January Witcher 3 Patch: 5 Things You Need to Know

The January Witcher 1.12 patch is finally here and it brings some big changes to the regular version of the game and to Hearts of Stone, the popular Witcher 3 DLC. Now that the patch is out, we want to take a look at the most important things Xbox One, PS3 and PC users need to know.

The Witcher 3 was one of the best games from 2015, right up there with the likes of Metal Gear Solid 5 and Fallout 4. The game is getting older but CD Projekt Red hasn’t abandoned its baby or the gamers that have invested in it.

The developer’s rolled out new downloadable content called Hearts of Stone which once again puts players into the shoes of Geralt of Rivia. It also continues to support the game with updates including a new January Witcher 3 update that brings bug fixes, new features, and its own set of problems to console owners and PC users.

The Witcher 3 1.12 patch is rolling out to Xbox One, PS4 and PC and it’s brings a massive change log with it. There’s a lot to digest here and we want to breakdown everything you need to know about this extensive Witcher 3 update.

Witcher 3 1.12 Patch Size

CD Projekt Red’s Witcher 3 1.12 patch is a big one and it’s going to require some room on your external or internal hard drive. It’s also going to take some time to download.

If you’re using a slow connection or you’re running out of space, note that the Witcher 3 1.12 patch varies in size across all three platforms.

From what we can tell, the update is going to be between 1GB-2GB for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. That’s a pretty sizable update and it might require you to do one of two things. Or, in some cases, two things.

If you’re running out of space, now would be a good time to free up some room for the update. And if you’re using a slow connection, you might want to plug your ethernet cable into your console or PC. This could help your download speeds.

Witcher 3 Hearts of Stone

Let’s start with the changes coming to the Witcher 3 DLC, Hearts of Stone.

Hearts of Stone was released in October of last year and those who downloaded it have been calling for bug fixes for a number of weeks now.

Fortunately, the Witcher 3 1.12 patch packs plenty of fixes in for the expansion. Here are the changes you’ll see when you fire up Hearts of Stone with the 1.12 patch downloaded and installed:

• Fixes issue whereby achievement titled Wild Rose Dethorned could not be completed.
• Fixes interaction on pickaxe in quest titled Enchanting: Quality Has Its Price.
• Fixes issue (in majority of contexts) whereby not all diagrams could be collected in
  quest titled From Ofier’s Distant Shores.
• Fixes rare issue whereby some players were prevented from spreading smoke throughout all rooms in crypt during quest titled Dead Man’s Party.
• Fixes issue whereby book merchant named Marcus T.K. Hodgson failed to appear in market square in Novigrad.
• Fixes rare issue whereby some Knights of the Flaming Rose in quest titled Open Sesame! in Hearts of Stone expansion could not be killed.
• Introduces a number of improvements to general game performance.
• Fixes issue whereby treasure hunt titled The Drakenborg Redemption remained in Journal despite completion of all objectives.
• Fixes issue whereby swapping of enchanted gear within Inventory granted permanent bonuses to statistics.
• Fixes issue whereby treasure hunt titled The Royal Air Force remained in Journal despite completion of all objectives.
• Fixes issue whereby players could not eavesdrop on guards during quest titled Witcher Seasonings in Hearts of Stone expansion.
• Fixes issue whereby some players could not talk to Shani at certain juncture of quest titled Dead Man’s Party in Hearts of Stone expansion.
• Introduces a series of minor difficulty balance tweaks at all difficulty levels in Hearts of Stone expansion.
• Fixes rare issue whereby inebriation effect would persist on screen after quest titled Dead Man’s Party in Hearts of Stone expansion.
• Fixes issue whereby phase titled Enchanting: Start-up Costs would remain in Journal after Enchanter was paid relevant amount.
• Fixes incorrect Stamina bonus granted for Caparison of Lament in New Game + mode.
• Fixes incorrect mesh appearing on Viper School swords in New Game + mode.

Witcher 3 DLC

The Witcher 3 also delivers some fixes for the free DLC that CD Projekt Red released to PC, Xbox One and PS4 users. Here are those changes:

• Fixes previously unlootable container within Kaer Morhen watchtower during quest titled Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear.
• Fixes rare issue whereby a doll could not be picked up in quest titled Where the Cat and Wolf Play.
• Fixes specific user’s issue with werewolf in quest titled Contract: Skellige’s Most Wanted.

Regular Game

As for the regular version of Witcher 3, the developer has broken up the changes into several categories including GUI, Gameplay, Living World, Quests, Visual, Code, and Other.

Gameplay

• Fixes issue whereby some toxic gas clouds failed to poison or deal damage to player character.
• Fixes issue whereby scabbard meshes were missing from witchers other than Geralt.
• Fixes rare issue whereby attacks performed near friendly NPCs resulted in
  unintended regeneration of Stamina.
• Fixes exploit involving Alchemy skill titled Tissue Transmutation.
• Fixes issue whereby quickslots could disappear if game difficulty level was changed during combat.
• Fixes exploit involving Superior White Raffard’s Decoction and skill named Delayed Recovery.
• Fixes rare issue whereby skill named Flood of Anger incorrectly enabled Signs Tree and enhanced Sign Intensity permanently.
• Introduces fix whereby special bonus granted by Superior Blizzard will take effect only when slow-motion is triggered.
• Fixes a number of issues affecting potion called Chort decoction.
• Fixes rare issue whereby some mini-bosses could become immortal under certain circumstances.
• Fixes misleading message displayed when players attempted to cast Signs in combat, while enveloped by a cloud resulting from the detonation of a Dimeritium Bomb.

