WHEN are you going to fix POTIONS?

[not_slimgrin]

Cool Did the article explain in more detail? I mean, can we drink whenever we want to or is drinking still limited to situations in which we would be allowed to meditate?

It's still limited to situations where we could meditate from what I understand, only the cut scene is gone. I had posted the link at BSN, but their forums are unresponsive now so I can't retrieve it. Maybe MM360 can confirm it...but I DID read it. No more meditation cutscene.

 

[Silverio13]

Think before fight, drink before fight, meditate before fight.

In the books Geralt never drink potions like in The Witcher. In mostly times, he never drink anything.

 

[not_slimgrin]

Think before fight, drink before fight, meditate before fight.

In the books Geralt never drink potions like in The Witcher. In mostly times, he never drink anything.

I really don't care what the hell the books say. Sapkowski barely accepts the game as it is. The last thing the games should be dependent on is the lore of the books, especially when Andrej himself can't write any better than the folks at CDPR. Besides, at this rate the books will never be translated into English. I can read Ancient Chinese manuscripts and old Norse Sagas and yet they can't translate the pulp fantasy novels of a Polish writer?

 

[username_2093396]

It's still limited to situations where we could meditate from what I understand, only the cut scene is gone. I had posted the link at BSN, but their forums are unresponsive now so I can't retrieve it. Maybe MM360 can confirm it...but I DID read it. No more meditation cutscene.

Oh, I see. That's actually a little sad. I seem to be one of the few people who actually liked the drinking potions animation I took this screenshot over the summer and have had it as my desktop for about eight months now.

I'm disappointed if the animation is gone without at least letting me drink potions more often as a result. I'd be fine with it if there were penalties for drinking during combat (like if Geralt is staggered for a few seconds while he adjusts to the potions). Logically speaking though, I don't see why Geralt can't throw up Quen and then chug a potion during combat, especially since he can do other things like apply sword oils.

Or alternatively, the potions should last much longer. I'd be fine with not being able to drink during combat if I actually was able to prepare in advance and drink my set of potions for the night. But the potions run out so quickly that even if I do prepare, most of the time the potions have worn off before I even get to the combat.

It's true that Geralt doesn't drink potions very often during the books, but it's also very rare in the books for Geralt to kill hundreds of monsters in one day If the games are going to have significantly more combat for gameplay purposes, then I think it's fine to adjust the implementation of potions for gameplay purposes as well.

(Edit: I forgot to link to the screenshot that I mentioned )

 

[soldiergeralt]

I read in an article that when we get the enhanced Edition for TW2, Geralt will no longer take the meditation stance to drink potions. We just drink and go.

pandering to the xbox kiddies. oh well.

 

[dementedsheep]

pandering to the xbox kiddies. oh well.

Pandering to the xbox kiddies? A lot of people found that animation annoying when played for 100th time. It was mentioned as a point of annoyance in many reviews. Don’t blame it on the xbox.

 

[tommy5761]

pandering to the xbox kiddies. oh well.

Being that the Xbox "kiddies" will be coming here as well in short order i would suggest to not cop a "PC Elitist" attitude and welcome them the same as we would any other user who just found a great game and forum with which to convey their thoughts and feelings about the game itself .

 

[Randomdrowner2015]

??

Spoiler

Letho uses bombs

I know. Disappointing. I think expecting a duel using sword and sign skills would be more appropriate when two people who respect one-another or/and share a certain bond settles things.

 

[Randomdrowner2015]

I really don't care what the hell the books say. Sapkowski barely accepts the game as it is. The last thing the games should be dependent on is the lore of the books, especially when Andrej himself can't write any better than the folks at CDPR. Besides, at this rate the books will never be translated into English. I can read Ancient Chinese manuscripts and old Norse Sagas and yet they can't translate the pulp fantasy novels of a Polish writer?

Damn nonsense. The books and its lore up until Geralts fall in Rivia should be respected.

However, As I stated, I see no reason why Geralt can not drink potions without meditating, but with the potions being less effective.

 

[scyld]

I apologize for not being clear in the beginning of this thread about WHAT part of the game I was referring to.

