BioWare Dev Explains Why Dragon Age II Is Easier Than Origins
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
The only fights that I had any difficulty with were boss fights. And guess what, they were, y'know, boss fights. They're supposed to be a challenge. Or so I figured.
It's sad that apparently people expect to just cruise on through games these days, and when they find anything they can't blast their way through instantly they cry and call it too hard. There was a time when the point of a game was to be challenged, and when you beat the game you could be proud of yourself because you overcame that challenge.
It's sad that apparently people expect to just cruise on through games these days, and when they find anything they can't blast their way through instantly they cry and call it too hard. There was a time when the point of a game was to be challenged, and when you beat the game you could be proud of yourself because you overcame that challenge.
I actually found the DA2 demo harder only because with all that button mashing I pay no attention to my healthbar
Que a bunch of elitist gamers complaining about how they thought it was easy and they are just pandering to the casual market. I some times really hate the gaming community. Hey, if you think its going to be too easy... up the difficulty, that is what its there for.
The normal difficulty should be put there so anyone can play it without too much trouble. The higher difficulties are there for the people who want a challenge. Ba'h whats the point, its like screaming at the floor.
The normal difficulty should be put there so anyone can play it without too much trouble. The higher difficulties are there for the people who want a challenge. Ba'h whats the point, its like screaming at the floor.
A difficulty between the main Origins and the stupidly easy Awakening would be nice. Awakening, as fun as it was, was too damn easy even on harder difficulties. I played it recently (On hard. Yes, I should have bumped it up to Nightmare. Still, hard should be hard) as an archer and not only did my character not die once, but only twice did anyone in my party die, and both deaths happened at the very end of different boss fights when I was just focused on finishing the fight rather than healing those people.
But normal in Dragon Age: Origins could be definitely be harder than one would expect, so it sounds like what they are doing is fair. Again...as long as they don't make it as easy as Awakening.
But normal in Dragon Age: Origins could be definitely be harder than one would expect, so it sounds like what they are doing is fair. Again...as long as they don't make it as easy as Awakening.
Yeah, dude's absolutely right: I have absolutely no idea how to engage in party management. In fact, I found that as the one glaring flaw with the first game. I grew up on beat-em-ups and action games, so having to sit down and figure where to put who as opposed to when to do what came off as agonizingly boring. Sorry if that just gave you all the image of a "Ritalin-popping, Mountain Dew swilling, Halo fanboy", but I much prefer to be hands-on with my games - we're not gonna agree on this, but I will always think there is more skill involved with having to adjust your strategy at a moment's glance than to "pause", take a breath, and reevaluate the situation.
Ergo, I find the combat overhaul (or simplification, your choice) to be a refreshing change - I get to wreck shop with my warrior/rogue and everyone else can do their thing... although I do find it a bit odd (if hilarious) for me to do what's essentially a super move and have the enemy be nothing but boots.
Observation: Jesus! I am literally the only one who thinks this way so far. This almost makes wonder what you guys think about games like DMC and the current gen Ninja Gaiden games.
Ergo, I find the combat overhaul (or simplification, your choice) to be a refreshing change - I get to wreck shop with my warrior/rogue and everyone else can do their thing... although I do find it a bit odd (if hilarious) for me to do what's essentially a super move and have the enemy be nothing but boots.
Observation: Jesus! I am literally the only one who thinks this way so far. This almost makes wonder what you guys think about games like DMC and the current gen Ninja Gaiden games.
No, I don't think it was difficult, but I play a lot of RPG's like that. My mother on the other hand...or hell, having a very low difficulty helps when I'm trying to introduce someone to the game.
Of course, I also played on Normal, just to finish the story. Hard was only when I felt like indulging myself and Casual when I needed to storm through the damned Fade levels.
I guess that means my default will be hard.
Does this mean they'll be achievements for playing on higher difficulties?
Of course, I also played on Normal, just to finish the story. Hard was only when I felt like indulging myself and Casual when I needed to storm through the damned Fade levels.
I guess that means my default will be hard.
Does this mean they'll be achievements for playing on higher difficulties?
Eh, I decided against it when I found out they ditched being able to choose your race in favour of adding a voice.
Oh yeah, that and they ruined the dialogue system.
Oh yeah, that and they ruined the dialogue system.
Waaah!
They're dumbing it down! Even newcomers will be able to beat it! People who have never played games before will start thinking they are my equal or something! All those years acquiring the skills to beat games and now they go and undermine me by releasing crap that my mum could beat! I'm so hardcorz that I beat Origins on nightmare while blindfolded on my first go with no casualties! This is going to be terrible, it's Invisible War all over again.
Oh woe is me...
They're dumbing it down! Even newcomers will be able to beat it! People who have never played games before will start thinking they are my equal or something! All those years acquiring the skills to beat games and now they go and undermine me by releasing crap that my mum could beat! I'm so hardcorz that I beat Origins on nightmare while blindfolded on my first go with no casualties! This is going to be terrible, it's Invisible War all over again.
Oh woe is me...
Me'h I thought the dialog system is an improvement over the last games which seemed a little dated to me. I'd rather they have a voice, I think it makes the character and the story engaging than reading the text boxes.IronicBeet said:
Though to each their own.
