ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I'm really liking some of these quests a lot, especially how they go places you just don't expect.
The Warble of the Smitten Knight
The knight doesn't get the girl, which is cool. I also always love it when the "monster" isn't so bad.
Till Death do you Part
There's horrible noises coming from the cemetery! I'm sure this will be a horrible Bruxa or wraith or.. No, just a post-mortem martial dispute. :rotate:
Had a hilarious fight against a Grave Hag I think it was, and it was a Witcher contract
Had Exploding Quen slotted
She hits me right from the start because I was careless, gets knocked over, I stab her on the ground, contract over
I had a grave hag contract in a cave that I could just not beat. Then I used the freezing bomb, and she tripped and just staying on the ground. I watched for a moment to be sure, then walked up and stabbed her with a single shot.
I like to think this is how the real Geralt would have handled this.
Phillishere on
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
It felt really good because I got the idea after I read her bestiary entry in frustration and it included ice bombs in her weakness. Geralt being deadly because he's willing to hit the books is very true to the character.
Huh, on stage they said there were four deck types. Skellige, Monsters, Scoiatel, and I missed the last one.
I wonder if they dropped Nilfgardian or Northern Realms. When they said 4 types I assumed they left Skellige out, but then they named it.
It felt really good because I got the idea after I read her bestiary entry in frustration and it included ice bombs in her weakness. Geralt being deadly because he's willing to hit the books is very true to the character.
One of the things I really love about this installment.
They go in abit deeper on the whole monster hunter profession thing. Studying them, investigating, following their tracks and doing the alchemy prep work to make sure the fight is over before it began. I really like the way those quests are handled.
The weird thing about making Gwent an online competitive game like Hearthstone, is that the cards are inherently unbalanced. You get better and better cards as you progress, and some are just trash in comparison.
They'd have to do some signifigant redesigns to make it work. I like playing it in the Witcher quite a bit. Just got the "I Have a Gwent Problem" achievement the other night for finishing up collecting all the DLC cards.
There's some good mechanics and structure to it that can make it unique, but it's not remotely fair most of the time.
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
The weird thing about making Gwent an online competitive game like Hearthstone, is that the cards are inherently unbalanced. You get better and better cards as you progress, and some are just trash in comparison.
They'd have to do some signifigant redesigns to make it work. I like playing it in the Witcher quite a bit. Just got the "I Have a Gwent Problem" achievement the other night for finishing up collecting all the DLC cards.
There's some good mechanics and structure to it that can make it unique, but it's not remotely fair most of the time.
They're changing some things.
Seems like nilfgardian decks might be gone and spy cards function differently now.
It felt really good because I got the idea after I read her bestiary entry in frustration and it included ice bombs in her weakness. Geralt being deadly because he's willing to hit the books is very true to the character.
One of the things I really love about this installment.
They go in abit deeper on the whole monster hunter profession thing. Studying them, investigating, following their tracks and doing the alchemy prep work to make sure the fight is over before it began. I really like the way those quests are handled.
It's also one of my favourite things about this entry in the series.
Also that when you go to the beastiary there is like 12 different species of vampires, or ghouls, or elementals and such, where most games would just leave it at generic vampire, or a couple of different kinds of elementals.
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
edited June 2016
I feel like Roche should comment on it if you beat him with a nilfgardian deck in Gwent.
I think I'm going to reinstall this. I was intimidated by its size and scale and only got through the Bloody Baron questline, but... I think it's time to dive back in.
I think I'm going to reinstall this. I was intimidated by its size and scale and only got through the Bloody Baron questline, but... I think it's time to dive back in.
I think I'm going to reinstall this. I was intimidated by its size and scale and only got through the Bloody Baron questline, but... I think it's time to dive back in.
That sounds exactly like me a week ago
Blood and Wine came out and I thought "Oh, shit, I'd like to play that. Just gotta plow through the first 120 hours that I never played because Jesus that game was massive".
You can run the main and main side quests pretty quick if you don't get side tracked. The way xp works you won't really be in a deficit either.
I always felt like the true side quests were kind of apocryphal anyway. "Did you hear about the time Geralt slew that vampire?!" Or canonically happen after the main quest.
I think I'm going to reinstall this. I was intimidated by its size and scale and only got through the Bloody Baron questline, but... I think it's time to dive back in.
