[TW1][mod] Full Combat Rebalance v1.3 RC

[DelighfulMcCoy]

Inferno93:First off, please stop yelling, use paragraphs instead, they are much better to read.Second, I've been where you are. But I tell you, it's all doable with the right tactics. Read the documentation to the mod and read the journal entries, lots of them are rewritten and full of vital information.Regarding the ghouls. Did you use necrophage oil? Usage of oils is essential in FCR (forget Flash mod, it's completely different game mechanics). Also, now strong style is better suited for ghouls, causes more harm than bleeding, if I remember correctly. But you can't always execute the whole sequence right from the start because of your decreased health. Ghouls are deadly in the first chapter. Get two hits in, evade, attack again. Use aard after you inflicted some wounds. Don't go against more than one ghoul in the beginning, draw them out one by one if at all possible. Yes, even a pretentious witcher needs to be stealthy sometimes. Whe leveling up, read the talent description. You'll see that it is most important to build up your dexterity, then Geralt will dodge and evade much better. Without high dex, you cannot survive the game. Did you take the repel arrows talent? You need that for the echinops thorns.Which difficulty setting are you playing right now? If you chose insane right away, you might want to rethink that. But fret not, Flash has a potion for every ailment, in this case a difficulty change potion: http://www.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=27458.0.I'll be starting a new game on insane as soon as the final FCR is finished, but I already learned about the new features and finished the game once respectively with the other two difficulties.~*~regenscheinid you use specter oil? Very helpful. But still, group style isn't very helpful with the green critters. They are best served with strong style, but you can also knock them down with fast style and take them out one after another, that's quite funny.

 

[Flash]

Is it normal on insane, that Geralt can't hit the barghests with group style at the beginning of act1?

quote from FAQ, second post in this topic

Q: I can't beat xyz. I simply can't hit him.A: The value of the damage done is lower than the opponent's armour class. When the damage is lower or equals 0 the enemy automatically parries the hit. To increase the damage always use an oil suitable for the opponent's race.

Group style works very well with specter oil applied.This topic is full of tips how to play with FCR. If you find it too hard, play on lowest difficulty. Read FAQ in second post of this thread, skill descriptions in game, bestiary entries, excel charts in The Witcher folder and this topic. There are even movies on YouTube showing fights with FCR mod. What else I can do? Play the game for you?Instead of yelling, you could give us the most basic informations, like what difficulty are you playing on, what potions and oils do you use and what is your character build. If you are playing on hard or insane difficulty then I don't get what's your problem. Hard is meant to be hard, insane is insane. You're trying to convince me that this mod is too hard, yet there are players who find insane difficulty too easy.Keep in mind that this mod is not meant for everyone. There are warnings everywhere. In mod description on first page of this thread, description on moddb, download section on moddb, mod readme and during mod installation you can see this:

WARNING:FCR modification makes the game harder. If you find original game hard enough, you should play with FCR on NORMAL (lowest) difficulty with Easy Monsters option selected in installer or even resign from this mod.

 

[Amokhunter.916]

I know what he's going through...I played the game on hard, except for the Beast in C1 it was a walk in the park, grinded every now and then and came out the end somewehere around 44 i think.Then I was asking myself on which part the game was hard... (except the beast).So i snooped around for some mods and came up with yours. Flash mod is not my cup of tea, as it lengthens combat somewhat, which wasn't my intention, so i installed FCR and went insane, what the heck, i played the game on hard no sweat, this can't be that hard... well it can and well I'm playing on "easy" now with easier monsters and well it still is hard enough from time to time.The Barghest fight(s) in C1 are a nuisance on Insane, the first fight is more dependant on Luck than anything else, you do not have spectre oil at this point and even if you have made from memory (or looked it up via wiki) you're dead prior to applying the stuff to your blade. Running won't help, as theese buggers are faster than anyone and quite frankly, i can not really get it, people saying this is still to easy. For me, it was a reload session, nothing more and to apply oil according to each and every trash mos, that walks around was a touch too much for me either, after all, we are the kickass superhero witcher himself... sort of.Whats bugging me now, I do not get any silver talents, just bronze ones and they are piling up, because i can't use them up... is there anywhere a chart of how many talent points you get which lv? (Well, I used them now, on things I did not really want, but better spent on sword style than left on the bank...)I received 2 silver each lv for the couple first, i invested in Int to get to herbalism in order to gather ingredients to bew some pots, oils etc. then i invested 1 in each of the other stats (after all it is easy I'm playing on). Herbalism would be something to hook off on Int and hook up on your "special" tree with oil prep and bomb prep... one can not get very far without ingredients, but needs 2 silver points to "waste" in Int to get to herbalism. This was it in the end to quit my insane experiment - you force us to use oils and stuff and don't give us the means to keep a suffiecient supply of this stuff at hand - you need dex on insane and stamina to survive real bad, as a trio of Barghests usually finishes you, no matter what - Oil, swallow, bread, aard, I tend to use everything whats at my disposal... only to reload once again...So... is it, or is it not a bug that i do not receive any new silver talent on lv up? If it is - how could i fix it? If now, is there a Talent chart anywhere to be found, so i can plan ahead better next time?Could my point on herbalism please be taken into considerartion? I usually like games to offer a challenge, while giving me the means to defend myself - not just bash me down without any real chance.

