Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

Most RPG players probably allready knwo of this title, but since there has hardly been any info about this game before now, there hasn't been a need for a thread before now.

We have just gotten ourselves the first look at the game through their:
Debut Trailer

Other nice place to look for more info is their Official Site

So anyone got any thoughts on this one? I'll definitley keep an eye out to see how this one develop.

Would like to direct your attention to the 4 part demo video on the frontpage of their site: http://dragonage.bioware.com/ (gametrailers for some reason only had part I and II of IV so didn't bother linking to those).

I liked a lot of what I saw, I thought it started out bland, but improved after things got going.

Will this game come to consoles or will it be just on pc

It's first coming to the PC, then later in 09 it will come to consoles.

Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=217002

sweet cant wait bioware is one of my fav developers probably get the game when it comes to consoles just cuz their making it

Same here. Bioware has yet to disappoint me, infact they are the only developer that has not yet disappointed me.

Does anyone know who is writing it, because I know that The Drew is working on a personal fantasy story and Mass Effect's stories.

David Gaider is the Lead Writer.

Also, a vid about the toolset: http://dragonage.bioware.com/gallery_worldbuilders.html

Yep the game is looking good. Supposedly they are going to be using more mature fantasy in this game ala A Song of Ice and Fire, as opposed to the high fantasy they use in games like Baldurs Gate. Should be a refreshing change.

Yep, if you get blood on your armour it stays.

Looking at one of the trailers, it reminded me of the Wheel of Time.

Hmm, what exactly reminded you of WoT?

I just wish that this game would come out on consoles closer to the time it comes out on PC. I hate waiting for a game I want to play to come out on a system I have.

Originally posted by Morridini
Hmm, what exactly reminded you of WoT?

Cant give you specifics because I only saw the trailer, but just the way the characters are and the enemies that were attacking the castle.

Can't say anything in the trailers reminded me of WoT, other then the medieval setting.

Well it did.

The trailer has a tower, the action scenes look realistic, the saying, "the blight ends here", all humans and no dwarves or elves and something a plan, which there is alot in WoT.

Hmm... Interesting.

Some new photos and info on this weeks GTTV: http://www.gametrailers.com/gametrailerstv_player.php?ep=54&sd=0&ch=1

Chapter 2 and 3 revolve around Dragon Age.

Originally posted by THE JLRTENJAC
Hmm... Interesting.

Sometimes I'm not to sure it was a good idea to introduce Bioware to you.....

You know, I'm gonna have to remember to ask Nac what he meant by that later.

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/10686-dragon-age-origins-sex-violence-trailer/
http://kotaku.com/5249873/new-dragon-age-origins-screens-are-marilyn-manson-free
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/695439/Dragon-Age-Origins-Impressions.html

This game looks so ****ing awesome.

http://blog.bioware.com/2009/10/13/character-creator-and-the-bioware-social-network/

Kinda neat, you can play with the character creator from the game. I downloaded it and made a few characters just to see what the options are. Pretty standard customization, though, just the typical slider stuff.

I'm sort of interested in the game itself, not sure if I'll buy it or not. I'd like to play it but I'm worried it'll end up like Oblivion or Mass Effect where I'm bored brainless immediately.

Has potential I suppose. I'm kinda weary of all these new RPGs coming out, since I had quite a few disappointments.

Instant purchase for me.

I love Bioware games and this one looks good.

Game Informer gave it 9/10 and said alot of good things about it.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Instant purchase for me.

I love Bioware games and this one looks good.

Game Informer gave it 9/10 and said alot of good things about it.
The Bioware name is what sells this game for me add to the fact that it looks like it's damn fun, wouldn't be suprised if this turns out to be my game of the year

has anyone seen the leliana video?

she looks fun!

i really hope they work on their facial expressions though. thats always been a weak point for biowares rpg's imo.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Instant purchase for me.

I love Bioware games and this one looks good.

Game Informer gave it 9/10 and said alot of good things about it.

9/10 is pretty solid if you ask me.

For any true gamer, I suggest you pre-order the Deluxe/Special Edition.

It's about $10-15 extra, but you get the Stone Prisoner DLC, which adds a bunch of hours and an extra player named Shale, a dwarven made Stone Golem, and one of the most powerful players in the game.

You also get Wardens Keep, another DLC package with a bunch of hours and backstory.

You even get Blood Dragon Armor, which is a powerful armor you can use in both Dragon Age, and Mass Effect 2.

An Armor for both this game and ME2? Got a link for that?

I can't find any pics for it, but it's probably on the official website, and if you look it up on Wiki, it gives you info on all the stuff.

The armor code is also usable across platforms, so if you get origins for 360, and Mass Effect 2 for pc, you can use the code for both of them.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7566/immagine1jus.png

http://imaginechat.com/memberpages/CrimzonTearz/compare.png

Bad.Ass.

I suppose the armour doesn't from PC to console.

I'm getting it on Steam, but I'm getting Mass Effect 2 on 360.

Actually yes, no matter what system you get it for, the code can be used for another system.

That armor made me wet myself.

Originally posted by KingD19
Actually yes, no matter what system you get it for, the code can be used for another system.

That armor made me wet myself.

Really, ****ing awesome.

Found a trailer for the armor: http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/dragon-age-mass-effect-blood-dragon-armor

Sexy.

Going back to the silent protagonist. I like it. Makes it more of a "First Person" RPG.

