Dragon Age 2 - BioWare's next out now! Use spoiler tags! Patch coming soon!

Saint Noir

Saint Noir

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Seeing as I created the DA O thread, I guess I will do this one as well. I realize PS3 is not the platform of choice for this one, but for all us casteless dwarves, here it is...

featuredragonage22.jpg

"Embark on an all-new adventure spread across a ten-year span of years with an all-new hero in the multiple award-winning Dragon Age saga. In Dragon Age II you are Hawke, said to have been one of the few to survive the destruction of your homeland. Forced to fight for survival, you gathered the deadliest of allies, amassed fame and fortune and sealed your place in history, eventually becoming in effect a legend in your own time. But legends are all in the telling.

Dragon Age II utilizes a nonlinear narrative, taking the form of a story-within-a-story that hinges upon your exploits as told by the storyteller, Varick. Yet like any good storyteller, Varick tends to exaggerate from time to time. When questioned on events related to Hawke, Varick may present a different scenario in which Hawke's exploits play out. It is within these replays that the decisions of the players hold sway, as their particular versions of Hawke relive these events. Is the player's particular version of Hawke, male or female? A warrior, a rogue, or a mage? Is Hawke good-natured or something less than a salt-of-the-Earth type? Is romance in the air amongst characters he/she associates with? These choices are all the player's to make and each affect the the outcome of the story at all levels."

ALL NEW COPIES INCLUDE...
All new versions of this game come with an "Online Game Pass" which provides exclusive access to the Black Emporium, which includes:

The Fighting Mabari War Hound
The Mirror of Transformation
Exclusive magic and crafting stores

Preorder to receive...
Fadeshear Sword and the Lion of Orlais Shield

Play Dead Space 2 to get Ser Isaac of Clarke armor.

If you preordered back in the day for the Signature Edition you get the Exiled Prince for free, an in game armory and several in game items. Other preorder items are available at various retailers.

Of note, KMART has if you buy this game you get $30 off a $50 PSN card.

SOME ITEM INFO -
Also, as for tons of preorder and special items... they aren't tied to codes. You can unlock the entitlements fairly easily by registering your game.

Check here for tons of items...
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=283955

Register your PS3 copy on your BioWare social account for some...

Go here to get the Best Buy preorder...
http://social.bioware.com/da2_bestbuy.php

Play Dead Space 2 to get the Isaac armor.
 
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I had serious reservations about the first one... but I finally played it because I thought 2 looked awesome. Turns out, I think Origins is awesome. I had a blast with it and sunk 60 hours in one week into it. SO, I am definitely looking forward to this one.

Having played the demo, the game is VASTLY improved in graphics, the combat is way faster and perhaps best of all the game now seems to have an actual art style/design philosophy. If you play the demo you also unlock an in game item, so get to playing.

The demo alone shows that the second has tons of cues and winks to the first (in addition to being able to import your save to reflect what you did in the first, not same character, but world choices), so I would definitely recommend playing the first one first.

EDIT - Also, I like having a standardized main character (regardless of game, my created characters always look WEIRD) and that he TALKS. The weird silence of your character in the first was one of my biggest issues with it.
 
im bummed my main save origins file wont be so directly involved with part 2, especially since
i knocked up morrigan, and had the impression part 2 would follow that story
.
continually hitting x during combat in part 2 is annoying as well, but this game still gonna be great, its bioware.
 
[quote name='pLaYeRiTo']continually hitting x during combat in part 2 is annoying as well, but this game still gonna be great, its bioware.[/QUOTE]

I can't tell if I like it or not... it keeps you more engaged and to be honest I spammed X in the first anyways (even though it didn't really do anything). But this one moves so fast I miss out on attacks if I am not super on top of it. I am sure I will adjust, it's just different.
 
ill tell you what i can definitely adjust to seeing more of that pirate chick! and she goes both ways, sweeet
 
Game looks really good and judging from the demo the combat will at least be less of a chore and less boring than DA:O. If I'm going to play a 30+ hour game I want the combat to at least be passable.
 
