[Bastich]

I've put over 40 hours into playing the game so far and I have mixed feelings. I really liked the Circle of Mages parts, especially The Fade, but now I'm in Orzammar in the Frostback mountains (in Orton Thaig ATM) and quite frankly, I'm completely bored with the game at this point and can barely get myself to play it.

I think part of it is the fact that I'm playing a warrior and there are no interesting items in the game at all that I've found. I pick up loot only because I'm afraid I'll need the money at some point. I never find a single thing of interest.

The only good armor I've seen in the entire game is the Blood Dragon armor I started the game with. I've only used 3 weapons the entire game and the first two I got on the very first map. The skills and talent trees are rather unsatisfying as well. I don't really get excited at all about leveling up for this reason. In fact, I don't even have the vaguest idea what level my character is...

I feel like I'm just putting up with the endless repetition to see the story unfold at this point; it feels like a job. Maybe if I can just force myself through Orzammar, I'll get to better stuff elsewhere.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I'm playing as a Mage with plans to specialize in Spirit Healing. Are you bored, Bastich? I would be too, personally, if I played Warrior class. It looks to be the least interesting class to me.

I may play as a female elf Rogue or as a female human Mage Shapeshifter specialist on my second run.

[Crunchy in milk]

The loot leaves a lot to be desired in this game. I think it would be great with even just a small selection of randomly generated gear.

Its frustrating when you slaughter a huge bunch of guys who nearly decimate your party, then you loot their corpse for one rusty bread knife between the lot of them, and two or three root vegetables. I know they do this to stop you swimming in money but its a real kill joy.

I actually enjoy the fighter abilities, as much if not more than a mage. You just have to be careful not to weigh down your fighters. The heavier their gear the slower their stamina recovers. A medium weighted fighter with decent will power can be using cool abilities from start to finish in a fight. Mages on the other hand tend to need potions to make it through a fight. Especially if they're using mode abilities like frost weapons, shields or auras.

This game is a lot easier if you buy ingredients, make resistance balms and weapon coatings. Its a shame that to actually USE the weapon coatings though, you have to be proficient in the poisons skill.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Its a shame that to actually USE the weapon coatings though, you have to be proficient in the poisons skill.

That doesn't make sense to me as well. Why would you need a specific skill to merely coat a blade in acid?

[booB]

LOL... so far, I have played The Witcher almost entirely in isometric mode, and I will probably do the same with Dragon Age. I grew up playing RPGs, and one thing I notice is that I LOVED the bird's-eye-view games (Ultima, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior) and I didn't like most of the first-person ones nearly as much (Wizardry, Might & Magic, etc.). Same thing applies to modern RPGs; I love the isometric ones (The Witcher in isometric, Diablo, Titan Quest, Neverwinter Nights), and I don't enjoy quite as much the FPS and OTS style ones (Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Fable). If the PC version didn't have isometric, I might not even buy it. If the Witcher sequel does away with isometric, I will probably give it a pass, despite the fact that The Witcher is one of my favorite RPGs.

[Denaron]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

What difficulty are you playing it on? And have you outfitted your party members with the very best gear and augmentations you can find? Are they at a higher level yet? And is your party well balanced, i.e. each member has a tight specialization that contributes to the overall strength of the party?

Generally when I come across a very powerful enemy I keep my Mage as far from the heat as possible in order to heal and support my tank. My tank is the one who draws the attack of the enemies, my Rogue either shoots the arrows or slices with double blades around the periphery of the fight and sneaks in damage, and since I currently play with two Mages (my character and Wynne) I keep them distant and use ranged spells and constantly magically heal my tank.

I ended up playing it like KOTOR, where I immediately switch to hold positions so I can individually relocate each party member to a strategic place and issue individual commands.

EDIT: Denaron, I forgot to mention a tip I procured from the Prima Strategy Guide to help you fight the dragon. The dragon is an Elite Boss, one of the most formidable enemies you'll face...



Also, I think the dragon is immune to any flame attack, or at least isn't damaged much. Therefore your best best is a powerful cold spell. Make sure to augment your tank's sword with icy crystals or cast an icy augmentation spell on it, like Cone of Cold or Blizzard. You should also boost every party member with some flame resistance in any way you can. Use any kind of item to try to reduce the dragon's Strength, Dexterity, and Consitution.

Ohh precious informations Intrepid, thank you very much. I'm playing it on normal. I have only 1 mage available (Wynne) and all my characters are lvl 11. I think i should deal with that "dragon" (actually it's a shapeshifter, hehe) later right? Maybe i'm not prepared yet...

[Bastich]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Its frustrating when you slaughter a huge bunch of guys who nearly decimate your party, then you loot their corpse for one rusty bread knife between the lot of them, and two or three root vegetables. I know they do this to stop you swimming in money but its a real kill joy.

This is really my main problem with the game so far. There is really no reward for winning a fight other than being able to keep playing. As for controlling money through limiting drops? This is completely ineffective as the value of money is relative to what it can purchase and if there is nothing cool for me to buy, it doesn't matter if I have the riches of Bill Gates or the penury of a Buddhist monk.

