[GENERAL] Another question about difficulty

[jariff]

[GENERAL] Another question about difficulty

I know that the point of making hard mode harder has been beaten to death here and it might be a movable topic but as I see it there is a certain critical mass effect in this game that happens around the beginning of Chapter 3 (maybe earlier if you are better than i am ). While up until then you have to think about what you do, how you prepare, how you spend your money and so on, afterwards the game is really really easy. You have all the equipment you need, money isnt a problem anymore, igni is at level 4 and nothing proves a challenge anymore. So all the newbies are getting wasted with the beast but later on it starts to get too easy. Might be a good idea to fix this downward curve in a sequel.

 

[Gamewidow]

check Community adventures & mods eace:

 

[jariff]

I dont want to mod it though just yet.I am not quite through with hard, even if it gets too easy.but thanks anyway

 

[Murazor.235]

Hello board!Like many others, I was interested in playing The Witcher, but postponed my purchase when I learned of the Enhanced Edition. Now the moment has come, and I've finally started playing. First of all, to get that out of the way, I'm enjoying the gameplay, the world and the visual style. And that's without mentioning all the extras in the package! In other words, I'm impressed.However, I've heard many conflicting stories on what difficult it's best played at. I started on Medium, played through the Prologue before deciding to restart on Hard. That felt very satisfying until I go to The Beast, which killed me almost instantly. I tried a few times, but really, I didn't stand a chance, and I felt I had no choice but to go back to Medium. Of course, I later realised that I'd forgotten to get the Specter Oil formula, and I hadn't optimised my ability set, but anyway... I replayed Chapter I on Medium, got to to The Beast again and it was still really, really tough fight. I finally did take him down after many, many attempts, and I do think I'll do better against him if I try again. Couldn't get the knockdown trick working though; I tried using Aard to stun him, but he always got back up before I could pin him to the ground... Once I'd put The Beast to the sword, I made short work of the prominent citizens of the outskirts, and now at last I find myself walking the streets of Vizima trying to track down Berengar and and the Salamandra.Now; the thing is. Aside from The Beast, none of the fights even came close to threatening me, and I'm a bit conflicted on how I feel about that. On the one hand, Geralt is The Best There Is (or can be said to be), and it's only reasonable that few things can stand against him. Playing as the Ogami Itto of the Witcher's World has its appeal; of course it does! On the other hand, it's no fun if it's too easy! So what I'm asking is; if I keep playing on Medium, can I expect to carve though everything with no effort at all, or will there still be at least some dangerous opponents facing me further into the tale (no spoilers, please) Will talent placement matter at all? Will potions be of any use?To put things into perspective, I have played through Ninja Gaiden Black (on Normal difficulty). However,while NG:B was an immensely satisfying experience, it took a lot of swearing and bloody-minded determination to finish it, and that is definitely not the kind of challenge I'm looking for here. I'm a fairly avid gamer, but not ultra-hardcore. And for the Witcher, I'm looking at it as a story-game first and an action game second.

 

[username_2078226]

The Beast is a powerful foe, especially for those who don't approach the situation with a heavy Aard sign ready.For anyone out there starting from scratch, even if you are a gamer who plays a LOT of RPGs, take the difficulty screen's word for it, and play it once through on Medium. You can always go back when you're done and do it on hard then, secure in the knowledge that you already know how the gameplay functions, and how to effectively use potions, oils and (perhaps) even bombs.I started on Easy, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. The Witcher is still the only modern RPG I have played, and I even still play on Medium most days. I know I can finish it on Hard, and that's enough for me. I've faced that skill level, but (for example) prefer not to worry that Geralt will bleed-out before I can take a Kiss potion. And certainly, I can fight WITHOUT the yellow sword cursor, but I prefer to fight with it, due to my crappy lack of coordination

 

[Gamewidow]

