An Impromptu Witcher Lets Play - now with the Witcher 2!

[Norrdicus]

On another note I have no idea why people complained about quick time events in this game

I have an idea. Most of the time it comes at the very end of a fight, with a tiny yellow mark showing what you're supposed to do, then failing it causes either massive amounts of damage and/or kills you. And with the exception of tapping LMB, they aren't immediately identifiable.

In a game that does QTE right more often than not, like God of War series, the QTE is used in abundance during even the shortest action scenes, throughout the entire scene, sometimes you are "taught" what each QTE does (tapping O or tapping L1 and R1 usually means you're pushing something), you use QTE during regular combat and it's extremely apparent which button they want you to press, which motion to make.

The difference is like night and day, and the only parts when Witcher 2 does QTE somewhat well is during the fistfights, because there you don't need to read the WASD prompts, it soon becomes very clear that each directional key has its own corner on the screen. However, the QTE is often just too damn easy. Could have used some 3-hit and 4-hit QTE combos.

For most, the Witcher 2 QTEs are as useful as wisdom teeth.

EDIT: In fact, there's one game example where the QTE is used even better than in God of War. Telltale Games' The Walking Dead

 

[exxxed]

Great explanation, but my first interaction with QTE's was Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy for others) so my point of view is certainly not shared by many...

... right... usefulness... many things are silly.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update: An Elf, a Wraith, and a Troll

On advisement, I headed out to find a group of guards and an elf woman. I do so. They claim she's a spy. She (and one guard) claim she's a prostitute. Okay then. They ask me to investigate a cave, so I head over that way (finding one more necker lair - still can't find that other one), take a Swallow potion, and head inside.

And it's a good thing too, because there are a FUCKTON of Neckers. Damn! I fight and fight, then I roll around the rock a few times - cute Yackity Sacks again - and then take them on a few at a time. Finally, they're all dead. I medallion scan and loot and loot and loot.....

Also, I find some evidence - a body was dragged. I continue investigating - and looting - and come across the corpses, shot with arrows. So she is a Squirrel after all. Hm. I head back out and the guards ask me what I found. I have Geralt lie - I'd like to get back in with the Squirrels so not turning in their operative seems like a good start. The guards shrug and head off and she offers to thank me. Hm. This could be very good or very bad.

I save and follow her. My Swallow potion is still in effect, so I head in and, just as I talk to her, a bunch of Drowners pop up behind her. It's hilarious - one of them is standing in the background, waiting patiently for our conversation. She... springs her sudden but inevitable betrayal. **sigh**

Since the elves are coming from the woods, I run into the water. The Elves meet the Drowners and - once again - I stand back and laugh at them while one group of enemies fights another group of enemies. I roll around to the side (and switch to my steel blade) and start attacking Elves while the others are distracted. Two turn to fight me, and I kill them pretty easily while their buddies take out the drowners (and the drowners kill one of the elves). I take on the last two, kill them, and loot their bodies. Well that was... pointless. Good loot though - lots of swords to sell. The game wants me to find her, but I don't know where she went. After wandering about the woods for a bit, I head back to town to sell the swords. I... guess I'll find her later?

Whatever. Instead, I choose the Madness quest and head south. I end up at some ruins I never noticed before. A guy says that his friend went inside. Stupid friend. Oh, and neckers. CRAZED neckers, whatever that means.

I kill the neckers, but not before they kill the guy's dog. The god* dog is next to some stairs, so I head in.

*typo left in for your amusement

I head down and things are on fire! I explore, loot, and fight some wraiths. Eventually I find the guy. He spills the beans about treasure maps and torture and stupidity and riots. Lovely. So I head on and meet the wraith. He wants eyes and hearts of the guys. I'm mildly tempted to kill them, but... meh. I'm not so concerned that I feel like buying pig parts, so I go with Necker bits and head back down. The wraith doesn't but it, but Excalibur makes short work of him. I try to loot his awesome rainbow sword, but the game won't let me. Bah.

Outside, I have the option to let them go or arrest them. Hoping for a reward, I arrest them. The constable doesn't have any interest, but his WIFE does. Hm. Does that mean she's the woman from the madhouse who was "willing" and stole their map? That might explain the guy's wealth. Interesting twist. She takes them... for some reason. And doesn't rewards me. Well, screw her then.

Whatever, I got XP.

I head back to the ruins to loot some herbs and I bump into the Elf woman there (and some giant scorpions). I let her go because, dammit, I'm trying to make nice with the squirrels. Probably won't help.

Troll time. I head back to town and talk to people about the troll. And then, since you mentioned it, I head into the inn and play some dice. Everyone is really bitchy about who I play first, so I eventually work my way through them. I loot a room, sell some loot, and move onward.

Next up - talking to the troll. As predicted, the troll attacks me, so I give him a taste of Excalibur. He relents and I learn that he's drunk because his wife was murdered. I return to town, talk to MORE people about trolls, and find his wife's head. The guy won't hand over the head until I play dice with someone else first, so I'm off to find that person and the actual murderer.

