[Adonai-]

After several runs through TW2, I finally went back to the first game, in large part to see the different choices (went with the Order this time).

...wow. After the brilliance of TW2, I'd almost forgotten just how good TW1 is. Not many studios can do so much their first time out. Definitely have to up the difficulty level on my next, neutral playthrough - I barely touched any potions and ended up with 17,000 orens at the end of the game with no one to buy anything from.

Oh, and I also went with Shani this time (I think Triss is a better choice, but still) and it was amazing to see her one-hit kill the mutants in the Ice Plains after I gave them the Aard treatment (that's Geralt's girl, all right). Also cool to have Rayla's help, but I did not appreciate De Wett showing up

[Coroner(Zg]

Adonai- said:

Definitely have to up the difficulty level on my next, neutral playthrough - I barely touched any potions
and ended up with 17,000 orens at the end of the game with no one to buy anything from.

Try this http://en.thewitcher...-rebalance-v15/

I'm playing on difficulty level 6, and i'm broke all the time, cause i'm using so much potions,
oils and runes just to survive. Books about monsters are also way more important now. Strong
style is now used for massive damage vs unarmored enemies, fast is armor-piercing, group is
defensive, etc. ...and wrong oil/style/potion/anything means instant death. So, reading books
and preparation for every single fight is critical, and you really feel like Witcher, guy whose
life is on the line all the time, and not some untouchable godlike action-hero. Good stuff

[Adonai-]

Coroner(Zg said:

Try this http://en.thewitcher...-rebalance-v15/

I'm playing on difficulty level 6, and i'm broke all the time, cause i'm using so much potions,
oils and runes just to survive. Books about monsters are also way more important now. Strong
style is now used for massive damage vs unarmored enemies, fast is armor-piercing, group is
defensive, etc. ...and wrong oil/style/potion/anything means instant death. So, reading books
and preparation for every single fight is critical, and you really feel like Witcher, guy whose
life is on the line all the time, and not some untouchable godlike action-hero. Good stuff ›››

Ye gods, that seems insane. I think I have to try it...

[Corylea]

Yep, TW1 was a real gem. I thought it had an ideal balance of all the things that make an RPG fun. CDPR seems to be moving away from the traditional RPG and towards much more shooter-like games, and that saddens me. But we'll always have TW1.

[.Volsung.]

Corylea said:

Yep, TW1 was a real gem. I thought it had an ideal balance of all the things that make an RPG fun. CDPR seems to be moving away from the traditional RPG and towards much more shooter-like games, and that saddens me. But we'll always have TW1. ›››

As much as I liked TW2 (on its own it's a FANTASTIC game!) I have to agree with you. I think they made a wrong move by focusing so much on combat, especially on reflex-based combat mechanics. They did want to release it on XBox and they did want to expand their audience, which they did. But I am just not sure it was completely worth the changes.

TW2 still has excellent redeeming features, like the writing, plot and choice-and-consequence, but TW1 has all the elements of a classic RPG, whereas TW2, as good as it is, has elements of many (other) things. If at least they had kept the same dark, enchanting atmosphere...

[Shiroshibal]

Corylea said:

Yep, TW1 was a real gem. I thought it had an ideal balance of all the things that make an RPG fun. CDPR seems to be moving away from the traditional RPG and towards much more shooter-like games, and that saddens me. But we'll always have TW1. ›››

Well, we saw a very similar development in the Mass Effect series but as long as it doesn't end similarly to ME3 I think we will be fine.

[AnthonyF1227]

I'm in the middle of TW1 right now, but the most difficult difficulty on the stock game is hardly a challenge. Combat is so easy and igni is the most overpowered thing in the world. Quite honestly, the combat is hardly exciting like it is in TW2.

I still think TW1 is a wonderful game (I wouldn't have played it for a 3rd time if I didn't think so), but I do think that the combat in TW2 is a huge improvement. Overall, I think that TW2 is a better game, but it could be that I just played it first.

I'll try that mod out at some point though, sounds interesting.

[green_abobo]

geralt finally popped shani! after all these years.

allow me to add, granny was not pleased! did not take pitty on the kitty... @ all. no sir.

[SA90]

Corylea said:

CDPR seems to be moving away from the traditional RPG and towards much more shooter-like games, and that saddens me. But we'll always have TW1. ›››

Isn't this a generic complaint aimed against any RPG developer? TW1 is an excellent game nonetheless.

[Corylea]

SA90 said:

Isn't this a generic complaint aimed against any RPG developer? TW1 is an excellent game nonetheless. ›››

You misunderstand me. I ADORED TW1. I was talking about the differences between TW1 and TW2.

[majestic]

AnthonyF1227 said:

I'm in the middle of TW1 right now, but the most difficult difficulty on the stock game is hardly a challenge. Combat is so easy and igni is the most overpowered thing in the world. Quite honestly, the combat is hardly exciting like it is in TW2.

I still think TW1 is a wonderful game (I wouldn't have played it for a 3rd time if I didn't think so), but I do think that the combat in TW2 is a huge improvement. Overall, I think that TW2 is a better game, but it could be that I just played it first. ›››

You're not alone - I played TW1 first and I still think TW2 is better overall, but that's strictly a matter of opinion, of course. I also agree that it could've used a bit more challenge. Pretty much the only thing that annoyed me about TW1 was the difficulty (the lack thereof) - in fact I actually didn't finish the game my first time through, because it just got boring, even on Hard. The combat in TW2 is much more interesting - and also a lot more challenging. TW1 is still a great game, though, definitely GotY 2007.

[Corylea]

majestic said:

You're not alone - I played TW1 first and I still think TW2 is better overall, but that's strictly a matter of opinion, of course. I also agree that it could've used a bit more challenge. Pretty much the only thing that annoyed me about TW1 was the difficulty (the lack thereof) - in fact I actually didn't finish the game my first time through, because it just got boring, even on Hard. The combat in TW2 is much more interesting - and also a lot more challenging. TW1 is still a great game, though, definitely GotY 2007. ›››

There's Flash's Full Combat Rebalance mod, for anyone who needs more challenge in TW1. Flash's "easy" is harder than vanilla hard, and it gets harder from there...

[majestic]

Corylea said:

There's Flash's Full Combat Rebalance mod, for anyone who needs more challenge in TW1. Flash's "easy" is harder than vanilla hard, and it gets harder from there... ›››

Cheers, I'll definitely look into modding it up on my next playthrough!

[thelostdunmer]

After four playthroughs in TW2 I reinstalled TW1 and all I say is this, the original was way better in story-telling and even in RPG elements.

Damn I love how to search for items and finish the game without too much spoon-feeding.

The items were superb and not convoluted to the point that an item is usable all throughout the game!

[Corylea]

thelostdunmer said:

The items were superb and not convoluted to the point that an item is usable all throughout the game! ›››

One of the things players most asked for after they played TW1 was more "loot," so there were lots more swords and armors in TW2. Personally, I liked TW1's approach better; we got new swords and armors as quest rewards and not every time we killed three drowners.