The first couple of times I played I didn't loot at all - this time through I'm looking in all the nooks and crannies.

Nickie, I'm obviously too greedy. I laugh all the time because in the middle of quests, I'm constantly stopping to harvest plants or loot houses.

In I go, the thug just keeps on sweeping and I run around stealing stuff.

I also discovered that you get 40 orens for a torch--who knew. I'd been leaving them in favor of daggers, etc because I thought they would not be worth much.

What I always find amusing is that you can steal stuff from an NPC who buys and sells and then sell it to him.

No L4L, it's there for the taking and probably the smart thing to do. I guess I'm too used to games where there are repercussions for looting, but there sure aren't in this game. I kept expecting somebody to say "You want me to help you after you just stole my prized liquor from the cabinet?"

Well, she's new at RPG's. She used to play mainly AG's and (believe it or not) Survival Horror!?
I suppose looting is very much an RPG element, isn't it?


Her latest complaint now, is that she keeps getting killed in the swamps; - I think she is probably taking on too many monsters at a time, so I've advised her to run away a bit, if something too strong attacks her, and take them on one by one, rather.


EDIT: What? 40 orens for a torch! Thanks for the tip, -I wish I'd known that sooner!

Good advice! And do all the quests in town first to beef up a bit cause those plants are mean!

Oldman, I think that is funny too.

What I didn't think was funny though was when I finally bought the better armor, my old stuff disappeared. I wanted to sell it to someone.

Nickie, I remember how horrified I was the first time I played Baldur's Gate 2 on my PS2. My son kept saying "bash everything" and I was like "Really, run around breaking things? Won't we get in trouble?" :rotfl12:

Moondancer, I bet you are right. I use a lot of the potion that allows for your magic to regenerate faster but I run a lot. I go in to draw them, and then if more than one heads for me (and they aren't drowners) I run, turning to check often and try to pick them off one by one.

When hubby and I can play games cooperatively, he plays the tank and I play the magic user. I run into rooms and then out again, and he whacks 'em as they try to come through the door

Mmm - now that you mention it, I just assumed she was using her potions a lot. Maybe I should chat to her a bit about strategy in general.
There's a lot that more experienced gamers take for granted, I guess. Such as : -do easier quests first for exp., level up strategically, in The Witcher's case use magic strategically (Aard on most monsters, but Igni on others such as Bloedzuigers and Echinopsae), etc. etc.

Strategy for the swamp definitely includes using potions for regenerating health and magic. I used a lot of Swallows and Tawny Owls in this part of the game. Lots of Igni is useful.

The other Magic I use in the Swamp is the one that lays a purple trap circle. Even at relatively low levels it can knock your opponents back -- but you have to watch out for the Bloedzingers because if they hit one of your spikes at the wrong moment they'll explode -- fortunately taking out all the local Drowned Dead and Drowners with them. For that reason I run around collecting a parade of monsters, then lay a trap in a strategially narrow pathway, and watch the fun. Stragglers can be taken out with a couple of Ignis.

For a good experience boost, you can sleep in the Swamp at the fireplace near the fallen tower -- if you're ready for a Night of the Living Dead. Some Necrophage Oil comes in handy for that particular encounter -- which repeats every time you sleep there. Nice experience points!

Alchemy is a vital part of this game. It makes all the difference in the world.

Hehehe - it's really good to compare notes - I would never have thought of using the trap like that - I used to have a lot of fun with walking backwards whilst shooting Igni, though. But now I'm definitely going to try out your trap trick, Hagatha.

I do need ghoul blood at the moment (which of course can be found in the Crypt), but I'm wondering if the ghouls appear in the swamps in chapter 3 as well, as I well remember they did in ch 2 like you described, hagatha. The swamp is so full of Kikimores in ch.3.

Talking of kikimores - what is fun about them, is that they fight against the other swamp monsters, so one merely needs to lead some kikimores and some other monsters to one another, and then watch the fun ensue. When they have finished killing off one another, merely walk in and kill the stragglers, and start with a product harvesting fest of the dead bodies!

Tssk. Now my friend mercifully found a suitable drink for the gravedigger, but is complaining about other inventory items that she needs.

I've been trying to get her to loot from houses, but she feels that it is morally wrong, even if it is only a game...

Shall I just leave her to try and complete the game without looting? ..but then I don't want to hear her complaints! What can I tell her to convince her to start looting??? (From houses)

I suppose if it feels wrong to her, it feels wrong, but still... it would make things so much easier..

Perhaps I should tell her to "borrow" stuff which she could always put back again later?

Moondancer, I can sooooo relate to your friend. Fortunately, my first RPG involved looting in the sewers so I didn't feel quite that bad, though I do remember playing my first adventure game and thinking, "I can't snoop though people's things."


Nickie said she played without looting so it can be done. Perhaps you could tell her that the NPC's don't care (at least in Witcher).

Hi - me, yes me. Loaded the game for the first time since the middle of November Can't really remember what I intended to do next.

Have just made Golem's Pith. Not sure if I have done the correct thing or not. I used it immediately - should I have waited until moonrise or, having taken it will it still work at moonrise. Heck, what time is moonrise?

Still need one sephirot - from the map have no idea which one, or where I get it. Unless I still haven't completed Vaska's special task. Whatever it was.

