Dragon Age II

[AndreaDraco]

But now - I found another area... that kicked my ass.

Over by the Dalish - there's a "Recently Opened Cave" right by their camp. [...]

So I decide to skip that room and go into the main room - and in there - Rage Demons, Reavers, Desire Demons, and Shades come out in MASSIVE numbers!

This is parte of an over-arching quest, Tawmis, called Forbidden Knowledge. It's an incredibly difficult quest and the "Recently Opened Cave" is the toughest of the lot. It really helps if you have Merrill around this time or a mage able to stun/root/petrify the enemies, because both the Golem and the Revenant are highly susceptible to Petrify and/or Glyph or Paralysis, thus allowing to concentrate on the other one. The fight in the central room is nothing short of epic... but the final one, the one that concludes the quest, is even more difficult.

Yeah, still in Act 1. I'm not sure what Aveline's personal quest is (which means I probably haven't encountered it yet), but when I get to it, hopefully her approval will raise. If it doesn't, well... no huge loss, but I'd prefer having everyone's approval if at all possible.

Today I finished collecting every companion. I've been switching them in and out to see which ones I like the best in terms of both personality and usefulness.

Aveline's personal quest brings you putside Kirkwall, near the Wounded Coast to ward off a raider ambush. There's pleny of opportunity to raise her friendship or rivalry here.

Anyway, what's your opinion on the companions so far?

[AndreaDraco]

I finished Act 2! Yay!

I'll only say one thing... I hate Isabela!

[DeadPoolX]

Yeah, still in Act 1. I'm not sure what Aveline's personal quest is (which means I probably haven't encountered it yet), but when I get to it, hopefully her approval will raise. If it doesn't, well... no huge loss, but I'd prefer having everyone's approval if at all possible.

Today I finished collecting every companion. I've been switching them in and out to see which ones I like the best in terms of both personality and usefulness.

Aveline's personal quest brings you putside Kirkwall, near the Wounded Coast to ward off a raider ambush. There's pleny of opportunity to raise her friendship or rivalry here.

Anyway, what's your opinion on the companions so far?

Do you mean the quest where she wants to save another guardsman from getting killed by a setup from the Kirkwall guard captain? If so, I did that already and didn't receive any points toward friendship or rivalry. I did, however, get a +5 to friendship from Varric on that mission.

As for the companions...

Hawke: I know I'm not a companion, but I am adventuring with all of them. I don't have much to say other than the two-handed Warrior talents are very brutal.

Oh and I already chose Reaver as my first specialization. Some of the Reaver talents seem really useful. I might take Templar as my second specialization (which seems a little odd as Reaver and Templar are at opposite to some degree) and I don't see a point in Berserker, aside from the +10 stamina regeneration.

Bethany: I like her a lot, even if she is a bit needy. Given her crazy life so far (hiding from Templars, her home gets destroyed, her uncle loses the family fortune and their estate, etc) and that she's only 18, I can give her some slack. Plus she's my character's sister and it's nice to have a LIVING family member who can adventure with you, as opposed to always being an orphan or a family member who's nothing more than a brief NPC conversation.

I gave her the Staff of Parlathan and she can really kick ass once you level her up a bit.

Aveline: I don't like her; she isn't a bad person, just seems to deadset on "law and order" for me. It's not that I want to be a criminal, but situations aren't always as black-and-white as she makes them out to be sometimes.

I feel sorry for her because of her husband's death, although his "attack" on Bethany certainly didn't endear me to him.

Since she's the only weapon-and-shield Warrior I've got, I gave her the Fadeshear sword and the Lion of Orlais shield.

Varric: I like him. He's funny and seems like a pretty good guy. His archery talents are fantastic, especially Hail of Arrows. That does an incredible amount of damage in a short period of time and has a nice area effect. The downside, I suppose, is that enemies then target him.

Anders: Surprisingly enough, I don't like him. It's not that I disagree with him on Templars, but this time around his overall personality doesn't mesh with mine.

I have to admit I felt a little uncomfortable by how fast he was trying to flirt with me. Unfortunately, it seems there was no way to turn him down or at least dissuade him without gaining some rivalry points.

The whole merger with Justice seems a little ridiculous to me. I can't imagine Anders saying, "Hey, you're my friend, how about you enter my body?" I understand his reasons, but it still seems to go against his character.

