I had lots of trouble with this same part, so you're not alone. When I had the game set to easy, there was no QTE indicator to let me know when to press the RMB, and that threw me off. So, I put the game on normal so I get that clue.

I ended up getting past it, and the only thing I did different on the (random) time it worked was to repeatedly hit the S key instead of just it holding it down. Between the mouse button mashing to work the ballista and the button mashing to finish this part of the prologue I'm not sure who this game is made for, but it's not older players such as myself!

I'm enjoying this almost as much as the original, though. It was just getting through the prologue that made me wonder if buying this game was a good idea.

Oh my, wow, now I can't wait to try that prison boat QTE - thanks for the tip! I'm also middle aged but am, mostly, paralyzed from a neck injury. I keep mouse sensitivity low to retain some semblance of accuracy with my trackball. :)

Here's a tip if someone has trouble holding down the meditate key and using the mouse. Turn on StickyKeys in Windows then add an entry to your user.ini to use a shift, ctrl, or Alt key to open Meditate. I use right ctrl. I use right shift as a run lock key to simulate Witcher 1 running.

IK_RControl=(Gamekey=GI_FastMenu,Value=1.000000)
IK_RShift=(Gamekey=GI_AxisLeftY,Value=1.000000)

For the dragon QTE

IK_RShift=(Gamekey=GI_AxisLeftY,Value=-1.000000)

Then I could right click and run.

Mondotomhead (another middle aged gamer) approves also!

I was also stuck on this bridge but you are more courageous than I am to post this question directly on the site. I thought I would of been "flamed" for being so dumb so I Goggled it first and it brought me right to this forum with an answer. Try Goggle if you run into another problem and also,Youtube, like another poster said, works well too AND you can see how its done. (I really like this thread and marked it as a favorite. Thanks for starting it.

2 broken Kempston joysticks and a broken keyboard on the Speccy 48.
(the metal grid on the entire keyboard came off too...)
:-)

OMG!

I am really happy to see this discussion and kudos to the "elder" players out there!

47 year old Grandpa here and I could not sympathize more for my fellow brethren of age. Actually I am ecstatic that I am not the only one past mid 40s that love and play games, sadly to see that MMOs have gone the way of the youngsters and all their bad manners. In MMOs I simply stick with my Guild of older and family type members.

And really nice to see support for those who play on "easy", not because they are "newbs, nerdy" etc....but because of certain limitations and heck, it is our game we play it as we choose, besides I and we have nothing to prove to anyone. I play on normal as I have been playing RPGs for years and years but will in some cases lower the difficulty for one reason or another and have no care how others think they are "superior" then me for playing on Hard or whatever!

But my limitations is due to being colour-blind and in many cases it is almost impossible for me to see either mobs coming at me or the click-able item I need for a quest or the loot bag. Heck try seeing in some of those forested areas when brown/green and red are all the same, it is simply a big "blur" of colour. Anyhow I am lucky enough to have full use of my hands and generally never get cramped playing for long hours.

All and all so glad to see peeps of my age gaming out there and glad to know that "yes it can take 2 years to finish off the Witcher 1" as we "more senior players" do have lives outside of gaming..............

Thanks for making my day!

Bumping this to keep it in sight. Not sure if that will get me in trouble, but I think this thread is worth it.

Tip: Always give the whores a minimum of 100 orens.

This.

Having just a few hours to devote to a gaming session, I completely understand. It's taken me years to finish some games by which time most of the players have moved on and no longer share anything on the forums.

Then again, I can't help but get a kick out of all the people who, before release, talk about not being able to wait a second longer only to see them finish the game within a day or two of release and start asking for DLC or expansions. I guess I'm permanently stuck in the 'take your time and enjoy it' group of gamers.

Glad to see I'm not the only oldie, 57 here and been playing games since the days of the ZX81.

I tend to play on easy as the main reason I play RPG's is for the story, but I'm pretty ropey at button mashing at the best of times. I've just finished Witcher 1 again (played it quite a few times) so just getting onto the new Witcher 2 game now.

I've not come across Gog before but wish I had, they have some real classics in their catalogue like Planescape Torment and some other great ones as well.

