The Witcher 2

[Gamerlord]

Anyone else excited for this? As of this post, releasing in 3 days.
For those of you who don't know what The Witcher is, here is a brief description:
The Witcher is the video game adaption of a series of polish short stories and novels in a series called, well, The Witcher. Its a fantasy RPG in which you control the Witcher Geralt of Rivia, Witchers being highly skilled warriors whose bodies are modified at a young age to grant them supernatural powers so they can fight monsters. The first video game was a sleeper hit, but this game is shaping up to be one of the big 2011 games. The world in which The Witcher is pretty dark, racism against elves and dwarves being all round the place, monarchs being corrupt, etc..

[warty goblin]

Pre-loading through GoG as I type. Really, Tuesday can't come fast enough at this point - although between Brink, Section 8: Prejudice, The First Templar and Witcher 2, my May backlog is going to be obscene.

Oh well, there's nothing coming out in June anyways.

[Morty]

I'm definetly going to buy it. Not right after it comes out, though; I'll put it off until June when my exams end. But I will buy it.

[Lorn]

Much the same as Portal II, I'll be buying it.

Much the same as Portal II, I'll be waiting until after my exams and will probably need to upgrade my graphics card >.>

[hobbitkniver]

Anyone else excited for this? As of this post, releasing in 3 days.
For those of you who don't know what The Witcher is, here is a brief description:
The Witcher is the video game adaption of a series of polish short stories and novels in a series called, well, The Witcher. Its a fantasy RPG in which you control the Witcher Geralt of Rivia, Witchers being highly skilled warriors whose bodies are modified at a young age to grant them supernatural powers so they can fight monsters. The first video game was a sleeper hit, but this game is shaping up to be one of the big 2011 games. The world in which The Witcher is pretty dark, racism against elves and dwarves being all round the place, monarchs being corrupt, etc..

Oh jeeze man, I forgot about the Witcher. Now I have an awkward gaming overload having just started Fallout New Vegas.

[warty goblin]

Pre-load finished. I have to say I'm very impressed with the new downloader, it was consistently faster than any other download service I've tried.

Now of course I just have to wait another two days...

[Morty]

It's going to be hard, waiting a month to play Witcher 2 and trying to avoid spoilers. I just hope my saves from Witcher 2 are still there somewhere.

[Comet]

This could well be Game of the Year, for me at least.
Can't wait to get started.

[Tengu_temp]

My brother got this game already, collector's edition even. I didn't have a chance to look at it yet, but I've heard that this time, in the name of equality, you can collect cards with guys as well! Like Dandelion, or King Foltest, or Zoltan Chivay. Or Djiskra (who wasn't in Witcher 1, but is in the books).

[Lord Loss]

A book series, you say? I'm intrigued. Do they exist in english? I never played the first game, but it seems fairly interesting and I may get my hands on a copy of the books, if not the game.

EDIT: I just recalled: the reason I never played is that it's a PC exclusive and my computer is prehistoric...

[Gamerlord]

A book series, you say? I'm intrigued. Do they exist in english? I never played the first game, but it seems fairly interesting and I may get my hands on a copy of the books, if not the game.

EDIT: I just recalled: the reason I never played is that it's a PC exclusive and my computer is prehistoric...

I heard the english translation was pretty bad, but then again, I just heard it was bad.

[ShadowFighter15]

I heard the english translation was pretty bad, but then again, I just heard it was bad.

I'm no expert, but the first book (The Last Wish) was pretty good in english. They have skipped over translating Sword of Destiny, though, even though it sets up a lot of stuff for the full novels (TLW and SoD are both short-story collections). Some of the stories in SoD have been fan-translated over on the CD Projekt forums though.

[Tengu_temp]

I heard the english translation was pretty bad, but then again, I just heard it was bad.

The books are like a less bleak and more fantasy version of Song of Ice and Fire, with postmodernism and dark humour, and 10-15 years earlier. The fans exaggerate their quality, but they're still very good fantasy. Especially the short stories.

[Lord of the Helms]

I wasn't going to get it until later, originally, but when I saw I could get it for 45 dollars via Steam, which is just over 30 Euros, I figured it was a reasonably fair price. Not sure when I'll actually get around to playing it when I have at least two or three games to finish before it, but I'll start it up sooner or later this month. Here's hoping they did a solid job with their own engine, I decidedly do not wish for the load-times of the first game again (I heard somewhere, I think, that this time they're doing it the Gothic way and giving us one large world rather than the Aurora-Engine's many subdivided sections.

[Divayth Fyr]

The books are like a less bleak and more fantasy version of Song of Ice and Fire, with postmodernism and dark humour, and 10-15 years earlier. The fans exaggerate their quality, but they're still very good fantasy. Especially the short stories.
I have to agree about the short stories. And as for the main books, to closer to the end, the less I liked them. Though they're the kind of books that are best read in their original language - a lot will get lost in translation (or simply loose the charm - the "exorcism" from Last Wish comes to mind here ;)

[ShadowFighter15]

Here's hoping they did a solid job with their own engine, I decidedly do not wish for the load-times of the first game again (I heard somewhere, I think, that this time they're doing it the Gothic way and giving us one large world rather than the Aurora-Engine's many subdivided sections.

You heard right - no more load screens at all (except, possibly, for the one you'd get when first starting a new game or opening a save file of course). Considering how big of a problem load times were for the first game, I'd be very worried if they didn't try to avoid that problem in the sequel. Anyway, I'll be picking my copy up tomorrow morning (it's about 20 past 11 at night here at the moment) so I'll try and give an overview of the game sometime tomorrow after I've played it.

Or I may get so caught up playing it that someone else beats me to the punch. Either way, you'll get a first-hand account of how it plays.

[Jeivar]

I pre-ordered this on amazon.co.uk back in april and I'll get it in a few days. I loved the first game; So much deeper and grittier than your average RPG.

I DO however have to admit to being a bit queasy about how the devs have touted "non-linear storyline!". I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with linearity, and it in fact makes it easier to tell a coherent story. I saw the gameplay trailer/intro thing the other day, and the gameplay will no doubt be fantastic. I just hope that the story doesn't suffer for the sake of . . . whatever it is that non-linearity achieves.

Oh, and I also hope my computer can handle it . . .

[Typewriter]

Anyone hear anything about the Witcher 1 save import feature on this game? I've seen it mentioned a few places, but nothing substantial. It's driving me bonkers because I don't have my saves anymore. I may have to go online to download someone elses if it's any good.

:smalleek:

[warty goblin]

I pre-ordered this on amazon.co.uk back in april and I'll get it in a few days. I loved the first game; So much deeper and grittier than your average RPG.

I DO however have to admit to being a bit queasy about how the devs have touted "non-linear storyline!". I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with linearity, and it in fact makes it easier to tell a coherent story. I saw the gameplay trailer/intro thing the other day, and the gameplay will no doubt be fantastic. I just hope that the story doesn't suffer for the sake of . . . whatever it is that non-linearity achieves.

Oh, and I also hope my computer can handle it . . .

I suspect they mean nonlinear in the same way the first game was nonlinear. Which is to say there's decision points that have fairly large consequences for what happens in the story, like quite a lot of other RPGs out there.

However, unlike the usual RPG decisions which play out about two seconds later, those in the first Witcher often didn't appear until much farther down the road. Also, while logical with hindsight, they often weren't what one would anticipate happening when making the decision. In fact the Witcher also often didn't signpost that you were in fact making a major choice*. All of these together made the story and world feel a lot more genuine, dangerous, and mature than most other RPGs.


*It was for instance possible to reach a incorrect conclusion during Visima Confidential that was supported by the evidence you'd gathered. That was determined by some things like an earlier decision, what books you read, and some other stuff. The net result was that you could be completely blindsided by something that, when you thought about it afterwards, made perfect sense.

[ShadowFighter15]

Anyone hear anything about the Witcher 1 save import feature on this game? I've seen it mentioned a few places, but nothing substantial. It's driving me bonkers because I don't have my saves anymore. I may have to go online to download someone elses if it's any good.

:smalleek:

There is a save import. I don't know how it affects the plot, but in the prologue Foltest mentioned that Geralt had saved Adda (she was turned back into a Striga late in the first game) and that she'd married King Radovid of Redania. I also had some equipment from the first game - the silver sword you get from the Lady of the Lake and a curved sword that I got as a reward for something - possibly getting all the trophy monsters in the first game I can't remember. I'd have to check the wiki to see where that sword came from. I also started with Raven's Armour - the suit you piece together over chapters 4 and 5 of the first game. Annoying thing was that you didn't start with them equipped. Didn't even know I had them til I opened my inventory and saw Raven's Armour there.




Now then, the short write-up I promised last night. Combat is very different - left-click is a quick slash while right is a strong, slower one. Signs are used with Q and holding CTRL brings up a quick-selection wheel that lets you choose your sign and switch from your steel sword to your silver one. Alternatively, you can just choose your sword with 1 (for the steel sword) or 2 (for the silver one). Signs now only affect one target - Aard will only hit one guy and possibly stun them for a finishing move, Igni will only set one guy on fire and so on. So anyone worried about Igni being game-breaking again should be relieved.

Dive-rolls can be done to get away from the enemy with either the spacebar or by double-tapping one of the movement keys and blocking is a straight-forward matter of holding E to ready Geralt's sword. When you deflect an attack, though, you lose a point of Vigor which is also used to fuel your Signs. You only have two points of Vigor (there's a talent mentioned in the manual that lets you get a third) and they recharge in a few seconds each (haven't exactly timed it). You will need to use both at times, if only to avoid getting surrounded.

There are some quick-time events, but there's an option in the settings menu to disable the harder ones where certain actions are done automatically. For instance - at one point in the prologue a dragon attacks the bridge that you, Foltest and Roche are on. You're cut off from Roche and Foltest is injured, forcing him to lean on you as you run across the bridge and away from the dragon, who's decided to run along the bridge after you.

Normally, there'd be a prompt to press a button as it's about to breathe fire at you and pressing it would have Geralt and Foltest take cover off to the side. With the option I mentioned before switched off, however, he ducks over to the side automatically. The quick-time events for fist-fights aren't changed by the option - you have to tap the movement keys as you're prompted, though messing one up will just take off some of Geralt's health as he gets a fist to the face. The actual combat animations for the fights are suitably impressive, though (something I felt was lacking from the fist fights of the first game).

Occasionally, you'll have a timer for dialogue options where, if you take too long to decide, Geralt will stay quiet and someone else will speak up. Also, some options have a symbol next to them - some are the simple ones, like for trading, dice, arm wrestling or ending the conversation. But some will have the symbol of the Axii sign on them which works like the Mind Trick dialogue options from KotOR, but with an animation of Geralt making the Sign with his hand and his eyes glowing. There's probably repercussions for using this on the wrong person, but at least they're letting you use it in conversations now - the very first use of the Axii Sign in the original books was on some guards so they'd take him to Velerad.

There are also icons for persuasion and intimidation and while the manual mentions that they can fail, there's no indication on how to increase it. It may just be based on how often you've used persuasion or intimidation options in the past, since you get a prompt about them going up whenever you use them.

One other handy addition to the dialogue interface is that the main option - the one that'll advance the plot, is written in gold font while the non-quest-advancing ones are in white.

Just to point out - you will need bombs. Especially against the nekkers outside of Floatsom, which gang up on you in large numbers even on Easy. Even if you just use one of the Sammum bombs you start the game with, that'll still stun a lot of them and let you take a few down.

Alchemy is about the same as it was in the first game, but I don't think you need to worry about alchemical bases anymore (meaning you won't be buying up a whole village's supply of vodka just for potions). A few new elements have been added and there's some new potions, but on the whole it's about the same. The changes are really in the use of them. For a start - durations have dropped. A bottle of Cat, which would've lasted eight in-game hours in the first one, now only lasts five minutes real-time. You can also only have two potions going at once, so the near-lethal cocktails I was downing at parts of the first game won't be happening again.

You also can't drink potions at anytime anymore - you can only drink them on the meditation interface, which you can do anywhere now, so that's a plus. I don't know about sword oils, they may be done the same as in the first game - haven't made any to find out yet.

Anyway, that's just the gameplay stuff I've come across. I'm not the best person to be writing about it but that should give most of you some idea of how it plays.

[Morty]

Interesting. Combat looks like it might be better than in Witcher 1 - quickier and mor dynamic. I'll probably end up disabling the quick-time events, though.
You mention "equipping" armor. Does that mean you can now carry armor and weapons in your inventory? One of the things that I liked in Witcher 1 was that you only had one armor, the pair of swords and two extra weapons without carrying the contents of a military convoy on your back. I hope they didn't change it too much.

[Gamerlord]

Interesting. Combat looks like it might be better than in Witcher 1 - quickier and mor dynamic. I'll probably end up disabling the quick-time events, though.
You mention "equipping" armor. Does that mean you can now carry armor and weapons in your inventory? One of the things that I liked in Witcher 1 was that you only had one armor, the pair of swords and two extra weapons without carrying the contents of a military convoy on your back. I hope they didn't change it too much.

In one of the gameplay trailers it looked like he had enough weapons to equip a platoon (16-50 men).

[Comet]

Been running around Flotsam for a while and such and I'm pretty sure this is the most impressive sword and sorcery sort of world in videogaming history, visually speaking. Everything looks outrageously handsome.

Oh, and the gameplay is not half bad, either. The tutorial could've done a better job of explaining some stuff and the difficulty in some battles is a bit all over the place but besides those two points everything blends together quite nicely. Definitely worth every cent I payed for it and, hey, no DRM or any such nonsense. These people are heroes and someone should give them a medal.

[Bouregard]

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr22/w0dka/IMG_0197.jpg


I haven't played it yet but I have to say they definitly know how to pack a game. This is the entire content of the (german/eu) standard game version. Yes it's more then most collector's edition include today.

There is also a cent-sized temerian coin inside. Nice.
Oh and I missed the handbook, it's in the dvd-case.

(please ignore the dirty carpet)

[Tengu_temp]

The extended edition also has an artbook, dice, playing cards, and a statue of Geralt (which my mother wants to use as a garden gnome). I might've missed something - was there also a soundtrack?

[Bouregard]

The extended edition also has an artbook, dice, playing cards, and a statue of Geralt (which my mother wants to use as a garden gnome). I might've missed something - was there also a soundtrack?

Yes. It's in the second dvd-case.

Update:
Started to play it.
And hell what a start. The first 15 minutes contain probably more adult gameplay than Dragon Age One and Two combined.

While the fighting system is quite a bit awkward, the scenes and optics are superb. Note to self: Buy new graphics card.

[ShadowFighter15]

Note to self: Buy new graphics card.

Same here - this old thing only just meets the minimum requirements. Been meaning to look into a better comp for a while now.

