I registered just to say how awesome your mod is, flash. It makes this game much more enjoyable, =)I have been playing this insane 3.03 mod with the Limited Talent Point mod and i make sure i dont brew any potions that i dont already know. I also do not grind to get stronger (0% grinding done - i simply skip the quest until i come back stronger from doing others) I am in chapter 5 now right after fighting the elves & order (i chose to be neutral) in the old vizima hospital and so far this is the oNLY time where i am forced to fully buff myself: wolverine full moon maribor forest negredo reubedo swallow tawny owl and crinfrid oil (used in a non bugged way of course). I have not learned to use bombs because i dont need to, and every other situation i can just run in with albedo tawny owl + reubedo cat + normal swallow. I also felt bombs would be very helpful but in the end i managed to kill them without bombs. I expect the game to get harder as i approach the end with the super mobs and i am looking forward to it
the only reason i fully buffed is because i usually almost get one shotted by those orders's shield slams as soon as the cut scene ends and their first frame attacks all land on me and i die. i believe you can simply do it with a full moon(to avoid 1 shot), tawny owl and swallow, no need for other gimmicks.when you have limited talent points mod some talent distributions are a lot more interesting, for example i leave group styles at lv 1, i used lv 1 sword skills all the way until the crypts in chapter 1 at which point i was forced to put 1 point into lv 2 strong just to out-dps the ghouls. i never take flash cuts for silver since the dmg dont mean anything, and i dont take useless stuff. I also dont use charms to repel monsters and i did not take the fear talent offered by igni(fear is too cheap for me).I do still find it too easy however(i hope this changes soon when i meet end game monsters),i feel like im still not being pushed far enough to use EVERYthing possible in the game, i.e. bombs, maribor forests (you get this very early), etc. and once you get the level 5 sword skills, things die so fast. even with limited talent mod, my resist skills are still fully maxed due to upped quest rewards.SOOOO i would like to propose a new challenge for you readers out there, once i finish the game i plan to replay it with the following approach:-----------------------------------------I call this the 'super challenge mode version 1': SCMv1Insane difficultyLimited Talent ModREGULAR quest/kill reward (do not install the improved reward part).DEFAULT silver sword / witcher's sword used(you may choose any of the normal damage swords, i.e. for looks i'd choose sword of the order just cause it looks better but is no different than witcher's blade). SCRATCH THIS: try using rusty sword instead for -30% damage.No Fear allowed from charms or Igni, fear is cheap (debating about bombs, but i havent played a game where i experimented with bombs so i am still debating on that)added: use default armor only. no upgrades.added: no grinding allowed unless absolutely necessary, i.e. gaining critical talent in order to beat specific encounter and there are no other non-cheap approaches. you are allowed to defend yourself and aoe stuff down in swamps etc but grinding stuff like graveir basilisks cockatrice is not recommended.Poll: bombs in general allowed or no?Still debating whether or not you are allowed to take the additional resist skills(since your level is also gimped i guess it's reasonable to allow it)edit1: you can probably get by for having no Excellent armor? hah.edit2: maybe version 2 of the challenge can include using Rusty sword for -30% damage and argent oil on silver sword while using rusty sword or something crazy like that @@edit3: no grinding allowed unless absolutely necessarycan you get by the game with a rusty sword?---------------------------------------------------------------Talent Point Balance mod:http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Talent_point_balance_modMind you by act 4 i finally downloaded the storage anywhere mod because this game's inventory is just so small, more like a game flaw. the mod is found here:Med/Cat/Storage mod:http://www.