A Short Witcher 2 Guide (No Spoilers)
Combat: Initially this is what you will have most trouble with when you start the prologue. This game is brutal for combat, you take 200% damage attacked from behind and you are often attacked by multiple targets.
- The AI, enemies. This is not a wussy game like Assassin's Creed series or Dragon Age series. The AI aren't imbeciles. They are merciless, they will constantly go after you in mass, they won't wait for each other. If there are 20 enemies, all 20 will try to hit you at once, there is no taking turns like there is in DA series or the RPG for wussies Assassin's Creed series. The enemy will parry and block if you attack frontal. You can only hit the target frontal if they are stunned or staggered. Even mages and monsters will block, all of them. You must flank your opponent.
- Instant Kills, how to get them: Instant kills are when the game cuts to a cut scene and you see a kill, beheading, leap jumps etc. But it's a free kill. You get these when you attack a stunned enemy. An enemy can be stunned from bombs or using the sign Aard. The enemy will them be cowering and highlighted in blue. Attack this enemy and you will see an instant kill.
- Combat description: This is not a Press a Button and Something Awesome happens lunacy from EA or Ubisoft. This is a traditional RPG hack n slash, you won't be doing Matrix moves that cause enemies to implode. This combat involves hack and slash. Your left mouse buttons does quick slashes. This is good when you are fighting nimble fighters or a lot where you just want to get a stab and dodge back away. The right mouse button does a power move, this will do more damage. If you are just going to bash away use this. If you are going to dodge and hit then use the quick slash.
- Use your signs: Use these. You will not survive tough encounters without these. The most useful is to use the signs. Press the Left Control Key, this will slow down the action and allow you to choose the sign you want. This will not pause the game, just slows it down, so beware. The most useful signs are Yrden and Quen. Yrden will create a trap on the ground, this will trap your enemy. This is good for crowd control if you just need to eliminate one enemy for a short time. This is also good for bosses. Now what you do is get space from target. Place the Yrden on the ground. And then stand behind it. You want the enemy to run towards you into the trap. This is good because enemies take more damage from behind, Yrden will trap a mob and allow you to flank them. Quen is a skill that provides you some defense. Self explanatory.
- Using bombs: Go into your inventory. Stock your pockets with bombs. Now when you are in combat, press the left control key. This will allow you to choose which bomb to use. Pressing the "R" key will allow you to use the bomb, hold it down and it will slow down the action and allow you to place the bomb where you want.
- Don't use block, dodge: You only have a certain amount of vigor. Vigor is used for your signs also which are much more effective. Blocking with your sword will use your precious vigor. Vigor does not regenerate fast even with the tawny potion. Dodge you press either the direction key on the keyboard twice or you press space bar. I use space bar. When you dodge you also want to flank your enemy. I always dodge the right or left of the enemy and then turn behind them all in a 1 second move and then use a power swing.
Save Often! This game is brutal as I said before. It won't auto save constantly. It only autosaves at the end of a quest usually. You will die in this game, and usually often. When you revive, you won't revive at the place you died, you will revive at your last save which could be quite a few moments ago! So press F5 after every encounter. Also items that dropped by chance from mobs will disappear if you didn't save! Greater Mutagens are rare, so save often if you don't want to lose it after dying!
Questing Hints:
- Merchants: Merchants will sell you items to help you with your quests. There is often a seller of Books in town. There will be a tab for Books, look through those. Those will tell you background information on monsters and locations or lore. These will tell best ways to eliminate, what enhancements like potions, weapon oils and traps and bombs are effective. For merchants there is a tab for Quest Items. Buy those.
- Participate in all the activities and vices: Now there is often a complain online of whiners saying the game is too short. This is because they just go through the main quest line and don't take their time. Don't be a whiner. Enjoy the game. All the vices and activities lead to quests that can help in other quests. Play Dice, find out who to play in every town! Arm wrestle in every town! Fist fight in every town! Often you will find in another quest you will need information or an item you need, but the character won't give it up unless you win in a fist fight, or a game of Dice. These are often just extras. For example you finish a quest, you can turn it in. But you notice someone has something extra, an extra bonus. Not needed to finish the quest, but if you can get it, you will get more rewards. Only a game of Dice will get that, but he won't play Dice with you unless you've made the rounds to prove yourself.
Potions, Alchemy, Mutagens: These can only be made or applied when you are not in combat! So you must drink your potions etc before doing so! Plan ahead. These can make a fight from difficult to so easy you think, WTF?
- Press the Left Control key when you are not in combat. Click the meditate option. From there you can make potions, oils. You can drink your potions etc.
- Mutagens: You can do this while you are meditating but not necessary. Press C at anytime and you will see a talent tree. On the later talent options, there will be only 2-3 of the skills in each tree you can mod. You will see a tiny circle, like a moon orbiting a planet (the talent). Mutagens can only be applied once! So choose carefully! Sell the normal and less mutagens, only use the Greater Mutagens, remember only applied once, cannot be changed later.
Dialogue, choose white before gold: Choose all the white dialogue you want to hear first. Often once you choose the yellow/gold the white dialogue options are gone as they the yellow/gold will progress the quest on to the next progression.
Second Play Through is Real and Legit! Most games you play a 2nd play through to try a different class maybe or to max out your character now that you know how to play. Developers will claim that "decisions will have an impact" but that's not true. Almost all RPG games with extensive voice acting are very linear and the outcome and the quests or all the same regardless of what you choose. (ME2, Assassins Creed Series, Dragon Age series, you are there for the ride, your decisions are meaningless, same shit happens). Sure you can play a dwarf, maybe a few early quests will be different but once you get past an hour all the quests are the same and the same thing happens. Gives little motivation for a 2nd play, unless you just want to play a dwarf and max the character.
- Witcher 2 has more content 2nd play through! The Witcher 2 has more content! It's like a 2nd game! If there are players who complain they played it once and the game was too short, all I can say it, they are morons, idiots and imbeciles who should shut up, stop whining and play again! There are some major decisions in this game. 2nd play through choose the other. I guarantee you will have entirely NEW QUESTS, NEW PERSPECTIVE, and a NEW PLOT!!! The plot isn't drastically different, but it's not the same and it's from a different perspective.
Everything in the game has a point and some relevance. The arm wrestling and the DICE playing are not just mini games. This adds to the game environment, this is what the people of Witcher world do, this is part of their culture. They also open up more options for quests in the game. ANYONE who claims they played this game in under 20 hours, I say they didn't play the game. They just steam rolled through on easy combat and didn't actually take in what CD Projekt wanted to convey. This is supposed to be an RPG experience and be immersed in the universe they created, based on the Witcher literature. So I believe, at minimum 50 hours with the 2nd play through, or you didn't play. You did a diservice to the game and I think, why did you even bother playing, go back to your Assassin's Creed and DA2 push a button and something awesome happens or kill another 3,000 players in BC2/COD!
Edited by ziddy123 - 5/23/11 at 8:28am
