More Dragon RAGE

[derpherp]

So I was given the divine gift of Dragon Age: Origins for Christmas, and have taken the thing for a whirl, and I have no idea what the hell to make of this thing...

Initial contact was, like for many people, really really awesome and I was pretty excited for the first several hours and areas. The arr-pee doesn't seem all that bad, and for Bioware doing away with the alignment system made sense since they've yet to make a good one.

I started a game on Nightmare difficulty right away: Female City Elf Warrior, down the Sword & Shield path. I think I made up to two mistakes here: "Sword & Shield" and "Warrior." The initial combat was satisfyingly difficult, and even random Bandits were giving me a rough, potion-spamming time. I made it to the Ogre fight at the top of the tower, before my experience in winning it by kiting the damn thing drove me to reduce the difficulty to Hard. Now suddenly everything is way too easy, I never need to use potions, and this is with Morrigan(who only JUST learned healing), myself, Sten, and the damn dog.

As I proceeded through Lothering and the Mage's Tower on Hard I realized the game was infinitely more satisfying on Nightmare, nothing like the constant threat of death to force nearly endless waves of identical encounters to be interesting. Then I got to the Fade.

FUCK THE FADE. I appreciate the attempt to make creative traps and puzzle solving and shit but why start now? I've gone like 10 hours without seeing anything like this. Likewise, these puzzles have nothing to do with my character's abilities, it's all about these Fade forms that anyone can use equally well, which cheapens it considerably. But I can deal with all that, it's the Fade's combat that pisses me off. I'm alone. I'm a TANK WARRIOR. My repertoire is 3 different kinds of shield bashes which all cost the same, two knock you down and one stuns. Other than that I'm theoretically better at resisting physical attack, which helps a ton against the 4+ Mages in some of the fights. I have no idea how the hell I would do this on Nightmare.

Additionally, before the Fade, on all difficulties, I had trouble seeing the value in a tanking build. Maybe I did it wrong but a tanking build still dies stupidly fast if they have all the attention, so you end up wanting more than one Warrior type, which means even DPS builds will stand long enough. Likewise it seems like just killing the damn thing is more important than being tanky, especially on Nightmare. Not to mention there seems to be slightly more ability variety in the other Warrior disciplines. All in all I can't get a beat on this combat system: it appears to be a crapshoot, since the characters with tactical options just get killed/forced to run around like an idiot for being squishy.

Help me the hell out. Experiences with tanking Warriors? With main characters of each class? On Nightmare and Hard? Banal/shit/boring? I'm thinking about rolling up for Nightmare again, but as a DW or 2h Warrior, or Mage/Rogue. Or am I just not yet to where this tanking abomination shows it's usefulness?

 

[Korgan]

Play a Mage and don't repeat my mistake: specialize in debuffs and direct damage, NOT lots of AoE and CC. Turning a horde upon itself with Walking Nightmare or creating a huge deathtrap with Blizzard + Thunderstorm is VERY satisfying, but useless when you run into a boss. You need hexes, heals and shit. Max out Ice and Telekinesis before everything else.

 

[Serious_Business]

uninstall

Most definitely

 

[Emotional Vampire]

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a...

Soft brown eyes that seem to say
Stop a while, I want to play
Would you, could you, do please stop
He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop

Thank you lady, thank you sir
Is there someone else that you'd prefer
He's not selfish, just a flop
Though he wags his tail in a Christmas shop

Mister Santa, if you would
Send him someone, oh so good
Someone who will take him home
For ev'ryone to see

Christmas time, a Christmas tree
With a happy family
Pity him, he's got no Pop
He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop

Mister Santa, if you would
Send him someone, oh so good
Someone who will take him home
For ev'ryone to see

Christmas time, a Christmas tree
With a happy family
Pity him, he's got no Pop
He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop

...Draaaaaaaaaaaaaaagon AGE THREAD

 

[sheek]

The Fade was ridiculously easy but I enjoyed it. As for "tanks" I won't/can't advise you since this is my build and I have recently found the combat has taken a big leap in difficulty. To do with the level scaling + the 'wasted' ability increases of the last few levels (being forced to take useless abilities before getting the better ones you need to max sword+shield path).

At the Ruined Temple and the Cultist Reavers are killing me, maybe my armor isn't high enough but I am already equipping Heavy Chainmail (level 4-5) and Heavy Infantry Helm ("Massive"/highest armor category). If I take any more I won't be able to use my stamina using abilities (STR too low?)

