Anyone else having trouble getting past the first 5minutes of the game. The dragon's fire is ridiculous and the npc's with you don't seem to want to fight the guards as much as you do. So you're stuck attacking guards by yourself, while being burned alive... I've died on normal in the first few minutes about 10 times now. Also the parry button seems very unresponsive, sometimes he goes into parry very quickly... most of the time he takes a while.

Am I missing something or is normal the new hard...

Agreed. I came here after dying 10 times in a row. I just don't understand if I'm missing some very obvious cues or if I'm supposed to be doing something completely different.

There seems to be no indication of how to avoid the fire from the dragon. I can't seem to use any potions and all I have is light attack, heavy attack, and parry. Are there no styles? Do I even have magic anymore?

So confused.. may I'm supposed to roll around everywhere avoiding attacks, that just seems really.. different from that last game.

It get's easier as you level up.

As for the dragon, try to be aware where it is to avoid the fire (space) and when hidden under the wooden structure watche the walls and ceiling - you can usually tell when the fiery death is coming. Also for combat use signs, Yrden helps to even out the odds against multiple enemies, Aard gives you a chnace of stunning, Quen might help absorb more damage. Blocking is useful, but it also takes up energy, so try jumping away more (doubletapping the desired movement key) and in future fights remember to kite and not get surrounded. Good luck!

you can cast the only magic spell you have with Q but even that doesn't save your ass from being burnt to a crisp. If the games gonna be this difficult throughout then I'm going to have to go back to easy...

Only spell? You start with 5 or so - press CTL to bring up a menu of the spells so you can choose your primary one.

The combat system changed. Read the manual, and tutorial info in your journal for more specifics. But yes, there's strong and quick attacks, the more you successfully land on your enemies the better the next one gets, without the timing element of TW1. Dodging is much more useful, and blocking takes up energy but helps a great deal. More maneuvers will be unlocked with experience.

You have access to all signs. Make use of them.

Also, if it gets too much on your nerve, you can always change the diff settings during the game (esc -> gameplay settings) at least until you get a hang of the new system.

Maybe it's that you are being given the keys for things while being attacked by multiple enemies who seem to be ignoring the dragon trying to burn you all to a crisp. I only noticed the Q key tip about the 15th time I died.

*sigh* people don't read manuals before playing games anymore, do they?

Yeah gonna need to lower this just to get in an open space to practice.

There is no way to maneuver between opponents, its very arcade like compared to the last one. You just keep hacking away knowing someone is hacking away at you, no timing.. bah. I'll give it a rest for now I think, it's probably more fun to read the manual at this point.

90% of games don't even have manuals anymore. The few that do are mostly useless information like, this is a menu... this is how to logon to the game... etc... I'm so used to them being void of anything useful it didn't occur to me that I should be reading it before trying to play :P

Try doubletapping the movement keys, using space, and locking onto desired targets with the Alt key. Also, when blocking be ready to make a quick riposte if the block put your opponent off-guard. At higher levels you will be able attacks coming from all sides, and making quick ripostes as you successfully block. Remember that you're faster than most opponents, especially armoured, and use that to your advantage - don't fight on their terms.
Try the part about signs and combat. For other tips, I think I'm out of ideas - try out those I've given above. Good luck!

I've quit for now. Never in 20 years of gaming have I quit a game so quick after buying it. It's insane but I'll just need to work out what you are meant to do to survive that first bit because it's just not fun reloading a save 50 times before you've even seen any of the game.

Best help with any game is Experience!

I was once #1 at Diablo 2 classic Hardcore Ladder on USEast before I moved to LOD. I played Gothic 1 and 2 Hardcore mode (restart if Nameless Hero died, Hard diff). I don't think I died on The Witcher after I really learned how to be a witcher! (on Expert Mode). My characters on DA:Origins NM diff and DA2 NM never dies, after a lousy first run!

Dying sucks! Never die! Losing a level 90 D2 hardcore character because of a power shortage or HD crash taught me that! It was a lot of fun when PK'ers and other top 10 Ladder players on that season, on Bnet, would start games named " RageGT is gay", "RageGT come here to die" and when they saw that I wouldn't die that easily even in their games, they actually started to help me in that season! (More people on the game, more XP to gain) They still would hope that the Cow King might get luck and kill me in all those hardcore Cow Level Hell Diff we played together!

It's a just a game and all those games I've played, My first thought was quit them all because I really sucked at my first playthrough. For example, I could not get past Savolla on my first run with TW, no matter what. I couldn't get past Howe's Lieutenant on my first Dragon Age run (on Hard). I couldn't fight any biotics in ME normall diff! I couldn't get past the Ogre in DA2. I coudn't get past the first scavenger or mole rat on Gothic!!!!

So all my first playthorughs I just learn and research and experiment... sometimes I check forum tips when nothing seems to work. (all the games I play on Maximum Diff and have some 160+ videos of one of my favorites, DA:Origins on YouTube with some 1.7M views)

I thought that Insane difficulty on TW2 would require unlocking it first by completing the game in any other diff. At that point I expect to be experienced enough with the game. The only rule in such game difficulty is to stay alive, no matter what! =)

Well, most of those games I use the save/reload "cheat" .. heh but some like D2 or the Gotchic HC challenge (not a game diff, just a quest of honor) and prolly TW2 Insane difficulty, there's no "save" option except when we quit that gaming session for the day and no "reload" except when we start the next session!