Extended potion time in Enhanced Edition?

[AkiA]

Extended potion time in Enhanced Edition?

I hated the short time of potions in the retail version and I still hate it and want to change it. What do I need to do?

Preferably 15 or 20 minutes without alchemy tree points spent. I hate it that you can't roam in the forest that long without constantly stopping to gulp potions.

 

[GODzillaGSPB]

At first - when I played the original release version back in 2011 - I thought exactly the same. It was only afterwards that I not only re-played The Witcher 1, but also started to read the books.

I realized that using a potion for a Witcher is not like having a quick drink. In the book "Blood of Elves" Geralt medidates, taking a potion and waits a few minutes after it takes full effect. Additionally it seems like he knows the potion would only work for the duration of the anticipated fight.

During normal encounters - and I believe that's what you mean by "roaming the forest" a witcher should rely on his natural talents. Only for fights that cast a larger shadow ahead should be medidate and use the potions. In accordance with the books and the lore.

So I disabled the mod I used back then.

I also believe that changing the duration with mods somewhat diminishes the whole alchemy tree. It makes the game so much mor challenging having to decide whether to spend your points exclusively on the sword-tree, or the signs, or the alchemy.

To exaggerate this a bit: If you want to have a perfect multitalent...you could also cheat.

 

[GuyNwah]

The "short" time (10 minutes real time) is actually longer (2-1/2 hours game time) than the time many potions last in TW1 (2 hours game time). It's sufficient for any of the significant battles; the only place I find I want to stop and renew potions is the Vergen mines.

 

[Corylea.723]

While the things that GODzilla and Guy N'wah say are true, a game is to have fun with, and if you'll have more fun with longer potion duration, then you get to make your own game have longer potion duration.

I hated the short time of potions in the retail version and I still hate it and want to change it. What do I need to do?

Preferably 15 or 20 minutes without alchemy tree points spent. I hate it that you can't roam in the forest that long without constantly stopping to gulp potions.

1. Read the Witcher Wiki's article Extracting the Witcher 2 files.
2. Follow its instructions for unpacking pack0.dzip.
3. Once that has been unpacked -- it'll give you a LARGE number of files, all of them in file folders labelled with things like abilities, characters, and combat -- navigate to the items folder and edit the def_stats_item_potion.xml file using Notepad ++ or something similar (NOT regular Notepad).
4. Put a folder labelled items in your CookedPC folder; inside it put the def_stats_item_potion.xml file that you've edited.

 

[AkiA]

Oh sorry Cory! I forgot this thread in the heat. Was too busy playing. I found an old mod on the witcher nexus which worked. http://witcher.nexusmods.com/mods/5 Oils didn't work though, (but since you could apply them in the middle of a battle it wasn't that important)

But yeah, I read the wiki about exctracting the files actually on my own, after getting upset with the game economy with Dark Mode and tinkered with them myself further.

And GODzilla, fine points. But the game and the book are different. In the game Geralt constantly rans into enemies and extended potions make the game more enjoyable, since you don't have to worry so much about where you do your preparations. Like the encounter with Letho: You know there's going to be a battle, but don't have to do your preprations in front of Iorveth on the steps. And on Dark Mode the game is quite hard, especially in the beginning when you have little talents and no DM-armour.

Plus I think the potion effects just run out too soon. I could descend in to a cave and the effect would run out before I had cleared it.

 

[GODzillaGSPB]

BTW: Did they change the standard potion duration in the EE, or maybe already with patch 2.0 (which I never played)?

I might be wrong, but in the release version the duration was 5 minutes for a standard potion (like Rook, or Swallow). Now it's 10 minutes without any investment into the alchemy tree. And of course without any mod, since this is a totally fresh installation. ^^

Wrong or right?

 

[AkiA]

Wrong. It was always 10 minutes. Oils were 5 minutes.

 

[GODzillaGSPB]

Alzheimer's.

 

[Corylea.723]

Since questions about HOW to do things belong in the Modder's Workshop subforum, I'm moving this thread there.