I find the dice guy first (and beat him, which pisses him off) and that's where I left off this time. Not a lot accomplished, aside from a level up and some potion making.

I haven't yet found the quest on the docks. Any time of day best for finding it?

Oh, and I crafted a "jagged sword" because it had really good stats and I had all the stuff for it. Very nice.

 

[Norrdicus]

I haven't yet found the quest on the docks. Any time of day best for finding it?

There's no specific time of day really, just search for an abnormally well-dressed man, in either upper and lower level of the dock.

The trolls in this game are weirdly adorable, by the way.

Edit: Oh right, that old woman you met while bringing the two men to custody was Loredo's mother, not his wife

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update: the Kraken

Having acquired the Troll head, I head to the inn to ask about the guy. The quest icon points me right to one dude and I talk to him. He's a minion of the guy, it seems. After an intimidate, he tells me where the guys is.

I head to the graveyard. There I find the guy - and kill him (and his buddies). Then back to the Troll. I tell him I avenged his wife, and then give him the head. He gives me some plans for some armor. I then head back get my reward for the troll.

Oh - by the way. When you said "docks" I thought you meant over by the area where I first entered town. I kept going around there and not finding anyone. However, when you said "two levels" I said "huh? the docks don't have two levels... wait a minute!" and looked around some more. Turns out there's this area behind Inn I hadn't noticed before (but remembered from a cut-scene. Huh. Okay, that explains why I couldn't find the guy - I wasn't in the right place.

I talk to him, and he wants some incense formula, so I head to the incense shop and ask for it. And then intimidate for it when the guy's a dick. I head back, and he wants to "confirm it" and there's a bit of an argument. He agrees to take me to his "lab" and I refuse to be blindfolded, so he marks it on my map. Good enough.

This is getting a bit Hinky, but I go along anyway. Inside the cave, I turn over the formula (and loot the place). However, it turns out these guys are working for the former Salamanders. Geralt... doesn't seem to care, and I have no choice but to go along with it. Weird. Afterwards I save and draw my sword. And the guys attack me! Well, that works out well. I murder everyoen, loot their corpses, and then head back to town on a boat I found there. Neat.

I still can't find that last Necker nest (I've found the two just south of Lombdan, and another one near the pond - still can't find the third) and I'm running out of other quests, so I decide it's time to get that Kraken potion. I head to the cave and head inside.

Neckers! Lots and lots of neckers. Well, not as much as the last cave. I take it slow and kill them all.

At the very end is a special... undead something. A necrophage, apparently, according to the blood I loot from it. Anyway, I get the stuff for the potion.

I head back to town and make the potion - and another 10 because +20000% vs poison is fucking amazing. And, even if it only works on the Kraken, I can always sell them.

I also take a moment and get that Kraken trap made. And I make that Troll armor cause holy crap +10 armor. That beats my +8 Raven armor.

Since I can't think of anything else to do... I talk to the Sorceress and go after the Kraken.

I save, take my potions (Mongoose, Rook, and Swallow), and head into the cut scene. The battle begins, and a little yellow icon tells me where to place the trap, so I place it. The trap cuts off one of the tentacles! Wow, impressive. And that pisses the Kraken off.

I see more glowy weak spots, so I go try to hit them with my sword.

And the Kraken beats me to death.

The next time, the Sorceress shouts at me to use my trap spell. I press ctrl to change spells... and the Kraken beats me to death.

The next time, I place the trap first so I have somewhere safe to stand while I change spells. Turns out, no where is safe. Squashed again.

Finally, I just start rolling like a break-dancer. I roll over to the trap spot, roll past it, roll back to it, place the trap, roll away - the tentacle gets chopped off - but no time to celebrate - roll more - change spell - roll more - roll, roll, roll - cast the spell, roll away.

And success! A tentacle gets trapped! I run over and start hacking. Nothing hits me while I cut through it. Yay!

Okay, now that I see the technique (roll, roll, roll - cast - roll, roll, chop) I proceed to finish off the rest of the tentacles. Nice!

And then a tentacle grabs me. I see the QTE and start hitting the button to not die. I don't die. Yay. Rocks fall on the Kraken. And... I spend some time standing around, regenning, and trying to figure out where to go. When my first couple of ideas fail, I go up the rock and see two flailing tentacles.

I spend several fruitless minutes attempting to trap these tentacles. It does not work, and I'm sure you're all laughing at me. Each time I try, I get thwacked. Fortunately, I am able to simply stand back and let my Swallow potion regen me before trying again.

Eventually, I just try running past them. That works! And I get a cut scene of Geralt killing the Kraken. Awesome!

The Kraken dead, I get a cut scene with the Sorceress and go up TWO LEVELS. Sweet.

