Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

[Ingmar]

In other words, if the part someone doesn't like is how you swing the sword, it doesn't matter at all how good or bad the sword is.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Well does he mean combat or swordplay? There's a difference.

[Rasix]

Well, the sign casting and item usage is awkward as hell too.  Makes Skyrim combat feel elegant and responsive (mostly joking).

Take for instance the endrega (sp) queen fights in chapter 1.  There is nothing fun about those and it's largely just diving and running around like a goon, while you do pathetic amounts of damage (even buffed to the gills).  

I'm enjoying the QTE fist fights and arm wrestling more than killing monsters and shit.  That should not be.

Still, I'm enjoying the narrative a little more this time.  I have the same general gripe that I did with Witcher 1 (which I loved, so shaddup):  it takes forever to do anything.  I'd blame lack of quick travel.

[Mrbloodworth]

Don't even bother. He's already mentioned Metacritic scores.

And you think rolling around is the only dynamic to the combat. You do not need to roll. If you just run in slashing and mashing buttons, yeah, you are going to think the combat is broken. You will die.

[BLUND]

Still, I'm enjoying the narrative a little more this time.  I have the same general gripe that I did with Witcher 1 (which I loved, so shaddup):  it takes forever to do anything.  I'd blame lack of quick travel.

There is a way to speed things up a little bit, though you may not want to use it. Once you have the longer roll length upgrade (and possibly even before), it's actually much faster to roll everywhere than to run, if you can stomach how ridiculous it looks.

It's not just the combat that makes me repeat the 'roll playing game' joke over and over again.

[Paelos]

 

[Simond]

So in other words Paelos is bad at Witchering and therefore it's the game's fault because potions?

[Paelos]

If only I'd rolled more.

[Lantyssa]

They hate you cause you rollin'?

[PalmTrees]

Rolling all the time was a bit silly. As a expert swordsman and magically/alchemically enhanced mutant maybe i could parry more than twice? But my main problem was the targeting. A tiny shift in camera angle meant instead of the guy on the edge of the pack I was now targeting the center and Geralt was always happy to use his gap closer to leap in there and get stunlocked and die. Just dump the targeting and make it pure action.

[Venkman]

I'm enjoying how people are saying the combat at higher levels isn't bad because it can be cheesed by potions or shield rolling.

I've read the rest of the thread, but it all goes back to this point.

It's not "cheesing", it's how they chose to convey advancement. I found Witcher 2 pretty frustrating for the first hour or so, but something kept me coming back (masochism?). Once I got a handle on rolling, and then unlocked some of the middle-level abilities, it became enjoyable. I very rarely used potions outside of the mini-boss fights. It was the occasional Sign and all the rolling that got me through. I certainly had enough resources to keep making them, just wasn't interested.

There's a fluidity to the combat I haven't experienced much in most other PC games. It's kinda like what they promised for Assassins Creed 3, but that feels stiff by comparison (though not as much as AC2 compared to Witcher). Maybe feels similar to Arkham Asylum fights except the cinematic bullet-time parts. I'm sure there's a trove of console games with better delivered similar concepts in combat mechanics. But I don't play on consoles.

But it takes wanting to get used to it.

[Paelos]

Once I got a handle on rolling

I think it all comes back to this point, tbh.

[Rasix]

I debated where to continue this discussion, but we might as well just discuss any Witcher stuff here at the moment.

So, I'm a bit farther into Witcher 2.  I'm at the end of chapter 2.   I think I'll actually finish it.

My gripes would still be the uneven combat difficulty, how long it takes to do anything, the UI, and the system performance.  The system performance crap can be annoying, the game just gets laggy as hell at times even though it is not taxing my system very hard.

The difficulty somewhat tapers off when you get to chapter 2.  This may be dependent on how you spec, but groups of monsters are pretty manageable and most stuff just isn't difficult to kill.  If you go down the swordsman path, you carve shit up pretty well.  I wonder if whirl changes your overall animations, because the flow seems to be a bit better and you don't seem to be animation locked quite as hard.  Plus, you get a ton of survivability down this path as well. 