I guess i'm a bit more arrogant than you chuckles ... i just couldn't bear to play on easy ... so my first runs were on medium (and like you, i find that medium is perfectly fine)I've now done about 4 (maybe 5) runs on hard, and while it does present more challenges, i don't think it enhances the game that much for me, so i'll probably go right back to medium after this run.For me, the beast was the only really tough fight (but the Koschey and Javed were also rather difficult on my first couple of runs). I'm also not the greatest for the old hand-eye coordination so my preferences may not be hardcore enough for you, Fredzor eace:so my opinion is that the beast is the worst there is (given geralt's relative skill/XP level at the time) ... all the other monsters are easier, which is not to say that they are all cakewalks! Many of the more "hardcore" gamers on this forum have complained that there is no real fighting challenge in the game ... there is plenty of it for me, and i also feel that the boss fights are not the point of the game, but rather some nice interesting features p.s. the coccacidium was also a real biatch!Edit 2: If you want no real problems with fights, be at level 10 by the end of Act I, 20 by the end of Act II, 30 by the end of Act III, and 40 for Act IV -- but that takes a bit of grinding eace:

 

[username_2078226]

p.s. the coccacidium was also a real biatch!

Indeed, I learned from my first mistake going toe-to-toe with this one fresh out of Act I. lol. Now long-range fireballs do the dirty work for me.

 

[Gamewidow]

I dive in there with strong silver and just plain igni (but with incineration, of course) ... but i tend to wait a bit, i don't go for it immediately when i get to Act II

 

[Murazor.235]

I've now done about 4 (maybe 5) runs on hard, and while it does present more challenges, i don't think it enhances the game that much for me, so i'll probably go right back to medium after this run.

Thanks guys, these are just the answers I needed. eace: I'll stick with Medium then, and play the extra episodes on Hard once I'm done with the main story.P.S: 4/5 reruns!? Wow; that much replay value? I had not expected that!P.P.S: I prefer the gameplay without the flaming sword icon. That was actually what turned me off Medium when I first tried it; looking out for the flaming trails just felt more immersive. I'd be happy if there was an option to disable the icon, but... I can live with it

 

[username_2078226]

I've finished the game 6 times. My 7th is not "in the books" right now, as I like a little variety occasionally when gaming.Once on Easy. Once on Hard. Rest on Medium. Maybe Hard next time? Who knows...Game widow has finished it a HUGE number of times, hence the Witcher Wiki, the Witcher gamer's ultimate travel companion. ;D

 

[petra_silie]

I played the game only 2 and a half and finished it twice... I think there is a need of catching up :teeth:I started on easy as well until the end of Act 2, didn't finish and then started once again on medium. In my opinion there are 2 trials at the beginning that is the Beast and later the swamp (first encounters with many enemies)...including the Coccacidium ;D If you passed these trials you learned enough about the game mechanics to finish the game. The rest is advancement.

 

[Laivasse]

Sorry for the slight bump, but this seems like the most appropriate thread for a few of my musings on the difficulty:I completed my first run through of the EE on Medium a few days ago. I found the difficulty to be comfortable; I didn't die often apart from in the notoriously sticky fights, used alchemy and oils all the time yet still had a sackful of potions left over by the end, and found group style to be a very easy method of turning a horde of enemies into a pile of decapitated corpses. With all that in mind I figured I was well prepared for Hard mode next time aound.So last night I fired up the Price of Neutrality bonus mission and didn't flinch from the harder difficulty when the time came to choose. First off, let me say that the talent distribution at the beginning makes things difficult anyway, since you're being asked to create a character build for a single side quest with no idea of the type of enemies you'll be facing. In the end I plumped for a kind of Everyman-Geralt that was kind of similar to the level that my Geralt had been at in ACT III or IV (where I'd had zero trouble with combat on Medium).Then I finalised my choices and jumped into the quest proper - and wow. Is this how it is in the full game?! Hard mode in TPoN is ridiculously hard. Suddenly a pack of 3 wolves is a huge mortality risk for our Geralt. Group style won't work on them either, since if the 1st chain attack doesn't fail then the 2nd almost certainly will. Not to mention the fact that the wolves are somehow smart enough to know that 1 or 2 of them should always circle around to the rear of Geralt and do so with absurd speed and tenacity, even appearing to ice-skate sideways along the ground in an attempt to get behind me faster than their animations will allow. Even in fast style, levelled to L3 - regardless of sword, and Geralt doesn't know how to brew Argentia in this quest - I need to go through the full chain of 5 or so attacks and more to even kill a single wolf. That's while his buddies are taking bites out of my rear that do something like 5% dmg to my vitality every fraction of a second!And don't get me started on the giant centipedes or the kikimore warriors - Geralt doesn't have the formula for insectoid oil in this chapter either. The combo of Igni + Patinado + so-many-potions-my-toxicity-was-sky-high-all-the-time was my lifeline, and it clearly wasn't good enough since I was cursing and seeing the 'LoL, you suck, Load Game?' screen all the time. I didn't even attempt the Royal Wyvern since I didn't want to end up chucking my laptop out of a window.Has the difficulty been ramped up for this side quest? I would think so if not for the fact that the lone Basilisk in this chapter was pathetically weak even without Ornithosaur oil, and also the fact that it's just as easy as always to send the heads of humans/bipeds tumbling across the grass with group style.I don't know... it could just be that my experience was spoilt because I didn't enjoy the quest itself much. The scenario is well crafted but the endings annoyed me a lot by appearing to reward the laziest moral stance. But the difficulty contributed to that irritation and had me grinding against the edges of the map in an effort to avoid monsters, an immersion-breaker that I never felt I had to resort to on Medium in the main game...Has anyone else played TPoN on Hard, and how does it compare to the main game? Is it just tough because Geralt is crippled by lack of skills/knowledge, or because of an artificial increase in toughness on certain swordfodder enemies? Or is it a fair representation of Hard mode...? If it's at all comparable then I don't think I'll ever be playing the main story on Hard, since it simply doesn't seem like it would be fun at all... and that's from an experienced RPG and online FPS player who's completed the Fallout and Baldur's Gate series multiple times.

