Dragon Age II

[Rath Darkblade]

Maia, don't fear the Reaper.

Also, two other things:

Don't read the text below, and
read the text above.

*runs away to avoid being clobbered*

[DeadPoolX]

BioWare just released the 1.02 patch today and while it fixes some issues, it doesn't seem to have had much effect on a lot of them.

Some talent abilities have fixed, although I didn't notice any problems with them. Other fixes include some broken quests, but some of those still don't work quite right.

The quest "Who Needs Rescuing" has supposedly been fixed, but a lot of users are still reporting problems. I don't know about the others, though.

The Isabela/Sebastian Friendship Bug is fixed, but only in the sense that it'll prevent the bug from occurring. It won't fix any problems that've already affected you. For that you'll need to use the save game editor. Some instructions are in my previous post.

NONE of the romance bugs have been fixed. The reason, as far as everyone can tell, is that there was a bug involving the romances when importing a game from DA:O to DA:A. Because the romance flags didn't check properly in DA:A, all following games (including DLC, like WH) lacked the romance flags as well.

The only way to have the romance flags work correctly is to import a game from DA:O itself, which of course means DA2 won't correctly identify any decisions you made in DA:A. Considering that your DA:O romance interests play a VERY SMALL part in DA2, while Anders is a major story-related companion, I'd say the choosing DA:A over DA:O in this case is worth it. Opinions may differ, of course.

Honestly, I think this was yet another half-assed attempt at fixing the problems.

[AndreaDraco]

I agree. I'm angry.

[Tawmis]

Well at least they're patching it. That's something.

So they will probably patch slowly. But it's nice that they're at least attempting to address some issues.

I think part of the problem is - for those that use editors - the patches MAY not work BECAUSE the editor was used. So the editors may break whatever these patches are attempting.

Is this patch for both PC and X360? Because I'd be curious to see if X360 people are claiming that these things this patches addresses aren't fixed yet (since they have no means of editing their game).

[DeadPoolX]

The patch is for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The reason it was delayed was because Microsoft and Sony had to approve it.

As for using editors... that could be an issue. It depends what they changed -- reducing the cooldown on some spells probably wouldn't cause a problem, but any major changes could. Some mods might also conflict.

Oh and it's not true that 360 users can't edit their game. There's a program someone developed that will let you edit the game. How well it works (and what potential issues it might cause) is beyond me since I don't own a 360 and even if I did, I'd still buy most games on the PC.

None of this really matters to me now. I've beaten the game and I doubt I'll replay it; if I do, it won't be for a couple years or so. The story is just too fresh in my mind.

[Tawmis]

I've beaten the game and I doubt I'll replay it; if I do, it won't be for a couple years or so. The story is just too fresh in my mind.

I played a little more last night with the Rogue (mostly because the wife bought Sims: Medieval for me - but she's been enjoying it as she was a major SIMS fan, so it's cool to see her gaming and enjoying it again - and since my PC is the only one that handle modern games, that means not doing anything with my PC - and thus turned to my X360). But could only stand playing it for about an hour before I decided to read instead.

Second play through is definitely much more difficult for me to play than it was with Origins...

[AndreaDraco]

Second play through is definitely much more difficult for me to play than it was with Origins...

Same here. And since they didn't bother fixing the issues that mattered the most to me - like the import bugs - I doubt I'll finish my second playthrough any time soon.

PS: What are you reading? Anything good?

[Tawmis]

PS: What are you reading? Anything good?

To keep this on topic, I answered over at the Break the Spine thread.

[AndreaDraco]

PS: What are you reading? Anything good?

To keep this on topic, I answered over at the Break the Spine thread.

I knew you would have done that!

See, I keep derailing the thread...

*realizes he's a moderator*

Ahem, keep it on topic folks!

[Tawmis]

I've listened to music during games, but only if I can play them in windowed mode (so I can switch between the game and WinAMP easily) and they lack character interaction.

I couldn't imagine listening to music during a game like DA2, where dialogue and character interaction are vital.

