Zurai |
As I'd mentioned previously, the difficulty is stonking ridiculous. I can appreciate a challenge, but this game has what I like to call 'malicious DM syndrome' and its a bad case, there are so many unavoidable "OH SHI-" moments that are more battles of attrition than actual combat scenarios, and the sidequests are STUPID - who remembers "The Last Request" - that 'Hunt the Blood Mages' quest in Denerim? Yeah, the oil slick next to the fire trap, with the warhounds (plus respawns, after you kill the first three), and the three archers & a blood mage behind some crates that you can't target while in combat? Followed by a room with two mages, three oil slicks, and at least seven archers behind more crates? I rest my case.
To be perfectly honest, in my first playthrough there was precisely one single fight that took me more than two reloads to win:
I didn't find any other fights excessively difficult, and if you DO come across a fight that's too hard, just go level up somewhere else and come back to it -- the level of the fight is set when you first enter its area.
Dragnmoon |
Just finished the Game, finished as a Level 23 Rogue/Assassin/Duelist. Took me 82 hours to complete. Here is a link to my character, though it does not have the latest level yet.
Ending Spoiler
Going to play a female Mage next.
Pygon |
I'm playing through again as a female mage. I got Cone of Cold as soon as I could, and it made a lot of early fights an absolute cakewalk. I also built up herbalism so I don't run out of mana potions.
Sadly I'm in a boss fight where the door slams on me and I only have two mana potions left. I'm also the only caster in the party, and I took my dog along. I may need to retreat.
*grumble*
Jacob Blackmon |
I got this game for Christmas and have been playing it at least 3-4 hours each day since. This game is FUN! I haven't had this much fun since the Zelda game for Wii.
I'm playing a human warrior on my first time through. I'll probably go for a mage on my next run. The built-in replayablility looks really promising.
Devlyn, Jack o' Nine Dales |
Well, I've finally decided to bite the bullet and try this game. And since I got an Amazon Gift Card over the holidays, it won't be too painful of an investment to make if things go bad with it! ;D
Only bad thing is I have to wait until the middle of January to get it....ah well, gives me time to try and finish The Witcher first... :)
Blayde MacRonan |
I've been playing this game as well (much to the chagrin of my players, as I've postponed our game so that I can at least get one playthrough done). My first character choice was a female Dalish warrior that fights using two daggers (for the attack speed) and she pretty much demolishes those that she comes against. Plus having Wynne as my healer, Leileanna as my ranged person and a floating tank position (usually taken by Alister, but also taken by Sten, Oghren, or Shale as the situation demands) has made for an awesome party dynamic.
I've heard that come January 5th that new DLC is on the way...something called Return to Ostragar. Has anyone else heard anything else about this?
KnightErrantJR |
I've heard that come January 5th that new DLC is on the way...something called Return to Ostragar. Has anyone else heard anything else about this?
Other than the fact that it originally said, "coming this holiday season?" back around Thanksgiving? ;)
Apparently the holiday in question was Epiphany.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.
Blayde MacRonan |
Blayde MacRonan wrote:
I've heard that come January 5th that new DLC is on the way...something called Return to Ostragar. Has anyone else heard anything else about this?Other than the fact that it originally said, "coming this holiday season?" back around Thanksgiving? ;)
Apparently the holiday in question was Epiphany.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.
As am I. I didn't think I would like this game as much as I do but I'm glad I got into playing it. I especially like the depth of the story. The Personal Quests are awesome (have done the ones for Wynne, Leileanna, Shale, and Oghren so far). I've even got my wife interested in playing (which she'll do after my first playthrough...I'm on the Final Onslaught, so hopefully it won't be much longer before she starts).
If the DLC continues to be as good as the ones they've done so far, then I'll continue to get them as they come out.Robert Little |
Blayde MacRonan wrote:
I've heard that come January 5th that new DLC is on the way...something called Return to Ostragar. Has anyone else heard anything else about this?Other than the fact that it originally said, "coming this holiday season?" back around Thanksgiving? ;)
Apparently the holiday in question was Epiphany.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, they had a couple of issues come up, coupled with the holiday itself, which pushed things back. The main problem was the process they have to go thru to get DLC content thru Sony for the PS3. They could have released the DLC sooner for Xbox and PC, but decided to wait until it could be released for all three platforms at the same time.
