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[Darkkn]

Later in the game it has been taking a lot longer to access map/inventory and loading areas =/

Remove legacy save games. http://www.gog.com/en/forum/the_witcher_2/savegame_cleanup_utility/page1
It takes time for the game to read all the many gigs of save files from the drive. It's a dumb oversight for the game to make so goddamn many saves.

 

[Pancakes]

Remove legacy save games. http://www.gog.com/en/forum/the_witcher_2/savegame_cleanup_utility/page1
It takes time for the game to read all the many gigs of save files from the drive. It's a dumb oversight for the game to make so goddamn many saves.

Thank you for this.

I was wondering why the start menu was taking 10 seconds to appear.

 

[Hixx]

Remove legacy save games. http://www.gog.com/en/forum/the_witcher_2/savegame_cleanup_utility/page1
It takes time for the game to read all the many gigs of save files from the drive. It's a dumb oversight for the game to make so goddamn many saves.

Jesus. Not even half way through chapter 1 and I've just deleted half a gig of saves with this, thanks.

 

[En-ou]

why is the inventory screen/management feel so clunky? half the time i can't access certain tabs even though i have those items...

 

[EternalGamer]

I preordered on Steam but didn't get to really play at all (and that was for about 45 mins last night) and I have a few questions.

Are most playing with m+kb or controller? I started playing with m+kb and was doing terribly, then tried controller and did a lot better but am annoyed by the lack of hot keys (like I couldn't find how to sheath sword, switch to silver sword, etc) and managing the UI was just annoying. I'm going to give m+kb another try and am hoping ill have better luck if I map Q and E to my mouse side buttons.

I'm not getting how the combat works? It's certainly not like Witcher 1, and I'm not understanding the timing (I tried playing it like Batman AA but frankly the combat doesn't seem as refined). Is there anywhere in the game to practice the combat timing, cause I just don't get it.

If you are using a gamepad (which I highly recommend), you can switch swords with left and right on the d-pad and sheath your sword with down on the d-pad. However, you can also select swords with your quick menu (LT by default).

However, I recommend changing the left and right directions to alternate magic forward and backward since you change magic alot more often than you change swords and you can still change swords by using that quick radial menu.

As for control tips, I suggest the following:

1) Use your lock on button (Left bumper by default, but I changed it to Left Trigger). This will make attacking a lot more fluid and you'll miss a lot less often. It will also automatically redirect you to new enemies when one dies.

2) Pay attention to whether strong or weak attacks work better against certain enemies. You can tap out combos fair easy once you know this.

3) When fighting groups, roll away from groups and use Quen. It puts a shield around that absorbs a few hits and you can reapply it when it goes down. DO NOT let yourself get totally surrounded. You will die.

4) Use other magic secondary/subweapons after you have Quen active. Ardi is great for stunning enemies/crowd control, for example. Others are great for setting defensive traps or even turning an enemy on your side (which is great for diversions). Also use subweapons you have equiped in your pocket (right bumper).

 

[~Kinggi~]

Games difficulty is a bit retarded. Im constantly dieing on the first assault battle. Not even on hard difficulty.

 

[EternalGamer]

why is the inventory screen/management feel so clunky? half the time i can't access certain tabs even though i have those items...

Many of the menues work on simple "up or down" or "left and right" even if they seem arched or slanted. Also left and right bumpers flip between the categories (if you are using a controller).

 

[cartoon_soldier]

lol by mistake I fought the insects outside Flotsam with my Steel Sword Gurisema and got my arse kicked. Even on easy.

 

[EternalGamer]

Games difficulty is a bit retarded. Im constantly dieing on the first assault battle. Not even on hard difficulty.

Use Quen. Use it again as soon as it is knocked off
use lock on and use your roll ability when you are getting surrounded.

This is not a hack n slash, but you should be able to take down enemies fairly quickly given that you have the proper sword equipped and lock on to enemies. But you must use your spells to help you. If you ignore spells, you can't win fights.

Silver swords are not going to do shit against humans and steel swords do almost no damage to non-humans.

Steel swords = humans
Silver swords = monsters

 

[Echoplx]

There's no way to get the DLC/patches without registering?

Oh sorry, I thought you meant on the website, yes you can register through the launcher, seems to be fairly hit and miss though. Check some of the news post on thewitcher.com for help.

 

[Pancakes]

Games difficulty is a bit retarded. Im constantly dieing on the first assault battle. Not even on hard difficulty.

Are you using the Quen (shield) and Axil (mind control) spells? They help a great deal.

Also, be sure to roll if you don't feel safe.

 

[~Kinggi~]

Are you using the Quen (shield) and Axil (mind control) spells? They help a great deal.

