Game Spotlight - The Dragon Age Series

[ivrognard]

@mathematics654  You can play DA2 by creating a new world, but you will miss quite a few references to DLC's and expansion. Plus, it's a lot more satisfying to have a world that you've shaped. I was quite sad when DA:I gave up on save importing in favor of the DA keep system. Also, there are quests in DA2 that will activate only if you have a save with certain world state. 

The Dragon Age universe doesn't share the same hero in all the games, like ME trilogy. For DA:O you have The Warden, for the Awakening expansion you can be either the Warden Commander (an Orlesian Grey Warden) or, if The Warden survived in DA:O, the original Warden. In DA2, you are Hawke, a refugee from Ferelden in search for a new life. In DA:I you are The Inquisitor. But DA:O universe recognizes your decisions and will react accordingly. In many respects, those reactions are better than what you see in ME series. And characters from DA:O will make an appearance in DA2 and DA:I and characters from DA2 will appear in DA:I. 

Check this and read it carefully. Should help you to finish the game.

[mathematics654]

@ivrognard apprently I could used the not finished save to start Dragon Age II, so it's still the world I created, I love the 2nd game already, much easier battle, I easier to keep track on persnality, like in Mass Effect and FIFA 17, there the game well you how the choise affect the presnality, codex objects much more obvious to find, and of cause better graphics.

I not in the archdemon part, I'm in the port entrence, and accourding to the wiki there are 3(!) more battles to get to the demon, so even if I can beat the demon, I can't get to it.

[ivrognard]

@mathematics654  you really need a crash course into classic RPG's

Would be happy to help you or pint you towards the right links

[mathematics654]

@ivrognardI know I need it, but I think the problem is that casual wasn't really casual, in my opinion, if a game got easy mode it should be easy, if I new to a game genre I probobly won't choose the hard mode, so the easy mode should be easy, and explain more about the game, I made a similar mistake in Dragon Age 2 and game a warrior 3 cunning points (I thought she was a Rogue) but I can't fix this, since I have to to battles and long cutseces again, and I don't really like replaying entier missions, what I don't understand, why Warriors got cunning points? why non Mages got Magic points? should I guess want points every class need? it's like giving a defender in FIFA options to improve scoring goals.

[ivrognard]

@mathematics654  the old RPG's had attributes and you had to learn what attributes are the best for certain classes. When you check the stats you can see where the attributes are best suited. 

Cunning is not a Rogue exclusive. Warriors can benefit from it, too. So it's not a huge misstep. Cunning allows for a better critical chance and damage, though the Warrior's main attributes are Strength and Constitution. Cunning also adds to defense and if you are playing as a tank (sword and shield, combined with defender and templar), you can get a real behemoth. Rogues can benefit from Strength and Constitution (especially the last one), though their main attributes are Dexterity and Cunning. A mage can use Constitution, despite its main attributes being Magic and Willpower. 

Magic can help a non-magic characters because it increases the resistance to magic attacks, while willpower increases stamina regeneration, allowing them to use the active skills more often. 

Check this to get an idea what are the benefits for the characters.

Old school RPG's always required a careful build of the character and of the party. They also involved a lot of micromanaging during fights and when leveling-up. DA2 is using an active pause. Which means that you can control the flow of the battle. You can pause the game, issue the orders (pick and attack multiple targets or focus on one, with the tank taunting any potential strugglers that might want to attack your rogues or mages). For me the DA games are quite easy on the lower levels. Hardcore or Insanity are where i feel that i have a challenge. But again, i have a ton of this type of RPG's behind me. 

Bottom line don't fret over those three points. You can find a couple of potions that will give you some extra attribute points or you can buy them. There are also respec potions at Black Emporium which will allow you to reset a character and remade it properly if you made some serious mistakes (3 points in cunning are not a huge mistake and can help a tank to stay alive more). To recover those ability points use those abillity potions and put the points into Strength and Constitution. You can find a lot of great builds over the net, something that should help you to have a good party and main character. 

As i've pointed, DA2 is the easiest of the series, DA:O being the hardest. DA:I is harder than DA2 because it lacks the healing spells and requires a careful micromanagement of the potions use, but other than that the game isn't truly hard (for me at least). 

RPG's are notorious for being unfriendly with the beginners (doesn't matter if they are modern ones or old school). They kind of assume that you have at least some basic experience with the genre. If you ever played any Diablo game, you might know how much stats and equipment counted in the build creation. If not, you will be overwhelmed when you will try it. If you find DA series hard, Diablo will be a nightmare. 

