Dragon Age

[Njal]

Playing a female dwarf fighter with a noble background this time.  Am very curious to see how the story plays out with this origin as i can already see potential for major plot differences just from this background alone


Has anyone made it far enough into the game on a second go to see if the differences are truly there or merely cosmetic?

It doesn't change much unfortunately. A few cosmetic conversation options is it.

[Ceryse]

What does giving stuff to your armies in the camp do?

You get experience per turn in. Not a whole lot, but its noticeable. Especially if you do what some do and just buy a ton of Elfroot to turn in, since its cheap. Can level off of it if you're willing to spend the golds.

As for someone saying it was hard to get people to like you.. I never had that problem; Alistair is a bit harder, since his dialogue choices give very small bumps even when you respond the way he likes. Sten, however, is a cake-walk. Some dialogue choices will see you go up 11-22 points at a time. Throw in Gifts keyed to each character and they can fly up the Approval meter to the Personal Quest, which will further boost it.

I've done a Goody-mage playthrough and a bunch of half-hearted part-playthroughs. Now that I got some mods going now and have the DLCs and I'm doing a couple more playthroughs. Doing a City Elf Rogue at the moment who is willing to be a bit nasty to do what's best for her. Sten, Morrigan and Shale don't seem to mind, though.


Next I'll probably do a sword/board human noble male and then probably a dual wielding warrior, as they can chew through the enemies once they've leveled a bit. Not as powerful as a Mage, but still. Only have about 9 Achievements left.. not sure what a couple of them are, though, so should be interesting to try and get them before I get tired of the game while waiting for more in-depth mods to show up.

[stray]

Am I neurotic, or has anyone tried to make a noble who looks like a Cousland and keeps that lameass name "Aedan" (sorry if there are any real Aedans here)?

I think Warriors are just the best way to experience the game though. Even though there are too many warriors and Shale makes all melee look like bitches.

[NiX]

I can't wait to do a playthrough where I always pick the dialogue with (Kill him/her) in it.

[rk47]

I can't wait to do a playthrough where I always pick the dialogue with (Kill him/her) in it.

Name yourself Shepard and you're set.  

Currently replaying as a Shield Warrior with one point on dual wield for the sweet AoE attack.
I'm wondering whether Templar specialization is worth it or should I go Berserker/Reaver for my 'Extremist' playthrough.

Party make up:
Me (Human Warrior Shield)
Morrigan (Healer + Ice Controller)
Zhevran (Rogue & Deepass)
Sten / Oghren (To see his dialogues and story which I completely neglected on my first playthrough)

Wondering which one is better, Sten or Oghren overall?

[tmp]

Oghren gets two specializations while Sten only gets one, so the former can probably make a better asset in the end. On the other hand Sten might get slightly higher attributes but not sure about it.

[Sky]

[apocrypha]

OK I don't get the whole Sten thing.

I happen to know he's a possible party member because I've seen him talked about in this thread, but as far as I can see there is, from the game alone, absolutely zero reason for me to free him. He's a self-confessed murderer, he offers no explanation for his actions and the only way I can see of freeing him is threatening the Reverend Mother or picking the lock on his cell, neither of which seem reasonable things to do given the information available.

In fact the only reason I considered it was because the whole "stoic character murderer probably not really responsible for the murders but too proud/honourable to elaborate" is such an obvious trope.

And wtf is with trivial side quests? I arrive in Lothering with a seriously important mission to attend to and the game starts throwing petty side quests at me like kids who've lost their mothers? What kind of demented (total lack of) role playing would you have to be doing to think that was worth just putting off clearing the name of the Grey Wardens and stopping the destruction of the known world by the darkspawn for?

And why does every party member I've come across so far have these impeccable, clipped, posh accents? Even the semi-mad witch girl who's lived her entire life in the Wilds? And why only 4 party members? Leliana joins and I have to tell the dog to piss off? Why? Give me some explanation for this shit in-game!

I dunno, I'm actually finding the game deeply unsatisfying. The immersion is badly broken for me by tired old obvious RPG tropes and poor mechanics. Plus I still find it horribly ugly! I'm not giving up on it yet because there's a lot of stuff I do like plus I spent £40 on it, but so far after about 10 hours playing I'd give it a solid 6/10.

[Tebonas]

It takes different kinds.

To answer your question, you can free Sten so he will be able to redeem himself. You can tell this to the Reverend Mother and she gives him into your custody. Thats the goody-two-shoes way to do it.



Also, you can ignore sidequests. The game even gives you a "I'm on important Grey Warden business, sod off" option once in a while. Optional content you CAN do if you like can never be a minus in a game. Except when you search for things you can hate so that you might be able to buck a trend.

[sidereal]

Remember that one awesome game where there were no side quests, the characters all sounded like idiots because they had no formal education, and you had to manage 12 party members at once?

Neither do I. 

I'm pretty sure you'd give that game a solid 2/10.

