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OK, Firstly, before I get bogged down in review mode, if you ever had any doubts about this game, or were sitting on the fence about getting it.....GET IT!..... now!.... It's OK, we'll sit here and wait for you while you buy it and get it installed.

OK, done? Great, lets move on :)

Next I would like to cover the different platforms, on which Dragon Age : Origins is available.
The definitive version is naturally the PC version, it has the graphics, more camera control and of course, the mods that will follow later by the fan community. The 360 and PS3 have their little foibles, the 360 runs more smoothly, but takes a slight graphics hit (let me emphasise that this is not particularly noticible, the game looks and plays great), the PS3 iteration has slightly better textures, but has a lower framerate and noticible slowdown, when things get busy onscreen.

All new versions of the game come with free downloadable content, to (I guess) try to combat piracy and second hand sales, cannibilisng the games true sales figure. This is a very interesting method and puts the likes of Starforce to shame, with such a positive type of anti piracy re-inforcement, also one of the DLCs includes a top class armour called Dragon armour and there will be a version of it in the upcomong game Mass Effect 2 and the DA:O DLC will also apply to your Mass Effect 2 game profile as well, if you elect to purchase that game too.

The game is made by Bioware, who are probably the most loved of developers for RPG's, with the likes of Baldurs Gate, Planescape : Torment, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect etc. under their belts, everything they touch exudes quality.

The game.... well this is a game of many halves, The essence of the game is hinted at in the title, Origins, You start off by creating your main character, you can choose between three races, Human, Dwarf and Elf, you can also choose a class (Fighter, Mage or Rogue), plus a background story, to show the origin of your character.

As a mage you have been raised in a closeted tower, an academy for aspiring mages, you get involved in a certain subterfuge, which can play out a number of ways depending on your choices. Or you could choose to play a girl elf raised as a rogue in the city, where you eventually get raped, in the end all the roads lead to a certain denoument, where you get conscripted into an elite fighting unit called The Grey Wardens.

Each of the "origin" scenarios take a few hours to play through, so mathmatically, just the starting section would be the same length as alot of current game releases, but each starting section is excellently done, immersing you in the role of the character you will be playing for the next 60-70 hours. The origins give a huge insight into the politics, racisim and religions that prevail in this fantasy world.

The story is pretty epic, an evil is sweeping the land and the only people capable of combatting it, will be you and the party members you recruit along the way. This band of merry adventurers (for want of a better description) are so well done, you can see the care and attention that has been lavished on this game by its creators, they squabble among each other, fall in love, have their own backstories and quests, there is so much depth added to this game, by their presence, that when you also add in the excellent Voice Acting talent, that really sucks you into the game, you know you are in for a treat.

The depth added by these characters, I suppose is balanced by the lack of depth in the combat mechanics, that is not to say that the combat lacks dpeth per se, but gone are the old fuddy duddy Dungeons and Dragons ruelset editions, to be replaced by a more fluid and ergonomic character developement and control scheme.

I have spent significant time with all the classes , the combat styles for each have significant differences naturally, but, added to the straightforward Mage/Melee/Ranged styles, you can choose extra specializations, to further refine your combat experiance.

The Rogue can become a Bard (gives special combat buffs), Duelist (major defensive moves), Ranger (have pets like wolves/bears etc. to fight at your side).

The Mage can be a (Shapeshifter change in to animals) Blood Mage (use blood spells) Arcane Warrior (use heavy armour and cast spells).

The Warrior can be a Berzerker, a Templar (kinda Paladin), Reaver (kinda anti paladin), they can also use sword and shield or two swords.

All of these can be further refined with different skillsets, like stealing, frost magic, fire magic, backstabbing, archery, traps, poison etc.

Most reviews are giving this game 9/10 and while I agree with that score, I was dismayed to see a review in PSM for 64%, I read the review and they definately played a different game to everyone else, (also I didnt see any DA:O adverts in the magazine, so that may or may not mean something). Although I would agree with the 9/10, I would qualify that by saying that its a genre dependant score. This is a great game, but may be too deep for a casual gamer or for someone dipping their toes in to RPG waters for the first time. There is a "Casual difficulty" setting, which is a fairly easy mode, when coupled with the fact that you can pause combat at will, to issue instructions to your characters, does make it more accessible, But you also need to know how the likes of Strength Willpower and Dexterity will affect the classes you are playing.

Overall, a great story, with some great quests that you can approach differently, to obtain different outcomes, so subsequent playthroughs are almost mandatory, because the quests are so good, you will want to see how they play out, with different approaches.

Fiach : Playing games, so you don't have to.

As always, excellent review, Fiach  :-X

Very good, Fiach  :-X Makes me want to dig out Mass Effect again  ;D

Very informative review Fiach (as always), good one :-X

Good write up Fiach, will admit to "sitting on the fence" over this one, but have begun to see the same pattern in my self as with FC2. Started with seeing it on a TV advert, being more intrigued by it each time it came on, to seeing it in the shop, picking it up to read the back then replacing it on the shelf thinking to myself "maybe next time".
Its been a long time since i last dipped my fingers in the fantasy genre as i became bored with Morrowind after a couple of days and the D&D inspired games such as Neverwinter Nights etc held my attention for less time than that.
60-70 hours sounds like a bit of deal clincher to me, as good as OFP2 / Modern Warfare 2 can be completed within around 10% of that giving only 1-2 days good honest gaming.
Up-shot of it being its now on the top of my list and look forward to swinging a sword for a change :) 

Well if you have ever played any RPG and liked it, you will love DAO, I guarantee that.

I have CoD and AC2 sitting on the shelf, I tried to play them and went back to DAO and rolled another characer.

Basically you have this evil called The Blight taking over the land and your job is to secure the help of some very diverse groups of people, so you have the main quest, plus these four race sub-plots, to get each subplot finished, at he end, you will be put in a moral quandry, with no definitive right and wrong way to solve it.

You can choos to start from a number of different races and backgrounds, each with a unique storyline, leading you to join this elite warrior unit called The Grey Wardens. This is based on a couple of books written to provide extra lore and background for this world, which is similar but diffirent to the D&D world, the books are quite good too apparently. Also the combat is not as stodgy as in NWN and the world is more focused than Morrowind.

Aside from all that, you will have a myriad of subquests, generated in each area, plus each party member you acquire, will all have their own story and personal quest.

You can also romance the characters and bed them, using conversations and gifts.

As you travel with your party, they are always bickering and bantering among themselves, with some hilarious audio dialogue, you even get a dog party member if you are a Human Noble, or else through a quest. The dog is awesome, there are things called "Landmark" items (tents, trees etc.) If you make him pee on them, it marks the area as his "territory" and he gets stat boosts in combat there.


There are so many different classes, that you will want to playthrough more than once, just to see how they get on, A Rogue, maybe a Rogue archer or dual wield, how about an assassin, using traps and poisons, maybe you want to be a Bard rogue that gives prty buffs, or a dualist rogue that is defence based and they are just the rogues, you have Melee Templars, Berzerkers, Champions, Mages from many different schools, or a mixx of warrior and mage (Arcane Warrior), there is just so much choice, but you never get bewildered at all.

I'm really having a balst with it.

Quote from: Art Blade on November 13, 2009, 11:52:59 AM
Very good, Fiach  :-X Makes me want to dig out Mass Effect again  ;D

Hey... I was this close to buy this one on a great fire sale a few days ago!... How about the game Art?

@Fiach... how come you can always come up with great comparisons between XBOX and PS3? Do you have bot consoles and game versions or your friends does and you all share impressions?

Kind of a mix, I contribute reviews to game magazines, also we discuss them across their different platforms, plus some sites do comparison videos, I tend to use those videos to demonstrate visually as opposed to anecdotally, how the platforms differ.

I have PS3 and 360, I prefer the 360, because I like the controller and also because anything I have seen that is available to both consoles, usually the PS3 is the inferior version.

The exceptions would be those made exclusively for PS3, which so far have proven to have better gfx than titles exclusive to 360, but any cross platform game tends to favour the 360 architecture, due to its similarity to PC's.

