Dragon Age 2

[Nepenthe]

It's been rock-solid for me (a surprise in itself, considering what I'm running), so I can't help you there. DX11 issues?

[Bos_hybrid]

DX11 issues?

 

Yep. Some parts were so bad I had to go to DX9 to proceed(High Dragon). Still Shiny>Stability.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Bos_hybrid

[Amentep]

I read a review (here? somewhere? my motivation to check died a few minutes ago. Poor little guy) that complained that the persuasion ability was taken out of the game and now you had to rely of Varric. Turns out if you make the humorous/diamond (what does that represent? "You're a gem?") you can actually do the persuads that Varric does without Varric around whereas my previous character couldn't do that, taking mostly kind/rarely mean dialogue choices, but avoiding the funny.

I just persuaded the Templar the mages had been killed in the cave and the leader escaped to the coast without Varric

Of course not taking the nice route I find I can't persuade people to being nice fluffy kittens (which sadly has meant a little death for people. Oops).

 

I've also noticed that my funny character has actually started conversations differently (ie funny) from the other character (who usually started conversations like a kindly grandma or questing knight or something).

 

Now I actually want to play the game using mostly the red icons - giving people the fist! - just to see how I start conversation.

 

Love some of the funny dialogue

particularly the funny response to the First Sacrifice quest when the Templar remarks that the women are probably dead having found the hand/bones which had me laughing out loud.

 

[Oner]

I read a review (here? somewhere? my motivation to check died a few minutes ago. Poor little guy) that complained that the persuasion ability was taken out of the game and now you had to rely of Varric. Turns out if you make the humorous/diamond (what does that represent? "You're a gem?") you can actually do the persuads that Varric does without Varric around whereas my previous character couldn't do that, taking mostly kind/rarely mean dialogue choices, but avoiding the funny.

I just persuaded the Templar the mages had been killed in the cave and the leader escaped to the coast without Varric

I heard you can only do that as a rogue. Dunno if it's true however.

[Nepenthe]

I've also noticed that my funny character has actually started conversations differently

The tone you "mostly" use opens up new conversation options in some dialogues (not necessarily the same ones - it's often the lower left-hand corner one) and affects your "non-chooseable" lines across the board. I don't think it's class related, at least haven't heard/noticed that myself.

[Volourn]

Special dialogue uses the star icon. It often depends on how your main approach as the game keeps tracks of your scharacter's speech patterns. Even your random dialogue in combat (or if you click on your character while controlling another character) uses that. Class is irrelevant.

[Tale]

It's not just Varric. Every companion has opportunities to interject into a conversation to possibly alter the outcome. I had Aveline threaten to beat up a guy right after I arrived in Kirkwall when I was going for the mass exodus achievement. Supposedly there's a logic to it, such as Fenris is good for dealing with Qunari.

 

And then there's the star icon, which often relates to previous choices. Like if you did investigate on the topics the guy at the gate gives you, then you can use star on the guardsman at the steps. Basically, it lets you carry information from one guy to the next.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Tale

[Amentep]

I read a review (here? somewhere? my motivation to check died a few minutes ago. Poor little guy) that complained that the persuasion ability was taken out of the game and now you had to rely of Varric. Turns out if you make the humorous/diamond (what does that represent? "You're a gem?") you can actually do the persuads that Varric does without Varric around whereas my previous character couldn't do that, taking mostly kind/rarely mean dialogue choices, but avoiding the funny.

I just persuaded the Templar the mages had been killed in the cave and the leader escaped to the coast without Varric

I heard you can only do that as a rogue. Dunno if it's true however.

 

I did it as a warrior.

 

Tale - I know every character has options to interject; I was merely addressing a complaint I'd read that it was only possible to get that specific outcome with Varric in your party as an illustration of lack of communication skills for the PC; not sure that you can replace Varric in *every* instance, or if you and Varric are in the party together if you'll get the option to do it yourself, but it was interesting to me.

 

 

I'd be interested to see if you can complete the missing Templar quest and do the check Merril can to confirm the Templar isn't possessed if you as a mage PC have taken bloodmage?

 

[Nepenthe]

Special dialogue uses the star icon. It often depends on how your main approach as the game keeps tracks of your scharacter's speech patterns. Even your random dialogue in combat (or if you click on your character while controlling another character) uses that. Class is irrelevant.

 

Not always, but it could be bugging. I had at least one special dialogue option show up with the olive branch. But yes, generally all special dialogue options, whether stance-based or completion of a previous quest are marked with the star.

