The Official Dragon Age II Gameplay Thread

[BruteForce0G]

<P style="PADDING-LEFT: 90px" mce_style="PADDING-LEFT: 90px">WARNING: This is the "Official Dragon Age II Gameplay Thread". Contained in thereplies below maybe spoilers!


Welcome to the Official Dragon Age II, AGE Thread. In this thread hopefully members of AGE who actively play DAII will participate in posting helpful facts based on their experiences. Though the title may indicate Gameplay as the emphasis, strategy andtactics are welcomed as well. Some of us are probably curious about your character(s) builds to include class, sex, abilities, specializations and which attributes you dump the most points into. Which teammates you use the most, whyand their builds. Weapons, armor and accessories are always a hot topic in games like this so let us know if you find something special.


http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/home/


http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_II


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Age_II


An informative achievement guide can be found at: part of this guide (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=298696).

[BruteForce0G]

Has anyone used the Hayden's Razor bonus item? It has good stats and buffs, but looks like a giant pair of toenailclippers.http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-7.gif Stuff like that screws up my role playing. Good thing the signature edition comes with a longsword that's just as awsome.





LOL, yeah whats up with that sword? My main has it equipped and it looks ridiculous as all hell. I found some of the other bonus items to be a little of a let down as well, namely the Blood Dragon Armor. That set being my main reason to start with a male warrior. Then the Ser Isaacs Armor having high dex and cunning requirements and both sets limited to Main Hawk kind of popped my balloon. Mostly though I've found a good use early on for most of the bonus items.

[RooneyFan]

I am hoping to start slaying some stuff this week. Though I disapointed myself by not getting the PC version. It showe dup yesterday in the mail and i was like, "Yes DragonAge II", ....then like "Crap, why did I get the xbox version!!!" Might see if I can sell it and get the version from either Steam or Games for WIndows Live.

[BruteForce0G]

Sorry to hear that Rooney, but why not just play the XBox version? After allit's been regeared to work better on consoles than DAO.

[Aychtuo]

Yes the first DA had some advantages to playing on the PC. The tactical view or whatever it's called and then the ability to create content with the toolset. However I have no complaints about the first one on console, loved it. But, yeah BruteForce is right, this one was tailored more towards the console with the new combat system.

[BruteForce0G]

Hey guys I have a few tid-bits this morning. First Dragon Age Legends (DAL)is still in beta format but is working much better. More importantly the bonus features are now unlockable both for use in DAII and in DAL. In DAL you can unlock Hawke and Isaac to fight along side your Champion. Included as well is armor from Mass Effect (N7) and Jaded Impire, sets have two matching pieces working in tandem.


From the "RUMOR MILL" an undisclosed friend of mine confirms that cheats have already been discovered to both max out characters level and to hack unlimited gold. Wow I thought it would at least takea week before such exploits were found!


My first playthrough, I'm about 25+ hours in with a male warrior. Leaning heavily on the two-handed sword Hayders Razor (a.k.a. giant toe-nail clipper) coupled with skill tree talents: Two Handed, Vanguard and ReaverI'm having no difficulties on normal mode. Dumping attribute points into strength and constitution alternating 2 and 1. Every 7th level I'll add points to willpower and dexterity. I have only one quest left before taking the Deep Road Expedition and I'm trying not to leave any stone unturned. The only armor I've crossed worth taking some note is the, "Armor of the Fallen". I've only found three of the four pieces and I'm dieing to get my warrior out of thatover usedBlood Dragon Armor. Well enough talk for one day, it's off to slay darkspawn and dragons.

[Maclintok]

Maybe about 5 hours into the campaign as a Mage. Already curious to roll up a new character. The Rogue seems like the most dramatically changed and improved of all the classes.

Still debating whether to go dual-wielding Rogue or two-handed Warrior. Any suggestions?

[Wendig1630]

From the "RUMOR MILL" an undisclosed friend of mine confirms that cheats have already been discovered to both max out characters level and to hack unlimited gold. Wow I thought it would at least takea week before such exploits were found!


Joystic has an article about it. It's one of those glitches that could easly happen by accident.






The only armor I've crossed worth taking some note is the, "Armor of the Fallen". I've only found three of the four pieces and I'm dieing to get my warrior out of thatover usedBlood Dragon Armor. Well enough talk for one day, it's off to slay darkspawn and dragons.You'll get the breastplate in the deeproads. It's a pretty good set that'll last through act 2.

[VDub2174]

Why can't I put different armor on my other party members?

[Wendig1630]

Why can't I put different armor on my other party members?



You can't. It's like Mass Effect 2, except you can buy upgrades and add runes.

[Aychtuo]

Yeah they did it to try to streamline the game so you didn't spend so much time comparing armor for every person. Personally I didn't mind it before and kinda of liked to customize the other party members, but it doesn't bother me this way either.


So I tried on nightmare difficulty to start off with and spent a lot of time running from the second ogre (really the first ogre but the second time you meet him.) So I dropped down a notch to Hard and there seems to be a pretty big gap between the two because hard seems fairly normal.

[BruteForce0G]

You'll get the breastplate in the deeproads. It's a pretty good set that'll last through act 2.






Yeah got it yesterday soon after making that reply. I can't say how happy I am that full sets of armor are actually attainable and show their exact bonuses from the tactic icon located in abilities.






Still debating whether to go dual-wielding Rogue or two-handed Warrior. Any suggestions?






Thats a tough choice Maclintok. If you have the bonus items your looking at equipping the Blood Dragon Armor for a Warrior class whilst if you go Rogue your looking at Ser Isaccs Armor for early starters. Both classes have their up side and depending on which difficulty level you choose, higher I'd go Warrior Two Handed lower Rogue.









Why can't I put different armor on my other party members?






Got some stuff I'm going to post about this in a minute VDub look below.

[BruteForce0G]

Why can't I put different armor on my other party members?



You can't. It's like Mass Effect 2, except you can buy upgrades and add runes.









Yeah they did it to try to streamline the game so you didn't spend so much time comparing armor for every person. Personally I didn't mind it before and kinda of liked to customize the other party members, but it doesn't bother me this way either.





Teammates don't get to equip new armor anymore! Instead throughout Kirkwall from various vendors your able to buy upgrades. Each teammate can have as many as four armor upgrades indicated by the cells located just below the armor image page.Some upgrades have a permanent increase to a derived attribute like attack or defense or a rune slot will be created to insert your preferred armor rune. There are 3 vendors in Lowtown, 1 vendor in Uptown, and 1 in the Docks that I found selling these upgrades.


Keep in mind that armor mainly protects your hero's from physical attacks. Other attacks such as elemental and magicalwill burn right through even the bestcrafted Dwarvin Armors. So try to employ some sustained abilities like Aegis or attain some anti-elemental runes to help counter your armor weaknesses. Just ask any Arishtok Quinari who's been through the Deep Roads Expedition...hint bring lots of electrical and fire resistance!

