tips for hard mode and talents/potions

[willakadirk1]

ive been using rook and swallow in the wilderness killin nekkers and endrega.. with the whet stone 20% sword damage upgrade.. is this like the best 2 to use? i see thunderbolt and other potions just dont look so appealing as in w1..like the negative effects of thunderbolt for the icreased damage is like MEH.
should i be taking riposte? i usually dont and wouldnt risk that in a real encounter..although i imagine in a tight space it could be a life savior where ur roll is goin no where. as far as must have talents can anyone recommend any? And lastly mutagens and adreneline..when can i use these and how do i??

[Grimminski]

Riposte is easily one the best skills for fighting humans. Mutagens can only be applied to certain skills, which are usually at the end of the tree. Adrenaline is unlocked when you buy the final skill and it's built up though combat; It's like an ultimate move.

[ultraglorious]

Riposte is awesome in the vanilla game. You really should just test things out and see what works for your style though. It's pretty hard to paint yourself into a corner with the skill tree.

[jV]

I found quen plus rolling like a mofo to be the most important thing in the game on harder difficulty settings so I'd recommend upgrading those at least a little bit.

[Tickled Pickle]

footwork and riposte are both very important for most any build you'll use on higher difficulties. Footwork for keeping from being surrounded, and riposte to quickly bring down tougher/faster opponents in close quarters. Also, if you're not entirely comfortable with the difficulty, synthesis from the alchemy tree can also be a good investment to give yourself a little more room for error.

There's a neat trick to practice riposte if you're nervous about your timing. Save in the middle of flotsam, and pull out your silver sword. The guards naturally will react, and eventually begin to attack. Just lock onto one, stand there blocking, and practice your riposte timing on the guards. Since you use your silver sword, a single guard will survive several successful ripostes. Once you're comfortable, just reload your save and go back to playing normally.

As for specs, I've a soft spot in my heart for Alchemy personally, but if you're nervous, swordsman is always a solid choice for getting through the game without too many headaches. As long as you follow the basic rules of Witcher combat.

1. Use everything at your disposal.
2. NEVER GET SURROUNDED.
3. ROLL
4. ROLL
5. ROLL
6. Re-read the last 3
7. NEVER GET SURROUNDED.

I think that's all of them...

[willakadirk1]

man i had choosen the mage tree..i just unlocked the 2nd to last in mage tree which gives my adrenaline bar. i think im gonna continue after mage tree to the sword tree.
I dont see anything in alchemy tree that i can say is better for fighting than in mage and swordmsan. Most in alchemy is increased oil and potion uses. ingredients etc. idk

[Tickled Pickle]

Well, the additional bomb damage is a little less useful since a fully upgraded igni is comparable in damage and effect to a dancing star bomb, but synthesis again can give you some extra health to stay a live. If you get nothing else from the swordsmanship tree, make sure to get footwork, and work towards Schemer for even more vigor regen. I know there's another talent that gives you an extra vigor in swordsman too, though I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Heliotrope (your adrenaline sign) Is very good to keep yourself from getting surrounded. You just have to make sure as many enemies as possible are in it's area of influence so you can cut them/burn them down unopposed.

That said, It can't hurt to carry some zerrikanian suns, or throwing knives (assuming you took the talent in the training tree) for crowd control or to finish off weakened enemies at a distance without wasting vigor.

On the Surface, Alchemy is a very unappealing tree, I'll admit. it looks mostly passive, and in some cases downright pointless. However, I promise you. With the right equipment, (Thyssen's armor from a certain path in Act 2, which gives another 50% bomb damage) and the right potions, you can do absolutely insane things with the build. I was hitting for nearly 300 on the final boss with fast attacks on my hard alchemist playthrough. It's an advanced tree, but definitely worth playing at least once. :)

[CaptainAhab]

Seriously i completed this on Hard and will be starting my Dark playthrough soon, more items. I died like a ♥♥♥♥ tonne but i was feeling confident after beating the original witcher on Normal, which i felt was pretty easy. I would advise getting the upgrade on rolling, that it is important. Also getting vitality and getting quen ( i totally missed this trick until way late into the game), (spoiler!) The final battle with Letho i died once then started using quen and lost some health.