Also, be sure to roll if you don't feel safe.

I just started the game. I dont even know if any of this shit is enabled. Im at the ballista still.

 

[EternalGamer]

I just started the game. I dont even know if any of this shit is enabled. Im at the ballista still.

You start with every spell in the game. There are only 5 spells:

Arnd: Stuns enemies, occasionally dizzies them for one hit kills
Yrden: Make a lightening trap on the ground
Igni: sets enemies on fire.
Quen: Creates a defensive shield
Axii: Mind control an enemy to join your side.


Bring up your quick menu (left trigger if you are using a controller) to select what spell you currently want to use. You can also hotkey these spells. Then hit the activate spell button ("b" on the controller).

The most important one at the start is to use Quen to put up a sheild; it stops you from taking any damage at all. It will last for about 30 seconds, but if you get hit around 3-4 times it gets knocked off, but you can reapply it.

Ardi is perhaps the second most useful because it stuns enemies. If you get lucky and they are dizzied, you can then kill them in one hit. But even if you just stun them, it is great for going on the offensive or even just letting them sit there while you go after others.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Wraiths kicking my arse in Chapter 1. Sigh

Yea, I always sucked at these kind of games and combat. Fuck lol

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Yeah, on "easy" you can probably use the stun-insta death on most of them. Just whittle one away from the pack as your mind controlled one occupies the rest. Attempt to ninja stun/slay then retreat if friends arrive, repeat.

Wraiths kicking my arse in Chapter 1. Sigh

They tend to come in pairs axii one instantly. Then let them fight and pick one off. Axii followed by Quen. Is my standard process. I juggle some aard when possible as well. If a guy blocks after three strikes zap him mid combo then continue the slashing.

This game deserves massive sales. COD-like sales, so every other publisher/developer will try to mimic the heart and ambitions of CDProjekt.

Great game, tons of bugs some game breaking. This launch has been horrible.

 

[Lime]

This game deserves massive sales. COD-like sales, so every other publisher/developer will try to mimic the heart and ambitions of CDProjekt.

 

[Van Buren]

Wraiths kicking my arse in Chapter 1. Sigh

For Wraiths, Axii works wonders. If I'm intent on slashing at them with a sword, a distance-closing fast attack followed by a strong attack is about all I can manage before I am counter-attacked. Once you get their attack patterns down, they're comfortable opponents to dispatch.

 

[Salaadin]

Meliteles Heart

Spoiler

How many wraiths do I need to kill here? Mt strategy starts off good but crumbles after about the 40 billionth one

 

[EternalGamer]

For Wraiths, Axii works wonders. If I'm intent on slashing at them with a sword, a distance-closing fast attack followed by a strong attack is about all I can manage before I am counter-attacked. Once you get their attack patterns down, they're comfortable opponents to dispatch.

I tend to do a fast, fast, strong, then Arnd, then repeat. Works pretty well against just one.

 

[Alexios]

Could FRAPS be causing performance loss on systems that struggle with the game? I'm replaying it trying to get more out of it and I even have SSAO and bloom and such on this time (I had them on for the prologue which always run really well) when I had disabled it before yet it seems smoother in Flotsam, it does feel like it goes to about 30 fps at times but it doesn't feel annoying yet even though I'm going through areas that seemed taxing previously. Maybe it's psychological, either way currently I like this

 

[Tain]

The combat looks pretty flashy in this game, and it's kinda the selling point for the game for me.

So, uh, how does it stack up to Demon's Souls? AssCreed? The brief videos make it look like AssCreed, but I'm hoping it's a bit more demanding than something like that or Arkham.

 

[Castor Krieg]

Meliteles Heart

Spoiler

How many wraiths do I need to kill here? Mt strategy starts off good but crumbles after about the 40 billionth one

Spoiler

I kept killing them, I think I killed approx. 10 before the ritual was done.

 

[Alexios]

The combat looks pretty flashy in this game, and it's kinda the selling point for the game for me.

So, uh, how does it stack up to Demon's Souls? Arkham Asylum? AssCreed? The brief videos make it look like AssCreed, but I'm hoping it's a bit more demanding than that.

It's like Batman: AA but Geralt isn't quite as agile with his combos and jumping from one enemy to the next and you can die much much easier if you do something wrong so while in videos you can see people cutting down waves of thugs, because they know what they're doing, one wrong move can cost you a lot as they can surround you and stunlock you into a cycle of flinch, drop down, flinch, etc, until you have zero health, which can happen fast. AA didn't challenge me outside bosses, this one can be tough in some ways, but also way too annoying when bosses have stupid gimmicks that aren't explained enough before you fight them or when it pits you against a load of elite soldiers in really REALLY cramped spaces so you can't dodge out of the way which feels super cheap unless you have developed your character a certain way. And it does a lot of this sadly, as you keep progressing toward the end. I guess you could say an one on one would be similar to AC in that you block, they stagger, you retaliate with a few hits, similar to the automatic counter in AC, except manual, but here it's not an insta win strategy because the other enemies don't just stand and watch with only occasional attacks, they all try to kill you, so to deal with them you need to use all your tricks, dodge to safety, look for openings, use bombs and daggers and spell signs and traps, etc.

