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Dragon Age: Origins |OT| Letting The Fade fade out of memory

clashfan

Member
dock said:
I'm considering getting this game, but I've never played a bioware game before. I found the dialogue in Diablo 2 and Torchlight to be boring (I only played a couple of hours of each), but I could cope with the conversations in Oblivion. Do you think I should give it a go?

Are there any tips for novice players?

The character interactions in DA are much better then any Bethesda or Diablo games. They actually can be really great. Get a console version if you are worried about difficulty level.
 

RDreamer

Member
Edgeward said:
Yes, both can be bought. SP is 14.99 and Dragon plate set is 10 bones.

The dragon armor is seriously 10 dollars? Damn that's pretty bad... Neither of them are really worth those prices at all.
 

Saerk

Member
Cornballer said:
Use the ballistas and the platforms w/ choke points. Remember that only rogues can fix the ballistas when they jam. Also, get some armor w/ spirit resistance or get some balm going because all the damage from the archdemon is spirit damage, iirc.

I picked up a helmet with like 75% spirit resistance. It was called corruption. I got it just prior to fighting the dragon. I gave Alistar and he tanked like a champ.
 

Peff

Member
RDreamer said:
The dragon armor is seriously 10 dollars? Damn that's pretty bad... Neither of them are really worth those prices at all.

Well if the prices were fair it wouldn't prevent people from buying it second hand :p
 

markatisu

Member
RDreamer said:
The dragon armor is seriously 10 dollars? Damn that's pretty bad... Neither of them are really worth those prices at all.

I don't know, I use the Dragon Armor in DAO and ME2 so its worth about $5 for each game
 

dock

Member
I bought this via Steam, and it's downloading now. I hadn't expected it to be 15GB though! D: I hope it downloads in time for me to play it today!

Wait, is the console version easier? D:
 

RDreamer

Member
dock said:
I bought this via Steam, and it's downloading now. I hadn't expected it to be 15GB though! D: I hope it downloads in time for me to play it today!

Wait, is the console version easier? D:

It's made a bit easier since it's a lot harder to control. You don't get the tactical isometric view in the console versions. Because of that it's a bit harder to aim things, and so they turned off friendly fire on the normal setting.
 

Effect

Member
dock said:
I bought this via Steam, and it's downloading now. I hadn't expected it to be 15GB though! D: I hope it downloads in time for me to play it today!

Wait, is the console version easier? D:

No. In fact it's a bit harder I feel due to the controls. It's a PC game at it's core. Runs well on the consoles but control really makes a game like this. I'm comparing the 360 version with the controls in Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 as DA's controls are no doubt very similar if not the same for the most part. I wish I had gone with my gut feeling and picked this up for the PC right from the start. My fault for not reading up more on the console controls ahead of time. Was also trying to cut down on PC gaming at the time (still am).
 
Just spent a couple of hours playing this morning. I've never played baldur's gate but I'm really enjoying the game. I just finished the initial
light the tower fire quest
. The main story isn't that great so far but I totally didn't expect
losing your initial party members...I figured the mage that accompanied you in the tower would die or leave since he didn't even have a name
. What's strange for me is that for some reason I can play this game in bite sized chunks, something that I've never been able to do with an RPG. Every single battle feels epic enough that I can quit and do something else if need be after the encounter. Long story short, I'm hooked.
 
You've seen nothing yet! Seriously, this game is huge. :O I just killed my first
high dragon yesterday. :O The armor is too good for my team at the moment. :lol
 

Mar

Member
koji said:
18151_1311971286779_1455545570_851826_6204975_n.jpg


ENCHANTMENT!

Oh my... The banana is the most disturbing part.

sweetwasabi said:
Also I think Im done with this game, I cant beat the final bosses. Fucking impossible. Also read that
Allistair
dies at the end, so fuck that. Seriously.

I was going to recommend fire resistance gear but based on all the comments below, it seems as though it's spirit damage. Weird. My tank had the uber fire resistance armour and to be honest I didn't have a problem with that fight. My rogue died about 3 times because she kept getting kicked in the face and one shotted, but everyone else survived the fight fine.

The fight will take a long time. The idea is to have it focused on your tank at all times. If it ever turns to face anyone else in your party pop a taunt. I don't know if taunt works on the final dude but it seemed to when I did it.

