Dragon age discussion

[Tigranes]

Gragh, I still can't get into Orzammar. The dialogue option simply isn't there. Also, for dwarf nobles,

why doesn't Gorim recognise you when you find him in the Denerim marketplace?

If it's not a bug it's a disappointment.

 

edit: just used a debug script to teleport to orzammar, let's see how much it breaks. Again, is it just my game being fubared, or is it the case that half the dwarves don't remember who you are and refer you as a 'stranger' and 'outsider'? So much for origins consequences.

[Enoch]

In my experience, mages drawing attacks seems to depend on them either dealing damage to the attacking party (e.g., by opening combat with an area-effect damage spell) or on them being in the process of casting a long-casting-time spell. Incapacitation spells (sleep/paralyze/forcefield/etc.) don't seem to draw as much attention as damage casting.

 

Also, Crushing Prison Ownz.

[Gromnir]

In my experience, mages drawing attacks seems to depend on them either dealing damage to the attacking party (e.g., by opening combat with an area-effect damage spell) or on them being in the process of casting a long-casting-time spell. Incapacitation spells (sleep/paralyze/forcefield/etc.) don't seem to draw as much attention as damage casting.

 

Also, Crushing Prison Ownz.

 

 

there is a period of time during which we used crushing prison frequent. sadly, at some indefinable point most o' the non-fodder baddies began resisting it... or simply shrugged it off. we saw the spirit damage numbers leaping too fast to be seen, and we could see the aura affecting critters, but the critter were not disabled and the damage done seemed almost negligible. is strange, but force field actual gave us more pay-off late than did crushing prison. crushing prison, by late in game, were a way to keeps one or two o' those pesky scattershot archers immobilized. Gromnir played on hard, so maybe that made the difference.

 

as for targeting mages, it were, as noted above, almost never a priority of enemies. yeah, when direct damaged by a mage an individual enemy might attack the caster, but there were no concerted tactic to remove the mage, and the mage were able to roam 'bout the battlefield to set-up cone of cold and other such spells. cone o' cold spell were our number 1 spell. am trying to conceive of its effectiveness if mages were genuinely targeted by baddies. perhaps that explains yours and di's experience with long incantations. Gromnir Always cast earthquake before blizzard and then set up a kinda nasty killing zone... bad guys never genuine made it to our party save for maybe the occasional ogre alpha or some such, but we never used blizzard save for at very start o' a combat encounter, and then only at extreme range. were just too damn likely to result in friendly fire damage.... send in shale with taunt, force field our jnpc, then spam with area effects. morrigan with every cold damage boosting item we had would blizzard mobs to death... when we finally added tempest for morrigan and inferno for wynne, we had serious mob destroyer potential... and even if we ended up killing shale 'bout 25 or thirty times 'fore end of game, wynne's cleansing aura were removing evidence of injuries after individual combat encounters... so no serious lasting harm harm were done. shale's sacrifice were always appreciated.

 

again, am not claiming that mages were invisible on the battlefield... mages would get attacked, but the mage could determine where and when she would be attacked, and were almost always a single enemy that would initiate an attack in response to direct damage. there were no enemy tactic (save for in one specific encounter) we could see to remove mages from our party... not like we saw even in bg2. mages could move about the battlefield unmolested... only ever got targeted in response to a direct attack.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited November 23, 2009 by Gromnir

[TheHarlequin]

I'll confess my mages fall. So do my warriors... well, Sten, anyway. I've fallen a few times myself... to be expected of a lightly-armored rogue who's in the midst of the melee fray with her little daggers wailing away. I've become enamored with Morrigan's Blizzard spell. I hold everyone else back, then have her run up and cast it. When it works, she gets to the back of the pack and my warriors wait for the survivors to stagger to them. When it doesn't work... well, RIP Morrigan. Even when it works, the mobs have blood in their eye for my mage. It's tough for the warrior's taunt to keep them off her.

 

I'm going for arcane warrior next time around. I love magic, I love melee, it should be right up my alley!

 

BTW, I've no experience with fireball or inferno since I kept Morri on the cold path, then went straight for crushing prison. Is heat better than cold? Opinions?

