Dragon Age: Origins (WARNING: SPOILERS)

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by bomber317

Going for the trifecta too, Morrigan was easy, freaking Liliana is pissing me off, I think I'm at 90+ rating with her and still no tent option.

she must prefer the muff, it was easy to get in her pants as a female elf

well i gave the game another shot, and with the patches and a couple of mods i enjoy the game much more now. as a rogue with 2 good daggars and a mage with haste my damage output is insane. Shale pulls a boss, i get behind it and go backstab crazy and it drops in no time. the Warden Commander armor you can get from the DLC is also awesome, with the low strength requirement my rogue can wear it and almost be a mini tank

life became sweet when i got the talent that let me get an auto crit/backstab on any stunned enemy, and Leliana got the Scattershot talent. i can mow my way through even the biggest groups now

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by bomber317

Going for the trifecta too, Morrigan was easy, freaking Liliana is pissing me off, I think I'm at 90+ rating with her and still no tent option.

Liliana won't court me. I went to talk to her and she was pissed I slept with Morrigan and Zevran, but I lied both times and said she was crazy, my Cunning was high enough and she thought I was telling the truth. haha

[Otto-matic]

The story line for Dragon Age reminded me of Return of the King, either way this game is awesome.

[Meelapo]

This game doesn't seem to end. I'm 38 hours in and only 40% complete. For those that have finished does the completion percent represent the main story line or the whole game in its entirety? For example, in some games you can "finish" the game (i.e. main story) and the % complete value will be something like 70% because you haven't done the bonus stuff or side quests.

[Ren]

So I got this game for Christmas and I've been playing it for a while but I don't feel like I'm making a whole lot of progress. Is this one of those games where you *need* a walkthrough to fully enjoy?

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Ren

So I got this game for Christmas and I've been playing it for a while but I don't feel like I'm making a whole lot of progress. Is this one of those games where you *need* a walkthrough to fully enjoy?

Not at all, it feels like your not making any progress but once you hit the main quests it'll fly by. I actually enjoy the side quests more than the main quests, the dwarf one is making me pull my hair out.

[photon]

My big problem is I grew up in the era of Kings Quest / Space Quest / Lucasarts games, which for the most part were completely linear.

Nowadays non-linearity is supposedly a big selling feature, but I don't like it.

Why?

Because that means there's content in the game that the developers created that I don't get to see!

I'm one of those gamers that does like to complete a game if I can, find all the secrets, gather all the little coins, whatever.

But with games like this one, it's impossible because now some content is hidden behind mutually exclusive decisions. I can choose to help this guy but then that guy doesn't like me anymore.

The Mage Tower thing is the perfect example. Big consequences from a small choice, and unless I sit with a wiki of the game I never know what far reaching repercussions my choice will make.

I guess that drives me to replay the game in theory, but in practice I never do; there's just too many good games out there demanding time.

Choices with consequences makes for a better simulation of real life, but the explorer in me hates knowing that I've missed content the developers created.

[Ren]

Originally Posted by photon

My big problem is I grew up in the era of Kings Quest / Space Quest / Lucasarts games, which for the most part were completely linear.

Nowadays non-linearity is supposedly a big selling feature, but I don't like it.

Why?

Because that means there's content in the game that the developers created that I don't get to see!

I'm one of those gamers that does like to complete a game if I can, find all the secrets, gather all the little coins, whatever.

But with games like this one, it's impossible because now some content is hidden behind mutually exclusive decisions. I can choose to help this guy but then that guy doesn't like me anymore.

The Mage Tower thing is the perfect example. Big consequences from a small choice, and unless I sit with a wiki of the game I never know what far reaching repercussions my choice will make.

I guess that drives me to replay the game in theory, but in practice I never do; there's just too many good games out there demanding time.

Choices with consequences makes for a better simulation of real life, but the explorer in me hates knowing that I've missed content the developers created.

