[sidspyker]

Hi there, I've always played as Swordsman in Witcher 2 and recently I tried mage build and it was pretty cool and I had to use different tactics, now I'm thinking of doing an alchemy focused playthrough but don't want to botch it up. I was thinking that I should take Footwork and Position from Swordsman even if I focus on Alchemy build otherwise I'm sure I'll be in a fix.


What should I focus on in the beginning(say Act 1) and what pays off well later?
"Any advice from a veteran?"

[cmdr_silverbolt]

You're going to run out of herbs for the first time, it comes as a shock, really. I would suggest getting Violence from the Sword tree as you'll still need to use your sword now and again if you're in a pinch. Other than that, once you're 15 points or so into the Alchemy tree, Geralt gets really beefed up, especially if you have the dark armor. Advice: you don't need to craft the swords of the dark outfits to use the rest of the armor.

It pays to invest in lures and traps, especially for use in high enemy density areas like the quarry in vergen. I would usually use lures with the conflagration trap, but they're expensive to make.

[Glaroug]

Here what I do at least

The best advice I can give is the approach the tree from the left and storm towards the adrenaline skill. As alchemy tree user you'll by about as good as Prologue Geralt without your potions, so you defiantly need to grab the Bersker skill to be able to use it for as much of the game as possible. This means avoiding skills like Footwork and Position unless you find yourself needing them, at least until late in the game(although footwork is quite useful with Kayran and escaping Rotfied explosions).That said, position and footwork are nice to have with any build.

Before you lift the Blood Curse in Act II, I highlyrecommend 1 point in Riptose. Selkirk cannot dodge and this makes the fight"easier". Its not needed, but is certainly helps. Since you mentioned having played a magic build, you'll undoubtedly know a swordsman Geralt has an easier time here .

Aard is a great "oh shit!""oh shit!" relief skill, so when those Nekkers, soldiers, what have you charge you, you can put some space between you and them.



Non Alchemy:
1/2 Aard (takelate)
1/2 Foot work(optional)
1/2 Position(optional)
1 Riptose (beforelifting the curse, if at all)

Alchemy:
2 Bombs (Takeearly). The bombs are certainly helpful early on. Great for taking downthose arachas(es).
2 Catalysis (eventhough this non-connecting branch, this is probably the most important alchemyskill. Significantly raises potion bonuses, and nearly eliminatespenalties.
2 Impregnation(An excellent skill that can mold you into a truly deadly witcher with largemutagen bonuses. I would avoid instantkill skills as well as vitality boosting. Not too helpful.

The goal should be sprinting towards the adrenaline skill. Then you may begin giving your skills that "extra" boost. For example, skills that boost blade oil duration may be take to further progress towards Berserker, but should not be given a second point, as one can make many oils.

[sidspyker]

I saw this video



and his talents are, rather odd build but pretty buff.

[Glaroug]

Quote

I saw this video

Daaaaaammnnnn!

[dragonbird]

The Seltkirk fight is definitely the place where an Alchemy build causes the biggest problems, especially on one of the higher difficulties, and I'd agree with Glaroug that, unless you're aiming for a 100% alchemy build, it's worth investing in riposte just before that fight.

Also, I'm pretty sure that trophies are still effective during that fight, so it's worth equipping a damage-increasing trophy to help compensate for the absence of "swordsman" damage. I like the Troll trophy unless you also need the protection of one of the others.

[Yurtex]

sidspyker said:

I saw this video ›››

Omg this is defiantly my new character for TW3!

[sidspyker]

About the dark items...it is possible to get all of them or do I have to choose one and work on getting that for the rest of the game? because I can see that stuff is expensive so I can only guess I'll need to farm a bit.

[Guy N'wah]

sidspyker said:

About the dark items...it is possible to get all of them or do I have to choose one and work on getting that for the rest of the game? because I can see that stuff is expensive so I can only guess I'll need to farm a bit. ›››

It's possible to get all of them. You will need to do a fair amount of farming to do it; farming is easier in Acts II and III.

On Iorveth's path, don't be too quick to do the harpy extermination quests. Harpies are the most farmable monsters in the game. On Roche's path, don't be too quick to exterminate the rotfiends. In Act III, kill all the gargoyles you can; you can run away from them, but not if you want to loot them. There are a couple hard-to-get items needed for the Act II and Act III sets: a Draugir Armor Fragment (you encounter Draugirs early in Act II, but it may be hard to loot them) in Act II, and Dragon Scales (it will take some diligent searching) in Act III.

[sidspyker]

Guy N said:

It's possible to get all of them. You will need to do a fair amount of farming to do it; farming is easier in Acts II and III.

On Iorveth's path, don't be too quick to do the harpy extermination quests. Harpies are the most farmable monsters in the game. On Roche's path, don't be too quick to exterminate the rotfiends. In Act III, kill all the gargoyles you can; you can run away from them, but not if you want to loot them. There are a couple hard-to-get items needed for the Act II and Act III sets: a Draugir Armor Fragment (you encounter Draugirs early in Act II, but it may be hard to loot them) in Act II, and Dragon Scales (it will take some diligent searching) in Act III.

›››

Thanks Guy.

Another question if someone would be kind enough to answer, How is this build. I'm in the prologue at the moment have used 1 talent point in Vigor Regeneration so far. I don't wanna take the wrong ones and end up fraking up my build(been there, done that) so I'd rather have precise instructions

Training (6)
Vigor Regeneration – 2/2 (Mutagen slot)
Parrying – 1/2
Arrow Redirection – 1/2 (though the skill itself isn’t very useful, pick this for an early Mutagen slot)
Fortitude – 2/2

Alchemy (17)
Alchemist – 2/2 (Synthesis works as well, in which case 1 point will suffice)
Side Effect – 1/2 (Specialization: Potion if you took Synthesis, 2 points if that’s the case)
Harvester – 1/2
Catalysis – 2/2
Specialization: Oils – 1/2
Impregnation – 2/2
Taster – 2/2
Metathesis – 2/2 (Mutagen slot)
Condensation – 1/2 (Mutagen slot, a point in Berserker works just as well)
Mutant – 1/2 (Mutagen slot)
Amplification – 2/2 (Mutagen slot)

Swordsmanship (11)
Position – 1/2
Violence – 1/2
Whirl – 1/2
Hardy – 1/2
Finesse – 1/2
Invincible – 2/2 (Mutagen slot)
Combat Acumen – 2/2 (Mutagen slot)
Whirlwind – 2/2 (Mutagen slot)

[Glaroug]

@sidspyker

It looks fine to me. But now to pick the order.

I would defiantly go the sword route first, and grab Combat Acumen as quickly as possible, since this is not a pure alchemy build. You should Be able to get at least to Whirl before Act II. A strong sword helps greatly in act two. Remember, some of the toughest battles (Lifting the Curse at Act Twos End and lengthy cut scenes leading to challenging combat during which your potions run out for instance) cannot be done with potions, so swordsman should be your first priority. Rotfiends and harpies can take hits just as well as they can give them--and they gang up fast. Whirl is a welcome gift. After a quest or two and a healthy batch of slain monsters under your belt, you should have yourself a group finisher with your sword. You'll level fast in act two, so you should be able to comfortably place points into alchemy soon enough.