I think he talks in a few of the cut scenes, I myself am actually looking at it as a double sided coin. On the one hand, you have so many options in dialouge, and hearing them would be awesome. On the other hand, I actually don't know what's the good part about him not having a voice, except maybe BIOWARE saved some money, and they didn't get the chance to mess his voice up.

Originally posted by KingD19
Actually yes, no matter what system you get it for, the code can be used for another system.

That armor made me wet myself.

Actually, no. The PS3 code setup is, I believe xxxx-xxxx-xxxx the 360 code setup is xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx and PC setup is xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx you can not use a pc code for the 360, or Ps3 on the 360, any other combination of wrong code on wrong system. sorry.


And just from a logical standpoint: if you were running a company, would you make codes for DLC on your system work on other systems? yea, didn't think so.

Man this game is huge.

I'm preloading off Steam and for about 30 minutes, I'm only at 24%.

And that's at 1.1 MB/s!!!!

Jesus, I love Steam.

Originally posted by Mandrag Ganon
Actually, no. The PS3 code setup is, I believe xxxx-xxxx-xxxx the 360 code setup is xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx and PC setup is xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx you can not use a pc code for the 360, or Ps3 on the 360, any other combination of wrong code on wrong system. sorry.


And just from a logical standpoint: if you were running a company, would you make codes for DLC on your system work on other systems? yea, didn't think so.

Well yeah, about that.

From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Age_Origins#Blood_Dragon_Armor

Blood Dragon Armor

The Blood Dragon Armor downloadable content will provide access to a unique set of armor that will be accessible in both Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. The code for this product will be shipped along with every new retail copy of the game and will be e-mailed to people who purchased digital versions. The code will work across all platforms, meaning players can buy Dragon Age: Origins for the PC but use the code for the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2 or vice versa.

As for why, because someone might get Dragon Age for 360, then Mass Effect for PS3 or PC. BIOWARE is awesome like that. You need me to school you again, let me know.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Man this game is huge.

I'm preloading off Steam and for about 30 minutes, I'm only at 24%.

And that's at 1.1 MB/s!!!!

Jesus, I love Steam.



Why do you get it before me?

^Don't worry man. If you head to Walmart, then you get it at midnight. If you go to Gamestop, then you get it early tomorrow, no worries man.

All I know is, before I play it, I'm downloading Warden's Keep, since Stone Prisoner and the BD Armor come with it. Once I do, I probably won't leave my room for a while...except to bathe and feed.

Some of the ones mailed by EA arrived early, mine was one of them. However, they sent me the wrong one... I ordered the 360 and ended up with PC.

Played it for a few hours earlier today. Not exactly my type of game, but I can't say I'm disappointed either.

Being able to pause the game and queue your party's moves is pretty neat. The camera positions are pretty cool too: you can play the game like NWN(and countless other RPGs) or like Baldur's Gate or Diablo.

Well Bioware did make Baldur's Gate. Don't mess with a working formula I always say.

Originally posted by KingD19
^Don't worry man. If you head to Walmart, then you get it at midnight. If you go to Gamestop, then you get it early tomorrow, no worries man.

All I know is, before I play it, I'm downloading Warden's Keep, since Stone Prisoner and the BD Armor come with it. Once I do, I probably won't leave my room for a while...except to bathe and feed.

It's first out here in Europa on Friday the 6 november so

But the listed below sounds like what is going to happen to me too

Originally posted by KingD19
Well yeah, about that.

From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Age_Origins#Blood_Dragon_Armor

Blood Dragon Armor

The Blood Dragon Armor downloadable content will provide access to a unique set of armor that will be accessible in both Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. The code for this product will be shipped along with every new retail copy of the game and will be e-mailed to people who purchased digital versions. The code will work across all platforms, meaning players can buy Dragon Age: Origins for the PC but use the code for the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2 or vice versa.

As for why, because someone might get Dragon Age for 360, then Mass Effect for PS3 or PC. BIOWARE is awesome like that. You need me to school you again, let me know.


1: Wikipedia is NOT a reliable source in instances like this.

2: I am sitting here looking at the code for the Blood Dragon Armor for Mass Effect 2 in the PC copy of Dragon Age and it's setup is xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx. So, tell me, how are you going to put this code in the 360 when it only takes codes that have the setup of xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx? you are looking at a grand total of 8 fewer characters in the PC code than the 360 code.

3: I looked at the source Wikipedia used, and see nothing about it being able to work across platforms.

how are the graphics on PC?

Originally posted by BoratBorat
how are the graphics on PC?

Well, I play on the highest possible settings on 1680x1050. Character models look pretty damn good, but the environments... well, not so much

Also, AA works.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
Well, I play on the highest possible settings on 1680x1050. Character models look pretty damn good, but the environments... well, not so much

Also, AA works.

What are the specs on your computer?

Originally posted by Utrigita
What are the specs on your computer?

Intel Core i7 920
4GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 285

Also a 750GB HDD, but that's not really important.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
Intel Core i7 920
4GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 285

Also a 750GB HDD, but that's not really important.

Nice thanks.

I should have a decent chance of getting good graphic then

Originally posted by Utrigita
Nice thanks.

I should have a decent chance of getting good graphic then

Yea, my PC is more or less overkill for Dragon Age anyway.

what is your Graphic card and CPU? Im hoping mine would be ok to play it on max settings.

AMD phenom 9750 2.4ghz and 4870 here(upgrading CPU and GPU soon).

Originally posted by Utrigita


Why do you get it before me?

Because I do?

