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[DodgerSan]

Approval ratings discussion.

That sounds quite logical. But some people would object to being able to permanently 'break' a relationship.

As for gaming the system, I agree somewhat except for Sten. Maybe it's just me, but I cannot for the life of me get a break with that guy. He just hates everything I say.

Which is why he sits back at camp.

 

[AstroLad]

As for gaming the system, I agree somewhat except for Sten. Maybe it's just me, but I cannot for the life of me get a break with that guy. He just hates everything I say.

Which is why he sits back at camp.

Substitute Alistair and it's the same for me. I have many tanks at my possible Alistair, so cool it with the smug attitude.

 

[Hari Seldon]

So did the DLC finally come out for PC yet?

 

[Rufus]

So did the DLC finally come out for PC yet?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=return+to+ostagar

 

[Sir Garbageman]

As for gaming the system, I agree somewhat except for Sten. Maybe it's just me, but I cannot for the life of me get a break with that guy. He just hates everything I say.

IIRC I didn't get close to 100 approval with Sten in my first playthrough but doing his personal quest and giving him gifts he likes

Spoiler

paintings

got him up to the mid 70's pretty easily.

With regards to the party approval system changes I mentioned earlier, you're right when chances are being able to permanently "break" a relationship would probably be crappy, especially considering a standard run through for most people can end up in the 45 - 60 hrs. and having to live with those decisions could be rough.

Maybe implement ceilings / floors for permanent changes so that the absolute most damage you could do for example would be to reduce the max from 100 to 75 or so. Just enough to make a companion who is totally opposed to the main PC's actions unable to hit love / adoration levels.

Then again there are many examples in DA: Origins where you could easily lose party members. Slight spoilers

Spoiler

Some you only have one shot to recruit, and other questlines could have them leave your party permanently

so its not totally out there.

 

[Darklord]

Before the final battle spoiler.

Spoiler

Oh man, Morrigan, what a fucking bitch! She was my romance interest in the game and obviously she was dodgy but god damn. Leaving on the night of the battle? She was like 90+ approval too, seems odd you couldn't convince her out of it. Also Zevran, what a piece of shit. I spared his live and he turns against me? Well he's dead. And now either me or Alistair has to die? Wtf? Maybe I should have let the demon child cop it after all.

I wish I got somewhere with Sten. I basically ruined that whole thing in the first conversation. He didn't talk to me again.

 

[freddy]

..

No and no.

 

[eller711]

I was wondering if there is a way to download the DLC for the PC version and burn that on to a disk for someone else. I have a friend who has the game but his download cap for each day is ridiculously restrictive. Is there a way to do that and will they still need to authenticate each time they run the game just like I do on the 360 version.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Sten's a tricky one. To get him to open up you need to take him travelling about with you and he comments on various things (usually with a surly grunt of contempt) that you can ask him to expand upon back at camp, and they're usually some interesting insights into the qunari. 'Course, taking him travelling with you also means he'll disapprove everytime you're not charging straight towards the Archdemon, so... double-edged battleaxe really!

 

[Chris R]

So I just beat the game (PC version, got a pretty decent ending I think...) but I didn't ever see any percentage complete info pop up, or time played for that matter :|

Now to do a Mage play though or maybe a warrior one first and see some of the other plot lines

 

[sublime085]

So I just beat the game (PC version, got a pretty decent ending I think...) but I didn't ever see any percentage complete info pop up, or time played for that matter :|

Now to do a Mage play though or maybe a warrior one first and see some of the other plot lines

That info is in there somewhere, I'm not sure of the top of my head though.

I think you go to the character screen (C key), then click on "Heroic Accomplishments", and there should be a bunch of stats regarding your party and individual characters.

 

[McHuj]

No and no.

Thanks.

 

[McHuj]

Also Zevran,.

Spoiler

what a piece of shit. I spared his live and he turns against me? Well he's dead. And now either me or Alistair has to die? Wtf? Maybe I should have let the demon child cop it after all.

