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[Pancakes]

Bah, I forgot I had a nodvd fix installed for 1.01b, I hate using discs (I'm lazy and my dvd reader is evil).. guess I won't be playing till a new one comes out :lol

Btw is Warden's Keep worth the money?

I assume you're playing on the PC. If so, then no. You can download a storage chest mod which was the best part about Warden's Keep. There are some nice armors and a potion that gives you 2 unique spells, but personally it's not worth it imo.

 

[Haly]

just want to help with morgan's second quest. anyone wanna give help?

Spoiler

wanna kill flemith but everytime we fight shes a real beast.

TIPSZ?

She'll bug out and deal far less damage if you tank her with Shale, just keep him away from everyone else and give them bows.

 

[Fredescu]

Btw is Warden's Keep worth the money?

For the hour and a half or so long quest which can be solved multiple ways, and some interesting lore presentation, I think it was.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

I'm pretty ignorant the whole dagger/dex/str issue. How exactly would it make them weaker?

You add a point to str/cunning and gain a full point's worth of damage. With patch you only gain 50%.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

So I've done all the uniting quests.
Attempted to

Spoiler

kill Flemeth, did not go well. At all. Any tips?

Want to Alastair's quest, what're the best gifts to buy him?

Any side quests that I should definitely do?

 

[Snuggles]

So I've done all the uniting quests.
Attempted to

Spoiler

kill Flemeth, did not go well. At all. Any tips?

I succeeded by having a couple ranged fighters and Shale. Shale has such high Con that he was the last standing, but never got close to death with the help of a few potions. Even the more powerful attacks weren't enough to take him down. It took awhile but it worked for me.

 

[Arde5643]

You add a point to str/cunning and gain a full point's worth of damage. With patch you only gain 50%.

It makes more sense to keep your rogue dex/cun rather than full cun though.

With dex/cun you get more versatility with more def and better use of either longbows or shortbows.

 

[lorddarkflare]

lorddarkflare you have some horrible opinions and taste, like seriously

:lol :lol :lol

I like you.

I have been told before, but could you please elucidate?

 

[Mar]

I posted this in the Ausgaf thread but then soon realised it could be more interesting here. It's my 'not very far into the game' impressions.

My wife bought me Dragonage last week to help keep my mind on something other than real life (it's been a bad month). I've put a fair amount of time into it so far, probably about 35 hours worth.

I can't decide if I like it though. It's certainly hard to put down. But many aspects of it annoy me, even to the point of frustration. Sometimes I wish it would just stop trying to be a hardcore RPG and actually be a hardcore RPG. It really does seem to pretend to be something it isn't, and straddle the line between casual action game and real RPG. Sometimes I think it would be better if it just went all Fable instead of hinting at what the game could be and annoying me when I can't play it that way.

This is the 360 version. Perhaps the PC version is less annoying.

The combat can be a real mess sometimes. There's so much shit flying about that it's almost impossible to control your party in any real useful way. Many fights could be so much easier if it was turn based for instance, and if you could select your party members and their abilities faster (again, that is probably addressed in the PC version). Customising party members tactics can help a little, but there are still many more times where I just want a couple of dudes to do certain things at certain times and the only way to do that is to have full control over them all. You don't have that in this game, at least not when it depends on them happening very quickly.

The leveling up and stat customisation confuses the hell out of me. There have been instances where I level up a character yet there are no abilities I want to put points in. However, I can't just leave that point there and use it next time. I have to choose something in order to level up. So, do I choose an ability I'll never use, spend a point on something useless to me, or let my character flash away at me saying "level up" until I earn enough XP to level up again? Does that even work? Even so, I have to play for a fair amount of time to level up again and that's a bunch of extra stats I'm missing out on all so I don't waste an ability point on something I don't want.

Does this seem retarded to anyone else or is it just me? It annoys the bejesus out of me.