I like everything being giblets. That's why I play a mage class in any game with the option. Pure melee is boring to me, magic means usually being able to rein down ark of the covenant style death upon your foes.Mcoffey said:
I actually picked up DA:O a few days ago after playing the demo for 2. I chugged along as a mage not really encountering any problems to speak of. Then I hit that first town after the battle at the beginning and started getting my ass handed to me by freaking packs of bandits and spiders. I was pretty damned confused to say the least, they were putting me up against some fairly large packs of enemies yet discouraging me from using aoe spells with the friendly fire. It was extremely frustrating to say the least. Here I was with ass kicking mage spells at my disposal ready to turn everything in front of me into crispy bits and I couldn't because dammit all my party was in the way. In short I felt like I was being punished for picking mage as my preferred class over say a rogue or warrior.
I hit a friend up for some tips on how to play mage in the game and we had a long argument over the realism involved in mage aoe spells etc etc. So yeah, I decided the idea of friendly fire for mages was stupid and switched it to easy because bottom line I was there to blow shit up with my mind and roleplay the badass mage I enjoy being in an RPG.
If I ever feel like playing the game for the challenge I'll bump it up to hard and play a rogue or warrior; less squishy characters than a mage.
I didn't have much fun with the combat in DA:O at all, so I played on Easy. It's not that I couldn't play normal or higher (I started on normal), but I didn't want to deal with it. I like plowing through enemies like the skilled hero my character is supposed to be. I also hate dying and starting fights over again... because the fighting part wasn't fun. Screwing with people is what made it great lol.
Urgh! I loved Origins, love BioWare, and loved the DA2 demo. But it was super easy. One of the things I adored about Origins was the difficulty. I've been a cRPG player since the original Baldur's Gate. I know how to handle party-based combat. And really, it's not that difficult. I turned some strict shooter fans onto Origins because of the story, and even guys who'd never played this type of game before eventually figured it out.
There's a learning curve involved, is all. You can make it through the origin story, Ostagar, and the first main mission before you really need to be using the party effectively. I think that's what hit people hard...especially on the consoles. They went from playing just their character, to suddenly getting wiped out when they didn't micromanage. The game also didn't introduce tactics too much, so many folks weren't utilizing their parties to the best of their abilities.
I don't think you needed to make the game easier, though. Just have some optional tutorials for new people. Show them how to switch control, introduce them to tactics, and give them a better understanding of useful spell combos for different situation. Then, anyone who needs help can get some practice, while veterans can cruise through without feeling like the game's been dumbed down.
Oh well, guess I'll be playing DA2 on nightmare right from the get go.
There's a learning curve involved, is all. You can make it through the origin story, Ostagar, and the first main mission before you really need to be using the party effectively. I think that's what hit people hard...especially on the consoles. They went from playing just their character, to suddenly getting wiped out when they didn't micromanage. The game also didn't introduce tactics too much, so many folks weren't utilizing their parties to the best of their abilities.
I don't think you needed to make the game easier, though. Just have some optional tutorials for new people. Show them how to switch control, introduce them to tactics, and give them a better understanding of useful spell combos for different situation. Then, anyone who needs help can get some practice, while veterans can cruise through without feeling like the game's been dumbed down.
Oh well, guess I'll be playing DA2 on nightmare right from the get go.
That's cool I guess. I played Origins on casual and I didn't find it that fun after the first couple of hours. The party based rpg just didn't click with me I guess.
I have a friend who found it relatively easy, but when I played it I was destroyed(I got somewhat better at the tactics, but it was just frustrating at times and sitting in a computer chair for long periods of time killed my back). I eventually got the PS3 version of the game, and just use the PC version for mods.
If all they're doing is making Normal mode like Origins' casual mode, then I'll just play on hard. The only thing I don't like is how they made the Ogre waaaay too easy to kill. I still have nightmares about that first Ogre Battle(get it?) in Origins. -shudders-
EDIT
If all they're doing is making Normal mode like Origins' casual mode, then I'll just play on hard. The only thing I don't like is how they made the Ogre waaaay too easy to kill. I still have nightmares about that first Ogre Battle(get it?) in Origins. -shudders-
EDIT
Oh I hated those freaking wolves. You see if I died in a boss fight it was at least acceptable(because that's supposed to take a couple tries right?). But when a wolf jumps up on the tank and rips his face off right from the beginning, and my party wipes as soon as I left Lothering... yeah, I almost broke my keyboard.cursedseishi said:
Lowest common denominator game development. Doesn't matter if they ruin a genre as long as it taps into the mass market of non gamers. RIP Group based RPGs.
First playthrough of Origins was on Hard as a dwarven rogue, the only difficult parts were lv8-12 (Trying to take Andraste at level 8 was too hard, but I just came back when I gain a few levels). I think it's dumb that its getting to the point where games either completely easy or hair-pulling difficult through artificial means (Basically giving things insane HP or armor boosts while in no way increasing it's AI potential).
First playthrough of Origins was on Hard as a dwarven rogue, the only difficult parts were lv8-12 (Trying to take Andraste at level 8 was too hard, but I just came back when I gain a few levels). I think it's dumb that its getting to the point where games either completely easy or hair-pulling difficult through artificial means (Basically giving things insane HP or armor boosts while in no way increasing it's AI potential).