Given CD Projekt Red’s sudden announcements of a massive assortment of upcoming titles including a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and an Unreal Engine 5 remake of the first Witcher game, fans have had plenty of reason to jump back into both series recently.
For those doing just that on PC, mods can provide a number of interesting ways to spice up the experience, such as by allowing you to roleplay as the ultimate cyber-stock trader more effectively, or get an idea of what Geralt might look like if he shopped for armour at a futuristic clothing outlet.
A new mod is also perfect for those who want to be able to make the white wolf look a little bit different as they delve into a new playthrough to celebrate The Witcher 3’s next-gen update, giving Geralt’s beard-growing abilities a healthy boost.
“What’s wrong with my beard? Always thought it added to my dignity.”
The mod in question is called ‘Beard growth extender’ and is the work a group of modders consisting of Speartooth, X20T3rMiN4t0R and SpontanCombust, who’ve previously worked on mods that have made Ciri’s scars more lore-accurate, allowed you to customise Roach, and given Geralt the ability to modify his own appearance without having to seek out a barber.
This time, they’ve teamed up to add a few extra stages to the vanilla game’s beard growth mechanic, which will allow everyone’s favourite monster slayer to sprout some decent stubble, but doesn’t go as far into the mountain man zone as Red Dead Redemption 2’s similar mechanic.
Well, now it does, thanks to three extra stages of growth added to the cycle by these modders, which allow Geralt to fully embrace the grizzled veteran warrior look or go full Santa Claus just in time for Christmas, depending upon how committed you are to embracing the Movember vibe.
The growth that’ll get you to these stages will occur fastest if you’re fast travelling between different regions of the map regularly, so if you’re desperate to hide Geralt’s chin, you’d better get him on his horse and also avoid imbibing potions, as having the facial effects resulting from toxicity becoming active can apparently scare away the beard follicles.
For now, there are bigger growth gaps between the new stages than the vanilla stages, which might put a damper on things if you’re a real stickler for immersion. However, Speartooth is open to hearing from other modders who might be able to create new beards for some extra stages, so this might change in the future.
If you’re open to trying the mod anyway, first you’ll have to grab X20T3rMiN4t0R’s ‘New Hairstyles and Beards For Geralt (DLC2 Improved)’, which is required to get things working as they should.
Regardless of whether your Geralt is now struggling to untangle his medallion from a sea of hair, make sure to follow us to get updates on The Witcher Remake and for coverage of some cool Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 mods.