Would my setup max it out or no?

Originally posted by Smasandian
Because I do?



BoratBorat: You PC should be enough to run in high settings from what I gathered from the Dragon Age Origins website.

Originally posted by BoratBorat
Would my setup max it out or no?

Yes. What resolution do you plan on playing it on, by the way?

EDIT: Actually, it's a pretty powerful setup you have there. You sure you need to upgrade?

Originally posted by Mandrag Ganon
1: Wikipedia is NOT a reliable source in instances like this.

2: I am sitting here looking at the code for the Blood Dragon Armor for Mass Effect 2 in the PC copy of Dragon Age and it's setup is xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx. So, tell me, how are you going to put this code in the 360 when it only takes codes that have the setup of xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx? you are looking at a grand total of 8 fewer characters in the PC code than the 360 code.

3: I looked at the source Wikipedia used, and see nothing about it being able to work across platforms.

You want me to tell you how?? Because you don't redeem the code from the XBOX Live menu, you redeem it from the main menu in game. You go to downloadable content in the main menu, then when you find the DLC you want, you press redeem EA code. Which is why they only have the xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx format. And since it's in game, and all games use the same code system, it can go across all platforms.

Yea, I realised that when I looked at one of the 360 codes. I feel quite foolish now, sorry.

No problem, everyone makes mistakes, me included. THIS GAME RAWKS!!!

The complaints about the 360 visuals are disappointing, but I don't think my PC can run it.

I might be getting a PS3 this christmas though, so maybe I should go for the PS3 one and not 360.

This game is PC or bust for me.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
Yes. What resolution do you plan on playing it on, by the way?

EDIT: Actually, it's a pretty powerful setup you have there. You sure you need to upgrade? Yes actually because i need a stronger system to do my work.

I need a more powerful CPU because i do alot of 3d modelling in maya studios and i need it rendered.

For my current monitor i plan at playing at 1280 by 1024.

Got it for the PC.

Spent two hours in character creation and walking around reading books. I'm so going to put alot of hours into this. ****, I wish this came out last week when I had nothing to do.

Originally posted by BoratBorat
Yes actually because i need a stronger system to do my work.

I need a more powerful CPU because i do alot of 3d modelling in maya studios and i need it rendered.

For my current monitor i plan at playing at 1280 by 1024.

4870 is a bit overkill for 1280x1024. but then again, if you're doing modeling, some extra power will never hurt.

I suppose a Core i7 is the only logical upgrade from that.

Has anyone who played this performed a Finishing Move/Death Blow on purpose?? Or is it just a random event with different weapons and enemies?

Originally posted by BackFire
This game is PC or bust for me.

Same, which is why I'm going to wait to get it.

If I decide to get it at all.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
4870 is a bit overkill for 1280x1024. but then again, if you're doing modeling, some extra power will never hurt.

I suppose a Core i7 is the only logical upgrade from that.

Yeah thats why im changing my monitor to play games at max resolution.

I would have gotten an i7 but my motherboard only supports AMD cpu's

My rig isn't just for gaming as i said earlier but alot of video editing and 3d stuff, the school comps frustrate the hell out of me.

But i think i am upgrading to a Phenom II 955 BE which has great performance for its price and a 5970 to max out all games on high resolutions(hopefully crysis).


Btw i just got DAO, the game is awesome.

Must get now.

, you guys going on about how its awsome and that you've got it and I have to wait until 6th on Friday.

Why do you have to wait till the 6th? You live in europe?

I've played it a little on the 360. I have to say combat is a mixed bag. You want to engange in combat but you also feel like avoiding it entirely.

It's a contradiction, that's just how turn based combat in rpg's makes me feel. It's fine in RTS but I'm just not convinced when it's in RPGs. Other than that I'm liking it so far.

It's not turn based though.

It's real time, but it's still attributes against each other, not regular fighting. So it's your strength against your opponent's strength, etc... And like KOTOR 1 & 2, the moves are carried out automatically once you press attack. The only thing you actually trigger is your Talents/Skills/Spells/Potions/Traps/Poisons, etc....

Originally posted by Smasandian
It's not turn based though.

It's a real-time/"turn based" hybrid, because of the auto attack and defense. The talents though do compensate for the automated aspects, I'm warming to the combat the more talents my warrior gets.

Originally posted by KingD19
It's real time, but it's still attributes against each other, not regular fighting. So it's your strength against your opponent's strength, etc... And like KOTOR 1 & 2, the moves are carried out automatically once you press attack. The only thing you actually trigger is your Talents/Skills/Spells/Potions/Traps/Poisons, etc....

I did a bit of a marathon playthrough for about 3 hrs since I posted. The combat is getting better with the addition of weapon shield talents.

The combat (despite my earlier reservions) is significantly better than Kotor's, whose system was boring to be honest.

Originally posted by Morridini
The complaints about the 360 visuals are disappointing,
.

Such as ?

Simply put, it looks bad compared to the PC and PS3.

Originally posted by Allankles
It's a real-time/"turn based" hybrid, because of the auto attack and defense. The talents though do compensate for the automated aspects, I'm warming to the combat the more talents my warrior gets.

Not really turn base at all. Everything happens in real time. It's strategic real time combat.

Originally posted by BoratBorat
Why do you have to wait till the 6th? You live in europe?

UK, not out until the 6th

Looks great on my 360. Love the game btw!!!

Originally posted by Smasandian
Not really turn base at all. Everything happens in real time. It's strategic real time combat.