I'm hearing a ton a bad impressions regarding performance on the PS3. As in the framerate drops so often that people are wondering if their system/HDD is dying.

It really doesn't add up to me because the PC demo of II runs much better than Origins did on the exact same rig.

It sounds like BioWare did a(nother) sloppy PS3 port. *shakes head*
 
[quote name='Fell Open Ian']I'm hearing a ton a bad impressions regarding performance on the PS3. As in the framerate drops so often that people are wondering if their system/HDD is dying.

It really doesn't add up to me because the PC demo of II runs much better than Origins did on the exact same rig.

It sounds like BioWare did a(nother) sloppy PS3 port. *shakes head*[/QUOTE]

Bioware didn't do the first port. And while I can't speak to the full game, the demo for 2 ran great for me.... way less hick ups than the first game.
 
[quote name='pLaYeRiTo']im bummed my main save origins file wont be so directly involved with part 2, especially since
i knocked up morrigan, and had the impression part 2 would follow that story
.
.[/QUOTE]


I take it you didn't get the Witch Hunt DLC? Morrigan's story concludes there.
 
[quote name='Saint Noir']And while I can't speak to the full game, the demo for 2 ran great for me.... way less hick ups than the first game.[/QUOTE]

It's supposedly worst in the main hub sections of Kirkwall. The part of the demo that is actually in Kirkwall takes place in a confined quest area.

Basically the section of Kirkwall in the demo is the equivalent of going into an indoor area while the major framerate issues occur in the outdoor areas of the city proper.

It's disheartening to say the least. :cry:
 
Tried to research it a bit further. Seems sporadic. Some people have issues and some people don't. I hope I am in the don't camp (which is usually the case). I saw people say it was unplayable to some people saying it was barely noticeable and happened just a few times. And most of the reports I saw are from modders/pirates... so I won't take their word for it. Reviews should start in tomorrow (I assume), will know soon enough!
 
[quote name='Supplice']I take it you didn't get the Witch Hunt DLC? Morrigan's story concludes there.[/QUOTE]
rather cheaply, a video on youtube was all i needed
 
[quote name='Saint Noir']Out today. Reviews range from good to great and none have singled out the PS3 version as being "unplayable" (so far, at least).[/QUOTE]
If anything, it sounds like consoles got the better end of the deal this time at the expense of PC gamers.

Also, infinite xp glitch already found lulz!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKpY1hY9gsU
 
[quote name='Jodou']If anything, it sounds like consoles got the better end of the deal this time at the expense of PC gamers.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I also hear you can turn on auto attack if you don't want to spam X.. though I don't know this for 100% certain.
 
Has anyone here been able to access their Signature Edition bonus content? I've tried to redeem my code, but keep getting a strange PSN error.

Edit: Nevermind. Apparently the DLC codes are region locked so I had to log into my US account (my main PS3 account is Canadian) and the codes worked fine. That is quite annoying.
 
Also, as for tons of preorder and special items... they aren't tied to codes. You can unlock the entitlements fairly easily by registering your game.

Check here for tons of items...
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283955

Beat the demo for some items.

Register your PS3 copy on your BioWare social account for some...

Go here to get the Best Buy preorder...
http://social.bioware.com/da2_bestbuy.php

Play Dead Space 2 to get the Isaac armor.

I haven't even received the game yet and here is what my PS3 DA2 entitlements look like... need to boot up Dead Space 2.
entoa.jpg
 
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I couldn't get into the 1st one. I was too occupied with DS.

But I tried the demo and I like the combat, it seems better then DA1.

I have this in the Mail n it should hold me off until Crysis 2 comes out.
 
I didn't play Origins (I started it and got about an hour in and fell off for some reason).

I picked this up today from K-mart with a $50 card and used my $25 from MvC3 so the total was $56 and I get the 10,000 SYWR points. WOO!

So, I put the game in, and before I know it, four hours had gone by. It's really, REALLY good. Haven't noticed any hiccups on the PS3. At least no more than the slight character jump in cutscenes that bioware always has..
 
Have been playing it non-stop today. This is my first console RPG (played a lot of PC MMMORPGs) and I am very happy.

