i've beaten the game. I played on normal, and am now re-playing on hard.

There's the stupid prologue fight with the dragon breathing fire and you running with Foltest through the wooden structures.

To put it simply, I die. a lot.

reload, reload, reload.

The rest of the game is cake, but this stupid sequence gets me killed every time. What am I doing wrong?

This is a tricky part. I found out how to get past it 100% after dying a dozen times.

First let your companions run pass you and engage the guards - Triss' fireball can stagger you and those are very annoying.

Do not panic when the hoarding (structure) is on fire. As long as the roof is not gone you are safe. Now proceed to the front part of the hoarding and you will see the dragon on your left breathing fire. As soon as it dives downward (and out of sight), run to the second hoarding. Let your companions go past you.

When the area is clear, proceed under the fortress walls (you will be safe from the dragon fire there) and let your companions engage the enemies. It is a tight space so if you choose to be aggressive there is a chance that you won't be able to retreat or cast Quen in time when you are about to die.

Hope this helps.

If you're at the scene with Triss, Foltest and Roche, you need to be hiding inside the "wooden structures". You need to clear out the enemies inside the structures. When you run from one structure to another make sure the dragon is not using its flame at that moment.

It's actually a very easy part of the game. I died there once because I randomly ran out while the dragon was breathing fire everywhere.

This is hardly dependant on the game's difficulty setting. It's just a matter of avoiding getting roasted by fire, making your way through the hoardings, fending off soldiers as you go. Immediately when you start, go into the first hoarding and deal with the soldiers any way you see fit. Eventually, the dragon will stop breathing fire on the hoarding, and start moving to the front and centre - this is your chance! Dodge-roll or simply run across to the second hoarding, before the dragon has time to start flooding the area in fire again.

This whole sequence can be done with ease without taking any kind of damage from the dragon - the main threat here is actually keeping away/defeating the soldiers, and not letting the stress of everything around you being on fire get to you. Just wait for the opening when the dragon pauses to reposition itself, then leg it across! Once you've reached the second hoarding, the dragon should no longer be a problem, and you can focus on getting the soldiers down so you can proceed.

That's the verbose explanation, though.

I like "don't stand in the freakin' fire" myself.

Use Quen for the dragon part. Drink what potions you have in stock. Let Triss and Foltest go ahead of you to soften the soldiers up.

well, Im feeling a little silly when I read the repsonses and I feel like I DID ALL THAT. Obviously Im not doing it well. I can defeat the soldiers, and move past it. and after so many reloads I get through it. I have done this multiple times. But in every run through I die often, and reloads seems a must.

I feel like Im missing something, and based on the responses I obviously am.

Its a little embarrassing, Im good at these kind of games, but this sequence is a struggle for me.

thank you for the replies.

Hmm. Are you getting stacked on at the gates?
I find that it occurs on occasion, and my solution is to use Quen to run past the enemies before they clump up.
If you flank them from the other side, your alllies will be "tanking" most of them, while you can pick individuals off at leisure.

And don't dally. Get to the soldiers quick like, and if you use Quen right, you'll still have all your health left to deal with them. You can launch a couple off the ledge with Aard right when you meet them.

You can always use Samum bombs.
Apparently you "restock" 5 of them every scene, so it's not like you're wasting anything.
(This was how it was on 1.0, don't know if it's changed)

Shouldn't take more than 3 bombs to wipe out everybody at the gate.

Although, for some ridiculous reason you start the scene without your items equipped, so you have to do that first.

You can't drink potions during that scene by the way,since the whole thing starts with you in combat.

I usually just run forward to the second hoarding and then deal with soldiers. Your companions cannot die, so I don't bother looking after them at all :)

A friend of mine played this game for the first time, and I wasn't giving her any sort of hints or advice during the entire prologue - I just let her do it all herself. When she arrived at this part, she quickly grasped what was going on, took cover when needed, and ran across when she saw an opening. Not once was she hit by fire, and finished on the first attempt. She did die on the burning bridge, though, not realizing she had been given back control of Geralt after the sequence with Triss, so she had to do it again. No problem - never hit by fire. Talking to her afterwards and she said that the main threat during this scene is not the dragon fire - which in her opinion is incredibly easy to figure out and avoid - but handling the soldiers on the way, and not letting yourself become stressed out by everything around you catching fire. I agree with her completely.

because Geralt is so weak at the beginning?