All of that said, he can do an impressive amount of damage.

Fenris: Believe it or not, I like him. He's a little "hardcore" about Mages, but I can understand that given his experience as a slave. I tend to be pro-Mage or at least, not anti-Mage, so some of his thoughts don't mesh with mine. His vengeance against his former master, however, sits perfectly fine with me and I'd like to help him. I actually got +20 friendship when talking with him, which is more than I've received with any companion from one conversation.

I'm not overly impressed with his talents, but then again, I'm a two-handed Warrior as well, so he seems unneeded in most cases. I did give him some buffing sustainables that I don't want, so that helped out at least.

Merrill: I despise the Dalish Elves' accent in this game, but at least her's isn't too bad. She's a little too innocent for my tastes, although the banter between her and Isabela is hilarious.

Her spells aren't bad and if I had to choose a Mage instead of Bethany, I'd probably pick her. I think she has a crush on me.

Isabela: First off, I have to say it's a little annoying that her name is spelled "Isabela" instead of "Isabella." I keep wanting to write it that way.

I like her a lot and not just because she's good looking. Her personality seems interesting and her comments can be quite entertaining, especially when grouping her alongside Merrill and Bethany.

I installed a "pants mod" for her as I felt it's a little weird that she'd be fighting in a thong. I get the fact she's supposed to be a "hot little number" but walking around half-naked doesn't make sense. Unlike some guys on the BioWare social site, I'm not desperate to an up-the-skirt crotch shot.

She's handy to have in a fight, especially since she's the only dual-wield Rogue in the game. Some of her talents are extremely nasty.

Companion Comment: You know what's weird? Both Bethany and Isabela have "old woman hands" and by "old woman" I mean they look like they belong on an 80 year-old. I don't know what BioWare did, but it's weird.

[AndreaDraco]

Aveline: I don't like her; she isn't a bad person, just seems to deadset on "law and order" for me. It's not that I want to be a criminal, but situations aren't always as black-and-white as she makes them out to be sometimes.

Later in the game, you will learn more about her and, while she seems too good to be true in Act 1, Act 2 shapes her as a very interesting person. Definitely one of my favorite companions.

Varric: I like him. He's funny and seems like a pretty good guy. His archery talents are fantastic, especially Hail of Arrows.

Varric is awesome. If you can, bring him along with you. Given that he's the narrator of the story, he has plenty of comments to say just about everything and he can also trigger some very peculiar, unique cutscene. I adore him.

Anders: Surprisingly enough, I don't like him. It's not that I disagree with him on Templars, but this time around his overall personality doesn't mesh with mine.

The whole merger with Justice seems a little ridiculous to me. I can't imagine Anders saying, "Hey, you're my friend, how about you enter my body?" I understand his reasons, but it still seems to go against his character.

Well, I remember that in DAO:A he was already fighting for his freedom and of course he had very distinct ideas about the Circle of Magi and the Templars. I can see Justice taking an interest in the issue and, when he proposed to Anders to merge with him to grant him a greater power to fight against the Templars, I can see why Anders - who has always been, despite the appearances - pretty selfless - agreed to the proposition.

Fenris: Believe it or not, I like him. He's a little "hardcore" about Mages, but I can understand that given his experience as a slave.

I rarely use him, so I can't say for sure, but, while I find the general concept interesting, he comes off a bit too whiny for my tastes. One can argue that even Anders is a bit whiny but since I wholeheartedly agree with his stance it doesn't bother me, whereas Fenris... well, let's just say that all the constant blabbing about Danarius annoys me a bit, after a while.

Merrill: I despise the Dalish Elves' accent in this game, but at least her's isn't too bad. She's a little too innocent for my tastes, although the banter between her and Isabela is hilarious.

I reserve my judgment. I have to see what comes next in her story before talking about what I think about her.

Isabela: I like her a lot and not just because she's good looking. Her personality seems interesting and her comments can be quite entertaining, especially when grouping her alongside Merrill and Bethany.

I can't say anything. We will talk again, my friend, after you've completed Act 2

[Tawmis]

The cool thing is - I had never used Fenris and Ava-whatever, really - so they had some level ups. I pumped them full of Constitution. I said, "I am going to melee the f*ck out of this mother f*cker!"

