Restarting on Hard Mode, lots of questions.

[dragonbird]

Yup, that's a bomb fight. I like Rage (Or is it Fury? One's the trap, the other the bomb). Throw one when a new wraith materialises, watch it kill its friends, rinse and repeat. I still usually screw up and die a few times though. But remember you won't get as much XP at Level 12. And yes, the reward's nothing special, it's the fight that's important.

I'm not sure you can actually grind them at the asylum? I wasn't aware they respawned.

 

[Sardukhar]

(Posting because I saw Dragon post about bombs and I just finished W2 on DarK0

SO many bomb fights. Don't trust Rage, though. Unreliable. My go-to was Dragon's Dream followed by Igni. SOmetimes a simple but effective frag grenade, name I can't remember, did like 4-60 damage.

Make sure you upgrade bombs to do 100% more damage. Traps also rock.

I can't say enough good things about increased rolliung distance, especially versus Wraiths. Yrden, too. Try to isolate before killing.

 

[Foxhound3857]

(Posting because I saw Dragon post about bombs and I just finished W2 on DarK0

SO many bomb fights. Don't trust Rage, though. Unreliable. My go-to was Dragon's Dream followed by Igni. SOmetimes a simple but effective frag grenade, name I can't remember, did like 4-60 damage.

Make sure you upgrade bombs to do 100% more damage. Traps also rock.

I can't say enough good things about increased rolliung distance, especially versus Wraiths. Yrden, too. Try to isolate before killing.

I made about 30 of each of the following:

Grapeshot
Dancing Star
Zerrakanium Sun
Devil's Puffball
Red Haze

All 5 are on my quickslots depending on what is needed. Devil's Puffball might be the only regrettable one but the other four have been highly useful in one way or another. I might replae Puffball with whatever the flare bomb is called so I can completely ditch Cat potions.

Besides that, now I'm trying to make at least 50 of each potion I intend to use after Catalysis 2 (Swallow, Gadwall, Virga) and 10 of each damage-increasing oil. Then to farm enough materials to make more if I need them before I hop into Chapter 2.

I'm STARVING for Caelum (off Byronie) and Aether (I can NEVER find Scleroderm in the forest, only Cortinarius, what the hell?).

 

[dragonbird]

I made about 30 of each of the following:

Grapeshot
Dancing Star
Zerrakanium Sun
Devil's Puffball
Red Haze

All 5 are on my quickslots depending on what is needed. Devil's Puffball might be the only regrettable one but the other four have been highly useful in one way or another. I might replae Puffball with whatever the flare bomb is called so I can completely ditch Cat potions.

Besides that, now I'm trying to make at least 50 of each potion I intend to use after Catalysis 2 (Swallow, Gadwall, Virga) and 10 of each damage-increasing oil. Then to farm enough materials to make more if I need them before I hop into Chapter 2.

I'm STARVING for Caelum (off Byronie) and Aether (I can NEVER find Scleroderm in the forest, only Cortinarius, what the hell?).

Aether is always a problem in the first Act. It becomes a lot more available in Act II because you can get it from a monster part. If you're running out, Anezka sells it and it's cheap. She restocks every time you leave the area.
Caelum - don't you have a lot of endrega venom? It's usable. Alternatively, you'd need to make a few trips to the caves for Bryonia. Again though, it'll be common in Act II

 

[Garrison72]

A suggestion:
2 points into Riposte. The critical hits on Riposte are one of the best features of the game's swordplay.
Ignore Footwork. Geralt dodges fast enough without it.
2 points into Alchemist instead of Synthesis and Potion duration.Then throw bombs for double damage.

---------- Updated at 11:07 PM ----------

Spoiler

There are times you must fight without any chance to use potions. Basic swordsmanship skills, especially Riposte, pay off at these times.

I used to think the same about footwork, but putting at least one point in means less dodging overall. In my last two runs I couldn't believe i was neglecting it, frankly. It puts space between you and danger faster than you think.

