Dragon Age impressions

[Grunker]

To those of you that have completed it or are near completion are you replaying it or intending to? Do you find the game is enjoyable enough to warrant it and do you feel that after a second replay after presumably taking different choices than the first time around, will it yet again be worth another run?

I'm awaiting the quality of the modding scene personally. The Origins are definetely one of the redeeming quality about this game. Doesn't seem to hold as much consequence as in Bloodlines, but I haven't tried enough to be sure.

If mods add content of entertaining quality to the main game, the Origins should make this a top contestant in the replayability-department.

 

[SerratedBiz]

I tried a second playthrough but got bored with it as soon as I got to Ostagar and starting ESCing through the conversations.

 

[draexem]

To those of you that have completed it or are near completion are you replaying it or intending to? Do you find the game is enjoyable enough to warrant it and do you feel that after a second replay after presumably taking different choices than the first time around, will it yet again be worth another run?

Yes. I'm 60 hours into the game and I've still got more main quests and sidequests to do, but I've decided to start again because I wanted to play a different way.

The game is definately enjoyable enough to warrant it.

Even after experiencing all the different choices I'll still be playing this game into the ground. The world excites me, I love the characters and the plot is quite decent.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay my hardcover collector's edition DA strategy guide arrived today. Mmmmmmmmmm smell that paper.

I got one of those too. I liked the 70 or so pages on DA world lore at the end of the book. The rest of it, meh.....

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with you. Avoiding looking at areas I haven't been, but looking at Orzammar which I had just finished and it looks like the guide doesn't go into nearly the amount of detail I would have hoped. I'll probably still get a kick out of thumbing through it, but for a detailed guide I'll probably be better served by Gamebanshee eventually.

Oh well, live and learn. I normally never buy strategy guides (New ones anyway. I grab them if I happen to see them marked down to a dollar which is rare, and never for RPGs), and I was overcome with a weird urge to buy a couple. The Fallout 3 game of the year super duper collector's edition guide has all the detail you could ever want, but unfortunately it's for Fallout 3. Bit annoying that the detailed guide is for the simple game, but it should be fun reading/flipping through anyway.

To those of you that have completed it or are near completion are you replaying it or intending to? Do you find the game is enjoyable enough to warrant it and do you feel that after a second replay after presumably taking different choices than the first time around, will it yet again be worth another run?

I'm definitely planning on playing through again at least once, which is an accomplishment since I very rarely replay RPGs. The only RPGs I replay somewhat regularly are Fallout 1 and Bloodlines. DA seems to have good enough combat and good enough C&C that it'll be fun at least one more time.

If mods add content of entertaining quality to the main game, the Origins should make this a top contestant in the replayability-department.

I'm curious to see what happens with that as well. DA, more than any other RPG, seems well suited for "Campaign additions" mods. For instance, dog romance. The question will be if anyone goes Wesp-crazy and puts that much work into expanding the base game.

 

[made]

I was planning to replay it, but atm I'm ~60 hours in and having to force myself to finish it. Gets pretty tedious after a while.

 

[Grunker]

I'm curious to see what happens with that as well. DA, more than any other RPG, seems well suited for "Campaign additions" mods. For instance, dog romance. The question will be if anyone goes Wesp-crazy and puts that much work into expanding the base game.

Don't know how familiar you guys are with the BG modding scene, but it is simply awesome. The NPC-mods in particular adds a enourmous replayability to the game, and it's certainly better than most of Gaider's work.

There's mods with party-dialogue for BG1, IWD and IWD2. Each easily with as much content as there was in BG2. This is especially a big win for IWD and IWD2.

If something like the BG modding scene happens to DA:O, it will be longlasting for me. I don't really care for most total conversions; adding to the game itself seems the way to go.

Of course there's a lot more shit for BG than there's good stuff, but the good stuff is really worthwhile.

 

[Volourn]

Almsot all IE mods are shit even the big ones.

 

[Grunker]

Almsot all Volourn quotes are shit even the big ones.

C wat I did thar?

 

[Grifthin]

Only about 30 Hours of play so far. Going to replay with all the orgins myself. Also wanna try different parties, try all the back stories and see if I can collect all the lore as well as all the specializations. I don't buy new games that often (3-4 a year) soI'll probably play this to death for a long while.

 

[Annonchinil]

Ok, the fight with the Revnant at Redcliff was annoying in that the lever to let the knights in was not clearly visible. Anybody beat him without using the knights?

Also once I got into the main hall there was a pretty cool C&C in that the mage I let live from the dungeons showed up and suggested and alternative to killing the boy by performing a blood magic ritual. The ritual itself would allow one mage to enter the fade and fight the demon while he concentrates on performing it. The catch? Someone has to be sacrificed for it too work and the boys mother volunteers. There is also a wimpy option where you can go seek help from the mage circle and see if anything happens. I wimped out on sacrifice and decided to head to the circle.

 

[Volourn]

"Ok, the fight with the Revnant at Redcliff was annoying in that the lever to let the knights in was not clearly visible. Anybody beat him without using the knights?"

