ditto, i would not have read this manual becaue most games all have like a hold my hand beginning tutorial. or are basically a hack and slash no need to read

BUT when i do get trouble or what not, i then look at manual first before i bitch online about not being able to block.

Surely there's some more tips that people can share now that the game has been released a bit longer?

This game is rated for Mature audiences for a reason (aka 18+).

It thrusts you into the fray the same way your parents thrust you out of the house when you hit 18.
It expects that you should be mature enough to not only handle the sex scenes, but also to be able to go at it without anyone holding your hand.

Additional help with QTE punching:

I just won the brawl fight quest. The punching is not that hard even with hard qte events. There's a secret to the buttons. W always appears top screen, A left screen, D right screen and S down the screen.

One of the main things that didn't seem to be evident in the early combat is that Geralt has more of a sticky magnetism to his attacks. Even if you aren't pressing a direction if you hit quick attack he will leap towards an enemy. Heavy attack is close quarters only at the beginning. The combat looks like it's fast but really you need to hit the attack buttons slower and more deliberately. Lock on could be handled a bit better. I wish it would keep the enemy in focus with the camera. If you aren't careful you end up with Geralt facing the camera and the enemies are all offscreen. I realized you don't need to hold on to the lock on button you just tag your quarry. It's still janky if you want to pick one guy in a mob. You do end up flying towards bad guys you weren't trying to engage. I'd say the closest comparison is to the Assassins Creed 2 style of swordplay but with the danger of Demon's Souls. I've yet to encounter an out and out unfair fight. There seems to be a creative mind behind every tough combat. Sometimes the rolling doesn't cooperate like you think it should.

I was in that madhouse part and there are spectral enemies that kick your butt. I looked at the monster tab in the journal but it gave no battle tips. I recalled getting a book but none of that info was in there. What you have to do is meditate and go into the character screen. Now right now the attributes subscreen is a bit wonky. The cursor flys past selections with the gamepad. But if you use the arrow keys on your keyboard you can get in there. In that menu it shows you how proficient you are with monsters on a 1-3 scale. Read a book and all the info gleened will be there. It said that these ghosts were weak towards a certain element. So boom, I had a battle plan for these enemies. Of course since I knew where the enemies were going to spawn I just put traps up before they appeared. Obviously that is kind of cheesy since you couldn't have pulled this battle off coming in cold. Still satisfying to do. I wish it had that info in the journal though. It seems a bit buried in the character screen.

I wish it was more clear on which books you have and haven't read. I'm also not sure if I need to keep the diagrams or if they are just part of my alchemy/crafting menu now. They don't take up space but I could sell them. They don't give that big "codex updated" thing every time you get new info.

You don't have access to ever defensive possibility like in Demon's Souls where you could break guards and riposte right from the get go. I'm still a bit fuzzy on how to get the most out of Axii. Does holding it on an enemy increase the duration of the effect? Is it apparent when it fails? That's the only sign that I'm not really feeling like I'm utilizing.

I'm sticking with 360 controller and I can't imagine how I would even try to play this game on the kbm. I tried it on that monastery gate battle and quickly changed back. It's a bit easier to quickly change signs with the mouse. With gamepad you have to hold trigger, push left then go up and down. Not too bad since you are in slowed time. The menus could be navigated a bit better with the gamepad though. I wish I could switch over to the mouse when I'm in inventory or setting bets. Arm wrestling is tough as hell with the mouse. It's tough with gamepad but at least it didn't feel as floaty. I do wish it had more of an analog feel to the movement. There really are just the walk/run speed. Reminds me of MGS1 on psx. You end up dashing around in cramped areas and struggling to interact with doors or pick up loot. One thing that alleviates the whole standing right on top of loot thing is that you need the camera to be centered on what you want to interact with. It seems like you should be able to press x and aim towards something but that is just not the case. Imagine there is a invisible cursor right in the middle of the screen.

One thing that has been very useful is the medallion surge or whatever it's called that highlights all object that are interactive. It highlights traps and reveals places of power. Use it often. It's also good when you kill a bunch of bad guys in a dense area and can't find there lootpiles.

When ~ 3-4m away from an opponent.

Aard then tap left mouse (quick attack). Best way to chain the finishers. :)