One of the great aspects of Baldur's Gate was the fact that anything you saw an enemy using was yours to pick up when you won the fight. A guy wearing plate mail and swinging a glowing sword would drop plate mail and a magic sword, just as you would expect.

In Dragon Age, you can fight a dozen darkspawn, all wielding bows and melee weapons, and covered in armor, and frequently not be able to recover a single one of them. Apparently, their weapons are just long, sharpened fingernails, and their armor is really just the equivalent of a turtle shell.

Obviously, I have a lot more playing to do before I can truly judge the game, and as such my frustration may be ephemeral. As a comparison, I love Diablo II as a whole and have played it to death. However, I loathe Act III of that game and have to force myself to play through it. Perhaps I'm just currently in the equivalent in Dragon Age and will find myself really enjoying the rest of it.

[Niko]

Such a good game, i had the game almost a week, and still havent passed 20% of the game. My rogue/assassin was a bit boring, and i wasnt happy with the character(upto getting the urn ashes in the gauntlet), so i have restarted with a mage. The first thing i noticed is how it is allot easier combat wise, as long as my companions keep the enemy off me, i can wield death(and health for my party) like no ones buisness. Plus i feel allot more comfortable with my character now, so i am looking to play the game to completion with my Mage named "Jared". Hopefully i will get the healer specialty for sure, and maybe the blood mage, possibly, still undecided.

[Crunchy in milk]

Originally Posted by Bastich

...As for controlling money through limiting drops? This is completely ineffective as the value of money is relative to what it can purchase and if there is nothing cool for me to buy
[...]
In Dragon Age, you can fight a dozen darkspawn, all wielding bows and melee weapons, and covered in armor, and frequently not be able to recover a single one of them.

I make peace with the bad drops from well kitted bad guys by assuming the battle all but destroyed their gear. But I hate that this means there's nothing to loot from the corpses.

I do on occasion find some really nice gear at merchants so maybe you've just been unlucky with random stock generation in stores.

Ultimately I would love to see a mod for this game that addresses this issue and I can see an easy solution to the swimming in money problem too: Broken equipment.

Not as it features in games like fallout where you're forever repairing your gear but rather, after a fight SOME of the guys gear is available, only its broken. You can grab it but its of no immediate use. Take it back to your camp which now has a smith, who for a hefty fee repairs the gear.

Now you have nice loot to look forward to finding, a money sink, plus it doesn't negate the need for a rogue in your party to find good, working gear in chests and the like that can be used immediately.

Don't judge the game on one play through. There is random drops and I have a complete murphy of a rogue who seems to find nothing but gifts for npcs. Conversely, my mage seems to find nothing but jewellery and she's dripping in necklaces but hasn't had a wardrobe change in 8 levels.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Marjolaine....

SPOILER (highlight to read)

Spoiler:

Bitch got what she deserved. No one messes with my friends and gets away with it.

EDIT:

Item description -

Glamour Charm

This minor magical charm captures the viewer's attention and distra..... OOOH, PRETTY!!!

LOL!

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Meet Wynter, my City Elf Mage. He's currently level 14, proficient in Primal and Creation spells, plans to become a Spirit Mage.

[Crunchy in milk]

Doesn't the 360 have the ability to upload screenshots? In the online profile part of the game.

You named your dog Thingy!?
Not that I can point fingers, my mage's dog is named Mounty.

The spirit healer is easily the trump for mages, The Arcane warrior isn't worth it, I don't like the Bloodmage abilities and I already have Morrigan for shifting.

I've been playing my dirty fighter far more than my mage of late. After I got the ability that lets you use cunning instead of strength for damage and the ability to critical/backstab prone or stunned targets he became a dynamo in battle. All those stat bonuses in the Fade didn't hurt either, the circle of mages is easily the most rewarding quest line so far both in terms of fun and reward.

Currently I'm trying to convince Wynne to teach spirit healing to Morrigan.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Doesn't the 360 have the ability to upload screenshots? In the online profile part of the game.

If it does I don't know about. I've just been using my iPhone and tweaking the shots after.

You named your dog Thingy!?
Not that I can point fingers, my mage's dog is named Mounty.

I didn't expect they'd allowed you to name him. I was so eager to get into the game and story and didn't want to use any more time trying to figure out his name and Thingy was the first that popped into my head.

The spirit healer is easily the trump for mages, The Arcane warrior isn't worth it, I don't like the Bloodmage abilities and I already have Morrigan for shifting.

I was never inclined towards being a Battle Mage myself, particularly after I was one for a while in Oblivion.

But I agree, Spirit Healer pwns. I got my ass handed back to me several times in the final round of the Proving Arena. Then I realized I had the wrong party setup - Wynter, Morrigan, Lelianna, and Shale. I switched to Wynter, Wynne, Alistair, and Zevran and we won with just one try!

