Dragon Age: Origins

[TKz]

I almost got the Blood Dragon Armour last night, but I had to sign up for the bioware website then realised I used the wrong e-mail address, so I never got around to it. How good is it, Pris? Are we talking extremely helpful to someone who's still in the early ages of the game or is it just another armour, just looks cooler?

Also, has anyone else figured out how the levelling system works? Do enemies level up with your character? I miss the days when you could spend hours destroying weak enemies to boost up your level, so that when it came to the big boss you could take him down easy. I've never been a fan of enemies getting stronger, it just doesn't really make sense to me. If I've killed a fucking dragon, then why would it still take me like 14 attacks to kill a small Rat?

My party at the moment is made up of Cain (Me), Morrigan, Alistair & Lilah is it? The woman from the tavern that joins with you for pretty much no reason. I've turned her into my second Ranged Attacker by loading her up with the Bow & Arrow. How's everyone doing with trophies as well? I've got like 8 I think, some that're just like finish Ostagar & Play through Human Noble Origins, and then a few more that're like "Kill 100 Darkspawn" and "Create a Potion".

Is anyone playing primarily as a Mage yet? If so, how's it working out for you? Do you find you've got enough MP/whatever? I tend to stick to Sword & Shield or Two Swords most of the time in games like this, but I'll probably try out the Mage class when I go through as an Elf (because a Dwarf Mage would just be strange.)

[Your Mom]

Dwarfs cant be mages. As far as the Dragon Armor goes it helps a ton and is probably the best armor in the game. It wont help you for a long time though because you need 38 strength to wear it.

[TKz]

Dwarfs cant be mages. As far as the Dragon Armor goes it helps a ton and is probably the best armor in the game. It wont help you for a long time though because you need 38 strength to wear it.

Well that just sounds intolerant. >_>

That sucks, ah well. I think I'm like level 6 now so I suppose I'll leave the downloading of it for a while.

[Your Mom]

I'm not exactly sure thats possible. It appears in your room or whatever right when you start the game. I'm not sure it will show up later.

The Dwarf thing if I remember the story right is because they mine Lyrium which the Mages need to do magic and overtime they become immune to it so they cant be mages.

[The Kraig]

Just beat the game! What a weird climax. There's a lot of big decisions near the end of the game, so there must be a ton of different endings to this game.

I like the fact that 'good' and 'bad' aren't spelled out for you. And I like that you can negotiate quite a lot, even with people who have just ripped a fluffy bunny's head off and shoved it up their arse for sexual gratification. The MIGHT have a perfectly good reason for doing so, might as well ask and find out!

My end-of-game spoilers, ahoy!

I'm doing the human noble story. For the whole game I've been doing pretty nice things, since I'm a nice guy. No evil noble here. I spared Loghain so he could redeem himself to Ferelden (he's supposed to be the greatest general ever, right?), but then Alistair had a massive hissy fit because we let him join the Grey Warders and he went away, never to be seen again. This is after he already agreed to marry Anora to keep everyone happy. Seriously, Alistair was the most annoying character in the game, always whining about something. Mental age of three. I chose to do the special thing with Morrigan that prevents you from dying when you kill the archdemon (since she was my character's lover anyway, it made sense >_>).

I was kind of sad by the end. Morrigan, Shale, Leliana, Wynne, Zevran and Mogren (my dog) got a lot of play. Oghren was somewhat annoying, and Sten was basically a clone of my character so I rarely needed him. Shale was easily the funniest character. The talks between Wynne and Zevran were hilarious. Sten and my dog seemed to talk a lot. I liked Wynne and Shale's interaction as well ("elder mage").

At the celebration bit, I chose to chase after Morrigan. She gave me a ring, so that she could find me wherever I was, and it's supposed to work both ways. This is mentioned in the 'what happened next' bits before the credits, so hopefully the story will continue with the next game.

Love this game. My game of the year, easily.

[TKz]

Progress Report

Just beat back the wave of undead in Redcliffe, taking a little break before I storm the castle.

How long is this game, by the way? I was hoping for something that would take a fucking while to beat, but with how quickly I seem to be progressing I'm starting to worry that it'll barely take a week to beat. (That's assuming the main quest is what I think it is, Recruit the Arl, The Dwarves, The Elfs and The Mages & then destroy the Darkspawn.)

[RoyWill Rumble]

Spoilers are awesome.

[TKz]

Spoilers are awesome.

Sorry about that, problem solved.

[RoyWill Rumble]

Spoilers are awesome.

Sorry about that, problem solved.

Second part of your post still spoils things.

[apsham]

I still haven't beat the game, but then again I started over like.. four times and I always make sure to do every single sub-quest. Some people have logged over 100 hours though, and hell.. Kraig was anticipating this game.. got it on release and was just beating it now.

[TKz]

Yeah, I've been doing most of the subplots I can. I'm trying to get in and bump uglies with Morrigan so I can get the trophy, but nothing I do seems to change her relationship towards me. I've done enough that I've unlocked the [kiss her] bit, but other than that I assume all I can really do is be a bastard to everyone to raise her level on the thing.

Everyone should go through trying to get in with Morrigan, because the conversation's between her and Alistair afterwards are brilliant.

