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Dragon Age 2 anti-hype thread [PLEASE POST IN NEW THREAD]
Leliana also has all the awesome Bard skills, too.
Just because she won't have the highest "% of Damage Dealt" statistic doesn't mean she isn't useful.
She's there as a rogue, to deal damage. Therefore "% of Damage Dealt" is the one and only statistic that is relevant to me for her being in the party.
Man, you're right. My dual wielding warrior was a horrid tank and therefore a failure as a warrior because the only thing a warrior can do is tank and any other role is just not right.
What's with the horn-hair? The visual department really love horns and spiky bits it seems.
Ferrus on
I would like to pause for a moment, to talk about my penis.
My penis is like a toddler. A toddler—who is a perfectly normal size for his age—on a long road trip to what he thinks is Disney World. My penis is excited because he hasn’t been to Disney World in a long, long time, but remembers a time when he used to go every day. So now the penis toddler is constantly fidgeting, whining “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How about now? Now? How about... now?”
And Disney World is nowhere in sight.
And I wouldn't worry about all the brown we're seeing. Not yet, anyway. All those shots are in the Blightlands, so they're supposed to be kind of desolate. If it follows when you're other places, that will be one of my main complaints, most likely.
And I wouldn't worry about all the brown we're seeing. Not yet, anyway. All those shots are in the Blightlands, so they're supposed to be kind of desolate. If it follows when you're other places, that will be one of my main complaints, most likely.
Our art team has made use of most of the colours on the palette in one form or another. We don't shy away from colours that are neither grey nor brown in DA2.
So again, can I use the same save for the Ultimate Edition that I used for the regular game? And how is the DLC handled?
Also, while I haven't been keeping up on any DA2 videos or news, what is it that has a lot of people up in arms and convinced the game will end up garbage?
You'd think with the ME1>ME2 leap, more people would have faith in Bioware.
So again, can I use the same save for the Ultimate Edition that I used for the regular game? And how is the DLC handled?
Also, while I haven't been keeping up on any DA2 videos or news, what is it that has a lot of people up in arms and convinced the game will end up garbage?
You'd think with the ME1>ME2 leap, more people would have faith in Bioware.
Almost the entirety of the complaints are coming from the people who hated the ME1->2 leap. Spoit, for instance, hated the lack of inventory, smaller areas, bad textures etc. of ME2. A lot of others liked the throwback to oldschool RPG combat and think thats going away. Some people hate voice acting, some people hate dialogue wheels.
Basically its the idea of "They changed it now it sucks."
Admittedly you peeps may not like investigating the *shudder* official forums, but there is a good thread about what's known about the game so far.
Hmm... after reading that thread I'm even more optimistic about DA2, But I'm kinda torn about the dialogue wheel. I know conversations move quicker and more naturally with the wheel, but I like to know exactly what I'm going to say before I say it, not just the intent behind what I'm going to say.
Grey Warden sacrificed. Alistair put on the throne.
I made a few extra saves so I can get at least 2 more endings on this main game before starting over.
In my opinion, the hardest fight of the game was the Broodmother down in the Anvil of the Void area. After multiple failed attempts, I finally had to drop the difficulty for her. That's the only fight I finished on easy. Everything else was done on normal.
Admittedly you peeps may not like investigating the *shudder* official forums, but there is a good thread about what's known about the game so far.
Hmm... after reading that thread I'm even more optimistic about DA2, But I'm kinda torn about the dialogue wheel. I know conversations move quicker and more naturally with the wheel, but I like to know exactly what I'm going to say before I say it, not just the intent behind what I'm going to say.
Which is certainly a valid concern. I feel as though the 'tone' icons do an excellent job of keeping you from being surprised, but everyone's mileage will vary. I was surprised by a few things Shepard said in ME2, for example, but this has never been an issue with DA2.
Grey Warden sacrificed. Alistair put on the throne.
I made a few extra saves so I can get at least 2 more endings on this main game before starting over.
In my opinion, the hardest fight of the game was the Broodmother down in the Anvil of the Void area. After multiple failed attempts, I finally had to drop the difficulty for her. That's the only fight I finished on easy. Everything else was done on normal.
