The Witcher 3 Update Sends Tax Man After Gold Exploiters

[Steven Bogos]

The Witcher 3 Update Sends Tax Man After Gold Exploiters

If you abused a gold-making exploit in The Witcher 3, you'll be getting a visit from the in-game tax man very soon...

In its latest update to The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Red has introduced a rather... novel way to "punish" anyone who took advantage of a gold-making exploit. Rather than simply removing the ill-gotten gold, a new "tax collector" NPC will seek you out, and demand that you pay taxes on your exploited goods.

Essentially, the exploit involved collecting animal hides and pearls from replenish-able resources in the game world, and then selling them to certain NPCs for much more than they are worth. Players were able to amass an essentially limitless supply of gold within a few hours.

Before you start to panic over all your hoarded Orens, you should know that this "punishment" is more of a tongue-in-cheek slap on the wrist than something with real impact, as players can simply lie through their teeth to avoid paying the fine. The tax man falls for the lie so badly, that he even gives you a "certificate of honesty" for being such an upstanding citizen.

If you never took advantage of the exploit yourself, check out the video above to see the full exchange between the tax collector and Geralt.

Little stuff like this is why people love CD Projekt Red so much - they never take themselves too seriously and never, never punish their own customers.

Source: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjR9Op33SxQ]

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[RedDeadFred]

Okay, between this and the demonic bull who avenges cows, CDPR is quickly turning into one of the funnier devs out there.

Receiving the Certificate of Honesty right after lying is hilarious.

 

[Imre Csete]

I've never needed to play the system to get more money I'll ever need, but I'm guilty as charged for looting everything what isn't nailed down, even at most inappropiate times.

*Gets ambushed by mob hitmen in a bath house, proceeds to loot decorative herbs*

 

[Dalsyne]

Rather than simply removing the ill-gotten gold

Why in the world would they do that? It's a single player game. I remember doing the book exploit in Fallout 2 to gain lots of money when I was young. I would be pretty pissed off if they took it away. Like, do you want me to cheat? Because that's how you get me to cheat.

 

[Amaror]

hmm ... thats weird. I had the Tax collector talk to me even though i never did any of those exploits. I never killed the cows in White Orchard, or any cows for that matter, i don't even know what the pearl thing was about and i had never stolen anything in the game.
Are you sure that the tax collector only shows up if you did exploit the game.
Though after over 100 hours in a single game i might have forgotten something. Maybe i did steal something once and simply forgot.

 

[MiskWisk]

Hah. I kind of want to see this guy show up in Jesse Cox's play through. That last question would get a great reaction from him.

 

[Something Amyss]

Kind of funny, but...

Little stuff like this is why people love CD Projekt Red so much - they never take themselves too seriously and never, never punish their own customers.

Weren't they the ones who made the broken, unfinished PC version of Saints Row 2? Or is that Volition's customers?

 

[Soulrender95]

Weren't they the ones who made the broken, unfinished PC version of Saints Row 2? Or is that Volition's customers?

Technically it was the parent company CD Projekt, not the CD Projekt Red subdivision so while probably a few people worked on both we can't say the division in charge of the Witcher games are directly at fault, though they may be.

 

[Fulbert]

Can we still exploit our way into great riches so that we can enjoy the visit by the taxman?

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Bravo once again, CDPR!
Very funny!

 

[ivarsa15]

I love the Tax man feature, but why did he go after my character? I never used any glitches... Except that I went into a lot of houses and took their stuff. But even the taxman did not object to that!

 

[JohnZ117]

I've never needed to play the system to get more money I'll ever need, but I'm guilty as charged for looting everything what isn't nailed down, even at most inappropiate times.

*Gets ambushed by mob hitmen in a bath house, proceeds to loot decorative herbs*

As established in the realm of Toril, and continuing through the entirety of the multiverse in perpetuity, if an (or a party of) adventurer(s), or those in a similar[footnote]established further on in the original document, which can be easily viewed at any legal library in Sigil[/footnote] profession are assaulted in a cave, castle, house, or other enclosure[footnote]also established further on[/footnote], all (non-living, non-plant[footnote] also further on[/footnote]) objects in mentioned enclosure are legally the property of the adventurer(s) to do with as they wish. This was established to encourage skilled individuals to take on the risks of adventuring during dangerous times. Even though this has been exploited by some, most inhabitants agree that it has done wonders for keeping the peace.