I wouldn't like to call it turn based per se, but its the only word off the top of my head to categorize the auto attack and defense system.

Originally posted by Burning thought
UK, not out until the 6th

The place I ordered it send it by mail 4th so I had it the 5th, it was funny to show the sms that said they was packing it to some of my friends, they could have killed me on the spot

And I'll just join the masses, I love this game.

I'm loving it. the graphics aren't as bad as people say.

well the tress are but the rest I don't think so

The only thing I don't like about the graphics are the strange looking pools of blood. It looks to me like a velvet cloth suddenly making its way from the body. Although I do play games that are graphically strong, the graphics in Dragon age are indeed lesser, but are still charming. The fantasy element to their design makes it look nice enough not to distract or bother me away from the main attraction which is the depth and story. I also enjoy the challenge so far, I don't usually play games of the like being more into hack and slash action RPGs like Diablo so playing a tactical game of this genre was hard to get used to and its been a long time since Neverwinter 2.

love the challenge of the first boss, the Ogre thing, probably easy for people who know what to do but the Ogre required luck and a lot of cunning for me to defeat

Yea it was tough for me too, Only ending up beating it because my dog wasn't really getting hit while i was focusing on everyone else

I've been having a lot of fun with this game. I think there are a lot of balance issues with the difficulty and the interface could use a lot of work but most of us aren't playing this game for the battle system and deep customization. I think most of us are playing this game for the atmosphere and story and those are the two aspects that this game excel at. It doesn't quite feel like you're playing a D&D game come to life but it definitely feels like you're playing an interactive fantasy novel. I'm very impressed with the dialogue (for the most part) and the voice acting.

With all of that aside. I do have to admit that i've gotten tired of constantly setting traps and puling the all to compliant AI enemies into my awaiting party. Once you figure this strategy out the game becomes effortless. Or, you could just use your Bow and drop enemies one at a time from afar. Still very fun game and i do appreciate that they've incorporated both real time and turn based game play.

bah!, traps and arrows, a huge column of fire or a fireball is a lot more fun a way of dispatching large groups of opponents! although your way is far safer for your own team I guess.....

Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I've been having a lot of fun with this game. I think there are a lot of balance issues with the difficulty and the interface could use a lot of work but most of us aren't playing this game for the battle system and deep customization. I think most of us are playing this game for the atmosphere and story and those are the two aspects that this game excel at. It doesn't quite feel like you're playing a D&D game come to life but it definitely feels like you're playing an interactive fantasy novel. I'm very impressed with the dialogue (for the most part) and the voice acting.

With all of that aside. I do have to admit that i've gotten tired of constantly setting traps and puling the all to compliant AI enemies into my awaiting party. Once you figure this strategy out the game becomes effortless. Or, you could just use your Bow and drop enemies one at a time from afar. Still very fun game and i do appreciate that they've incorporated both real time and turn based game play.

The trap strategy does sound effortless, but I think my strategy is even more effortless. I gather up all the mobs with my tank using threaten and taunt, and then have my mage(s) envelop him in an energy shield negating all the damage done to him while the rest of my party nukes.

What difficulty do you play the game on? I play it on the max difficulty. It's a pain in the ass, but I enjoy it.

Originally posted by Admiral Akbar
The trap strategy does sound effortless, but I think my strategy is even more effortless. I gather up all the mobs with my tank using threaten and taunt, and then have my mage(s) envelop him in an energy shield negating all the damage done to him while the rest of my party nukes.

What difficulty do you play the game on? I play it on the max difficulty. It's a pain in the ass, but I enjoy it.

Yeah, i love the Tank strategy but i royally screwed myself early on in choosing my skills. It didn't help that i also dropped many of my Early points in cunning and dexterity when i was planning on being a tank. My mage and rogue is more of a tank than my warriors atm I'm playing on hard and i doubt i'll play on anything harder. Demon Soul on PS3 has been torturing me with it's difficulty, so, i'm looking for a more casual experience with, Dragon Age

Originally posted by Burning thought
bah!, traps and arrows, a huge column of fire or a fireball is a lot more fun a way of dispatching large groups of opponents! although your way is far safer for your own team I guess.....


Yeah, i really wish that i would have chosen the mage class. It seems like the story is centered more around them. My Mage serves primarily as defense. Sad to say, she usually ends up not doing much of anything

Well your tactics are probably far more practical for a victory, a column of fire can do as much damage to your party as it does to the enemy lol....but its an impressive spell.

Sorry for double post but is there a way of making a rogue character disarm traps automatically? I used to play Neverwinter 2 a long time ago and the rogue automatically disarmed traps, at least when out of combat but my rogue is not.

Well, I don't think you can do it automatically because you don't always see the trap, but there might be a way in the tactics menu somewhere.

My mage is fairly formidable now, Ive had a few times where I have struggled against certain foes but now I can mass paralyze, inferno and shield I have a fair few options.

My Rogue is a Duelist/Ranger, and I just summon my wolf, Bear, and Spider at the same time, and since it's maxed out, I have the strongest versions.

Do not read below if you've not become intimate with Morrigan or initiated any personal quests from her:

When Flemeth becomes a dragon, I feel I have little chance, I have gotten her down to half her health but Ive killed Wynn and Morrigan (who cannot be present for the battle) was my healer so I am facing a dragon with a fresh character who ive not fought with often (sten) who fights two handed melee dps, Alistair is the tank and my dog is backup. Me being a mage I throw weakness on her, shield alistair and proceed with full out nukage with the death cloud and inferno spells and a few fireballs but this only gets her down to half her health and we all are annihilated. I am level 14. I can see how not having a healer or maybe a rogue/more range is sort of damaging my chances

On to my second play through now

I am happy i bought this rather than MW2.