I got the collector's edition and I have to agree with how much stuff they put in - $150AU well spent if you ask me. Dice, dice bag, playing cards, artbook, a Temerian coin (with the country's symbol on one side and Foltest's profile on the other), a faux-marble sculpt of Geralt's head with "Gwynnbleid" engraved at the bottom and all the stuff in Bouregard's photo.

Might grab some pics of them later to add to what Bouregard snapped (all of the stuff in that photo is in the collector's edition too).

[Comet]

Hexing people in conversation will never get old. Those finger twitches and that evil eye are exactly the kind of magic I like. Subtle, but obviously very powerful.

Also, the fistfighting minigame is very repetitive and very QTE, but the animations are cool enough that I don't really care. Just try to grab Geralt by his hair, thug, see what good that does you.

[Chen]

First game in a long while that I almost completely cannot play on my Radeon 2600 XT. I think I definitely got my money's worth on that card since its run everything (like Dragon age 2, Portal 2) until this.

Course I can't run this at 1680x1050 even with everything else set to lowest. I can run in 800x600 windowed mode with everything except Ubersampling on though. The game still looks good though I can't read anything :P Been meaning to get a new computer anyways so I guess this will push me to do so instead of continuing to put it off.

[warty goblin]

OK, how the sodding hell is one supposed to beat the fight in the temple courtyard? I can drop the three ordinary soldiers pretty easily, but can't manage to finish off those two heavy armored dudes and that unspeakable bastard with the shield.

Is there a way to open that gate and let Foltest and his soldiers in, or can I only do that after stabbing everybody to death?

Absolutely loving the game so far, it's a total blast despite - or perhaps because of - the random difficulty spikes.

[Morty]

In one of the gameplay trailers it looked like he had enough weapons to equip a platoon (16-50 men).

Bugger. I really liked the inventory in Witcher 1. More RPGs should imitate either it, or Mass Effect 2 which dispensed with inventory altogether.
I wonder if my computer will run Witcher 2. It has little to problems running even new games but I'm still a bit worried.

[warty goblin]

Bugger. I really liked the inventory in Witcher 1. More RPGs should imitate either it, or Mass Effect 2 which dispensed with inventory altogether.

Yeah, I liked Witcher 1's inventory as well, particularly the bit where I couldn't carry thirty bazillion weapons. In Witcher 2 it seems I can, although given the way loot works, I don't think I'm likely to find all that many. I'm too early in the game to be certain, but I'm pretty sure the upgrade mechanic for swords has made a return, so hopefully I'll be able to stick with just the one steel sword for most of the game.

[ShadowFighter15]

OK, how the sodding hell is one supposed to beat the fight in the temple courtyard? I can drop the three ordinary soldiers pretty easily, but can't manage to finish off those two heavy armored dudes and that unspeakable bastard with the shield.

Is there a way to open that gate and let Foltest and his soldiers in, or can I only do that after stabbing everybody to death?

Absolutely loving the game so far, it's a total blast despite - or perhaps because of - the random difficulty spikes.

Not sure if I can give you combat advice (I've only been playing on easy) but you can't open the gate til you kill the guy leading that squad of La Valette soldiers. He's holding the key to the gate house.

Only advice I can give is to not neglect your signs and any bombs you have. Samum bombs will stun some of the people caught in the blast, allowing you to kill them with a single blow. The Aard Sign can stun as well, or at least blast a guy away to give you a bit of breathing room while the Yrden can tie one guy up for several seconds (mid-fight, that'll feel like a long time). Just keey diving and moving and try downing a bottle of Swallow before the fight so that your health regenerates a bit faster. There's probably a potion that gives more health regen, but it'll no-doubt have some detrimental side-effect, like slower Vigor regeneration or something.

[Jeivar]

Is anyone else experiencing choppy graphics? My computer should be able to play this game perfectly, but fights and crowded areas still feel like stop-motion animation.

[warty goblin]

Not sure if I can give you combat advice (I've only been playing on easy) but you can't open the gate til you kill the guy leading that squad of La Valette soldiers. He's holding the key to the gate house.

Only advice I can give is to not neglect your signs and any bombs you have. Samum bombs will stun some of the people caught in the blast, allowing you to kill them with a single blow. The Aard Sign can stun as well, or at least blast a guy away to give you a bit of breathing room while the Yrden can tie one guy up for several seconds (mid-fight, that'll feel like a long time). Just keey diving and moving and try downing a bottle of Swallow before the fight so that your health regenerates a bit faster. There's probably a potion that gives more health regen, but it'll no-doubt have some detrimental side-effect, like slower Vigor regeneration or something.
I finally beat that fight probably ten minutes after posting, mostly by rolling around like an armadillo on speed and throwing Aards left and right.

Most of my problem was that I couldn't meditate right before the fight, and so only had about a minute and a half left on my Swallow potion. It didn't help that I somehow didn't realize I had access to all the Signs, not just Aard.

On to Flotsam right now, or more specifically wandering about the forest which may be the single most wonderful place I've ever been in a game. It's somehow simultaneously absolutely fantastic and completely believable, and since I finally got the improved Silver Sword I'm cleaning up killing monsters. Hopefully I'll have enough Arachnea teeth soon for the Jagged Blade.

[Gamerlord]

Is anyone else experiencing choppy graphics? My computer should be able to play this game perfectly, but fights and crowded areas still feel like stop-motion animation.

I am running into that on occasion, but only when I load up the game at first.

[ShadowFighter15]

Most of my problem was that I couldn't meditate right before the fight, and so only had about a minute and a half left on my Swallow potion. It didn't help that I somehow didn't realize I had access to all the Signs, not just Aard.

Couldn't you have meditated in the gatehouse just before the fight in the courtyard?

[Raddish]

From my experience of the game, having finished it and halwayf through another playthrough, is that the alchemy skill line is useless because most of the boss fights or just difficult fights don't give you enough time before them to drink your potions so you end up fighting at a solid disadvantage.

Where-as playing with the magic tree I am finding fights that should be hard really easy with the upgraded shield damaging them when they strike me and enough charges on it to keep it back up after it goes down, and thats only lvl 2 of it, the top level would make it evem, more brutal as far as I can see.

Basically from my experience the skill trees seem slightly unbalanced.

Also I have found that the insane difficulty is torture, you don't get to reload saves, once dead you sart again as far as I can tell.... I will beat it though, I MUST!!!

[warty goblin]

Couldn't you have meditated in the gatehouse just before the fight in the courtyard?

It told me I couldn't. In the end it probably worked out for the best though, since it forced me to really figure out how the combat worked, and thus how to succeed at it. That's when the game really started to click for me, since I absolutely adore the feeling of said combat - it's like you get to do all the cool stuff of an entire party in a standard RPG but as one person, coupled with a really satisfying physics and animation system.

[ShadowFighter15]

It told me I couldn't. In the end it probably worked out for the best though, since it forced me to really figure out how the combat worked, and thus how to succeed at it. That's when the game really started to click for me, since I absolutely adore the feeling of said combat - it's like you get to do all the cool stuff of an entire party in a standard RPG but as one person, coupled with a really satisfying physics and animation system.

Ahk, I didn't try to meditate in there so I wasn't sure. And you're right - that fight really is a bit of a wake-up call, even on easy. Well, that fight and the hordes of nekkers in Act 1 (nimble little bastards). Either way, I started using Signs a bit more often from that fight as well as bombs. One thing I'm still trying to remember in the heat of the moment is, when I trap someone with Yrden, I should run around to behind them before attacking.

[Lord of the Helms]

So, got the game, finished the prologue, escaped the dungeon, arrived in Flotsam. Impressions of the game so far:

Graphics are mostly excellent, even though I have to turn them way down due to currently having an outdated graphics card. What is less excellent, and in fact quite jarring considering the quality of everything else, is that there are regular clipping errors. This is the year 2011, that really shouldn't be happening anymore. Still the models, levels and landscapes look more gorgeous than I've seen in any other RPG.

Level design so far was fairly linear, but I'm sure it'll open up now that I'm past the introduction. They are still struggling on the freedom of movement front, it seems. I realize most games won't ever meet the standards set by Gothic, but it feels all the more jarring when you can clim up or jump down distances of 3-5 metres at various specific points, yet on other occasions a half-meter drop from a couple of stairs or a slightly elevated ledge is an impassable obsctacle and must be circumvented.

Atmosphere is brilliant and very engagin. Places feel both alive and gourgeous, and characters seem far more intriguing and well-written than in the previous game. The choices provided to you are pretty solid and allow for some decent roleplaying. Conversations are good fun, what with various types of persuasions, threats and sign uses beign available.

Combat: Controls took some getting used to. Fighting an opponent or two at a time is good fun. Signs seem to be much improved: I've found excellent use for pretty much all of them and in fact saw that using them properly can make an enormous difference in a fight; Yrden and the Shield one seem to be exceptionally useful, especially compared to how they were made of suck in the first game. Dueling strong opponents is loads of fun what with timing your attacks, blocks and sign use just the right way, countering or intercepting their stirkes with counterattacks.
The annoying: Fighting multiple opponents. It seemingly always turns into "use sign, hit once or twice, run away, use sign, rinse and repeat" because 3 at a time will destroy me something fierce and I can almost always only affect one at a time with a sign. This is especially annoying since the first game had an excellent, if overpowered, group combat style from the beginning that worked wonderfully at taking on mobs and made those fights lots of fun. Theoretically, alternating quick attacks between one opponent after another could work towards better fighting troops, but controls are just too imprecise and clunky to reliably hit who you want to.

Alright, on to Flotsam.

[Gamerlord]

You can eventually get a talent from the Sword skill tree that lets you do damage to extra enemies.

[warty goblin]

Level design so far was fairly linear, but I'm sure it'll open up now that I'm past the introduction. They are still struggling on the freedom of movement front, it seems. I realize most games won't ever meet the standards set by Gothic, but it feels all the more jarring when you can clim up or jump down distances of 3-5 metres at various specific points, yet on other occasions a half-meter drop from a couple of stairs or a slightly elevated ledge is an impassable obsctacle and must be circumvented.
It opens up a lot around Flotsam. It's not open world exactly, but it's a hella big level with a lot of places to go and things to discover. What's really nice is that monster placement is very environment dependent, so you find different stuff in different areas based on how swampy they are.



The annoying: Fighting multiple opponents. It seemingly always turns into "use sign, hit once or twice, run away, use sign, rinse and repeat" because 3 at a time will destroy me something fierce and I can almost always only affect one at a time with a sign. This is especially annoying since the first game had an excellent, if overpowered, group combat style from the beginning that worked wonderfully at taking on mobs and made those fights lots of fun. Theoretically, alternating quick attacks between one opponent after another could work towards better fighting troops, but controls are just too imprecise and clunky to reliably hit who you want to.
Like I said, I found multiple enemy combat a bit iffy at first as well. Once I get used to it though - and start really making use of signs and bombs- I find it absolutely brilliant. Unlike most RPG combats against superior numbers you've got to win through being smarter, not just having a bigger health bar and higher DPS. The need to move constantly and strike deliberately really makes it feel a lot more like a fight against multiple people as well, instead of the usual stand here and bash everything until dead routine. It's also very in keeping with the books, where Geralt would struggle against three very skilled (but human) swordsmen.

The thing that took the most getting used to for me was not being able to cancel out of animations. At first I found this very annoying, but once I got better at reading my enemy, I found I liked it. By forcing commitment the game forces the player to think quickly and accurately read the enemy's intentions, which makes combat feel far more authentic than I was expecting.

[Jeivar]

Jesus Christ. I can't say I feel much like a legendary badass when almost every nekker encounter ends with me in pieces within ten seconds.:smallfurious:

[Comet]

Wow. Apparently my second chapter of the game has very little in common with the second chapter I've seen someone else play. We're in different 'towns', doing different stuff for different people and getting different loot in return. Talk about replay value, gosh.

Also, Quen is fun. Makes combat that much less stressful and seeing lightning smite anyone who tries to backstab you while you're trying to pull a combo on another guy is immensely empowering. All in all, I don't regret focusing almost exclusively on magics this time around. And, as I noted above, the game is obviously worth playing at least twice so I can try out alchemy and sword tricks next time around.

[warty goblin]

Jesus Christ. I can't say I feel much like a legendary badass when almost every nekker encounter ends with me in pieces within ten seconds.:smallfurious:

You are using the silver sword, right? If you still haven't made yourself a new one after the prologue, do so immediately. It makes an absolute world of difference against all things monstrous, and isn't too expensive to craft.

You can also get some very good armor if you do some of the optional stuff when you go to see Loredo.

Sneak around behind Bernard Loredo's house before going to see him. You've got to disable the ballista first, then Roche will distract the guard so you can get a piece of the Kayren trap. There's a yard full of stuff he's taken from merchants, which is an excellent chance to pick up a lot of crafting stuff, and once you get into the little yard with the trap piece, there's a chest with a very good armor in it.

Also I highly recommend Rook potions, as they provide a reasonable buff to sword damage. With the Robust Silver Sword (I think I found the diagram somewhere in Flotsam) and the Rook, I can usually drop a standard nekker with two light attacks.

And use signs and bombs against groups! Yrden and Aard will both stop an enemy, and there's a bomb that stuns as well. If I'm being charged by a group, I try to knock one of the farther away enemies down with Aard, then chop up the nearer with my sword. If in peril of being surrounded, it's time to roll - literally. Even with Swallow I find it too risky to trade hits, so it's better to avoid being hit, even it it means I can't finish off a wounded enemy immediately. Unlike a lot of games you're not invulnerable when rolling, but it does allow you to get clear of an enemy very quickly while probably not being hit.

[Lord of the Helms]

It opens up a lot around Flotsam. It's not open world exactly, but it's a hella big level with a lot of places to go and things to discover. What's really nice is that monster placement is very environment dependent, so you find different stuff in different areas based on how swampy they are.


Oh, I don't expect Fallout or Gothic type world-openness, or even Deus Ex type multi-path levels. I see The Witcher (number one at least) as somewhere around Baldur's Gate (the first a bit more than the second) in terms of openness: There is a lot of stuff out there to explore, outside main and even side quest lines, and you don't just have a handful of strictly defined paths to go along, but you do have a plot to follow along with that uses most of the game's world. It seems pretty nice from Flotsam on so far, and I really liked the detail with the alternate paths and methods of getting out of the dungeons.

I guess the freedom of movement is what annoys me most so far. I don't insist on being able to climb every rock, ledge, house or fence as in Gothic, but at least not having every knee-high rise as an insurmountable obstacle would make the whole thing feel oh so very much more natural.

[warty goblin]

Oh, I don't expect Fallout or Gothic type world-openness, or even Deus Ex type multi-path levels. I see The Witcher (number one at least) as somewhere around Baldur's Gate (the first a bit more than the second) in terms of openness: There is a lot of stuff out there to explore, outside main and even side quest lines, and you don't just have a handful of strictly defined paths to go along, but you do have a plot to follow along with that uses most of the game's world. It seems pretty nice from Flotsam on so far, and I really liked the detail with the alternate paths and methods of getting out of the dungeons.