That sounds exactly like me a week ago
Blood and Wine came out and I thought "Oh, shit, I'd like to play that. Just gotta plow through the first 120 hours that I never played because Jesus that game was massive".
My total playtime so far has been right at 100 hours and I've finished the main quest line and the heart of stone dlc. I've done a good bit of the side stuff, but not nearly all of it (mostly what was around what I was doing at the time, or if I came across it on the way to something else). I wish I had turned on the "enemies scale to your level" option sooner, as I was getting a bit bored of one-shotting literally everyone for a while. At least now it's a bit more engaging. I've also just started Blood and Wine, so we'll see what else is in store for Geralt (I've tried my best to avoid spoilers).
I think I'm going to reinstall this. I was intimidated by its size and scale and only got through the Bloody Baron questline, but... I think it's time to dive back in.
That sounds exactly like me a week ago
Blood and Wine came out and I thought "Oh, shit, I'd like to play that. Just gotta plow through the first 120 hours that I never played because Jesus that game was massive".
My total playtime so far has been right at 100 hours and I've finished the main quest line and the heart of stone dlc. I've done a good bit of the side stuff, but not nearly all of it (mostly what was around what I was doing at the time, or if I came across it on the way to something else). I wish I had turned on the "enemies scale to your level" option sooner, as I was getting a bit bored of one-shotting literally everyone for a while. At least now it's a bit more engaging. I've also just started Blood and Wine, so we'll see what else is in store for Geralt (I've tried my best to avoid spoilers).
See, the points of interest are hugely important to me in this game because they're so good. I will most likely do every single one, so I know I'm looking at a disgusting amount of time before I'm even close to pushing the story forward. I remember getting to Novigrad and thinking "My god this is insane" because there was an absurd amount of "side" stuff to do that more often than not blossomed into something interesting and amazing. I want to see it all, every second of it.
One of the nice things about playing Cat Armor and fast attack is that you never get to the point where you can just tank combat. Even some random bandit with a poleax can take off 3/4 of your health bar if you let your attention slip.
where you come upon that slaughtered caravan and discover some noble's been keeping a pet Baslisk - the last of its species. He begged me not to kill it but I did.
Quest made me feel really shitty about it though. I was a little torn.
In the end I decided it was too dangerous. It had already killed a bunch of people. As the last of its species it was doomed to die out anyway.
And although the guy kept going on and on about nature's balance, there's nothing "natural" about these monsters. They're from another freakin' dimension!
One of the nice things about playing Cat Armor and fast attack is that you never get to the point where you can just tank combat. Even some random bandit with a poleax can take off 3/4 of your health bar if you let your attention slip.
That's why I run Ursine-chest and Feline-everything else.
I'm not going to deny a huge part of it is because I love how the Ursine armor looks, but I feel like you get the main benefits of the cat-school set while not being a glass cannon.
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
They said they aren't doing The Witcher anymore. Then they said that Gwent would have fully voiced story campaigns based around multiple characters, and Geralt would make appearances as an NPC.
I couldn't get into The Witcher for a long time. I could never push through the prologue, which is quite dull, in my opinion.
Anyway, I'm glad I finally pushed through because I enjoyed Chapter 1 immensely.
I'm in Chapter 2 now.
My questions:
1) How significant are my choices in Witcher 1 when importing to Witcher 2 and eventually into Witcher 3? From some googling, it seems that there it is mostly cosmetic (some characters will show up at certain times in the sequel depending on your choices in the previous game but it's otherwise not a huge deal). True? False? Anything I should be very mindful of in this regard?
2) What's the best way to use my ores. Should I start using them right away, should I save up for three of the same kind (e.g. don't upgrade until I get three meteorite ores/etc.)? Or what should I be doing? Right now, I have 2 red and 2 blue ores (no runes yet) from Chapter 1.
3) You can't carry around multiple sub-weapons, right? And dropped items disappear once you leave the area. Right?
It's been a really long time since I played the first Witcher, so it may be hard to answer some of that. I don't think there's a whole lot of save carryover from 1 to 2 beyond maybe some bonus gear you get if you created it in the first game. But it'll likely get outclassed quickly regardless. From 2 to 3 there's more narrative focused differences. The choices still don't heavily impact the gameplay of 3, but there may be some people alive or dead who will or wont show up as a result.