Originally posted by Burning thought
Do not read below if you've not become intimate with Morrigan or initiated any personal quests from her:

When Flemeth becomes a dragon, I feel I have little chance, I have gotten her down to half her health but Ive killed Wynn and Morrigan (who cannot be present for the battle) was my healer so I am facing a dragon with a fresh character who ive not fought with often (sten) who fights two handed melee dps, Alistair is the tank and my dog is backup. Me being a mage I throw weakness on her, shield alistair and proceed with full out nukage with the death cloud and inferno spells and a few fireballs but this only gets her down to half her health and we all are annihilated. I am level 14. I can see how not having a healer or maybe a rogue/more range is sort of damaging my chances

I had a rogue go at her back with Alister turning her towards the lake in order to minimize the flamebreaths damage to the rest of the party, got her to 25% and then total wipe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRxUpYd3wpU&feature=related

As another poster described it as: F**KING EPICK! thumbup

Originally posted by Utrigita
I had a rogue go at her back with Alister turning her towards the lake in order to minimize the flamebreaths damage to the rest of the party, got her to 25% and then total wipe

Damn I just managed killing her, she was hard but by now ive fought harder battles. my tactic was to as you did, distract her so shes facing away from the group only I used my tank and he had about 55 fire res by then so he survived, once shes distracted I used a shield on him to make him immune then just smothered her in my AOE. Death cloud, inferno, fireball etc and although she killed me (mage), my dog and the tank, fortunatley Sten was sitting back because I had the party on the mode where they do not automatically make decisions and he drank down a health potion, only just surviving her fireballs as she died in my AOE

The game is huge tho, I feel like ive done a ton yet I am only at 25% completion, maybe ive missed a few quests or the game really is that large, I am surprised theres people who have completed it.

Flemeth only becomes a dragon if you gon on Morrigan's quest to kill her, and you try to kill her instead of reasoning with her right?

And yeah, the game if huge as......as the world man, it's as huge as the world.

Indeed lol, making sure she does not harm Morrigan was why I chose to kill her, seems pointless in the end though considering how your relationship with Morrigan changes

I'm not liking the combat on the console.

Much too easy to die, esp. as a mage. Can't say as I'm having much fun with this one.

Should've gotten it for the PC.

tried lowering the difficulty?

Does the difficulty actually change the power of opponents? I heard increasing difficulty simply made it more easy for you to harm your own with your powers and reduced drops of items such as potions. Although I have also heard nightmare adds more yellow and orange opponents to areas although personally, thats a fairly unrealistic difficulty since its unlikely theres a hostile champion around every corner. I play normal difficulty simply because it provides some challenge while not pushing it too much as I am a casual gamer.

Loving the game so far, still only 27% completion and I have visited and completed the main quests for elves, the Erl and the mages and am travelling the deep roads for the dwarves. Fought all kinds of beasties and have been proud of my tactics so far (I have the tactician achievement if thats worth anything).

I find that my combination of me (fire/spirit mage), Morrigan (healer/cold mage), shale as melee dps (or off tank if required) and Alistair as Tank works really well. Love my combination against large armies: Me= Fireball=Morrigan starts casting Blizzard--->me=Mass paralysis=Morrigan frost grasps major targets or cone of colds resistant melee targets running into range---->me=inferno, then Death cloud if their powerful--->melee destroy any survivors running from my mass AOE while I take out key single targets such as mages with paralysis and telekinetic prison and a few arcane bolts.

As I level I think ill get Morrigan to gain all the lightning row of spells, and Ill grab Earth. Then the large groups of opponents will have zero chance as they have Earthquake, death cloud, inferno, blizzard and tempest (storm of century ftw!) all ripping them apart. Bit overkill but whatever gets the job done.


As a side question, does anyone know how experiance works exactly? I often see exp rise over the head of whomever made the final strike to kill a foe, but does the whole team get this exp or just the one who actually killed the target?

Another side note, does the completion percentage hit 100% after you finish the main story or must you get every achievement, finish every side quest etc to gain it? are you guys who have somehow finished the main storyline already gain 100% Dragon age completion if youve missed some quests and achivements?

You know, while I'm sure it's better on PC, I take back what I said.

Progressing further, additional spells make this a lot easier and thus entertaining.


"She turned me into a newt!"


"...I got better."

Yeah, I remember originally that this game was PC exclusive.

It's meant for the PC. Mouse control is definitely needed.

Originally posted by Burning thought
Does the difficulty actually change the power of opponents? I heard increasing difficulty simply made it more easy for you to harm your own with your powers and reduced drops of items such as potions. Although I have also heard nightmare adds more yellow and orange opponents to areas although personally, thats a fairly unrealistic difficulty since its unlikely theres a hostile champion around every corner. I play normal difficulty simply because it provides some challenge while not pushing it too much as I am a casual gamer.



I've experimented with the difficulty. And easy does make them easier to kill i've noticed. and also less eneimies at a time when really hard enemy is there. I stick with normal tho

Hm I guess that makes for a diffrent experiance.

