Redflyingmonkey

Yep, you need to place them in the slots for them to be activated. Even the "passives". But there are enough slots at level 16/20 to have a decent build.  I'd say if you want swordfighting in primary and you're level 16, burn 14 points in the sword skills tree from the get go. Then 1 point on Axii for dialogues (raise it to 3 until level 18), and 1 point for that 500 vitality boost. Try to get the third row on the first two columns of sword skills as it's really fun to use evolved power attacks.  For Signs, get 9 points for Igni, get 5 points for Quen, 1 on Axii, and 1 for the 500 vitality. Continue to spend points for Igni and give 8 points max for Quen. Then when you're satisfied with your igni, you might wanna try Yrden. If you evolve Yrden on the higher levels with a proper gear, you're kind of OP, which is good and bad. Like it drops a rune on the floor which electrocutes enemies every X seconds, and with pretty damn good damage too. You can just sit back and poke them from time to time, and execute one once Yrden's done the job.  For alchemy, I have no idea. Only took the potion boost there, so I wouldn't know. The boost is nice tho, 5% instant health regen when you consume a potion, that really helps in the middle of a fight when Sparrow just takes too damn long.  Igni + Igni intensity armor runes + Griffin Armor + Sign Intensity weapons + Sign intensity potions. You are now a flamethrower, as now when you hold the Sign key, he keeps throwing flames that burn through armor/barriers/shields.  You can get back your skill points by buying a potion from Keira (if she's not gone in your game yet), or from a merchant in Novigrad, forgot where he's at. It's 1000 gold tho. But really if you wanna have fun with combat, stick to one skill family. Hybrids on this game get owned on high difficulties ... 

  Adrenaline and Stamina are not the same thing. Adrenaline are the three little bars on the left of your Wolf head, Stamina is the yellow curved bar with your Sign. The more you get skills, the more stamina you have, and stamina regen too. The more adrenaline you have, the more you'll make critical hits and the more damage you'll make. You gain it by dodging attacks at the last second and hitting enemies without getting hit yourself. The coolest skills use adrenaline points once you unlock them.  About armor, heavy armor is for adrenaline points generation/resistance/critical hit damage, medium armor is for sign intensity/vitality, light armor is for attack power and critical chance. Which means if you want to hit hard, you go for the light armor, and if you're going for a prolonged fight without loosing too much hp, you'll go for heavy. And if you go for troll mage build, you take griffin armor and upgrade it to the max. From what I've heard once you have enough points in the Sign tree you can fight only using Signs (don't miss the evolved version of Signs, you need to hold on your Sign hotkey once you unlock it (second row)).  As for runes, I ruin myself buying them atm. You need to stack runes of the same stat so you get more chance to proc whatever you're building. Right now I must have around +50% Stamina regen on my swords + a nice crossbow I have. Had to that decoctions and potions, and you're basically rarely out of stamina.  Also since I seem to be a bit further along than you on the game, I'd advise not to spread your skill points on Broken Bones or Death March. Just stick to one tree, swords signs or alchemy. That way you'll get more bonus from the same school with the mutagens and you'll be able to access the evolved versions of your spells and attacks sooner.  Last word : grab your ass with both of your hands for the end of that Dandelion quest line, it's definitely not what it seems. 

Fuck almost 130 hours of playing ?? Is that even possible or is the play time bugged on my version ? I'm nearing the end, it must be like in two or three quests if I'm not mistaken ... SO don't want it to end that I'm taking a break. Maybe read all the books and finish the game in 3 weeks or so...

  Get one point on your third row in fighting skills, one in each of the first two columns. Fighting is completely different after that. Unlock special moves, a sort of dance of death with fast attacks that hurts everyone around, and the other is a super charged attack that can one shot humans or small monsters. When you get those, all your gameplay changes to try and break your opponent's concentration and deliver the special attacks. Plus it makes you really look out for your armor stats, stamina becomes primordial and evolved quen is a fucking beast. I'm making some sweet combos, discovering a new one for each fight.  For example I got a stagger effect on my crossbow and a fight goes : Dance of death thing in the middle of the enemy group, evolved quen, quen explodes and stun nearby enemies, super power attack of death to the one in front of me, crossbow bolt to stagger the guy next to him, fasts attacks and executions. Dodge back a bit to get your stamina, and go back in the fight.  Or Quen>Power attack>Execution one>Sweeping Aard>Execute one>Hold Quen to make that bubble thing and defend from the guy behind you>Dance of death, done.  Also runes. Runes change your life. Stun runes and burning runes especially.  Ah and fighting on death march with only a tunic now, it's pretty nervous.  But no, there are some things that need polishing and you're right to point them out, those are relevant points you're making I don't see why anyone would pester you for that. Knowing CDPR they'll bring a new gameplay element in the next extensions to keep things fresh, plus it seems like they have some plans for the next patches. 

Sorry if I spoiled something somewhere, getting a bit too excited. Tell me if I missed something, I think i've tried to keep it all evasive though.        ___________________________________ PS : Man the quests before the end of the story ...      