Didn't want to veer the Portal 2 thread off topic so I copied and pasted this portion here for Quoting...

For DA2, on my second play through with the Rogue, I am pretty much picking all the arsehole responses... but have found myself listening to music, unless it's a cut scene I know is going to have some different dialogue (having played the first time already)... but I have found myself listening to some music when playing DA2 a second time... just because a lot of the dialogue is indeed the same, and I am pressing "X" just to skip it (again, unless I know my arse response is going to generate new dialogue I haven't heard).

[Maiandra]

I finally finished DA2. It actually turned out to be a good thing that I didn't rush through it and redid a few things. By the time I was ready for Act 3, the second patch was out and it fixed a couple issues.

I haven't ready through all the spoilers previous to this yet because I wanted to get this all out while it was still fresh in my head. I will go back and read through them soon.

I've always been the type of person that dislikes it when people feel the need to put each other into convenient groups and treat everyone of that arbitrary group the same way. People are individuals and as far as I (and Hawke) is concerned, the mages were just as much citizens of Kirkwall as everyone else. Unless they actually did something, they didn't deserve to be treated the way they were , as some kind of fear-induced proactive measure against something they might do.

I would have preferred a less extreme solution to the issue in Kirkwall and I would have been happy to support Thrask in deposing Meredith. I think if the circle and templars were on equal footing, that would be the best situation for all. However, the game seems to force several extreme decisions on the player, which I didn't like, so I ended up siding with the mages and having to fight against the templars.

Short of every single mage in the city doing something really extreme that harmed the common people of the city, I don't think I would have chosen differently. The templars had their chance. Orsino tried for six years (or more) to reason with them and they just kept getting more harsh and paranoid. He was reasonable for as long as could be expected.

Despite what Anders did (and I was angry about it initially, if only for the regular townspeople that were killed), I sided with the mages because, as Orsino said, they weren't responsible for what he did. That's pretty much the crux of it for me. All mages shouldn't be help responsible for what a few extremists do. My goal was to protect the mages who hadn't harmed anyone. I was tired of Meredith blaming all the circle mages for things they might do.

At first I was angry (but not entirely surprised) at Anders blowing up the Chantry, because I thought there would have been a less violent solution and that he was jumping the gun. However, the more I thought about the time frame in which the game takes place, the more I saw his side of it. Six years had gone by in the city with nothing being done, no resolution in sight, and things actively getting worse for mages and even regular people. People had tried to reason with the Templars and Meredith, expressed their unhappiness and outrage, and been firmly squashed. She wasn't going to change her mind. I don't agree with his choice of target (at least not during the day when there were townspeople in it), but I can see why he felt he had to do it.

I was really disappointed that Orsino turned to blood magic at the end, but I wasn't entirely surprised. It was basically a big "f*ck you" to the Templars, since they were killing him for the fact that he might resort to blood magic anyway. I had really respected him, since the moment I first met him (it was pretty gutsy the way he went out there and attacked the Qunari by himself as a distraction). He had been the voice of reason, when he had been provoked so far. I wish he hadn't resorted to doing that at the end, because it just aided the Templar's cause by adding one more blood mage to the pile.

I also don't see the point in bringing the relic into the story at all. Really, I don't think Meredith needed the relic to make her crazy. It seemed too biased of a way to create the conflict. It's not like a person can't be power-hungry and paranoid without an evil relic influencing them.

I honestly didn't expect the game to end the way it did. I underestimated the sheer number of templars and I was disappointed that we couldn't push them out of the city and help the city rebuild. At that point in the game, the Templars had way too much power and had hurt mages and non-mages, so I thought they deserved to go. Since the free-mages in Ferelden seemed to successfully self-regulate, I didn't see why the mages in Kirkwall shouldn't be given the same chance.

It was kind of sad that the companions separated and were scattered. I felt especially bad for Aveline at the end, since she had built up so much in Kirkwall and would have had to flee with the rest of us. I figured Hawke being a fugitive with Anders wasn't really any different than how her life was before she arrived in Kirkwall and that maybe they could do some (less violent) good elsewhere.