Not sure on the ore usage, but I don't think I ever found the sub weapons useful in any of the Witcher games even though they've been an option every time. I only ever needed by best silver sword and steel sword.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
What ending did you get?
Both Anna and Syanna lived in mine, but Regis was chased away by other vampires.
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
I couldn't get into The Witcher for a long time. I could never push through the prologue, which is quite dull, in my opinion.
Anyway, I'm glad I finally pushed through because I enjoyed Chapter 1 immensely.
I'm in Chapter 2 now.
My questions:
1) How significant are my choices in Witcher 1 when importing to Witcher 2 and eventually into Witcher 3? From some googling, it seems that there it is mostly cosmetic (some characters will show up at certain times in the sequel depending on your choices in the previous game but it's otherwise not a huge deal). True? False? Anything I should be very mindful of in this regard?
2) What's the best way to use my ores. Should I start using them right away, should I save up for three of the same kind (e.g. don't upgrade until I get three meteorite ores/etc.)? Or what should I be doing? Right now, I have 2 red and 2 blue ores (no runes yet) from Chapter 1.
3) You can't carry around multiple sub-weapons, right? And dropped items disappear once you leave the area. Right?
1) Choices don't make many big points except in the game you're playing. You don't really need to be mindful in this regard. The theme of Witcher is that you do what you think is best because that is all you can do. And if you play in this regard, and not worry about "optimal decisions" you will have a better time.
The only real thing worth noting is that dead characters can't make appearances.
Import items don't matter, nothing is good enough to worry about.
2) You can use them right away or save them. The best swords are, for the most part, all found. The best effects are pain, stun, bleeding, precise hit, and knockdown(and of course damage) and so the best meteorite is almost always the 3xyellow one. Which is actually competitive with some of the best drop/found swords in the game. Buuut also not crafable until the end of the game.
3x Red is a pretty good sword, probably much much better than what you have, and will serve you well into the end game but will probably be replaced at some point. It can be acquired as early as the end of chapter 1. 2x red 1x blue is probably better than what you have and will serve you decently until the end game but will almost certainly be replaced at some point. 1 x red 2x blue is better than what you have but probably not worth crafting in favor of 2/1 red/blue. You can't get three yellow until the end game so don't worry about it. Any Red/Yellow combination is probably worth crafting but you might prefer 3xRed
All of the rune swords are worthwhile except for 3xyellow and all red/yellow combinations with BBB, RRR, YBB, and RYB, being the best (for different reasons). A few of these are as good as one of the optional swords you can acquire but some are probably dominated. Might as well make one when you can. No real point in holding into runes.
3) No, you can't. And you can't use witcher stances with them either, so they're not very valuable outside of the early game.
Edit: The secondary weapons are almost always only good for special effects. Heavy clubs will fatally knock down barghests(unlisted) and so can be good for killing them. Heavy Axes can be good for killing humans due to the bleed but after you apply the effect you should change to your regular sword almost certainly. Daggers are better than axes as pain > Bleeding. Short axes are valuable for dislodging shields so if you're having trouble with those enemies they might be valuable. Maces inflict stun which is very good
Probably the best side weapon to hold onto is
a) Heavy Club in act 1. For Barghests
b) Torch in act 1. For Echinops
c) The best +Stun or +Knockdown weapon you can find. As these will set up instant kills.
Although it may seem counter intuitive, being bros with Siegfried does pay off in Witcher 2. While both the Squirrels and Flaming Rose are extremists, Siegfried is reasonable and can moderate his faction to some extent.
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
What ending did you get?
Both Anna and Syanna lived in mine, but Regis was chased away by other vampires.
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
I couldn't get into The Witcher for a long time. I could never push through the prologue, which is quite dull, in my opinion.
Anyway, I'm glad I finally pushed through because I enjoyed Chapter 1 immensely.
I'm in Chapter 2 now.
My questions:
1) How significant are my choices in Witcher 1 when importing to Witcher 2 and eventually into Witcher 3? From some googling, it seems that there it is mostly cosmetic (some characters will show up at certain times in the sequel depending on your choices in the previous game but it's otherwise not a huge deal). True? False? Anything I should be very mindful of in this regard?
2) What's the best way to use my ores. Should I start using them right away, should I save up for three of the same kind (e.g. don't upgrade until I get three meteorite ores/etc.)? Or what should I be doing? Right now, I have 2 red and 2 blue ores (no runes yet) from Chapter 1.
