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[mjc]

I'm really enjoying the game, but the main story is almost non-existent. Really weird.

 

[X-Frame]

Where do you get/buy upgraded companion armor?

 

[MechaX]

I should really stop thinking that I'm safe when I'm away from main fray of the fight using magic. This is probably the 4th or 5th time in a row where my front-line fighters would be farther ahead, my mage and sometimes Varric would be farther off in a corner (at one point, behind a bottomless pit), and we end up getting fucked over because the entire enemy squad somehow respawns materializes behind us.

 

[Papercuts]

I should really stop thinking that I'm safe when I'm away from main fray of the fight using magic. This is probably the 4th or 5th time in a row where my front-line fighters would be farther ahead, my mage and sometimes Varric would be farther off in a corner (at one point, behind a bottomless pit), and we end up getting fucked over because the entire enemy squad somehow respawns materializes behind us.

The repawning seems like it was meant to stop people from doing this exact thing. It can be lame but I guess it works since my mage is usually closer to the middle/front instead of in a corner somewhere.

 

[Ickman3400]

I've reached the end game and it has gotten a bit better story wise. The entire Act 3 is focused on the mage-templar issue and a few things have happened that made me think I could have changed if I had done things differently earlier in the game, though I'm not sure if that's the case, or these events would have happened no matter what. I guess I'll have to play a 2nd playthrough to find out for sure.

I said before that the game hit a sour note on me after Act 1 but I feel better about it now. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this game, and it could have been something amazing if they didn't rush. A little worried about the ending though after seeing so many people sum it up as "wtf happened"

 

[eek5]

Where do you get/buy upgraded companion armor?

you can buy gifts at stores that upgrade their armor. i missed all of them lol

check the jewel tab

 

[Jin]

you can buy gifts at stores that upgrade their armor. i missed all of them lol

check the jewel tab

I didn't even know you could buy them until after Deep Roads. That's also when I realized you can turn off your helmet display in the option menu. I was helmetless for 20 hours of gameplay :/

 

[BoboBrazil]

I've reached the end game and it has gotten a bit better story wise. The entire Act 3 is focused on the mage-templar issue and a few things have happened that made me think I could have changed if I had done things differently earlier in the game, though I'm not sure if that's the case, or these events would have happened no matter what. I guess I'll have to play a 2nd playthrough to find out for sure.

I said before that the game hit a sour note on me after Act 1 but I feel better about it now. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this game, and it could have been something amazing if they didn't rush. A little worried about the ending though after seeing so many people sum it up as "wtf happened"

it's not really like a wtf happened, it is more like that's it? are there multiple endings to this game or just the 1?

 

[X-Frame]

you can buy gifts at stores that upgrade their armor. i missed all of them lol

check the jewel tab

Which stores?

And what do you mean you missed them?

 

[eek5]

Which stores?

And what do you mean you missed them?

Some items are only available in certain acts. I'm on Act 3 and I didn't buy any of them..... :/

 

[Zeliard]

The repawning seems like it was meant to stop people from doing this exact thing. It can be lame but I guess it works since my mage is usually closer to the middle/front instead of in a corner somewhere.

I went Force Mage with Hawke and unlocked Unshakable some time back, which made that a bit less cumbersome. That ability adds a meaty, permanent +100 to fortitude (which is also nice because as a mage, I didn't bother wasting a single point on STR). So those staggers and such when trying to reposition and continually getting hit aren't as much an issue anymore with that char.

 

[MrDaravon]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong: I think you can only the first companion armor upgrade (they're in various shops) in Act 1. Then each character has 2 upgrades you can find in Act 2, and you find their final upgrade in Act 3.

The Black Emporium is the only shop that has inventory that carries from Act to Act, so yeah if you didn't buy the ones in Act 1 you're out of luck. I think most (all?) items found in the world also change from Act to Act, so you really need to keep an eye out to avoid missing stuff. I didn't miss any of the upgrades in Act 1, maybe someone who did can check the Black Emporium to see if they show up there like resources you missed do?

