What Are You Playing: 9 Years since the Last Dragon Age

[Anonymouswizard]

It's not that I'm struggling with it, I just don't like it. I've never been a fan of RTWP combat to begin with, always preferred proper turn based games.

Oh Dragon Age combat is pretty bad, RTWP is just the worst of both worlds. Honestly I see no issue with modding it into brainless mode and then reading a book during fights.

Tbh my best play through was mage mage warrior dog. But that’s because I was playing an absolute git and killed everyone except Morrigan, Sten, Oghren and the dog.

I eventually turned that mage into an unstoppable god warrior with max con, arcane warrior and all the buff spells in heavy armour to get the hard mode achievements. Most things could only do single digits of damage to me.

While mages are great and easy to break the game with, I've recently become much more fond of a less overly 'good' playthrough, which means my choices when it comes to rogue's are the PC or Leliana. And Leliana is great, but it's very easy to fall into having her and Alastair with you constantly.

...I'm going to start a new playthrough, I'm just unsure between City and Dalish Elf Rogue. Might end up doing a dual rogue party.

[SerTabris]

City Elf is just full of leftover pieces from early drafts, there's still a casual mention of magical healers. But honestly I just wish that when the idea was dropped that the non-HN Origins got more content, particularly the two elf ones. The other three are at least linked to major parts of the game, those two not so much.

I'd definitely have liked that, particularly as someone who did CE first (which... may be clear from my username, I suppose). Though the two feel like different kinds of missed opportunities; CE has some possible connections that aren't followed up on (though there is at least the Alienage itself and Shianni, and I remember feeling a bit sad in future playthroughs where she didn't trust me) whereas all the possible connections for DE just... left, off to the second game. And they're even kind of different there, especially Merrill, though since DA2 Merrill is absolutely adorable I'm not going to complain about that.

A lot of the combat goes away when you get the mass hold spell. Especially if you're a rogue and once it goes off you get infinity backstabs and you start posting absolutely silly damage numbers with every attack.

For more fun, there's even two! The actual Mass Paralysis spell, and the Glyph of Paralysis / Glyph of Repulsion explosion combo. I never really got that kind of thing my first playthrough, as DAO was my first western RPG after playing a lot of Final Fantasy and some other JRPGs, and those kinds of spells are rarely winners there.

Dragon Age combat has a sweet spot at about levels 7-10, where you actually have options but haven't worked you way to the broken abilities yet.

I think it's also better if you go with the intended party of Warrior/Warrior/Mage/Rogue, instead of just running two mages with all the crowd control. I'm tempted to do a Dalish Archer Warrior run to make that practically required.

Hm, I hadn't thought of that. I generally found Warrior the least interesting of the classes to actually play, and didn't really like more than one warrior companion (maybe one and a half, counting Shale as a not-quite-warrior) and thought the rogues and mages were more interesting. I may do this when I do City Elf again and have my protagonist as a dual-wielding warrior instead of a rogue, though. But, my whole first playthrough I had a warrior, two rogues, and a mage just based on using the people I liked.

[Anonymouswizard]

I'd definitely have liked that, particularly as someone who did CE first (which... may be clear from my username, I suppose). Though the two feel like different kinds of missed opportunities; CE has some possible connections that aren't followed up on (though there is at least the Alienage itself and Shianni, and I remember feeling a bit sad in future playthroughs where she didn't trust me) whereas all the possible connections for DE just... left, off to the second game. And they're even kind of different there, especially Merrill, though since DA2 Merrill is absolutely adorable I'm not going to complain about that.

Dalish Elf actually had a lot of potential with the lack of connections. Sadly it would have probably required a lot of 'feck off human' options.

There is also one returning face, but they really don't do anything with that scene

Hm, I hadn't thought of that. I generally found Warrior the least interesting of the classes to actually play, and didn't really like more than one warrior companion (maybe one and a half, counting Shale as a not-quite-warrior) and thought the rogues and mages were more interesting. I may do this when I do City Elf again and have my protagonist as a dual-wielding warrior instead of a rogue, though. But, my whole first playthrough I had a warrior, two rogues, and a mage just based on using the people I liked.

