Witcher 2: Assassins of Self-confidence

[Beowulf DW]

So. I just got Witcher 2, played through the tutorial, and saw that the game recommended the Easy setting. I decided to crank it up to the normal setting and soon found out why the game had recommended the Easy setting. This is a shattering blow to my confidence as a gamer, as this may well be the first game I've been forced to play on the Easy setting.

Does anyone have any general advice for me? It's clear that this is a good game, but I've died 7 times now and I'm still in Flotsam! I was considering taking the swordsmanship path, but now that I see that I'll probably have to use potions, traps, bombs and oils anyway, I'm wondering if I should just take the alchemy path. Thoughts?

[Morty]

Witcher 2 is quite challenging at the beginning, but I do have some tips.
First, dodge. Dodge-rolling can save your life as it gets you out of being surrounded and gang-stabbed.
Second, use Quen. It can deflect one or two blows even at its most basic version, which can be a lifesaver. Aard is also handy, and the other signs can help too, although they're more situational.
Third, your instinct to use potions, bombs traps and oils is definetly right, since they can help you out enormously. However, you don't really need to focus on the Alchemy tree to benefit from them - it enchances their effects, but you can use them just fine as a swordsman. In general, you'll be using swords, signs and alchemy no matter which development tree you focus on. Your skill placement determines which of those three elements will be dominant, so to speak. It's also good to mix it up a little - when I played, I focused on the swordsman's path every time, but I did also take a few of the magic and alchemy talents.

[GolemsVoice]

The advice: don't get hit. Seriously, it may sound dumb, but it's the key. Learn to dogde-roll, to parry, and have no fear of running away and whittling the monsters down with Igni, bombs or traps. Also, be prepared. Always stay mobile, never let yourself be backed into a corner. NEVER let enemies attack you from behind.

Another thing, bombs: while I've heard that the Alchemy path itself isn't that good, bombs are ridicilous. Anybody hit will shrink back a little, and since you can literally throw a bomb a second, you can stunlock whole groups of enemies if you have the bombs. That was my tactic: get some distance between the enemy and you, bombs away, and finish of the rest the old fashioned way.


And one last thing: The Witcher 2 is notorious for being very hard at the beginning and becoming easier towards the end, so don't be discouraged. It takes a while to get used to.

[Tengu_temp]

In addition to what was already said:

Don't let the enemies surround you. Attacks in the back deal double damage and cannot be parried. Don't fight statically, keep on moving.

Enemies with shields or two-handed swords will block. You need to throw them off-balance with your own parry, a bomb or a sign, and then attack quickly.

The alchemy path is pretty bad. It gives similar bonuses to the other two paths, but they apply situationally, while the bonuses from the other paths are always active. Swordsmanship is generally the best, with its huge passive bonuses to damage and resistance. Magic is great for improved Quen and extra energy.

This game is not that hard in general once you get used to it - there will still be some tough fights, but you'll handle normal battles easily. It just requires a different approach than typical RPGs, which usually are very low-effort games. My old dad finished it on hard difficulty, I'm sure you can do it as well. Good luck.

[Morty]

Don't let the enemies surround you. Attacks in the back deal double damage and cannot be parried. Don't fight statically, keep on moving.

Eventually, the Swordsman path will give you talents that reduce the damage dealt by attacks from behind and let you parry blows from all directions. Both of these help when you get surrounded.

[Beowulf DW]

Thanks a bunch. It does seem to be getting easier, though I don't know if that's just me getting used to the game or due to leveling up.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Oh god, it's been a while since I've seen Angry Joe's review, but his tactic for fighting multiple enemies goes something like this.

1. Que up Quen.
2. Whatever the Force Push spell is (a bunch of bombs could be used instead of this).
3. Igni to soften them up.
4. Whatever the charm/confusion spell is, so you lose an enemy and gain an ally.
5. Alternate between Force Push and attacks with your sword.

[GolemsVoice]

The "force push" would be Aard, and Axii for charming folks. However, Axii has a pretty long channel time, sadly. I found it a bit unwieldy in the middle of combat.

[Tengu_temp]

I tend not to use any other signs with Quen unless I have to, because Quen stops energy from regenerating as long as it's active. And I almost never used Igni, because without a lot of spell damage buffs it deals negligible damage.