I dcidn't find him hard. Killed him one try thoguh he did do some damage. Heck, i haven't even killed the revenants in the elf forest b/c they kicked my butt and they're solo. I completely missed the lever. L0L



"There is also a wimpy option where you can go seek help from the mage circle and see if anything happens. I wimped out on sacrifice and decided to head to the circle."

I consider it the good option., Too bad about spoilers as I knew the Blood Mage was important. I can't say honestly what my decision would have been if I hadn't been spoiled. Afterall, he did poison the arle.

 

[Freelance Henchman]

Just started on Orzammar as the last of the ally collecting missions. I'm liking the design in the dwarven halls much better than the elven forest. Once again the inside areas look much better than the outside ones for some reason.

 

[RK47]

"Ok, the fight with the Revnant at Redcliff was annoying in that the lever to let the knights in was not clearly visible. Anybody beat him without using the knights?"

I dcidn't find him hard. Killed him one try thoguh he did do some damage. Heck, i haven't even killed the revenants in the elf forest b/c they kicked my butt and they're solo. I completely missed the lever. L0L



"There is also a wimpy option where you can go seek help from the mage circle and see if anything happens. I wimped out on sacrifice and decided to head to the circle."

I consider it the good option., Too bad about spoilers as I knew the Blood Mage was important. I can't say honestly what my decision would have been if I hadn't been spoiled. Afterall, he did poison the arle.

It gives a good consequence from your earlier action imo. The Blood Mage was an excellent starting point. Killing him outright in the cell would remove certain option to resolve the issue. If you didn't, the ritual would be available.

The 'leave for Circle first' option looks like a good option to me at first, but when they attached 'but the demon might get stronger on your return' catch, I decided to just let the annoying mom sacrifice herself for the ritual instead. Her VA sucks dick, so it makes sacrificing her easier.

 

[Korgan]

Also once I got into the main hall there was a pretty cool C&C in that the mage I let live from the dungeons showed up and suggested and alternative to killing the boy by performing a blood magic ritual. The ritual itself would allow one mage to enter the fade and fight the demon while he concentrates on performing it. The catch? Someone has to be sacrificed for it too work and the boys mother volunteers. There is also a wimpy option where you can go seek help from the mage circle and see if anything happens. I wimped out on sacrifice and decided to head to the circle.

The choice is simple, really. You have a wimpy, time-consuming sensible option and a needlessly bloody, grimdark, X-TREME one. The first one just doesn't fit the game.

 

[Grunker]

Ok, the fight with the Revnant at Redcliff was annoying in that the lever to let the knights in was not clearly visible. Anybody beat him without using the knights?

Yeah, I did. Took me 15 tries or something like that, since Redcliffe was my first of the ally-quests. Never facepalmed quited so hard as when I found that lever.

So far the hardest encounter for me was in the "Deserted Building" in Denerim. I refuse to lower the difficulty, and my level 10 party was having huge trouble defeating about 6 mercernaries, 4 qunari mercernaries, and 3 mages (all yellow).

Until I ran back to the market square, switched out Leliana for Morrigan, and took on the encounter with 2 mages and 2 warriors. It was almost easy. Just goes to show.

 

[Freelance Henchman]

Does it seem to anyone else like enemy archers are very strong while Leliana is absolutely terrible even when using her specialized combat style?

 

[Inziladun]

Does it seem to anyone else like enemy archers are very strong while Leliana is absolutely terrible even when using her specialized combat style?

She wouldn't be too bad if her AI wasn't so dumb. The dumb bitch switches to melee more than she uses her ranged abilities. Really pisses me off. I'm about to just switch out her alt weapons for another bow so the damn AI quits switching her to melee.


But overall Archery is pretty weak, there's only two worthwhile abilities to get in there.

 

[Balthamael]

I switched Leliana's default behaviour as ranged. Now she absolutely will not equip her dagger, even if the enemy is standing right in front of her. That is for the best, as far as I am concerned. Not sure if there is a way to get the AI act sensibly. I can't be bothered to find out.

 

[Freelance Henchman]

I did give her melee shooting or what that ability is called, and she never switches to melee weapons either. But generally her damage output is low and she can't really tank either, and I still don't have that AOE stun shot on her. Maybe her other bard auras make her more useful but I don't have those either yet. All in all she is very marginally useful to disarm traps and locks, but combat wise I think some improvements are necessary.

 

[RK47]

Bahahha I didn't give a chance to that homo elf assassin. Killed him after I beat his ambush.

And yeah, Lliana is a pretty terrible rogue, character skill wise & personality wise. So...dull.

This is like zombie Imoen all over again.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

Ok, I've pretty much been singing the praises of this game with few critisisms. However, now I have one.

Mages are ridiculously overpowered in this game, to the point where all other classes are virtually redundant. My main is a mage with maxed fire line, the first 3 heals and a couple of buffs/debuffs and CC. I gave Morrigan a Heal + Force Field (which I have too) and she's now concentrating on the Ice line.

Picked up Wynne at the Circle and bring Shale along as a meat-shield (not really necessary) and my three mages just fucking pwn every thing in sight now.

