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The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch Changelog

What's new in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch 2.1

Nov 22, 2011
  • A new system has been implemented improving communications between game installations and both the registration server and ‘Arena’ mode leaderboards.
  • A number of corrections have been introduced to the Witcher 2 Configuration Tool.

New in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch 2.0 (Sep 29, 2011)

  • New Game Modes:
  • Arena - is a new gameplay mode that is separate from the main adventure and narrative of The Witcher 2. In this mode, Geralt of Rivia duels a variety of foes to the death in a gladiatorial arena located in an unnamed town somewhere in the Northern Kingdoms. In addition to winning gold and valuable items, players also receive points for their wins. They can then post their point totals on-line to compare their achievements against those of other blood sport enthusiasts around the world. Geralt can encounter both foes and allies in the arena. He can recruit the latter for a fee to assist him during his most challenging clashes.
  • To post your point totals to the forum, you must be registered and have a forum account! Register and establish your account directly through the game launcher or go to www.thewitcher.com. You can then log in to your account via the launcher.
  • IMPORTANT: Players using mods to alter their character attributes and statistics will not be able to post their point totals from the arena to the server. This is a necessary precaution to prevent any attempts at distorting competition or misrepresenting player achievements.
  • Tutorial - The game tutorial takes the form of a brief adventure during which players learn how to use a range of game mechanics and functionalities. Assuming the role of game protagonist Geralt of Rivia, players save a wounded knight named Bolton of Ironford while learning game controls as well as the basics of combat and alchemy. This transpires step by step as the tutorial guides players through a series of minor missions. Upon completion, based on demonstrated abilities, the tutorial recommends the difficulty level which the player should choose in embarking on the main adventure of The Witcher 2.
  • Dark Difficulty - The ‘Dark’ difficulty setting is the most demanding difficulty level in gameplay terms. Under this setting, each and every foe represents a significant challenge. In addition to raising the difficulty bar, the module includes several new sets of equipment/items that are linked through a dark legend detailed in the Journal. Once all their components have been collected and donned, the Blasphemer’s, Oathbreaker’s and Kinslayer’s outfits provide great advantages in combat. The swords included in the outfits strip opponents of Vitality while supplementing the witcher’s. However, given that they are cursed, the swords provide no benefit and harm Geralt by sapping him of Vitality as long as the outfits to which they belong remain incomplete.
  • Corrections and improvements to combat:
  • Numerous improvements have been made in the targeting system.
  • Parrying is now unlimited (even when Vigor is completely depleted), though parries no longer cancel all damage (maximum 50% reduction once the relevant ability has been acquired).
  • Responsiveness of game controls has been improvedThis includes but is not limited to casting Signs, parrying, and attacking immediately after evading an opponent?s assault.
  • Geralt?s attacks are no longer interrupted by attacking opponentsAttacks are now contiguous and foes cannot interrupt Geralt?s attacks by landing a blow.
