Dragon Age

[tmp]

I prefer stabbing people, I guess.

You could maybe pick up the arcane warrior spec, to still stab people just with bit of magic tricks thrown in? There's a sword for arcane warrior in the dungeon leading to the Urn if i recall right.

[Mosesandstick]

Yup, hit up the werewolves and elves for the skill, and then there's an Arcane Warrior hiding with the dragons on the way to the urn who drops the best AW sword in the game. I found playing mage tedious because I just wanted to control my character and not tell the other tards on my team what to do. AW is sick fun though, nothing like running out of mana and then smashing someone's face in  .

[Tannhauser]

My first playthru was with a Mage, and yeah, a bit bleh at times.  But my second playthru is with a dual-wield warrior and it's much more fun!  Just run into a scrum of enemies and hit Whirlwind for best glory!

[Sjofn]

I feel the same way on both the Mage and Archer counts.  That said, I think archery as a main character is a lot better than left to the Tactics system on a party member because I could never get to a set-up I was happy with it.  Manually controlling an archer does feel really good late in the game.

Yeah, I liked archery way more when it was me controlling it at all times, I can't get the tactics to control it in a way I liked either, which means Leliana spends most of her time in camp (unless I respec her, yay respec mods!). I think it started to get fun around level 10? I can't remember anymore. But I found it a lot more satisfying than I expected once I really got rolling.

You could maybe pick up the arcane warrior spec, to still stab people just with bit of magic tricks thrown in? There's a sword for arcane warrior in the dungeon leading to the Urn if i recall right.

Yeah, I just picked up that sword, actually, but I still feel sort of weak-ass, plus at that point I feel like I have to bring one of the other mages along to healbot and goddammit I don't want to two mage it waaaaah (says the girl who two-rogues it constantly). I haven't really given it a chance, though, I had hit my play limit by then and haven't revisited it. It DOES seem like my best bet for getting through the rest of the game, though, since in addition to the stabbing, it has the bonus of not having to wear ugly-ass mage robes and extra-ugly-ass mage hats.

My first playthru was with a Mage, and yeah, a bit bleh at times.  But my second playthru is with a dual-wield warrior and it's much more fun!  Just run into a scrum of enemies and hit Whirlwind for best glory!

Yeah, I think DW warrior was my surprise favorite, although I also heart melee rogues.


I have played this game WAY WAY WAY more than I ever expected, it's sort of embarrassing.  



EDIT: I did like the mage origin story well enough, though! Dalish elves are the giant loser as far as origins/getting said origin mentioned in the story at all goes.

[rk47]

I can never understand Sten.
Save a village from being destroyed by hordes of undead? Bad
Spare the Circle of Magi? Bad

Sacrifice a couple of city elves in a blood magic ritual to bolster the Warden's health? Sten Approves.

I did enjoy stabbing that Frenchie bitch after I defiled the ashes.



With a good ending, too.

[Tebonas]

Really, Hitler? Are you 14? 

[Mosesandstick]

To be fair, Hitlier and Anora seem like a perfect match.

[Sjofn]

I make sure I call her a bitch every time. 

[tmp]

I can never understand Sten.
Save a village from being destroyed by hordes of undead? Bad
Spare the Circle of Magi? Bad

Sacrifice a couple of city elves in a blood magic ritual to bolster the Warden's health? Sten Approves.

saving a village -- waste of time.
sparing mages -- the guy comes from country where mages are kept on leash, literally. With tongues cut out. They aren't big on giving mages second chances.
extra health is extra health.

[Sjofn]

You CAN get some +Sten love during Redcliffe if you conscript every single person you can, he's down with that at least.

[tmp]

New add-on going for sale on May 18th (for 400 points) -- Darkspawn Chronicles

You now fight as the Darkspawn! The city of Denerim, jewel of Ferelden, girds itself for war. As a hurlock vanguard, you alone hold the power to make thralls of your fellow darkspawn and drive them into the heat of battle. Heed the archdemon's call--Denerim must burn!