 

[DelighfulMcCoy]

Look in your witcher directory, there you will find an excel sheet "Flash stats". That is a complete documentation of the mod in numbers. The talent distribution chart shows that you get silver talents only every other level, so no bug. You need to read that information before planning your first steps, because they are supposed to be hard. You just came back from the dead and need to put yourself together again. Putting two silver talents into intelligence is no waste, you need that anyway. And use merchants for ingredients. I know, that wasn't necessary with the vanilla game, but comes in handy with FCR. And, however bad you need the money, when you come across a vermillion ingredient, don't sell it, you'll need that before you can get another one.The first barghest fight really is a tough one, I give you that. I do a lot of running, quick attacks, letting the guards help and eventually it'll be over before you know it.I did a lot of cursing on my first FCR playthrough! I didn't want to be forced to abandon my usual tactics. But that's the challenge and the way the mod evolved, it turns out that it gives you even more choices if you just heed the vital basics. I first played FCR on "easy", but I went insane, sometimes I didn't know why I kept trying. Plus I've got a handicap, I can't use my left hand for moving, so I need to use the right hand on the mouse (no sidesteps possible), which makes combat thrice as hard and impossible without active pause. But when you make it in the end, it is so much more satisfying! I play most other games on easy to have fun and not get frustrated. But I am the biggest fan of FCR now, I'd never play witcher vanilla anymore. And I'm sure, Flash still remembers my whining and complaining, he must've hated me, lol. Once you figure it out and are in no hurry to rush through the game, it's very rewarding.

 

[Flash]

is there a Talent chart anywhere to be found, so i can plan ahead better next time?

excel charts in The Witcher folder and this topic.

FAQ

Q: Is there anywhere I can read the exact information about the changes in difficulty levels, new rules and the amount of talents, similar to howyou showed it in Flash Mod?A: (...) Charts comparing FCR, Flash Mod and the original version of the game are available after the installation in "The Witcher" folder. There you can find all the information concerning monsters, NPCs, weapons, armours and many others.

Please, I'm writing every possible info about the mod wherever I can but I can't make anyone read it. People are just ignoring everything that isn't gameplay.You don't need to tell me how this mod works. It's exactly how you describe it and it's exactly how it's supposed to be. None of the changes in this mod is random. It's not like I thought "how about I increase this value 5 times and see what happens". I've planned carefully every detail. Every value and dependency is calculated with all anticipated factors in mind. Insane difficulty is supposed to be the maximum possible difficulty.Why people feel obliged to play on highest possible difficulty and think it's meant for them? Then when it appears to be too hard they blame game/mod's authors.I'm openly discuraging players new to FCR to play on insane difficulty. I'm even discuraging them to play on hard since I advise every time to always start on easy. You are struggling on maximum difficulty not because it's too hard but because you don't know this mod's mechanics.Herbalism is not a waste. The game is balanced with herbalism in mind. Every character build, even pure swordsman is supposed to use potions and oils and invest 2 talents in intelligence early. You find it out of the place, exaggerated, too much to handle, too much to enjoy because Geralt is supposed to be badass? I'm Pole and Sapkowski is very well known here. I have access to all The Witcher books. I've read them all and this mod is made to be as close to the lore as possible. As close as a game can be.Geralt is supposed to be badass but not against monsters. He can best every human in a duel but he's is not a one-man-army. He can't handle fighting 10 people at a time. He can't fight multiple monsters surrounding him.