I loot the Kraken and head back to town to get paid. Which I do. Yay. 200 Oriens seems kinda... low, but whatever. I also get plans for something, but I don't get to look at that, because Triss is here to see me. Um, okay? She wants to question some Elf guy on the barge.

I follow her to the ship and Triss needs to heal him. I switch to the hold spell and cast it. And I fail to see the QTE, so I just stand there until Triss scolds me. Ah. The next time I do it properly. Questioning occurs and we learn about a Rose of Rememberance (and the assassin's name). Nice.

Triss says the Rose could restore Geralt's memory - and Geralt has another flashback.

... apparently, after Geralt and Yennifer "died" they were taken to... Avalon. Where they were healed. And where they had lots of sex. Until the Wild Hunt showed up and kidnapped Yennifer. For some reason? And Geralt set out after them.

And ended up unconscious outside of the Witcher castle. So it wasn't dying that lost Geralt his memories, it was something to do with the Hunt? Huh. Very interesting.

And there goes my theory that he's actually Clone Geralt. Ah well.

Also... since he has Excalibur and went to Avalon, does that mean that Geralt is actually King Arthur?

Anyway... Triss asks if she can come along. I don't see why not. We head out into the woods, fighting Neckers along the way (I still can't find that fourth nest - seriously, a copy of the in-game map with X-es on the locations would not go amiss) and we end up at that Elven Bath. Triss talks about the statue. Geralt picks a rose. Triss talks about a legend that a rose given to one's love will never die.

Well, that's a straight line if I ever heard one. So I have Geralt give the Rose to Triss. She's all like "oh my" - as if we haven't been over this before - and I suggest that she can remove a petal without harming the rest of the Rose.

And then bandits show up. So we kill them (I take two, Triss takes one). And, before I can loot their corpses, the ground gives way and dumps us into... a bath house!

What follows is one of the best sex scenes in the franchise so far. It combines the humor of the "haunted mill" from Chapter 1 of the first game, with some actual nudity and romance. The sex scene itself reminds me a tad of some of the sex scenes from Dragon Age 1, but without bras (ie, the parts where Geralt runs his hands over Triss looks a bit awkward because the skin doesn't seem to yield). Also, apparently the only position they could make look not-bad was "doggy style" because that's what they go with.

One minor disappointment - they never shot Geralt's cock. Spartacus on Stars actually shows more (male) skin than this.

Overall, I give it a 7 out of 10. This is one of the top three video game sex scenes I've ever seen (Mass Effect 1 and Xenosaga 3 being the other two). It has both humor, sexiness, and romance. Good scene.

That out of the way, Triss asks what's happening next. I have Geralt decide to chase his memories - he wants to go off with Triss and help Yennifer. Triss seems to care for Yennifer a lot (and not mind helping Geralt find the other love of his life). Personally, I'm hoping this leads to a three-way.

Which means I only have a couple of days to catch the Kingslayer. Roach isn't pleased (when he shows up and blocks further cock from being had) but screw Roach. ... speaking of three-ways.

Ahem. Anyway... I'm supposed to talk to Zoltan now. I want to visit the blacksmith first and see what I can do with those Kraken bits. And I'd really like to find that last Necker next.

This has GOT to be end of Chapter, right?

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Micro Update: Never mind the map. I got frustrated, looked up a map online, and found the last Nekker location. I have no idea why I never ran across it before - I scoured that area with medallion scans looking for it.

Anyway, I got plans for a "Superb Silver Witcher Sword" as a reward.

Should I make that? It has very good stats, but it uses up ALL of the silver I've managed to scrounge up this chapter. Or should I stick with Excalibur and wait until next chapter to make a better silver sword?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Stuff

Grats on beating the Kayran, I found that encounter MADLY frustrating when I first encountered it.

How are you enjoying the game so far? Getting accustomed to over-the-shoulder?

 

[Norrdicus]

And the Kayran beats me to death.

Oh boy have we all been there before

I also get plans for something, but I don't get to look at that, because Triss is here to see me. Um, okay? She wants to question some Elf guy on the barge.

Between the small window of time between getting the Kayran reward and Triss meeting you, there's exactly 0 main quest in your journal. They needed to give you a quest hook through some means.

... apparently, after Geralt and Triss "died" they were taken to... Avalon. Where they were healed. And where they had lots of sex. Until the Wild Hunt showed up and kidnapped Triss. For some reason? And Geralt set out after them.

No, that wasn't Triss in the flashback, that was Yennefer. She was mentioned by name. Exactly how did yo- nevermind.

*scratches his head*

And ended up unconscious outside of the Witcher castle. So it wasn't dying that lost Geralt his memories, it was something to do with the Hunt? Huh. Very interesting.

You're catching on

Ahem. Anyway... I'm supposed to talk to Zoltan now. I want to visit the blacksmith first and see what I can do with those Kraken bits. And I'd really like to find that last Necker next.

This has GOT to be end of Chapter, right?

You getting warmer, but still no. You're getting closer to shaking the status quo of the Act, but it's not the end.

