Plus, if you already have several playthroughs under your belt, the game becomes inevitably easier.

All the more reason for better balance but a new game "+" option. Where the enemies are scalled even higher if you have a previous playthrough.

Ah, so that is what "new game +" means. Much like nightmare and hell in Diablo 2?

I like this idea because the player has the choice and the difficulty increase is not imposed on those who think it's already fine as it is

I would like access to insanity difficulty with the ability to reload saves. I think it's a mistake to make the actual hardest difficulty level in the game a one shot deal. There are far too many glitches in the game for me to even consider that. Plus I'm a coward. :P

Isnt Hard and Insane mode the same difficulty wise? The only differance being that one has perma-death?

As for the Topic subject,i agree that the game needs to be harder. However i dont think CDPR will do this for those of us that want a more extreme level of difficulty. There is too many factors that are not balanced right now.

The original Witcher was the same (for those players that found the game way too easy to begin with). Combat can be buggy,monster AI is also strange sometimes,gear progression doesnt exist,alchemy/oil/bombs/traps arent really needed at all or can just be abused. Talent tree's are way too powerful generally speaking.Lots of tuning needed overall.

However i dont think this job is CDPR's to fix since they really cant please everyone..one mans easy mode is another mans insanely hard mode that is totally impossible and broken etc.

It falls to the modding community for this imo =) and they are already working on it. Ive made numerous comments on this subject in differant threads to the point that im starting to sound like a broken record or salesman.

But in my opinion what this game needs,for those of us who want the combat tuned up properly for extreme tactical difficulty,are mods similar (if not the same) as the original games Flash Insanity mod or FCR. (same author)

http://www.moddb.com/mods/flashs-the-witcher-mod/downloads/flashs-the-witcher-mod-10

http://www.moddb.com/mods/full-combat-rebalance1

http://www.youtube.com/user/andy0985?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/3/vYChOh6aHXI (an example of W1 combat tuned up perfectly due to the first mod i linked.)

That guy single handedly tuned up the Witcher 1 combat mechanics and made it perfect..to the point that CDPR included the mod with retail versions of the game. Thats what is needed for the Witcher 2 =) .

why can't some of you accept the fact that others might want a harder game? not like I am suggesting cdp make easy and normal harder. <<< read this and understand it before you make a reply. if you are playing on hard and insane difficulty, what is wrong with a little challenge?

judging from some of the replies, you would think I was suggesting cdp to make easy and normal into insane level.

at least read before getting all red in the face.

I guess I agree, sorta. I've been using these mods for 3 weeks now:

http://www.witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=44

http://www.witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=89

They go a long way to balancing progression and evening out the curve.

Hopefully we will get an SDK soon and our dreams will be fulfilled.

That...and what Seren said. ;)

I agree the game is really easy on normal. All my signs are unupgraded and I have 20 over skillpoints unspent and I'm nearing end of chapter2

I found the first act in normal just challenging enough. I needed to use potions and oils for tough fights, it was nice. But now I'm at the beginning of act 2 and everything is far too easy. I cranked up the difficulty to the hard setting, but I still cut my way through most enemies just by button mashing and sometimes using Quen and Aard. The combats seem less interesting than in the first act, which is a shame. And I haven't even spent all my skill points or upgraded my equipment significantly.

So yes, I would like a harder difficulty setting. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to create a new difficulty setting, leaving the others as they are.

A game that IMO balanced very well the difficulty of combat with leveling up is Risen.

You can go in some locations or do some quests only after leveling up and upgrading armor/weapons because the enemies are much too strong and will squish you like a bug.

Even if in the end you have a very strong character, there are still challenging foes left and combat is never a breeze.

But Risen is an open world type of RPG.

risen's combat was retarded though. basically you just block block and hit back when they stop attacking. that was all I could remember of it. witcher 2's combat is so fluid and dynamic.

I was one of those people who bawwed at the prologue's difficulty at release, and even I can sympathize with this idea.

I'd like this thread much more if it wasn't mostly about combat. That's really not my biggest interest in RPGs, which I always think of as living in a different world. Everything from making allies to basic survival or finding my way around could be part of a great game and I'd like a bigger focus on those things than whacking something with a sword or dodging an attack.

this isn't a bug thread though. I know of 1 bug and 1 very annoying glitch. alchemy screen glitch where the game reset the ingredients even after you change it! that is annoying! the bug is loosing control of geralt when you move + use items at the same time.

I made this thread in the hope of finding like minded individuals who wants a challenge in hard or insane. if enough of us supports the idea, maybe cdp will do something in 1.3 or 1.4. I am just hoping against hope.