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[Wallach]

So I think I'm going to buy this a little earlier than I planned and pick it up after the weekend (my brother is coming in this weekend so I'm not going to bother until then).

Compared to TW1, how much harder is "Hard", or whatever the hardest option is (aside from the ironman mode)? Also is anything skill-related imported from TW1 or can I just go a completely different style if I want? I was mostly a melee type with a fair amount of Quen and Ard spam.

 

[RedSwirl]

I can make an argument that its dangerous world and he would at least have a steel sword for self defense.

Anyways I am not saying that Geralt or witchers don't kill regular human beings. I am just saying in the event of monsterours creature vs human being decision then a witcher probably won't just throw in any human in there and watch them die. The closest I can think of is when Geralt uses the traitor as bait for Adda when he was lifting her curse. Although I guess you can use that to argue for either side.

Edit: Geralt is hunting down the kingslayer because the kingslayer screwed Geralt over. The entire plot of the first game is to hunt down a bunch of thugs who robbed Kaer Morhen. Anyways usually there is a rather personal reason for why Geralt tries to kill some one. Most of the time it's just self defense.

Yeah I agree that killing humans is mostly in self defense, and in the case of the two games he's hunting down people who have made serious personal affronts against him and the other Witchers. Outside of that I actually try to keep my Geralt neutral in all politlcal/moral matters not pertaining to his main objective.

With the

Spoiler

spectre quest I just went back and killed the spectre. In my game he really wouldn't care one way or the other about an argument between something that happened in the past between groups of people unrelated to him. You could consider the spectre to be a monster and he did probably get a reward for the quest but whatever.

Geralt may have his own personal moral compass that does err on the side of good (he'll openly judge people for crap they've done), but in action I think he would only concern himself with killing monsters for pay and protecting the people he cares about.

 

[scorpscarx]

So I think I'm going to buy this a little earlier than I planned and pick it up after the weekend (my brother is coming in this weekend so I'm not going to bother until then).

Compared to TW1, how much harder is "Hard", or whatever the hardest option is (aside from the ironman mode)? Also is anything skill-related imported from TW1 or can I just go a completely different style if I want? I was mostly a melee type with a fair amount of Quen and Ard spam.

Harder, you have to use all of your abilities tactically to survive on Hard and beyond, it all comes naturally though, and it is glorious.

I've been steadily moving up from easy mode, about to Hard.

 

[Snuggles]

Goddamn, if there is one thing I truly dislike about this game is that select and context sensitive actions overlap each other.

For example, I'm on a mission with a few people on my side, and I'm trying to recover my unused trap but since they're right next to me it keeps giving me the option to talk to them instead of letting me select the trap.

Dammit man, I had to leave a good trap behind cuz of these damned Dorfs.

 

[gdt]

http://www.en.thewitcher.com/contact/

A few GAFfers have said that they have got a GOG code because their retail version was messed up, hopefully one of them will chime in and say exactly how they did it.

Writing up the email now.

I'm waiting for the installation to cramp up again so I can grab a screenshot and include it in the email.

 

[Snuggles]

Writing up the email now.

I'm waiting for the installation to cramp up again so I can grab a screenshot and include it in the email.

Good call. Plus, your CD-Key more or less proves that you're legit. Some people have resorted to torrenting the game and activating it with their retail key.

Sucks, but I guess I'm lucky since my digital GOG version has been fine.

 

[RedSwirl]

Anyway, shit damn it took me a long-ass time to kill the Keyran. At first I went in without the

Spoiler

trap. I could hear Silde telling me to use the Yrden sign, but I didn't actually recognize her pronunciation as "Yrden," (I'd never heard it said out loud), and I could honestly barely get through her accent. After reading it in the guide I was like "Ohhhh that's what she's trying to tell me!"

Even after that I died a shitload of times just trying to dodge its attacks and prepare correctly.

The Keyran felt like a Super NES boss, both in figuring out how to beat it and the actual execution.

 

[gdt]

Good call. Plus, your CD-Key more or less proves that you're legit. Some people have resorted to torrenting the game and activating it with their retail key.

Sucks, but I guess I'm lucky since my digital GOG version has been fine.

Ugh, might have to grab a camera and take a pic of my cd key. Or maybe just my amazon order form...