If you want to get into the genre, you will have to switch to certain patterns of thinking, to properly understand how things are working. And the beauty of this?! It's worth all the time you lose on understanding the genre and how each RPG is unique in its own way. RPG's is by far my favorite genre. It has action, but it encourages the player to think. The satisfaction given by RPG's is not something easily equaled by other genres. 

So, to quote Galaxy Quest's heroes: "Never give up! Never surrender!" 

[mathematics654]

@ivrognardthanks for the help I'm not that new with RPG since I'm huge Mass Effect fan, but Mass Effect feeling more like a shooter to me (but of cause I'm playing the easyest mode so...), so if I have to use the pause screen, why casual mode description is that I can battle mostly in real time? I guess that the reason I'm like Dragon Age 2 better than Origins, after I know what can benifit eash class, and the battles are much easyer (I can acttaly attack 4 ememys in one sword swing) so I will have better expirane with this game, and agian, I love the first one, but I made lots of mistakes and don't want to replay everything

EDIT: I just found ut that I can do "auto level up" which to the potnts just like the classes need, so I still feel bad about the 14 cunning warrior, but now she has 17 Strength, and she indeed use shield so it can help her, I will use the auto option now, oviously the game know better then me

[ivrognard]

@mathematics654  the beauty of a good/great RPG is the replayability. When the story starts to change because your decisions or how you answered in a dialogue.  Dragon Age series can present a lot of endings based on your choice of characters, decisions, companion loyalty and a few other factors.

Perhaps the most dramatic shifts can be seen in RPG's like Fallout 1/2 and New Vegas, Witcher series or Alpha Protocol. In terms of choices and consequences, those titles will offer a lot of replayability. Mostly because you won't see instantly the reactions of the NPC's and how your words and actions affected the gameplay. But at some point you will see those and you will know precisely when things went up or down for your character. The Dragon Age series are more predictible. You can see immediately if your actions and words affected the world. Which means that you can load a save (RPG's kind of encourages save spam and saving before dialogues or possible key events is a must, as it helps to avoid undesirable outcomes) and correct any mistake from your part. 

As, you've probably gathered, i love RPG's. Especially the good ones, the ones that are making me to play them over and over again.  Bioware's RPG's (old and new) are falling, mostly, in two categories: good or great. So you can imagine that i have replayed them a lot, though ME:A and DA:I i still have to finish them. ME:A is a more recent buy, while DA:I had to wait until i've got meself a new PC (happened in march, this year). Due to me being a completionist, i haven't finished those two, though ME: A is near completion now.

[mathematics654]

@ivrognard Do you think the Auto leveling in DA2 is good? if not, can you link me a good guide?

I haven't played much other RPGs but Nox, DA and ME since I'm only use Origin and EA games, so I like the 2 DA (and FIFA 17 story mode) because of the similarity to Mass Effect, my fav RPG

[ivrognard]

@mathematics654   Autoleveling is decent, but it's not that great. 

You can check a really in-depth guide at gamefaqs (a site owned by IGN/Gamespot). The recommended one is the Character Creation faq. It should help you to understand the attributes, the talents and the specializations. You have a few sample builds, nothing extraordinary, but they should hold up on normal play fine. On harder levels, a mixed talent tree and the right attributes are a must. DA2 is a game where overpecialization isn't what you should aim for. But combining the talent tree and pickking the right specializations for Hawke would create true offensive or defensive behemots. 

Also, some guides for DA: Origins and DA: Inquisition. Hope they will help you.

I had a rather nice CD/DVD collection of games, but when i've lost it in a house move, i switched to digital completely. I have an uPlay account, a GOG account, a Steam account and a Battle.net account. What i do not care to have is a Windows Store account. MS own store is a bloody mess, so i will stay away until they actually do something decent (not likely, but i can hope that they will clean their act, seeing how their competitor clients are in terms of functionality)

[mathematics654]

@ivrognard Thanks for the help, I'm playing in the easiest diffiulty, so I assume everything that work with normal will work for me, for now I ganna work with autoleveling, since I saw that at least with the skill points it's no making mistakes, I will check in the trees since I I have 2 warriors and I want them to have diffrent specilstions, one is my main charcture taht is dual sword and another one which is Sword and Shield, I might play as her a lot even that she isn't my main one, since I played Sword and Shield in Origins and maybe it's better to stik with what I know, and ofcause my Mage will be Spirit Healer, so I hek her healer tree before leveling