Dragon Age story/plot discussion

[Bos_hybrid]

I'm guessing the there is going to be a DA2 after that ending.

[theslug]

I'm guessing the there is going to be a DA2 after that ending.

It's called Dragon Age: Origins for a reason. I'm pretty sure they confirmed super early that they were going to make more that builds on your characters origin story.

[entrerix]

i agree, a fighter should kill a rogue 10 out of 10 times in combat. but the fighter can't do any of the cool stuff that a rogue can do OUT of combat. imo

 

 

edit: except intimidate

 

And traps, poison, stealing, and herbalism. All of the above are "skills" in DA, thus available to every class. Heck, you could give a zerker pickpocket if you wanted.

 

Really, the only actual abilities unique to the rogue in DA are stealth and lockpicking. Stealth is only really useful in DA if you can kick ass once you're done sneaking into position (while not getting your ass kicked), and lockpick is something you can easily live without.

 

You also have the class specialties. Assassin is designed to kill people from flanking angles. Duelist is designed to kill people toe-to-toe. Ranger is designed to summon pets that kill people. Bard is designed to let you buff the party so that they can more effectively kill people.

 

Starting to come into focus why rogues should be able to hold their own in combat?

 

 

oh no i wasnt talking about dragon age, i was talking generally about rpgs and classes. I'm old school and i like rogues who are NOT good at fighting but bring a bunch of useful skills to the table outside of combat, in dragon age, if the rogue is NOT super useful outside of combat then obviously he'd need to be better IN combat.

 

i just, in general, dont prefer rogues who fight like fighters in my rpgs. at the very least they should have half the hitpoints/survivability.

[Magister Lajciak]

I am going to be taking the mage origin and am wondering whether to be an elf or a human. Hence, I would like to ask, which of the two races has more content, or more interesting content or just better content in the game. I am speaking primarily story-wise. No spoilers though, please!

[Maria Caliban]

An elf mage might get a bit more content. Elves are second class citizens.

 

so, what do people think of DA, compared with say ME or BG series? Is it one of the better Bio games, or rather disappointing?

 

At 35 hours in, it's my favorite BioWare game. But you have to remember that I hate BG and found BG II bearable.

 

I think the combat and characters are superior to any other BioWare game.

 

i just, in general, dont prefer rogues who fight like fighters in my rpgs. at the very least they should have half the hitpoints/survivability.

 

Rogues are very squishy. However, in DA:O, if you tank well, having a squishy rogue isn't a problem 80% of the time. In fact, the game rewards you for keeping your rogue in light leather, not just because you have less stamina drain, but because mobs prioritize based on armor weight.

 

I just entered the

deep roads

and switched out a rogue for a 2-handed warrior. He does more damage than the rogue and has on heavy armor, and it’s much harder to keep him alive because he draws more aggro.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Magister Lajciak]

so, what do people think of DA, compared with say ME or BG series? Is it one of the better Bio games, or rather disappointing?

 

At 35 hours in, it's my favorite BioWare game. But you have to remember that I hate BG and found BG II bearable.

 

I think the combat and characters are superior to any other BioWare game.

 

I love the BG series, particularly BG II, and I also find the DA to be awesome. Not that I am as deep into the game as you yet, I am playing all origins stories first before deciding which one to continue for my full authentic experience. It will likely be the mage origin, however, which I am saving for the last playthrough, though I am not sure whether a human or elf would be a better choice for that in terms of quantity and quality of content available.

[Magister Lajciak]

An elf mage might get a bit more content. Elves are second class citizens.

 

Ah, thanks!

[alanschu]

so, what do people think of DA, compared with say ME or BG series? Is it one of the better Bio games, or rather disappointing?

 

At 35 hours in, it's my favorite BioWare game. But you have to remember that I hate BG and found BG II bearable.

 

I think the combat and characters are superior to any other BioWare game.

 

I love the BG series, particularly BG II, and I also find the DA to be awesome. Not that I am as deep into the game as you yet, I am playing all origins stories first before deciding which one to continue for my full authentic experience. It will likely be the mage origin, however, which I am saving for the last playthrough, though I am not sure whether a human or elf would be a better choice for that in terms of quantity and quality of content available.