Spoiler

When did he turn against you? Was it torwards the end of the game when you run into one of the Crows that's chasing him? I ended up talking with him a lot since I needed to unlock Assassin. I also gave him the elven gifts (pair of gloves)? So my approval was pretty high from him.

 

[HK-47]

That sounds quite logical. But some people would object to being able to permanently 'break' a relationship.

As for gaming the system, I agree somewhat except for Sten. Maybe it's just me, but I cannot for the life of me get a break with that guy. He just hates everything I say.

Which is why he sits back at camp.

I loved that about Sten. Especially when he activitely confronts you and questions your abilities. More people should be doing that.

 

[Darklord]

Spoiler

When did he turn against you? Was it torwards the end of the game when you run into one of the Crows that's chasing him? I ended up talking with him a lot since I needed to unlock Assassin. I also gave him the elven gifts (pair of gloves)? So my approval was pretty high from him.

Yep. But err, dude spoiler alert from the quote! Fix that up please.

 

[Chizzanger]

I decided to make my hero a sword and board tank, but I'm curious as where to spend my stat points.

So far I've been spreading my stat points evenly between strength, dex, and constitution. Should I be focusing more on just dex and constitution?

 

[Deleted member 30609]

will Sten die if I leave him in his cage?

I want to come back and get him later, when I don't have Alistair around.


oh yeah, just started playing this btw. really liking it now that it's opened up a bit, i can tell it's going to have me hooked for a while. i mean, i'll probably be distracted with mass effect 2 and bioshock 2 and some other stuff, but I'll keep coming back to this.

 

[Rufus]

will Sten die if I leave him in his cage?

I want to come back and get him later, when I don't have Alistair around.

Yes, you have to get him now, as Lothering will be overrun by Darkspawn once you leave on your next story mission, I think. Either way, it'll be inaccessible soon after you leave. If you don't want to take Alistair with you because of the way you get the key to his cage, I can suggest an alternative. Bring Leliana with you when you're talking to the person in charge, she'll support you.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

cheers

i'm not playing as the sort of character who would threaten death over a key, so taking that option was kind of rubbing me the wrong way.

 

[Cep]

IIRC I didn't get close to 100 approval with Sten in my first playthrough but doing his personal quest and giving him gifts he likes

Spoiler

paintings

got him up to the mid 70's pretty easily.

With regards to the party approval system changes I mentioned earlier, you're right when chances are being able to permanently "break" a relationship would probably be crappy, especially considering a standard run through for most people can end up in the 45 - 60 hrs. and having to live with those decisions could be rough.

Maybe implement ceilings / floors for permanent changes so that the absolute most damage you could do for example would be to reduce the max from 100 to 75 or so. Just enough to make a companion who is totally opposed to the main PC's actions unable to hit love / adoration levels.

Then again there are many examples in DA: Origins where you could easily lose party members. Slight spoilers

Spoiler

Some you only have one shot to recruit, and other questlines could have them leave your party permanently

so its not totally out there.

Why is it that everyone always has trouble with Sten(or any party members).

By the end of the game, ALL my party members were 90+ (although I did have massively high cunning and max persuade...).

 

[TheExodu5]

Tired of waiting for Mass Effect 2, I decided to get back into this game. I forget why I stopped, but it's still as awesome as ever.

I'm not big on doing the whole tactical combat thing, so I've changed things up a bit...moved it to easy difficulty (which I did earlier mainly because of the last boss in the dream world who was kicking my ass), but I'm just controlling my character directly. I'll play around more with full party control on my next playthrough.

Man, I still love how this game looks. I think it's one of the best looking games on PC, to be honest. Technically? No. But artistically...it's damn good. The visual effects are applied in a very restricted and pleasing manner. None of the skills are overly flashy (no light explosions when attacking). The game itself just looks like an oil painting thanks to very nice textures, a superb depth of field effect, and the lighting. Dragon Age is really way ahead of Mass Effect in terms of visual direction.