Two rogues is fun, but the distribution of classes (four warriors and a dog to two mages and two rogues) makes the intent pretty clear.

The main issue with Warriors is so much of their class being tied up in weapon Talents, and then two if the party using the same set.

Started a Dalish Elf Rogue run, might go Warden/Alastair/Morrigan/Leliana for my standard party, swapping out Leliana when someone else is more suited. Lots of archery...

[halfeye]

Is it actually possible to have a 4 wizard party in DAO?

Most of my party seem to spend a lot of their time missing (bows, daggers, swords etc.), is there a stat in DAO that cuts down on that?

[SerTabris]

Dalish Elf actually had a lot of potential with the lack of connections. Sadly it would have probably required a lot of 'feck off human' options.

There is also one returning face, but they really don't do anything with that scene

Two rogues is fun, but the distribution of classes (four warriors and a dog to two mages and two rogues) makes the intent pretty clear.

The main issue with Warriors is so much of their class being tied up in weapon Talents, and then two if the party using the same set.

Started a Dalish Elf Rogue run, might go Warden/Alastair/Morrigan/Leliana for my standard party, swapping out Leliana when someone else is more suited. Lots of archery...

I suppose just not wanting to deal with humans kind of cuts a lot of things short; not sure quite where that would go. As for the distribution, that does make sense, though having done Orzammar last I didn't see Oghren much and one other one of those is mutually-exclusive. Though if Bioware really wanted me to use multiple warriors they would have had at least one woman in the class. :)

[Anonymouswizard]

Is it actually possible to have a 4 wizard party in DAO?

No, it's only possible in Inquisition. You can't do four Rogues either.

Most of my party seem to spend a lot of their time missing (bows, daggers, swords etc.), is there a stat in DAO that cuts down on that?

IIRC Dexterity affects accuracy, as well as Strength for melee attacks. Properly built archers should be hitting constantly by the end game as their Attack can scale nearly twice as fast as melee characters (you need to divert a few points if you want better armour, but not many).

If you've not got PRecise Striking/Aim on I highly recommend turning it on.

I suppose just not wanting to deal with humans kind of cuts a lot of things short; not sure quite where that would go. As for the distribution, that does make sense, though having done Orzammar last I didn't see Oghren much and one other one of those is mutually-exclusive. Though if Bioware really wanted me to use multiple warriors they would have had at least one woman in the class. :)

Yeah, but It's weird to get so few instances of it. I really get the idea that, like with Inquisition, the other races were an afterthought.

[AlanBruce]

Personally, I'd say most of the mini-games in Rebirth are actually pretty good and at least somewhat fun, and very few are difficult to beat even the hardest challenge on - the exceptions being the sit-ups, which I do kind of hate, and the piano, which I managed to squeak out A ranks on most of the songs for it, but sincerely doubt I'll do it with the Red XIII theme (at least, that's what I assume it is, the name's weird; it was the second to last one I believe). And I wouldn't call the piano mini-game bad, just hard, at least for the last few songs. I actually very much liked Fort Condor and went out of my way to do all of that one's hard challenges despite the lack of a reward; oddly, not nearly as much of a fan of Gears & Gambits. Not sure why that one doesn't work as well for me, but I just wasn't enjoying it nearly as much, I barely beat its last normal mission, and I don't intend to do the hard ones.

Regarding the sit ups, I do question why did they allocate the button prompts to R2,R1,L2 & L1. They could’ve kept tje same buttons as in Remake. And to add insult to injury, they added a random green prompt that can throw you off balance and ruin your run. Especially against Jules.


I did spend the afternoon doing the Chocobo Races, which are mandatory if you want to do a sidequest. They aren’t as frustrating, thankfully. The same cannot be said for Galactic Saviors and 3D Brawler, which require the highest score to get unique crafting materials.

I brute forced my way through Fort Condor and Gears & Gambits. In a game where speed is key in combat, since these remakes are a lot more action focused, those games became a slog. Again, you don’t need to do them since they’re optional, but if you’re a completionist, it makes you wonder if the devs tested these beforehand.

