I wish the combat wasn't so clunky still.

[Holyblades]

I put about 140 hours into this game years ago and finished everything. I did this on the normal difficulty so decided to start a new game on the hardest mode and boy am I getting wripped to shreds. Combat was always clunky but I thought this was smoothed out in this version.

[Cthulhu_1988]

I enjoy Blood and Broken Bones. It's a nice balance. With this game, blocking, dodging, and rolling greatly help. Especially at anything above normal.

[N7 Andy]

Game is now using Full Combat Rebalance mod, or at least part of it. Look up the changes on its official Nexus page. Death Match is the only difficulty worth playing really, so well done. Because it's not actually that hard to begin with. Practice dodging, not rolling, because rolls interfere with your stamina regen, and always use the right potions and oils when available. Exploit enemy weaknesses and fights become super easy. You'll see that combat is not clunky at all. It becomes better and better as you progress. I always look forward to fights in TW3 :)

[ImHelping]

I am not one of those faux oldschool gamers that pretends lock on ruins games.

But trash lock on is an extra sort of annoying.

"Geralt! Geralt please! RATS! LEVEL 1 RATS!"
*180 degree casts igni in opposite direction of nest because rat spawning behind him out of thin air like an MMO took priority*
"Geralt! Save me! From the level 1 rats! Oh by the way if you talk ♥♥♥♥ this means you are a casual"

That and making a habit of making sure wolves and many kinds of monsters have the high ground, so that geralt doesn't swing his sword over their head like a dumbass if I am three inches uphill from them.

[Holyblades]

Originally posted by N7 Andy:

Game is now using Full Combat Rebalance mod, or at least part of it. Look up the changes on its official Nexus page. Death Match is the only difficulty worth playing really, so well done. Because it's not actually that hard to begin with. Practice dodging, not rolling, because rolls interfere with your stamina regen, and always use the right potions and oils when available. Exploit enemy weaknesses and fights become super easy. You'll see that combat is not clunky at all. It becomes better and better as you progress. I always look forward to fights in TW3 :)

Yea I mean it really might just be a "git gud" issue lol. I am going to give it a shot again. I remember trying to roll a bunch and did that when I played the game before. I will try dodging more. I guess I was expecting a big overhaul of the combat system which is not the case.

[buddingtrees]

I enjoy Witcher 3 combat more than I do any game. Harder difficulty makes you explore the mechanics and strategies needed to defeat a monster, on top of memorizing their attack patterns, just to survive. Imo it keeps things fresh throughout the game. Most games you stick to one strategy to defeat all mobs, gets boring quickly. Hardest difficulty in W3 is kinda tedious. Blood and broken bones difficulty is perfect. Quick cast feature makes combat more fluid, and don't forget you can switch bombs quickly in the radial menu with directional keys.

[Cathartic Flatulence]

Coming from Callisto Protocol, combat in this game is AMAZING

[Holyblades]

I know this is a noob question but how do you turn on the quick cast? Mine still pulls up the dial.

[buddingtrees]

Originally posted by Travisk1982:

I know this is a noob question but how do you turn on the quick cast? Mine still pulls up the dial.

In menu, go to options, gameplay, and enable quick cast. It is off by default. The button you use to normally cast the sign, you now have to hold down and press a specific button to cast what you want. Tool tip shows which button casts what.

[N7 Andy]

Originally posted by Travisk1982:

Originally posted by N7 Andy:

Game is now using Full Combat Rebalance mod, or at least part of it. Look up the changes on its official Nexus page. Death Match is the only difficulty worth playing really, so well done. Because it's not actually that hard to begin with. Practice dodging, not rolling, because rolls interfere with your stamina regen, and always use the right potions and oils when available. Exploit enemy weaknesses and fights become super easy. You'll see that combat is not clunky at all. It becomes better and better as you progress. I always look forward to fights in TW3 :)

Yea I mean it really might just be a "git gud" issue lol. I am going to give it a shot again. I remember trying to roll a bunch and did that when I played the game before. I will try dodging more. I guess I was expecting a big overhaul of the combat system which is not the case.

The combat has actually been overhauled to some extent. Like I said, look up the changes here... https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/2788/

Not all of the changes made it in the game though, as some of them were a little questionable, as is the case with some mods, but most did. The mod is actually made by a CDPR gameplay designer :) He got hired by CDPR back in 2007 or so, after he made a similar mod for The Witcher 1. CDPR liked it so much that they hired him.

It's still the same combat, but balanced and fixed, especially certain perks. Also, perks that previously required 5 / 5 points to max out, now only require 3 / 3 , which means you'll have a lot more perk points to spend and experiment with, as you level up :) Some have claimed that the combat has now actually become a little more forgiving, for example you can now easily taken on enemies that are considerably higher level than you, because one of the changes that Full Combat Rebalance mod did, was to remove "artificial" resistances from enemies that were higher level than you, which resulted in fights lasting like 30 minutes long, with chances of getting 1 shot if you weren't careful. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, if you ever attempted to fight a level 30 enemy or so, at level 5 haha! Now it's tough, but manageable. Not tedious.