 

[DieNgamers]

Man, I just finished the part with

Spoiler

the zombie invasion in that village

. It wasn't really that hard (I died only once) but it lasted soooo long and I came out barely alive.
After that (in the castle) I totally lost against a group of dogs a couple of times. Was that part hard or is it just me? I think I shouldn't have chosen a dalish warrior, it's really getting more difficult now. I actually thought "I" was a rogue all the time till I wondered why I don't have the lock-picking ability. :lol My team consists of Bronzo (the dog), that priest girl from the bar and Morrigan.

 

[HK-47]

cheers

i'm not playing as the sort of character who would threaten death over a key, so taking that option was kind of rubbing me the wrong way.

How about you just pick the lock and dont bother with the Revered Mother

 

[Ikkarus]

Man, I just finished the part with

Spoiler

the zombie invasion in that village

. It wasn't really that hard (I died only once) but it lasted soooo long and I came out barely alive.
After that (in the castle) I totally lost against a group of dogs a couple of times. Was that part hard or is it just me? I think I shouldn't have chosen a dalish warrior, it's really getting more difficult now. I actually thought "I" was a rogue all the time till I wondered why I don't have the lock-picking ability. :lol My team consists of Bronzo (the dog), that priest girl from the bar and Morrigan.

All I could suggest would be to move a warrior in to your team who can soak up all the main damage and direct all the attention of the mobs.

Spoiler

If you have the DLC then Shale would be a great choice.

Alistair is pretty decent too. Just go nuts on defense.

The dog is pretty decent early on in the game I found once you recruit more members his use started to diminish.

 

[Darklord]

Finally finished the game. Picked up another scene ripped right out of LotR. So to cap it off. I saw the Helms Deep siege, minas morgul, Battle of Minas Tirith and the Black gates battle/Sauron dying(exploding?) after the ring was destroyed. :lol

Sad ending though, for me at least

Spoiler

I died and morrigan left me

. I'm guessing there are other ways to end it. It was a good sad ending though, not one of those "wtf?" ones. Seriously though, the end credits...what is with that song?! Going from another awesome Inon Zur theme to something I'd hear in a Spider Man soundtrack or a Smallville episode. And the song is so bad! Who thought of this?

 

[bill0527]

Spoiler

When did he turn against you? Was it torwards the end of the game when you run into one of the Crows that's chasing him? I ended up talking with him a lot since I needed to unlock Assassin. I also gave him the elven gifts (pair of gloves)? So my approval was pretty high from him.

I'm not at that part yet, but I read the spoiler anyway. I think I'll boot him from the camp now.

I just got my approval rating up high enough with him to give me assassin. Now all the dude wants to do is have gay sex with me.

 

[DieNgamers]

I use the dog for his stun attack only, actually..and because he's so cute! :lol I'm just getting warm with the combat/strategics in the game but it's all awesome! I'm not sure about Morrigan right now, she doesn't really help that much but has some good status attacks. I have her almost at 100% in terms of liking me...does firing her from the current team change that?

 

[Darklord]

does firing her from the current team change that?

Nah but there is a bug I found. Don't ask her about becoming a shapechanger if you haven't already. Late into the gameI tried it(with 90+ Love Approval) and she told me she didn't know me enough and won't train me because all she came along for was because flemth

Spoiler

who was long since dead

told her to. After that the aproval dropped to "Adore" instead.

 

[MetatronM]

I use the dog for his stun attack only, actually..and because he's so cute! :lol I'm just getting warm with the combat/strategics in the game but it's all awesome! I'm not sure about Morrigan right now, she doesn't really help that much but has some good status attacks. I have her almost at 100% in terms of liking me...does firing her from the current team change that?

Morrigan is easily the most useful and important member in my party. Have her focus on spells that freeze or otherwise immobilize and your front liners will have a massively easier time of it.

