Should we play the first Witcher first?

[fib1]

Should we play the first Witcher first?

If we never played the first Witcher, is it worth/good idea playing before going into the second one, or are we going to be fine?

 

[username_3236168]

You should be fine but it might be an information overload at some points, if you decide not to play first witcher I would advice reading the in game journal it explains a lot.

Enhanced edition seems to have a new way to explaining events of the first game.

Btw I would advice to play Witcher 1 as I think it's a better game but it's not for everyone, Witcher 1 for some people might be harder to get into but once you do it's really rewarding.

 

[Xeper84]

i really don't know what exactly they changed. It is said that there is a intro and you can watch some story recaps on youtube. If you play the game without any knowledge of the witcher world and/or the first game you will certainly have a lot less fun

 

[nstiver]

I played TW2 and still haven't played TW1, but I have read so much lore and stuff from the internet and youtube that I essentially know what happened in the first one. My first playthrough I was kind of lost with the politics, but by the 2nd playthrough I got everything.

 

[goopit]

I've compiled a list of videos if you're not planning to play Witcher 1. It'll explain the story. The best part of W1 isn't really in the story vid anyway.

I'd recommend playing W1 though it makes playing W2 way better. It makes the Prologue way more important

What is a Witcher?
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzfFPONyjSw&list=UUn1MOB-IV-bEyC1nGOZjyJA&index=6&feature=plcp
52 and a half -explains how witchers are outcasts and treated unfairly
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMc1ySC6Qao&list=UUn1MOB-IV-bEyC1nGOZjyJA&index=2&feature=plcp
Intro -explains how Geralt became famous
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZcsNE6wCHI
Witcher1 story
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPHgWfWFr9k&list=UUn1MOB-IV-bEyC1nGOZjyJA&index=4&feature=plcp
Outro -sets the story for Witcher 2
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbMJU9IftCo&feature=related
Witcher World -explains the political situation in the Northern Kingdoms
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW5gtZHCuz0&list=UUn1MOB-IV-bEyC1nGOZjyJA&index=48&feature=plcp
Intro to Witcher 2
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ajukUlRKdA&list=UUn1MOB-IV-bEyC1nGOZjyJA&index=18&feature=plcp

 

[benke50]

I would recommend you to play TW 1 first, First i think TW1 is a better game and it can be somewhat confusing to play TW2 first if you dont know what happend in the first game.

 

[FuKuy]

Should we play the first Witcher first?

If you like RPG you MUST. The Witcher is one of the best RPG of ALL TIME.

 

[username_3236806]

play the first one, trust me.

 

[bigbadmclovin]

it will help thats for sure, but not necesary...

TW1 is a god damn piece of art even if it has nothing to do with TW2, the question should be, why you should not play the witcher 1?

 

[chlong7]

You will be fine without playing TW1, but you might have to do a little extra work to pick up the lore.

It's a good game, though, and it's very long, so you'd be getting your money's worth unless you hate long games, in which case you might want to pass on this one. Be warned that it was developed using a heavily modified version of Bioware's Aurora Engine (think Neverwinter Nights) so it has certain technical limitations: no jumping over embarrassingly low walls, etc. The voice acting also usually gets mentioned as being of mixed quality, and it is, but it's more of a dialog editing/direction problem than actors giving genuinely bad performances. If you play TW1, play it's "Enhanced Edition" version to get the best experience--it's fully patched and updated at GOG and on Steam.

 

[Adonai-]

It's worth it, but two things to note - it's at least 40 hours, so you'd want a fair bit of time before TW2 EE is released. It also plays very differently to TW2, so you wouldn't be learning gameplay which would transfer across.

If you don't have the time, head to the wiki & pick up the general storyline. I'd certainly recommend playing TW1 though - it starts a bit slowly but draws you in. The end is amazing.

 

[Greed1914]

I'd recommend playing TW1 first. I recommended doing so to a friend recently. He has been curious about the Witcher 2 but his PC can't run it, so he was rather interested to hear that the Xbox version will be out soon. I recommended he play the first one since it'll make it easier to follow what is going on and he would be more invested in it. Though, I did point out the downside that obviously he wouldn't be able to import his save, so certain things would go to the default on him.

 

[hotnels]

Read The Last Wish and The Blood of Elves they rock and you get more of the story than playing TW1.

 

[Mothra]

you should play it because it is a very good game.
but checking out the pre-release videos and reading a few journal entries is enough to understand the story sofar imo.
If you like the game you can always go back and get more info or part1.