  • Assorted fixes now prevent opponents from incessantly attacking Geralt after he has been knocked downGeralt can no longer be knocked down repeatedly in quick successionAlso, he rises quickly while evading subsequent attacks.
  • Geralt no longer attacks opponents located behind other opponents positioned nearer to him.
  • The target locking system has been improvedPreference is now given to previously highlighted targets.
  • Target selection has been improvedPriority is now given to foes affected by a critical effect facilitating the completion of a finishing move.
  • The additional two steps Geralt took after mounting an attack with the W, S, A or D key depressed have been eliminated.
  • Attacks can now be continued even when a key controlling Geralt?s movement (e.gW, S, A, D) is depressed.
  • Attacks can now be continued if the attack key is depressed immediately after the final strike of an attack animation sequence.
  • Geralt can now pivot 180 degrees immediately after completing an attack.
  • Assorted problems with key responsiveness have been resolvedKeys no longer need to be depressed twice or more to trigger a given action.
  • A distance attack problem has been resolvedGeralt now mounts distance attacks (lunge with sword in hand in the Fast style) when opponents were located at a suitable distance from him.
  • Other corrections and amendments:
  • Casting several bombs no longer blocks further inputs.
  • An option has been added to the configuration tool enabling aspect ratio to be set independently of resolution.
  • The amount of disk space required for game patching has been reduced.
  • The loading of selected Witcher 1 game saves no longer causes the game to crash.
  • A greater number of monsters now appear in the cave leading to Loc Muinne.
  • Improvements have been made in the manner in which monsters are spawned in the mist in Chapter 2.
  • The visual effect accompanying Adrenaline use no longer disappears prematurely.
  • Archers now draw their swords more quickly when Geralt approaches.
  • Mages no longer automatically cast shield spells when Geralt casts daggers at them.
  • The game is now paused when Geralt executes a finishing move in combat.
  • The troll in Chapter 2 has been correctedPreviously, in some circumstances he could not be attacked.
  • Physics on cast daggers have been improved.
  • The site for aiming daggers is now more visible.
  • Geralt?s animation when he dies while casting the Axii Sign has been corrected.
  • An exploit in the fight against Letho has been eliminatedPreviously, this foe could be killed by casting bombs in quick succession.
  • An exploit related to the „Insane? difficulty setting has been eliminatedPreviously, game saves could be loaded with difficulty set to this level, which was contrary to design intentions.
  • Camera positioning/operation has been corrected during the boss fight against the kayran.
  • Camera control via gamepads has been improved.
  • Assorted adjustments have been made in mutagen statistics.
  • The „Junk? filter in the Inventory has been adjusted to provide for correct item filtering.
  • In the Inventory, the dialogue window warning of prohibited actions has been corrected.
  • Assorted corrections have been introduced to the mini-map in Chapter 1.
  • Audio balance throughout the game has been adjusted.
  • Erratic character teleportation in mini–games has been eliminated.
  • Assorted adjustments have been made in animations applying to nekkers.
  • A minor bug in the “Scent of Incense” quest has been resolved.
  • Numerous minor fixes have been introduced in character lip-sync throughout the game.