 

[thetrin]

The combat looks pretty flashy in this game, and it's kinda the selling point for the game for me.

So, uh, how does it stack up to Demon's Souls? AssCreed? The brief videos make it look like AssCreed, but I'm hoping it's a bit more demanding than something like that or Arkham.

Far more demanding. It also allows you to utilize spells, bombs, traps and weapons in whatever combination you want. I tend to use spells and my swords more than traps or bombs, and as you build your character along the appropriate tree, that method of fighting becomes more and more viable.

The combat is awesome.

 

[Tain]

Not bad for an RPG, from the sound of it.

Either way, just bought it! Pumped. Couldn't force myself to wait and play Witcher 1.

 

[gdt]

I just started the game. I dont even know if any of this shit is enabled. Im at the ballista still.

How did you get around the installation (from disc) problem? I got the same thing now :/. I sent off an email last night, but no response yet.

 

[Salaadin]

Spoiler

I kept killing them, I think I killed approx. 10 before the ritual was done.

Thats about right. Slash twice, roll, Quen. repeat 40 times.
Do I ever hit a point where I DONT need Quen up all the time? I only have 2 stamina bars and it feels like Im always using one on Quen making blocking difficult.

 

[thetrin]

Thats about right. Slash twice, roll, Quen. repeat 40 times.
Do I ever hit a point where I DONT need Quen up all the time? I only have 2 stamina bars and it feels like Im always using one on Quen making blocking difficult.

The spell tree exists for a reason. Increase your stamina bar to 4 pips, and get Quen II.

 

[kittoo]

I liked prologue enough but I am not feeling it in floatsam. I have played a lot of RPGs (loved The Witcher 1 too) but for some reason, I am lost in floatsam. For some reason its so confusing. I want to love the game, so much. But I just...cant. I liked prologue but floatsam isnt where its at for me. I dont know why.

 

[Barberetti]

Just watched Triss make herself a portal back to town, step through it, and disappear.

"Yeah, don't worry about me honey, I'll just walk back to town. No, it's ok, really!"















Bitch.

 

[thetrin]

I liked prologue enough but I am not feeling it in floatsam. I have played a lot of RPGs (loved The Witcher 1 too) but for some reason, I am lost in floatsam. For some reason its so confusing. I want to love the game, so much. But I just...cant. I liked prologue but floatsam isnt where its at for me. I dont know why.

Maybe because you're lost and have no fucking clue what you're doing? Go explore a bit, pick up some books, talk to people, venture out into the forest, and figure it out. The game isn't going to hold your hand, and it's better for it.

 

[Alexios]

Meh, dumb, Triss still says

Spoiler

too many spells at once

even if

Spoiler

she only casts the one because I didn't tell her to try to get Iorveth

. Lots of dialogue annoyances like this. Like at the very beginning, the whole damn

Spoiler

castle blows up

and Roche comments on how ludicrous consequences I got yet still praises

Spoiler

I was nice and quiet

if I was personally

Spoiler

very stealthy

.

 

[Darklord]

God, I just can't beat

Spoiler

Lethos

. I tried for over an hour, constantly reloading. I'm going to have to load an old save and try and stock up on throwing daggers or something.

 

[Alexios]

@above

Spoiler

just put the shield up whenever he puts his up and wait for his to run out so you can damage him again. Dodge around constantly just out of melee reach and when he doesn't have a shield try to get behind him when he starts some long attack animation and get a couple hits in his back then dodge away again and repeat the process. He should barely hit you at all even with his spells like this, but keep the shield up just in case. It's not hard after you get the hang of it, I had to keep trying because I didn't have tools

.

 

[Van Buren]

God, I just can't beat

Spoiler

Lethos

. I tried for over an hour, constantly reloading. I'm going to have to load an old save and try and stock up on throwing daggers or something.

Do you have traps ? Just pepper the entire floor with snares. The boss will come to where you are standing, so you can dodge away. You only need to bring down the hp to about 50%. Keep Quen up if you are dying to

Spoiler

Aard and other spells of his.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Meh, dumb, Triss still says

Spoiler

too many spells at once

even if

Spoiler

she only casts the one because I didn't tell her to try to get Iorveth

. Lots of dialogue annoyances like this. Like at the very beginning, the whole damn

Spoiler

castle blows up

and Roche comments on how ludicrous consequences I got yet still praises

Spoiler

I was nice and quiet

if I was personally

Spoiler

very stealthy

.