There was also some pushback from folks on the Bioware forums that resulted in the current $5 price tag. Previously they were looking to charge about $7 for it, but there was a lot of negative feedback for the price related to the estimated playtime of the scenario. Unlike Stone Prisoner which has content that stretches thru the entire game with the addition of Shale, Return to Ostragar is fairly self contained with nothing really expanding into the larger game except for items gained during the mission.
Tarlane |
From what I gathered from the dragonage forums, what actually held up the release of the DLC from their initial estimations was that they took the time to answer a lot of the questions on the forum in regards to what the content actually consisted of and then took the responses to heart. There were a number of last minute changes to the content to account for this, particularly in term of achievements, which were not initially going to be part of the release, but there was a vocal outcry to have them added.
The addition of achievements didn't appear to be a big deal from the programmers perspective, but it ended up delaying the process of getting the whole thing licensed. No one cares if you have achievements on your PC, but when you get into the PSN and Xbox Live suddenly Sony and MS want to dig through it with a fine tooth comb before giving it the thumbs up.
Sounds like Sony is the most picky about this, and there was a brief discussion about releasing the individual platforms version as they were ready(PC would have been by xmas, xbox by the end of the year, ps3 early january) but they decided that it would be best and least confusing for everyone if they waited until all three were ready to go to put them out there.
Edit: Ah! And ninjad because of my long rambling ways!
Robert Little |
Hopefully the story for Return to Ostagar will be as interesting as the Soldiers Peak one, which I recently played through. That was quite well done and lasted about an hour.
I, for one, hope the next batch of DLC introduces some more of the world, rather then revisiting old areas.
Apparently there is a retail expansion in the works for the first half of the year called The Awakening that will expand the world of the game. Apparently the play time of the expansion will be about 15 hours, and you will play a new character with a new origin story.
Misery |
Just got this game at Christmas as well and have been playing it. My biggest problem is settling with a character I don't wanna keep tweaking appearance wise. Finally got around to downloading some new hair and it helps a bit.
Running a Dalish two handed fighter right now who's up to level 9. I haven't decided what specialization(s) to go down. I heard if I go down Reaver I miss out as a possible romance and anger two people so I might just go berzerker. Guts style.
I want to really be able to use that cool Warden's Keep two handed sword. I wanted to roll a rogue my first time through as it seems more natural for me but the star metal swords just really stand out. Iono if I wanna start over again yet or not ... I kind of miss my backstabbing ... gosh I hate decisions.
Any fun/unique daggers for a rogue?
Tarlane |
If you go rogue, as long as you have a decent strength you can make full use of a one handed weapon as well as a dagger while two weapon fighting, and then by the time you are able to reach the end of your two weapon fighting skill tree, you can actually make use of two one handed swords as well.
There are a few neat daggers out there, but overall the swords outshine just about anything in terms of damage.
Pygon |
I just finished my second playthrough. 35 hours this time. I shaved off 10 hours by knowing where to go and Escaping through most of the dialogue.
It was a bit easier playing as a healer/nuker mage with 3 melees (Alistair, Oghren and Leliana). Not nearly as many TPKs, although it did take some adjustment early on - I didn't think at first it was very viable. In the end, I think I prefer this arrangement. A more focused healer mage mostly heals and seems to do little else. I'd rather have 4 solid damage dealers in the group.
Panda40 |
Is anyone having problems getting this game to actually run? I bought the Collector's Editon and loaded it to my PC and it won't start! (I have more than the min specs on my PC to run it and everything is up to date. I also dowloaded the latest patch.) I really wouuld love to actually pay this game that everyone is raving about.
