Ok, loaded Witcher 3 from scratch, upgraded to 1.22 and added DLCs. Been playing for a few weeks with no issues.
Today while fighting Nithral, I got the bug where his shield does not come down after the first round of dogs are killed.

Following a few tips on the web, I installed Galaxy, imported W3 to it, then ran the check/verify on the files. Started W3 up with a save that was over 5 hours old. Even after all this he is still bugged. I would like to get this fixed and run the game correctly, or barring that is there a cheat/hack where I can get around this. It is too major a quest line not to complete. Thanks.

Nexusmods might have some cheats to help with your problem bug.

Thanks. I really prefer to play it the correct way but none of the tips from the web have worked.


Just got the fight to work. I installed something called "Overlay" from Galaxy and it seemed to have fixed the issue. I would think by this late date this bug would have been fixed.....

Hi there,

I would seem that patch 1.22 "broke" certain features. If you already tried reinstalling and the "verify/repair" function through Galaxy I'm afraid you are currently out of options. The only other cause I can think of is if you are using mods? Always try deleting ALL mods if something does not work properly in the game. You can also try submitting a support ticket on the official website.

Patch 1.22 appears to have left several things in a bad state. I myself experience minor graphics glitches, achievements have stopped working etc. I am guessing a patch 1.22.1 is in the works which will (hopefully) right the current wrongs. Knowing CDPR they are working diligently, but new patches still have to go through a lot of testing so they don't ruin something else.

All in all: Have patience for a bit. Maybe read the Witcher books if you haven't already done this while waiting for the next update. They are totally worth it :-)

EDIT: Glad to hear you got it working. I have not tried that myself, but now I am curious.

You did say barring that is there a cheat/hack where I can get around this and that is why I suggested Nexus:-)

Im having major problems with Nithral as well, i get him down to almost dead, then he summons hounds for 2nd time, and this time after defeating the second batch of hounds, he regens faster than i can hit him, and his shield is ALWAYS up even without the portal.

UPDATE :got it working through GOG Galaxy, seems offline installer is broken for this quest, what a waste of 2 hours trying to kill him, he was so easy to beat without the bug lol