Dragon Age 2 Incoming. - Part 1

[Benstamania]

You know, I really like being able to call my dog and not have him waste a party spot. I actually had my dog in my party through all of Origins (I know most people didn't) but it would have been good to have him like you can have your dog in DA II.

 

[Drz]

Agreed Benstamania.

Translation:


Merrill: Don't worry about this magic barrier, Hawke! I'll deal with it with Blood Magic and we will be able to pass through.

Merrill: We're under attack! I'll enhance my spells with Blood Magic and this will end quickly!

Merrill: Yo're not sure if this Templar is possesed by a demon or not? no problem, I'll find out with this Blood Magic ritual.

Merrill: It seems there is a hidden door on that wall. Do you want me to try to find out if there are any magic traps by using Blood... Ma... ugh...?

Hawke: Aaaaandeeeers.... Again.

Hawke: Merrill, seriously. Obviating the fact that pacting with demons is a bad thing, you can become an abomination doing that, all your clan repudiates you, you have lost the title of "First of the Keeper", if Templars got you they will kill you as a Maleficar or transforms you into a Tranquil, etc... Are you sure that all that stuff of Blood Magic is right?

Hawke: If you have to cut your wrist every time you use it. Then it can not be good for your health...

 

[El Bastardo]

It certainly helps, and i just keep getting rivalry points if i drag her along and i'm not really interested in having her in the party, really thats what usually crings my gear in DAO/DA2. I'm "forced" to keep party members such as Anders because i can't spec Merrill as a healer, luckily both games have given 2 tank options, 1 for DAO if you didn't get the Shale DLC.

If you're playing on Normal, though, you really don't need a healer. On higher difficulty levels, healing might be more needed, but it's still not necessary. I know people have played Nightmare without healers.

 

[Wolfwood]

I think I only really "needed" a healer once on Normal and that was for the Dragon.

 

[Drz]

So i guess i just need a heavy crowd control group and some potions then? Or not even positions on Normal/Hard? =O

 

[X Knight]

has anyone here had a hard time getting into this game?

I've been following this game's development since the day it was announced and was super excited for it...........even pre-ordered the SE. However, once I started playing the game, I've been having a hard time getting past the initial stage once Hawke and co arrive in Kirkwall...............

 

[bored]

As someone who didn't play the original game, and rather just saw commercials that made DA2 look cool, and caved and played it after hearing a friend constantly rave, I'd have to say... no. I had an easy time getting into it.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

has anyone here had a hard time getting into this game?

I've been following this game's development since the day it was announced and was super excited for it...........even pre-ordered the SE. However, once I started playing the game, I've been having a hard time getting past the initial stage once Hawke and co arrive in Kirkwall...............

I kind of had a sense of aimlessness myself at the start, but in terms of the narrative it picks up quite a bit after Act 1.

 

[Benstamania]

No.

 

[Wolfwood]

has anyone here had a hard time getting into this game?

I've been following this game's development since the day it was announced and was super excited for it...........even pre-ordered the SE. However, once I started playing the game, I've been having a hard time getting past the initial stage once Hawke and co arrive in Kirkwall...............

I think I played it for 8 hours straight on the day I got it, which is a rare thing for me these days. As someone else said, the first act does seem kind of aimless, but that's the party recruiting act and that's always my favorite part of an RPG.

 

[Drz]

http://dragonage.bioware.com/me2offer

If you purchased DA2, you can get ME2 for PC free! All details in the link.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

It would be interesting to know what prompted this.

 

[Drz]

Thanks to gamers like you, Dragon Age II is off to a great start – breaking the 1 million mark in less than two weeks and faster than Dragon Age: Origins.

While the game is selling faster than DAO, maybe they dislike the whining word of mouth thats festering the forums? Also it's a good hookup to attract even more people to ME2 with ME3 coming this fall.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Or maybe it's selling really badly on the pc. Or maybe the now in the 70's metacritic rating will effect sales rate? Or maybe there "cool rep" has simply went out the window the alot of "loyal fans" who don't want something awesome to happen?

Anyways, still not getting it till a steam sale. Already own Mass Effect 2. With Shogun 2, Gemini Rue, Crysis 2, Portal 2, Witcher 2, Nap: Total War it's not like there is a hurry.

 

[GhostPoet]

I'll be honest...now that i've gotten to play it more I can easily say that Dragon Age 1 was much better.

I read a good article about what went wrong with DA2 and agreed completely with it...especially the end where the writer says this should have been called Dragon Age: KirkWall an DA2 is still in production.

 

[GhostPoet]

has anyone here had a hard time getting into this game?

I've been following this game's development since the day it was announced and was super excited for it...........even pre-ordered the SE. However, once I started playing the game, I've been having a hard time getting past the initial stage once Hawke and co arrive in Kirkwall...............

I'm about to go into the Deep Roads so I have enough hours into the game to know I don't like most of the characters and the story is almost non-existant.

 

[Benstamania]

I have no idea how anyone can say that the story is almost nin-existent. Seriously..

 

[GhostPoet]

Maybe not non-existent. Just not very interesting.