 

dual weilding with high dex and moderate con (20+) most times out survives a well armored tank like stan. In fact I have to baby sit stan to keep him from dying. With leh and zep with their med armor and duel weapons and high crits just kick as much arse as the warrior classes if not more. Simply the game mechanics favor high dex, duel weilding abilities without a doubt. I have alister as my main aggro with sword/shield and shield wall on. He and my main PC (human warrior) draws most of the aggro and as long as I can keep the aggro on them the rogues and mages normally open a 6 pack of whoop arse. So much for tactics as that formula works with 85% of the encounters boss and some elites aside.

[Gromnir]

btw, did anybody else name their dog, Loghain?

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Monte Carlo]

I've had three: Fido, Rover and Spot.

 

I'm going for FanTAsY immersion, big time.

[Volourn]

"Also, for dwarf nobles, why doesn't Gorim recognise you when you find him? If it's not a bug it's a disappointment."

 

You are unlucky. He talks to me. In fact, we have nice convo, and he gives me something nice. You also meet him later on.

 

 

"edit: just used a debug script to teleport to orzammar, let's see how much it breaks. Again, is it just my game being fubared, or is it the case that half the dwarves don't remember who you are and refer you as a 'stranger' and 'outsider'? So much for origins consequences."

 

Double weird. Most of the dwarves recognize me. Heck, even some slum dwarves know who I am. And, oh, technically, as a Dwarf Noble you *are* an outsider. As far as the dwarves of Orzammar are concerned, officially, you no longer exist. Go to the shaperrate. And, just because you were a crowned prince doesn't mean everyone is gonna recognize you 6 months to a year later. On top of this, remember, the only reason why you get in (unless you are you and can't) is because you are a Gray Warden.

 

I lost count how many random one line dwarves would say the following:" You BLANK, murdered your brother!", "I never your brother much, you did us a favor!", etc., etc.

[alanschu]

Gragh, I still can't get into Orzammar. The dialogue option simply isn't there. Also, for dwarf nobles,

why doesn't Gorim recognise you when you find him in the Denerim marketplace?

If it's not a bug it's a disappointment.

 

edit: just used a debug script to teleport to orzammar, let's see how much it breaks. Again, is it just my game being fubared, or is it the case that half the dwarves don't remember who you are and refer you as a 'stranger' and 'outsider'? So much for origins consequences.

 

 

Have you installed the Toolset at all and messed around with it?

 

 

Using debug scripts to warp you around is a fantastic way to break the various flags in the game too.

[HoonDing]

During the many never-ending dungeon crawls I just put Wynne & Morrigan outside rooms and let them cast respectively Earthquake, Blizzard & Tempest. Clears out everything without the tanks having to break sweat.

 

Earthquake seems to be useless against non-moving targets, though...

 

btw, did anybody else name their dog, Loghain?

 

HA! Good Fun!

Anyone tried

using dog as champion at the Landsmeet duel?

 

[Guest Slinky]

Anyone tried

using dog as champion at the Landsmeet duel?

Yeah, bastards didn't let me do it. Why Bioware, why did you limit our choices so! The game is ruined for me and I will never play a RPG ever again.

[HoonDing]

Heh, the entire

Landsmeet

is a weak point in the game for me.

 

 

I really liked the character of Queen Anora until this point... and I was planning on choosing her as Queen but then she suddenly started to protest when I decided to execute Loghain on the spot... from talking to her at Eamon's estate she seemed as a competent, ambitious, iron-willed woman who puts duty before personal feelings, and suddenly all that was shattered.

 

Nevermind that Loghain is her father, he actually was responsible for the death of her husband and almost destroyed the entire country by his betrayal, for pity's sake. Off with his head, already.

 

[Enoch]

there is a period of time during which we used crushing prison frequent. sadly, at some indefinable point most o' the non-fodder baddies began resisting it... or simply shrugged it off. we saw the spirit damage numbers leaping too fast to be seen, and we could see the aura affecting critters, but the critter were not disabled and the damage done seemed almost negligible. is strange, but force field actual gave us more pay-off late than did crushing prison. crushing prison, by late in game, were a way to keeps one or two o' those pesky scattershot archers immobilized. Gromnir played on hard, so maybe that made the difference.