***MAJOR ACT II*** SPOILER IN SPOILER TAGS BELOW

Spoiler

I was in fact not referring to the end of Act II, as Seltkirk fighting the Standard Bearer, but at the BEGINNING of Act II, on Roche's side, fighting as Geralt against the Wraiths while Dethmold first prepares and then channels the wraith-killing spell.I admit: I over-exaggerated the difficulty of this fight.

However, I believe my point about getting sucked into some boss fights still stands.

Also, in Dark Mode the Standard Bearer battle when the player is Seltkirk has major balancing problems of its own and SHOULD NOT BE released in the console versions as is. It is nothing more than a gimmick battle that forces players into Swordsmanship specs, and it is a gimmick precisely because it is the ONLY battle that ABSOLUTELY REQUIRES swordsmanship.

There is NO OTHER BATTLE IN THE GAME that is impossible without swordsmanship.

But this is a topic for another thread. To discuss this further, please post your responses here.

At any rate, I think what should've been done is to let Geralt drink potions at any time, but then make toxin levels return to 0 only in meditation.

This would still prevent massive potion-chugging, but would allow players to take potions when they are unexpectedly sucked into battle.

It really doesn't change the restriction of potions in my opinion, only makes it so that cut scenes don't time out potion durations or don't force players into completely unexpected situations where they may be potionless.

 

[username_2093396]

At any rate, I think what should've been done is to let Geralt drink potions at any time, but then make toxin levels return to 0 only in meditation.

This would still prevent massive potion-chugging, but would allow players to take potions when they are unexpectedly sucked into battle.

It really doesn't change the restriction of potions in my opinion, only makes it so that cut scenes don't time out potion durations or don't force players into completely unexpected situations where they may be potionless.

I like the way that it worked in TW1 where the potions had a much longer duration. I understand that in some cases in TW2 the player might not want a potion to last a long time, but in that case I think the White Honey potion should be brought back as well. It instantly cancels the effects of all potions and returns toxicity to zero.

That way I would be able to take my favorite potion or two and be set for the night, but if I learn something new which changes my plans (like if I have to explore a dark cave and want to drink a Cat potion) then I could chug a White Honey to clear my system and load up with a different potion combo.

If it worked that way, then I'd be fine with not being able to drink potions outside of combat. They could also make the potion ingredients harder to find, or make the potions more expensive to produce in order to compensate for the longer duration. Or maybe if I drink two of the same potion at once then that triggers the longer duration.

There are plenty of ways they can make potions more useful while still not being able to drink during battle. But having potions last only 5-10 minutes is not long enough for any actual planning ahead to matter. With such a short duration, you pretty much have to run into a battle by accident, load a save, drink the potions, and then go for the battle again (possibly skipping through all cutscenes this time so that the potions don't wear off before the fight even begins).

 

[dragonbird]

I like the way that it worked in TW1 where the potions had a much longer duration. I understand that in some cases in TW2 the player might not want a potion to last a long time, but in that case I think the White Honey potion should be brought back as well. It instantly cancels the effects of all potions and returns toxicity to zero.

That way I would be able to take my favorite potion or two and be set for the night, but if I learn something new which changes my plans (like if I have to explore a dark cave and want to drink a Cat potion) then I could chug a White Honey to clear my system and load up with a different potion combo.

If it worked that way, then I'd be fine with not being able to drink potions outside of combat. They could also make the potion ingredients harder to find, or make the potions more expensive to produce in order to compensate for the longer duration. Or maybe if I drink two of the same potion at once then that triggers the longer duration.

There are plenty of ways they can make potions more useful while still not being able to drink during battle. But having potions last only 5-10 minutes is not long enough for any actual planning ahead to matter. With such a short duration, you pretty much have to run into a battle by accident, load a save, drink the potions, and then go for the battle again (possibly skipping through all cutscenes this time so that the potions don't wear off before the fight even begins).

I think you've brought up a couple of good points here, although I have an alternative solution for one of them
Yes, oh yes, I wish White Honey was still there.
I don't think I agree about extended durations as a default - I'm OK with it being an acquired skill in the Alchemy Tree.
I can't think of any fight in the game that takes longer than the potions last, if you tab/esc through opening dialogues. So if they were to stop the clock during dialogue it would solve the problem. It might not be "realistic" but I think it would be a better user experience than the "replay" method that most of us probably end up using.

