....and receive it like this? (See attached photo) The replica coin and card/dice game instruction booklet and even two of the dice had slipped under the "inner box" because the spot where the bust was laying had cracked all the way along the side. The bust itself was chipped, on the nose (but I'm familiar with the material used to sculpt it, and I can repair it on my own). I'm not sure if it's the way it was packaged or the way it was handled during delivery (FedEx Standard Overnight/Release Date Delivery), but for $120 I'd have expected a little more quality. Especially since the DNF Balls of Steel package has all the same stuff, and for $30 less! On the bright side, nothing was missing or received in a state so damaged it wasn't usable.

Speaking of "bright side", I found in the box TWO pre-order DLC cards (one of which bore the Amazon.com logo, so I suspect the original packaging had been opened to place this card inside before shipping, and then sealed again. If this is the case, then I would definitely attribute all aforementioned damage and "shifted contents" to Amazon's handling. God help me had I ordered from Newegg...). One was for the "Roche Commando Jacket", which I knew to be exclusive to Collector's Edition pre-orders, and the other was for the "Ultimate Swordsman Suit", which I had thought was only available to standard (labeled "Premium Edition") edition pre-orders.

It was my understanding that users would only be allowed to have one pre-order DLC active on their account at any one time. Is this still true? Or did I misunderstand "Users would only be able to install DLC to one account at any one time", implying potential user-initiated revocation of DLC licenses?

They took back the "one pre-order DLC" limitation, so you can install both.

Doesn't make up for your horrid shipping, but enjoy both your DLC!

Excellent! Also, does anyone know the difference between the two coins packaged in the Collector's Edition? That is, the larger one packaged next to the pack of cards and bag of dice, and the smaller one in the game's DVD-case (came in an envelope with ''propaganda" against the King Henselt or something) , with the skull-octopus mark on it? Are they two different denominations? Or are they from different countries?

The large one is the Temerian Oren (currntly loosing ground to the USD, EUR and GBP due to political turmoil in Temeria). The face is that of King Foltest. The small one bears the same markings as the seal on the envelope, so I assume it might be some plot device later in the game.

Sorry to hear about your shipping problems. The bust is sadly fragile.

QUESTION regarding those dlc things

are they good?

the armor going to last long game wise?
is is copmariable to the ravin armor? better/worse?
when do you get it? right away? after some point?

Gimme the stats of the Raven armor and I'll tell you if it's better. You get it from the start, or as soon as you download the DLC. It appears in your inventory.

this is from witcher 1. haven't gotten home yet to play witcher 2, so don't know how it transfered over and how different the armor is this game compared to last. but here is last game stats

Quickslots (3)
Damage received −20%

Vitality +75
Endurance +15
Vitality regeneration +5%
Endurance regeneration +5%
All resistances +25%
Extra short weapon slot


ANYONE out there able to post the Witcher 2's Raven armor stats. FYI, my raven armor is teh neutral one

The descriptions on the cards say:

"Some items are not available immediately but instead will become unlocked during early quests so as not to ruin the story"[/i]

I guess this means that the items are powerful, or at least very helpful to low-level players, but not as useful as the best "Story" armor (ex. an armor set that is the reward for a quest that spans the whole game). The cards also say:

Of the Roche Commando Jacket
"Equip this outfit to boost your sword-fighting abilities to a new level!"

Of the Ultimate Swordsman Suit
"This Rare set of clothes/armor provides a big advantage by boosting the effectiveness of your magical signs."

Judging by those two descriptions, they are each tailored (no pun intended) for a specific ability boost/style of play, so neither are what you might call a "game breaker".

Personally, I was disappointed in getting the swordsman suit with the Vernon Roche suit. It's redundant because both are swords based suits but the Vernon Roche is better so it makes the swordsman suit pretty useless.

Gamestop got the Vernon Roche suit, the Mysterious Merchant and a free limited edition Witch comic book with their CE. I kind of feel penalized for buying from Amazon.

I know it seems like nitpicking but the CE cost a lot of money. :p I don't think that description is right. On thewitcher2.com it says this of the swordsman suit

Boosts the
sword-fighting
statistics.
Increases rare
Effect’s chance.
For sword-master
character build.

That seems to make more sense. Maybe that description on the card is for the magic suit?

Sadly the game mechanics changed, so we'll have to have someone post the new stats.

I'll post the jacke't stats when I find the time to play the game tomorrow 'k?

Mine came in just about the same condition - the inner box was cracked, the replica coin and instruction booklet (also damaged) had slipped into the spot where the bust was...which ended up being chipped on the nose, chin, and right eye/ridge, along with dark 'smudges' in various spots. Everything else looks nice, but I can't help but feel disappointed.

Exact same problem for me, very disappointing.

My statue bust is also chipped but luckily only very little (some small dents here and there, nothing major, I try to tell myself that it looks more authentic like it's worn down by weather :-)

Imho, they should have wrapped it in a single layer of bubble wrap, and it would probably have been in perfect condition.
The inner casing is also cracked, but fortunately the crack is only and inch wide.

Other than that, I love my collector's edition, but strangely enough my box isn't numbered :-(

In addition to the usual wrap around the big box, there is also a big cardboard thing stating that this is the Nordic edition which is weird since there is nothing in Nordic in the package, it's English all the way which suits me just fine. :-)

Got mines from a Gamestop and the women who held my copy apparently got it to so she took care of my precious box ^^

I have received my CE at the same condition as predcon ... the bust is chipped in some parts (nose too!) and the holding black "material" was damaged... also the back of the artbook had some dents from the bust. TNT was my courier from UK...