They are relatively often resisting/shrugging off my overpower/knockdown special attacks which are my main option in combat.

On a new playthrough I would suggest going for 2-handed weapons STR build (don't need invest in DEX), CON and wearing the heaviest armor you can find.

 

[BirdsCanFly]

If you really want to know the secret to breeze through nightmare: Arcane Warrior. If mages are like killing caterpillars with a flamethrower, playing an arcane warrior is like fighting them with an orbit ion cannon.

 

[racofer]

RPGCodex, six years ago...

Ibbz informed me that over at NW Vault, there's a news post which is a highlight of something BioWare's David Gaider, design guy, said about why it's not worth it to make multiple plot choices in CRPGs. Here's a taste:

Don't believe me? I speak from personal experience. The main reason why this is true is the following: when you start adding radically different plot paths into a story, the complexity of that story increases exponentially. So there too does the probability of bugs cropping up in said story increase exponentially. Thus you spend more time to do less. As an example: in an average day of work here at Bioware, I average about 3,000 to 5,000 words of dialogue written. If, however, I am working on a complex character (a major NPC like, say, Aribeth or Aarin Gend in Chapter 2 of the OC), that speed slows down to 2,000 words or less in a day due to the time spent on arranging the structure.

But then again, if you have five years and a peak work force for the project of seventy five people, Dave... After all, Fallout 2 didn't even take a year to make, and it offered what you're talking about with less people working on it!

PS. Someone needs to look up the definition of exponentially.

Thanks for the heads up, Ibbz!

It would've taken exponentially more people to make NWN, I mean KotOR, err I meant Jade Empire, no no no no, Mass Effect... DAMNIT, DRAGON AGE anywhere close to the complexity of say, Fallout, because programing multiple outcomes is too damn hard.

 

[sheek]

BioWare are not geniuses (far from it), I accepted that, and I can still enjoy their game. Most RPGs have been pretty linear since the 80s, and are still worth playing

 

[Fez]

I think a lot of the negativity is from the frustration caused by the lack of those sorts of games or seeing developers that used to cater to those tastes go elsewhere. It is understandable. It seems pretty sad when I remember that back then I was looking forward to more complex worlds and games, rather than simpler or the same old with the yearly upgraded graphics. There's that little part of some bitter Codexians that feels their inner (man)child was betrayed.

 

[The Village Loon]

I'm playing, well currently been on a 3 week or whatever break due to boredom, a glass cannon rogue myself. The fade was semi-interesting but I absolutely loathe designers designing content where char abilities and feats do not matter much. World of Warcraft started doing this with encounters (mounted combat) so they don't have to balance encounters for different classes or even gear.

One thing I remember from the fade. I was in mousy form sneaking around and saw a group of 4-5 mages in a room "guarding" a door I needed to get to. I sneaked to the door, turned to my normal self to open the door and make a run for it and... "You cannot use this while in combat." or some crap. Woopiedoo. One dimensional solution to the situation - combat. That defines Dragon Age. Combat. Monotonous, boring, endless combat. I was kind of hoping that I would magically teleport into a set position to initiate dialogue so I could get at least a good ROFL out of it.

I suggest turning the difficulty to easymode and playing the game for the dialogue, lore, setting, atmosphere, etc. if you are interested in any of that. Playing it for the combat feels to me like a horrible waste of time.

 

[Dnny]

I suggest turning the difficulty to easymode and playing the game for the dialogue, lore, setting, atmosphere, etc. if you are interested in any of that. Playing it for the combat feels to me like a horrible waste of time.

Except that there won't be any interesting dialogue or shit to learn once you reach the derp roads. DA is the epitome of predictable anyway, MOST predictable Bio game ever.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

As an example: in an average day of work here at Bioware, I average about 3,000 to 5,000 words of dialogue written.

So if a game takes a year to make

And he spends half of that time writing 3000 words per day

That results in over half a million words written

How many words was Planescape again?

 

[Black]

RPGCodex, six years ago...

Damn, back when Codex was good, had valuable citizens and VD wasn't insane

It would've taken exponentially more people to make NWN, I mean KotOR, err I meant Jade Empire, no no no no, Mass Effect... DAMNIT, DRAGON AGE anywhere close to the complexity of say, Fallout, because programing multiple outcomes is too damn hard.

Are we supposed to expect better games as the industry grows? That's stupid.

 

[Serious_Business]

RPGCodex, six years ago...