Keep all the squishies out of range and on the flanks and spread out. No one else should be getting hit when
the dragon is breathing on
someone else.

If I remember correctly, there are
two waves of dark spawn
during the fight.
The first you give all your focus and take them out as soon as possible. Ignore the archdemon. The second is random groups of dudes running up to you while you are fighting the archdemon. Leave your tank and one other damage dealer to continue to fight the archdemon, use everyone else to one shot the darkspawn. They are very weak. I was killing them with my healer in one hit with my staff.

Also, I don't think you can do this fight without a healer. Potions won't cut it.

I had good mana regen on my healer but I still needed to pop a number of mana potions to keep everyone alive with heals, buffs and a couple of revives. Morrigan didn't do much during this fight to be honest. She was my crowd control character with a backup heal so she just pretty much stood there and auto attacked with her staff more than anything else. Although her abilities were put to good use during
the first wave of darkspawn.

My tank (my main character) was so ridiculous by the end that even when
the archdemon would pick him up and chomp on him
I would lose no health at all. My guy would regen that health faster than it was taken away.

So in summary I think you just need a really good tank and a really good healer. The damage done by everyone can be small you just need to stay alive. Mana regen is a huge advantage in a long fight like this because otherwise you'll just run out of potions eventually.
 

Speevy

Banned
I just beat the game.

It's weird.

All throughout the game, I kept telling myself I would definitely beat this game 3 or 4 times like I did with KOTOR.

Now that it's over, I'm unsure I feel like going through it all again.

Maybe I say this because the game feels so much like KOTOR and I beat that game 6 times. It doesn't seem as easy to just blow through DAO in 12 hours, but I'll give it a try.

My story was (Male mage elf,
said yes to Morrigan's proposition, kept the queen in power

Does anyone have a youtube of this outcome, because my system froze right when it happened. I'm a little bummed about having all quests cut off after they told me my save exists prior to engaging in the final battle.

I'll possibly do the downloadable quests if I get really bored, but one thing I felt like DAO was missing that KOTOR had was a better sense of fun. Don't get me wrong. There are moments, like
rescuing your friends with Oghren and your mabari
that are downright hilarious, but the usual Bioware encyclopedia of voice-acted universe explanation seemed to overwhelm you. I must have collected virtually every codex I could have, and I never got around to reading more than a few of them.

There are also some bits which annoyed me, like the radial thing not responding when I told it to do something, or characters inexplicably standing right in front of certain doom when their tactics clearly dictated otherwise.

I also didn't like that the game seemed to punish you for playing it like a console game, so if you don't stop combat every 3 seconds some battles are too difficult. Some key enemies had far too much armor. I shouldn't be dealing no damage with my best-armor-sold-in-stores tank character on normal difficulty.

I enjoy Bioware games. They're time sinks which have you playing for 40-60 hours regardless of how accustomed you are to the formula of story or combat. The way the games provide so many voiced responses is mesmerizing, and still there's not another console game developer on the planet that does it this way.

So the conclusion to all of this yammering is that I quite enjoyed the game's adventure, but I could have used some more compelling side quests. I think I might be done with it, but then again, I might just complete it again.
 

Speevy

Banned
Kadey said:
Is it possible to go through this game without even leveling up anybody but your four main?


I don't think the game ever forces you to level characters, at least I was never forced to.

There are three entirely optional characters for whom paying no attention could have undesired consequences, though I've not tested this theory.

I only know of
Zevran
 

Rufus

Member
Speevy said:
I only know of
Zevran
Sten will question your leadership skills once you reach Haven. For him, even getting the treaties is a waste of time and a sign of incompetence. (Which I find wholly unbelievable and for me turns his character from a 'get-shit-done'-guy to an impatient fool, but whatever...) We were good buddies by then (he called me kadan), so we talked it out. I imagine he will force a more direct confrontation if you're not on his good side. I think I've read somewhere that he will leave if you beat him then, but I'm not sure, I can't find info on that in the wiki.
Nevermind that, he doesn't leave: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Approval
 

ajim

Member
This is seriously one of the best games I've played in a long, long time. 46 hours in and I've just completed the
Circle of Magi, Red Cliff Castle and chose a new King for the Dwarfs quests.
. I don't know how much more I've got left, but, the side quests keep me entertained, collecting books, and other important things important to the DA lore all distract me from diving right into the main quest every time.

