Witcher gold!

Balasarius · 2010-05-17T09:54:01.000Z

razarok:

Umm. The boss at the end of act 1 was that wolf, right? Did they change the game or something? That wolf was super easy (I think I played on the medium difficulty?) if I recall correctly… I just popped one of those slow potions, stunned the boss with a charged up “earth blast” and then nearly one shotted it while it was stunned?!

You got lucky. The Barghest journal entry specifically says it’s very rare for it to be affected by signs.

The first time I killed the Barghest, it was the same way as you. After half an hour of attempts. Then I died to the villagers immediately after.

For the next half hour of attempts, there were two or three occasions where the Aard sign successfully knocked the Barghest down. But when I moved Geralt over and clicked to perform the killing blow… instead of doing so, Geralt just stood there like a retard doing nothing. Yay.

Also, of course I had the Spectral Oil.

razarok · 2010-05-17T09:56:42.000Z

Balasarius:

You got lucky. The Barghest journal entry specifically says it’s very rare for it to be affected by signs.

The first time I killed the Barghest, it was the same way as you. After half an hour of attempts. Then I died to the villagers immediately after.

For the next half hour of attempts, there were two or three occasions where the Aard sign successfully knocked the Barghest down. But when I moved Geralt over and clicked to perform the killing blow… instead of doing so, Geralt just stood there like a retard doing nothing. Yay.

Also, of course I had the Spectral Oil.

Oh, ok. That happened on my second try the first time I played the Witcher and on the first time I replayed the game. Didn’t know I got that lucky.

Pogo · 2010-05-17T12:26:43.000Z

Naeblis:

I didn’t had so much problem with end of Act 1, i needed three-four tries, but that’s it. And you don’t have to “succeed” in protecting someone, be the witch or the villagers.

Yeah this is a very tough encounter if you’re trying to save Abigail. Definitely need Specter Oil and kiting maneuvers, and taking care of the barghest that are attacking Abigail while you dodge the Beast.

Totally agree that it’s a shitty situation, having that cutscene go right into a boss battle like that, requiring a reload in the cave, exiting the cave, making your decision with the villagers, and then fighting. Stupid stupid stupid.

Thankfully that’s the only real screwup in the game.

MattKeil · 2010-05-17T12:53:04.000Z

razarok:

Oh, ok. That happened on my second try the first time I played the Witcher and on the first time I replayed the game. Didn’t know I got that lucky.

I strolled right through that fight (saved Abigail) on the first try on medium. Never had a clue it was considered difficult/broken until much later.

Matt_Bowyer · 2010-05-17T12:53:31.000Z

Pogo:

Yeah this is a very tough encounter if you’re trying to save Abigail. Definitely need Specter Oil and kiting maneuvers, and taking care of the barghest that are attacking Abigail while you dodge the Beast.

Totally agree that it’s a shitty situation, having that cutscene go right into a boss battle like that, requiring a reload in the cave, exiting the cave, making your decision with the villagers, and then fighting. Stupid stupid stupid.

Thankfully that’s the only real screwup in the game.

I managed to save right after the cutscene but before the boss battle. Granted, it was something like my tenth try, and even after that I had to reload and try the boss battle about 15 or so times.

I remember the GFW Radio about Jeff Green playing the Witcher, and how his wife wasn’t sure what his problem was.

“If you’re not having fun, why are you playing?”
“I AM having fun! I’m having a GREAT TIME!” (then, more shouting at the screen)

I felt the same way.

Bandersnatch · 2010-05-17T13:26:56.000Z

Think the Beast took me 2 or 3 tries on medium back when I was playing the game for the first time. Never used oil and only used one swallow since I was pretty stingy with potions. Playing it again on hard, using oil and potions it was total overkill. Sucks if you quit the game at that point though, the game opens up a lot in Act 2.

Pogo · 2010-05-17T13:28:02.000Z

It was overkill… from which direction? You whooped its ass or the other way around (on Hard)?

Jab · 2010-05-17T13:44:45.000Z

spoiler warning for boss fight

I remember the trick that I used that made the fight almost trivial was using spectral oil and going into heavy stance (I think that was the name) and I think I had the potion that raised accuracy and slowed down time. I hit it a few times and it went down in about 20 seconds.

