Dragon Age Series

[vivisectvi]

I just started Act 3.. a few things..

-I am not sure if this line is the same or not for everyone - or if the save import really is that detailed.. but Anders just referenced that my Origins Warden defeated the blight with the help of two mages, and one was an apostate. Wynne & Morrigan were both in my party when I defeated the Archdemon. Pretty cool if it is that detailed.

-Also, my Warden was of the Dalish origin and he keeps getting referenced by Merrill and her Keeper. More cool shit!

-I was having some real trouble with Anders as a Healer.. but I think I found a way to respec him to make him more of a Controller Healer and he's now a total beast. Not for damage, but just healing and crowd control. All of those glyphs and dispel spells really help in this game - whereas I found myself rarely using them in Origins. My go to party right now is Hawke as a Rogue, Merrill as a Damager; Fenris as a Tank/DPS, Anders as the Healer/Controller. I gotta say that DCUO has really helped me understand these types of roles and I'm finding myself much more successful in battle knowing what these roles should be doing.

-I do like the inter-party banter.. but I really like the companions who get along with eachother.. like Isabella & Merrill, or Merrill & Varic. Though it's a shame neither Varic or Isabella are in my party that often as all I hear is the constant bickering between Merrill & Anders because she's done blood magic; or Fenris and either of the mages because of his stance on mages.

-Romance wise.. I tried to hook up with Isabella.. and was successful once.. but it looked like another one of those Morrigan, no feelings, romances so I steered clear of it. Fenris & Anders both tried for me but I went with Merrill. She's too cute not to like and she's a total beast in battle. She also moved into my estate, lol.

 

[Mik]

I love how Verric's inquisition is barely used outside of the main story bits, but they cut in randomly when

Spoiler

Bartrand was "begging" for his life and talking about how handsome he is.

That was great.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

I love how Verric's inquisition is barely used outside of the main story bits, but they cut in randomly when

Spoiler

Bartrand was "begging" for his life and talking about how handsome he is.

That was great.

Just did that one. Yeah Cassandra's reaction is pretty humorous too.

Man, Aveline's companion quest takes awkward to a new level when you're in The Hanged Man.

 

[Mik]

Just about to get there. It was awkward enough in the barracks. I'm doing Merrill's now... I died against the Varretal when it had a sliver of health left after a solid 7-8 minute battle. Seemed like a good time to quit after that.

EDIT: Just finished Aveline's quest. My god that was glorious. All of it. Hawke's reactions on The Wounded Coast were hilarious.

 

[Edwin]

Did anyone get the Signature Edition and Sebastian? I'm wondering if he and any associated quests are worth the $7 for the DLC.

 

[Mik]

So far... no. I'd say I've spent about 90 minutes tops on his quests... mid-way or so through Act 2. 90 minutes might be generous.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

I wouldn't pay for Sebastian. I prefer Varric as an archer, and the character is a bit bland.

Just started Act 3, and the end of Act 2 is a bit of a slam bang. All That Remains is a bit of a gut punch though. Did not see that one coming.

I'm hooked up with Merrill, and the armor does change when you're in a relationship with them. Merrill gets a nice shiny white suit of armor with a green sash. Next playthough (I'm thinking female rogue) I'm going to try for Isabella (I think she'll go for it) so I can see what she looks like.

 

[ViciousFish]

I haven't really noticed a difference with Isabella's armor but I haven't really paid attention.

Sebastian is not worth the money. The quests suck, he sucks and he's boring.

Has anyone else noticed that when you first get a character they're next to useless. The computer seems to level them in strange ways. They usually have almost no hit points or stamina/mana.

How the fuck do you make Merrill like you? I've been nothing but nice to her and she hates me.

 

[Kageho]

Vicious I haven't played the game, but she's probably the type you need to be kinda harsh too, but still good with and you'll score. At least if she's the type of character I've read so far.

I've heard a lot of mehs to this game so far, so I'll ask you people who are playing the game. Is it worth it to pick it up? Or should I wait for it to go down in price?

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

I've been nice to Merrill the whole way through and it seemed to work. She's rather "innocent" about life outside her camp, so I would think she wouldn't respond to harsh responses.

I like it. I prefer the more active battle system, and the overall quest seems more personal to me than Origins.

 

[Edwin]

Has anyone else noticed that when you first get a character they're next to useless. The computer seems to level them in strange ways. They usually have almost no hit points or stamina/mana.