 

[Donos]

Morrigan is easily the most useful and important member in my party. Have her focus on spells that freeze or otherwise immobilize and your front liners will have a massively easier time of it.

Yep. Without morrigan i would have had serious problems in my playthrough. I always froze the hard enemies (*uck you revenants!!!!) an my tank had a brief moment to breathe.

Spoiler

i lost her in the end (i said NO to the antichrist bastard child) and without her walking nightmare and the cone of cold spells i had a hard time. It didn't help that ogren fought only with his underpants because i sold all my extra gear beforehand and didn't expect to fight with my whole party at the final battles.

I'm excited for the DLC. Usualy i'm not a fan of expansions but for this game i will buy everything.

 

[DieNgamers]

I think I'm stuck. :/ I just can't beat the enemy group in the castle (inner ward). The huge armored guy (revenant?) always wins in the end. Well I died 3 times after killing all the others -including the archers- but I just don't have enough health potions and Morrigan's healing is very weak. Frustrating!

 

[Doytch]

I think I'm stuck. :/ I just can't beat the enemy group in the castle (inner ward). The huge armored guy (revenant?) always wins in the end. Well I died 3 times after killing all the others -including the archers- but I just don't have enough health potions and Morrigan's healing is very weak. Frustrating!

In the Redcliffe castle courtyard? Did you open the gates to get some backup?

 

[Stallion Free]

Man, I still love how this game looks. I think it's one of the best looking games on PC, to be honest. Technically? No. But artistically...it's damn good. The visual effects are applied in a very restricted and pleasing manner. None of the skills are overly flashy (no light explosions when attacking). The game itself just looks like an oil painting thanks to very nice textures, a superb depth of field effect, and the lighting. Dragon Age is really way ahead of Mass Effect in terms of visual direction.

I really love how they baked-in ambient occlusion. I don't know why I like it so much but I do.

 

[DieNgamers]

In the Redcliffe castle courtyard? Did you open the gates to get some backup?

Holy ****, no I didn't! :lol Just realized that as well, haha. I won anyway, though...that was tough! Died at least 5 times.

 

[TheFightingFish]

Just finished up my first playthough as a backstabby female city elf on the PC version. After the dexterity hot fix it ended up being a pretty fun class to play, I would just wait in stealth until combatants we engaged then sneak up and do wicked damage with twin daggers (The Rose's Thorn and Dead Thaig Shanker). I also loaded up her and my other characters with stun / paralyze spells and enchantments so she would always have helpless targets to bash. Would probably pick a mage if I had to do it again (just more options for micro and more power) but not a bad class.

On the role-play side of things I found it kinda funny that I set out to play an evil / brutal character, but ended up giving that up just a little ways into the game. Unlike something like Mass Effect where you can be a jerk hero or a saintly hero Dragon Age actually had lots of choices to do really evil stuff. I kinda didn't have to heart to be that evil, so I ended up just being sarcastic good. Plus I felt like I might be missing out on quests by being too evil, which I didn't want.

My big complaint would be that several of the core story segments went on a good hour or two more than I would have liked. There were many cool choices in the game and lots of cool sidequests that I'm sure I missed so sometimes I feel like I'd love to replay as an evil mage. But the though of having to do

Spoiler

The Fade or the Dwarf Quest

again makes me think that I might never replay. I like that the game is so content rich, but I'd actually prefer a slightly shorter main quest so that I can do multiple playthroughs without having to repeat too much boring content.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

I had some trouble with the Redcliffe castle courtyard battle too. You just have to make sure to open the gate and not aggro the whole mob in one shot and take them out piecemeal and you should be ok.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

I don't have a lot to add to the on going discussion, but I have to say I absolutely loved Dragon Age. So much I played through it twice. And here I had been thinking (in the weeks preceding it's release) they may have rushed the game to market. But if they had, I didn't see any evidence of it. Maybe some muddy texture work, but overall I didn't even hate the graphics, as maligned as they've been.

