Well let me define it for you. Ones that like to have as flexible control schemes as possible, with as few restrictions getting in their way of playing a game.

I guess I should have made that assumption clear from the getgo.

Right, LIKE.  You might vehemently disagree with that person's likes, it doesn't make your opinion fact.

Glad you've finally realized this.

What if the original design never had 5 object slots?  Maybe they originally required you to go into the inventory to change the item in the quick slot location?  Of course since you can carry way more stuff now maybe they just wanted it to be a bit easier to find the stuff you might need for a fight?  So they gave you slots to ready stuff you might need without feeling they should give you the ability to have every one of those items available to you instantly because it would unbalance combat?  Again, you can be attacked while in the pause menu if you take too long, and having to sort through your whole inventory might just have taken too long.

DESIGN decisions.

Then that's just outright dumb and convoluted design, because then youjsut have to switch stuff uout from the inventory itself. As I said, everythign I have said applies only if people like to have flexible controls so that they can play the game the way they want to, and to the best the game can be played compared to other controls. If your priority is to cause yourself grief, then obviously none of this applies to you, but for the other 90% it does.

90%?  Now you're just making stuff up lol.

How many gamers out there like to play games the want to, and play to win (meaning they want to get as good a control as possible)? My impression is overwhelming majority or they woud not play games where the general idea is to "win."

Edit: By the way games generally tap that whole competative part of the brain, which was evolved for better mates and stuff back in the day. Which is actually how "normal" would be defined.

Let's break this down one more time (with feeling):

Having shortcut keys to all 5 object slots in your inventory would be faster than using a controller with less buttons and it also takes less time than having to pause the game:  Objective observation

Not having hotkeys for all those slots makes the combat mechanics for The Witcher 2 shit:  Subjective opinon

Having those hotkeys available for instant cast would make The Witcher 2 a better game: Subjective opinion

No one else really cares that you have to pause the game for a moment, at worst it's a minor annoyance.  Having those hotkeys wouldn't make the game better in any appreciable way, it would just make it easier.  You said so yourself. Playing it on a controller the mechanic works just fine and the game plays really well.

I don't think they wanted bombs to be a primary attack option therefore they put artificial barriers in the way to make you have to either pick the necessary bomb you want beforehand or risk getting hit during a fight while you switch to something else.

As for your definition of normal, I have no idea what you're trying to say.

It doesn't make it any easier, it makes it less of a pain in the ass. It's easier to use =/= easier difficulty. You don't even risk anything through switching bombs, except for the annoying as hell process of doing so. I am guessing that you think there are no counters on how many knives you have left is also a design choice, and not suckiness?

SO follow through with me, with feeling this time. Unless you are some masochistic type person who enjoys annoyances, keybaord is better for you. Going by the definition of annoyance (irrtation) then it is objectively better in preventing annoyances, and therefore objectively better for the game. Which means that the deisgn is shitty.

Let me lay it out for you nice and simple. If Witcher 2 had gameplay and a clone of me played against me but with a controller with the shitty mechancis currently in game vs me with a keyboard with alrght mechancis. The one with the keyboard will absolutely always, undoubtedly, win. Hell even if the shitty mechanics were part of it, keyboard me will always win. Hence, objectively superior for controlling action RPGs.

And did you notice that when you pause the game it only slows down?  So maybe they didn't want you to have every bomb in your inventory ready in a split second as a safety net.  They want you to go into a fight prepared and if you're not prepared with the right bombs then you need to pick it during the pause menu but even during that menu you could be hit. 

It's the same with having to have you take potions before a fight.  It's also the same with dialogue, options you pick now affect you later in the game.  It's all about preperation.