  Couldn't handle it myself, I'm a pussy. Destroyed the whoresons without even thinking about it, and Dijkstra wasn't happy ... I don't think i'm cut out for Dark Fantasy, way too mellow  Totally get you though, that one scene and one other concerning a certain woman too (you'll see what I'm talking about very soon) made me actually angry. First game in a while that really shows violence on women in that way. Even if I really like how masterfully it is written and staged, two of those is way enough for one game. Any more would've been almost too much for me lol Fuck the story is nearing the end and I'm terrified I fucked up something, said something wrong in a conversation somewhere, forgot to save one person, or kill another, or let some people go when I should've stopped them ... I'm replaying the whole 95 hours of gameplay in my head trying to figure out each of the "big" choices, and imagining their consequences. Usually I can pretty much see the big picture without needing to read spoilers, I've been writing stories for a long time so I can pretty much guess where the author wants to take it if I concentrate long enough. Like in DA, ME, Heavy Rain, SWTOR, Alpha Protocol I found most of the consequences pretty obvious and wasn't very surprised by them.   But for this game, I have NO fucking clue man. Completely lost. One choice can lead to something I had no intention to do or see, and since I absolutely refuse to load save games to make another choice once I've decided, it's pretty scary. 

  Lol so random, I was on my way to Ugly Baby when I saw your post. Thanks for the tip ! Don't think I understood fully your second advice, but I guess I'll just go at it my way and see whatever happens. If I fail I deserved the bad ending anyway, will just have to make another playthrough bahaha 

  Carnal Sins in Novigrad is the most tragic for me. Things do end up on some sort of a high note, but it's still bitter, and extremely pessimistic... Plus the events completely take you by surprise, you go to have fun with Dandelion at his new Cabaret and out of the blue things go to complete shit... No more details, but if anyone gets to that point come back here so we can discuss it a bit more.  Most epic quest is without doubt The Lord Of Undvik. Norse style adventure, with Vikings, giants, sirens, a magical horn, trolls, a magical dwarven forge, a hero with the blood of kings, a mad Jarl, the legendary ship of the giants supposed to fight the legions of the dead and the Gods themselves during Rag Na Roog ... I mean shit I was jumping up and down, felt like Sigurd or Ragnar Lothbrook sometimes.  Funniest one would be Of Dairy And Darkness. Quite a hard quest to get, it starts with a merchant somewhere in Novigrad selling mysterious items stolen from a destroyed mage's house located south east of Oxenfurt. And he was the most ridiculous "mage" ever.      I want to buy a ton of beer to the guys who wrote those, didn't have this much fun since forever ...  PS : I have not seen the sun nor my friends nor even my girlfriend in two days. And I smell like shit too ! Also I think I almost became blind this morning when a white page popped up on my screen during a cut scene. Yeah. 

Yeah wanted that collector ed too but I was lazy and just downloaded the thing on Steam, guess I'll hoard it back from ebay at some point. It's just gotta be on my shelf.  Dunno about you people playing right now, but I haven't finished even 3/4 of the main quest and I'm already thinking about my second playthrough  

PS : Holy shit, I've just finished the quest "Carnal Sins" in Novigrad ... I'm a complete mess right now, made me cry and everything. Not even gonna mention it in a spoiler, just, just if you see a new level 14 quest called Cabaret in your journal, prepare your ass for some hard cold shit ... 

Wait what ?!! @jxm why didn't you tell me Yenn was a hunchback and made herself pretty using her magical powers ?! I'd have never chose her over Triss if I knew that !  Bitch is acting all smug and snob when she was a nasty bent hag before she learned surgery magics, holy shit I'd never have thought...

How hard would it be to create sex animations mods for TW3 ? I hope the sex sequences aren't hard coded or anything... Kinda surprised that all sex scenes are basically the same animations, they said a few years back that there would be 16h of it right ? Not desperate tho, giving TW3 more sex is OUR job *wink**wink*wink*

No I mean, it's kind of a choice you make,   NB : The spoilers aren't for fun, think about opening them please I don't want to spoil any of your fun. 

Huge spoiler, open at your own risk.   

  Can't find a library anywhere near my place with translated Witcher saga and it kills me inside to read it on the internet in .pdf... I guess I'll go for Triss, she lives for Kovir if not and it looks like she ain't coming back at all if you don't romance her (wtf CDPR !!)  A real shame this one part of the story, would've loved for her to have a bigger role in the main quest line and, hell, stay until the end at least even if you don't try to fuck her ... And yes, they made Yenn waaay too cold on the games, compared to Triss' expressions when she looks at Gerald, Yenn's super anticlimactic really. Basically : "Been 2 years I haven't seen you, but who cares right ? Hey shut up and ride to Velen right now aight, I'll just teleport to some islands far away and you won't find me before months, cya nerd". Almost ruins cut scenes sometimes when she acts like a bitch.  BUT (and reconciling the quests with your very accurate point about the soundtrack), The Wolven Storm sang by Priscilla is the most magnificent song I've heard from a bard character anywhere, be it on movies or games. And it kind of made me understand the thing going on between Geralt and Yenn without having read the books...