 

[thewatergamer]

And this is how you patch exploits, make it a funny tongue in cheek thing

 

[Jaggededge11]

hmm ... thats weird. I had the Tax collector talk to me even though i never did any of those exploits. I never killed the cows in White Orchard, or any cows for that matter, i don't even know what the pearl thing was about and i had never stolen anything in the game.
Are you sure that the tax collector only shows up if you did exploit the game.
Though after over 100 hours in a single game i might have forgotten something. Maybe i did steal something once and simply forgot.

I think he's meant to show up regardless. As a result, the certificate is either a reflection of your honesty or a reminder of your dishonesty. A really cleaver thing to put into the game (Like with being call THIEF in the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening)

 

[Erttheking]

PFT! That's pretty funny. Though my favorite exploit solution is how people who pirated Dark Souls early got invaded by maxed out phantoms.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I'll admit I don't really understand what exactly is an exploit in this case(I assume some npcs were bugged or something?), but that exchange was pretty funny given Geralt is lying through his teeth about the whole affair.

In general, an exploit means taking advantage of a legitimate in-game mechanic in a way that was not intended, or alternatively making use of an in-game mechanic that is not functioning as intended. Some would further add that it must confer some advantage to the player to classify. In this case, from the OP, there was a location with renewable resources the player could gather and sell to particular NPCs who paid over the odds for them. It is unlikely the developer intended for this method of acquiring essentially as much in-game wealth as one could wish for so the exploit is in taking advantage of the unintended mechanic.

There have been many famous ones over the years in many games. There was (still may be) an infinite paragon/renegade points exploit in Mass Effect, where a Turian agent in the bar on Noveria would loop his conversation, allowing the player to keep selecting the reward. There was an infinite XP exploit in Dragon Age: Origins where, similar to above, the player could keep handing in a mission in conversation for the reward. One of the best in recent years is in Skyrim, where the player could put a bucket or similar over a shopkeepers head and rob them blind without consequence. I'm fairly sure that one still works.

This is a funny and light-hearted way of slapping the wrists of the naughty which also keeps it all in-game. Have to doff my hat for a fully voice-acted, well done fix.

 

[LordLundar]

hmm ... thats weird. I had the Tax collector talk to me even though i never did any of those exploits. I never killed the cows in White Orchard, or any cows for that matter, i don't even know what the pearl thing was about and i had never stolen anything in the game.
Are you sure that the tax collector only shows up if you did exploit the game.
Though after over 100 hours in a single game i might have forgotten something. Maybe i did steal something once and simply forgot.

I love the Tax man feature, but why did he go after my character? I never used any glitches... Except that I went into a lot of houses and took their stuff. But even the taxman did not object to that!

Most likely it's coded to come after you if you amassed a certain (large) quantity of gold in a certain (short) period of time. As such, it's also possible it's not coded to recognize retroactive time frames so if you hit that certain amount when the patch came out, it assumed you earned it all instantly and the tax man cometh.

 

[ivarsa15]

hmm ... thats weird. I had the Tax collector talk to me even though i never did any of those exploits. I never killed the cows in White Orchard, or any cows for that matter, i don't even know what the pearl thing was about and i had never stolen anything in the game.
Are you sure that the tax collector only shows up if you did exploit the game.
Though after over 100 hours in a single game i might have forgotten something. Maybe i did steal something once and simply forgot.

I love the Tax man feature, but why did he go after my character? I never used any glitches... Except that I went into a lot of houses and took their stuff. But even the taxman did not object to that!

Most likely it's coded to come after you if you amassed a certain (large) quantity of gold in a certain (short) period of time. As such, it's also possible it's not coded to recognize retroactive time frames so if you hit that certain amount when the patch came out, it assumed you earned it all instantly and the tax man cometh.

A retroactive tax? Fuck the tax man!
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENATION! Vimme, help!
Oh... wait, he said it added up... Nevermind.

 

[gphjr14]

This is pretty funny and I plan on getting and replaying this down the road but I really never got why this was such a problem. Sure it's clear they meant for people to do quest and grind for money but really taking a short cut isn't hurting anyone seeing how this is a single player game.

I used the clam dismantling trick on my 2nd playthrough and it freed me up to enjoy/explore the game more.