Ed
Robert Little |
Is anyone having problems getting this game to actually run? I bought the Collector's Editon and loaded it to my PC and it won't start! (I have more than the min specs on my PC to run it and everything is up to date. I also dowloaded the latest patch.) I really wouuld love to actually pay this game that everyone is raving about.
Ed
I think I had similar problems and ended up setting it to "run as administrator".
Robert Little |
Just over four months after Dragon Age's debut, the game will also be getting its first full-fledged expansion, Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening. Available on March 16 worldwide for the PC, 360, and PS3, the major add-on will feature an all-new storyline that focuses on the rebuilding of the Grey Wardens after the bloody events of the original game's campaign. It will allow players to import their Dragon Age characters or start over as an all-new new Grey Warden from the empire of Orlais. It will also delve deeper into the backstory of the Darkspawn and their ongoing objectives.
…and deadlier dragons.
In addition to a new storyline, Awakening will also raise the level cap for Dragon Age: Origins. It will also add new foes, with BioWare mentioning such creatures as the Inferno Golem, Spectral Dragon, and a hyperintelligent sub-race of Darkspawn. It will be set in the all-new realm of Amaranthine, and will also add new spells, abilities, and five all-new party members which players can enlist.
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening will cost $40 in the US and require the original Dragon Age to play. (No UK or EU price was given.) It is rated M for Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board in North America and 18+ by PEGI in Europe. The expansion’s official Web site has more details on the game.
Nothing up on the official website yet, although the page does exist.
Edit: See also Official Press Release
Robert Little |
GameSpot wrote:It will be set in the all-new realm of Amaranthine, and will also add new spells, abilities, and five all-new party members which players can enlist.
According to the world map available as wallpaper from the Dragon Age website, Amaranthine is a coastal city in the Coastlands, just north of the Warden's Keep (from the DLC expansion).
Uzzy |
The observant amongst you should remember that..
Anyway, finally achieved 1100/1100 Achievement wise for the game, so time to put DA aside. Until Return to Ostagar and the Awakening come out, at least. :D
Devlyn, Jack o' Nine Dales |
I finally got my copy on Saturday (a week earlier than I thought), and spent most of my (very little) free time the rest of the weekend getting it installed/patched/tweaked.
I've created a human rogue and an elven mage, and am playing the human first.
They weren't kidding about the blood - wow.... :P
Uzzy |
Yep.
Blood Mage, on the other hand..
One other thing on Specialisations. Bioware have mentioned that specialisations being unlocked over multiple playthroughs is, infact, a bug, and will be fixed later on.
Emperor7 |
Yep.
** spoiler omitted **
Blood Mage, on the other hand..
** spoiler omitted **
One other thing on Specialisations. Bioware have mentioned that specialisations being unlocked over multiple playthroughs is, infact, a bug, and will be fixed later on.
Thanks for the tips. Bummer on the bug fix. I liked that one. Too much work to redo that every character.
Devlyn, Jack o' Nine Dales |
Well I just spent my lunch break trying to get past the intro dialogue to Leliana. My system kept freezing during the dialogue. Even after pushing all my settings to the lowest-end I could only creep along and wait for the game to start moving again.
I finally got past it, and the game went back to normal. I don't like scares like that.... :\
Robert Little |
Well I just spent my lunch break trying to get past the intro dialogue to Leliana. My system kept freezing during the dialogue. Even after pushing all my settings to the lowest-end I could only creep along and wait for the game to start moving again.
I finally got past it, and the game went back to normal. I don't like scares like that.... :\
Yeah, that area of the game was the only time I ever had any performance/glitch issues. I didn't have problems with Leliana's dialogue, but when I tried to enter the chantry in that town, the game would crash.
As an aside, have folks played with any of the addons available thru the Bioware Community Site? I downloaded and used the respecialization tool which worked great, although I don't like that it has some "cheats" in it (like gaining access to specializations you haven't earned or bought), but it is invaluable for restating your ability points and skills, especially when you are first learning the game.