Then there are specialisations that you unlock. Why do I have to unlock them? Why can't I, in the interest of making a character I like, just select a specialisation and enjoy how I want to play? Instead you have instances like I did yesterday, where I became frustrated enough by the fact there was a locked specialisation (reaver) that I couldn't access and had no idea how to, that I looked it up on the internets. There I found out my one chance to unlock it had passed long ago in a quest line that hinged on one dialogue choice that I almost chose back then anyway. I was way ahead of that area now (about 6 hours worth of game time), and looking at my previous saves I noticed that the only one that was still there before this choice was made was more than 10 hours ago.

Now, I can be pretty stubborn. When I saw that I had missed the chance to make the character I wanted all that time ago, I knew I'd either quit and never play the game again in disgust, continue to play the game but remain bitter throughout and not enjoy the experience, or go back that 10 hours and play it all over again. So I played it all over again...

I now have the specialisation after much anger and rewatching of drawn out cut scenes and, being the stubborn person I am, remembering what dialogue choices I had used before hand because I wanted the same experience besides the one relating to my goal. But it is now done, and I'm on my way again.

But yes, this game annoys me and is frustrating as it straddles the casual to hardcore line in a way that seems to benefit neither play styles. Yet at the same time the game is addictive as hell and I can't stop playing it.

 

[kai3345]

I'm getting this game for christmas, fuuuccck I can't wait. Any tips one should know before jumping in?

 

[kamspy]

-stuff the PC version fixes-

The PC version fixes almost all that stuff. Especially the combat.

 

[gotee12]

There are some posts in this thread about the PS3 version having framerate issues. Has the developer commented on any of this, and do we know if a patch is coming?

The framerate issue is as annoying as heck to some, like myself. But it hasn't stopped me from playing and enjoying it though. And it's not a matter of slowdown when there's multiple mobs on the screen. The framerate is constantly skipping. Every 2-3 seconds everything noticeably hangs for a split second. Even most of the cutscenes skip, though none of the DLC cutscenes do. On the Bioware forums, there's a thread about the issue. Some people don't see any problem at all, while others do.

My guess is that there is a slight variation in some hardware component (firmware/revision level/etc) between PS3's and that would explain the mixed reception.

One positive note is that I'm 16 hours in and the framerate issues are not as drastic as they had been. In my origin story (Dalish Elf), on more than one occasion everything would freeze for up to 5 seconds. Thankfully that hasn't happened since I finished my origin...

But to answer your question, there has been no official word of a patch yet.

 

[Mashing]

There's one scene that's worse. I won't spoil it because it's actually touching and a nice surprise, but the animation absolutely slaughters it.

Spoiler

Is this the scene when Isolde kills her son? That was pretty gut-wrenching even with the crappy animation (I really felt bad for taking that route--on my second play through). The voice actor for Isolde fucking nailed the despair for the character. It was very moving in that regard

 

[Son of Godzilla]

So I've done all the uniting quests.
Attempted to

Spoiler

kill Flemeth, did not go well. At all. Any tips?

Bears. Lelianna ain't got nothing better to do than be a Ranger, and if you don't use Zev might as well make him one and bring him along too. You can only have one out at a time, but as soon as it dies you can have the other summoned.

So, do I choose an ability I'll never use, spend a point on something useless to me, or let my character flash away at me saying "level up" until I earn enough XP to level up again? Does that even work? Even so, I have to play for a fair amount of time to level up again and that's a bunch of extra stats I'm missing out on all so I don't waste an ability point on something I don't want.

Works fine. The XP bar rolls over immediately and you keep gaining. Also you've got to have a very weird build where that's an issue.

Now, I can be pretty stubborn. When I saw that I had missed the chance to make the character I wanted all that time ago, I knew I'd either quit and never play the game again in disgust, continue to play the game but remain bitter throughout and not enjoy the experience, or go back that 10 hours and play it all over again. So I played it all over again...

I'm not 100% certain how it works, but specs do get saved through playthroughs once you unlock them. I would laugh if you could load an old save, unlock one, and have it show up on your 10 hours down the road save.

