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[Shrennin]

I kind of wish BioWare would chill out on making new engines. They do it constantly - on one hand it's great to see they don't shy away from making everything in-house, but on the other I'd like to see them take more time and optimize the stuff they have. It often seems like every game comes with a new engine from them.

Well Mass Effect runs on the Unreal Engine 3 (and so does ME2) while Dragon Age runs on a newly created engine (I wonder if it's based off of the Infinity Engine though, I think KotOR's was).

As for TOR, since it's an MMORPG, it's running on the Hero Engine (by far the best MMO engine out yet).

My point? I'm not sure. It did kind of surprise me that BioWare is using two engines that they haven't created (UE3 and Hero Engine) although I can understand why they may be using the Hero Engine.

 

[ntropy]

Where can i get a good one handed sword?

circle of magi quest: watchguard of the reaching. i figured it out by reading the note "the ritual starts in the Great Common Hall"

 

[Wallach]

Nope? God Damit.

Time to buy it i suppose?

There are others, but that one was the first one that came to mind (and may be the best one out there, I'm not sure). Still, I think Warden's Keep is worth the download.

 

[MidnightRider]

I still don't know if I will be able to get into this game. Played the first 5 minutes and hated how everytime I told my dude to fight someone he kept talking.

with every sword blow he was saying shit like "Yes sir, right away sir" "attacking now" etc......

 

[HiResDes]

My biggest pet peeve besides the loot and the fact that I've seem to have hit some sort of glitch where I cannot get into the Circle of Magi whatsoever, is that the main protoganist isn't voiced throughout the dialogue...You spend time picking what voice you want him or her to have and then you get in the game and it turns out that your character is a mute for the most part. It seems rather silly to me.

 

[Houston3000]

Nightmare Plus' current system. I think it's kind of lax personally. I played through the game usually only ever using one pot per battle if it was absolutely necessary. Can't remember ever using two in a fight.

I'm not really a fan of their addiction system. It's just too complicated for something that, IMO, should be majorly simple. I mean... potions that cure "addictions" to potions, just seems like something you'd have to do a lot of extra travel and pointless crafting for. A more elegant method, IMO, would be diminishing returns. Drink one Lyrium potion and the next one you drink within 2 minutes or so is only half as potent and restarts the counter. Obviously timing and potency would be adjusted for balance (just throwing out numbers).

Like you, I usually try to limit my lyrium potion consumption. In-combat regen is actually rather quick and staff auto-fire is decent damage. I don't set up tactics on my characters though short of a couple of self buffs - I like controlling everything manually... which usually means my casters aren't spamming their damage spell every single second they go off cooldown.

 

[Gowans]

What a total hassle to get this bloody urn of ash, just made it to the guard and my party is completely goosed!!! (has been for ages no health viles )

 

[Kinan]

circle of magi quest: watchguard of the reaching. i figured it out by reading the note "the ritual starts in the Great Common Hall"

I think the best one-hand sword I got was from 3(4)-parts codex quest in deep roads.That was easily the best part of my deep roads experience.

 

[Exhumed]

I think the best one-hand sword I got was from 3(4)-parts codex quest in deep roads.That was easily the best part of my deep roads experience.

My Leliana is dual wielding that one with Star Fang. Nice weapons indeed!

 

[Rufus]

You're talking about Topsider's Honor.

 

[Arnie]

Recently bought a MacBook Pro 15" with a 9600 GT, does anybody have a similar spec Mac who could tell me how this game would run.

My favourite game of all time is KOTOR so I have a feeling I may enjoy this game however I am completely disengaged by the Fantasy setting. EDGE said it right when they queried, "why does a genre defined by the limits of your imagination always end up looking like Lord of the Rings?"

So to rectify my skepticism, can anyone who has finished the game tell me how DA's story stacks up(in a non spoilerific way) against KOTOR's.

 

[Trojita]

Hey guys,

You use Xbox Live Points to get the DLC for Dragon Age Origins on the Xbox 360. What do you use for the PC version? I'm guessing you can't use the Xbox Live Points and instead have to use some EA Points?

 

[Wallach]

Hey guys,

You use Xbox Live Points to get the DLC for Dragon Age Origins on the Xbox 360. What do you use for the PC version? I'm guessing you can't use the Xbox Live Points and instead have to use some EA Points?

Yeah, BioWare has their own points. Dunno if the pricing is the same (Warden's Keep is $7, Return to Ostagar is $5).

 

[Shrennin]

Return to Ostagar got delayed, right?

I thought it was supposed to release yesterday but it hasn't so....?

 

[Wallach]

Return to Ostagar got delayed, right?

I thought it was supposed to release yesterday but it hasn't so....?

