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[KorrZ]

This game is god damn awesome. I normally last about 2.5 - 3 hours before I need to take a break and stretch my legs when playing games....just sat and played TW2 for 6 hours straight without even realizing it. Such an engrossing world, the story and characters are all great so far.

Had a bit of a rough start with the combat at first, got my ass handed to me several times >< but I think I'm getting the hang of it now.

 

[ShogunX]

This game is god damn awesome. I normally last about 2.5 - 3 hours before I need to take a break and stretch my legs when playing games....just sat and played TW2 for 6 hours straight without even realizing it. Such an engrossing world, the story and characters are all great so far.

Had a bit of a rough start with the combat at first, got my ass handed to me several times >< but I think I'm getting the hang of it now.

Coming from Dark Souls to the Witcher Combat is terrible.

How are you meant to block and still be mobile? Seems like fighting group of enemies is difficult because of how immobile you are.

 

[Deleted member 81567]

Dark Edition just came in today. Too bad I have 2 fucking lab reports due this week, and won'e be able to play it until this Friday.

 

[Solo]

Seems like fighting group of enemies is difficult because of how immobile you are.

Roll.

 

[vocab]

Anyone else getting black screens randomly? I loaded up a save I have had since release, and I was just getting black screens cutting in and out after a fight, and then my UI disappeared, and then I died and I got a black screen I couldn't do anything.

Also I'm noticing more texture pop in, and just overall lag in the menus.

What the fuck?

 

[Izick]

Okay, so I just made my way through the tuturiol, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it so far. The opening cinematic was absolutely gorgoes, and the game seems to have set its tone nicely. The only thing I can say I dislike is how rigid things are in the tutorial part. (I know it's probably for the greater good, but I hate when they lock buttons at any time.)

So any advice on what difficulty to choose? I'm not sure if I'm going to play through this twice, so I want as full as the experience I can get, without the difficulty constantly getting in my way the whole time. I do like a challenge though.

 

[KorrZ]

Coming from Dark Souls to the Witcher Combat is terrible.

How are you meant to block and still be mobile? Seems like fighting group of enemies is difficult because of how immobile you are.

I've had the same issues. So far my strategy has been to roll around like a mad man and take a swing or two at a time before rolling again and only bothering with the block/parry once it's down to 1 or 2 guys only.

 

[Grymm]

Coming from Dark Souls to the Witcher Combat is terrible.

How are you meant to block and still be mobile? Seems like fighting group of enemies is difficult because of how immobile you are.

Roll and get the roll upgrade to roll even better.

Traps and Yrden also perform crowd control, and when things are crowd controlled obviously that lets you be a bit more mobile.

Axii can be considered crowd control too, essentially taking (at least) two opponents out of the fight.

 

[Zeliard]

Coming from Dark Souls to the Witcher Combat is terrible.

How are you meant to block and still be mobile?

You aren't. There is no actual block - you're parrying and you still take damage while doing so. I rarely parry, personally.

Seems like fighting group of enemies is difficult because of how immobile you are.

Roll-dodge. You've got some decent invincibility frames while rolling, so use that to move around. When you're at a distance from a targeted enemy and you hit attack, Geralt will automatically do some sort of attack that gains distance, i.e. a jumping thrust or a pirouette (if you're using a sword, that is).

Do that while properly timing enemy swings, and use all the other stuff at your disposals - the various magics (Yrden is particularly useful), physical traps, bombs, etc. And don't forget about Alchemy w/ oils and potions.

 

[Varna]

Coming from Dark Souls to the Witcher Combat is terrible.

How are you meant to block and still be mobile? Seems like fighting group of enemies is difficult because of how immobile you are.

Yeah. :/

I thought the combat was all right when I first played it. But after Dark Souls it's really easy to see how they tried and failed to replicate it. It's actually made me appreciate the combat in the first game a bit more. It's unique and it does a good job of representing how a Witcher fights. There is a huge disconnect from what you do and what you see in cutscenes in TW2. Really reminds me of JRPGs were the gameplay has nothing to do with the story.

 

[ShogunX]

Roll.

I've had the same issues. So far my strategy has been to roll around like a mad man and take a swing or two at a time before rolling again and only bothering with the block/parry once it's down to 1 or 2 guys only.

Roll and get the roll upgrade to roll even better.

Traps and Yrden also perform crowd control, and when things are crowd controlled obviously that lets you be a bit more mobile.

Axii can be considered crowd control too, essentially taking (at least) two opponents out of the fight.

Thanks for the tips. Have been rolling a fair bit but I need to get the Dark souls combat out of my system because I keep trying to just wade in when I get crowded.

Not really into how you don't always face your enemy even when locked on with RT. Like you can still run towards the screen and to the left and right instead of just strafing and backpedaling.