GUI

• Fixes issue whereby items in merchants’ stores could not be compared to currently
  equipped items.
• Fixes exploit whereby some items (runes, glyphs) could be upgraded infinitely.
• Introduces UI enhancement whereby herb name is now displayed above available
  interaction.
• Fixes issue whereby keys/controls (mouse and keyboard) were not unbound from
  current setting when attempted.
• Fixes issue whereby Toggle HUD button would not always work correctly during set
  scenes.
• Introduces enhancement whereby ingredients required for a pinned formula and in
  possession of a merchant are now highlighted in said merchant’s Shop screen.
• Improves quest tracking by enabling tracking of objectives across different game
  regions.
• Fixes issue whereby Witcher Medallion and statistics bar could disappear if game
  difficulty level was changed during combat.
• Introduces enhancement on PC systems whereby weapon and armor repair kits can
  now be applied via drag and drop.
• Fixes issue on PC systems whereby toggling HUD did not work correctly on QWERTZ
  and AZERTY keyboard configurations.

Living World

• Fixes issue whereby treasure hunt titled Shortcut would not complete correctly.
• Fixes issue whereby destroyed monster nests would respawn after a time.
• Fixes rare issue whereby Shop screen would not open correctly for traveling
  merchants.
• Fixes issue whereby NPCs failed to return to abandoned settlement named Ruined
  Inn.

Quests

• Fixes issue whereby some human foes could have empty Vitality bars and thus could
  not be killed.
• Fixes rare issue whereby some players could not talk to Fergus during quest titled
  Master Armorers.
• Fixes rare issue whereby a monster disappeared incorrectly during quest titled
  Contract: Phantom of the Trade Route.
• Restores notice regarding quest titled Races: Crow’s Perch to notice board at said ingame
  location.
• Fixes premature display of objective involving placement of a book on a pedestal in
  quest titled The Witchers’ Forge.
• Fixes rare issue whereby relevant reward was not granted for completion of Contract:
  The Creature from the Oxenfurt Forest.
• Fixes issue whereby encounter with caged wyvern near Oxenfurt was inactive.
• Fixes a number of rare issues with blacksmith in Mulbrydale in quest titled Person in
  Distress.
• Fixes issue whereby quest titled Novigrad, Closed City II would incorrectly be tagged
  as failed if completed prior to installation of patch 1.10.
• Introduces balance improvement whereby prices of goods throughout Skellige drop
  by 10% after Geralt kills the giant and agrees to take all the credit for it in quest titled
  The Lord of Undvik.
• Fixes issue whereby quests titled The Nobleman Statuette and The Soldier Statuette
  were incorrectly and prematurely deactivated and could not be completed.
• Fixes incorrect map-pin in treasure hunt titled Freya Be Praised!
• Fixes rarely occurring technical glitch whereby older patch fixes failed to work
  correctly.
• Fixes rare issue whereby players could not talk to Hattori after completing quest
  titled Of Swords and Dumplings.
• Fixes rare issue whereby Nidas would fail to appear in Novigrad during quest titled
  Black Pearl.
• Fixes issue whereby treasure hunt titled Temerian Valuables would not complete
  correctly.
• Fixes rare issue whereby quest titled Get Junior would remain active in Journal after
  game was completed.
• Fixes issues whereby some Character glossary entries were displayed incorrectly in
  game.
• Fixes issue whereby quest titled Free Spirit could not be completed.

Visual

• Fixes appearance on screen of unwanted visual artifacts after Geralt was teleported
  to new locations.
• Improves transitions between distinct scenes and gameplay sequences.

Code

• Fixes issue whereby launching The Witcher 3 on systems running the Windows OS
  discarded sRGB settings in users’ ICC profiles.

Other

• Fixes rare issue whereby NPC animations would playback at reduced speed after quest titled On Thin Ice.
• Fixes issue whereby quest titled Faithful Friend would incorrectly remain tagged as failed after quest titled Something Ends, Something Begins was completed.

Witcher 3 1.12 Problems

The Witcher 1.12 update fixes a ton of problems but Witcher 3 problems continue to plague gamers across all three platforms.

CD Projekt Red’s forums are already starting to fill up with complaints about the 1.12 patch. Gamers are reporting issues with the Crow’s Perch horse race, broken movement, an Hearts of Stone issue that affects Orgield, issues with swordplay, performance issues, and more.

It’s still early and we expect the list of problems to grow as more people download and install the Witcher 1.12 patch.

While you wait for the next patch (there will almost certainly be a number of them released this year), you’ll want to report bugs and problems as you see them so that the developer can fix them in future updates.