On sten:

[apocrypha]

OK the redeeming himself thing I can go for, although it would sit better if he made some attempt to explain himself better, but as it is he's a taciturn murderer who gives me no reason to suspect he may be anything other than a potential danger to me and my party. My character does not like the fact that he's being left to die slowly in a cage or get torn apart by the darkspawn but I'm here to save the world, not interfere with the judicial system! And yeah, I need lots of people to fight lots of darkspawn. Shame the game only allows 4 of us eh?

I know I can ignore sidequests, I am, I just find it annoying that they seem so trivial. Kill some bandits? Fetch a flower? Look after a 9 year old? No, wait, I'll go save the world and just accept that the game tries to make me feel like a shitbag for not helping these people. I understand the reasons for sidequests etc but I'd prefer if they weren't so obviously meta, i.e. do these quests to earn gold and gain XP to make saving the world easier.

the characters all sounded like idiots because they had no formal education

Not having a formal education doesn't mean they have to sound like idiots, they could just not all sound like Helena Bonham Carter!

I know BioWare are very good at what they do but so far (and I stress again that I'm only 10 hours in... which I know for some games is already double their entire single player experience but hey, I bitch about that in those kind of games  ) it feels like an RPG put together with a committee with an RPG Construction Kit.

Oh and I'm not asking for 12 party members, I'm asking for a non-meta reason for the limitation. How about giving the PC a leadership skill or something? Or have someone say something along the lines of "I'd like to take Sten along with us too but any more than 4 of us will draw too much attention!". I want to roleplay and the game is making it very hard, which seems a shame for a role playing game.

[Tebonas]

If it helps you deal, you later realize it was


and he felt really bad about it. In context of Fantasy RPGs that makes him almost a saint.  

Aren't there always arbritary character limits in RPGs? Yes, 4 is a bit low, but it seems to be the new 6. These days I am glad if I can control more than the main character directly. And the fact that you can play out the background history of all your companions in the camp is pure genius.

[apocrypha]

I'd guessed that was the reason behind what Sten did, like I said, obvious RPG trope is obvious 

And I totally get the limitations and restrictions on, for example, party size, I just like some attempt at maintaining immersion 

Anyway, most of the faults I am going on about (too much) are partly redeemed by how funny I am finding Morrigan's dialogue, especially with Alistair, that's quality stuff. "And now we have a dog. And Alistair is STILL the stupidest member of the party!". Awesome 

[tmp]

OK the redeeming himself thing I can go for, although it would sit better if he made some attempt to explain himself better, but as it is he's a taciturn murderer who gives me no reason to suspect he may be anything other than a potential danger to me and my party.

You can talk with people in the village about him and they'll tell you how he'd basically turned himself in after the murder, which is unusual enough in the otherwise cuthroat environment to suspect there may be something more to it, and the man does have considerable moral fiber. Yes if you want to be dangerously genre savvy about it then the game does make it appear like an obvious trope but honestly, what ever isn't. And they subvert it a little, like spoilered.

[01101010]

Not to disrupt the current, but would this game be worth the $35 its on sale for this weekend? I am leaning along with my magic 8-ball towards yes.

[apocrypha]

Despite my complaints I'd say yes. $35 is pretty cheap!

[Tmon]

Alistair is a good friend with my character, but I'm a good guy. He's on the bench next playthrough, he wouldn't like that one imo. Funny how it's difficult for me to choose non-good guy dialog options, though.

Yeah, my first play through was straight up good guy warrior but this time I'm doing a Dalish rogue who is not a nice person.  Kicking the puppy consistently is proving to be harder for me than I thought it would be.  I've decided the dog is going to be my main tank because he seems to not care what I do.

[Merusk]

When I freed sten I had Morrigan, Lis and Alistair in my party.  (I dislike the dog.)   IIRC, Morrigan gave me a reason to free him that I could stomach.  Even murdering bastards don't deserve to die like that. Kill him straight up or don't, but don't be a bitch about it to keep your hands "clean."

[Tannhauser]

I've taken Sten out of my group.  I'm playing a dual weapon Warrior and don't need another non-tank warrior.  I will try him again if I do a 3rd playthru.
My current and probably permanent lineup for this run is;
Me-Dual Wield Warrior/Reaver (poisoner)
Morrigan (hexes/cold/various entropy)
Zeveran (open chests/dps)
Shale (tank)

I am running without a healer!  Morrigan makes pots and we drink 'em like kool-aid.  Also no-mage elemental spells.  Morrigan's hexes are interesting.  For instance she can cast Death Hex that makes every hit on a mob a crit.  Then my warrior goes Whirlwind and Flurry and whatnot on it.  Sick!  Drops mobs fast!

[Threash]

When I freed sten I had Morrigan, Lis and Alistair in my party.  (I dislike the dog.)   IIRC, Morrigan gave me a reason to free him that I could stomach.  Even murdering bastards don't deserve to die like that. Kill him straight up or don't, but don't be a bitch about it to keep your hands "clean."

I think it actually gives you the option of killing him in the cage.

