Timex
3061
Ah! Now I am more confused!
That video says that the witchers use their steel blades to kill humans and non-magical beasts, while the silver swords were used to kill magical beasts like wraiths and stuff.
Ever try to sharpen a silver knife?
Timex
3063
Well, while that makes sense, for the same reason I don’t see why a steel sword would necessarilly be more effective in killing some random animal than a sharp steel sword.
Or maybe just all the animals you encounter are magical monsters? I get that silver is traditionally held as having magic monster killing powers, but I guess I saw things like the giant spider things as just being animals, rather than magical beasts.
Although I guess in retrospect if I was walking down the street and saw a giant spider crab thing I’d think it was pretty extraordinary.
Ultimately, if I understand most folks here, and ignore the video, I’m just thinking about it too hard and it really does just boil down to “Humans get steel, everything else in the game gets silver” regardless of the actual stats on the weapons.
Why is that confusing? If you have to kill a wolf (you won’t), use steel. If you have to kill a ghost wolf (you won’t), use silver.
“Monster” in the parlance of the Witcher universe basically means “magical creature,” and silver is the antidote. Dwarves and elves aren’t magical, they’re just non-human races. Sorceresses and witchers can use magic, but they’re not creatures of magical origin, so you would use steel on them. The kayran in The Witcher 2 would be fought with steel were it a regular animal, but it has been magically infused/infected, so it’s silver time.
I had totally forgotten about the non-magical beasts part. I must have been tugging on Triss’s braids in third grade witcher school instead of paying attention.
Are there really no non-magical beasts in the entire series? I can’t think of any. I guess endregas don’t count? Maybe they did that specifically to avoid confusion.
Forget the lore. In Witcher 2 it’s a clear case always:
Steel for humans (bandits, soldiers, etc)
Silver for the rest. All of it.
Unrelated, but I have found some curious notes about medieveal clothing and the game:
[About lack of pants of the peasants outside Floatsam]
You have to understand a little something about medieval fashion to understand what’s going on here. They didn’t actually invent pants as we know them today till quite late. Until then, they wore those baggy shorts called Braies and would actually tie leggings called Chauses, one for each leg (which it became fashionable to mix and match so you often saw people with one blue legging and one red) on to them. They’ve simply neglected to tie their chauses on to their braies because they’re simple folk. You can see the chauses properly tied on with some of the character models in the game, mostly noblemen. Though usually they would wear a tunic that was long enough to cover the bries.
Also, I have seen people refer to Roche’s errr… hat, as a ‘turban’ it’s not. it’s a hood, which he has rolled up to wear as a hat. You take the face opening, roll it down and the neck/shoulder area and the pointy bit at the back (which could sometimes be very long and used to wrap around the neck) hangs down the back and sides. It was very, very rare to have a hood that was actually attached to a cloak or any other piece of clothing, hoods were usually completely separate and when not needed as an actual hood would either be draped over the shoulder or worn rolled up as Roche is doing.
Timex
3067
I guess it all comes back to having to unlearn all other RPG stuff.
I think that, in my mind, “magical beasts” include special things like vampires and ghosts and crap. Things that would require a magical weapon to hit them in D&D, for instance.
But those nekker things? To me, they remind me of something like a Kobold, which I wouldn’t normally consider a magical beast.
it’s all moot though… Silver for anything that isn’t human/elf/dwarf. Simple rule. Gotcha.
Well, in the books, yeah, the silver sword was for special cases, for creatures it was vulnerable only to silver or monsters that could regenerate normal wounds but not wounds done by silver.
But the videogame… is a videogame, steel for humans, silver for beasts.
Hell, the treatment of the silver sword in the book is different, Geralt have it well stored in a tied cloth, all very well protected, and he only would take the package for special cases, if not, he wouldn’t take it from his stuff in the horse. He didn’t have two swords at the back like in the videogame.
Next you’ll tell me he doesn’t have a 10 minute countdown timer when he drinks a potion.
Reemul
3070
Nope it’s a 20 page gap before he can use another in the books.
Unfortunately a negative definitive answer is in for my question a few weeks back: getting a 360 version of the game does not get you a backup copy of the PC version on GoG. You have to buy both versions separately. Damn.
I suppose “magical” in this case sort of means “unnatural.” Nekkers are not normal things, so they get the silver.
Finished it again, 3rd time overall, 1st time with the EE
Still love it to bits, the additional cut-scenes really added to the sense of world-building and story-telling.
However, the balance is still completely fucked (at least on normal) and most of act 3 was shamefully easy. I really, really enjoyed the fight towards the end of act 1 (tough but fair) but the final fight was a complete letdown in comparison (too easy by far)
Also, the vid after the credits is interesting!
olaf
3074
Finished it, first time, hadnt played Witcher 2 at all until the 360 release.
Liked it a lot. I think they really needed some additional play balancing though. Prologue and Chapter 1 were so much harder than Chapter 2 and 3. Prologue especially, that was just brutal for me (on normal).
Replaying again on Hard, to do Iorveth’s path.
They already did the prologue easier this time, but it’s a pity they didn’t balance Act 1 vs Act 2-3 as I hoped.
Managed to beat the 360 version of Witcher 2 last night. I really enjoyed it, though I couldn’t follow all the complicated interrelationships of the factions of kings, the sorceresses, the elves, the insurgents … still, it was all a bunch of fun. I loved Geralt’s no-nonsense approach to all the fantastical stuff going on around him. Probably have to go back and check out the other story branch at some point.
olaf
3077
I finished my first run through, 360, went Swordsmen, sided with Roche. Really enjoyed it overall.
Playing through again, Alchemist siding with Iorveth. In Chapter 2 now. Still cant take anything above Normal…Hard is fucking hard and I dont even want to think about Dark.
Really digging the Alchemist vibe, once you get deep in that tree you are a steam roller when you are on the juice. Really dont like that Taster talent, 4 potions at a time is pointless if you are still capped at 100 toxicity. You can the 4 shittiest potions, woohoo! Or, without it, you can drink 2 great ones or 1 great one and 2 shitty ones. Need to buy the first rank regardless to unlock stuff, but still.
New patch, exclusively implementing some UI improvements:
http://en.thewitcher.com/patch3-2/
Version 3.2 Corrections/Amendments (18th June 2012)
Patch 3.2 is a UI modification for the PC version of The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition. The mod adds the following enhancements to the game. It can be used optionally (enabled by default) by players when installed. You can disable it in Configurator DLC Menu.
Minimap: Adds a north arrow.
Alchemy: Crafting slots show how many ingredients there are; better default ingredient selection (e.g., not having to filter out quest item ingredients all the time); un-rotates alchemy element symbols; saves custom ingredient selection for a formula (until you close the panel or go to another formula, but no longer resetting every time you create something).
Tooltips: Taller, and scroll faster.
Inventory/Trading/Storage: Sorting buttons (sort by time acquired, name, aggregate weight, aggegrate price.) Reversible sort also possible.
Trading: Places a checkmark next to books, formulas, and crafting diagrams that you already have in your inventory.
Crafting: Shows how many items you have instead of capping the number at how many are required. E.g., 30/3 instead of 3/3.
Other: Sorts some lists alphabetically: crafting, alchemy, elixirs.
They actually hired a guy who made a mod that improved UI and this official patch is his work. Amazing.
That’s good news. Now all of these common-sense features will be included in their next game at the start instead of a year later. :)