[Sard of KC]

I can't decide if I want this game [:S]

I have not been playing much over the last month due to an illness and then 2 surgeries. I'm still recoverying but I finally feel like playing something deeper than the card game I've been playing on Xbox (Culdcept Saga--great game though). RPG's are my first love but I am not so keen on the battle system in DA, though I do like a good story with buildable characters.

Can you guys convince me that I need to play this game?

[HeartbreakRidge]

I have not been playing much over the last month due to an illness and then 2 surgeries. I'm still recoverying but I finally feel like playing something deeper than the card game I've been playing on Xbox (Culdcept Saga--great game though). RPG's are my first love but I am not so keen on the battle system in DA, though I do like a good story with buildable characters.


Can you guys convince me that I need to play this game?






Battle system has been tweaked to be more responsive and feel more active (one attack per button press, and no more waiting for people to queue up actions), cross class combos are another wrinkle, and having full voiced dialogue (with a version of the ME dialogue wheel) helps.


you might want to wait for the Ultimate Edition, however, because otherwise some of the launch DLC (an add on character, and a very cool store) are paid DLC only at this point.

[HeartbreakRidge]

On another note, I'm trying to get all the crafting supplies, and the guide tells me there are two Spindleweed in Lowtown, but I can only find one. If anyone finds TWO, please let me know where you found them!

[BruteForce0G]

Dragon Age II: 101 Talents, Spells and Specializations a guide to help my fellow AGE'rs.


Talents and Spells (T&amp;S): Out with the old and in with the new! Gone from DAII is fatigue, that evil red % percentage number that taxed our hero's for their precious stamina or mana. Now new to DAII is "Reservoir"! Where taxes are kept allocated without the possibility of the reservoir running dry. Warriors and Rogues cast Talents whilst Mages cast Spells learned from castingT&amp;S points into various ability trees. Each tree has a trunk name like Two-Handed - Weapon and Shield for Warriors, Dual Weapon - Sabotage for Rogues and Elemental - Creation for Mages. Each Trunk branches out into limbs called a Talent or Spell whilst the limbs can sprout leaves called atalent or spell Upgrade. All parts ofeach tree come in 3 flavors: Passive, indicated by round shape and are the most easiest to manage as they just run quietly in the background granting us their buffs free of charge. Next come theSustained ones that are hexagonal in shape and require willpower (stamina or mana)to use. Finally there are the ActivatedT &amp; S's that are diamond in shape and require even more management and willpower.


Now it use to be that if a champion burdened himself down with cumbersome armors and weapons coupled the use of T &amp; S a heavy tax percentage was applied to your willpowers pool. Thus costing more willpower for a champion to go about doing his job of slaying the beast and risking being terminated when the tax was to high. Well to some extent thats still true, however in DAII theres an improved "Reservoir"system. <U>Sustained</U> T &amp; S are given a predetermined tax percentage and are applied whenever the champion chooses to turn one on and are placed in the Reservoir. Okay getting to the point now. Our Hero's no longer need to worry about Sustained abilities deactivating in combat and having to wait for them to cool down to reactive themonce awillpower pothas been consumed. A champion can now use a multi-tiered combo attack draining massive amounts of resources and still have the confidence that his comrades are still guarded and or buffed by his Sustained choices.


In closing the last thing I'd like to suggest to my fellow gamers is this: Activated abilities are the bread and butter of a well orchestrated attack. Chaining several of them together for maximum damage coupled with focus fire on the elite ranks and higher is key to wining on any difficulty. Map your Activated T &amp; S ONLY to your controller! Choose before hand which Sustained abilities you want on before engaging the enemy via the wheel menu and victory is yours.

[Sard of KC]

you might want to wait for the Ultimate Edition, however, because otherwise some of the launch DLC (an add on character, and a very cool store) are paid DLC only at this point.

When does this come out?

[BruteForce0G]

I have not been playing much over the last month due to an illness and then 2 surgeries. I'm still recoverying but I finally feel like playing something deeper than the card game I've been playing on Xbox (Culdcept Saga--great game though). RPG's are my first love but I am not so keen on the battle system in DA, though I do like a good story with buildable characters.


Can you guys convince me that I need to play this game?






Battle system has been tweaked to be more responsive and feel more active (one attack per button press, and no more waiting for people to queue up actions), cross class combos are another wrinkle, and having full voiced dialogue (with a version of the ME dialogue wheel) helps.


you might want to wait for the Ultimate Edition, however, because otherwise some of the launch DLC (an add on character, and a very cool store) are paid DLC only at this point.






First off Sard of KC I hope you get to feeling better, it sucks when were down. Then I have to give HBR credit for this reply, well said and hits the nail on the head. However I wouldn't suggest waiting to play this game if your a fan of RPG's. You can take your time and play at your own pace choosing which quest you want to take on in a non-linear format. If you liked the whit and camaraderie of DAO and Awakenings, (Hey that thing has got hiscreepy things all over my junk! Nobody touches my junk and lives to tell about it!)then you'll love DAII.

[BruteForce0G]

On another note, I'm trying to get all the crafting supplies, and the guide tells me there are two Spindleweed in Lowtown, but I can only find one. If anyone finds TWO, please let me know where you found them!





I haven't been paying that close of attention to the location of each crafting supply I've come upon. But know that there are areas within areasthat only become accessible through sub-quest. So it just might be that you haven't ventured far enough into the story to trigger such areas and not that you can't actually find a particular material. Happy hunting HBR...

[HeartbreakRidge]

I haven't been paying that close of attention to the location of each crafting supply I've come upon. But know that there are areas within areasthat only become accessible through sub-quest.


Some are available through one-time quests, others are available in persistent areas, and according to the guide there are two in Lowtown proper, but I've not seen anyone who has found two. Not sure whether it is a glitch, or Bioware moved it and the guide lies, or what.


In related news, it does appear that the achievements for the Exiled Prince (Signature Edition free DLC) are glitched (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/301/index/6448116&amp;lf=8) (confirmed by Bioware - not firing on 360) in that they do not unlock even if you complete the relevant quests. I can confirm, I killed all of the Flint mercs and turned in the quest to Sebastian and it did not unlock. The Bioware DA2 forums have lots of people who confirm these issues. *sigh*

[Wendig1630]

you might want to wait for the Ultimate Edition, however, because otherwise some of the launch DLC (an add on character, and a very cool store) are paid DLC only at this pointThe Black Emporium is free with all new copies.

[HeartbreakRidge]

The Black Emporium is free with all new copies.