I credit Wynne for her Group Heal, Revival (mostly for Alistair), and Spirit Of The Vessel.

I've been playing my dirty fighter far more than my mage of late. After I got the ability that lets you use cunning instead of strength for damage and the ability to critical/backstab prone or stunned targets he became a dynamo in battle. All those stat bonuses in the Fade didn't hurt either, the circle of mages is easily the most rewarding quest line so far both in terms of fun and reward.

It's ironic that I found Zevran to be tougher than Alistair, but it mostly has to do with Zevran's high dexterity and cunning. He uses double blades, the primary one with a generous chance for backstabs. He virtually slices and dices around the enemy like a damn ballerina. Still he and Alistair make a good team, as long as I keep Alistair healed up.

[Bastich]

I've played another 20 hours or so now and the game is much better now.

The problem was just Orzammar I think. The weak story elements, the drab and uninteresting environments, the weak loot, and the sheer length of time that needs to be spent there all combined to really drag my interest down. Ohgren sucked as a warrior as well and I only kept him around to see if there was a payoff when we finally found his wife.

Everywhere else in the game is just SO much better to me. I'm having a blast now that I've left there...

Intrepid, where exactly were you when your dog found the pantaloons? Does location matter for finding such things or is it sort of random? Considering the importance of pantaloons in the Baldur's Gate series, I'm rather interested in obtaining them...

[aries323]

You can get a storage chest for your camp if you go the social site Bioware made. A dev. from Bioware did actually make a chest - just for us. (works only on the pc, though).

Also, patch 1.01a is out, making easy somewhat easier and normal a little (slightly) easier as well as some other stuff.

In the sales chart, DA: Origins is doing extremely well. On Steam its in first place, and in other charts its in 2nd or
4th place.

The firing of 1500workers from EA companies seems then to not have swooped by Bioware...

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Bastich

The problem was just Orzammar I think. The weak story elements, the drab and uninteresting environments, the weak loot, and the sheer length of time that needs to be spent there all combined to really drag my interest down. Ohgren sucked as a warrior as well and I only kept him around to see if there was a payoff when we finally found his wife.

I'm in Orzammar now. Can't say that Wynter is impressed with these dwarves' draconian caste system, but that's just the progressive individualist in him (me). He chose to side with Harrowmont, who looks more open to change, especially if the dwarves are to join all Ferelden against the Blight. Wonder if he's the equivalent of the liberal Democrats.

It was in the Proving Arena that we truly realized how critical is was to have Wynne in the party. Nothing like a Spirit Healer to replenish everyone. As long as Alistair takes most of the attention and heat of the enemies she and Wynter can constantly keep him alive, while Zevran dances around the toughest opponents, slicing and dicing critical hits and stunning them with dirty moves. We're developing such combat tactics to be able to kill our first high dragon.

Intrepid, where exactly were you when your dog found the pantaloons? Does location matter for finding such things or is it sort of random? Considering the importance of pantaloons in the Baldur's Gate series, I'm rather interested in obtaining them...

Now what would Big Muscular Macho Clown like you want with a pair of ladies' silk pantaloons, I wonder? Ah, don't answer that, you're entitled to your unmentionables.

Thingy found them in Redcliffe. But it may be that they're random, could be dug up at any location. Just keep switching to your dog at each place and have him find interesting things and it'll turn up eventually.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

That your dirty fighter? Sweet!

Anyway, I decided the next couple of level ups for Wynne will see points invested exclusively in Willpower. Damn woman's been sucking up mana like a vampire! Just leveled her up now, so she'll need a little less lyrium juice.

Oh, and I gave her Mana Drain, the only Spirit spell she has atm. Might as well work that noble vampiric edge and suck mana from enemy Mages to fuel up her own, thus requiring even less lyrium juice.

[Crunchy in milk]

Originally Posted by aries323

You can get a storage chest for your camp if you go the social site Bioware made. A dev. from Bioware did actually make a chest - just for us. (works only on the pc, though).

There were some reported horror stories with using it in its early development, but hopefully they've been worked out. I just installed it myself despite the gripes, its worth the risk for the convenience to me.

Originally Posted by aries323

Also, patch 1.01a is out, making easy somewhat easier and normal a little (slightly) easier as well as some other stuff.

They still haven't fixed the starter items (like your pre-order rings etc) from being removed during the Dwarven Noble origin story. This bug was fixed for the PS3 and Xbox 360 release builds but they still haven't supplied a fix for PC (not in my steam version at least).

I find myself actually looking forward to player made specialisation mods. I'm keen to replay the game as a mage with a different moral outlook, but there's no 'build' reason to do so. The rogue specialisations are interesting and different enough to try most of them out and the fighter specialisations are quirky enough to be interesting too.

[aries323]

There'a hardcore mod that's now uo to version 1.0, I think. It makes the game considerable harder, it seems.

[Fantasysci5]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

This picture scares me, for some reason. That his face is specked with blood, and he doesn't even seem to mind.