Did you go to Orzammar first? I did and it took me about ten attempts on the lowest difficulty the horrendous bitch, due to the level scaling:
Grey Warden sacrificed. Alistair put on the throne.
I made a few extra saves so I can get at least 2 more endings on this main game before starting over.
In my opinion, the hardest fight of the game was the Broodmother down in the Anvil of the Void area. After multiple failed attempts, I finally had to drop the difficulty for her. That's the only fight I finished on easy. Everything else was done on normal.
Did you go to Orzammar first? I did and it took me about ten attempts on the lowest difficulty the horrendous bitch, due to the level scaling:
It was actually the final place I went out of the warden treaties. If I'm remembering right, my party was about level 14 or 15 at the time.
I still think that one denerim encounter with the dozen archer ambush is one of the more difficult ones in the game. Even before you do any archery un-nerfing mods.
Maybe I should be playing on a harder difficulty. My party can tear through a Revenant with very little trouble, even the ones in the Brecilian that have backup.
I like Shale in cutscenes and such, but it's a bit dull in combat. Like with Dog there isn't much to the skills. Shale is certainly effective though, especially if you get clever with swapping out crystals.
In my game, whenever Shale throws a punch, someone's head explodes. Its the best ever.
Also, I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but at some point in my game, Revenants became a complete joke. I think it was about level 18 and after I got my massive Dragonbone armor from Wade. After that the Revs were a cake walk.
I'm pretty sure Shale is the best tank you can get. It was at the point were I had to switch her out for Allistair because the game was getting too easy. Really ez-mode in this game consists of a party with Shale, and three mages.
In regards to Shale, I don't know about you guys, but I was guilty of keeping her in one single mode at a time, depending on what role I wanted her to fill. If I wanted her to tank, she'd just be in Stoneheart. If I wanted her to DPS, she'd just be in Pulverizing Blows. If I wanted her to use ranged, she'd just be in Rock Mastery. During my most recent play through, I realized the error of my ways.
In my opinion, Shale is best utilized in the manner of which WoW Warriors play (or used to play, I haven't played the game in years), in "stance dancing" means you get the most bang for your buck rather than a set-and-forget play style.
Here's my Shale tactics set up with a description of how it works (it works well!) Please note that I play with the Advanced Tactics mod, as well as the increased tactics slot mod.
Spoilered for huge:
Shale is set up thusly.
Behavior: Aggressive
Self: Health < 40% - > Use strongest Health Poultice
Self: Any - > Activate Mode: Threaten
Self: Nearest visible Mage -> Activate Mode: Rock Mastery
Enemy: Using attacks between medium and long range - > Activate mode: Rock Mastery
Enemy: Nearest visible Mage - > Use ability: Hurl Rock
Enemy: Using attacks between medium and long range -> Use ability: Hurl Rock
Enemy: Clustered with at least 3 allies - > Use ability: Rock Barrage
Self: Surrounded by at least 3 enemies - > Use ability: Earthen Grasp
Self: Any - > Activate Mode: Stoneheart
Enemy: Rank is elite or higher - > Use ability: Stone Roar
Enemy: Attacking *whatever Mage I have at the time* - > Use ability: Stone Roar
Self: Being attacked by melee attack - > Use ability: Taunt
Self: Surrounded by at least 2 enemies - > Use ability: Taunt
Self: Surrounded by at least 2 enemies - > Use ability: Bellow
Self: Surrounded by at least 4 enemies - > Use ability: Regenerating Burst
Self: Mana or Stamina level < 10% - > Activate Mode: Stone Aura
This makes for a very intelligent and effective Shale. I'll now explain the logic behind each of the 3 "sections," but before I do, bear in mind that my Shale always has Threaten activated for an obvious reason -- I'd rather her be soaking up damage than anyone else in my party, and every little bit of threat generation helps. You'll also note that I don't include Pulverizing Blows; I'll explain that later.