[rattran]

Not that I could find on my "Gotta kill 'em all" playthrough. You can leave him, or take him.

[Bandit]

When I freed sten I had Morrigan, Lis and Alistair in my party.  (I dislike the dog.)   IIRC, Morrigan gave me a reason to free him that I could stomach.  Even murdering bastards don't deserve to die like that. Kill him straight up or don't, but don't be a bitch about it to keep your hands "clean."

I love dog, but they could have made him more useful.  I love to see a mage/archer and send dog on Charge->Overwhelm and watch him bitch the ranged-users rather quickly.  Dog's strengths are definitely speed and regeneration.  Cast a regen on him during battle and he is pretty tough to take down. More upgrade and armour options would have been nice. At least his approval rating is always at 100% (human noble anyways) and doesn't care what your about.

He does add a bit different gameplay as well.  I just recently figured out that he can mark those areas where you see "landmark tree" and such.  I am not sure what it does as of yet, but I am going to take him back out and experiment.  I have also encountered a few oddities, such as dog finding a child in Redcliffe and he can also be used to hunt resources in a few areas.

[tmp]

He does add a bit different gameplay as well.  I just recently figured out that he can mark those areas where you see "landmark tree" and such.  I am not sure what it does as of yet, but I am going to take him back out and experiment.

Basically you let the dog "claim" that landmark and it gives him a bonus while in game zone marked as his. Just right-click on the landmark while controlling the dog rather than main character.

[Sky]

I also figured the whole Sten thing is about redemption, because they throw a lot of redemption at you. The Arl's poisoner, the Warden's Keep mage, etc. I usually redeem them if they make a good argument, but Sten didn't. I do sometimes wish I could bring another character along, but it's not a huge deal imo. Since Alistair doesn't seem very engaged in the Elven woods, I swapped him out for the dog for a bit.

And I hate to make a jab, but 4 characters maps to a controller. I haven't seen the console version, but if it's like MUA, the d-pad selects characters, right?

[tmp]

re: Sten thing, thought it's a nice touch at the end

[Merusk]

Some of the evil bastard things in this are great. 

[apocrypha]

I haven't seen the console version, but if it's like MUA, the d-pad selects characters, right?

Surprisingly, no. The d-pad is hardly used in combat (at least by me), it lets you select targets, but pointing at the one you want to hurt works just as well.

[Slyfeind]

I really like Sten.  I just wish there was more of him.

I personally like six characters, rather than four. People have tried eight or ten, and that's just crappy. Four's just not enough, and five is like some weird compromise. WTF WoW.

[Slyfeind]

I fixed my eternal loading screens by setting the affinity to 1 core instead of 4. Nothing else was changed, but loading times went from 5-10 minutes to 45 secs max.

Oh crap, mine's set at 2 core, and my OS doesn't support it so I'm effectively at 1 core. 

[KallDrexx]

So can anyone tell me if my laptop will be able to play DA well and smoothly?  I have lost my ability to be able to decipher graphics card requirements.

Core 2 Duo 2.1Ghz
3gb RAM
Geforce 8600M GT  (I don't remember how much memory, but dxdiag claims approx total memory is 1779MB, which doesn't sound right at all.)

[Zar]

So can anyone tell me if my laptop will be able to play DA well and smoothly?  I have lost my ability to be able to decipher graphics card requirements.

Core 2 Duo 2.1Ghz
3gb RAM
Geforce 8600M GT  (I don't remember how much memory, but dxdiag claims approx total memory is 1779MB, which doesn't sound right at all.)

I was able to play through on my laptop, 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 3 GB RAM, and a 8400M GS (only 128MB of RAM, which is actually under the minimum specs for Vista).  All settings set to low other than "Graphics Detail" which I set to medium.  However I had to knock that down to Low when the action became intense, and even then there was some slowdown when lots of characters were on screen.

That being said, it was quite playable.  Not very pretty, but playable.  My desktop is far more ancient than my laptop, and I don't have a PS3 or XBOX 360, so I had to make do.

[KallDrexx]

Thanks,

sounds like it should work decently on my computer.

[rk47]

Ugh without a dedicated healer, the game is just too potion intensive. They made mages too useful in this game.

Shield Main / Sten / Morrigan / Leliana group kept getting into near deaths situation in level 8 range back alleys of Denerim.

I almost got in trouble near the end of clearing the 3rd back alley because I refused to fix the party's injuries before continuing. It was just down to me and Morrigan(no mana) with 7 bandits left, all of them at half hp. Fortunately the next kill exp was enough to level up Morrigan and gave her a full HP & Mana so it's Go Time. I taunted with my shield warrior, letting all 7 swarm me before letting loose with Morrigan's Cone of Cold, dropping all 6 of them, including myself. 

[Ingmar]

And yeah, I need lots of people to fight lots of darkspawn. Shame the game only allows 4 of us eh?

[Fabricated]

Jesus Christ, am I doing it wrong or is Redcliff virtually impossible?