There's still the fistfighting ring questline at the lower floor of the inn, and the night-time shenanigans of Temerian Special Forces in the building just west of the Inn.

Anyway, I got plans for a "Superb Silver Witcher Sword" as a reward.

Should I make that? It has very good stats, but it uses up ALL of the silver I've managed to scrounge up this chapter. Or should I stick with Excalibur and wait until next chapter to make a better silver sword?

Actually no, it's not worth it. There'll be a main plot mini-boss soon, and after beating the mini-boss, if you look around carefully in the fighting spot, you should find a silver sword that's almost as good

Even if you don't find that sword after the fight, your steel sword will be more important until the start of next Act, so don't bother if you don't really want to.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Grats on beating the Kayran, I found that encounter MADLY frustrating when I first encountered it.

Heh, thanks. I didn't even include the bit where I got too close to the plot before drinking my potions or putting the trap in my pocket and got stomped EVEN WORSE. I had to reload the save I made before talking to the Sorceress.

How are you enjoying the game so far? Getting accustomed to over-the-shoulder?

It's pretty okay. I'd still prefer an isometric view - nekkers just LOVE sneaking up on me.

The medallion scan REALLY helps though. One of the best parts about Isometric is being able to run your mouse over things to quickly and easily search. In this, one medallion scan does that job.

It has its frustrating points, but it certainly isn't damaging my enjoyment of the game any.

Also, one improvement on the combat - I no longer have to click ON an enemy to attack. If Geralt is near an enemy, and I start pounding the left mouse button, Geralt starts sword-dancing. Awesomeness follows.

Oh - did I mention that I spent my two Kraken levels on Whirl level 1 and 2? I did. GROUP STYLE IS BACK BABY!

No, that wasn't Triss in the flashback, that was Yennefer. She was mentioned by name. Exactly how did yo- nevermind.
*scratches his head*

Yes, I know. That was just a typo. My later comments about Yennifer should have made that clear, but I went ahead and edited my post to the correct name.

You getting warmer, but still no. You're getting closer to shaking the status quo of the Act, but it's not the end.
There's still the fistfighting ring questline at the lower floor of the inn, and the night-time shenanigans of Temerian Special Forces in the building just west of the Inn.

Ah, right. I was gonna do fisticuffs before, but got distracted by dicing.

Oh, question - the guy with the Troll head. Can I dice with him more for those traps he offered me? Or was that a one-time thing to get the Troll head?

Actually no, it's not worth it. There'll be a main plot mini-boss soon, and after beating the mini-boss, if you look around carefully in the fighting spot, you should find a silver sword that's almost as good
Even if you don't find that sword after the fight, your steel sword will be more important until the start of next Act, so don't bother if you don't really want to.

Okay. Waiting for main plot miniboss then. The Jagged Sword didn't require anything but monster bits I had tons of anyway (and continue to find more of), so it didn't feel like an "investment" so much as making something cool out of junk.

For the same reason, upon seeing it, I decided that the Kraken armor was not worth it either. It's less good than my Troll armor and requires me to buy or make expensive upgraded cloth and leather, so (aside from bragging rights) I didn't see the benefit.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Random musing on the sex scene.

This isn't an update - old news only - but I am going to take a moment to comment more on the first actual sex scene in the Witcher 2.

I will admit, I've been a bit surprised by the lack of random sex in this game. By this point in the Witcher 1, Geralt had slept with two people and was about to sleep with a third (Abigale). This time, while there have been two scenes of naked Triss, only one actually involved sex (the other was morning cuddling).

I'm not sure if this is meant to be moving Geralt in a more relationship-focused direction, or if the game has sacrificed many random sex scenes for one "plot related" sex scene per... chapter? The prologue wasn't a real chapter, and lacked a real sex scene, so maybe that's how this is going to work? Just guessing here.

The internet spoiled that Geralt and Triss have sex in a fancy bath, but I had no idea (until plaything through it) when or how that scene was going to occur. It actually happened sooner than I expected. And, so far as I know, I have not seen any spoilers of OTHER sex scenes in this game (all the sex screen-shots I've seen from the Witcher 2 were from the two scenes I've already seen).

I would be absolutely shocked if these two scenes were it. Like I said above, I'm assuming one per chapter.

My question is... who will they be with? Triss is far more of an active party member this time rather than an NPC. I can't imagine her just sitting back and letting Geralt screw around considering how their relationship has moved forward. Well, aside from my predicted Yennifer/Triss threeway. But that, I assume, is a late game event (if it happens) because we'd have to find and rescue Yennifer first.

I also assume that my choice to abandon Roach and help Triss find Yennifer will have some effect on how this progresses as well. If Geralt went off with Roach instead of Triss, he'd have ample opportunities to sleep around. However, since I've chosen for Geralt to stick with Triss, I wonder how that's going to change things.

Will there be more scenes with Triss? Not that I'd mind, but I wonder how many more scenarios they'll be able to come up with. The Elven Bath was a nice twist - it would be difficult for them to top that one.

