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[Waikis]

This game gets deeper by the hour, I had no idea that getting to know a certain party character would open up a quest line related to this characters backstory.

I wonder how many of the party characters have this level of depth and integration with the game.

Do you really want to know?

Spoiler

ALL.YES INCLUDING SHALE.

 

[MrCompletely]

Do you really want to know?

Spoiler

ALL.YES INCLUDING SHALE.

That is....awesome. I'm assuming you have to build up their approval ratings before unlocking these quests. Does Dog have one as well?

What gifts does Shale like?

 

[Deacan]

Shale likes rare gems I think

 

[Minsc]

First leaks about a retail expansion.

A post in Czech on Eurogamer.cz has word on Dragon Age: The Awakening, which they say is the first retail expansion for Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare's recently released RPG, saying this will offer new items and a level cap increase and is expected in March, 2010 (thanks LS). They report the revelation was made by a premature online listing for the add-on, but this is obviously still speculative for the time being. Here is a translation from Google of part of their story: "Details of the expansion's contents are still only preliminary and may still change. Awareness will follow the story chronologically Dragon Age: Origins and promises a huge portion of the additional content. You play as a completely new main character, including his own prologue (separate Origin Story), the new campaign. Completion of the central storyline to take approximately 15 hours, as compared to the 100-hour original is not too much, and have consequences for the rest of the game."

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

Great to hear that we're getting a proper expansion. Warden's Keep was underwhelming, and Return to Ostagar sounds like it will be too.

 

[Dennis]

15 hours eh? Well, we will see the price soon enough.

I vastly prefer actual meaty expansions that are long enough to tell a story. Small nickel-and-dime DLC just piss me off...

 

[alisdair]

100 hours for the original is a bit much, isn't it? I did almost all of the sidequests, died a bunch, am terrible at games, and still clocked in at under 65 hours.

Maybe they're adding together all of the origins as well.

I'm not jumping right back in for my second playthrough because I started to find the combat frustrating. Area-of-effect spells are really inconsistent, randomly missing moving targets. Same goes for health spells and poultices, which are sometimes instant and sometimes take a second (which can be the difference between life and death).

Next time through I guess I'll turn tactics on and try to play a bit more real time. But did anyone else who played with lots of pausing have the same problems?

 

[Synless]

100 hours for the original is a bit much, isn't it? I did almost all of the sidequests, died a bunch, am terrible at games, and still clocked in at under 65 hours.

Maybe they're adding together all of the origins as well.

I'm not jumping right back in for my second playthrough because I started to find the combat frustrating. Area-of-effect spells are really inconsistent, randomly missing moving targets. Same goes for health spells and poultices, which are sometimes instant and sometimes take a second (which can be the difference between life and death).

Next time through I guess I'll turn tactics on and try to play a bit more real time. But did anyone else who played with lots of pausing have the same problems?

It's not that you suck. The game is just really hard. I'm pretty good at RPG's and games in general and this game has handed me my ass more times then I care to admit. I'm using the gold glitch and am buying all the best armor I can from the point I'm at and still get beat down by a random set of enemies once in a while.

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

100 hours for the original is a bit much, isn't it? I did almost all of the sidequests, died a bunch, am terrible at games, and still clocked in at under 65 hours.

Maybe they're adding together all of the origins as well.

I'm not jumping right back in for my second playthrough because I started to find the combat frustrating. Area-of-effect spells are really inconsistent, randomly missing moving targets. Same goes for health spells and poultices, which are sometimes instant and sometimes take a second (which can be the difference between life and death).

Next time through I guess I'll turn tactics on and try to play a bit more real time. But did anyone else who played with lots of pausing have the same problems?

Game length is always exaggerated. The Origin stories are only about an hour each so that won't add much time on.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

It's all in the animations, they will try to use em as fast as they can.

And because I can: I actually would prefer more small shit that gets integrated into the actual game over some standalone nonsense. What's the damn point of making a trilogy and branding a game Origins if your first expansion ignored that created character?

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

15 hours eh? Well, we will see the price soon enough.

Hopefully it won't be more than $20. $15 would be even better.

 

[noire]

deleted

 

[kai3345]

I would get a healer, I just don't have one yet. my entire party is Hero, Morrigan, Alistar, Dog, Zervan, Sten

 

[Doytch]

Site says it'll cost 700-800 Czech koruny, about 2/3 the cost of a retail game. Soo, $25-$30 USD, call it $30.