Matt_Bowyer · 2010-05-17T13:46:22.000Z

I think the Aard sign, once I understood that I needed to put a token or two in it, never failed. The regular barghests didn’t take too well to it, but the Beast was almost always stunned.

razarok · 2010-05-17T13:52:06.000Z

Matt Bowyer:

I think the Aard sign, once I understood that I needed to put a token or two in it, never failed. The regular barghests didn’t take too well to it, but the Beast was almost always stunned.

This is probably true. I missed the fireball sign so I pumped up the aard sign and never had any trouble stunning the beast.

Pogo · 2010-05-17T14:23:01.000Z

Jab2565:

spoiler warning for boss fight

I remember the trick that I used that made the fight almost trivial was using spectral oil and going into heavy stance (I think that was the name) and I think I had the potion that raised accuracy and slowed down time. I hit it a few times and it went down in about 20 seconds.

That’s not really a spoiler warning.

If you go into this game without learning about and using potions, you’re going to have a tough time, even on Normal.

Hoarding potions in this game is useless. There is no “rainy day.” Use it or lose it.

Alistair · 2010-05-17T14:44:26.000Z

Why is the Witcher suddenly on the front page…? No good rpgs about I guess :) I see the Drakensang guys went bust. I hope that doesn’t affect the English version of River of Time. I think Witcher 2 is still a while off.

Bandersnatch · 2010-05-17T15:43:52.000Z

Pogo:

It was overkill… from which direction? You whooped its ass or the other way around (on Hard)?

Whooped its ass, think I chugged a swallow and when it was over I still had high health. Wish I could remember what stance I was using, probably group. I know I definitely threw Aard a few times.

J_Ore · 2010-05-17T16:47:32.000Z

Balasarius:

You got lucky. The Barghest journal entry specifically says it’s very rare for it to be affected by signs.

The first time I killed the Barghest, it was the same way as you. After half an hour of attempts. Then I died to the villagers immediately after.

For the next half hour of attempts, there were two or three occasions where the Aard sign successfully knocked the Barghest down. But when I moved Geralt over and clicked to perform the killing blow… instead of doing so, Geralt just stood there like a retard doing nothing. Yay.

Also, of course I had the Spectral Oil.

Ugh, what a terrible way to introduce what’s generally a fantastic game. I had a similar experience the first time I beat that damned dog too, except the second after I killed it, the game froze.

Matt_Bowyer · 2010-05-17T16:49:19.000Z

Alistair:

I see the Drakensang guys went bust.

Aw dammit. Really?

Pogo · 2010-05-17T16:53:42.000Z

Alistair:

Why is the Witcher suddenly on the front page…? No good rpgs about I guess :) I see the Drakensang guys went bust. I hope that doesn’t affect the English version of River of Time. I think Witcher 2 is still a while off.

There’s never a bad reason to bump a thread about the best RPG of last decade.

Alistair · 2010-05-17T16:55:29.000Z

Matt Bowyer:

Aw dammit. Really?

http://rpgwatch.com/#14935

Yes, but reading the comments there it seems that the sequel (and add-on?) will still make it.

thinkingork · 2010-05-17T17:23:18.000Z

My apologizes then.

Another tip is, yes, qiucksave as soon as the cutsence finishes so you don’t have to go through it again. Also, you should rush to the corner of the barn next to you, so the dogs can only attack you from two sides. This way, the witch would take some aggro off you, giving you some space to breathe. I don’t believe the witch can die, she just goes unconscious and comes back alive after the battle.

Really, I don’t remember any difficulty spikes throughout Act1. Unless you are playing the game modded(which I highly recommend), then every battle is HARD.

maxle · 2010-05-26T00:37:14.000Z

Man. Playing through the game for the first time, got to the beast, got my head handed to me repeatedly, come here, and look! Advice! Which I presume will be useful!

You guys are the best.

maxle · 2010-07-07T04:14:24.000Z

So I got the end of Act I and was destroyed by the boss over and over again. I learned I needed spectral coating. Only I would have to load an earlier save to go get the coating, since the point before the boss doesn’t let you buy stuff. I had no motivation to continue, so I shelved the game. Then Pogo gave me this link, which permitted me to get the oil without backtracking, and holy fuck, the boss went down without any effort.

So, y’know. If there’s anyone in the same situation, hope is here. Thanks, Pogo.