Monte Carlo

Return to Ostagar

^ I haven't finished, and if that's true then you're an arse.

Indeed, but obviously I'll be getting D3 too. I think it was leaked / early released on the DA Czech site and Google-translated by some Bio forum regulars. Hey, at least they can use all the original Ostagar assets for a fast turnaround...

Apparently the news is that the DLC is a new mini-XP for 400 Bio points (see? Now they have their own currency) which is about

^ Let me know when time differences allow and I'll happily give you a game. Trust me, I'm crap, there'll be no elite spam tactics from me.

^ I hear you brother. Why do you think I stopped posting there?

^ So what's the exciting new announcement Evil Chris was wibbling on about?

Hmmm, can you put rangers in Kangas for the ultimate spam? The only thing I've found that screws up ranger blobs is decent infantry to draw their fire backed up by two or three flakpanzers... OK you will lose at least one of those but you will drive the blob off, even AI ones. I am guilty of using ranger blobs. Although I am too busy with Dragon Age, I will see you on the battlefield soon Wals. Oh yes, I shall.

^ I'm going to make the first Nug NPC mod, before someone else does.

^ Bioware like to hype. Volourn never listens to the argument when he's in Bio shill mode - who said we wanted five different games? I just expected Bio to deliver on, say, 20% of the hype. Anyhow, in other news Chris Priestly is teasing the Bio faithful on the Bio-Borg site, saying people really need to check out the website tomorrow. The fix-the-rogues patch, most likely. Or some DLC to appease the hordes who weren't happy with Watcher's Keep (like unlocking it perhaps). Cheers MC

OK, I'm in the Brescilian Forest. There's no spoilers here, by the way. That's a Dalish Elf quest - as a Dalish elf I want a way to resolve that quest, either by a unique method of negotiation or by a slightly different battle (that might give me a new ally or make the end battle play out more in my favour). Furthermore, only that origin unlocks that quest route. Or maybe two, you might give a mage something in the forests that influences the outcome or the city elf. I'm not saying it has to be spectacularly different, but it adds flavour and granularity to the game.

^ I don't have issues with the DLC, then again I'm not an average gamer - I only buy maybe four or five games a year (at most) and play them to death. Heck, still have BG2 and Rome: Total War and Medieval TW:2 installed.

Yeah, I was thinking that my human noble wasn't getting due deference from the mud-smeared scumbag commoners. OTOH, yeah, I can't wait to start again with my shaven-headed dwarf gangsta in Orzammar. Oh, and a dialogue option or two different does not a difference make - I want to see a genuinely different outcome in the quest based on the origin. This was a big boast during development, ain't seeing equitable return on it so far.

^ Talk about damned by faint praise! Gromnir's point about archery is well made - it only really makes sense once you get multiple, stacking AoE spells - like my fun with Virulent Walking Bomb... have found new giggles to be had with it when summoning your new undead minion (i.e. using him as the trigger device for the VWB). The rogue and mage working almost permanently in tandem, with the rogue providing close protection for the mage in melee and using archery to pick off boss monster in mob suffering from AoE spell damage seems to work for me.

I always found the Elder Scrolls virtually unplayable, but the character generation was really good - don't like the existing 'Classes' then make up some skills and name your own. I had one called "IT Manager" but I never took the series too seriously.

^ I wouldn't even know what to do with it!

^ Hey, as I said this is the first CRPG ever where I will definitely play a mage and love it. The magic system / spells are great, can't wait for an XP that adds more. It doesn't change the massive imbalance in the classes - what exactly are the downsides of being a mage? The consequences in-game don't seem very obvious.

^ I have to disagree, the system is pretty straightforward (even if the mechanics remain a mystery - I stand by my theory that nobody actually knows what the DA game mechanics are and that it's an elaborate hoax on people who like meta-gaming). A generic 'adventurer' class and a 'mage' is fine... personally I want a fighter / thief much as I might in 3E D&D but which Dragon Age doesn't really have (i.e. stealth / sneak damage combined with proper melee clout). The setting is rich enough to justify some specialist prestige classes - Qunari Knight, Dwarven Death Legionnaire, Antivan Crow, Circle Mage, Apostate Witch, Templar, Blood Mage assassin, Tevinter Imperium Spy...

^ I've found the same thing, my only real weapon swaps are bow to melee weapon. I've got Sten with a maul and a two-handed sword but really I only swap them over to enjoy the combat animations to be honest. I now have the meteor ore 'Superman' sword - the goofiest looking sword ever but powerful. Cheers MC

I think it's time for a discussion about the class system in this game, because it's a bit odd. Forget the balance issues, DA was clearly designed by a wizard-obsessed munchkin who wants mages to rule the world. The idea appears to be choose a class, within that class choose an archetype / specialisation or two then on top of that unlock a sort of prestige class with a skill tree and some stat bonuses. Now I know it's been simplified to suit the MMO / console crowd and I don't have a problem with it - in fact simple is often better (2E AD&D, for example, is horrible). But in DA I honestly wonder the point of having a class system at all. Rogues can learn any combat ability but warriors can't open locks. Anybody can make poison or be a survivor, even somebody who grew up at Hogwarts surrounded by books. But only rogues can pick locks (I repeated that on purpose). And wear quite heavy armour. A warrior can't be sneaky. Rogues are rangers. And bards. Warriors arbitrarily learn the ability to freak out or become a mage-hunting zealot. Huh? A genuinely classless system would have worked for DA. Furthermore, the specialist classes feel like an afterthought: they have none of the flavour of the better Forgotten Realms prestige classes (altho' I'm not a prestige class fan). I would like to see either (a) more classes (b) no classes or © the ability to pay a penalty and buy cross-class skills. As it is the system feels strangely unsatisfactory, a bit of a weakness in an otherwise strong and enjoyable game.

Hmmm. Not providing nerfed NPCs isn't exactly too much to ask, like rogues who can actually open locks.

I'm loving the Deep Roads, the battle in the Trenches reminds me of the "Drow Bridge" in the first IWD. But much better. The '300' style dwarf Death Legion are also deeply cool, even if they remind me of Warhammer dwarves. Cheers MC

About console difficulty - I was reading a hint guide about how best to defeat a very tricky boss monster. I wondered if I was actually playing the same game (just put a melee smackdown on the sucka and it'll go down!) and I realised I was reading a console help guide. Trust me, I've tried variations on that theme three times and still got whupped.

I don't read the journal, it's like asking for directions when you're lost in your car.

Is poison worth the trouble? I never used it. It's a force multiplier for an otherwise mediocre melee character. The more potent poison (Soldier's Bane / Mage's Bane) are fairly good - they enable your rogue to weaken boss monsters / spellcasters at the start of a battle, use it with high stealth (this is what I do with Zevran). Of course, poison arrows seem like a good idea too. Traps, as I've mentioned, are also surprisingly effective for their low monetary value and ease of use. Cheers MC