Dragon Age II - Gen. Discussion and Info - Mark of the Assassin DLC 10/11 800 pts.

[quote name='adriley313']Quick question: Is the Bioware Signature Edition going to look any different from the regular edition or will it just have some added codes.

Was hoping this would have a CE like Fable 3 with some cool swag. Guess not.[/QUOTE]

Artwork is different. (mainly coloring) beyond that I don't think so.
 
[quote name='adriley313']i rarely buy CE and when i do want one they dont make one[/QUOTE]
This. I have terrible luck with CEs. The only games I really wish I had steelbooks for are either too rare/expensive to justify (Tales of Vesperia, ME2) or never get steelbooks at all (Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Age II). Meanwhile every other game that I'm not interested in gets awesome CEs that are cheap and easy to find forever. :bomb:
 
[quote name='adriley313']but i did pre-order the CE guide
we all saw what happen to the origins one[/QUOTE]

It was still on the shelf at Best Buy 6 months later? Where I got it.
 
[quote name='Hell Monkey']It was still on the shelf at Best Buy 6 months later? Where I got it.[/QUOTE]

Consider yourself lucky man. That thing goes for $60 opened and $100 sealed still. I saw it around Christmas time at Best Buy in 2009 but not after that.
 
Goddamn that video of the demo really makes me pumped about the game! Combat looks super fun!

I can't wait for the demo so I can decide on Warrior or Mage!
 
1st playthrough DA:O was a warrior (I generally roll a paladin or as close as possible in RPGs)
2nd playthrough was mage... and nuking the living shit out of everything made it so I can't go back :D
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']New (stupid) Dragon Age II preview at Kotaku

If I never again see the phrase "dumbed down" in print it will be too soon.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I hate that phrase. And agree with the first comment. Mass Effect 2 wasn't dumbed down. It just got rid of the crap that no one but hardcore RPG nerds enjoys--managing inventory, micro managing a gazillion stats (while still leaving a lot of options in building your character's abilities) etc.

I'm leaning toward just skipping DA2 as I'm struggling to get motivated to finish DA ultimate. I like the story and questing, but don't like the combat, complicated stats management and hassling with inventory.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I'm leaning toward just skipping DA2 as I'm struggling to get motivated to finish DA ultimate. I like the story and questing, but don't like the combat, complicated stats management and hassling with inventory.[/QUOTE]


This. 100%. I don't know how many times I've booted up Awakening and kinda, sorta was into it, but didn't go back. I threw in the towel. I may wrap up Witch Hunt, but I'm not going to force myself to play through Awakening.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah I hate that phrase. And agree with the first comment. Mass Effect 2 wasn't dumbed down. It just got rid of the crap that no one but hardcore RPG nerds enjoys--managing inventory, micro managing a gazillion stats (while still leaving a lot of options in building your character's abilities) etc.

I'm leaning toward just skipping DA2 as I'm struggling to get motivated to finish DA ultimate. I like the story and questing, but don't like the combat, complicated stats management and hassling with inventory.[/QUOTE]
"Complicated" stats management. :rofl:
 
[quote name='adriley313']i didnt find it complicated[/QUOTE]

That's probably because it wasn't nor particularly time consuming either but to each their own. I've always found it interesting though how enjoying specific elements of a game would garner the "nerd" label more so than simply engaging in "nerd" related hobbies in general (especially from fellow gamers). Since gaming is widely accepted now we've got to separate the cool ones from the lame ones I suppose.

Moving right along... a complete list of the class talents available from the convention demo just surfaced. They weren't kidding about buffing up Warrior and Rogue to Mage status. My only current concern is the change to the Elemental Weapon mage sustainable. Being forced to equipped certain items for certain effects sounds like a pain in the ass. Hopefully I'll only have to downgrade for specific battles because holding onto potentially obsolete weaponry when I could sell it isn't my idea of fun.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']"Complicated" stats management. :rofl:[/QUOTE]

I mean it's not rocket science or anything. But I get annoyed having so many ability categories, weapons specialties, spells etc. to focus on choosing between (and reading up and figuring out what the hell the are etc.). Just not fun at all to me.

I want to be playing a game and doing something that involves action 99% of the time. Not spending time rooting around in menus leveling my characters, map out my squad's tactics, hassling with inventory being full etc. etc.

Just not my cup of tea. As I've said gazillion times on CAG, I play games to relax and I prefer games that require as little thought as possible. Mass Effect 2 did a good job of being an RPG with a great story that didn't make you spend much time screwing around in menus while still having a good bit of flexibility in how to level your characters.

Dragon Age is just boring me and I'm really struggling to get back to it lately--I'm near the end of the main quest and haven't touched in in nearly a month. I may fire it up later tonight and give it another go. I really want to like it since I like Mass Effect so much and actually prefer fantasy settings to Sci Fi ones. But I'm 30 some hours in (started in November) and it just hasn't sucked me in like the ME games or Oblivion did.

