Earning xp in TW2

[not_slimgrin]

Earning xp in TW2

Earning XP. I love doing it. But I love when it's creatively implemented. The reason is, leveling and building your character is the strategic part of an RPG, and to me it's as important as the story. It's the gameplay part. So I'm wondering what people think of the level progression system in TW2; the way we earn xp, is it creatively implemented or does it seem artificial, etc. One of the reasons I'm asking is I'm forced to play at a low resolution which renders the combat log almost unreadable. I'm rarely aware of how I'm earning xp, if it varies with my tactics and what not. Plus, I'm too busy killing to even take a glance at it, which is why I would want the stat results of the last 20 fights or so stored in the journal. This was a CRPG convention of yore.

Also, ideas on how to make it better/different are welcome.

 

[soldiergeralt]

they have no bearing on my enjoyment of the game.

 

[dragonbird]

I must admit, I would have preferred it to be easier to see what XP I'm getting, especially as it tends to fall off quite rapidly. I'd like to see that log too.

You actually get very little for monsters after a while, but my favourite "grinding" is in Chapter 2 Roche, where you can go up quite quickly by spending a few nights going for the Rottfiends outside the camp, as long as you don't start burning bodies. I also usually farm endregas in Chapter 1, but that's more for the saliva than for XP.

I have mixed feelings about the way they implemented the whole levelling/grinding thing. I don't like games that handle balancing by levelling up the monsters to compensate for you levelling "too fast", nor do I like the other extreme, where it becomes too easy if you get to high levels too quickly. (TW1 is a bit guilty of this).

On the other hand, I enjoy grinding to a certain extent, so I do wish that they had given a little more opportunity (and benefit) to doing so in TW2.

My absolute favourite grinding location in the Witcher games is the Crypt in the Fields in Chapter 4 of TW1. That's a fun place to fight.

 

[not_slimgrin]

Regarding battles, I'm of the opinion xp should be contingent on how well we fight, not just the enemy we kill. The system should be dynamic. Although I admit this might be somewhat difficult to implement in TW2.

 

[dragonbird]

Regarding battles, I'm of the opinion xp should be contingent on how well we fight, not just the enemy we kill. The system should be dynamic. Although I admit this might be somewhat difficult to implement in TW2.

I agree in principle, but that would start a lot of discussions about what defines "how well we fight". Number of strokes taken? The problem that I could see is that it may discourage creative fighting, like when you draw one kind of monster into the battle to help you fight another, or use of traps/bombs. If someone (or somecritter) assists in the kill, should that increase or decrease the amount of XP? What about the difference between assistance from an NPC ally who is "guaranteed" to be there, compared to a monster that you've had to drag into position? Should you get extra credit for good strategy, or down-marked for laziness, if you let your companion hold off 10 bad guys on their own while you pick off the outliers one at a time?

In terms of TW2
- it's too easy to top-out on Iorveth path.
- even on Roche path, you end on around 32-33 without grinding, which is more than enough for the final battles.
- you get no XP for many monsters by the time you're well into Chapter 2.

I don't see any real need to increase the top level, although I know that some people do like playing with over-powerful characters, so I think I would have preferred a bit less quest XP in Chapter 2, and more potential for monster XP. (The amount of side-quest XP you can get near the end of Chapter 2 on Iorveth path is excessive)

 

[4ad]

Combat and not quest related xp will be less hand holding but the game in well balanced already as it is plus realism wise Geralt can not become the god of war by killing a million harpes .