The combat can be a real mess sometimes. There's so much shit flying about that it's almost impossible to control your party in any real useful way. Many fights could be so much easier if it was turn based for instance, and if you could select your party members and their abilities faster (again, that is probably addressed in the PC version). Customising party members tactics can help a little, but there are still many more times where I just want a couple of dudes to do certain things at certain times and the only way to do that is to have full control over them all. You don't have that in this game, at least not when it depends on them happening very quickly.

I'm sure it's possible to have problems with it, but I love the radial menu. A lot.

 

[Rufus]

(again, that is probably addressed in the PC version)

Yes. It will never make you feel like it's in any way close to Fable 2, for one. Even with all the conceits to accessibility, like having only 3 basic classes to choose from at the start. (I personally don't mind not having to make that many choices at a stage where I don't know how any of them will actually affect my experience. I agree however, that the specializations should be easier to get or at least harder to miss.)

I have to choose something in order to level up.

I don't see the problem, really. (Unless it's the game forcing you, not you just being annoyed.)
This game has quirks I find worse, like the issues on uneven terrain, where you have to fiddle with the camera to make things selectable.

rewatching of drawn out cut scenes

You can't skip those on 360?

 

[theMrCravens]

I'm getting this game for christmas, fuuuccck I can't wait. Any tips one should know before jumping in?

PS3, 360 or PC ?

Small non-spoilerish stuff for 360:
- keep some Deep Mushrooms, Toxin Extracts and Lyrium Potions on you for quests. (Plentiful in the game, but I sold mine before getting these quests and wished I kept them)

- keep runes, herbs and low-grade gems you don't need. You can donate them to the army.

- keep those random Love Letters you find. (quest again)

- if you don't have lockpick as a skill, ALWAYS keep a character that has it. No point in skipping all those locked chests in the game.

- I don't recommend going 2-handed weapons as a Warrior if you play above Normal difficulty. I got beat down a lot even with a full set of Blood Dragon armor (DLC).

- If you want most achievements, use a lot of save slots.

 

[Fredescu]

Spoiler

Is this the scene when Isolde kills her son? That was pretty gut-wrenching even with the crappy animation (I really felt bad for taking that route--on my second play through). The voice actor for Isolde fucking nailed the despair for the character. It was very moving in that regard

No, I haven't taken that choice actually. I was referring to

Spoiler

Leliana's Song

.

 

[gotee12]

- keep some Deep Mushrooms, Toxin Extracts and Lyrium Potions on you for quests. (Plentiful in the game, but I sold mine before getting these quests and wished I kept them)

- keep runes, herbs and low-grade gems you don't need. You can donate them to the army.

.... crap ....

 

[John Harker]

Anyone happen to know what triggers Wynne to teach you Spirit Healer?
Can't seem to get it unlocked, and been carrying around a specialization point for 3 levels now waiting....

 

[DimmuBurgerKing]

No, I haven't taken that choice actually. I was referring to

Spoiler

Leliana's Song

.

Spoiler

The horrible animation was pretty evident in that scene, but I liked Sten's thoughtful expression when the camera pans to him in the camp.

 

[Fredescu]

Spoiler

The horrible animation was pretty evident in that scene, but I liked Sten's thoughtful expression when the camera pans to him in the camp.

Me too.

Anyone happen to know what triggers Wynne to teach you Spirit Healer?

She doesn't. You need to buy the book in Denerim.

 

[Mar]

I don't see the problem, really. (Unless it's the game forcing you, not you just being annoyed.)

Well, I guess my question is. Can you leave the 'level up' thing flashing at you and still gain experience to gain another level?

If so, it still presents the problem where you are missing out on stats until you gain another level, just to avoid the problem of choosing and spending an ability point on something you didn't want. Which in my opinion is bad design.

You can't skip those on 360?

I found out not long before I had finished my re-run to gain the specialisation I was after that you can. By pressing Y.

 

[Mashing]

No, I haven't taken that choice actually. I was referring to

Spoiler

Leliana's Song

.

Oh... THAT. Yeah, I'd agree.

 

[John Harker]

Me too.


She doesn't. You need to buy the book in Denerim.

Well don't I look a tad silly then.