New in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch 1.3 (Jul 20, 2011)

  • New FREE DLC – “A Sackful of Fluff” is a new quest in Chapter 2 of the gameTo start the quest, visit the eccentric Elthon, who inhabits a solitary hut near the quarry outside VergenThe quest will prove most rewarding to those who demonstrate patience.
  • Game now supports 4:3, 5:4, and 16:10 aspect ratios.
  • Item storage has been addedPlayers can now store items from their Inventory at innsTo leave items in storage or collect previously stored items, talk to innkeepers.
  • A ‘Junk’ panel has been added to the Inventory to provide greater clarity in item classification.
  • A new menu option has been added under ‘Extras’ – this enables players to view in-game animated sequences (flashbacks, memory flashes, dreams stolen by harpies) outside of the game.
  • A ‘Quickload’ option has been added under the F9 key.
  • The game's HUD can now be hidden in order to produce HUD-free screenshots! On newly installed game copies, the option to hide/show the HUD is available by default under the 'H' keyUsers who have modified the key assignments on their installations should go to the 'Input Settings' dialogue of the Witcher 2 Configuration Tool to assign a key to this optionPlease note that the game cannot be played with the HUD hidden.
  • A counter has been added for items placed in quick slots.
  • Players can now create multiple items in the Alchemy panel.
  • Issue involving the game not running at 2560x1440 resolution has been resolved.
  • Issues with nVidia 3D Vision technology have been resolvedPlayers no longer need to uninstall the related drivers.
  • Assorted improvements have been made in the game’s 3D Vision, SLI and Crossfire functionality.
  • Assorted improvements have been made for running the game in Ubersampling mode on nVidia cards.
  • Key bindings have been corrected to enable configuration of mouse buttons for use by left-handed players.
  • Assorted key binding options have been added to facilitate configuration of controls and quick access to various in-game panels.
  • Issue related to game settings being reset to defaults upon patch installation has been resolvedPatches no longer reset game settings.
  • The configuration file is no longer over-written when the launcher/configuration tool is patched and over-written.
  • The launcher now closes while the game is being patched, thus eliminating the resulting game patching error.
  • The launcher now closes completely and no longer continues to operate in the background.
  • ‘Installed game version is invalid or incomplete’ error in updater when free space on system drive is insufficient – message has been corrected to reflect more accurately the nature of the error.
  • Mutagens are now alchemy ingredientsMinor mutagens drop more frequently than do major mutagens, though the overall mutagen drop rate has been reduced.
  • Corrections have been made in the mutagen drop rate and in Thorak’s store.
  • ‘Dragon’ section of Prologue does not become available until after all assault-related sections have been completed, thereby softening the difficulty curve at the start of the game.
  • During the fight against the kayran, when the bridge collapses, a map pin appears at the end of the bridge to facilitate player navigation and quest completion.
  • Map pins have been corrected in many quests.
  • Quen Sign slightly de-buffed – Sign dissipates 20% faster after foes land a blowAssorted minor balance issues related to this Sign have also been resolved.
  • Issue with oil enhancements not working on silver swords has been resolved.
  • Issue with Dragon’s Dream bombs has been resolvedDamage to bosses from cast daggers has been reduced by one-half.
  • Several optimization improvements have been made in the tavern in Vergen.
  • Problem with music accompanying ‘stealth’ sequences has been resolved.
  • Issue related to arm wrestling Bart Bargee has been resolvedPlayers can no longer win coin from this character endlessly.
  • Option to fist fight woman praying at a statue in Vergen has been deactivated.
  • Mini-game contestants at one of the in-game taverns now switch positions correctly without blocking one another.
  • Problem involving Fenn’s sword in combat has been resolved.
  • Problems with herbalist’s gloves have been resolved.
  • In the Prologue, Geralt retains his steel long sword throughout, i.e., he is no longer automatically equipped with his default sword for the ‘Assault’ sequence.
  • Problem with some nekkers being immortal has been resolved.
  • Issue with triggered black screens blocking game progress has been resolved.
  • Interactions no longer appear on nekker nests after these have been destroyed.
  • The “Scent of Incense” quest no longer shows up as failed after being completed successfully.
  • Sudden switch to gameplay just prior to cut scene involving Cynthia and Philippa has been eliminated.
  • Triss, Roche and Iorveth are now de-spawned before the final credits roll.
  • Guard pacing cycles have been corrected.
  • The Redanian messenger in Henselt’s tent can no longer be killed, preventing him from re-spawning.
  • Elf woman in Vergen no longer strikes a T-pose.
  • Rotfiends feeding on corpses no longer re-spawn after corpse is burned.
  • Several fixes have been made in the functioning of in-game populaces.
  • Numerous problems with cameras in dialogue sequences have been resolved.
  • Assorted corrections have been made in dialogue sequences (including King Foltest’s gestures on the town walls in the Prologue).
  • A progression break in the ‘In the Claws of Madness’ quest has been eliminated.

New in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch 1.2 (Jun 3, 2011)

