I liked most of the characters save Anders. End game spoiler.
Even before he killed the chantry anders was a whiny bitch, him and fenris were on the extremes of mages and I agreed with fernis more often because he had a god damn reason. Especially with how often the mages just went blood magic.
Also that guy getting his single player game taken away for a forum banning is old school, mom took his toy away because he wasn't playing nice with others. Hell I bet the mods here wish they could do that.
Preacher on
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
Also that guy getting his single player game taken away for a forum banning is old school, mom took his toy away because he wasn't playing nice with others. Hell I bet the mods here wish they could do that.
Whether or not they wish they could stick it to someone like that, I don't like the situation one bit. It won't get much attention because hey, this is a video game. Big deal if some gamer has his game taken away for being a dick on the forums.
Now, if someone was an asshat on a Microsoft forum and they disabled his Windows for 72 hours... shit would get real.
Just beat it, did most of the sidequests (guess I was missing some Qunari swords and a quest involving a rescue in the coast in act 3 bugged out, but otherwise everything best as I can tell) with my last save clocking in at 46 hours, 5 minutes. I absolutely adore this game, for basically the same reason I adored ME2 over ME1. Everything is faster, more streamlined, more fun. The plot was more interesting to me as well.
Now for my list of complaints because I like to complain but really I loved this game.
Merill and anders sucked ass. Neither of them had any personality worth mentioning. Merill was basically a bad tali and anders just kind of was until the very end for me, despite me dragging him damn near everywhere for his heal spell. This probably has a lot to do with how imo neither of their stories really had the proper followup (serious end game spoilers for anders and merill).
Never did see Anders drink that potion. Wonder if it was all a cover so he could plant the bomb in the chantry. And Merill did not once bring up what happens after we killed the posessed keeper and then the whole of the dalish because they were trying to lynch merill. Also what the fuck is this shit where is ser-pounce-alot? >: (
Sidenote; the heal spell is hardly necessary, at least on normal. Outside of a couple super assfuck boss fights, I could take damn near any old party and succeed.
My other big complaint is environments. Being stuck in the same few areas going into the same dungeons is mildly tiresome. It didn't irk me my first playthrough, but on my second will I really want to go through that god damn cave map for the 90th time? It was also a missed opportunity. With all the time-skipping, the city does not change. New buildings, new wreckage, new stores, new anything could have spiced it up.
And lastly, about the ending as a whole.
I missed the recap of your antics like you got at the end of DA:O. So many lives touched I would have liked a little blurb on, but nothing. Leliana at the end made for a neat twist, but obvious sequel (or expansion) set-up is obvious.
My only regret? (do not read this until you've finished the quest you get from nuncio in act 2 or 3).
Not boning Zevran.
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jefe414"My Other Drill Hole is a Teleporter"Mechagodzilla is Best GodzillaRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
I just don't like the need to connect to the servers every time I load the game up. Is the shit on my Xbox? Yes? Then wtf are you connecting for? Anyway, about DA2, I like almost all of the things they changed. Except reinforcement spawns always appearing behind my rear line (mages/archers). Every fight. Really? They are rappelling down the ceilinged wall behind me? That's pretty lame.
Also, for those worried about 2H weapons not doing much more damage than their 1H compatriots, remember, most 2H attacks are designed to hit multiple enemies so the DPS per target might be the same, but multiply it times the number of people being hit by each attack.
Go full force mage -- it's unbelievable. If someone's standing next to the little blue marker in the center of Gravitic Ring then they're frozen. For twenty seconds. And you've got a spell (Pull of the Abyss) that can dump everyone in a twenty foot wide ring right on top of said little blue marker. Drop an AoE or two on top of that (I like Tempest) and you're done.
They're fine in and of themselves, but they aren't like, for example, reaver.
Reaver spec pretty much doubles the damage of every other ability you have. There is no mage equivalent - if you want to increase the damage of your chain lightning, none of the other trees are going to help (except maybe a debuff hex). Which is sad times.
A warrior can go vanguard reaver and then stick a few more points in berserker and every level up is increasing the damage and potence of his moves - whereas with the mage specs it's much more of a smorgasbord
I'm finding that mages are here for the support + cc and warriors get to be the star of the show this time around. The bastards. I hope someone manages to mod in something resembling an arcane warrior spec or spellsword line.
In any case, for mages to do terrible terrible damage they need to be enabled by warriors or rogues first.
Makes me feel less like a font of arcane devastation and more of a cheerleader and opportunist.
edit: Also fuck the robes! When the hell can I wear real clothing instead of these dresses!?
Oh and favorite moment in the whole game (besides using assassinate to 1-shot every single enemy mage I encountered after getting it, including elite plot relevant ones)? End of act 2 spoilers.
1v1 duel with the arishokk to keep Isabela out of the Qunari's hands. It was 5-7 minutes of ass-clenching terror as I ran away like a coward, only stopping long enough to hit him with assassinate or twin fangs whenever they came off cooldown or chug the relevant potion.
I just don't like the need to connect to the servers every time I load the game up. Is the shit on my Xbox? Yes? Then wtf are you connecting for? Anyway, about DA2, I like almost all of the things they changed. Except reinforcement spawns always appearing behind my rear line (mages/archers). Every fight. Really? They are rappelling down the ceilinged wall behind me? That's pretty lame.
That is my only major complaint as well. I mean if they ambush me with reinforcements in a few fights here and there, fine. That's good design. Keeps me on my toes a bit. But every. fucking. fight. That is just taking the piss.
Why is it that 90% of items can only be used by Hawke? Sweet! A shop that sells robes! I'll need to get my mages some new ones... Wait.. these are all for Hawke only?.. But he's a fucking warrior! How does that make any sense!? Why did they remove customization of party members like that? I'm still confused by the item system. And the crafting system.
I just got into the Deep Roads, the very beginning before I had to go.
I completed all but one quest in Act 1.
The Loose Ties with the Mercenary guy. I really only joined him to get into the city, guy seems like an asshole so screw him.
I think I'm a little over 12 hours. Been playing on Normal mostly, I'm kind bad with talents since I just want to do the story first, so some fights (only two) I put on Casual, and there have been close encounters with others
namely the Mature dragon fight in the Bone Pit, holy fuck.
I'm having a good time so far, the only person I really have a ton of friendship with is Merril, mainly because I'm looking to have a nice lesbian relationship with her. Isabella seems to have more rivalry with her because I'm choosing all the wrong choices? I don't know why that is.
Without spoiling anything, how does the story pick up from the Deep Roads? I get the impression stuff is about to go down here, from both in game and from you guys spoiling a bunch of stuff.
I've been reading that the game used a lot of copy pasted dungeons.
So does that mean that all the side quests have repetitive maps - like ME1? Or is it the main quests too?
I'm not the type to be bothered by things like that, but it's even a little annoying to me--just because they keep the minimap exactly the same for each area, even though they block off certain paths to make it "feel" different.
It's weird because it's not copy+paste maps like they're using the same tileset over and over.
It's the exact same map. There will be times where you do 2 or 3 quests in a row and it's the exact same map, but with different enemies. That pretty much spawn in the same place as the last enemies did. And most of the treasure will be in the same place as well.
I've been reading that the game used a lot of copy pasted dungeons.
So does that mean that all the side quests have repetitive maps - like ME1? Or is it the main quests too?
both, at times
Hopefully it'll be ironed out in the third one.
I don't think origins handled this any better, seeing as how the main quest areas themselves took so long (DEEP ROADS) and were just a lot of repeated rooms within themselves (DEEP ROADS).
Making it more like ME2 where even the N7 side missions all had their own gimmick/environment wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'll take just a handful of unique quests over a billion identical ones any day.
I was bloody annoyed that a lot of the mages went batshit after I decided to side with them, especially Orsino, since he seemed like a stable dude until he made a 180 degree turn. Then again, there's no way I would've sided with the templars as a mage, what with Meredith being absolutely insane and the templars more or less deserving everything that happened to them. The ending was an all around clusterfuck though.
Then again, in Dragon Age games I've had a very anti-Chantry, anti-Templar position. The problems they have with mages can be argued to have been solved by the now-destroyed elven kingdom, and by the Tevinter imperium, both of which dealt/deal with magic at a level beyond the rest of Thedas. The Imperium has some fucked up stuff, but it is in part due to being old and decadent, not just due to the prevalence of magic. The Chantry has just been asking for trouble with the way they deal with mages. Either granting freedom or just disposing of mages as they manifest their powers would be more sustainable. Systematic oppression for a thousand years is bound to boil over. I do hope that we don't get railroaded to a position where we have to save the Chantry in the future.
Lot of stuff in this post is kind of wrong.
"The now destroyed elven kingdom"? You mean the one from pre-history that we know nothing, absolutely nothing about? They're not a legitimate piece of evidence for any kind of discussion due to the aforementioned issue. We have legends, nothing more.
But...Tevinter? You really and truly jumped to Tevinter as an example of a kingdom that has "solved" the mage issue? The same Tevinter that has a legal slave trade, in which blood magic is rampant, in which they use slaves to fuel said blood magic? The same Tevinter where Mages rule with an iron fist? That Tevinter? Yes it's due to the prevalence of magic. Power corrupts, and magic is not only a whole lot of power but it opens up new and exciting ways to oppress a populace on a whim.
Yes, the situation of the mages sucks but it's really the only way. Letting mages just run around free is asking for trouble. As the Codex says, quite rightly, the thought that some mage off in a tower in the middle of nowhere could become an Abomination unbeknownst to anyone is not a trivial thing. We've seen plenty I think just how easy it is for Mages to fall to Blood Magic. People can justify just about anything to themselves.
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
So...I've been playing for a while.
Have to say I generally like every character except Anders and Merril.
Anders has too much angst, especially for the wise-cracking dude I knew from awakening. And since I'm not
"Kill all mages!" or "Kill all templars!" it's hard to get his friend/rivalry going anywhere. I mean...Fenris is the same way, but you get more than enough chances to argue with him on the subject.
Also, Merril meh. I think her naivety and general petulance is a missed opportunity. Like, I mean I find it entertaining sometimes but at the same time it's like...nobody could be that ignorant of everything ever.
That being said, I'm moreso disappointed because I think Bioware was trying to go for that sheltered child who was never raised with the world. But I feel that they didn't take the time to show just how damaging and serious that can be. Even with her...arcane practices...it seems like they play the "Isn't her ignorance so cute" card a little too much. Especially when you can call out your other party members out on their shit quite a bit.
That high dragon is no joke, but even on normal on my first attempt I soloed it down from about 60% (elemental & force mage) after the rest of my group died. Whoever said that mages don't have good specializations hasn't ever used that insanely overpowered force mage ability that puts out a black hole thing which lower movement/attack speed based on how close enemies are to it. If you cast it on top of something they can not move or attack at all for like 15 seconds.
Seriously, why would you hate her? Not Tali enough for you?
I think we've made fairly clear why we dislike her. She's incompetent.
Damn, this thread moves fast.
I don't have a problem with the fact that Merrill is a sweetheart face-to-face, nor do I have a problem with her ass-kicking ability (though I clear rooms far faster with Aveline/Varric/2hHawke/HealAnders than I did with Aveline/Merrill/Hawke/Anders since Varric's firing speed is just ridiculous.) I actually used her a lot for a while after I recruited her.
Edit: To further clarify, I specced my 2H Hawke in such a way that I way can clear most rooms before the mages can get off a single AoE, using mostly autoattack. I did avoid primal because of how bad lightning was in DA:O, leaving me wondering where the hell all the combos were for Staggered. :P
My problem with her is
that she's all sweetness and cookies when in fact she is power-hungry, straight-up ignorant, and is too stupid to learn from so many close calls. And we're not talking "now she's bald til her hair grows back" close calls, we're talking "killing her friends, protectors, family, and mentors" close calls.
My feelings here may be due to the fact that I noticed the mirror, but she never mentioned the mirror at all in my game until shortly after that quest betrayal, making her seem doubly foolish. Merrill is like a friend who has permission to borrow your car - a dangerous implement - and hits a deer. You say "No problem dude I understand accidents happen just cover the damage and it's cool. At least nobody got hurt." and your friend pays, apologizes, and says "By the way I had no licence it was suspended for a year because of a DUI last month you can cover for me if the cops ask questions right?"
Merrill is someone who is reckless and, unlike Hawke, can't afford to be. She has no understanding of risk. Merrill is someone who blows every bit of their savings on the lottery instead of investing it in a high-yield fund. :P
On the flip-side, Isabella is pretty charming in my game. There are a few raunchy jokes but if you get past that she's really personable, being all big-sister to [strike]Forrest[/strike] Merrill. I love how things as simple as doing quests in a different order have completely changed our impressions of the same characters.
P.S. The Tali thing was a low blow - you must have me confused for someone who actually wasted a squad spot on her terribad skill tree.
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Yeah. I feel like you generally get a much better feel for the characters by taking them with you.
That's why I rotate my party a lot.
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L Ron HowardThe duckMinnesotaRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
So Fenris HATES mages, yet I keep Anders in my party all the time to keep everyone up. I wish the writing was adjusted a bit for him to realize the reason he's not DEAD is because Anders keeping his sorry ass up. I've also considered dropping Anders for Isabella, because two melee rogues (my Hawke and Isa) are more than enough to kill nearly everything by themselves.
I know it is cheap, but in the big Dragon fight is about half way over and it suddenly turned from the rest of my party and started chasing my archer. Me running in circles around the room with the dragon chasing me was too funny to stop doing. The rest of my party is then chasing the dragon who ignores them to continue chasing me. It was like an odd conga line.
So, would someone mind giving me some help with choosing my spells for my Mage. Should I focus solely on the Fire/Ice tree for my direct damage needs or is it ok to branch out into the earth/lightning tree as well.
Come to think of it, Mage players, what are your favourite spell trees?
I know it is cheap, but in the big Dragon fight is about half way over and it suddenly turned from the rest of my party and started chasing my archer. Me running in circles around the room with the dragon chasing me was too funny to stop doing. The rest of my party is then chasing the dragon who ignores them to continue chasing me. It was like an odd conga line.
Kiting is, unfortunately, the best tactic in most serious boss fights.
I really like this game despite its faults, and it seems like a lot you people do too. And then I see in other corners of the internet the consensus is very very different.
Where can I find a Varterral? The quest for the Herbalist's List shows that it should be somewhere in Sundermount. I've been everywhere up there and cleared out some caves and a Mature Dragon, but no sign of the Varterral.
So, would someone mind giving me some help with choosing my spells for my Mage. Should I focus solely on the Fire/Ice tree for my direct damage needs or is it ok to branch out into the earth/lightning tree as well.
Come to think of it, Mage players, what are your favourite spell trees?
Well...I like Primal because it has like one of the best cross-class combos in the game.
That being said...the elemental tree has some good paralyzing spells.
They're both good, but I would only pick one.
As for my other favorites.
Creation is pretty good with it's glyph and buffs.
I don't like Entropy as much as I thought I would...but it is probably beastly when everything is upgraded.
Spirit...is okay...problem I have with spirit is that it has some really good spells like walking bomb and syphon and some meh spells like spirit bolt and dispel.
Where can I find a Varterral? The quest for the Herbalist's List shows that it should be somewhere in Sundermount. I've been everywhere up there and cleared out some caves and a Mature Dragon, but no sign of the Varterral.
Where can I find a Varterral? The quest for the Herbalist's List shows that it should be somewhere in Sundermount. I've been everywhere up there and cleared out some caves and a Mature Dragon, but no sign of the Varterral.
Hey, I've been trying to do that quest, too. That's the last ingredient I need.
Edit: Looks like the above post answered that question.
I could also use a list of blood magic tome locations.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Where can I find a Varterral? The quest for the Herbalist's List shows that it should be somewhere in Sundermount. I've been everywhere up there and cleared out some caves and a Mature Dragon, but no sign of the Varterral.
Hey, I've been trying to do that quest, too. That's the last ingredient I need.
Edit: Looks like the above post answered that question.
I could also use a list of blood magic tome locations.
Bioware has achieved a unique feat. They have finally created a game where I dislike all of my romance options to a point where I won't even try them just to see what happens.
So, would someone mind giving me some help with choosing my spells for my Mage. Should I focus solely on the Fire/Ice tree for my direct damage needs or is it ok to branch out into the earth/lightning tree as well.
Come to think of it, Mage players, what are your favourite spell trees?
Due to LOLREINFORMENTSLOL, I said fuck it and started using an AoE heavy Elemental and Force Mage build. But buyer beware, like I said this build is very AoE heavy and is not good on most boss fights.
AoE Spells
Fireball
Firestorm (Wrecks. Shit.)
Cone of Cold
Fist of the Maker
Telekenic Burst
Pull of the Abyss
Gravitic Ring
Single Target
Winters Grasp
Stonefist (Only non Ele and FM spell I use)
This is fine on large groups of smaller enemies, but a lot of FM's power is lost on stronger guys. At least from what I've noticed. With this build, on boss fights my roll is mostly cast Winters Grasp when it comes off cooldown, keep people alive with my heal, and wreck any shit that pops up during any 2nd phase of a battle.
Companions have their own armor so they they look unique instead of like a generic human in a robe/light armor/heavy armor.
I guess?.. Really weak, in my opinion, though. Did they forget that getting your party members awesome items is half the fun in an rpg? It makes shopping for items really awkward too when you find something that would clearly be amazing for a character, but are held back by an arbitrary limitation. What.. the shop keeper will only sell to Hawke? Or is Hawke just a douchebag? "Hey, Hawke. That helmet looks great! I think it would really help me against-" "NO!.. Get the fuck back, Isabela! This is my shit! All of it! It's not for you!" "B-but.. you're never going to wear that. You can't even-" "Go die."
The characters in DA1 never ceased to be unique and interesting, armor or not.
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Even before he killed the chantry anders was a whiny bitch, him and fenris were on the extremes of mages and I agreed with fernis more often because he had a god damn reason. Especially with how often the mages just went blood magic.
Also that guy getting his single player game taken away for a forum banning is old school, mom took his toy away because he wasn't playing nice with others. Hell I bet the mods here wish they could do that.
pleasepaypreacher.net
End of Act 2 spoiler question
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
Whether or not they wish they could stick it to someone like that, I don't like the situation one bit. It won't get much attention because hey, this is a video game. Big deal if some gamer has his game taken away for being a dick on the forums.
Now, if someone was an asshat on a Microsoft forum and they disabled his Windows for 72 hours... shit would get real.
-Z
Now for my list of complaints because I like to complain but really I loved this game.
Merill and anders sucked ass. Neither of them had any personality worth mentioning. Merill was basically a bad tali and anders just kind of was until the very end for me, despite me dragging him damn near everywhere for his heal spell. This probably has a lot to do with how imo neither of their stories really had the proper followup (serious end game spoilers for anders and merill).
Sidenote; the heal spell is hardly necessary, at least on normal. Outside of a couple super assfuck boss fights, I could take damn near any old party and succeed.
My other big complaint is environments. Being stuck in the same few areas going into the same dungeons is mildly tiresome. It didn't irk me my first playthrough, but on my second will I really want to go through that god damn cave map for the 90th time? It was also a missed opportunity. With all the time-skipping, the city does not change. New buildings, new wreckage, new stores, new anything could have spiced it up.
And lastly, about the ending as a whole.
My only regret? (do not read this until you've finished the quest you get from nuncio in act 2 or 3).
LoL: failboattootoot
Also, for those worried about 2H weapons not doing much more damage than their 1H compatriots, remember, most 2H attacks are designed to hit multiple enemies so the DPS per target might be the same, but multiply it times the number of people being hit by each attack.
I'm finding that mages are here for the support + cc and warriors get to be the star of the show this time around. The bastards. I hope someone manages to mod in something resembling an arcane warrior spec or spellsword line.
In any case, for mages to do terrible terrible damage they need to be enabled by warriors or rogues first.
Makes me feel less like a font of arcane devastation and more of a cheerleader and opportunist.
edit: Also fuck the robes! When the hell can I wear real clothing instead of these dresses!?
My favorite is the one with the fur around the shoulders.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
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That is my only major complaint as well. I mean if they ambush me with reinforcements in a few fights here and there, fine. That's good design. Keeps me on my toes a bit. But every. fucking. fight. That is just taking the piss.
Apart from that, great game so far.
Crafting works by finding resources and using the crafting stations, what's confusing you about it?
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
I completed all but one quest in Act 1.
I think I'm a little over 12 hours. Been playing on Normal mostly, I'm kind bad with talents since I just want to do the story first, so some fights (only two) I put on Casual, and there have been close encounters with others
I'm having a good time so far, the only person I really have a ton of friendship with is Merril, mainly because I'm looking to have a nice lesbian relationship with her. Isabella seems to have more rivalry with her because I'm choosing all the wrong choices? I don't know why that is.
Without spoiling anything, how does the story pick up from the Deep Roads? I get the impression stuff is about to go down here, from both in game and from you guys spoiling a bunch of stuff.
Steam Profile
So does that mean that all the side quests have repetitive maps - like ME1? Or is it the main quests too?
I'm not the type to be bothered by things like that, but it's even a little annoying to me--just because they keep the minimap exactly the same for each area, even though they block off certain paths to make it "feel" different.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
It's the exact same map. There will be times where you do 2 or 3 quests in a row and it's the exact same map, but with different enemies. That pretty much spawn in the same place as the last enemies did. And most of the treasure will be in the same place as well.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
both, at times
Hopefully it'll be ironed out in the third one.
I don't think origins handled this any better, seeing as how the main quest areas themselves took so long (DEEP ROADS) and were just a lot of repeated rooms within themselves (DEEP ROADS).
Making it more like ME2 where even the N7 side missions all had their own gimmick/environment wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'll take just a handful of unique quests over a billion identical ones any day.
Lot of stuff in this post is kind of wrong.
But...Tevinter? You really and truly jumped to Tevinter as an example of a kingdom that has "solved" the mage issue? The same Tevinter that has a legal slave trade, in which blood magic is rampant, in which they use slaves to fuel said blood magic? The same Tevinter where Mages rule with an iron fist? That Tevinter? Yes it's due to the prevalence of magic. Power corrupts, and magic is not only a whole lot of power but it opens up new and exciting ways to oppress a populace on a whim.
Yes, the situation of the mages sucks but it's really the only way. Letting mages just run around free is asking for trouble. As the Codex says, quite rightly, the thought that some mage off in a tower in the middle of nowhere could become an Abomination unbeknownst to anyone is not a trivial thing. We've seen plenty I think just how easy it is for Mages to fall to Blood Magic. People can justify just about anything to themselves.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Have to say I generally like every character except Anders and Merril.
Anders has too much angst, especially for the wise-cracking dude I knew from awakening. And since I'm not
"Kill all mages!" or "Kill all templars!" it's hard to get his friend/rivalry going anywhere. I mean...Fenris is the same way, but you get more than enough chances to argue with him on the subject.
Also, Merril meh. I think her naivety and general petulance is a missed opportunity. Like, I mean I find it entertaining sometimes but at the same time it's like...nobody could be that ignorant of everything ever.
That being said, I'm moreso disappointed because I think Bioware was trying to go for that sheltered child who was never raised with the world. But I feel that they didn't take the time to show just how damaging and serious that can be. Even with her...arcane practices...it seems like they play the "Isn't her ignorance so cute" card a little too much. Especially when you can call out your other party members out on their shit quite a bit.
2.) That dude should have totally been a party member. He was awesome
Damn, this thread moves fast.
I don't have a problem with the fact that Merrill is a sweetheart face-to-face, nor do I have a problem with her ass-kicking ability (though I clear rooms far faster with Aveline/Varric/2hHawke/HealAnders than I did with Aveline/Merrill/Hawke/Anders since Varric's firing speed is just ridiculous.) I actually used her a lot for a while after I recruited her.
Edit: To further clarify, I specced my 2H Hawke in such a way that I way can clear most rooms before the mages can get off a single AoE, using mostly autoattack. I did avoid primal because of how bad lightning was in DA:O, leaving me wondering where the hell all the combos were for Staggered. :P
My problem with her is
My feelings here may be due to the fact that I noticed the mirror, but she never mentioned the mirror at all in my game until shortly after that quest betrayal, making her seem doubly foolish. Merrill is like a friend who has permission to borrow your car - a dangerous implement - and hits a deer. You say "No problem dude I understand accidents happen just cover the damage and it's cool. At least nobody got hurt." and your friend pays, apologizes, and says "By the way I had no licence it was suspended for a year because of a DUI last month you can cover for me if the cops ask questions right?"
Merrill is someone who is reckless and, unlike Hawke, can't afford to be. She has no understanding of risk. Merrill is someone who blows every bit of their savings on the lottery instead of investing it in a high-yield fund. :P
On the flip-side, Isabella is pretty charming in my game. There are a few raunchy jokes but if you get past that she's really personable, being all big-sister to [strike]Forrest[/strike] Merrill. I love how things as simple as doing quests in a different order have completely changed our impressions of the same characters.
P.S. The Tali thing was a low blow - you must have me confused for someone who actually wasted a squad spot on her terribad skill tree.
That's why I rotate my party a lot.
Comics, Games, Booze
Come to think of it, Mage players, what are your favourite spell trees?
Kiting is, unfortunately, the best tactic in most serious boss fights.
It's kinda boring.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
I'm not sure what to make of it.
Well...I like Primal because it has like one of the best cross-class combos in the game.
That being said...the elemental tree has some good paralyzing spells.
They're both good, but I would only pick one.
As for my other favorites.
Creation is pretty good with it's glyph and buffs.
I don't like Entropy as much as I thought I would...but it is probably beastly when everything is upgraded.
Spirit...is okay...problem I have with spirit is that it has some really good spells like walking bomb and syphon and some meh spells like spirit bolt and dispel.
Haven't used Arcane, but it looks pretty decent.
Supposedly
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Hey, I've been trying to do that quest, too. That's the last ingredient I need.
Edit: Looks like the above post answered that question.
I could also use a list of blood magic tome locations.
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Forbidden_Knowledge
It's also a good way to gain rivalry points with Merril(if you want it) you gain +50 rivalry max.
If you're Arachnophobic like I am, this will be a godsend.
I don't have the game yet, but this has just secured which platform I will be getting it on.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Due to LOLREINFORMENTSLOL, I said fuck it and started using an AoE heavy Elemental and Force Mage build. But buyer beware, like I said this build is very AoE heavy and is not good on most boss fights.
AoE Spells
Fireball
Firestorm (Wrecks. Shit.)
Cone of Cold
Fist of the Maker
Telekenic Burst
Pull of the Abyss
Gravitic Ring
Single Target
Winters Grasp
Stonefist (Only non Ele and FM spell I use)
This is fine on large groups of smaller enemies, but a lot of FM's power is lost on stronger guys. At least from what I've noticed. With this build, on boss fights my roll is mostly cast Winters Grasp when it comes off cooldown, keep people alive with my heal, and wreck any shit that pops up during any 2nd phase of a battle.
I guess?.. Really weak, in my opinion, though. Did they forget that getting your party members awesome items is half the fun in an rpg? It makes shopping for items really awkward too when you find something that would clearly be amazing for a character, but are held back by an arbitrary limitation. What.. the shop keeper will only sell to Hawke? Or is Hawke just a douchebag? "Hey, Hawke. That helmet looks great! I think it would really help me against-" "NO!.. Get the fuck back, Isabela! This is my shit! All of it! It's not for you!" "B-but.. you're never going to wear that. You can't even-" "Go die."
The characters in DA1 never ceased to be unique and interesting, armor or not.