Oh - in case it isn't obvious, I'm liking the sex in this game much more than the last one. No cards - Big plus. Actual cut scenes with the woman involved rather than a "generic woman" scene - big plus. I'd like to see more proper nudity - for being European, the creators seem rather afraid to show Wang - but so far so good.

Note: I'm not counting the cartoon flashbacks as a sex scene. Yes, there was a picture of naked Yennifer at one point, but only briefly, and again - little more than cuddling.

 

[DementedSheep]

Random musing on the sex scene.

This isn't an update - old news only - but I am going to take a moment to comment more on the first actual sex scene in the Witcher 2.

I will admit, I've been a bit surprised by the lack of random sex in this game. By this point in the Witcher 1, Geralt had slept with two people and was about to sleep with a third (Abigale). This time, while there have been two scenes of naked Triss, only one actually involved sex (the other was morning cuddling).

I'm not sure if this is meant to be moving Geralt in a more relationship-focused direction, or if the game has sacrificed many random sex scenes for one "plot related" sex scene per... chapter? The prologue wasn't a real chapter, and lacked a real sex scene, so maybe that's how this is going to work? Just guessing here.
The internet spoiled that Geralt and Triss have sex in a fancy bath, but I had no idea (until plaything through it) when or how that scene was going to occur. It actually happened sooner than I expected. And, so far as I know, I have not seen any spoilers of OTHER sex scenes in this game (all the sex screen-shots I've seen from the Witcher 2 were from the two scenes I've already seen).
I would be absolutely shocked if these two scenes were it. Like I said above, I'm assuming one per chapter.

My question is... who will they be with? Triss is far more of an active party member this time rather than an NPC. I can't imagine her just sitting back and letting Geralt screw around considering how their relationship has moved forward. Well, aside from my predicted Yennifer/Triss threeway. But that, I assume, is a late game event (if it happens) because we'd have to find and rescue Yennifer first.

I also assume that my choice to abandon Roach and help Triss find Yennifer will have some effect on how this progresses as well. If Geralt went off with Roach instead of Triss, he'd have ample opportunities to sleep around. However, since I've chosen for Geralt to stick with Triss, I wonder how that's going to change things.

Will there be more scenes with Triss? Not that I'd mind, but I wonder how many more scenarios they'll be able to come up with. The Elven Bath was a nice twist - it would be difficult for them to top that one.

Oh - in case it isn't obvious, I'm liking the sex in this game much more than the last one. No cards - Big plus. Actual cut scenes with the woman involved rather than a "generic woman" scene - big plus. I'd like to see more proper nudity - for being European, the creators seem rather afraid to show Wang - but so far so good.

Note: I'm not counting the cartoon flashbacks as a sex scene. Yes, there was a picture of naked Yennifer at one point, but only briefly, and again - little more than cuddling.

There is considerably less sex in this game. Maybe they figured making almost every female you can talk to want to fuck you wasn't the best idea. Off the top of my head there are around 4 named npc you can sleep with + prostitutes. If you side with the elves which it sounds like your going to do there is lots of fanservive from characters you can't sleep with because they have to milk the fact that a certain female npc likes woman for all its worth.
Someone made a nude patch for Geralt using the model they use for sex scenes. He is ken doll lol.

I never bothered making weapons and armour (aside form on unique ones on dark mode). You find better anyway.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

There is considerably less sex in this game. Maybe they figured making almost every female you can talk to want to fuck you wasn't the best idea. Off the top of my head there are around 4 named npc you can sleep with + prostitutes. If you side with the elves which it sounds like your going to do there is lots of fanservive from characters you can't sleep with because they have to milk the fact that a certain female npc likes woman for all its worth.

An in-canon lesbian? I am intrigued.

Someone made a nude patch for Geralt using the model they use for sex scenes.

Really?! It's Mod time! Sign me --

He is ken doll lol.

....

You did that to be cruel, didn't you. ~_~

Okay, why on earth would they make a nude mod for Geralt and not give him a penis? What is the point of that?

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

You know, regarding mods, there is one I used and will always use again that makes Geralt's hair more milky-white like in the first game. It's a nitpick, but I couldn't stand the grayer hair they used for the second game (or the ponytail, though thankfully you can change hairstyles).

Regarding the sex, yeah, it's done much better in the second game. However, I actually liked the sex cards. I thought they were a neat little comedic piece in an otherwise serious and rather grim game. Still to this day I can't understand why they caused so much controversy. Just people going out of their way to be offended over stupid shit, I suppose.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update: End of Chapter 1

Choosing not to craft anything, I head to the Inn and fight some guys. I actually quite enjoy the new boxing system - it isn't just "spam left click" anymore. True, it's just QTEs, but this is use of QTEs that work well.

Anyway, I agree to join Fight Club, and King whats-his-face takes me to Lorendo's house. Oh my. I once again leave all weapons outside (sigh) and head in.