 

 

Pretty sure Anders can do the Templar possession check as well, but haven't played with a mage Hawke yet, as am waiting for the first patch before my third playthrough

 

[Tale]

You do occasionally get dominant stance special dialogue. I'm not sure what the conditions are for that (do dialogues with a dominant stance choice have one for all dominant stances or does each dominant stance show up in different dialogues?). There's lots of ways to get special dialogues.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Tale

[MrBrown]

I'd be interested to see if you can complete the missing Templar quest and do the check Merril can to confirm the Templar isn't possessed if you as a mage PC have taken bloodmage?

Your class doesn't change the options in that part.

 

 

Anyway, all companions get special dialogue options; it's in no way limited to Varric. That reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Amentep]

I believe they referred to Varric as being necessary for charm/persuade (which obviously he wouldn't) which they complained about being missing from the game.

[greylord]

Varric can be useful, but not as useful as my Rogue was. Persuasion is based upon Cunning, if I recall correctly. Just like some skills for conversation were based on Cunning in DA:O, now it's simply Cunning all on it's own. Cunning also helps in other areas, especially for Rogues. This is why Varric is more useful in persuasion...but my Rogue had a higher Cunning then he did (and hence was also better at skills).

[Tale]

Cunning has nothing to do with it.

[John Lemon]

I read a review (here? somewhere? my motivation to check died a few minutes ago. Poor little guy) that complained that the persuasion ability was taken out of the game and now you had to rely of Varric. Turns out if you make the humorous/diamond (what does that represent? "You're a gem?") you can actually do the persuads that Varric does without Varric around whereas my previous character couldn't do that, taking mostly kind/rarely mean dialogue choices, but avoiding the funny.

 

I believe you mean the RPG codex review, where Vault Dweller complains about how persuasion was removed. He does mention that you usually rely on companions to do the persuading.

 

I finished DA2 about 3 days ago. I'm going to have to say it's not quite worth getting.

 

Gameplay-wise there is a lot of focus on combat, which is bad since the combat is tedious, repetitive, interminable, prosaic and every other synonym in the thesaurus I may have omitted. Random encounters are about as horrible as could be imagined. Respawning enemies out of nowhere, too many enemies per encounter, HP sink bosses, blatantly cheating enemies and the attempts to enforce MAD combine to yield a degree of tedium on par with reaching level 200 in Maplestory.

 

Story-wise I'd say it's slightly above Bioware standard. Refer to chart for the usual beginnings. Originality arrives in the form of not actually joining some order, having an ebil antagonist or having to run to exactly four places to initiate act 3. The conflict is less "Row row fight da powah, save the world!" and more "**** happened on your doorstep, you're gonna have to deal with it", YMMV on this, but I found it great for harkening back to the BG series where all you wanted to do was find the guy who killed Gorion.

 

Graphics-wise it's much improved thanks to the newer graphics engine. Fire looks good, animations look rather smoother but some textures could do with a bit of work. I'm not appreciative of the 'MY NAME IS HUGE" armour, fanservice heavy female companion armour or the Japanese approach to **** compensating weaponry though, I almost thought I'd bought Final Fantasy instead of Dragon Age 2. Speaking of which, the animations bear the hallmarks of too much anime and too little physics. Teleporting backstabs, swinging 7 foot long concrete slabs in a pirouette, swirly twirly cheerleader-y staff attacks kinda strains the belief that not everyone in Thedas has magical capabilities.

 

The soundscape is... Very forgettable. I know it's Inon Zur and all, but none of the soundtracks managed to be as captivating as the music from Mass Effect 1 or 2. The sound effects are not quite what you'd expect to hear from something. E.g. the sound of staff attacks could easily be mistaken for a raygun from a 1980s Sci-fi flick, Bianca sounds like an industrial gas valve when fired.

[entrerix]

lol, that was an entertaining review, i agree with a lot of it, but i found the combat to be much more fun than DA1, though the enemy wave idea was stupid and its kind of amazing they let that get past the first meeting

[Amentep]

I believe you mean the RPG codex review, where Vault Dweller complains about how persuasion was removed. He does mention that you usually rely on companions to do the persuading.

ound of staff attacks could easily be mistaken for a raygun from a 1980s Sci-fi flick, Bianca sounds like an industrial gas valve when fired.

 

Ahhhh...yes! That was it.

