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[hermit7]

Alistair > Aveline
Leliana < Isabella
Zevran < Varric
Sten > Fenris
Shayle > Sebastian
Morrigan> Merrill
Wynne >Bethany
Ohgren > Carver
DA:O Dog > DA:2 Dog
DA:A Anders > DA:2 Anders


8-2, DA:1 wins in blow-out fashion….

The bolded are debatable. Wynne was annoying, Ohgren sucked ass, and you really think Dog was better in DAO? More integrated perhaps, but at least DA2 Dog doesn't take an entire companion space.

The others I am in agreement however. Varric in particular is a great character I think.

 

[Coxswain]

Alistair > Aveline
Leliana < Isabella
Zevran < Varric
Sten > Fenris
Shayle > Sebastian
Morrigan> Merrill
Wynne >Bethany
Ohgren > Carver
DA:O Dog > DA:2 Dog
DA:A Anders > DA:2 Anders


8-2, DA:1 wins in blow-out fashion….

I dunno, putting them all together in one giant, shamelessly silly ranked list, for me (and with the caveat that I skipped Awakenings entirely):

Aveline > Varric > Sten > Carver > Fenris > Bethany > Anders > Isabela > Sebastian > Dog > Shale > Alistair > Wynne > Leliana > Morrigan > Ohgren > Zevran > Merril.

(As a benchmark, Aveline, Varric, and Sten weigh in at "These guys are cool", Isabela through Shale is "I have no real opinion one way or another", and Merrill is all by herself in the category of "I am not only actively angry at this game for including her but also visibly annoyed by people who like her")

 

[Enduin]

funny thing is that when I first saw Merrill in promo shots I was completely against her. The new elven design was the only thing I despised about DA2 prerelease. I didnt think I could ever like her as a character, but surprisingly I found her to be really endearing and fun.

 

[ProtoCents]

I love the way the dog was handled this time. A summonable fifth member during battle was much better than one of 4 party members.

 

[gdt]

Merril is the best character in the game for me.

 

[water_wendi]

I love the way the dog was handled this time. A summonable fifth member during battle was much better than one of 4 party members.

But.. you could dress Dog up in different collars and markings! This is the saddest news of DA2 by far

 

[Shaka]

Merril is the best character in the game for me.

Agreed.
And shit, I missed Isabella! Time to restart.

 

[terrdactycalsrock]

Spoiler

for those of you who fought the High Dragon on the normal difficulty what level do you think I should be at? The dragon himself isnt to hard, its just that he summons so many little and kinda big enemies to fight you that it becomes hard to face them all.

 

[HadesGigas]

But.. you could dress Dog up in different collars and markings! This is the saddest news of DA2 by far

lol maybe they'll sell DLC dog breeds like Fable.

 

[Durante]

(As a benchmark, Aveline, Varric, and Sten weigh in at "These guys are cool", Isabela through Shale is "I have no real opinion one way or another", and Merrill is all by herself in the category of "I am not only actively angry at this game for including her but also visibly annoyed by people who like her")

I love Merril, but it's not a surprise that I disagree with you there since I also disagree with most other things you say about the game.

Now you can be visibly annoyed

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Merril is the best character in the game for me.

Merril is a sweet innocent blood mage. What's not to like?

My favorite part of the game was where my character was shouting at people for being blood mages when I myself took that as my class specialization and my girlfriend was also also a blood mage.

Lol.

 

[eek5]

Merril is a sweet innocent blood mage. What's not to like?

My favorite part of the game was where my character was shouting at people for being blood mages when I myself took that as my class specialization and my girlfriend was also also a blood mage.

Lol.

The only thing I don't like about her is that her spells/stats don't really back up what she is.

 

[Truant]

Merril is a sweet innocent blood mage. What's not to like?

My favorite part of the game was where my character was shouting at people for being blood mages when I myself took that as my class specialization and my girlfriend was also also a blood mage.

Lol.

Of of the biggest flaws of the first game, was how you could be a big hypocrite. It would be kinda cool if the game acknowledged that, but it was clearly an oversight from Bioware. Same with the sequel.