I couldn't keep track of what came with what, I got sooooo much. Sorry. [:)]

[BruteForce0G]

Some are available through one-time quests, others are available in persistent areas, and according to the guide there are two in Lowtown proper, but I've not seen anyone who has found two. Not sure whether it is a glitch, or Bioware moved it and the guide lies, or what. Okay well let me ask you this... Have you been back from the "Deep Road Expedition" yet? Reason being those little things you find in crates respawn for recollecting. Perhaps that crafting item will spawn in Lowtown Proper after a certain Act is completed...just my thoughts.






In related news, it does appear that the achievements for the Exiled Prince (Signature Edition free DLC) are glitched (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/301/index/6448116&amp;lf=8) (confirmed by Bioware - not firing on 360) in that they do not unlock even if you complete the relevant quests. I can confirm, I killed all of the Flint mercs and turned in the quest to Sebastian and it did not unlock. The Bioware DA2 forums have lots of people who confirm these issues. *sigh*


NOOOOOOOOO! Not again, its like 2009 all over again... efin EA/BioWare.

[Aychtuo]

Sounds like a good place for a save point before the last set of mercs...

[HeartbreakRidge]

Okay well let me ask you this... Have you been back from the "Deep Road Expedition" yet? Reason being those little things you find in crates respawn for recollecting. Perhaps that crafting item will spawn in Lowtown Proper after a certain Act is completed...just my thoughts.


Well, each Act has certain numbers &amp; types of crafting supplies that are available in specific locations, but the question is whether the guide is right (and therefore there's a glitch), or it is wrong and Bioware put it elsewhere (either in location, or added it to a different act, or both.) Hard to tell at the moment, you could be right.






NOOOOOOOOO! Not again, its like 2009 all over again... efin EA/BioWare.






Kind of grates for that reason, and because I ran into a big cheevo glitch on the new Fable 3 DLC. [:@]

[VDub2174]

Why can't I put different armor on my other party members?



You can't. It's like Mass Effect 2, except you can buy upgrades and add runes.





Teammates don't get to equip new armor anymore! Instead throughout Kirkwall from various vendors your able to buy upgrades. Each teammate can have as many as four armor upgrades indicated by the cells located just below the armor image page.Some upgrades have a permanent increase to a derived attribute like attack or defense or a rune slot will be created to insert your preferred armor rune. There are 3 vendors in Lowtown, 1 vendor in Uptown, and 1 in the Docks that I found selling these upgrades.






Thanks for the help guys!! I found the shops and started buying upgrades [:)]

[Maclintok]

Thats a tough choice Maclintok. If you have the bonus items your looking at equipping the Blood Dragon Armor for a Warrior class whilst if you go Rogue your looking at Ser Isaccs Armor for early starters. Both classes have their up side and depending on which difficulty level you choose, higher I'd go Warrior Two Handed lower Rogue.



Yeah that's a good point. I have Ser Isaacs armour but the rest of the bonus content does tilt heavily in favour of Warriors. I did start up a dual-wielding Rogue last night and didn't even play through the prologue. She is definitely very squishy and still feels very typically like an "in-betweener" class. I can see the Rogue being much more useful with a few more level gains because right now the low damage output + low defense are not making for a great first impression. I should have probably put a point into the Miasmic Flash Upgrade, too...

Back to my main Mage Hawke and maybe later start up a sword n' shield Warrior. Never really played a tank before.

[BruteForce0G]

Thanks for the help guys!! I found the shops and started buying upgrades http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-1.gif





Your welcome, BTW I found another shop in the Gallows. One of the weapon smiths had another upgrade lurking in the shadow. I'm back from the Deep Roads however and I'm not sure if I missed that one prior to leaving or like other shops its new to this Act. Either way from now on I'm checking every vendor frequently.






Yeah that's a good point. I have Ser Isaacs armour but the rest of the bonus content does tilt heavily in favour of Warriors. I did start up a dual-wielding Rogue last night and didn't even play through the prologue. She is definitely very squishy and still feels very typically like an "in-betweener" class. I can see the Rogue being much more useful with a few more level gains because right now the low damage output + low defense are not making for a great first impression. I should have probably put a point into the Miasmic Flash Upgrade, too...


Back to my main Mage Hawke and maybe later start up a sword n' shield Warrior. Never really played a tank before.





Yeah you really have to play the different classes with their intended design. With a Rouge (haven't started one yet) I'm sure you have to be content with being a sneaky backstabbing elusive type. The Warriors get the glory and action of being upfront whilst the Mages are more ranged and have to wear several hats, healer - controller - buffer - damager - ect.... In my honest opinion the Mage is one of th harder types of characters to play just because of the number of actions a good Mage should do. I also feel like most of the best loot you find in game favor a Mage. Yesterday I cameupon a vendor while on a quest outside of the city, in his shop there was a bitching staff with super stats that was perfect for Anders. But at a cost of 118 Gold I had to sadly walk away.

[VDub2174]

Thanks for the help guys!! I found the shops and started buying upgrades /emoticons/emotion-1.gif





Your welcome, BTW I found another shop in the Gallows. One of the weapon smiths had another upgrade lurking in the shadow. I'm back from the Deep Roads however and I'm not sure if I missed that one prior to leaving or like other shops its new to this Act. Either way from now on I'm checking every vendor frequently.






Good point, I'll be sure to check back with the vendors after every big event in the game.

[BruteForce0G]

Well I do believe I'm in the final stage of the game, I've dealt withthe Aristok and moved on. Regrettably I think I may have found a bug in one of the quest.Shorty after coming back from the Deep Roads Expo. your asked to got toyour new house in Uptown where your suppose to check your desk for most of the quest you'll find in ActII. I choose to explore first, and found myself getting into entanglements with a group of female assassins, "TheSisterhood of something". Later on I eventually read the message back at camp. Even though I had the final show down with the sisters, I had to leave Act II with an incomplete questbecause I believe the AI didn't give me credit for the those encounters prior to reading the letters.


There was a second quest, where I was tasked in destroying several Blood Magic tomes scattered throughout the city and outskirts of Kirkwall. After much hunting and backtracking I reluctantly gave up the search and the quest. So if someone has that strategy guide maybe you can list the locations for me. Lastly I could not complete the "Stonehammer Armor" set, missing the breastplate and I can't help but feel like it had something to do with one of those two incomplete quest.

[HeartbreakRidge]

There was a second quest, where I was tasked in destroying several Blood Magic tomes scattered throughout the city and outskirts of Kirkwall. After much hunting and backtracking I reluctantly gave up the search and the quest. So if someone has that strategy guide maybe you can list the locations for me.






That would be under the Exorcist achievement part of this guide (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=298696).

[BruteForce0G]

That would be under the Exorcist achievement part of this guide (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=298696).






Wow I cant believe how fast these guides can get posted and with such a wealth of information. I've frequently use that site to boot and sometimes have problems with the pages loading locking up my browser. Thanks Heartbreak. BTW I came upon some Spindleweed in Lowtown Act II yesterday by the armorer "Smith" and immediately thought of you.