Correct. They have no new ETA on it yet. Sounds like they caught a last-minute show-stopper.

 

[Saren is Bad]

Recently bought a MacBook Pro 15" with a 9600 GT, does anybody have a similar spec Mac who could tell me how this game would run.

My favourite game of all time is KOTOR so I have a feeling I may enjoy this game however I am completely disengaged by the Fantasy setting. EDGE said it right when they queried, "why does a genre defined by the limits of your imagination always end up looking like Lord of the Rings?"

So to rectify my skepticism, can anyone who has finished the game tell me how DA's story stacks up(in a non spoilerific way) against KOTOR's.

I can't answer you directly, but I have the same computer and was doing some research, and it seems that the game can run ~30 fps with medium settings. I dunno if its worth a double dip, but hopefully someone here can give a more detailed impression.

 

[Shrennin]

Correct. They have no new ETA on it yet. Sounds like they caught a last-minute show-stopper.

kind of a let-down. I was hoping to play it soon, but if they did indeed catch something that could potentially be game-breaking then I am really glad they caught it before they released it.

 

[Atrus]

I still don't know if I will be able to get into this game. Played the first 5 minutes and hated how everytime I told my dude to fight someone he kept talking.

with every sword blow he was saying shit like "Yes sir, right away sir" "attacking now" etc......

It happens if you keep telling them to attack. A single button press is good enough to initiate auto-attack.

 

[Loxley]

Just managed to grab the PC version for $26.99 off of the EA store thanks in part to their current sale, but also a discount coupon EA graciously sent me for my birthday back in mid-December

Any advice for a first-timer before I dive head-first into it? Maybe a race/class combo that's better for beginners? I'm not all-too familiar with the Baldur's Gate series if DA is indeed a spiritual successor to it.

 

[Saren is Bad]

Just managed to grab the PC version for $26.99 off of the EA store thanks in part to their current sale, but also a discount coupon EA graciously sent me for my birthday back in mid-December

Any advice for a first-timer? Maybe a race/class combo that's better for beginners?

I know this sounds frightening but most likely you will create a character, get about 3 hours in, and say fuck it and create a new one. I did this 4 times before I settled with my mage.

 

[Pancakes]

I've said it before but it needs to be said again.

Mages make even nightmare difficulty easy. Getting Alister to taunt->force field and then busting out Mass Paralysis feels so cheap :lol.

 

[viewtifulsub]

Amusing glitch. Apologies if it has been posted before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF4UIFT47gk

 

[Sielys]

Amusing glitch. Apologies if it has been posted before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF4UIFT47gk

Oh god :lol

I laughed so unbelievably hard at this, thanks for posting this.

 

[Dennis]

Amusing glitch. Apologies if it has been posted before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF4UIFT47gk

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Best glitch evar!

Poor Leliana...

 

[Stallion Free]

Are there any mods that add an attack queue into the game? I really liked how Kotor allowed you to queue up 3 actions during fights for each character in your party and it seems odd that they would leave something like that out in DA:O.

 

[Rufus]

Amusing glitch. Apologies if it has been posted before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF4UIFT47gk

The Halla walking through the picture makes it so perfect. :lol

 

[Gino]

Man I wish I hadn't bought this for 360 and played like 10 hours already... I just got a PC that can play it but I don't want to start over.

PC version seems so much better

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

I'm just playing through Orzammar now, after having done the Mages Circle and Redcliffe already. My one major criticism with the game is that this quest is stupid and I'm hampered by not having the dialogue option that I would want to say. I've got to choose between these two dwarves to become king but I don't know how they stand ideologically and therefore which king my character would choose. They both want me to pledge loyalty but loyalty to what? I wish I could just ask 'Why?'. In the end I've gone with the king's son since the other dude seemed like a bit of a twat, but this is the loosest decision I've made so far, I've decided but have no idea why. Off to the deep roads now, scaaary!

 

[TheFightingFish]

Off to the deep roads now, scaaary!

Bring a snack...it's going to take a while. I'm really hoping that I'm nearing the end of Deep Roads now but I'm starting to get pretty sick of it.

 

[Minsc]

Man I wish I hadn't bought this for 360 and played like 10 hours already... I just got a PC that can play it but I don't want to start over.

PC version seems so much better

Just pick a different origin and head to a different location to start out, it'd be like a whole new game for the first 40 hours, and then when you finally go back to the place you started with on the 360, you'll probably not be so against replaying that area.

 

[Macmanus]

Any advice for a first-timer before I dive head-first into it? Maybe a race/class combo that's better for beginners? I'm not all-too familiar with the Baldur's Gate series if DA is indeed a spiritual successor to it.

Go with the basic group make up of two mages, a rogue, and a sword and shield tank. Always keep potions on you, and make use of grenades because they are actually quite good.