More boxing ensues. I notice that these opponents are tougher than the ones in the inn (they require more buttons presses to defeat). I take them all and then Lorendo tells me to throw the last fight. Ha. Ha ha. No.

I not only beat the final dude, I beat him FLAWLESSLY. Suck on that, asshat.

It is wonderfully satisfying to make him pay me after I told him to get fucked.

Outside, I pick up my equipment, reequip it, and then get attacked by thugs. Normally I can't draw my sword in town, so I attempt to fight with spells-only, but Geralt draws anyway, and the nearby guard doesn't seem to give a shit. Um, okay. I murder them and loot their corpses. The guard saunters past and I guilty put away my sword.

That was a thing. Anyway, on my way back, there are a bunch of people upset about the incense shop. Oh, right, selling drugs. Wait, they just now noticed? I go and yell at the guy and he closes up shop. I get some XP, so that's all right then.

I talk to Zoltan in the Inn, and he says he can hook me up with the Squirrel leader, I... something. Iorveth, according to Google. Ahem, anyway, we go to meet him and get attacked by Nekkers. And then talk to elves. And then go to a different meeting spot. With a giant spider in it. Lovely. Also, why couldn't I get down her earlier? Never mind.

I kill the spider thing and Igor shows up (I'm not gonna type Iorveth every time - yikes) and I tell him about the betrayal from the Kingslayer. After convincing him, he agrees to test the kingslayer and asks me to accompany him. I wanna loot that spider, so I say I'll meet him there.

I loot the spider and find... a new silver sword! Yeah, I see why you guys told me not to upgrade. Nice.

Anyway, Zoltan is heading back to town, so I head back to the Elven Baths to meet Oden.

... get it? Oden only has one eye. Iorveth only has one eye. LAUGH DAMMIT!

Ah meta humor. The best kind of humor.

Ahem. Anyway, so, we head in and I pump the Kingslayer for information. I avoid being mean until I've got as many answers as I think I can get, then tell him I'm gonna make him pay. This leads to a sword battle.

I rip into him and get really REALLY lucky - I pin him against a wall and he is unable to respond. As his HP reaches critical (just a sliver left) I back off so I can hear the rest of his dialog. He starts casting a spell, so I head back in -

- and, with me at full HP, him at 0 HP, I gently tap him. And a cut scene starts where he kicks my ass, disarms me, and holds a sword to my neck.

FUCKING RAILROADING!!!

I'm feeling a little cheated as the cut-scene of "this guy is really awesome" plays. I totally fucking owned him (yes, due to a lucky pin, but I made it count and tore him apart!). Between that and my swallow potion, I was at full HP when that cut-scene started. If it wasn't necessary to the plot that he lived, I'd have cut off his head and carried it back to town with me. Grrr.

Anyway, it is a game, so he goes off to find Triss. And Iodine shows up (I gave him his sword during the fucking timed response) and shoots the shit with me in a massively unnecessary fashion. I question him, grab my sword and some... loot that I guess he dropped? So I did kill him, technically?

And no, I don't mean the chest - I accidentally found this room earlier before the sex scene and looted it then. This is new loot.

Anyway, I head to town, but OF COURSE I'm too late. Triss has been kidnapped. Interestingly, I get to play as Triss briefly as Margot explains what happened. It's actually a very interesting way to handle the data dump - putting the player in control of it.

Anyway, Cedric was with Triss, and he was bleeding, so time to follow a blood trail. Using a cat potion.

Due to some false trails, I end up running out of potion in the middle of the woods. I take a second one - and find Cedric about five feet away (not really, but what I thought was a guard corpse I looted earlier was actually Cedric - I could SEE him without the potion, I just didn't know it was him).

Cedric dies after telling me that the Kingslayer forced Triss through a portal. Okay... time to follow. And fuck this guy up. Again. Harder.

I talk to Dandelion and Zoltan, and decide to go see Mr. Friday. And yes, that is a VERY obscure reference, and no I'm not going to explain it. If you laughed, then awesome. If not, then you need to read more Neil Gaimen novels.

He is, of course, back in the elven ruins. I hate climbing up there yet again, but fine, I do so. He wants to steal the barge and use it to chase the Kingslayer. Sounds good to me. I don't check Roach's plan because A) I want to side with the Squirrels and B) he attacked the Squirrels and helped the Kingslayer escape, so FUCK HIM. If Roach hadn't attacked then, the Squirrels would have filled the Kingslayer with arrows and I'd have my gods damned memory back.

Anyway, together we head to the harbor, splitting up to take the more difficult route around. The barge is heavily guarded for some reason and I try to warn Icarus, but he's already gone in, so I rush to join him. Which is made difficult by the game being very pick about exactly where I'm standing to activate the "jump down" option.