Is it worth having someone with you who can open chests? Or can you get most items by completing quests/buying them? I find money really easy to come by and never have a problem with mainting a good amount of money all the time.
 
Money! How do you do it? I missed a backpack in Ostagar...At the moment I can carry 90 items max and find myself destroying stuff all the time. I guess I should start selling it. :D I have Leiana in my team. Awesome backstabber and chest-opener. ;) I don't want to miss her now.
Wynne
is my healer and mana-sucker on the battlefield and Morrigan is starting to be more and more helpful with powerful destructive spells. I wonder were you get the Arcane Warrior upgrade? Hopefully I didn't miss it. :O
Short question:
I did 3 main quests now (elves, Redcliffe and mages) and feel I'm coming close to completing the dwarf quest as well. Is there more to come? I haven't even been able to visit the alienage yet
and I don't want the game to end. :lol
 

Erico

Unconfirmed Member
I remember there's a quest in Dust Town where you can nab an easy 50 or so gold just for talking to 2 people. It's the one about smuggling lyrium. I think you need high persuasion, if I remember correctly.
 

ajim

Member
I found the Arcane Warrior upgrade in the
Werewolf temple
place. It's during the section when
fighting a lot of the skeleton warriors and you have to interact with a blood vile
.

Not difficult to miss.
 

Leatherface

Member
Just wondering if any of you guys can post ini settings to get the best graphical output without the texture pack add ons. Thanks! :)


P.S.- This is now my favorite single player RPG ever. Can't wait to dive into Mass Effect 2 and the add-on to Dragon Age! :D

<3 Bioware
 
I'm 30 hours on my third playthrough with a mage, and man this game is still awesome. Nightmare is really fun, almost every encounter is a fight for your life even with an arcane warrior.

But the moment I have been dreading is finally here;
I really really don't want to go through the Fade dungeon again, it was fun the first time but now it's just a dungeon crawl right after two previous dungeon crawls
 

Speevy

Banned
Hey guys, I was wondering about something. This is concerning the Stone Prisoner DLC that comes with the game (Xbox 360 version).


EA either gave me a bum code, or more likely, some idiot at the game store used the one off my "new" copy.

Does anyone have a spare code? It would be greatly appreciated.
 
About 10 hours in and the relationship stuff is starting to be a bother (not in a bad way). My appeasing of Morrigan has resulted in Alistar being pissed. I lost a crap load of brownie points when I allowed
the arl's wife to be sacrificed so that their son could be saved
. Was there another way of doing this without pissing off Alistar? I figured that going to the
circle of magi would've taken too long
.

Also...how exactly does the game balance your level with the encounters? The mobs aren't any easier to kill imo. The game sure likes to throw archers and caster on hills at you.
 
I had my longest session yet with 5 hours straight. My god, the Fade almost made me stab myself in the neck with a spoon, it was so bad. Somehow I'm still totally engaged in the game, can't wait to play tomorrow. Although the game is not a technical marvel, there are times when everything blends so well and creates such a great looking world.
 
Gully State said:
About 10 hours in and the relationship stuff is starting to be a bother (not in a bad way). My appeasing of Morrigan has resulted in Alistar being pissed. I lost a crap load of brownie points when I allowed
the arl's wife to be sacrificed so that their son could be saved
. Was there another way of doing this without pissing off Alistar? I figured that going to the
circle of magi would've taken too long
.

Also...how exactly does the game balance your level with the encounters? The mobs aren't any easier to kill imo. The game sure likes to throw archers and caster on hills at you.

Nah you can
go to the circle just fine. There's no time-limit on anything in the game really. Just some stuff that stops being possible once certain other quests are done.
 
Lion Heart said:
I had my longest session yet with 5 hours straight. My god, the Fade almost made me stab myself in the neck with a spoon, it was so bad. Somehow I'm still totally engaged in the game, can't wait to play tomorrow. Although the game is not a technical marvel, there are times when everything blends so well and creates such a great looking world.

Agreed. It definitely is uneven graphically.

HadesGigas said:
Nah you can
go to the circle just fine. There's no time-limit on anything in the game really. Just some stuff that stops being possible once certain other quests are done.