I also found a two spell combo that really should be classified as an exploit it's so overpowered. This works even if I'm on my own, like in the Fade. Eg: Room full of enemies, doesn't matter what colour -> cast Inferno in the middle of the room -> run into the middle of the Inferno (take a lttle damage) and immediately cast Force Field on myself (duration is the same as Inferno - so will outlast it). Enemies will stay with you in the flames, because you are and you have the aggro. Everyone fries while I go make a cup of coffee.

This also works of course if I just send Shale in and cast Force Field on him.

I'm going to stop using that tactic, as it's taking the fun out of it (unless of course I really need a cup of coffee) :D

 

[Silellak]

Ok, I've pretty much been singing the praises of this game with few critisisms. However, now I have one.

Mages are ridiculously overpowered in this game, to the point where all other classes are virtually redundant. My main is a mage with maxed fire line, the first 3 heals and a couple of buffs/debuffs and CC. I gave Morrigan a Heal + Force Field (which I have too) and she's now concentrating on the Ice line.

Picked up Wynne at the Circle and bring Shale along as a meat-shield (not really necessary) and my three mages just fucking pwn every thing in sight now.

I also found a two spell combo that really should be classified as an exploit it's so overpowered. This works even if I'm on my own, like in the Fade. Eg: Room full of enemies, doesn't matter what colour -> cast Inferno in the middle of the room -> run into the middle of the Inferno (take a lttle damage) and immediately cast Force Field on myself (duration is the same as Inferno - so will outlast it). Enemies will stay with you in the flames, because you are and you have the aggro. Everyone fries while I go make a cup of coffee.

This also works of course if I just send Shale in and cast Force Field on him.

I'm going to stop using that tactic, as it's taking the fun out of it (unless of course I really need a cup of coffee) :D

I find it more fun to block the one route out of a room with Glyph of Repulsion and watch the enemies continuously bounce back into your AoE of Death. But yeah, mages are strong in this game, and while it may not be balanced, at least it fits with the setting of mages being feared - you can completely understand why. I've survived an encounter only to have my weakened party torn apart by one enemy mage I left standing. Especially when it's a blood mage - that one spell that paralyzes your entire party and does decent DoT is particularly nasty, as it gives them plenty of time for one or even two follow-up high-damage AoEs, which is usually enough to wipe out at least your mages, if not the entire party.

It's certainly possible to exploit-victory your way through many of the battles with two or three mages in the party, but then, at a certain point in all DnD-based games, most battles were ended quickly by my high-level Sorc or Wizard with little contribution from anyone else, so I guess Dragon Age truly IS in the spirit of BG . Still, if a future patch reduces the power of mages a bit, I could understand why. Fortunately, your particular exploit could easily be fixed by tinkering the AI to ignore force-fielded characters after a few failed attacks.

Bioware's never been particularly good at class balance, yet another reason I have no interest in KotoR Online. The first and most important reason still being it's a fucking MMO.

 

[Volourn]

People are fuckin' dumb! I can't believe people actually believe the game would be 'better' if rogues were the equal of mages. That would take the magic out of magic.

The game is balanced fine. Just as D&D games . Rogues should not be the equal of mages. Period.

FFS People are pussies who want things dumbed down, and have their hand held.

Life isn't fair, and not everything is created equal.

 

[Silellak]

People are fuckin' dumb! I can't believe people actually believe the game would be 'better' if rogues were the equal of mages. That would take the magic out of magic.

The game is balanced fine. Just as D&D games . Rogues should not be the equal of mages. Period.

FFS People are pussies who want things dumbed down, and have their hand held.

Life isn't fair, and not everything is created equal.

Well, there is admittedly a difference between magic being powerful (as it should be) and the sort of strategy AlaCarcuss describes. You should not be able to wade into a room full of fire and hide behind a forefield while the bad guys beat on your invulnerable self - that's more of an AI-exploit than "the power of magic". The AI should recognize the PC is invulnerable after a couple of failed attacks and move on, perhaps "escaping the flaming room of death" now being a higher priority than "beat up the guy who is hurting me". Luckily, as I said, this shouldn't be a terribly difficult fix if Bioware ever decides to implement it.

On the other hand, blocking the only escape from a room with a Repulsion Glyph and then dropping a couple of AoEs in the room is less of an AI exploit (because they legitimately can't escape the room unless they beat the physical resistance check of the Glyph), and more of a lol-mages-own-you, which I'm actually okay with.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

People are fuckin' dumb! I can't believe people actually believe the game would be 'better' if rogues were the equal of mages. That would take the magic out of magic.

The game is balanced fine. Just as D&D games . Rogues should not be the equal of mages. Period.

FFS People are pussies who want things dumbed down, and have their hand held.

Life isn't fair, and not everything is created equal.

I'm not saying mages shouldn't be powerful. Even leave them as they are if need be (buy yeah, fix the AI in regards to FF as Silellak said).

Just at least make it so the other classes have SOME fucking use in the game. At the moment, the only other class that has even remotely useful skills is the rogue and they are non-combat skills (stealing and lockpicking).