The rest of the game outside of the combat is pretty much Witcher 1.  The contracts are a bit more fleshed out, which is nice.  The side activities are trivial with the difficult QTEs off. The story and plot progression has been interesting.  Iorveth's path has been very amusing and I'm glad it had you choose a path that would lead to a differing experience.

There's a lot of room for improvement for Witcher 3.  The game needs to be playtested a lot better than it has been and these developers need to listen to what their testers are saying.  I don't see how a play tester signed off on the early game, some of the boss fight mechanics, or all of the backtracking and running around you have to do.  Perhaps they need to pull in the secretary or concept artist and make them play the first chapter. 

[disKret]

PS4 confirmed.

[Mrbloodworth]

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Debut Gameplay Trailer

[Paelos]

I hope they redo the combat from 2. It wasn't awesome, but I think they've almost stumbled across a really compelling character and store line that resonates with me in a way other IPs haven't.

[MournelitheCalix]

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Debut Gameplay Trailer

This is the only title from an established developer that I am in any way excited about enough to preorder...

[koro]

I hope they redo the combat from 2. It wasn't awesome, but I think they've almost stumbled across a really compelling character and store line that resonates with me in a way other IPs haven't.

Not quite what you asked for, but there's a new Witcher 2 combat rebalance mod out now, made by one of the CD Projekt devs.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Witcher 2 combat was not bad enough to make me hate what is a great world/game aside from it so yeah...3 is a day 1

[Paelos]

I hope they redo the combat from 2. It wasn't awesome, but I think they've almost stumbled across a really compelling character and store line that resonates with me in a way other IPs haven't.

Not quite what you asked for, but there's a new Witcher 2 combat rebalance mod out now, made by one of the CD Projekt devs.

I have my eye on that. But I don't know how stable it is.

[koro]

From what I hear it's pretty stable, but I worry about the overall balance of it, considering the same guy's mod for the first Witcher was an unbalanced mess, with nigh-invulnerable enemies.

[Rasix]

I've read that some people think it makes the combat worse.  Multi-mob groups early on are even worse, since your parry doesn't stagger and he tweaked the roll.

I'll buy this day 1, but I feel there's a 50% chance I'll hate some aspect of it enough that I put it down until the inevitable Enhanced Edition patch.  I have no faith they'll get it right on the first try.

[PalmTrees]

Witcher 2 combat was not bad enough to make me hate what is a great world/game aside from it so yeah...3 is a day 1

It was bad enough to me to that I didn't do any Witcher 2 replays, so unless I hear good things about the combat controls in 3 I'll be skipping this one at full price.

[Venkman]

I hated it at first. But then for some reason I went back to it a few weeks later. Once I got the rolling down, the whole game got much better for me. But yea, they really want you to WANT to like that game.

In the end, the balance between decisions, combat, gorgeous environs and story itself, 3 is a day one purchase for me.

[apocrypha]

Yeah the rolling was crucial, but also at the start you really need to use *every* tool you have - rolling, swords (the correct one too!), bombs, signs, potions for hard fights, etc. Once you get a few levels and some gear you can specialise more successfully and the combat actually gets simpler the further into the game you go.

Not sure Witcher 3 will be a day 1 purchase - it's rare for that not to seem horribly overpriced to me. I am very used to playing games 6 months after release now at 50% or more off.

[disKret]

Some new nice trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c0i88t0Kacs

[Lakov_Sanite]

"Killing monsters"   

[Signe]

I just now started playing Witcher 2 for the 360 because it went down in price and I had a coupon.  It's hard.  Even on easy mode, it's hard.  The combat, I mean.  I don't really have the controls down yet, but I like it.  I'll definitely get the next Witcher because I've fallen in love with the main character and I get to stare at his butt while I play.