  • All previously released DLC packages are installed with Patch 1.2:
  • "Blue Stripes Combat Jacket"
  • Ultimate Alchemist's Outfit"
  • Ultimate Mage's Outfit"
  • "Ultimate Swordsman's Outfit"
  • "Finisher Pack"
  • "Mysterious Merchant"
  • "Troll Trouble"
  • Patch 1.2 adds a new free DLC package titled “Barbers and Coiffeuses.” To take advantage of barbershop and hairstyling services, look for Einar Gausel in Chapter 1 of the game, Sambor in Henselt’s Camp in Chapter 2, Felicia Cori in Chapter 2 if you travel to Vergen, and Felicia Cori once again in Chapter 3.
  • Game saves are now compressed automatically, lowering the amount of disk space they utilize.
  • An option has been added to the game menu allowing game saves to be deleted. To delete a game save, highlight the relevant item and press the ‘Delete’ key.
  • The game menu now loads at a markedly accelerated pace.
  • The game now supports Logitech G35 headphones and other USB headsets with on-board sound cards.
  • A number of fixes have been added to the key binding functionality (actions can now be mapped to number pad and cursor/arrow keys).
  • Analog sticks on gamepads now work correctly in the GUI panels.
  • A number of game balance fixes have been introduced in the Prologue.
  • Lock on targets is not lost when the distance to targets increases.
  • A number of fixes have been made in blocking functionality during combat. Also, player character responsiveness in combat has been improved, and Geralt can attack more than one target during normal combat.
  • A number of corrections have been made in the statistics displayed in item diagrams in the Crafting panel.
  • The Witcher 1 saves are now imported correctly.
  • An auto–save has been added before the fight against the draug.
  • Flare bomb duration is now 2 (two) minutes.
  • Issue involving the equipping of bombs (or other items) even if they were not present in the character Inventory has been fixed.
  • Islamic–themed and similar textures have been deleted and/or replaced.
  • A number of fixes have been made in game dialogues.
  • Issue that blocked advancement to the next level at the start of Chapter 3 has been fixed.
  • Issue involving the occurrence of T-poses upon the destruction of nekker nests has been corrected.
  • Guards can no longer block Geralt when he is on a ladder.
  • Knives no longer affect friendly NPCs.
  • Bug related to using some containers has been fixed.
  • Ostmurk (an ingredient required to complete a quest) can no longer be sold.
  • Ingredients required to complete the “Melitele's Heart” quest have been added to the game.
  • A fix has been introduced in the “Troll Trouble” quest whereby the she–troll’s head can be won in a game of dice poker.
  • The Ghost of the Banner can no longer be killed by wraiths.
  • Issue involving the Operator being neutral and thus susceptible to being killed before any conversation occurs has been fixed.
  • A number of fixes have been introduced to prevent selected NPCs from being blocked (king in siege tower, knights when destroying a gate in the Prologue, etc.).
  • The “Three Sisters” quest has been fixed so that the door does not remain locked forever once the quest has been completed.
  • A number of progression breaks have been fixed, including instances of blocked meditation, inability to save game, and blocked combat after use of static cameras (e.g. game could not be saved after completion of the “Indecent Proposal” quest).
  • The progression break during the fight against the dragon in Chapter 3 (exploration not working properly) has been fixed.
  • The progression break during the fight against Dethmold (whereby he sometimes remained behind his barrier, doing nothing) has been fixed.
  • The progression break (black screen) in the "Little Shop of Dreams" quest has been fixed.
  • The progression break following failure to complete the ritual with Anezka has been fixed.
  • The progression break during the dialogue on the beach in the “Hung Over” quest has been fixed.

New in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch 1.1 (May 26, 2011)

  • Simpler and more reliable game installation and activation. Details to be revealed soon.
  • Fixed the free Troll Trouble DLC download. It is now included n the patch so there's no need to download and install it separately.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented some users from downloading other free DLCs (the ones given out with some pre-orders, special promotions, etc). The launcher now properly refreshes the list of available DLCs and allows for installation.
  • Performance improvements: approximately 5% to 30% better framerate and faster game loading for many users, depending on their individual systems and game versions. Owners of retail versions can expect the biggest improvements.
  • Fixed random crashes occurring on some systems, especially after saving and loading saves.
  • Key mapping – allows the arrow and number keys to be used for movement.
  • Added the option to invert the mouse.
  • nVidia surround vision now works properly.
  • More accurate assessment provided by the "auto-detect settings" option will help improve game performance.
  • Removed a bug that prevented completion of the “Blood Curse” quest.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the additional link in "Extras" from being unlocked after winning the dice game against the GOG.com monk.
  • GOG.com credits now work properly.

New in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Patch 1.0.2 (May 21, 2011)

  • adds the ability to register the game and download additional materials;
  • fixes a bug that caused long waiting lines of the enemy in small dice.