New Witcher 3 patch adds controversial quality of life change that some think subverts the series' fantasy

The Witcher 3 next-gen — (Image credit: CDPR)

A new patch for The Witcher 3 just enabled the automatic use of oils in combat, and added a great fan mod.

Earlier today on May 11, patch 4.03 for all versions of The Witcher 3, both new and last-gen. Headlining the changes is the option to auto-use oils in the heat of combat, meaning Geralt will automatically apply the appropriate oil to his blade (provided you've got the oil on hand) for battering a monster.

Over on Reddit though, this change actually hasn't gone down that well. A few users are arguing that this defeats the objective of scoping out and scrutinizing a monster in detail, figuring out which oils to apply your blade and mastering the art of Witchering in the process.

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"The idea was that you were supposed to research a monster before you fought it and come prepared. As such, you could not apply oils in combat," writes one user. They further recall how CD Projekt removed the ability to apply oils in combat, pushing The Witcher 3's combat into "hack-and-slash" territory, something they believe has been furthered with this new change.

Elsewhere in the new patch, a new community mod has been officially integrated into The Witcher 3's new-gen versions with patch 4.03. This mod, called 'Next Gen Script Fixes' does exactly what it says on the tin, providing a litany of script fixes to eliminate bugs and other glitches and visual errors in the shiny new version of the RPG.

There's also a couple handy fixes for visuals on new-gen platforms and PC. Ray tracing being enabled will no longer throw up a weird grid of lights on your screen, and spider webs will no longer change color when the camera moves through them while the flashy tech is on.

Finally, there's five total bug fixes for the PC version of The Witcher 3, and two fixes for the console counterparts of the game. There's actually performance improvements for all versions of CD Projekt's game, but instead of being general performance boosts, they're fixing specific parts of The Witcher 3 when the graphics would get noticeably worse.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.