I will certainly be playing this game through at least a couple more times, just to see all the diffrent characters and reactions they have to the player character. Ill prob want to make a two hander wielding armoured Dwarf with Berserking and Reaver, ill play him as a evil entity. Ive already started creating my more positive/light mage as my first was an evil one.

Also concerning events on the Brood mother and what comes after her:

She was not in my opinion that difficult, I found the Golem afterwards (having chosen to use the anvil to create golems) more difficult. She seems simply a test of how long you can survive and use your resources as she took a very long time to kill, I had to slap down all my AOE several times before she died, useing my whole supply of Lyrium potions to keep my mages fireing

The party I'm running atm is Alister (tank CC) Morrigan (DPS/CC) Wynne (healer and supporter) and me (full dps), things die quickly and Wynne's rune on the ground that increases mana regen is a blessing from the maker

hm a rune on the ground? is that spellbloom?

Any romances?

Did you know even as a man, you can sleep with Zevran??

yes Ive heard that somewhere lol, although personally I dont swing that way Ill prob stil ltry it out just to see what they say.

I wonder what kind of relationship you can have with Shale/Shayle lol

Same here, I just did it to get the achievement.

It would be funny, but I don't think you can actually do anything with Shale, you'd get a massive case of crushed balls. I always wondered why I was checking Shale's butt out, now I don't feel so akward once I found out about Shale's backstory.

lol, "sigh" I dont have many achievements, I mix and match too many trees in gameplay to get the achivements at the bottom of the list which reward you for mastering a specific skill list and ive only had one romance (Morrigan).

I romanced Morrigan, and then Zevran(only for the achievement, I SWEAR!!!). I tried with Leliana, but I'm pretty sure the only way you can get her is if you don't do anything with Morrigan.

Originally posted by KingD19
I romanced Morrigan, and then Zevran(only for the achievement, I SWEAR!!!). I tried with Leliana, but I'm pretty sure the only way you can get her is if you don't do anything with Morrigan.
I think i'm almost there. she asked about it and I convinced her nothing happened. And she didn't understand what Morrigan was talking about in the I'm not sharing conversation.

Shes also like a hair away from white on the bar

Originally posted by Burning thought
yes Ive heard that somewhere lol, although personally I dont swing that way Ill prob stil ltry it out just to see what they say.

I wonder what kind of relationship you can have with Shale/Shayle lol

Gotta shag 'em all!

Originally posted by Utrigita
The party I'm running atm is Alister (tank CC) Morrigan (DPS/CC) Wynne (healer and supporter) and me (full dps), things die quickly and Wynne's rune on the ground that increases mana regen is a blessing from the maker

Same here except I'm tank also..not dps. Morrigan with sleep and walking nightmare rules!

A party with all magic AOE rules lol, tempest, earthquake, inferno, death cloud and Blizzard all at once.....and if their fidgety little devils, shove a mass paralysis on them all.

I started as a fire mage but I feel the ice spells can be more useful in most situations, there are also less ice immune enemies, and a lot of fire entities such as demons and dragons are immune to fire and weak against ice. Demons are prob the thing I've fought most in this game (except Dark Spawn).

I dont think there are considering Ive looked at the wiki and the official site but are there any other mage companians you can gain the aid of other than Morrigan and Wynn? I really want to make a full mage group although Ill prob get stuck with only 3 mages.

nope. Wish you could have gotten Jowan to join though

hm same.

Originally posted by Burning thought
hm same.

An all mage party is not practical anyway, even with those massive AOE spells. You need at least one tank to absorb or take all the damage from enemy targets while the mages nuke, unless you're playing on beginner difficulty or something.

Thats not true, you see the mage who gets the most aggro can have a shield placed on him so that he can stand invulerable while all the main enemies (or a boss) attacks. I play on hard and it works fine, I cant see how it would make a diffrence if I was playing on any other difficulty tbh. At the moment I lay down all my AOE, and thats a lot of AOE which kills off most large groups of opponents, then I simply trade off paralysis, stuns and slows on all the yellow or orange mobs, if theres those who are not slowed or stunned like many Orange mobs are then I simply shield the guy who gets attacked first. Continue to nuke.

What I find useful is having one mage, preferably main character as an Arcane warrior, have a second set of gear, sword armour etc waiting for him so that when enemies come into range after youve spent all your mana, you can activate all your free sustained abilities and not be bothered by the annoying upkeep since your mana is already gone. Then ofc as an arcane warrior you can survive a good deal with Wynne healing even without a shield.

Also on a note on the last boss:

Did anyone find him quite easy, I beat him on normal difficulty with a fairly even group, me as a battle mage, morrigan as a healer/second mage dps and I had Alistair (Tank) and Ogden (melee dps) the dwarf and we beat him quite handily. Called in steel Golems as our only backup, he was dead before we needed more. He was an awsome boss so no disapointment, he was fun to fight but just not that hard

So I played this game a bit today, probably will play it some more tonight.

It is generic to the extreme - there is absolutely nothing to set it apart from any other standard fantasy RPG. It is just like KOTOR and Mass Effect, complete with the annoying control scheme and conversation selection thing. The graphics are nothing special and the characters tend to look ridiculous.

And yet I'm actually enjoying it. Maybe it's because of the setting and the fact that I can play an elf. I've been trying it out on 360, I might buy it for PC in a few weeks.

Dragon age to me has far more character than most games of the RP genre that I have played, I can actually feel some immersion now and then and belive the characters are speaking as if they are really alive, not as if their reading from a script. Especially the party chat when the party talk to eachother as your exploring.