Yeah, when I posted that I had just finished a few levels where it was really really useful (the caves near Haven and the Blood Mages' hideout in Denerim). The mobs you face in those areas become far easier with the ability to immediately eliminate the white-named "______ Mage" standing behind the grunts. My group is just getting to level 15, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if more opponents start resisting or outliving it as we get higher up.

 

 

After that jaunt through Denerim, I stopped off in the woods to wrap up Wynne's quest and take down the Revenants that wiped the floor with me 5 levels ago. The Dwarves are up next, although I'm debating whether to first go do Morrigan's little errand or not. It's a standard meta-gaming v. role-playing debate. My character has little reason to trust Morrigan or want her to like him (my PC mage does everything she does, but better), and the risk to my character's overall mission is pretty great. But I hear that the fight involved is a fun one, and it might be a good chance to loot a nice staff.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Enoch

[TheHarlequin]

"Also, for dwarf nobles, why doesn't Gorim recognise you when you find him? If it's not a bug it's a disappointment."

 

You are unlucky. He talks to me. In fact, we have nice convo, and he gives me something nice. You also meet him later on.

 

 

"edit: just used a debug script to teleport to orzammar, let's see how much it breaks. Again, is it just my game being fubared, or is it the case that half the dwarves don't remember who you are and refer you as a 'stranger' and 'outsider'? So much for origins consequences."

 

Double weird. Most of the dwarves recognize me.

 

It's called a flag bug that didnt fire off eariler in their game that has now caused a domino effect. The deeper they go into the game the more they are going to find things broken. Their best course of action at this point is to start a new game to be 100% safe since theres no way to know when the flag that was supposed to fire didnt. Just another bug to add to the growing list is all.

Edited November 23, 2009 by TheHarlequin

[Jaesun]

I am very close to the end, and am having a most amusing "bug". I have a male PC, who has romanced Zevran. I have Alestair at 100% Friendly... and for some reason when I click on Alestair, he occasionally calls me.. "My Love...".

 

Bug or he just knows I'm gay and is flirting with me.

[Morgoth]

I wonder if there's any way to convince most of the arls in the Landsmeet, to avoid the fight with Loghain.

[entrerix]

ok i just finished the game last night, 83 hours of play.

 

review:

too much dungeon crawling, especially in the deep roads.

 

rest of game was excellent. i could nitpick some stuff (like annoying archer enemies with scattershot), but i dont feel like it right now.

 

 

only one bug/problem i encountered: i romanced leliana the whole game, only paying any attention to her. yet in the ending

after my heroic sacrifice, the ending credits said nothing about our "love" but instead hinted that zevran, who i barely talked to at all in the whole game and was never even in my party, was in love with my char and would "never love again".

 

 

 

it was a really annoying way to end the game because it felt like a path i was pursuing the whole time was then abruptly pooped on in the otherwise pretty great ending epilogues.

 

also: the youknowwho left my party on the eve of the big battle because i wouldnt do something evil. robbing me of my best party member right when they are needed most. that was a major buzzkill but i dont really fault the game, more the character for being an awful jerkface. needless to say, my next playthrough will be with a more evilish character who wont have that problem, but still, using a substitute in the big battle for a character I'd used the whole game was saddening to me.

 

it actually felt like the youknowwho had died permanently. it reminded me of fallout 2 when my sulik was killed on the oil rig and i hadnt saved in a while and i decided to go on alone for the first time since meeting him. made the end very bittersweet.

[Volourn]

"also: the youknowwho left my party on the eve of the big battle because i wouldnt do something evil. robbing me of my best party member right when they are needed most. that was a major buzzkill but i dont really fault the game, more the character for being an awful jerkface."

 

C&C, man, C&C. Also, you don't need to be evil to do what yopu are talking about...

[Monte Carlo]

I wonder if there's any way to convince most of the arls in the Landsmeet, to avoid the fight with Loghain.

 

There is, although it is tricky. i had maxed out Coercion, by the way...