 

[Snuggles]

Ugh, might have to grab a camera and take a pic of my cd key. Or maybe just my amazon order form...

there isn't one packed in? seems like there should be one in the box.

n/m, I was a little confused, but you shouldn't need to take a pic of it

 

[cheesetom]

boss battle at the end of chapter 1:

Let me get this straight:

If I die, its game over and I have to load a save.

Spoiler

BUT if I defeat him, I still ultimately lose the battle....,

he takes my woman, stabs an elf and teleports to god knows where by walking through a portal that, apparently, only I am not able to use.

It really took the fist pump moment away from me as I finally defeated him after a bunch of retries - with 100% health nonetheless - yet my Geralt crawls to the nearest wall and admits defeat.

At that point I had both my hands up in the air in a "WTF?!?" pose.

Other than that, the story/gameplay has been pretty good.

 

[gdt]

there isn't one packed in? seems like there should be one in the box.

There is, but I'd need a camera to take the pic lol (I think it's in my sister's room right now, fuck that). Or I guess I just use the camera on my laptop, I think.

 

[Zeliard]

Compared to TW1, how much harder is "Hard", or whatever the hardest option is (aside from the ironman mode)? Also is anything skill-related imported from TW1 or can I just go a completely different style if I want? I was mostly a melee type with a fair amount of Quen and Ard spam.

It's more difficult and deeper. In the first Witcher it was recommended you use alchemy on Hard; in this one you should be using that as well as bombs and traps. There's an entire talent tree devoted to just alchemy and it's given equal weight to the swordplay and magic, and you can go down that path and probably be very effective.

Combat in general also puts a lot more emphasis on proper positioning in both offense and defense, and the enemies can hit quite hard, so it asks you to be a lot more reactive while fighting than the first game (especially since you can no longer spam potions in combat). Even then strategy is still critical in terms of reading up on enemies (getting you damage boosts against them), drinking potions, crafting bombs and traps, etc.

 

[Snuggles]

There is, but I'd need a camera to take the pic lol (I think it's in my sister's room right now, fuck that). Or I guess I just use the camera on my laptop, I think.

I don't think you'll need to do that, just send the email explaining the situation, I'm sure they've got tons of them with the same issue.

I was hoping someone with the same issue would chime in but maybe you can find a post a few pages back cuz a few posters have been able to get a GOG key.

 

[teh_pwn]

Seems oddly appropriate.

F5 saves a new file. And while I don't intend to use them, it did come in handy when I ran into a bug with my keyboard somehow not working in the game (but I could go to desktop, and use it, reload the game with the same save and have the same issue). I resolved it by loading the save from a few minutes before. Makes the difference between losing your save and not.

Spoiler

What's with the game's length? I thought I remember reading about 12 chapters and then a couple hours of ago I hit "epilogue" by surprise. 3 chapters, 14-16 hours without a lot of side quests. Way shorter than the last one. Very polished except for how it seemed like I leveled 10 levels in the last hour. Seriously, like when I got out of prison it was level up, then walked to some candles, bam 2 levels more. It was crazy. It seems like they were 70% done with an epic game last year and said "damn, we need money to continue working. Cut it in half, polish it, and ship it."

 

[RedSwirl]

boss battle at the end of chapter 1:

Let me get this straight:

If I die, its game over and I have to load a save.

Spoiler

BUT if I defeat him, I still ultimately lose the battle....,

he takes my woman, stabs an elf and teleports to god knows where by walking through a portal that, apparently, only I am not able to use.

It really took the fist pump moment away from me as I finally defeated him after a bunch of retries - with 100% health nonetheless - yet my Geralt crawls to the nearest wall and admits defeat.

At that point I had both my hands up in the air in a "WTF?!?" pose.

Other than that, the story/gameplay has been pretty good.

Trying to not read spoilers, but that sounds like it should have been one of those "impossible to win" fights. Or maybe CD Projekt should have made that another branch depending on how you did... but then that would probably open that possibility for every fight.

 

[gdt]

Fuck it, didn't include a picture of my CD key, if they respond and they want it, I'll do it then.

Though, after I sent it, I figured I could've just typed it in as proof that I have it. Duh.

 

[RedSwirl]

By the way this game doesn't have a new game+ does it?

 

[Chuck]

I'm downloading the game now. I'm new to PC games and haven't gotten down the mouse and keyboard all that well. This game has gamepad support, but I wasn't sure if it was too compromising for this kind of game. Which control scheme should I start with and why?