 

I've also been thinking about DA2...why do the Templars not monitor everyone who buys magical robes and staffs? You have to have a high magic to use them and for the most part only magic users would be able to do it. They could set up "To Catch A Mage" style stings, offering low-priced, high quality robes and staffs and then when they come in to the store they nab the apostates.

 

Edited March 29, 2011 by Amentep

[Orogun01]

I believe you mean the RPG codex review, where Vault Dweller complains about how persuasion was removed. He does mention that you usually rely on companions to do the persuading.

ound of staff attacks could easily be mistaken for a raygun from a 1980s Sci-fi flick, Bianca sounds like an industrial gas valve when fired.

 

Ahhhh...yes! That was it.

 

I've also been thinking about DA2...why do the Templars not monitor everyone who buys magical robes and staffs? You have to have a high magic to use them and for the most part only magic users would be able to do it. They could set up "To Catch A Mage" style stings, offering low-priced, high quality robes and staffs and then when they come in to the store they nab the apostates.

 

Because; and this is just conjecture, Templars are morons. If the Captain/Commander sees you practice magic in front of them, sees you carrying a staff and robes yet they don't realize that you are a mage. I have no other word for them, maybe it's too much lyrium but they are riding the back of the special bus.

[entrerix]

the whole templar thing is clearly part of the problem where the people writing the game don't actually play games, so they dont realize how stupid it looks for the player when the templars are supposedly trying to catch all the mages, and yet don't care about the pc, or any of the pc's companions, until its time for the writers to choose to have them care.

 

it was a bunch of guys in room B making up a story to go along with the game being made by group A. But group B doesnt really care about what group A is doing, and vice verse.

[Amentep]

I think that - ultimately - that's why the series went with a Circle Mage for the initial game making the player nominally in compliance with Chantry law/Templar requirements (even if you could be a blood mage there too - awkward).

 

I think by the time Meredith sees you, you're supposed to be too big to fail...er...to be too involved in the fight/famous to stand against but that creates a problem too since it seems like most people in Kirkwall agree with the Gallows and Templar treatment of mages, its weird they'd rally around an apostate PC (seem like it'd be more likely they'd hail Meredith and bury the champion under the Gallows).

 

I kinda think that the whole mage sequence is kind of a "what if" that doesn't work. I imagine if there ever is a canon Champion it'll be a warrior or rogue w/Bethany not a mage w/Carver.

[HoonDing]

the whole templar thing is clearly part of the problem where the people writing the game don't actually play games, so they dont realize how stupid it looks for the player when the templars are supposedly trying to catch all the mages, and yet don't care about the pc, or any of the pc's companions, until its time for the writers to choose to have them care.

 

it was a bunch of guys in room B making up a story to go along with the game being made by group A. But group B doesnt really care about what group A is doing, and vice verse.

Yet the lead writer made BG2 mods like Ascension, Improved Demogorgon, etc. I'm sure he remembered the Cowled Wizards and wanted something similar in the game, but the guys in the other room said 'No' due to engine limitations or similar nonsense.

[greylord]

Cunning has nothing to do with it.

 

Ah well, I was doing well with persuasion without Varric. The only stats I pumped with the Rogue was Dex and Cunning, and I was the awesome guy with traps and locks. I'd imagine Cunning must have something to do with it, or I'm just talented with being able to be proficient enough with conversations in BW games to have the persuade options without Varric?

 

Edit: Or am I missing something here. I had other options available to me with the Rogue than with other classes, including more diplomatic and persuasive options. I assume we are referring to the same things here.

Edited March 29, 2011 by greylord

[TheHarlequin]

The more comments I read about DA2 from you folks the more justified I feel about skipping it.

 

I also feel my comments about bioware in my recent op ed are justified all things considered.

 

You know what will be the real kicker? If DS3 seems more RPGish and polished story wise then DA2... talk about salt in ones wounds. *chuckle*

[entrerix]

i've got some complaints about DA2, but it was still worth playing, i put about 35 hours into it and had my fun. Its just that there are soooo many flaws in the game.

 

I would definitely pick it up when it gets to half price

[Orogun01]

You know what will be the real kicker? If DS3 seems more RPGish and polished story wise then DA2... talk about salt in ones wounds. *chuckle*

Why would it be? All these collaborations between squarenix and western developers will do nothing if not increase their foothold on the western market. They have simply realized that classical JRPG don't appeal to most of the western sensibilities and made the savvy decision of publishing western companies. I cast my vote for Squarenix as publisher of the year.

 

Edit: Holding my breath for a new Legacy of Kain game.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Orogun01