I learn that grenades do NOT have friendly fire by tossing several into the mass of guards ahead of us. They also don't deal much damage. Ah well. Relying on the Jagged Sword and my fully upgraded Group Style, I wade in, murdering tons of guards. We take the ship - there's a particularly cool moment when I take on some sort of mini-boss and we end up fighting our way down the stairs into the ship's hold. It isn't scripted, just an accident of positioning - and it is FUCKING AWESOME.

After killing him (and never getting a chance to loot him or the other dozen guards dammit!) I head back up and finish off the last couple guards on deck. And then -

Cut scene. Loredo has an elven prostitute on a building an sets said building on fire. Ivo says that the women are martyrs. I say "fuck that" and go save them (letting Loredo escape). Those women didn't sign up to be Squirrels or martyrs.

Anyway, that done, we sail off into Chapter 2.

More on that in the next update (which I'm going to make pretty much immediately - I want to make it easier for readers to use the front index to jump where they want to).

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Chapter 2: Begins

Dandelion does a little recap/time skip... thing, with strange 3D stills. Not sure what's up with that, but then again it's Dandelion.

Things get playable and I'm... playing a random prince. For some reason. Okay then. He's accompanied by a woman who appears to be Jeanne d'Arc. Fucking sweet. So I guess that means I'm playing the Dauphin? Okay then - that bit of historic reference will now help me portray him. Well played, Game.

We get to a negotiation table. Good King Asshole is trying to annex northern France - er, Alu.. Aled... the one that starts with an A, the king of which got killed during the opening cut scene. I'm not quite sure which of the four kings King Asshole is, but that's beside the point since I'm playing the Dauphin. And I'm playing him like a strong medieval Frenchman (rather than the modern, post WW2 stereotype) so I tell King Asshole that no one has ever taken my capital and that the only compensation I'm planning to give him are the lives of his men.

I note that the game makes handing over Jeanne an option. Well, while that would be historically accurate, it doesn't fit with my (rose tinted, historical fiction influenced) vision of how the Dauphin should behave, so instead I tell King Asshole to go fuck himself.

And the fucker draws on me! At first, I think that it's going to be a duel between King Asshole and Jeanne, but the game puts me back in control of the Dauphin. Fair enough. I try to kill King Asshole myself, but the auto-target selects the Sorceress next to him. I kill her in two hits (although I think she ignored the second hit and teleported away?) and, with her gone, I can concentrate on King Asshole, who I duel until I eliminate his HP.

And ONCE AGAIN the game steals my victory and I get to watch the character who just won the battle get his ass kicked. Damn it, Witcher 2, what are you - a JRPG?!

King Asshole lives up to his name by... beating a random priest to death... for some reason? ... on a Mysterious And Evil Altar Thingy (TM). Well, as everyone knows, bleeding on the Evil Artifact is never a good idea.

Meanwhile, in an entirely different game, Geralt et al have shown up and are chatting with some Dwarf. I noticed earlier that the Dwarves appear to be honor-guarding the Dauphin, so things appear to be less sucky for the non-humans around here. Or for the dwarves anyway.

No sooner that introductions are finished, the sky clouds over and EVIL is present. Time to hurry to check on the Dauphin.

We get there in time to see King Asshole and... the Sorceress from the previous chapter?! - bail into a portal. The same kind of portal Triss liked using. Dammit.

Oh, and a hoard of undead has just arrived. The game tells me to protect... someone? It doesn't mark who it means, and I don't know people's names yet, so... yeah, not very helpful.

Having no idea who I'm supposed to protect, I kill some armor wraiths - very cool - and then some Draugin - also very cool. I manage to loot one. And then... an Owl shows up.

...?

...?!

Okay, apparently the Owl is a Biotic.

And a better Biotic than Jack, Miranda, OR Samara/Moirith. All of them could shield you from the Collector Swarm, but none of them could ALSO shoot lightning bolts at the undead. That would have made things a LOT easier during that Suicide mission, let me tell you.

Geralt's auto-targeting gets a little annoying here, leading him outside the protective bubble. And... FUCK! his HP starts falling really fucking fast. Apparently that dark fog is pure fucking death.

I get back in with hardly any health left... just in time for another Draugir to appear. And it fucking kills me. Fuck.

Back to the beginning of the battle. This time, I take things slow and isolate enemies, killing them and looting their corpses while my NPC allies keep the others busy. Then, when the Owl shows up, I just stick with the group and occasionally kill-steal an armor wraith that the owl has just lightning bolted.

I save my HP for the Draugir, kill it, and then loot the body while ignoring the wraiths that are apparently preventing the Owl from moving. Then I kill one wraith, loot it, then the next - etc.

The owl gets moving again. The pattern repeats a few more times. Things get a little sticky when we move through a really massive battlefield and the game starts to lose some frame rate. Also, Geralt's auto-target gets confused and instead of Geralt attacking the armor wraith I want him to, he will leap towards the inky dark DEATH and try to kill one there instead. And I take half a HP bar of damage before I can get him back by the owl.