Nah they stay in merchant's inventory, but those they sell are worthless. You're better off playing every dude who can be played, and winning their best cards. They have special abilities that really spice up the game, like some cards invoke other cards discarded in your deck, others are spies that adds to the enemy strength number but give you two cards in exchange etc ... The cards the merchants sell are just "pawn cards", which are mostly used as cannon fodder when you play more difficult opponents, usually you play them at the start to trick the AI into using their weather or killing cards.   SERIOUSLY THO ! TRISS OR YENN ?? Choice is imminent !! Help me decide ! 

Gwent is awesome ! Once you play a bit with it, it starts to get really interesting. The AI is simply phenomenal, they even thought about creating some "behaviors", like a merchant will be pretty cunning, a poor peasant fuck will go at it like a drunken moron, a nobleman will be really aggressive ...  After a while you start to understand how one card is a trap to make you use your weather cards, and how the dude will fuck you up with a hero card or a clear weather card after a while. Also how more cards doesn't mean you win, and how spies cards + Decoy is a fucking OP combo.  Game within a game as they said, I've spent some time on it and I almost finished my Northern Realms, Nilf and Monsters decks.      PS : Got a question for you all more advanced than me in the story : which romance is better, Triss or Yen ? Story wise I mean, which is the most well done and satisfying, which has the most cut scenes (not necessarily sex scenes, I just want to watch the most cut scenes possible lol)  ? I'm having a hard time deciding... 

I'm around level now, somehow Igni does less and less damage with time since I mostly raise swordfighting and alchemy ... So not really that useful against wolves types around my level !  Got on PC, I don't know where those long ass loading screen come from. I have no lag at all, running at 50 fps most of the time, but once I die, it's entire minutes of it ...  And I figured out why I lost so much health when I jumped from too high up, you actually need to hit your "dodge" key just when you land, and Geralt rolls about diminishing most of the damage. Doesn't work from way high, but it does the trick when you fall from 3/4 meters. 

Man I think I made a huge mistake ... Kept romance options open for Triss when I've wanted Geralt to shag Yennefer again for years now lol ... Last save is hours before that choice, fuck it ! 

God that one scene on the main quest with the bard singing in the tavern when looking for Dandelion ... Actually cried from the awesomeness and her voice... Shit ...   Almost the same level of epic as that one scene in Dragon Age Inquisition when Mother Giselle sings in the mountains ( Okay the Witcher 3 is overall a better game than DA-I, but I still consider the stories to be equally impressive).      Don't watch if you haven't seen it in game yet !! Will spoil the surprise (literally)    [spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m-68Bpku_4    

"Babe what's that solid thing I keep hitting against inside your pussy ?!"

  Man just raise the difficulty one bit and you'll see, those fucking wolves are a nightmare. I'm level 12 and sometimes I still get owned by a pack of level 2 wolves...  On a side note, loading screen on death are way too long. Actually makes me really edgy during fights, I'm always afraid to get my ass beaten up since I just know I'll have to wait 3 minutes at the loading screen ... Maybe that's not a bad thing since it enhances even more the difficulty part, but it's still stressful.  Also come on, witchers are basically Captain Americas, they've got enhanced everything, but they can't jump more than 1 meter down without breaking their legs ?? Plus with Geralt's somehow clunky RPG like mobility, I often jump over a fence I had no intention to jump, and of course fall to my death. And 3 minutes loading screen all over again ...  Last grudge : kind of disappointed in monsters from the same "family" behaving almost with the same exact patterns sometimes ... Like Rottends and Drowners, Noonwraiths and Nightwraiths, and even sometimes monster from different families like Griffins and Basilisks and Wyverns. I know they share the same skeletons so fundamental gameplay differences aren't really technically feasible, but I'd have liked some new animations instead of the same wing bash from the winged beasts, or  jumping attack from the Necrophages, or that annoying "invincibility cloak" from the Wraiths ...  Don't get me wrong though, I'm really into the game and I'm enjoying everything, I just consider myself to have played enough of it to see most of the gameplay's little defects, and I'm amazed at the fact that there are so little of them. Incredible amount of work, in any other game of the same kind I'd already be whining about shitload of stuff, but here I only got 3 or 4 little points which sorta annoy me sometimes. R8 an 8 out of 8 m8, can't h8 dis ... pl8 ?   

Seriously, fuck wolves, werewolves, everything related to wolves. They're way too op on highest difficulty, I hope they get balanced somehow ... once there are more than 2 of them, you'll loose 3/4 of your hp, can't dodge them all, and once they get one hit on you they go full Saiyan and combo the fuck outta your face. Grapeshots and igni don't do that much damage on them and somehow it seems like they have a bug, the other monsters and beast all stagger when hit by Igni, but those fucking wolves don't give a shit ! How the fuck can i stagger a 1 ton Griffin and not a vulgar dog's cousin ??