 

[Maxirugi]

Well, I guess my question is. Can you leave the 'level up' thing flashing at you and still gain experience to gain another level?

If so, it still presents the problem where you are missing out on stats until you gain another level, just to avoid the problem of choosing and spending an ability point on something you didn't want. Which in my opinion is bad design.

I'm pretty sure you can go into the level up screen, upgrade your stats (Str, Dex etc...) and just skip selecting an ability/spell and you will still have that ability point there plus another one at the next level up.

I had a specialization point available for several levels whilst I waited to unlock something better than Shapeshifter

 

[gotee12]

No, I haven't taken that choice actually. I was referring to

Spoiler

Leliana's Song

.

The

Spoiler

song

was awesome, the

Spoiler

sideways glances from other party members

was equally awesome.

Spoiler

Leliana's Chucky-esque, demon-doll looking face

, not so awesome...

 

[Fredescu]

The

Spoiler

song

was awesome

It was nice, but I don't think it really suited the idea of

Spoiler

someone serenading you in a camp. I would have preferred something a bit more intimate, without the dreamy sounding vocal layers and the orchestrated background. You don't really feel like this was the sort of song one bard could have sung to you in a camp. A single vocal track with a single acoustic instrument would have been much better.

. It wasn't bad though.

Spoiler

Leliana's Chucky-esque, demon-doll looking face

, not so awesome...

This however, was bad. It's such a shame too because it had the potential of being a really great moment.

Well don't I look a tad silly then.

Don't worry, I made the same mistake.

 

[gotee12]

It was nice, but I don't think it really suited the idea of

Spoiler

someone serenading you in a camp. I would have preferred something a bit more intimate, without the dreamy sounding vocal layers and the orchestrated background. You don't really feel like this was the sort of song one bard could have sung to you in a camp. A single vocal track with a single acoustic instrument would have been much better.

. It wasn't bad though.

I'm one of those goobers that really likes the

Spoiler

airy, celtic, Enya-like music in my RPG's

. Just not IRL... :lol

But I do understand where you're coming from.

 

[DimmuBurgerKing]

I'm one of those goobers that really likes the

Spoiler

airy, celtic, Enya-like music in my RPG's

. Just not IRL... :lol

But I do understand where you're coming from.

Yes. Man, I adore the soundtrack to this game.

 

[Mar]

I'm pretty sure you can go into the level up screen, upgrade your stats (Str, Dex etc...) and just skip selecting an ability/spell and you will still have that ability point there plus another one at the next level up.

I had a specialization point available for several levels whilst I waited to unlock something better than Shapeshifter

Specialisation points are different. You can leave those unassigned for as long as you like. Ability points however are assigned after you've increased your stats and if you cancel out of it it also cancels out assigning stats and leveling your character.

 

[burgerdog]

Reaver stuff.

You could have just gone back to the save that was near the point where you had to choose and completed the quest for it, then gone back to the save that was 10 hours ahead. Once you open up a specialization in your profile it's opened in all saves, I believe.

Spoiler

If you do not wish to suffer the repercussions of fouling Andraste's ashes, such as losing Wynne permanently (regardless of whether or not she was in the party when you completed the quest in that fashion) you can save before speaking to Kolgrim the first time, complete the quest, and back up to the previous save. Reaver will still be unlocked for that profile.

Specialisation points are different. You can leave those unassigned for as long as you like. Ability points however are assigned after you've increased your stats and if you cancel out of it it also cancels out assigning stats and leveling your character.

Are you sure? I'm sure I've increased my stats and left the one point for abilities unused until I leveled up again and got what I wanted.

 

[Mar]

You could have just gone back to the save that was near the point where you had to choose and completed the quest for it, then gone back to the save that was 10 hours ahead. Once you open up a specialization in your profile it's opened in all saves, I believe.

My save wasn't near that though, and by the time I'd played all the way to the point I needed to get the specialisation, I was better off continuing with the current game regardless.

Are you sure? I'm sure I've increased my stats and left the one point for abilities unused until I leveled up again and got what I wanted.