The best suggestion is to upgrade the queen sighn as soon as possible. When it is done the game is easy even on insane

Free Buff Hint

During the Malena Quest, it's the first time you'll be swarmed, and I mean swarmed. You'll see 15-20 Nekkers rising from the ground from both left and right. It will see overwhelming. And the Queen Endregas will seem tough. This is when you have little armor and still don't have many talent points.

Listen to your amulet. Whenever you hear a sound it means there is a spirit buff area, probably not the right word. But areas that give you buffs. Like increased health regeneration.

Hint: Right before the cave entrance, when you do Malena quest, press Z and there is a spirit buff area. It increases your sword damage a nice buff.

Look for these.

Mutagens Hint

Mutagen drops are totally random. So don't think you will get Greater mutagen from boss and only get lesser from normal monsters. It's random so check all the carcasses. And remember, mutagen upgrades are permanent so only use the Greater. Don't worry if you end up colleging 20 lesser mutagens, they sell for good money. Considering only Witchers can use mutagens, it makes no sense why merchants will buy them, but they do and give you plenty of orens for em. This is easy. Just keep running. When you see the QTE notifications, don't stop running just press your buttons. So when you are running and the dragon breathes fire, you keep running, pressing "S" and when the button QTE comes up, press it once.

Remember for QTE, don't spam buttons thinking this will ensure you get it. This actually cancels it. Only press once when it asks for it.

A Short Witcher 2 Guide (No Spoilers)


Combat:
Initially this is what you will have most trouble with when you start the prologue. This game is brutal for combat, you take 200% damage attacked from behind and you are often attacked by multiple targets.
- The AI, enemies. This is not a wussy game like Assassin's Creed series or Dragon Age series. The AI aren't imbeciles. They are merciless, they will constantly go after you in mass, they won't wait for each other. If there are 20 enemies, all 20 will try to hit you at once, there is no taking turns like there is in DA series or the RPG for wussies Assassin's Creed series. The enemy will parry and block if you attack frontal. You can only hit the target frontal if they are stunned or staggered. Even mages and monsters will block, all of them. You must flank your opponent.
- Instant Kills, how to get them: Instant kills are when the game cuts to a cut scene and you see a kill, beheading, leap jumps etc. But it's a free kill. You get these when you attack a stunned enemy. An enemy can be stunned from bombs or using the sign Aard. The enemy will them be cowering and highlighted in blue. Attack this enemy and you will see an instant kill.
- Combat description: This is not a Press a Button and Something Awesome happens lunacy from EA or Ubisoft. This is a traditional RPG hack n slash, you won't be doing Matrix moves that cause enemies to implode. This combat involves hack and slash. Your left mouse buttons does quick slashes. This is good when you are fighting nimble fighters or a lot where you just want to get a stab and dodge back away. The right mouse button does a power move, this will do more damage. If you are just going to bash away use this. If you are going to dodge and hit then use the quick slash.
- Use your signs: Use these. You will not survive tough encounters without these. The most useful is to use the signs. Press the Left Control Key, this will slow down the action and allow you to choose the sign you want. This will not pause the game, just slows it down, so beware. The most useful signs are Yrden and Quen. Yrden will create a trap on the ground, this will trap your enemy. This is good for crowd control if you just need to eliminate one enemy for a short time. This is also good for bosses. Now what you do is get space from target. Place the Yrden on the ground. And then stand behind it. You want the enemy to run towards you into the trap. This is good because enemies take more damage from behind, Yrden will trap a mob and allow you to flank them. Quen is a skill that provides you some defense. Self explanatory.
- Using bombs: Go into your inventory. Stock your pockets with bombs. Now when you are in combat, press the left control key. This will allow you to choose which bomb to use. Pressing the "R" key will allow you to use the bomb, hold it down and it will slow down the action and allow you to place the bomb where you want.
- Don't use block, dodge: You only have a certain amount of vigor. Vigor is used for your signs also which are much more effective. Blocking with your sword will use your precious vigor. Vigor does not regenerate fast even with the tawny potion. Dodge you press either the direction key on the keyboard twice or you press space bar. I use space bar. When you dodge you also want to flank your enemy. I always dodge the right or left of the enemy and then turn behind them all in a 1 second move and then use a power swing.

