The Witcher franchise is known for its fully realized world, beautiful presentation, and carefully crafted narrative. It’s one of the most impressive RPGs to hit the market in the past decade, and while the second game can be played on consoles, its roots are clearly in the PC. The game’s combat has never really felt like the focus, though. The challenging, timing-based mechanics have often taken a backseat to the rich fiction, but an expanded move set for Geralt will look to improve the moment-to-moment action of Wild Hunt.
A swath of new combat options will be added to the arsenal of the game's protagonist, producer Marek Ziemak told OnlySP. This will include both offensive and defensive actions, as well as new items and potions.
"You have new ways to dodge enemies and parry their blows," he said. "But also, for each magical sign, you can use two versions of it. One is extended. For example, the Igni sign has a constant flamethrower thing whereas there's also single, more destructive blow of fire. This is one of the new elements. We're also introducing new alchemical potions, and other minor elements that will change the experience."
No matter how good the combat ends up feeling, developer CD Projekt RED has reassured fans that the most important part of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the story. It’s always been that way, and it looks as if things won’t soon change when the next-generation RPG launches on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 next year.
