So, I got the Witcher 2 a few days ago and I like it.
It took me a few deaths to figure out that I should use the Shield spell as a matter of course. Sometimes though, I use Shield and I have plenty of time left but the Shield effect disappears suddenly. How come?
Is there a map to bring up a large map rather than rely on the radar map?
What else should a newbie know to minimise frustration? Right now, I just ventured north of Flotsam at level 6 and 20 feet from the gate, I got slaughtered by Endregas.
For me, I found it more helpful to deeply develop a specialty tree rather than spread points over a bunch of different areas like magic, alchemy, swords, etc. Don’t be afraid to run way from monsters and don’t rush through chapters too quickly, take the time to build up your character.
I’m not sure I remember the specifics, but doesn’t the shield only cover a set amount of total damage ?
Bombs. Make 'em, use 'em, love 'em. Don’t go out in the field without at least 10+ stun bombs in your pockets. They’ll save your hide time and again. Potions are slightly less noticeably game changing, but a buff’s a buff. The health regeneration one is meh, but you want at least the endurance booster on pretty much at all times, as well as oils/poisons on your weapons.
Also, the Aard. You gotta use the Aard. Pretty much the easiest way to fight a crowd is to repeatedly throw second stringers around with that Sign while you concentrate on one guy, dodge while the magic is coming back up, rinse & repeat. The trap sign is also pretty efficient against bosses, especially if you get to prep the area with a combination of it and regular traps before fighting a boss (e.g. the fight against the Endrega Queen)
In my experience, the Magic talent tree is probably the easiest overall, Sword is average and Mutation is pretty rough.
And speaking of Mutation: some Talents (usually those at the top of the trees, noob tree included) also unlock a Mutagen slot which you can put specific items in to get a permanent stat boost. You can’t replace that item ever again once you’ve done that. So never, ever put anything but top quality stuff that goes with your play style in there. Sell every low and average quality mutagen you come across.
Mutagen slots also mean it’s more worthwhile in my experience to quickly climb trees by putting 1 point in each skill you want then coming back later to boost the ones you like ; than dumping 5 points in a good talent before moving on to the next.
From what i’ve found, Act I is the hardest part of the game - your gear is inferior and you don’t have the skills built up yet to effectively fight the monsters you encounter. I don’t rely too much on the Quen sign myself - as the OP states, it’s gone too quickly, and it uses up more of your Vigor than it’s worth. The key to winning any fight is to watch the enemy’s moves - block their swing, and then hit them with two or three strong (right-click) attacks while they recover. If you’re surrounded, roll (double-tap the relevant WASD key) until you’re out of the fray, then wait for the mobs to come to you.
Take the time to learn the alchemy/crafting system, and acquire new formulae whenever you can - you’ll almost NEVER be able to buy all the potions you need from shopkeeps, whereas ingredients are readily available everywhere you look. It’s also much cheaper crafting new swords and bombs and traps than it is buying them ready-made.
The Aard sign is pretty useful for fights against enemies with shields, but I wouldn’t rely on it too much against monsters. The real key to any big fight is preparation - know what you’re going up against and potion up appropriately. Rook and Swallow are invaluable for any difficult fight, since they up your health regen rate and increase your sword damage, and Tawny Owl will help regenerate your Vigor so you can block more effectively more often. Blocking drains your Vigor over time and becomes less effective when your Vigor is empty, and you don’t regenerate at all while Quen is active, which is another reason I don’t use that sign too much. (Tawny Owl does however require fulgur, the rarest element in the game, so save those ones for when you really need them.) When fighting monsters with a poison attack, Mongoose is worth its weight in gold - you’ll acquire that formula for free during a major quest in Act I, though it ALSO uses fulgur, so don’t waste those potions. Use the appropriate poison on your weapon - Hanged Man’s Venom for humans, Insectoid Oil for endrega, Necrophage Oil for rotfiends, etc.
To answer the OP’s other question, you can use the M button to bring up a world map, but i’ve found that the world map in the game is pretty much useless - it’s too abstract and doesn’t scan well to the minimap, which is constantly reorienting itself to the direction you’re facing as opposed to the static minimap in games like Dragon Age or World of Warcraft. You’re better off looking up quest locations in a walkthrough or on the Witcher Wikiand identifying the relevant landmarks in game.