 

[Basileus777]

Armor upgrades:

Spoiler

Anders
Act 2: Armor Suits can be bought at Lirene's Ferelden Imports in Lowtown.
Act 2: Lyrium Weave can be bought at Mage Goods in Gallows Courtyard.
Act 2: Spirit Essence can be found during the "Dissent" quest.
Act 3: Sigil of the Mage Underground can be found during the "Best Served Cold" quest.

Aveline
Act 1: Underpadding - Guardsman Pattern can be bought at the Armor Stand in Lowtown.
Act 2: Impact Plating - Guardsman Pattern can be bought at the Armor Stand in Lowtown.
Act 2: Flex-Chain - Guardsman Pattern can be found during the "Raiders on the Cliffs" quest.
Act 3: Deflecting Joints - Guardsman Pattern can be found during the "Favor and Fault" quest.

Bethany/Carver
Act 1 - Carver: Fereldan Girded Plating can be found during the "Birthright" quest.
Act 1 - Bethany: Heirloom Amell Protective Sigils can be found during the "Birthright" quest.

Fenris
Act 2: Tevinter Spirit Symbol can be bought at Robes by Jean Luc in Hightown.
Act 2: Lyrium Scales can be bought at Shady Merchandise at the Docks.
Act 2: Reinforced Straps can be found during the "A Bitter Pill" quest.
Act 3: Enchanted Resin can be found during the "Mine Massacre" quest.

Isabela
Act 2: Rigid Boning can be bought at the Apparel Shop in Lowtown.
Act 2: Supportive Corselet can be bought at Robes by Jean Luc in Hightown.
Act 2: Lambswool Insoles can be found during the "To Catch a Thief" quest.
Act 3: Boiled Leather Plates can be found during the "A Murder of Crows" quest.

Merrill
Act 2: Samite Lining can be bought at Robes by Jean Luc in Hightown.
Act 2: Carved Ironwood Buttons can be bought at Ilen's Crafts in Sundermount.
Act 2: Silver-Threaded Dalish Embroidery can be found during the "Top of Sundermount" quest.
Act 3: Halla Horn Buckles can be found during the "A New Path" quest.

Sebastian
Act 2: Enchanted Articulation can be bought at the Armor Shop in Gallows Courtyard.
Act 2: Reinforced Bracers can be bought at Olaf's Armory in Hightown.
Act 2: Mail Undertunic can be found during the "Repentance" quest.
Act 3: Protection of the Faith can be found during the "Best Served Cold" quest.

Varric
Act 1: Inscribed Leather Harness can be bought at the Apparel Shop in Lowtown.
Act 2: Coat Lining with Concealed Pockets can be bought at Shady Merchandise at the Docks.
Act 2: Silverite-Reinforced Buckles can be found during the "Family Matter" quest.
Act 3: Drakeskin Leg Straps can be found during the "Finding Nathaniel" quest.

 

[Xevren]

I don't think resources you missed show up in the Emporium, just certain ones from act to act. I missed an ambrosia in the last act and the only way for me to ever get it is to replay the whole game again.

 

[Deadly]

Near the end of the game my mage suddenly started attacking and casting much slower than before. I didn't have any debuffs or anything either. Anyone know what was the problem?

Also how come Merill's armor changes to white at one point? I don't even know that happened..

 

[gdt]

Very useful stuff, but I think that should be spoiled for the people that would rather find it on their own.

 

[MrDaravon]

I don't think resources you missed show up in the Emporium, just certain ones from act to act. I missed an ambrosia in the last act and the only way for me to ever get it is to replay the whole game again.

Well it only shows ones from the previous act you missed, so if you're in the last act and missed one in that act you can't get back to you're out of luck sure.

 

[Grisby]

Couple questions for the end of Act 2 (which was pretty fun btw). Don't read unless you've beaten it!