[Lint]

Progress Report

Just beat back the wave of undead in Redcliffe, taking a little break before I storm the castle.

How long is this game, by the way? I was hoping for something that would take a fucking while to beat, but with how quickly I seem to be progressing I'm starting to worry that it'll barely take a week to beat. (That's assuming the main quest is what I think it is, Recruit the Arl, The Dwarves, The Elfs and The Mages & then destroy the Darkspawn.)

Yes..that is the main quest..but

The Circle and the Dwarf quests are pretty lengthy...plus there is always the side work you could do. I restarted my game because I felt like I breezed through it too quickly and missed alot of stuff, and I was right

[TKz]

Progress Report

Just beat back the wave of undead in Redcliffe, taking a little break before I storm the castle.

How long is this game, by the way? I was hoping for something that would take a fucking while to beat, but with how quickly I seem to be progressing I'm starting to worry that it'll barely take a week to beat. (That's assuming the main quest is what I think it is, Recruit the Arl, The Dwarves, The Elfs and The Mages & then destroy the Darkspawn.)

Yes..that is the main quest..but

The Circle and the Dwarf quests are pretty lengthy...plus there is always the side work you could do. I restarted my game because I felt like I breezed through it too quickly and missed alot of stuff, and I was right

Are there more in depth side quests? All the ones I've come across so far have been like "kill these 3 bears" or "fetch this and this."

[Your Mom]

Urn of the sacred ashes was pretty darn long I know that.

[The Kraig]

For the record, my game lasted over 100 hours. And that was with me bumping it down onto easy from time to time - some of the battles are impossible to win unless you have particular skills it seems. I also liked to switch my party around, which meant they would get totally raped until I was able to level them and kit them up with good equipment.

Friendly fire is a bitch as well, especially if you have a powerful attacking mage, which I had in my party almost all of the time.

If you've only just arrived at Redcliffe and not been to the castle or any of the other major areas then you have a shit load of stuff to do still. Seriously, that feels like it happened years ago to me.

I highly recommend the Soldier's Peak DLC (do it early) and the Stone Prisoner DLC (Shale is fantastic). Any other DLC that's pretty good?

[TKz]

For the record, my game lasted over 100 hours. And that was with me bumping it down onto easy from time to time - some of the battles are impossible to win unless you have particular skills it seems. I also liked to switch my party around, which meant they would get totally raped until I was able to level them and kit them up with good equipment.

Friendly fire is a bitch as well, especially if you have a powerful attacking mage, which I had in my party almost all of the time.

If you've only just arrived at Redcliffe and not been to the castle or any of the other major areas then you have a shit load of stuff to do still. Seriously, that feels like it happened years ago to me.

I highly recommend the Soldier's Peak DLC (do it early) and the Stone Prisoner DLC (Shale is fantastic). Any other DLC that's pretty good?

You mean Wardern's Keep DLC, yeah? Is it worth it then? It's only 5.49 so I was thinking about getting it anyway, but it's good to know it's worth the cash. I've had Shale for all of 10 minutes and I already love the big guy.

I've finished Redcliffe now (well, still need to get the Ashes), finishing up some of the side quests there (I've done the Refugee's (That was quite a bitch. I had to bump the difficulty down to easy to get it done) and working on the Carvan and other one next. I've also gotten Zevran, though I doubt I'll use him much.

Is there a quick way to change party? It'd be very helpful to be able to pull out Lelina when I want something unlocked. The fact you can transform into a FUCKING BEAR is beyond awesome. Morrigan is fantastic, easily my strongest party member.

Also what's the deal with all the FIRE CRYSTAL and LIFE STONE stuff I've got? Is there like a way to make something with them? Is it an ability? What one and how do I get it? I've got a load of stuff and I'd love to be able to get some use out of it and sell what I don't need.

[Lj.]

I'm very torn as to which console I should purchase this on for. Any suggestions? I have a 360, a PC, obviously, and I'm buying a PS3 Slim later this week. I like the idea of having a fan-dabi-dozi PC game, but I usually keep this laptop pretty full, so I'd more than likely have to buy more space for the PC if I did get it for PC.

[TKz]

Really it just depends on what sort of view you prefer, 3rd Person or RTS style. I understand the PC version is more like a RTS game while the PS3 version is more like KOTOR.

[Lint]

Having played only the PS3 version I'm a bit biased..though I have heard complains..and have had a few myself..that there are some graphical slowdowns onthe console versions when running anything higher then 480P(I think?)...I'm not sure what the lower levels of HD are..but I have my PS3 set to 1080P and have noticed a few graphical hiccups here and there

[RoyWill Rumble]

I have it for PC, and it's fifteen gigs. If your computer can run it, there shouldn't be any question that you should be playing it for PC. On the consoles, everything is mapped to a wheel like Mass Effect. With PC, the interface has the standard RPG layout and it just looks better (to me) and it's easier than using a wheel. Also, it looks better on the PC if yours can handle it and you can use a mouse. And you can use the third-person style view if you want to. I find it easier to use the standard top-down view for bigger battles just so I can coordinate better, personally.

Sorry to seem so biased, but the PC version to me really is better. It's been said it is. The console version is still amazing, but the interface, top-down option, and ability to use the mouse in a point-and-click-based RPG is a big thing to me.