It probably goes without saying, but make sure you’re using the RIGHT sword for any particular encounter. Monsters are immune to your steel sword, and your silver sword will hardly make a dent on humans. You’ll almost never fight humans and monsters at the same time, but I can think of one instance in Act I where you do, so keep it in mind.
So I’m doing the Kayran quest. I got Ostmurk and made mongoose potions. The quest description is telling me to find some Ostmurk or go with Sile to fight the Kayran. I have found Ostmurk and made mongoose potions already. The marker is telling me to go to the Inn in Flotsam. I go there and the marker tells me to go to a corner of the inn where there is nothing. Is the quest broken?
IIRC, you need to talk to Sile, who’s in an apartment on the upper level of the inn accessed by the outside staircase. She’ll then make her way to the kayran’s lair, where you talk to her again to initiate the fight. (That’s another way in which the in-game map is wonky - it shows the quest marker regardless of whether or not you’re on the right floor to interact with the target.)
Side note - is there any real-world lexicography in which “Sile” is pronounced “Sheila”? I want to say it sounds Irish, but I don’t think that’s right.
It’s almost a classic boss battle - once you figure out the trick to it, it is relatively simple. Until you figure out the trick to it, it is miserably hard. I eventually got fed up with the damn thing and went online to read a walkthrough to learn how to do it properly. Less legit, but a whole lot less frustrating :D.
I made it pass the chomping of 3 tentacles and the quicktime event where you ride the tentacle. I get dropped on the ground and then it gets rather confusing; I have a few seconds to move before rubble gets dropped on me but no idea what to do during those few seconds.
That stymied me even with me having read the walkthrough for the battle - you are supposed to run up to its head over the ramp the fallen stone has formed or something like that. It’s completely, bafflingly obscure IMO, especially with the rapid-fire rubble spam you get forcing you to either act quickly or to cower in a shelter.
Stupid fight. Though not as stupid as the very last one, that was just ridiculous.
The Kayran was frustrating but interesting, I figured out what I needed to do, but just couldn’t quite get through all the pieces without losing too much life for a whole bunch of tries. However just a bit later…
I can’t even really scratch Letho. It’s so much more straightforward than the kayran, but he just does everything I do much better than me and is 10 times as tough.I am thinking I may have been a little poos on character development, kind of all over the place, and no particular strength.
Weird. I had no problem with that fight, wolfman. Then again, I specced almost fully sword with some points to get a more powerful shield that vents damage to enemies and that spec worked well in that fight.
You can always switch to easy if a fight frustrates you, then switch back to whatever difficulty you normally play on. I did that for the final fight after dying maybe 15 times in 30+ minutes.
Letho is a tricky fight. The trick is to hit him RIGHT AWAY with a bomb or an Aard so he can’t throw up his Quen sign (which lasts a LOT longer than yours), then pound him with strong attacks whenever you see an opening. Don’t try to block until you see him swing - if you block too long, he’ll throw an Aard at you while you’re down. If your health is too low, start evading and rolling around the room until you can bring it back up. You don’t need to drain his entire life bar - once he gets to about 25% the plot will progress.
The main times you’ll want to use quick attacks are against fast-moving monsters like nekkers which can dodge a strong attack, or against humans without shields who can easily be stunlocked by quick-hitting them over and over. Against enemies that can block effectively, you want every swing to count, so stick with strong attacks.
Have you done the stealth sequence at Letho’s house yet? That should lead you to a scene on the prison barge, then to an interlude at an elven ruin and a pretty explicit sex scene after which the plot will advance.
The hospital is an optional quest - you don’t need to finish it to advance the plot. It’s worth it, though - it’s got a pretty plot-relevant twist in the end, in that The madwoman who the two researchers raped turns out to have been Letho’s mother.
Yes. Stuff is expensive throughout the game, and you’ll never be able to sell anything for more than a fraction of its value. To get ahead you need to be a total klepto - there are coins and alchemy ingredients lying ALL OVER THE PLACE in towns and settlements, and it’s a lot cheaper to buy a crafting diagram and then have a sword made for you than it is to buy the sword ready-made from the same merchant.
I can hear environmental sounds like walking and door opening. I can hear music. But I only seldom hear characters speak. Whether it’s a character speaking to me within a discussion or characters talking among themselves, I see the subtitle but I don’t hear the sound. I made sure that all three sliders are high in the sound menu. What could be causing this?
If you don’t have a 5.1 speaker system, look in the options if the game’s sound is set for that rather than headphones/2 speakers. Either in the game or in windows/your sound card’s properties.