Spoiler

Could I have had a one on one fight with the Ashtok? And if so, how? Also, I take it Isabella isn't coming back? Bitch took off with the relic with a note saying, "lol sorries. "

I really like how things came together at the end of Act 2 and how story stuff finally picked up. Act 3 definitely started out interesting as well so I'm itching to get back to playing tomorrow.

 

[Deadly]

Couple questions for the end of Act 2 (which was pretty fun btw). Don't read unless you've beaten it!

Spoiler

Could I have had a one on one fight with the Ashtok? And if so, how? Also, I take it Isabella isn't coming back? Bitch took off with the relic with a note saying, "lol sorries. "

I really like how things came together at the end of Act 2 and how story stuff finally picked up. Act 3 definitely started out interesting as well so I'm itching to get back to playing tomorrow.

Spoiler

Yes, in my playthrough, Isabella came back but the Arishok wanted to take Isabella with them so you either hand her over or duel him.

 

[eek5]

Near the end of the game my mage suddenly started attacking and casting much slower than before. I didn't have any debuffs or anything either. Anyone know what was the problem?

Also how come Merill's armor changes to white at one point? I don't even know that happened..

romance = white i think

 

[JohngPR]

I'm only a few hours in (about 4-5 hours in or so...just finished Avaline's companion quest) and I'm enjoying it so far. I really like that the story has a family element to it and it isn't all about "OMG, only you can save the world!" at least not yet.

The combat in the PC version has a similar layout to Origins although it seems a little cheap that enemies come out of nowhere and can easily attack your guys when you're not paying attention. It would have been a little more forgivable if the game did a better job of notifying you that it's happening. I guess I'll just have to keep that in mind when I'm in a battle. Not only that, but I miss being able to change the camera to isometric and being able to pan it all around the level. The fact that they don't let you pan the camera as far back as before would have been a little more forgivable if they allowed free camera movement when you pan all the way out like you did in DAO.

Overall I'm enjoying so far, although it's still early to give any further impressions.

 

[Grisby]

Spoiler

Yes, in my playthrough, Isabella came back but the Arishok wanted to take Isabella with them so you either hand her over or duel him.

Well shit. Maybe I didn't have the

Spoiler

friendship points with her high enough or something.

 

[TeK-DeLorean]

it seems a little cheap that enemies come out of nowhere and can easily attack your guys when you're not paying attention. It would have been a little more forgivable if the game did a better job of notifying you that it's happening.

"Another wave!"
"We've got company!!"
"there's more of them!!"

After a while you'll start expecting them and be prepared for it.. even be all tensed for more mobs... and then none spawn.

Aveline is a horrible tank

You're doing it wrong.. My Aveline will. not. fall.

 

[Ickman3400]

it's not really like a wtf happened, it is more like that's it? are there multiple endings to this game or just the 1?

I just beat it and posted in the story spoiler thread, but I'm not sure if there's multiple endings. It felt like no matter what I did that certain things were going to happen a certain way. If there are multiple endings, it's probably just minor things instead of huge story changing things. Going to play another playthrough though completely different to find out.

 

[Ickman3400]

Spoiler

Yes, in my playthrough, Isabella came back but the Arishok wanted to take Isabella with them so you either hand her over or duel him.

That was an enormous pain in the ass. It took me over 40 minutes to do that, and I had to use my WoW kiting skills and about 20 potions to pull it off lol

 

[TeK-DeLorean]

Just wanna say mages spawning and insta-casting Chain lightning or whatever the fuck that lightning sphere explosion is, is fucking lame

 

[Papercuts]

The act 2 Aveline companion quest was great, especially with Isabella in the party.

 

[jackdoe]

Just wanna say mages spawning and insta-casting Chain lightning or whatever the fuck that lightning sphere explosion is, is fucking lame

Agree. All of a sudden half my party dies and I wonder what the fuck just happened.

 

[Grisby]

The act 2 Aveline companion quest was great, especially with Isabella in the party.

Oh man, I'll have to try that on my second run through. Varrics was also a lot of fun, him being an expert story-teller and all,

 

[Basileus777]

Tempest is so ridiculous, you can stun a huge area and it has no friendly fire.

