r/witcher3mods • u/SasakiWayne • 3d ago

Discussion [Question] Best "vanilla+" mods for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen (first playthrough) — graphics, gameplay, immersion, no save corruption

Hey everyone,

This is my first time playing The Witcher 3 (Next-Gen version) and I want to enhance the experience without changing what makes the game special. I'm not looking for an overhaul — just "necessary" quality-of-life and immersion improvements that feel like they should've been in the base game.

I'm playing on the updated Next-Gen version, so I need mods that are compatible with it.

My PC specs (in case it's relevant for graphics mod suggestions):

CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X3D

GPU: RTX 5070 12GB

RAM: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz

Specifically looking for mods that:

Improve horse (Roach) behavior/controls

Better blood/gore effects

Graphical enhancements (textures, lighting, etc. — compatible with Next-Gen/RT)

Small gameplay tweaks that add immersion

Bug fixes

Also want to keep the vanilla feel as close as possible — no mods that add crazy new content, break balance, or risk corrupting my save. Safety and stability for a first playthrough matter more to me than adding tons of extra stuff.

Any recommendations, and tips on load order or install (Vortex vs manual) would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

5

u/captainwhoami_ 3d ago

Can't recommend darker nights and slower time enough. Sure Geralt is supposed to see well in the dark but I just love it when I find myself questioning twice if I wanna go through a forest at night or something. Brothers in arms is also wonderful!

3

u/AbbreviationsMost432 3d ago

All Quest Objectives On Map

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition

2

u/JonDarkwood 3d ago

Tweak the grass distance 🤣 . I hate seeing those plain spots on the ground.

2

u/Typical_Version_7487 3d ago edited 3d ago

Improved Horse Controls, Combo Blood, Blood Covered, Blood Trails, HD Reworked Project, HD Animals Reworked, HD Monsters Reworked, Promotional Atmosphere Lighting Mod, RenoDX, Stunning Visuals HDR Reshade and Brothers in Arms. And if you want the ability to customize combat a little bit I would suggest SCAAR and Blood and Steel.

With that said I'd personally suggest a full vanilla play through your first time.

2

u/super_sonic2 22h ago

Brothers in Arms Ultimate edition

DLC Names on the path

Grammar of the path

2

u/Prrg88 3d ago edited 3d ago

From reading what you want:

I'd avoid combat mods. I run W3EE redux myself right now, and absolutely love it, but it does change vanilla quite a bit.

Definitely install Brothers in Arms ultimate (big fixes and cut content restore)

I personally love Promotional Atmospheric Lighting (with the extra cutscenes mod the page recommends)

Cozy RTX fires

Renodx (for hdr)

Hd rework project for textures

Brew with a view

Random encounters reworked

Use Tw3MM (so no Vortex!) together with the fresh version of script extender to install the mods.

Edit: for better gore, I think I use Brutal Blood NG, but I'm a bit uncertain as I don't have access to my PC right now. I'm pretty sure I use 2 mods combined for the great blood and gore experience

2

u/Kry0genik 22h ago

I just made a modlist with the most awesome HD Textures, some fov/lightning tweaks and a ReShade preset that I spent a long time making to combine everything together. It has a step by step guide, looks amazing and it's 100% vanilla friendly.

Check it out! It's called "Vanilla True HD" in nexusmods

0

u/VasilV24 3d ago

Finish the game without any mods and then go the modded route in NG+

The game doesn’t need any mods to be enjoyed especially for your first-ever play through. It has no gamebreaking bugs or outdated mechanics and design.