly to the preset you use. This name will later appear on the list of the available presets to install.
Rename Reshade64.dll to dxgi.dll or d3d11.dll, depending on what the preset you use requires. See the instructions for installing a preset for more information!

Crosire's ReShade is an advanced, fully generic post-processing injector for games or alike. Imagine your favorite game with ambient occlusion, real high quality bokeh depth of field, color correction and more ... No more waiting: ReShade provides a generic way to access both color and depth information (latter is automatically disabled during multiplayer to prevent exploitation) and all the tools to make your dreams come true.

The possibilities are endless! Advanced depth-edge-detection-driven SMAA antialiasing, screen space ambient occlusion, depth of field, chromatic aberration, dynamic filmgrain, automatic saturation and color correction, cross processing, multi-pass blurring ... you name it.

ReShade supports all of Direct3D8 (which is converted to Direct3D9 to allow for more advanced effects using later shadermodels), Direct3D9, Direct3D9Ex, Direct3D10.X, Direct3D11.X and OpenGL and requires Windows Vista or higher.

Preset of Your Choice

Author: n/a
Version: n/a
Installation: Download the required files, as per the preset instructions. Follow these instructions:

Before you start the installation There is a few things to note:

Some presets already provide all the ReShade files and there is no need to install ReShade at first. Delete all the ReShade files first before installing the preset if that's the case.
You should rename the Reshade64.dll file that came with ReShade to dxgi.dll or d3d11.dll, depending on what the preset you use requires. Some presets use dxgi.dll and some d3d11.dll files. Pay attention, as you should only have 1 of them in your directory! ReShade32.dll should not be renamed.
Some presets require certain game settings to be set to specific values, like AA, Gamma, Sharpening etc.
ScrollLock is the default key to switch the preset on and off in game.

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Extract the archive somewhere on your disk
Copy contents of the preset to \The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\config\base\ReShade\Name_Of_The_Preset directory overwriting all the files 
Run Witcher 3 Hunter's Config tool that we've installed earlier
Select "Install SweetFX" button and choose the preset you want to use from the list
The button will change to "Uninstall SweetFX" following successful installation
Close the application and DO NOT save the changes (the changes are for configuration files only and we don't want to change those)

V. New Game Configuration

WORK IN PROGRESS, IGNORE THIS FOR NOW

I suggest starting the new game on the highest level: Death March. It will provide quite tough experience at the first few levels to then balance out and be accordingly demanding. The lower levels get really trivial from mid-game and the opponents pose no challenge. By leaning how to survive at the early levels you will get the necessary skills to play the game comfortably later on.

When you gain The first moment you gain access to the main map open it and set the filters as follows:

Hidden Trasure:

VI. MODS COMPATIBILITY

This part is for information only and serves as a learning experience.

To check your mods for compatibility follow these instructions:

Navigate to your \My Documents\The Witcher 3 folder
Make a backup of "mods.settings" file 
Edit "mods.settings" file
If you have any patches installed, change their priority to something like 99
Input the following lines:
  [modName_Of_Confliting_Mod_1] 
  Enabled=1
  Priority=0 
  
  [modName_Of_Confliting_Mod_2] 
  Enabled=1
  Priority=1
Save the file

Now run the game and check if Mod 1 and Mod 2 are working.

Both mods working correctly = No Mod Conflict.
Mod 1 YES and Mod 2 NO = Mod Conflict. Follow these instructions to double check

Navigate to your \My Documents\The Witcher 3 folder
Edit "mods.settings" file
Swap the mod priority:
  [modName_Of_Confliting_Mod_2]
  Enabled=1
  Priority=0
  
  [modName_Of_Confliting_Mod_1] 
  Enabled=1
  Priority=1
Save the file

Now run the game and check if Mod 1 and Mod 2 are working.

Mod 1 NO and Mod 2 YES = Mod Conflict Confirmed. Most likely outcome. You can either use only one of the mods or nicely ask mod authors for a patch.
None of the mods work = Mod Conflict Confirmed. Same as above.
Both are working correctly = Magic? Change the patch priority to 0, and move both mods up 1 priority and pray that the magic lasts forever.

After troubleshooting your mods don't forget to restore the mods.settings backup file and introduce any changes if necessary.

VII. Support & Feedback

Support is provided via a forum thread on STEP Community forums, so if you have any questions, suggestions or any feedback in general please post there and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Credits

rootsrat aka Elenear - Master Witcher
EssArrBee and Neovalen - the guide style sheet.
STEP for being one the best communities on the internet, gaming or not
A.l.e.x. for the configuration files guide
The Nexus for hosting all the mods
Countless modders for making their excellent contributions, this one goes without saying, we wouldn't be here if not for them!
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