 

[gdt]

Damn, Night Terrors is one of the best side quests, EVER.

Took a bit of a hit in my friendships though . Got most of it back with the 2 chats afterward.



I romanced Merrill, now, can I talk to her in my home? I can find her at hers, but it'd be cool if she stayed at mine.

Also, can I lose her romance (by losing friendship)? Or is that pussy mine forever?

25 hours in. Still in Act 2.

 

[Pollux]

So....are they planning on doing a Dragon Age 3?

 

[Van Buren]

Completed act 2 on nightmare, and I can't shake the nagging suspicion that Bioware is undermining a lot of the world-building elements from DA:O -

Becoming a blood mage seemed to involve a lot of research, going by the mage circle quest in the first game. In DA2, word must have gotten around on how to perform the blood magic rituals, since nearly every mage you fight is a blood mage. Oh, and the blood mage enemies appear to have a different ruleset to the one Hawke has; Hawke hits like a wet noodle in comparison to DA2's blood mage grunts, who can wipe parties in a few seconds.

Another oddity that jumped out is that demon types were more 'sacred' in DA:O. Fighting a Revenant or a desire demon was built up to be a big deal, and one didn't encounter them frequently until past the halfway point. In DA2, I was frequently encountering and dispatching them within a handful of hours with a lowbie party.

I guess one can explain such inconsistencies away by branding Varric an unreliable narrator, but that opens a whole different can of worms.

 

[canadian crowe]

So....are they planning on doing a Dragon Age 3?

I hope so, I loved 2. I think they'll take all the feedback in and make it more like Origins
though.

 

[Pollux]

Also am I the only one so far that actually liked the design of Kirkwall? Especially with its history and other things thrown in.

 

[Rahxephon91]

So....are they planning on doing a Dragon Age 3?

Probably, hopefully they realize the faults with DA2 and make a game better then the huge letdown that is 2.

Also am I the only one so far that actually liked the design of Kirkwall? Especially with its history and other things thrown in.

What things? It's probably one of the most personalty-less cities I have ever experienced in an rpg.

 

[canadian crowe]

Also am I the only one so far that actually liked the design of Kirkwall? Especially with its history and other things thrown in.

I liked Kirkwall too. I liked the intimacy of the story and the one city setting. Not every RPG has to be about saving the world.

 

[chase]

A few hours in the shortened quest descriptions -just telling you what the next step is and not the entire quest history- is my biggest complaint so far. I get like ten quests at a time and they all blend into one; I can't keep straight why I'm visiting this guy, who wanted me to visit him, just that I'm supposed to visit him next. Makes them seem meaningless.

 

[Pollux]

Spoiler

So i just finished the game....don't tell me the Hawke and the Grey Warden pulled a Revan/Exile? If there would be a DA3 I'm guessing it would revolve around the war between mage and templar and what the Chantry is doing about it?

 

[Visceir]

Spoiler

As for Merrill's mirror only the demon had answers so by killing it whatever knowledge it had is lost forever which is unavoidable I don't think there is a way to ever fix it.

Ok, so I did some research and it turns out that the mirror is an Eluvian, the same one that Duncan broke in the elvish origins quest.

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Eluvian

Duncan thought it was a source for the taint, but it's actually a portal that leads to somewhere. (in the Witch Hunt DLC Morrigan entered the mirror?).

Is there really no way to fix the mirror? Considering the lack of content fixing and entering the mirror and finding a cool new world would probably be too much to ask, I suppose, haha.

 

[V_Arnold]

I liked Kirkwall too. I liked the intimacy of the story and the one city setting. Not every RPG has to be about saving the world.

This. Thank god someone else said it first
As a veteran pen and paper RPG player, I always loved adventures where our party was pretty much confined to one city - it was so rare that it happened though, I still remember a huge questchain back from 2002 with barbarian invasion on a lone city, higher powers appearing, using us as puppets...good old times, huh.

