I played on all difficulties to get a feel for what actually changed and Blood and Broken Bones! difficulty seems to be the sweet spot for me, BUT!

The problem is that enemy AI changes somewhat on higher difficulties, I've seen people say that only HP values change and no Vitality regen during meditation. There's more to it though and it's a bit of a problem for me with the game.

The Witcher 3 is very animation heavy, almost like the Souls games. Witcher 2 and to a lesser extend Witcher 1 were like this as well but in Wild Hunt it's a LOT more so. Because Geralt animates so deliberately and reacts a bit slower than you're used to in third person action/RPG games the increased aggression in enemy AI on the harder difficulties kinda breaks the combat.

When facing a single opponent it's fine, it's still tough, it has to be. It's basically the game's hard mode. But when facing a pack of Drowners or a pack of wolves that are around 8 to 10 mobs Geralt can literally not keep up with the enemy's fast attack patterns.Geralt's deliberate and animation heavy attacks cant deal with 5+ wolves all attacking at once. The game is simply not responsive enough. Thus 1 vs many engagements turn into roll-a-thons and Yrden clustersfucks.

This is how *I* experience the game of course. Witcher 2 felt a lot more responsive to me and I felt a lot more in control. I'm quicksaving all over the place and approaching every confrontation like it's a bossfight. But when a pack of 5+ wolves kills you quicker than a Werewolf something feels wrong to me.

There are a lot of things about the harder difficulties that make the game loads better though. You NEED to use potions, oils and bombs and investing in Signs is absolutely necessary to survive. But I feel almost powerless sometimes when facing packs. Thus I'm often just walking Roach around those Drowners or Ghouls because I know I'm gonna be stuck facing those guys for at least 10 minutes when going towards my next quest marker.

What do you think about Witcher 3's harder difficulties and the gameplay in general?

I think it feels more responsive and less frustrating to play than 2 did for sure. But I also think these group combt scenarios and being overwhelmed is more common now. You really do need to do crowd managment with yrden/aard/bombs and try to get hits in on the enemies when they break off from the pack or if you can bait them all into being in recovery at the same time. I spend so much time in this game hopping away from things like a rabbit when I try to corrall them into an easier to manage position. XD

Really? I feel like the animations are much more sluggish and unresponsive. This is fine on normal and easy but on hard and Death March this becomes a huge problem because enemy AI doesn't give two shits about it.

Of the little I've played, I played on Death March, and I was definitely overwhelmed the first time I had to face a group of enemies. As you said, with one enemy it's pretty easy to watch their attack patterns and dodge accordingly. But when there's a bunch of enemies dashing around you it can be hard to watch out for attacks, and with how Geralt commits to his attack animations, I found myself dying over and over. I don't dislike it and normally I wouldn't mind the challenge, but I found that it was forcing me to play very defensively and I would rather experiment with all the abilities on the first playthrough.

I currently have the PS4 version and when I return to the game I'll probably lower the difficulty, but if I ever get around to getting a better PC I may try Death March on there. I have to wonder if a higher framerate would make the combat feel a little more manageable.

But wouldn't you agree that that's precisely the point? You should feel powerless sometimes when facing packs, because you're facing packs! You're a witcher, not superman, my friend. I'm playing on the same difficulty and I really, really love the intensity and danger of any fight that includes more than 3 foes. I have to time and perfect every animated attack, keep looking in 360 degrees around me, oils bombs and potions in use, combining the gas bomb+igni for hellfire effect or trying to single out an enemy and Axii him to death... It's so fucking good, in other words.

I respectfully disagree. A pack of wolves charging at Geralt from every direction should be more dangerous to him than a single, powerful werewolf. But the fact that they're mere wolves means that with caution and planning, you can end them quickly with gas bombs+igni, whereas a powerful werewolf requires much more than that.

Sounds like my kind of porn! Some Witcher aficionados claim that Witchers are supposed to be super agile and flexible, so the combination of dodging and rolling in this game creates that sweet effect.

@terminatorz: The problem is that I (the player) don't feel like I'm in control and am able to do what the game wants me to do. I feel powerless in a this-game-feels-broken kind of way.

Wolf charges at me, I roll away, 3 wolves charge at me I roll away again, 5 wolves charge me, I roll into another wolf, attack wolf, attack landed, 5 wolves charge me but geralt is still in attack animation, can't roll away, I get killed in 2 seconds.

I could opt to not attack the wolf but then I would be rolling around forever which is exactly the problem Witcher 2 had.

I'm hamstrung by the game's animations and the enemy's attack patterns and numbers.