[Wendig1630]

I choose to explore first, and found myself getting into entanglements with a group of female assassins, "TheSisterhood of something". Later on I eventually read the message back at camp. Even though I had the final show down with the sisters, I had to leave Act II with an incomplete questbecause I believe the AI didn't give me credit for the those encounters prior to reading the letters.During each act the nightime areas have gangs roaming the streets, your companions will make a comment when entreing the area. After fighting the gang enough times you'll be given a quest to take out their hideout. Once the gang is defeated you'll need to go to the hanged man at night and talk to the lady marked "a freind" and she'll give you money as reward.



There was a second quest, where I was tasked in destroying several Blood Magic tomes scattered throughout the city and outskirts of Kirkwall. After much hunting and backtracking I reluctantly gave up the search and the quest. Did you destroy all the tomes you found? The only way to complete the quest is to destroy all the books, there's not that many.



Lastly I could not complete the "Stonehammer Armor" set, missing the breastplate and I can't help but feel like it had something to do with one of those two incomplete quest. Buy it from the armor merchant inHightown during act 3.[Edit] I just saw your post on the Bioware forums.

[HeartbreakRidge]

Wow I cant believe how fast these guides can get posted and with such a wealth of information. I've frequently use that site to boot and sometimes have problems with the pages loading locking up my browser. Thanks Heartbreak. BTW I came upon some Spindleweed in Lowtown Act II yesterday by the armorer "Smith" and immediately thought of you.






Apparently the guide lied about the Spindleweed (I think it is in Act II), but it also lied about Elfroot bc there is a SIXTH one in Act I, and it was early on about 30 hours before I'd found that out. Supplier will wait until 2nd playthrough then!

[Wendig1630]

Apparently the guide lied about the Spindleweed (I think it is in Act II), but it also lied about Elfroot bc there is a SIXTH one in Act I, and it was early on about 30 hours before I'd found that out. Supplier will wait until 2nd playthrough then!


Thats why I don't buy strategy guides; theyallways have mistakes printed in them. That and I hate having the story spoiled for me. So I stay away from guides and forums until I finish.


Oh, andstrategy guides are for pussies![H]

[Aychtuo]

Does it clearly state when you go from one act to another? I have been avoiding the main plot as long as I have companion, side, or secondary quests. So I'm not really that deep into the main story yet but just wondering if it tells you, or does it go back to Varric and that Templar chick at the end of each act for more story telling?

[HeartbreakRidge]

Does it clearly state when you go from one act to another?


Not really. Going on the expedition is the point of no return for finishing Act I, and Demands of the Qun is same for Act II.

[HeartbreakRidge]

Oh, andstrategy guides are for pussies!/emoticons/emotion-11.gif






It's still been useful. [:P]

[BruteForce0G]

Apparently the guide lied about the Spindleweed (I think it is in Act II), but it also lied about Elfroot bc there is a SIXTH one in Act I, and it was early on about 30 hours before I'd found that out. Supplier will wait until 2nd playthrough then!


Without giving to much away just wait and see what you can do with those crafting agents in the last Act!









During each act the nightime areas have gangs roaming the streets, your companions will make a comment when entreing the area. After fighting the gang enough times you'll be given a quest to take out their hideout. Once the gang is defeated you'll need to go to the hanged man at night and talk to the lady marked "a freind" and she'll give you money as reward.


I was wondering where I was suppose to turn those quest in! I kept hearing my mates say how well it paid to get these thugs off the streets at night. Guess I've missed out on some coin....






Did you destroy all the tomes you found? The only way to complete the quest is to destroy all the books, there's not that many.


After doing a search at the BioWare forums I can confirm I found all 5 books however I didnt distroy any of them. Instead I read the first one at the Chantry and recieved two attributes to spend. Looks like I reapt the reward but got an incomplete.






Buy it from the armor merchant inHightown during act 3.[Edit] I just saw your post on the Bioware forums.


Yup went striaght there and bought it! It's a pretty cool set but I had to beff it up with some new runes from Act III, I'm happy a gamer.










Oh, andstrategy guides are for pussies!http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-11.gif






It's still been useful. http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-4.gif









ROFLMAO!

[VDub2174]

Oh, andstrategy guides are for pussies!/emoticons/emotion-11.gif






It's still been useful. /emoticons/emotion-4.gif









I like roaming around in this game especially with Merril in my party, she makes me laugh.

[HeartbreakRidge]

I like roaming around in this game especially with Merril in my party, she makes me laugh.






Most of the party members have just awesome chatter, and some pairs are even better. Varric and Aveline have a lot to say to other party members too.


As for Merrill, love that Welsh accent - she is played by Eve Myles from Torchwood, FYI.

[Maclintok]

Did anyone else get to the boss battle of Bone Pit quest, get their NPCs wiped then proceed to run in circles for over 10 minutes as the baddy chased you around? So far it seems like any ranged fighter (rogue, mage) can take out any boss given enough patience.

[BruteForce0G]

I like roaming around in this game especially with Merril in my party, she makes me laugh.






Most of the party members have just awesome chatter, and some pairs are even better. Varric and Aveline have a lot to say to other party members too.


As for Merrill, love that Welsh accent - she is played by Eve Myles from Torchwood, FYI.






My favorite is the slut... Isabella. I would have never slept with that tramp if I knew she was going to give it up to every Tom, Dick and Harry...lol






Did anyone else get to the boss battle of Bone Pit quest, get their NPCs wiped then proceed to run in circles for over 10 minutes as the baddy chased you around? So far it seems like any ranged fighter (rogue, mage) can take out any boss given enough patience.



Which Boss battle exactly?





SPOILER: Theres more than one Boss you'll encounter in the Bone Pit.

[HeartbreakRidge]

My favorite is the slut... Isabella. I would have never slept with that tramp if I knew she was going to give it up to every Tom, Dick and Harry...lol





She's not bad, she's just drawn that way.


[;)]

[Wendig1630]

Whenever a Mage complains about Templars finding them; does anyone else just want to shout "Don't wear goofy ass robes out in public"!

[Maclintok]

Did anyone else get to the boss battle of Bone Pit quest, get their NPCs wiped then proceed to run in circles for over 10 minutes as the baddy chased you around? So far it seems like any ranged fighter (rogue, mage) can take out any boss given enough patience.
<div style="CLEAR:both;" mce_style="CLEAR:both;"></div>


Which Boss battle exactly?






<span mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="font-weight: bold;" class="Apple-style-span" mce_fixed="1"><span mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="font-style: italic;" class="Apple-style-span" mce_fixed="1">SPOILER: Theres more than one Boss you'll encounter in the Bone Pit.>>



Hmm, never been great with handling spoiler territory. It's the final large, four-legged one that you need to deal with just prior to returning to Hubert in Hightown to collect your reward.

