I am playing through the game on hard (or whatever the difficulty above normal is called), and I am having a ton of trouble fighting wolves. Every time I encounter them, I save the game and try to master the battle. I am trying to figure out how to beat the wolves without wasting all my bombs or consumables. Here is how I approach them.

• If I use my trap sign, they are still too fast and surround me instantly.
• If I use my stun sign, I am attacked rapidly by the wolves I am not trying to stun.
• If I use fire, I have a 50/50 chance to stun some of them, but if I don't I get hit anyways.
• If I block/parry, it creates no distance and it leaves me sort of trapped. The wolves also have no stamina apparently and attack me with less delay.
• If I roll, they it creates some space, but seems to leave me open for charge attacks. (they leap at me. Dodging has a similar effect.)
• Aard has the potential to knock them down, but enemies who are knocked down cannot be attacked? (Geralt simply keeps saying "come on come closer" and doesn't attack no matter how hard I mash light/heavy attack. (also, you can get hit through Aard as the effect does not immediately affect the enemies)
• Light and Heavy attacks are also similarly useless as the attacks are so animation-heavy that I get hit 1-2 times during the long windup to attack.
• The crossbow does almost no damage and takes forever to reload.
• Lastly, quen absorbs one hit, but as the wolves have a tendency to attack 2 times in less than 2 seconds, it doesn't help much.

To clarify, I am not looking for tips on oils or bombs to use. I am looking for advice on how to tackle these encounters which are all too plentiful. I would like to leave the encounter without losing 1/4 to 1/2 of my vitality bar. What is the general strategy with the preface that I do not have any bombs, oils, or potions on me? Are these encounters really this challenging? I feel like I have tried everything, but the only thing I gain from these battles is frustration. I feel I have done very well in regards to tackling almost all other encounters and lose little to no health. Has anyone here mastered this combat encounter?

First of all, you can attack enemies that are down. Usually it's an instant kill (with X, there's a prompt) but otherwise you can at least get in free shots.

Second, I think you are looking at consumables and bombs in this game wrong. More than other games, they are meant to be used because they are very easily replenishable. You only need to meditate to replenish your stuff you have already crafted. Bomb are for exactly what you're saying you don't want to waste them on (crowd control). Especially if you are playing on hard, you should get out of that habit of thinking consumables are ever wasted because this game (in a great way) easily gives them back so use them when you need to. Trust me, I have a terrible aversion to using consumables in most games but this game has a better system than others I've seen (because it encourages you to use your gear) and if you're on hard you need to be using a lot of that stuff.

For me, with groups (which can be tricky) I usually do a lot of dodging. You dodge backwards and left right where appropriate. I use igni on wolves to light them up and then maybe I keep dodging for a bit til my next opening, getting quick strikes in where I can. You mention only rolling, but also in this game I would suggest dodging over rolling most of the time.

As you level, I think this is why magic is such a good path. Upgraded versions of your magic are great for dealing with groups, in particular I think the upgraded yrden which basically acts as a tower in a tower defense game when you set it. I might set one back and then dodge back into it and use it's attacks to buy me more time and agitate the group, all while doing damage of its own. Also, you dismiss the axii (stun) sign but when doing crowd control on say 4 enemies, stunning one and getting it down to three can be the difference between victory and defeat. That's valuable. You can, if you upgrade, have axii turn enemies to allies (which would help you) or stun multiple enemies, which will help you. Also you can simply upgrade the intensity of your signs which will make them more effective, lighting more enemies on fire with igni or with aard you can manage to knock more down and finish them off.

Sorry if the upgrade comments aren't helpful because you can't upgrade yet, but in general I suggest to use magic a lot. Also use potions. For example the Tawny Owl which restores stamina and will allow you to cast magic much more frequently. And those bombs are for crowd control! Basically, to reiterate, you are never wasting potions or consumables. Just do your due diligence looting and you'll get the items needed to replenish your consumables when you rest. Those are common you just have to search the random stuff you find. And when you see diagrams for making new ones, buy them.

