W2 Combat

[asgard1]

W2 Combat

So I just got the game, and have been scratching my head at the combat. I've seen youtube vids of players rolling around all over the place like monkeys, and I ask myself if that is the way the devs expect you to play when up against several opponents. Indeed, I fail to see the point of parry when dodge avoids all damage. But I'd like to make more use of parry, and stand my ground, but I haven't had much success doing that. Actually, I don't have much success with dodging either; I just randomly roll around and spam mouse1 occasionally and that gets the job done even if it's really sloppy play (I'm playing on hard btw).

How do you fellow swordsmen approach 1vN combat in this game?

 

[Ellathar]

So I just got the game, and have been scratching my head at the combat. I've seen youtube vids of players rolling around all over the place like monkeys, and I ask myself if that is the way the devs expect you to play when up against several opponents. Indeed, I fail to see the point of parry when dodge avoids all damage. But I'd like to make more use of parry, and stand my ground, but I haven't had much success doing that. Actually, I don't have much success with dodging either; I just randomly roll around and spam mouse1 occasionally and that gets the job done even if it's really sloppy play (I'm playing on hard btw).

How do you fellow swordsmen approach 1vN combat in this game?

Well, TW2 has been nerfed a lot, especially the first steps of the game, where you would have just been unable to do that before. The fate of all hard games I presume, being nerfed when QQ comes and complain about something being hard.

That being said : it depends if your ennemies are standard swordsmen, knights, or shield bearer. Swordsmen just have a one handed sword, and are rather very bad at parrying. They generally are preys for Geralt who will kill them while flying around.
Knights are heavy armoured soldiers with a two-handed sword most of the time. They do rather advanced movement from time to time you can hardly dodge. They are also quite good at parrying, and rushing through them hoping you will hit is hardly the solution.
Shield bearer are fortress, very hard to hit as they block all your attacks unless they have been unbalanced, whether by a sign, or by one of their attack being blocked.

Now, the perfect balance to fight is to know your opponents, and to use both dodging and parrying accordingly. Before level 3, you cannot really block efficiently, because you'll not be able to block an opponent which is not in front of you. As soon as you have acquired the proper skill, you will, and parrying will be much more rewarding, because it will unbalance your opponent. Dodging a shield bearer or a knight is fine to avoid damage, but will not get you anywhere if you cannot hit him. So depending of your stamina (vigor), how ennemies are positionned, and how they are geared, you'll have to choose between dodging and parrying. Dodging an attack if you're too late will not be efficient, and you risk being hit while flying away, so blocking is the best to do. On the other hand, some ennemies cannot be blocked, or sometime you don't have enough vigor to block them so dodging can be done as well.

 

[chiefje]

The start of the game may indeed be a little strange, you get points to upgrade soon, which you can use to make parry more effective, and if you take the swordsman path you can also upgrade the area of effect of your swords, which will make you hit multiple enemies at once. Also don't forget to use Quen and the heavy attacks in the beginning.

 

[dragonbird]

If it's working, stick with it

Yes, at the beginning of the game, I spend a lot of time dodging. I also use Quen a lot to give the protection against attacks from behind so that if I do wade in, I'll survive. Usually though, I'll circle round the edges picking them off one at a time. If they're clustered, I use bombs.

It's a short-term problem though - you'll get 1vN capability as you level up.

I tend to ignore parry until I get riposte, after which it suddenly becomes a lot more useful and interesting.

 

[goopit]

use bombs specifically Dancing Star and Grapeshot and use Quen. I use parry when Quen runs out. Rolling all the time is just silly and should be nerfed. Geralt should run for like two or three steps before he can roll or something like that,

 

[phamvan94]

I almost stopped rolling after Chapter 1. Once you get better equipment, the Whirl talent, improved Quen and you get the hang of the combat system, rolling is not needed anymore.

 

[Ellathar]

use bombs specifically Dancing Star and Grapeshot and use Quen. I use parry when Quen runs out. Rolling all the time is just silly and should be nerfed. Geralt should run for like two or three steps before he can roll or something like that,

Weird, from my point of view Quen should be nerfed, if not removed, and not dodge. Weird, admittedly Quen and Bombs make the game too easy.
Remove bombs and Quen, Geralt is a witcher, a master swordsmen, not a dwarf bomberman with a magic shield.