 

[Durante]

Blood magic seems like it's totally en vogue up in Kirkwall. In Origins you had to make a pact with a demon to be able to use it but in DA2 it's just there. Templars must be slacking.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

The only thing I don't like about her is that her spells/stats don't really back up what she is.

Well she gets blood magic but it's called something else, blood of the first or something.

TBH I wish that they would give you more serious social consequences for being a blood mage, but make it more powerful in battle. Would be a cool tradeoff. In DA2 I found Blood Magic really terrible actually and I regret taking it, Spirit Healer was a way better specialization, the passive abilities are amazing.

It's possible I just don't know how to use it (hint: I don't know how to use it), but I think there should be some passive buff just from being in blood magic mode, maybe like +2 Magic while it's active. That would make more sense in the lore where Blood Magic was supposed to be so amazing and powerful, but in game it's really not.

 

[Basileus777]

Well she gets blood magic but it's called something else, blood of the first or something.

TBH I wish that they would give you more serious social consequences for being a blood mage, but make it more powerful in battle. Would be a cool tradeoff. In DA2 I found Blood Magic really terrible actually and I regret taking it, Spirit Healer was a way better specialization, the passive abilities are amazing.

It's possible I just don't know how to use it (hint: I don't know how to use it), but I think there should be some passive buff just from being in blood magic mode, maybe like +2 Magic while it's active. That would make more sense in the lore where Blood Magic was supposed to be so amazing and powerful, but in game it's really not.

Merrill actually makes for the best blood mage because she doesn't have to worry about Willpower for armor. She can pump con and magic, and keep sustains on up to 100% of willpower (such as all of rock armor, arcane shield, wrath of the elvhen, blood of the first) because it doesn't matter for a blood mage. Get her friendship bonus, give her health boosting equipment and stuff that gives a better blood/mana ratio and she is awesome. Upgraded Wrath of the Elvhen heals her, and she can easily drop blood of the first and chug a potion or get healed by another mage when she needs more health.

It's funny because Bioware probably introduced the two stat requirements for equipment in this game to prevent broken combos like blood mage/arcane warrior from the first game, but thanks to NPCs having their own armor, it's back in a lesser way.

 

[Footos22]

Just done act 2, Awesome,

Spoiler

Killing the Arishok was pretty easy! My whole party fought that's probably why, plus isabella and my dog. Raped them all into next week.

So I'm trying to romance Isabella, I've done her companion quest in Act 3 and she said shes falling for me, had a smooch and trophy didnt pop.

Is there going to be another scene later on because i dont really want to play right through again.

 

[Basileus777]

Just done act 2, Awesome,

Spoiler

Killing the Arishok was pretty easy! My whole party fought that's probably why, plus isabella and my dog. Raped them all into next week.

So I'm trying to romance Isabella, I've done her companion quest in Act 3 and she said shes falling for me, had a smooch and trophy didnt pop.

Is there going to be another scene later on because i dont really want to play right through again.

You don't get the trophy until right before the final battle.

 

[autobzooty]

So I'm trying to just get all my party members unlocked, but I can't seem to figure out what to do to achieve that. I'm assuming I can't go on this expedition until I have all the party members available to me, right?

I can't seem to figure out the difference between "Main Plot," "Secondary," and "Side Quests." It seems totally arbitrary the way each quest is categorized and it's really confusing me. Would someone mind telling me which quests unlock the party members so I can figure out who I want my A-Team to be?

 

[Abylim]

Anyone else having freezing issues on PS3? 6 hours in and 2 freezes so far.

 

[HadesGigas]

So I'm trying to just get all my party members unlocked, but I can't seem to figure out what to do to achieve that. I'm assuming I can't go on this expedition until I have all the party members available to me, right?

I can't seem to figure out the difference between "Main Plot," "Secondary," and "Side Quests." It seems totally arbitrary the way each quest is categorized and it's really confusing me. Would someone mind telling me which quests unlock the party members so I can figure out who I want my A-Team to be?