It was a weird moment because my buddies had been wiped and I was getting ready to re-load the checkpoint. Then I realized my Mage is nimble on the feet and could keep hitting n' running with my decent health/mana regen chugging away. Checked the clock and decided a prolonged boss battle would be worth it. [8-|]

[Sard of KC]

So I did purchase this game and have only played about 4 hours or so but am already loving it much more than the first! [Y]

[HeartbreakRidge]

So I did purchase this game and have only played about 4 hours or so but am already loving it much more than the first! /emoticons/emotion-21.gif






see! just preorder the next Dragon Age and save yourself the trouble. [H]

[BruteForce0G]

Hmm, never been great with handling spoiler territory. It's the final large, four-legged one that you need to deal with just prior to returning to Hubert in Hightown to collect your reward.


It was a weird moment because my buddies had been wiped and I was getting ready to re-load the checkpoint. Then I realized my Mage is nimble on the feet and could keep hitting n' running with my decent health/mana regen chugging away. Checked the clock and decided a prolonged boss battle would be worth it. http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-15.gif





Okay I think I know which one your talking about now. In DAII you find yourself returning to familiar location like the Bone Pit and the major battles usually take place in the same location. What was weird for that battle in my case, I put my team on "hold position" stance on high ground while I ventured forward attempting to lure the Varathral to a choke point. Fortunately "hold position" doesn't work very well, and Anders followed me around the corner and when the Boss fight triggered two of my teammates were caught behind the invisible barrier that keeps you from fleeing. I quickly found out that my warrior wasn't going to be the hero of that battle and switched to Anders who oddly seemed to have a endless pool of mana. Using every attack spell in his arsenal and healing Hawke running at the appropriate times the two of us took him down without any casualties.










So I did purchase this game and have only played about 4 hours or so but am already loving it much more than the first! http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-21.gif






see! just preorder the next Dragon Age and save yourself the trouble. http://adultgamingenthusiasts.com/emoticons/emotion-11.gif



Yay! Welcome to the DAII fan club....

[Maclintok]

Okay I think I know which one your talking about now. In DAII you find yourself returning to familiar location like the Bone Pit and the major battles usually take place in the same location. What was weird for that battle in my case, I put my team on "hold position" stance on high ground while I ventured forward attempting to lure the Varathral to a choke point. Fortunately "hold position" doesn't work very well, and Anders followed me around the corner and when the Boss fight triggered two of my teammates were caught behind the invisible barrier that keeps you from fleeing. I quickly found out that my warrior wasn't going to be the hero of that battle and switched to Anders who oddly seemed to have a endless pool of mana. Using every attack spell in his arsenal and healing Hawke running at the appropriate times the two of us took him down without any casualties.




Ah yes, the recycled locations for quests! Yeah I have to say the momentum I had playing this game has really waned this week and it's a combination of many things you've already mentioned.

The combat specifically:

<ul> Waves of enemies: you know they're coming, but you don't know when and you don't know how many waves. Positioning your party is almost pointless when you have a line of archers or assassins simply spawn behind your back rank. Always gives the combat a rather arcade-y feel Health potion cooldown: this is really annoying. It's a good mechanic to have but it doesn't work with the spawning waves of enemies Forget about Kiting: an old school tactic that is pretty much destroyed in DA2. I'll see a group of bandits standing around. Tell my party to hold and send in my lone Rogue as bait. The game doesn't even send the enemies into attack state but instead rubberbands the entire party to my rogue in a messy clump, then it activates the combat and spawns in the new enemies. Whatever happened to creating chokepoints and ambushes?[/list]

The level design is also surprisingly cut &amp; pasted. And what I see that is new is really not very exciting. Very boxy or blatantly linear level design. Good thing the writing is still very good.

[Maclintok]

Okay I think I know which one your talking about now. In DAII you find yourself returning to familiar location like the Bone Pit and the major battles usually take place in the same location. What was weird for that battle in my case, I put my team on "hold position" stance on high ground while I ventured forward attempting to lure the Varathral to a choke point. Fortunately "hold position" doesn't work very well, and Anders followed me around the corner and when the Boss fight triggered two of my teammates were caught behind the invisible barrier that keeps you from fleeing. I quickly found out that my warrior wasn't going to be the hero of that battle and switched to Anders who oddly seemed to have a endless pool of mana. Using every attack spell in his arsenal and healing Hawke running at the appropriate times the two of us took him down without any casualties.




Ah yes, the recycled locations for quests! Yeah I have to say the momentum I had playing this game has really waned this week and it's a combination of many things you've already mentioned.

The combat specifically:

<ul> Waves of enemies: you know they're coming, but you don't know when and you don't know how many waves. Positioning your party is almost pointless when you have a line of archers or assassins simply spawn behind your back rank. Always gives the combat a rather arcade-y feel Health potion cooldown: this is really annoying. It's a good mechanic to have but it doesn't work with the spawning waves of enemies Forget about Kiting: an old school tactic that is pretty much destroyed in DA2. I'll see a group of bandits standing around. Tell my party to hold and send in my lone Rogue as bait. The game doesn't even send the enemies into attack state but instead rubberbands the entire party to my rogue in a messy clump, then it activates the combat and spawns in the new enemies. Whatever happened to creating chokepoints and ambushes?[/list]

The level design is also surprisingly cut &amp; pasted. And what I see that is new is really not very exciting. Very boxy or blatantly linear level design. Good thing the writing is still very good.

[BruteForce0G]

Ah yes, the recycled locations for quests! Yeah I have to say the momentum I had playing this game has really waned this week and it's a combination of many things you've already mentioned.


The combat specifically:



<UL>
<LI>Waves of enemies: you know they're coming, but you don't know when and you don't know how many waves. Positioning your party is almost pointless when you have a line of archers or assassins simply spawn behind your back rank. Always gives the combat a rather arcade-y feel
<LI>Health potion cooldown: this is really annoying. It's a good mechanic to have but it doesn't work with the spawning waves of enemies
<LI>Forget about Kiting: an old school tactic that is pretty much destroyed in DA2. I'll see a group of bandits standing around. Tell my party to hold and send in my lone Rogue as bait. The game doesn't even send the enemies into attack state but instead rubberbands the entire party to my rogue in a messy clump, then it activates the combat and spawns in the new enemies. Whatever happened to creating chokepoints and ambushes?</LI>[/list]





The level design is also surprisingly cut &amp; pasted. And what I see that is new is really not very exciting. Very boxy or blatantly linear level design. Good thing the writing is still very good.





Hmm... how to respond? Do I dare say maybe your just having a bad first playthrough? Because in no way am I trying to convey that DAII is in any way short of being a great game! If your feeling differently, thats okay I respect your thoughts. However to counter some of your dislikes for the game I offer this:


You say: "Waves of enemies: you know they're coming, but you don't know when and you don't know how many waves. Positioning your party is almost pointless when you have a line of archers or assassins simply spawn behind your back rank. Always gives the combat a rather arcade-y feel.