3) You can't carry around multiple sub-weapons, right? And dropped items disappear once you leave the area. Right?
1) Choices don't make many big points except in the game you're playing. You don't really need to be mindful in this regard. The theme of Witcher is that you do what you think is best because that is all you can do. And if you play in this regard, and not worry about "optimal decisions" you will have a better time.
The only real thing worth noting is that dead characters can't make appearances.
Import items don't matter, nothing is good enough to worry about.
2) You can use them right away or save them. The best swords are, for the most part, all found. The best effects are pain, stun, bleeding, precise hit, and knockdown(and of course damage) and so the best meteorite is almost always the 3xyellow one. Which is actually competitive with some of the best drop/found swords in the game. Buuut also not crafable until the end of the game.
3x Red is a pretty good sword, probably much much better than what you have, and will serve you well into the end game but will probably be replaced at some point. It can be acquired as early as the end of chapter 1. 2x red 1x blue is probably better than what you have and will serve you decently until the end game but will almost certainly be replaced at some point. 1 x red 2x blue is better than what you have but probably not worth crafting in favor of 2/1 red/blue. You can't get three yellow until the end game so don't worry about it. Any Red/Yellow combination is probably worth crafting but you might prefer 3xRed
All of the rune swords are worthwhile except for 3xyellow and all red/yellow combinations with BBB, RRR, YBB, and RYB, being the best (for different reasons). A few of these are as good as one of the optional swords you can acquire but some are probably dominated. Might as well make one when you can. No real point in holding into runes.
3) No, you can't. And you can't use witcher stances with them either, so they're not very valuable outside of the early game.
Edit: The secondary weapons are almost always only good for special effects. Heavy clubs will fatally knock down barghests(unlisted) and so can be good for killing them. Heavy Axes can be good for killing humans due to the bleed but after you apply the effect you should change to your regular sword almost certainly. Daggers are better than axes as pain > Bleeding. Short axes are valuable for dislodging shields so if you're having trouble with those enemies they might be valuable. Maces inflict stun which is very good
Probably the best side weapon to hold onto is
a) Heavy Club in act 1. For Barghests
b) Torch in act 1. For Echinops
c) The best +Stun or +Knockdown weapon you can find. As these will set up instant kills.
Thanks @Goumindong! That's a lot of detailed info, much appreciated!
Although it may seem counter intuitive, being bros with Siegfried does pay off in Witcher 2. While both the Squirrels and Flaming Rose are extremists, Siegfried is reasonable and can moderate his faction to some extent.
Both Anna and Syanna lived in mine, but Regis was chased away by other vampires.
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
What ending did you get?
Both Anna and Syanna lived in mine, but Regis was chased away by other vampires.
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
Literally the exact same. Because I'm no monster.
Both Anna and Syanna died in my game.
I think the decision that made things go south was either when talking to Syanna in the tower or informing Anna that Syanna was attempting to kill her.
The final boss fight has some real bullshit in that second phase, getting one/two shot is not my idea of fun.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
What ending did you get?
Both Anna and Syanna lived in mine, but Regis was chased away by other vampires.
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
Literally the exact same. Because I'm no monster.
Both Anna and Syanna died in my game.
I think the decision that made things go south was either when talking to Syanna in the tower or informing Anna that Syanna was attempting to kill her.
The final boss fight has some real bullshit in that second phase, getting one/two shot is not my idea of fun.
Syanna
To save her, you need to get her ribbon back from The Girl who Sells Flint
Anna
I have no idea how she dies. In mine, I told her about Syanna's betrayal, but I also told her to be merciful.
Without spoiling anything, I can say I have finished the main story of Blood & Wine and was not disappointed. I just got addicted to it that I stopped looking at side quests. CD Project Red, even without doing the Witcher anymore, have bright futures ahead of them. They are incredible storytellers and I'll be lining up for whatever they do next. Satisfying ending with a rich world I will revisit for years (a borrowed world and Character, true, but I think they did him nothing but favors).
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
What ending did you get?
Both Anna and Syanna lived in mine, but Regis was chased away by other vampires.
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
Literally the exact same. Because I'm no monster.
Both Anna and Syanna died in my game.
I think the decision that made things go south was either when talking to Syanna in the tower or informing Anna that Syanna was attempting to kill her.
