To explain without spoiling: there's this one part in the game where you're fighting without the use of magic, rolling or items and its made me see how awful combat is relating to the core "attacking and blocking" aspect-- this mostly relates to dealing with multiple enemies as the issues explained below aren't that problematic when facing only one enemy.

Anyways, it's WAY too difficult to fight against multiple enemies without rolling or using Quen or whatever. In these cases, you cant attack them by rolling around and hitting them from behind, so your only option is to attack enemies head on. Unfortunately, this leads them to surround you, taking turns alternately swinging at your head. So your only method of defense is to block but for some reason you don't have an infinite number of blocks. So you have to desperately hit someone before you run out of blocks and then, if your first lucky enough that the enemy your screen selected was indeed the enemy you intended to attack and if the enemy your swinging at is not far away so that your sword fails to reach them and if the enemy is not going to block your attack, you'll maybe get a single hit before you have to go back into defense before someone else's sword comes down upon you. Oh and then there's the problem again about not having an infinite number of blocks so eventually you can't block anymore and you die.

Ranting or anyone agree with me?

EDIT: oh, and anyone who say's this part is not so difficult you are DEFINITELY NOT playing on hard.

Only part of the game where I had to Hard>Easy.

Valid point.

This is exactly why I believe their should be a combo or a button for a group style attack. I know the game has a skill you can level up where you can attack multiple enemies with one strike but it's not the same as a group style attack (like in TW1) where you can spin multiple times and knock back opponents.

Also a front flip where you can jump over an enemy if you are being surrounded would be useful too.

I didn't find that section too difficult at all... at first i wasn't even sure you could take damage. You can, but I never got it very low. I had to repeat it a few times but that's because I died in the following battle with the Draug before i figured out the trick to that one, and the game (stupidly) did not allow you to save after the fight beforehand. I never died once in the ghost-fight. Playing on normal.

*eta - just for reference while I did level up mostly the swordsman path, I pumped up Quen a lot as well as i love zapping guys when they hit me. So I'm not usually doing a lot of blocking when playing as Geralt, unless they have shields. But still, I never saw what was so tricky about it. You may not be able to roll, but you can run if you're finding yourself pinned. The guys don't all run at the same speed, and when they do catch up, they will generally all be one side of you. also the ALT key is your friend, focus on the unshielded guys first, take them out with heavy blows, takes about 5 seconds.

Fair point I was only able to defeat this part because I had unlocked the riposte ability. Even with that it was extremely hard, one of the hardest fights in the game for me.

While I agree that I would prefer a better blocking system (does the trait that reduces vigor costs for blocking even work?) I have no problem with non-Witchers getting spanked when swarmed by multiple foes.

Geralt is a mutant. He is engineered for sticking things with the pointy end. So he is obviously going to stand a better chance of surviving being surrounded than a few ordinary grunts.

It doesn't help that you have to replay the combat sequence before the chap 2 boss against half a dozen enemies over and over again.

Even with the immortality you have there it was a major pain. That was where the jumpy targeting thing really made me stop playing for a while and when the enemy blocks your attack you stagger back and can't block. So not only can you only block 2 or 3 times but if they block you, then you can get "stunlocked" (term coined by the wild boars in gothic 3) because theres enemy types that can throw you back, into another heavy attack that throws you back.

It is by far the worst designed combat section of the entire game. And it really shows all flaws of the combat at once, (and more importantly, why QUEN is so extremely, EXTREMELY OP) The developers likely saw this issue and made quen so strong because of it, instead of fixing the combat/block and stagger issues.

Am I the only person who hardly ever used Quen aside from when fighting the dragon? I preferred dodging attacks via rolling.

If youre referring to the section I think youre referring to...

*Spoilers*



Where Geralt surrenders his body in chapter 2 to a ghost that fights a preliminary battle leading up to the Draug, then Im sorry but youre crazy.

That sequence couldnt be easier. It's the *end*, against the boss thats challenging. Seriously, thin out the easier to kill guys without shields, they'll go down to fairly reckless attacks. Then, for the guys with shields , just block their attacks as they come in and throw themselves off balance, then move forward, take a couple whacks, block, repeat. Remember, you dotn need to actually *dodge* to stay mobile, and run past someone when theyre off balance to hit them in the flank. Dodging just makes it *look* cooler.

Of all the things to complain about in that encounter sequence, thats really the silliest. I'd be much more annoyed by the fact that the only save point is before you fight those guys, so when the much more challenging end boss kills you, you have to go through the whole thing again.

Its not harder than dodging, its just different. Through all the times the draug sent me back to wail on those guys again, running out of vigor was never an issue. It should also be mentioned you can also draw the guys at the end off one at a time pretty easily, so youre only fighting them all at once if you make yourself.

{edit} Ill just mention, this is a Swordsman/magic build on Hard, but I dont know if Gerlat's abilities even apply to that character)

I'm glad you guys are agreeing with me.

I remember thinking these things also in the beginning of the game but then I guess I just started relying too much on Quen and Dodging and I never had to deal with blocking and countering again. That is until I got to this point in the game.

I always forget to use it. By chapter 2, Geralt is so overpowered in normal battles, its just not a priority. And dodging is much more fun.

I really wish they'd scale up the difficulty on the normal run of the mill battles in the game after chapter 1. Geralts gear and abilities are so potent by then, its like a knife through butter, even on Hard difficulty.

Ah yes, but on Hard you won't get away just rolling around, without Quen you can be staggered (when enemies block your attack), and once staggered you are most certainly dead.

I played it on hard, and riposte made quick work of all the enemies in that section.

Thats my loss then, i never skilled Riposte ;p I play true mage ;/

I stopped reading when I saw "too hard".

No offense, but I rather "too hard" in this type of combat then "Smash right click to win everything".

So far, combat has been perfect for me. Following swordsman path.