 

[Riposte]

Man, that last major boss of chapter 1. I've noticed this game lacks the finesse of a more deliberate action game(and make no mistake, this is an action game, in the same vein of Demon's Souls and Assassin's Creed). Dodging AoEs can be inconsistent and seemingly a bit of randomness with attacks(sometimes they just cancel on me, mid-animation even). (Also sometimes I got away with light-light-light-heavy after interrupting a spell with Aard for an entire try and other times I couldn't at all for an entire try. Really weird.)

I shouldn't be too bothered, because after a dozen+ tries, I ended up with a strategy that barely used Quen in favor Aard and Yrden and traps. Still, brutally difficult. Got to wonder if they intended it that way given everything before it(not that this game has been easy).

EDIT: This thread moves too fast. Basically no reason to post, since NeoGAF "latest post" thing is always black and I always lose it. Well back to the game.

 

[Zeliard]

That fucking Plough 'Em All song is seriously stuck in my head. For like the past 5 hours. Damnation.

 

[Johnny2Bags]

boss battle at the end of chapter 1:

Let me get this straight:

If I die, its game over and I have to load a save.

Spoiler

BUT if I defeat him, I still ultimately lose the battle....,

he takes my woman, stabs an elf and teleports to god knows where by walking through a portal that, apparently, only I am not able to use.

It really took the fist pump moment away from me as I finally defeated him after a bunch of retries - with 100% health nonetheless - yet my Geralt crawls to the nearest wall and admits defeat.

At that point I had both my hands up in the air in a "WTF?!?" pose.

Other than that, the story/gameplay has been pretty good.

I actually found this a bit refreshing... Geralt has faults like us all.. He's not as strong (at that moment) as his enemy... It makes the character more real and believable... Now he has a chance to steel his resolve, come back a stronger, wiser character with more conviction and things to fight for than last time.

 

[cheesetom]

By the way this game doesn't have a new game+ does it?

Not that I know of.

Man, that last major boss of chapter 1. I've noticed this game lacks the finesse of a more deliberate action game(and make no mistake, this is an action game, in the same vein of Demon's Souls and Assassin's Creed). Dodging AoEs and seemingly a bit of randomness with attacks(sometimes they just cancel on me, mid-animation even).

I shouldn't be too bothered, because after a dozen+ tries, I ended up with a strategy that barely used Quen in favor Aard and Yrden and traps. Still, brutally difficult. Got to wonder if they intended it that way given everything before it(not that this game has been easy).

Once you get his pattern down, its pretty easy. Trivial even.
Dodge everything he throws at you, wait till his shield is down and attack. You can stop him from shielding up again with Aard. You don't even have to use Quen if your timings right.

 

[hteng]

is there anyway to make the map indicate north or even fix the map? its so useless !

 

[Riposte]

Not that I know of.


Once you get his pattern down, its pretty easy. Trivial even.
Dodge everything he throws at you, wait till his shield is down and attack. You can stop him from shielding up again with Aard. You don't even have to use Quen if your timings right.

Oh I've beaten him already. I used Aard and Yrden and some traps mostly.

 

[Snuggles]

I'm downloading the game now. I'm new to PC games and haven't gotten down the mouse and keyboard all that well. This game has gamepad support, but I wasn't sure if it was too compromising for this kind of game. Which control scheme should I start with and why?

The game translates very well to a gamepad, so there is no major downside to using it, but it still plays well with kb/m. There really isn't much to say other than that it works great with either method, just choose whatever you're more comfortable with.

 

[Zeliard]

I've started to wean myself off Quen because I don't like how it disables vigor regen. That's good for balance obviously but I enjoy using the other signs and I want to start using parry & riposte as well.

 

[gdt]

Ugh, didn't send, said I need more info.

I'm W7, how can I find out the versions of my sound and video drivers? In addition to the name of my sound card.

 

[cheesetom]

I actually found this a bit refreshing... Geralt has faults like us all.. He's not as strong (at that moment) as his enemy... It makes the character more real and believable... Now he has a chance to steel his resolve, come back a stronger, wiser character with more conviction and things to fight for than last time.

I kind of see your point, but in that particular scenario, what I saw on screen (my health bar) didn't mesh with what was happening story-wise. And that just rubbed me the wrong way.

I think it was handled badly - they should have just gave him a super move when he hits a certain %life that guarantees a lose scenario.

 

[Riposte]

I've started to wean myself off Quen because I don't like how it disables vigor regen. That's good for balance obviously but I enjoy using the other signs and I want to start using parry & riposte as well.