Also says it'll be a new map, and official announcement is supposed to come in the beginning of January. The Czech page actually has a specific listing of March 19, fwiw.

 

[Lucky Forward]

Is there a way to tell how much the weapons/armor/items in your inventory are worth, aside from going to a merchant?

 

[Dennis]

Site says it'll cost 700-800 Czech koruny, about 2/3 the cost of a retail game. Soo, $25-$30 USD, call it $30.

Also says it'll be a new map, and official announcement is supposed to come in the beginning of January. The Czech page actually has a specific listing of March 19, fwiw.

$30 for 15 hours of RPG game time? That would be a rip-off IMO. But man, if they can sell an expansion for that price reusing their assets, thats just money in the bank with minimal effort :lol

I want more Dragon Age though, so I hope Bioware are going to be reasonable about pricing.


Anyways, am I the only one constantly shifting between isometric and 3rd person view?

 

[Peff]

$30 for 15 hours of RPG game time? That would be a rip-off IMO. But man, if they can sell an expansion for that price reusing their assets, thats just money in the bank with minimal effort :lol

I want more Dragon Age though, so I hope Bioware are going to be reasonable about pricing.

Retail expansions are usually that price, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that's the case. Still, if it is really fifteen hours it's not too terrible, plus with all the Q1 releases it shouldn't be too hard to wait a bit and get it cheaper. I wonder what they'll do with the console versions, though. Releasing a standalone 30$ pack isn't something very common, and if they don't it would be the biggest advantage of the PC version.

Anyways, am I the only one constantly shifting between isometric and 3rd person view?

No I like to take a closer look at everything, but the isometric view is really useful when fighting large groups.

 

[Minsc]

$30 for 15 hours of RPG game time? That would be a rip-off IMO. But man, if they can sell an expansion for that price reusing their assets, thats just money in the bank with minimal effort :lol

I want more Dragon Age though, so I hope Bioware are going to be reasonable about pricing.


Anyways, am I the only one constantly shifting between isometric and 3rd person view?


[im]http://www.abload.de/img/daorigins2009-12-3114-4gq8.jpg[/img]
[mg]http://www.abload.de/img/daorigins2009-12-3114-nhnc.jpg[/img]

Do you have AF forced in your drivers/ini? Your screens look awfully blurry! There's a huge difference if you're not using it, game looks a ton sharper when you kick on the 16xAF

Edit: Actually it's probably just the resizing you're doing, but it can't be stressed enough for people on the PC to enable their AF in the ini or drivers.

 

[DodgerSan]

Definitely the most trouble I had with the Fade was with an archer. The warrior I played can just plow through it, even on Nightmare difficulty.

Point. Possibly that's why I enjoyed it (playing Warrior).

 

[Fredescu]

First leaks about a retail expansion.

Sounds like wishful thinking to me. March? No way.

 

[Dennis]

 

[mjc]

Oh shit, I didn't notice that they released a Mac version of this game. Has anyone here downloaded it yet? I'm about to get it from D2D because the 360 version is frustrating me. I'm hoping that its a good port/version similar to the PC one...

 

[RedAssedApe]

I just started Dragon Age 3 days ago and I'm having a blast with my mage character.

Arrgh...why are backpacks so expensive? :lol I wanted to slap that little dwarf guy and his retarded son for loitering at my camp site and charging those prices. :lol

Next play through I'm going to be a completely "evil" character. So far the only "evil" thing I've done is trade someone's soul to a demon.

 

[RedAssedApe]

I wish my 360 version looked like that.

 

[Boss Man]

Shale is such an awesome character. I love her dialogue about the birds. :lol


I haven't beat the game yet, but I've put in about 90 hours across several characters. Right now my party is:
Hero (dwarf 2h berserker/reaver)
Alistair (tank)
Shale (dps)
Wynne (healer)
-I guess I should have Morrigan in my party, but I just love Shale. I don't particularly like Wynne as a character, but it seems rather necessary to use her. Is there a way around it other than using poultices or turning Morrigan into a healer(which is just perverted)?

Then my secondary game is this:
Hero (elf blood mage with lots of spirit spells)
Alistair (tank)
Wynne (healer)
Shale (dps)

My most effective and oldest setup so far is this one:
Hero (human dual wield berserker)- this guy is a monster.
Alistair (tank)
Morrigan (dps)
Wynne (healer)
-Those guys are saved right before the Landsmeet, but I'm having too much fun with other characters right now.

