“Blood and Wine” is not a continuation of the Wild Hunt’s main story, but a completely new adventure. It is twice as large as the previous DLC, titled “Hearts of Stone,” and will take up to 30 hours to finish. The developers promise over 90 new quests, which will immediately appear in your log after the installation of the add-on.
Toussaint, the land of wine
The story of “Blood and Wine” begins in Velen, where Geralt finds a new contract for himself. The text of the new quest indicates that Anna Henrietta, the duchess of Toussaint, asks Geralt of Rivia to visit her land and hunt a mysterious beast that terrorizes the noble people of Toussaint. So, Geralt finds two knights from Toussaint in Velen and travels with them to the land of wine.
What is this new area – Toussaint? It’s a duchy in Nilfgaard that looks like heaven on earth – just see for yourselves in this The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine trailer. The main occupation of people of Toussaint is wine-making and festivities. There are no military campaigns taking place there, but you can still find a decent amount of knights roaming the place.
The thing is that somebody kills the noble knights one by one and nobody really knows who it is. Geralt, being an excellent detective, realizes that all these murders are interconnected. However, this case is not the only focus of the new expansion – some bigger things are happening, which makes “Blood and Wine” a much more intriguing expansion than the last one.
So many quests!
The new story, however, doesn’t mean that the game is any different from the rest of the Geralt’s adventures. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine features the same classical gameplay with characteristic dialogues full of humor and a huge amount of side-quests, where Geralt gets to do his usual stuff, such as using his Witcher Senses.
The map of Toussaint abounds with new points of interest. You will constantly stumble upon undiscovered settlements, deep caverns and abandoned castles, where each place has its own secrets to reveal. Additionally, you will have to spend some time in Beauclair – the duchy’s capital with a massive fortress in the center.
The events of the expansion unfold deliberately, while Geralt gets to meet a few old friends on his way. There are also enough romantic cutscenes involving nudity, which has already become a common thing in Geralt’s life adventures.
Emperor’s New Clothes
“Blood and Wine” adds 30 new weapons and over a hundred new armor elements to the game, including the new Witcher armor class – Grandmaster. Also, now you can dye any piece of your gear, which puts the character customization at a whole new level.
The new character mechanics – Mutations – have been added to the game, as well. There are 12 of these new passive abilities overall, which can be unlocked after accomplishing the quest from Yennefer.
These mutations can help you change your style of play throughout the game. For example, Geralt can survive a deadly hit due to passive immunity, or you can simply improve the stats of your signs by adjusting them with the help of these special mutations.
All these innovations will turn Geralt into a killing machine making him twice as strong.
Geralt, the Householder
The most unusual, but completely understandable, addition to the game is real estate. Now, Geralt has his own household with a private vineyard in Toussaint – Corvo Bianco. Arguably, this is the payment for Geralt’s services to duchess Anna Henrietta.
At first, the household looks really messy and requires serious investments of money and time. You can add various items to your vineyard, such as herb gardens, where you can grow special herbs for your potions, or a crafting table, which you can use to upgrade your weapons and armor.
The more money you spend, the better the house will look. You can actually spend a lot more on interior by buying exquisite pieces of art and furniture. So, this adds a bit of The Sims vibe to the game, but what else do you plan on doing when you finish all your quests?
Pre-order Now
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine release date is May 31st, and it is available for pre-order in digital format on the official game’s website with the following options available:
Xbox One for $19. 99
PlayStation 4 for $17. 99
GOG (PC) for $10. 85
Steam (PC) for $12. 59
System Requirements
Minimum system requirements for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine PC version are following:
CPU: Core i5-2500K 3. 3GHz or Phenom II X4 940
GPU: GeForce GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870
RAM: 6 GB
OS: Win 7 64bit
Direct X: DX 11
HDD Space: 40 GB
Recommended system requirements for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine PC version are following:
CPU: Core i7-3770 4-Core 3. 4GHz or FX-8350
GPU: GeForce GTX 770 or Radeon R9 290
RAM: 8 GB
OS: Win 7 64bit
Direct X: DX 11
HDD Space: 40 GB
What new feature in the “Blood and Wine” expansion you like the most? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