I like the story and questing etc. the rest just annoys me though. The leveling I pretty much ignore since I just popped it down to normal. I'm mostly not bothering with the inventory as well by just not picking up most loot. So that's helped some. But I still think the combat system sucks (prefer completely real time, action based combat) so I still get bored/annoyed while playing.
 
its not complicated for me, its more like you have 1 point to spend and have 20 different skills to choose from and they all seem, useless,wrong,pointless,notgood,LeadingToGoodOne


and you have to deal with spells that you/teammate almost will never use
 
The combat is a chore as it is in all these types of games because it relies heavily on dice rolls. That's the biggest reason why all these old western rpgs are so boring to me, since I can clearly see my guy hitting the enemy with his sword, yet the dice roll says I missed. It's not skill based like Borderlands or Mass Effect 2.

DA2 looks like it may be fixed, or at least better in that regard. They keep talking about how a button press actually results in something happening, and none of that auto attack dice roll BS. I don't know if that's true, but the key is if you see a ton of PC fanboys whining about a game being "dumbed" down (like they are with this), then chances are very high that it is a much better game.
 
[quote name='timesplitt']its not complicated for me, its more like you have 1 point to spend and have 20 different skills to choose from and they all seem, useless,wrong,pointless,notgood,LeadingToGoodOne


and you have to deal with spells that you/teammate almost will never use[/QUOTE]

Agreed. It's not complicated per se, it's just a chore to have to read up on all those options and find out which may be useful, how to build the best character for whatever class you are etc. I just don't find that stuff fun.

[quote name='tmacairjordan87']The combat is a chore as it is in all these types of games because it relies heavily on dice rolls. That's the biggest reason why all these old western rpgs are so boring to me, since I can clearly see my guy hitting the enemy with his sword, yet the dice roll says I missed. It's not skill based like Borderlands or Mass Effect 2.

DA2 looks like it may be fixed, or at least better in that regard. They keep talking about how a button press actually results in something happening, and none of that auto attack dice roll BS. I don't know if that's true, but the key is if you see a ton of PC fanboys whining about a game being "dumbed" down (like they are with this), then chances are very high that it is a much better game.[/QUOTE]

Agree 100%. That's what I mean by true real time, action combat. Press a button, get an attack. No dice rolls. No giving commands and waiting for something to happen (it's ok if spells etc. have to recharge though). I never liked turned-based RPGs and preferred action-adventure games like Zelda. But I like the stories in RPGs so it's a catch 22 for me. And only a few games like Mass Effect, and to a lesser extent, Oblivion and Fallout 3 did I like the combat ok rather than slogging through just for the questing, exploration and story.

From what I've read about DA2 they didn't change much other than making the basic attack a push button, swing weapon attack. Think it may still miss based on dice rolls, and all other attacks are still picking the command from your short cut keys or radial menu (which is ok as Mass Effect is the same on that, just has better real time main attacks).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
From what I've been able to gather, combat in this game is going to be pretty much exactly the same as in Origins, only with tweaks to speed and animations to make it look more dynamic and fluid.
 
Exactly. It just sounds like cosmetic changes, so those of us that don't like the combat in DA probably aren't going to like it in the sequel either. Which is to be expected. Plenty of people love the game, no need for them to change it. Plenty of other WRPGs out, or coming out soon, that are more to my liking.

Anyway, finally finished the main game in DA last night. Will play the stand alone DLC episodes and then see if I have the interest left to tackle Awakening. DA2 I'll most likely skip, or at the very least wait for the ultimate edition down the road.

Have (hopefully) one more ME2 DLC, ME3 this fall, Fallout New Vegas to get around to, and the Oblivion sequel to get my WRPG fix for the next year or two.
 
i liked the first one fine
played it on my ps3 and then got the ultimate for 360
looks mad fun and glad i got bioware sig edition
 
I am super pumped about Tuesday! I'm going to try and get as many people as I can to at least download it, even the people I know who would not like it :cool:
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']From what I've been able to gather, combat in this game is going to be pretty much exactly the same as in Origins, only with tweaks to speed and animations to make it look more dynamic and fluid.[/QUOTE]

Actually, I've been reading that you can play classes in real time a bit more, pressing buttons for each attack. I know the PC version is largely the same though.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's both, and it's customizable in options. That demo needs to come so it'll answer these questions!
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']CE guide has dropped to $21.24 on Amazon; my order auto updated with the new price.[/QUOTE]

Awesome! I ordered mine a few weeks ago. I rarely buy guides, and when I do its collector's editions. Mmm, so stoked for this!

