yes, its awful. the whole purpose is to once again try and dangle some shiny trinkets in front of you while you slowly become a biodrone.


The bethesda devs have kind of touched on that in a recent interviews for Skyrim. They've basically said that with the large interest the TES fan base has in tamriel lore, they are having to constantly check things on UESP.net to make sure the lore matches up or come up with a good in-game reason why its different in order to keep the fans happy. Like the Throat of the World in Skyrim is suppose to have 7,000 steps to the top. They know a lot of people are going to take the time to count all of them, so they gotta make sure it does (Todd Howard said he'd count them himself if he had too) or they have to put in a good excuse. For example a flood or avalanche covering up a good portion of the lower area, or actually having two paths up the mountain would make sense to me why it i can't count all 7,000 of them myself.

While I'm sure Bioware understands they've got fans that are like that about the lore and story in dragon age, but EA doesn't care. Its really a shame.

I think the biggest issue i'll have with DA2 that probably won't ever be addressed is the rather pointless and padded filler stuff to bulk up the game. In my many playthroughs of ME2 (and a little bit in ME1), there are moments when i sit there thinking, "they could have added in so much more content into this game if they didn't have to put all these audio files of shepard and femshep in the game." I get the same feeling when playing DA2, but even more so when I'm looking at the same dungeon for the 15th time in any particular act of the story, or finding a paragon's toe for some random guy who is only there so i can be 50 silvers richer. But no, heaven forbid they make hawke into a silent protagonist like bioware has had in so many of their previous games.

Just finished DA2, took me about 38 hours and I have to say that overall, I thought it was excellent.

There are some areas where it is worse than Origins, and some areas where it is better. And there are certain aspects of the game, like the re-using of locations, that definitely deserve criticism, but I do feel that a lot of people (not necessarily here) are focusing far too much on the negatives of the game while not giving it credit for the things it does well. I think there's also a lot of people that decided they didn't like this game before it even came out.

I was probably fairly fortunate in that I didn't come across any serious bugs, there were a couple, but nothing game-breaking at all. I also stayed away from all pre-release hype and speculation, much like I did with Origins.

Basically I can understand why some people are angry, but in my opinion the amount of criticism the game is getting is quite unfair. Still, regardless of what anyone else thought of it, I really liked it and am looking forward to the next installment.

Lore alterations are explained, gameplay differences aside - only rogues dual-wielding now is an aspect of gameplay, nothing more, and not referred to at all in the game. I'd take more of an issue with the open blood magic Hawke might show. That is the one I referred to as being a big problem. Alas, with short development time comes an increased feeling on the recipient's side that the creators might have been talking through Chinese whispers a little too often.

Also, making the character mute would a.) hinder the cinematic aspect they were going for - and included grandly, considering the development time - and b.), would not change the slightest thing regarding the time schedule of level designers. Those are completely different departments. For small devs with maybe ten or so people it would be an issue, but not for the several dozen people in the Dragon Age team.

Mentioning Beth as a good example for complete integrity of thei lore is a bit of a stretch. But maybe Bioware could include a character called "To'dd the Dishonest" in the next game, who spouts nonsense and ridicules those opposed to change, maybe that helps their reputation.

I apologise for seeming nasty. The pole is down today.

My thoughts exactly. It's not nearly as much of a puppy eating monstorsity as some people would have you believe :hehe:



It is unfortunate, and was also an issue in Origins. Even more so since you could make Wynne a blood mage :lmao: It would be nice that taking the blood mage specialization would alter some dialogue with Orsino and Meredith, maybe also companions. Then again before that i'd rather have them take (more of an) issue of being an apostate or having one as a sibling.

Since your sibling is not an issue anymore - in whatever way - once the situtation really starts to get out of hand, it's kind of negligible. Hawke, on the other hand... Well, that's where I am conflicted. It's not bad if you consider that it's actually just for player convenience and gameplay reasons that you get wizarding robes, mage staves and such. Hawke seems to really well hide the fact that the one to become Champion is a mage. Can't make my mind up about that.

Not really, Hawke is casting spells in front of city guard pretty much straigth after getting off the boat. At the gallows. That is the Templar's base.

I'm guessing they didn't have time to implement it properly, and rather than half-ass it they just ignored it.

Oh yes it's explained, but not well. The kind of stuff that makes "Talos made Cyrodiil into Middle Earth" look ingenious.
Qunari are supposed to be wearing shiny steel armor but in DA 2 are walking around bare chested. Mike Laidlaw's explanation?

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/5791207/2 :facepalm:
Not to mention if these non-horned qunari are so socially special, why is it that I encounter a ton of them doing lowly mercenary work for dwarves and Fereldeners.

I got my first hatedom message from a Bioware Devoted fan from an email

Yep, liking DA2 more than DAO is heresy in the fanbase

I'm not regretting trading in DA2. I can deal with Bugs in the game as long as they don't affect the game too much, the bugs in Origins weren't that bad before the patch. I think the worst bug was the one where you could get screwed out of the rest of the main quest in the Dwarven Quest section but I usually avoided that by choosing a side. DA2's bugs on the other hand are more gameplay focused which makes it even worse. The Isabella bug is just a complete joke I mean you could avoid that bug by not using Isabella but she does have some of the best dialogue in the game and is a pretty good duel wield rogue. It's also even worse with Sebastain because you have to pay to get him so that right there is rip off. This game should've been delayed 3 to 6 months but because Mass Effect 3 is coming out at the end of the year, EA didn't want to have two games compete against each other at the same time. :brokencomputer: :brokencomputer: :brokencomputer: :brokencomputer: :brokencomputer:

I don't regret getting it originally because I played it and I have a possible save file for DA 3 but I'm very disappointed in Bioware and most defintely EA. DA 2 could've been a great game that expanded the DA universe but it took 2 steps backwards in my opinion. One and a Half years to two years isn't enough time to make an RPG you need Two and a Half year minimum at least for an RPG.