Devlyn, Jack o' Nine Dales |
Devlyn, Jack o' Nine Dales wrote:Well I just spent my lunch break trying to get past the intro dialogue to Leliana. My system kept freezing during the dialogue. Even after pushing all my settings to the lowest-end I could only creep along and wait for the game to start moving again.
I finally got past it, and the game went back to normal. I don't like scares like that.... :\
Yeah, that area of the game was the only time I ever had any performance/glitch issues. I didn't have problems with Leliana's dialogue, but when I tried to enter the chantry in that town, the game would crash.
As an aside, have folks played with any of the addons available thru the Bioware Community Site? I downloaded and used the respecialization tool which worked great, although I don't like that it has some "cheats" in it (like gaining access to specializations you haven't earned or bought), but it is invaluable for restating your ability points and skills, especially when you are first learning the game.
I've thrown on a bunch of stuff on just to play around, including the Respec tool. The Dragon Age Mutator is another mod that is well designed, but can allow for some 'cheating' as well. I think I found one on the community site that expands your inventory slots too, but that may have come from somewhere else.
Fatespinner RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32 |
What Ally Status setting do you have to use to get a Mage to cast Revival automatically? Or is it impossible? Or, maybe not Ally Status?
You can't use Tactics to cast Revival because it's an area spell, not a single-target deal. Unfortunate, but true.
I find that Ally Status: Health <25% - Cast Heal tends to keep the party alive pretty well.
Kjob |
Emperor7 wrote:What Ally Status setting do you have to use to get a Mage to cast Revival automatically? Or is it impossible? Or, maybe not Ally Status?You can't use Tactics to cast Revival because it's an area spell, not a single-target deal. Unfortunate, but true.
I find that Ally Status: Health <25% - Cast Heal tends to keep the party alive pretty well.
Either you need to play on nightmare, or I need better luck. I needed to have it at 75% or else people ended up dead. This was, of course, until my Arcane Warrior became unbeatable.
Now Im faced with a dilemma, do I play the expansions (Awakening, specifically) on my Arcane Warrior who, so far, has no fear of death, or my bard, who...well...fears death.@stroVal |
I believe what you are looking for is here. It is still coming out and sounds interesting to me, sort of a more basic and rules light system set in the cool world they have built.
Their original listing said it was scheduled for a fall release however, so right now I am not sure just when it is going to be out. However with a huge number of the paizo staff really into the game, I suspect that green ronin's release will get a note on the store blog when it does come out.
Thank you for the reply, I have seen that; that is why I was asking if anyone has some new info. yes all these elements you mentioned attracted me to the game in the first place(bored with all the supplements and rules,need something new)
Emperor7 |
Emperor7 wrote:What Ally Status setting do you have to use to get a Mage to cast Revival automatically? Or is it impossible? Or, maybe not Ally Status?You can't use Tactics to cast Revival because it's an area spell, not a single-target deal. Unfortunate, but true.
I find that Ally Status: Health <25% - Cast Heal tends to keep the party alive pretty well.
Well, I hoped. I've been using the heal at <25% and health poultice at <10%, but there are always those few characters that end up dead. I don't jump well btwn characters, so tactics are important.
Devlyn, Jack o' Nine Dales |
I got it installed this morning, but have only had about 20 minutes to play with it so far.
Quick observations (could be spoilers, so I'll hide 'em just in case):
* I really like the fact that you can either import your original Dragon Age character or play a new character that is a Grey Warden from Orlais - and that you evidently get treated differently by those around you depending on said choice.
* There are two new specializations each for warriors, rogues and magi, new skills and talents, but no romance options in party (not sure about NPCs).
So far it seems pretty good, but I don't want to spoil anything major (not that I've had time to see anything yet, of course). ;)
Uzzy |
I have a large number of issues with the expansion.
No DLC being imported, other then the Return to Ostagar loot. So that's my characters naked at the start.
Ultimate Sacrifice ending unsupported. You can't be dead, play the Orlesian Warden and have the world state transfer. Instead, if you play as the Orlesian, you get a default world state.
Other then that, it'll probably be a really good game.