Spoiler

The too many spells at once isn't about lightning bolt. Shes maintaing a shield that also nullifies arrows.

 

[Alexios]

Spoiler

The too many spells at once isn't about lightning bolt. Shes maintaing a shield that also nullifies arrows.

That seems like one to me but anyway.

 

[DieH@rd]

You start with every spell in the game. There are only 5 spells:

Arnd: Stuns enemies, occasionally dizzies them for one hit kills
Yrden: Make a lightening trap on the ground
Igni: sets enemies on fire.
Quen: Creates a defensive shield
Axii: Mind control an enemy to join your side.


Bring up your quick menu (left trigger if you are using a controller) to select what spell you currently want to use. You can also hotkey these spells. Then hit the activate spell button ("b" on the controller).

The most important one at the start is to use Quen to put up a sheild; it stops you from taking any damage at all. It will last for about 30 seconds, but if you get hit around 3-4 times it gets knocked off, but you can reapply it.

Ardi is perhaps the second most useful because it stuns enemies. If you get lucky and they are dizzied, you can then kill them in one hit. But even if you just stun them, it is great for going on the offensive or even just letting them sit there while you go after others.

Just one note about QUEN. While its active, your Vigor IS NOT recharging.

 

[Vaporak]

I feel like I'm about to leave chapter 1 and I've been unable to get the troll dlc to work, this is kinda infuriating that I won't get to play it because of CD-Projekts fuckup on their end. Otherwise though the game's been amazing so far!

 

[MickeyKnox]

Off screen character: "Yrden! Trap it with the Yrden!"

Geralt: "YOU GET DOWN HERE AND TRAP IT!"

 

[Haint]

I'm sure this is buried in the thread somewhere, but has anyone compiled an abilities list and where/how to get them? Like Strong Back, Cover, Assassin, etc...

 

[Salaadin]

The spell tree exists for a reason. Increase your stamina bar to 4 pips, and get Quen II.

I havent earned enough points to really get everything yet. I keep hearing that 4 pips is great and Quen 2 is great and slashing multiple enemies at once is great. I dont have the points for em all

I want to gear a lot towards swordfighting but thats not feeling possible right now with my reliance on Quen.

 

[hteng]

man im stuck at the baltimore's nightmare, how the hell do i get past the wall in his house?

i've used grapebombs on it many times and it won't break, is this a bug?

edit: ok im stupid, why havent i thought about using the jedi force push thing..

 

[Van Buren]

Off screen character: "Yrden! Trap it with the Yrden!"

Geralt: "YOU GET DOWN HERE AND TRAP IT!"

I'm loving the writing in this game. Just came across a random conversation between npcs that goes something like, "What about the anointed virgin ?", to which the reply was, "The witcher will take care of her." Cheekily written to mean something entirely different when taken out of context.

 

[Darklord]

Do you have traps ? Just pepper the entire floor with snares. The boss will come to where you are standing, so you can dodge away. You only need to bring down the hp to about 50%. Keep Quen up if you are dying to

Spoiler

Aard and other spells of his.

Really? Only 50%? Ah man, I've been so close then. I get him down to nearly 50% each time.

 

[Pancakes]

Off screen character: "Yrden! Trap it with the Yrden!"

Geralt: "YOU GET DOWN HERE AND TRAP IT!"

One of the bandits in Floatsam yells out:

"Death to shit-eaters!"

I got a good laugh out of that one.

 

[kittoo]

Maybe because you're lost and have no fucking clue what you're doing? Go explore a bit, pick up some books, talk to people, venture out into the forest, and figure it out. The game isn't going to hold your hand, and it's better for it.

LOL yeah I started exploring in the jungle..got my ass handed to me by those huge red creatures. But I guess you are right..need to talk to people.

 

[The Teachinator]

I'm really not enjoying this game. It does look pretty but the gameplay is rather boring and clunky. I also did not enjoy the first one.

It seems like a demon souls/dragon age mash up yet I prefer both of those titles as RPGS quite bit more.

Just my preference of course and wanted to share my opinion for anyone sitting on the fence.

 

[thetrin]

LOL yeah I started exploring in the jungle..got my ass handed to me by those huge red creatures. But I guess you are right..need to talk to people.

Don't forget to get quests from the notice board.

 

[Hixx]

Heh, was talking to Roche after the blatant pervert caught up with us in the bath house and when I went to finish the conversation I got ported into the middle of a river, completely stuck. Nice.