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=21855.0I never used Cat and i use rest-anywhere sparingly when i absolutely dont feel like runing back to the campfire again, but nothing abusive. Just remember if you use rest-anywhere you might spawn on top of a couple of mobs, i.e. on top of 3 wraiths for king of the wild hunt.so with normal rewards, end-game level is approximately 34~35 i hear without grinding? thats about 7 gold points to spend with this mod? in beginning of act 5 i am lv 34~35 with upped rewards.i imagine bomb making is now one of the highest priorities to first get? (or maybe bombs in general is way too overpowered and shouldnt even be used, at least the fear bomb). by end of act 4 i have like 100 bomb powders or something ridiculous in bank.you can make this even more fun but i felt like i should beat this mode first before making other giant leaps of skill such as no gold talents allowed or something.why limited talent mod with downed quest reward: mainly to force you use those immunity potions i think, cause i had my resistances maxed out even with limited talents and i never had to use any resist pots, in fact i have not found myself forced to use any kiss/willow yet.Since i haven't finished the game yet, i have no idea how huge of impact it is to only use normal weapons for end-game since witcher's blade do not give intensity bonus to bleed/pain.under these circumstances, anyone have any theories / strategies on how to approach this? i.e. what talents to take, what to do on certain boss, what set up needed, what talents to not take, which ones to take first, etchere are some of my 'tips' and thoughts on the previous playthrough (which was insane mod, limited talent points, known recipes only)-first and foremost: do not apply status affecting oils (bleed/pain/poison) and then save, and then reload. the effect will cause permanent oil bug and thus that weapon will always have that effect for the rest of the game, EVEN if you sell it to shop/rebuying. to get around this bug when you absolutely need to use crinfrid/brown/hangmen's venom: save BEFORE you apply any of the oil, then apply oil, kill the mobs, then whetstone your sword to get rid of the buff, THEN save. to get around it if you already have the bug: find another sword, but you are screwed for the super challenge if you applied it on the silver sword.-second tip related to bugs: i forget o_o will come back to this-make full use of the potion timers, you can drink a bunch of long duration potions then rest 1 hour to reduce toxicity and drink your second batch of potions.-before you get the recipe for wife's tears and you do those drinking quests, you can have a stack of wine in your inventory at all times and after you are intoxicated, instead of walking like a turtle to get some rest, drink some wine to knock yourself out.-Toussaint Reds seem to be the most common wine in the game or something so do not use these unless you plan to intoxicate yourself for a knockout, or to grant pain immunity(i have never had to get drunk for pain immune even with limited talent mod)-white myrtle, celandine and drowner brains are the most used ingredients in the game to me.-since you are not buying the sword in chapter 4 (which is awesome in insane mod btw), and you are not forging any meteors / rune swords, you only need to save 5k gold for excellent armor, then blow the rest on booze (you'll probably need them). DISREGARD BIT ABOUT ARMOR: i decided to not buy the armor for the challenge.-for chapter 1, save the crypts for last so you have experience for talents. those ghouls are almost impossible to bleed for some reason so you have to use crinfrid oil.-for the crypts, do two runs: first run with a cat + swallow to grab the fire shrine run out, then full buff yourself next time and head down there, only then you'd have somewhat sane chance to kill the ghouls (tested with limited talent mod, increased rewards). this should be even harder if you dont use increased reward. I'd do the igni run as soon as possible i.e. beginning of chapter 1.-find one of the torches in the houses around the reverend and use that to kill all the plants found in chapter 1, assuming you didnt have enough points to spend into igni.-leave your group styles at lv 1 to save bronze points : limited talent mod = 53 bronze points only. at lv 28 (?) you stop gaining bronze. do NOT take knockdown for silver, and i did not take knockdown for group steel as well.-my fast steel is lv 1 with only +pain skill all the way until act 5 where i felt like i needed fast style to hit the mutants, but maybe you can pain + bleed them and strong style?-your primary source of vermillion income in chapter 2 is the bloedzuigers in the swamps from aoeing them along with aethers from drowners, and your primary source of hydragenum is mistletoes from all the food you should have saved & banked. usually you should be around 130+ food in the bank by the time you are forced to go to hospital for quests provided you looted every house etc for food, offer all of them to the altar for mistletoes. as for rebis + reubedo, that would be the beast livers from wolves in the cave and around druid grove.-soon as chapter 2 hits, make a fast run for yrden / quen signs ASAP to make your life a lot easier.