So it turns out The Witcher is pretty fun

[TidusZ]

combat in first 2 games ruined it for me, haven't played witcher 3 yet but watching that video doesn't bode well

 

[ControlD]

Everyone hates the swamp. I loved it. I thought it was beautiful, especially the druid's grove. Mysterious sounds to be heard when running through that swamp at night. Ominous ruined swamp tower with a Diabloesque air about it.

CDPR are the masters of the swamp. Great swamps in TW2 and TW3 too.

I am quite OK with the swamp as well. I get a little tired of city settings in RPGs to be honest. I always feel like I need to enter every house and building, but 90% of the time there is nothing interesting to see in them.

I am well into chapter 3 now and the game is still fun. The inventory management is a bit of a nightmare in this game, mainly because I'm never sure what alcohol I need to save for potion making but that's a small gripe. I just store a bunch of stuff till I can't take it anymore then sell everything I have more than 20 of.

 

[Gryz]

About what alcohol you need:
Some recipes require 2 ingredients, some 3, some 4, some even 5 ingredients.
For the recipes with 2 ingredients, you can use any weak alcohol.
For the recipes with 3 ingredients, you can use any medium alcohol.
For the recipes with 4 ingredients, you need to use strong alcohol.
For the recipes with 5 ingredients, you need to use the strongest alcohol.
I might mix up the strength/names of the alcohol. But that's the general idea.

Most of the useful recipes require 5 ingredients. So you'll need the strongest alcohol for that. I usually went to the Inn once in a while. Then I meditated and made a bunch of potions. I always had 8 swallows on me, and 5-6 of the other useful ones. (I just saw that swallow only requires 4 ingredients, so cheaper alcohol). I kept most of my alcohol in my storage in the Inn.

 

[Merad]

I am well into chapter 3 now and the game is still fun. The inventory management is a bit of a nightmare in this game, mainly because I'm never sure what alcohol I need to save for potion making but that's a small gripe. I just store a bunch of stuff till I can't take it anymore then sell everything I have more than 20 of.

Only the liquors are used for potions. Once you have the white gull recipe any liquor can be upgraded to a white gull, which can make any potion. But you should keep at least a handful of wines and beers. There are a few quests where you need need them (usually the better wines, IIRC) to bribe someone, and a few other quests which involve drinking with someone, which consumes something like 4-6 drinks.

 

[ControlD]

Thanks Gryz and Merad. That helps quite a bit.

 

[Gryz]

I think there are a lot of gameplay details, or strategy details, that are not obvious when you start playing the game. Like how the combat works. It's completely timing based. I disliked it at first. But later on I actually started to like it. In my second play-through I played the hardest difficulty. No visual indicators (a flame on your sword) to tell you when to press for the follow-up attack. But by that time, I didn't need it anymore. I could just do my 4 attacks blindly in the right timing. Also signs are very very important. Basically Aard is awesome. It knocks players and monsters down, which allows you to finish them in 1 hit. If you play Act I on the hardest difficulty, you need to spec into that, or else it's almost impossible to kill the first boss (the Hellhound).

During TW2 I learned how important it was to make potions. Some fights (the boss fights) can hardly be done without potions. I had read a few short stories from the first 2 books. In those books, Geralt does prepare for a fight. By meditating, and taking potions before the fight. So while playing the game, that actually made sense now.

I guess the game has some depth, where you don't see it at first. I remember when I played WoW (as a rogue), I had no idea what I was doing (gear wise) until I hit level 40 or so. And only at level 60 I learned the best ways to do stuff (stunlocking enemies). It took me 3 months to go from 1 to 60 (which was normal back then). I still had fun those first 3 months. TW1 has a little bit of that learning curve too. I hope TW3 has it too. (But tbh, as soon as you get the crafted witcher gear in TW3, it seems the game becomes significantly easier).