So... is it, or is it not a bug that i do not receive any new silver talent on lv up? If it is - how could i fix it?

It's somewhat offending to assume I haven't fixed a bug of this magnitude after 8 months since mod's release. It's not a bug.The first thing a modder has to realise before he starts working is that he can't satisfy everyone. Having that in mind the first person he wants to make happy is himself. If someone don't like my reasoning, feel free not to play with my mods. I've spent 6 months making this mod and then 8 months supporting it. Everyone who spent some time reading this topic knows, that every player's suggestion is appreciated and introduced to the game if I find it good. As far as I know, there's nothing left that can be improved what I haven't listed in changelog for final release.

 

[inferno93]

sorry for my yelling but i was very frustated that time.i am a big witcher fan i played the vanilla 3 times ,flash mod 2 times and now i play FCr on insane difficulty becuse i thogt i can handle it due to my numerous playthroughs.No offense the mod is very great,maybe i am not used to its tactics and game mechanics right now ,but i knew that a drowner can only be killed with fast style or group style if there are too many and i now realised that you need strong style.It is just confusing.And the other thing that confused me are the effects:when a monster or human received the bleeding effect it suppose to decrease it's acurrace and dodge values while continually losing its vitality but now when i hit a ghoul and cause him to bleed i don't see that he loses any Hp.The same goes with pain ,when i hit barghests and cause them pain i don't really think that they have a decrease in accuracy or dodge. Flash i use necrofage oils for ghouls and i didn't used specter oil on barkest because i was used in the vanilla that specter oil are just for wraiths,noonwraiths and other ghosts not for barkests(my mistake).but the thing i couldn't undestand was when i fought these monsters no matter how fast i chained my attack or how much cause them to bleed they kept hurting me(ghouls that hit me with their claws when i had my sword in their neck or barkets bitting me when i put my sword in their throat) and even if i manually dodge them by spinnig or jumping up they kept hurting me . ohh and by the way i want to ask you how do i use group style and which monsters is suited for ?because if i remember correctly group style is best used when sourrounded by opponents (and when i say surrounded i mean even in your back ) so if they are in your back they get 50% accuracy so what should i do because if i face all of them in my front i don't think i will hint them as efieciently?)MCCOY on echinops i use blizzard ,swallow ,tawny owl and igni (after i succesfully defeated the ghouls).i am dex lvl 2 ,intelligence lvl 2 ,str 1 ,stamina lvl 2 .I have a low dex cuz i thaught that because the dodge and parry bonuses being so low (5%) i don't need themand by the way i don't have enough silver talents right now Ohh and i want to ask you about the link you sent me about the difficulty potions i saw something about a mod about (medical problems for the witcher coming on march) could you give me some more detailed information about it?

 

[Amokhunter.916]

My apologies, it was not my intention to insult you.As usual, people that install mods usually start playing prior to reading anything. If they run into trouble they blame the author and quit or start reading some stuff about it, get the hang of it or quit and blame the author again, along with some insults. No, this is only part fun, but also there's a bit of truth in it. I was moderator in a Knights of the Old Republic forum and saw that kind of thing happen on a daily basis.That being said... i usually tend to read first, then go on about trial and error and after that start inquiring. I overlooked the documentary quite effiently this time and I'm sorry about that. The books are widely unknown in the rest of the world. In Germany they got released, but weren't succesful enough and disappeared over time - ebay was the only source that sold the books - and they have reached astronomical prices there - thanks to the game. Only recently the books are available at amazon for example, but i have not read them - but Iam intrigued, not at least to the game, but also due to the fact that you said that Geralt is not a super hero per se. So it is hard for most people to realise that Geralt is not - super badass kicks whole armies to dust - hero.I think I'll have a good long look at the talents file and plan accordingly. But you say 2 ranks of Int to reach herbalism is not misplaced - even at the start of the game? My plan now, with a bit more knowledge was to go for herbalism, then 2 ranks of dex, then 1-2 ranks stamina - upgrading swordstyles with bronze talents all the while.