There is a ton of content and so much to do outside of the main storyline. This is going to certainly be a game that I will be sinking a lot of time into.
 
my friggin copy from amazon.com that I pre-ordered last year still has yet to ship.
Looks like it's going to be another week or so before I can start playing.
 
[quote name='grrouchie']did anyone else pre-order from amazon.com

I got an email telling me how to redeem my sword and sheild, but no codes[/QUOTE]

Read my post near the bottom of the previous page. There are no codes and tons of items you can get by doing the steps I link to.
 
Played this nearly all day yesterday. I would be playing right now but I have to go to work soon and I don't want to get caught up in something and have to quit or be late.
I'm enjoying the combat more than in DA:O.
 
How is Dragon Age II compared to the demo? I tried the demo and thought the game was alright. Does it get better, or is the demo all that I need to see? I am going to purchase this game, just deciding if I should get it now or wait until it drops.
 
I got my DA2 in the mail yesterday, but I'm not done with DA:O yet. Hopefully I can finish it in the week.

Does anyone have a full list of DA:O (& Expansion) decisions that impact DA2?
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']How is Dragon Age II compared to the demo? I tried the demo and thought the game was alright. Does it get better, or is the demo all that I need to see? I am going to purchase this game, just deciding if I should get it now or wait until it drops.[/QUOTE]

It's not too different from the demo from what I've seen so far. I've pretty much just been running around the city doing missions for people. Somehow though it's really addicting.


Also something to keep in mind is the demo is the very beginning of the game.
 
I didn't play the first one but was hooked by the demo. Excellent game so far. I have already put 6 hours in and am only scratching the surface.
 
[quote name='whoknows']It's not too different from the demo from what I've seen so far. I've pretty much just been running around the city doing missions for people. Somehow though it's really addicting.


Also something to keep in mind is the demo is the very beginning of the game.[/QUOTE]

Hmm, I might just try it out then. I did kinda like the first and K-mart has it with $30 off a $50 PSN card, and well I am going to get a PS+ sub anyway. That is as long as K-mart has it near me. It wont be $30 for a long while anyway.
 
I wanted to see what BioWare felt was the correct path for characters in regards to stat and ability point distribution so I used the level-up bug, maxed my level 5 party to level 50, and then selected Auto Level Up in the menu. (I'd like to go back and do it with the other main character classes and on a totally no-points-spent pure run.)
Here are the results:

UPDATE:
Fixed: All numbers are now pure
Changed: Tree Empty/Full status to Order of Allocation (except for Merrill)
Added: Merrill
Added: Default Tactics settings


Hawke - Melee - Rogue [Tactics: Aggressive - Scrapper]
STR - 17
DEX - 86
MAG - 10
CUN - 42
WIL - 33
CON - 25
Abilities(2 Specialization and 10 Ability points remained unspent)
Order of Allocation: Dual Weapons -> Sabotage -> Scoundrel -> Subterfuge -> [STOPS]


Aveline - Weapon + Shield - Warrior [Tactics: Tank - Defender]
STR - 86
DEX - 14
MAG - 13
CUN - 24
WIL - 12
CON - 64
Abilities (12 Ability points remained unspent)
Order of Allocation: Weapon + Shield -> Guardian -> Warmonger -> Defender -> [STOPS]


Varric - Archery - Rogue [Tactics: Ranged - Controller]
STR - 18
DEX - 86
MAG - 10
CUN - 42
WIL - 33
CON - 26
Abilities (1 Ability point remained unspent)
Order of Allocation: Bianca -> Marksman -> Specialist -> Scoundrel -> Subterfuge -> [STOPS]


Bethany - Mage [Tactics: Aggressive - Damager]
STR - 14
DEX - 14
MAG - 88
CUN - 26
WIL - 56
CON - 17
Abilities (20 Ability points remained unspent)
Order of Allocation: Elemental -> Arcane -> Entropy -> [STOPS]


Merrill - Mage [Tactics: Default - Controller]
STR - 14
DEX - 15
MAG - 89
CUN - 26
WIL - 56
CON - 17
Abilities (12 Ability points remained unspent)
Elemental - Empty
Primal - Basically Full (No Golem's Fist upgrade???)
Spirit - Full
Arcane - Empty
Entropy - Full
Dalish Pariah - Full
 
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For the user who had questions about the Lion of Orlais Shield and Fadeshear sword, you can get those items by simply Registering the game to the social.bioware.com site- I think calling them pre-order bonuses was a bit of a misnomer, as you can unlock them by simply adding the game's UPC to the registration site.