I'm 60 hours in and I meditate a lot to replenish my consumables and I still have like 80+ of the items you need to replenish when you meditate.

If you don't want to be using consumables and stuff and want to hack your way through the game with a little magic then you should play on normal. I think when you go hard it's assuming you're using all this stuff. I can just say that groups are tricky and even when I was fighting a lot harder enemies, groups of Drowners were still the hardest thing for me to fight. Now I'm at the level where I just smash them but in general groups of enemies are not to be taken lightly in this game.

Use igni on low level wolves and dogs. For pack of drowners,nekkes and similars just get your timing right on the riposte (not parry, it's useless against monsters, but the counter works the same). If everything fails, just use quen and go to town.

Igni for dogs/wolves. Aard and then instant kill on the ground for drowners.

Playing on the same difficulty, and here is what I would advise.

1) The first 3 or 4 character levels are the toughest, so don't expect to have to attempt each random encounter multiple times. It's just a combination of learning curve and having very little opportunity to control your stat gain as of yet.

2) For wolves, roll don't dodge. Most people prefer the dodge as it allows you to come out of the animation and attack an enemy much quicker. The problem with wolves is that they lunge quickly and from a distance, so a quick side step may put right into their path, or more likely, the path of another pack member. A better option is to roll backwards. You can much better deal with 5 or 6 wolves if they are all in front of you where you can see them. Remember, back attacks do extra damage, and that counts for enemy attacks leveled against you as well. Unlike in certain games such the Souls series where well timed rolls will grant invincibility frames, the Witcher seems much less forgiving. Roll out of harms way or you're going to take damage.

3) Use igni. Especially when confronting groups, incapacitating two or three with igni will allow you to get a strike or two on another wolf. This will take some timing. Blasting a wolf about to jump at you with igni will catch them on fire and save to from the attack. There is a good second and a half (roughly) between the time you press the button to cast igni and the time the attach actually registers as hitting the enemy. This can result in some odd cases where you will start to expel the flames, the wolf will hit you in midair, you will take damage, and then the wolf will catch on fire. Cast too early, before the wolf has begun to lunge at you and it will most likely be out of range. It definitely take finesse.

4) Always be chewing. Food, that is. At least, if you get hit. I'm sure you've noticed vitality regen. is slow, so if you've been hit, you need to make sure you keep that meter up. The difference between getting hit once and getting stun locked into two more hits and a game over is a small sliver.

Even with this early learning curve, you become much more survivable by the time you leave the White Orchard. I came across two wolf packs in Velen that had somehow spawned close enough to each other to all attack at once, and I managed to take down twelve of them without much trouble.

Happy Witching, duder!

I'm playing on Death March now and I found the best strategy early on is just to keep it simple. Pop Quen when you can, wait for a chance to attack, then get 1-2 fast attacks in, then sidestep to the side to avoid their lunge, and then repeat. When fighting a pack the most important thing to be aware of is your positioning as well as that of the enemy. You don't want to sidestep right into the path of another wolf. If you're in a bad position then roll to give yourself more space. Don't just rush into the center of the pack, try to lure them out a little and get into an advantageous position.

Igni can also be quite useful, but it can be hard to get a lot of use out of early on, since stamina regeneration is so slow, but the Tawny Owl potion can help with that. If wolves are causing you an especially large amount of trouble don't be afraid to use some potions or even decoctions, if you have anything worth using. A Grapeshot bomb can be an effective way to start an encounter. Toss it into the center of the pack to heavily damage or kill multiple enemies. I know you said you don't want strategies that rely on things like bombs or potions, but you should be using everything at your disposal to win, especially since consumables are so easily replenished.

In the early game, I survived multiple encounters primarily by dodging back until I had a clear shot at an enemy without a high risk of being flanked by another. The main habit I had to get myself out of was that when an enemy dodges backward into the crowd of their allies, it's smarter to back out and attack from another direction than it is to pursue that enemy further, no matter how close they might be to death.