During TW1 I didn't noticed/learnt the advanched alchemy system, but now I would be ready to study it so it would be nice in TW2. It's a good system since you don't have to know everything about it but in case you're interested you can find interesting ways to enchance your skills.
In TW2 I like that we can do many potions easily. Meaning in TW1 the alchol base pretty much decided how many you can do and they weren't available endlessly/all the time in case you run out of them. Same with bombs.. the reason I never used them (because they were somewhat "rare" in my mind). TW2 give me much more freedom to actually use stuff in many situations.
I did like the alchemy system in TW1 very much, it was flexible enough to let you try your own mixes of potions and maybe come up with an "unknown" recipe! Also, we had more control of the actual mix and the alcohol bases gave variety and another level of difficulty. I really tried using those special liquors (like Azoth) very wisely.
On the other hand, having dominant alchemical substances like rubedo, nigredo and albedo gave you extra effects in potions, such as a mildly health-regenerating cat potion!
Alchemy in TW2 is more streamlined, but at least lets you change the ingredients to your liking. I like being able to create more than one potion at once, but seems a little simplified compared to TW1. It somehow fits TW2 well, maybe because the game compensates with such a great... well, everything else!
And Slimgrin, Geralt medidates because that is how witchers brew potions and rest. It seemed more necessary in TW1 than in TW2, but as I like the role-playing aspect of the game, I did enjoy whatever little meditation I did (for example, for time-of-day sensitive quests). In TW1 I would medidate to heal, recover from drunkenness, learn talents and brew potions. None of this is necessary in TW2, but I am glad we can still meditate.
I agree. if you mean what I think you mean. I'm OK with the fact that we have to take them before the fight, but it's really immersion-breaking sometimes to stop and have a rest when you're heading into battle. We could do without the animations.
I also liked TW1 system more. Why did they try to fix what was not broken at all?
I only agree that drinking potions during a battle should not be easy. But maybe it would be better to just increase the time required to drink the potion instead of making it impossible.
I do not like the short duration of potions. In TW1 they lasted longer, but were more costly to make (you needed alcohol). Having to drink potions every 10/14 minutes, going through the meditation cutscene, timer not stopping during cutscenes in TW2 is just annoying.
1. A Re-drink Potions Button, so I can keep potions active while exploring new areas without going through all those menus several times.
2. The drinking potions animation should be immediately followed by the getting-up animation, without the meditation menu displayed again in between. This would save time and require less input.
Of course greatly prolonging potion durations to the level of The Witcher 1 would be even better than that re-drink button, but I don't think the devs would do that.
I just miss the deepness of the alchemy system , it was kinda a minigame for itself in tw1 , it was the everyday bread and "work" to keep up with them, because thats one of the things what makes a witcher right?
-u have to buy alcohol,powder and oils with different quality,u just feel really rewarded ands bad ass when mixing with the best alcohol plus the best ingridients fits togehter so u get a bonus buff
-if u make a potion witch ingridients secondary parts are the same(nigredo,rubedo...) u get a bonus to the existing buff
- you could mix your own drinks and see what happens, that was really a lot of fun, getting blind,drunk or sick or discover a
mixed buff of knwon potions.
- the buffs were more diverse, so you get to learn more and more useful potions ,bombs and coatings later on and could mix them depending on the situation differently and more tactical
Well, admittedly there is some room for improvements in TW2 for alchemy. However, I really dislike the fact to be able to drink a potion during a combat at all, as much as I hate immediate effects potions (such as healing potions in TW1).
So, in this domain, TW2 is way better. We're also closer to the spirit of TW1, in the end. If you remind the introduction video, Geralt was actually meditating to drink potions, and it makes potions more realistic like this.
After that, I regret that the potions last only a few couple of minutes. 20 minutes would have been right (or let's say 4 hours in game time). However, that's something you can improve yourself using mods.
After, the debate about base ingredient is strictly personal. Even though it makes perfect sense to have to use a base recipe for all potions, bombs, and oils, in the end you just add another ingredient to a potion. An ingredient you have to buy. That eventually limited the amount of potion you could craft. In the end, in TW2, that would have added a weighty ingredient to carry, another one. Yes, alchemy was made a bit easier, but on the other hand there were new crafting possibilities for other items. In TW1, alcohol was important, and fun. You had a feat tree to fight better when drunk, etc. It's fun, but I guess it existed because CDPR was unsure of the project, and added some fun elements to it. TW2 was different, they knew about the success, and made it more "serious".
My true and only regret with alchemy system is the fact that the potion timers continue even during dialogues, and that sometimes the fact that you need to be out of combat makes it impossible for you to use potions.
The first meeting with Letho for instance, or the last battle in Vergen are perfect examples for that.
That's imo the only thing needing to be solved.
I would also advocate to rebalance some potions, whose counterparts are too important to be used decently. If a potion reduce my vitality by 50%, will you use it ? I personally never did, and I played this game in hard without Quen and bombs (too easy with that). However, I admittedly didn't specialise in alchemy tree, maybe those potions are more valid with this tree.
To answer your final question first, yes, alchemy tree addresses the issues with those potions. Personally, I only find them useful if you're taking this option, which is OK - there are an adequate number of other potions if you're not taking alchemy tree.
I prefer the TW2 approach generally to potions. I don't really see any special benefit as a player from having the base oil/alcohol, it's just another ingredient. I also like the fact that you don't have to trek to the nearest fireplace to make a potion, and find it more realistic (and not a major problem) to have to take potions in advance. The battles where you can't take potions in advance are just part of the game, challenging, but forcing you to use other tactics just like the Kayran forces you to depend on something other than pure swordplay.
My only complaint is the one I mentioned earlier - having to go through an animation sequence in order to take potions before a battle. I'd much prefer it if he could just grab it and take it, as in TW1. Realistically, it shouldn't take a meditation sequence to drink something, and it feels totally wrong to have to kneel down and block out the world just to uncork a bottle and knock back a few mouthfuls of liquid. I'd prefer it if it were handled like changing sign or pocket item.
