Post all tips here, I was a little flustered by the start of the game due to some of the combat mechanic changes, but after a couple of deaths i'm breezing through the tutorial (although it's still nicely challenging) and i've been playing for ~30 mins so far.

Here's my tips:
1. Geralt starts equiped with his default rusty sword, if you imported your save game from the first game you should have a few other options in your inventory. EQUIP A BETTER SWORD NOW! (I had at least 3 steel swords to choose from that were all min. dmg dbl the rusty sword)
2. Put your bombs in your bomb quick slot, then use them on groups by pressing R. Make sure no one is charging you and you're standing a safe distance away.
3. Use cntrl during combat to cycle through signs. It goes into slow mo (e.g. max payne bullet time) to allow you to think about which sign to use
4. DODGE. Parry sucks unless 1 v 1. Roll left, right, backwards. Run circles around slow opponents. Run away from groups and then fire igni/aard at them.
5. Use z to find places of power etc.
6. Pick up loot. (Those little bags) Then press spacebar to collect all.
7. Kill the weaklings first. This includes killing archers over swordsmen.
8. Dodge some more.

If you read this, you will be rolling and breeze through the beginning and then start levelling up and have an AMAZING time.

should i specialize or evenly distribute my talents.

Should I prefer alchemy tree over swordmanship tree?

Thanks for tips..I died immediately on ramp trying to find Ballista(thought witchers parried bolts cept Leo) I guess thats what hit me? I had 5-6 swords in my ending inventory but only ended up with two choices Ard'aenye and the Moon Blade..only had 500 Oreo's too down from 37,000.

the economy was conservative in the first game. Hope in tw2 i get lots of oren

The Quen sign is amazingly useful as well, activate it, run in and swing sword about, run away again, repeat until enemies are dead. Works wonders.

I already figured as much. I guess people thought nothing seeing all the dodge action in the numerous preview videos and trailers. Now they slowly realize it's not an option, but essential to stay at life. :D

I've not yet started the game but I think it's an interesting approach showing Geralt not as a walking tank, but a vulnerable being. Superhuman, yes, but far from being invicible.

Technically he's always been more about quickness and technique rather than a tank. The first game just didn't do dodges as a gameplay element.

That was conservative? I must be more awesome than I thought. Which is saying something, because I'm pretty darn awesome.

nobody bothers about the game being hard... its just that everyone tries to play the game with 15fps and then any action game is hard! :)

Block doest even seem to work half the time when you press the button, you press and hold the block button and he just stands there like an idiot!

I would add that in order to parry, you need an endurance bar(yellow/orange bar under your health). Ive seen some posts complaining about parrying being unresponsive, and I have to think they must be out of endurance at the time, and didnt realize it.

Yeah. Basically you need vigor to do anything. No point going into a fight with no vigor. No point trying to use signs with no vigor. No point trying to block with no vigor.

This mechanic alone shows that you need to 1,2,3 hit then dodge + dodge to get back your vigor regardless of how you want to play your witcher in the beginning. I'm sure once we level up and unlock more vigor bars or whatever it won't be such a necessity. But block works fine if you've got a yellow bar left. :)

I haven't really played it that much 2day but the more I read here its good that there's a difference from TW1 it was getting boring after awhile once you learned the mechaincs. Most are complaining BECAUSE they didn't read the manual or readme release notes or bother to read the ingame tutorial on the Journal page. So their flooding this forum with noob stuff. Let me hold your hand child!! or should I say Open Wide!!

I've got a new tip:

If a BIG MOB of dudes is chasing you... use your trap sign quickly when you've got some distance. Then roll fwd again. Place a conflagration. Roll fwd again. Turn around. Soak up some more vigor. Watch the hilarity ensue then throw an igni/aard at whoever makes it through and you might even score a finisher on the unlucky individual :D

Read the manual, dear [insert appropriate Deity here] man, do you realise what that entails!

To be fair I didn't read the manual before starting either but that's simply because nearly all games these days are so simple they don't require a manual.