 

[Lieste]

Aether is always a problem in the first Act. It becomes a lot more available in Act II because you can get it from a monster part. If you're running out, Abigail sells it and it's cheap. She restocks every time you leave the area.
Caelum - don't you have a lot of endrega venom? It's usable. Alternatively, you'd need to make a few trips to the caves for Bryonia. Again though, it'll be common in Act II

Anezka rather than Abigail?

 

[dragonbird]

Anezka rather than Abigail?

Would you believe I actually paused before typing it to check mentally if I had the right one?
Thanks. Fixed.

 

[Goodmongo]

There are many ways to play the game. Some people love quen, some love daggers and others love bombs. Some love magic and others love swords. But here are some tips that I've learned by playing W2 many times.

Choose Quen or Aard. Quen lets you stay closer to the combat just a little longer while Aard is more offensive as it sometimes allows an instant kill. But no matter what build always get the upgraded version to impact more than one mob. Of course Aard is easier to do this and still allow you to go alchemy or swords.

Feetwork is a must no matter what. You need to roll and get some distance. This is probably the only absolutely must have skill.

Daggers are nice but they are expensive as you have to craft them. Bombs are much cheaper and 1-2 skill points make them very dangerous. Take your pick.

The single best stat to get high is your damage stat. That means sign damage for magic users or sword damage. This is why the early game is way harder than the late game. You hit for crap compared to the armor rating of monsters. With potions, mutagens, equipment, runes etc. you can easily hit for way over 100 damage on each fast swing. No need to worry about defense if you can kill a monster in two hits and then roll away. Repeat and rinse.

Stay away from insane mode. Just one lapse and you wasted your game. Just one wrong button mash and things are over. I was once mid way through chapter 3 when I hit the key to put away my sword. It was an accident. I died. never again. Dark or hard is way more fun.

A VERY strong build uses impregnation and lots of mutagen slots. Greater power quickly adds up when you have 8-10 mutagen slots. Igni at double skill, 8 concentration mutagens means you toast entire groups without ever taking a single hit.

Also since when does dagger throwing have a mutagen slot? In training the slots go to fortitude and arrow deflection. In most games I never take dagger throwing and put it somewhere else.

 

[Foxhound3857]

There are many ways to play the game. Some people love quen, some love daggers and others love bombs. Some love magic and others love swords. But here are some tips that I've learned by playing W2 many times.

Choose Quen or Aard. Quen lets you stay closer to the combat just a little longer while Aard is more offensive as it sometimes allows an instant kill. But no matter what build always get the upgraded version to impact more than one mob. Of course Aard is easier to do this and still allow you to go alchemy or swords.

Feetwork is a must no matter what. You need to roll and get some distance. This is probably the only absolutely must have skill.

Daggers are nice but they are expensive as you have to craft them. Bombs are much cheaper and 1-2 skill points make them very dangerous. Take your pick.

The single best stat to get high is your damage stat. That means sign damage for magic users or sword damage. This is why the early game is way harder than the late game. You hit for crap compared to the armor rating of monsters. With potions, mutagens, equipment, runes etc. you can easily hit for way over 100 damage on each fast swing. No need to worry about defense if you can kill a monster in two hits and then roll away. Repeat and rinse.

Stay away from insane mode. Just one lapse and you wasted your game. Just one wrong button mash and things are over. I was once mid way through chapter 3 when I hit the key to put away my sword. It was an accident. I died. never again. Dark or hard is way more fun.

A VERY strong build uses impregnation and lots of mutagen slots. Greater power quickly adds up when you have 8-10 mutagen slots. Igni at double skill, 8 concentration mutagens means you toast entire groups without ever taking a single hit.

Also since when does dagger throwing have a mutagen slot? In training the slots go to fortitude and arrow deflection. In most games I never take dagger throwing and put it somewhere else.