The section with the Rock Mastery scripts tells her to activate the mode basically whenever she shes a mage or an archer. After that, the Hurl Rock scripts tell her to toss a boulder their way, getting the drop on an unsuspecting mage, an archer drawing his bow, or even an charging warrior or rogue -- this last part is great because they typically charge in packs. This first section alone pretty much guarantees that my party gets the first strike against an enemy group every single time. Sometimes I'll flatten a large group of enemies, which allows Shale to take advantage of her next script which tells her to use Rock Barrage on them, causing even more damage and potentially knocking them down, slowing their advancement even further. If I see Shale using Rock Barrage, I typically tell my party to Hold position so they don't get caught up in the AOE. Lastly, I have a script for Shale to use Earthen Grasp if surrounded by at least 3 enemies -- this move is fantastic crowd controller, good in any circumstance. You can cast it at a range too, though I prefer using it this way as it has no friendly fire aspect.
The second section involves Stoneheart. The first tactic tells Shale to activate the mode under "Any" circumstance -- keep in mind though that since the Rock Mastery scripts are above it, they have priority, and Shale won't mistakenly activate Stoneheart if she's trying to use her ranged abilities. If they're all on cooldown, or she doesn't sense any reason to use her abilities, she'll activate and stay in Stoneheart mode.
When it comes to Stone Roar, I have two scripts. The first sends Shale after the highest ranked enemy visible, with the second being more defensive, sending her after any enemy that happens to be attacking my party mage. Shale also has two Taunt scripts; one if she's being attacked by a melee attack (and she almost always is), and the other if she is surrounded by at least two enemies, giving her an opportunity to attract the attention of enemies that might be around her but not actually attacking her. Bellow comes next, a great AOE that helps lock down enemies around her, set up to use so long as there are at least two enemies in the vicinity. Last but not least is Regenerating Burst, which I have set up so that Shale will use it only if she's surrounded by at least 4 enemies -- the reasoning for this is that it's an excellent move which damages and stuns enemies in a wide range while setting a health regen buff on Shale, but it has a high mana cost, a long cooldown and a significant casting animation, so I try to use it sparingly.
Finally there's Stone Aura, which is perhaps one of Shale's best modes when utilized properly. Using the tactics I set up, Shale will only use it when she's all but out of Stamina, having used her powerful abilities to decimate the enemy forces. Any left standing will generally hate Shale and come after her regardless of what she's doing, so this mode allows her to trade a series of significant buffs (armor, health regen, resistances, knockdown immunity) for a stamina regen (she's out of stamina, who cares!) and defense (can't dodge if she's paralyzed) penalty, while also casting a huge aura (seriously, it's huge) that buffs the crap out of your party and weakens the offensive, defensive and movement speed capabilities of any enemies unfortunate to be caught in it.
Now I won't really get into Pulverizing Blows because it's personally my least favorite of Shale's talent trees, but it's by no means bad. I've used a variation of the above tactics set up using Pulverizing Blows in the place of Stoneheart, but it's just not how I personally like to use Shale. In regards to the skills in the tree: Slam is good dps, but I generally keep it reserved for use against Mages as it's a guaranteed interrupt and has a relatively short cooldown. Quake stuns in a wide area radiating out from Shale and deals significant damage, but the friendly fire aspect of it is harsh, especially if you're playing on Nightmare. Lastly, Killing Blow is phenomenal, limited only by Shale's lowish stamina, which can be offset by dropping some points into Willpower. With Killing Blow, Shale is actually a better version of the Berserker -- why you ask? Because Shale's "mode" of Pulverizing Blows costs no stamina to keep up, so you can use Killing Blow to take out a weak enemy and Shale will continue to pound away unfettered; with the Berserker, using Final Blow and draining all of your Warrior's stamina will cause a number of your modes to deactivate, making them significantly weaker for the rest of the bout. I guess that explains the difference in the abilities names!
I wish they would split the Mage and Priest into two classes. Playing a Chantry priest could be interesting and it might make the Mage less of a god. I mean if you threw the lockpicking skills in the warrior tree it would be about the same, but it would feel so wrong. I like more than three classes.
Posts
Except that's an entirely wrong opinion to have.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
Loving the new Character Design.
But yeah, that Flemeth design is pretty sweet.
And Disney World is nowhere in sight.