I think I fall into a similar boat. RPG's are especially bad for this, as I have a little bit of 'gamer OCD' where I feel that I haven't really completed the game until I've found all the secrets and completed all the side-quests. I'm also starting to get the feeling like I will at some point need to consult a walkthrough just to understand some of the game's more metaphysical aspects. Being unable to complete a game in its entirety without the use of an online guide is a big turnoff for me and the more I play this game the more I feel this is what it's going to have to come down to eventually.

In one sense it's a clever tactic because it adds a huge amount to the replay value of the game, but when you have a game like DA:O where you're looking at a minimum of 50 hours of gameplay just for one playthrough, it's frustrating to know that there are still large chunks of the game that I never experienced and never had the chance to experience. I don't like it when large parts of the game are unavailable to me without starting a new file. It's a lot like Baldur's Gate which I also got frustrated with for the same reasons, which makes sense considering that's a game I hear this one compared to a lot.

[Regorium]

Originally Posted by photon

My big problem is I grew up in the era of Kings Quest / Space Quest / Lucasarts games, which for the most part were completely linear.

Nowadays non-linearity is supposedly a big selling feature, but I don't like it.

Why?

Because that means there's content in the game that the developers created that I don't get to see!

I'm one of those gamers that does like to complete a game if I can, find all the secrets, gather all the little coins, whatever.

But with games like this one, it's impossible because now some content is hidden behind mutually exclusive decisions. I can choose to help this guy but then that guy doesn't like me anymore.

The Mage Tower thing is the perfect example. Big consequences from a small choice, and unless I sit with a wiki of the game I never know what far reaching repercussions my choice will make.

I guess that drives me to replay the game in theory, but in practice I never do; there's just too many good games out there demanding time.

Choices with consequences makes for a better simulation of real life, but the explorer in me hates knowing that I've missed content the developers created.

Sadly, in Dragon Age there really is only the illusion of non-linearity. Really, your actions have no meaning, so don't worry. You're not missing out on much. Also, with the gifting system, it has gotten even more ridiculous, because actions that really piss someone off (like -25 or more) can easily be rectified by buying gifts.

The point is, one very thorough playthrough of the game in which you explore every nook and cranny is truly enough to get all of the story elements. Perhaps in the future we will see a truly non-linear game.

Examples: (Spoiler) If you kill Wynne, the Circle collapses, but you still have to go through the Fade and all that. The only difference is that you don't get her services for the rest of the game. You can get the same effect by keeping her, but never using her again.

If you leave Redcliffe, everyone dies, and you just do the castle part. When you find Isolde and the kid, they are just as happy to see you, and the Arl doesn't care that you let his village be razed.

Also, if you kill the child, the mother or do the ######ed copout at the Circle method of finishing, none of it matters, as the Arl regains health anyways, has maybe one line of dialogue being mad about the situation, and onward with the story.

It also does not matter how many side-quests you do for the nobles before the Landsmeet, as even if you get the maximum number of votes, you still have to duel Loghain. If you don't get ANY votes, you duel Loghain again.

My friend was actually able to kill Cathrain when she was supposed to throw you in jail. However, there is no additional text. You just don't get thrown in jail, but Anora is still "Oh my god, I'm sorry for betraying you, glad you escaped from jail", which really doesn't make sense provided that you were never there.

Finally, you can romance everyone. I did it with Morrigan and Leilanna. Leilanna got mad at me for cheating on her, but I gave her another Andraste's Grace and all was happy. In BG2, there were specific things that must be done to really win a character over. Here, it's just getting enough gifts to get to the required approval ratings.

[3 Justin 3]

I sort of agree with you guys. I personally used a wiki guide when I played through because I didn't want to fata something up and then replay it all over again, mostly because like Photon said, I want to play it again, but there are so many good games out I don't get the chance.

Ren, if you check out a guide, google "Dragon Age wiki", you'll be baffled at how much is in the game that you'll miss. There are tons of side quests which I never knew were there, all the good items I would have skipped had I not read the walkthrough. Not to mention I would have killed like 2 party members.

[photon]

Interesting Reg, thanks.