On the plus side, the Dolphin mini game was fun. Same for Queen’s Blood

[Anonymouswizard]

Already getting the urge to restart as a city elf and go dual daggers. Might do so, it does integrate a lot better with the main game

[SerTabris]

Yeah, but It's weird to get so few instances of it. I really get the idea that, like with Inquisition, the other races were an afterthought.

Why do all those other players want to play as a human, anyway? Especially a noble human; not only is 'just a human' a bit boring, I never really liked the whole 'importance of noble families/bloodlines' thing and don't want to be more involved with it.

[Zombimode]

I recently started playing Dungeon Rats.
Dungeon Rats could be described as a dungeon crawler that is almost exclusively focused on tactical turn-based battles. The game was made by Iron Tower Studios who debuted with the very unique and also quite excellent Age of Decadence and who have recently released Colony Ship. Dungeon Rats is their second game and is set in the same low-fantasy faux-roman antiquity setting as Age of Decadence. The setup is a simple but effective classic: the protagonist is thrown into a prison with no prospect of release. The prisoners survive by mining ore and trading that for food. There are no guards in this prison. Here, the strong rule over the weak. Your goal: survive! And maybe find a way out.
This is very Gothic, simple yet effective.
The atmosphere is very well realized, but Dungeon Rats is not a "proper" RPG: it is very linear, there are only few dialogues, few choices etc.
The meat of the game are the battles and cycle of reaping the rewards, improve your equipment, improve your skill and prepare for the next combat.

It is worth mentioning that this game is difficult. And that the balancing is very tight. Everything runs on sharply limited resources. You won't heal a single hit point without spending a finite and scarce resource. Thus the game is constantly building up pressure. It is possible to move into a fail-state long before you realized that: only when you do not have the resources to progress you will know that you have lost.

For me that constant pressure is a bit to much. I had to step back from the game for the time being after experiencing a difficulty spike in the first combat after "beating" the first area. A difficulty spike that is definitely not needed at this point and after I consumed most of my food (= healing) to beat the last two battles of the first area.
I think by playing Dungeon Rats I realized how much I enjoy the ebb and flow of mounting pressure and release that many games, especially RPGs (with the dichotomy Dungeon->Town), provide. Also the risk/reward relationship of "pushing through" to the next rest point without spending limited healing resources.

I miss that in Dungeon Rats. It it obviously intentional, but my personal enjoyment of a game is more important. Thus I will pick up the game again, but with the following "house-rule":
Whenever I conquer a new "base camp" (it is very clear what qualifies as a base camp in this game) my party will "rest" -> fully heal all lost hit points without spending food/healing items.
This house-rule will be implemented by using a console command to create food in the respective quantity. A cheat, obviously, but who cares.


To relax after my initial foray into Dungeon Rats, I have picked up a game that is anything but stressful: Viewfinder.
Viewfinder is a puzzle game with a very cozy and non-threatening atmosphere. The game's main "sthick" is the ability to create 3D spaces out of 2D pictures. Most of the puzzles are based around that concept.
My only criticism so far is that the puzzles so far are not that hard. There have been some headscratchers here and there, but for the most part the puzzles consist of one problem, maybe two.
This is in a stark contrast to, say, The Talos Principle (to date my favorite puzzle game) where all puzzles have multiple layers of problems to solve.

[Cespenar]

The gimmick of Viewfinder was interesting, but I wish they'd have done more with it. It felt a bit like a tech demo at times for my taste.

[Errorname]

Yeah, but It's weird to get so few instances of it. I really get the idea that, like with Inquisition, the other races were an afterthought.

You can definitely tell that Dragon Age started life as a much lower fantasy project than it eventually became, although with some of this I think it's less "the other races are an afterthought" and more "we need to write all this stuff race neutral", Inquisition in particular very much feels like if there's a correct and intended option it's a Dalish Inquisitor.

Why do all those other players want to play as a human, anyway? Especially a noble human; not only is 'just a human' a bit boring, I never really liked the whole 'importance of noble families/bloodlines' thing and don't want to be more involved with it.

I find the dynamics of feudal politics pretty interesting and I do enjoy when an RPG lets you play those games as an insider.