JRD, the game MassEffect is epic. It's RPG with shooter elements, and there are a lot of aliens. It is a little like the old WingCommander series regarding space travel, a mothership, a crew, but it is different, too. You form a team of three before you go out on a mission, you pick two out of a couple of alien buddies, combining different characteristics of each one (including yourself) to be versatile or combine equal characteristics to have a multiplier effect (like all strong at using weapons, or each one with a different set allowing you to... man. It's hard not to start telling too much lol) Well, it's an adventure, good vs evil, and really nice environments. You can visit different stars, do some side missions, follow the plot, blah blahdiblah. EPIC.  :)

Thanks... I've been thinking about trying RPGs for a change... got Knights of the Old Republic on a sale for $$2,50 but didn't play more than 20 minutes so far
You might want to take a look here

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffect2workingtitle/index.html?tag=result;title;1

Mass Effect 2 out on January 26

Cheers...

KOTOR is a top class game, on one planet, you will get a chance to recruit HK47 to your team, he is a droid assassin (47 geddit? :)), he is one of the best game characters ever designed..... like ever!

Theres some chick I think Batista is her name, she is part of your crew, when she meets her mother, it was one of the most touching game moments I ever experienced.

KOTOR 2 is good, but not in the same league as 1.

Mass Effect is really good too, alot of people didnt like it, because they thought it was a "shooter" and played it as such.

Mass Effect 2 will use savegame information from your playthrough of Mass Effect 1, to continue your story in some way, I'm not quite sure how, maybe it will use your character creation data in some way.

Quote from: Fiach on December 02, 2009, 12:54:42 PMMass Effect 2 will use savegame information from your playthrough of Mass Effect 1

That is interesting. Thanks for this info  :-X

Dragon Age Origins gets its first expansion - D.A.O. Awakening. its out mid march. This is from the official site.


For centuries, the Grey Wardens—the ancient order of guardians, sworn to unite and defend the lands—have been battling the darkspawn forces. Legend spoke that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but somehow they remain. You are the Grey Warden Commander and have been entrusted with the duty of rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens and uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to remain. How you choose to rebuild your order, how you resolve the conflict with "The Architect", and how you determine the fate of the darkspawn will be but some of the many complex choices that await and shape your journey as you venture to the new land of Amaranthine.

Sounds interesting.

sounds cool  :-X

I completed Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition a few months back and can say that it was a great experience that lasted a full 60 hours for me.

The gameplay was Bioware RPG style from start to finish.  If you have played Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic, expect the same controls but with warriors, rogues and mages... so pretty much exactly the same as KOTOR less the light sabers.

The best part about the game was the journey itself.  The story was well developed, had excellent twists but never got so complicated that it was hard to follow.  The characters were all interesting, even the ones you tend not to like.

I played my first campaign on normal difficulty as an elven mage.  In my mind, I expected the well revered Gandalf/Dumbledore welcome that all great mages receive and to be wise and respected like Elrond or Legolas.  Hell I would have been happy to be greeted like Buddy the Elf (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0011305/).  No sir.  I was the racial, cultural, and religious minority of the lands.  Persecuted, chastised, and spit on.  I most certainly did not see that coming.

The pros of the game far outweigh the cons, and it is worth a play through from start to finish.

None the less, now that the journey is over, I have a few complaints.  Like I said, they don't overwhelm the game, but I think they are worth pointing out.

• Item collection in this game is frustrating due to a limited inventory and a huge pool of collectibles
• Second playthroughs, even as a different class aren't as exciting and can get dull very quickly even if you change your attitude in the game choices
• The additional content is much too expensive for the amount of game time it provides
• The game is not an open world game yet it feels very much like it is big enough to be one.  For those who have played Oblivion, the atmosphere is very similar, but each section is separated into zones.  Fast travel works the same exact way, but you have no alternative.
• You cannot go over the top with your characters no matter how much time you invest.  I like to go nutty with my RPGS and max out stats... it just isn't reasonable in this game.
• Monster levels should be set, not based on your progress.

All in all the game is worth the time and money for a full play through.  The story alone will keep you coming back until the very end.

I liked that review, thanks a lot GPFontaine  :-X

Excellent mini-review GPFontaine; concise, but very informative  :-X

I ran across this title on the 'net and reviews were good so I browsed Art's list of "Other games" and rediscovered this post.  Although I have not been enthralled with RPG games, the Fallout series got me interested in the genre - will definitely get this title for the PC.

I hope you enjoy it mate, its definately better than its sequels :)

There would be a caveat for you though, it doesnt play like FO3, you have a party that you control, not just one person, the (slight) micro-management may seem strange at first.

I would suggest you play it on casual, until you get used to the rhythm of the mechanics.

There is some great DLC for the game too.

Sounds like an interesting departure from the type of game I usually play.  Thanks for the info  ;)

Coupla things occured to me last night mate.

If you find the combat a bit fast paced (and you will in some areas), you can pause the game, give instructions like what attacks to use. heal team members with spells or potions etc.

In the first area, there is a quest, to get something to heal a sick dog, if you do that, the dog will become a member of your team and he is a BEAST! (pardon the pun :)).

With him in your team, most areas have a tree that can be interacted with, if you make him pee on the tree, it marks the area as his territory and gives his stats a bonus.

EDIT : That dog may be DLC, so if there is no quest that could be the reason, sorry for any confusion, but its been a couple of years.

Some people miss this, but in the second area (after the tutorial), you will come to a town with refugees, if you go into the tavern, you will interrupt a fight, if you

Spoiler

Side with the girl, she will join you, shes pretty awesome with a bow.

That's great advice Fiach - thanks  :-X

...that's hilarious about the dog - the game sounds like it is going to be more fun that I thought!  :laugh:

This is a wiki on the dog, the site has handy link for other stuff about the game too :)

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dog_(Origins) (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dog_(Origins))

Wow, is the graphic quality of Dog as good in the game?  If so, that's impressive.  It looks like there is quite a bit of DLC available - do we get it through Steam?

PS: I like the name "Dog" - my wife's toy poodle likes to be called "Dog... the bounty hunter" :-()

The gfx are very good mate, you can change the dogs name, so go for it :)

The DLC is a mixed bag, one of the games main characters Morrigan gets probably the worst DLC ever created, avoid Witch Hunt. This is a shame, because people bought it, thinking there would be a resolution to her storyline, what happens is you spend a half hour dicking around and she disappears through a portal for no reason, I wanted to kick the cat after playing it  :D

Wardens Keep is very good, Stone Prisoner is good, Return to Ostegar is also good if you play a Warrior as you get some good armour, but only if you want the armour.

Just checked Amazon and the ultimate edition (http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Origins-Ultimate-Pc/dp/B0045ZB66I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1318876793&sr=8-3) is available for less than $30 - it includes what it calls all 9 expansion packs.

Thats a great price mate!

You can import your Origins character into all but two. Leliana's Song and Darkspawn Chronicles are standalone play. The order for the others is: Awakening, Golems, Witchhunt.

If you care about story, you should beat Origins, then import character in the order of Origins->Awakening->Golems of Amgarrak->Witch Hunt (note that you can skip content, but you cannot import backwards), throwing in Darkspawn Chronicles and Leliana's Song in somewhere after beating Origins.

As for the playthrough itself, two of the primary questlines give you an additional party member for you to w%&k with. Wynne is found in the Circle Tower (if your character isn't a healer, Wynne is a very high priority to acquire; though you could change Morrigan to a healer as well), and Oghren is found in Orzammar (he's fun to have around, but not too special otherwise). You may want to head to Honnoleath to recruit Shale before the latter as well, as completing the DLC the golem is a detour in the Orzammar questline (and the character plays a strong role in the final battle if you want to bring Shale there). These three questlines, along with "Return to Ostagar" & "Warden's Keep", are all available after leaving Lothering; and they may be done in any order you wish.

The only possible dilemnas you'll have to face is the fact Recliffe and the Bercelian Forest both grant you access two specializations for the classes: Champion for warriors and Arcane Warrior for mages respectively IIRC there is only one weapon for Arcane Warrior, its a sword, I forget the name, but i think it was in an underground place, lots of tunnels, its overpowered, but only if you know what you are doing, so I would leave that for a subsequent playthrough. The former is useful, the latter is essentially overpowered. If you already have both of these from a previous playthrough (unlocking them once unlocks them for all playthroughs), it isn't a big deal if you don't do them first.


So, as a best guess for how to go about doing the questlines (after leaving Lothering)....

Spoiler

1. Recruit Shale (fairly easy & quick)in Honnoleath  .
2. Complete Warden's Keep (Starfang is one of the best weapons in DA:O), and the items in there are good).
3. Complete Return to Ostagar (the DLC armor & weapon sets there are superb if not actually overpowered).
4. Complete Orzammar, recruit Oghren, finish Shale's questline. You have to have Oghren on this quest, but I actually hate the bugger, so I drop him afterwards, he just talks a load of vulgar crap.

