Combat. I dont understad it. HELP please!

[Crom]

Im totaly confused with the combat system.
I dont understad it. Fights seem to be imposible to win and even random battles take hours for me.

for example:

Geralt is ambushed on street by 3 poor fat bandits. He got 2 energy bars for spell. He got sword.

If I AARD one, other two hits me to 50% or 25%. My hits do minimal dmg.
If I AARD two, i can hurt third one, but still cannot kill him and im getting hurt to 75%
If I Shield my self, i can hurt one, but shield remans for short time.
If I IGNI them, i do minimal dmg.
If I trap one, its a litle easier, but thats not enough.

Blocking not works, it just delay my death for few seconds more.

After few seconds im always dead.

But im playing master swordsman with unnatural reflexis and able even cast minor spells.
What Im doing wrong?

:(((((

BTW game looks nice and story is great.

[SeriouslyBusy]

It sounds like your relying alot on signs.

You can roll dodge enemies as much as you want during combat... use it.

If your going swordsman spec, be sure to get the riposte talent. All you have to do is hold parry, wait for the enemy to attach, and strike at the right time. I would also recommend getting the talent that repels arrows on parry.

Quen (shield sign) isn't as useful with sword spec. If you parry it removes the shield. Igni won't do much damage so don't waste your energy. Aard's stun is too brief to be effective in groups... again don't bother

Your best bet is using Axii sign for fighting groups. The hexed enemy will attack someone else and tie up that enemy... this allows you to focus on one enemy at a time. Keep in mind it takes 3-5 seconds to cast the Axii sign (you have to hold down the button for a little bit) and the hex does not last forever.

Traps are great but really only if you can set them where you know the enemy is coming or from a distance and lure them there. They are hard to set during combat.

Bombs work great on groups... try making some and using those instead of traps.

[Lil Baby Porkchop]

-- Preparation

Blade Oils: If you know what you're going to be fighting, make sure you're applying the appropriate blade oil and using the correct sword. Hanged Man's Venom on a Steel Sword for humans, Necrophage Oil on a Silver Sword for Rotfiends for example. The blade oils make a difference, and if you're using the wrong sword for the enemy you're fighting you'll have a tough time. You can apply this at any time from your Inventory menu.

Potions: Swallow is your bread and butter. It allows you to make mistakes as long as you don't make them too frequently. It increases your vitality regernation in combat up to a health amount. I'd advise drinking a Swallow before any combat situation that you think you'll take damage in. Rook and Petri's Philter are both good offensive potions, although Petri's has a high toxicity so I'd avoid using it with another potion. Rook is a straight 10% damage boost to your sword attacks. Rook and Swallow can be used in tandem while remaining at a low toxicity level. I'd avoid using trade-off potions until you get the hang of the game; potions that give you a large buff for a large debuff like White Raffard's Decoction

Pockets: I make sure I have a healthy amount of throwing daggers (there is a skill required to throw daggers), and at least one set of bombs and one set of traps in my pockets at all times. These utility weapons can make some encounters much easier. Traps like Conflagration, or bombs like Grapeshot work well for killing large groups of enemies while throwing daggers let you deal high damage to a single enemy from range.

-- Combat

Swordsmanship:

Fighting is very much about finesse, darting in and out with strikes and picking opponents off. You need to be quick on the dodge key, immediately after dodging an attack you can perform a weak attack (Left-Mouse-Button) to cover the ground back to your opponent. When you parry a blow you'll still take damage but your opponents guard will also open up for a small window. After parrying an attack you should counter attack every time, unless you know your opponent is going to use an ability in which case you should dodge. Combat in the Witcher 2 is difficult compared to most games of the genre but it mostly takes practice in knowing when you can land an attack or two and knowing when you need to be dodging. I'd focus on your dodging much more than parrying. I prefer to parry only when I'm attempting to Riposte (counter-attack ability) an opponent or when I have the Quen sign up.

Signs:

Aard: The Aard sign is great for making space whenever you're having trouble dealing with pressure. You can blast one opponent away and use the time to land a few strikes on the other opponent. If you're looking to use Aard offensively, cast it at the end of a string of attacks. You can use this to break your opponent's guard if they're parrying you constantly. If you're lucky you will stun them and have the opportunity to follow up with an instant kill.