And I wouldn't worry about all the brown we're seeing. Not yet, anyway. All those shots are in the Blightlands, so they're supposed to be kind of desolate. If it follows when you're other places, that will be one of my main complaints, most likely.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
Our art team has made use of most of the colours on the palette in one form or another. We don't shy away from colours that are neither grey nor brown in DA2.
Er--I mean. That's what you're paid to say! It'll just be one pure brown screen when I start playing, won't it!?
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
Also, while I haven't been keeping up on any DA2 videos or news, what is it that has a lot of people up in arms and convinced the game will end up garbage?
You'd think with the ME1>ME2 leap, more people would have faith in Bioware.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Almost the entirety of the complaints are coming from the people who hated the ME1->2 leap. Spoit, for instance, hated the lack of inventory, smaller areas, bad textures etc. of ME2. A lot of others liked the throwback to oldschool RPG combat and think thats going away. Some people hate voice acting, some people hate dialogue wheels.
Basically its the idea of "They changed it now it sucks."
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
A throwback, they said.
Easy money and the foreign wenches have their legs wired crosswise, they said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yTVjUY9wMg
Hmm... after reading that thread I'm even more optimistic about DA2, But I'm kinda torn about the dialogue wheel. I know conversations move quicker and more naturally with the wheel, but I like to know exactly what I'm going to say before I say it, not just the intent behind what I'm going to say.
I made a few extra saves so I can get at least 2 more endings on this main game before starting over.
In my opinion, the hardest fight of the game was the Broodmother down in the Anvil of the Void area. After multiple failed attempts, I finally had to drop the difficulty for her. That's the only fight I finished on easy. Everything else was done on normal.
Which is certainly a valid concern. I feel as though the 'tone' icons do an excellent job of keeping you from being surprised, but everyone's mileage will vary. I was surprised by a few things Shepard said in ME2, for example, but this has never been an issue with DA2.
*Comfort her.*
Tone: Murderous
3DS FC: 5086-1134-6451
Shiny Code: 3837
Did you go to Orzammar first? I did and it took me about ten attempts on the lowest difficulty the horrendous bitch, due to the level scaling:
It was actually the final place I went out of the warden treaties. If I'm remembering right, my party was about level 14 or 15 at the time.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
Steam: CavilatRest
Steam: CavilatRest
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
Also, I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but at some point in my game, Revenants became a complete joke. I think it was about level 18 and after I got my massive Dragonbone armor from Wade. After that the Revs were a cake walk.
Steam: CavilatRest
Steam: CavilatRest
Up the difficulty.
In my opinion, Shale is best utilized in the manner of which WoW Warriors play (or used to play, I haven't played the game in years), in "stance dancing" means you get the most bang for your buck rather than a set-and-forget play style.
Here's my Shale tactics set up with a description of how it works (it works well!) Please note that I play with the Advanced Tactics mod, as well as the increased tactics slot mod.
Spoilered for huge:
Behavior: Aggressive
Self: Health < 40% - > Use strongest Health Poultice
Self: Any - > Activate Mode: Threaten
Self: Nearest visible Mage -> Activate Mode: Rock Mastery
Enemy: Using attacks between medium and long range - > Activate mode: Rock Mastery
Enemy: Nearest visible Mage - > Use ability: Hurl Rock
Enemy: Using attacks between medium and long range -> Use ability: Hurl Rock
Enemy: Clustered with at least 3 allies - > Use ability: Rock Barrage
Self: Surrounded by at least 3 enemies - > Use ability: Earthen Grasp
Self: Any - > Activate Mode: Stoneheart
Enemy: Rank is elite or higher - > Use ability: Stone Roar
Enemy: Attacking *whatever Mage I have at the time* - > Use ability: Stone Roar
Self: Being attacked by melee attack - > Use ability: Taunt
Self: Surrounded by at least 2 enemies - > Use ability: Taunt
Self: Surrounded by at least 2 enemies - > Use ability: Bellow
Self: Surrounded by at least 4 enemies - > Use ability: Regenerating Burst
Self: Mana or Stamina level < 10% - > Activate Mode: Stone Aura
This makes for a very intelligent and effective Shale. I'll now explain the logic behind each of the 3 "sections," but before I do, bear in mind that my Shale always has Threaten activated for an obvious reason -- I'd rather her be soaking up damage than anyone else in my party, and every little bit of threat generation helps. You'll also note that I don't include Pulverizing Blows; I'll explain that later.