 

[Gamewidow]

It's not the difficulty level, it's the module. Don't be fooled eace:Hard mode is totally manageable in the game, even for the less experienced gamers, as long as they are vigilant. Price of Neutrality has some very, very nasty wolves, wyverns and basilisks ... the archespores (or echinopsae, or both -- can't quite recall now) were also tough, but not as dramatically so ... and if you don't figure out the "trick" in the mine, then the kikimores are impossible (at least they were for me)so don't despair and don't *not* try hard mode based on that experience

 

[Laivasse]

Thanks very much for the reply. It's a weight off my mind, thought I might have been getting old/turning banana-fingered... :dead:

 

[tlazolteotl]

It could have something to do with playing it on a laptop ...I've tried TW on a machine that runs it (more or less) ok, and it's significantly more difficult to do stuff than on my gaming rig.Lag, in particular graphics overload lag, tends to happen when more stuff is happening onscreen ... and the situation is often therefore dire.I hate lag so much .../end rant

 

[Laivasse]

My laptop is my gaming rig ;D Aside from the micro-stuttering issue that others have mentioned (present on low or high settings) I don't have any problem getting over a steady 60+fps in most areas with everything maxed.If Game Widow says that the problem isn't Hard difficulty and that TPoN is more difficult than usual then that's good enough for me

 

[phoebusg]

I found the hardest to be the queen kikimore, because you simply couldn't kill her, had to be in the right place at the right time to collapse the tunnel on her.Reloaded the most times on that part.. started on hard mode.

 

[gzdnkh_]

To be short I've finnished the game on hard, been cursing because of the beast (a lot) but I don't remember too much dying afterwards. Character based on books: neutral, warrior, little to no magic.For The Beast, get lucky with Aard, or run in circles if hurt, using whatsitname swallow(?healing) elixir :-\ .Edit:Just finished The Price of Neutrality, yeah it's tough, been avoiding scolopendromorfs, killed only one (full health 1vs.1, healing elixir, and he nearly got me), but regular wyverns were easy, and queen wyvern is beatable (if she hits you run away till healed and use rubedo elixir along with the healing one, you can make rubedo cat)P.S. I'm Polish so I don't know how the monster&elixir names are translated/spelled in English.

 

[Gamewidow]

don't worry about your english Gzdnkh_ it's perfectly clear eace:

 

[danconnors]

The wolves on Price of Neutrality are definitely harder than the regular game. What I found to work for me was to draw them out one at a time. If that fails put your tail forceably betwee your legs, and RUN!!! Run back to the bridge where the other witchers are gathered. They, with you helping, will take out the wolves.