Dragon Age II - Gen. Discussion and Info - Mark of the Assassin DLC 10/11 800 pts.

Doubt it. Though I'd welcome it. Mark of the assassin was really well done and seemed to set up what could be an intro to DA3. So I think that's it for new DA2 content. :(
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Anybody think we'll see another DLC before Mass Effect 3 releases? Time is running out.[/QUOTE]Before ME3 releases? Probably not.

Before DA3 releases? Most likely one or two more. With all of the bits they show on-screen with
Cassandra Pendraghast and the Seekers
, it seems likely we'll get something to work more backstory with that situation.

Maybe make some bridge DLC like they did for ME2 with Arrival for transition into DA3?
 
I started a second playthrough for the DLC last week, and I'll echo the thoughts... Legacy is one of the best pieces of DLC I've ever purchased. Mark of the Assassin has more issues, but I really don't regret spending the money on either of them. If nothing else, both took a few hours a piece if you do everything, so they felt very... substantial. That's the word.

One of the things about both DLCs that put things into perspective was that, really, had DA2 had about 50% more environments instead of re-using them, I think an absolute shit-ton of my issues with the game would've disappeared. Both Legacy and MotA feature some great environments and I have to wonder how that would've changed my enjoyment of the main game if each place I went to (or went back to) had that much effort put into it.

Overall, both DLCs are pretty high on my "Best DLC Available" list. This second playthrough is also making me like the game a lot more than I did initially... don't get me wrong, I liked the game the first time through, but it wasn't a 'love' scenario like KOTOR, ME1 and 2, and Origins. It's grown on me. Very happy with that development.
 
I though Legacy was great for multiple reasons:

* It had great level design with not a lot of backtracking. There wasn't much "oh, I've seen that level before" like we had in the main game. It was paced well, with some nice surprises along the path of the game.
* There was a number of items to do along the main quest, though there were some other side quests which were a nice add-on to the main quest. Nice little surprise.
* The backstory it put out there that tied to the main characters was so well done, it was right up there with LoTSB for how well integrated it felt into the story.
* The main item you pick up in the DLC didn't seem a cheap tack-on to make the story work.
* Combat was well scaled and well-paced without any real "WTF is with this combat?" situation.

It was a well-designed piece and it shows the love. I do have to go back through an earlier save or to and pick up
one of the pieces of the armor of Weissehaupt, as I missed the headgear piece (I think it's the headgear) when I went through it. That means I have to fight Coryphus again, though it was a good enough boss fight I won't mind doing it again.
.

Good to know that MotA is pretty close to the same experience for quality and enjoyment as they did with Legacy.

I'd certainly agree with your comments about the recycled environments, 007. I'm OK with it happening once, though beyond that, it's sloppy programming. It was an issue I had with ME1 and wasn't as much of an issue with ME2, so they learned from that mistake. It wasn't an issue with DA: O or DA: O Awakenings, so I can only guess since this was a bit rushed, that's why they went with the recycled environments with DA2.

I know I'll hit a second playthrough, since I know there's achievements I need to go back through and get again, as I'm thinking that I may do a rogue as a second playthrough class instead of a mage. I could easily do a second mage playthrough, as I know there's other skill trees specializations I didn't pick that would warrant a second playthrough on that alone.

I hope there will be a third DLC, even if they seemed to set the events into DA3 with MotA.

ME1 and ME2 were instant loves in playing it, as was KOTOR. DA: O was a pretty quick grow to love, though it wasn't immediate. DA2 was the same way, took a little bit of time to get into the story and system.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I though Legacy was great for multiple reasons:

* It had great level design with not a lot of backtracking. There wasn't much "oh, I've seen that level before" like we had in the main game. It was paced well, with some nice surprises along the path of the game.
* There was a number of items to do along the main quest, though there were some other side quests which were a nice add-on to the main quest. Nice little surprise.
* The backstory it put out there that tied to the main characters was so well done, it was right up there with LoTSB for how well integrated it felt into the story.
* The main item you pick up in the DLC didn't seem a cheap tack-on to make the story work.
* Combat was well scaled and well-paced without any real "WTF is with this combat?" situation.

It was a well-designed piece and it shows the love. I do have to go back through an earlier save or to and pick up
one of the pieces of the armor of Weissehaupt, as I missed the headgear piece (I think it's the headgear) when I went through it. That means I have to fight Coryphus again, though it was a good enough boss fight I won't mind doing it again.
.

