Dragon Age: does it get any better?

[Durxom]

I got DA:O for Christmas this year, and since I've heard such good things about it, I tried getting into it, but atm, it feels kind of..meh =/

From the map I saw once I got out of Ostegar and all that stuff..there doesn't seem too be that much there (even after of what I've heard about this game' longevity), and I'm always up for a challenge, but almost every fight in this game seems like a fight for your life, ending up with you using up all your health poultices to keep your party alive...so does it really get any better? =/

 

[Capachinola]

Same, exact thing. I was going to write this topic, but didnt out of embarrassment. I just cant get into the game, at all.

I have no trouble with the fights, they're just repetitive. I cant get into the game like most of the other RPG's, it seems almost linear, and side quests seem kinda slow, pointed and obvious. I havnt gone far past Ostagar without putting the controller down. I enjoyed the origin stories, though..

However, if your having trouble fighting, can you take the difficulty down the casual? I havnt tried it, but that would probably be key 1, if thats your biggest issue.

 

[rated pg]

Either spec Morrigan as a healer or go to the Circle of Magi and get Wynne, use her as a healer. Solves your health poultice problem.

As for difficulty...idk what to suggest. Target casters first definitely, play around with your party's tactics so they are filling their assigned roles, and keep at it. It's the year's best game easily.

 

[Poomanchu745]

Set it to easy/roll a mage. Being a mage is the best way to get into the game because it is so OP. The best thing to do is make sure you get your healing spell early and then go into other things for damage and CC. The game is great as long as you are there to be immersed by the story and listen to all of the dialogue. Some of the fights are hard but as long as you are careful and save frequently you should be fine. It is a tough game and require a lot of management in the pause menu. Make sure you are constantly pausing the game to queue up attacks and position yourself the best.

 

[Pimppeter2]

and I'm always up for a challenge, but almost every fight in this game seems like a fight for your life, ending up with you using up all your health poultices to keep your party alive...so does it really get any better? =/

Turn down the difficulty and just enjoy the story for your first play through

 

[dkyros]

I also received the game as a gift, and after it took some time for me to warm up to it. I have currently started the game over again at least 7 times (6 of which were done to enjoy the opening sequences) and was able to find a job to my liking. I initially agreed with the feeling of meh, but now have come to accept the game. Not sure if i like it or not, but the fact remains that i did play it until about 4am yesterday and that has to mean something.

 

[Danpascooch]

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

 

[dkyros]

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

Totally agree with that.

 

[Lyri]

You're not very good at this game it seems.

If you don't like it now you probably won't ever.

You don't have to be good at something for it to be fun.

I got DA:O for Christmas this year, and since I've heard such good things about it, I tried getting into it, but atm, it feels kind of..meh =/

From the map I saw once I got out of Ostegar and all that stuff..there doesn't seem too be that much there (even after of what I've heard about this game' longevity), and I'm always up for a challenge, but almost every fight in this game seems like a fight for your life, ending up with you using up all your health poultices to keep your party alive...so does it really get any better? =/

I noticed the same thing, The game is apparently "massive" yet I'm feeling like it's going to end up like KoToR (Not that it's a Bad thing). It just seems rather limited in scope.
I'd have liked a few more places to go but that doesn't appear to be an option, just seemingly endless, drawn out fights.
I did the circle of Magi section with my last character, dear god it was too long and the bit they threw in the middle made it practically horrific.
Only to get an asshole boss fight at the end.
The first time in my life I slid down the difficulty slider to end it quickly and get it out of the way.

So yes, I feel the game is somewhat Meh atm.
Also, every fight seems to be
1/ Use Melee to tank everything.
2/ Switch to Morrighan
3/ Winter Grasp everything.
4/ Win.

Little boring.

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

Never thought of that, Kudos for enlightening me.
I'm a little sad now.

 

[Danpascooch]

and I'm always up for a challenge, but almost every fight in this game seems like a fight for your life, ending up with you using up all your health poultices to keep your party alive...so does it really get any better? =/

Turn down the difficulty and just enjoy the story for your first play through

The dialogue seemed kind of boring in this game.

Fallout 3 kept it fresh by giving you some really funny/horrifying dialogue options, and kept responses short and to the point (and humorous) so that you don't really get a chance to get bored.

Mass Effect kept it fresh by making you feel like you were in a conversation, there was a back and forth going on there, I know it sounds weird, but that made a big difference for me (like the difference between reading a book and having a conversation, if I want to read a book, I'll go read a book, that's not what I want when I put a $60 disc into my xbox)

In Dragon Age, I felt like I was reading a book just crammed, and I mean CRAMMED with long annoying fantasy names of places and people, after a while it all just started to sound like "blah blah blah" It was like I was being rewarded with some gameplay for enduring a generic fantasy book-on-tape. They didn't do a good job keeping my attention at all.

That said, it was a good game, but it was not a good BIOWARE game.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED:
Most uses of the word "book" in a post about video games

 

[ribonuge]

I don't know why but the game still feels really unfamiliar to me. I've just got up to The Landsmeet in the story and I have an arcane warrior. It's hard to explain but I just don't know if I like it or not. I guess it's the RTS elements but I really like that in Mass Effect. Also I haven't got the hang of the tactics system properly either. I'll have to see the end game to get my head around these mixed feelings.

