Changing up the gameplay style pissed a number of people off, too.
Dalisclock plays through the Dragon Age Trilogy and makes a lot of running commentary along the way. Spoilers abound.
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5.) You marry Anora yourself and rule together. (only possible as a male human noble.)
Sparing Loghain is a good choice, despite it being somewhat unsatisfying (and also might end up with Alistair dead). It's interesting to get a chance to talk with him and get his justification behind his actions throughout the game.
I mean, isn't that what the Grey Wardens basically are already?
True enough, but since it doesn't matter how experience the people are, there's no reason to use veteran warden when you can just use the thief who jumped you in random encounter #28. iirc the soul thing just jump to the closest warden when the dragon die, so just tie the sacrifice to the dragon and then kill it.
But then you're sacrificing a valuable party slot out of four! ONLY FOUR WARDENS/PARTY MEMBERS CAN BE ON SCREEN AT A TIME! /s
Not to mention canon fodder dude has to be willing and able to strike the final blow as well as.....survive that long. Remember, this is supposed to be a corrupted ancient dragon god and not supposed to be easy to take down. Riodern was a senior warden, got in a few good hits on the archdemon and still died. Conscript thief warden might not have even been that lucky.
But really, there was no guarantee that we would have been able to bring it down without killing it. It was just pure luck (and gameplay convenience) that there was time to diddle about deciding who gets to put in the final stab. Also, your idea is kind of evil.
My official alignment is neutral-pragmatic. Now I wonder what would happen if we strapped spare warden to boulder and catapulted them at the dragon, its not like there's a shortage of human who attack us randomly.
But there is a shortage of Archdemon blood, which is required to make Wardens and remember some Wardens don't survive the joining either. I suspect that's the entire point of the Warden rebuilding the order in awakening.
The Senior Warden who shows up in Denerim, Riodran and Alister earlier does explain a lot of why you don't more backup then you should from the Wardens. Calian didn't wait for reinforcements from Orlasies, the ones who did try to enter Ferelden were turned back at the border by Loghain's troops and the Grey Wardens had a bounty put on them to boot. They sent the one warden to try to figure out what's going on but it would take weeks for any Wardens to arrive in force from elsewhere by which point it would probably be far too late for Ferelden(Not that Orlasies would mind watching Feredeln get eaten by Darkspawn and thin them out a bit before the horde reached their territory). Presumably the last thing the other wardens knew was "There might be a Blight" and then that's the last thing they ever heard from duncan. This was not helped by the fact Alister, with all of 6 months of Warden experience under his belt, became Senior Warden quite suddenly and had no idea who to even turn to for reinforcements, all because Calian wanted his GLORIOUS ROMANTIC BATTLE ALONGSIDE THE WARDENS and Loghain doing his thing.
It does beg the question if you truly didn't have enough resources for make the entire party into true grey wardens(as planned earlier in development) but it does sound like you don't have enough to play the numbers game here. For all we know the Archdemon blood Riordan had was all that was available on hand until you were able to kill this Archdemon(Not shown: after the battle, dudes collecting archdemon blood in buckets for use later on).
Dragon Age Origins can easily be summed up as "What happens with the higher ups screw up so badly that the Junior guys end up being the last hope for everyone". Which I think is one of the reasons it works, despite the overall story being rather generic and cliche. The PC and really all of the party members are a group of misfits and losers by the time they join the Wardens(yeah the Human Noble was rich and privileged but then his/her family were murdered and their lands seized) who spend pretty much the entire game without any real backing or resources beyond what they can find or scourge up and even as Wardens they're in the unenviable situation of being in charge because everyone above them is dead or missing. The story of the person who started at the bottom and rose up to be the big hero(or villain) is well told for a reason.
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Small spoiler: You can easily have a full Warden party in the Awakening DLC.
Though ironically, for me it improved the experience immensely.