Anyway, my point is: if they get one really detailed city, that is better than visiting 10-12 half-assed city - imho. And this one is detailed enough for my taste.

 

[ZombieFred]

There are a few flaws with this game but they are only minor compared to looking at the wider picture, but everything is pretty great compared to the first game. I was mainly concerned about the written quality with the dialogue and characters when they decided to change with how the dialogue works with the game, to be like Mass Effect. But outside of a few poor patches here and there, but these being amusing to laugh at (in a good way) it’s pretty much solid, and if not better, even if it’s been more streamlined compared to the dialogue in origins, I felt like it had a more power impact this time since of feeling more connected to the character and world around me. Also the music's great for some of the characters I have heard so far. I'm fine with the clone maps/areas for some of the side quests, even if it's just a slap of new paint or the odd item here and there, it reminds me of the planet situation in Mass Effect. Not a bad thing minds you, if it allows for more content. But you can clearly see this game was rushed in some areas. Overall I think the two Dragon Age games have a different feeling to one and another because of how the gameplay is warped around with the main characters, but I find the combat system to be much better and more involved with using other characters in my party this time around (something in Origins I didn’t really felt or had the need, feeling dull) and got the choice to use either tactics on my team and focus on just me, or using the former choice.

There’s a lot of stuff they have tried differently on here and a lot of it has worked, while some unfortunately haven’t hit that my personal expectations when in compared to Origins. The best thing I see from this and other feedback is what they can do with Dragon Age 3 and improve on the flaws from this game. It’s still a great RPG to enjoy but I can respect why it might alienate some people when looking at the much traditional older RPG Bioware use to create. It's also a bit of a relief to just enjoy a story of one location after time this time around, in compared to the numerous "travel over the globe to save the world" that many RPGs do. Slightly refreshing. Kirkwall reminds me much of Baldur's Gate.

 

[Lyonaz]

Man I'm enjoying the shit out of this game!
Sure the main story seems to be a bit lacking at the moment, but damn my sarcastic, funny lady Hawke is awesome and a total hottie!
Also I love how my mage is like this badass jedi/kung fu shoalin warrior with the way she moves and casts spells.

 

[Duki]

does stuff in the witch hunt dlc have any effect when you import it into this game?

 

[Lostconfused]

Welp you know I thought some people were taking it way too far by comparing Fenris to Hitler. But I guess when Bioware them selves reference the "Final Solution" all bets are off.

 

[Truant]

Where can I get a decent 2h sword? I'm level 10 and I'm still rolling the sword you get in the beginning. I won't want axes or hammers.

 

[Wolves Evolve]

EDIT: Sorry, just catching up with the SecuROM news.

I watched some of the game yesterday and I think I'm ready to forgive the design flaws in general. Its fascinating to see people's reactions change over time.

 

[Ruuppa]

Where can I get a decent 2h sword? I'm level 10 and I'm still rolling the sword you get in the beginning. I won't want axes or hammers.

Decent 2h swords seem to be rare-ish. Just roll over and use axes/hammers, they're just reskins of swords instead of a different breed of weapons, like they were in DA:O. Silly Bioware.

 

[Cetra]

Having just arrived at the year seven mark in the game, I guess that is Act III, I'm really liking the much more intimate and small story of Dragon Age II. My only real problem with the game is that, contrary to previous reports, there is no Auto-Attack option for the console version. Spamming A sucks. Also, the reuse of dungeon skins and layouts is pretty disturbing. I find Kirkwall to pretty cool as a setting. Most of the cast I don't really care for. Though Femhawke is super awesome.

I think I still prefer Origins, but DAII is definitely awesome in it's own right. The narrative structure is interesting and constantly keeps you guessing.

 

[Blue Ninja]

Okay, what the fuck, BioWare. Just had the game semi-freeze on me while I was entering a dungeon (the loading screen remained on, but I could see myself running around on the minimap and such). Exited back to the menu, and it says all my saves are corruped.

Okay, I restarted the game, and now only my autosave was corrupted. Got me scared for a moment there.