But if you do want to just extend, there is a mod for it.
http://witcher.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=46
(I don't know if this works or not, but it looks straightforward enough to be worth trying)

 

[scyld]

I like the way that it worked in TW1 where the potions had a much longer duration. I understand that in some cases in TW2 the player might not want a potion to last a long time, but in that case I think the White Honey potion should be brought back as well. It instantly cancels the effects of all potions and returns toxicity to zero.

Well... of course the point of the potion change was to prevent endless potion chugging, not to make it easier for the player.

And frankly, this was a valid criticism.

But as you said, it's impossible to predict at times what potions are needed in TW2.

So that's why I think it's important to be able to take potions just prior to combat, but still to have their consumption throttled compared to TW1.

 

[username_2093396]

I think you've brought up a couple of good points here, although I have an alternative solution for one of them
Yes, oh yes, I wish White Honey was still there.
I don't think I agree about extended durations as a default - I'm OK with it being an acquired skill in the Alchemy Tree.
I can't think of any fight in the game that takes longer than the potions last, if you tab/esc through opening dialogues. So if they were to stop the clock during dialogue it would solve the problem. It might not be "realistic" but I think it would be a better user experience than the "replay" method that most of us probably end up using.

But if you do want to just extend, there is a mod for it.
http://witcher.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=46
(I don't know if this works or not, but it looks straightforward enough to be worth trying)

I actually did not realize at first that there is a skill in the alchemy tree to extend potion duration. On my first play-through (I played on Hard) I completely ignored the alchemy tree because there were so many sword and sign skills that I wanted to get first and then I ran out of skill points to do everything As a result I ended up completely ignoring potions, bombs and traps because I never needed them (aside from Cat potion in dark places, and drinking a Swallow before a few battles that looked particularly tough).

Now I'm going to try an alchemy-focused build so maybe I'll feel differently about the potions this time. I won't use the mod because I want to see how it is in the basic game first before I go and tamper with it

Well... of course the point of the potion change was to prevent endless potion chugging, not to make it easier for the player.

And frankly, this was a valid criticism.

But as you said, it's impossible to predict at times what potions are needed in TW2.

So that's why I think it's important to be able to take potions just prior to combat, but still to have their consumption throttled compared to TW1.

Yeah, exactly. I'm fine with the relatively short toxicity bar which limits how many potions can be used at once, and with not being able to drink potions during combat. I just feel that, at least with a non-alchemy build, the potions seem too weak and expire too quickly to be useful.

 

[GuyNwah]

Since the unskilled duration of potions in TW2 is longer than in TW1, I am not sure I understand the many complaints that the duration is too short.

TW1: Swallow, 2 hours in-game time.
TW2: Swallow, 10 minutes real time.

But the game:real time scale is 15:1, so that 10-minute Swallow lasts 2-1/2 hours in-game time.

If you're referring to the long-lasting potions in TW1 such as Tawny Owl and Cat, I find that they last too long in TW1, and the reduced duration is more suitable.

 

[username_2093396]

Since the unskilled duration of potions in TW2 is longer than in TW1, I am not sure I understand the many complaints that the duration is too short.

TW1: Swallow, 2 hours in-game time.
TW2: Swallow, 10 minutes real time.

But the game:real time scale is 15:1, so that 10-minute Swallow lasts 2-1/2 hours in-game time.

If you're referring to the long-lasting potions in TW1 such as Tawny Owl and Cat, I find that they last too long in TW1, and the reduced duration is more suitable.

I really thought Swallow lasted longer than that in TW1 (if I did the math right based on what you said it was only 8 minutes?). Maybe it just seemed longer because I could drink a new one whenever the old one wore off so I wasn't keeping track of the time. On the other hand TW2 has a timer on the screen and doesn't let me replenish potions during combat, so it's much more noticeable when the potions wear off and it feels like they don't last as long as they should.

Edit: Okay, now I'm totally losing my mind When I was just playing TW2 yesterday I looked over the Alchemy tree and saw a skill to increase potion duration by 50% and I was surprised I had missed it the first time I played the game. Today I looked on the Wiki to see how much level 2 would increase potion duration and it says level 1 is 10% and level 2 is only 40%.

Did that get increased in a patch? And if so, what's the new increase for level 2?