Spoiler

Bait and Switch, Fenris
A Friend in the Guard, Aveline
Tranquility, Anders
Fools Rush In, Isabella
Long Way Home, Merill

 

[autobzooty]

Spoiler

Bait and Switch, Fenris
A Friend in the Guard, Aveline
Tranquility, Anders
Fools Rush In, Isabella
Long Way Home, Merill

Oh, is that really all the party members then? I figured there would be three of each class plus Hawke since they gave me three mages to work with. I guess I already have them all, then!

Thanks!

 

[Onagi]

If any characters in DA2 can hold a candle to Shale I'd be really surprised. She was far and away my favorite companion.

 

[HadesGigas]

Oh, is that really all the party members then? I figured there would be three of each class plus Hawke since they gave me three mages to work with. I guess I already have them all, then!

Thanks!

They change

Spoiler

who lives in the prologue depending on if you made Hawke a mage or not. You get Carver as an extra warrior instead of Bethany so you wouldn't be swimming in mages.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

I dunno, putting them all together in one giant, shamelessly silly ranked list, for me (and with the caveat that I skipped Awakenings entirely):

Aveline > Varric > Sten > Carver > Fenris > Bethany > Anders > Isabela > Sebastian > Dog > Shale > Alistair > Wynne > Leliana > Morrigan > Ohgren > Zevran > Merril.

(As a benchmark, Aveline, Varric, and Sten weigh in at "These guys are cool", Isabela through Shale is "I have no real opinion one way or another", and Merrill is all by herself in the category of "I am not only actively angry at this game for including her but also visibly annoyed by people who like her")

I'm going to have to agree. I enjoy the majority of characters in DA2 a lot more than DA:O so far (I'm in the middle of Act II)

For DA2 I'd rank them as:

GOOD

Aveline
Varric
Isabella

OK

Merrill
Carver / Bethany
Fenris
Sebastian

BAD

Anders

For DA:O

GOOD

Morrigan
Alistair

OK

Leliana
Shale
Sten

BAD

Wynne
Zevran
Oghren
Dog

All in all I disliked almost half of DA:O's original cast.

 

[subversus]

this is a game of contrasts.

On the one hand I entered the first copy-pasted location, and combat became frustrating as fuck on hard with hordes of respawning enemies + the fucking camera gets stuck in the walls, ceilings and doesn't allow to cast area spells properly in some areas due to lack of proper overhead view.

On the other hand I entered the Qunari Compound and I think writing + VA is definitely much better than the first game. Qunari look and sound menacing. The party is much better than a boring set of companions from the first game. Actually the game improves over its predecessor in graphics, presentation and writing but clearly lacks in gameplay department if we compare it to DA:O. Shame.

It's a half-baked game with some great ideas which are borked by mediocre RPG and combat mechanics.

 

[Patryn]

Curious: Am I the only one who didn't mind the persistent blood in DA:O, but found it so over-the-top in this one, I had to turn it off? I really wish instead of a toggle they gave us a slider, because I like the idea of the blood (makes things kinda more realistic), but I'd like to reduce the amount by about half so it doesn't look I stood next to an exploding paint can.

 

[V_Arnold]

Curious: Am I the only one who didn't mind the persistent blood in DA:O, but found it so over-the-top in this one, I had to turn it off? I really wish instead of a toggle they gave us a slider, because I like the idea of the blood (makes things kinda more realistic), but I'd like to reduce the amount by about half so it doesn't look I stood next to an exploding paint can.

The opposite here: I could not stand bloody faces in DA:O, but I have no problem with them in DA2. Odd.

 

[cleveridea]

The opposite here: I could not stand bloody faces in DA:O, but I have no problem with them in DA2. Odd.

yeah same here. perhaps the faces are cuter in DA2? Bethany is adorable covered in blood. (sounds weird typing that)

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Curious: Am I the only one who didn't mind the persistent blood in DA:O, but found it so over-the-top in this one, I had to turn it off? I really wish instead of a toggle they gave us a slider, because I like the idea of the blood (makes things kinda more realistic), but I'd like to reduce the amount by about half so it doesn't look I stood next to an exploding paint can.

I'm turned off by both.

It made less sense in DAO though since most of the enemies are darkspawn(whose blood is supposed to be poisonous) and only two of your party are Grey Wardens. Yet everyone turns out fine.