•A look at an alternate history: what if your character had died in the Joining ceremony, and the Grey Wardens marched under Alistair's command instead?
•A standalone adventure in which you command genlocks, hurlocks, shrieks, and even the mighty ogres.
•Complete the module and unlock an epic Darkspawn item in DA:O and Awakening.

Kind of wish they gave up on wasting the resources on this nickel-and-dime business tbh.

[Reg]

It's a shame to see them pissing away all the goodwill they created with the original game.

[tmp]

Yup, it doesn't seem to be very business-savvy to me to try and squeeze few extra bucks every now and then like that if it's at the cost of damaging the brand overall, but then that's EA for you i guess.

[Ingmar]

I'm not sure what is particularly objectionable about this piece of DLC?

[stu]

I'm still going back and forth with support reps so I can get Shale and the Blood Dragon armor on PS3. 3+ weeks.  Not cool!

I think they're waiting me out to see if I cave and buy it rather than wait for the redemption codes to unlock.

[Vaiti]

Me either. This DLC seems to add a new perspective. Something different. Which is what I like out of DLC. The DLC's they released prior to this seemed abit more of a waste of time/things that should have been in the game in the first place.

A DLC that advertises itself in the game and hides itself as a quest and takes you to the order page when you go to accept the quest? Oh FFS.

[tmp]

I'm not sure what is particularly objectionable about this piece of DLC?

It's basically trying to sell you again something you already bought (the Denerim fight). I'd much rather whatever resources went into repackaging that can of tuna be directed into producing something that's actually new.

edit: Interview with the lead designer regarding the new DLC

[Khaldun]

The level of marketing-staff bullshit in that interview is a bit more than the usual, and pretty repellant.

[lesion]

How else would they get across their desire to leverage multifaceted design choices moving forward?

[rk47]

What's there to say really, they won't stop milking it dry, even with DA:Awakening being a steaming pile of expansion powergaming shit that needs to be fixed. I know that single player balance is not a big issue, but 148% crit on ranged regular shots? How did this miss the QA? Add 1001 Overwhelming skill enemy spawns and that's all the encounter variety you're going to get in DA Expansion. Who knows, they may sell immunity to overwhelms as DLC item.

[Sjofn]

It's basically trying to sell you again something you already bought (the Denerim fight). I'd much rather whatever resources went into repackaging that can of tuna be directed into producing something that's actually new.

See, I find that ... I don't even know. Since it's playing as the darkspawn, it strikes me as pretty fucking different, especially reading the description of how the parties work and such. But if you're given to hating DLC to start with, I suppose it makes perfect sense to hate this DLC. We already fought in Denerim! Just like we already fought in Ostigar! But my God if they add something totally new, how could they charge us for that it should've been in the original or the expansion! Graaah!

I won't be buying this because I could not possibly care less about this particular what-if scenario, but I really don't see what the big damn deal is.

[Reg]

It's not that it's a big deal to me. I just think it's a shame they're pumping out shitty little DLCs when the base game was so damned good.

[Sjofn]

That I can see, but as a veteran of the Sims franchise, I learned to close my eyes and think of England in these circumstances long, long ago.

[Velorath]

It's not that it's a big deal to me. I just think it's a shame they're pumping out shitty little DLCs when the base game was so damned good.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that the more experienced people are probably working on the sequel or something and that the DLC is being worked on by a junior team or something.

[Tebonas]

Yeah, thats the thing that placates me. They won't be having their top team on the "milk the customers for what its worth" stuff so ideally nothing will be delayed because of this.

[Mosesandstick]

Maybe it's the change in ownership? I don't think the 5 (or more!) years it took to make Dragon Age help. You spend that long to sell a game for 30-60 bucks. You can make shitty DLC in weeks 

[tmp]

See, I find that ... I don't even know. Since it's playing as the darkspawn, it strikes me as pretty fucking different, especially reading the description of how the parties work and such.