Save Often! This game is brutal as I said before. It won't auto save constantly. It only autosaves at the end of a quest usually. You will die in this game, and usually often. When you revive, you won't revive at the place you died, you will revive at your last save which could be quite a few moments ago! So press F5 after every encounter. Also items that dropped by chance from mobs will disappear if you didn't save! Greater Mutagens are rare, so save often if you don't want to lose it after dying!

Questing Hints:
- Merchants: Merchants will sell you items to help you with your quests. There is often a seller of Books in town. There will be a tab for Books, look through those. Those will tell you background information on monsters and locations or lore. These will tell best ways to eliminate, what enhancements like potions, weapon oils and traps and bombs are effective. For merchants there is a tab for Quest Items. Buy those.
- Participate in all the activities and vices: Now there is often a complain online of whiners saying the game is too short. This is because they just go through the main quest line and don't take their time. Don't be a whiner. Enjoy the game. All the vices and activities lead to quests that can help in other quests. Play Dice, find out who to play in every town! Arm wrestle in every town! Fist fight in every town! Often you will find in another quest you will need information or an item you need, but the character won't give it up unless you win in a fist fight, or a game of Dice. These are often just extras. For example you finish a quest, you can turn it in. But you notice someone has something extra, an extra bonus. Not needed to finish the quest, but if you can get it, you will get more rewards. Only a game of Dice will get that, but he won't play Dice with you unless you've made the rounds to prove yourself.

Potions, Alchemy, Mutagens: These can only be made or applied when you are not in combat! So you must drink your potions etc before doing so! Plan ahead. These can make a fight from difficult to so easy you think, WTF?
- Press the Left Control key when you are not in combat. Click the meditate option. From there you can make potions, oils. You can drink your potions etc.
- Mutagens: You can do this while you are meditating but not necessary. Press C at anytime and you will see a talent tree. On the later talent options, there will be only 2-3 of the skills in each tree you can mod. You will see a tiny circle, like a moon orbiting a planet (the talent). Mutagens can only be applied once! So choose carefully! Sell the normal and less mutagens, only use the Greater Mutagens, remember only applied once, cannot be changed later.

Dialogue, choose white before gold: Choose all the white dialogue you want to hear first. Often once you choose the yellow/gold the white dialogue options are gone as they the yellow/gold will progress the quest on to the next progression.

Oh, Halalula!!!!

Thanks so much for the above. I really, really needed this.

I notice that if the enemies are slower than you and don't have ranged attacks, you can actually kill them all without being hit as long as you don't mind spending ages doing so. You just run away, get a safe distance away (you may need to slow down to they go to swing at you but miss since this will give you a head start) and then just shoot Igni at the closest one. I had to do this at the courtyard part where you have to open the wooden portcullis to let Foltest in.

It's also good to prepare to roll at all times, even when you're in the middle of an attack or instant kill animation - and to bear in mind the angle of the enemies' slashes. If they do overhead slashes with their right hand (I'm assuming all enemies are right handed) then stay on their left and roll to their left, or roll forward past them on their left. Once you commit to a roll, you can actually still alter the directions and steer Geralt around like a particularly grumpy and dangerous version of Sonic the Hedgehog.

A simple thing but kind of fiddly if you're not used to this sort of game; when you successfully block, if you press the direction towards the enemy and an attack, Geralt will leap over and do longer range attack on them. Simply pressing attack will cause him to swing at thin air. Of course, doing a strong attack is the thing to do here rather than a weak attack. Similarly, just running around enemies, out of range of their swings, and just laying a heavy attack on a non-shield/non-armour enemy then just running off again and repeating is an easy way to whittle away the less tough enemies so you can then focus entirely on the tough bastards that are with them.

Combat is really easy for the most part, you just have to get the hang of it and get a few levels to make thing bearable.
You'll need chain attack, to be able to hit multiple opponents, improving dodge is essential and I would suggest to get the Aard sign to level 2 as quickly as possible.
After that everything gets really really easy, especially as you keep getting more talents.
The enemies are...well. Dumb.
They tend to just get in your face, so bombs are of limited use. (never ever used them again outside of chapter 1).
You might want to place multiple explosive traps to deal with swarms of nekkers early in the game...after you start talenting up the game's difficulty becomes trivial, except for some cheap encounters where the enemy does stupid amounts of damage.