Forget about Kiting: an old school tactic that is pretty much destroyed in DA2. I'll see a group of bandits standing around. Tell my party to hold and send in my lone Rogue as bait. The game doesn't even send the enemies into attack state but instead rubberbands the entire party to my rogue in a messy clump, then it activates the combat and spawns in the new enemies. Whatever happened to creating chokepoints and ambushes?"



Reply: This is true, but is that really a problem? If you know your wondering the streets at night, then you should expectambushes. As part of the story to build up Hawke as the Champion of Kirkwall, he is tasked with routinely riding the gangs feeding on the citizens. If you know there tactics (and apparently you do) it's really not that hard at all completing this task and adding some coin to your purse.I will concede though,thathaving the "Go to" tab on the radial menu is pointless. Maybe in the PC version you can group and send rangedfighters to higher ground but on the console version it's just not working. Now the "Hold Position" tab does work as long as your not triggering a cut scene and your not moving more than medium range awayfrom your squad. The "choke point - hold position" tactic comes into play a lot more so when facing tougher enemies and strategy over brawn is more prevailing.


You say: "Health potion cooldown: this is really annoying. It's a good mechanic to have but it doesn't work with the spawning waves of enemies."


Reply: I have to believe that this was definitely not an over site by the designers and more of an intensional push for gamers to learn to use character builds, talents and spells to sustain themselves in tougher fights. Perhaps you haven't given your characters enough time to mature beyond what a health poultice is limited to. I encourage you to look at yourspells and talentsand employ them in your tactics to reduc

[Maclintok]

You bring up a lot of good points supporting some of the changes in DA2, BruteForce. It seems like you've adapted to or just forgiven them more than I have, haha. Granted none of my complaints have been complete game killers. I'm actually taking my extra sweet time playing it as I'm still in Act I while I suspect the large majority of players have already finished the game. That's what I get for getting carried away with side quests, of which DA2 seems to have an unlimited supply of.

My experience with the game is still what it is. Creating chokepoints continues to be a tactic of happenstance rather than somethign that can be pulled off with any consistency. Subsequent enemy waves will spawn all around you... and most battles that I've played so far take place in fairly open or square arenas anyway, so smart potion and skilll usage will win the day. Definitely seems like a deliberate design choice. After 20 hours, I've just adopted a different mindset when approaching battles BUT I still notice and miss the lack of flexibility in regards to setting up ambushes and making more meaningfuly choices with party tactics.

The setting, level design and story is what it is. I understand that this is not intended to be a grand epic like Origins was. It's a smaller, more personal story... playing out almost like a serialized TV show. The problem is they straight-jacketed themselves with Kirkwalll, which is kind of an ugly, bland city despite it still fitting with the mythology they've created for it. Where Origins made me feel like I mattered and I was going places, DA2 makes me feel like the standard RPG errand boy more than ever and so far, a rather small player in the grand scheme of things (naturally, since I am still in Act I and i know that things will ramp up soon).

The difference can be pretty subtle, but it reminds me of the difference when watching Star Trek: TNG compared to Deep Space Nine. In the former, you are following the crew on grand adventures and exploring new places. In the latter, you just feel like you're waiting for adventure to find the space station.

(As a side note, I'm still enjoying the game enough to want to finish it. No doubt I have spent more time in Act I than is necessary and likely feeling burnt out by the repetition and lack of story advancement :) )

[HeartbreakRidge]

The setting, level design and story is what it is. I understand that this is not intended to be a grand epic like Origins was. It's a smaller, more personal story... playing out almost like a serialized TV show. The problem is they straight-jacketed themselves with Kirkwalll, which is kind of an ugly, bland city despite it still fitting with the mythology they've created for it. Where Origins made me feel like I mattered and I was going places, DA2 makes me feel like the standard RPG errand boy more than ever and so far, a rather small player in the grand scheme of things (naturally, since I am still in Act I and i know that things will ramp up soon).


I think it is abundantly clear that DA2 was fast-tracked by EA, and that this meant certain design decisions had to be made - which leads into your issues you mention here. Bioware had to save development time, and this kind of a story, and the re-use of levels, made things go a LOT quicker I bet.

[Wendig1630]

The story starts out pretty slow; about half way through Act II is where the story really begins to pick up. All the pieces start falling into place and you start to get the feeling that the world is about turn upside down.

I agree about the re-use of environments. It's really my only major complaint about the game, aside from the DLC achievements not popping up. It makes it so clear that the game was rushed and corners had to be cut.

[Maclintok]

It is definitely hard to make a complete, polished RPG in 2 years.

Bugger. Finally ready to hit the Deep Roads expedition but the game forces me to finish my side quests. DA3 will be out by the time i finish this game!

[nel e nel]

It is definitely hard to make a complete, polished RPG in 2 years.






I think the dev time on this was 18 months. yeesh!




I was listening to an interview with one of the developers and they addressed this issue. It was interesting because he totally sidestepped the question about whether or not EA pushed them to make this fast in order to capitalize on the DA craze. He did, however, address the complaints about re-using dungeons. He said it was a valid complaint, but the reason they are like that is because it came down to a choice on their side:

- option one: leave all these great side-quests they have created in the game, but in order to meet the release deadline they had to re-use dungeon maps

- option two: cut out a big chunk of side-quests and keep the 2 or 3 unique dungeon maps they have, effective making the game alot shorter and smaller




I mean, how do you decide that? You choose #1 and people are complaining about reusing assets, you choose #2 and people complain about you not giving them a full-length game and then nickel-and-diming you on DLC that should have been included in the original release. They chose to deliver more content (in the form of side-quests).

For me, personally, I was aware of these 'problems' going into it, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt, but it's also interesting how they wove them into the game geography by having you re-visit the same places. I'm making up my own internal lore: "well of course it looks the same, I was just here in act 1 fighting dragonlings, and 3 years later they are having problems with spiders in different areas."

I know I'm tricking myself, but it helps.

[Aychtuo]

It hasn't bothered me too much to this point, but I would have liked to see them hold off on the release if it meant they could add more areas. Or I would have been ok if they would have reused some DA:Origins areas. The timeline in ACT I is after the hero of Fereldon conquers the Blight, so some of those sidequests could have been done in Fereldon, then there could have been a few cameos there. There were certainly enough geography there.

[Wendig1630]

It hasn't bothered me too much to this point, but I would have liked to see them hold off on the release if it meant they could add more areas. Or I would have been ok if they would have reused some DA:Origins areas. The timeline in ACT I is after the hero of Fereldon conquers the Blight, so some of those sidequests could have been done in Fereldon, then there could have been a few cameos there. There were certainly enough geography there.