I think that's the first time I've ever seen you say something like that!

Words can not put it properly how frustrated I was the first two times I encountered this specific person ... and after 20 to 30 minutes of widdling down this person's health (solo, well with my dog too) - and finally slaying this person... then going up and dying by "normal" mobs... I nearly went through the roof.

But now - I found another area... that kicked my ass.
Over by the Dalish - there's a "Recently Opened Cave" right by their camp. [...]
So I decide to skip that room and go into the main room - and in there - Rage Demons, Reavers, Desire Demons, and Shades come out in MASSIVE numbers!

This is parte of an over-arching quest, Tawmis, called Forbidden Knowledge. It's an incredibly difficult quest and the "Recently Opened Cave" is the toughest of the lot. It really helps if you have Merrill around this time or a mage able to stun/root/petrify the enemies, because both the Golem and the Revenant are highly susceptible to Petrify and/or Glyph or Paralysis, thus allowing to concentrate on the other one. The fight in the central room is nothing short of epic... but the final one, the one that concludes the quest, is even more difficult.

Unfortunately Merill is STUCK with me while I do ANY quest in this area - because it locks her there because of her OWN personal quest there - even though I have no intention of DOING her quest yet - because I have like six other quests in that same area... but NOOOO it locks her in place and I can't kick her out. So she's with me, whether I like it or not. KNOWING what's in that area, I'd go in with a different set of people than who are with me now ... I am just annoyed that though I don't intend to do Merill's quest - it locks her in my party, just because it's in the same area...

[Tawmis]

This reminds me - since I did Human Noble in Origins and imported those saves over... I wonder - does everyone get a Mabari hound in Dragon Age II, or is it because of my import that the game gave it to me also?

[AndreaDraco]

The dog comes with the Signature Edition.

Tawm, are you sure you can't kick Merrill off by returning to your house?

[Tawmis]

The dog comes with the Signature Edition.

Tawm, are you sure you can't kick Merrill off by returning to your house?

Ah! Okay (about the Dog). Would have been cool if it was based on your import - whether you started Human Noble, or if your Origins character did the proper quest to get the Mabari Hound later. Although making it a signature addition bonus is pretty awesome too.

As for Merrill - I didn't try going back to the house - but every time (from anywhere else, if I leave the area to go to the coast) - it tells me to select my party and she's locked in the spot in the middle bottom.

Anders: Surprisingly enough, I don't like him. It's not that I disagree with him on Templars, but this time around his overall personality doesn't mesh with mine.

I have to admit I felt a little uncomfortable by how fast he was trying to flirt with me. Unfortunately, it seems there was no way to turn him down or at least dissuade him without gaining some rivalry points.

The whole merger with Justice seems a little ridiculous to me. I can't imagine Anders saying, "Hey, you're my friend, how about you enter my body?" I understand his reasons, but it still seems to go against his character.

All of that said, he can do an impressive amount of damage.

I also commented on here (hidden behind spoilers) about the Anders "no way to have a neutral response to his flirting. It annoys the frack out of me.

As for Anders view on the Templars and not matching yours... Give it time, your views may sway.

I am curious to see if you side more with the Templars than the Mages... Because I have been siding with the Mages... I am more than certain Andrea has done the same... So it would be interesting to see how events turn out in specific areas, if you side with the Templars.

[AndreaDraco]

I am curious to see if you side more with the Templars than the Mages... Because I have been siding with the Mages... I am more than certain Andrea has done the same...

Of course I did!

As for your Merrill problem, try to go to your house. She should be kicked off your party immediately.

[AndreaDraco]

Anyway, you guys say that it's unfair that Anders disapproves if you don't flirt back with him... but what shoul I say about Isabela? How the heck am I supposed to raise her friendship without flirting? It's simply impossible! If you don't flirt with her, the maximum increase in Friendship you can get is +10 (or +15 in a very particular moment), versus the +25/+30 one can get by flirting.

And, believe me, this numerical difference matters.

[DeadPoolX]

Ah! Okay (about the Dog). Would have been cool if it was based on your import - whether you started Human Noble, or if your Origins character did the proper quest to get the Mabari Hound later. Although making it a signature addition bonus is pretty awesome too.