I don't like how much the game encourages you use Quen and how much Quen locks out other spells(and parry/riposte). The end result is a slightly more boring game because the "automatic" option is the safest one.

EDIT: Could be solved with some better crowd control, something to help you get in/out after hitting someone. A basic mechanic, attacking and dodging, which doesn't use vigor.

 

[Zeliard]

I don't like how much the game encourages you use Quen and how much Quen locks out other spells(and parry/riposte). The end result is a slightly more boring game because the "automatic" option is the safest one.

EDIT: Could be solved with some better crowd control, something to help you get in/out after hitting someone. A basic mechanic, attacking and dodging, which doesn't use vigor.

I pretty much just roll away for that purpose. When you get the rolling distance upgrades you can gain a lot of separation from enemies very quickly, and then leap back at them for an attack when there's an opening.

 

[Johnny2Bags]

I kind of see your point, but in that particular scenario, what I saw on screen (my health bar) didn't mesh with what was happening story-wise. And that just rubbed me the wrong way.

I think it was handled badly - they should have just gave him a super move when he hits a certain %life that guarantees a lose scenario.

That's also true, it was a bit surprising... but even if you had won that fight, He that certain someone hidden and under his control... his minions could have waited and upon realizing he wasn't coming back did 'said someone' in... Either way the guy seemed evil enough to kill himself to ensure you'd never win...

anyways... I'm loving the story so far.. and actually dreading the game ending... going to play the shit out of chap. 2 that's for sure...

 

[Hawk269]

This is from the official website...

May 21, 2011, 12:15 a.m.

Patch 1.1 is nearing completion and will be available shortly. It will address a number of issues reported by players such as keymapping, inverting the mouse, sudden crashes, problems with activation, difficulties with the game`s DLC, and more.

 

[Nezabyte]

Oh I've beaten him already. I used Aard and Yrden and some traps mostly.

Wow, those would've made my fight much easier, haha. I didn't use traps or magic and played on hard - just gulped down an anti-poison potion. Once I got the pattern down, though, it wasn't too bad (which took quite a few tries mind you).

Edit: Oh, nvm, thought that was something else. THAT one kept beating me badly, so I gave up and switched to easy wasn't feeling patient at the time.

 

[Chuck]

The game translates very well to a gamepad, so there is no major downside to using it, but it still plays well with kb/m. There really isn't much to say other than that it works great with either method, just choose whatever you're more comfortable with.

Ok. I guess I'll start it using a 360 controller then. Thanks!

 

[Animator]

Does anyone know how to solve the puzzle in this room in Chapter 3 (early):


http://i.imgur.com/rGN7K.jpg

 

[Wallach]

One other question about save file importing: do you just get one generic version of the Raven's Armor or do you actually get the version you created in the first game?

Edit - After some snooping it appears that the Raven Armor is the same no matter what version you made in TW1. Also, the amount of money that is in the save files in the OP seems kind of absurd if I'm understanding the import settings correctly.

 

[1stStrike]

Does anyone know how to solve the puzzle in this room in Chapter 3 (early):


http://i.imgur.com/rGN7K.jpg

That's a screenshot from chapter 2. But, I know what you're talking about in chapter 3. There are a couple of different possible solutions for each room. The one you get in your game is randomly decided, so there's no absolute single way to do it in each room.

 

[RedSwirl]

Okay, tech-wise, where do you think this game stands amongst the top visuals on the market right now?

The only things out I can compare it to are Crysis 2 (PC version on Extreme) and in some ways Uncharted 2. I can't think of a single other game with texture work like The Witcher 2 though.

 

[Johnny2Bags]

Okay, tech-wise, where do you think this game stands amongst the top visuals on the market right now?

The only things out I can compare it to are Crysis 2 (PC version on Extreme) and in some ways Uncharted 2. I can't think of a single other game with texture work like The Witcher 2 though.

To be completely honest... It's the best combination of Art, hand placed locals and visual touches, and Cutting edge graphics that I've ever seen..

I thought nothing would touch the first crysis for me... this seems to destroy it... but with the help of the art and overall vision of the game.

 

[teh_pwn]

Okay, tech-wise, where do you think this game stands amongst the top visuals on the market right now?

The only things out I can compare it to are Crysis 2 (PC version on Extreme) and in some ways Uncharted 2. I can't think of a single other game with texture work like The Witcher 2 though.