Really, what's impressed me the most about the levels is how perfectly the forest captures the feeling of being in a forest. All the weird trees, the undergrowth, the closeness of the space, how absolutely green everything is. It's absolutely one of my favorite game environments in a very long time.


I guess the freedom of movement is what annoys me most so far. I don't insist on being able to climb every rock, ledge, house or fence as in Gothic, but at least not having every knee-high rise as an insurmountable obstacle would make the whole thing feel oh so very much more natural.
It really doesn't bother me very much, mostly because I've spent enough time tramping around in woods to appreciate wanting to avoid going through the thornbushes, deep water, and that climbing stuff is generally a good way to get into a sticky spot and thus best avoided if possible. Really, there's been very few points where I've gone 'hey, I'd go over/under/through that' and had to go around. So long as I'm not getting those very often, I'm pretty happy.

Also, finally got fifteen Endrega teeth, so I could make the Jagged Blade. Thankfully it isn't the overly spikey stupid fantasy BS sword I was afraid it would, and still looks like a well designed, functional weapon for killing things. I still get to love the art style, yay!

[Lord of the Helms]

You are using the silver sword, right? If you still haven't made yourself a new one after the prologue, do so immediately. It makes an absolute world of difference against all things monstrous, and isn't too expensive to craft.

I have to ask: Where do I find better recipes for a custom made silver sword? I am currently using my starting one, Aerondight (which is weird because I thought I lost that sword in the dragon's mouth), and according to the description in the crafting menu, a crafted Witcher's silver sword would be slightly worse than the one I'm using now. Or do I have a better sword than standard due to importing my endgame save from the first Witcher, and can't actually craft anything superior?

[warty goblin]

I have to ask: Where do I find better recipes for a custom made silver sword? I am currently using my starting one, Aerondight (which is weird because I thought I lost that sword in the dragon's mouth), and according to the description in the crafting menu, a crafted Witcher's silver sword would be slightly worse than the one I'm using now. Or do I have a better sword than standard due to importing my endgame save from the first Witcher, and can't actually craft anything superior?

That is odd. I didn't import a save game, and definitely lost my starting silver sword in the dragon - I had to get through a seriously annoying fight with multiple drowners using only my steel blade*. I found the diagram for the basic silver sword just after getting off the boat at the beginning of Chapter 1. Unfortunately I really can't recall where I found the Robust Silver Sword diagram, but it's a damn nice blade. It's possible I bought it off of one of the traders in Flotsam, but I'm pretty sure I looted it from somewhere.

*Protip: Don't do this.

[ShadowFighter15]

Jesus Christ. I can't say I feel much like a legendary badass when almost every nekker encounter ends with me in pieces within ten seconds.:smallfurious:

Use the Quen sign and then you can't be stun-locked. If there's still nekkers around after the sign wears off, dive away and recast it.

[warty goblin]

OK, I found a Robust Silver Sword diagram in Chapter 2, at least the Flotsam version thereof - I'm assuming here that loot isn't randomized. Be warned, massive spoilers for the insane asylum questline follow:

Go to the ruins of the old insane asylum (it's just near the waterfall, which is easy to find by following the stream out from the main gate off the market square), and work your way through that questline until you have to decide whether to give the two ex-soldiers to the phantom or not. Choose to do so, and one of them drops the diagram on death.

[Lord of the Helms]

That is odd. I didn't import a save game, and definitely lost my starting silver sword in the dragon - I had to get through a seriously annoying fight with multiple drowners using only my steel blade*. I found the diagram for the basic silver sword just after getting off the boat at the beginning of Chapter 1. Unfortunately I really can't recall where I found the Robust Silver Sword diagram, but it's a damn nice blade. It's possible I bought it off of one of the traders in Flotsam, but I'm pretty sure I looted it from somewhere.

*Protip: Don't do this.

Reading up on guide sites, Aerondight is a special silver sword you can get for importing a save game. Presumably, you don't lose it to the dragons for gameplay rather than logic reasons (It'd be seriously annoying to lose your awesome imported silver sword before practically any chance to use it). Or maybe it's assumed that Geralt had a second, more ordinary silver sword that he used on the dragon and wouldn't waste a special magical one if he could at all avoid it. Or maybe it's a bug, who knows.

It's a pretty good starting blade, it's stats are slightly worse than the Robust Silver Sword you mentioned (one point of damage and one percent of bleeding less), but it makes up for that with three upgrade slots. Looks like I don't have to worry about a new silver sword for a while. But I'd have been even better off if I'd finished the first Witcher with the Moon Blade (which got a serious power boost in the second game).

[Archonic Energy]

well... i got it (retail so i get cool stuff with it too)

and... well it won't get past the key-code screen!

Annoyed Archon is Annoyed! :smallfurious:

[Gamerlord]

Just finished the game. The game got easier towards the end, and Chapter 3 was much shorter. End fight was very easy. And that blasted cliffhanger....
Overall, a brilliant game.

[Lord of the Helms]

Okay, 10 hours in, still struggling with the combat (however, those 10 hours include replaying the entire la valette castle sequence simply because I wanted to see the alternate paths you can take). Died on my first 3 tries of the Nekker cave in the elven hooker quest because a dozen of those beasts swarmed me at once and I simply had no way of fighting back effectively. Fourth try, for some reason the beasts decided to rush me in three seperate waves and were relatively easy to slaughter.

Must get better at killing stuff.

[ShadowFighter15]

well... i got it (retail so i get cool stuff with it too)

and... well it won't get past the key-code screen!

Annoyed Archon is Annoyed! :smallfurious:

Are you including the dashes and typing the code in all-caps?


Okay, 10 hours in, still struggling with the combat (however, those 10 hours include replaying the entire la valette castle sequence simply because I wanted to see the alternate paths you can take). Died on my first 3 tries of the Nekker cave in the elven hooker quest because a dozen of those beasts swarmed me at once and I simply had no way of fighting back effectively. Fourth try, for some reason the beasts decided to rush me in three seperate waves and were relatively easy to slaughter.

Must get better at killing stuff.

Samum bombs and the Quen Sign are your friends.

[Lord of the Helms]

Are you including the dashes and typing the code in all-caps?



Samum bombs and the Quen Sign are your friends.

That being murdered was with Quen. And Samum bombs. They only meant I wuld survive half a minute rather than five seconds.

[ShadowFighter15]

That being murdered was with Quen. And Samum bombs. They only meant I wuld survive half a minute rather than five seconds.

Ah. Have you tried dive-rolling away from them to re-cast Quen or drinking a bottle of Swallow before the fight? Maybe Tawney Owl as well if you know the formula (to regain Vigor faster)?

[Gargulec]

Okay, my opinion on the game. Slight spoilers ahead.

Small disclaimer at first: I am a huge fan of the book series upon which the game is based, and so there were numerous mythology gags in the game that literally made me squee (mentions of Ciri and Yennefer, the meeting with Tailes in the temple in the prologue, the references to Second Nilifgaard War and so on and so on - too many of them to count), and so I am more than slightly biased.

I am charmed to no limit by The Witcher 2. It is, at least for me, the definitive fantasy story, told brilliantly and interestingly, using common elements of stock fantasy worlds but only rarely falling into clichés.

It is the first game that really gave me troubles in the field of choices (namely, the big choice from Iorveth's path in the third act, it gets harder if you remember the books well), and this really surprised me, because I am used to finding choices in computer games mostly shallow.

I can sing endless words of praise for the characterization of the titular Assassin Of Kings. Sufficient to say that the final meeting with him after the main plot is more or less resolved is just brilliant. Moving, touching, so unlike the usual epic showdown of western cRPGs (Meredith from DAII springs to mind, maybe only because I have played it just before TW2 and still have it clearly in my memory). The fact that I actually felt bad for choosing to fight with him in the end, and yet thought that there was no other way it could be resolved (yet I have had the choice!) speaks of itself.

Combat, at least for me, perfectly captured the feel of the books, with vicious, dangerous swordfights that can go terribly awry even for the most experienced swordsman if he allows himself to be outmanoeuvred.

The writing was as excellent as the characterization, though I am unsure on how well it was translated - thankfully, I had the possibility of playing it in Polish. It avoids usual pathos most of the time, is often profane but in oddly mature fashion - the slurs never feel out of place - and very often immensely funny (trolls! Yarpen! Dandelion!). And when it wanted to get serious and awesome, boy it did (Third Act!).

The technicals matter little to me, I have played the game on medium/high setting and the framerate tended to drop sharply at times, but it was always playble, so I can't complain. Visuals, even on lowered settings were still striking at times... so well.

So, for me, The Witcher 2 is perfect, just very perfect, even superior to BioWare games (and don't take me wrong, I am BioWare's fanboy) and almost on par with Planescape: Torment. In a word: brilliant.

[warty goblin]

Okay, 10 hours in, still struggling with the combat (however, those 10 hours include replaying the entire la valette castle sequence simply because I wanted to see the alternate paths you can take). Died on my first 3 tries of the Nekker cave in the elven hooker quest because a dozen of those beasts swarmed me at once and I simply had no way of fighting back effectively. Fourth try, for some reason the beasts decided to rush me in three seperate waves and were relatively easy to slaughter.

Must get better at killing stuff.

That's a really hard fight even when you're prepared for it. There's just not enough room to really outmaneuver and break up the nekker horde. I finally beat it the way I finally beat all hard fights: with snare traps.

No, really. Snare traps are freaking amazing. They slow a target down almost as much as Yrden, don't really take any longer to place and cost no Vigor, do decent damage, can be picked up for free all over the place, and thus can be spammed to hell and back. Thus I placed a wall of them far enough away the nekkers wouldn't charge me, and then went forwards to fight. As soon as things got hairy, I'd withdraw behind my trapfield, and handily butcher whatever nekkers struggled across it.

What I did to the endrega queens with snare traps really isn't even funny.

[Mx.Silver]

First impressions:

1: Install game
2: Discover that the new combat system means Geralt has no effective way of fighting if surrounded due to the loss of group style
3: Discover that the new camera setup means you have less information on the position of your enemies, e.g. if there are guys coming up behind you while you're busy dealing with an enemy in front of you
4: Inevitably get surrounded by enemies
5: Die
6: repeat steps 4 and 5 ad nauseum
8: reduce difficulty
9: see step 6
10: begin to suspect that you've wasted £30.


So yeah, can't say the new engine's winning me over, even if it does look pretty :smalltongue:
The voice acting does seem to have improved though.

[Gamerlord]

Remember: Parrying is pretty much worthless, dodge,dodge, and dodge!
Also, the game is pretty hard at first, but then you get the group finishers and the heliotrope sign and that adrenaline bar becomes a glorified "I Win!" button.

[Mx.Silver]

Remember: Parrying is pretty much worthless,
dodge,dodge, and dodge!
Yeah, I'd discovered this as well (parrying apparrently is to this game what the Axii sign was to the first game). The only problem with dodging is that it stops becoming effective when you get hemmed-in, thus leading to Geralt coming down with an acute case of death.
Oh, and before anyone says it: yes, it is entirely possible that I just suck at PC games that use 3rd-person over the shoulder view.

[Gargulec]

I would also like to add that parrying once you get ripostes can be a very good tactic against lone opponents (because riposte hits FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE). Also, use your elixirs, really, they help a great deal. And the game gets easier once you level up, so much that by the end of second act my Geralt was literally a death incarnate, and it felt great.

This is not an easy game, though, and it is very good: it is fine to see a honest challenge, instead of cheap "foes level up with you, so no mater how much badass you are, you don't feel it" way from certain other good games (DA, looking at you I am!).

[Mx.Silver]

I would also like to add that parrying once you get ripostes can be a very good tactic against lone opponents (because riposte hits FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE).
Which is great if you aren't getting repeatedly murdered before you reach the level you can acquire the deadly skills.


Also, use your elixirs, really, they help a great deal. And the game gets easier once you level up, so much that by the end of second act my Geralt was literally a death incarnate, and it felt great.
I know mate, I beat the first game without too much of a problem. I know the tactics, it's the fact that the control scheme and camera are completely different to what I was using in the first game that's causing the problem. The fact that, due to an injury, I currently have somewhat reduced movement in my left hand really isn't making this any easier (particularly since said injury wouldn't have much impact if I was playing the first game).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the engine or the game are bad. What I am saying though is that the decision to change the controls in a direct sequel is not a great design choice, since it's going to alienate anyone who didn't play the first game exclusively using the Keyboard and Mouse camera mode (e.g. me).

[warty goblin]

Yeah, I'd discovered this as well (parrying apparrently is to this game what the Axii sign was to the first game). The only problem with dodging is that it stops becoming effective when you get hemmed-in, thus leading to Geralt coming down with an acute case of death.
Oh, and before anyone says it: yes, it is entirely possible that I just suck at PC games that use 3rd-person over the shoulder view.

Basically you don't want to parry, except as a last resort. Rolling is a much better choice about 95% of the time. Really you never want to fight more than one enemy at a time, and it's nearly always more important to avoid taking a hit than it is to kill off a foe. Thus if I'm about to kill an enemy, but see somebody else coming in behind me, I'll roll clear and go for the kill later. Staying for that last hit risks getting stunlocked and killed between the two.

Now because the camera's pretty close in, you can't see very far behind you. This means you've got to stay proactive and dodge as soon as you anticipate a threat. Ideally you use traps, bombs, knives and Signs to keep your options open and you in control of the fight instead of letting them dictate your actions.

[Gargulec]

Also, biggest advice ever: Quen is your best friend. This noble sign makes you so much more durable, and you almost spam it, which makes 95% of fights twice easier.

[baileykruse]

From my experience of the game, having finished it and halfway through another playthrough, is that the alchemy skill line is useless because most of the boss fights or just difficult fights do not give you enough time before them to drink your potions so you end up fighting at a solid disadvantage.

[Jeivar]

I'm about to expose my pathetic incompetence regarding computers and everything related to them, but: How can I tell which version of the game I have? I'm going to install the 1.1 patch (hopefully it'll make the game playable) and I have to pick a version of the patch. I pre-ordered my copy on amazon.co.uk.

[Divayth Fyr]

I'm about to expose my pathetic incompetence regarding computers and everything related to them, but: How can I tell which version of the game I have? I'm going to install the 1.1 patch (hopefully it'll make the game playable) and I have to pick a version of the patch. I pre-ordered my copy on amazon.co.uk.

Seeing the descriptions, I'd say you need the international version (http://wpc.420c.edgecastcdn.net/00420C/files/P1_1/Patcher_1.1_International.exe).