Good to know that MotA is pretty close to the same experience for quality and enjoyment as they did with Legacy.

I'd certainly agree with your comments about the recycled environments, 007. I'm OK with it happening once, though beyond that, it's sloppy programming. It was an issue I had with ME1 and wasn't as much of an issue with ME2, so they learned from that mistake. It wasn't an issue with DA: O or DA: O Awakenings, so I can only guess since this was a bit rushed, that's why they went with the recycled environments with DA2.

I know I'll hit a second playthrough, since I know there's achievements I need to go back through and get again, as I'm thinking that I may do a rogue as a second playthrough class instead of a mage. I could easily do a second mage playthrough, as I know there's other skill trees specializations I didn't pick that would warrant a second playthrough on that alone.

I hope there will be a third DLC, even if they seemed to set the events into DA3 with MotA.

ME1 and ME2 were instant loves in playing it, as was KOTOR. DA: O was a pretty quick grow to love, though it wasn't immediate. DA2 was the same way, took a little bit of time to get into the story and system.[/QUOTE]

About the recycyled environments, it was weird when I realized that DA2 came out less than a year ago. My first thought on that was, and this is wholly unsubstantiated, that this was a Spring 2011 game because ME3 was slotted for Fall 2011. I have to think that if they had gotten even 6 more months of work on DA2, the environment thing might be resolved. I'm with you, until it happens again, I'll call it imposed on them by time limits instead of just sloppy. I mean, jesus, even though ME1 repeated some stuff, it was still better than 'same map, but some doorways are awkwardly blocked off now. The HUD map won't ever change, either.' I refuse to believe that anyone *chose* that option, you know?

That last point... I'd echo that, now that I think about it. I had an initial aborted playthrough of Origins that I was pretty lukewarm on. It wasn't until a second try, this time with a mage character, that the game really 'clicked' for me. So, I might have overstated that.

To compare the DA2 DLC to the ME2 DLC, the easiest way I've found is this... while I can easily rattle off main game ME2 missions that are better than most of the ME2 DLC, I'd be hard-pressed to name DA2 main game missions that are better than the DLC, Legacy especially. I was sort of floored when I realized that.
 
[quote name='007']About the recycyled environments, it was weird when I realized that DA2 came out less than a year ago. My first thought on that was, and this is wholly unsubstantiated, that this was a Spring 2011 game because ME3 was slotted for Fall 2011. I have to think that if they had gotten even 6 more months of work on DA2, the environment thing might be resolved. I'm with you, until it happens again, I'll call it imposed on them by time limits instead of just sloppy. I mean, jesus, even though ME1 repeated some stuff, it was still better than 'same map, but some doorways are awkwardly blocked off now. The HUD map won't ever change, either.' I refuse to believe that anyone *chose* that option, you know?

That last point... I'd echo that, now that I think about it. I had an initial aborted playthrough of Origins that I was pretty lukewarm on. It wasn't until a second try, this time with a mage character, that the game really 'clicked' for me. So, I might have overstated that.

To compare the DA2 DLC to the ME2 DLC, the easiest way I've found is this... while I can easily rattle off main game ME2 missions that are better than most of the ME2 DLC, I'd be hard-pressed to name DA2 main game missions that are better than the DLC, Legacy especially. I was sort of floored when I realized that.[/QUOTE]DA2 was out in March of last year, if memory serves, so it was 1.5 years between DA: O and DA2.

If I didn't know about the recycled environments in DA2 before I went through them, as it's very clear in the paper game guides that we have recycled environments, it would be pretty clear when you hit them for the nth time. I would agree, if they had six more months and made DA2 a Fall 2011 release, a lot of the gripes in the game, especially the recycled environments, would have been a non-issue. We've seen enough of it with Legacy that given the time, they can make a very nice environment. It's a sign that it was part of the rush-to-release situation. The "HUD map doesn't change" isn't something I can see that should have made it through QA and into release, as that's just beyond sloppy. If the door X that worked in Act 1's version of this map doesn't work in Act 2's version of this map, don't make it look like it does on the HUD map.

Yes, ME1 did recycle environments, though they weren't quite as bad as they are in DA2, though they did get annoying over time.