 

[subversus]

Bethany is adorable covered in blood. (sounds weird typing that)

 

[JoeBoy101]

Fuck the Merrill haters.

Besides, here is the list as should be:

DA:O -

Wynne - Good
Leliana - OK
Morrigan - Crap
Sten - Awesome
Oghren - OK/Good
Shale - Awesome
Alistair - Not Good
Zhevran - OK

DA2 -

Merrill - Good
Varric - Awesome
Isabella - Good (Much to my surprise)
Aveline - Good
Bethany - OK
Carver - Not Good
Anders - Not Good/Crap (Not badly written, but I just don't like the guy)
Fenris - OK
Sebastian - Fuck DLC


On a sidenote, for ACT 4 of the game:

Spoiler

Did anyone else find Alistair's trip to Kirkwall with Teegan not only pointless but tedious. I mean, it was just one big 'here's all this DA:O references speech'. Good lord, him talking just made me realize how much I didn't like his whiny ass. I mean, it was one short dialogue and this was all reference in it:

- Swooping is bad
- Characters from DA:O look different
- Never refer to main characters by first name

Shit was just annoying, much like Sandal's changes.

 

[Ickman3400]

Curious: Am I the only one who didn't mind the persistent blood in DA:O, but found it so over-the-top in this one, I had to turn it off? I really wish instead of a toggle they gave us a slider, because I like the idea of the blood (makes things kinda more realistic), but I'd like to reduce the amount by about half so it doesn't look I stood next to an exploding paint can.

It doesn't really bother me, though I found a dagger for my rogue that gives messier kills and pretty much every low health enemy I kill explodes into pieces. It's a tad unrealistic..

 

[Darklord]

Finally gotten to the deep roads, is that Act 2 or am I still in Act 1? How do I check? Anyway, it's good to get out of the city but it pissed me off that

Spoiler

Bethany will die if you take her. Nice, kill off the one character I like.

The game actually feels like The Witcher. The whole Mage/Templar thing reminds me of the brooding issues in Vizima(which you spent a lot of time in like this game). I'm 9 hours in and overall it's good but no where near as engrossing as Origins.

DA:O -

Morrigan - Crap
Alistair - Not Good

Insanity. They are the best characters!

 

[glaurung]

Started playing two nights ago, already clocked over 10h on my main save.

After recruiting two new characters into the party beyond the first full 4 characters, I have to say: party equipment management is a complete disaster. Why could they not have had some sort of full party roster available at the home hub or some place like that? NO, you need to change the complete party to get access to auxiliary characters, unequip items from them, change the full party AGAIN, equip items to the desired characters.

To add insult to injury, if you want to stash any items during this procedure in your home trunk, you need to exit the home hub, perform the procedure described above, enter the home hub and then stash/retrieve items. Because in your home hub you are the only active member of the party.

Stuff like that really brings my shit to boil.

 

[Confidence Man]

Someone needs to sell me on this series cause so many people praise it but after playing like 6-8 hours of RoT on my friends Steam account I found it to be boring beyond belief. Combat was slow and just tedious, watching people miss 75% of the time isnt fun. But what really killed the game for me was the fact that the setting and all the characters were bland as shit and were horrendously generic fantasy 101. Nothing at all stood out to me as being compelling or worthwhile.

Do things get drastically better after going through that temple ruins on the island with that dwarf mystic, or is it cause the game has stats and numbers galore that make some CRPG fans hard that get it all its praise? This and Divinity II confound me and I actually went ahead and bought D2 DKS because of GAF praise, but I cannot get myself to continue playing after becoming a dragon because its just so unbelievably banal and uninteresting in almost every way from combat to appearance to characters.

For Drakensang it's about offering a multi-path, multi-solution approach with classes and abilities that are really differentiated, something which having all those pesky stats and skills allows for in a way that DA2 can't.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Insanity. They are the best characters!

Morrigan was just a bitchy, whiny, power-mad primadonna, to the very end (DLC not included as I did not play Witch Hunt).

Alistair has potential, but again, whiny and smartass is not a good combination. Just a little more gravity from the dude would have gone a long way.