 

[Drz]

Well the story right now is that you want a better life for yourself and the family due to the Templars chasing you/your sister and along finding with you making decisions that are very uncertain how they turn out. Really one of the major things about the game is the uncertainty of how your actions will work whenever good or nasty/evil/selffish intentional. It's also about whenever you deem safety more valuable then lets say giving mages some freedom.

Theres no great big plot here about how you slayed the Archdemon or raided the dungeon of a thousand blazing skulls, this is about how you became the champion and to whom you we're one.

 

[El Bastardo]

So i guess i just need a heavy crowd control group and some potions then? Or not even positions on Normal/Hard? =O

You'll probably need some potions, but with potion cooldown being what it is, you can't really depend on them. It comes down to some amount of micro-management and Tactics control, really.

has anyone here had a hard time getting into this game?

I've been following this game's development since the day it was announced and was super excited for it...........even pre-ordered the SE. However, once I started playing the game, I've been having a hard time getting past the initial stage once Hawke and co arrive in Kirkwall...............

Why are you having this problem? To be more accurate, what is causing you to have this problem?

If you've been following this game's development since its announcement, you should have known exactly what the game was going to be doing and what it was going to be about. BioWare wasn't exactly secretive about their construction of the game or what the story was going to entail, mainly that it is a story on a smaller scale than DAO and very character-centric.

I'll be honest...now that i've gotten to play it more I can easily say that Dragon Age 1 was much better.

I read a good article about what went wrong with DA2 and agreed completely with it...especially the end where the writer says this should have been called Dragon Age: KirkWall an DA2 is still in production.

Are you referring to the very horribly-written "Rock Paper Shotgun" article, by chance? That was an awful "review" by someone who lost all credibility by the second paragraph, I think it was. That ridiculous, facetious line certainly sounds like the same article.

Furthermore, one can't really say DAO was better than DA2. One could say they liked the first one more, or liked the second more - but on a scale of "better," both did certain things right and did certain things wrong, but neither very much more than the other. Both are very different games, with different scopes and different feels. DAO is not a "better" game because it was more epic classical fantasy by design, for example.

I'm about to go into the Deep Roads so I have enough hours into the game to know I don't like most of the characters and the story is almost non-existant.

Maybe not non-existent. Just not very interesting.

"Maybe not non-existent?" No, not non-existent at all. It's there, through several main plot quests in Act 1 and a smattering of side quests. Interesting, on the other hand, is a matter of opinion. As I've stated numerous times before, I couldn't care less whether someone likes a game. Opinion does not equal fact, however.

What is not interesting? Do you not like the small scale of the (early) story? Do you dislike the characters? Either of those would make the most sense. Or is it something else?

The problem with posts like these is they really do no one a service. Great. You've come here to say "lol this game suxxxxx." You've given we thread-frequenters no information to go off of, nothing to explain your piece. And we'd like you to explain your piece, because then at least some amount of intellectual discussion might arise from it.

And is that not the point of forums?

 

[iamlegend]

has anyone here had a hard time getting into this game?

I've been following this game's development since the day it was announced and was super excited for it...........even pre-ordered the SE. However, once I started playing the game, I've been having a hard time getting past the initial stage once Hawke and co arrive in Kirkwall...............

It took me until hour five or six to really get hooked. I think it took me almost two weeks to be interested enough to reach that point... and then one week to beat the rest of the game, haha. t:

It'll pull you in eventually, just keep plugging along.

 

[iamlegend]

Well the story right now is that you want a better life for yourself and the family due to the Templars chasing you/your sister and along finding with you making decisions that are very uncertain how they turn out. Really one of the major things about the game is the uncertainty of how your actions will work whenever good or nasty/evil/selffish intentional. It's also about whenever you deem safety more valuable then lets say giving mages some freedom.

Theres no great big plot here about how you slayed the Archdemon or raided the dungeon of a thousand blazing skulls, this is about how you became the champion and to whom you we're one.

In defense of those who haven't been keen on the plot, the dialing down of the storyline to a much more character centric story (and one entirely contained to a single city, at that) isn't a common concept in games of this genre. BioWare in particular has never really done it - their games are often SAVE THE GALAXY/WORLD/COUNTRY from XXX. So the change bringing a bit of a shock to the system for some is kind of justified.

That does not, however, make up for the folks who can't identify the plot of the game... Which is seeming more and more common.

 

[Benstamania]

It's more and more common because on the internet it's cool to hate. Seriously, it's happened to almost every major developer. I remember it happening with Mortal Kombat, it's happened with Bungie and Halo, it happened with Bethesda and now it's happening to BioWare and pretty much all of the games they make.

 

[iamlegend]

It's more and more common because on the internet it's cool to hate. Seriously, it's happened to almost every major developer. I remember it happening with Mortal Kombat, it's happened with Bungie and Halo, it happened with Bethesda and now it's happening to BioWare and pretty much all of the games they make.

Meh, people who dislike something are usually far more vocal than those that do like something. Such is the way of the world.

 

[El Bastardo]

Yeah, look at the comics forums here.