 

[PumpkinPie]

I'm progressing a bit now, although I did get my ass handed to me in a boss battle and only my dog survived

 

[Atrus]

Shale is such an awesome character. I love her dialogue about the birds. :lol

It is quite correct. The birds are the true blight and must be utterly destroyed. Death to all pigeons!

 

[Boss Man]

It is quite correct. The birds are the true blight and must be utterly destroyed. Death to all pigeons!

Have you left Honnleath with Shale in your party yet?

 

[Atrus]

Have you left Honnleath with Shale in your party yet?

I've got about 5 characters (2 Human Nobles, 1 Mage, City Elf, Dwarf Noble)already and finished the game thrice, so I've done pretty much everything . I just have a see what the differences are in Dalish and Dwarf Commoner storylines and that's it.

 

[legend166]

Click on the trap door on the floor.

i r dum


Thanks.

 

[Ri'Orius]

Should I have gotten Shale by now? I've done three of the four branches; the only one left is the dwarves. Did I miss him somewhere?

 

[Atrus]

Should I have gotten Shale by now? I've done three of the four branches; the only one left is the dwarves. Did I miss him somewhere?

If you have the DLC content (free with the purchase of every new game), you should have the Sulcher's Pass location on your map. Visiting it will give you the Honneleth location where Shale is.

 

[roxya]

It is quite correct. The birds are the true blight and must be utterly destroyed. Death to all pigeons!

Whenever I have to choose party members, I make sure to select and unselect Shale just to hear her say

Spoiler

pidgeon crap!

:lol

 

[kaizoku]

first game I've played where it feels like relationship status has a tangible effect on how the game seems to play out (true or not, its a good illusion so far). characters gossip, get jealous, see you differently and their personal interaction seems to adjust quite a bit.

having loads of fun with the Morrigan relationship but having done her quest .... was an interesting conversation afterwards :lol then the team banter following just adds to it and it feels like it's not generic bonus relationship status, on or off type thing. I feel like a bit of a genuine love story is being played out, intertwined with the actual storyline, and unless it falls apart soon I'd say its the first in gaming to make me care. really quite anxious to see what happens next between "us". :lol

I'm gonna find it real uncomfortable going for the male relationship achievements!

 

[lsslave]

Shale is such an awesome character. I love her dialogue about the birds. :lol


I haven't beat the game yet, but I've put in about 90 hours across several characters. Right now my party is:
Hero (dwarf 2h berserker/reaver)
Alistair (tank)
Shale (dps)
Wynne (healer)
-I guess I should have Morrigan in my party, but I just love Shale. I don't particularly like Wynne as a character, but it seems rather necessary to use her. Is there a way around it other than using poultices or turning Morrigan into a healer(which is just perverted)?

Then my secondary game is this:
Hero (elf blood mage with lots of spirit spells)
Alistair (tank)
Wynne (healer)
Shale (dps)

My most effective and oldest setup so far is this one:
Hero (human dual wield berserker)- this guy is a monster.
Alistair (tank)
Morrigan (dps)
Wynne (healer)
-Those guys are saved right before the Landsmeet, but I'm having too much fun with other characters right now.

Blood Mages are devastatingly powerful I can tell you that much I know for sure. I am playing it on a console and still pulling off the most amazing timing in battles. My main character has done more than 10x the rest of the party combined in damage this way

-Blood Magic on -Dump all my strong Blood Magic spells -Blood Magic off -Heal up/Use mana Spells -Repeat

 

[kaizoku]

Blood Mages are devastatingly powerful I can tell you that much I know for sure. I am playing it on a console and still pulling off the most amazing timing in battles. My main character has done more than 10x the rest of the party combined in damage this way

-Blood Magic on -Dump all my strong Blood Magic spells -Blood Magic off -Heal up/Use mana Spells -Repeat

interesting, may try that out when I do a mage, although arcane warrior sounded interesting as well.

anyone have a type of character they had the most fun with for us to try out? i.e. shapeshifting mage, assassin backstabbing genius rogue or something?

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Shale is such an awesome character. I love

Spoiler

her

dialogue about the birds. :lol

............

................................

This fucking thread. I've beaten the game, almost twice, and I'm still getting spoilered.

 

[Deacan]

I've only got denerim left, and that seems to be mostly side quests then its off to the landsmeet.

 

[watership]

Anyways, am I the only one constantly shifting between isometric and 3rd person view?