 

 

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think you'll see significant changes in the amount of content depending on whether or not you're an elf.

 

Things might (I never tried myself) be a bit more interesting in Elf areas (and perhaps other areas) simply because you're an elf, though. Things like conversation differences.

 

Both the elf and the human will have pretty much identical backgrounds with respect to the mage origin though, IIRC.

[Oner]

Best dialogue so far:

 

-"Come, join the Grey Wardens. Fight the Darkspawn!!"

-[intelligence] "So these Darkspawn are really bad?"

Since DA has no intelligence stat, this makes perfect sense to me.

[Tigranes]

'Cunning' surely has to be the most ill-fitting attribute name ever.

 

I've progressed a little and am at

Redcliffe

now. I took Leilana along for this one with probably-stalwarts Sten and Morrigan, just to try having a rogue in the party, and I'm regretting it - I don't mind the lack of battle power, but the only fun thing to do with them is backstab and she doesnt' even start with stealth! Picking locks is good, but she's your typical holier-than-thou softly-spoken winkle to boot (at least, until now).

 

I'm also not sure how the DLC works if you're not logged in in-game; I detest the idea of having it constantly logged in (and why can't I turn off the stupid Achievement Unlocked pop-ups?), but then is the DLC enabled? No real way to tell in-game, we'll see.

 

All this whining might seem negative, were it not for teh fact that the game proper is wonderful and certainly challenging enough on Hard.

[Monte Carlo]

I hope rogues are fixed in either a patch or modded.

 

They don't need to be tank fighters, but a bit more ooomph wouldn't go amiss.

 

Was planning on dwarven commoner rogue but the class is so gimped am giving it a miss.

[Tigranes]

I imagine by the time I begin my second playthrough as a dwarf assassin, a mild adjustment will be available.

 

Poisons and the variety of traps available, as well as the cover feature and all, should make it quite interesting - in fact, a solo rogue using such things liberally would be an interesting challenge.

[Purkake]

Yay, finally got Dragon Age as well. Played through the human noble origin and the castle attack. The origin was pretty good until the end.

Having the mother die for no good reason and pretty much forcing you to join the Gray Wardens was just bad.

The whole Gray Warden thing feels like a giant crutch for Bioware, it just seems so unnecessary, only there to make it more "epic". Also, the animations are really bad, especially the running one and the giant weapons are somewhat annoying. If that's a "dagger" then I'm an Archdemon.

 

That said, I really like the game. It runs super awesomely with everything maxed out and 8x AA. The combat is pretty cool and challenging and the tactics thing works well, but getting more "slots" is a pain. Surprisingly, I actually like most of the characters so far, even Alistair with his bad jokes. The voice acting is top notch and I don't really have a problem with the dialog system. The talents system has a lot of options, but I would really like a box with all the rolls and stuff, so I could actually understand how half the mechanics work.

 

And some more spoilery stuff:

 

 

Good thing that King Douchebag died, he was like the worst king ever. Same thing for Sir "I have to murder you in cold blood because I think it's right" Duncan, no sympathy for that sociopath. BTW, how could anyone look at Loghain and think that he's a good guy? He looks like a damn sith lord.

 

Edited November 7, 2009 by Purkake

[HoonDing]

That Ogre was not overly difficult. I lost Alistair when he got picked up and bashed to death after a stun failed, but that was just a golden moment.

[Purkake]

It's kind of funny/sad how that battle is completely meaningless

[Jaesun]

I hope rogues are fixed in either a patch or modded.

 

They don't need to be tank fighters, but a bit more ooomph wouldn't go amiss.

 

1. Poison blade

2. Engage enemy

3. Run behind enemy

4. Backstab FTW!

 

the instant win button for every encounter.

[Oner]

Good thing that King Douchebag died, he was like the worst king ever. Same thing for Sir "I have to murder you in cold blood because I think it's right" Duncan, no sympathy for that sociopath. BTW, how could anyone look at Loghain and think that he's a good guy? He looks like a damn sith lord.