Good to know for the next time I suppose.
 

ajim

Member
Lion Heart said:
I had my longest session yet with 5 hours straight. My god, the Fade almost made me stab myself in the neck with a spoon, it was so bad. Somehow I'm still totally engaged in the game, can't wait to play tomorrow. Although the game is not a technical marvel, there are times when everything blends so well and creates such a great looking world.
Really? I absolutely love the Fade, especially later on
when you can turn into various forms to accomplish tasks. so cool.
.
 
Feck it!!!!!!!!!


Last battle (which lasts an absolute age!) and my laptop runs out of batteries 75% through the fight.... The archdemon has a ton of health. Fight is mostly boring. Ill beat it tonight and get back on to ME, then ME 2
 
I liked the fade. :lol I really think people are jumping on a hate bandwagon here... I thought it was a good chance to level up and get some upgrades. It wasn't that long either.

I think the worst part (not "bad" either but annoying!) of the game so far is the whole deep road quest. It just doesn't want to end.. o___o It has its moments, though.
(The fat meatmother)
 

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
My problem with the Fade is that it could have fit all of its content into a third of its length. Like, I get it, I have to switch modes to bypass obstacles. What's the benefit of forcing me to do that 15 times per level instead of 5?

Dragon Age has this problem frequently. Ok, I've had a tense and interesting encounter against an enemy group in the Deep Roads. Why make me fight incredibly similar encounters another 10 times? To swell the length of the game and minimize content creation costs.
 
Deep Roads seriously are much much worse than the fade in that regard. I think I'm stuck now forever. :( I can't defeat
branka
:O There are some problems:
1. I have to use the
stupid dwarf
for story reasons
2. As far as I know there's no turning back because I'm trapped
3. I don't have a single lyrium potion. :(
4. The battle is just unfair!
...When I thought I was close to winning (all golems destroyed) my mana was gone and I used all the lyriumthings on the battlefield. Finally she somehow duplicated herself and gave me the rest. :lol
I may switch to easy for the first time, hopefully that helps.
 

Edgeward

Member
You could take from the lyrium veins to regain mana if you're running low.

No one can resist force field, so if there is ever a a big mob and an elite enemy, freeze the elite with force field and work on everyone else. Or taunt with the tank, force field him and have a mage cast an AoE spell: tempest, inferno, etc.

Course there is casual, which is a super cake walk. Never had to use a single potion before I decided to scrap it and go on normal.
 

Speevy

Banned
disappeared said:


I'm just posting this for the forums, the code disappeared sent me was for the PS3 version of the game. I have the Xbox 360 version. Thanks anyway though.


Anyone have the Xbox 360 version? It would be greatly appreciated.
 

Speevy

Banned
Chairman Yang said:
My problem with the Fade is that it could have fit all of its content into a third of its length. Like, I get it, I have to switch modes to bypass obstacles. What's the benefit of forcing me to do that 15 times per level instead of 5?

Dragon Age has this problem frequently. Ok, I've had a tense and interesting encounter against an enemy group in the Deep Roads. Why make me fight incredibly similar encounters another 10 times? To swell the length of the game and minimize content creation costs.


That's one of the main reasons DAO is not as replayable as KOTOR. You can blaze through KOTOR on subsequent playthroughs but this game forces so many long dungeons on you.
 

Speevy

Banned
DieNgamers said:
Deep Roads seriously are much much worse than the fade in that regard. I think I'm stuck now forever. :( I can't defeat
branka
:O There are some problems:
1. I have to use the
stupid dwarf
for story reasons
2. As far as I know there's no turning back because I'm trapped
3. I don't have a single lyrium potion. :(
4. The battle is just unfair!
...When I thought I was close to winning (all golems destroyed) my mana was gone and I used all the lyriumthings on the battlefield. Finally she somehow duplicated herself and gave me the rest. :lol
I may switch to easy for the first time, hopefully that helps.


This problem has been discussed on other boards. Branka is LOADED down with armor and it's very difficult to damage her seriously. Any single character with lose to her outright if you let them fight her. You have to do some serious micromanagement to stand half a chance on normal or better. This is the first and only time in the game I turned the difficulty to casual. Also, I hadn't noticed that you were forced to choose Oghren. I thought he was optional like anyone else.
 
Speevy said:
That's one of the main reasons DAO is not as replayable as KOTOR. You can blaze through KOTOR on subsequent playthroughs but this game forces so many long dungeons on you.