Damn, back when Codex was good, had valuable citizens and VD wasn't insane

You're part of the problem, shut up you useless cunt

It would've taken exponentially more people to make NWN, I mean KotOR, err I meant Jade Empire, no no no no, Mass Effect... DAMNIT, DRAGON AGE anywhere close to the complexity of say, Fallout, because programing multiple outcomes is too damn hard.

Are we supposed to expect better games as the industry grows? That's stupid.

Maybe so, but it wasn't in 1997. The fact that the industry didn't bother inclining as time went along is not a valid proof why we shouldn't expect it to get better, well at least at the time.

Anyway Gaider is a lazy fat fuck and that quote pretty much resumes him in a nutshell. Fuck him he's a decadent child molester and I hope he dies. Yes I do, oh yes. Fuel the raaaaaage

 

[Black]

Well that's not very nice now, is it? Anyway how do you distinguish between useful and useless cunts?

 

[Murk]

one's worth sticking your dick in, other's not

 

[BLOBERT]

THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL TOPIC ON A SUBJECT RARELY BROUGT UP

 

[Ch1ef]

This topic is not bad, OP is a dickhead.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Holy lol. If you want proof that Bioware believes in consoletards, I was flipping through my Dragon Age guide. Apparently the bridge puzzle in the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest on console has the bridge pieces remain solid, you don't have to juggle party members around to keep them going.

DUMBED DOWN CONSOLETARD BANAL BORING SHIT PISS OUT MY ASS

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

Holy lol. If you want proof that Bioware believes in consoletards, I was flipping through my Dragon Age guide. Apparently the bridge puzzle in the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest on console has the bridge pieces remain solid, you don't have to juggle party members around to keep them going.

DUMBED DOWN CONSOLETARD BANAL BORING SHIT PISS OUT MY ASS

The 360/PS 3 dont have the function. Having played the game on both platforms I can say that the console version is harder because you cant control party movement during combat. If they dumbed the game down to make it easier they FAILLLLLLL.

 

[RK47]

Turn into a rat and stealth your way through if you're too pussy. Isn't that what nightmares are about?

 

[Pablosdog]

THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL TOPIC ON A SUBJECT RARELY BROUGT UP

There is comparably less spelling mistakes in this statement. But yeah, the amount of dragon age threads is becoming similiar to the amount of dragon age topics IN A DRAGON AGE FORUM.

 

[MetalCraze]

It would've taken exponentially more people to make NWN, I mean KotOR, err I meant Jade Empire, no no no no, Mass Effect... DAMNIT, DRAGON AGE anywhere close to the complexity of say, Fallout, because programing multiple outcomes is too damn hard.

Dragon Age took 5 years to make and yet it is exactly on the same level with the last two-three Bioware games except it lacks even more in the non-linearity department.

But who gives a shit really? This isn't a Codex of the yore - Fallout did it better in 1-2 years? Fuck you - Dragon Age is awesome and you just hate all games!

 

[doctor_kaz]

Dragon Age's difficulty level increases dramatically after Ostagar. If you think that the game is too easy for you then wait until some of the road ambushes that you get hit by. Some of them are brutally difficult.

Dragon Age combat is hard largely because there is a huge amount of enemies with some kind of stunning or knockdown capability and they can all quickly deal massive amounts of damage regardless of whether you have a nicely buffed and heavily armored character. That's what's so damn frustrating about this game sometimes. Having a character with 65% health get knocked down onto the ground and then killed three seconds later because you can't drink a health potion. The combat animations are really cool, but I find I am spending almost all of combat watching the characters' health bars since if you drop below 50% and any powerful enemies are still alive, you better heal yourself or drink a potion.

Holy lol. If you want proof that Bioware believes in consoletards, I was flipping through my Dragon Age guide. Apparently the bridge puzzle in the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest on console has the bridge pieces remain solid, you don't have to juggle party members around to keep them going.

DUMBED DOWN CONSOLETARD BANAL BORING SHIT PISS OUT MY ASS

LMAO wow

 

[Jim Cojones]

Turn into a rat and stealth your way through if you're too pussy.

Not in Dragon Age. You can't stealth because even if the enemies can't see you when you go past them, they will be engaged in combat mode and you won't be able to leave location until they are dead.

Dragon Age's difficulty level increases dramatically after Ostagar.

No, it doesn't. Finished Magi Tower and part of the Redcliffe and the only fights that were any difficult were two fights in Ostagar tower: the one on the first floor because of well placed trap and spread enemies with bows, and the one against ogre.