Am going to have some supper. Be back later - before :santa: (I hope)

Hey there Threads! It just works at moonrise, but you can make it whenever. Taking it right away - I don't think that's a problem but don't remember for sure. Does somebody know for sure?

If you just need the one sephirot -

About looting: I've been playing RPG's for the longest time, so I suppose they gradually "taught" me to loot without it feeling like stealing. In the early RPG's you used to find chests all over the place filled with nice goodies, and of course on the bodies of enemies you'd also find lovely loot. It's just a fun thing, really, for the player to find loot, (like getting candy at Halloween) and I don't think it is meant to be quite the same as "stealing". Unless, of course, you are specifically playing a thief, - and do pickpocketing, and deliberate thieving, which is something different from the normal RPG looting.

Re my previous remarks about swamp monsters and kikimores fighting one another:
I've just been to the swamp, and I've noticed that it is specifically kikimores and drowners/drowned dead that fight one another. The bloedzuigers and the kikimores seem to be ok. with one another, more's the pity.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, I have always taken what's on the bodies- but I don't consider that looting, rather "spoils of war". When I said I didn't do looting, I meant I didn't go in people's houses and take their stuff. Treasure chests would always be fair game, unfortunate there aren't any that I can think of in this game. I would guess that your friend can complete the game just fine without looting people's houses, if that's how she wants to play.

Nickie, thanks for answering the piece about the Golem pith. Doubt if I can play again until the end of the week - if someone has done the same as I have would they please post if it works that way or not.

:ThumbsUp12:

I got to play for just a little while--I was surprised to see that some of the drowners in the sewer actually had money on them.

Well, I'm just an absolute disgrace :wink12:

I loot everything from everywhere the possibility might exist!!!! :happydance12:

I always presumed that to be normal behaviour in RPGs

Shows what a knowledgeable RPG-er I am not !! :lol12:

I think most RPG-ers do what you do, Mad. Most people behave very differently in their Role Playing games than they would in real life. In real life, I could not hurt a fly (OK, maybe just a fly and/or a cockroach), yet in my games I tend to be a fearsome killer.

When RPGs started, loot and treasure in dungeons and caves were left lying around as a "reward" and as a means of upgrading your armour and weapons. It is deliberately left around the place by the devs for the gamer to find - after all, the NPC's are not real people, and there is no way that they themselves could find any use for the "loot" .

Of course, the NPC's are whatever they are programmed to be, so, if an NPC tells you you are stealing, then you are stealing.

However, on the other hand, if the gamer lives himself into his game to such an extent that the game almost becomes like reality to him/her, then I suppose it is understandable that he/she might prefer not to do what he/she would not do in real life. So I reckon one has to respect that point of view as well, such as my friend and nickie not liking to loot from houses.

I see the game in a much "colder" more detached way, I suppose, and I do what I need to do to win the game as best I can, while still remaining within the limit of the "rules" of the game.

For instance, to me, again (and once again, I respect the opposite point of view) it sort of defeats the object to play with a trainer, because I play the game the way you would play a tennis game - as a game to be beaten via use of strategy, and not as a real-life experience. Yet many people get more enjoyment out of the use of trainers, and refuse to play without them. Not to be a humbug here, I have always had the intention of playing Doom 3 in Godmode, just because I was too scared when trying to play it normally!

So what I am saying, is your game is your own experience, -and that is what you make of it; - it is for you to enjoy personally, so the style in which other people get enjoyment out of their games, is completely up to them.
As long as you enjoy yourself and derive satisfaction from playing it, - that is the important thing, isn't it?

Well, the game doesn't become reality to me, the non-looting of houses is just my preference. Unfortunately it isn't reality - or I wouldn't be on here, I would be watching the stars with Geralt.
But you're right that everyone should play just as they want to play, whatever makes them happy.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you are not cognisant all the time that you are playing only a game, nickie - what I'm rather trying to say, is that I understand when one wants to play the game as "yourself" following your own emotions and feelings, especially if it is an immersive game.

In spite of what I said before, I'm not as cold and detached as I might have implied. For instance, I made a rational decision to go with the Order this time, and I simply couldn't help feeling as if I was betraying a friend when I had to fight against Yaevinn; it felt horrible, actually - so I completely do understand about the house-looting; - it's not enjoyable to do things that feel as if they're "going against the grain".

EDIT: For what it's worth, I myself mainly only loot the abandoned houses and the ones inhabited by nasty thugs.



Hi everyone - I've just bought myself the better set of armour.

I need cash now - does anyone know where I can sell my wolf pelts?


Ok, -the order armourer buys them, but sadly they are only one oren each.
_________________________

The best way to get cash is to gamble with Thaler. Save before each game and bet the max each time. You'll be rollin in dough in no time.

I was just teasing, Moondancer. That's great that you got the armor - you should be pretty tough stuff.

Can't get anywhere with Vaska. Dispatched the Warrior at midnight. Have placed many different gifts in the Altar. Can't remember if I persuaded the logger dwarf to part with his axe - it would have been weeks ago if I tried, it's possible he gave me another quest to do first and Alice got side tracked. Do you think it is worth trapsing back to open a dialogue with him again?

One big snag - my handwriting is illegible to me after a couple of days. Perhaps I should ty to get a portable typewriter and use it to enter every saved game. :rolleyes12: