HardtargetThere Are Four LightsVancouverRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
haha nice. ya usually game .ini configs will accept all kinds of whacky numbers. I look forward to trying this out tonight and actually being able to see down dark alleys
Nightmare difficulty is horrible, just horrible. My party members decide that 1m is enough distance for their ranged attacks, my sister forgets to heal, and then all the enemies always attack me instead of my tank who can't cast nearly enough taunts to keep their attention away from me. The only tactic that seems to work is run around in circles, dragging the enemies around with me, unable to fight back while being attacked by my group until they die. Is this how I'm supposed to play? It feels wrong, it's more like abusing the AI... but what am I supposed to do about it? I need a tank that actually does her/his job.
Man I've been playing this game every free moment since tuesday and I'm just to the beginning of act 2. I don't see how people could have finished it already. I even have wednesdays off and played it almost all day yesterday.
I'm surprised at how versatile party options are. I'm a rogue and I'm playing with Varric, Isabela and Merrill - all DPS all the time - and it's actually pretty much working.
I am so into Isabela. She's the RPG romance option I've been waiting my whole life for.
I see people on this thread talking about using blood mage on some of the defense-boosting sustains to turn Merrill into an AOE tank. Has anyone actually pulled this off?
Nightmare difficulty is horrible, just horrible. My party members decide that 1m is enough distance for their ranged attacks, my sister forgets to heal, and then all the enemies always attack me instead of my tank who can't cast nearly enough taunts to keep their attention away from me. The only tactic that seems to work is run around in circles, dragging the enemies around with me, unable to fight back while being attacked by my group until they die. Is this how I'm supposed to play? It feels wrong, it's more like abusing the AI... but what am I supposed to do about it? I need a tank that actually does her/his job.
Pause.
Even though tactics are useful, even on hard I find I have to do a lot of micromanagement. What can help is to just disable tactics, tell everyone to hold and issue every single order yourself. With friendly fire, I can't imagine the game being playable any other way, maybe with the exception of heals, potions and very specific non-AOE abilities/attack targeting.
6 hours in and loving it. The game just feels more visceral then it's predacessor and you just feel more involved. I can see why people are complaining if they enjoyed the style of the first more as it seemed much more of a homage to RPGs from yesteryear. But DA2 just seems more now and current. Overall the experiance has been excellent so far.
Nightmare difficulty is horrible, just horrible. My party members decide that 1m is enough distance for their ranged attacks, my sister forgets to heal, and then all the enemies always attack me instead of my tank who can't cast nearly enough taunts to keep their attention away from me. The only tactic that seems to work is run around in circles, dragging the enemies around with me, unable to fight back while being attacked by my group until they die. Is this how I'm supposed to play? It feels wrong, it's more like abusing the AI... but what am I supposed to do about it? I need a tank that actually does her/his job.
Pause.
Even though tactics are useful, even on hard I find I have to do a lot of micromanagement. What can help is to just disable tactics, tell everyone to hold and issue every single order yourself. With friendly fire, I can't imagine the game being playable any other way, maybe with the exception of heals, potions and very specific non-AOE abilities/attack targeting.
Yeah, that's more or less how I've even come so far, I'm just annoyed that the game doesn't really tell you to do that. Also makes the tactics menu kind of redundant, aside from healing maybe.
Is there any way to disable the auto-targetting on spells? I can't target areas close to enemies, it automatically centers the "reticule" onto the enemies.
I don't have a list, but it seems to be 29 tracks. The ZIP file is 725 MB....Seems crazy big. I wonder how they compressed this on to the game disc and why they chose to release them in such a huge format.
And since they are all WAV files they don't have any track/author/album info. What a hassle. I should have waited for some pirate to code to MP3 and do all the other grunt work.
I knew 12 tracks was too short. What the hell, Amazon?
I don't have a list, but it seems to be 29 tracks. The ZIP file is 725 MB....Seems crazy big. I wonder how they compressed this on to the game disc and why they chose to release them in such a huge format.
And since they are all WAV files they don't have any track/author/album info. What a hassle. I should have waited for some pirate to code to MP3 and do all the other grunt work.
I knew 12 tracks was too short. What the hell, Amazon?
Do you need the soundtack? I got it through the Signature Edition, I could probably upload it somewhere if you want.
Wow, I installed my 360 version on my HD, and BAM! Load times cut by at least half now.
This is wise advice for almost any 360 game. It's always amazing to me how much it helps (it even helps quite a bit in Mass Effect 1, despite the elevators artificially prolonging the loads).
So, is this like Origins where there is a tank in the party so no point in designing hawke to be a tank? Cause with Alistair in Origins I never felt any point in being a tank.
I have the Blood Dragon Armor activated on my bioware account for DA2, but my friend doesn't. Can anyone remember what a person had to do in order to activate that for the sequel? I'm pretty sure my friend owns the same bioware games as I do. I know he's got the blood dragon armor in DAO because I've seen him wear it. He's got it in ME2 also.
I have the Blood Dragon Armor activated on my bioware account for DA2, but my friend doesn't. Can anyone remember what a person had to do in order to activate that for the sequel? I'm pretty sure my friend owns the same bioware games as I do. I know he's got the blood dragon armor in DAO because I've seen him wear it. He's got it in ME2 also.
You shouldn't have to do anything. If you have BDA in Origins/ME2, you should have it in DA2. Is his game properly linked to his bioware social account?
So does "messy kills" on a weapon do what I think it does and cause like every enemy that the person equipped with the weapon kills to blow up? Or is blowing up a common occurrence no matter what?
Enemies are constantly exploding. I see my rogue kick a guy and he explodes. He wasn't even frozen or anything. But the thing is, it's not even restricted to my character... tons of things that Varric kills blow up, and he doesn't have the "messy kills" trait on any of his gear. He shoots a guy that's low on health and the guy gets gibbed.
I know that they wanted to make the combat more visceral, but I'm not certain that turning the game into Fist of the North Star was quite what I expected. In fact, in cutscenes where people get shot/stabbed/whatever-d, I always feel surprised that the guy didn't explode.
So, is this like Origins where there is a tank in the party so no point in designing hawke to be a tank? Cause with Alistair in Origins I never felt any point in being a tank.
Depends on your party setup, and what difficulty you're taking. I've gone through some dungeons in Normal mode without a single warrior. Isabela technically has an ability that draws some threat, but whether you'd think that wise or not is up to you. Also, I'd only do a "No Warrior" party if and only if it was two rogues and two mages. And even then, I'd make it so Hawke was one of the mages.
I think exploding dudes are a function of criticals/finishers, or more or less random, or both. Messy kills would just guarantee the animation, or at least increase the probability of it.
So, is this like Origins where there is a tank in the party so no point in designing hawke to be a tank? Cause with Alistair in Origins I never felt any point in being a tank.
Depends on your party setup, and what difficulty you're taking. I've gone through some dungeons in Normal mode without a single warrior. Isabela technically has an ability that draws some threat, but whether you'd think that wise or not is up to you. Also, I'd only do a "No Warrior" party if and only if it was two rogues and two mages. And even then, I'd make it so Hawke was one of the mages.
And what about the mages - are they still the most powerful class like in origins?
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Wow, I installed my 360 version on my HD, and BAM! Load times cut by at least half now.
This was one of the primary reasons I bought an Elite a couple years back, for the 120gb HDD so I could install my most played games. Right now I have DA2, ME2, RDR and Halo: Reach installed to my drive.
Not only does it speed up load times, it takes a lot of wear and tear off the DVD drive, and makes the entire experience much quieter as the drive is not always spun up.
So, is this like Origins where there is a tank in the party so no point in designing hawke to be a tank? Cause with Alistair in Origins I never felt any point in being a tank.
Depends on your party setup, and what difficulty you're taking. I've gone through some dungeons in Normal mode without a single warrior. Isabela technically has an ability that draws some threat, but whether you'd think that wise or not is up to you. Also, I'd only do a "No Warrior" party if and only if it was two rogues and two mages. And even then, I'd make it so Hawke was one of the mages.
And what about the mages - are they still the most powerful class like in origins?
Mages are fine.
And there is a companion you get that's, overall, a better straight tank than you could build with your main character.
However, at least as far as I am into the game, which is roughly 1/3, it's been a cakewalk with my hero as the only tank and the game set to hard.
Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
A few great lines I heard last night:
Isabela: Ah the Blooming Rose. Where people come... and then leave.
Varric (inside the Hanged Man): I love this bar. Everybody knows your name.
Also some of the dialog when you hire various prostitutes in the Blooming Rose is great. One of them says "I'll let you roll for initiative!"
There is also a fantastic dialog choice along the lines of "I've been a really bad girl, do you have any special services for me?" And then it cuts to Hawke running out of the room as someone is in there reciting chants from the Book of Andraste and she says "That was NOT what I was expecting!"
So, is this like Origins where there is a tank in the party so no point in designing hawke to be a tank? Cause with Alistair in Origins I never felt any point in being a tank.
Well, there was a point in building a tank if you didn't want to have Alistair in your group. In fact, you basically had to build a tank then. Now don't get me wrong, I adored Alistair and all, but as many times as I played through Origins, I had to try different stuff.
In DA2 it's sorta the same way... there's really only one pure tank character, so if you want a tank you gotta pick her. On the other hand, you can buy respec potions to turn any warrior into a tank who won't be quite as good as the 'main' tank, but will be adequate.
I'm playing on Normal and, as was mentioned above, I have done plenty of fights with no tanks at all. I'm playing my Hawke as a warrior (spec'd into Reaver) and wielding a big two-hander... I'm pretty much all the tank our group needs for the most part, though on Hard or Nightmare I imagine tank talents and a shield are probably required. :P
Ok, fuck magically spawning reinforcements. Seriously. I'm about to play the rest of the game on casual cause it's just such a bullshit cheating way to artificially make the game harder. At least make them, I don't know, run through a fucking door. Not LOLSPAWN next to people.
Edit: Yep Casual time. I'd rather be a carebear than break a keyboard due to some dev teams sick joke.
Edit 2: The random spots of impossible difficulty are very frustrating.
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Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
At this point I am running Hawke (Mage), Anders (Mage - healer), Isabela (Rogue - Melee) and Varric (Rogue - Ranged) and it seems to be working ok. Isabela seems to be able to tank decently - she has a few talents that help with taunting and damage reduction. Obviously this is not as good as a "true" tank, but I am enjoying the fact that I don't quite need one.
In any case, yeah, I wish there were more tank options. Aveline is really the only one built for tanking, and she is annoying.
Ok, fuck magically spawning reinforcements. Seriously. I'm about to play the rest of the game on casual cause it's just such a bullshit cheating way to artificially make the game harder. At least make them, I don't know, run through a fucking door. Not LOLSPAWN next to people.
It's a pain in the ass, but I kind of like it for that reason. Forces you to think more about when to use abilities, and not to just leave a ranged companion off in a corner and figure they're safe.
I just got used to entering a battle, steamrolling the first wave and then having subsequent waves totally fuck me. The advantage of dying being that you know exactly where they're coming from, and can prepare. Also, this becomes a smaller issue as you gain more aggro-control abilities.
I mean jesus. And then the KotOR II like ending where my Warden and Hawke have both now gone missing. And the world war currently raging of course.
Weird question though, Varric says everyone had to leave Hawke eventually after Kirkwall. Except, apparently, Isabella. Which is kinda weird considering I romanced Merrill and was closer to my other party members. Is that just a thing, or did some variable screw up?
I can't really finish processing, full runthrough took about 30 hours total.
Ok, fuck magically spawning reinforcements. Seriously. I'm about to play the rest of the game on casual cause it's just such a bullshit cheating way to artificially make the game harder. At least make them, I don't know, run through a fucking door. Not LOLSPAWN next to people.
It's a pain in the ass, but I kind of like it for that reason. Forces you to think more about when to use abilities, and not to just leave a ranged companion off in a corner and figure they're safe.
I just got used to entering a battle, steamrolling the first wave and then having subsequent waves totally fuck me. The advantage of dying being that you know exactly where they're coming from, and can prepare. Also, this becomes a smaller issue as you gain more aggro-control abilities.
this, combined with the removal of friendly fire has pretty much removed all tactics imo, the best strategy for every non giant boss monster fight is now to group all your characters extremely close together, hide in a corner, then rain AOE death upon yourselves when the enemies close
With the exception of Sebastian (what class is he anyway?) I think I've finally gotten all the characters and I'm having a much more difficult time picking a core group than I did in DA:O.
I'll probably try doing the no tank thing too because even though I like Aveline I'd much rather use Isabella, Merril and Anders. With me being a rogue I'm not sure how well this will work, but what the hell.
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GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
So inventory. It gets bigger right? You can buy bags from vendors can't you? I ask because I've looked at a few merchants and not found them.
Posts
Steam ID: 76561198021298113
Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird
I'm surprised at how versatile party options are. I'm a rogue and I'm playing with Varric, Isabela and Merrill - all DPS all the time - and it's actually pretty much working.
I am so into Isabela. She's the RPG romance option I've been waiting my whole life for.
I see people on this thread talking about using blood mage on some of the defense-boosting sustains to turn Merrill into an AOE tank. Has anyone actually pulled this off?
Pause.
Even though tactics are useful, even on hard I find I have to do a lot of micromanagement. What can help is to just disable tactics, tell everyone to hold and issue every single order yourself. With friendly fire, I can't imagine the game being playable any other way, maybe with the exception of heals, potions and very specific non-AOE abilities/attack targeting.
Yeah, that's more or less how I've even come so far, I'm just annoyed that the game doesn't really tell you to do that. Also makes the tactics menu kind of redundant, aside from healing maybe.
Is there any way to disable the auto-targetting on spells? I can't target areas close to enemies, it automatically centers the "reticule" onto the enemies.
Steam ID: 76561198021298113
Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird
...
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
I knew 12 tracks was too short. What the hell, Amazon?
Do you need the soundtack? I got it through the Signature Edition, I could probably upload it somewhere if you want.
Steam ID: 76561198021298113
Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird
XBL: GamingFreak5514
PSN: GamingFreak1234
This is wise advice for almost any 360 game. It's always amazing to me how much it helps (it even helps quite a bit in Mass Effect 1, despite the elevators artificially prolonging the loads).
I have the Blood Dragon Armor activated on my bioware account for DA2, but my friend doesn't. Can anyone remember what a person had to do in order to activate that for the sequel? I'm pretty sure my friend owns the same bioware games as I do. I know he's got the blood dragon armor in DAO because I've seen him wear it. He's got it in ME2 also.
You shouldn't have to do anything. If you have BDA in Origins/ME2, you should have it in DA2. Is his game properly linked to his bioware social account?
Enemies are constantly exploding. I see my rogue kick a guy and he explodes. He wasn't even frozen or anything. But the thing is, it's not even restricted to my character... tons of things that Varric kills blow up, and he doesn't have the "messy kills" trait on any of his gear. He shoots a guy that's low on health and the guy gets gibbed.
I know that they wanted to make the combat more visceral, but I'm not certain that turning the game into Fist of the North Star was quite what I expected. In fact, in cutscenes where people get shot/stabbed/whatever-d, I always feel surprised that the guy didn't explode.
Depends on your party setup, and what difficulty you're taking. I've gone through some dungeons in Normal mode without a single warrior. Isabela technically has an ability that draws some threat, but whether you'd think that wise or not is up to you. Also, I'd only do a "No Warrior" party if and only if it was two rogues and two mages. And even then, I'd make it so Hawke was one of the mages.
XBL: GamingFreak5514
PSN: GamingFreak1234
I for one am extremely pleased by the gore.
And what about the mages - are they still the most powerful class like in origins?
This was one of the primary reasons I bought an Elite a couple years back, for the 120gb HDD so I could install my most played games. Right now I have DA2, ME2, RDR and Halo: Reach installed to my drive.
Not only does it speed up load times, it takes a lot of wear and tear off the DVD drive, and makes the entire experience much quieter as the drive is not always spun up.
Mages are fine.
And there is a companion you get that's, overall, a better straight tank than you could build with your main character.
However, at least as far as I am into the game, which is roughly 1/3, it's been a cakewalk with my hero as the only tank and the game set to hard.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
Isabela: Ah the Blooming Rose. Where people come... and then leave.
Varric (inside the Hanged Man): I love this bar. Everybody knows your name.
Also some of the dialog when you hire various prostitutes in the Blooming Rose is great. One of them says "I'll let you roll for initiative!"
There is also a fantastic dialog choice along the lines of "I've been a really bad girl, do you have any special services for me?" And then it cuts to Hawke running out of the room as someone is in there reciting chants from the Book of Andraste and she says "That was NOT what I was expecting!"
Well, there was a point in building a tank if you didn't want to have Alistair in your group. In fact, you basically had to build a tank then. Now don't get me wrong, I adored Alistair and all, but as many times as I played through Origins, I had to try different stuff.
In DA2 it's sorta the same way... there's really only one pure tank character, so if you want a tank you gotta pick her. On the other hand, you can buy respec potions to turn any warrior into a tank who won't be quite as good as the 'main' tank, but will be adequate.
I'm playing on Normal and, as was mentioned above, I have done plenty of fights with no tanks at all. I'm playing my Hawke as a warrior (spec'd into Reaver) and wielding a big two-hander... I'm pretty much all the tank our group needs for the most part, though on Hard or Nightmare I imagine tank talents and a shield are probably required. :P
Edit: Yep Casual time. I'd rather be a carebear than break a keyboard due to some dev teams sick joke.
Edit 2: The random spots of impossible difficulty are very frustrating.
In any case, yeah, I wish there were more tank options. Aveline is really the only one built for tanking, and she is annoying.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
It's a pain in the ass, but I kind of like it for that reason. Forces you to think more about when to use abilities, and not to just leave a ranged companion off in a corner and figure they're safe.
I just got used to entering a battle, steamrolling the first wave and then having subsequent waves totally fuck me. The advantage of dying being that you know exactly where they're coming from, and can prepare. Also, this becomes a smaller issue as you gain more aggro-control abilities.
I mean jesus. And then the KotOR II like ending where my Warden and Hawke have both now gone missing. And the world war currently raging of course.
Weird question though, Varric says everyone had to leave Hawke eventually after Kirkwall. Except, apparently, Isabella. Which is kinda weird considering I romanced Merrill and was closer to my other party members. Is that just a thing, or did some variable screw up?
I can't really finish processing, full runthrough took about 30 hours total.
this, combined with the removal of friendly fire has pretty much removed all tactics imo, the best strategy for every non giant boss monster fight is now to group all your characters extremely close together, hide in a corner, then rain AOE death upon yourselves when the enemies close
but it's red and all my boots and gloves are gray or black
god damn it
I'll probably try doing the no tank thing too because even though I like Aveline I'd much rather use Isabella, Merril and Anders. With me being a rogue I'm not sure how well this will work, but what the hell.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
Bodahnk sells one at hightown, if I remember right.
it's like bright red
I look like a walking checkerboard
back to the Fallen set I guess
Actually I think it's Jean Luc (Picard). Maybe I'm wrong.
There is also one in Lowtown.