Spoiler

Also, in Dust Town you get an offer to (illegally) bring Lyrium to the Mage in the Circle Tower, this will make you alot of money, but will cost you 40 gold if you have a high enough Coersion skill, but you will get your money back plus maybe an extra 20 gold, so be aware of the quests availability and where Dust Town is, when you have that money available.

5. Complete the Circle Tower & recruit Wynne (so that you have a healer). This area while a bit difficult, is (can be) quite confusing, as you are in a dream world and there are alot of portals that shift you to different areas, if you go there, try to do it all in one evening, so each teleports destination is fresh in your mind.

6. Finish the rest of the game however you want to.

There's a fair bit of leeway, but this route probably provides the most ease while unlocking all the party members and completing the in-game DLC without too much hassle. Get Wynne early because her healing skills are so useful (Shale may be done first because it isn't too difficult without Wynne), do the DLC for all the perks, then do Orzammar (which is usually considered one of the hardest parts of the game, it's certainly one of the longest).

Many thanks Fiach,  I particularly appreciate the spoiler because I like to know what I should be doing rather than have to discover everything on my own.  I tend to waste lots of time pursuing dead ends in games, and  that increases the probability that I won't complete the title.

I'll probably also look for ways to mod the game  >:D

The game is huge mate, apart from developing your characters, you can have love affairs with them, give them gifts, explore dialogue options with them to make them hate/love you, these will give them different bonus' etc. Those are just the main quests above, there are more incidental ones too.

Listen to the banter between them as you walk along, its quite funny at times, especially between Morrigan and Alister :)

It will be awhile before you get to modding I reckon.... on saying that, I would be careful modding that game, just playing the dlc in the wrong order can bugger it up sometimes, due to items being carried from one DLC to another incorrectly, this alone can cause corruption.

Quote from: Fiach on October 17, 2011, 01:51:41 PM
It will be awhile before you get to modding I reckon.... on saying that, I would be careful modding that game, just playing the dlc in the wrong order can bugger it up sometimes, due to items being carried from one DLC to another incorrectly, this alone can cause corruption.

Good to know - I tend to jump right in and begin modding to change the game to my liking.

I'm looking forward to posting impressions, but I hope to find a local place that has the game in stock so I don't have to order online.  ;)

Quote from: GPFontaine on March 05, 2010, 07:33:41 AM
...None the less, now that the journey is over, I have a few complaints.  Like I said, they don't overwhelm the game, but I think they are worth pointing out.

• Item collection in this game is frustrating due to a limited inventory and a huge pool of collectibles
• Second playthroughs, even as a different class aren't as exciting and can get dull very quickly even if you change your attitude in the game choices
• The additional content is much too expensive for the amount of game time it provides
• The game is not an open world game yet it feels very much like it is big enough to be one.  For those who have played Oblivion, the atmosphere is very similar, but each section is separated into zones.  Fast travel works the same exact way, but you have no alternative.
• You cannot go over the top with your characters no matter how much time you invest.  I like to go nutty with my RPGS and max out stats... it just isn't reasonable in this game.
• Monster levels should be set, not based on your progress.

All in all the game is worth the time and money for a full play through.  The story alone will keep you coming back until the very end.

Fiach, do you have recommendation for which would be the best kind of character to start with, and can you comment on GPFontaine's first complaint - frustration with the inventory?

Well insofar as its GP's opinion, I would only suggest that my opinion would be different.

There is limited space in your inventory, yes, but not that limited, the game gives you alot of stuff that can be collected, but it does limit your personal inventory,But you will still have a lot of room, plus you also have a seperate storage chest that (I think) has infinite space.
There is alot of stuff you can pick up, but you dont have to pick it up, eg. blank paper.

As regards collectibles, well there is a huge range, because you have a bunch of members in your party and you can eg. collect gifts for them, to seduce them, many members = many gifts, but again, you have a seperate storage chest.

The other points :
I have played the game about 6 times as different classes and races (btw, when you choose a race, you will start off in a seperate area for each race and it will provide a personal insight into the background story), never once getting bored, sure the story stays basically the same apart from a couple of quite significant choices, but the combat is totally different and quite absorbing. Its a very user friendly game and if I was going to suggest a starter RPG, this would be it.

Content expensive? Thats a matter of perspective, the only DLC I thought was a waste of money was Witch Hunt, but calling something expensive is very subjective and especially in your case PZ as you are getting a ton of content for 30 bucks.

Not quite sure where the open world thing is coming from, its not open world, its kinda like borderlands, but smaller, you can traverse so much of an area, but then you will hit a loading screen, sometimes you wont arrive at the destination you selected, you will be ambushed periodically to keep you on your toes. I personally thought Oblivion was too big, with too little of interest.

I dont understand the max out stats thing, your stats after the game and expansions should be well maxed, especially in the mages tower, where some rooms give you permanant stat increases, unless what is meant, is making a character with weird stats that are skewed heavily in a particular direction, counter to the games design, well I would tend to meta game a RPG and boost the most pertinant skills, not try to gimp a character, either way, the devs made the game with their vision, a balanced, enjoyable RPG, they succeeded, I doubt if they are interested in making the game balanced for a gimped character. But Im not sure what GP means, so .... *shrugs*

Monster levels, well I think that it makes a game challenging if they grow with you, its a matter of personal choice.

Either way, there is no right or wrong PZ, they are my thoughts, they dont agree with GP's  but it doesnt mean either of us are right, probably the correct answer is 46  >:D

Best Character to start off with, thats a tough one, I would suggest you go with warrior until you find your feet, I love ranged (mage and archer), I never play a warrior, but its something you need to decide in the context of your party and their complimentary skill sets.

I would suggest a Warrior, then another Warrior, say Alister or Dog, ranged say Leliana and maybe Wynne or Morrigan as healer/mage.

The rational being, you control one warrior, the other you can leave on autopilot, same with Leliana for ranged, so then you just have to worry that your mage is outputting a decent balance between damage and healing, there are also potions, so you dont have to rely on healers.

In all fairness its an easy enough game to get to grips with, so dont over think it :)

Excellent read Fiach - I appreciate that you two have different visions of the game - the more one can read differing opinions, the more useful it is to form a vision of what the game might offer.

If I start as a warrior, can I recruit Dog?  I really don't want to miss out on that interaction.  >:D

Cool new avatar by the way - no one would guess that you look like Frank Biders  :-()

My understanding of Dog is he can be got through one of the DLC's or if you roll a human noble, i'll check that for you tomorrow to be sure.

Actually the avatar of Frank looks a wee bit like me (not in game, just that avatar, with the rugby jersey as well lol) :)

I figured new forum new avatar :)

This one is a guy called The Nameless One, he's the main character in a RPG called Planescape Torment, probably the best RPG ever (seriously), his body is covered in tattoos he has drawn over his many re-incarnations, to try to help him remember how to progress.... for want of a better word, the game... The characters he attracts to his party are an awesome collection of misfits :)

Maybe you will wind up playing it someday, if DA:O goes well :)

Quote from: Fiach on October 17, 2011, 06:19:15 PM
... Actually the avatar of Frank looks a wee bit like me (not in game, just that avatar, with the rugby jersey as well lol) :)

:cheesy:  :-X

Quote from: Fiach on October 17, 2011, 06:19:15 PM
I figured new forum new avatar :)

Maybe you will wind up playing it someday, if DA:O goes well :)

Indeed - freshness is often a good thing - that is why I'm trying a new type of game.  Although I played the Fallout series, but I was always disappointed in the graphics - liked everything else though, so I hope DAO goes well.

PS: I got on the Gamestop site, and they have the ultimate edition - will stop by when I'm in the area.  ;)

When you say Fallout series PZ, do you include 1, 2 and Tactics, or FO3 and NV?

If its the latter and you were disappointed with the gfx, you wont like the look of Planescape Torment, which does have a hi def patch, but it would be nowhere like FO3 :

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On saying that, you dont really notice the gfx. If you are an avid reader (like me), you will get so immersed in the storyline, characters and dialogue, everything else takes a back seat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape:_Torment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape:_Torment)

Back on track, I've been looking for a save of DAO near the start and got one 1.5 hours in (didnt want to repeat the intro as its quite long) with a rogue.