[Chen]

I can't seem to install the D2D patch from their site. I keep getting that the version is invalid or something. I haven't modded or changed anything. All I did was install the first patch. I don't particularly want to reinstall but it looks like I may have to if I can't figure it out. Also despite registering, the Troll Trouble DLC doesn't show up on my DLC list. Anyone have that happen to them?

[Jeivar]

Well, the patch has fixed the game, I've figured out the combat, and I'm one happy player.

But could someone tell me how to get silver ore in Flotsam? Maybe in spoiler tags, for the sake of less lazy people?

[Gargulec]

I THINK that you can simply buy it from merchants.

[Gamerlord]

I THINK that you can simply buy it from merchants.


Yeah, go to the dwarven blacksmith. That and there is one cave you get it from. There is a Greater Rotfiend in there however, as well as Nekkers. You eventually need to go there for a main quest anyway.

[Comet]

On my second playthrough, focusing on the sword tree and trying very hard not to use Quen or any other signs unless absolutely required (Yrden with that one big monster, for instance). Lots of fun, it's rewarding to see that what used to be really frustratingly hard is now entirely manageable.

[shadow_archmagi]

So, I've decided to hop on this crazy boat. What's the relation to Witcher 1?

Is this like Fable, or Zelda, where the most recent game is a completely different deal, and playing other games in the series isn't important?

Or is it more like Episode 1 and Episode 2 (Half Life, Rain Slick Precipice), where the second is a direct continuation of the first, plotwise?

[Gamerlord]

So, I've decided to hop on this crazy boat. What's the relation to Witcher 1?

Is this like Fable, or Zelda, where the most recent game is a completely different deal, and playing other games in the series isn't important?

Or is it more like Episode 1 and Episode 2 (Half Life, Rain Slick Precipice), where the second is a direct continuation of the first, plotwise?

Decisions from Witcher 1 import to Witcher 2. And it is sort of inbetween the two types you mention. It takes place some time afterward Witcher 1, has the same main character, some of his allies form the first game are with him. However, it only continues a plot point that happens at the very end of Witcher 1,which is explained within the first 20 minutes of Witcher 2. He faces a completely new foe, and the organization from Witcher 1 he was opposed to makes only a brief cameo.

[warty goblin]

So, I've decided to hop on this crazy boat. What's the relation to Witcher 1?

Is this like Fable, or Zelda, where the most recent game is a completely different deal, and playing other games in the series isn't important?

Or is it more like Episode 1 and Episode 2 (Half Life, Rain Slick Precipice), where the second is a direct continuation of the first, plotwise?

I never finished the first Witcher (due to some annoying hardware issues and my dislike of replaying stuff), but have had very little trouble figuring out what's going on Witcher 2. It's a little confusing at first, but by the time you wrap up the prologue it's pretty clear what's going on. There's a lot of politics wrapped around it all, but I think the game's pretty understandable if you haven't read the books and don't know Nilfgaard from a nerf herder.

The one thing that does bear mentioning is that the game really doesn't do a lot of handholding in terms of the story. While people will explain stuff to you on occasion, there's no wise old mentor to impart absolute truths or anything like that. People always have their own stuff going on, and this definitely colors what they say. Thus the situation can often be confusing as hell, but in a deliberate, good way. It's not that the game is so poorly written that you can't figure it out, it's that the game is made with enough intelligence - and enough respect for yours - that it doesn't spell it out in mile high letters. And occasionally you'll just have to guess, and the consequences may only become apparent a few hours later and be quite surprising.

Also, is there a way to remove enhancements from items?

[Gargulec]

Also, is there a way to remove enhancements from items?

No, there is no way and I hate the minimum post length restriction.

[warty goblin]

No, there is no way and I hate the minimum post length restriction.

Damnit, I put the Fiber enhancement on my armor as soon as I got it, since it was at the time the best one I had. Now I've got a lot of better ones which I can't use. Grrr.

Oh well, I've got a giant water thing to go kill.

[Gargulec]

Damnit, I put the Fiber enhancement on my armor as soon as I got it, since it was at the time the best one I had. Now I've got a lot of better ones which I can't use. Grrr.

Oh well, I've got a giant water thing to go kill.

Oh boi, you are into a REAL FUN.

[Morty]

Well, the talk about an ungodly difficulty level isn't encouraging... I'm not exactly a very hardcore gamer, so I sure hope I won't die too many times.

[Gamerlord]

Well, the talk about an ungodly difficulty level isn't encouraging... I'm not exactly a very hardcore gamer, so I sure hope I won't die too many times.

Only ungodly at the start, and Easy makes it....somewhat manageable. The difficulty collapses near the end though.

[Gargulec]

Only ungodly at the start, and Easy makes it....somewhat manageable. The difficulty collapses near the end though.

But this collapse is SO ENJOYABLE. :smalltongue:

[warty goblin]

Only ungodly at the start, and Easy makes it....somewhat manageable. The difficulty collapses near the end though.

It's not actually that ungodly, it just does pretty much nothing to explain itself. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't easy, but most of the problem comes less from poorly designed encounters and more from being thrown headfirst into the deep end.

[shadow_archmagi]

It's not actually that ungodly, it just does pretty much nothing to explain itself. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't easy, but most of the problem comes less from poorly designed encounters and more from being thrown headfirst into the deep end.

So it's not so much Shadow of Chernobyl's "Everything murders you" as Dwarf Fortresses "It's pretty easy to feed your community, but good luck finding out what buttons tell your dwarves to dig a farm, irrigate it, demand that the ground be turned into a farm, assign the farming labor, and designate it to have seeds planted.

[Gargulec]

So it's not so much Shadow of Chernobyl's "Everything murders you" as Dwarf Fortresses "It's pretty easy to feed your community, but good luck finding out what buttons tell your dwarves to dig a farm, irrigate it, demand that the ground be turned into a farm, assign the farming labor, and designate it to have seeds planted.

It called FUN for a reason.

[Jeivar]

Is anyone else unable to download Troll Trouble? The game just goes offline when I try and goes on and on about "error reading file" and keeps retrying.

Also, how in the world do you use mutagens? I've found several around Flotsam and the manual tells me to meditate and open the "character" menu. But there's nothing I can do there. Do I need to prepare them somehow first?

[Divayth Fyr]

Is anyone else unable to download Troll Trouble? The game just goes offline when I try and goes on and on about "error reading file" and keeps retrying.
Sice it's included in the 1.1 patch, they might have taken the DLC offline...


Also, how in the world do you use mutagens? I've found several around Flotsam and the manual tells me to meditate and open the "character" menu. But there's nothing I can do there. Do I need to prepare them somehow first?
First of all, you can only mutate a few select abilities - generally those at the end of the skill trees. When highliting a suitable skill, apart from the usual options, you should get one called "mutate" (I think it was accessed using the spacebar - though I might be wrong here). In the new menu you can select the mutagen to use.

Remember two things:
1. In the alchemy tree, there is a skill that enhances mutagens - but only those used after obtaining it. So, if you plan on investing in that tree, wait with the mutations.
2. Since it's impossible to unmutate a skill, use only the best mutagens.

[Gargulec]

Is anyone else unable to download Troll Trouble? The game just goes offline when I try and goes on and on about "error reading file" and keeps retrying.

Also, how in the world do you use mutagens? I've found several around Flotsam and the manual tells me to meditate and open the "character" menu. But there's nothing I can do there. Do I need to prepare them somehow first?

Only higher-tier talents have mutagen slots. They are denoted by tiny circles in the corners of talents icons.

[Jeivar]

Sice it's included in the 1.1 patch, they might have taken the DLC offline...


Ah. Maybe I should go check for a troll . . .

[warty goblin]

So it's not so much Shadow of Chernobyl's "Everything murders you" as Dwarf Fortresses "It's pretty easy to feed your community, but good luck finding out what buttons tell your dwarves to dig a farm, irrigate it, demand that the ground be turned into a farm, assign the farming labor, and designate it to have seeds planted.

It's 'everything murders you because you're an incompetent moron.' Once you learn to not be a stupid person, you can get started on carving a red swath of destruction across the land. The game gives you everything you need to win, it just does pretty much nothing to explain how to use it all.

This process is made even more challenging because Witcher 2's combat is a pretty distinctive thing, and definitely takes some getting used to even if you play other actiony RPGs.

The first important thing to remember is that unlike most other RPGs, in Witcher 2 swords and other striking weapons are extremely deadly, whether in your hands or those of your enemies. This means that unlike many RPGs where dudes with swords are basically meatshields for the actually deadly people, even a single basic warrior can kill you if you get careless. Compounding this there's no magical insta-healing available. You only get health back through regeneration, and without a Swallow potion in-combat healing is extremely slow. This means you cannot afford to get hit very much.

The second major thing is that your enemies generally make a pretty concerted effort to kill you. Know how in Assassin's Creed everybody surrounds you then politely waits their turn so you can kill them with awesome counterattacks? Not so much here. Enemies are more than happy to pile on from all sides at once and beat you to death. Thanks to most hits causing a reasonably lengthy stagger animation (and attacks from behind doing 200% damage), it's pretty easy to to get stunlocked and killed if you let them get away with it. This means it takes a bit more effort to avoid getting hit than one might initially expect. Together points one and two would seem to make combat very difficult.

But this is not so! Fighting certainly requires concentration, but really all you need to do is remember just how many tools you've got at your disposal and use them. You're a deadly swordfighter, the magical Signs give you amazing versatility for disrupting your enemies, and between traps and bombs you put most rogues to shame. It's very easy to start the first fight, pull out a whacking great sword, forget about everything else and go into Warrior Mode. Do not do this. It's only using at most a third of your abilities, and you'll get your ass kicked.

Again, every fight I've encountered so far is plenty winnable. All the trouble I've had is because I've been playing badly, not because the fights are unfair. The game does a crappy job of explaining how versatile you are, but that doesn't make the combat as insanely brutal as some reviews have been painting it.

[Comet]

^ Agreed.

If there's one thing that I find 'broken' about the combat system, though, it's the parry button, which fails to respond every now and then. This happens mainly when I try to put up a block after rolling, which just doesn't work until I hammer the button a few times and even then there's a chance that the block will be put up and then lowered again for a split second which is enough to ruin the fight.

I'd really like a patch to come along and add a bit of flow to the combat, making it easier to slip into parry mode and back without button mashing. If only because the counter attacks are really useful and look pretty cool.

[shadow_archmagi]

The game gives you everything you need to win, it just does pretty much nothing to explain how to use it all. .

So, it's Dwarf Fortress.

[Chen]

Again, every fight I've encountered so far is plenty winnable. All the trouble I've had is because I've been playing badly, not because the fights are unfair. The game does a crappy job of explaining how versatile you are, but that doesn't make the combat as insanely brutal as some reviews have been painting it.

Fighting the kingslayer in Chapter 1 is significantly more difficult than pretty much everything else up until that point. Getting hit by a single igni is almost a death sentence and its not super easy to avoid in some circumstances. Fortunately he uses Aard much more often which is much less deadly and more just annoying.

The kayran isn't really a fun fight either, though if you use Quen you'll be fine. No Quen on that fight though and there are times you'll just be hosed.

[Tengu_temp]

I'd say the biggest dificulty with Witcher 2 is that most RPG fans are used to games that offer little to no challenge. No matter if we're talking about western or jRPGs, the challenging ones are the exceptions, not the rule.

[warty goblin]

Fighting the kingslayer in Chapter 1 is significantly more difficult than pretty much everything else up until that point. Getting hit by a single igni is almost a death sentence and its not super easy to avoid in some circumstances. Fortunately he uses Aard much more often which is much less deadly and more just annoying.

The kayran isn't really a fun fight either, though if you use Quen you'll be fine. No Quen on that fight though and there are times you'll just be hosed.

I've not gotten to the Kingslayer yet, but I've heard he's a bit of a bitch. I'm actually at the Keyran fight right now, and my only real complaint is that it's too damn long. Sucker should die after the bridge falls on it, or there should be a save point there or something. As it is it turns into one of those multi-stage boss fights that I absolutely hate. Other than that however, I've seldom felt combat was unfair - about the worst that I've had to do is reload an earlier save and juice up on potions.



I'd say the biggest dificulty with Witcher 2 is that most RPG fans are used to games that offer little to no challenge. No matter if we're talking about western or jRPGs, the challenging ones are the exceptions, not the rule.

I think I rather concur with this, but I'd phrase it a little differently. In most RPGs the challenge* is finding the optimum thing to do in terms of building your character/party. Actually implementing this is easy, and will probably allow most fights to be won in pretty much the same way. There's not very much need to adapt to the circumstances.

Because of the lethal and realtime nature of Witcher 2's combat and the large bag of tricks you've got access to however, I'm at least finding that I need a high degree of situational awareness and adaptability. Aside from some very basic things (drink potions!) my experience is that what worked in one fight may very well not do so in the next. With the need to constantly move to avoid harm, it ends up feeling a bit like an FPS in some ways really.


*Although since most RPGs are very similar to most others, this probably isn't much of a challenge once you've played a few.

[Chen]

I've not gotten to the Kingslayer yet, but I've heard he's a bit of a bitch. I'm actually at the Keyran fight right now, and my only real complaint is that it's too damn long. Sucker should die after the bridge falls on it, or there should be a save point there or something. As it is it turns into one of those multi-stage boss fights that I absolutely hate. Other than that however, I've seldom felt combat was unfair - about the worst that I've had to do is reload an earlier save and juice up on potions.

I found the Kayran fight pretty damn short (minus all the dying heh). Use the Kayran trap on one left tentacle, kill 2 more and ride the tentacle that swings by until he crushes himself. Then just run up and kill him.

[Vendevor]

Ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex
Gargantuan Animal
Hit Dice: 34d8+474 (632 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-2 size, +8 natural, +2 Dex), touch 10, flatfooted 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +36/+58
Attack: Bite +60 melee (5d6+23/19-20)
Full Attack: Bite +25 melee (5d6+23/19-20), and 2 claws +19 melee (d10+11)
Space/Reach: 20ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Swallow Whole
Special Qualities: Lowlight vision, keen scent
Saves: Fort +34, Ref +23, Will +13
Abilities: Str 56, Dex 14, Con 37, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +39, Spot +2, Swim +15
Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude, Improved Scent, Improved Critical (Bite), Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Uncanny Scent Weapon Focus (Bite), Toughness, Improved Toughness
Epic Feats: Epic Scent,
Environment: Warm Aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 19
Treasure: None
Advancement: 34+ (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: -----


this is all i have to say

[Gamerlord]

Ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex
Gargantuan Animal
Hit Dice: 34d8+474 (632 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-2 size, +8 natural, +2 Dex), touch 10, flatfooted 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +36/+58
Attack: Bite +60 melee (5d6+23/19-20)
Full Attack: Bite +25 melee (5d6+23/19-20), and 2 claws +19 melee (d10+11)
Space/Reach: 20ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Swallow Whole
Special Qualities: Lowlight vision, keen scent
Saves: Fort +34, Ref +23, Will +13
Abilities: Str 56, Dex 14, Con 37, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +39, Spot +2, Swim +15
Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude, Improved Scent, Improved Critical (Bite), Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Uncanny Scent Weapon Focus (Bite), Toughness, Improved Toughness
Epic Feats: Epic Scent,
Environment: Warm Aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 19
Treasure: None
Advancement: 34+ (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: -----


this is all i have to say

Huh? Is this some kind of joke?