Well, I thought I was sure. Can anyone else comment? I tried everything I could think of to back out of that menu or continue, but the only option was 'undo' which took you back to the stat increasing menu. Which again, the only option was 'undo'.

I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Another aspect of the game I dislike solved would do much to enhance my enjoyment of it (the other being the combat, I've since had someone explain you can switch characters while in the radial menu therefore queuing up commands while everything is paused).

 

[Fredescu]

You can definitely leave points or attributes unassigned while still assigning one or the other.

 

[Mar]

You can definitely leave points or attributes unassigned while still assigning one or the other.

Well if this is the case, there's something obviously wrong here. Either I'm an imbecile who doesn't know his way around a games UI to save his life. Or Bioware's UI is garbage.

Why do I get the horrible feeling it's more the former...

 

[Son of Godzilla]

I'm pretty certain you can't. Consoles ftl, probably. I think there's also an emotion chart that you can't access on consoles either.

But yes, you had me puzzled over the "I can't control anyone" comment.

 

[DimmuBurgerKing]

On my new character, Sten is quickly becoming my favorite party member in terms of personality and character interaction.

Spoiler

The way he's only gradually come out of his stoic shell (albeit a little) makes his interactions so much more satisfying than the rest of the party. Oh, and he just confessed to me his love for cookies. He later proceeded to offer them, most reluctantly, to the Templar ferryman at Lake Calenhad as incentive for taking us to the Circle tower. The Templar, for his part, was overjoyed. Good stuff. :lol

 

[Fredescu]

I'm pretty certain you can't. Consoles ftl, probably.

Really? On PC, you get a series of pages. If you choose not to assign points from any of the pages but click done at the end, it assigns what you've picked and leaves free what you haven't. If you leave unassigned attributes or abilties it leaves the level up button on your portrait.

 

[Mar]

One thing I forgot to mention. This game is damn hard. I'm only playing on Normal, yet there are a number of encounters that have been near impossible and I've won with luck (dice roll?) or by exploiting the AI. As an example:

Spoiler

To gain the reaver specialisation I had to kill the guardian of the ashes and two monster things. This fight was proving to be impossible and I must have played it over 30 times. There were times where I'd kill one monster, kill two monsters, but I was never able to get the guardian below half health before everyone dying. But one time I got kind of lucky, and had him at under half health with me still alive and my mage still alive. I ended up running as I was about to be killed with the next blow and hoping to somehow find something to do while I stayed alive a few seconds longer. As I was running I noticed my mage was still chucking things at the guardian from her staff, so I just kept running around in circles with the guardian chasing (insert benny hill theme song), until the crappy staff bolts whittled away all his health and he fell over.

 

[Fredescu]

Spoiler

he just confessed to me his love for cookies.

I just got up to this part on my current character. My third playthrough I'm going to stick with Oghren, Zevran, and Sten, as I've kind of ignored those guys up to this point. Last night I had Oghren

Spoiler

get so drunk in camp that I couldn't even talk to him

. Too funny. I didn't get that the first time around.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Really? On PC, you get a series of pages. If you choose not to assign points from any of the pages but click done at the end, it assigns what you've picked and leaves free what you haven't. If you leave unassigned attributes or abilties it leaves the level up button on your portrait.

I'm not certain to be honest, you might be able to back out of that screen entirely. But the only way to actually progress through the pages is to assign your points.

Either way, you can definitely just ignore the level and still gain xp.

 

[Fredescu]

One thing I forgot to mention. This game is damn hard.

You'll probably find it easier now that you can micromanage better. Remember to focus fire as much as possible when you have multiple enemies. I use select all > attack a lot since I find it more reliable than setting up assist tactics. I think select all on consoles is LT+RT. Make sure you have a warrior with heavy armour and taunt, and a healer. Taunt is area effect and is quite awesome.

 

[Mar]

You'll probably find it easier now that you can micromanage better. Remember to focus fire as much as possible when you have multiple enemies. I use select all > attack a lot since I find it more reliable than setting up assist tactics. I think select all on consoles is LT+RT. Make sure you have a warrior with heavy armour and taunt, and a healer. Taunt is area effect and is quite awesome.