I just started a new character on DA:O the other day. Doing another runthrough before March 8th. :)
 
Can't wait to check this demo out. Either way I'll be picking it up next month and look forward to it. Just wish I had time to put another play through in of Dragon Age Origins.
 
Well this f*cking sucks! I pre-ordered the Dragon Age 2 Signature Edition before that deadline. Now its telling me there are no more orders left. DAMN!

Guess I'll pick up that crazy deal at Kmart.
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']CE guide has dropped to $21.24 on Amazon; my order auto updated with the new price.[/QUOTE]

Now is those bastards could do release day shipping

Right now it's do I pay $35 for having it same day as game or do I pay $21 and have to wait until the 10th?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i thought bout express but i know ill be playing pokemon so i can wait a day or too

why cant they have released a CE game for this
oh well sig and CE guide for me
 
My reason for not having completed DA:O yet is that I am always reluctant to start playing since I find it a time sink. I feel the need to read every codex entry, explore every dialogue option and I over-think every upgrade decision.

[quote name='Ryuukishi']From what I've been able to gather, combat in this game is going to be pretty much exactly the same as in Origins, only with tweaks to speed and animations to make it look more dynamic and fluid.[/QUOTE]

From what I played of the demo at PAX the combat was much faster and smoother in DA2 vs Origins (I played the Rogue character). Although, I can't say I enjoyed the more action-ey change to the combat.
 
Interested in see how the faster combat and "force" work together.

Most times in Orgins no matter how hard your Warrior swung his Great Sword, everyone was either dead or dying by the time he waddled over there thanks to the Mages and Rouges.
 
I still wish they'd let you zoom out like on PC. My first playthrough was on PC, and the old school Baldur's Gate feel of strategy to combat was so much better. Stupid PC could barely handle it though, so 360 got the second playthrough (and DA2)
 
I messed up my first playthrough of DA: Origins so now I'm starting my 2nd one, planning on going through all the decisions so I can import them in DA 2. At the rate I'm going however I might not start DA 2 until a couple months from now and I have the Sig Edition preordered. LOL what am I gonna do?
 
[quote name='JohnBoy1280']I messed up my first playthrough of DA: Origins so now I'm starting my 2nd one, planning on going through all the decisions so I can import them in DA 2. At the rate I'm going however I might not start DA 2 until a couple months from now and I have the Sig Edition preordered. LOL what am I gonna do?[/QUOTE]

How did you mess up your initial play-through? Made a role play decision you regret? :whistle2:s
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']How did you mess up your initial play-through? Made a role play decision you regret? :whistle2:s[/QUOTE]
Ah I was quite new to RPG's in general when I got DA: Origins and I basically made a warrior build that I wasn't to proud of. A warrior/archer UGH what was I thinking, plus on top of that I made a crucial error while completing the Wardens Peak questline and ended up leaving most of dlc equipment there and then leaving which I didn't know would make all the items disappear when I came back. So its stuff like that and other little things that made me abandon the play through and start working on a new one.

I'm still kicking myself over that Warden's Peak mistake. I had absolutely no clue that you couldn't re-enter the fort after you left the area.:bomb:
 
Ah... fair enough. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself though because almost everyone made that mistake the first time. It's not like the game hinted you to it... at ALL. Hell the ONLY way you could get arguably the best set of items was by killing the demon who wore them in the first place. Not to mention a Warrior Archer is actually an extremely viable class type in Origins. Slightly more advanced for your first play-through sure but strong and fun. Tons of utility with access to great armor and solid dps. It would have worked out better than you thought if you focused on maxing out dex along with the strength requirements for armor.

The Rogue class is obviously better suited to Archery (more options) but when it comes to survival with minimal effort and a larger stamina pool to spam talents from Warrior certainly holds its own.
 
Major Nelson has an interview with Mike Laidlaw on his most recent podcast. The interview is only 8 minutes long so I doubt it's anything earth shattering.
 
[quote name='FrankySox']Anyone know exactly what the demo will include or how much playtime it will provide...I wish tomorrow was March 8th.[/QUOTE]

The demo is estimated at 45 minutes to 1 hour and we'll be playing through a later normal game mission that will end with the introduction of Isabela. The character creator will not be present to my knowledge but both male and female Hawke along with all three class types will be available. Since it is completely different from the earlier convention builds we should be playing the final version of the normal game.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']The demo is estimated at 45 minutes to 1 hour and we'll be playing through a later normal game mission that will end with the introduction of Isabela. The character creator will not be present to my knowledge but both male and female Hawke along with all three class types will be available. Since it is completely different from the earlier convention builds we should be playing the final version of the normal game.[/QUOTE]

Awesome can't wait. Too bad I won't be up late tonight to download it when it comes out.
 
I can't afford to wait either myself. I know for consoles it's somewhere between 12 - 2 am for PST which should translate to 3 - 5 am for EST. Ugh...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top