The Dragon Age II Thread

Who’s getting this game?

I pre-ordered for pickup, but probably won’t be able to touch it 'till this weekend.

I hope it will be epic.

[quote]Spartiates wrote:
Who’s getting this game?

I pre-ordered for pickup, but probably won’t be able to touch it 'till this weekend.

I hope it will be epic.[/quote]

Fuck me, I started playing Origins a few weeks ago properly. It is AMAZING! I’ve been playing it for 20+ hours and I’ve not done very much hah!

I hope this is as good! When does it come out?

The 10th (over here at least, via steam).

Bought and pre-loaded… I guess I can stop working for a few weeks for entertainment’s sake…

[quote]Magicpunch wrote:

[quote]Spartiates wrote:
Who’s getting this game?

I pre-ordered for pickup, but probably won’t be able to touch it 'till this weekend.

I hope it will be epic.[/quote]

Fuck me, I started playing Origins a few weeks ago properly. It is AMAZING! I’ve been playing it for 20+ hours and I’ve not done very much hah!

I hope this is as good! When does it come out?[/quote]

My second Origins play-through was like 80 hours…

I just finished one up that I’ll import into DAII that took about half that time…

The game comes out today in the US and the 9th and 10th in Asia and Europe I believe.

I’m trying to decide what I want for my first playthrough.

I’m tempted to go with Rogue simply because of the locking-picking/trap-disarming ability, and it frees you up to play with your party makeup a little more. I can’t tell if the Rogue in this one is either bow/ranged or dual weapon or can be both (in the demo it was one or the other). Warriors can no longer use bows I guess (stupid).

I might do a more story-oriented play-through and be either a Templar or a Blood Mage…

durrr

wish a game like this would go Live (or whatever equivalent you ps3 users have)

I hate you all. I think Bioware hates students on the quarter system so they release a game right before finals. FUHHHHHH I hate you all.

Pre-ordered my copy;

PC version reigns supreme…

Hopefully we see/hear stories etc. about many of the characters that were in DA:O, there’s already information about awakening character/s being involved (personally I didn’t care for awakening) but I need some damn closure after the way the first one finished. (esp the Morrigan DLC BS)

[quote]undecimber wrote:
Pre-ordered my copy;

PC version reigns supreme…

Hopefully we see/hear stories etc. about many of the characters that were in DA:O, there’s already information about awakening character/s being involved (personally I didn’t care for awakening) but I need some damn closure after the way the first one finished. (esp the Morrigan DLC BS)
[/quote]

The mage from awakening is a companion in the game.

But I think only the origins stuff gets imported in to the back-story of the game.

[quote]Spartiates wrote:

[quote]undecimber wrote:
Pre-ordered my copy;

PC version reigns supreme…

Hopefully we see/hear stories etc. about many of the characters that were in DA:O, there’s already information about awakening character/s being involved (personally I didn’t care for awakening) but I need some damn closure after the way the first one finished. (esp the Morrigan DLC BS)
[/quote]

The mage from awakening is a companion in the game.

But I think only the origins stuff gets imported in to the back-story of the game.
[/quote]

Better than nothing I suppose.
I’m probably going to go rogue as well, personally I found them to be the most fun in DA:O - mainly for their versatility, a mage was good as well but way overpowered imo.
Will probably end up going through with both :slight_smile:

[quote]Spartiates wrote:

[quote]undecimber wrote:
Pre-ordered my copy;

PC version reigns supreme…

Hopefully we see/hear stories etc. about many of the characters that were in DA:O, there’s already information about awakening character/s being involved (personally I didn’t care for awakening) but I need some damn closure after the way the first one finished. (esp the Morrigan DLC BS)
[/quote]

The mage from awakening is a companion in the game.

But I think only the origins stuff gets imported in to the back-story of the game.
[/quote]

What was your party makeup like in origins?

I don’t have too much experience with rpg’s, so my outfit is crass:

I have a rogue, a warrior and two mages: when I get into battles, I’m not very good at bolstering fighting stats (heroic aura etc) and my party is pretty much geared towards maximum offence. It means I get hurt a lot - its just a race agains the enemy to make sure that I can kill them first.

Right now its Sten, Morrigan, and Zevran in my party. Seems to work, but I’m only near the beginning - perhaps I’ll need a defensive mage later on?

[quote]Magicpunch wrote:

[quote]Spartiates wrote:

[quote]undecimber wrote:
Pre-ordered my copy;

PC version reigns supreme…

Hopefully we see/hear stories etc. about many of the characters that were in DA:O, there’s already information about awakening character/s being involved (personally I didn’t care for awakening) but I need some damn closure after the way the first one finished. (esp the Morrigan DLC BS)
[/quote]

The mage from awakening is a companion in the game.