[Pronounceable]

So now I have it. About to start chapter 2. Tried both of chapter 1 final choices plus the beginning of chapter 2 to see how it goes. Now can't decide which one I should pick:
Squirrels are terrorist bastards as usual, but Roche and his black op cronies aren't paragons of virtue either. I really don't wanna help either bunch of bloody idiots. Roche has better chapter ending adventure and there's the possibility of scoring with Ves if I go along with him, but Squirrels start against that King Whose Face I Don't Like on next chapter and there's the hot Dragonslayer as a possible score. I hate Roche and that elf about about equally.
I'm rather torn. Which proves just how awesome this game is. My first instinct is the first choice tho. If there's another such branch at the end of chapter, that makes 4 playthrus to see whole game. But I'm not complaining.

Speaking of which, Geralt seems to have gotten a lot more monogamous in this game. Or maybe his playa image was the result of pokemonity in first game. Not a single incident (discounting brothel, which doesn't really count) of infidelity to Triss. Yet...

As for combat, ridiculously steep learning. It's stupidly hard to start with. Gets a lot easier, but the utter lack of tutorialness in the tutorial is borderline acceptable. It didn't help I started on hard. That dumbass palisade part with the fire is just idiotic on hard. What sort of crummy game doesn't tutor in tutorial?:smallfurious: At least normal combat got much better in chapter one after getting decent swords. But those two major bosses were still iffy. Even minor ones like endraga? queens are tough.

[warty goblin]

As for combat, ridiculously steep learning. It's stupidly hard to start with. Gets a lot easier, but the utter lack of tutorialness in the tutorial is borderline acceptable. It didn't help I started on hard. That dumbass palisade part with the fire is just idiotic on hard. What sort of crummy game doesn't tutor in tutorial?:smallfurious: At least normal combat got much better in chapter one after getting decent swords. But those two major bosses were still iffy. Even minor ones like endraga? queens are tough.

The lack of a very thorough tutorial seems to be something of an eastern European thing - Witcher 2 is absolutely nothing compared to STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl for instance*, and Operation Arrowhead is the first of the ArmA games with tutorials worth a damn. Even then it's a learning cliff.

And Endrega queens are quite easy once you realize a single key fact: You control when they appear. I took advantage of this to scatter about two dozen snare traps all over the region. By the time the poor thing even got to me it was half dead already. Made things so much easier.

*A game that begins by handing you literally the worst gun there is, a stupidly small amount of ammo, and then sends you kill four or five dudes armed with shotguns. Witcher 2 at least gives you some weapons that don't completely suck, and doesn't arm the first enemies you encounter with one-hit kill stuff.

[Mx.Silver]

I feel this Penny Arcade strip (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/5/25/) is relevent.


It's not actually that ungodly, it just does pretty much nothing to explain itself. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't easy, but most of the problem comes less from poorly designed encounters and more from being thrown headfirst into the deep end.

I'd still call that an example of bad game design. Frankly, I'd rather hoped games had outgrown the whole 'work it out for yourself, noob' attitude by this point as it's really not helpful if you want more than a fairly small minority of gamers to actually stick with your game.


The lack of a very thorough tutorial seems to be something of an eastern European thing - Witcher 2 is absolutely nothing compared to STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl for instance*, and Operation Arrowhead is the first of the ArmA games with tutorials worth a damn. Even then it's a learning cliff.
The fact that other things are worse than something doesn't make that something's faults any less of a fault. And bad tutorial design is a fault, as it limits the amount of people who might otherwise have enjoyed your game. (it's also worth noting that the tutorial of the first Witcher game was significantly superior to both it's sequel and all the examples you mentioned).


It's 'everything murders you because you're an incompetent moron.' Once you learn to not be a stupid person, you can get started on carving a red swath of destruction across the land. The game gives you everything you need to win, it just does pretty much nothing to explain how to use it all.
Now, the thing is the 'you're playing it wrong' defense of a game can only really be called such if there's reason to assume that the game in question actually gives some indication of how you should be playing it. The Witcher 2 doesn't do this. Even leaving aside the fact that it's entirely possible to end-up playing the introduction section out of order (a design choice that was, at the very best, ill-advised) when you go into the early fights you do so without being told what most of the spells do and being actively encouraged through pop-ups to use parrying (which is a a highly ineffective strategy until you've gained a fair few levels and learned some specific abilites). It's all very well us saying that grabbing a sword and hurling yourself into combat is something to be avoided but a new player couldn't be expected to know this. Especially since the game doesn't give any indication that this is the wrong thing to do until said new player
The only way any new player will find out how not to play like 'an incompetent moron' is by trial and error of all the various tools at your disposal. This makes a lot of the initial actual difficulty of the game a matter of time investment and patience, rather an actual challenge of skill and ability.

Given that most game reviewers have a fairly limited amount of time in which to play it's entirely reasonable that they probably won't work out that they're not playing the game the intended way quick enough to really take advantage of it. Given that, you can't exactly blame them for seeing the game as being overly hard.

[shadow_archmagi]

doesn't arm the first enemies you encounter with one-hit kill stuff.

To be fair, even on the highest difficulty with the weakest pistol against the toughest enemy, a headshot is a kill. So it's one hit kills all round.

[warty goblin]

I feel this Penny Arcade strip (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/5/25/) is relevent.



I'd still call that an example of bad game design. Frankly, I'd rather hoped games had outgrown the whole 'work it out for yourself, noob' attitude by this point as it's really not helpful if you want more than a fairly small minority of gamers to actually stick with your game.

Did I ever say it wasn't an example of bad game design? Because the degree of non-helpfulness of the Witcher 2's tutorial pretty clearly is.

That said, I actually approve of it's overall attitude. Making the player learn how to succeed is, to my mind, a superior form of teaching than simply showing them how to win - if nothing else the first is interesting and challenging, the second simply boring. Where the game went too far was in forcing the player to learn they even had access to things like Signs and bombs


The fact that other things are worse than something doesn't make that something's faults any less of a fault. And bad tutorial design is a fault, as it limits the amount of people who might otherwise have enjoyed your game. (it's also worth noting that the tutorial of the first Witcher game was significantly superior to both it's sequel and all the examples you mentioned).
If you survived Shadow of Chernobyl's opening, you actually had a pretty good understanding of how to play the game. For most people that would take more than a few tries and a bit of patience, which is actually OK as that goes for the game itself as well. If you didn't, well, sucks to be you I guess.

And I found the first Witcher's tutorial really, really, boring.


Now, the thing is the 'you're playing it wrong' defense of a game can only really be called such if there's reason to assume that the game in question actually gives some indication of how you should be playing it.
This I actually pretty much disagree with. I play quite a few strategy games, and the good and interesting ones never tell me the 'right' way to play. They give me a rundown on how to make stuff happen, and then let me take it from there. I really don't see why an action RPG should have to be different - and if you subscribe to the Chick Parabola notion of gaming it probably shouldn't be. Now as I said, the Witcher 2 fails to do the first part well, but it really does nail the second pretty solidly.

But then in my mind it's a worse crime to be boring than to be hard. I don't think I've ever quit a game's tutorial or opening because of how hard it is, but I've certainly given up out of simple malaise.


The Witcher 2 doesn't do this. Even leaving aside the fact that it's entirely possible to end-up playing the introduction section out of order (a design choice that was, at the very best, ill-advised) when you go into the early fights you do so without being told what most of the spells do and being actively encouraged through pop-ups to use parrying (which is a a highly ineffective strategy until you've gained a fair few levels and learned some specific abilites). It's all very well us saying that grabbing a sword and hurling yourself into combat is something to be avoided but a new player couldn't be expected to know this. Especially since the game doesn't give any indication that this is the wrong thing to do until said new player
The only way any new player will find out how not to play like 'an incompetent moron' is by trial and error of all the various tools at your disposal. This makes a lot of the initial actual difficulty of the game a matter of time investment and patience, rather an actual challenge of skill and ability.
Again, I agree that the game doesn't do an adequate job of telling you what you can do, particularly since there's a lot more of it than in most games of its sort. Forcing the player to actually think, adapt and learn however makes the game much better in my opinion. Mass Effect 2 for instance was so constantly concerned with making me feel awesome and unstoppable that there was nothing to figure out. Everything was so carefully drip-fed to the player that even on normal I found the admittedly short part I could stomach to be absolutely mindnumbingly dull. I'd rather fail a few times at something interesting than be bored by easy success.


Given that most game reviewers have a fairly limited amount of time in which to play it's entirely reasonable that they probably won't work out that they're not playing the game the intended way quick enough to really take advantage of it. Given that, you can't exactly blame them for seeing the game as being overly hard.
The job of a reviewer is to give a description of how enjoyable a game is likely to be to the general public, which doesn't usually consist of other reviewers. If they can't step out of their own situation enough to do that, that's a failure of them to do their job well, not a failing of the game.

[VanBuren]

Speaking of reviews...

PAL Gaming Network (http://palgn.com.au/pc-gaming/18940/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review/), 9/10


Prior to this review, we completed The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings twice to see just how different things can be, and are now beginning our third playthrough, as we're curious about what other massive changes can happen throughout. CDProjekt have only made two games since their inception, with the first being something of a flawed masterpiece and the sequel now arriving to abolish the flawed part. We can happily say it's just about succeeded in that aspect, although the game is held back by initial launch bugs and issues that hurt the overall package. Full-screen errors, some crashes and controller malfunctions in the middle of combat are but a handful of some of the bugs encountered, and these did hurt the game overall.

With that said, it's possible that these issues will be rectified in due time (with some already completely fixed), and if you can ignore them completely or begin your playthrough prior to a patch... you can see where the score would go. While the gameplay is by no means perfect, and the story may not be to everyone's tastes, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is an in-depth, complex and powerful RPG with an immense level of detail poured into every nook and cranny. This is a game that paves the way for what RPGs of this kind should strive to be.

GamingBolt (http://gamingbolt.com/witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-pc-review), 9.0/10


Witcher 2 might have sounded like a perfect game till now, but unfortunately a pretty long list of technical bugs drag the score down. One of the most common issues that I came across was the lack of proper collision detection. Geralt’s attacks would sometimes make no connection with the Dragon (boss fight), which might actually frustrate some players. Characters disappear all of a sudden when a conversation ends and sometimes the player can’t enter an open door.

CDProjekt were kind of enough to send me the Digital Premium Edition which sells for about $45 at gog.com and the game was packed in with extra goodies like art books, pamphlets, game guides and more. For me that offer is a steal. Not to mention that the game in itself is an achievement, but these small add-ons goes a long way in deciding the value for money factor for gamers. It was also recently revealed all DLC for the game will be free which I think will add a lot of value to an already great game. With Witcher 2, Cdprojekt have shown the video games industry that money can take a back seat and gamers will be put first. Overall, Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a landmark game in the esteemed history of PC gaming.

GamingUnion (http://www.gamingunion.net/reviews/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings--501.html), 9/10


The Witcher 2 shows that PC exclusives still merit a very respectable place in the video games industry. It has beautiful graphics, but it's backed up with a story that's more than capable of holding its own. Add to this, a game with an challenge that's rewarding and a combat system that rewards a methodical approach and you have one of the best RPGs you'll see this year.

Gaming Irresponsibly (http://gamingirresponsibly.com/pc-review-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings), 9.5/10


The Witcher 2 is hands-down, one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played. Naturally, I’m a die-hard BioWare fan, so to see this amount of effort put into an equal if not better product is something I’m immensely happy about. I have another thirty hours to put into the game in order to complete it, and I don’t think I’ll regret it in the slightest. With the new patch, any issues that I would have had previously with glitches or bugs have been for the most part patched up.

And GoG (http://www.gog.com/en/forum/the_witcher_2/full_list_of_mods/page1) and The Witcher Nexus (http://www.witchernexus.com/downloads/categories.php#The%20Witcher%202:%20Assassin%20of% 20Kings) have some overviews on mods.

[Chen]

And Endrega queens are quite easy once you realize a single key fact: You control when they appear. I took advantage of this to scatter about two dozen snare traps all over the region. By the time the poor thing even got to me it was half dead already. Made things so much easier.


Endrega queens are actually extremely easy to kill. The key is NOT keeping your distance from them. Roll right next to them and slash their sides/back 2-3 times then roll again beside it as it turns. They turns slowly and massively telegraph their charge. I was getting my ass handed to me by it while I was keeping my distance.

I'm about half way through Chapter 2 and honestly the combat is now super easy. I bought the meteorite sword and poison scimitar off the mysterious merchant and things die super quickly. Humans and wraiths still seem to be the most dangerous since they actually block attacks. Everything else gets horribly cut to pieces. I've stopped using my improved Quen skill because it just makes things even more laughably easy. If you need to make the combat easier this is the best thing to do. Your first 3 skill points once the trees open up should be Improved Aard and then Improved Quen x2. Its completely overpowered.

[shadow_archmagi]

Query: How do I research the Nekkens? My quest tells me to, but I can't exactly stroll into the Flotsam local library and check out the Monster Manual.

I tried murdering some random ones in the forest, and that got me a 1/3 knowledge rating.

I also found a Mutagan or five. Am I understanding the character design system so far:

1. Every levelup you get a point (Possibly 2 points?) to spend on "abilities." Abilities provide minor bonuses, and can be thought of in the same way as Fallout 3's Perks or D&D's Feats.

2. High level abilities can have Mutagens attached to them.

3. Mutagens provide more minor bonuses, like a +3% chance to crit.

4. Don't use crummy mutagens, because you can't undo them so you don't want to get halfway through the game and be rolling in Epic Mutagens of Laser Eye Beams but be unable to use them because you filled your slots with Lesser Mutagens of Muffin Baking

Query: Are Mutagens global? That is, if I find a Greater Mutagen of Casting Spells Harder, and I equip it to my fire talent, does that improve ALL my spells, or just the fire?

[Gargulec]

Mutagens are global, this I know. And you have to murderize a lot of nekkers to get knowledge rating of 3/3. A lot.

[Mx.Silver]

That said, I actually approve of its overall attitude. Making the player learn how to succeed is, to my mind, a superior form of teaching than simply showing them how to win - if nothing else the first is interesting and challenging, the second simply boring. Where the game went too far was in forcing the player to learn they even had access to things like Signs and bombs
I'm not entirely in disagreement with you here re: learning to succeed (except on easy difficulty settings, but that's another topic). My main point was that Witcher 2 doesn't manage to do this well (compared to, say, Resonance of Fate which is a game that has a very comprehensive tutorial without reducing the actual challenge of the game. Although as it was a JRPG that wasn't made by SquareEnix, nobody played it anyway).