Best looking game I've played so far overall.

Metro 2033 had some better confined effects.

I don't think Crysis 2 is even in the same league as these other games. Textures were washed out, old directX effects. Fast and good looking, but not best of the best. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but I thought Crysis Warhead with mods looked way better than 2. Tech-wise CW's draw distance and physics made it vastly superior to 2.

Uncharted 2, while extremely impressive for it's console limitations is still limited by it's console.

 

[Wallach]

I don't think Crysis 2 is even in the same league as these other games. Textures were washed out, old directX effects. Fast and good looking, but not best of the best.

I agree about the texture work being better in TW2, but "old directX effects" kind of applies to both games here. TW2 is a purely DX9 game.

 

[Mutagenic]

Just installed it. It recommended medium but actually plays smoother on high. The opening area looks ahhhh so good.

 

[teh_pwn]

Just installed it. It recommended medium but actually plays smoother on high. The opening area looks ahhhh so good.

Make sure you tweak settings. The recommendations are bogus. I didn't correct the textures from high to Ultra until I was half way through chapter 1. No hit on frame rate, just made things look more awesome.

 

[Snuggles]

The only things out I can compare it to are Crysis 2 (PC version on Extreme) and in some ways Uncharted 2. I can't think of a single other game with texture work like The Witcher 2 though.

It's the most impressive I've seen, although the art makes it almost too easy to place it over something like Metro. Using that power to create an otherwordly place is so much more appealing to my eyes than rendering a realistic city or a drab underground tunnel.

UC2 is limited by it's hardware, but it's still an amazing looking game. TW2 has the amazing art of UC2 without the limitations. Either way, you won't get me to say anything bad about that series. <3 <3

 

[Mutagenic]

Make sure you tweak settings. The recommendations are bogus. I didn't correct the textures from high to Ultra until I was half way through chapter 1. No hit on frame rate, just made things look more awesome.

Is a Radeon HD 5870 good enough for ultra?

 

[teh_pwn]

Is a Radeon HD 5870 good enough for ultra?

Should be if you have 2 GB of vRAM. Not sure if it needs 2 GB, but generally the larger the texture sizes the more video RAM you need. (there are still threads on future console speculation in which people insist 512-1024 MB is more than enough and that the mere suggestion of 2-8 GB is redonkulous).

 

[iamblades]

Anyone else have a terrible time with the

Spoiler

first letho fight

?

The room you fight him in is so small and he is either shielded or throwing those bombs and shooting that lightning magic that it makes it basically impossible to get more than a couple hits in before having to run around and dodge bombs more, and if you get hit by one bomb it takes off like 10x more of your hp than your attacks do to him.

It's the only fight I really felt was cheap in the game, mostly because of the really restricted space, when you fight him the second time it was a piece of cake. A bit anticlimactic actually.

 

[Mutagenic]

Should be if you have 2 GB of vRAM. Not sure if it needs 2 GB, but generally the larger the texture sizes the more video RAM you need. (there are still threads on future console speculation in which people insist 512-1024 MB is more than enough and that the mere suggestion of 2-8 GB is redonkulous).

Bummer. My comp has 8GB but I think my card is 1GB. I'll try ultra regardless next time I'm at my computer.

 

[mileS]

Bummer. My comp has 8GB but I think my card is 1GB. I'll try ultra regardless next time I'm at my computer.

1gb is fine. With my i5 750 + 5850 comp I get the same framerate no matter what setting. In fact I found I was getting better performance maxing some of the settings. (I don't understand why but I'm not the only one) You'll be able to set Texture Memory Size to Large and put the other options on ultra no problem. Check out the other thread if you need more info.

 

[Stahsky]

Anyone else have a terrible time with the

Spoiler

first letho fight

?

The room you fight him in is so small and he is either shielded or throwing those bombs and shooting that lightning magic that it makes it basically impossible to get more than a couple hits in before having to run around and dodge bombs more, and if you get hit by one bomb it takes off like 10x more of your hp than your attacks do to him.

It's the only fight I really felt was cheap in the game, mostly because of the really restricted space, when you fight him the second time it was a piece of cake. A bit anticlimactic actually.

Spoiler

Aard and tons of rolling. I would wait for the shield to drop, swing twice, aard sign, twice twice more, run away. Throw bombs from time to time if you have them. Keep out of reach of his own aard hits.