But you're right, TW3's combat does have a kinda Souls-like "git gut" vibe to it, on Death March. But that's why I love that difficulty. Use the right potions and oils for the situation, read the bestiary and learn the enemy weaknesses to de-buff your enemies, and every fight will seem like you've actually turned the difficulty down a notch :) Maybe even take a look at some of the "general" perks such as Gourmet, which makes food items heal for 20 minutes instead of a few seconds (basically giving you more or less infinite health regen) and don't mix and match light / medium / heavy armor. Use only one type, because you wanna benefit from the perks that increase bonuses for specific types of armor. Such as Cat / Griffin / Bear Techniques. I play most of the game with the starter Kaer Morhen set anyway, simply for the looks. You don't need much armor if you get good at dodging. And ofc, Quen helps in case you mess up a dodge. Use it before fights start.

[Hatch]

I did death march only for the achievement but I don't think it's a fun difficulty. The game does not get harder at all it just gets more punishing. I much prefer blood and broken bones for every other play through I do.
You can cheese death march though. Get light armor, preferably the feline / cat school one works really well. Then upgrade Quen a lot and apply it before going into any fight. If the shield breaks or wares out just back off and apply it again.
Theres also the alternate Quen sign that makes a ball which heals you if people attack it which helps a lot.
If you have a big enemy one on one you can also get the Axii puppet upgrade and use it on them for a bunch of free hits and then back off and puppet them again.
It's not really fun but it gets the job done.

[N7 Andy]

Originally posted by Hmmm:

I did death march only for the achievement but I don't think it's a fun difficulty. The game does not get harder at all it just gets more punishing. I much prefer blood and broken bones for every other play through I do.
You can cheese death march though. Get light armor, preferably the feline / cat school one works really well. Then upgrade Quen a lot and apply it before going into any fight. If the shield breaks or wares out just back off and apply it again.
Theres also the alternate Quen sign that makes a ball which heals you if people attack it which helps a lot.
If you have a big enemy one on one you can also get the Axii puppet upgrade and use it on them for a bunch of free hits and then back off and puppet them again.
It's not really fun but it gets the job done.

Let the guy play on Death March, LOL, don't discourage him! xD Death March is no harder than Blood and Broken Bones if you simply know which potions and oils are best suited for the situation. Forget sign perks unless you plan on making a sign oriented build. There's no need to use cheese methods either. Warrior mixed with Alchemy builds absolutely nuke enemies. Death March is the difficulty that really makes you think like a Witcher. Apply all that knowledge to every fight, the right oils, potions and perks (maybe watch some build tutorials online) and simply attack as usual, and Death March suddenly becomes Story and Sword (normal) difficulty.

[TommyEV]

I have enver understood the problem people have with the combat. It's serviceable, it works, the swings connect and they seem to have some weight.

[Average Cox Gaming]

Originally posted by Travisk1982:

I put about 140 hours into this game years ago and finished everything. I did this on the normal difficulty so decided to start a new game on the hardest mode and boy am I getting wripped to shreds. Combat was always clunky but I thought this was smoothed out in this version.

Yea, I would say it's the high side of mid-tier combat but still an old game. No it's not as deliberate as OG Arkham style or Souls-Bourn style; but I'm hoping we see that refined in TW4 in 2037.

I wish the camera was a little better but it is what it is.

[SilverHawk]

"and don't forget you can switch bombs quickly in the radial menu with directional keys..."
Why?! Why isn't there a switch bombs button?! Or even better a throw bomb button? Or still better, a throw specific bomb button? When the fleeting opportunity presents itself, I need to:
1. Press the quick menu key
2. Scroll to the bomb radial section
3. Press another button to scroll to the bomb I want
4. Press another button to *choose* the bomb
5. Press another button to "use quick action item."
Then, finally, I can throw a bomb..oh wait, never mind..now I need the crossbow. Ok, wait a sec...
1. Press the quick menu key
2......

[zakalwe]

This mod makes the combat massively smoother and took the game from "awkward yet playable" to actually fun.

https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/5800

Originally posted by Hmmm:

I did death march only for the achievement but I don't think it's a fun difficulty. The game does not get harder at all it just gets more punishing. I much prefer blood and broken bones for every other play through I do.
You can cheese death march though. Get light armor, preferably the feline / cat school one works really well. Then upgrade Quen a lot and apply it before going into any fight. If the shield breaks or wares out just back off and apply it again.
Theres also the alternate Quen sign that makes a ball which heals you if people attack it which helps a lot.
If you have a big enemy one on one you can also get the Axii puppet upgrade and use it on them for a bunch of free hits and then back off and puppet them again.
It's not really fun but it gets the job done.

Death March really isn't that bad, and you soon level up to a point most of the challenge disappears. It's can be rough near the start, but honeslty I'd like a harder difficulty mode.