 

[garram]

My plan now, with a bit more knowledge was to go for herbalism, then 2 ranks of dex, then 1-2 ranks stamina - upgrading swordstyles with bronze talents all the while.

Herbalism is not that important. Most of the ingredients You can buy. I would wait with intelligence and herbalism until 8 level. What you need first is dexterity (3 silver), then steel strong (1 silver) and stamina (1 silver). That's my way and I think it's good.

 

[Flash]

i knew that a drowner can only be killed with fast style or group style if there are too many and i now realised that you need strong style.It is just confusing.

You don't need specific style to kill an enemy. If you have high enough damage to bypass enemy armor you can kill any enemy with any style. All styles work on all enemies in FCR, it's just that they are not equally effective. You'll choose styles not because they are enforced but because one style kills same enemy faster than other. Btw. If you think that bonuses like +1 damage is worth next to nothing than check enemy stats in Excel charts. First level attack in sequence consist of 2 hits, second level consist of 4. That already means that you get +6 damage after 2 attacks, not +2. In FCR it often means that you'll need one attack to kill an enemy instead of 2. Time needed to kill an enemy is halved, time you risk being hit is halved, your chances of survival are doubled.

i hit a ghoul and cause him to bleed i don't see that he loses any Hp.The same goes with pain ,when i hit barghests and cause them pain i don't really think that they have a decrease in accuracy or dodge.

That's because necrophage type enemies have high regeneration which negates bleeding effect. Or if you look on it from different side, bleeding effect negates regeneration. Very useful thing.You start with 50 points in dodge and parry. Add to that 10 points from second level of dexterity and 10 points from Blizzard potion. Now you have 70 points of dodge and parry. Barghest's accuracy value is set to 85. 85 minus 70 means that barghest has 15% chance to hit you. Only 15%. Now it is very low but you know that every hit is very painful so ideally you want to reduce the chance even further. Bleeding and pain reduce enemy accuracy by 5%. So now barghest's accuracy is only 10%. The question is if you can notice the difference between 15% and 10%. It's hard to notice but the difference is big.

ohh and by the way i want to ask you how do i use group style and which monsters is suited for?

In FCR group style is a defensive style. Defense is always useful but it's not meant to kill fast. You'll recieve big damage penalties and huge defense bonuses. Of course there are plenty of possibilities and there are players who focus on group style as their main killing method. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8upSxDkRFQ4&feature=channelEchinopses use projectile attacks. Deflect arrow talent is very useful here. Also the best method to deal with plants is to burn them. Use places of power and focus stones to maximize igni power.Ghouls are elite enemies in Act 1. You shouldn't face more than 1 elite enemy at a time. Draw them out one at a time, drop their health to half and use aard empowered by focus stone and place of power. Wounded enemies are more vulnerable to aard effects.

it is hard for most people to realise that Geralt is not - super badass kicks whole armies to dust - hero.

Geralt is a perfect swordsman but his skin is as soft as human. Nobody has eyes around their heads. One hit from behind and he can bleed to death. He has higher healing rate but he's not a troll from DnD. Faster healing rate means that he will recover from wound in 1 month instead of 2 for example. When reading the books you constantly feel how vulnerable Geralt is, especially to mages. Perfect swordsman is still very fragile. Look at him like on historical samurai. Each battle can be his last, each hit can be fatal and when you least expect it somebody can put an arrow in his chest from afar.

 

[inferno93]

Flash the bleeding problem isn't appling only to ghouls.i'm now in vizima and fighting salamandra and when i make them to bleed i don't see their life dropping and i don't think they are as strong as ghouls.

 

[Flash]

Are there floating numbers popping above bleeding enemies? This indicates ammounts of lost HP.Btw. I've already posted a changelog of the final release of the mod few pages ago. I do plan to increase bleeding, poison and ignite damage but I can't make bleeding too potent both from balance reasons and because of logic. In real life people don't bleed out within seconds. It takes minutes or even hours depending on wound severeness.

 

[inferno93]

i don't see any numbers ,Flash I'm gonna pay more attention to see if i miss the because it may appear and disseapear too fast

 

[Flash]

Bleeding damage is a percentage of enemy's maximum HP pool. If enemy has low hp, bleeding damage might be less than 1 and thus won't appear as a floating text. This doesn't mean that bleeding is not damaging an enemy, you just don't see the numbers.

