Let’s say we’ve decided to improve Geralt’s Fast attack when using steel swords. Placing a bronze talent in the Level 1 “trunk” for this trait provides a two-blow opening attack sequence with particular damage, attack, parry scores and so on. Spending a talent on Level 2 adds a follow up 4-blow sequence with even better stats. Looking down the Level 1 “branch”, we decide to choose the Paralysis 1 skill – this modifies the Level 1 attack to add a percentage paralysis chance; we’ll need to spend a talent on Paralysis 2 if we want to get the same bonus from the four-blow level 2 attack that can follow the opening sequence.
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We’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent with The Witcher so far. The world is rich, layered and convincing and the story and quests have been appealing. The centrepiece of the design – the choices with consequences that become evident as the game progresses is very promising and we hope the obvious potential is fulfilled over the course of the entire game. It’s different – some players may feel uncomfortable that they can’t easily tell where a choice is going - but it’s nice to see a developer try to push the genre boundaries just a little. The combat is much better than we expected, although we suspect some players would still prefer a direct action system like Gothic or Oblivion. On the other hand, while CD Projekt has obviously worked hard creating a character development system that stays true to Sapkowski’s vision - yet still offering lots of skills to customise the character - the focus is very, very narrow.​