But I think only the origins stuff gets imported in to the back-story of the game.
[/quote]

What was your party makeup like in origins?

I don’t have too much experience with rpg’s, so my outfit is crass:

I have a rogue, a warrior and two mages: when I get into battles, I’m not very good at bolstering fighting stats (heroic aura etc) and my party is pretty much geared towards maximum offence. It means I get hurt a lot - its just a race agains the enemy to make sure that I can kill them first.

Right now its Sten, Morrigan, and Zevran in my party. Seems to work, but I’m only near the beginning - perhaps I’ll need a defensive mage later on?[/quote]

My last play-through I made a “Heavy” duel blade, massive-armor wearing rogue, which eliminated the need for Zevran or Liliana (for traps and lock-pick). That really freed me up.

Most the game I played with my character, Wynn as a healer/massice armor wearing archain warrior, Alister as a tank, and Sten for most places, Morgain against boses (blood-made/shape-shifter and secondary healer.

Through all my playthroughs I’ve used Allister as a tank, almost always present, and Wynn is essential.

Another combo I liked with my latest character (the massive rogue) was all the women so Wynn and my Character could both tank and inflict melee damage while Morgain and the French girl could attack from a distance. And having the two mages healing constantly, again, makes you pretty tough.

[quote]Spartiates wrote:

[quote]Magicpunch wrote:

[quote]Spartiates wrote:

[quote]undecimber wrote:
Pre-ordered my copy;

PC version reigns supreme…

Hopefully we see/hear stories etc. about many of the characters that were in DA:O, there’s already information about awakening character/s being involved (personally I didn’t care for awakening) but I need some damn closure after the way the first one finished. (esp the Morrigan DLC BS)
[/quote]

The mage from awakening is a companion in the game.

But I think only the origins stuff gets imported in to the back-story of the game.
[/quote]

What was your party makeup like in origins?

I don’t have too much experience with rpg’s, so my outfit is crass:

I have a rogue, a warrior and two mages: when I get into battles, I’m not very good at bolstering fighting stats (heroic aura etc) and my party is pretty much geared towards maximum offence. It means I get hurt a lot - its just a race agains the enemy to make sure that I can kill them first.

Right now its Sten, Morrigan, and Zevran in my party. Seems to work, but I’m only near the beginning - perhaps I’ll need a defensive mage later on?[/quote]

My last play-through I made a “Heavy” duel blade, massive-armor wearing rogue, which eliminated the need for Zevran or Liliana (for traps and lock-pick). That really freed me up.

Most the game I played with my character, Wynn as a healer/massice armor wearing archain warrior, Alister as a tank, and Sten for most places, Morgain against boses (blood-made/shape-shifter and secondary healer.

Through all my playthroughs I’ve used Allister as a tank, almost always present, and Wynn is essential.

Another combo I liked with my latest character (the massive rogue) was all the women so Wynn and my Character could both tank and inflict melee damage while Morgain and the French girl could attack from a distance. And having the two mages healing constantly, again, makes you pretty tough.[/quote]

Interesting. I’ll think about this. I dropped Alistair and took up Zevran - I felt really bad, which is a testament to how good the game is at making you believe that your actions can actually hurt another character.

I’ve just taken Wynn on, at the tower, but took her back out of my party. I might recall her. Might recall Alistair now that you mention him. Damn it, you’re making me doubt myself …

Have you ever tried 3 mages? I toyed with the idea, but I imagine that once the enemy gets close, you’re fucked.

I’m already anticipating restarting the game, and I’ll try the huge rogue with the massive blade as my main character when I go again.

PS haven’t met liliana yet. Looking forward to it.

PPS - great game. Wasted/spent hours of my life on it.

[quote]Magicpunch wrote:
Interesting. I’ll think about this. I dropped Alistair and took up Zevran - I felt really bad, which is a testament to how good the game is at making you believe that your actions can actually hurt another character.

I’ve just taken Wynn on, at the tower, but took her back out of my party. I might recall her. Might recall Alistair now that you mention him. Damn it, you’re making me doubt myself …

Have you ever tried 3 mages? I toyed with the idea, but I imagine that once the enemy gets close, you’re fucked.

I’m already anticipating restarting the game, and I’ll try the huge rogue with the massive blade as my main character when I go again.

PS haven’t met liliana yet. Looking forward to it.

PPS - great game. Wasted/spent hours of my life on it.[/quote]

You missed Liliana.

You pick her up in Lothering, which you can’t go back to now.

You’ll have to get her next playthrough.

My first go-round I missed her too, killed win, killed Zevren, didn’t have internet (so no Shale). :slight_smile: It was still fun.