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why should it matter what origin you chose?

Hawke has nothing to do with the Warden. The closest relationship would be if you played the Mage origin, since the Mage Warden is related to Hawke.

I played a Mage and so it's neat to hear the Hawke family (particularly Bethany) talk about how a "member of the family saved them all."

Honestly, I think Bethany is a little obsessed with family recognition, titles and more "girly-girly" stuff. She specifically mentions getting "pretty dresses" when talking about if she and Hawke had grown up in Kirkwall and were wealthy.

I think Varric picks up on that and decides to advise her on how to act like a noble. That conversation is absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, you guys say that it's unfair that Anders disapproves if you don't flirt back with him... but what shoul I say about Isabela? How the heck am I supposed to raise her friendship without flirting? It's simply impossible! If you don't flirt with her, the maximum increase in Friendship you can get is +10 (or +15 in a very particular moment), versus the +25/+30 one can get by flirting.

And, believe me, this numerical difference matters.

Good point.

I don't like guys, whereas you do, so that makes a huge difference in how we see each character and who we want to flirt with.

That said, if I played a heterosexual female Hawke, I have no idea who'd I romance. Anders doesn't do a whole lot for me and Fenris, while I like him as a friend, doesn't seem like the romantic type. That's assuming, of course, you even want a romantic relationship -- you could just opt for a "booty call."

[AndreaDraco]

That said, if I played a heterosexual female Hawke, I have no idea who'd I romance. Anders doesn't do a whole lot for me and Fenris, while I like him as a friend, doesn't seem like the romantic type. That's assuming, of course, you even want a romantic relationship -- you could just opt for a "booty call."

Before the game was released I would have said Fenris, but it took me only five minutes talking with Anders to completely change my mind

Anyway, I'm at the beginning of Act 3, doing companion and side quests before embarking on the meatier main quests. I like how the reaction of the Kirkwall citizens changes over the year to reflect the choices you made. Furthermore, I'll just say that Act 3 is literally packed with cameos, but of course I won't say who

[AndreaDraco]

I must say another thing, sorry.

I absolutely hate Sebastian. He's a prig, an obnoxious idiot. I'd like to slap him everytime he opens his mouth... And still I can't help but gain friendship with the twat! Argh! I hate him! A someone over at the official forum said, he's Leliana on steroids... but this doesn't do justice to Leliana, who was a great character. He's just... argh!

[Tawmis]

Is it because Sebastian is a part of the Chantry, which I know you already don't like?

And that said - (Do not read the spoilers below unless you have gone past the Deep Roads and dealt with "The White Lilly Killer")...

I just did the part with the character's mother... and was pleased. Wait - before you scream - it's because the person who I had thought spoiled it for me said that a brick wall falls upon her and she dies... if that's how she "died" for you... then it's COMPLETELY different than the fate she met with my character... so I am assuming she met the same fate that mine did - and a wall didn't fall on her - but rather, she was a victim of the White Lilly Killer. This made me happy because when it all happened - I immediately knew where it was headed - and where her fate would be - but was so glad to see that the game actually wasn't spoiled for me. So it was... a pleasant surprise... as sad as it was.

Oh, and I passed that pain in the arse cavern I mentioned previously - and beat all the rooms.

I did suffer a bug for one of Fenris' quest - and only just now realized it was a bug, because I thought I had done everything - but in hindsight - the cut scene bug it mentions is exactly what happed:

PC version 1.00 and PS3 and Xbox version - It is possible to begin the quest without Fenris in your party. After entering the Holding Caves it is impossible to leave the area to reform your party. During cutscenes, you will hear Fenris' voice and the camera will pan to where he should be standing, but there will be nothing there. You can still receive friendship and rivalry points with him, despite his not being there. However, killing Hadriana will not trigger a cutscene and it is then impossible to finish the quest, even if Fenris is later brought to the caves. This can be avoided by adding Fenris to the party through the use of "runscript zz_dae_debug" in the developer console prior to defeating Hadriana.

So I can't finish that quest...

[Tawmis]

Apparently the "Evil Tomes" is also bugged... as I did them all but it said it wasn't complete.

Alas moved on to Act III, and let me say...

If I have to ever battle another Airshok or whatever, it will be too soon. I did notice that a bunch of them were "named" Sten.