My second most commonly-used sign, after Quen, is Yrden. It requires some skill to use, because enemies need to run into it and you can't just cast it on top of someone, but when someone gets stunned by it, they're a sitting duck. Very useful.

[GolemsVoice]

I actually had a lot of fun with Igni, at least in the magic tree, because you can set enemies on fire, which is both hilarious and distracting. When you're playing magic use, it's also your main damage spell. But yes, learn to use the Yrden. Actually, there's probably a situation for each sign.

[Beowulf DW]

Definitely not quite as frustrating as it was, and I've cranked the difficulty back up to normal. Thanks for the advice. Quen and Yrden really make a difference when I'm trying to take on groups, as do the Sa...Samun...The blue bomb things.

[GolemsVoice]

Samum! I prefer grapeshot, myself.

[Anarion]

I went through it on the hardest difficulty that still lets you save (and actually played through the tutorial several times for the practice on the harder enemies). I went magic tree, and it worked out quite well.

One thing to keep in mind in this game is pacing. Never try to push for that one last attack and don't take risks, especially early on. Later, when you have an amazing sword and armor along with skills, you can blow through the enemies, but early on you want to use abilities that let you set up, get a couple hits, and then get out again, especially against groups.

I suggest use of Quen no matter what tree you're in. If you go magic, Quen becomes amazing because it deals backlash damage to enemies that hit you and lasts a long time through several hits. Even without, it's a free "oops, I messed up" shield. You can put up Quen and engage, then if you get hit you back off and let the point of magic regen, put up Quen and engage and so on.

Second major issue is target priority: Archers die first. Anything with range will absolutely ruin you, especially early. Dodge roll, signs, bombs, traps etc. use whatever you need and kill the archers. Then kill the light enemies with careful blows, and kill the ones with shields last. If you're just fighting a few enemies with shields they become not too hard because they're ponderous and can be kited and either chipped down at range or dealt with by going in and out with Quen on.

[Beowulf DW]

I went through it on the hardest difficulty that still lets you save (and actually played through the tutorial several times for the practice on the harder enemies). I went magic tree, and it worked out quite well.

One thing to keep in mind in this game is pacing. Never try to push for that one last attack and don't take risks, especially early on. Later, when you have an amazing sword and armor along with skills, you can blow through the enemies, but early on you want to use abilities that let you set up, get a couple hits, and then get out again, especially against groups.

I suggest use of Quen no matter what tree you're in. If you go magic, Quen becomes amazing because it deals backlash damage to enemies that hit you and lasts a long time through several hits. Even without, it's a free "oops, I messed up" shield. You can put up Quen and engage, then if you get hit you back off and let the point of magic regen, put up Quen and engage and so on.

Second major issue is target priority: Archers die first. Anything with range will absolutely ruin you, especially early. Dodge roll, signs, bombs, traps etc. use whatever you need and kill the archers. Then kill the light enemies with careful blows, and kill the ones with shields last. If you're just fighting a few enemies with shields they become not too hard because they're ponderous and can be kited and either chipped down at range or dealt with by going in and out with Quen on.

Well I did pick up the skills in the Training tree that allow you to block and redirect arrows. Will that help?

[GolemsVoice]

I never picked that skill, since there just aren't that many archers around. But it certainly doesn't hurt, one skill point won't kill you.

[Anarion]

Well I did pick up the skills in the Training tree that allow you to block and redirect arrows. Will that help?

I never picked that skill, since there just aren't that many archers around. But it certainly doesn't hurt, one skill point won't kill you.

I recall taking one point in it, but not two. I took all the vigor regen skills since I went magic tree. Being able to parry arrows is good, but you don't want to get stuck in place, so it's better to dodge usually. It's definitely possible to dodge all the way up to a target you need to kill without being hit.

[GolemsVoice]

By the way, some useful advice that I didn't find out until the second playthrough, is that there are abilities that you get for doing certain things.

E.g. for destroying ten unique training dummies, you get the "Experienced" trait that gets you a 10% bonus on any XP you'll gain.

For more, see here, but warning, some spoilers ahead.

http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Charac...utes#Abilities

The wiki in general is very helpful and informative.

[Morty]

By the way, what's your opinion on throwing knives? I used to consider them a waste of time, but after trying them some more in my latest playthrough I found out they can deal pretty good damage from a safe distance.