I’ve done it with three mages, that’s good too. The arcane warrior is by far the “best” specialization in the game. My playthrough as a mage I did that, and used that for Wynn’s second, add Morgan to the party and Allister to pull fire and you’re set.

Also, remember, each main-story quest quest has at least two possible endings, and two options for who becomes allies with you for the final battle, so you’ll want to play through it at least once more and do things differently.

Pretty sure I just seen the demo on the PS3 network for download today.

[quote]Spartiates wrote:

[quote]Magicpunch wrote:
Interesting. I’ll think about this. I dropped Alistair and took up Zevran - I felt really bad, which is a testament to how good the game is at making you believe that your actions can actually hurt another character.

I’ve just taken Wynn on, at the tower, but took her back out of my party. I might recall her. Might recall Alistair now that you mention him. Damn it, you’re making me doubt myself …

Have you ever tried 3 mages? I toyed with the idea, but I imagine that once the enemy gets close, you’re fucked.

I’m already anticipating restarting the game, and I’ll try the huge rogue with the massive blade as my main character when I go again.

PS haven’t met liliana yet. Looking forward to it.

PPS - great game. Wasted/spent hours of my life on it.[/quote]

You missed Liliana.

You pick her up in Lothering, which you can’t go back to now.

You’ll have to get her next playthrough.

My first go-round I missed her too, killed win, killed Zevren, didn’t have internet (so no Shale). :slight_smile: It was still fun.

I’ve done it with three mages, that’s good too. The arcane warrior is by far the “best” specialization in the game. My playthrough as a mage I did that, and used that for Wynn’s second, add Morgan to the party and Allister to pull fire and you’re set.

Also, remember, each main-story quest quest has at least two possible endings, and two options for who becomes allies with you for the final battle, so you’ll want to play through it at least once more and do things differently.[/quote]

Ah, shit. Oh well, all the more reason to play through again! I also like that about this game; the fact that you can kill or take on zevran and wynn, make decisions from which you can’t return.

Too many permutations. Well, I hope to complete this one soon so that I can get on with no.2

Is awakening worth it btw? How much gameplay does it add?

My roommate bought Origins and I pretty much took his character from him after he left it on one night. I ended up playing all night. Long story short, I beat the game on nightmare because I didn’t know there were different difficulties and he had already picked it before I started playing.

I used Wynn, Morrigan the whole time and switched off between Lelana (the archer) and my dog. The archer gets really shitty later in the game so I mostly used her to open chests. Dont underestimate the dog, he is a BEAST and can also tank. My guy was a 2h warrior. The key was setting up the battle tactic slots and being able to disable a lot of enemies while you pick them off. You gotta kill mages STAT or they can drop your tank in a second.

That fucking dragon fight took me atleast 100 tries. I was so proud of myself.

I usually dont play games like this but man I loved it. I want to get #2 but don’t know when I’ll have time to do it justice.

I wasn’t a fan of origins…will not buy

Let us know what you thought of the game, people who have bought it.

Also, are there any other good RPGs that I can sink my teeth into for the ps3? Obviously, mass effect is on the list, but any others?

[quote]Magicpunch wrote:
Let us know what you thought of the game, people who have bought it.

Also, are there any other good RPGs that I can sink my teeth into for the ps3? Obviously, mass effect is on the list, but any others?

[/quote]

Okay, so I stayed up too late and played a couple hours last night. I couldn’t resist.

So far I’m not finding the storyline or the characters as compelling as the first game. On the other hand, when I first played DA:O for the first few hours I thought there was no way I was going to get into the game.

There are four difficulty settings as in the first game. From what the developers have said (and this matches with my experience), you can hack and slash your way through easy/normal. That’s what they’re there for, and if you want more of an “action RPG” on the easier settings you can pretty much not worry about managing the companions, and get to hacking. The two harder levels (hard/nightmare) were designed for people who want to manage more.

I’ve been playing on hard. So far I’ve only encountered one spot where I actually died a couple times before making it past. I think I’ll be bumping it up to Nightmare.

I’m playing as a human warrior. I pre-ordered the game and was supposed to get some extra DLC stuff, but there was no code, so I need to contact EA/BioWare. On the other hand, the DLC stuff that did come through is borderline silly (a two handed sword that looks like a razor), and is WAY overpowered, so I ditched it in storage. That said, there’s a lot less equipment laying around than in the previous game. Almost all the equipment my character has equipped has been given to him, and not come from chests or off dead enemies.

@Magicpunch: if you haven’t played Oblivion you can get the GOTY pretty cheap, and in my mind that’s still the standard by which modern RPGs are judged by.