DA is probably my favorite Bioware game to date, in fact.

 

[Borgnine]

Finally finished the game. Picked up another scene ripped right out of LotR. So to cap it off. I saw the Helms Deep siege, minas morgul, Battle of Minas Tirith and the Black gates battle/Sauron dying(exploding?) after the ring was destroyed. :lol

I was going to post something like this up but never got around to it (plus it's probably already been done somewhere in this thread). I understand that they wanted to use familiar archetypes but I found the derivative Tolkien stuff highly distracting. Like how The Deep Roads basically equals Moria, complete with Bridge of Khazad-Dum. The Elves that greet you with little Elvish phrases (Mae Govannen). There were Ents. Darkspawn are essentially Orcs (though this is less egregious). At least there weren't any Hobbits, though the female Dwarves felt pretty Hobbity to me.

Also, and this is unrelated but as long as I'm complaining, I usually hate the made up religions in games. Especially when they just replace "God" with "The Maker." It's so uninteresting. I already know what it's like to live in a society with a monotheistic religion, I'd rather hear about something different in my fantasy worlds.

 

[Chris R]

That info is in there somewhere, I'm not sure of the top of my head though.

I think you go to the character screen (C key), then click on "Heroic Accomplishments", and there should be a bunch of stats regarding your party and individual characters.

Thanks for that!

51% complete, 92% explored (no clue how I didn't 100% that) 254 codex entries in just over 32 hours.

Easily the best RPG this gen so far for me. Sucks that codex entries don't carry over playthrough to playthrough as I doubt I'll ever get one complete to look at in game

Going to finish all the different origins and then load up the

Spoiler

fade

skip mod and enjoy a Mage playthrough.

 

[Darklord]

Wow, I started my second playthrough as a Dwarf Castless Warrior(first time I've spent 50 hours with a game just to replay it instantly) and came across a very M. Night Shyamalan moment.

Minor spoilers for the Dwarf Castless origin

Spoiler

When I played as my human mage in Orzammar I came across a jail like dungeon. In side was one guy called Laske who I freed and in the other cell was a dead nameless dwarf. Then I find out while playing as the Dwarf that dead body...WAS ME! ARRRRRRRRGH!:lol Obviously I got out this time but that was really weird getting out of the cell and thinking "Wait I've seen this area before...OH SHIT!":lol

 

[Edgeward]

Dammit, finished the game sunday and was going to play Batman finally but everytime I play the game I just keeping thinking about playing again and making the "good" choices instead of the choices which pissed off my more prominent members, taking their awesome equipment with them! And it doesn't help that all the remaining trophies are so easily obtainable (71% done) and I could get my first plat if I could just afford another timesink.

So after 2 hours of Batman I went and put another 2 into DA and made a DW Warrior City Female Elf. And it's so much easier to make a pretty female than it is to make a guy that doesn't have a huge caveman head. And the City Elf and Human noble origin stories are so much more engaging than the magi.

 

[Lesath]

Did it bother anybody else that they made the effort to give Fereldens, Orelsians, and even Antivians various European accents, but left the elves and dwarves with American ones?

 

[Rufus]

The only thing that bothers me about that is that there ARE obvious equivalents.

 

[dekjo]

I understand that they wanted to use familiar archetypes but I found the derivative Tolkien stuff highly distracting. Like how The Deep Roads basically equals Moria, complete with Bridge of Khazad-Dum. The Elves that greet you with little Elvish phrases (Mae Govannen). There were Ents. Darkspawn are essentially Orcs (though this is less egregious). At least there weren't any Hobbits, though the female Dwarves felt pretty Hobbity to me.

Also, and this is unrelated but as long as I'm complaining, I usually hate the made up religions in games. Especially when they just replace "God" with "The Maker." It's so uninteresting. I already know what it's like to live in a society with a monotheistic religion, I'd rather hear about something different in my fantasy worlds.