So this popped up in my news feed and it's Kotaku so yeah.
kotaku.com
Apparently Skyrim isn't the only fantasy game that gets modded to fucking death because some people really enjoy it. Still, I'm trying to imagine playing 1000+ hours of anything that isn't incredibly freeform sandboxy.
I Played 1,167 Hours Of Dragon Age: Origins And Lived
What is there to do in a BioWare RPG for a thousand hours? Mods. Lots of mods
kotaku.com
Apparently Skyrim isn't the only fantasy game that gets modded to fucking death because some people really enjoy it. Still, I'm trying to imagine playing 1000+ hours of anything that isn't incredibly freeform sandboxy.
Another great thing about Dragon Age: Origins: the devs apparently thought a lot about specific situation and acknowledged them with dialogue. Like romancing Alistair and not taking Morrigan's offer. Or Zevran's heritage usually not being of importance for him except for that one time. Taking Oghren to the mountain at Haven. I really need to replay as Human Noble but with the DLC, I bet there is quite something when you meet Howe junior.
Now that I'm finished with Return to Monkey Island(my take here, if you're interested) , I'm back on the Dragon Age Train. Toot Toot!
Getting back into it, I fired up '"The Darkspawn Chronicles" and after about 20 minutes I turned it off again. It's basically the battle of denerim but this time you're one of the invading darkspawn and you recruit darkspawn from the map to kill the defenders and occasionally one of the story characters as a boss/mini-boss(one of the first ones is Arl Howe). And it's.....okay I guess. Apparently it's an alt history where the Warden didn't survive the joining but there's not even any voice acting in the game or story, you just get a series of objectives and lead your little group of darkspawn to each one to kill everything in your path and I kinda just stopped caring when I realized what it was. I mean, you even go through the city in the exact same order, more or less, the maps are pretty much the same and it's just refighting the battle with the sides switched up and a bunch of combat with a few bits of text to urge you on. Apparently at the end you kill Alistair and Morrigan and doggo while they're fighting the Archdemon and then....well, the Darkspawn win and that's it. It feels very....perfunctory, I guess. I mean, it's a thing. It's more dragon age but it doesn't feel like it's adding anything to the experience and I pretty much don't see anyone talking about it when I do a search online.
So yeah, I don't feel like I'm missing much really by skipping it. If anyone has a reason to play it other then completionism, feel free to speak up because otherwise I'm moving on to Awakening.
Speaking of which, I did the first hour of Awakening and I'm already having a much better time. It's almost little a mini-sequel to origins, where after the blight ended, the Grey Wardens were given control of Vigils Keep, a former holding of Arl Howe and the PC is appointed the Warden-Commander of Ferelden(as well as a title of Arl/Arlessa) with the intent of rebuilding the templar order. This can be the PC(or one of the PCs) from Origins as an imported character or you can just make a new one and then it's brand new PC, a Warden from Orlais who arrived after the blight ended(Naturally I'm using the same warden I beat Origins with, city elf female) Of course, the moment you start the game and are approaching Vigils keep, you find the fortress under attack by Darkspawn, throwing you right into the action as you fight your way to the top of the fortress, helping survivors and gaining companions along the war. Among them is a warrior named Mhairi, Oghren the alcoholic berserker dwarf and Anders, an apostate mage who you find surrounded by a pile of dead templars(as you do).
It turns out the fortress was attacked by surprise by darkspawn, and not just stupid horde darkspawn, but darkspawn who attack in a guided manner, led by an intelligent talking Darkspawn. Once he's dead and the fortress is secured, the companions are given the joining ritual and poor Mhairi fails to make it. Too bad, because I was already starting to like her. The whole thing throws you into the action really quick and introduces characters at a rapid pace, as well as introducing you to the central conflict. It looks like Vigils keep is going to be a player HQ of sorts and I look forward to seeing how well it works.
Also, KIng Alistair made a quick cameo with his honor guard, presumably as the head of reinforcements for the keep, which of course, I'd already secured by that point. Then he says hi but he must be going and then marches off because King Business or some such. It's possible he'll show up again but I doubt it.
But yeah, I'm back, baby!