Spoiler

Bethany will die if you take her. Nice, kill off the one character I like.

Spoiler

Welp, if you don't take her, you lose her to the Templars, but she will live. Also, if you take her (or Carver) and bring Anders, he can make them into a Grey Warden.

Small comfort, but its something.

 

[MechaX]

Blood magic seems like it's totally en vogue up in Kirkwall. In Origins you had to make a pact with a demon to be able to use it but in DA2 it's just there. Templars must be slacking.

I just find it funny how obtaining the ability to use Blood Magic in DA:O was seemingly a rather taxing task as you would need to find said demon and even then, blood mages were still really rare. I swear to god, everybody and their parents in Kirkwall knows how to use blood magic like it's going out of style.

Alistair has potential, but again, whiny and smartass is not a good combination. Just a little more gravity from the dude would have gone a long way.

And this is why you harden Alistair's personality.

 

[Salaadin]

Stuff like that really brings my shit to boil.

That made companion quests an absolute chore. Suddenly, youre forced to bring a party member along and theyre wearing no accessories and using an early game weapon. Pain in the ass.

 

[TheUsual]

Spoiler

for those of you who fought the High Dragon on the normal difficulty what level do you think I should be at? The dragon himself isnt to hard, its just that he summons so many little and kinda big enemies to fight you that it becomes hard to face them all.

I don't know about level, but stock up on lots of lyrium potions, health potions, stamina potions, and restoration potions (80% health and 40% stamina/mana). Using lifeward potions on your characters helps as well. Get fire resistance runes up on your characters if you can.

The fight isn't hard, but yeah, you just need alot of healing items. I think I was level 15+ when this fight occured.

 

[JoeBoy101]

And this is why you harden Alistair's personality.

True, but does it really change around his dialogue that much? Also, it required my nice guy warrior to be a dick to Alistair at a vulnerable moment.

Now my Mage..., he can't wait.

 

[Ickman3400]

Finally gotten to the deep roads, is that Act 2 or am I still in Act 1? How do I check? Anyway, it's good to get out of the city but it pissed me off that

Spoiler

Bethany will die if you take her. Nice, kill off the one character I like.

The game actually feels like The Witcher. The whole Mage/Templar thing reminds me of the brooding issues in Vizima(which you spent a lot of time in like this game). I'm 9 hours in and overall it's good but no where near as engrossing as Origins.

Deep Roads are still Act 1. You'll know when you advance because the story will jump forward X amount of years and Varric will mention that in his storytelling.

 

[Darklord]

Spoiler

Welp, if you don't take her, you lose her to the Templars, but she will live. Also, if you take her (or Carver) and bring Anders, he can make them into a Grey Warden.

Small comfort, but its something.

FUUUU.

Spoiler

So what? She becomes a warden then dies anyway? Lame.

 

[Lostconfused]

I just find it funny how obtaining the ability to use Blood Magic in DA:O was seemingly a rather taxing task as you would need to find said demon and even then, blood mages were still really rare. I swear to god, everybody and their parents in Kirkwall knows how to use blood magic like it's going out of style.

Not to mention that the most important bits of blood magic, namely being able to control some ones mind and being able to sacrifice people to fuel incredibly powerful spells don't really come up at all in the game. They settle for just squirting blood at people.

 

[TheUsual]

FUUUU.

Spoiler

So what? She becomes a warden then dies anyway? Lame.

Spoiler

Doesn't die...that's all I will say

 

[Darklord]

Spoiler

Doesn't die...that's all I will say

That makes it sound like it's something even worse.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

Insanity. They are the best characters!

Agreed. Alistair and Morrigan were by far and away the two best companions in DA:O.

 

[Salaadin]

Sten is better than Alistair. I love the way qunari look at things...its so different from the norm yet still kinda makes sense.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Agreed. Alistair and Morrigan were by far and away the two best companions in DA:O.

 

[REV 09]

i thought Origins' roster was relatively week for a bioware game. DA2 is much better. Awakening was better too, but 2 is better than Awakening. I do like Anders in Awakening more than i like him in DA2 though.