And the 1.2 patch was a miracle for me!

Drizz, can you get a screen shot of when you click on the echinops and Geralt doesn't do anything? That might help us.

That's going to be too much bandwidth to post here I think, but if you all want to do this by email that's great.

Your guy is being stunned by the poison. How many times have you leveled up? You may have to go do more quests until you get stronger. Also you need to find and use Golden Oriole. It protects Geralt a lot. In Act 2, I waited until the last to do those quests and I used Swallow, Tawny Owl, and Golden Oriole to fight these guys. The Golden Oriole scroll can be bought from Thaler.

Nickie, I should have clarified! I meant by e-mail and forgot to say so. I too think Drizz might not be running in quickly enough to whack at them and is getting stunned first.

Popped in for a moment and saw this. I used a blast of Igni on them before they looked in my direction. They didn't get up again.

Nope, he's not stunned. He can still move, it's just that he stands in that ridicolous pose, but not actually attacking.

I'll get a screenshot right away...

This is it. He just stands there, in battle-stance but not attacking. This happens most often when I have just finished a "salvo" of attacks...I have waited to see if it was something time/turn-related, but nothing. He just stands there like a hamster and is eventually killed.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b300/argan1985/w1.jpg

Drizzt, just a thought, but looking at the image I see that your using your steel sword. Have you tried using the silver one instead with maybe a fast attack?

two things I would suggest are move in closer and click the corpse on the stalk to initiate the attack.

Maybe you need to get stronger on the mainland first. Or a combination of all the above, don't know.

I looked close at the screen shot and it does look to me, like you're getting hit with the poison dart things that it spits. I see the greenish skulls above Geralt that mean he got poisoned. They will show up with each dart thing that he gets hit with. Or am I nuts?

And I agree with Milee, the steel sword is pretty useless against that plant. If you go into the journal and read baout the echinops, it tells you it's vulnerable to silver, and fire.

I think it's just a matter of leveling up - including the Igni sign - and trying it again. It took me a long time to get the hang of those nasty plants!

Keep at it Drizzt, you can do it!

Steel will be utterly useless against these things. It does look like you're using the steel sword; is that right Drizz? It's hard to tell for sure, but I agree with looney that it does look like he's been poisoned. You need to get right up close and personal with these things to kill them - after you hit them with Igni if you can.

I don't know if this helps because I'm using OTS (Over the Shoulder), but I just hit this one with Igni and ran in to click on that thing Trail was talking about using my silver sword and fast attack mode. http://mypage.yhti.net/~djhoeft/Monster.JPG

You're on the Gramps quest which probably means that you haven't done a lot of quests yet and are going to have a rough time with these plants. I would suggest that you do all the other side quests before tackling these guys.

You can run away from these plants and Gramps will not die. You don't have to protect him just escort him.

Plus in your battle, as others have said, you are using the wrong sword (should be silver) and you are using the wrong sign (ard instead of ignii) and it appears that you have used no potions.

Also, from looking at your picture, that could very well be the Coccacidium :shiver:which is a trophy and probably the hardest fight in this Act so you really need to be strong to defeat him.

I had gotten silver level up thingys (forgot what they're called) before I tackled this guy.

I thought maybe it was the Coccacidium too, but I don't think so. I think it's the first Echinops you encounter just outside the brickmakers kiln. I remember it well because the darned thing killed me several times. I would run to the end of the path that led to that point by the water and heal up before I would run back in.

I enhanced my sword with a whetstone or a grindstone - can't remember which. One gives you 10% more damage and one gives you 20% more damage. The first time I potioned up with a Swallow and a Tawny Owl too before I tackled these things.

I think the guide indicates that it is likely to come across the archeospore on the Gramps quest. I know the first time I tried this I was way too weak, so went back to the mainland and did some quests. When I returned, it was a much different ballgame. Nothing was a problem at that point except thinking I was invincible and stepping into the middle of wyvern island.

Oh, my! Wyvern Island was tough enough when I was leveled up and had my new armor!! That must have been quite a slaughter-fest!

I think some of the wyverns killed themselves laughing maybe!

There are some interesting comments on this subject here

I never thought of using a torch.

Yup, oldman, that link says one of the things we've mentioned here. Drizz needs to get right in front of the darned thing to initiate an attack - after hitting it with Igni a couple of times. The one poster even mentions switching to OTS for the plants. I've noticed that in other battles too that if you aren't "up close and personal" the attack doesn't begin.

Alright, thanks all. I'll give it another go when I have time. (To top all the school work off, a friend just lent me Assasin's Creed. Gah, how will I ever get anything done now?! )

I wasn't aware there were any other quests to do...I did all the quests I could find on the mainland, and the game overall seems to be pretty linear...not a lot of paths to follow in the swamp.

There are a lot of side quests in act 2 and completion of each one gains you experience points. You can check here for a list of them.

Thanks Oldman. I was busy for some time in that chapter running hither and yon.

I think Chapter 2 is the longest one in the entire game. I'm back in Chapter 4. Boy, was I surprised to find Abigale in the Healer's Hut! I took the Hut this time as my reward from the Hermit. Big mistake. Nothing in it I needed.

I wondered what that selection would do, Drac. Did you take the potions he offered the first time you played, and were they any good? I took the wreath.

The first time I took the wreath. If it did anything for me, I couldn't tell!