The remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt comes out tomorrow, and CD Projekt Red has released a list of the most notable changes you'll find in the mammoth RPG. You've got plenty of audio and visual improvements, of course, but there are some deeper tweaks to be mindful of, too.

One such example is in the skill trees. "Skills are now organized into a skill tree and each skill has three ranks," read the notes. "Unlocking new skills now requires having the necessary prerequisite skills rather than spending a set number of skill points."

Your existing skill points will be reset if you're importing a save file, so be wary of that, and several of the skills have been renamed to be more appropriate to what they represent. No examples are given, so it'll be worth scanning through to re-orientate yourself across your entire build.

A real quality-of-life improvement is that quest markers have been altered in your world map. Incomplete questlines have their own marker now, letting you choose what you're up to much more easily.

Another change that I quite enjoy is that meditation will now give you a neat little time-lapse rather than just putting you into a menu. This is the kind of little detail that can improve immersion, especially in longer sessions, and I'm glad it's now part of the game.

A big addition is the Bard's Ballad mode for accessibility. It's "designed to reduce cognitive load for players who experience mental fatigue or have difficulty concentrating. It streamlines gameplay by simplifying certain mechanics and disabling select features for a smoother, more focused adventure."

Anything that makes games like this more approachable and relaxing is good by me. Even the photo mode's got a look in here, with loads more options for your camera work, including the power to insert any character into the frame after you've picked your shot. Mighty.

Have a perusal of everything once the update lands tomorrow. Then you can start preparing for Songs of the Past to arrive next year.

The Witcher 3 writer behind the RPG's most iconic questline returns to CD Projekt Red after 10 years, right on time for The Witcher 4

I am very excited at the prospect of an Arc Raiders PvE-only mode. I have been ever since I got a tiny taste of what it could be like in Shared Watch, and even before that while playing in friendly lobbies. I know some aren't happy at the prospect of a mode with no PvP, but the only thing I can't believe is that Embark hasn't made this change sooner.

I've always thought that Arc Raiders was at its best in its early stages when players had to work together to take down high-value arcs. This kind of cooperation led to some genuinely hilarious scenarios or just nice encounters with strangers; something I hadn't experienced in an online multiplayer game for quite some time.

At one point I remember being huddled in a bunker with another trio while trying to take down a Rocketeer on Spaceport. While we did manage to kill it, we were then caught out when a second Rocketeer turned up and we had almost no ammo left. It was a slightly bizarre situation to be found in with strangers. But it led to some very impressive strategy and coordination, and certainly a memorable experience, as we broke off into duos and ran in opposite directions, taking it in turns to distract the Rocketeer so we could all make a successful break for the extraction point.

I think this novelty is what brought a lot of players into Arc Raiders; it's certainly what kept me around for so long even after I'd completed expeditions and all the quests. But as more people left the number of fun encounters dropped and soon most of my interactions in Arc Raiders were just with liars, assholes, or cheaters. And that's not a great way to spend your free time.

If there had been a PvE mode this is when I would've transferred over to that. I probably would have even played Arc Raiders relatively frequently in said mode from there on, as I'm sure others who enjoy the simplicity of fun social interactions and taking down arcs would have as well. But with no other option than increasingly sour PvP lobbies I decided to retire my raider for the time being.

That's not to say PvP is absolutely no fun. Again, early on I had an absolute blast playing in trio PvP lobbies. The tension and strategic play was fantastic and felt really unique to Arc Raiders' ecosystem. Having to be cautious of both arcs and fellow players made games more hectic but that meant there was a better payoff when you all managed to extract in one piece with some hefty loot.

It could also lead to equally hilarious scenarios. I still remember when my trio spotted another team from a mile off in Dam Battlegrounds who were clearly trying to flank us and just acting really suspicious. The only problem was they had absolutely no cover but also didn't seem to realise that if they could see us it meant we could also see them. Their surprise attack was quickly felled and then we had to explain to them how line of sight worked as we guided them to extract so they could go home to Speranza.

The weird and funny social moments that Arc Raiders did so well isn't exclusive to PvE or PvP lobbies. But PvE offers a guarantee that PvP can't: your games won't get ruined by assholes who lie or extract camp. And with no sign of the huge anticheat overhaul PvP would need to get fixed I can't see things changing anytime soon, so with that in mind I'd prefer something rather than nothing, because the world of Arc Raiders is simply too cool to watch waste away.

Embark has even admitted that a large chunk of Arc Raiders playerbase is PvE orientated, so I'd hardly be surprised if fair chunk of players came back just out of curiosity about what PvE lobbies could look like.

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that this PvE test will even lead to a permanent addition. But I'll still be checking in to get a taste of what it could be like because a low-intensity Arc Raiders interlude sounds like great fun right about now.

XThat the quest 'Family Matters' stands out as the best quest in The Witcher 3—a game filled with great storytelling and characters—is a true testament to the skill of its creators. That's why it's so exciting that one of the main forces behind it, writer Karolina Stachyra, has returned to CD Projekt after a decade away.

Stachyra's LinkedIn profile indicates that she's been working with the studio as a freelance consultant since February, and returned as a full-time writer in August. The quiet comeback went unnoticed until the weekend, though, when b0ysbrokenheart posted about it on X.

And here's the good stuff:

CD Projekt confirmed that Stachyra is indeed back in the fold, but declined to comment on what she's currently working on.

WHY ARE PEOPLE EXCITED?

We laid it out in 2015: What appears to be a simple missing persons job for Geralt slowly, painfully unwinds into "The Witcher 3’s most emotional and disturbing quest," driven by the conflicted, compelling, and deeply tragic character of the Bloody Baron. As we put it back when all this was new:

"It takes very real, important subjects—alcoholism and domestic abuse—and deals with them in a brutal, heartbreaking, and honest way. But, thanks to the blood-curdling botchling, it still feels like part of The Witcher’s dark fantasy world. It’s superbly written, brilliantly acted, and the branching paths make it well worth replaying. It’s The Witcher 3 and developer CD Projekt RED at their absolute best, and was the highlight of the game for many players."

As the writer of the dialog and cutscenes in Family Matters, not to mention her work elsewhere in the game and on the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions, Stachyra's return to CD Projekt—following turns as narrative director at Techland and GSC Game World—is great news for RPG fans, regardless of what game she's working on.

And since we're left to speculate on that, consider this: Ciri, the lead of the upcoming The Witcher 4, was a central character in the Family Matters quest and key to demonstrating the depth and nuance of the Bloody Baron, who treated her like a surrogate daughter. Might an adoptive family reunion be in the works? It's not the worst idea I've ever heard.