Separate the rogue from the group when you can to scout ahead and disable traps (this also can add some solid xp.)

Also save orzammar/deep roads for the later half of the game.

If you're on the PC, quick save early and often and back up every hour or two of game play with a solid save.

 

[Houston3000]

Just managed to grab the PC version for $26.99 off of the EA store thanks in part to their current sale, but also a discount coupon EA graciously sent me for my birthday back in mid-December

Any advice for a first-timer before I dive head-first into it? Maybe a race/class combo that's better for beginners? I'm not all-too familiar with the Baldur's Gate series if DA is indeed a spiritual successor to it.

There's not any strong racials in this game that would make any particular race/class much better than another. Your race really only determines your origin story and how other characters may treat you in the game. There are 6 stories; Dwarf Noble (Dwarf Warrior/Rogue), Dwarf Commoner (Dwarf Warrior/Rogue), Dalish Elf (Elf Warrior/Rogue), City Elf (Elf Warrior/Rogue), Human Noble (Human Warrior/Rogue), and Mage (Human/Elf Mage)

As for a class, there's really no going wrong with any of them. You control every one of them in combat no matter which class you choose since you control a party of 4 at any given time. A healing mage would probably be the easiest or a tank warrior, since you pretty much need one of those in your party anyways - it'll sort of free up a slot for you to mix and match damage dealers. Personally I went with Dwarf Rogue Commoner because that's what I wanted to roleplay as and haven't had any problems.

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

Bring a snack...it's going to take a while. I'm really hoping that I'm nearing the end of Deep Roads now but I'm starting to get pretty sick of it.

Crikey, I can't imagine how big they must be then. I only went to the first Thaig for one of the quests for Bhelen, that took a good hour or so. I'm currently tracking down a bandit in some tunnels in Orzammar. When do you have to go far into the Deep roads? Is it next? Don't know why Bioware made this area quite so massive, seems a bit padded to me. Redcliffe and the Mages Circle (even the fade) weren't so bad, this seems to be taking forever so far, and i get the impression I'm going to be here for a while longer. I want to see the sky again!

 

[timetokill]

Crikey, I can't imagine how big they must be then. I only went to the first Thaig for one of the quests for Bhelen, that took a good hour or so. I'm currently tracking down a bandit in some tunnels in Orzammar. When do you have to go far into the Deep roads? Is it next? Don't know why Bioware made this area quite so massive, seems a bit padded to me. Redcliffe and the Mages Circle (even the fade) weren't so bad, this seems to be taking forever so far, and i get the impression I'm going to be here for a while longer. I want to see the sky again!

I think they did a good job with it. So many games make a tiny little dwarven area, but this is supposed to be the remnants of of a giant civilization living underground... it makes sense that they would basically have their own world map that compares to the size of the topside map. It has a sense of grandeur and everything, and I think your last sentence, "I want to see the sky again!" is probably what they were going for.

Personally I like it a lot because I felt like they developed the Dwarven culture really well.

 

[Sielys]

So I'm

Spoiler

raiding arl howes castle to save anora right now

and all the torturers in the dungeon are bald men in leather skirts....
Only a little creepy.

 

[Macmanus]

I'll go on record and say that I actually enjoyed The Deep Roads. I saved it for last and heard everyone bitching about it so the bar was set extremely low.

So the trick to enjoying the place is to have shit expectations. (It also helped that my origin story was a dorf commoner and going there last felt like rather organic pacing to the story.)

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I'll go on record and say that I actually enjoyed The Deep Roads. I saved it for last and heard everyone bitching about it so the bar was set extremely low.

So the trick to enjoying the place is to have shit expectations. (It also helped that my origin story was a dorf commoner and going there last felt like rather organic pacing to the story.)

On my first playthrough I did it last as well and really enjoyed it. There were some tough encounters in there and I think Bioware did a really good job giving the area a strong sense of despair as the player progressed further and further into the depths.

 

[roxya]

On my first playthrough I did it last as well and really enjoyed it. There were some tough encounters in there and I think Bioware did a really good job giving the area a strong sense of despair as the player progressed further and further into the depths.

I think it depends on when you decide to tackle it. It was the last of the initial quests I did, and I found it lacking compared to the others. Also, generally a lot easier but the fights were larger/more annoying.

 

[timetokill]

I think it depends on when you decide to tackle it. It was the last of the initial quests I did, and I found it lacking compared to the others. Also, generally a lot easier but the fights were larger/more annoying.

Any of the quests that you do last will be incredibly easy. The first time I did the Deep Roads last and found them really easy.

However, on a previous character I went straight to Redcliffe and found it pretty hard my first time around... with my 2nd character it's the last thing I did besides the 2nd half of the Deep Roads... and it was incredibly easy, didn't even come close to dying.