The final boss fight has some real bullshit in that second phase, getting one/two shot is not my idea of fun.
Syanna
To save her, you need to get her ribbon back from The Girl who Sells Flint
Anna
I have no idea how she dies. In mine, I told her about Syanna's betrayal, but I also told her to be merciful.
Anna
From what I understand, when you talk to Syanna in the tower, you have to correctly guess her motivation and get her to forgive her sister. She kills Anna otherwise.
I couldn't get into The Witcher for a long time. I could never push through the prologue, which is quite dull, in my opinion.
Anyway, I'm glad I finally pushed through because I enjoyed Chapter 1 immensely.
I'm in Chapter 2 now.
My questions:
1) How significant are my choices in Witcher 1 when importing to Witcher 2 and eventually into Witcher 3? From some googling, it seems that there it is mostly cosmetic (some characters will show up at certain times in the sequel depending on your choices in the previous game but it's otherwise not a huge deal). True? False? Anything I should be very mindful of in this regard?
2) What's the best way to use my ores. Should I start using them right away, should I save up for three of the same kind (e.g. don't upgrade until I get three meteorite ores/etc.)? Or what should I be doing? Right now, I have 2 red and 2 blue ores (no runes yet) from Chapter 1.
3) You can't carry around multiple sub-weapons, right? And dropped items disappear once you leave the area. Right?
1) Choices don't make many big points except in the game you're playing. You don't really need to be mindful in this regard. The theme of Witcher is that you do what you think is best because that is all you can do. And if you play in this regard, and not worry about "optimal decisions" you will have a better time.
The only real thing worth noting is that dead characters can't make appearances.
Import items don't matter, nothing is good enough to worry about.
2) You can use them right away or save them. The best swords are, for the most part, all found. The best effects are pain, stun, bleeding, precise hit, and knockdown(and of course damage) and so the best meteorite is almost always the 3xyellow one. Which is actually competitive with some of the best drop/found swords in the game. Buuut also not crafable until the end of the game.
3x Red is a pretty good sword, probably much much better than what you have, and will serve you well into the end game but will probably be replaced at some point. It can be acquired as early as the end of chapter 1. 2x red 1x blue is probably better than what you have and will serve you decently until the end game but will almost certainly be replaced at some point. 1 x red 2x blue is better than what you have but probably not worth crafting in favor of 2/1 red/blue. You can't get three yellow until the end game so don't worry about it. Any Red/Yellow combination is probably worth crafting but you might prefer 3xRed
All of the rune swords are worthwhile except for 3xyellow and all red/yellow combinations with BBB, RRR, YBB, and RYB, being the best (for different reasons). A few of these are as good as one of the optional swords you can acquire but some are probably dominated. Might as well make one when you can. No real point in holding into runes.
3) No, you can't. And you can't use witcher stances with them either, so they're not very valuable outside of the early game.
Edit: The secondary weapons are almost always only good for special effects. Heavy clubs will fatally knock down barghests(unlisted) and so can be good for killing them. Heavy Axes can be good for killing humans due to the bleed but after you apply the effect you should change to your regular sword almost certainly. Daggers are better than axes as pain > Bleeding. Short axes are valuable for dislodging shields so if you're having trouble with those enemies they might be valuable. Maces inflict stun which is very good
Probably the best side weapon to hold onto is
a) Heavy Club in act 1. For Barghests
b) Torch in act 1. For Echinops
c) The best +Stun or +Knockdown weapon you can find. As these will set up instant kills.
Thanks @Goumindong! That's a lot of detailed info, much appreciated!
Although it may seem counter intuitive, being bros with Siegfried does pay off in Witcher 2. While both the Squirrels and Flaming Rose are extremists, Siegfried is reasonable and can moderate his faction to some extent.
Just keep in mind, it means joining the Order and sticking with it to get a reward. I'll spoil what it is. Expect your non-human friends to not enjoy for a bit, but given as choices don't really matter in Witcher 1, non of them hold it against you in Witcher 2. Unless you explicitly want to RP the whole "Witcher neutrality" thing, (which itself is something Geralt made up to ignore problems he doesn't want to deal with), there's no reason you need to feel bad about picking a side.
You'll meet Siegfried again in Witcher 2 during Act V if you go right up to the main gate. He'll vouch for you despite the rumors of you being a Kingslayer, and you skip a number of battles.