That said, can anyone that preordered in time do me a favor? I need a picture (scanned, camera phone, digital camera, etc.) of the PS3 Signature Edition Disk with today's (or tomorrow's) date somewhere in the pic (post it note?). Long story short, I pre-ordered from Best Buy in Dec. and they sold my SE copy to someone that came in to redeem before I did. I can explain further about the picture via email if you'd like, no need to go to too much depth and create a wall of text.
[email protected]
 
I got my copy of the SE at midnight Tuesday from gamestop but haven't even had a chance to play it because of how busy I've been.

DAO was one of the best, unique and most engaging experiences I've ever had gaming. Heavy rain was the other.

I gotta say, after reading the reviews I'm a little worried about a let down. The story in DOA was top notch and had a central theme and clear, seemingly unstoppable enemy. The concept of uniting the land and races was outstanding.

Not so much in this. I'm sure I'll enjoy it but after seeing a lot of 8'a on the rating scales, they might have pushed this game out too fast
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']Hmm, I might just try it out then. I did kinda like the first and K-mart has it with $30 off a $50 PSN card, and well I am going to get a PS+ sub anyway. That is as long as K-mart has it near me. It wont be $30 for a long while anyway.[/QUOTE]

Go for it. It's worth it IMO and the Kmart deal is pretty cool.
 
[quote name='Jodou']
Also, infinite xp glitch already found lulz![/QUOTE]


Lmao, I can't believe the infinite cash exploit from DA:O still works in DAII.
 
[quote name='Supplice']Lmao, I can't believe the infinite cash exploit from DA:O still works in DAII.[/QUOTE]
If I made a game, I don't know that I would care about sealing up holes like that. I mean if it's not breaking the game who cares if someone exploits it?

I guess there is the bigger argument that free money and experience is cheating and it cheapens the trophies, etc, etc.
 
[quote name='Fell Open Ian']I wanted to see what BioWare felt was the correct path for characters in regards to stat and ability point distribution so I used the level-up bug, maxed my level 5 party to level 50, and then selected Auto Level Up in the menu. (I'd like to go back and do it with the other main character classes and on a totally no-points-spent pure run.)[/QUOTE]It's interesting to note that cunning is so low, as I believe you will be unable to unlock endgame chests. The rule of thumb is add one point of cunning per level to keep up with chest difficulty. DEX is spot on for min/max purposes, though. I wonder if the stat reset glitch still works, where you can lower certain stats during a level up to boost more appropriate stats. I'll have to test that tonight but the idea is to place all your points in a stat that you want to de-level, then hit the soft reset button. In DAO, they forgot to set the variable controlling the min boundary to zero after a reset, which allowed you to subtract those points and place them elsewhere.
[quote name='Supplice']Lmao, I can't believe the infinite cash exploit from DA:O still works in DAII.[/QUOTE]
Huh, the only one I knew about was turning in a certain quest sans a required item during one of the Grey Warden trials. He'd basically ask you to return once you had said item, but it still awarded full exp/gold. Either way, I can just start the game with devconsole on and do w/e I want in the PC version.
 
On 360 registering the game gets you some boots. You have to have the signature edition on 360/PC to get the sword/shield without needing the code.
 
[quote name='Saint Noir']I agree. I also hear you can turn on auto attack if you don't want to spam X.. though I don't know this for 100% certain.[/QUOTE]

It was supposed to be put in the game, but Bioware screwed up and sent the game for certification w/o adding that feature first. Supposedly they are working to patch it in. This only affects the console versions.
 