That whould have given us time to get to know Hawke's family. The whole sibling dying doesn't have the same effect when you just met them.

[RooneyFan]

a little off topic, but just cuz I was curious ( and because the first coupel times I did City Elf Mage, and Dalish Elf Warrior) I created a Male Human Noble Warrior in Origins. Damm, that is the BEST storyline in the game. I felt so much more vested in my character after going through that opening sequence. Clearly Bioware didn't have the same level of depth in story in mind for any other class/race combination. I will likely play all the way through this character to the end as clearly there is very unique dialog for this setup that I have yet to see in my other two playthroughs.


That being said, I like DAII for different reasons and it is very striking to go back to the silent protagonist in DA:O.

[HeartbreakRidge]

a little off topic, but just cuz I was curious ( and because the first coupel times I did City Elf Mage, and Dalish Elf Warrior) I created a Male Human Noble Warrior in Origins. Damm, that is the BEST storyline in the game. I felt so much more vested in my character after going through that opening sequence. Clearly Bioware didn't have the same level of depth in story in mind for any other class/race combination. I will likely play all the way through this character to the end as clearly there is very unique dialog for this setup that I have yet to see in my other two playthroughs.


That being said, I like DAII for different reasons and it is very striking to go back to the silent protagonist in DA:O.






It has been a while, but my 1st playthrough was as a dwarf commoner, which meant my sister was hooked up with Prince Bhelen - which made the whole Orzammar quest lines a lot more personally involving and I know it had some unique dialogue about it. I've been working through DAO on the PS3 as a female noble (mostly so I can end the game as Queen) :), so I know what you mean about the human noble story too.

[Aychtuo]

Definitely play both of the dwarf origins. For one you get an achievement if you're into those for doing all origins. But they are very well done and provide some insight to what is happening with the kingdom of orzamar(sp). They are better than the elf origins and I had a lot of fun with them. They aren't that long either so I'd recommend playing them before you play through the whole game with your human noble. Again you'll understand what really is happening when you get to the orzamar(sp again).

[Wendig1630]

Human noble also plays out the best in Awakening as well, especially if you're the King or Queen. You also get some really good dialogue with Nathaniel, making it easy to gain his friendship.

[Aychtuo]

I never played where I put myself on the throne. Should have done that. I'm sure I have a save where I can make that decision still. The games have so many possibilities.


Dragon Age 2 Warrior starting to get really fun. See literal bloodbath below.


http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n577/falein/IMAG0200.jpg

[VDub2174]

Just finished the game and all I can say is................................................ .WOW!!

[VDub2174]

I never played where I put myself on the throne. Should have done that. I'm sure I have a save where I can make that decision still. The games have so many possibilities.


Dragon Age 2 Warrior starting to get really fun. See literal bloodbath below.


http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n577/falein/IMAG0200.jpg






Is that from an ability?

[Aychtuo]

That was Whirlwind (maxed out so I believe it has 100% crit chance) and the activated ability from the Vanguard tree that does +100% damage.

[VDub2174]

That looks awesome!

[Aychtuo]

Yeah I just got really lucky with that screen shot. I was pressing A to swing when I looted one of the things I just killed so it paused there.


Also, I ordered all +defense runes and applied them to all my companions armor and it seems to help their survivability a lot. For most things I can even go in without a healer and usually kill everything before I need to pop potions. Playing on Hard difficulty. Obviously very large or tough enemies it would be best to have a healer. But the defense runes seem to work well.

[BruteForce0G]

That was Whirlwind (maxed out so I believe it has 100% crit chance) and the activated ability from the Vanguard tree that does +100% damage.



I've played all three classes and by far the most fun I've had was with the Two-Handed / Vanguard / ReaverWarrior! If your patient enough to wait for a Mage to cause Brittle or a Rouge to cause Disorientated with Rally activated you'll get big physical damage scores and scenes like the one pictured. I believe the highest physical DMG with one swing I had went 16K+! Anyway thatsa great shot Aychuto, thanks for posting it!

[Aychtuo]

Holy crap! 16K? Most I have gotten that I have seen is 2300+. That's exactly my build though, vanguard/reaver.I need to take a look at Rally, don't have that yet. I'm just level 18 so far though. Thanks for the info!

[BruteForce0G]

Holy crap! 16K? Most I have gotten that I have seen is 2300+. That's exactly my build though, vanguard/reaver.I need to take a look at Rally, don't have that yet. I'm just level 18 so far though. Thanks for the info!



Right now I'm playing a Rouge at lvl 32- Act III, I used the glitch early on in my 3rd playthrough to see what it would be like to have more talents as I've found an average game will end a player around lvl 23. I really like having tons of talents and spells to choose from most of those being upgraded as well. One of the cons to doing the glitch however is most if not all your equipment, ( armor, weapons and trinkets) don't level proportionately making them all but useless. Looks like a definite DMG or protection value has been predetermined for every piece of equipment which sucks because all you ever see are blank star ratings. The enemy on the other hand do scale with your current level making it tougher in some elite and boss fights.


With that said: I find it's important to set up Tactics sometimes redundantly to produce status effects that I'm looking for to cause cross-class combos. Thereare quite a few status effects such as Brittle, Disorientated and Staggered that most of us see when we are playing, but thats not even close to being all of the possibilities. Theres also Obscured, Paralyzed, Knocked Down, Slowed, Confused and Stunned to name a few more I can think of. These sub-effects can be followed up by attacks to produce one of the higher tiered effects. Having accomplished that, I then select all, (Hold LT then LB &amp; RB) single out an Eliteor highest threat with the cursor and press "A" (attack) for a full assault by my team. While they begin there regiment of assigned talents and spells, I'm either moving in from behind as a Rouge or closing the distance as a Warrior while simultaneously stacking my selected Activated &amp; SustainedTalents. Arriving at my target, if the AI has played the way I've hoped for I can unleash a mighty blow that out right kills an Elite or take tons of health from it's bar. I regularly see DMG 10K+ using these tactics but once in a while I'm treated to a complete overkill taking out many foes at once or shattering an Elite.

[BruteForce0G]

Ugh! Has anyone gotten the "Supplier" achievement yet? That one cheevo is fucking killing me. After 3 playthroughs I still managed to mess it up by not befriending Isabella far enough by the end of Act II. CRAP! I'm going to have to do a 4th with that damned guide attached to my forehead.


EDIT: I got the achievement yesterday despite the fact that I could not do Isabella's friendship quest that leads to the Ambrosia crafting ingredient. This can only lead me to believe that the achievement is a cumulative one which is contrary to everything I've read at other forums.