Yeah, repetitive quests are sorta acceptable for side quests. Since at least I don't have to do those if I choose not to. But all the longest, most drawn out quests in DA were all main story quests that you can't really skip with a replay.
 

Rufus

Member
Speevy said:
I'm just posting this for the forums, the code disappeared sent me was for the PS3 version of the game. I have the Xbox 360 version. Thanks anyway though.


Anyone have the Xbox 360 version? It would be greatly appreciated.
Aren't the codes tied to the Bioware Account? I thought you'd be able to load them even on other versions of the game, but I could be wrong...
 

Speevy

Banned
Rufus said:
Aren't the codes tied to the Bioware Account? I thought you'd be able to load them even on other versions of the game, but I could be wrong...

Actually I wasn't even sent a code. If I hadn't bought the game so long ago, I'd go back to Gamestop and demand one.

The code I have is the product registration code, which I thought was the same thing.


I assumed the Xbox 360 version of the game came with the stone prisoner downloadable content since I purchased a new copy.
 

Speevy

Banned
Oh, and concerning difficulty:

Some fights are completely ruined by having the game on casual. If you plan on taking on
the high dragon,
turn it to normal. Otherwise that boss just sits there and lets you kill it. At least it did for me.
 
Speevy said:
Actually I wasn't even sent a code. If I hadn't bought the game so long ago, I'd go back to Gamestop and demand one.

The code I have is the product registration code, which I thought was the same thing.


I assumed the Xbox 360 version of the game came with the stone prisoner downloadable content since I purchased a new copy.

No, I think he was saying that the PS3 code someone gave you should work for the 360 version. For instance, I have ME2 & DA:O on the PC but I have the DLC for all versions of the games.
 

Speevy

Banned
gregor7777 said:
No, I think he was saying that the PS3 code someone gave you should work for the 360 version. For instance, I have ME2 & DA:O on the PC but I have the DLC for all versions of the games.



Xbox 360 codes are 25 digits.
 
Speevy said:
Xbox 360 codes are 25 digits.

Yeah, but again, does it matter? You just enter the code into Bioware's site, and it unlocks the PC, PS3 and 360 DLC for that code.

At least, that's how the PC codes worked.
 
DieNgamers said:
Deep Roads seriously are much much worse than the fade in that regard. I think I'm stuck now forever. :( I can't defeat
branka
:O There are some problems:
1. I have to use the
stupid dwarf
for story reasons
2. As far as I know there's no turning back because I'm trapped
3. I don't have a single lyrium potion. :(
4. The battle is just unfair!
...When I thought I was close to winning (all golems destroyed) my mana was gone and I used all the lyriumthings on the battlefield. Finally she somehow duplicated herself and gave me the rest. :lol
I may switch to easy for the first time, hopefully that helps.
I did that fight on hard with Oghren in his underpants as the main tank.

Had two mages though, so it was a pushover!
 

heringer

Member
Just finished (PS3 version). Good game, not great though.

It's very unpolished, it doesn't run very well, it doesn't look good. The art is somewhat generic, but I like the dark fantasy vibe and there are some neat places, like Orzammar.

I also don't like the fact that the looting in this game is very limited. You can loot a lot of things, but 99% of them are useless. By the very end of the game I was unlocking chests with iron rings, crap like that. I mean, what's the point? I never felt very satisfied with my equipment, and slim chances of getting a good loot kinda disencourages the exploration.

I also didn't like the ending I got or any other outcome.
The game just doesn't give you the best ending possible, at least for someone who likes to play as a nice guy. You can sacrifice yourself, which ultimately leads to an unsatisfying ending, or you can sleep with Morrigan and conceive a baby demon, which is clearly not a patch a Grey Warden would take (even though the baby itself wouldn't be born corrupted, it could be eventually tainted by the darkspawn and that would risk another Blight in the near future, and Morrigan's intentions are fishy to say the least), not to mention it's kinda cowardly. You can let Loghain or Alistair do the final sacrifice, but that's also not very satisfying. In the end, I just think it was as forced as Fallout's 3 ending.

Despite all that, I like the epic vibe a lot. The game gives you a lot of options, a lot of ways to behave, and that can significantly change the outcome, the resolution of the quests, dialogues and ending, which really increases the replay value. The combat reminded me of KOTOR, which is always great in my book. Also, the soundtrack is great and the voice acting is very well done.

Anyway, I liked a lot, but it could've been better.
 
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