Game difficulty - what do YOU think?

[kibou]

I think the problem with the balancing is not that the game is too easy/difficult, but that the difficulty level is very inconsistent throughout the game.

First problem is that there are some fights that are noticeable more difficult than the average, for example the ballista in the prologue, the Nekkar cave in Flotsam or the duel with Letho near the end of chapter 1. If the difficulty in average fights is right for you, you're likely to have problems in those, if you find those nicely challenging, you'll probably be bored by average fights.

Second problem is that the difficulty doesn't scale well throughout the game - monsters don't get as powerful as quickly as Geralt does. So instead of getting more difficult, the game gets easier the longer you play.

 

[Odinsauge]

I think the problem with the balancing is not that the game is too easy/difficult, but that the difficulty level is very inconsistent throughout the game.

First problem is that there are some fights that are noticeable more difficult than the average, for example the ballista in the prologue, the Nekkar cave in Flotsam or the duel with Letho near the end of chapter 1. If the difficulty in average fights is right for you, you're likely to have problems in those, if you find those nicely challenging, you'll probably be bored by average fights.

Second problem is that the difficulty doesn't scale well throughout the game - monsters don't get as powerful as quickly as Geralt does. So instead of getting more difficult, the game gets easier the longer you play.

I totally agree, an additional problem is, that you aren't able to prepare for some heavy fights because of long cutscenes.

The first fight against Letho would be much easier if you were able to drink some potions.

 

[RageGT]

I think the problem with the balancing is not that the game is too easy/difficult, but that the difficulty level is very inconsistent throughout the game. First problem is that there are some fights that are noticeable more difficult than the average, for example the ballista in the prologue, the Nekkar cave in Flotsam or the duel with Letho near the end of chapter 1. If the difficulty in average fights is right for you, you're likely to have problems in those, if you find those nicely challenging, you'll probably be bored by average fights.Second problem is that the difficulty doesn't scale well throughout the game - monsters don't get as powerful as quickly as Geralt does. So instead of getting more difficult, the game gets easier the longer you play.

I totally agree, an additional problem is, that you aren't able to prepare for some heavy fights because of long cutscenes.The first fight against Letho would be much easier if you were able to drink some potions.

Sorry guys, that is just the Novice Witcher talking. A Seasoned or a Master one may tell you that there is nothing easier than the Prologue fights, including the ballista, the Nekker's cave right off the boat then again and again and again, every now and then, for mutagens and farming some xp, resting in the top of the plateau in the middle of the cave for 12 or 24 hrs to have a new batch waiting and that, drinking your potions right before taking Iorveth prisoner to Letho and not skipping the cutscenes will still leave you with some 3 minutes on the timer, after you beat Letho, all these in Hard or Insane difficulty.

The Wraiths of Melitele, which used to be one of the hardest fights to my Novice Witcher on Normal and Hard diff (my second most viewed TW2 vid too, of my second playthrough) has now around 6 minutes left on the potion timer on Insane diff. I should make a new vid of that but I won't risk it because FRAPS adds a whole new challenge when I capture motion: 10 FPS for that fight is very dangerous on Insane! =)

Actually, there is not one single situation where the 10 minutes timer is not enough to last till the end of a combat even with the cutscenes cutting off some of the duration. All it takes is some experience with the game, really. I swear that I did suffer in my first runs, as much as anyone but after a few playthroughs, having greatly improved my tactics as a Witcher, all become really easy. It's just a matter of knowing what to do and there are plenty different ways to do it right too. I'm always trying new stuff, new builds, new tactics but always following basic suggestion that a 3/3 knowledge of the enemies give us.

And I love that there is no level scaling. What was though on the start should be easy when my hero evolved, like in any great Gothic game! A Wraith before level 10 should be deadly, at 11 should be a challenge and at 18 should be a lot easier. And the game will still throw some deadly challenges at us regardless of the level, as the game advances. Trying to fight head on the Knights of the Order or the Operator, despite our level, will most likely end an Insane run in pain and suffering! Still doable but with a very cautious approach. =)

 

[Anarki_Hunter]

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[Anarki_Hunter]

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[RageGT]

@RageGT

Died in Chapter 1, in the cave near Flotsam which is filled with Nekkers during first instance.. (the bomb throwing bug )

Was it Insane? Bummer! As an old Diablo 2 Hardcore player, I can only suggest you restart ASAP and your new char will feel better than the deceased. And do note that it is a brave thing to run like the wind and stay alive, no matter what! Gladly, in that cave we can retreat to a point where they do not follow. It's guerrilla tactics, hit and run and never ever get surrounded and never let them hit you from behind. Stupid 200% extra damage when hit from behind is a bloody killer!

 

[Anarki_Hunter]

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[phamvan94]

First time I played it I found the game to be very hard even on normal. But I missed a lot of things and my built wasnt optimal. Second playthrough was a breeze. Used more Alchemy (Rook + Swallow mostly) and did not die once until the Draug fight (which I still hate, although Quen + Aard are very effective). Chapter 3 was a joke. Once I got Addan Deith and Caerme I two shotted everything in the game.
Overall, I felt the game was fine. A bit difficult at first, but easy once you get used to it (and get better gear).

 

[blackrock]

Well, I've only played the game once so far on Hard difficulty and I have to say, it wasn't as bad as most people describe. I'm a seasoned player of the first game, but past experience I've noticed is of little bearing - everything is just so different. That's where my main problem was - the prologue saw me approaching situations the Witcher way, when all the combat system had become much more dynamic and "twitch-based". That's where I died the most. Chapter I was difficult in the beginning as well, especially the Nekkers in the cave and the group of Scoia'tael that ambush you around the lake if you make the appropriate choice in a quest. And the Letho fight was just a nightmare. But a nightmare that, ultimately, taught me how to play.

