Being forced into fistfights where I cannot draw a weapon and kill bandits or other people attempting to murder me is ridiculous. Like Geralt would ever allow people to just kill him because he doesn't feel drawing a sword is appropriate. I have now encountered multiple instances where this occurs. It is completely insane, my character would always choose to kill anyone who threatens them even if they were just being annoying and not even a threat. Honestly this is one of the worst thing I've ever encountered in a game, it's pathetic. Maybe other's have bigger issues but for me this is completely immersion breaking and made me pissed off at the game for days after each encounter. Games should always have an option to kill anyone that pesters you, I don't play nice guys. Ithink I'm actually going to stop playing for while because of it. I'm in the middle of that tournament and it is attempting to force this one me and I simply refuse to participate. My character would just stab the fucker in the face. Maybe it can be modded out completely somehow, I don't know, but this is one time too many and I'm not doing it again.

Burn them with Igni :)
It *really* works !

Sometimes it does let you pull a sword. For example the fistfight outside the inn in White Orchard. It always starts as a fistfight for me but I can pull my sword and kill them.

my issue with fist fights is the very generous hit boxes where you get hit by a dude who's like 8 feet away from you.

Fistfights are easy...unless you have to fight in a closed space the size of an elevator. With furniture to get stuck it at every turn. Like that fistfight in Zoltan's quest for cards. Many times the fistfight is justified – Geralt just wants to teach someone a lesson without killing them. Other times it earns me a loading screen as the enemy pummels me while I'm pressing 1 wondering why Geralt won't unsheathe his sword.

While I completely understand OP's frustration about a lack of choice in a game that otherwise lets you choose just about everything else, is ithis particular element really so bad that it's worth stopping playing? I mean, it seems like one out of every twenty "scripted" encounters basically force you to pummel your oppenent's face into hamburger meat instead of letting you run your sword through their throat or flat out decapitate them, so it's hard to argue it doesn't satisfy most peoples' bloodlust. Also, there are several situations where an opponent needs to survive a fight for the story to progress; I feel like the game would lack a dimension if you could just kill absolutely everything and everyone in sight.

Are you having trouble with the fistfighting mechanics, or do you really just want to add to your body count (no judgment either way as my impulse is often to respond to most of my enemies with steel or silver as well)?

Here are my major complaints about fistfights. Please note I'm using a keyboard/mouse.

1) When I block (right mouse button) and get hit I lose 20-50% of my health. When I hit a NPC (even way below my level) they lose nothing or a very small amount of health when they block.
2) When the fighting starts it slowly fads in. Doesn't matter if I block or dodge (alt) I still get hit almost all the time.
3) The reach of the NPC's is way larger than mine. So I see them starting a strong attack. I launch a fast hit (left mouse button) but they are too far away. Yet their hit lands on me.
4) The key response is TOO SLOW. I mash a key and it takes way too long for that action to even happen.
5) Some of the fighters use fast attack only and unless you are lucky at the start by dodging away they get a combo and my health is down to 30-50%. I start hitting the dodge (ALT) key even before the fight starts but it seems the keystrokes are ignored till the fad-in is finished.

These are the main reason I hate fistfighting in TW3. Maybe they don't impact controller players.

Most fistfights don't allow signs.

My tip to you here is that you always maintain a big distance if at all possible. If you are far enough away, they will ALWAYS take a big wide-up to hit you and those are mega easy to counter.
Hope that helps

Strange. I don't have any problem with the fistfights at all. I mean, sometimes I lose and have to reload, but that's no different from any other fight. Personally I've found the fist fights in Witcher 3 to be the easiest of any game in the series.

Closest thing I have to a problem with fistfights is when Geralt fails to automatically draw his sword in a sword fight and I try to punch a Wyvern or halberdier in the face.

Some assholes don't even DESERVE a sword... ;)

"Forced fishfights completely ruin immersion", gets my vote for best topic title. XD

While traversing the landscape outside of Novigrad City, Geralt hears a splash...

Fish: "Hey whitey, how did your hair get so white?"

Geralt: "**** you, that's how."

Fish: "You white haired *****, how bout you get in my puddle and say that to my cold lifeless face, hmmm?"

Geralt: "Jump in your puddle? Oh that's right, you can't come onto land without suffocating."

Fish: "Yeah...well....well, you been wondering why your sorceress has that wart on her hand?"

Geralt: "Which sorceress?"

Fish: "The bitchy one..."

Geralt "Try harder."

Fish: "The one that smells like gooseberries and..."

Geralt: "Been listening to Dandelions' ballads have you? Well, don't bother finishing your train of thought, I'm just going to commence with the beating you to death.'

After finishing his meal of speckled trout, Geralt puts out his fire and hears another splash...

Fish: "Hey whitey, how did your hair get so white?"

Damn those fishfights! XD

Ok, point 1 is really strange. I block attacks during fistfights and get hit by 0 points. The others are subjective and I won't talk about them, but 1 is weird.

looks like you have some input latency. do you use controller? I play on keyboard and mouse and I easily block starting attack. also I dont loose hp when i block.
My biggest complaint - seems like npcs have better attack speed\animations so all fistfights are just boring chain of block-attack-attack, repeat 10-15 times until you win.

my "favorite" fistfight - is one in skellig's castle with berserkers. this guys didnt attack at all(!) they just stood in eternal block. almost invincible. I had to f*ck with them about 10 minutes with each - and reward for this quest was so crappy I almost cried when got it

If it's one on one.. and there's plenty of room to move:

- Quick dodge backward once.
- Wait for the NPC to lunge at you.
- Quick dodge backward once.
- Do a combo of hits on NPC.
- Rinse and repeat.

Same works to some extent with multiple enemies.. just need to be a bit more aware.