Dragon age discussion

[entrerix]

did death hex actually work on her?

 

it seemed to me like she was immune to all my spells

I was certainly able to freeze her a couple of times after a vulnerability hex... Force field lasted only 4 seconds or so, though.

 

I'm not sure, but I don't think Hexes can be resisted... otherwise playing on Nightmare difficulty would be... a nightmare.

 

 

whoa there, seriously?

 

we should find out because if none of the bosses are immune to death hex then that spell seems to shoot pretty fast to near the top of the awesome list for the boss fights in the later half of the game....

 

all the revenants etc who are immune to crushing prison would be way easier if all hits were crits against them

Edited November 23, 2009 by entrerix

[HoonDing]

^I checked it again, it seems I confused Death hex with Misdirection hex... but it seems this spell only lasts for less than 10 seconds on her.

[alanschu]

So far enjoying 2H Warrior. Just finished up the joining. I have 5g and both backpacks (which I missed my first playthrough) which will certainly help with a lot of the issues I had with inventory haha.

[Gorth]

So far enjoying 2H Warrior. Just finished up the joining. I have 5g and both backpacks (which I missed my first playthrough) which will certainly help with a lot of the issues I had with inventory haha.

Both backpacks?

 

I only have one. I considered starting a public transport service in the Deep Roads since I commute back and forth all the time

[alanschu]

I think it's actually a bug, but there's a backpack for sale for 57 silver in Ostagar Day, and Ostagar Night.

 

EDIT: It's funny how much easier the Ogre is now that I'm familiar with the game He went down super fast. I'm not 100% sure, but I think Pommel Strike may have knocked Alistair out of his grip of doom.

Edited November 24, 2009 by alanschu

[Oner]

I think it's actually a bug, but there's a backpack for sale for 57 silver in Ostagar Day, and Ostagar Night.

IMO it's deliberate. How would you have 5 gp at that point?

[alanschu]

I sold much of my inventory, including the Cousland family sword since I am a 2H specialist. I also convinced the elf that I was the person he was looking to give the sword to at camp. Combined with the loot I gained from looting bodies in the Cousland Keep and selling those two swords, I had about 1g, which is enough for the daytime backpack. I could have kept the sword for Alistair, but I figured he'd not be hindered too much without an enchanted sword to start. I wanted to make sure I had enough for the backpacks as they were my #1 priority, but I woefully underestimated how much money I could get from the Korcari Wilds. After that I was sitting at just over 5g.

 

I got the Chasind Greatsword for myself there, as well as a host of other loot. If I have no plans on using it, it gets sold. I'm also being more aggressive with the "crap" armor. No need for me to keep some crap iron dagger in my inventory. I didn't sell two pieces of mage gear though. I wanted to keep both of those for Morrigan. I did sell the darkspawn staff though. Kept the Thane helmet, and Alistair is now wearing that.

 

Aggro management is still a bit tricky to start the game since Alistair just got Threaten and still needs to get Taunt, as well as some combat tactics skill slots for him so I have some flexibility in adjusting his tactics. Though usually I can overpower my foes enough that it's not much of an issue. I keep Indomitable on all the time which works well for me it seems. With it on I was able to one shot a few Genlock Rogues in the wilds (though they seemed really weak. Other rogues weren't close). Sunder Arms does pretty good damage, as does Mighty Blow (I can't wait until I start using Mighty Blow to shatter frozen/petrified guys). Pommel Strike works for interrupting enemy abilities, and with low stamina the regen rate is good enough that I don't have too much downtime on my Pommel Strike and Sunder Arms, even with both Indomitable and Powerful Swings (with Two-Handed Strength) active, though I usually turn on Powerful Swings after I do my first mighty blow though, since it can be activated midswing. The immunity to stun and knockdown is very handy though. The only Warrior talent I have picked is Powerful thus far.

 

I did have Dog and myself drop in the first fight in the tower as I get smoked when the Genlock Emissary cast Shock on me. Alistair dropped in a fight a bit later on, but it was towards the end and some well timed Pommel Strikes prevented the darkspawn from doing much damage. The Ogre threw a rock that almost KO'd the no-name Mage, but he quickly picked up Alistair which let the mage, Dog (accidentally named Dig hehehe), and myself to beat on the Ogre without worry of his "Massive attack." Once Alistair got low on health I used Pommel Strike, which seemed to knock Alistair loose. Or it was a coincidence. Since I had beat the crap out of the Ogre, I had aggro now, so I kited him for about 5-10 seconds, until I realized that his health was actually quite low, so I resumed my big attacks (by this time another mighty blow could be used) and I finished him off with a Sunder Arms attack, which unfortunately does not spawn the cool deathblow animation

 

 

I was actually having a lot of fun. The lack of a rogue sucks as I walk past the chests and cannot loot them, but in the end I think I'll survive. Will head to Lothering and pick up stuff there. I'll probably play with Sten for a bit, but he'll probably get replaced with Wynne quickly.