Maybe Future DLC can change my mind but I doubt it. Bioware's past record on DLC's isn't good, Awakening was bad before the Patch and don't even get me started on Witch Hunt. DA 3 will have to take a new direction and I'm not optimistic on it being good.

Well y'know.. if Bioware would do what people wish now, there would still be things people find to complain about. It'll always be that way.

No they would just remove things.
"what caves repetative OK gone, deleted. Any more complaints ?" If your lucky they could sell it back to you with dlc, like firewalker in ME2, or clothes for companions in ME2, or more guns in 2...
Or a proper ending to the game, like 2. But DA2 seems to be getting that anyway.

People would complain but they would b less justified, also people didnt complain about lots of things removed in Origins, even ME players hated the wheel.

I didn't mind the wheel but I hated the fact that the character was voiced because that adds more to the memory and limits what you can do with the game. It basically makes the game shorter because you waste more space for dialogue where Written Text would fill that need and then some but I guess Emotional appeal won out in the end.

It depends, I hated the voice (too posh imo) so dont care about emotions of my character becuase I cant take them seriously or just cantlike them becuase of the voice.

So being lucky consists of selling you what should be in the game.... Looks like the DLC master plan has come to fruition, people asking to be sold things

And all your complaints are valid, I felt the same way but I stuck with it and I liked what happened later on. I have a very easy time getting involved in games, tv, movies whatever. I can easily put myself in someone elses shoes and I think that's a big factor in how much I'm enjoying this game, in short, I know it has flaws and I accept that. I still enjoy the game for what it is.

I'm playing the game a second time now with an imported (generated rather) save and I'm enjoying the game even more. I romanced Isabela this time...then Merill, isabela took that rather well actually so everytihng worked out Still a mage, relatively unpredictable morals wise, kind to his friends, cruel to his enemies and overall just looking out for himself and the people he cares about first and foremost. I don't know how I'll handle the ending yet though, i've seen it once before and that choice is much harder than i thought it would be, despite me being a mage myself, both sides have valid points and both sides have their share of crazies, maybe I'll just hop on a boat with Merill, Varric and Isabela and let Kirkwall sort itself out


Let them hate, I'll just keep enjoying the game.

So Ive started a elven mage, a human sword and shield warrior and a dwarven archer and I still cant decide who to play as.

I was sarcastic. (unless you knew that and were sarcastic)

Allthough I am willing to bet people are defending this, people will defend anything at this point, there were people defending BW after they banned that guy for his forum post, so yeah dlc aint to hard to imagine people defending and asking for, personally I will wait for the ultimate edition to drop into the bargin bin, if a dev tries to squeeze all the money out of me I will makre sure they see as little of my money as possible.

Luckily Bethesda does dlc right, the Pitt, PLO, all added to the game.

Mage, its more versatile, I am making a mage who will probablly be an arcane warrior/blood mage using shale as a battery. Others just like healers, so yeah mage is most versatile.

Why cant I be a Dalish mage like Merril ? That dissapointed me.

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/84936/ea-terminates-another-dragon-age-ii-player-account/

Dalish ranger, city elf duelist rogue, elven arcane warrior and human champion were my characters.

I have come to hate the human origin on general principle, so I'd scratch that just to spite it. Archers are effective, but kind of...boring to play, but it's your call (though I imagine a team of multiple archers might be kind of fun). Mages rock, and choosing one as your first character's not a bad idea, since one Specialization can only be obtained if the PC is a mage.

You know though, I don't want to sit and watch cinematics while an actor says lines that I have to guess at, for a game that is supposed to be an rpg. I want to create my character, that I'm actually playing in the game. Having a voice that doesn't match my concept of my character isn't going to increase my interest in watching what happens when I click a button. If I want to watch cinematics, I'll watch a movie. And I won't have to wonder whether the hint the wheel gives will actually be a line I want.

At least I'm not the only one who prefers a mute character: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6672449 Interesting comments from both sides.

Beth doesn't always do great on keeping the lore intact, but its usually better than "all this is different just because we say so". Personal opinion about the game. There are more than enough people ridiculing people with constructive criticism as it is; EABioware wouldn't really need to add a character for that. They managed to make a game that some players like, and some players dislike. If the first game hadn't been good/great, there wouldn't be as many players who cared either way.

Yep, I'm the same. It's definitely not perfect (neither was Origins) but still very enjoyable.

Gonna start a new game tomorrow after work I reckon, might try a mage, hardly ever play as mages. Also gonna see what mods have come out.

No game is perfect but when it comes to great story telling and characters Dragon Age is perfect.

For what it is worth, I like DA2. The fighting bits don't interest me at all, but once again Bioware has managed to create a world and a cast of characters that I find captivating.

Besides Alistair and Morrigan. Who else gets along with each other?

Alistair and Morrigan get along?

Wynne and Oghren get along very well..in a way :laugh:

Edit: Serious though Wynne, Leliana, and Alistair get along rather well as a party.