I've been playing on Death March from the start and the first few hours/levels were hard, but by now I've gotten used to the combat and got stronger, so even packs of enemies are easier to handle (if you slip up you still get torn to shreds of course.)

The combat here just requires a lot of patience, somewhat similar to the Souls games, and honestly I don't think the animations/animation priority etc. are a problem at all. You pretty much just have to always be moving and mixing it up.

I finished 2 a couple weeks ago, and that felt a lot smoother.

Granted, I've done exactly one real battle in this. But I might bump it down from Death March.

Yes, that's my impression of the BaBB-difficulty as well. Geralt isn't very agile, while many of the enemies (even the basic ones early in the game) certainly are - they move fast, attack fast and are highly aggressive. Thus, even small groups of drowners or nekkers are more difficult to fight than bears, for example.

I actually like the combat overall (compared to Witcher 2 in particular), but there is definitely room for improvement. Geralt just doesn't seem to be well equipped to handle those kinds of group fights, which often makes those fights more frustrating than difficult in a satisfying way. It doesn't seem well "balanced".

@pilgore: Perhaps you're rolling too much? Because it exhausts stamina (which in the long run means you use less signs during the fight) and it also makes Geralt vulnerable because, well, he's rolling on the ground between the wolves.

Against a pack of wolves I use 70% dodging, 30% rolling. The dodge, when you time it against a wolf's charge, is very quick and effective, with no stamina use, and allows you to strike the wolf since you only stepped back a couple of feet. Sometimes I might dodge 4 or 5 times in a row!

@terminatorz: dodging doesn't create enough space between me and whatever I'm fighting. I can dodge one wolf but then I'm surrounded by 5 more. Rolling allows me to create enough distance to not get surrounded and overwhelmed. I have to roll/dodge/Yrden constantly if I want to stay alive for more then 5 seconds. Can't afford to stand still, ever really.

@teddynoir: Exactly!

Are there btw any invincibility frames in dodges or rolls? From what I could see not really but I could be wrong.

I've found Quen to be incredibly useful in combat so far, having that as a "safety net" if you do get hit that will protect you and knock back anything that gets right up in your face is really nice when fighting groups (or strong enemies who can take you down in one or two hits. I definitely feel more comfortable against a stronger single enemy than a group, but I think that makes sense. A swarm of weaker stuff should be tougher for a Witcher to deal with than a single foe - the caveats being that often you have to prepare more specifically to fight the stronger enemies, and that they remain a serious threat to the final blow while a group gets more manageable each time you take one of them down.

Getting used to the animations and how to attack differently has been fun, I think coming from a lot of time spent with Souls games there's definitely some level of comparison to be made there. I think so far (only about 8 hours in, mind) that it's been a very satisfying experience tackling a wide variety of combat situations with quite a large toolset at your disposal. All your sword attacks, five signs, usable items, dodging, blocking, counter hits, rolling... I've really felt like I have a lot of control over my character, though with so many options Geralt is still a little clumsy in my hands at the moment as it hasn't quite become second nature to pull precise movements out at all times.

The initial group fights can definitely be tough at the early levels on higher difficulties.

But I found myself having less trouble with it as the game goes along. A - you get more used to the combat flow and what you can dodge vs. roll vs. parry. B - you get more tools to handle groups too, various bombs for aoe, improved Aard, Axii and/or Quen signs, powerful mutagen decoctions.

Drowners are especially deadly early on as they do a ton of damage and thus are super dangerous in packs.

@pilgore: I wouldn't really use Yrden on packs myself, the slowdown in early levels is not that significant. A couple blocked attacks mid combo from Quen go a long way. And Igni just wrecks wolves completely, they can be nearly one shot with it on BaBB difficulty and will be if ignite triggers.

Honestly the game challenges your play on Blood and Broken Bones and I love it. In Witcher 2 it was easy to outgear mobs at some point even on the higher difficulties and just quen spam to win. Witcher 3 that honestly doesn't work outside of a one on one with like a forktail. That said on Blood and Bones I did fight a group of 3 level 7 slavers and 4 level 14 novigrad deserters at level 6 and I won. How? Hit and run, lure melee away so you could rush in and trap the archers before they could switch weapons, getting one mob alone and nailing them with Axii for a instant kill, using Quen to roll in, tag a few enemies, and roll out without taking damage, Aard to knock down/stagger the standard melee for some fast hits, bombs to blind them or do damage, oil to buff my weapons... etc etc. It was a war of attrition and it took a few attempts but it was fun.