This is handy (for me), it means that I dont have to waste a space on a Rogue as I will be able to open doors and disarm traps myself, leaving me room to have the best characters (imo), Morrigan, Wynne and Alister. Its not an ideal party set up for someone unused to the game, but the banter between Morrigan and Alister is great and Wynne is an awesome healer.

As regards the dog, the kennel master will ask you to get a flower while on a mission, its hard to miss it, return and give it to the kennel master, after a rather big event, the dog will join you :).

BTW race suggestions :

Elves seem predisposed towards magic, Humans can do magic, just slightly less better, Dwarves cannot use magic.
I would tend to choose a Human for a Rogue or Warrior.
A dwarf would probably be the best warrior though, as they have a couple more points in Constitution than humans.

I started a new character from scratch lol (human Rogue), I had forgotten alot of the intro, so to get back in tune it made more sense.

Anyway, the dog, if you are human, you get it almost immediately, then later when the sick dog quest comes up, you can do the quest, but you just get a monetary reward.

There is a radial menu, i would suggest you go to Options and set it to toggle open/close, instead of "hold" to open , this will pause combat and later it will allow you to use a reticle to aim projectiles/spells at enemies while paused.

With the DLC you should have a thing called dragon armour in your inventory, you will need something like 38 Strength to equip it, so you will have to put it in storage for awhile. Its worth 7+ gold though, so maybe worth selling as by the time you can wear it, you will have pretty decent armour anyway, its supposed to have a red dragon on it, it just looks like a messy splash of blood, but the stats are good enough.

Just looking at the DLC, theres nothing of much use for Rogues or Mages, which is a shame, there is a special rogue armour that you have to know about and jump through a few hoops to get it, which is bloody annoying, but at least I know I can get it.

Just a heads up, dont XP glitch (well you can if you want .... no dictators here :)... but...) monsters level with you, so you could actually make some fights more difficult than they need to be, if you force your XP up.

Those are great hints - thanks Fiach!  :-X

As to the Fallout series, I actually only played FO3 and FNV.  I remember being disappointed with the graphics in FNV after seeing some of the promotional videos.

Just a heads up on bags that increase inventory space, as you can miss a couple of them near the VERY start and miss them forever, so check this before you start :)

* Quartermaster in Ostagar - Before you become a Grey Warden. This is very easy to miss, so as soon as you have the money buy it.
* Quartermaster in Ostagar - After you became a Grey Warden.
* Bodahn, a dwarven merchant found in The Warden's Camp - First time leaving Lothering. A merchant and his son, you will save them on a bridge when you leave Lothering.
* Bodahn, a dwarven merchant found in The Warden's Camp - After Nature of the Beast.
* Quartermaster found in the Apprentice Quarters at the Circle of Magi. He is just before the door inside the Circle building (the one that locks after you enter to meet Wynne).
* Varathorn, a Dalish elf merchant in the Dalish Camp - After Nature of the Beast, depending the outcome of the quest. (See spoiler below)
* Gorim, a dwarven merchant in the Denerim Market District.

Sounds like excellent advice - becoming more excited - am scheduled to get the game today if it is in stock.  >:D

Thanks for all the help Fiach - I really like knowing what I should be doing so I don't have to stumble around and perhaps miss something important - I do not seem to have much patience.  This is what has always worried me about RPG style games - that my lack of patience would either cause me to miss the story line altogether, or to give up in boredom.

Well, what I do (as I kinda know where I'm going), is level up by hitting each area that opens up, but staying away from the main quest where possible. For example, if you go to the Mage Circle first, you get locked in there for a LONG time, So I hold off from there for a bit, Do Orzammer for a bit, then leave before I get the Paragon Quest and go to The Mage Circle, Then,  The forest for a little, then hit Denerim and do the Sacred Ashes quest, all so I can collect members and levels before getting stuck into the main quest, maybe I'll do a wee diary of my journey as a kind of indication on where to go, so you can refer to it if you need to level up a bit, I'm about lv 13 now, only main mission I have completed is the Mage Circle. So I'm still kinda newb :)

That sounds like exactly the kind of gaming that I like to do - very similar to some of the FC2 plays through I've done in the past.  :-X

I like Elissa's journal (http://openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?topic=2486.msg45644;topicseen#msg45644) Fiach - you've done an excellent job, and I'll not mess up the topic with questions, which I'll keep posting here.

:-X

 Cheers mate, I'm trying to keep it vague, but still interesting enough to whet your appetite :)

Definitely doing that!  :-X

I checked the in-store availability for the Gamestop at my local store and they seem to be out, but will check anyway.  There is also a last resort that I'll try.  Failing that, I'll have to order it online  :D

Well the usual suspects, Steam and Gamersgate have the same thing for 30 bucks, so depending on HD space that may be the way to go, I havent seen the PC version kicking around lately, I have seen a few 2hnd copies for consoles, but I would be wary of the DLC being "used" in that scenario, so its best to hold out for a new copy regardless of which delivery method you use.

I went to Bestbuy, a local electronics chain and they had the game, but wanted $30 for the standard version!  Discouraged, I went shopping for groceries at the local Fred meyer, and took a look at their games section in their small electronics department - found the Ultimate Edition for $30, exactly as everyone else promised online - got the last copy  >:D

You're right about the DLC - you install everything in 24 gb of disk space, but then you have to go online to EA and activate the DLC.  Here's a kicker - the activation code is one time use, and expired in July 2011.

UPDATE: even though the documentation indicated that the DLC code had expired, it worked anyway.  I'm now completely installed and ready to roll.  >:D

quite an adventure so far :) Enjoy the game, PZ :)

Fiach, it was entertaining reading all your replies and posts here. You sure impress me with all those many games you seem to know in detail at any given time  :) :-X

Thanks Art, thats very kind of you to say that :)

Glad you got sorted PZ, You should give each race a try before you get stuck in, more to get a feel for the games universe, each starting area is different, but the background information will give you an idea of the relationship between humans and elves for example and give you more insight into some of the conversations you will have later with NPC's.

I have played the game 6 times and I am really enjoying this new playthrough immensely (actually I am doing two plays at the same time, My normal group (Ranged Rogue, Alister, Morrigan and Wynne) and a Rogue group (Ranger that can summon animals, Leliana with twin swords, Zevran and assassin with twin daggers and Wynne for healing), the game is just damned awesome! :)

Thanks guys - only barely started the game last night, but what I saw was very promising.  Unfortunately I've duties that demand my attention for a good part of the day today, but I hope to be able to play again tonight.

Well, I finally started the game and am becoming accustomed to the controls, and in general the RPG feel, which is much different from the typical FPS that I like to play.  I have my pit bull dog, whom I have named "Poodle".  I also have a few friends that travel with me and fortunately take the heat off when we encounter bad guys.  Poodle is great - he is eager to fight  >:D

Yes he is a great asset, the only reason I dropped him was because of the interplay between Morrigan and Alister, its quite funny and Wynne is such an awesome healer, plus she has some cool dialogue with Alister too. Also I'm playing a Rogue with the Ranger spec, I can summon an animal to fight alongside the party (Wolf/Bear/Giant Spider), so its kind of pointless to have him.

Alister is probably the most significant party member regarding the main storyline, so its kinda pointless not using him throughout the game.

There are only two other melee's, Zevran (who will betray you if you dont build a relationship with him) and Oghren who I just dislike intensely and you only really need one or two melee at the most as they can taunt enemies to keep them away from the mages and the rogues (who bring all the pain to the party).

Best tip I can suggest is to set the skill wheel to toggle on/off instead of "hold", in the Options, it will be handy if combat is going a bit fast, but the AI is very responsive and you can adjust that in the Tactics section if you need too.

I dunno what the controls are like on PC, but they are very well designed on the 360. Hope you enjoy it mate :)

Fortunately I don't have to worry about fast combat because I'm playing on easy, and the game pauses while I decide what to do.  :-()

While I have explored the tactics menu, and have adjusted some of my friends, including Poodle, I'm not sure what the skill wheel is.

Well its a wheel that you can bring on screen, it gives you choices like Potions/Poisons/Sustained Skills/Talents/Advanced etc. Basically you can issue commands to your party through it.

It would have been Spacebar in older RPG's, on 360 its Left Trigger. You are probably using it already and I am using the wrong name for it.  :-[

 :laugh: I don't think you have a wrong name Fiach, I don't recall seeing any kind of menu for potions, etc.  Like I've said many times before, I'm not the worlds best gamer  :-()

Maybe its not in the PC game *shrugs* How do you pause the game?