[BruteForce0G]

<U>Some Gameplay *cough* cheats Updates:</U> Today I have a few tricks of the trade to share that should prove useful albeit lacking a little in morals. If you ever used any of the cheats in DAO your going to be familiar with the list below. Most cheats involve a vendor where you trick the AI into selling an item of considerable value for twice it's value and then buying it back and repeating the process. This eitherincreases profits 100% or duplicates an item every time the action is performed. SAVE before attempting any cheats!


How to make unlimited gold: Every item can be sold to a vendor for some profit but for the sake of time you'll want to use an item of considerable value. I used a staff I bought from the Emporium. Empty your junk tray from the inventory window and place the item to be sold into your junk folder. Find a vendor and select "Sell" use your triggers to cycle over to the sole item in junk. In a quick fashion tap "Y" and the "A". When done correctly the item will have sold for twice it's resale value. Then press "B" once to return to the action selection screen and choose "Buy". Purchase the item you just sold, return to action selection screen by pressing "B" once and select "Sell" and again tapping "Y" and then "A" resale the item. Repeat this action over and over to earn unlimited gold.


How to Duplicate: Some potions like Health, Stamina and Lyrium and Tomes (Books of Technique or Books of Mortal Vessel &amp; Arcane) can be duplicated as long as you have at least two of the same item in your possession. http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Tomes_(Dragon_Age_II (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Tomes_(Dragon_Age_II)) Similarly as above clear out your junk folder and place item (minimum x2 however more is less time consuming) to be duped into junk tray. Find vendor and select "Sell" and sell your items to the vendor. Select "Buy" and purchase as many of the item as you can leaving just one in the vendors stock. Select "Sell" and this time in a rapid succession tap "Y" and then "A", when done correctly your items will have doubled and a window will open asking you how many items you want to sell. Sell all of them back to the vendor. Repeat the process above of buying and leaving just one item in the vendors stock. Return to "Sell" and repeat the process of "Y" and "A" to double your inventory again. Repeat as many times as you like.


A couple of other tricks: Using any Warrior (even Aveline) you can increase your defensive stats by simply equipping and unequipping any shield repeatedly. Your defensive stats will increase every time you rapidly press "A" on your shield. You can also buff most characters by simultaneously using combinations of "Sustained" and "Activated" talents and or spells that normally would not be allowed by the AI design. For example a Warrior is not allowed to use the talents "Control" and "Might" at the same time or a Rouge is not allowed to use talents from the "Specialist Tree" at the same time. However using some quick fingers you can activate as many abilities as you want and reap the advantages of such. Simply begin by activating a talent from the radial menu you'll see your character go into an animated movement of activation and a icon of that ability will begin to appear on the bottom right hand of your screen. At this point pull and Hold "LT" to activate another talent that normally would not be allowed. Your character will once again begin an animated activation queue and another icon will begin to form and then once again pull and Hold "LT" and activate another talent. You can do this trick with just about any combination of talents you can think of.


Quick Leveling Glitch: Most of us know about this one already but I'll post here anyway. Sometimes referred to as the "Find and Return" glitch you'll s

[HeartbreakRidge]

Ugh! Has anyone gotten the "Supplier" achievement yet? That one cheevo is fucking killing me. After 3 playthroughs I still managed to mess it up by not befriending Isabella far enough by the end of Act II. CRAP! I'm going to have to do a 4th with that damned guide attached to my forehead.


EDIT: I got the achievement yesterday despite the fact that I could not do Isabella's friendship quest that leads to the Ambrosia crafting ingredient. This can only lead me to believe that the achievement is a cumulative one which is contrary to everything I've read at other forums.






I am being very careful on my 2nd playthrough, but from reading a lot of forums it sounds like it can be a mite unpredictable.

[Mccoyn1990]

Here's some information for the Dragon Age Players on here






Rob Bartel Bioware Moderator wrote...

The 1.02 Patch on PC/Mac (1.01 Title
Update on X360/PS3) is still in the final certification process with EA,
Microsoft, and Sony but is not expected to come out this weekend. Thank
you for your continued patience and we look forward to getting this in
your hands soon.

The patch includes fixes for over 100 issues.
We’ll discuss some of the platform-specific issues in greater detail
next week and we’ll release the formal patch notes once the updates are
actually ready to download and install but here’s a high level view of
some of the core gameplay fixes that everyone will see regardless of
platform:

- The effects of various follower talents and item
properties are now being properly removed and re-applied when loading
and saving.
- Party members who are resurrected during a fight now rejoin combat properly.
- Hawke no longer gains random spells or talents after using the Maker's Sigh potion, then saving and reloading.
-
The “Duty” plot will now appear on the Chanter’s Board even if the
player accepted all of the board’s quests before installing the Exiled
Prince premium content.
- In the “Finders Keepers” plot, if the
player leaves Woodrow’s Warehouse before finding the crate, it is now
possible to return to the warehouse to complete the quest.
- Merril no longer refers to the aftermath of “A New Path” before the plot has been completed.
- Aveline’s final armor upgrade is now available during the “Favor and Fault” plot.
- Varric is no longer confused about which character Hawke has been romancing.
- Various other gameplay and story-scripting issues no longer appear.

We’ll
delve into some of the platform-specific details early next week. In
the meantime, a special shout out and thanks to our mighty beta test
group who’ve been a big help in confirming how these fixes will behave
in the wild.

[Mccoyn1990]

Rob Bartel Bioware Moderator wrote...

-----------------

UPDATE: Monday, April 11, 2010.

Hi
everyone. I hope you had a good weekend. We're working with Valve right
now on dotting the i's and crossing the t's for the Steam rollout.
Based on our current estimates, we expect the 1.02 Patch to go live on
PC/Mac sometime tomorrow (Tuesday, April 12).

On consoles, the
1.01 title update is progressing smoothly through final certification at
Microsoft and Sony. No issues have been found and they're currently
projecting release dates of sometime next week - we're working with them
to see if we can pull those dates in any further.

Last Friday we
discussed some of the universal fixes that we’ve made across all the
platforms. Today we’re providing a high-level view of some of the
platform-specific fixes that you can expect.

CONSOLES:
- The options menu now includes auto-attack.
- Armor values now adjust correctly when changing shields.
- Choosing a target at close range is now easier.
- Cinematics are no longer distorted on certain standard-definition televisions.
- Hawke no longer gains excessive coin and experience from rapidly and repeatedly completing a single sidequest.
- Various technical changes should improve performance, limit crashes, and address memory-related issues.

This
patch should address the bulk of the major issues that people are
experiencing. We’re already hard at work on addressing further issues
with our next patch and we’ll be setting up some specific threads in the
various tech support forums to help capture any major issues that
you’re still facing after these patches go live.




If anyone wants to do the shield glitch for a 2 hander or Sword and shield
warrior do it soon. Also Create a save and dont save over it so you can
use it in the future if you like. Same thing with the gold glitch, Patch is set to be release think week or next week at the latest

[BruteForce0G]

Bump for the new DAII DLC! Woot woot...