[GolemsVoice]

Oh yes! Especially in Dark mode, anything that can hurt folks without the need to get to close is a godsend. They're not as great as bombs, and Geralt has the irritating habit of throwing them god knows where, but yeah, if you can hit a foe with two or three, you greatly soften him up.

[Anarion]

I recall throwing knives being great for disruption in dark mode. A poked enemy might die in one fewer slash or sign and you buy yourself a couple seconds where they're not in an attack or block animation.

Basically, the strategy is always to avoid engaging on bad terms because groups of enemies, especially on harder difficulties, can and will kill you. So instead you use your bag of tricks to soften them up and avoid, ideally eliminating the weaker enemy types and eventually engaging the tough guys on your terms.

[GolemsVoice]

Now that we're talking about the game anyway, which of the paths did you prefer? In spoilers, of course, for Beowulf DW!

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I, personally, really can't make up my mind. Iorveth's path has certainly the better parts, what with the defence of Vergen (and Vergen in itself) and all that. However, Roche is one mean SOB, and I love his chaperone (the fancy hat-thingy). His path is also much more political, and gives you an insight into exactly what is at stake the whole time.

In my opinion, Iorveth's path is about doing what feels right, personally, namely standing up for the oppressed, the little people (both actually and figuratively little) and the common man. It's more about personal salvation. Roche is all about doing what is neccessary, though not particularly nice, and I imagine poor Geralt loathes Henselt & Co with all his considerable energy.

[Morty]

The choice between the paths is very even.

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I picked Iorweth when I played for the first time, but I tried going with Roche recently. I didn't feel like the choice was better or worse.
I was also somewhat surprised by how assymetric it is, so to speak. If Geralt sides with Iorweth, he ends up squarely on the side of Vergen and Upper Aedirn. If he sides with Roche, though, he doesn't really work with the Kaedwen army. He just sort of hangs around and works for Henselt. Roche doesn't trust the Kaedwenians and they don't trust him. And in the end, of course, he has to turn against them.
And damn, but the choice not to kill Henselt was hard. You know that there'll be all sorts of horrible consequences, that it's just what Letho wants... but you just want to wipe that smirk off his mug.

[GolemsVoice]

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I let Roche kill Henselt. No regrets. Besides, even if Henselt lived, it would not neccessarily mean a stronger north, After all, Henselt isn'T the most trustworthy around, and he used the first war against Nilfgaard to expand his territory, if I remember correctly.

For me, one of the hardest choices was between saving Triss and saving Saskia. I thought that if you didn't save Triss, she would be killed or at least hate your guts. Turns out she doesn't.

[Morty]

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Well, stronger North or no, killing Henselt would cause Kaedwen to become the same kind of brothel on fire as Temeria after Foltest's death. And the common people would be the worst off.
As for Triss' fate, that surprised me as well. I chose to save Triss when I first played, and then I found out that Letho saves her if you don't. So I tried it when I played last time, and it turns out she doesn't even have any hard feelings towards Geralt. Not very typical for the series, which makes sure every choice you make bites you in the rear sooner or later.

[GolemsVoice]

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Yeah, strange indeed, but a nice break from the constant barrage of bad things that Geralt has been subjected to, especially on Roche's path. By the way, does Saskia survive if you fight her and then leave? Because I always thought killing her was the mercifull way and she would die anyhow, but now I think that she had actually survived had you just left her on the tree.

[Morty]

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She survives, but if you don't go with Philippa she remains the sorcresses' mind-slave.

[GolemsVoice]

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Ah, so that's what I was missing. A shame, really!

[Tengu_temp]

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I haven't played Roche's path yet, but from what my brother who played both told me, I'd probably like Iorweth's path more anyway. It seems to be more about trying to build a better future, while Roche's path is more about punishing *******s who deserve it. Plus, only on Iorweth's path you get to save Saskia, and it seems to have more humour and characters from the books.

[Beowulf DW]

Thanks for posting in spoilers. I know how annoying that can be. For the record, I'm starting to sympathize with Iorveth, for as Zoltan said, the Commandant's a "batty bastard."

[GolemsVoice]

Nice isn't a word I'd use to describe ANYONE in The Witcher.