Is there anything in the Options that you can toggle on/off or Hold.

Hopefully there is such a thing in the PC game as its pretty awesome.

I think there probably is, but I've not discovered it yet - in fact, I didn't even read the instruction booklet for the key mapping.  :-()

I know that I need to do something to take advantage of those other functions, so the next time in the game I'll poke around.  ^-^

I press the spacebar to pause the game.

Oh, reading the loser manual is for sissies  >:D

 :-() so that's why I don't read manuals

My bad mate, here is what I've been told :

There's no skill wheel on PC. There's a big bar of skills at the bottom of the screen that can fit 28 abilities IIRC. So you can pause the game with spacebar and then issue commands to your party members using the ability bar at the bottom.

No worries, Fiach - however, my old eyes did manage to catch that bar across the bottom - wondered what it was used for  :-()

Behind every cloud then :)

 :-()

How are you getting on with the game PZ?

I just started a new playthrough as an Arcane Warrior/Blood Mage, basically a mage that can wear heavy armour and can use hitpoints to cast spells.

The kind of spells you tend to cast are ones that are constantly turned on (you put aside a certain amount of mana to sustain the spells) like elementally enchanted weapons for your party, different types of magic armour spells and auras, plus some lockdown spells for harder enemies so they cannot defend themselves, its like driving a wercking ball machine through the game, a whole lotta fun!  8)

Fairly well, I think.  I'm still learning how to control my friends properly because I don't know how the weapons, armor, spells w@&k yet.  Yesterday I had to make my way to the top of a tower to light some kind of flame signal and there was a huge, extremely angry individual that killed me several times before I found the correct combination of attacks to have success.

On the way up, I managed to collect too many things, and discovered that I could offload to my friends, and equip them with new things.

Also along the way were many locked chests, some that indicated I did not have enough skill to open them, and others that required a key.  I suppose that I need to return to the former after I an skilled, but what about the keyed ones - where might I look for the keys?

Man you havent even started the game yet, hopefully you are enjoying it, because it gets 100%+ better after where you are at the moment, which starts the whole ball rolling, storywise.

OK, first, if you have an earlier save in Ostagar, if you havent bought the bag off the Quartermaster, go back and get it as you wont be returning to get it and its gone forever.

The guys in your party at the moment are I guess Alister and two soldiers, The only one staying with you is Alister, so just kit him out with heavy armour a sword and a shield, then kit yourself out with a weapon and armour. You will next get Morrigan, you wont need anything for her so sell any mage gear you have.

Next you will get leliana in the tavern in the next town, so keep a bow/arrows plus any studded leather armour you have for her, sell everything else, except health potions and lyrium potions.

You should have plenty of space then.

Its seldom you will have a battle like that, you will meet Ogres later, but you will be better skilled/equipped to deal with them.

If a key is needed for a chest/door, it will say "key needed", if it says Insufficant Skill it means you need a rogue in your party (like Leliana) with the skill to open locks.

Opening locks, disarming traps gets you XP, it really mounts up, so the sooner you get leliana the better.

Use heavy Armour for Warriors, try to choose a specialisation and stick with it, then as you progress, you will pick another specialisation (I dont like berzerker personally, I use the others mostly). Use one that gives party buffs if possible. Concentrate on Strength, Constitution and Willpower, but a bit of Dexterity now and again will help him too. I would tend to use Sword and Shield if I was kitting out Alister. He has more protection because of the shield and he will need it as he will use taunt to pull the enemies away from the rogues and mages

Leliana, set her up to use bows and just buy bow skills, the most important for here are the one that breaks armour, Critical shot and Arrow of Slaying, dunno if you can get Mark of Death until you meet Zevran. Also get her Ranger skills to add an animal to your party, or Bard skills, so she can buff your party. use DEX for her bow skills, a bit of willpower and Constitution.

Morrigan, get her a heal spell (only one), then pick eg the Cold Spells, then she can enchant your weapons, and use some freeze spells (they stop/slow enemies and if they freeze, they will shatter if you get a critical hit. Then get her the fire spells, they are kinda the opposite of cold, so eg. a dragon would not be hurt by fire, so use cold on them. Dont get her and Shapeshifter stuff. Concentrate on Magic, Willpower and a bit of Constitution.

Wynne, get her all the Spirit Healer stuff like Heal, Group Heal, Rejuvenation etc. Same Stats as Morrigan. Later get her Glyph Spells like Paralysis and Warding etc. for crowd control.

A fight for me would be (as a mage) run into a group try to gather as many as possible near me, use Mind Blast to stun them, then let the others attack them, when the stun wears off drop a glyph of paralysis on them so they cant move and maybe a glyph of warding on your party to protect them. or maybe drop a glyph of paralysis on a group of archers, then move away from them and drop a Fireball on their asses and let the melees go in and mop up as you and a ranged character take potshots, you can play as any party member so mix it up in a way that suits you.

Maybe as a ranged character, shatter the armour of a tough enemy to make things easier for everyone, then hit them with a critical hit or arrow of slaying. if you have bard skills use something like song of courage to bolster your party.

Melee, use Taunt to to pull enemies away from the squishy members, then use a Buff to Rally the other members and whack away with your sword.

Sorry if it looks very long winded, but when you play for a bit, it will become more understandable. :)

Wow,
I'm stunned to learn that I'm still at the beginning of the game!  However, I've experienced enough to understand what you're written.  I can imagine that the game will become quite addicting as it progresses because it seems to be getting better with each quest completed so far.

I think I know the answer to this, but when you say Leliana will open locks etc. to gain XP, do you mean that I click her first to "become" her for the moment and that I (my Aeidan character) earns the XP rather than Leliana?

As to selling things to my buddies - I have transferred things from my inventory to theirs - does this constitute a sale?

No mate, there is only one inventory, you only sell to traders. I can see where you are coming from though.

There is only one inventory, so if you open your inv, then select a character, you equip gear on them (on 360) by clicking the gear while their portrait is onscreen, EG Select your character, then click on an item you want them to wear, items they are wearing have a blue tinge/colour over the name.

With a Trader, the screen opens with two windows, Trader and Party. if you click stuff in the trader window, you buy it, if you click stuff on the party window you sell it.

leliana, you have to "possess" her character to open a chest or disarm a trap, then re-possess your own character afterwards.

All XP is party XP, so if you constantly use only 4 characters and another three are benched, if you decide to bench a current character and replace them with on that was previously benched, then the new character will probably have a bunch of skill points you will need to allocate to them as while they were benched, they were still accumulating the XP you were earning while using the other characters.

Hope that makes sense :)

Makes perfect sense - thanks for all the help; this is a complex game compared to the FPS that I normally play, so there is lots to consider.  ;)

Once you get a feel for the stats, it will go alot smoother. :)

BTW, the game I would reckon is about 50 hours long on the first go, alot faster on subsequent plays though.

I've played many different types of characters (mostly mages), but it can be a whole lot different when you change the other mages usual skills to a completely different set that it makes replays really fresh.

Or with Rogue, will you use a bow or a dagger, or use two swords, all having different combat styles. will you make poison weapons, use bombs or make traps, will you use invisibility, sneak unseen into an area, stand behind the boss, bring in your team to start the combat and then de-cloak and backstab the boss...

The storyline is strong enough to last through many replays, even the ending has so many nuances, are you male or female, did you romance Alister, What decision did you make with Morrigan, how does Anora feel about you, how did you deal with Logain etc.

The ramifications and permutations while ultimately leading to more or less the same thing always add new dialogue/outcomes etc.

I really hope you get into the game :)

Quote from: Fiach on October 27, 2011, 04:52:35 PM
The ramifications and permutations while ultimately leading to more or less the same thing always add new dialogue/outcomes etc.

I get the sense of this - as I click my dialog choices, I am choosing to get the maximum dialog interaction.  However, I can see that some choicess you make appear to change your destiny.

Well there is a stat that rogues have called Cunning, it is a big help in combat, but it also governs Coersion.

This can have a HUGE impact on several scenarios in both serious and comic ways, but also can elicit dialogue trees that you wont find any other way.

Some interactions, not necessarily conversations, but interactions with objects can have consequences.

Even talking to your party members can make the game easier or more difficult, depending on what you do.

I found a book that I gave to one character, it wound up with me fighting a freaking dragon I didnt know existed in previous plays that had huge ramifications for the story in this game and the sequel!