I've been sucked in to this game again. Gonna try and finish it this time and play each of the expansions. I'm about 20 hours in to Velen, still doing quests and contracts and stuff.
I think I'm going to turn on alternate movement, I hate the wide circles Geralt makes when I turn.
Anyone know if there's a cheevo for finishing the expansions on death march? I already have the one for the main game and I want to know if it's kosher to just turn down the difficulty if I feel like it.
Anyone know if there's a cheevo for finishing the expansions on death march? I already have the one for the main game and I want to know if it's kosher to just turn down the difficulty if I feel like it.
Don't think there is unless it's one of the hidden ones... but those are usually story based.
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The Warble of the Smitten Knight
Till Death do you Part
*nods head*
I had a grave hag contract in a cave that I could just not beat. Then I used the freezing bomb, and she tripped and just staying on the ground. I watched for a moment to be sure, then walked up and stabbed her with a single shot.
I like to think this is how the real Geralt would have handled this.
Feels kind of cheap but I love doing it.
It felt really good because I got the idea after I read her bestiary entry in frustration and it included ice bombs in her weakness. Geralt being deadly because he's willing to hit the books is very true to the character.
I wonder if they dropped Nilfgardian or Northern Realms. When they said 4 types I assumed they left Skellige out, but then they named it.
Edit: Ok it's Nilfgard they dropped.
They go in abit deeper on the whole monster hunter profession thing. Studying them, investigating, following their tracks and doing the alchemy prep work to make sure the fight is over before it began. I really like the way those quests are handled.
They'd have to do some signifigant redesigns to make it work. I like playing it in the Witcher quite a bit. Just got the "I Have a Gwent Problem" achievement the other night for finishing up collecting all the DLC cards.
There's some good mechanics and structure to it that can make it unique, but it's not remotely fair most of the time.
Seems like nilfgardian decks might be gone and spy cards function differently now.
It's also one of my favourite things about this entry in the series.
Also that when you go to the beastiary there is like 12 different species of vampires, or ghouls, or elementals and such, where most games would just leave it at generic vampire, or a couple of different kinds of elementals.
"oh come on!"
That sounds exactly like me a week ago
Blood and Wine came out and I thought "Oh, shit, I'd like to play that. Just gotta plow through the first 120 hours that I never played because Jesus that game was massive".
I always felt like the true side quests were kind of apocryphal anyway. "Did you hear about the time Geralt slew that vampire?!" Or canonically happen after the main quest.
My total playtime so far has been right at 100 hours and I've finished the main quest line and the heart of stone dlc. I've done a good bit of the side stuff, but not nearly all of it (mostly what was around what I was doing at the time, or if I came across it on the way to something else). I wish I had turned on the "enemies scale to your level" option sooner, as I was getting a bit bored of one-shotting literally everyone for a while. At least now it's a bit more engaging. I've also just started Blood and Wine, so we'll see what else is in store for Geralt (I've tried my best to avoid spoilers).
See, the points of interest are hugely important to me in this game because they're so good. I will most likely do every single one, so I know I'm looking at a disgusting amount of time before I'm even close to pushing the story forward. I remember getting to Novigrad and thinking "My god this is insane" because there was an absurd amount of "side" stuff to do that more often than not blossomed into something interesting and amazing. I want to see it all, every second of it.
Quest made me feel really shitty about it though. I was a little torn.
In the end I decided it was too dangerous. It had already killed a bunch of people. As the last of its species it was doomed to die out anyway.
And although the guy kept going on and on about nature's balance, there's nothing "natural" about these monsters. They're from another freakin' dimension!
That's why I run Ursine-chest and Feline-everything else.
I'm not going to deny a huge part of it is because I love how the Ursine armor looks, but I feel like you get the main benefits of the cat-school set while not being a glass cannon.
I will casually go back through and finish side quests, in no hurry to make the journey end.
Roach agrees with me ... since he never fully goes where I want him to anyway >_>
Still the best game I've ever played and probably the best expansion ever to go with it. I just can't think of anything that compares to this.
They said they aren't doing The Witcher anymore. Then they said that Gwent would have fully voiced story campaigns based around multiple characters, and Geralt would make appearances as an NPC.
I couldn't get into The Witcher for a long time. I could never push through the prologue, which is quite dull, in my opinion.
