The Witcher 3may not be the go-to mainstream RPG anymore, now thatBaldur’s Gate 3 has that title, but if you’re keen on modding, now may be the time to jump back in. The newEternal Huntmod offers an excellent excuse to do just that.
The Witcher 3 has a decent modding scene, though it still falls behind some of the most-moddable games from Bethesda and the like. It remains to be seen whether the community will pick up CD Projekt Red’s flagship fantasy ARPG after itsofficial modding tools come out later this year. Yet, that’s not to say that there aren’t any quality mods available forThe Witcher 3at all.
The Witcher 3: Eternal Huntis, in fact, possibly the best mod the game has received yet, and it builds upon the core gameplay experience of the title in virtually every way. It addsstealth, for goodness’ sake, and it lets you turn Geralt into a frog.
What is The Witcher 3: Eternal Hunt?
Certainly, the creator ofThe Witcher 3: Eternal Hunt, apokryphos, does warn you right off the bat that their mod is a fairly comprehensive beast. “One mod to rule them all and in darkness bind them,” does the description promise,loftily. In truth, however,Eternal Huntis even bigger than it might seem after reading throughits lengthy Nexus Mods page. “Its features number in the several hundreds,” promises apokryphos. They are, most certainly, correct.
Having spent some time playingEternal Huntand interacting with its settings menu, yours truly is still completely at odds with attempting to describe everything that the mod revamps, changes, or simply outright improves aboutThe Witcher 3. If you’re not keen on fiddling with settings, it’s not something I’d necessarily recommend, butEternal Huntis a dream come true in most ways.
The Witcher 3: Eternal Huntcomes with all of the following:
This, note, is a wholly inexhaustive list. The mod also allows you to, for example, entirely ignore Gwent (why would you dothat?). You can also turn off the baseline item durability and weight management systems, should you find those annoying.
Eternal Hunt adds more content, but it also changes most gameplay systems
On top of all of the goodies listed in the section prior, the underlying gameplay loop changes and additions featured as part ofThe Witcher 3: Eternal Huntare simply too numerous and exhaustive to keep track of. All of it is managed via the in-game mod menu, keep in mind, so it’s easy enough to tweak things according to your taste.
For example, Geralt can nowsneakaround enemies, if he so desires. He can also discover and use unique weapons, which grant him effects and abilities he never had access to in the base game. Augmented Zirael, for example, gives Geralt some of Ciri’s abilities, allowing him to zip around the battlefield just as his adoptive daughter usually does. Finding the Gharasham Blood Ring, on the other hand, lets Geralt turn into a higher vampire to dish out punishment. It’s a good thing, too, because Geralt is now also stalked by vicious assassin creatures, whose ranks include Assassins of the Profaned Ichor, who wield Elder Blood abilities themselves.
It’s a downright ridiculous feature-set that will make any fan ofThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntreach for that sweet, shiny ‘Install’ button once again, and it’s bound to keep you busy for a good long while. The installation ofEternal Huntis somewhat tricky if you’re not used toThe Witcher 3‘s modding systems, but following apokryphos’ instructionsto the lettershould do away with any potential problems.