The section with the Rock Mastery scripts tells her to activate the mode basically whenever she shes a mage or an archer. After that, the Hurl Rock scripts tell her to toss a boulder their way, getting the drop on an unsuspecting mage, an archer drawing his bow, or even an charging warrior or rogue -- this last part is great because they typically charge in packs. This first section alone pretty much guarantees that my party gets the first strike against an enemy group every single time. Sometimes I'll flatten a large group of enemies, which allows Shale to take advantage of her next script which tells her to use Rock Barrage on them, causing even more damage and potentially knocking them down, slowing their advancement even further. If I see Shale using Rock Barrage, I typically tell my party to Hold position so they don't get caught up in the AOE. Lastly, I have a script for Shale to use Earthen Grasp if surrounded by at least 3 enemies -- this move is fantastic crowd controller, good in any circumstance. You can cast it at a range too, though I prefer using it this way as it has no friendly fire aspect.
The second section involves Stoneheart. The first tactic tells Shale to activate the mode under "Any" circumstance -- keep in mind though that since the Rock Mastery scripts are above it, they have priority, and Shale won't mistakenly activate Stoneheart if she's trying to use her ranged abilities. If they're all on cooldown, or she doesn't sense any reason to use her abilities, she'll activate and stay in Stoneheart mode.
When it comes to Stone Roar, I have two scripts. The first sends Shale after the highest ranked enemy visible, with the second being more defensive, sending her after any enemy that happens to be attacking my party mage. Shale also has two Taunt scripts; one if she's being attacked by a melee attack (and she almost always is), and the other if she is surrounded by at least two enemies, giving her an opportunity to attract the attention of enemies that might be around her but not actually attacking her. Bellow comes next, a great AOE that helps lock down enemies around her, set up to use so long as there are at least two enemies in the vicinity. Last but not least is Regenerating Burst, which I have set up so that Shale will use it only if she's surrounded by at least 4 enemies -- the reasoning for this is that it's an excellent move which damages and stuns enemies in a wide range while setting a health regen buff on Shale, but it has a high mana cost, a long cooldown and a significant casting animation, so I try to use it sparingly.
Finally there's Stone Aura, which is perhaps one of Shale's best modes when utilized properly. Using the tactics I set up, Shale will only use it when she's all but out of Stamina, having used her powerful abilities to decimate the enemy forces. Any left standing will generally hate Shale and come after her regardless of what she's doing, so this mode allows her to trade a series of significant buffs (armor, health regen, resistances, knockdown immunity) for a stamina regen (she's out of stamina, who cares!) and defense (can't dodge if she's paralyzed) penalty, while also casting a huge aura (seriously, it's huge) that buffs the crap out of your party and weakens the offensive, defensive and movement speed capabilities of any enemies unfortunate to be caught in it.
Now I won't really get into Pulverizing Blows because it's personally my least favorite of Shale's talent trees, but it's by no means bad. I've used a variation of the above tactics set up using Pulverizing Blows in the place of Stoneheart, but it's just not how I personally like to use Shale. In regards to the skills in the tree: Slam is good dps, but I generally keep it reserved for use against Mages as it's a guaranteed interrupt and has a relatively short cooldown. Quake stuns in a wide area radiating out from Shale and deals significant damage, but the friendly fire aspect of it is harsh, especially if you're playing on Nightmare. Lastly, Killing Blow is phenomenal, limited only by Shale's lowish stamina, which can be offset by dropping some points into Willpower. With Killing Blow, Shale is actually a better version of the Berserker -- why you ask? Because Shale's "mode" of Pulverizing Blows costs no stamina to keep up, so you can use Killing Blow to take out a weak enemy and Shale will continue to pound away unfettered; with the Berserker, using Final Blow and draining all of your Warrior's stamina will cause a number of your modes to deactivate, making them significantly weaker for the rest of the bout. I guess that explains the difference in the abilities names!