-level 3+ fast silver is the only sane way of killing spectres especially wraiths, so by chapter 4 make sure you have it or you will have one hell of a time killing them. I did not have lv 3 silver at berengar crypts and boy did i have a fun time trying to kill that wraith. after like 8 reloads it somehow died instantly from berengar, no idea how.-bleed on a alps = dead alps.-when you meet mutants in act 5 you will wish you invested into lv 3 fast steel. (is this the only way to kill them? any tips?)-combine low toxicity potions with nigredo/reubedo: u can now drink those for 0 toxicity while under the albedo effect(perfume, cat, wives tears). Reubedo cat is the easiest to make for me, 1 beast liver + 2 balisse or something equiv. -Albedo Tawny owl is useful early in the game since mats are easy to come by. (alb-tawny + swallow, then swallow again and still be under 50 toxicity, rest 1 hour and u can probably squeeze another swallow in).-the more points invest into level 2+ sword skills the more i feel like i needed the gold talent (Vigilance) as it may allow me to finish my combo while taking less dmg(50% dodge while attacked from behind), i did not have the talent for King of the Wild Hunt but i sure wished i did since it was super slow killing those wraiths while strafing them with the first attack animations of fast silver. This may be my very first gold talent spent, any other suggestions?how i beat the bosses in chapter 2 before:Level 2 yrden, level 2 int, petri's philter, place of power, Yrden shrine from the druid's grove, nigredo'd swallow, albedo tawny owl, reubedo cat (this was before i realized usefulness of albedo white honey). didnt even use maribor forest.As long as you dont walk into the fire against iffrit and you have your basic resists maxed out (i did not take any of the two talents related to incinerate resistance), its not likely you'll be incinerated, so as soon as the fight starts, lv 2 quen and drop a yrden. then just group style and let the ifrit walk into the yrden sign 3 times and he dies. That's how strong yrden can be with that set up, 3 shots ifrit. against professor / azar same thing, quen, yrden and let them walk into it. professor is hard to kill so azar will be taking a lot of dmg from the trap &i also attacked him, my strong/fast styles were lv 2 for both silver/steel and group at lv 1. attacking them is optional since all you have to do is wait for the trap to trigger 1~2 more times to make up for the damage.So on my next playthrough with all those bunch of restrictions, i feel like this super yrden tactic is a bit cheap so i'd like to kill them normally if possible(i had bleeding resistances before along with dex/str/stam at lv 4 even with limited talent mod, so this time will be VERY tough as one of the bosses bleeds and the bleeds hurt, and there's no Kiss formula yet right? or did i miss it).-------------------Questions:--------------------With the super challenge mode, talent points is limited because your level is limited, also with the limited talent mod, so Aard i havent really found a use ever since a third into chapter 2. (at this point i was aoeing all the drowners/bloeds with group 1 silver with just albedo tawny / normal swallow, it's awesomely fun), is it possible to skip this or minimize the points spent into it? or is that not viable? It's the easier method i found so far to killing a barghest in chapter 1, and the only sane way i found to lucky-shot the beast boss(stun). also dont forget the ghouls in the crypt, but any alternate approaches to tackle these guys to save talent points, since i havent found a use for it anymore? Can lv 3~5 strong silver 'almost' replace lv 3~5 strong steel? even with a silver sword strong style combo im doing pretty decent damage against humans, any thoughts? this may allow me to skip 1~3 silver points into strong steel style. are there any points in the game where i have to exclusively rely on strong steel lv 3+?bug related: what causes the unable-to-cast-bug? seems to happen a lot after i took level 3 or above skills. what this does is right clicking will not let you cast spells anymore and switching stance/weapons don't do anything. is this a legitimate status effect, or some bug? btw i do have the signs selected.to flash:What exactly is 'wound resistance'? i took it but i have no idea what it does. someone please explain that to me? does it reduce damage by x%, or take 0 damage x% of the time or what? also is 'stone skin' silver talent and 'would resistance' gold talent cumulative? i.e. 25% + 33% = 58%? this is only first draft more edits/replies to come, tell me what you all think about the challenge, im gonna finish the game asap so i got more strategies to tackle this
edit1: added the default armor restriction to the challenge: you cannot upgrade your default armor.edit2: maybe use rusty sword -30% damage instead of normal sword @@?edit3: added the no grinding restriction i started a game already, rusty sword and all, will post how it goes XD