If you survived Shadow of Chernobyl's opening, you actually had a pretty good understanding of how to play the game. For most people that would take more than a few tries and a bit of patience, which is actually OK as that goes for the game itself as well. If you didn't, well, sucks to be you I guess.
I haven't played S.T.A.L.K.E.R (I'm not a fan of shooters) so I can't really argue how the opening compares to the rest.


And I found the first Witcher's tutorial really, really, boring.
In your own words:
"Well, sucks to be you I guess."
Clearly an insightful and powerful counter-argument to complaints, isn't it? :smalltongue:



But then in my mind it's a worse crime to be boring than to be hard. I don't think I've ever quit a game's tutorial or opening because of how hard it is, but I've certainly given up out of simple malaise.
I'd argue that ideal tutorial sections should be skippable, or at least stop functioning as an introduction on higher difficulties, so I can see your point here. I'd still cite an easy tutorial as being less of a knock than a very hard one though, simply because the latter is only going to appeal to genre veterans who have considerably less need of a tutorial than other players.



Mass Effect 2 for instance was so constantly concerned with making me feel awesome and unstoppable that there was nothing to figure out. Everything was so carefully drip-fed to the player that even on normal I found the admittedly short part I could stomach to be absolutely mindnumbingly dull. I'd rather fail a few times at something interesting than be bored by easy success.
Then play on a higher difficulty. If a normal mode is too easy for an experienced gamer to enjoy then most of the time I'd argue it's because the player is under-estimating the level they should be playing at. If the game still has no real challenge at a high level though then yeah, it's a case of bad design.



The job of a reviewer is to give a description of how enjoyable a game is likely to be to the general public,
Problem: it is impossible for one person to provide an accurate measure of how a group of people will enjoy something (itself a pretty subjective thing). Even if you were to find a reviewing who was somehow and exactly average repsenation of the general public, they'd still be useless to anyone who fell over a certain distance from that average. Sure, there some objective factors that can influence enjoyment (bugs, controls) but for the most part what makes a game enjoyable is going be far more subjective. Game reviews are therefore probably better thought of as being comparable to reviews of works of creative art (books, films, plays etc.) rather than a buyer's guide.
The question of what a critic's role should be I'll leave open for now, so as not to derail the thread any more than I've probably already done, as if continued it'll only end-up getting into a discussion of New Games Journalism which practically a thread in and of itself.

[Chen]

Query: How do I research the Nekkens? My quest tells me to, but I can't exactly stroll into the Flotsam local library and check out the Monster Manual.


Funnily enough actually, you go to the Flotsam bookseller and buy the monster books from him.

As for mutagens they are permanent and they are global. Greater mutagens are the highest rank ones except for Madness mutagens (there's only regular Madness ones). The madness one says it gives armor and vitality but once its attached it also adds to min and max damage so it is almost certainly the best one unless you go a fully critical % build. I think there are 11 mutagen slots that you can reasonably get which, along with the mutagen enhancing skill results in +66% critical hits. With some swords talents you can increase this to 100% with the right swords which is also pretty unstoppable.

[Gargulec]

Talking about unstopabble: my Geralt's vitality by the end of the game was hovering somewhere around 800 :D

[shadow_archmagi]

Funnily enough actually, you go to the Flotsam bookseller and buy the monster books from him.


Been wandering the town for some time; where exactly is the guy?

[Gargulec]

He's a wandering dwarf, the head of the ghetto population, by the way.

[Gamerlord]

Been wandering the town for some time; where exactly is the guy?

Shop in the nonhuman district.

[Comet]

Monsters can also be researched by getting out into the wild and killing enough of that particular type of beast.

[warty goblin]

Monsters can also be researched by getting out into the wild and killing enough of that particular type of beast.

I'm fairly sure that's how I did it. I ended up killing a lot of incidental Nekkers in my quest to collect 15 Endrega teeth. Took bloody forever, since apparently a lot of Endrega don't have teeth.

Maybe they have dentures?

[Chen]

I'm fairly sure that's how I did it. I ended up killing a lot of incidental Nekkers in my quest to collect 15 Endrega teeth. Took bloody forever, since apparently a lot of Endrega don't have teeth.

Maybe they have dentures?

There's someone in town (I think its the person who decurses the amulet) who sells Endrega teeth. Easier to shop there than hunt them down (especially after you've done the Endrega contract).

[Mx.Silver]

So yeah, now that hand injury has cleared-up, I've gone back to it and have made it to about halfway through chapter one without too many problems (although the fight in the temple courtyard in the intro is pretty brutal). The fist fighting minigame may have actually been improved by quicktime events (a pretty rare occurrance) although the changes to Dice Poker seem a bit unnecessary, although it's still basically the same game. Incidentally, what is with the gambling monk and his 'relic'? I've beaten him 9-1 now and he's still 'you're not lucky enough'.

Unfortunately, the game has now begun crashing on start-up so it's on hold for a bit. I'm honestly begining to think fate doesn't want me to play this game (or any, if the Grotesque Tactics incident is any indication).


I'm fairly sure that's how I did it. I ended up killing a lot of incidental Nekkers in my quest to collect 15 Endrega teeth. Took bloody forever, since apparently a lot of Endrega don't have teeth.

Maybe they have dentures?

Or maybe just really really sharp gums?

[Gamerlord]

So yeah, now that hand injury has cleared-up, I've gone back to it and have made it to about halfway through chapter one without too many problems (although the fight in the temple courtyard in the intro is pretty brutal). The fist fighting minigame may have actually been improved by quicktime events (a pretty rare occurrance) although the changes to Dice Poker seem a bit unnecessary, although it's still basically the same game. Incidentally, what is with the gambling monk and his 'relic'? I've beaten him 9-1 now and he's still 'you're not lucky enough'.

I believe there is a glitch with the monk. You can get the reward/relic here (http://www.goodoldmonk.com/)............which is a discount on GOG.com.

[shadow_archmagi]

I found that every 'difficult' fight in the intro could be solved be keeping my distance and throwing fireballs.

I'm gradually expanding into other methods of fighting.

[Mx.Silver]

I believe there is a glitch with the monk. You can get the reward/relic here (http://www.goodoldmonk.com/)............which is a discount on GOG.com.

Huh.
That's unusually 4th-wall-breaking.



I found that every 'difficult' fight in the intro could be solved be keeping my distance and throwing fireballs.
aka The Witcher 1 method :smalltongue:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm interested in this game, considering it and its predecessor got pretty good reviews as RPGs. I'm just wondering how necessary it is that I purchase and play the first one before the second. I'm severely tempted, but I've got to keep my finances on a leash. Pathfinder books aren't cheap.

[Gamerlord]

I'm interested in this game, considering it and its predecessor got pretty good reviews as RPGs. I'm just wondering how necessary it is that I purchase and play the first one before the second. I'm severely tempted, but I've got to keep my finances on a leash. Pathfinder books aren't cheap.

Other person asked this question a page or two ago. I'm too lazy to quote the responses, so just go and see. :smalltongue:

EDIT: Actually not too lazy:


Decisions from Witcher 1 import to Witcher 2. And it is sort of inbetween the two types you mention. It takes place some time afterward Witcher 1, has the same main character, some of his allies form the first game are with him. However, it only continues a plot point that happens at the very end of Witcher 1,which is explained within the first 20 minutes of Witcher 2. He faces a completely new foe, and the organization from Witcher 1 he was opposed to makes only a brief cameo.


I never finished the first Witcher (due to some annoying hardware issues and my dislike of replaying stuff), but have had very little trouble figuring out what's going on Witcher 2. It's a little confusing at first, but by the time you wrap up the prologue it's pretty clear what's going on. There's a lot of politics wrapped around it all, but I think the game's pretty understandable if you haven't read the books and don't know Nilfgaard from a nerf herder.

The one thing that does bear mentioning is that the game really doesn't do a lot of handholding in terms of the story. While people will explain stuff to you on occasion, there's no wise old mentor to impart absolute truths or anything like that. People always have their own stuff going on, and this definitely colors what they say. Thus the situation can often be confusing as hell, but in a deliberate, good way. It's not that the game is so poorly written that you can't figure it out, it's that the game is made with enough intelligence - and enough respect for yours - that it doesn't spell it out in mile high letters. And occasionally you'll just have to guess, and the consequences may only become apparent a few hours later and be quite surprising.

Also, is there a way to remove enhancements from items?
Others, but this pretty much sums it up.

[shadow_archmagi]

I'm interested in this game, considering it and its predecessor got pretty good reviews as RPGs. I'm just wondering how necessary it is that I purchase and play the first one before the second. I'm severely tempted, but I've got to keep my finances on a leash. Pathfinder books aren't cheap.

I've been playing through the second, and I think I've got a pretty good handle on what you need to know:

1. You're in a country called Timidera. It's an OK place, but it worries about its evil neighbor.

2. There's a country of bad people called Snifflehymn.

3. You're a superhuman who stabs monsters.

4. There's a babe named Trishanny and she is a wizard. Sometimes you sleep with her.

[Gamerlord]

I've been playing through the second, and I think I've got a pretty good handle on what you need to know:

1. You're in a country called Timidera. It's an OK place, but it worries about its evil neighbor.

2. There's a country of bad people called Snifflehymn.

3. You're a superhuman who stabs monsters.

4. There's a babe named Trishanny and she is a wizard. Sometimes you sleep with her.

You might want to mark that with a ":smalltongue:" for sarcasm.

[Edge]

I've been playing through the second, and I think I've got a pretty good handle on what you need to know:

1. You're in a country called Timidera. It's an OK place, but it worries about its evil neighbor.

2. There's a country of bad people called Snifflehymn.

3. You're a superhuman who stabs monsters.

4. There's a babe named Trishanny and she is a wizard. Sometimes you sleep with her.

I hope that was intentionally sarcastic. :smalltongue:

For accuracy's sake, those are Temeria, one of the nations in the Northern Kingdoms, they worry about war with the empire of Nilfgaard, the third point is pretty much dead-on, and the sorceress is name Triss, who has political connections (sat on the King of Temeria's council in the past, I think?). Why yes, I have read the books. :smalltongue:

I finished the Witcher, but probably deleted my complete game save. I'll probably play through again quickly on the lowest difficulty before picking this game up. Looking forward to it though. However, after viewing giantbomb.com's Quick Look of the game, I am seriously considering playing it with a 360 controller.

[Mx.Silver]

I'm interested in this game, considering it and its predecessor got pretty good reviews as RPGs. I'm just wondering how necessary it is that I purchase and play the first one before the second. I'm severely tempted, but I've got to keep my finances on a leash. Pathfinder books aren't cheap.

It's not necessary to have played the original, the plot of the second isn't particularly linked to that of the first and most of the major characters are new. However, it is still a direct sequel so some returning characters and factions won't get much introduction in Witcher 2. The learning curve in Witcher 2 will probably be steeper if you haven't played the first game as well.

I mean, I'd advise playing the first game anyway because (English voice-acting aside) it's a pretty good game. Plus GOG.com are selling it for $10 so if it turns out you don't like it (and if you don't like the first odds are you're not going to be too thrilled with the second) it's only 1/5th of the financial risk.

[shadow_archmagi]

It's not necessary to have played the original, the plot of the second isn't particularly linked to that of the first and most of the major characters are new. However, it is still a direct sequel so some returning characters and factions won't get much introduction in Witcher 2. The learning curve in Witcher 2 will probably be steeper if you haven't played the first game as well.

I mean, I'd advise playing the first game anyway because (English voice-acting aside) it's a pretty good game. Plus GOG.com are selling it for $10 so if it turns out you don't like it (and if you don't like the first odds are you're not going to be too thrilled with the second) it's only 1/5th of the financial risk.


From what I've heard, the second offers some major, major improvements, especially to combat.

But yeah, don't bother playing the first for plot reasons. It hasn't slowed me down!

[Mx.Silver]

From what I've heard, the second offers some major, major improvements, especially to combat.
While the second's combat is probably better I wouldn't say it was a massive improvement (although this may be down to 2's controls being a little sluggish). The removal of the styles and attack sequences make it flow a bit better, but not so much that I'd be comfortable recommending it to anyone who didn't like the first game.

[warty goblin]

While the second's combat is probably better I wouldn't say it was a massive improvement (although this may be down to 2's controls being a little sluggish). The removal of the styles and attack sequences make it flow a bit better, but not so much that I'd be comfortable recommending it to anyone who didn't like the first game.

I haven't found the controls sluggish. Most of the animations can't be cancelled out of, but I suspect this is a very deliberate decision in order to promote forethought and planning instead of button mashing.

[Mx.Silver]

I haven't found the controls sluggish. Most of the animations can't be cancelled out of, but I suspect this is a very deliberate decision in order to promote forethought and planning instead of button mashing.
Could just be my PC, but I have noticed that there's sometimes a delay between pushing a button (usually casting spells or using items) and it actually taking effect. 'Unresponsive' might have been a better term.

[Pronounceable]

A lot of RAEG!!! incoming. You have been warned.

So I've reached the ****ing boss in the spectral battlefield of chapter 2. I'm exceedly pissed at the ****ing game mainly because it's not possible to quicksave and there's a whole bunch of enemies (whom you fight handicapped, no less) plus a miniboss before the boss. Boss itself looks like another BFB, like the big monster in chapter 1, so I'm certain it'll take a lot of tries to get it right. ****ing fake difficulty:smallfurious: :smallfurious: :smallfurious:

I have no patience for this kind of crap. Hard bosses that take many many tries? OK. Hard bosses that take many many tries with a bunch of annoying enemies empowered with fake difficulty before each and every ****ing try? I say **** you, level designer!

http://community.invisionpower.com/uploads/gallery/album_1739/gallery_148330_1739_21836.png

Think I saw a godmode somewhere. This might be a good time to use it. Alternately, maybe there's an autosave there that doesn't trigger for some reason. In which case, more :smallfurious:


EDIT: Hey I remember the insane difficulty has permenant death in this game. Really, now. How stupidly pointless is that?

[Gargulec]

EDIT: Hey I remember the insane difficulty has permenant death in this game. Really, now. How stupidly pointless is that?

Rogue-like pointless. You know, even on Impossible, it is still easier than ADOM :P

Also, the boss is surprisingly easy, if you come prepared (spectre oil is a must, and throwing knives are really useful). Just Quen like crazy and roll like even crazier, and you should be fine. The bastard does have a tendency to OH-KO you, but his attacks are easy to doge. I bet him on hard in... 3? 4? tries.