Well, playing the darkspawn is hardly pretty fucking different when the darkspawn uses literally the same skill tables all other humanoid characters are built upon, including your regular character and the followers. The ogres may be exception here as they have more limited skillset, similar to the Fade golem form. In any case, it's not like a mod allowing you to play as darkspawn and more wasn't out there for half a year now.

My irritation doesn't stem from 'hating DLC to start with'. It's like i said, from seeing them waste time on repackages like this -- what's next, "Play as the werewolf and defend your Lair and your Lady from the invading Wardens"? "Invade Redcliffe as the living corpse"? They'd make it more fucking different if they just reskinned Bejeweled and sold that as "Darkspawn Chronicles: Digging for the next Archdemon".

[Mosesandstick]

That's probably going to be the flash game that goes with Dragon Age 2, just like Dragon Age Journeys.

[stu]

I would play Puzzle Quest: Dragon Age.

[eldaec]

I see no reason to get all butthurt over this except that it has you up against some crappy army led by Alastair instead loading up your save and having you fight the 'real' good guys defined by your choices etc etc.

[tmp]

The Darkspawn DLC thingie is out for the consoles. Initial reviews are mixed (few reports of experiencing "lag" and other technical issues) but it appears enjoyable enough for some.

edit: also out for PC now.

[Triforcer]

Guys, I just heard Oblivion is charging $1.99 for Horse Armor, AFTER WE ALREADY BOUGHT THE GAME!!  And what's up with this "Armory" shit in WoW?  I don't want people seeing my stuff when I log out.  And I heard season 2 of Lost will be AWESOME.


...wait, its not 2006 anymore?  My bad. 

[tmp]

On the other hand you know you've done shitty job with your DLC when even reviewers today (rather than in 2006) call you on it.

( http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/54950/Dragon-Age-Origins-The-Darkspawn-Chronicles-Poor-Reception )

Sites are starting to weigh in on Dragon Age: Origins - The Darkspawn Chronicles, and it ain't looking good! Here are a few snippets:

•IGN 6.5/10
While a few of the Darkspawn, the Ogre and Shriek, are fun to play around with, the short length, lack of customization options, and absence of any real character interaction make this bit of content too straightforward to be especially memorable.

•Eurogamer 4/10
They can't all be Awakenings, of course, but it's becoming increasingly clear that only the very naive will still be holding out for lovingly crafted bite-sized stories in future instalments. For a narrative powerhouse like BioWare, that seems like a terrible waste.

•Gamekult.com (French) 4/10
Boring, short, zero customization / evolution of our "heroes", final fight is too easy, and DLC is buggy.

•GamerLimit 6/10
In the end, Darkspawn Chronicles is a cheap piece of DLC with a number of issues, but if you enjoy Dragon Age’s combat system (or the prospect of two more achievements), you might some enjoyment out of it...

[Reg]

Am I desperately out of step with the times if I reiterate that shitty DLC is shitty whether it's 2006 or 2010? Bioware shot themselves in the foot by making the base game more memorable because of the writing and voice acting than because of the game play.  Any DLC that comes out and doesn't have witty party banter and characters you can interact with isn't going to get good reviews.

[tmp]

New DLC announced, scheduled in ~3 weeks though.

Leliana's Song
Available July 6, 2010.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assume the role of Leliana, a young bard involved in a criminal ring that deals in political secrets. Accompanying her mentor Marjolaine on a high-risk mission, Leliana soon finds herself entangled in a game of intrigue that she cannot escape with just her beauty, charm, or stealth. The only way out of this game is to kill or be killed.

Features:

•Explore Leliana's dangerous past and why she joined the Chantry
•Fully voiced cinematic experience brings the characters to life
•Unlock a unique reward that transfers into your Awakening and Origins campaign

$7. Sounds somewhat more interesting than the previous offering.