Conversations

Witcher 2 is dialogue heavy and there are many paths you can take depending on how you interact with people. Dialogue options will turn grey once they’ve already been selected. Sometimes you can intimidate, mind control or bribe the person you’re talking to. You’ll see a little symbol next to the dialogue option indicating which one you’re trying to attempt. The intimidate symbol is red, the bribe symbol has little coins and the mind control symbol is the same as the Axii symbol.

Some dialogue options have a timer. You’ll need to select one quickly or the game will select the default option for you.

Dialogue options in orange are dialogue-ending options. Select all the other options first if you want as much information as possible before selecting the orange option.

Combat

As for The Witcher you’ll use the Steel Sword for human enemies and the Silver Sword for monsters. There’s a greater variety of weapons to find and use, as well as ranged weapons, mostly throwing daggers.

If you’re playing with a mouse and keyboard the left mouse click is the fast attack and the right mouse click is the slow attack. Strikes close together can form combo moves and occasionally Geralt will perform a finishing move.

There is a small vigor bar just under Geralt’s health. If you have stamina available you can parry by pressing the ‘R’ key.

Meditation

Unlike the first game meditation can be done anywhere unless you’re in combat or a scripted event. To mediate press Ctrl to go to the quick menu and select meditate. Mediation is also the only way to find out what the time is in game.

Alchemy

The Alchemy system has been changed slightly in Witcher 2. Alcohol is no longer needed. You’ll only need to provide the reagents and fomulae to mix a potion. Ingredients can be gathered from plants or monster drops. Some talents or items, such as the Herbalist’s Gloves will allow you to gather more materials from plants.

To make a potion go to the quick menu by pressing Ctrl and select Alchemy. Select the potion that you want to mix and the default ingredients will be added if you have them in your inventory.

You can’t drink potions from your hotbar. Instead you’ll need to drink them from the quick menu. This means you’ll need to consider what potions you need before you get into a fight.

Crafting

Witcher 2 has added a crafting system and it’s where you’ll be able to make some of the best weapons and items in the game. You can’t do it alone, you’ll need to find a crafter to help you put the materials together.

Before you craft anything you’ll need a Diagram of the item you want to craft and all the necessary materials in your inventory. Go see a crafter and click on the Diagram of the item you want to craft. You’ll be charged a small fee for the crafter’s services.

Mutagens

Mutagens are needed to develop certain talents and they are usually found from monster drops. Not all talents need Mutagens. Once a Mutagen is placed in a talent slot it can’t be removed.

Armor Enhancements and Runes

Some weapons and armor have sockets for enhancements or runes. There’s a wide variety to choose from giving you ample opportunity to buff your weapon or strengthen your armor in the way you like. Runes and armor enhancements can also be crafted. To add a rune or enhancement pick it up in your inventory and drop it on top of the item that you want to add it to. Once added to an item the rune or enhancement can’t be removed.

Locked Doors and Containers

If a door or container says “locked” then it either can’t be opened or will open when you progess with the story. If it says “key required” then you will be able to find a key to open that door or container.

Stealth

Some scripted areas of the game require you to take a stealthy approach. You will automatically sneak in those areas. You can click on Torches to turn them on or off. Leaving Torches off makes it harder for guards to notice you. Sneaking up behind a guard and clicking the Right mouse button will knock them out. Torches can also be put out by using the Aard sign.

Imported Saves

When you begin a new game you’ll be able to import a Save from The Witcher. This will import some of the items you had when you finished The Witcher and also add small details depending on how you progressed with the first game. It doesn’t have any impact on the main story.

Back: Witcher 2                    Next: Prologue