Getting back into it, I fired up '"The Darkspawn Chronicles" and after about 20 minutes I turned it off again. It's basically the battle of denerim but this time you're one of the invading darkspawn and you recruit darkspawn from the map to kill the defenders and occasionally one of the story characters as a boss/mini-boss(one of the first ones is Arl Howe). And it's.....okay I guess. Apparently it's an alt history where the Warden didn't survive the joining but there's not even any voice acting in the game or story, you just get a series of objectives and lead your little group of darkspawn to each one to kill everything in your path and I kinda just stopped caring when I realized what it was. I mean, you even go through the city in the exact same order, more or less, the maps are pretty much the same and it's just refighting the battle with the sides switched up and a bunch of combat with a few bits of text to urge you on. Apparently at the end you kill Alistair and Morrigan and doggo while they're fighting the Archdemon and then....well, the Darkspawn win and that's it. It feels very....perfunctory, I guess. I mean, it's a thing. It's more dragon age but it doesn't feel like it's adding anything to the experience and I pretty much don't see anyone talking about it when I do a search online.
So yeah, I don't feel like I'm missing much really by skipping it. If anyone has a reason to play it other then completionism, feel free to speak up because otherwise I'm moving on to Awakening.
Speaking of which, I did the first hour of Awakening and I'm already having a much better time. It's almost little a mini-sequel to origins, where after the blight ended, the Grey Wardens were given control of Vigils Keep, a former holding of Arl Howe and the PC is appointed the Warden-Commander of Ferelden(as well as a title of Arl/Arlessa) with the intent of rebuilding the templar order. This can be the PC(or one of the PCs) from Origins as an imported character or you can just make a new one and then it's brand new PC, a Warden from Orlais who arrived after the blight ended(Naturally I'm using the same warden I beat Origins with, city elf female) Of course, the moment you start the game and are approaching Vigils keep, you find the fortress under attack by Darkspawn, throwing you right into the action as you fight your way to the top of the fortress, helping survivors and gaining companions along the war. Among them is a warrior named Mhairi, Oghren the alcoholic berserker dwarf and Anders, an apostate mage who you find surrounded by a pile of dead templars(as you do).
It turns out the fortress was attacked by surprise by darkspawn, and not just stupid horde darkspawn, but darkspawn who attack in a guided manner, led by an intelligent talking Darkspawn. Once he's dead and the fortress is secured, the companions are given the joining ritual and poor Mhairi fails to make it. Too bad, because I was already starting to like her. The whole thing throws you into the action really quick and introduces characters at a rapid pace, as well as introducing you to the central conflict. It looks like Vigils keep is going to be a player HQ of sorts and I look forward to seeing how well it works.
Also, KIng Alistair made a quick cameo with his honor guard, presumably as the head of reinforcements for the keep, which of course, I'd already secured by that point. Then he says hi but he must be going and then marches off because King Business or some such. It's possible he'll show up again but I doubt it.
But yeah, I'm back, baby!
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Awakening is an old school (possibly the last one) expansion like brood war or throne of Baal. It's a bit shorter than the main game but not by much. It's a bit strange in way though, it introduce a bunch of stuff but most of them don't really carry on in the sequels.
Yep, Darkspawn Chronicles is effectively just as you describe it. The only reason for completing it, is that you get a couple of pieces of equipment for use in DA:O/Awakening. The plot and gameplay is pretty much just as you describe it. You really haven't missed much by skipping it.
With that said, Alistair does name his dog "Barkspawn", which I have used to name my dog in subsequent playthroughs ever since. As far as I care, it is canon.
@Dalisclock
I feel like I should mention that (assuming that you stay the course) Dragon Age Inquisition doesn't actually use a traditional save-transfer feature, like Dragon Age 2, and the Mass Effect trilogy uses.
You actually have to craft your own save using a website - https://dragonagekeep.com/en_US/ - to import into Inquisition.
Obviously I wouldn't bother looking at it now, because there are spoilers everywhere, but worth remembering when the time comes.