[Anonymouswizard]

Why do all those other players want to play as a human, anyway? Especially a noble human; not only is 'just a human' a bit boring, I never really liked the whole 'importance of noble families/bloodlines' thing and don't want to be more involved with it.

Human Noble is by far the most 'standard' story of the six, potentially topped only by the cut Human Commoner and Avaar options marrying Anora as a reward for completing the blight. Which I agree is boring, especially as it's the only Origin with a clear intended ethnicity for the Warden (the Magi's and Dalish Elf's parents aren't shown, whereas the City Elf and Dwarfs could easily take after their missing parent).

You can definitely tell that Dragon Age started life as a much lower fantasy project than it eventually became, although with some of this I think it's less "the other races are an afterthought" and more "we need to write all this stuff race neutral", Inquisition in particular very much feels like if there's a correct and intended option it's a Dalish Inquisitor.

Inquisition was designed for a human protagonist, we know that for a fact. The Dalish, especially Dalish Mage, integration is a bit sloppy as the Inquisitor is made basically clueless about their culture's lore.

I find the dynamics of feudal politics pretty interesting and I do enjoy when an RPG lets you play those games as an insider.

In which case Dwarf Noble is far more involved than the Human Noble, who was implicitly kept out of politics.

Personally I prefer to be the outsider who doesn't know the rules and leaves chaos in their wake. My favourite Origins are probably City Elf, Dwarf Commoner, Magi (an outsider, but accustomed to Circle politics), and finally Dalish (it only intersects the story once). Human Noble I can't bring myself to complete the opening section of when playing it.

Honestly if it wasn't for the creepily long arms on the female dwarf models I'd be doing a DC run. As it is I'll probably restart as a City Elf or Mage.

[Zevox]

Regarding the sit ups, I do question why did they allocate the button prompts to R2,R1,L2 & L1. They could’ve kept tje same buttons as in Remake. And to add insult to injury, they added a random green prompt that can throw you off balance and ruin your run. Especially against Jules.

I don't remember what the buttons were in Remake, but I do know I managed to beat the workout mini-games there. Here I barely cleared the one for the side-quest after a number of tries, and gave up on even the first of the optional ones...

I did spend the afternoon doing the Chocobo Races, which are mandatory if you want to do a sidequest. They aren’t as frustrating, thankfully. The same cannot be said for Galactic Saviors and 3D Brawler, which require the highest score to get unique crafting materials.

I brute forced my way through Fort Condor and Gears & Gambits. In a game where speed is key in combat, since these remakes are a lot more action focused, those games became a slog. Again, you don’t need to do them since they’re optional, but if you’re a completionist, it makes you wonder if the devs tested these beforehand.

On the plus side, the Dolphin mini game was fun. Same for Queen’s Blood

Galactic Savior I found quite easy - took only two tries to get the top score on notmal, and one on expert. It's basically Star Fox but simpler, so felt pretty natural to me.

3D Brawler was mostly good - took me some retries on Ifrit and Yuffie, but not too many. But I just did the "Ultimate Party Animal" there, and yeah, that one took a lot of tries and frustrated me. And from my few attempts at it the Sephiroth fight that unlocks after that quest is much worse, so yeah, not sure I'll do that one.

Chocobo races were surprisingly forgiving, which is good since I'm not a racing game fan myself. Nonetheless managed to flawless victory the Gold Cup, though they made the last race close.

I don't see why you'd wonder about testing on Forst Condor and Gears & Gambits? They're clearly quite polished and thought-out. They are mini-games that are about strategy, where and when to deploy units for maximum effect, rather than timing or reflexes like most of the rest, so they are a definite departure for the game, but I think that's part of why Fort Condor at least works as well as it does to me. (Again, not sure why I enjoyed Gears & Gambits so much less than Fort Condor.)

Honestly the Dolphin mini-game I was just glad was easy. It's kind of racing game esque as well, so again, not my jam. Queen's Blood's quite good though, for sure.

[LibraryOgre]

In which case Dwarf Noble is far more involved than the Human Noble, who was implicitly kept out of politics.

