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The Witcher 2Mods for my first playthough?(15 posts)(15 posts)
(15 posts)
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Posted August 07, 2011
Ok, so far I've dicked around a bit in the prologue and first act in the pre-1.3 days, but never felt like / had enough time to start a proper playthrough. The time has finally come, oh yeah.
So what I've seen and read the overall balance as well as the difficulty curve isn't the best ever... not to mention the criminally terrible interface. A couple of mods seem to rectify this to some extent. I'd appreciate your opinion on those.

So here's what I'm planning to install, a pretty standard setup:
The two interface tweak mods:
HUD tweaks: http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=132
Panel tweaks: http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=87

The two overhaul mods that are recommended to be used together for best results:
Better Combat: http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=44
CEO: http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=89

And some minor stuff like a weight mod (I'm an incurable pack rat) and a classic dice set.

The two overhaul mods change things around pretty drastically, and I don't mind a bit of an added challenge, especially since I hear the game becomes a cakewalk later on, and that's no fun at all. I hope they don't make it frustratingly hard though.

Any comments on the above mods? Should I perhaps definitely not use any of them? Are there any better substitutes? Should I add some must-have mod to the list?

Input very much appreciated.
Posted August 07, 2011
Seems you have a nice list there already. HUD Tweaks and Panel Tweaks are definitely must-haves. Better Combat makes the magic system more dynamic and fun, and shouldn't have any possible drawbacks to it. CEO however makes the game more difficult by lowering both damage output and armour values quite significantly, but it's all in the name of balance, and I've had great feedback from several first-timers who used CEO from the get-go, and managed just fine. So it's not made frustratingly difficult at all. Might want to start playing on Normal though, and only turn it up to Hard if you feel it's getting too easy.

I would also like to recommend Return of the White Wolf. It's a texture replacement for Geralt's hair, restoring the white to his nickname.

Edit: Oh, and don't forget to also get Unlock All Development Paths, and follow the instructions in the readme, removing the MOD from the file name, so it loads before Better Combat. BC isn't updated for 1.3, you see, but the only problem has to do with the fact that it unlocks the skill trees. Loading the mod I linked to before BC will fix the issue.
Post edited August 07, 2011 by Kindo
Posted August 08, 2011
This is just my opinion.
For a first play playthough, I recomend you to just go with "Panel Tweaks".
Keep the re-balancing mods for further playthrougths.

Give yourself the chance to know the game as was intended by the developers.
Posted August 08, 2011
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jjavier: This is just my opinion.
For a first play playthough, I recomend you to just go with "Panel Tweaks".
Keep the re-balancing mods for further playthrougths.

Give yourself the chance to know the game as was intended by the developers.
I second that.

Furthermore, I usually give mods like this (the rebalance stuff) time. Much more time. The mod authors have good intentions and I dont doubt their skills...but think about it: They claim having created a better balance in days or weeks, while CD Project Red spend months, even years to do it. Plus every once in a while they tend to "change their mind" about some decisions and turn the whole mod upside down again...

Yes, I'm exaggerating...but I think you get the point. ;)
Posted August 08, 2011
Excellent question and answers.

Pemptus, you definitely discovered the most important mods. My suggestions are:

1) Get HUD and Panel tweaks - no reason to play without them, the improvement to overall user friendliness is beyond measure. Excellent mods.

2) CEO and Better Combat are worthy additions, still, I would also suggest leaving them to a second playthrough. You definitely SHOULD finish the Witcher 2 twice (you will see why once you get to act 2), so that's also the right opportunity to try these mods - you will appreciate the differences from vanilla more and also be able to meet the challenge they bring.

3) Optionally, for you 1st playthrough without the CEO and BC, I would humbly suggest the mods increasing duration of potions and oils which are just too short in vanilla.
Posted August 08, 2011
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jjavier: This is just my opinion.
For a first play playthough, I recomend you to just go with "Panel Tweaks".
Keep the re-balancing mods for further playthrougths.

Give yourself the chance to know the game as was intended by the developers.
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GODzillaGSPB: I second that.

Furthermore, I usually give mods like this (the rebalance stuff) time. Much more time. The mod authors have good intentions and I dont doubt their skills...but think about it: They claim having created a better balance in days or weeks, while CD Project Red spend months, even years to do it. Plus every once in a while they tend to "change their mind" about some decisions and turn the whole mod upside down again...

Yes, I'm exaggerating...but I think you get the point. ;)
We do indeed (^_^) know that the CDPR created the content in the first place(which is good), the mod adds more user oriented flavor to the game.

On the lines that increasing difficulty by modification(overhaul) of game equipment to proceed along with linearity..If one agrees on that idea, then obviously one will come to prefer that modification ;) on top of the already excellent game. (on which, a considerable amount of players have agreed)

An example of a MOD(rather a map), which made the game really great is DOTA*.