 

[dragonbird]

Weird, from my point of view Quen should be nerfed, if not removed, and not dodge. Weird, admittedly Quen and Bombs make the game too easy.
Remove bombs and Quen, Geralt is a witcher, a master swordsmen, not a dwarf bomberman with a magic shield.

Well, we all have our ways of playing. That's the beauty of the game - it provides more than one way for players to achieve the same ends. I know of at least one player who plays without armor, for the challenge. You can choose to play without using spells or bombs, others can choose to go Alchemist or Mage tree. As you say, he's primarily a swordsman so it probably isn't possible to avoid swordplay

 

[Ellathar]

Well, we all have our ways of playing. That's the beauty of the game - it provides more than one way for players to achieve the same ends. I know of at least one player who plays without armor, for the challenge. You can choose to play without using spells or bombs, others can choose to go Alchemist or Mage tree. As you say, he's primarily a swordsman so it probably isn't possible to avoid swordplay

I have to agree with that, I'm just reacting to one person saying that dodge doesn't make sense and should be nerfed, when he said he was using a much more powerful mechanism in game, which is aoe damage + invulnerable shield.
I prefer the game to offer a variety of possibilities the player can choose or not. I have banned the bombs and Quen from my own gameplay, that doesn't mean I would be happy if CDPR removed those.

I just hope the Dark Mode will make everything harder so you have to use everything without feeling you activated a god mode. Bomb does too much aoe damage without any con. At least Aard and Igni requires Vigor.

 

[dragonbird]

'K. I understand where you're coming from now

I'm looking forward to Dark Mode too. Hard's getting a bit too easy, but there's no way I can ever manage Insane.

As far as bombs are concerned, there's that annoying period around Level 8-10 when you start to hit a fair number of massed attacks but still don't have Whirl. That's when I find the bombs can be a lifesaver.

 

[Ellathar]

'K. I understand where you're coming from now

I'm looking forward to Dark Mode too. Hard's getting a bit too easy, but there's no way I can ever manage Insane.

As far as bombs are concerned, there's that annoying period around Level 8-10 when you start to hit a fair number of massed attacks but still don't have Whirl. That's when I find the bombs can be a lifesaver.

If you ask me, whirl and the ability to block attack from all around you should have been included from start (or at least be the first skills you have to acquire in training), as well as the ability to block arrows. It makes not much sense to be a sorcerer which is really a dick in sword combat from start, where Geralt is supposed to have fought quite well already in The Witcher 1 (and is supposed to be the best sword master in the known world). He is also supposed to be a parry master (fact that is known from TW1 at the very beginning) able to block arrows without much training for that.

Of course, the game should have been made harder, but that would have made some sense.

I agree with you about Insane. It's doable, but I don't want to rush into content and I guess dying a few times there and having to redo everything will just decrease your enjoyment in the game overall (at least it's my opinion, but I'm no hardcore player who finish a game 20 times. TW2 is the only game I finished 3 times in my life but I doubt I will do it more than 5, which is already insane for me).

 

[pomor]

I agree with you about Insane. It's doable, but I don't want to rush into content and I guess dying a few times there and having to redo everything will just decrease your enjoyment in the game overall

You just need the proper mindset. Not "I have to finish it on insane" but rather "Let's see how far I can get".
I think I am about ready for a little insane run. Operator aside, I developed more or less foolproof way of dealing with every opponent (like Edrenga Queen and Aard; earlier I was killing it with the use of Yrden; and it was hit or miss chance; with Aard I got much more consistent), so it should be doable, unless I let my attention wander at some point, and make a mistake. Which I'll undoubtedly do.

 

[GuyNwah]

If you want to stand your ground in fights, get Parrying, Position, and Riposte early on, and Whirl as soon as you can. Riposte and Whirl make you deadly in one-on-one and one-against-many combat. Anything that gives extra Vigor points or Vigor regeneration is helpful too.