You aren't. There is no actual block - you're parrying and you still take damage while doing so. I rarely parry, personally.



Roll-dodge. You've got some decent invincibility frames while rolling, so use that to move around. When you're at a distance from a targeted enemy and you hit attack, Geralt will automatically do some sort of attack that gains distance, i.e. a jumping thrust or a pirouette (if you're using a sword, that is).

Do that while properly timing enemy swings, and use all the other stuff at your disposals - the various magics (Yrden is particularly useful), physical traps, bombs, etc. And don't forget about Alchemy w/ oils and potions.

Thanks. Seems like rolling is the way to go.

Also anybody else prefer the camera not following on rotation? Unticked both and I prefer moving the camera fully myself.

 

[Confidence Man]

can anyone in the pc version find if this is true:

Here you go:

Maybe lighting and fog depend on the time of day? I don't know why it's so foggy. These are highest settings aside from ubersampling. The mesh is improved at least.

 

[Moaradin]

eww that sharpening =X

 

[Izick]

I'm thinking of going hard-difficulty...

 

[Zeliard]

Thanks for the tips. Have been rolling a fair bit but I need to get the Dark souls combat out of my system because I keep trying to just wade in when I get crowded.

Not really into how you don't always face your enemy even when locked on with RT. Like you can still run towards the screen and to the left and right instead of just strafing and backpedaling.

Yeah the lack of Z-targeting is too bad. I think that would have been beneficial to the feel of combat.

 

[DTKT]

Here you go:

Maybe lighting and fog depend on the time of day? I don't know why it's so foggy. These are highest settings aside from ubersampling. The mesh is improved at least.

Is there a fix for the "grid" on the shadows? It's really annoying...

 

[Grymm]

I'm thinking of going hard-difficulty...

If you're going to do that do Dark Mode instead. It's hard difficulty with added enemies and items like armors and weapons that are exclusive to the mode on top of all the default stuff.

Is there a fix for the "grid" on the shadows? It's really annoying...

Nope.

 

[Zeliard]

If you're going to do that do Dark Mode instead. It's hard difficulty with added enemies and items like armors and weapons that are exclusive to the mode on top of all the default stuff.

lol, I thought I might have just been totally mis-remembering. I was thinking while playing "huh, I don't remember this many armored enemies" since I last beat the game on Hard around release time, but wasn't sure if that was a change due to Dark mode.

 

[Jay Shadow]

If you're going to do that do Dark Mode instead. It's hard difficulty with added enemies and items like armors and weapons that are exclusive to the mode on top of all the default stuff.

Dark is the equivalent of Insane, not Hard.

 

[Izick]

Let's say I were to go back to see the rest of the game, and the second time it would be on Dark Mode. What would you suggest for the first?

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Controller layout has altered a bit on Console.

-Left Bumper now pulls up the same menu(spells, meditation, etc...); Biggest difference is that you no longer need to push Left->then up/down to highlight requisite spell. Now you just literally move the analog stick freely to choose any of the 5 spells directly! Soooo much more comfy. It's like the weapon wheel selection in a game such as Resistance.

-Left Trigger is now lock-on. You hold it down to maintain lock on a target; camera locks onto target and combat basically plays out as if you were Z-targeting in Zelda. Circle-strafe, etc... Let go of trigger and the camera goes free-roam once again. Did not check if targetting can be set to toggle versus Hold(default). I imagine it can, but I'll check later. Toggle would help maintain lock while shifting spells/items.

-Right trigger is block, parry, riposte. No real change here.

-Right Bumper is item use.

-Y is magic, B is roll, A/X are light/heavy attack.

This scheme really should come to PC EE at some point. It's vastly more comfortable.

Goddamn it...why can't they implement this?

The only other REALLY pain in the fucking next is how they default the stupid talisman to the "L3" or pressing the movement button down. I'd be in the middle of a big fight and just cause I was really into it, I'd move in a certain direction quickly and fuckin geralt would stand there and grab his fuckin medallion.

 

[Grymm]

Dark is the equivalent of Insane, not Hard.

Insane mode has permadeath. Dark mode doesn't.

 

[Ghost_Protocol]

Anyone else had issues with the parry section of the tutorial on the PC version? I cant seem to get the riposte icon to pop up....

 

[squidyj]

eww that sharpening =X

this.

 

[Eusis]

Insane mode has permadeath. Dark mode doesn't.

He may mean the balance is the same except Dark goes without perma death.

And yeah, sharpening off. Good god it makes it look like a TV with sharpness cranked all the way up, there's no reason to do that unless your tastes are really bizarre.

 

[ShogunX]

Anyone else had issues with the parry section of the tutorial on the PC version? I cant seem to get the riposte icon to pop up....