-Edited (typos, which mentioned totally wrong text or intended meaning)-
Post edited August 08, 2011 by Anarki_Hunter
Posted August 08, 2011
I have no idea on mods, but sometimes I wonder what patch you should play on first playthrough since the newer patches nerfed mutagen drops beyond the point of still being able to enjoy the game for me.
Posted August 08, 2011
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Sion1968: I have no idea on mods, but sometimes I wonder what patch you should play on first playthrough since the newer patches nerfed mutagen drops beyond the point of still being able to enjoy the game for me.
Latest patch is the obvious choice is most cases. The bugfixes are usually worth any nerf. And for the mutagend...I played through the game with v1.0 and v1.1 and the mutagens dropped like candy. I had so much mutagens and no use for them. I think it's better now that they're more rare...
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GODzillaGSPB: I second that.

Furthermore, I usually give mods like this (the rebalance stuff) time. Much more time. The mod authors have good intentions and I dont doubt their skills...but think about it: They claim having created a better balance in days or weeks, while CD Project Red spend months, even years to do it. Plus every once in a while they tend to "change their mind" about some decisions and turn the whole mod upside down again...

Yes, I'm exaggerating...but I think you get the point. ;)
avatar
Anarki_Hunter: We do indeed (^_^) know that the CDPR created the content in the first place(which is good), the mod adds more user oriented flavor to the game.

On the lines that increasing difficulty by modification(overhaul) of game equipment to proceed along with linearity..If one agrees on that idea, then obviously one will come to prefer that modification ;) on top of the already excellent game. (on which, a considerable amount of players have agreed)

An example of a MOD(rather a map), which made the game really great is DOTA*.

-Edited (typos, which mentioned totally wrong text or intended meaning)-
I agree. Please don't get me wrong, it wasn't my intention to badmouth the mods. I think there are truly great ones out there. I give them time for various reasons, besides the one I mentioned:

- to sort out the bugs
- for the mod to balance itself
- for the author to finalize his "to do" list on the features

And this only for big modding projects. Mini-mods are non-critical in most cases, so installing v1.0 or even a beta is okay for me. ^^
Post edited August 08, 2011 by GODzillaGSPB
Posted August 08, 2011
Thanks kindly for the answers, guys.

The thing with the overhaul mods and not using them for the first time is that every time I encounter a stupidly easy fight or some silly balance problem I'm going to kick myself in the head for not using the mod that reportedly does it better. I'm peculiar like that. :P

Also, the argument that "the developers spent years carefully balancing the game" and "play the game as the developers intended" doesn't work for me. Were I to play Oblivion the way Bethesda intended, without any mods, I wouldn't have any fun at all with the empty, plastic world and completely broken levelling mechanics. CDP Red might have spent a fair amount of time designing the interface, and what's the result? A convoluted mess, basically. Modders not only alter or add to vanilla, but often fix it.

From what Kindo wrote above, these mods seem to fix W2 to the point where playing vanilla seems like a waste of time and nerves. And time and nerves are valuable resources in my current life, unfortunately. :)
Oh well, I still have a couple of days for pondering before I get my hands on a machine that isn't a crappy laptop. :P

Oh, a simple technical question - Can I install and uninstall these mods as I play whenever and wherever I like, or is sticking to them from beginning to end recommended? I'm not sure how Witcher 2 behaves in such cases.
Post edited August 08, 2011 by Pemptus
Posted August 08, 2011
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Pemptus: Also, the argument that "the developers spent years carefully balancing the game" and "play the game as the developers intended" doesn't work for me. Were I to play Oblivion the way Bethesda intended, without any mods, I wouldn't have any fun at all with the empty, plastic world and completely broken levelling mechanics. CDP Red might have spent a fair amount of time designing the interface, and what's the result? A convoluted mess, basically. Modders not only alter or add to vanilla, but often fix it.

From what Kindo wrote above, these mods seem to fix W2 to the point where playing vanilla seems like a waste of time and nerves. And time and nerves are valuable resources in my current life, unfortunately. :)
Its recommended that one should play the game at least once without any gameplay modifications, so that you get to know the benchmark or rather reference of the intended game. Then for repeated playthroughs, Its suggested you try the mods which MANY have pointed out..which makes the game better.

(exception being the UI mods of course, which I personally suggest to be installed even on stock gameplay)

Without playing the stock game, you won't know the changes with mods anyways and there might be chances that one would't come to appreciate(actually greatly appreciate) either the stock game or the mod (or even both!). :P

-Edited-
Post edited August 08, 2011 by Anarki_Hunter
Posted August 08, 2011
Fair points all around - it's definitely not a bad idea to play it 'as intended' first (UI mods aside), so you know what to compare to. Speaking only from my own experience, my first playthrough didn't feel all too broken (no mods installed), but most of the difficulty I encountered was because of my own lack of skills; it takes a while to master the combat system, so that you make full use of all the tools and what not. It did get ridiculously easy a little while before the final chapter, though.
Posted August 08, 2011
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Pemptus: Oh, a simple technical question - Can I install and uninstall these mods as I play whenever and wherever I like, or is sticking to them from beginning to end recommended? I'm not sure how Witcher 2 behaves in such cases.
You can install and uninstall mods as you like, just pay attention to the right version for your patch version. And there are some incompatibilities, when two mods use the same xml file - but you should notice when you try to install a second with the same name and they can be merged.