On a more comedic level, I found some boots and gave them to another character and found out he had a leather fetish .... not joking!..., man it was sooooo FUNNY! But it changed a certain story arc in a HUGE way.  :o 8)

Man, is this a dynamic game or what?  Sounds like there is huge replay value - can't wait to get into it again - after dinner though.  :-()

Well, Fiach, I think you successfully opened PZ's mind to playing RPGs.  :)

Indeed  ;)

Fiach, I was just in a battle with Leliana and Morriana by my side.  After the battle, they now look like they have a purplish mist drifting upward from their bodies, and a kind of sparkly glitter - is something wrong with them?

Probably some "sustained" spell on Morrigan or Leliana, I'm guessing. If you select each character you will see on screen little square icons, these are spells that are switched on all the time, if you look at the character sheet of each member, at the top it will show what spells/injuries are effecting them and a description of what it does.

Could be something like Song of Courage (Bard Spell), Could be something from Alister either depending on what kind of melee you made him either. Morrigan has a spell I use that looks like a swirling mist around the whole party, This mist sucks health from all the dead bodies laying around in combat.

Short answer, I dunno exactly, looks like a spell (beneficial I would guess). :)

Quote from: Art Blade on October 27, 2011, 06:37:23 PM
Well, Fiach, I think you successfully opened PZ's mind to playing RPGs.  :)

Like most guys here my first love was FPS until a friend of mine BEGGED me to get Baldurs Gate (he worked in a shop called GAME at the time), I eventually got it, opened the big box and saw two freaking manuals, it scared the beejeesus out of me, my first steps were frustrating, made alot of mistakes with party make up and class builds, but after hitting RPG sites for tips etc. I started to find my feet.

Now RPGs are my favourite genre. There is no other game type with the depth of story, combat variety or sense of progressions (other than getting nearer to the end of the game), I just find RPG's more fulfilling to play than platformers or FPS games.

Dunno if you have played the Mass Effect games, they are a pretty good marriage of shooter and RPG.

While I still play FPS games, the only one I respect in the morning is Far Cry 2 :)

I played ME1 but never finished it, then again I played "The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion" for months on end with several playthroughs and modded (as in created own mods) the game myself, too. I agree with what you say :) When I play a shooter I just hope it won't be a disgrace and disappointment while I never felt that way when starting an RPG. ME was a little different perhaps as it indeed was a lot of shooting involved, then again, Alpha Protocol was even more so a shooter but at the time an immensely immersive RPG that kept me very, very busy.  ^-^

I loved AP, only played it twice though, Its a shame it never got the recognition it deserved, shooters hated it, probably because their skills honed over years of Halo/CoD were of no use, due to the RPG nature of the game. I think only RPG players really understood the game.

ME1 and 2, to me, are top notch games, they have a great story, but the characters are really really good and interesting. Dragon Age, to me is kinda like a medieval version of ME.

One thing about DAO that only becomes apparent when you play the game is the immersive world that is created in the game, it has a great storyline of politics/honour/betreyal, but aside from that and even disregarding the different characters/classes/skills etc. is the whole background that has been created for the game, it has a history, religions, customs, literature etc.

The fact that the devs created all of this, yet a player may not even bother with any of it or see any of it, is kind of disheartning, but a tribute all the same to the developers sense of purpose.

As you play the game, you will pick up poems, novels, histories, even love letters etc. these become "Codex Entries" and there are hundreds of them, all you have to do is pick them up, they are then kept in your journal, so you can just open it up and spend a couple of hours just reading this stuff.

I think DAO is one of the most fulfilling games I have ever played, maybe I am wearing my Rose Tinted RPG Nut Glasses (tm), but yeah, I really love the game :)

that sort of literature (books, scrolls, letters, spells, you name it, some of them gave you XP just reading them) was also present in Oblivion. I had a whole library created to neatly place all those books I had picked up on my journeys :)

I dont remember them from Oblivion (played the PC version), but it was a long time ago, I bought the GOTY version for PS3 recently, so now I'm really looking forward to playing it again.

Did you play the DLC's, like Knights of the Nine? I remember one of them where (depending on your character) you were left a house in a will, I'll never forget one of them it was the creepiest freaking place ever! A Great game :)

Yes, I got all DLC on disk (DVD) -- available in Spain back then :) That game kept me busy for a very long time, intensely. Loved it :) My favourite part was the Brotherhood (a secret sect of vampires and assassins)  >:D Yay  :-X

Which was the one where you slept in the bed and became a vampire? I forgey if it was Morrowind or Oblivion... or some other game? Creeped me right out!

Oblivion, and it was part of the Brotherhood (assassins guild) "secret option" you could choose but didn't need to  :)

Cool, now I'm really looking forward to playing it again, cheers :)

My goodness, I was in a tight spot last night.  I have forgotten the name of the mission, but it was to some kind of castle in the snowy mountains.  Arriving there, we saw what appeared to be dead bodies, but then they came to life and started out after us in earnest.  When one set would succumb, another set of the undead would arise.  They looked like skeletons, and had different kinds of weapons - one possessed an ancient crossbow, another a staff that shot blue fireballs, and others.

I'm only part way through that mission - man, I need better weapons, better skills, more spells, and a whole lot of luck.  :-()

I know one word for all that, PZ..

Spoiler

modding.  :-()

Quote from: Fiach on October 28, 2011, 08:36:32 AM
Cool, now I'm really looking forward to playing it again, cheers :)

Welcome mate, enjoy :)

Thats called Wardens Keep, its a DLC mission, but it shouldnt be that hard, what difficulty are you playing on, because thats like a pretty easy mission made to basically get DLC gear. If you are having difficulty at the start, it only gets harder mate. I just played it last night just did the courtyard and entered the building, so its pretty fresh in my mind and it was a cakewalk.

What class are you playing? If a Warrior, maybe thats the reason, I dont play that class so I cant advise you, but I have played it with Mages and Rogues and tore through it really easily.

If you have modded XP that might make a difference because if you go there with enhanced XP the enemies gear as well as their levels will be enhanced, but you will have noob gear. Other than that I cant offer any explanation.

The mission has really good gear, Warden Armour, that crossbow you mention, some cool mage gear at the end from Avernus, plus it becomes your base, where you can get your blacksmith to make you cool gear like the Starfang Sword. Also you get a storage chest for storing excess gear, so your INV wont be annoying you so much.

If you do complete it, dont leave before activating the glowy picture and recite the Wardens Oath for a secret chest to appear, as you cannot enter the building after completing it.

You could go to Hornleath first, there is a pretty cool helmet and belt there that would help your stats.

Art -  :laugh: you know me well - will soon have the mods flowing!

Fiach, yes, the name sounds familiar, and I think that I am a human warrior (don't recall), and Sten, Morrigan, and Leliana are with me.  When I switched to Morrigan, it was much easier because I had spells with which to w@&k.

One question though, because the action was occurring so fast.  How exactly do you apply a spell - do you pause the game and then cast it, or do you need to be in the middle of action?

Also, do you cast a spell by dragging the icon to the intended victim?  If not, how do you direct the spell toward a specific victim?

I never used Sten, I think he's an a$$hole, so I dont know anything about him.   :-\\

The 360 controls are totally different to the PC controls mate, I'm afraid I cant help you. 360 uses a skill wheel for slow/powerful spells that you will use once in a blue moon, It pauses the game and there is a reticle for aiming, the spells you use alot are assigned to the face buttons on the controller, so you just press the buttons as you need them.

I have no idea sorry to say.

No worries Fiach, I'll get it figured out.  Sten turns out to be a good ally so far, and a good fighter as well.  >:D

I've honestly never used him, not even quite sure what he does. His attitude is really annoying, I always just leave him in the cage.  :-D

 :laugh:  he does have a strange attitude.  However, I'm intrigued by his mysterious situation - claiming to have killed that family, then waiting for the authorities to come and arrest him - he gives no reason why either.  I'm hoping there is a back story to this chap.

He started all that crap with me, I spoke to the chick in the chantry, only way I could resolve it was by having a fight with her, I figured his attitude wasnt worth it, so i left him there.

Only reason I ever used Oghren was because I thought I had to bring him on the Paragon Quest. Once i fouund out it wasnt necessary, I benched him.

Zevran will betray you if you dont have a good relationship with him, but at least he is really funny and when it comes to the betreyal, if he  likes you, it turns completely on its head in a really cool way.

Wynne is too awesome to not have, Morrigan and Alister are so important to the plot, iits kinda pointless not to use them.