Personally I prefer to be the outsider who doesn't know the rules and leaves chaos in their wake. My favourite Origins are probably City Elf, Dwarf Commoner, Magi (an outsider, but accustomed to Circle politics), and finally Dalish (it only intersects the story once). Human Noble I can't bring myself to complete the opening section of when playing it.

Honestly if it wasn't for the creepily long arms on the female dwarf models I'd be doing a DC run. As it is I'll probably restart as a City Elf or Mage.

So, I've pretty much always played as a Dwarf Rogue and, being contrarian, a sword-and-board rogue, at that... I think I only start taking archery talents once I run out of other talents to take. I tried Noble for a while, and beat the game that way, but I *really* liked Dwarf Commoner. I think City Elf has the best introduction to Cailain, though.

"I'm here because I killed one of your nobles after he kidnapped me from my wedding and raped my friends."

I picture my character saying this, looking him dead in the eye, and daring him to question me on that.

[Errorname]

Human Noble is by far the most 'standard' story of the six, potentially topped only by the cut Human Commoner and Avaar options marrying Anora as a reward for completing the blight.

Human Commoner probably would have topped it, considering how the big reason they did end up cutting it was that it was boring and they couldn't find a way to make it interesting. Human Barbarian sounds like it was cooler and more unique, it got cut because it needed a bunch of unique assets that wouldn't be used anywhere else in the game to sell it.

It's a shame because I do think they really needed an alternate start for non-mage humans.

In which case Dwarf Noble is far more involved than the Human Noble, who was implicitly kept out of politics.

Dwarf Noble absolutely has stronger plot hooks than Human Noble gets. I just generally don't play Dwarves, not my thing.

Admittedly if Origins let me be a Qunari I'd probably have gone with that.

[Anonymouswizard]

So, I've pretty much always played as a Dwarf Rogue and, being contrarian, a sword-and-board rogue, at that... I think I only start taking archery talents once I run out of other talents to take. I tried Noble for a while, and beat the game that way, but I *really* liked Dwarf Commoner.

I tend to delay Stealth over the weapon Talents, just because I always hate it when the game forces you out of it.

I think City Elf has the best introduction to Cailain, though.

"I'm here because I killed one of your nobles after he kidnapped me from my wedding and raped my friends."

I picture my character saying this, looking him dead in the eye, and daring him to question me on that.

It also has the best introduction to Duncan, where you can make slowly stronger threats of force to get him to leave (implicitly only restrained because other elves get first).

I have my own headcanons as to the personalities of the different Wardens: Human Noble is a glory hound, Magi is sheltered and innocent, Dwarf Noble is tired of putting on the good boy act, Dwarf Commoner is done with this ****, and the elves think humans can **** back off to their castles.

Although even elves fall for the charms of a French lesbian bard.

Human Commoner probably would have topped it, considering how the big reason they did end up cutting it was that it was boring and they couldn't find a way to make it interesting. Human Barbarian sounds like it was cooler and more unique, it got cut because it needed a bunch of unique assets that wouldn't be used anywhere else in the game to sell it.

It's a shame because I do think they really needed an alternate start for non-mage humans.

I believe they also got cut due to sharing similarities with the elf Origins. Which is a shame as the Avaar basically got cut from the game entirely despite their homelands being the most under threat.

[Errorname]

I believe they also got cut due to sharing similarities with the elf Origins. Which is a shame as the Avaar basically got cut from the game entirely despite their homelands being the most under threat.

I'm sure the thematic overlap between a Dalish and Avvar background was a factor, but the exact stated justification was that they'd require a lot of bespoke dialogue plus a lot of environmental and costume assets that weren't necessary for anywhere else in the game. Which is hard to argue with

[Rynjin]

You can definitely tell that Dragon Age started life as a much lower fantasy project than it eventually became, although with some of this I think it's less "the other races are an afterthought" and more "we need to write all this stuff race neutral", Inquisition in particular very much feels like if there's a correct and intended option it's a Dalish Inquisitor.

Didn't they make about 80% of Inquisition with the intent that the main character would be Hawke again and then have to hastily go back and rewrite a bunch of stuff?