So no reason to not start the game vanilla (except functionality and eye candy) and put in rebalance mods later, if you find you really don't like it. I agree to the point that you should try vanilla at least, if only to feel the difference the mod makes.
Post edited August 08, 2011 by AudreyWinter
Posted August 08, 2011
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GODzillaGSPB: I agree. Please don't get me wrong, it wasn't my intention to badmouth the mods. I think there are truly great ones out there. I give them time for various reasons, besides the one I mentioned:

- to sort out the bugs
- for the mod to balance itself
- for the author to finalize his "to do" list on the features
I'm not feeling targeted or anything, but I just want to speak for myself, regarding CEO. It's in a more or less final version now, and it's gone through a lot of these changes you mention, during its lifetime. There's only one confirmed bug left in it, and I was actually very pleased with the balancing a couple of releases ago, already. The to do-list is more or less empty, as well.

So aside from compatibility fixes with future game updates, you won't see much changing there. At least not until we get a hold of the SDK; in which case I might see about realising some ideas that are at the moment impossible to implement.
Post edited August 09, 2011 by Kindo
Posted August 08, 2011
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Pemptus: Thanks kindly for the answers, guys.

The thing with the overhaul mods and not using them for the first time is that every time I encounter a stupidly easy fight or some silly balance problem I'm going to kick myself in the head for not using the mod that reportedly does it better. I'm peculiar like that. :P

Also, the argument that "the developers spent years carefully balancing the game" and "play the game as the developers intended" doesn't work for me. Were I to play Oblivion the way Bethesda intended, without any mods, I wouldn't have any fun at all with the empty, plastic world and completely broken levelling mechanics. CDP Red might have spent a fair amount of time designing the interface, and what's the result? A convoluted mess, basically. Modders not only alter or add to vanilla, but often fix it.

From what Kindo wrote above, these mods seem to fix W2 to the point where playing vanilla seems like a waste of time and nerves. And time and nerves are valuable resources in my current life, unfortunately. :)
Oh well, I still have a couple of days for pondering before I get my hands on a machine that isn't a crappy laptop. :P

Oh, a simple technical question - Can I install and uninstall these mods as I play whenever and wherever I like, or is sticking to them from beginning to end recommended? I'm not sure how Witcher 2 behaves in such cases.
Pemptus,

I wouldn't say "try as intended" if I I didn't think that way is god game. As a mather of fact, I think that way is a great game.
But it is my opinion and I'm fan of TW games and Andrzej Sapkowski's work, so I'm not objective.

I advice you to be stubborn, suffer a hard time at the begining of the game, and level Geralt at least to leve 10. Once you spend some talents in character devlopment, the things gets better.

If, as you stated before, are convinced that the game as it is is not for you, may be wanna try this mods:

Zero Weight mod:
http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=179

Increase Combat Regen Rate:
http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=61

Unlock All Development Paths:
http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=133

Complete Equipment Overhaul
http://witchernexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=89

good luck.
Post edited August 08, 2011 by jjavier
Posted August 09, 2011
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jjavier: I wouldn't say "try as intended" if I I didn't think that way is god game. As a mather of fact, I think that way is a great game.
But it is my opinion and I'm fan of TW games and Andrzej Sapkowski's work, so I'm not objective.
So you're a fan, but you don't play with my White Wolf mod? How can you stand to see Geralt like a frail old man with that ugly grey hair?!? ;)
I advice you to be stubborn, suffer a hard time at the begining of the game, and level Geralt at least to leve 10. Once you spend some talents in character devlopment, the things gets better.
Not every mod aims to make the game easier, as you seem to imply, and it is no sense to use the Unlock all Development Paths after level 10, because you will aready have unlocked them at that stage.

Likeweise, zero weight mod is something you might need the most at the beginning of the game, when you get out of prison overweight and have to fight off some guys. I have made a compromise and made a mod where items don't have zero weight, but half their original weight. This way it is not an extreme cheat, but still some relief from your burden. I offer this mod, if anyone wants it.

I agree that he should not implement rebalance mods at the beginning of the first run - he needs to experience the original balance first. But I also encourage to just browse the Witcher-Nexus and just look for nice, not unbalancing stuff. :)
Post edited August 09, 2011 by AudreyWinter
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The Witcher 2Mods for my first playthough?(15 posts)(15 posts)
(15 posts)