Witcher 2 it would have just been rely on being overgeared cause you always were once out of the prologue, Quen spam, roll and stab them in the back until they were all dead which even when out leveled only took 3-5 hits.

One thing I figured out is fighting on horseback is a bit OP. Unless your horse gets tackled down you can just run back and forth and slash away at mobs.

I killed 10 deserters with a red dot above them indicating they were way above my level and I just ran back and forth on Roach slo-mo Steel swording them for 10 minutes. All dead, didn't get hit once. That seems a bit weird.

Normal difficulty is fine to me, i started on the second hardest but found it was just too annoying. I still get killed if i try to button mash, and mobs can put you into that stagger and kill you almost instantly. I would try the harder difficulties, but bombs and potions recipes are hidden(as well as ingredients) so relying on those exclusively just doesn't seem fun. I would rather have had access to atleast a basic schematic of each type of bomb/forumla and then have maybe upgraded versions you have to search for. I mean i'm a witcher I should know how to make this shit by now, especially since i found all the formulas in the first 2 games.

The roll is for covering distance quickly. The dodge is what you want to start using more often.

I'm honestly a bit disappointed with how the game is balanced. I'm playing on BaBB too and it was pretty rough the first few hours, loved the challenge.. But once I got some gear, perks and combat experience everything felt really easy. I've even done several quests and contracts more than 6 levels above me with barely any trouble. I guess I should switch to the hardest difficulty but my point is that the game gets easier the further you get it seems. Should be the other way around. I had the same problem with Skyrim.

And I never even use bombs or yrden unless it's practically required.

@pilgore: Horseriders have been op throughout human history so its working as intended.

My biggest problem with the combat, and note that I'n also on B&BB difficulty, is that the switching targets with lock-on is terrible. Maybe it's because I'm so used to Dark Souls, but it feels like shit in comparison.

@shadowconqueror: I don't lock on at all ever. Has been working out perfectly. It's really unnecessary imo

@pilgore: I dunno what to tell you man, I'm on Blood and Broken Bones difficulty and I mostly dodge against packs of Nekkers/Rotfiends/Wolves and, after taking my time with them and draining their health strike after strike, I collectively fuck them up with fire explosions.

So I've generally found that enemies in large groups will typically not attack you all at once. Just last night I came across a beach with about 14 or 15 pirates just chilling on it. So I of course ran in there to F their S up. I proceeded to get my ass handed to me, decided to run away, and then got sniped from about 30 yards away by the world's greatest marksman. I tried again with some actual strategy in mind and put up Quen and took out all of the archers while rolling around like a crazy person. Then I noticed that I had about 10 or so guys left, only 2 or 3 at the most would actually charge at me at a time. The rest would sit back and fling one of the two vulgar insults they were programmed to say.

The key is knowing when to dodge and when to roll. Upgrading Quen so it releases a shockwave upon breaking is also handy. Also if an enemy is weak to Igni, setting them on fire is a way to quickly remove numbers from a large mob.

I was going to play on the hard difficulty, but turned it back to normal. Coming off from Bloodborne the combat in this game is so unresponsive, and clunky that it drives me NUTS! Normal has been perfect challenge wise thankfully.

One thing I do really appreciate is that levels aren't the be-all-and-end-all. Quite a lot of RPGs with clearly designated player and enemy levels will scale you down to doing no damage against enemies a few levels above me, but even at level 1 I was able to defeat a level 7 wraith. It took me a few attempts, and just a couple of hits would end the fight, but it was possible. I also realised reading this that I like combat systems which encourage you not to ever get hit - it's a little closer to how you'd expect an actual fight to go down as an experienced Witcher.

@y2ken: The level-damage ratio is super weird. I met a level 15 noonwraith that took basically zero damage from me even when I exploited it's weaknesses (I was level 7). But just like 5min earlier I had fought a different monster that was level 17 and didn't even struggle much...

@tobbrobb: Ya I ran into this last night myself. Couldn't damage one monster that didn't even show me its level. Just a red skull. But I beat the crap out of a level 15 enemy right after that, and I only level 5. But yet I get my ass handed to me time and time again against 3-4 level 3 drowners.

I guess I'm not having nearly as much trouble with it as you are, OP. I'm playing on Blood and Broken Bones and I've died once during the Griffin fight, otherwise I've found it tough but very manageable. Granted, I'm not terribly far into the game, but it seems to strike a nice balance so far. It's just remembering that you can't bonsai charge groups of enemies. There's really no point anyway, since you don't get XP just for killing stuff. Therefore, I only engage if the enemy is next to something I need to interact with.

