Hopefully this thread can be of use to anyone finding the game a bit difficult. I will try to update it as often as possible.

Please read the manual, even if its the first few pages covering the general controls. It will probably help. Second if the game is still too difficult on Normal, try Easy until you "get the hang of it".

Obviously people's opinion of the combat system will be colored by their experiences, please give it a try before you judge it. And yes that includes changing the difficulty level.

Their could be Spoilers throughout this discussion, Proceed at your own risk.




BASICS:

Controls...
WASD - Movement
Q - Casts your selected Sign (Uses Vigor)
E - Parry/Block (Uses Vigor)
R - Quickslot, Usually a Bomb (Hold to ready, release to throw)
Mouse - Moving the camera
LMB - Light Attack (Fast, Great for lightly or unarmored opponents)
RMB - Heavy Attack (Slow and Powerful, Best used in conjunction with Armored opponents)
WASD + Spacebar - Dodge/Roll (Saves your Life)
CTRL - Sign Selection/Meditation/Switch Weapons/Quckslot Selection

Vitality...
The bar stemming out from the Witcher medallion. Its red! When it is depleted you will die, if you needed to know that... Moving on, Potions and Places of Power can enhance your regeneration rate in and outside of combat.

Vigor...
The stuff you use to cast signs and block enemy blows. The meter is located under the health bar to the right of the toxicity gage. If you use all your vigor to cast signs, you cannot block. If you constantly block and use up your vigor, you cannot cast signs. Balance is required.

Toxicity...
Beneath the Health bar, to the left of the Vigor gage. Has a skull and bones... As it rises you will be able to use less potions. I haven't had alcohol yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it affected your toxicity levels.

Potions, Oils, and Bombs...
To use a potion or create a potion you must first meditate by pressing "CTRL" and then the middle button. This will bring you to a menu that will allow you to access Character, Alchemy, Drink Potions, and Rest.

Obviously a Recipe is needed, but once acquired simple enter the alchemy screen and choose the recipe. If you have the needed ingredients the "create" button will be accessible. Rinse and Repeat as many times as needed. From alchemy you can also create oils and bombs.

To drink Potions you need to meditate, and then select the Drink Potions option. The right section of the circle. It appears that you can only drink up to three potions at once. Drinking potions effect all kind of stats and are very effective in aiding you in combat. However the higher your toxicity level the less potions you can use.

To coat a blade with an oil, open the inventory by pressing "I" and select the enhancements icon. Drag the oil to which ever blade you choose and drop it. Select yes...

Signs...
Check the manual for actual images of the signs and more in depth general info. Should be page 14.

The Aard Sign (Top of the List) - Telekineses, basically the medieval equivalent to a force push. Useful for pushing back opponents and or stunning them. When stunned enemies can be easily dispatched. Can also be used to destroy certain obstacles.

The Yrden Sign (Second from the Top, Looks like an hourglass) - Magical Trap, Upon activations Geralt throws it too the ground, any enemy that encounters it will be imobalized for a short time.

The Igni Sign (Third from the Top, Looks like a basic triangle) - Flame burst. Can wound opponents.

The Quen Sign (Fourth down form the top, second up from the bottom) - Shield, once activated it will protect Geralt from damage. When upgraded can reflect some of the damage back towards your attacker.

The Axii Sign (Bottom of the list, looks like an upside down triangle) - Used in battle can turn an enemy into a temporary ally. Also associated with the conversation system... think mind trick.

Difficulty...
This game is challenging, though I am sure balancing issue will be addressed throughout patches released in time. The game is not difficult if you try to understand its mechanics. TW2 is not the original, it is a sequel.

The combat and progression mechanics have evolved. Normal and above is comparable to TW1's Hard and above. Potions, Oils, Signs, Places of Power, Traps, and Bombs are needed. Also patience, if its trying yours try Easy.

INTERMEDIATE:
The prologue is going to kick your ass, especially if you play it out of order your first time.