The computer leveling seems to focus mostly on core stats; i.e., Isabela has DEX/CUN, the mages have MAG/WIL, etc. Fortunately, the Maker's Sigh potion in the Black Emporium is so cheap that changing them is no big deal. Maker's Sigh is also great because you can easily change character builds that way; most notably, it lets you rejigger Merrill's stats to make her an even more powerful blood mage than Hawke can be.

How the fuck do you make Merrill like you? I've been nothing but nice to her and she hates me.

The easiest way is to be kind to other mages (and, when applicable, elves) when she's on quests with you. I think Act of Mercy and Magistrate's Orders each got me 20-25 friendship points with her. I've been rolling with her and Fenris since I got them, and by doing stuff like refusing to kill mages and seeking diplomatic solutions, I've gotten her to almost full friendship and him about 3/4 of the way towards rivalry just before the end of Act 1.

[quote author=Injured Reserve]
I've heard a lot of mehs to this game so far, so I'll ask you people who are playing the game. Is it worth it to pick it up? Or should I wait for it to go down in price?[/quote]
If you liked the first Dragon Age, definitely. It's definitely faster-paced and not quite as epic, but those aren't necessarily bad things. After 5-6 hours, you get the hang of the differences and get a feel for all the different areas in the city. The voice acting is very good, even by Bioware standards, and the voiced protagonist adds a lot more to this than I thought it would. If I remember correctly re: how often you tend to reroll your characters in games like this, you might have a little angst/stress with the ability trees, but the aforementioned respec potions make it really easy to change your mind and fix mistakes.

The biggest flaws are that it's a bit streamlined if you're a loothound (no armor for your party members), and that it feels cut-and-paste in some parts; dungeons are re-used frequently, Kirkwall seems a little small and more sparsely populated than it should be, etc. That said, I've put 20 hours in over about 5 days of playing, so that should tell you a few things.

 

[Mik]

I am very friendly with Merrill, as well. I always side with the mages, plus I let her build her stupid mirror.

I agree with Edwin... the game is very straightforward and somewhat repetitive, but awesome nonetheless. It's one off those games where you keep saying "just one more quest" over and over again until hours have passed.

 

[ViciousFish]

I don't have Merrill in my group since I didn't want 2 mages (I use Fenris/Aveline, Isabella, Varric and I'm mage) but I bring her gifts, let her build the fucking mirror and she still hates me.

 

[vivisectvi]

That's so weird. You must have said or done something down the line to increase her rivalry. I've found that supporting mages, defending her choice to use blood magic, and anything positive to do with Elves always increases her friendship. I am just on to the final phase of my romance with her. I hope Hawke doesn't get screwed over with this one - some random death, or her taking off - as the poor guy has already been through enough. All That Remains, yeesh!

I also just completed the Rogue Champion armor set. Looks fucking sweet! FYI I'm at about 20 hours of playtime and halfway through Act 3, and I've been doing every side and secondary quest that has shown up along the way. So yeah, definitely shorter than Origins. A LOT shorter.

For my second playthrough I think I'm going to do a female mage who strongly supports the Templars & the Chantry. Should be some interesting dialogue!

 

[ViciousFish]

Just finished the game. Managed to sleep with Merrill despite having a full rivalry bar with her.

I decided to

Spoiler

side with the mages against the Templars after Anders blew up the Chantry and the Templars invoked the Rite of Annulment. I killed Anders for what he did and Fenris left me to fight with the Templars and I ended up killing him.

Meredith is the one who bought the idol from Bartrand and thusly she went crazy. Game ended with me fleeing the city and the group separating.

 

[Edwin]

What difficulty are you guys playing on? I just realized that I really haven't been pushed that much on Normal; I don't think my party's been totally wiped out once, and that happened a fair amount of times in DA:O. I actually don't think I've had companions drop more than 4 or 5 times total. I'm thinking of bumping it up to Hard, but I may just save that for playthrough #2 since I doubt I'll ever have the patience for Nightmare.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

Weell, I just found out what the problem was with the Bone Pit. That was unpleasant.

 

[vivisectvi]

I'm in normal right now. Also, I was looking at the wrong save, I actually have 44 hours of playtime.

 

[ViciousFish]

Weell, I just found out what the problem was with the Bone Pit. That was unpleasant.

Spoiler

High Dragon?

Yeah, that was a shitty fight to stumble into.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

Weell, I just found out what the problem was with the Bone Pit. That was unpleasant.

Spoiler

High Dragon?