DA: O in the mage origin storyline was beyond annoyingly boring for me. Once I made it past that, my interested picked up. Once I had left Lothering, I was full into the game having become as Warden and dealt with the mess at Ostagar. That was when it clicked and became very enjoyable.

For DA2, as the Acts went on, the endgame scenarios because less enjoyable. The end of Act 1 was far and away better than Act 2 or Act 3. That might be due to being at a lower level than I was in Act 2 or Act 3, though the design of it just seemed to work better.
 
Dragon Age Exec. Producer confirms on BSN/Twiiter final patch for DA 2 comes out today, and no more DLC/no further expansions for DA 2, as they focus on "future" of Dragon Age.
 
...Which is code for Dragon Age III development because that strike while the iron is lukewarm formula worked so well for them with DA2. Ah well... they did have the foresight not to promise a specific time frame of DLC this time. I saved some cash waiting this long to buy any and it appears they might be ditching Hawke ala our Wardens after all so this news isn't all bad.
 
So the game finishes out on 1370 gamerscore? Lame, I was hoping there would at least be one more DLC to get it up to an even 1500.

I guess the stuff they were talking about with Morrigan has been pushed into III, or just scrapped entirely.
 
Shame that they're dumping any future DLC so quickly, since they did more than two for DA, not counting Awakening. Barely a year past release and we're getting the final patch? Disappointing.

Guess they're going to fast-track DA3 into some quick release, probably sometime into the 2nd half of 2013.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I guess the stuff they were talking about with Morrigan has been pushed into III, or just scrapped entirely.[/QUOTE]

I'm going to assume either the latter, reduced to a handful of vague references via NPC and codex entries, or shoehorned into a main quest/future DLC at the last minute. The Dark Ritual is slowly but surely turning into the Quarian face reveal of this franchise. ;\
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Guess they're going to fast-track DA3 into some quick release, probably sometime into the 2nd half of 2013.[/QUOTE]
Ugh, rushing a release (or even the perception that they rushed a release) is probably the worst thing they could do given widespread dissatisfaction with II and now the concerns over the Mass Effect franchise. They really need to get this one right and avoid any indication that corners were cut a la II's reused maps. And I say this as someone who was pretty much wholly satisfied with Dragon Age II and liked it more than Origins.

On a personal note, I hope we haven't seen the last of Merrill, Aveline, Varric, and the others. The devs have hinted that Morrigan and Flemeth will continue to be important to the Dragon Age world, and the ending implied that we haven't seen the last of
Leliana and Cassandra
, but I hope the characters unique to II aren't forgotten.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Ugh, rushing a release (or even the perception that they rushed a release) is probably the worst thing they could do given widespread dissatisfaction with II and now the concerns over the Mass Effect franchise. They really need to get this one right and avoid any indication that corners were cut a la II's reused maps. And I say this as someone who was pretty much wholly satisfied with Dragon Age II and liked it more than Origins.

On a personal note, I hope we haven't seen the last of Merrill, Aveline, Varric, and the others. The devs have hinted that Morrigan and Flemeth will continue to be important to the Dragon Age world, and the ending implied that we haven't seen the last of
Leliana and Cassandra
, but I hope the characters unique to II aren't forgotten.[/QUOTE]

Now that I'm at a proper PC, here's the BSN thread: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/260/index/10245444/1

Things to note are that originally there was going to be an Awakening-sized expansion but they couldn't do that and concentrate on the next project. (PR talk for there was much dislike for DA 2, it took us so long to get the game patched for Isabella/Sebastian glitch and to get DLC out it flooded GS shelves that only our hardcore fans waited for story DLC, even though it was better than 2/3 of the standard game, and the 2 DLC's we released didn't make EA money so they said move on.)

There is a new comic coming from Dark Horse that stars Isabella, Varric, and someone else (maybe Allstair, can't tell from the pic on the back of the comic from ME 3 CE) and the director said that if there's is any more to be told of Hawke's story, it won't be in a game.
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']Things to note are that originally there was going to be an Awakening-sized expansion but they couldn't do that and concentrate on the next project. (PR talk for there was much dislike for DA 2, it took us so long to get the game patched for Isabella/Sebastian glitch and to get DLC out it flooded GS shelves that only our hardcore fans waited for story DLC, even though it was better than 2/3 of the standard game, and the 2 DLC's we released didn't make EA money so they said move on.)[/QUOTE]
Sad. Eurogamer reports that the expansion even had a name, "Exalted March." I wonder if this was just an idea being kicked around, or if it had actually been worked on before being canned.
 