AND voiced by Simon Templeman. Only Tim Curry would've been more obvious. Not that Bio tried to hide it or anything.

[Deraldin]

I hope rogues are fixed in either a patch or modded.

 

They don't need to be tank fighters, but a bit more ooomph wouldn't go amiss.

 

1. Poison blade

2. Engage enemy

3. Run behind enemy

4. Backstab FTW!

 

the instant win button for every encounter.

 

No, the win button is cone of cold. The freeze effect lasts about a second longer than the cooldown on the spell.

[HoonDing]

I thought the rogue dude in the Korcari Wilds was pretty useful, actually. Stun enemy with Dirty Fighting, run behind enemy and kick their ass. Very low cooldown for the talent too.

 

Anyway, meeting Leliana wasn't as ridiculous as I thought it would be. Save for the blood. I also happen to like Morrigan, despite her snide wisecracking.

 

And the Dog is just cute:

[alanschu]

I hope rogues are fixed in either a patch or modded.

 

They don't need to be tank fighters, but a bit more ooomph wouldn't go amiss.

 

1. Poison blade

2. Engage enemy

3. Run behind enemy

4. Backstab FTW!

 

the instant win button for every encounter.

 

No, the win button is cone of cold. The freeze effect lasts about a second longer than the cooldown on the spell.

 

 

Combine the cone with rogue backstabs

[Niten_Ryu]

1. Poison blade

2. Engage enemy

3. Run behind enemy

4. Backstab FTW!

 

the instant win button for every encounter.

 

Or more likely

1. Poison Blade (yay for 1 extra damage if I'm lucky)

2. Engage Enemy (oh crap, missed)

3. Dirty Fighting (wow, target didn't resist this time)

4. Strafe behind the enemy

5. Backstab (hopefully Coup De Grace helps)

6. You notice that you took 1/8 of the total health and now enemy stuns you

7. Wait for heal and after that drink health potion

8. Now where's that taunt mr.templar?

 

I kinda like it. My dwarven commoner rogue is probably most gimpy character I've played since the full diplomacy character in Arcanum. I wonder how bad my other character are as I still have:

Greatest damage dealt: 60

Contribution to party damage: 39

Hit rate: 78

 

Must be something to do with the fact that I'm always in party and rest rotate or joined later.

[Purkake]

Once you get the Cunning To Damage talent, it will work much better.

[HoonDing]

If the Blight consisted of a horde of wolves instead of Darkspawn, Ferelden would be doomed for sure.

[Purkake]

I just did the whole Redcliffe shebang.

 

 

The defense part was really hard and somewhat poorly designed IMO. Rounding up all the misfits was pretty fun and Redcliffe has the nicest barmaid ever, too bad she doesn't keep her promises...

 

The castle part was better, but that damn Reverend was really annoying. The demon dilemma was an interesting twist, good thing the kid conveniently forgot everything, otherwise he'd have psychological trauma up the wazoo. The Fade was very well done, it had a nice Lovecraftian feel to it and Bioware did a good job with all the crazy filters.

 

Edited November 8, 2009 by Purkake

[WDeranged]

I just did the whole Redcliffe shebang.

 

 

The defense part was really hard and somewhat poorly designed IMO. Rounding up all the misfits was pretty fun and Redcliffe has the nicest barmaid ever, too bad she doesn't keep her promises...

 

The castle part was better, but that damn Reverend was really annoying. The demon dilemma was an interesting twist, good thing the kid conveniently forgot everything, otherwise he'd have psychological trauma up the wazoo. The Fade was very well done, it had a nice Lovecraftian feel to it and Bioware did a good job with all the crazy filters.

 

I did that bit last night, same opinion too,

I chose the blood sacrifice, good times

 

I've thrown a good five or six hours into the game tonight, 33% explored and 28 hours in, which brings me to a question, this world explored statistic, I'm guessing it means locations found and not general progress, anyone know for sure? Either way this bodes well for a mammoth game by my standards, easily over 100 hours I'd guess.

 

Also, keeping in mind I've not visited the elves, dwarves or mages, how do I keep stocked up on health potions? The shops seem to take ages to restock and there's only so many elfroots around.