Have to make sure you are actually holding up your sword in the riposte stance for it to show up.

 

[Izick]

Fuck it, I picked normal.

 

[Gileadxv]

Anyone else had issues with the parry section of the tutorial on the PC version? I cant seem to get the riposte icon to pop up....

I noticed I would get the icon before the parry. So I would hold the parry button, and the icon would flash briefly, chest high on the enemy as they were in their attack animation, and then I could pull it off. At first I thought you riposte after you parried, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Zeliard]

Fuck it, I picked normal.

You can always change difficulty mid-game anyway. Bump it up to hard if you find it's too easy.

 

[Jay Shadow]

Insane mode has permadeath. Dark mode doesn't.

Yes, Dark Mode is Insane without permadeath. It's not Hard mode.

 

[frontovik]

Enjoying the game thus far, and currently working on a Roche playthrough. How far is everyone into their game? Looks like the ending cinematic is already up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMlnNGubaeI

 

[Grymm]

He may mean the balance is the same except Dark goes without perma death.

Yes, Dark Mode is Insane without permadeath. It's not Hard mode.

It's still easier than Insane a bit though due to the Dark armor and weapons which are so powerful once you get them on top of the no permadeath.

I'd never recommend anyone go for Insane mode, but if someone wants to do Hard mode there's really no reason not to just do Dark and have the extra stuff.

 

[owlbeak]

It's still easier than Insane a bit though due to the Dark armor and weapons which are so powerful once you get them on top of the no permadeath.

I'd never recommend anyone go for Insane mode, but if someone wants to do Hard mode there's really no reason not to just do Dark and have the extra stuff.

I'm playing on Hard mode, but I didn't even see an option for Dark mode when I started the game for my second playthrough, post-EE patch last night. It only showed me Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane. Maybe I'm crazy! Oh, well! Might just have to do a third playthrough on 360 eventually.

 

[Zeliard]

What's this about those Dark mode weapons/armor actually turning the screen dark?

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I'm not sure if I'm going to play through this twice, so I want as full as the experience I can get

You're going to be missing a pretty good chunk of content if you only do one playthrough.

 

[2AdEPT]

no one answered my question about whether or not I could go into sneak (stealth) mode whenever I wanted...is such possible?

I did above in post 2523 but solo confirmed the easy shorter answer of "no."

I'm thinking of going hard-difficulty...

Dark might be better...I heard it is a bit harder than hard, but even as a noob I have been able to do it well enough to get the awesome armour and swords (not that much better but accessed earlier if you scrounge for supplies and orens.) Blasphemer set looks really good with bad ass studded leather from 80's heavy metal. THink Judas Priest. @ Zeliard: Some people don't like the foggy animations on the borders of the screen when you use the dark silver weapons though. I ahve to admit this is a negative, particularly at night or in poorly lit areas.

The deciding factor should be that it keeps the difficulty up enough that your late game decisions matter...otherwise even on hard the game trails of into OP land toward the end wth your development tree maxed. Traps will keep you from never gettting by an enemy, but it is more difficult to take away power once you already have it. THe game when too easy reverts to a mash x slasher...no creativity required.

 

[Treemonkeys]

It's still easier than Insane a bit though due to the Dark armor and weapons which are so powerful once you get them on top of the no permadeath.

I'd never recommend anyone go for Insane mode, but if someone wants to do Hard mode there's really no reason not to just do Dark and have the extra stuff.

I'd recommend normal or hard on the first run IMHO, the dark mode items are grindy and you miss out on a lot of cooler looking armor as well. Dark mode is really nice to add interest to a 2nd playthrough though.

 

[~Kinggi~]

You're going to be missing a pretty good chunk of content if you only do one playthrough.

Kinda funny cause whole areas of the game are blocked out depending which path you take.

Wonder how many will get the implication of that. Most people are so used to seeing mostly everything the first time through they wont even realize it.

 

[Zeliard]

@ Zeliard: Some people don't like the foggy animations on the borders of the screen when you use the dark silver weapons though. I ahve to admit this is a negative, particularly at night or in poorly lit areas.

Hm, seems like an odd addition. Clearly it's something they did for atmospheric reasons but it seems like it would muck up visibility.

 

[Sax Russel]

What's this about those Dark mode weapons/armor actually turning the screen dark?

It's really annoying actually. The sound and the visual effect effectively ruin the glorious presentation of the game. When 2.0 hit I did a Dark playthrough and I was =( the whole time.