[Bouregard]

I'm interested in this game, considering it and its predecessor got pretty good reviews as RPGs. I'm just wondering how necessary it is that I purchase and play the first one before the second. I'm severely tempted, but I've got to keep my finances on a leash. Pathfinder books aren't cheap.

If there is a game thats worth your money... it's the Witcher, a single playthrough is about 80 hours.

So if you're not willing to invest 80-90h to prepare yourself for part II just play it and decide later.

You don't have to play the first one to understand most of it however playing the first one allows you to import your save to Witcher 2 (Like Mass Effect)


My friend liked Witcher 2 despite never reading the books/playing the first one.

[Winthur]

Guys, you should all watch the movie before you actually play the games, it will clear up a lot of issues.

*runs away cackling like a maniac*

[Gargulec]

Guys, you should all watch the movie before you actually play the games, it will clear up a lot of issues.

*runs away cackling like a maniac*

You...

You...

You...

I will chase you to the edge of the world and beyond, through the realms of blessed and dammed alike, into the lands of dreamers and lands unknown to human mind, and when I find you, when I will hold your feeble life in my hands, I will make you watch it... slowly. And you will still not have suffered enough.

[Comet]

RAEG

I saw another person have a lot of trouble with that part before I got there, mainly with the not being able to quicksave and dying three times and having to fight the mooks again and again part.

He took a five minute break from his rage, got back into the fight and beat the boss on his first try. It's not really all that hard. Just dodge and hit him from behind. Later on, I arrived at the same boss and beat him on the first try, too. Dodge and hit from behind once he's done swingin'.

And on Insane difficulty, well, the name says it all. Doesn't it?

[Gamerlord]

Guys, you should all watch the movie before you actually play the games, it will clear up a lot of issues.

*runs away cackling like a maniac*
DON'T DO IT!
You monster.

[warty goblin]

I'm interested in this game, considering it and its predecessor got pretty good reviews as RPGs. I'm just wondering how necessary it is that I purchase and play the first one before the second. I'm severely tempted, but I've got to keep my finances on a leash. Pathfinder books aren't cheap.

While I really like Witcher 2, I'm not entirely sure it'd be up your alley, given what I know of your taste.

You might play a seriously awesome swordsman, but there's not generally a lot of opportunity for feel-good heroics. You can help people plenty, but you're usually helping them at someone else's expense. And it's usually questionable whether that other party really deserves their fate.

There's a pretty central conflict in the game, and it's pretty hard to argue that either side is really right or wrong. They've both got legitimate reasons to fight - and at the same time are guilty of some pretty monstrous things, which of course justify the other side's rage. It's not a case of one side being factually mistaken but thinking they're right, the conflict is a lot more complicated than that, and based more in differing ideologies and desires for the future. And you can't fix this*. The two sides hate each other when you show up, and will hate each other when you leave. The only relevant questions are what side you're one, who and how many are going to die, and what you're getting out of it.

It's not a game about knights in shining armor for all the plate steel and swords on display, it's a game about hard, violent men doing what they think they must, and what happens afterwards. There's a lot of inhuman monsters in the Witcher's world and it's his job to kill them, but at the end of the day they aren't the problem. I love this about the game, but it's pretty far from Mass Effect.

*I've not finished the game yet, but I'd be damn surprised if you could anyway.

[shadow_archmagi]

And it's usually questionable whether that other party really deserves their fate.


Case in point: The Haunted Hospital quest:



In this quest, you go looking for two men who went adventuring in an abandoned insane asylum. Ultimately, you discover the story of the hospital:

It was captured and used as a medical base during the war between Andrea and Nifhlmeihm. A captured soldier from Nifhlmeihm claimed to know the location of a huge amount of treasure, plundered from Andrea. The soldiers drugged him so he was forced to tell the truth, and then afterwards began to celebrate. Drunk, they abused the inmates more and more until the priest objected. They cut his head open. Then the ripped the captured soldier to pieces, and the sight of gore sent all the mental patients into a frenzy. The resulting riot burned the place down.

The two adventurers are former soldiers who have fallen on hard times, and now are on one last desperate attempt to find treasure.

You have the choice: Sacrifice two men to the undead (thus ending the curse and making the area safe and normal again), or let two terrible people walk free.

[Lord of the Helms]

There's a pretty central conflict in the game, and it's pretty hard to argue that either side is really right or wrong. They've both got legitimate reasons to fight - and at the same time are guilty of some pretty monstrous things, which of course justify the other side's rage. It's not a case of one side being factually mistaken but thinking they're right, the conflict is a lot more complicated than that, and based more in differing ideologies and desires for the future. And you can't fix this*.


*I've not finished the game yet, but I'd be damn surprised if you could anyway.

You really can't. It will come to an uprising no matter what, and you have to wipe out at least one of the sides in the conflict no matter what.

Of course, the conflict aside, there is a truely evil faction that you will wipe out and feel good about it no matter what, so that's some consolation; and just about any of the people you eventually have to kill is a bad enough person to not feel bad about it.



From what I've heard, the second offers some major, major improvements, especially to combat.

But yeah, don't bother playing the first for plot reasons. It hasn't slowed me down!

The second does offer quite a few improvements, but, 15 hours into the game, I would not say combat is one of those areas that were improved, with the exception of the balancing between your spells (all seem to be pretty useful in Witcher 2, while in Witcher 1 they range from useless to Game Breaker). Controls are far more sluggish, sometimes don't react to my input (leading to button mashing until my Char finally does what I tell him to), and it's not nearly so much about properly-timed combos as the first one, plus the removal of combat styles (especially group combat) really hurts.

For your question, Zousha: It is not neccessary per se, most of the plot of game one that is really important to game two is fairly swiftly explained. However, you have a much better background on the world and the events in it (your actions in game one have a pretty large effect on the kingdom you're in) if you've played the first game. For instance, game one provides quite a bit of background on the relations between various species (humans, elves, dwarves primarily) and notable factions of theirs before those become crucial to its plot; in game two, those factions are important right from the prologue, and if you've not read or heard anything about the world you will ask yourself "Scoyatell? What IS it?" and the like.

[VanBuren]

At the very least, the first game had an "Eff y'all. I'm on my own side" option.

I don't know if the second game has one.

[Lord of the Helms]

At the very least, the first game had an "Eff y'all. I'm on my own side" option.


It does end up meaning you have to kill large amounts of people on both sides if you stay neutral, though. *

* Technically, staying Neutral, you CAN talk down both Siegfried and the Scoi'atel leader in your respective face-offs with them, but you'll have killed many people on either's side by the time you get there. Besides, the Scoi'atel leader is an insufferable arrogant jerkelf right from the start and Siegfried has turned into a lunatic jerk by the endgame too, so it's very tempting to kill both anyway.

I'm not sure what happens to the Elven woman co-leader of the Scoi'atel if you stay neural. I think she lived, but am not sure. Out of the four major Order and Scoi'atel characters you can interact and side with, she was the only one that I thought was sympathetic throughout.

[Gargulec]

* Technically, staying Neutral, you CAN talk down both Siegfried and the Scoi'atel leader in your respective face-offs with them, but you'll have killed many people on either's side by the time you get there. Besides, the Scoi'atel leader is an insufferable arrogant jerkelf right from the start and Siegfried has turned into a lunatic jerk by the endgame too, so it's very tempting to kill both anyway.

I'm not sure what happens to the Elven woman co-leader of the Scoi'atel if you stay neural. I think she lived, but am not sure. Out of the four major Order and Scoi'atel characters you can interact and side with, she was the only one that I thought was sympathetic throughout.

In the short stories, Tourviel was insufferable, arrogant racistic jerkelf too. But she was changed by a very CMOHy scene in the last book.

[Morty]

It does end up meaning you have to kill large amounts of people on both sides if you stay neutral, though. *

* Technically, staying Neutral, you CAN talk down both Siegfried and the Scoi'atel leader in your respective face-offs with them, but you'll have killed many people on either's side by the time you get there. Besides, the Scoi'atel leader is an insufferable arrogant jerkelf right from the start and Siegfried has turned into a lunatic jerk by the endgame too, so it's very tempting to kill both anyway.

I'm not sure what happens to the Elven woman co-leader of the Scoi'atel if you stay neural. I think she lived, but am not sure. Out of the four major Order and Scoi'atel characters you can interact and side with, she was the only one that I thought was sympathetic throughout.

Toruviel dies if you take the Neutral path. Yaevinn mentions it and claims it's "partially Geralt's fault".
As for Witcher 1, it's available on GoG for $10. Of course, I don't know just how much are Zousha's finances strained.

[shadow_archmagi]

How do I kill the Kayran? I finish the quick time event, and then it throws chunks of a building at me that I can't dodge and so I die.

[Gamerlord]

How do I kill the Kayran? I finish the quick time event, and then it throws chunks of a building at me that I can't dodge and so I die.

Use the statues/debris lying around the field as cover. Don't forget you need to climb up the chunk of debris pinning it down to finish it off.

[Chen]

Use the statues/debris lying around the field as cover. Don't forget you need to climb up the chunk of debris pinning it down to finish it off.

After I dropped the wall on it I just ran up the debris and killed it instantly in a cutscene. Was it actually supposed to be doing stuff at that point? I figured after the wall it hit, it was a done deal.

[Gamerlord]

After I dropped the wall on it I just ran up the debris and killed it instantly in a cutscene. Was it actually supposed to be doing stuff at that point? I figured after the wall it hit, it was a done deal.

Yes. When you aren't on the debris, it throws the rocks at you. When you are climbing it up, the two remaining tentacles attack you.

[warty goblin]

Yes. When you aren't on the debris, it throws the rocks at you. When you are climbing it up, the two remaining tentacles attack you.

This is an excellent time for Quen, since you can't dodge particularly well.

[Gamerlord]

This is an excellent time for Quen, since you can't dodge particularly well.

SEVERE UNDERSTATEMENT. :smalltongue:

[shadow_archmagi]

He he he, just beat up the Kingslayer in the first fight.

Upgraded Quen is so great. I just walk up to him, wait for him to attack, and then when Quen zaps him he drops his guard long enough for two strong attacks.

I'm not sure how I could've beaten him, otherwise.

[Pronounceable]

I've finally found a possible explanation of stupidity factor. Turns out there's a whole bunch of skill trees that you have points to spend on. Oh well. Too late now. Already godmodded past the mist. Better luck next time. Let's see what's up with last chapter.

In other story news,
I really like the fact that we got to get King Turdface murderknifed. Might be a bit contrary to everything Geralt did so far, but bursting the bastards bubble as he's stabbed is worth it. Good job Roche! Also, Roche has suffered enough that I don't feel a particular urge to kill him anymore. Plus I got to beat him up in boxing as well, the best moment of the game far as I care. Even had the chance to leave Iorveth to die. At least I hope he dies in battle without my help. Now only Dethmold needs to be utterly crushed and I'll be a happy clam. Hopefully Sile will survive, anyone who kills these inbred crowned sunnobitches is OK in my book. And her hair is awesome.

And Geralt scored with Ves as expected. Still, he's definitely not the playa he used to be.

[dromer]

Chapter 3 Iorveth-side boss Spoilers:
How do I beat the Dragon?

[Raddish]

Use the quen shield sign to protect yourself from it's fire and dodge its attacks until it recedes to use the fire attack. When it comes back down from it you can get 1 or 2 strong hits in before dodging away again. Slowly work it down until it dies. Thats the basic way if you are not quick enough to move between its normal attacks

[Snowstorm]

It's official. I've died more times in the Witcher 2 Prologue then in the entire Witcher 1. Many more times.

... And this is even before the frigging 'run away from the dragon' bit at the end. Half the time there, Geralt doesn't even start running when I hit the bloody directional keys until it's too late!

[dromer]

It's official. I've died more times in the Witcher 2 Prologue then in the entire Witcher 1. Many more times.

... And this is even before the frigging 'run away from the dragon' bit at the end. Half the time there, Geralt doesn't even start running when I hit the bloody directional keys until it's too late!

Even better, he runs slightly diagonal, so you have to move to the side and almost get hit by the dragon.

[Mx.Silver]

It's official. I've died more times in the Witcher 2 Prologue then in the entire Witcher 1. Many more times.


Yeah. This is normal. It does eventually get better, but I appreciate that's going to be small consolation.



... And this is even before the frigging 'run away from the dragon' bit at the end. Half the time there, Geralt doesn't even start running when I hit the bloody directional keys until it's too late!
Again, common problem with the controls. Doesn't make the game's later stealth sections any more fun either.

[dromer]

So, which is better, sword adrenalin finisher, magic adrenalin finisher, or alchemy adrenaline finisher?

[Pronounceable]

Again, common problem with the controls. Doesn't make the game's later stealth sections any more fun either.

I just killed everything in those stealth sections. Quen is OP.

[Mx.Silver]

I just killed everything in those stealth sections. Quen is OP.

How exactly did you manage that during the first one in Flotsam? Because as I recall killing everything isn't an option there.

[Bouregard]

How exactly did you manage that during the first one in Flotsam? Because as I recall killing everything isn't an option there.

Walk behind them + RMB = stunned guard. They all have a rather bad patrol and will face away from Geralt quite some time. I really like those sneak sequences... reminds me of good old THIEF I + II

[Snowstorm]

Oh my god, I am raging so hard at this game right now.

I'm having this sporadic issue of Geralt not being able to take any action. I can move around, use the keyboard and mouse (as a pointer), but the game won't accept any mouse-clicks for actions; no attacking, no signs, no anything. Works fine on the inventory and the menu screens, and I'm not affected by any status effects that are visible..

It'll work fine for a while, and then just bam! No alt-tabbing or using the steam overlay, nothing..

[warty goblin]

How exactly did you manage that during the first one in Flotsam? Because as I recall killing everything isn't an option there.

I'm pretty sure that one's entirely optional. It makes the Kayran fight a lot easier, and the loot is totally worth it, but it's not required.


Oh my god, I am raging so hard at this game right now.

I'm having this sporadic issue of Geralt not being able to take any action. I can move around, use the keyboard and mouse (as a pointer), but the game won't accept any mouse-clicks for actions; no attacking, no signs, no anything. Works fine on the inventory and the menu screens, and I'm not affected by any status effects that are visible..

It'll work fine for a while, and then just bam! No alt-tabbing or using the steam overlay, nothing..

Does this occur after using a bomb? 'Cause that's a known bug at least, although I don't think it's been fixed yet.

Also, why would anybody buy it from Steam?

[shadow_archmagi]

Why *wouldn't* you buy it from steam?

I buy everything from Steam!

[Gamerlord]

Why *wouldn't* you buy it from steam?

I buy everything from Steam!

....Because there are other digital download options for The Witcher 2 that don't have any sort of DRM? GOG.com?

[shadow_archmagi]

....Because there are other digital download options for The Witcher 2 that don't have any sort of DRM? GOG.com?