In re: to some of the spoilers, I agree that the repercussions of some actions aren't as non-linear as they could be, but I still have one of my party now dead, and there's still lots of choices I've made where I missed out on content (in the Dwarves city for sure, the Circle stuff affects some quests). The end result is the same, but the paths are different.

If the game was completely non-linear I probably wouldn't like playing it at all, a game is an experience, whereas if I wanted to do something non-linear to complete a task, I'd just play my life

[IliketoPuck]

Quick question guys.

- I just got the game last week and have played through to ~level 10. I'm just wondering how you add the specializations to the characters. I thought that each character could be 2 things i.e. spirit healer + blood mage or templar + berserker etc. As it stands my characters are just at 1 specialization. Lieliana is a bard, but I wanted to make her a bard/ranger. Is that possible?

Thanks in advance.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Quick question guys.

- I just got the game last week and have played through to ~level 10. I'm just wondering how you add the specializations to the characters. I thought that each character could be 2 things i.e. spirit healer + blood mage or templar + berserker etc. As it stands my characters are just at 1 specialization. Lieliana is a bard, but I wanted to make her a bard/ranger. Is that possible?

Thanks in advance.

You get one specialization point at level 7, another at level 14.

You also have to unlock a specialization before you can put a point into it.

[IliketoPuck]

Ahhh thanks man. So I will be able to upgrade in a few levels then . My Main is a Mage, so to get him a spec, I would need to get either Wynne or Morrigan to teach him at this point right?

[jeremywilhelm]

Damnit, I never got Leilana, I was wondering who this character was, and now i know that I completely missed her.

Lame....

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by jeremywilhelm

Damnit, I never got Leilana, I was wondering who this character was, and now i know that I completely missed her.

Lame....

She's in the same town as Sten. She is house where you fight the outlaws.

[Ren]

I finally caved and snooped through a wiki guide for this game. I'm actually shocked at the amount of stuff I missed just playing on my own and I'm only a few hours in.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Sadly, in Dragon Age there really is only the illusion of non-linearity. Really, your actions have no meaning, so don't worry. You're not missing out on much. Also, with the gifting system, it has gotten even more ridiculous, because actions that really piss someone off (like -25 or more) can easily be rectified by buying gifts. The point is, one very thorough playthrough of the game in which you explore every nook and cranny is truly enough to get all of the story elements. Perhaps in the future we will see a truly non-linear game.

well it looks like the Mass Effect trilogy might fit that bill. in the first game your decisions didn't impact the ending that much, but if you import your character for the sequel coming out this month those decisions will play a role in how the story unfolds. and that effect will be even greater for the 3rd game planned, since in Mass Effect 2 the developers have said that everyone in your party and even the main character will live or die depending on the choices you make (couldn't imagine trying to code all those possibilities for Mass Effect 3 though) at least that's the theory. i'm really interested to see how it all plays out (i can't friggen wait for ME2)

[Hemi-Cuda]

one thing i am really disappointed in is how little your origin story matters in the main plot. the Dwarf Noble origin for example, you're an heir to the throne and exiled after a coup by your brother, yet when you go back to Ogrammar nobody seems to care and most just call you "Warden". given the amount of effort they put in to all the different origins, you'd think they could have spiced up the main quests when you return to those areas

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Sadly, in Dragon Age there really is only the illusion of non-linearity. Really, your actions have no meaning, so don't worry. You're not missing out on much. Also, with the gifting system, it has gotten even more ridiculous, because actions that really piss someone off (like -25 or more) can easily be rectified by buying gifts.

The point is, one very thorough playthrough of the game in which you explore every nook and cranny is truly enough to get all of the story elements.

I don't know if I'd agree with this completely. Being non-linear doesn't necessarily mean that you can't explore the majority of the game on one playthrough. There are plenty of pivotal moments where you can affect the outcome of a chapter according to what you decide to do. There are plenty of times where a decision you make will be so out of line with what a member of your party is about that they'll either leave forever or try to kill you.

Originally Posted by Regorium

Perhaps in the future we will see a truly non-linear game.

You must have skipped Fallout 3. And Oblivion. And Morrowind. And most of the Ultima series.