Leliana, I only use if I'm not a rogue, her voice /accent bugs the crap out of me. :)

Fascinating - I managed to convince the old woman in the Chantry to give me the keys to his cage - she was willing to do so as long as I took responsibility for his actions.  So far, he has been a loyal fighter.  You certainly are correct when saying that there are many potential outcomes.  ;)

Oh, pro tip, always save before talking to a team member, some of the conversation topics seem innocent enough, then suddenly out of the blue you will be presented with a choice that will annoy them and cost you "approval".

If you look at their character sheet, you will see a -.............+ scale, if you get that "+" really high, it adds significant damage output to the character. For example Zevran will get 4 levels of massive dexterity. If you get to do a personal quest for Morrigan, you will get a special armour for her.

Hehe, I can second that pro tip  :-D Different game, Mass Effect 1, I got involved in an apparently harmless conversation that evolved to a situation which gave me several choices (branches of conversation). One of which ended in me whipping out my side arm and shooting a guy straight between the eyes  ??? And no, it's not what I do every day anyway in real life.  :-()

Sounds like great advice - thanks guys.  Even though it is something that should be obvious, I often forget to do so, and have regretted it on occasions when I had to repeat part of a game from an old save.

:-X

While you can save where you want to on 360, it does auto save in significant situations, unlike most consoles that only offer a checkpoint/autosave situation.

People actually bitched about Rage, that you could save anywhere....but it didnt autosave....christ, the games only redeeming feature and people bitched about it  :D

 ??? :D

Quote from: Fiach on October 28, 2011, 09:59:04 AM
Thats called Wardens Keep...

Is it possible that it is called Soldier's Peak?  I just took a mission from a demon that looks like a woman in armor - she wants me to attack a tower.

I'm also playing with the tactics menu - changing what the characters do once battle starts - looks quite interesting in the sheer number of things you can have these characters do once being attacked.

well, it's back into the game...  :-()

The RPG is quite a departure from the FPS that I typically play - the story is almost like reading a book, or watching an epic series like Lord of the Rings.  The ability to choose the tactics of the team members, their weapons, armor, and special characteristics make for a marvelously varied experience.  I am enjoying this game more, but in a different way than the Fallout series, which is somewhat of hybrid between FPS and RPG.

Yes mate Soldiers Peak is the name on the map, but the building iirc is called Wardens Keep.

That demon is an ancestor of the guy who brought you there. There is a guy in the next section, you can kill him or let him go according to your personality what he drops is only useful for a certain type of mage. There is a liquid you can drink, but its only useful for mages that want to use Blood Magic.

After you finish, if you leave the area and return, you will be able to do a couple of things.

If you found the meteor, a guy there will make you a sword, be careful when you tell him what kind of sword, it can be two handed or one handed, so if you are using a shield, then you need the one handed, its called Starfang, one of the best swords in the game.

You can store stuff in a chest there too.

BTW, in your party camp, you can buy the rest of the Blood Dragon Plate set for a couple of gold each, I dont tend to use it, I would probably use Helm of Hornleath (+2 to each stat), Blood Dragon Plate (free with DLC) and one of the Warden Commander armour that regenerates (I think) stamina in battle.

Also in the party camp is a kid called Sandal, he will use runes to enchant your weapons for you, dont bother using runes unless they are Master or Grandmaster ones though.

If you go to Denerim, go into Genetivis house (the name will highlight on the door) and insist on searching it, you can then go to Lost Haven, enter the dungeon there, when you get through it you can fight a dragon that has some pretty good loot, but you dont have to kill it if you dont want to.

There is a pretty awesome sword in here that can be used by mages called Spellweaver, if you havent got it before you get to the mountain top, go back inside as you have missed a cave. Its especially useful for Arcane Warriors, so its good to know where it is, for subsequent playthroughs. The Arcane Warrior class is a secret class that you unlock in the Nature of the beast part of the main Quest. Its arguably the most powerful class in the game.

Here you will meet a guy that will ask you to pollute the ashes, if you do, some team members will attack you, but if you do pollute them, you will open up a secret class called Reaver, so save, pollute the ashes, fight your mates, get the reaver class opened, then reload the save and dont pollute the ashes, the class will still be open for you. You will need a pinch of the ashes to heal someone as part of the main storyline, so you will have to go to Lost Haven anyway. At the end agree with genetivi to open the place to the public :

Spoiler

If you killed the dragon its OK, but if you didnt, the dragon will leave the area in disgust at all the tourists!

You will meet drakes (kid dragons) they can be looted for drake scales, these are for a specific quest, that needs to be done in a specific way, it will get you two sets of leather armour and with the large Dragon Scale, you will get dragon plate armour, but its quite specific on how to do that quest, otherwise you will get crap armour and the shop will close down.

Glad you are enjoying it, I think you will enjoy a second playthrough more as you will be used to the combat and classes. :)

I did not kill the guy at the top of the tower, and when I went back down, Sophia? was very upset and began attacking me for cheating her (she had fixed the veil before I went up the tower).  Her armor was quite good, so I now have it.  :-()

I always just kill her, I think some of your team get annoyed if you do a deal with her. Yeah its very good armour :)

Getting her to repair the veil seemed to be the thing to do because she said that it prevented other demons from entering this world.  I don't know if she was lying, but I took the chance anyway, and didn't have too bad a time getting back out with all my friends and our skins intact.  :-()

I always kill Sophia first for her armour, then equip Alister with it to fight the demons with Avernus, I'm guessing it plays out pretty much the same either way :)

What I do with Avernus is go across the battlements to another room and there are maybe three or four spawns of demons, then he asks if you want to fight him or not, then you are done with the area.

Its a pretty good quest as there is alot of Grey Warden lore to add more substance to the story. :)

Yeah, it is a good one - can't wait to get back in  ;)

Well, I'm stuck - I'm in Ostagar, and am looking for the last piece of King Cailin's armor, and have come across a door that is barricaded from the other side - can't figure a way in.  :D

I never got that DLC mate, as I dont play warriors, so didnt need the armour. I have heard that from a lore persoective its very good as it gives a better insight, into why he was there.

Sorry I cant help though :(

Before Fiach posted I had checked google with "Dragon Age origins armor blocked door" and when I read "DLC" I wasn't sure if I was on the right way. From what I read you either "chop through" (doubt it) or, more likely, need to travel a long way through upper and lower parts to find a second entrance.

Well tbh, DAO isn't a puzzlefest, if you cannot reach something directly, it means that you need to find another route. Anything that can be interacted with would highlight itself.

There are a couple of puzzles in the game, eg. one a series of (easy) riddles and another where you have to place your team on different sets of blocks to make a bridge, but one every occasion, you are forwarned that there is a puzzle and with regard to the bridge, a hint on how to complete it.

I think Art hit the nail on the head, you probably need to try a different route :)

As long as they don't let me and my explosives in to help you sort that door problem, I think Fiach might be right.  :-()

Quote from: Art Blade on November 01, 2011, 03:52:45 AM
As long as they don't let me and my explosives in to help you sort that door problem...

:-X :laugh:

I did find a series of tunnels below, but other than a series of epic battles, did not lead me to anything useful, and the map did not show the usual arrow icon indicating a transport spot.  Probably need to check that area again.  It is kind of nice though, that once you clear an area and return, the "mercs" haven't spawned again... and again...  :-()

 :-() +  :)

I discovered the solution.  When working your way through the hidden passageways, there is an exit at the far end that apparently just returns you to the surface.  The first time I went out this exit, I just turned back and went back into the tunnels.  However, this time, I went further out into the surface ruins, and triggered a fight with another ogre - really tough to defeat.  Then the last foe looked like he was one of the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz - he had the last piece of Cailin's armor.

Gratz mate :)

Thanks Fiach - you wouldn't by chance nave experience with the Circle of Mages quest?  ????

I'm able to morph into a stealthy mouse, and have conquered a Desire Demon, but now can't find my way off the island - does not seem to be any method except a closed portal door

Yeah mate, thats an incredibly important quest, I mentioned it earlier. You cannot leave until that quest is finished and its a LONG quest, its best to do it all in one sitting as it can get quite confusing.

You will get many different forms, Mouse, Golem, Fire creature and Arch Mage. Each form will allow you to access different areas. Each area is barred by different access points.

Mouseholes, Fire, Glass looking doors (Arch Mage) and Massive Doors (Golem).