I guess I've just stopped thinking of steam as DRM, on account of how it's actually useful.

[Mx.Silver]

I'm pretty sure that one's entirely optional. It makes the Kayran fight a lot easier, and the loot is totally worth it, but it's not required.
It is optional. Still doesn't make the times when Geralt accidentally walks past the end of a wall instead of stopping any less irritating. Or when the mini-map randomly stops telling you where the guards are etc.


I guess I've just stopped thinking of steam as DRM, on account of how it's actually useful.

Aside from all those times it fails to start up properly, tells you a game is unavailable, stops downloading anything if you use it to run a game as well...

Actually, outside of multi-player, I'm struggling to think of anything that makes Steam more useful than having a copy of a game that doesn't need a seperate program open to be able to run it.

[warty goblin]

Why *wouldn't* you buy it from steam?


Because anymore it's pretty much the worst option in the direct download marketplace.

It's got an ugly client that has to be running and has a comparatively large memory footprint, no rewards program, no trade-backs, annoying achievements, pop-up ads, and anymore sales that are often pretty weak in comparison to the competition. And their new exclusive stuff with pre-orders is just as annoying as when Gamestop does it - although at least Gamestop has the decency not to advertise this anytime I feel like a round of SupCom 2.

Really, if Steamworks didn't force me to keep the bloody thing installed in order to play a bunch of my games I'd probably uninstall Steam entirely. And having my games held hostage by a program that's more intrusive than I've ever found SecuRom to be just plain annoys me.

For Witcher 2 though, GoG's pre-order was simply brilliant. It was the only direct download service to offer pre-load, you got the soundtrack, an art book, a free game, and (at release) the only DRM free version of the game.

[shadow_archmagi]

Because anymore it's pretty much the worst option

What about Games for Windows Live, and whatever abomination EA has conjured up lately?

Don't go calling something worst when hell's maw is right behind it.

[warty goblin]

What about Games for Windows Live, and whatever abomination EA has conjured up lately?

Don't go calling something worst when hell's maw is right behind it.

GfWL has given me very little trouble, and I've bought several games through them. I've also got quite a few games that use the service, and it's always worked just fine for me. The EA download manager has given me none at all, and can be almost completely ignored - it doesn't even need to be running to play at least some EA games*. Both of them have vastly more pleasant and attractive GUIs. Neither of them insist on running when I boot my computer or on shoving ads in my face.

*I've got Crysis 2 running right now, EADM isn't. I haven't played a Steam game in a week, it still is. It may need to be actively running for other titles, I'm not sure, and C2 did use it for a required auto-patch. After that however it went away.

[Snowstorm]

For Witcher 2 though, GoG's pre-order was simply brilliant. It was the only direct download service to offer pre-load, you got the soundtrack, an art book, a free game, and (at release) the only DRM free version of the game.

Just to note, the Steam download gives you the same extras, sans the free game. You just have to download it separately from the 'Tools' section of the client.

[Penguinizer]

Chapter 3 Iorveth-side boss Spoilers:
How do I beat the Dragon?

Use Quen, step next to the side of its head. Then you wait for it to do the claw wipe attack. You dodge roll away from it, then attack it with one light attack. You then dodge roll away from the next claw wipe and repeat. It'l take a while. It's the only time I found that you can actually attack it. You need to be careful not to stay towards the center, it might make it use the bite attacks that are much harder to dodge. I don't know if you need the improved dodge distance for this to work though.

EDIT: Also, Shadow. About the hospital:

You don't really have to let them go free. You can also give them to Loredo where they just spookily disappear.

Anyways: I found the unbeatable tactic. Dodge roll back, long range light attack, dodge roll. I have literally yet to find a single enemy fight this didn't work for. Then again, by the end of the game I had 700 health and what I estimated to be 25% or more damage reduction, 80% or more on all the debuffs and other things. There were only a few difficult fights once you figure out how to exploit the bad ai.

[shadow_archmagi]

@Penguinizer: Wait, you did that? Personally, my strategy was

1. Quen
2. Heavy attacks until Quen runs out
3. Rollback
4. Quen

If you grab the Whirl and Improved Quen, this tactic even works against groups. When I got to the part where you have to sneak into the city with Iorveth, I actually think I could've fought my way through the Crazy Rose army.


I fully upgraded the roll because it's the fastest way to travel.


I'm curious, how much do different decisions affect the game? This game I

1. Sided with Iorveth
2. Protected Stennis
3. Let Sile' die
4. Ignored rescuing my girlfriend from the dungeons in favor of getting Saskia's magic dagger


Actually, now I'm double curious. What *are* the turning point decisions? I know that siding with Iorveth or Verdant Rocke is a major one, but what are the rest?

[Penguinizer]

That's for bosses. I did the same except I didn't bother with Quen most of the time. The harpies were silly, the only time they could do anything if they somehow managed to stunlock me with the recoil animation you get when hit.

[dromer]

I'm curious, how much do different decisions affect the game?

Saving Shi'le lets Geralt know where Kidnapped Ghost Hunt Broad is.

[Jeivar]

Man, could someone please please tell me how to use the mutagens? I can NOT figure it out, and I think I'm about halfway through the game. I find nothing in the character screen that lets me apply them.

[Gargulec]

Enter Meditation, enter Character menu, find an ability with mutagen slot (little circle in the corner), chose it, press enter, chose mutagen, press enter again.

All in the manual.

[shadow_archmagi]

Man, could someone please please tell me how to use the mutagens? I can NOT figure it out, and I think I'm about halfway through the game. I find nothing in the character screen that lets me apply them.

Click on a talent that has a mutagen slot available

Press "M" to mutate it

[Jeivar]

Well, I just finished the game and here are my thoughts:

*EXCELLENT writing. Definitely some of the best in gaming. I think only Bioware can compete with the Witcher team in this regard.

*Very beautiful environments and level design. It doesn't feel like something set up for an adventurer to traipse through. It feels like real wild nature and real towns where people live.

*Same with the character design. Characters' clothes kept catching my gaze as I played.

*Intricate and interesting plot. All the politics and scheming and different groups vying for power. The Witcher 2 does a good job of showing a society filled with hate and conflicts and generally in a crappy state, without any of it feeling gratuitous. It all reminded me of real-life horribleness.

*Vastly improved combat system. The fights were far more intense and interesting, even if the learning curve was unforgiving.

I really only have two complaints:



*I felt there were far fewer "Here is the result of what you did a while back" videos in this one compared to the previous game. I really missed those, since it made the choices more interesting.

*The ending is . . . well, barely that. I expected at least an ending narration showing the political aftermath, as in Witcher 1, but all I got was Geralt, Triss and Iorveth wordlessly leaving Loc Muinne. Was that ladybug supposed to symbolize something?
And after the credits I just got a brief clip of Geralt standing on a cliff and watching two people enter Loc Muinne. What was up with that?

I do have one question for those who have played Roche's path:
I chose to save Saskia from the mind control (how could I not save the only noble person in the whole game?). Are you forced to kill her in Roche's path? Or leave her in the Lodge's control?

[Tren]

I do have one question for those who have played Roche's path:
I chose to save Saskia from the mind control (how could I not save the only noble person in the whole game?). Are you forced to kill her in Roche's path? Or leave her in the Lodge's control?

You have absolutely no idea the dragon is Saskia, just that it's under the control of the Lodge. Frankly not being too familiar with the background setting beyond the first book and first game, I didn't even realize dragons were meant to be sentient until I started my Iorveth play thru.

Anyway, in Roche's path you can choose to leave it impaled on the tree because witchers don't kill dragons (unclear if it's supposed to die on it's own, or if its assumed it'll escape and go back to the Lodge), or finish it off yourself because it would be too dangerous to risk it staying under the Lodge's control.

[Snowstorm]

Hah! I took the whole 'Witchers don't kill dragons...' bit in the prologue to be: '... because they're too damned dangerous!'


My biggest complaint on the game comes from the controls; I'm still dying when they completely lock up for no reason. (IE: Can't attack, can only move. Once it was so bad that I could only move while rolling, he couldn't walk or run.) Also, randomly, it'll take forever before responding to me wanting to cast a sign or swap swords; I'm not actively being hit, and I'm even just standing there for 5 seconds and he won't do it.

I'm ashamed, but I've had to kick it down to Easy because of that. :(

Also, there doesn't seem to be enough mutational talents; you get two at the top of the training path, and then as far as I can tell, just a single one at the end of another path. I'm absolutely swimming in mutagens, however.

[Penguinizer]

If I recall right, you get two in Training and one or two at the end of each. It isn't much but the effects are rather good. I find that the mutagens are often best sold for money.

[Snowstorm]

Well. Some other annoyances while I'm thinking about it! ;P

Creating a Mongoose potion doesn't actually require the Ostmurk moss, just something with Fulger.

The cutscene for the Kayran starts while you're still somewhat high up on the cliffs... before certain people have a chance to drink the potion they so laboriously created.

When creating multiples of the same potion, and you want to use different ingredients then the defaults, you have to reset the formula every time.

[Tren]

Thoughts on the final confrontation with Letho:
Did anyone actually want to kill him anymore by the end? Frankly, by that point there were so many other characters far more deserving of death (particularly doing a Roche playthrough for my first time). I also really came to see him more as the instrument of Nilfgaard's plans by the end, and not a particularly bad person himself.

He was your friend and ally in the past, he spared your life and saved Triss, and he protected Yennefer. Foltest was by far the most likeable of the royal persons in the game, but Geralt's name was already cleared in front of the other rulers, and avenging regicide shouldn't particularly be a priority for a witcher.

[Jeivar]

Thoughts on the final confrontation with Letho:
Did anyone actually want to kill him anymore by the end? Frankly, by that point there were so many other characters far more deserving of death (particularly doing a Roche playthrough for my first time). I also really came to see him more as the instrument of Nilfgaard's plans by the end, and not a particularly bad person himself.

He was your friend and ally in the past, he spared your life and saved Triss, and he protected Yennefer. Foltest was by far the most likeable of the royal persons in the game, but Geralt's name was already cleared in front of the other rulers, and avenging regicide shouldn't particularly be a priority for a witcher.



Nah, I let him go. Like you said, Geralt really had no reason to kill him anymore. All the damage had already been done.

[Gargulec]

Nah, I let him go. Like you said, Geralt really had no reason to kill him anymore. All the damage had already been done.




And yet, if he lets him go it means that this entire hell he has been through was meaningless: all those people he killed died in vain.

I killed Letho if only because I felt that there could be no other ending to this story. This had to happen, even if neither Geralt or Letho wanted it. Else, it all would be just without conclusion, without an ending. And, quoth Flemeth: "without end, there can be no peace".

[Pronounceable]

PLOT HOLE!!!Or is it?
Who's the assasin at the end of Witcher? He's definitely not related to the "kingslayers" we find in this game. I demand an explanation!

Thoughts on the final confrontation with Letho:

Yep. Letho is just a pawn. And he's not too bad personally compared to ********s like Foltest, Roche, Iorveth, Hanselt, Dethmold, Nilfgaardian ambassador, Flotsam commander, various minor NPCs... Also I'm all for not killing named NPCs who aren't complete asses in such games, they might return in next game and do something awesome for all I know.
And Geralt regained much of his memory during the game. It's definitely not meaningless for him, and most of "those people he killed" deserved it.


Also also, what sort of name is Dethmold? Is this another unfortunate translation like the Professor?

[Gargulec]

PLOT HOLE!!!Or is it?
Who's the assasin at the end of Witcher? He's definitely not related to the "kingslayers" we find in this game. I demand an explanation!


Yep. Letho is just a pawn. And he's not too bad personally compared to ********s like Foltest, Roche, Iorveth, Hanselt, Dethmold, Nilfgaardian ambassador, Flotsam commander, various minor NPCs... Also I'm all for not killing named NPCs who aren't complete asses in such games, they might return in next game and do something awesome for all I know.
And Geralt regained much of his memory during the game. It's definitely not meaningless for him, and most of "those people he killed" deserved it.


Also also, what sort of name is Dethmold? Is this another unfortunate translation like the Professor?

A) The kingslayer at the end of Witcher 1 is most likely one of the Viper school.
B) Dethmold is unfortunate, direct translation.

[Snowstorm]

Also also, what sort of name is Dethmold? Is this another unfortunate translation like the Professor?

What's wrong with the Professor? I figured it fit his personality pretty well..

[Ninjaman]

You have absolutely no idea the dragon is Saskia, just that it's under the control of the Lodge. Frankly not being too familiar with the background setting beyond the first book and first game, I didn't even realize dragons were meant to be sentient until I started my Iorveth play thru.

Anyway, in Roche's path you can choose to leave it impaled on the tree because witchers don't kill dragons (unclear if it's supposed to die on it's own, or if its assumed it'll escape and go back to the Lodge), or finish it off yourself because it would be too dangerous to risk it staying under the Lodge's control.

I killed him, both times. Easy and medium taking it on hard now.
I killed him becourse i felt like i had to. Yes they were friends, and yes there where people who deserved to die more (the sorssereses for one). But Letho got himself into this, and he brougt Geralt with him. He should die. Also easyest way to do it: set up snares use Quen and knifes or bombs

Yes great game.

What i think would be great:

Not being able to loot people´s houses. Easyer looting. Easyer trap disarming (much of the time i just walk into them.

A sandbox mode where you could make your own witcher take on quests and such.

Also i disliked that the very end was the same

[factotum]

Just finished it myself for the first time...watching a couple of Let's Plays I didn't realise things got quite so different if you chose Iorveth at the Crossroads quest; you even get different quests and different information! That's a lot more differences than you get between a Paragon/Renegade playthrough in Mass Effect--will definitely have to play through again.

[EDIT] Forgot. There's a point in the Roche playthrough that I don't think was ever explained or came to anything, at least not the way I played it--anyone know if there's any meaning to it?


I'm referring to when Geralt and Roche find the Blue Stripes all hanged apart from Ves. When they're leaving the tent, Geralt says that Ves was lying about being let go, but that never seems to develop into anything--in fact, you don't see Ves again after that point!

[ShadowFighter15]

I'm referring to when Geralt and Roche find the Blue Stripes all hanged apart from Ves. When they're leaving the tent, Geralt says that Ves was lying about being let go, but that never seems to develop into anything--in fact, you don't see Ves again after that point!


I think that was meant to imply she was raped.

[factotum]

I thought that was blindingly obvious from what she said and the cutscene--didn't seem that's what he was talking about. Especially since Geralt says to Henselt's face that he raped Ves when they meet him in Vergen!

[ShadowFighter15]

I thought that was blindingly obvious from what she said and the cutscene--didn't seem that's what he was talking about. Especially since Geralt says to Henselt's face that he raped Ves when they meet him in Vergen!


I think the bit about Ves lying about being let go was meant to show that she'd just been dumped there after Henselt was done with her.