Yeah, turns out I love bombs. Next time I'll ditch Dagger Throwing and pick up 2 in Vigor Regeneration, it's more handy than I thought. Was wishing I had more for Melitele's Heart, those Wraiths aren't pushovers. I don't really need mutagen slots, it just means more time wasted grinding looking for the ones I want for little return. And the ones I want, the Madness Mutagen, seem to be INSANELY RARE. Maybe it's just my luck though, maybe others are more fortunate at finding them.

Aether is always a problem in the first Act. It becomes a lot more available in Act II because you can get it from a monster part. If you're running out, Anezka sells it and it's cheap. She restocks every time you leave the area.
Caelum - don't you have a lot of endrega venom? It's usable. Alternatively, you'd need to make a few trips to the caves for Bryonia. Again though, it'll be common in Act II

Ah, Abigail. Okay, thanks, I'll stock up on Aether from her and just make trips between the forests and the caves for the other stuff. And no, I sold all my endrega venom. I only kept the saliva, to make Fire Runes later.

Still contemplating getting Taster, but with the strict toxicity limits, I doubt my desired potion combo would even work: Swallow/Gadwall/Virga/Rook. I don't need Rook with Catalysis anyway, but Taster seems less appealing to me now that I've seen the Toxicity on some of the potions I want to use. Doesn't seem like anything higher than 25 Toxicity would really allow a 4th potion.

 

[Goodmongo]

Well in the alchemy tree there is a skill named side effect. I sometimes place two skills here and get a 10% chance per alchemy attempt. So if you want 20 bombs make them one at a time. I always never had to worry about greater mutagens doing this. Besides the other mutagens give me more coin because the ingredients are free.

Madness are OK but not the best for a sword build. They are great for a magic user but for swords the best one is greater power. With 2 points in impregnation that means you get 3-6 sword damage per slot. With 10 sots that is up to 60 additional sword damage or the same as having the best sword in the game. It is insanely powerful.

Now get a sword with 3 slots and place 3 +7 runes in it. Now add an oil and take a potion. You will do crazy damage.

Here is a sword alchemy build.
6 training (2 fortitude and 1 arrow deflection are the only musts for mutagen slots.)
Alchemy: Alchemist -1; Side Effect -2; harvester - 1; Specialization Oil - 1; transmutation -1; Impregnation - 2; Condensation -1 (mutagen); Metathesis -1 (mutagen); Berserker -1 (mutagen); Mutant -1 (mutagen); Amplification -1 (mutagen) Total 13
Swordmanship: Feet work -1; Position -1; Violence -1; Whirl -1; Hardy -1; precision, Finesse or Sudden death -1 (your pick); Invincible -1 (mutagen); Combat Acumen -1 (mutagen); Whirlwind -1 (mutagen) Total 9

This is a total of 28 skills. You can place the other six where ever you want. Maybe 2 in Aard? Or go all sword increasing the damage there. It gives you 10 mutagen slots to play with. And when you meet the operator you can gain 3 slots back (1 in side effect and 2 in impregnation) as long as you still pick all of the same mutagens skills, and still retain the impregnation bonus.

Now depending on how you farm and what you do it is possible to reach level 32-35 while still in chapter 2. Farming harpies is easy and makes you rich. I don't do any of the quests and gets tons of XP from killing just harpies. I also end up with enough money to buy not just chapter 2's dark equipment but also chapter 3's. I also do this by farming nekkers in chapter 1. The best spot is the cave behind the waterfall.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I wonder if it was even worth it to make 30 Devil's Puffballs. Grapeshot, Dancing Star, Red Haze and Zerrikenian Sun have all been useful (especially Zerri Sun, feels like Samum's big brother and a replacement for Aard) but I haven't used Puffball yet and monsters for the most part seem to be immune to poison. Would I have been better off making Stenchbulb, or Dragons Dream to pair with Dancing Star? Does Puffball eventually become useful?