Anyway, I'm glad I finally pushed through because I enjoyed Chapter 1 immensely.
I'm in Chapter 2 now.
My questions:
1) How significant are my choices in Witcher 1 when importing to Witcher 2 and eventually into Witcher 3? From some googling, it seems that there it is mostly cosmetic (some characters will show up at certain times in the sequel depending on your choices in the previous game but it's otherwise not a huge deal). True? False? Anything I should be very mindful of in this regard?
2) What's the best way to use my ores. Should I start using them right away, should I save up for three of the same kind (e.g. don't upgrade until I get three meteorite ores/etc.)? Or what should I be doing? Right now, I have 2 red and 2 blue ores (no runes yet) from Chapter 1.
3) You can't carry around multiple sub-weapons, right? And dropped items disappear once you leave the area. Right?
Not sure on the ore usage, but I don't think I ever found the sub weapons useful in any of the Witcher games even though they've been an option every time. I only ever needed by best silver sword and steel sword.
What ending did you get?
Also, I really love the retirement vibe. You settle down, Triss shows up at the vineyard (or Yennifer I guess, if you're a monster), and it just wraps up so nicely.
1) Choices don't make many big points except in the game you're playing. You don't really need to be mindful in this regard. The theme of Witcher is that you do what you think is best because that is all you can do. And if you play in this regard, and not worry about "optimal decisions" you will have a better time.
The only real thing worth noting is that dead characters can't make appearances.
Import items don't matter, nothing is good enough to worry about.
2) You can use them right away or save them. The best swords are, for the most part, all found. The best effects are pain, stun, bleeding, precise hit, and knockdown(and of course damage) and so the best meteorite is almost always the 3xyellow one. Which is actually competitive with some of the best drop/found swords in the game. Buuut also not crafable until the end of the game.
3x Red is a pretty good sword, probably much much better than what you have, and will serve you well into the end game but will probably be replaced at some point. It can be acquired as early as the end of chapter 1. 2x red 1x blue is probably better than what you have and will serve you decently until the end game but will almost certainly be replaced at some point. 1 x red 2x blue is better than what you have but probably not worth crafting in favor of 2/1 red/blue. You can't get three yellow until the end game so don't worry about it. Any Red/Yellow combination is probably worth crafting but you might prefer 3xRed
All of the rune swords are worthwhile except for 3xyellow and all red/yellow combinations with BBB, RRR, YBB, and RYB, being the best (for different reasons). A few of these are as good as one of the optional swords you can acquire but some are probably dominated. Might as well make one when you can. No real point in holding into runes.
3) No, you can't. And you can't use witcher stances with them either, so they're not very valuable outside of the early game.
Edit: The secondary weapons are almost always only good for special effects. Heavy clubs will fatally knock down barghests(unlisted) and so can be good for killing them. Heavy Axes can be good for killing humans due to the bleed but after you apply the effect you should change to your regular sword almost certainly. Daggers are better than axes as pain > Bleeding. Short axes are valuable for dislodging shields so if you're having trouble with those enemies they might be valuable. Maces inflict stun which is very good
Probably the best side weapon to hold onto is
a) Heavy Club in act 1. For Barghests
b) Torch in act 1. For Echinops
c) The best +Stun or +Knockdown weapon you can find. As these will set up instant kills.
Literally the exact same. Because I'm no monster.
Thanks @Goumindong! That's a lot of detailed info, much appreciated!
Thanks @manwiththemachinegun!
Them's fightin' words. :?
I think the decision that made things go south was either when talking to Syanna in the tower or informing Anna that Syanna was attempting to kill her.
The final boss fight has some real bullshit in that second phase, getting one/two shot is not my idea of fun.
Syanna
Anna
Anna
Just keep in mind, it means joining the Order and sticking with it to get a reward. I'll spoil what it is. Expect your non-human friends to not enjoy for a bit, but given as choices don't really matter in Witcher 1, non of them hold it against you in Witcher 2. Unless you explicitly want to RP the whole "Witcher neutrality" thing, (which itself is something Geralt made up to ignore problems he doesn't want to deal with), there's no reason you need to feel bad about picking a side.
I think I'm going to turn on alternate movement, I hate the wide circles Geralt makes when I turn.
Don't think there is unless it's one of the hidden ones... but those are usually story based.