Originally posted by Burning thought
Thats not true, you see the mage who gets the most aggro can have a shield placed on him so that he can stand invulerable while all the main enemies (or a boss) attacks. I play on hard and it works fine, I cant see how it would make a diffrence if I was playing on any other difficulty tbh. At the moment I lay down all my AOE, and thats a lot of AOE which kills off most large groups of opponents, then I simply trade off paralysis, stuns and slows on all the yellow or orange mobs, if theres those who are not slowed or stunned like many Orange mobs are then I simply shield the guy who gets attacked first. Continue to nuke.

What I find useful is having one mage, preferably main character as an Arcane warrior, have a second set of gear, sword armour etc waiting for him so that when enemies come into range after youve spent all your mana, you can activate all your free sustained abilities and not be bothered by the annoying upkeep since your mana is already gone. Then ofc as an arcane warrior you can survive a good deal with Wynne healing even without a shield.

Also on a note on the last boss:

Did anyone find him quite easy, I beat him on normal difficulty with a fairly even group, me as a battle mage, morrigan as a healer/second mage dps and I had Alistair (Tank) and Ogden (melee dps) the dwarf and we beat him quite handily. Called in steel Golems as our only backup, he was dead before we needed more. He was an awsome boss so no disapointment, he was fun to fight but just not that hard

Hmm..well as long as you have mana pots and plenty of them then you should be fine.

yes I hope so, mana pots are not so hard to come by, and considering I am going to be a blood mage/arcane warrior ill have a lot of health to play with considering enemies (average ones at least) do not hit so hard on a well equiped Arcane warrior and I can cough up so mana, although tbh m8, you cant say many enemies outside of bosses are going to survive all of those AOE, 3 mages (wynne, me, morrigan) make up for at least 5/6 AOE and possibly 2 shields of invulerability, Mass paralysis and holding spells. Theres not a lot anyone can do. Cone of cold and blizzard can hold small armies and if anyone somehow survives theyve got an Arcane warrior to deal with with all sustained abilities activated.

Spell bloom, fade (arcane warrior tree) and mass rejuvination can help with mana regen as well as long as I have a lot of mana regen in combat equipment and as I said, blood mage means i can use some of my health if theres spells I really need to activate.

What are your current tactics? what difficulties have you played through?

Originally posted by Peach
So I played this game a bit today, probably will play it some more tonight.

It is generic to the extreme - there is absolutely nothing to set it apart from any other standard fantasy RPG. It is just like KOTOR and Mass Effect, complete with the annoying control scheme and conversation selection thing. The graphics are nothing special and the characters tend to look ridiculous.

And yet I'm actually enjoying it. Maybe it's because of the setting and the fact that I can play an elf. I've been trying it out on 360, I might buy it for PC in a few weeks.

the brilliance of dragon age isn't in the setting, or the races, or anything like that. for me, it's the dialogue. if you don't like that way of doing things, sure, it gets annoying, but i've found that the actual writing is very, very witty and clever in places, and actually funny too.

interaction with the various characters is the best part of the game, imo, and puts it above mass effect in that regard at the very least.

Really? Because I loved Mass Effect's character interaction. Probably the deepest I've seen in a video game thus far. If Dragon Age is better then I'm shitting my pants. I'm getting the game for christmas probably, can't wait.

Originally posted by BackFire
Really? Because I loved Mass Effect's character interaction. Probably the deepest I've seen in a video game thus far. If Dragon Age is better then I'm shitting my pants. I'm getting the game for christmas probably, can't wait.

honestly? yes. i loved mass effect too, but in dragon age, the people seem, i dunno, more real? you have to be careful with almost every line of dialogue, as it can mean the difference between gaining a new party member or being an asbolute ass. even your own team members argue with each other, forcing you to shut them up if need be.

Loved in the first town where you only have the Dog, Alister and Morrigan, and then just listen too how Morrigan just constantly bites at Alister

Originally posted by -Pr-
honestly? yes. i loved mass effect too, but in dragon age, the people seem, i dunno, more real? you have to be careful with almost every line of dialogue, as it can mean the difference between gaining a new party member or being an asbolute ass. even your own team members argue with each other, forcing you to shut them up if need be.


Well i love both ME and DAO but the characters in DAO like you said feel a little more real, a little more lively.


What i like about DAO is being able to talk to your NPC's anywhere anytime unlike ME being only able to talk in the normandy.

The romances in DAO are also far more realistic IMO as it takes time to build a relationship, ME's romance was like "lets have sex incase we die tomorrow " kinda thing.

But i have faith that ME2 will surpass the original in these aspects seeing how bioware listened to fan feed back.

Btw on my second playthrough with a dwarf commoner, its funny how leliana had to kneel down to exchange a kiss with a dwarf.

Originally posted by -Pr-
the brilliance of dragon age isn't in the setting, or the races, or anything like that. for me, it's the dialogue. if you don't like that way of doing things, sure, it gets annoying, but i've found that the actual writing is very, very witty and clever in places, and actually funny too.

interaction with the various characters is the best part of the game, imo, and puts it above mass effect in that regard at the very least.

Originally posted by BackFire
Really? Because I loved Mass Effect's character interaction. Probably the deepest I've seen in a video game thus far. If Dragon Age is better then I'm shitting my pants. I'm getting the game for christmas probably, can't wait.

See, I hated Mass Effect. It was an absolutely terrible game. And the character interaction and dialog in that game always felt very...stilted and forced, I guess, is the best way of putting it.