 

[DelighfulMcCoy]

Ohh and i want to ask you about the link you sent me about the difficulty potions i saw something about a mod about (medical problems for the witcher coming on march) could you give me some more detailed information about it?

Why don't you just click on the link in Coryleas signature? It's her adventure and on her website you can find anything there is to know about it.One word of caution, though: never try to play a custom adventure with FCR mod installed, unless the creator states that it is explicitly balanced for FCR (I don't think there is one, though). That is why I run another installation of the Witcher with Flash mod for adventures. Of course you can always uninstall and reinstall FCR, but be careful not to mix and match the game versions with the savegames that are supposed to be played with one or the other mod.

 

[inferno93]

Flash -i got it but now instead of salamandra thugs i fought wyverns .they bleed but quite annoying they bleed only for about 3 sec with values of 8 to 2 damage,but i had a very annoyng fight :each time i try to attack the wyvern he did damage to me even when my sword was just inches from his head or when it was a little space between us .i managed to kill them with aa king and queen bomb.but by the way if strong style deals damage and cause bleeding and group style focuses on defense and low damage then why do you need fast style for?because you explained to me that each monster can be killed with any style .so why to choose a weak damage style when i have the strong style or a defense style when i have the group style.Can you please explain to me the use of the steel and sword styles and the effects they cause like pain ,bleeding,poison because they are different from vanilla and flash mod.

 

[Flash]

Fast style provides huge armor penetration. It is meant for insectoids, ornitoreptyles and enemies in steel armor. You don't really need fast style until Act 3. It's very useful for wyverns and salamander with breastplates but they are not so tough so you can handle without it. When you first meet kikimore warriors and royal wyverns you'll want fast style and later there are steel-clad mutants - most dangerous opponents in the game (apart from vampires).Everything is explained in game.Quote from in-game tutorial:

Remember to always use the fast style when fighting heavily armored opponents. Chainmails, platemails, monster chitinous and scale armors provide excellent protection. Only hitting uncovered places ensures high damage.

Use the Fast Style to defeat heavily armored opponents. Fast, precise hits in uncovered, vulnerable places are more damaging then brute strength.

Bestiary journal entries provide information which style is the best for each opponent. Excel charts in The Witcher folder list every armor type and monster stats.There are 3 levels of each critical effect. The higher the level, the longer effect duration is. Every buff to critical effect increase the chance of higher level critical -> longer duration. Higher level attacks in sequence also has higher chance for longer duration.

 

[inferno93]

i begin to understand the tactics .i can't do nothing about parry or dodge because geralt does so automatically so i have to attack once and then retreat.still the bleeding is very weak because the enemies receive less damage.a minus would be that the monsters have a low health.it would be nice to make the monsters health very big like in flash mod to make fights longer and more exciting.

 

[Flash]

Bleeding damage is a percent of maximum health pool so in FCR it's equally effective to vanilla game.You should reposition yourself after each attack when you are fighting multiple opponents and risk being surrounded but when fighting 1 on 1 it's not necessary. Like I said, you shouldn't fight more than 1 elite enemy at a time. Draw them one at a time, don't rush to empty room in crypt locations. This makes multiple ghouls to spawn and attack at once. With focus on dexterity and Blizzard potion you can handle every elite enemy without the need to retreat (that's assuming you are not underleveled). Of course there are boss type enemies which are even stronger and might need additional efforts and tactics. Bruxae, garkains and cementaurs are all bosses.

it would be nice to make the monsters health very big like in flash mod to make fights longer and more exciting.

FCR is an alternative to Flash Mod. Flash Mod makes battles longer, FCR makes them more realistic. I don't intend to make from FCR another copy of Flash Mod.

 

[inferno93]

god i try to kill the fleder in vizima but it is like a god always regenerates and kiills me with 2 hits

 

[DelighfulMcCoy]

god i try to kill the fleder in vizima but it is like a god always regenerates and kiills me with 2 hits

If you're in chapter 2 and don't have the recipe for vampire oil yet, you cannot fight the fleder. It regenerates faster than you can injure it. You can only run from it or use the garlic talisman from Kalkstein to repel vampires. I think Flash said he would add the recipe to chapter 2 in the final FCR.