Otherwise, it's just knowing your tools and using them correctly. Quen is your friend, particularly upgraded so that it damages and stuns enemies that hit it, and you've got crowd control options with Axxi, or the 360 degree upgraded Aard. You also know the recipe to craft a stun grenade from the off.

I guess my only complaint is that I occasionally need to fight the game in order to retreat from combat. I hold X to run, and but the game insists on keeping me in combat and rolling around instead. It should be a lot easier for me to (at least try) to disengage. Maybe if they hadn't made the X button try to do about 10 trillion things, it wouldn't be so much of a problem.

Yes, this. This is one of the things that let me get better at combat. Dodging instead of rolling puts you in much better position to counter attack.

Babb was is also still kinda kicking my ass, Im getting the hang of it though. Had a rough start though:

I immediatly stumbled into an quest after that intro part where I was going through some dungeon you cant escape after entering where I you are forced to fight multiple drowners at once, then a golem and then a pack of dogs while protecting someone and it just seemed to go on and on haha. The fact that every mistake killed me instantly and I had no items or anything to heal or go back was kiiiinda not too much. Instant death followed by long ass loading followed by instant death followed by long ass loading seriously got on my nerves after a while.

It did however force me to learn how to handle packs of enemies in the game. The game has a very peculiar flow and the more I get used to it the more I like it. And It felt fucking great 'dancing between multiple enemies, hacking em up without them touching me, knowing 1-2 hits could end me.

That said: Glad I got through that fase, now that I know how the combat works and am properly prepared with items its not nearly as bad anymore. And still as awesome to dance between enemies slashing off arms and heads left and right. Also tip: Dont lock on.

PS on the side:One thing I dont get though is the automatic finisher thing, I have it off but I still dismember enemies pretty often without knowing how I'm doing it....or is that not what a finisher is?

I'm now almost level 8 and my increased Vitality has helped immensely. I think the early levels on hard and Death March is just very rough, almost frustrating. But now that I can take at least *some* hits I can manage a lot more. Leveling seems slooooooow though. I'm picking up neat armor and weapon diagrams left, right and center but its all level 20 to 30 stuff which seems MILES away. Oh well.

@shadowconqueror:I agree with that. In a large pack, waiting to switch through guys will get you killed.

I've just been trying to deal with this large group of Nilfgaard dudes after visiting the Bloody Baron and it seems like my sword doesn't to shite for damage. Eventually, the archers get me, even if I roll around and use Quen / bombs / Aard. It seems like these guard take an insane number of hits before they go down. But I'm still only a level 5 so maybe I just need to go do some more side quests and come back.

What are your guys' strategies with your swords / armor? Do you tend to keep repairing them or do you just pull out something else?

It's actually the first game I play on a harder than normal difficulty and I'm never coming back. This is exactly the level of difficulty that an action RPG should be for me. I've clocked in 20 hours, am at level 9 and I'm still dying fairly often (mostly drowners, yeah). On average, I'd say every 45 minutes. In Witcher 2 you get overpowereg pretty quickly and the second half of the game was a rush to the finish for me. Here, Im getting schooled time and time again by the lamest enemies if I fail to control how many get aggroed at one time. Sometimes, I have to repeat a sequence 4-5 times (for example the stroll with the botchling, the exorcism on the Island) but this makes the final succesful run feel like an achievement. Probably everybody playing this game has these moments when he/she feels like a Neo-like Uebermensch dodging and rolling at exactly the right moments, hitting only once or twice from time to time and somehow surviving an impossible encounter.

I'd like to reiterate some points made by other people:

• Never ever lock-on (goes for the previous games as well). I have a feeling that in W3 they improved the interpretation of the players directional input during attack.
• Upgrade Quen 3 times.
• Learn to use dodging instead of rolling unless you have to get away from a tight spot.

Also:

Drowners... eeeh. A single drowner is nothing. Two can be a small army in many circumstances. The main problem I have with fighting them is the rhythm of their attack. I think their speed is very similar to Geralt, but they synchronize their attacks really well. It very rarely happens that two drowners attack at the same time. Usually when you dodge one of them, his friend get's ready to jump, which means that you can't hit even once with a quick attack without loosing some health or the shield. Thankfully other enemies, allies and the terrain help with breaking the infinite dodge-chain. Probably the omnidirectional Aarg or Igni will also be usefull, but I haven't tried yet. I haven't got the reflexes or the presence of mind to juggle the normal versions of offensive signs with quen during a multi-drowner assault.

I would really love to see some high-level play.