[Errorname]

Didn't they make about 80% of Inquisition with the intent that the main character would be Hawke again and then have to hastily go back and rewrite a bunch of stuff?

Not 80%, but that's definitely how they started.

[LibraryOgre]

I tend to delay Stealth over the weapon Talents, just because I always hate it when the game forces you out of it.

Stealth is my lowest priority, but a high steallth can be AMAZINGLY fun, because you can use items. "Ooops, looks like you all exploded for no reason whatsoever."

Although even elves fall for the charms of a French lesbian bard.

Hey! She's Bi!

... not that I have any proof. I don't think I've played a male character long enough to meet her. But I'm pretty sure she's bi!

[Anonymouswizard]

I'm sure the thematic overlap between a Dalish and Avvar background was a factor, but the exact stated justification was that they'd require a lot of bespoke dialogue plus a lot of environmental and costume assets that weren't necessary for anywhere else in the game. Which is hard to argue with

Maybe, the rumours I heard were that HC and HC used Redcliffe and Haven.

Didn't they make about 80% of Inquisition with the intent that the main character would be Hawke again and then have to hastily go back and rewrite a bunch of stuff?

That was the original intent, but I think it was dropped closer to DA2 being poorly received and the expansion being cancelled and replaced with a new human protagonist with variable origins.

Then the fans complained about the boring ears.

Stealth is my lowest priority, but a high steallth can be AMAZINGLY fun, because you can use items. "Ooops, looks like you all exploded for no reason whatsoever."

Stealth is great, but I prefer to grab a couple of tomes and rush up to 3 ranks at about level 10. The early game has a few too many points that deactivate it, including the Wilds encounter with all the traps.

Hey! She's Bi!

So people claim, but I've yet to see evidence. It's as ridiculous as the idea that Alastair is straight!

[Errorname]

Maybe, the rumours I heard were that HC and HC used Redcliffe and Haven.

I think Barbarian was in the Frostback Mountains, but it wasn't Haven, although if you were going to try to reuse assets from an Avvar origin that'd be the place. But Commoner was Redcliffe, that's pretty apparent.

[Anonymouswizard]

Tried to play the Magi origin, remembered just how much it drags on, and then fled back to the comfort of City Elf. Dual wield rogue, of course, and murdering Vaughn for his deeds. The end result is a silver tongued thug with a lot of pent up anger and too many knives.

Trying to do a role play run where I wear clothing in civilised areas and don't change clothes in dangerous situations or in front of random NPCs. Honestly it shouldn't be that much of a challenge until I do Denerim.

[Errorname]

Getting real annoyed at how everyone in this game keeps pronouncing Eamon as "Ee-mon"

[NeptunianOM]

There was a sale on the eShop for Portal & Portal 2. I played the games in co-op with my friend but do not remember much of the game (other than having a blast with the mechanics). The game definitely holds up today, but that makes sense since it is a puzzle game.

[Errorname]

It's a shame that they didn't have the budget to make Jowan a party member, he's obviously written with the intent of letting you recruit him.

There was a sale on the eShop for Portal & Portal 2. I played the games in co-op with my friend but do not remember much of the game (other than having a blast with the mechanics). The game definitely holds up today, but that makes sense since it is a puzzle game.

The Portal games really are something special. They're short and sharp, maybe Valve's best? Which is certainly saying something, those guys have put out some quality stuff over the years.

[Anonymouswizard]

Getting real annoyed at how everyone in this game keeps pronouncing Eamon as "Ee-mon"

I mean, yes strictly speaking that would be Æmon, but I don't expect an American game to remember that æ and œ exist.

[Corlindale]

The Portal games really are something special. They're short and sharp, maybe Valve's best? Which is certainly saying something, those guys have put out some quality stuff over the years.

I love those games. I've played through Portal 1 five times, and it's a linear puzzle game, which should be the least replayable genre of all. But it's just so satisfying to use the portal mechanics.

[Starbuck_II]

Dead Island 2 and Unicorn Overlord

In, Dead Island 2, Got to Hotel where I hope dude will create vaccine for zombies soon, but playing 1st and side game Riptide, I feel there will be a betrayal.