Character interaction in DAO is better, at least, though I don't think that's saying a huge amount.

Originally posted by BoratBorat
Well i love both ME and DAO but the characters in DAO like you said feel a little more real, a little more lively.


What i like about DAO is being able to talk to your NPC's anywhere anytime unlike ME being only able to talk in the normandy.

The romances in DAO are also far more realistic IMO as it takes time to build a relationship, ME's romance was like "lets have sex incase we die tomorrow " kinda thing.

But i have faith that ME2 will surpass the original in these aspects seeing how bioware listened to fan feed back.

Btw on my second playthrough with a dwarf commoner, its funny how leliana had to kneel down to exchange a kiss with a dwarf.



Originally posted by Peach
See, I hated Mass Effect. It was an absolutely terrible game. And the character interaction and dialog in that game always felt very...stilted and forced, I guess, is the best way of putting it.

Character interaction in DAO is better, at least, though I don't think that's saying a huge amount.

you hated mass effect? dang...

Stuck at the final battle, cant beat him as a dwarf. Starting a new game as a Mage. I am REALLLY enjoying it. Just had a rare, perfect moment in gaming that I haven't really had for some time. I was walking in Ostagar, and one of the enchanters was preaching to some solders;combined with her speech, the scenery, and the musical score at the time I couldn't stop myself from saying "Perfect" out loud. Tis truly powerful.

Originally posted by -Pr-




you hated mass effect? dang...


Hmm. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion I guess.

Loved the first one and just preorderd the collectors edition.

Originally posted by -Pr-




you hated mass effect? dang... Well mass effect isn't a game for everybody.

Personally i loved it but i hope ME2's dialogue wouldn't just be on the damn ship but anywhere else.

Preordered the CE.

Oh yeah and the blood dragon armor for dwarf and elf looks horrible, so far it seems that it suits humans and the qunari the best.

Because it looked so corny on my dwarf i gave it to sten instead and wore the leigonare armor set.

Originally posted by BoratBorat
Well mass effect isn't a game for everybody.

Personally i loved it but i hope ME2's dialogue wouldn't just be on the damn ship but anywhere else.

Preordered the CE.

Oh yeah and the blood dragon armor for dwarf and elf looks horrible, so far it seems that it suits humans and the qunari the best.

Because it looked so corny on my dwarf i gave it to sten instead and wore the leigonare armor set.

oh, of course.

i was just surprised that Peach didn't like it, as she was someone i thought would have. i'm looking forward to number 2 big time...

My group of mages is working out well, at the moment its difficult to sort out some of the immunes as we all have a fairly small amount of different damage types at the moment. Nature+frost cannot damage orange revenants it seems so my fire mage (me) is having to do most of the damage. But morrigan will grab some spirit later on. Do I do spirit damage with blood magic?

Originally posted by -Pr-
oh, of course.

i was just surprised that Peach didn't like it, as she was someone i thought would have. i'm looking forward to number 2 big time...

The game had its flaws. The combat was a bit stiff.

Though she tends to just like some J-rpgs. So it's not that surprising.

Pfft, JRPG's. *Waves them off with gesture of hand.*

The only good JRPG is a JRPG that stays in Japan.

Originally posted by Burning thought
yes I hope so, mana pots are not so hard to come by, and considering I am going to be a blood mage/arcane warrior ill have a lot of health to play with considering enemies (average ones at least) do not hit so hard on a well equiped Arcane warrior and I can cough up so mana, although tbh m8, you cant say many enemies outside of bosses are going to survive all of those AOE, 3 mages (wynne, me, morrigan) make up for at least 5/6 AOE and possibly 2 shields of invulerability, Mass paralysis and holding spells. Theres not a lot anyone can do. Cone of cold and blizzard can hold small armies and if anyone somehow survives theyve got an Arcane warrior to deal with with all sustained abilities activated.

Spell bloom, fade (arcane warrior tree) and mass rejuvination can help with mana regen as well as long as I have a lot of mana regen in combat equipment and as I said, blood mage means i can use some of my health if theres spells I really need to activate.

What are your current tactics? what difficulties have you played through?

I'm "playing" on nightmare difficulty. My tactics are pretty straightfoward I sent my tank in with threaten and taunt envelope him in a energy shield and then have the rest of my team dish out damage. Morrigan hits a group with nightmare and I sit by watching the fight. The only thing that annoys me is that a lot of the times my guys abandon their current target to help me out, or stop attacking and stand motionless for 5 seconds.

Originally posted by -Pr-
oh, of course.

i was just surprised that Peach didn't like it, as she was someone i thought would have. i'm looking forward to number 2 big time...

I greatly disliked the gameplay style of it.

It's also sci-fi, which is another strike against it to me. And it was just another long line of games that claimed you could make decisions that actually changed how the story would play out and then did not actually do that.

Originally posted by BackFire
The game had its flaws. The combat was a bit stiff.

Though she tends to just like some J-rpgs. So it's not that surprising. The combat will be improved in ME2 from what the dev's say, i sure hope so.

Originally posted by Peach
I greatly disliked the gameplay style of it.

It's also sci-fi, which is another strike against it to me. And it was just another long line of games that claimed you could make decisions that actually changed how the story would play out and then did not actually do that.

Id say it was more "Space Oprahish" it defiantly had some fantasy elements. Just because something is set in Space doesn't make it Sci-Fi automatically, look at Star Wars.