I also think it might have been a waste of ingredients and orens to make all kinds of blade oils when Falka's Blood probably would have been enough, and would work in every situation as opposed to having to pick and choose and worry about using the wrong oil. I have a route that I'm using to get Caelum and Aether, but it's slow, and would have been much better to do when grinding for experience. Hell, might have been better for Dark Mode, even, to get the Blasphemer's Set.

 

[Garrison72]

I was never fond of Dragon's Dream but all the other bombs are extremely useful, especial Dancing Star and Z. Sun which are cheap to craft. As for oils, I always had poison, bleeding and increased damage ones on hand.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I was never fond of Dragon's Dream but all the other bombs are extremely useful, especial Dancing Star and Z. Sun which are cheap to craft. As for oils, I always had poison, bleeding and increased damage ones on hand.

Have you tried Stenchbulb? It looks interesting with its debuff properties, might make a good opener for crowds to weaken them so they're not so lethal, especially dangerous crowds like Wraiths. Certainly seems like it might work against a larger variety of enemies than Devil's Puffballs (and provide a better effect). I just tried some Devil's Puffballs and just about every non-human enemy in Act 1 laughs at them.

 

[Garrison72]

Have you tried Stenchbulb? It looks interesting with its debuff properties, might make a good opener for crowds to weaken them so they're not so lethal, especially dangerous crowds like Wraiths. Certainly seems like it might work against a larger variety of enemies than Devil's Puffballs (and provide a better effect). I just tried some Devil's Puffballs and just about every non-human enemy in Act 1 laughs at them.

Yes, Anything to weaken or stun crowds before you wade in with a sword. I try to stack damage with my oils whenever possible. So if it's Devil's puffball, then I have poison on my blade. Been a long time since I played, but I recall you could do this in a variety of ways. Some bombs will be less specific like you say, and more useful. But bombs are the best crowd management by a mile. Traps may be useful for big foes like Endragas or Golems, less so for crowds.

 

[Goodmongo]

Best bombs are the ones that stun or set people on fire. They don't attack while being incinerated. Reducing stats is not that good. But pure grapeshot is a great bomb as it has the highest damage. As for traps some people like them but not me. they don't hold the mob long enough.

That said I do find use for one trap. The snare. If I know a spot that will spawn monsters (like the wraiths in the hospital or during the amulet quest) I place 20-30 of them all over the place. The wraiths are dead before they even get to me.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Scleroderm isn't anywhere near as rare as I thought it was. I've actually come up with a pretty good path for Act 1, allows me to inspect 5 patches of Scleroderm and about 7 of Byronia without even touching a quest or needing to buy any. The trick is to keep grinding to make it respawn.

I'm up to my ears in the stuff now.

 

[dragonbird]

That said I do find use for one trap. The snare. If I know a spot that will spawn monsters (like the wraiths in the hospital or during the amulet quest) I place 20-30 of them all over the place. The wraiths are dead before they even get to me.

I love snares for those "Warned in advance" fights. I remember when TW2 first came out, and everyone was making jokes about the snares everywhere around Flotsam. And, would you believe, selling them.

Then we found out what they were for...

And I still have this, by a fantastic artist who was around the forums in those days.
View attachment 13692

 

[Foxhound3857]

I love snares for those "Warned in advance" fights. I remember when TW2 first came out, and everyone was making jokes about the snares everywhere around Flotsam. And, would you believe, selling them.

Then we found out what they were for...

And I still have this, by a fantastic artist who was around the forums in those days.

Wow, maybe I should collect them and try them out. Maybe they'll help me for Melitele's Heart.

 

[dragonbird]

They help in a lot of fights where your witcher (or player) senses tell you that something really bad is about to happen, and you have time to make preparations.

Would you like to one-shot the Endrega Queens? (I've had them die before they got near me)

 

[Goodmongo]

I do sell some of them. I keep 25 on me(they weigh 1 pound each so I limit them) and sell the rest. BTW that is one funny picture.