Dragon Age discussion

[HoonDing]

In the beginning I tried micromanaging every character during battles... it quickly became mind-numbing having to pause every 2 picoseconds. I then acquired the advanced tactics mod and put warriors & archer rogues on autopilot... and never looked back. Having to micromanage only Morrigan makes the combat much less a chore.

Edited February 22, 2010 by virumor

[Guest Slinky]

Jesus Christ, the grind.

Finally someone who feels the same way. Atleast you just loaned the game, I paid 50€ for that brain destroying grind fest.

 

Oh how I wish I could sell it in steam somehow.

 

You were going to sell it to me you bastard!

I could make a steam backup from it, burn it to a DVD and send it to your way if you want a new coaster

 

Only 99.99€ for the next few hours, so buy now! One million customers can't be wrong, so act quickly!

[RPGmasterBoo]

First Zevran betrays me (well he was going to run himself right into a fireball anyway), then there's the completely ludicrous scene with queen Anora (sets me up to be killed and then asks for my support?????). What the hell is this?? I slaughtered those guys instead of going to jail but come on... that's gotta be the most insane plot twist ever. Meeting her in Arl Eamons estate later and the things she said... that was a the epitome of a WTF moment.

 

Btw between that and the estate there was an insanely difficult bandit battle that I cheesed my way out of...

[Hurlshort]

I'm a bit surprised you were comfortable slaughtering a bunch of guards. They were just doing their jobs.

[Oner]

DA final parts = Gnoll Fortress.

Come on, the Gnoll Fortress was at least short.

[HoonDing]

I always wondered why my Warden should care about rescuing the Queen. It was obviously a very convenient trap from the very beginning. The entire Landsmeet & the build-up to it reeks a whole lot of NWN 2's trial in Chapter 2.

 

Then again, the game assumes the Warden + party are idiots the entire time... walking into ambushes on the road, standing about like salt pillars while the villains conveniently put themselves in the optimal position during cutscenes, etc.

[RPGmasterBoo]

I'm a bit surprised you were comfortable slaughtering a bunch of guards. They were just doing their jobs.

 

They shouldn't have employed me as a Gray Warden in the first place, its a thankless, underpaid job and leads to frustration.

Nah I just did it to cut the story short, knowing that being capture would lead to an inevitable jailbrake quest.

 

As for the rest, I finished Landsmeet and executed Loghain. I thought he would make some sense at the end but no, all the crap he pulled is some sort of well intentioned nationalism? Right, whatever. Even the landsmeet degenerated into carnage. The game is so meaninglessly violent, everyone just prefers to die rather than to make sense.

Didn't get to kill that b!tch Anora unfortunately.

[Spider]

There is some information revealsed in Return to Ostagar that helps put a light on Loghain's actions, provided he himself had that information (RtO doesn't divulge if that's the case). Should have been in the game proper and Loghain should have pushed at it during Landsmeet. Would have made the story more interesting (and more logical).

[Hurlshort]

Actually the prison break was one of the more entertaining quests for myself. It was also fairly non-violent, if you chose to bluff your way through it.

[Volourn]

"First Zevran betrays me (well he was going to run himself right into a fireball anyway), then there's the completely ludicrous scene with queen Anora (sets me up to be killed and then asks for my support?????)."

 

Not really ludicrous. Anora, while I agree is a bitch, makes some sense if you pay attention to where she's coming from.

[RPGmasterBoo]

"First Zevran betrays me (well he was going to run himself right into a fireball anyway), then there's the completely ludicrous scene with queen Anora (sets me up to be killed and then asks for my support?????)."

 

Not really ludicrous. Anora, while I agree is a bitch, makes some sense if you pay attention to where she's coming from.

 

I know but you don't even get a decent "FY woman" response, it was a prime moment for a Renegade quicktime event - say choking her or something.

[Volourn]

"I know but you don't even get a decent "FY woman" response, it was a prime moment for a Renegade quicktime event - say choking her or something. "

 

Oh, I agree. BIO should add 'interrupts' to all their games. Heck, there's plenty of times in all their old agmes they should go back and add them in. L0L

 

Just give me an interrupt to cast silence on Minsc next time he goes on about his rodent or an interrupt to choke out Maurgrim in NWN OC or, well.. you gett eh picture. Heh.

[jaguars4ever]

Actually the prison break was one of the more entertaining quests for myself. It was also fairly non-violent, if you chose to bluff your way through it.

And the best part - it's totally optional!

[Sannom]

I always wondered why my Warden should care about rescuing the Queen. It was obviously a very convenient trap from the very beginning. The entire Landsmeet & the build-up to it reeks a whole lot of NWN 2's trial in Chapter 2.

 

A lot of things in Dragon Age reek of NWN 2, actually. From general plot to influence, and having the middle game nemesis actually join you. Didn't the main scenarist for NWN 2 went to Bioware and worked on Dragon Age?

 

There is some information revealsed in Return to Ostagar that helps put a light on Loghain's actions, provided he himself had that information (RtO doesn't divulge if that's the case). Should have been in the game proper and Loghain should have pushed at it during Landsmeet. Would have made the story more interesting (and more logical).

 

Never understood that. I read the secret correspondance of Cailan on the wiki. Not even the last letter would give sense to Loghain's actions, he is just one big paranoid man!

[Spider]

I think what Cailan is doing gives perfect sense to Loghains actions. If he indeed knew about it. Basically his wors nightmares coming to pass at the hands of a king he has very little respect for as a ruler. I can see how he would act on that.