But you don't have to! http://witcher.nexusmods.com/mods/221

The items are really powerful but the cost of the patterns, cost of crafting, and mat requirements are crazy. I don't even want to think about how many hours of arm wrestling it took. And aside from that, they don't look nearly as cool as the other "best" end-game armor you can get. I'm still doing a Dark playthrough of the EE, but I'm definitely using those modified xmls to remove the effects, as well as editing the xml containing pattern data so they all cost 1 oren and 1 cloth to make. I farmed once, once is enough! =P

 

[dreamfall]

Is it only possible to receive cooler armor on a Dark mode playthrough? I'm not much of a gamer for difficulty; I'm really excited about taking in the story, with some challenging combat. But I won't be able to receive some of the items/armor?

 

[Salaadin]

Act 1 side quest spoilers:

Spoiler

I just got that stupid tattoo from Hung Over and Triss disappeared. Does she have a hiding place besides the tavern? I cant find her anywhere.

Did this quest twice before and never had this problem

 

[Complistic]

Is it only possible to receive cooler armor on a Dark mode playthrough? I'm not much of a gamer for difficulty; I'm really excited about taking in the story, with some challenging combat. But I won't be able to receive some of the items/armor?

normal difficulties have plenty of cool armor. Dark mode has three sets of darker colored armor. Great for another play through but don't worry about it for your first one.

 

[Zeliard]

It's really annoying actually. The sound and the visual effect effectively ruin the glorious presentation of the game. When 2.0 hit I did a Dark playthrough and I was =( the whole time.

But you don't have to! http://witcher.nexusmods.com/mods/221

The items are really powerful but the cost of the patterns, cost of crafting, and mat requirements are crazy. I don't even want to think about how many hours of arm wrestling it took. And aside from that, they don't look nearly as cool as the other "best" end-game armor you can get. I'm still doing a Dark playthrough of the EE, but I'm definitely using those modified xmls to remove the effects, as well as editing the xml containing pattern data so they all cost 1 oren and 1 cloth to make. I farmed once, once is enough! =P

Haha you devilish scoundrel you

 

[Typographenia]

Nearing the end of Chapter 2, finally. I can't believe I didn't pick this right back up after I dropped it for school applications several months back. So good. So, so good.

Highlight of my playthrough tonight was wrapping up the Sackful of Feathers quest for Elthon.

Spoiler

I was not prepared for that, hahahahahaha

Found some pretty freaking awesome swords, and just in time! Seems like things are about to get serious! I'm helping

Spoiler

Henselt lift his curse at the moment, and going to run off after Triss once this is done. Assuming something else doesn't get in the way!

My game kept crashing to desktop when it would try to transition to the above mentioned segment, and I kept getting the prompt to download the enhanced edition patch. I caved and decided to just go ahead and download it... 14 hours?! AUGH! Why must my internet be so freaking terrible!?

I might just end up waiting until the weekend to download the patch or something. This is ridiculous. : (

 

[Grymm]

It's really annoying actually. The sound and the visual effect effectively ruin the glorious presentation of the game. When 2.0 hit I did a Dark playthrough and I was =( the whole time.

But you don't have to! http://witcher.nexusmods.com/mods/221

The items are really powerful but the cost of the patterns, cost of crafting, and mat requirements are crazy. I don't even want to think about how many hours of arm wrestling it took. And aside from that, they don't look nearly as cool as the other "best" end-game armor you can get. I'm still doing a Dark playthrough of the EE, but I'm definitely using those modified xmls to remove the effects, as well as editing the xml containing pattern data so they all cost 1 oren and 1 cloth to make. I farmed once, once is enough! =P

I use cheat engine for that. Same result, no hours of arm wrestling.

I'm generally against cheating in games, but situations like that where you get the same end result minus the ridiculous time sink I don't mind. No need to edit costs in xml, just take the ~10 seconds with cheat engine and give yourself the credits to otherwise keep the game pure.

 

[Typographenia]

I want an artbook

Just keep an eye out for it going on sale on gog.com, and get the pdf version! It's not the same, I know, but it's still something.
I wanted that artbook, but I couldn't bring myself to get the expensive version. : (

 

[Snapshot King]

I've had several full system reboots/crashes ( had 0 crashes in tw2 vanilla ), no solution yet, trying to redownload it all and reinstall.

I had just built a new PC after a little trouble with motherboard drivers and it honestly scared the fucking shit out of me. Glad to see it's just the game though.

 

[Z_Y]

Finished up Mass Effect 3 last night and picked this up tonight.

Slip cover, thick book, nice manual, map, soundtrack in a standard edition? What is going on here? Where's my day one dlc for a critical part of the story?

 

[Jay Shadow]

Act 1 side quest spoilers:

Spoiler

I just got that stupid tattoo from Hung Over and Triss disappeared. Does she have a hiding place besides the tavern? I cant find her anywhere.

Did this quest twice before and never had this problem

She's probably

Spoiler

waiting outside the gates to talk to Cedric, or at the Kayran lair if you already talked to him and forgot about it. I think Sile can remove it too.