The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's next-gen update is meant to bring the 2015 hit open-world game to the current decade. While CD Project Red's final entry to TheWitcher trilogy holds up relatively well against today's video games, the developers thought they could improve on their past work with this free update. In addition to the standard graphical upgrades, numerous quality-of-life improvements have been included such as a customizable heads-up display, adjustable camera, and the handiest of the new gameplay features: a new quick sign casting mechanic.
For those unfamiliar with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Geralt of Rivia can call upon magical signs to aid him on his adventures. These range from a blast of telekinetic energy (Aard) to an indispensable, invisible shield that envelops its caster (Quen). Swapping between multiple signs in the original game was quite a chore but thanks to the new next-gen update, players can switch their preferred signs without leaving the action.
Sign Swapping Used To Be Cumbersome
Back when The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released, controller players had only a single button dedicated to casting signs. In order to cast a sign, they must first equip it by holding down the sign button. This would pause the game momentarily and open up a radial menu from which players could choose their preferred magical spell. They could then release the sign button to resume gameplay, whereupon they could tap the sign button once more to use the spell.
Players who use a mouse and keyboard for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had it a little easier. As the keys on a keyboard far outnumbered those on a controller, players could assign Witcher signs to specific keys. Though this meant that players would have to memorize more keys for sign casting, this would allow them to swap signs without leaving combat.
While the original process of switching signs is more intuitive in practice, having to pause the game in the middle of combat feels very clunky. The radial menu not only takes players out of the experience, but those using a controller have to reorient themselves with The Witcher's massive continent upon returning to combat. As for mouse and keyboard users, having to press a key to switch to a sign and another key to cast it feels very slow when compared to the fluid and responsive sword controls.
Quick Sign Swapping Is The Only Way To Go
Though CD Project Red added the option to swap between classic and quick sign casting, most players (particularly those on controllers) will gravitate toward the latter choice. Like the classic method, quick sign swapping is done by holding down the sign button. This is where the similarities end, however, as holding the button changes the quick attack, heavy attack, dodge, roll, and Witcher Senses buttons to sign casting buttons. Each button corresponds to a particular sign and over time, players will quickly get accustomed to using signs with this new method. This not only makes sign casting more fluid but more importantly, it doesn't take players out of the experience.
To give an early game example of where quick sign casting can be useful, the Devil By The Well quest found at the Abandoned Village is much easier with the new mechanic. The noonwraith that haunts the middle of the village is particularly weak to Yrden, a sign that casts a magical trap on the ground. While useful, Yrden isn't as often used as Quen, which protects Geralt from attacks. Instead of opening up a radial menu every time to switch between Yrden and Quen, players can simply hold down the cast button to choose which sign they want to use. Since the usage of signs is on a cooldown, players can preemptively plan their moves without losing track of the noonwraith.
Not only is quick sign casting more immersive, but it feels like a proper evolution of the mechanic. Players can make use of their knowledge of previous button maps and adapt them to the new system. It may take some time to adjust (the helpful hints on contextual prompts are a godsend when it comes to this), but with some time and practice, players will be casting signs just as fluidly as they can swing Geralt's swords.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