Super handy for if you just want to play DA:I with different backgrounds, but a little annoying when you have to manually input all of your decisions after just playing all of the games.
Oh, and a little tip for Dragon Age 2, when you eventually get to it - unless you really like character creation tools, I wouldn't bother customising the way your player charater looks (beyond using the preset that removes the bit of facepaint, if you fancy) ... it will save you some time down the road.
I feel like I should mention that (assuming that you stay the course) Dragon Age Inquisition doesn't actually use a traditional save-transfer feature, like Dragon Age 2, and the Mass Effect trilogy uses.
You actually have to craft your own save using a website - https://dragonagekeep.com/en_US/ - to import into Inquisition.
Obviously I wouldn't bother looking at it now, because there are spoilers everywhere, but worth remembering when the time comes.
Super handy for if you just want to play DA:I with different backgrounds, but a little annoying when you have to manually input all of your decisions after just playing all of the games.
Oh, and a little tip for Dragon Age 2, when you eventually get to it - unless you really like character creation tools, I wouldn't bother customising the way your player charater looks (beyond using the preset that removes the bit of facepaint, if you fancy) ... it will save you some time down the road.
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That isn’t strictly true. The Keep imports files from DragonAge Origins and II if you’re signed in with your EA account. The Keep was developed - if my atrophied brain recalls correctly - because of reasons they couldn’t get a straight import system to work so they made this thing to A) mix and match save files for import and B) allow the player to catch any errors in the import and correct them.
What it then creates is a world state that Inquisition will reference at the beginning of a new game.
Yeah, this on the other hand is totally true. I was only ever brave enough to alter things like hair, hair colour, eye colour and makeup. And even that last one is chancy because it can make Lady!Hawke at least look like she uses Homer Simpson’s makeup shotgun on the ‘French Whore’ setting.
EDIT: fuck doing anything on this forum on a smartphone is absolute garbage.
I'd heard about the Keep before but I'm nowhere near Inquisition so haven't bothered to check into it yet.
Also, thanks for the heads up about the character creator. Probably not gonna be a problem because most of the time I spend like 20 minutes with the character creator and call it a day(Unless I'm playing Saints Row and then I go fucking nuts). It's usually adjusting skin color, hair color, eye color and hairstyle until I decide "This is fine".
Speaking of Dragon Age 2, suggestions for gender/class? I know you're pretty much always Human Hawk and the big choices you get at the start are Mage/Rouge/Warrior and Male/Female. Is there a notable difference in genders(FemShep was my favorite Shepherd and I played both)? Are any of the classes notably more fun or powerful then the others or is it personal playstyle? I'm enjoying Rogue in DA:O/A but not sure if that holds in DA2.
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Got a little further in Awakening. It turns out that Vigils Keep, or the Vigil, as it's called, is quite a hub. Like the camp from Origins but expanded out a bit. A lot of the keep seems to become inaccessible after taking it back but that's fine because all the important stuff is concentrated in the main hall and the courtyard. And boy is there a bit going on. Three people have things to lay on you right off the bat, laying out the main tasks, but there's also a couple merchants in the hall as well(one is a regular marchant, one is a circle mage with runes and rune accessories). Outside there's a couple more merchants and access to a dungeon, where a notable prisoner is being held, Nathaniel Howe, son of the late Tim Curry Arl Howe but apparently not a complete shit. I went ahead and recruited him because I need more dudes in my party and he's a ranger to boot.
This game does not waste time at all. Aside from the opening dungeon of retaking the Vigil, within 30 min after that I'd gotten another teammate, a quest to go clear out the cellars which apparently have access to the deep roads or darkspawn tunnels and allowed the darkspawn to get in, a party where all the vassals show up to kiss ass and ask for help(and of course, they all need help and troops, which which I have few). Also there's apparently a conspiracy brewing to kill me, and I only just arrived too. HOORAY! But yeah, apparently all the roads are unsafe, trade is minimal because of said roads being unsafe, the town is threatened by darkspawn, the keep is exposed due to having few troops and pretty much all the wardens being dead before I got there. And of course going to town I get ever more quests.