Sad but excited all at the same time. I love me some dragon age, so as long as they hurry with DAIII then I'll be happy. At least we have the anime coming and I'm in the middle of the latest book, Asunder, and it's really good.
 
[quote name='chubbyninja1319']Sad but excited all at the same time. I love me some dragon age, so as long as they hurry with DAIII then I'll be happy. At least we have the anime coming and I'm in the middle of the latest book, Asunder, and it's really good.[/QUOTE]

What time period do the books cover?
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Sad. Eurogamer reports that the expansion even had a name, "Exalted March." I wonder if this was just an idea being kicked around, or if it had actually been worked on before being canned.[/QUOTE]

That makes me think it had something to do with taking back Sebastian's country.
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']That makes me think it had something to do with taking back Sebastian's country.[/QUOTE]If that was the title, that would have been the likely subject for it.
 
Dunno about that. "Exalted march" is Dragon Age for "crusade".

Unless Sebastian's city went all Cathar or something, I don't see why they'd be the subject of an exalted march...
 
Since Sebastian spent his time in the Chantry, he may have decided that taking back Starkhaven is a crusade.

It's weak logic, though it's all I have to join 'em together. :whistle2:#
 
It's so sad the best single-player DLC of 2011 will be so woefully underplayed. I would have loved to see what they did next, just seemed to be hitting their stride.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']What time period do the books cover?[/QUOTE]

Asunder takes place a year after the events in Kirkwall. So it carries the timeline forward.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Tabernacle.[/QUOTE]

Word. I knew it was here to say but still would prefer an option to go without. LOL @ the Morrigan stuff though. They said the same thing before Witch Hunt and DA2 and look what happened? Absolutely nothing worthwhile.
 
Yeah. At least they say point blank that she is a game-only character, so they're not going to tease and tease only to finally have her show up in a comic book or something.

But yeah, they've seemed to imply in prior interviews that Morrigan was going to show up in DA2 DLC. Maybe that idea got pushed back to DA3 when they decided to stop supporting 2? Or maybe they'll finally get around to it in Dragon Age V or something, who knows.
 
All I know is to keep my expectations extremely low for whenever they feel like squeezing in the supposed climax/explanation/actual point of hyping up the damn Dark Ritual from the first game. I've already given up hope of ever seeing my Warden in-game again unless it's entirely an off screen cameo/hidden visage affair. Not happy about them sticking with static equipment either regardless of number, aesthetic flair, or customization.
 
BTW: Are the servers for the DAII Demo down, cause I just tried to play it to unlock the weapon in the full game for beating it, but it kept on saying it was unavailable.
 
Those looking to get a solid dragon age fix need to check out the latest book, Asunder. Just finished and freaking loved it. It could have been dragon age 3, IMHO. What I loved is that it carried the timeline forward and showed the impact of the
Kirkwall rebellion and even gave more meaning to that shithead Anders' actions
. There will be a very interesting backdrop for the next DA game, that's for sure.
 
Q: With the success of Kickstarter projects bringing back more "old school" RPGs, like Wasteland 2, Shadowrun, The Banner Saga and the upcoming Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editions, would it be possible to do a Dragon Age game in that style? Namely, a lower budget DA game with minimal voice acting, isometric view, party of 6, lots of text and so forth? DA just seems well suited to that, especially as a means to more easily convey meaningful and significant consequences to player choices.
Click to expand...
A: It'll be interesting to watch if the Kickstarter projects actually translate into finished projects. Either way, crowd-sourcing isn't really an option for a corporation/publisher-- that's a little unrealistic. If it's an option for smaller companies to get the funding they need to make smaller games, then that's fantastic. I coughed up a pretty penny to support the Shadowrun Kickstarter, myself.
Click to expand...
/sad face
 
If this rumor is true then DA3 is already getting the same treatment as DA2. Definitely going to wait on reviews and word of mouth here before I even think of purchasing it.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']DA2 could definitely have used some delays...[/QUOTE]Agreed.

[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']If this rumor is true then DA3 is already getting the same treatment as DA2. Definitely going to wait on reviews and word of mouth here before I even think of purchasing it.[/QUOTE]Probably the best course of action.

No multi-color ending, hopefully.
 
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