Yeah I've been using all of those for a while now. When the difficulty ramped up all of a sudden I realised I needed to play smarter. Setting up tactics, focus fire with all characters, etc. But it will be even easier now that I know you can switch characters within the pause menu.

I maintain, at least on the console version, Bioware has done a horrible job with showing the player how to play the game. I've learned more from this thread than I probably have in my 35 hours of game time.

 

[Fredescu]

I maintain, at least on the console version, Bioware has done a horrible job with showing the player how to play the game. I've learned more from this thread than I probably have in my 35 hours of game time.

You're probably right about that. I've played so many of these types of games that I knew what to expect fairly intuitively, so I don't really have that perspective.

 

[I'm an expert]

I maintain, at least on the console version, Bioware has done a horrible job with showing the player how to play the game. I've learned more from this thread than I probably have in my 35 hours of game time.

Did you read..the manual?

 

[Mar]

Did you read..the manual?

I have read the manual. And the parts that relate to the areas I have been frustrated with I have read a number of times to ensure I wasn't missing anything.

I don't really fault a game for not hand holding you through all the myriad of options that can be presented. I also don't fault a thin manual vaguely explaining those options. In fact I'd be happy with a game who revels in a return to a book sized manual that does go into these things in great detail. Unfortunately, again on console, a book sized manual isn't really an option.

In the end, I believe I've been subject to a game that wasn't entirely meant for the system it has been put on. But at least it is there and can be experienced as opposed to not at all.

 

[John Harker]

Woa... so I like Shale, but I don't really use him that often simply cause I prefer Allister and Leliana as companions... but I took him for my

Spoiler

Flementh

fight cause I needed the high constitution.

Even still, I lost like... 8 times in a row (im around level 14). But then I said, screw it, and threw Stone Aura on him... and what a difference! I beat her and didn't lose a single character once. That's such a badass, unexpected skill

 

[hypostatic]

Can someone please help me decide whether I should keep playing this? The only real incentive is that I dropped $80 (CAD) on the LE, and feel like I'd be wasting quite a bit of money if I just shelf it.

I don't mind the framerate or graphical problems, but I just find the gameplay and storyline boring so far.

I started off with an elf mage.

Spoiler

I went to help the magi, and now I'm in the Fade, which is utterly boring and confusing.

Should I keep playing? If I do, it will be taking time away from MW2 multiplayer, and single player in Valkyria Chronicles and Uncharted 2, which I haven't yet started.

Edit: If it makes any difference, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan, and consider myself primarily a RPG player.

 

[DimmuBurgerKing]

Can someone please help me decide whether I should keep playing this? The only real incentive is that I dropped $80 (CAD) on the LE, and feel like I'd be wasting quite a bit of money if I just shelf it.

I don't mind the framerate or graphical problems, but I just find the gameplay and storyline boring so far.

I started off with an elf mage.

Spoiler

I went to help the magi, and now I'm in the Fade, which is utterly boring and confusing.

Should I keep playing? If I do, it will be taking time away from MW2 multiplayer, and single player in Valkyria Chronicles and Uncharted 2, which I haven't yet started.

Edit: If it makes any difference, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan, and consider myself primarily a RPG player.

That part is hit or miss with most players, I've found. I enjoyed it the first time through myself, but you should be happy to know that there is nothing else remotely like it in the game. On an an unrelated note, you really do need to play Valkyria, though. >.>

 

[Lan_97]

I'm pretty certain you can't. Consoles ftl, probably. I think there's also an emotion chart that you can't access on consoles either.

This bothered me for quite some time, as I couldn't tell if I was on the romantic path with Leliana. I really like this game, but there seems to be a lot of problems with the transfer to consoles and glitches across all platforms.

 

[Manus]

Okay I'm stuck.

Spoiler

I'm in the fade and have done all three nightmares and freed my partners. For some reason the middle section is still black and won't let me access the Inner Spectrum.

Any ideas on what I need to do?