Yrden: Yyrden is one of the most powerful signs. It can be used on almost any opponent, human or monster. If you're having trouble winning a melee battle with someone, create space with Aard and set a Yrden on the ground. Once someone is trapped in Yrden you'll usually be able to land several strong attacks. It's also especially good for fighting particularly hard monsters or trying to scatter enemies so you can fight them on your own terms. You can also use it to buy yourself time to set mechanical traps or flee from the fight.

Igni: Igni is the highest damage sign available. It lacks the utility of the other signs but sometimes pure damage can be useful in it's own right. There are times when quickly burning an enemy down is a must. Other than that, Igni also gives the target Incineration which causes them to take damage over time. If you are fighting an enemy you can't get close to, you can wittle them down with Igni while still being able to retreat.

Quen: I like to keep the Quen sign on myself at all times. The damage absorption is nice when you make a mistake, or can be used offensively when chaining attacks together because you will not take damage when blocking with Quen on, but your opponent will take damage attacking in to your block.

Axii: Your golden ticket to fighting groups of enemies. You can cast it on most enemies in the game, excluding boss monsters. Pick the biggest and baddest of the bunch, of the enemy you're most worried about and cast an Axii on it as soon as possible and let it do it's work.

[76561198098412202]

On my second playthrough I went Dark mode and ALL possible talents spent in the Magic tree, excluding the first 6 talents in the Training tree, but I missed Feet work I and Position II. Just kite/roll and burn them with Igni. That was the easier way to beat the game, although the beginning of The Eternal Battle was very frustrating- you have to learn how to block and some luck is also involved.

I didn't bother with mutagens to upgrade the talents and never used Axii and Yrden spells but why I should when I had Igni and Aard Sign II with area effect. I found using Quen with magic build very opposed and only touched this spell 3 or 4 fights in the whole game.
The biggest problem in the game was the duel with The Operator- very tight space and too many gargoyles, the latter immune to Incineration.

One point in Dagger Throwing (Training tree) could be useful because with enough daggers you can lock some big targets, the downside is- they weigh a lot.

[SageHashirama]

rule no11 nevel let anything hit u in the back, they will do 200% dmg to u unless u got the right perks to lower it

[Crom]

Ok thanx... i try use those new things.

Anyway, its not problem to win any combat. I can just use dodge, run, wait for charge, strike somehow, dodge, run... repeat tactic, but thats boring and silly.

I want to play the role of Witcher.. and no re tarded runner...

And im now lvl 1, so I hope ill will become stronger... :))

[bungeh]

One thing people don't tell you to use is parry. It is a lot more useful than you'd think. Push away dangerous foes like shield bearers with Aard or Igni and you can press on the attack on one or two enemies. Parry incoming attacks so you can stay on the offensive and it will help you reduce enemy count quickly. Roll away when you get swarmed again to make opportunity with Signs and bombs.

[Keeper of the Groove]

sounds like you're using a silver sword for fighting humans first of all. you should use your silver sword for fighting animals, not humans. you can equip your normal sword by pressing "1", and your silver sword by pressing "2".
it also looks like you arent dodging, dodging helps a lot, cuz you just dont get hit at all and you could dodge behind them so they wont be able to block you. you can dogde by holding space and then moving in any direction you want.
hope this helps

[Crom]

My fight with Dimitri :(

Draw my sword - getting hit 1/4
Axii one - getting hit 2/4
Dodge
Aard another, Axii started attack me again
Dodge
My first attack, i do minimal damage
Dodge, dodge, ... ... ... another milion dodge (thats not funny, is all combat supose look like this?)
Second attack, one enemy at 50%
Trying to push lock target button = loosing time, getting hit 3/4
Trying third attac, getting hit too 4/4 = IM DEAD

:(((

[Crom]

After 20 tryes, i killed all weak warriors with single bomb and only Dimitrii left, so used tactic dodge, hit, dodge, hot, dodge, hit...

[felixpelletier]

thx it help a lot

[Hoc]

Witcher 2 Full combat rebalance mod