Eventually we make it out. The owl... transforms into that Sorceress that Triss was talking to. Phillipa, I believe. So... Phillipa is an owl then?

So... no one has seen Triss or the Kingslayer, there's an evil altar spitting out the undead, and the other Sorceress (or a fourth sorceress) is working for King Asshole.

Fucking lovely.

And this is where I saved, exhausted and... four levels higher! Okay, level up first, then save.

In case anyone is curious, I use these four talents to get Bleeding, and then the top three Sword options. Yes, I just got the (lower level versions of) the top three abilities in Sword.

And, as it happens, all three of them are mutateable.

I spend to mutagins immediately - a Greater Vitality and a Critical Effect. I have one slot left, a ton of "lesser" mutagins... and a "Madness mutagen" that provides +2 armor and several other VERY desirable effects.

My question here is... the "madness" in Madness Mutagen sounds bad. Does it have any negative effects? Or is it just a cool name? Should I use the Madness mutagen on my highest level sword ability? (And does it actually matter what skill I use them on? It hasn't seemed to so far.)

So that's where I left off - I've just arrived in the new quest area.

Oh, something I keep forgetting to mention. I very much appreciate that, unlike the previous game, the plot markers in this game MOVE. If an NPC moves, their plot marker moves with them. This means that, if the plot is available, it has a plot marker. If it's not, it doesn't. VERY helpful, and much better than the last game.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

So that's where I left off - I've just arrived in the new quest area.

This is where The Witcher 2 does the bulk of it's "choice" bragging. Your Act 2 will be ENTIRELY different than it would've been had you gone with Roche.

Both sides are really strong, although the benefit of your choice is you won't have to listen to people screaming for Odrin until you want to crack your speakers open and piss on the innards.

 

[The Madman]

You can't really go wrong with either Roche or Iorveth, having played both sides both characters are about equally interesting. Roche's crew is also a lot of fun with awesome characters like Ves, but then Iorveth gets to hang out with Dwarves, awesome dwarves, plus Saskia as well so again it's all about even really.

You never did do the quest where you got to hang out with Roche's crew by the way. You missed the chance to get Geralt drunk and have an embarrassing tattoo done.

And out of curiosity what difficulty are you playing on? I ask because the fight with the Kingslayer is a challenging one both times I've played. Then again I played on Hard and Dark Mode, so I've no clue how tough he might be on normal or easy.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Lol, King Asshole is King Henselt of Kaedwen, and he's one of my favourite characters in the Witcher 2, right next to Geralt. A very well written character that seems heavily flawed at first, but the more you look into him, the more positives you can find. Unfortunately, you won't be seeing too much of him in Iorveth's path. It's worth a 2nd playthrough though, he is a truly magnificent character.

Edit: Also, Letho's cutscene where he kicks your arse is there because for 99% of people, including myself, that fight is tough as nails and results in many deaths and reloads, so it kind of makes sense. Seems you were rather lucky with the fight.

 

[The Madman]

Lol, King Asshole is King Henselt of Kaedwen, and he's one of my favourite characters in the Witcher 2, right next to Geralt. A very well written character that seems heavily flawed at first, but the more you look into him, the more positives you can find. Unfortunately, you won't be seeing too much of him in Iorveth's path. It's worth a 2nd playthrough though, he is a truly magnificent character.

He *is* heavily flawed, the guys an asshole and I have only minor regrets letting Roche cut him down mercilessly. That said like most realistic people he's got some good to him as well as bad. He's a cruel, merciless, and racist bastard whose lust for violence is only matched by his arrogance. That said he's also honourable in his own sort of way, takes the time to care about those who serve under him and treats his men and people well. He's also deceptively clever and isn't nearly as much of an idiot as he might like to let people think he is.

Great character, but definitely someone I'm glad is fictional.

Roche on the other hand is thoroughly awesome, I actually prefer him over Iorveth. He's the closest the Witcher universe has to a Garrus, a steadfast and loyal companion who once you've earned his trust, would fight through hell itself in your defence.

Of course he's also a violent murderer that has little qualms about killing innocents if it means completing his objective, but in that respect Iorveth is no different.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

plus Saskia as well so again it's all about even really.

Who is Saskia? Too many names thrown at me all at once.

And out of curiosity what difficulty are you playing on? I ask because the fight with the Kingslayer is a challenging one both times I've played. Then again I played on Hard and Dark Mode, so I've no clue how tough he might be on normal or easy.

Normal. I don't play on Hard unless I've played through a game more than once.

Edit: Also, Letho's cutscene where he kicks your arse is there because for 99% of people, including myself, that fight is tough as nails and results in many deaths and reloads, so it kind of makes sense. Seems you were rather lucky with the fight.

Like I said, I caught him in a corner. He'd start to do something and I'd Fast-Style him in the face, shoving him back and interrupting him.

I doubt I could catch him like that again if I tried.

Lol, King Asshole is King Henselt of Kaedwen,

So noted. I will attempt to remember that later. No promises though.