Sigh. Every time i see isometric PC screen shots I regret getting the 360 version. *pretends the pc version doesn't exist*

 

[Walshicus]

Hope this expansion info is slightly wrong, and the new origin is for the *whole* game... Why label it an origin for the expansion if there's only one of them?

Anyhow, can't wait to hear more.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Sigh. Every time i see isometric PC screen shots I regret getting the 360 version. *pretends the pc version doesn't exist*

Seriously, that Morrigan bears no resemblance to anything I have ever seen.

 

[PumpkinPie]

Damn, I put the game on easy mode and still get killed every single battle! My game is borked.

 

[elostyle]

Would it be recommendable to install the JBTextures mod?

 

[CoolTrick]

Question:

At what point did GAF realize that this was actually most likely going to be VERY good? I missed the release and just remember years and years of skepticism, right up to a very few months before release. Everyone was screaming "GENERIC! BLAND! BORING! LOLZ!" So at what point did people go "Ooo, this might actually be really good?"

And what were peoples' reactions? :lol

Also, I'm literally right about to start my very first playthrough of the game. I'm really excited!

But I'm wondering, are there any really bare-bones quintessential mods that are just must-haves? (No spoilers please.) And is there a quick guide that shows me how to install them? Thanks!

 

[MechaX]

Wow. After playing as a rogue in my first playthrough, playing as a mage is ridiculously boring. Although, I just got past the origin story but... jeez.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Question:

At what point did GAF realize that this was actually most likely going to be VERY good? I missed the release and just remember years and years of skepticism, right up to a very few months before release. Everyone was screaming "GENERIC! BLAND! BORING! LOLZ!" So at what point did people go "Ooo, this might actually be really good?"

And what were peoples' reactions? :lol

It started to change really close to release once reviews started to come out. To be fair to everyone though, including me, the marketing for the game was horrible.

 

[Woo-Fu]

Question:

At what point did GAF realize that this was actually most likely going to be VERY good? I missed the release and just remember years and years of skepticism, right up to a very few months before release. Everyone was screaming "GENERIC! BLAND! BORING! LOLZ!" So at what point did people go "Ooo, this might actually be really good?"

It changed when people actually played the game. Don't blame GAF, blame EA/Bioware's horrible marketing campaign.

 

[kaizoku]

Question:

At what point did GAF realize that this was actually most likely going to be VERY good? I missed the release and just remember years and years of skepticism, right up to a very few months before release. Everyone was screaming "GENERIC! BLAND! BORING! LOLZ!" So at what point did people go "Ooo, this might actually be really good?"

And what were peoples' reactions? :lol

Also, I'm literally right about to start my very first playthrough of the game. I'm really excited!

But I'm wondering, are there any really bare-bones quintessential mods that are just must-haves? (No spoilers please.) And is there a quick guide that shows me how to install them? Thanks!

when people were tweeting about it a lot, podcasters were saying how much fun they were having and then I watched a couple trailers which completely sold me on a game I had been ignoring. Not generally a big Western RPG fan (because I havent played many, not because I dont like em) but loving this.

The fact its not set in an existing universe like D+D or whatever helps. I don't have to worry about knowing nothing about the lore of games like Balders Gate or all the various games and books etc.

 

[WanderingWind]

Question:

At what point did GAF realize that this was actually most likely going to be VERY good? I missed the release and just remember years and years of skepticism, right up to a very few months before release. Everyone was screaming "GENERIC! BLAND! BORING! LOLZ!" So at what point did people go "Ooo, this might actually be really good?"

And what were peoples' reactions? :lol

Also, I'm literally right about to start my very first playthrough of the game. I'm really excited!

But I'm wondering, are there any really bare-bones quintessential mods that are just must-haves? (No spoilers please.) And is there a quick guide that shows me how to install them? Thanks!

EA's marketing for this game couldn't have been any worse than if they used J-Pop to try to sell the next Madden.

I was going to buy this game from the beginning, and the stupid Marilyn Mason + tits trailers they had running for DA almost made me rethink my devotion.

Thankfully, the game was much, much better than EA apparently thought it was going to be.

 

[CoolTrick]

One more question:

I'm a veteran to the BG games, Planescape games, Morrowind, etc. I typically played those on Normal.

Should I go for playing on Hard difficulty? (Or whatever the equivalent is, a step above normal?)

I want a challenge, but am not sure how difficult the Normal level is.

Also if someone could answer my question about whether or not there are any quintessential mods to recommend for a first time playthrough. Thanks!