[quote name='Jodou']It's interesting to note that cunning is so low, as I believe you will be unable to unlock endgame chests. The rule of thumb is add one point of cunning per level to keep up with chest difficulty.[/QUOTE]

Considering that the lockpicking tooltip specifically mentions the 10, 20, 30, and 40 point level thresholds for cunning/lockpicking, it wouldn't surprise me to find out that the most difficult chests only need 40 in cunning to be opened.

It's definitely interesting/enlightening to see how BioWare wants the characters to progress from a stat standpoint. (the abilities are just kinda all dumped into given the amount of points level 50 allows)

I've been building my rogue(s) in DA 2 with 1 point in cunning and 1 point in dexterity at each level and usually tossing the third point also into cunning or peppering in willpower and/or constitution. (trying to keep cunning and dexterity even was my idea)

I really wanted to do this level-up trick to basically cheat in so far as learning the stat requirements for the basic game elements like lockpicking for rogues, equipment pre-reqs for warriors, and mana pools for mages.

Also I've noticed that acquiring new characters after you've done the leveling trick makes them show up at level 50 as well so you could easily max to 50 early and then proceed to play in order to see how all of the characters are built. (not to mention that the game scales the baddies so it's not like it completely ruins the game)
 
So i haven't started this yet- but i was thinking of making my Hawke a Rogue. What is the breakdown of the other characters? The first game was severally lacking in the Mage department. Just want to make sure I'm not limiting myself.
 
[quote name='Fell Open Ian']Considering that the lockpicking tooltip specifically mentions the 10, 20, 30, and 40 point level thresholds for cunning/lockpicking, it wouldn't surprise me to find out that the most difficult chests only need 40 in cunning to be opened.[/QUOTE]
Ah, I wondered if there was a cap and it was there right in front of me.

I'm assuming CON is simply that high for armor requirements? The survivability of rogues in this game is insane, so I don't see myself pumping health up at all.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Ah, I wondered if there was a cap and it was there right in front of me.

I'm assuming CON is simply that high for armor requirements? The survivability of rogues in this game is insane, so I don't see myself pumping health up at all.[/QUOTE]

So play the entire game and never add anything to health. ;)
 
[quote name='DoReiRei']So play the entire game and never add anything to health. ;)[/QUOTE]

An odd thing happens when you all but ignore constitution/willpower while distributing the points gained from doing the glitch = the life/stamina bars for those characters gets really really small. (comparative to your warrior's life and your mage's mana)

Now that could just be the game wanting to communicate to the player that their warriors and mages have a ton of life and mana when compared to their rogues who have fully neglected willpower and constitution stats but it's still odd.

I mean tiny...look at your characters early on and you'll see that even the ones with very little in their various pools still have bars which are 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the other members with large pools. When you level to 50 and neglect those stats on a rogue then their bars are about 1/8 to 1/10 the size of the warriors/mages. (almost as if the game is telling you to put some points into willpower and constitution for rogues)

It seems ridiculously idiotic that the cash/experience glitch could slip through unnoticed as it's so damn easy to do on accident but it is teaching me a lot about the game. *conspiracy theory: I think the glitch existing on consoles is tied to the removal of auto-attack*

Then again, this is the same company who keeps releasing games which freeze and eat data causing most users to disable the EA server connection and auto-saves so...;)
 
[quote name='DoReiRei']So play the entire game and never add anything to health. ;)[/QUOTE]
As a rogue class, I should never be taking damage outside of soaking AoE, so if there's something you're hinting at here I don't get it.
 
i feel that rogues are underpowered.

here's my party right now..

Hawke - Rogue - Melee DPS
Varric - Rogue - Ranged DPS
Aveline - Warrior - Tank
Anders - Mage - Heal/Control

took me a while to set up the tactics for the CPU players. one i did, it made a HUGE difference.
 
There is a lot of ability synergy, like the first game, for stunning and flanking, outputting massive DPS (usually of the pure crit variety), and then dumping/transferring aggro. Rinse and repeat.

The rogues definitely feel a lot more like rogues in good fast MMOs this time around. Kinda makes me wish there were some type of PvP. *no pots no pausing*;)
 
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