 

[_zuul]

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

have you ever played a bioware game before? i know that's how KOTOR worked. limited enemies, etc. i'm not surprised at all. i dunno, did Mass Effect have respawns?

 

[Danpascooch]

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

Totally agree with that.

I know right?

I mean, grinding isn't all bad.

Sure there's like Runescape, which is literally the pure essence of grinding disguised as a game, then there is RPG grinding, where you kill and kill and fucking kill guys until you save up enough to get that really bad-ass sword that sets enemies on fire when you look at them.

Those are great moments, too bad this game didn't really have many of those.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I had your same problem. But I gave the game another chance and after learning more about the use of proper battle tactics through experience I'm starting to get the hang of it. Now that I'm not being constantly wiped I'm actually enjoying combat and I can fully appreciate the story. Still the game can get a bit tiresome at times. The Mages Tower is taking forever to complete, and my ability to enjoy it is wearing thin.

Though despite how impenetrable the game feels at times I do mostly enjoy it.

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

Surely you are joking? That just seems like such a...massive flaw. I've never heard of an RPG that did not have respawning enemies. Sometimes I just want to murder the crap out of something. The idea of only being able to do that once in each area is rather discouraging.

 

[Durxom]

I'm just asking this because atm, I'm teeteering between playing DA:O and the Fallout 3: GOTY edition I got as well. It's not that DA:O is a bad game, it just doesn't seem to "pull" me into it atm, while I love the way Mass Effect was presented (and I preorder 2, so at least if DA:O doesnt get too far, I can still use the armor from it). And yes, at first the fights seemed cruel, but I've gotten better at it.

 

[Danpascooch]

I thought the game had a few fatal flaws.

The biggest of which was the fact that enemies NEVER respawn! EVER! Which means that there is pretty much a set amount of exp and cash you can earn. Ever throw out a crappy item? That is cash you can NEVER just grind back.

It is gone. Forever, deducted from that magical "total cash earn able in this game" number.

Really bothers me.

have you ever played a bioware game before? i know that's how KOTOR worked. limited enemies, etc. i'm not surprised at all. i dunno, did Mass Effect have respawns?

I don't think so (concerning ME respawns), but Mass Effect had so much...everything. So much exploration and stuff you could never really get through ALL of it and STILL be annoyed that there wasn't enough.

Near the end of Dragon Age (maybe 20 hours) I literally ran out of enemies, I wanted to buy a new dagger, guess what? Nothing to kill. Just....nothing.

That should never really happen in an RPG, much less in 20 measly hours.

 

[Capachinola]

I think one of my problems is (and yep, i'll say it,) its a Bioware game. For the last few years, all of Biowares new games have followed a very similar progression system. The beginning laid it out, you were dropped into a forced adventure, than your released to "choose" where you want to go(KOTOR had 4, Origins has what, 8?) but all that meant was you went to this area, completed its part of the main quest, and did the next.

Kinda reminds me of the temples in Zelda, the "open world" part of the game is just a mangled path to the end, which I may never reach.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I'm just asking this because atm, I'm teeteering between playing DA:O and the Fallout 3: GOTY edition I got as well. It's not that DA:O is a bad game, it just doesn't seem to "pull" me into it atm, while I love the way Mass Effect was presented (and I preorder 2, so at least if DA:O doesnt get too far, I can still use the armor from it). And yes, at first the fights seemed cruel, but I've gotten better at it.

Maybe you should try playing both at the same times. It might be hard to do so, but the fun combat in Fallout 3 could help balance out all the dialogue that assaults the player in Dragon Age.

 

[Lyri]

and I'm always up for a challenge, but almost every fight in this game seems like a fight for your life, ending up with you using up all your health poultices to keep your party alive...so does it really get any better? =/

Turn down the difficulty and just enjoy the story for your first play through

The dialogue seemed kind of boring in this game.

Fallout 3 kept it fresh by giving you some really funny/horrifying dialogue options, and kept responses short and to the point (and humorous) so that you don't really get a chance to get bored.

Mass Effect kept it fresh by making you feel like you were in a conversation, there was a back and forth going on there, I know it sounds weird, but that made a big difference for me (like the difference between reading a book and having a conversation, if I want to read a book, I'll go read a book, that's not what I want when I put a $60 disc into my xbox)

In Dragon Age, I felt like I was reading a book just crammed, and I mean CRAMMED with long annoying fantasy names of places and people, after a while it all just started to sound like "blah blah blah" It was like I was being rewarded with some gameplay for enduring a generic fantasy book-on-tape. They didn't do a good job keeping my attention at all.

That said, it was a good game, but it was not a good BIOWARE game.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED:
Most uses of the word "book" in a post about video games

I hate Mass Effects dialogue, makes me rage everytime i have to talk to an NPC.
"So, what can you tell me about this?"
"It's a box, it's been here for blah blah blah blah blah"

Too me you only ever seemed to get simple questions, then you where forced to listen to a lecture. I found it quite wooden and honestly, forced.
I also found that sometimes what you chose to ask wasn't necessarily what actually was.

 

[Pimppeter2]

snip

I dunno. I'm finding the Dialogue pretty fun. I played the Human Noble origin, and it actually felt like I was part of that family.

I guess I just like the fantasy setting more than you do. Seeing as I prefer Oblivion and DA:O to Fallout and Mass Effect