Each area is accessed via a pedestal, when you activate the pedestal, you will see a pattern with different points, you can do the points in any order, but each has its own boss, that needs to be defeated. After you defeat all the bosses, you leave and go to another area, to reclaim all your party members.

Then you get back to the mage Circle and w%&k your way back to the ground floor.

Buy a bag from the Quartermaster either at the start or the end, you can revisit the QM at any time either way, if you have already left.

The IMPORTANT thing is, you need to be focused. Every area that you access will have hidden (not very well hidden) rooms, These rooms will give you free permenant STAT Points, So always keep an eye out for mouseholes/Glass Doors etc as with dilligence you will get a ton of freebie stats.

The area will seem confusing at the start, but basically you need to find a NPC that will transfer his power to you, then fight the areas boss. Golem is pretty awesome, so you will be best to use that mostly in combat after you aquire it. But each power has a single attack and an area attack, they are all powerful, so combat should be fine, just do your best to get the free points.

So just choose a grid point, enter it, find the NPC for the power, search for free stat points, kill the boss (very easy) and move on.

In the last area, near the end, there are also free stat points so keep your eyes open for doors etc.

I know its kinda vague, but there is no simple way to do it, just drop into each area and be thorough checking every room, kill the bosses and move on. If you dont feel ready, you will have to load an earlier save. I do it fairly early as you can see from elissas diary when she is summoned to the Circle of Magi.

http://openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?topic=2486.0 (http://openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?topic=2486.0)

Good Luck :)

Ah yes, the diary - no I recall.  It makes so much sense now that I've experienced some of those quests  :-X

I wonder if I'm stuck on an island with no way out.  There is a tall glowing pedestal (with no activate icon), and the Desire Demon is dead along with her two minions.  I can't seem to find any escape, but because I'm a mouse, I'll look for a mouse hole.  ^-^

Fiach, do you have an idea how I might get through the doors that are locked, with a message that it will take mighty force to get through?  Also, how to get through the fire barricades?  I've gone through all of the mouse holes, but there are not enough to get into some of those secret areas.

One really cool thing is that I met a Templar spirit, and he gave me the ability to change into a spirit - that sure did help on the mage island.  ;)

Doesn't sound like FC2 at all, does it.




:-()

Quote from: PZ on November 04, 2011, 10:33:50 PM
Fiach, do you have an idea how I might get through the doors that are locked, with a message that it will take mighty force to get through?  Also, how to get through the fire barricades?  I've gone through all of the mouse holes, but there are not enough to get into some of those secret areas.

One really cool thing is that I met a Templar spirit, and he gave me the ability to change into a spirit - that sure did help on the mage island.  ;)

The Mage form is to get through doors that look out of place, like a sheet of curved glass laying against a wall. You have a spell called Crushing Prison, best spell in the game, so if you make a Mage, remember that spell and w@&k towards it :)

The Mighty doors are for Golem Form, the Fire barricades cannot be accessed until you have the Fire Form, you will need to change a fair bit while you are in there, sometimes really quickly, eg. Change into Fire form, get through a door and immediately change into another form to defeat the enemies on the other side of the door.

Keep referring to your map, if there are shaded areas, you have not gone into that area yet, maybe you are missing some forms because of that.

Theres no walkthrough I can give you, I usually start at the top of the pentagram map and w%&k clockwise if that makes sense, I dont do it for any particular reason other than its a confusing area and I try to do it as systematically as I can, just to be thorough.

I like the area (cos I've done it a bunch of times), but I hated it first time through as I hadnt a clue  on where to go or what to do, the only advice I can  give is to be thorough.

EDIT :

If you are finding it confusing (it bloody is :)), maybe try and go through the area in the direction this walkthrough suggests, that way you will miss nothing, next time you will breeze through it, once you are aware of the lay out.

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fade:_Lost_in_Dreams (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fade:_Lost_in_Dreams)

Thanks Fiach, that was helpful - I'm just about to go in again, and will look for some of the forms I must have missed.  ;)

Is it possible to mistakenly kill the other forms and thereby be locked in the quest?

UPDATE: I completed the Circle of Mages! Man that was an intricate one.  ;)

Yeah, it can be a pita first time, but now you know the layout, you can use and abuse it with characters for subsequent playthroughs, by pumping up stats early for tougher quests. Glad you got through it OK :)

Thanks - my problem was that I went through counter clockwise rather than clockwise.  Once I got the Golem and flaming man characters, it only took about 20 minutes to finish up things.  ^-^

On my 3rd play through now, so time to transition the conversation over from the ME2 thread  :)

Played all the DLC except 'darkspawn' which I tried, but found it didn't interest me.

My characters so far have been human female mage & warrior and this time human male rogue.....I still haven't gotten around to micro managing the tactics screen. I will set the top bars to ie Ranged/Archer, but then stick with the rest of the presets.

Having fun with it although I think KoA:R has much better combat mechanics  :-X

Don't know what I did with the Warrior build, but it was unbeatable. Was able to keep from being captured so I missed the prison break, and took out the AD without much trouble. Something weird happened at the end of the final battle because I wound up on the same platform as the AD, as opposed to my first play where it flew to an inaccessible area?

I think they were trying to make a hybrid DnD combat model, compatible with console controllers, I liked it, it seemed much more fluid.

I think the combat is KoA's strongest asset, but unfortunately its in a game that is very "easy", but it definately is the most fun combat I have ever had in a game.

Trying to finish Witcher 2 before darksiders 2 is released next week but I keep getting sidetracked by Lineage 2, which was my first MMO, now they have made it free to play with fast track levelling to get you into the higher tiers quickly for castle sieges and pvp.

Started it about 2/3 days ago and already have 4 characters (my name is Fiach and I am an alta-holic) :)

 :-D

Ok, finished 4 plays with human mage, rogue, warrior 2x, and got the endings I was shooting for. King Alistair, Queen Anora, King/Queen and King/PC.....still want to do Dwarf and Elf, but I've moved on to DA2 for now and completed 1 play so I'm going to bump that thread  :-D

I never played a warrior, but I seem to remember alot of the DLC was geared towards warriors which annoyed me.

I went through all the dlc with my first build (mage), and Golems was the worst for that class. I liked the warrior class, and went with different builds on each. One was two-handed tank and the other sword/shield defender....give it a try when you get the time  :)

I just dont like melee mate, thats why I dont bother, maybe a rogue sometimes, but I just cant get into sword charcacters really :)

Quote from: Fiach on August 31, 2012, 12:20:42 PM
I just dont like melee mate, thats why I dont bother, maybe a rogue sometimes, but I just cant get into sword charcacters really :)

While I have the most fun with my Mage/Sorcerer builds, on my current play as a Dwarf noble I didn't have much choice. In KOA I switched up quite a bit, but mostly went with the Arcane Warrior type build. I'm just a casual player so I don't get beat up to bad  :-D

I actually tried to mix mage and melee in KoA but it wasnt long til I went to a fateweaver and rearranged my melee points :)

 :angel:
I think I let the games dictate my play style. I know with the many, many hours I put into Fallout 3 & FNV I never went with a melee build. Same with Borderlands, haven't used the hulk.....yet  :)

I can relate. I haven't used Brick yet, either. And the same with FO, always the guns  :)

Always went ranged in FO myself, never used Brick either tbh.

Well, it's not like I don't keep a powerfist handy for those 'special' occasions  >:D I just don't put a lot of points into melee/unarmed :angel:

Played FONV at release, just picked up the Ultimate Edition for €20 (contains all DLC, even from suppliers like gamestop), so may give it a try this time around :)

I just can't help myself; I modded FO3 and FNV so heavily neither resemble the original game.  However, I really enjoyed the final product.  For instance, I added a radio station that played vintage radio advertisements, some from the earlier part of the 20th century.  It was great fun wandering the wasteland listening to those old commercials (some of which I remember hearing myself at the time)  :-()

 :-D

Quote from: PZ on September 16, 2012, 08:07:54 PM
I just can't help myself; I modded FO3 and FNV so heavily neither resemble the original game.  However, I really enjoyed the final product.  For instance, I added a radio station that played vintage radio advertisements, some from the earlier part of the 20th century.  It was great fun wandering the wasteland listening to those old commercials (some of which I remember hearing myself at the time)  :-()

I made a cd of the soundtrack, my kids love it! Y'know, stuff like Mr Sandman etc. :)

 :) The music sure is great in FO :-X

The mod author probably got their sound tracks from places like this http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/old_radio_commercials/ (http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/old_radio_commercials/)