 

Here's how: SPOILER

 

 

It depends on the order you put your evidence in the debate, and the info you've gathered along the way. One Bann really doesn't like slavery (i.e. the alienage quest). I got all the Banns, bar one, to support me and was given the choice of executing the Bad Guy instead, which of course I did.

 

Edited November 23, 2009 by Monte Carlo

[Guest Slinky]

I wonder if there's any way to convince most of the arls in the Landsmeet, to avoid the fight with Loghain.

 

There is, although it is tricky. i had maxed out Coercion, by the way...

 

Here's how: SPOILER

 

 

It depends on the order you put your evidence in the debate, and the info you've gathered along the way. One Bann really doesn't like slavery (i.e. the alienage quest). I got all the Banns, bar one, to support me and was given the choice of executing the Bad Guy instead, which of course I did.

 

 

You have evidence for the slavery and you can release a son of a bann from Howe's place. Use them and don't accuse Loghain for the death of the king, you don't have any evidence of that.

 

[Jaesun]

Just finished. And I got the final strike at the end. That was so awesome. Save shows 98 hours.

 

Well done Bioware. Well done.

[alanschu]

Glad you enjoyed it

[~Di]

I am very close to the end, and am having a most amusing "bug". I have a male PC, who has romanced Zevran. I have Alestair at 100% Friendly... and for some reason when I click on Alestair, he occasionally calls me.. "My Love...".

 

Bug or he just knows I'm gay and is flirting with me.

 

Lucky dog. Zevran barely talks to me even though he's "warm". I gave him presents, even! Two-faced pointy-eared jerk. I wanted to make Alastair jealous. He's begun to take me for granted ever since we did the deed.

 

Bah. Men.

 

[~Di]

I'll confess my mages fall. So do my warriors... well, Sten, anyway. I've fallen a few times myself... to be expected of a lightly-armored rogue who's in the midst of the melee fray with her little daggers wailing away. I've become enamored with Morrigan's Blizzard spell. I hold everyone else back, then have her run up and cast it. When it works, she gets to the back of the pack and my warriors wait for the survivors to stagger to them. When it doesn't work... well, RIP Morrigan. Even when it works, the mobs have blood in their eye for my mage. It's tough for the warrior's taunt to keep them off her.

 

I'm going for arcane warrior next time around. I love magic, I love melee, it should be right up my alley!

 

BTW, I've no experience with fireball or inferno since I kept Morri on the cold path, then went straight for crushing prison. Is heat better than cold? Opinions?

 

dual weilding with high dex and moderate con (20+) most times out survives a well armored tank like stan. In fact I have to baby sit stan to keep him from dying. With leh and zep with their med armor and duel weapons and high crits just kick as much arse as the warrior classes if not more. Simply the game mechanics favor high dex, duel weilding abilities without a doubt. I have alister as my main aggro with sword/shield and shield wall on. He and my main PC (human warrior) draws most of the aggro and as long as I can keep the aggro on them the rogues and mages normally open a 6 pack of whoop arse. So much for tactics as that formula works with 85% of the encounters boss and some elites aside.

 

Agreed, my rogue really hasn't fallen often. Maybe 3 times in 70+ hours of play. Alastair is my main tank, and he is one tough bugger to kill! Sten... *sigh*... he only looks tough. Even Wynne can't keep him alive.

 

On another note, I agreed with whoever said that Crushing Prison owns! However, I've discovered the joy of Wynne's Petrify and frankly it's even better!

Edited November 23, 2009 by ~Di

[alanschu]

I know some people around here have had really good success with two-handed weapon builds.

[Jaesun]

I am very close to the end, and am having a most amusing "bug". I have a male PC, who has romanced Zevran. I have Alestair at 100% Friendly... and for some reason when I click on Alestair, he occasionally calls me.. "My Love...".

 

Bug or he just knows I'm gay and is flirting with me.

 

Lucky dog. Zevran barely talks to me even though he's "warm". I gave him presents, even! Two-faced pointy-eared jerk. I wanted to make Alastair jealous. He's begun to take me for granted ever since we did the deed.

 

Bah. Men.

 

 

IIRC, once you romance someone, you cant really start another romance with someone else. So gift just make them more and more friendly. Which is not bad.