Edited November 24, 2009 by alanschu

[Azure79]

I started a new game with a female human mage on hard, and I'm finding the game easier. I have fireball and cone of cold as my main spells at the moment, and its a deadly combo.

 

I usually lead in with my mage and cast a well placed fireball that knocks most enemies down and puts them on fire. This usually puts all the aggro on my PC and as the enemies all rush towards her, she unleashes a cone of cold which freezes most of them. Then my melee fighters come in and mop up as my PC retreats for another well placed fireball.

 

Its almost too effective. Maybe I'll change to nightmare.

[alanschu]

Are you playing on the PC or console?

[Azure79]

PC of course

[HoonDing]

Storm of the Century > Fireball

[Spider]

I'm not sure, but I don't think Hexes can be resisted... otherwise playing on Nightmare difficulty would be... a nightmare.

 

Hexes definitely can be resisted. At least vulnerability hex which is the only one I've got. It goes through a good deal of the time (compared to, say, crushing prison), but tougher mobs can shrug it off.

[Guest Slinky]

So far enjoying 2H Warrior. Just finished up the joining. I have 5g and both backpacks (which I missed my first playthrough) which will certainly help with a lot of the issues I had with inventory haha.

Both backpacks?

 

I only have one. I considered starting a public transport service in the Deep Roads since I commute back and forth all the time

If you braniacs didn't notice, backpacks are sold all over the place I think the max inventory size is 125.

[Tigranes]

Ostagar backpacks are about 1/15 the price.

[Gorth]

I only ever found one for sale in Ostagar. But then, I haven't really visited that many places yet. Finished The Circle and Orzammar. Yet to visit other places. Maybe more backpacks will show up...

[Monte Carlo]

Er, isn't there only one merchant in Ostagar? He's never had backpacks in stock when I've played that part of the game.

[Guest Slinky]

Yeah, he has one backpack when you go to Ostagar the first time, and a second one after you have behaved badly all over the swamps. And both of them really are cheap compared to other backpacks.

[Monte Carlo]

^ I found the Knight-Commander's helm for the first time, tucked away in a crate in the courtyard in front of the Tower of Ishal. Too late for the backpacks, sadly.

[HoonDing]

Somebody should make a Demon Merchant mod. Summon him whenever your pack is full so you can sell some litter. Similar to the djinn merchant in Hordes of the Underdark.

Edited November 24, 2009 by virumor

[Gorth]

Yay, found a second backpack!

The Quartermaster in the Circle Tower had one. Hidden at the very bottom of his list

[Monte Carlo]

--- Rucksacks in Dragon Age ---

 

LOL, this is easily the most obtuse decision I've ever seen in a CRPG. Inventory and loot is basics in a game like this, it's like gimping healing potions or crafting. It's not entirely ruining it for me, I've become like one of those TV style gurus who implore us to throw away any item of clothing I haven't worn for six months.

 

No, the bit that gets me is the cost of rucksacks.

 

It can't be one of those hilarious, paranoid anti-DLC arguments where they will eventually charge you RW money for them - heck the modders will probably sort this or the developers could have made rucksacks dirt cheap. If indeed there is some sort of technical reason (ha ha ha) why they didn't work then double the argument to make them dirt cheap.

 

As it is, I can buy a beautifully crafted suit of armour more cheaply than a bag made out of hide with some straps on it. For chrissakes, I'm not precious about immersion but sheesh...

[alanschu]

They're magical bags of holding though!!!

[Enoch]

They're magical bags of holding though!!!

Well, magic is the only way to explain how massive suits of platemail take up the same amount of space as a pair of earrings. And how 99 potions take up the same space as 1.

 

CRPG inventory is always an abstraction, geared more towards game balance and fun than it is towards realism. The "backpacks for sale" bit is a rather inexplicable inclusion, though. Yeah, it's a tradeoff of upfront cost for the ability to carry more 1007 back to sell, but what made Bio think that players enjoy playing that kind of inventory-management minigame? Seems like the whole thing would've been simpler and better if they'd just given us 100 spots to begin with and cut the "buy moar 1007 storage" stuff.

 

And a storage device in the party's camp would've been nice.

[Monte Carlo]

Er, bags of holding hold more than ten items.

 

Alan, go on admit it, it was a bit of a mistake.

[alanschu]

I was being silly.

 

I don't know what the idea was behind their inventory scheme. On a personal level, it didn't really bother me.