It makes you feel pretty powerful anyway

 

[tadcalabash]

Bring a snack...it's going to take a while. I'm really hoping that I'm nearing the end of Deep Roads now but I'm starting to get pretty sick of it.

Yeah, that was the one thing that lessened my enjoyment of the game a bit, that of the long-ass dungeon crawls. I felt like if I wanted to play I couldn't just set aside a half an hour or so.

Once you're committed to going through the "dungeons" (especially Deep Roads) you've got a several hour slog ahead of you

 

[Sielys]

Yup, when I got to the deep roads, I was at the point where I didn't loot corpses or look in crates anymore. Just ran straight through. Broodmother was a bit of a break in the monotony though, since shes ganked the other 3 members of my party in about 10 seconds, so I had to solo her (hard mode, I wasn't playing so horrible as to have my team die on normal XD)

 

[HiResDes]

Just managed to grab the PC version for $26.99 off of the EA store thanks in part to their current sale, but also a discount coupon EA graciously sent me for my birthday back in mid-December

Any advice for a first-timer before I dive head-first into it? Maybe a race/class combo that's better for beginners? I'm not all-too familiar with the Baldur's Gate series if DA is indeed a spiritual successor to it.

They are all pretty accessible, with mages possibly being the most powerful class, and warrior being the simplest...Slightly

I'd recommend Warrior if you're concerned about keeping things simple, but then you are going to need to find a certain healing mage.

If you use Rogue I would dual wield and just try to position yourself behind enemies so you can backstab, I wouldn't recommend using bows with any character, though I have somebody in my party that does...It definitely seems to be weakest of all the options for this particular class.

If you decide to become a Mage as I have done twice now, think about what type of powers will complement each other best before you pick anything. For example, Fire+Oil Slick is a pretty good combo. Basically anything that destablizes the enemy combined with something that damages them over time will be a good combo. Make sure you have enough willpower to support both sustained and actice spells. For example, if you want to have a shield up during battle that takes up a lot of mana, put up your willpower, and especially if you want to dabble in healing your group.

Races don't matter, I forgot.

 

[freddy]

Theres no need to use a healing mage if you decide to run through as a dual weilding Warrior or something similar. That's what tactics slots and healing poultices are for.

First run through for me was two hours with Sword and shield Then I decided to restart as a dual weilder with Alistair, Leilana and Morrigan. It worked out very well and allowed me to go through with hardly any micromanaging at all.

 

[HiResDes]

Theres no need to use a healing mage if you decide to run through as a dual weilding Warrior or something similar. That's what tactics slots and healing poultices are for.

First run through for me was two hours with Sword and shield Then I decided to restart as a dual weilder with Alistair, Leilana and Morrigan. It worked out very well and allowed me to go through with hardly any micromanaging at all.

Yeah but it can be kind of a bitch to keep finding/buying healing poultices especially if you have no one that can make for them you.

 

[proposition]

My biggest pet peeve besides the loot and the fact that I've seem to have hit some sort of glitch where I cannot get into the Circle of Magi whatsoever, is that the main protoganist isn't voiced throughout the dialogue...You spend time picking what voice you want him or her to have and then you get in the game and it turns out that your character is a mute for the most part. It seems rather silly to me.

Well, unlike certain other Bioware RPGs, Dragon Age is focused on content rather than presentation, so they probably couldn't fit all of the dialogue for all of the voices on the disc and decided they'd have more content on there instead.

 

[kaizoku]

what are the best origin stories and which have profound effects on the storyline?

I did Dalish Elf and I've a feeling the impact wasn't that great beyond everyone disrespecting me a little. But from what I experienced of the story there was a lot of scope for the other stories to play a bigger role as they're not all nomadic isolated tribal characters.

 

[kai3345]

Where the hell do I get flasks?

 

[kaizoku]

Where the hell do I get flasks?

loads of merchants.

the one at your camp has unlimited flasks

 

[chris-013]

what are the best origin stories and which have profound effects on the storyline?

I did Dalish Elf and I've a feeling the impact wasn't that great beyond everyone disrespecting me a little. But from what I experienced of the story there was a lot of scope for the other stories to play a bigger role as they're not all nomadic isolated tribal characters.

Dalish elfs don't have a side story in the forest ?

 

[timetokill]

what are the best origin stories and which have profound effects on the storyline?

I did Dalish Elf and I've a feeling the impact wasn't that great beyond everyone disrespecting me a little. But from what I experienced of the story there was a lot of scope for the other stories to play a bigger role as they're not all nomadic isolated tribal characters.

Playing Dalish Elf after Human Noble has been a bit underwhelming, for sure.