[AndreaDraco]

I quote (almost) every word

[Tawmis]

I also don't see the point in bringing the relic into the story at all. Really, I don't think Meredith needed the relic to make her crazy. It seemed too biased of a way to create the conflict. It's not like a person can't be power-hungry and paranoid without an evil relic influencing them.

To me this was done, because either side you pick - you get screwed. If you side with the mages, the bastard turns to Blood Magic despite his endless claims. So it's a middle finger to you as a player for siding with the mages. If you side with the templars, because you think they're right, it's a big middle finger to you, because Meredith is influenced by the relic. This makes it so that no matter what side you pick, you are pretty much screwed, and there's is no right or wrong, at that point. If Meredith didn't have the relic and you were fighting her, it'd make sense to side with the mages, because now it's just HER who is this way. Introduce the relic, and now it's not just her. Also, the relic was needed to be used because of all the things she does in the final fight. As a templar she couldn't have animated those statues.

[Maiandra]

I also don't see the point in bringing the relic into the story at all. Really, I don't think Meredith needed the relic to make her crazy. It seemed too biased of a way to create the conflict. It's not like a person can't be power-hungry and paranoid without an evil relic influencing them.

To me this was done, because either side you pick - you get screwed.

I didn't regret my choice after Orsino turned to blood magic. He knew he was going to die no matter what he did, so in some ways I can understand, even if I didn't agree. I was disappointed in him, but I didn't shake my finger and think "now I know all mages are rotten! Why did I decide to help them!?"

I still thought what the Templars was doing was wrong and, if there was even one mage left in the circle who hadn't resorted to blood magic, then it was them I was defending. Plus, myself and my allies, of course. At the time I made my decision, he hadn't done that and the reason I chose that side was because I thought it was unjust to blame all mages for the actions of one. I still feel that way now, regardless of what any single mage did.

That's why it always pissed me off when people brought up my mother as though that was going to convince me that all mages were bad. Quentin could have just been a non-magical serial killer instead and it wouldn't have made it any better. In most cases, magic is actually irrelevant to the real issue at hand.

Also, the relic was needed to be used because of all the things she does in the final fight. As a templar she couldn't have animated those statues.

That much is true! She wouldn't have been quite as impressive without it.

[Tawmis]

Dragon Age 2 DLC goes Live, delayed (obviously) on PSN

BioWare's magicked three Dragon Age 2 class-specific item packs onto Xbox Live, priced at 240 MSP apiece or 400 MSP for the whole caboodle. PSN users will get the same treats once Sony's service emerges from its pit of infamy, priced at $3 each or $4.99 all-in.

There's no precise details on what the packs contain, save the following blurbs:

Mage: The story of the Hawke family began with the forbidden love of a fugitive mage hiding from the chantry, and the noblewoman who abandoned her life of power and privilege to flee across Thedas with the man she loved.

These mementos of Malcolm and Leandra Hawke's adventures have now passed to their children. Take up the family legacy, and write your own chapter of the Hawke family tale. This item pack includes relics and mementos of untold power for use by your mage and mage followers.

Rogue: Collected here are the storied items of the greatest scoundrels the Dragon Age has ever known. Dashing liars and murderous shadows - the best and worst that rogues offer.

Add to the legacy, or just enjoy the fact that as good as they were, you have their stuff. This item pack includes new armour, weapons, and accessories for use by your rogue and rogue followers.

Warrior: The original owner of this priceless collection was an Orlesian chevalier who was stabbed in the heart thirteen times. His prized possessions were taken from him at the time of his death, and since then, anyone who has claimed a piece of his stolen property has met a gruesome and untimely end.

Each piece of this collection would make a princely gift for a warrior in your company. But would you tempt fate, and risk the wrath of a man murdered in cold blood? This item pack includes a collection of arms, armour and accessories for your warriors and warrior followers.

Each suite of weapons, armour and accessories can be equipped to either Hawke or your companions.

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Produ ... 2b85347707