Witcher 2 SPOILERS- So wich path you find better and why?

The Witcher 2

Tragos

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I recently ended the Roche part , i have chosen squirrel's in first game and so did in the second mostly because i want to play a mutant that pursuing people but even with cold heart i had to see the other side of the coin.

Roche 's path makes much more sense story wise if you exclude the fact that you don't get to really meet Saschia , also the ending is kind of more open , Roche is indeed a patriot but i am not sure if Geralt is and almost all the characters ( Odren excluded) are asses and hated every one of them , if felt like reading the codex funny butthurt kind of thing

Iorveth 's path is somewhat less easy going but quests are more fun , also you get to play the siege , make some huge choices about the prince and crossing the mist isn't that annoying . Most characters are nice , even Philippa and even if you know that something is wrong with her from the very start . The story tho
seem to lack detail and political intrigue ( which of course does make sense since you are with the rebels and not conspiring royals ).

I think CDPR did a good job in balancing the paths , personally i will go with Iorveth' s as my favourite but i equally enjoyed Roche 's for totally different reasons ( like hating everyone ).
 
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As I see it, Roche path feels more unique and has more Roche whom I´ve found to be my favourite character featured in a computer game released in 2011. It also features my favourite funny moment in the game (dicks scenario).
Iorveth path feels more traditional, delivers a bit more gameplay/questing variety (as well as more side quests), feels somewhat more connected to the first game (mainly because Dandelion and Zoltan are more involved), and the overall story feels a bit more fleshed out with it. It also features at least three LotR references which I didn´t find funny.

I prefer Iorveth route because the whole game feels more "meaty" with it, however in hindsight I´ve found Roche route more memorable, so it´s pretty close.
 
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Iorveth here as well. For the reasons DeepO mentioned. I am waiting for Enhanced Edition to play Roche patch.
 
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I prefer the path accompanying Iorveth. Roche is somewhat okay in my book too, but ultimately he is just a patriot who is loyal to a now dead king (and might be disposed of himself soon, depending on whom grabs power next), which puts his goals dangerously close to a fools errant. Roche also lost lots of sympathy with me, when he just attacks the group at the elven statue (where you have to choose between Iorveth and Roche for the first time) and starts killing everyone. I never like people who act first and think later. But that's certainly a predominant trait of Roche. He's basically the Jack Bauer of the Witcherverse. He doesn't use violence as a last resort (something Geralt does IMHO), but seems to think it's the only way to approach most situations.
With Iorveth however, he's in it for a vision, he is pursuing a worthy goal. He's fighting for a free Vergen, a kingdom in which all races can finally live in peace together - equal rights and all that, something entirely new and unprecedented in this world.
I didn't really trust him at first and just risked it, but I think the game definitely states that he is legit. One of the dreams the harpies stole, is his and we don't see him killing all humans or anything sinister like this, no - he's sitting in a home with food on the table, stuff like a musical instrument lying around and he's lit a fire in his chimney so it's warm and cozy. So that's what he actually wants, what he's looking for, what he's dreaming of... After seeing that, I was convinced that I made the right choice by backing him.
Geralt himself is a mutant, although he usually does everything to protect humans, he's mostly hated and despised by them. Even his only true friends are mostly outsiders and aren't really accepted by the general populace. After seeing Zoltan (someone who's frequently facing racism just because he's a dwarf, although he is really an okay guy) fighting for Vergen and starting to believe in this cause, I was quite happy, something that doesn't happen too often in the Witcher world where bad things happen most of the time. I also think that it is a common theme in the Witcher (books and games) that not everything that looks like a monster, really is one and that sometimes humans are the real monsters.
When I learned what Vergen was about and what they were trying to do there, I immediately felt that this was the place were I'd belong - or at least that this was the cause I had to be fighting for. It almost felt like betraying the Witcher and his friends, if I would not.
The Iorveth path was also the only way, to free the dragon from Philippa's influence, which is something else that I thought was important.
It felt like sacrificing too much, if I would instead just run around with Roche and yell "FOR TEMERIA". Something that was weird anyway, since the Witcher never struck me as a "patriot" at all, if anything I thought he was some sort of "internationalist", who lived by his own code and always applied that (instead of rules the current local rulers tried to enforce).
Saskia also struck me as the most deserving leader among all the rulers shown in the game. Foltest was the sole king I could like to a degree and he was already dead. When playing the Roche path, Saskia/Vergen fails and she stays under Philippa's influence... That was quite unsatisfying to me, despite all the really cool stuff that can happen on the Roche path.

Purely gameplay-wise I enjoyed both paths very much. Both have really good quests and characters. Every fan needs to play all two anyway!
 
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Jan 13, 2011
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Just starting a new play through now that the EE is out. I'm not too far along yet but already thinking about which way to go when the path forks. Reading the comments in this thread, the thing that strikes me the most is the great job CD Projekt did in the re-playability game design aspect. All of the various paths were interesting and added to the story in my first play through. From my standpoint, I found the replays not only desirable but more like a requirement to achieve a full grasp of the game.

Which way this time? It's really hard to pick a "best" path as per the comments above. There's good character and story development in each of the paths. Guess I'll probably go down multiple paths in multiple play-throughs again.

I'll say this. I think the CD Projekt developers and writers found their true calling in creating RPGs.

__
 
You can always pick BOTH paths. Save the game at the choice (NOT with a quick save as those get overwritten) then make a copy of your save game folder in \My Documents\Witcher 2. Do one with one choice then, every now and again, rename the game save directories and do the other choice!
 
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I'm on my very first run of the Witcher 2, and liking it lots. It has character and atmosphere, though the levels seem a little… confined to me. Maybe I've just been spoiled in this day and age of open world games, but I'm not used anymore to have my path blocked by bushes all over the place. Of course, all I've seen so far is Flotsam, so maybe the game opens up more in the later acts… A side-effect of this I guess is that exploration is not really worth it. I'm used to explore every nook and cranny, but there's no real point here, as most of the distinctive locations (like in the forest) are tied to a quest. I had found the cave behind the waterfall, or the elven bath house, way before any quest took me there.

But so, I am reaching the crossroads also, and very torn on what path to take. Somehow, Roche's path seems the "more canonical" one. After all, all I get from Iorveth is this asshole attitude and wanting to kill humans. Whereas Roche is obviously an ass too, but he did let you break jail to help you track the killer.

I can't pick though. :) My playtime is limited, so I am not sure whether I'll be able to play both paths. Argh, choices, choices!
 
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Canonical or not, the rumor is you keep all equipment from TW2 in TW3.
And a certain staff you can get only if sided with Roche. So if you don't have time to play both paths, side with Roche. That way, if the rumor is true, you'll have that staff in TW3. :D

Yes, Geralt can fight with a staff, not just swords!
 
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