Also, I have options to secure the keep, but apparently I need ton of cash to rebuild the walls(Hopefully cash is plentiful) all sturdy-like and I need special ore to arm and armor my guards/troopers. I was also asked at one point where to deploy my limited troops(of which I have no idea how many I have) and basically told my captain to pick where to send them because I sure as hell don't know where to concentrate them. I know I don't have enough to secure the town, the roads and the keep all at once.
Origins takes a couple hours before it opens up and while a bit boring on repeat plays, it at least eases you in somewhat. Awakening just dumps a bunch of shit on you once the keep is secured and tells you to go to town. But I do like the whole conceit of getting this neglected fort in the mountains,, as well as the lands attached to it along with the title, and having to work to bring it back up to code as well as rebuild the wardens in the process. I don't know how much tangible benefits of differences I'll see from it but the idea is cool at least.
This game does not waste time at all. Aside from the opening dungeon of retaking the Vigil, within 30 min after that I'd gotten another teammate, a quest to go clear out the cellars which apparently have access to the deep roads or darkspawn tunnels and allowed the darkspawn to get in, a party where all the vassals show up to kiss ass and ask for help(and of course, they all need help and troops, which which I have few). Also there's apparently a conspiracy brewing to kill me, and I only just arrived too. HOORAY! But yeah, apparently all the roads are unsafe, trade is minimal because of said roads being unsafe, the town is threatened by darkspawn, the keep is exposed due to having few troops and pretty much all the wardens being dead before I got there. And of course going to town I get ever more quests.
Also, I have options to secure the keep, but apparently I need ton of cash to rebuild the walls(Hopefully cash is plentiful) all sturdy-like and I need special ore to arm and armor my guards/troopers. I was also asked at one point where to deploy my limited troops(of which I have no idea how many I have) and basically told my captain to pick where to send them because I sure as hell don't know where to concentrate them. I know I don't have enough to secure the town, the roads and the keep all at once.
Origins takes a couple hours before it opens up and while a bit boring on repeat plays, it at least eases you in somewhat. Awakening just dumps a bunch of shit on you once the keep is secured and tells you to go to town. But I do like the whole conceit of getting this neglected fort in the mountains,, as well as the lands attached to it along with the title, and having to work to bring it back up to code as well as rebuild the wardens in the process. I don't know how much tangible benefits of differences I'll see from it but the idea is cool at least.
So there's two aspect to this.
Story wise there's some important change depending on if you're a mage or not, since one of the central story point is mage vs templar, it'll change one of the party member you'll get and a couple of point in the story. That said, nobody really notice that you're running around as a mage and casting magic (which is supposed to be a big no no). I can't comment on male v female since I only ever play femhawke.
Gameplay wise, I'd say you want to go either rogue or mage, warrior are okay but ultimately outclassed by the other two class imo (not true for every spec but in a general sense). Mage are very versatile and its really nice to have two since healing is pretty limited, they also have a lot of party wide buff. Rogue do a lot of DPS and they have some nice survivability tool. Combat in DA2 usually involve a lot of weak enemy and 1 or 2 super dangerous enemy and its nice being able to explode them right away in a fight and rogue excel at that, while mage are very good at AoE damage (keep in mind that at higher difficulty friendly fire is on).
I'd say ideal party is 2 mage 1 warrior and 1 rogue, but as a results if you play as the one rogue you have to bench Varric which is a big no no in my book so I usually go mage. But overall rogue are probably the strongest class (with one very specific spec of warrior not being far behind).
FYI, its kinda hard to get if you go in blind, but there's a semi important 1 v 1 duel you can do, so its probably a good idea to spec in a way you can do it (my first time trough I had to kite the boss for like 30 min cause I had almost no offensive ability but I could root him every once in awhile). Its a bit of a shame because the MC can be an amazing healer if specced for it.