Because of the overwhelmingly positive response to Andrzej Sapkowski’sThe Witcherbooks as well as CD Projekt Red’s ownThe Witchergames, it was inevitable that Netflix would commission a drama series based on the adventures of Geralt of Rivia. Starring Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan as Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Princess Cirilla respectively, the Netflix series started in December 2019 and loosely follows the events in Sapkowski’s novels. As of writing,The Witchercurrently has two seasons under its belt with more in the works.
Contradictory to most novel and video game adaptations,The WitcherNetflix series was rather well-received by viewers and critics alike. It was so good in fact that CD Projekt Reddecided to add Henry Cavill’s witcher armor and swordsintoThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The extra content comes as a free add-on to complement the game’s next-gen upgrade patch and introduces a new quest that rewards players with the schematics to craft both the armor and weapons in the TV series. But while any new content for an eight-year-old masterpiece such asThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntis appreciated, the way in which the gear fits into the game’s lore isn’t as well done as fans would have hoped.
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A Dark Quarry And A Cursed Witcher
To unlockThe WitcherNetflix series armor and weapon schematics, players must completethe new mission called “In The Eternal Fire’s Shadow"which is given by a newly appointed Eternal Fire deacon just outside the Devil’s Pit location in Velen. Players have to be at least level 15 to undertake this quest normally, which can be difficult considering how close it is to players once they finish the game’s introductory missions in White Orchard and begin their search for Ciri in earnest. Just outside the Devil’s Pit, the deacon will employ Geralt of Rivia to clear the location of monsters and whatever else remains in the pit after the Eternal Fire used it to isolate scarlet fog victims long ago.
As Geralt clears Devil’s Pitof bandits and monsters, he discovers that a Witcher called Reinald passed through before him with the same goal in mind. He also hears a disembodied voice that spurs him to go deeper into the pit - a voice that he later learns belongs to Reinald himself. Geralt eventually finds Reinald trapped within various salt stalagmites at the very bottom of Devil’s Pit. The older Witcher is possessed by a red miasmal - an ancient specter born out of the anguish of those who were thrown into the pit eons ago.
After defeating both the possessed body of Reinald and the red miasmal’s true form, Geralt finds that Reinald is a much older Witcher than he initially suspected.Reinald was commissioned by priests of the Eternal Fireto cleanse Devil’s Pit many years ago but ended up being trapped by them as soon as things went sideways. Despite his employers' betrayal, however, Reinald did his best to keep the red miasmal imprisoned in the salt stalagmites that Geralt found him in.
An Ancient Set of Witcher Gear
No matter how players choose to resolve the quest,they will gain access to the schematics for Reinald’s armor and weapons. The Forgotten Wolf School Gear is a set of Witcher armor that is identical to the one Henry Cavill uses in the Netflix series. It increases the duration of potions when 3 or more pieces are worn and using the entire set increases the damage inflicted by the Aard witcher sign based on whether enemies have been previously affected by the Yrden sign. Unlike the other Witcher school gear sets, however, the Forgotten Wolf School Gear only has 3 upgrade levels - standard, mastercrafted, and grandmaster (with the upgrade schematics being found within the Kaer Morhen fortress).
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The Forgotten Wolf School Gear May Be Older And Weaker Than Other Witcher Sets
Though the Forgotten Wolf School Gear is a fine set of Witcher gear,its presence inThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntdoesn’t make much sense when the Netflix series is taken into consideration. First and foremost, the armor should be familiar to Geralt, who does not recognize Reinald’s armor as he comments on how different it looks from the color and materials used to the dissimilar wolf school pendant. Considering how old the Forgotten Wolf School Gear is, it is clear that its design was discarded in favor of other Witcher gear that provides more advantages to its wearers.
This feeds into the discussion that the Forgotten Wolf School Gear may be inferior to the other Witcher school gear sets available. Whereas sets like the Ursine School Gear and Cat School Gear provide players with different ways to play (with the formerincreasing the potency of the Quen signand the latter increasing fast attack and backstab damage respectively), the main use of the Forgotten Wolf School Gear is to increase the duration of potions. The gear’s second ability, which increases the damage inflicted by Aard, is solely dependent on if enemies have been hit by the Yrden sign beforehand. It requires patience and timing to get this to work, as players must first cast the Yrden sign and have enemies walk into it. Even then, they still have to wait for their stamina to replenish before they can cast the damaging Aard sign.
There are too many discrepancies should players attempt to connect the Netflix series' Witcher school gear withThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The armor is far older than it should be and the benefits it provides aren’t exactly up to par with the rest of the endgame gear. It is a nice reference and fans of the show will appreciate it, but aesthetics seems to beas far as Henry Cavill’s Witcher gear will go in the lands of Temeria.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis available now for PC, PS4, PS5 Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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