 

[altereqo]

So I got TW1 to try it out before TW2 comes out for xbox. I'm really confused about the combat. I just sit there clicking the mouse and it takes forever to kill guys. Words float up and I click them in order to dodge or whatever the word says. Am I doing this right? TW2 isn't going to be like this is it? It's really boring... I just sit there and click click click forever...

 

[AsTheDeath]

Just seconding what has already been said; it's not necessary for the lore or the story to have played the first game (though I think you'll enjoy TW2 more if you do at least something to get into the lore, wiki, books or games), but TW1 is just a very good RPG and since it only costs $10 on GOG.com with tons of free goodies and artwork if I were you I'd just buy it (there's also a demo if you want to play that first) and start a playthrough, see if you like it. That's what I did, and I ended up really enjoying TW1.

 

[chlong7]

So I got TW1 to try it out before TW2 comes out for xbox. I'm really confused about the combat. I just sit there clicking the mouse and it takes forever to kill guys. Words float up and I click them in order to dodge or whatever the word says. Am I doing this right? TW2 isn't going to be like this is it? It's really boring... I just sit there and click click click forever...

Steel sword for people. Ax and longsword guys are moving kinda slow and should be met with the "strong" style. Knife guys and crossbowmen should be met with the "fast" style. "Group" style when you're surrounded.

Silver sword for most monsters (really, some monsters can only be killed with silver, it's important in the lore). Big, slow heavies get the "strong" style. Small and medium quickies get the "fast" style. "Group" style when surrounded again.

Try the style that you think matches the circumstances. Watch your damage output (either the number that flashes across the target or the reduction on its life circle). If your stroke misses more often than not, or if you don't seem to be doing much damage, switch to another style.

TW2 combat is completely different, so you won't have to remember quite as much, but give it a bit more time with TW1 combat. I ended up really enjoying it once I got the hang of switching for the different enemies. It felt like I really had to understand Geralt's job in his world.

 

[altereqo]

Steel sword for people. Ax and longsword guys are moving kinda slow and should be met with the "strong" style. Knife guys and crossbowmen should be met with the "fast" style. "Group" style when you're surrounded.

Silver sword for most monsters (really, some monsters can only be killed with silver, it's important in the lore). Big, slow heavies get the "strong" style. Small and medium quickies get the "fast" style. "Group" style when surrounded again.

Try the style that you think matches the circumstances. Watch your damage output (either the number that flashes across the target or the reduction on its life circle). If your stroke misses more often than not, or if you don't seem to be doing much damage, switch to another style.

TW2 combat is completely different, so you won't have to remember quite as much, but give it a bit more time with TW1 combat. I ended up really enjoying it once I got the hang of switching for the different enemies. It felt like I really had to understand Geralt's job in his world.

Okay thanks for the info I'll keep at it. I really like the story but the combat is kinda boring. Am I supposed to be clicking the words that float up that say dodge and parry, yadda yadda? Why are those words floating off the enemy? It seems when I click them it deals more damage so I assume I have to click them? Or do I click the enemy when the word floats up like a timing thing?

 

[chlong7]

Okay thanks for the info I'll keep at it. I really like the story but the combat is kinda boring. Am I supposed to be clicking the words that float up that say dodge and parry, yadda yadda? Why are those words floating off the enemy? It seems when I click them it deals more damage so I assume I have to click them? Or do I click the enemy when the word floats up like a timing thing?

As long as you're not playing in "hard" mode, just watch the little flaming sword icon and click when it's lit up/showing flames over your target. Click once, let Geralt go through his combo (the sword flame will reduce at the same time), and click again once when the sword turns back into a flame. In hard mode, the sword icon is removed and it's all done by sound cues (a distinctive series of air slashes). TW1 combat is essentially rhythm-based. Clicking over and over too quickly will cause Geralt to interrupt one combo in order to start another, and it does MUCH less damage than watching for his finisher and letting him start a new combo at the right time. This is also lore-related, actually; witchers are very, very precise and skilled swordsmen. Combos matter much more than beating opponents into submission, which is why Vesemir is yelling combo moves at Leo when Geralt wakes up in Kaer Morhen during the prologue.

Oh yeah, those floating words. Personally, I don't find them to be terribly helpful and just treat them as descriptions of what's happening, which really means that I ignore them.

 

[rlg5150]

I got to the third act months ago and never finished the game. I want to start a new playthrough but I'm wondering if I should wait until the EE is released. Does the EE contain content that will be included in a new game or just patch things in for existing games?