[Venkman]

Yea I found the controls completely unintuitive after years of being trained by other action-y RPGs. But once you power through the learning curve, the game is very enjoyable. I loved it and the expansions so much Witcher 3 is a day one purchase.

The only advice I'd give is do not get hit. Avoid it by rolling a lot. I wish I had known that going in myself.

[Signe]

I roll all over the place and swing wildly at the monsters and I usually live very nearly all the time mostly.

[Mrbloodworth]

I roll all over the place and swing wildly at the monsters and I usually live very nearly all the time mostly.

Try blocking and Attacking during the openings. Rolling will only get you so far, and its really kinda wasteful. With a block and opening attack you can down anyone in one hit.

[Rasix]

I just now started playing Witcher 2 for the 360 because it went down in price and I had a coupon.  It's hard.  Even on easy mode, it's hard.  The combat, I mean.  I don't really have the controls down yet, but I like it.  I'll definitely get the next Witcher because I've fallen in love with the main character and I get to stare at his butt while I play.

It it the Enhanced Edition or can it be patched to that? I know some people don't patch games or even have their 360s online.   The stock version of the game can be a little brutal, but even at the EE, chapter 1 is a little difficult in parts (seriously, quit making excuses for the game, people).  Given that, only a couple fights (both boss fights) in Chapter 1 on the Enhanced Edition were save/reload affairs.   

My best advice would be level Quen up and spam that a lot.  Then focus on the sword abilities. That will help you deal with multiple enemies a lot better.  By the time chapter 2 rolls around, the difficulty smooths out a bit and you shouldn't have any further problems save perhaps the end boss battles in 3.  Another thing that can help is using stun if you find yourself in a tough close quarter fight.  A lot of humanoids when stunned can be 1 hit killed.

[Hoax]

I really hate the slo-mo stun kill nonsense though it totally fucks up the rhythm of the fight also no sex cards. Witcher 2 was for me much less of a game than 1, even though they had tightened a lot of things to reduce jank which I appreciated.

[Signe]

It is the enhanced edition.  I'm level six and the only abilities are in the witcher skill set so far.  I need more vigor or stamina or whatever the little yellow bits are, because, yeah, that quen thingy makes my life much easier.  I don't want to bother with alchemy, actually, so I'll probably just put points in swordplay and some magic.  I haven't read most of that stuff yet.  I'm slow.  And then there's mutagens... haven't even began to look at that!  I also have to find out where to change my hair because the half ponytail annoys me a little.  I was forced to wear my hair like that when I was a kid and I hated it.  There seems to be a lot to do in this game which is nice.  I'm not sure they made a Witcher 1 for the 360.  If not, maybe I'll pick it up if I ever get a desktop again with a proper monitor.  It's even taken my focus of of Saint's Row 4 which I get in TWO FUCKING DAYS GODDAMIT!!!!

PS  I tried playing "dark" because I wanted the special stuff but I can't.  Even saving after every kill, I can't get very far past the dungeon bit.  "Hard" is hard, too.  So is "normal".  You have no idea how completely I suck at this game so far.

[Mrbloodworth]

Rolling all the time was a bit silly. As a expert swordsman and magically/alchemically enhanced mutant maybe i could parry more than twice? But my main problem was the targeting. A tiny shift in camera angle meant instead of the guy on the edge of the pack I was now targeting the center and Geralt was always happy to use his gap closer to leap in there and get stunlocked and die. Just dump the targeting and make it pure action.

IIRCC, there is a lock on. May or may not help in some cases. I personally found Parry and attacking during openings very handy. Doesn't work as well with some of the monsters though, like the ones with unbreakable hits.

(seriously, quit making excuses for the game, people).  Given that, only a couple fights (both boss fights) in Chapter 1 on the Enhanced Edition were save/reload affairs.

Remember everyone, when you give game play tips, you are making excuses. When Rasix does it, its just gameplay tips!