Yeah, that was a shitty fight to stumble into.

Yeah I had that quest and the main storyline quest. So, I figured I'd check out the Pit, wander down to the arrow, and nearly get my ass handed to me on a skewer. Luckily my main had a ton of the proper resistance gear. Fenris was nearly worthless though, he didn't have enough hit points. I've actually started using Aveline and like the combo of two sword/shield warriors walling off the baddies from my nuker and archer.

 

[Sabre]

As i posted earlier, my DA:O playthrough is dragging due to me knowing the plot and no real desire to hammer it home.

I also realised i have the DLC and Awakenings to complete -_-;. Does DA:2 need an imported save, i.e what outcomes does it dictate etc.

 

[Smues]

Finally got my copy in the mail. Likely won't really play until Sunday, but I figured I'd install it now so it's ready to go. I enter my product key and click ok and WHAM it starts installing. Umm, no I don't want it on my c:. I let it finish just because, then uninstall. Ok so surely I missed the custom install/change directory option. Click install, select english, product key, WHAM installing ok now what the fuck? I do some googling and it looks to be a common problem with Bioware games, but not all the time. For every person who says there's no custom install option there is someone else who says yes there is. As far as I can tell it seems to happen when you already have a Bioware game installed. That's my best guess anyway based on what others have said. So I uninstall DA:O and try to install DA2 again and finally I get the option to put it elsewhere. Pain in my ass. Figuring out how to activate and install the signature edition stuff wasn't pleasant either. Fuck you EA, fuck you.

 

[vivisectvi]

As i posted earlier, my DA:O playthrough is dragging due to me knowing the plot and no real desire to hammer it home.

I also realised i have the DLC and Awakenings to complete -_-;. Does DA:2 need an imported save, i.e what outcomes does it dictate etc.

There are a few default options to choose from if you don't have a save to import. Not sure what they are off the top of my head, though.

 

[vivisectvi]

Here are the preset options if you don't have a Dragon Age Origins/Awakening save to import:

“Hero of Ferelden” (Default )
Ended Fifth Blight by killing Archdemon and survived. Placed Alistair on the throne.

“The Martyr”
Young Dalish Elf who died to kill the Archdemon. She left the kingdom ruled by Alisair and Anora.

“No Compromise”
Dwarven noble took command of Grey Wardens. Exalted Alistair, sent Loghain to his death against Archdemon, and left Anora as Ferelden’s ruler.

Another cool thing I noticed about the save import: if your Origins character had a surname (ie: the Dalish elf's surname is Mahariel) it actually gets voiced in DA2 for when they are referencing your character. Merrill & her Keeper are always mentioning my character by that name. Thought that was a nice touch.

EDIT: Just checked the Wikia and apparently all Origins characters had surnames. Cool shit, I'd like to see where else these names would get mentioned.

 

[vivisectvi]

Anyway, I'm nearly finished with my first playthrough of the game. I am itching to see what the end result is.. but I also want to play through again as a mage. That said, I'm actually getting an itch to play through the entire first game as well, again.

 

[Sabre]

Ive decided to stick to my guns and plow through DA:O etc before number 2. May aswell refresh my mind on the plot, and it also allows me to finally fuck Morrigan.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

If you don't nail Morrigan, you're doing something SERIOUSLY wrong. I think the quickest I ever got that scene was the 1st or second time at the campsite. Liliana takes some work.

I'm kinda wanting to run through Origins again with a human character and try to snag the throne for myself just to see what changes.

 

[Sabre]

Liliana was easiest for me, my first playthrough was as a female warrior, hence why i never got to fuck Morrigan.

With me being an Arcane Warrior the game is far too easy. Wyne is my healer, Alister/Shale my tank and i blend in as tank/spells. The Flemith fight lasted 3 mins.

 

[Scroby]

Any update on a patch yet for the console version's? I can play through the game with mashing the A button as a Rogue but I don't think I'll be able to do it as my Warrior from DAO. I've noticed that the Warriors are a bit sluggish without the correct gameplay in the game.

Also so we can't switch out the armor of our companions?

 

[Vigo]

Any update on a patch yet for the console version's? I can play through the game with mashing the A BUTTon as a Rogue but I don't think I'll be able to do it as my Warrior from DAO. I've noticed that the Warriors are a bit sluggish without the correct gameplay in the game.

Also so we can't switch out the armor of our companions?

I've been playing as a warrior and the whole A button thing is not a big problem for me.