[Volourn]

"A lot of things in Dragon Age reek of NWN 2, actually. From general plot to influence, and having the middle game nemesis actually join you. Didn't the main scenarist for NWN 2 went to Bioware and worked on Dragon Age?"

 

Doubt it made that huge of difference or had any real impact as DA was already well into development by the time he came on board and/or NWN2 was released. I'm espicially sure the story was pretty much set as well by then.

[Gromnir]

I think what Cailan is doing gives perfect sense to Loghains actions. If he indeed knew about it. Basically his wors nightmares coming to pass at the hands of a king he has very little respect for as a ruler. I can see how he would act on that.

 

even if loghain had reason to believe that cailin were nuttier than a squirrel's nest in october, loghain's actions would still be perplexing. loghain gets firsthand knowledge that the blight is real, but he goes ahead and creates the conditions for a civil war regardless. have cailin murdered in his sleep by a wh0re from orlais? perhaps. heck, cailin, being an idiot, joins in the fighting firsthand. is pretty darn easy to "accidental" get killed on a battlefield.

 

have not played rto, but even if loghain discovered that cailin wished to make fereldan a vassal state of orlais, we still cannot understand loghain's perplexing strategy at ostegar. rumors travel faster than a wildfire, and is no way that loghain could keeps it quiet that he abandoned cailin in the face of a blight. why makes cailin a victim, a martyr even? set up conditions for a civil war, and makes self looks like a villain in the process? what kinda bass ackwards strategy is that?

 

...

 

maric's achievements is even more impressive in light of the fact that loghain were clearly a moron of epic proportions.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Tigranes]

Yeah.. if it was difficult to assassinate him, you'd think it's much more realistic that Loghain delays his men, exposes Cailan and gets him killed, then comes in to 'save the day' and become the hero of Ostagar.

[Gromnir]

Yeah.. if it was difficult to assassinate him, you'd think it's much more realistic that Loghain delays his men, exposes Cailan and gets him killed, then comes in to 'save the day' and become the hero of Ostagar.

 

makes much more sense than what occurred in the game.

 

am not minding a misunderstood villain... but we have little patience for a stoopid villain.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Monte Carlo]

I vote for the Chaos Warden option --- let Ferelden fall as a firetrap for the Darkspawn to feed on and then reinforce someplace else for a counter-attack, a la Duncan's strategy.

 

As the game makes clear, Ferelden is a backward place that smells of dogs and is run by buffoons. To hell with it, Chaos Warden's end cutscene sees the Archdemon raze Denerim as our (anti) Hero smirks, riding off to take advantage of the break in hostilities to form a new army. Of course, he sweet-talked the dumber NPCs to make their last stand with the Fereldens....

[Humanoid]

Problem with that is my current grey warden would prefer to raze Denerim personally.

[HoonDing]

Basically, the reasonable thing to do for the main character & Alistair would be to leave Ferelden and join the rest of the Wardens in Orlais, inform them of Loghain's nuttery & wait for the Blight to reach the borders of Orlais.

 

The way one is shoehorned into saving some backwater country is annoying. It's perhaps understandable for a Human noble or even a CIty Elf, but for a Dalish or Dwarf? Basically it's the same as Kotor, but instead of the Jedi Council there's Flemeth telling the player what to do... but why would one even listen to some old hag who obviously had her own plans for saving your behind?

Edited February 23, 2010 by virumor

[mr insomniac]

Abandoning Ferelden makes you pretty cold-hearted about the people who live there, not to mention turnning the countryside into a wasteland. Also the possibility of allowing the archdemon to gain that kind of foothold on the surface will make it even tougher, if not impossible to stop it when the horde does eventually reach Orlais.

[Spider]

Yeah.. if it was difficult to assassinate him, you'd think it's much more realistic that Loghain delays his men, exposes Cailan and gets him killed, then comes in to 'save the day' and become the hero of Ostagar.

 

makes much more sense than what occurred in the game.

 

am not minding a misunderstood villain... but we have little patience for a stoopid villain.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

I think it was said somewhere (probably in RtO as well) that the Fereldian army at Ostagar would have lost that battle even if they had interefered. They had underestimated the strength of the Blight and didn't have enough troops to win.

 

Besides, Loghain really hated the Grey Wardens, and he didn't buy into them being the only ones that can stop a Blight. And the Grey Wardens were the only ones that bit the dust at Ostagar, so in his mind the military strength of Ferelden wasn't affected much.

 

It's entirely possible that Loghain didn't plan Ostagar, just saw an opportunity and took it, when he realized he'd only be throwing his troops away.

 

Does it make absolute sense? No, there are still flaws in his logic, but there is a reasoning there I can see an arrogant bastard like him make. I could have bought that, story-wise. Now he just comes off as a raving madman, and I think the story suffers because of it.

 

It almost makes me think the information in RtO was thought of after the game shipped because they realized the games main villain just didn't make sense. Considering how the information is presented (through codex entries when you find letters), it really feels like something just thrown in there.

[Sannom]

I think it was said somewhere (probably in RtO as well) that the Fereldian army at Ostagar would have lost that battle even if they had interefered. They had underestimated the strength of the Blight and didn't have enough troops to win.

 

Besides, Loghain really hated the Grey Wardens, and he didn't buy into them being the only ones that can stop a Blight. And the Grey Wardens were the only ones that bit the dust at Ostagar, so in his mind the military strength of Ferelden wasn't affected much.

 

Nonsense. Have you seen the amount of people behind Loghain when he ordered the retreat? No way the darkspawns were outnumbering these It wasn't an army, it was a horde.

 

And no, the ones who bit the dust at Ostagar were the Grey Wardens, the King and a good amount of Fereldan soldiers.