See, I think the biggest problem for most people with that fight is that he uses his entire arsenal against you - bombs, Signs, fast and strong styles; in short, everything which was pretty much exclusive to you up until that point. There's just nothing that can prepare you for Letho suddenly breaking your block with an Aard sign, for example. (something which caused me to restart the fight more than once) However, it also means that by passing that battle you're pretty much prepared for whatever the Wticher 2 may throw your way. And, true enough, I encountered little difficulty after that fight (setting aside the occasional screw-up on my part). I found out that I now had a new-found respect for dodging and the Quen sign which I had almost never used in the first game!

It was a drastic change in my playstyle - throughout the first Witcher, I had used mainly swordplay, Aard and the ever-convenient Swallow. In the Witcher 2 I used a lot of dodging and measured, tactical blows. I think the experience is actually quite different - it gives you the impression that you are this extremely agile fighter, but you have to play to your strengths.

To put it simply, after I got the grip of the new combat system, everything else was a breeze. The Kayran fight was tricky, you had to have good timing there, but the most annoying part of it was the QTE which caused me to restart a few times. I just couldn't make out what button I had to press, weird I know - considering I never lost a fist-fight in the game.

In fact, due to the nature of the new potion system I passed most of the fights without drinking anything. I just didn't know when to expect it. Or once I actually realised I had to, the area would not allow me to meditate. As a result, I passed most of the (boss) fights with only my trusty sword to see me through. The Draug and the Dragon fights in particular, I kept feeling that they would be much easier if I had a Swallow beforehand, but ah well...a few restarts down the line, I managed to see them through

All in all, I'd say that Hard was not particularly hard. I had a myriad of potions and bombs by the end of the game which I hadn't even bothered to use once. Something which troubled me during the first game as well. I now believe that I've missed the point of those and some situations would simply have been...different to say the least, if I had bothered to drink them.

 

[angrygamer94]

Normal setting was alright for the most part but some of the boss battles were impossible for me.
The point were i just couldn't take it anymore and decided to switch to easy was the first fight with letho.
I literally tried for hours but i could not beat him.

 

[RageGT]

Normal setting was alright for the most part but some of the boss battles were impossible for me.
The point were i just couldn't take it anymore and decided to switch to easy was the first fight with letho.
I literally tried for hours but i could not beat him.

Yeah, my first time with Letho was like that. Then it became quite easy. Everything works on him. Signs, Bombs, Block and counter... as long as we never let him hit us! hehe

(That's one fight which shows that potions duration are long enough. Drinking them right before talking to Iorveth at the ruins still leave some 4-5 minutes on, after the fight is over, without skipping any scene, even on Hard/Insane. But not on the first time, definitely)

 

[mrowakus]

The game is too easy on hard, especially later on, when you have specific build ready to counter every threat. Still, due to the bugs, such as clipping issues (gotta love how the character cannot jump over 30 cm high brick, and gets stuck) I was prevented from finishing it on Insane.

 

[kraidy]

It's not really that the game is hard as more that the controls can be unresponsive, dodging sometimes does not work and you are getting beat into a corner by four guys and have no chance. I rather fight a big monster in TW2 then a group of soldiers

 

[mrowakus]

It's not really that the game is hard as more that the controls can be unresponsive, dodging sometimes does not work and you are getting beat into a corner by four guys and have no chance. I rather fight a big monster in TW2 then a group of soldiers

Frankly, it's the other way round with me. The fights with the commoners are engaging, challenging and fun, once you get the hang of controls. It's the three main bossfights in the game that I find uninspiring and boring- roll, roll, roll, slash, cast quen, roll, roll roll, slash, quen etc.

 

[kraidy]

Frankly, it's the other way round with me. The fights with the commoners are engaging, challenging and fun, once you get the hang of controls. It's the three main bossfights in the game that I find uninspiring and boring- roll, roll, roll, slash, cast quen, roll, roll roll, slash, quen etc.

As I said, the big problem is unresponsive controls, not everyone has ran into to it but a few including me have and it makes group battles very frustrating.

For example, I tried to roll, but Geralt did nothing and got hammered into a corner and I tried to get away, but could not and got beat to death in a corner.

 

[Anarki_Hunter]

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[mrowakus]

Suggestion: get 2 vigor points, do not use Quen unless you need to remove fire, stop spamming rolls and use a lot of PARRY*

It will immediately make the game so much more different. (...most of the players complain saying that the combat is boring, but they spam quen likes its the mouse's left click for quick attack. When quen gets over, its GAMEOVER..lol..Irony..really now seriously, stop using Quen, its almost like noob tubes_nick for grenade launcher spammers or RPG spammers in COD which require no skill to kill)

-Edited for Dark humor!-

That's the biggest tree I have ever seen, the map can't be right!.

Hehe, you advice is a little wee bit impractical, my bro. Not using those in boss fights (especially, "roll, roll, roll" part) is impossible against keyran, draug and the dragon. Also, one of my gripes with TW2, in spite of its many undeniable merits, is that it turns into Roll Playing Game pretty quickly. Of course, it is as you say - that you can make fights more difficult by not using in-build features to your advantage. But what's the point? Did the gaming industry fall so low that you have to LARP to make the game challenging?

 

[Anarki_Hunter]

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[mrowakus]

Nice pix Still don't see a point in LARPing in a computer game. In RL it kinda makes some sense and can be fun...

 

[Anarki_Hunter]

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