Dragon Section...
Run towards the screen. Usually this is the "S" key, though with QTE set to Easy in the gameplay options it might become "W" (Need to check). A prompt to press the RMB may appear during this section to dodge away from Dragon Breath.

ADVANCED:

Tactics...
1. Dodge, Dodge, and Dodge.

2. Cast the Quen sign, it creates a shield around Geralt that can absorb damage

3. Block and Parry, successfully doing so puts your opponent off balance. Opening them to a counter attack. Particularly helpful in dealing with Armored and Strong opponents.

4. Before you are going to enter combat with a group of enemies, especially humans in the beginning of the game; use potions, oils, and prepare quickslot items.

5. Use quickslot items; Bombs, Daggers, and Traps.

Tip learned/mechanic changed from The Witcher 1:

If you get out of combat, your health regen speeds up massivly, enough to refill the entire bar in ~60 seconds. If you lose a ton of your health, just run away from the enemies, and fight some more later.

My one big tip I would give to anyone having trouble:

Quen (the shield) is your very best of friends. Spam the hell out of it.

When dealing with large groups of Enemies:

-corners are your best friend. Turn that army of 10 into 1 or 2 mobs. *NEVER* fight them all at once. Back stabs hurt... *ALOT*.

-Yrden Sign can can either give you a free shot on some of the harder to hit enemies, or make 2 difficult enemies turn into 1 difficult enemy.

-Axii sign is very useful when dealing with guards with shields. Either by making an some back guy grab they're attention away from you (So you can stab *THEM* in the back) or make the shield guys fight the rest of the army, so you don't have to worry about them. Again, use Line of sight to your advantage and mind control the first guy that comes down that corner, so as not be be stuck by the other fellows who want to kill you.

-When dealing with 1 difficult enemy (IE: WRAITHS and the like) force them against a wall and WAIL OF THEM WITH YOUR MIGHTY SWORD! Sure, half the damage with be "Absorbed" but the creature will be unable to counter attack if he's against a wall. Make sure your alone though, as his friend will stab you in the back and finish you off in one shot.

-When dealing with HORDES of HORRIBLE THINGS IN A CAVE, Find out if they hate entrances and exits. Certain cave enterances seems to scare off these creeps and allow you time to recover. When you find such safe zones, ROLL FOR YOUR LIFE towards them!

Thanks for the tips man, i found the begining to be quite difficult but then again i have never played the witcher prior to playing the sequel so i was going off instinct haha. But i started to get the hang of which signs do what as well as what is a good way to enter combat. But with this little guide as well as this other one i had read earlier has given me some more confidence in starting up the game tonight and laying down a can of whoop ass on some soldiers =] And i just want to say, Thank you CD projekt Red for making such an astounding work of art with the graphics in this game. i was blown away at how awesome it all looked.

EDIT: one thing also worth noting for first timers, as i have just found out today, is that using the silver sword on regular human soldiers is not a good idea. always use your long sword for human targets. And use the silver sword on the mythical creatures i believe is the correct use of it.

I would go on to say that Quen is better than parry. I only use parry when only 1 opponent is remaining

A big tip I just thought of:

-In order to use Axii (the "Jedi Mind Trick" sign), you need to target an opponent and HOLD DOWN the sign button until they are turned. The game never species that you need to hold it down and I went several hours just thinking that the spell only had a % chance of working and that I was just constantly coming up on the short end of the stick. I think playing the first game is more of a hinderance than a help as far as combat is concerned. The two combat systems are just so different. People who never played TW1 are starting on a clean slate with no pre-existing muscle memory on what to do and when. The people who played TW1 are constantly trying to use tactics that don't work in this new one.

And yes, the silver sword is specifically for monsters, the steel sword is for humanoids. This is another thing that TW2 doesn't explain very well. It is established very clearly in the book series that the game is based on and TW1 did a better job of introducing players to the two sword concept.

Same, though, once I figured out Axii, it seems very useful, instead of how trash it was in the first game.

Also: "silver sword for monsters" end of The Witcher 1, "but that sword...is for monsters!"

You can dodge by double tap in the desired direction