Amen. The environment is so generic and bland that it definitely is a drag on the game to me. Hopefully there'll be some ambitious mods on the PC that'll give the game more character.

 

[Dennis]

Wow, I started my second playthrough as a Dwarf Castless Warrior(first time I've spent 50 hours with a game just to replay it instantly) and came across a very M. Night Shyamalan moment.

Minor spoilers for the Dwarf Castless origin

Spoiler

When I played as my human mage in Orzammar I came across a jail like dungeon. In side was one guy called Laske who I freed and in the other cell was a dead nameless dwarf. Then I find out while playing as the Dwarf that dead body...WAS ME! ARRRRRRRRGH!:lol Obviously I got out this time but that was really weird getting out of the cell and thinking "Wait I've seen this area before...OH SHIT!":lol

Thats really awesome, actually. Wow.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Wow, I started my second playthrough as a Dwarf Castless Warrior(first time I've spent 50 hours with a game just to replay it instantly) and came across a very M. Night Shyamalan moment.

Minor spoilers for the Dwarf Castless origin

Spoiler

When I played as my human mage in Orzammar I came across a jail like dungeon. In side was one guy called Laske who I freed and in the other cell was a dead nameless dwarf. Then I find out while playing as the Dwarf that dead body...WAS ME! ARRRRRRRRGH!:lol Obviously I got out this time but that was really weird getting out of the cell and thinking "Wait I've seen this area before...OH SHIT!":lol

That's really neat. Do you get cross-overs like this for the other origins if you didn't choose them?

Spoiler

I'm guessing the brothers Harrowmont insinuated that Bhelen murdered included you. You could free Soris in the Arl's dungeons, but I don't know if your character is mentioned there or not.

I wonder what else is there.

 

[kitzkozan]

I was going to post something like this up but never got around to it (plus it's probably already been done somewhere in this thread). I understand that they wanted to use familiar archetypes but I found the derivative Tolkien stuff highly distracting. Like how The Deep Roads basically equals Moria, complete with Bridge of Khazad-Dum. The Elves that greet you with little Elvish phrases (Mae Govannen). There were Ents. Darkspawn are essentially Orcs (though this is less egregious). At least there weren't any Hobbits, though the female Dwarves felt pretty Hobbity to me.

Also, and this is unrelated but as long as I'm complaining, I usually hate the made up religions in games. Especially when they just replace "God" with "The Maker." It's so uninteresting. I already know what it's like to live in a society with a monotheistic religion, I'd rather hear about something different in my fantasy worlds.

That's the biggest fault of Dragon age so far.The universe is derivative to the point of affecting the overall quality of the game.

The game doesn't have huge glaring flaws like the first Mass effect or Jade empire,but man is it derivative,uninspired and generic. :lol

I'm still incredibly optimist for the sequel,since Bioware potential to improve is extraordinary.For all you know,the sequel to Dragon age might be the best rpg ever.Bioware just need to give more character and colors to their world.If possible,they should tone down the dwarves and elves factor or any plot/scene which might remind of Tolkien/LOTR.Easiest way to accomplish this is choosing another part of the world that's completely different from Ferelden.

 

[Ventrue]

Yeah, Dragon Age has this weird thing where it alternates between "See, look how different we are, we totally subverted fantasy tropes by making elves slaves!" and "Hey, remember that one bit from Lord of the Rings?"

 

[Mr Jared]

Has the locked specialization glitch that Return to Ostagar introduced been patched on the 360 yet? I was in the middle of my final playthrough for the last 3 achievements and I can't do it until this is fixed

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

That's really neat. Do you get cross-overs like this for the other origins if you didn't choose them?

Spoiler

I'm guessing the brothers Harrowmont insinuated that Bhelen murdered included you. You could free Soris in the Arl's dungeons, but I don't know if your character is mentioned there or not.

I wonder what else is there.

I'm pretty sure that all of the Origins stories actually happened, and the one you choose is just the where Duncan is.