The lady interrogating Varric actually brings up that it's curious that an apostate managed to fly under the radar for so long.
Regarding Merrill
Any time someone is trying to put together something of ancient and unknown origin with dangerous magic, while being warned by older and wiser people that it's the wrong thing to do, it's not hard to assume that nothing good will come of repairing it. To say nothing of the ominous looking loading screen featuring the mirror.
You know what would really sell the oppression of mages in this game?
If anyone ever noticed I was a mage outside of dialogue.
It's kinda funny how in BioWare games, if you're an elite agent like a Jedi or a Spectre or a Grey Warden, everyone instantly knows that, despite the fact that you might just be wearing regular soldier armor. But be a mage, and nobody notices.
I think they notice. I also think they notice that you've slaughtered hundreds of people and routinely walk around drenched in your enemies blood. They're probably just trying not to get on your bad side.
But man, if only you could hear them talk behind your back. Boy, would all of those whispers and pointing tick you off. :P
The lady interrogating Varric actually brings up that it's curious that an apostate managed to fly under the radar for so long.
Regarding Merrill
Any time someone is trying to put together something of ancient and unknown origin with dangerous magic, while being warned by older and wiser people that it's the wrong thing to do, it's not hard to assume that nothing good will come of repairing it. To say nothing of the ominous looking loading screen featuring the mirror.
All the more reason to go along with Merril's plan to rebuild the mirror. After all, if you're really lucky, it will let lose a horde of demons upon the land. And you know what adventurers call a horde of demons? They call it Profit. Just imagine all of the XP and Loot you'd get for killing a horde of demons. Merril completing the mirror could have been worth 2 or 3 extra levels.
I find it highly dubious that easing restrictions on the mages would have helped anything at all.
The Dalish don't lock their mages up and turn a blind eye as coked up religious fanatics rape them, and aside from Merill they don't have a problem with blood mages. Hell, aside from Kirkwall the rest of Thedas doesn't lock their mages in concentratiuon camps and plot out their "final solution" to the mage problem. Yet Kirkwall is where you find a blood mage under every bed.
I find it highly dubious that easing restrictions on the mages would have helped anything at all.
The Dalish don't lock their mages up and turn a blind eye as coked up religious fanatics rape them, and aside from Merill they don't have a problem with blood mages. Hell, aside from Kirkwall the rest of Thedas doesn't lock their mages in concentratiuon camps and plot out their "final solution" to the mage problem. Yet Kirkwall is where you find a blood mage under every bed.
As has been repeatedly pointed out, Kirkwall was the site of a LOT of blood sacrifices, enough that the veil is extremely weak and the worst type of demons are attracted to it. It's a wonder that every mage in town doesn't just turn into an abomination on the spot. Frankly if they had any sense they'd just abandon and quarantine the whole place.
But no, they've got VERY GOOD REASON to look at Kirkwall as different.
Really it just annoys me that of all the shit they took from BG2 for this setting/story structure, they don't have Circle Mages pop in to tell you off when you cast outdoors.
It is such an obvious callback and it would make me very happy.
Also, so how many gangs do you have to kill and how often? Because I want to kill all of them immediately.
The Templars rape the mages? Where did you get that from?
Anders mentions it at one point, and you see first hand evidence in the quest where you try to help a mage escaping from the gallows. that's what sends Justice over the edge, as a matter of fact.
Is there a note or codex entry that states he was planning to attack Kirkwall all along? Because it really just seems like The Qunari were pushed to action by the idiots that live in Kirkwall. Isabela steals their book, so they're forced to stay in the city until they find it. They aren't there to convert anyone, people choose to do that on their own. Aside from the Tal-Vashoth, the Qunari aren't agressive to the people of the region. They simply want to find their text and leave, but the actions of Sister Patrice and the other zealots/racists push The Arishok to act. If you stand around the compound, you can hear The Arishok mumbling about "Should I just leave them to wallow?" but I don't know...
Also, Rogue is still my favorite but Mage has become a close close second. Focusing on Primal and Force magic. So friggin powerful! And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
Skull2185 on
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
The Templars rape the mages? Where did you get that from?
Anders mentions it at one point, and you see first hand evidence in the quest where you try to help a mage escaping from the gallows. that's what sends Justice over the edge, as a matter of fact.
I must've missed it, because I never got that impression. Of course, Templars jailing and tranquilizing people is bad enough.
Regarding the Arishok's plan:
I'm not even sure I understand what it actually was. Conquering Kirkwall would impose the Qun over everyone, and it'd save those two elves that converted, sure. But it doesn't end up getting his relic back. You take over a city but that relic can still get smuggled out. Plus, he had about 100 Qunari with him when his ship crashed. Over the years, a few of em left to become Tal'Vashoth, and a few of em were killed by bandits or Hawke. Now he's conquering the city, and that effort's probably cost him quite a few more Qunari. He gains a few Elvish converts. But overall, it seems like he'd have barely any forces left after conquering and pacifying the city. So now what? He's got the city, but only a few warriors left to defend it. And Kirkwall's still surrounded by other human kingdoms. You've got Ferelden, Orlais, Rivaini... probably a few others unnamed. Wouldn't they just send an expeditionary force to come and take back the city to restore it to the human populace? That seems like the obvious response. They're far from Par Vollen, so there's no backup they can call for.
Is there a note or codex entry that states he was planning to attack Kirkwall all along? Because it really just seems like The Qunari were pushed to action by the idiots that live in Kirkwall. Isabela steals their book, so they're forced to stay in the city until they find it. They aren't there to convert anyone, people choose to do that on their own. Aside from the Tal-Vashoth, the Qunari aren't agressive to the people of the region. They simply want to find their text and leave, but the actions of Sister Patrice and the other zealots/racists push The Arishok to act. If you stand around the compound, you can hear The Arishok mumbling about "Should I just leave them to wallow?" but I don't know...
Also, Rogue is still my favorite but Mage has become a close close second. Focusing on Primal and Force magic. So friggin powerful! And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
There's no codex entry but...
From the conversations that go on around, and from knowing what we know about the Qunari culture, he probably had plans for attacking the city drawn up just in case it was needed. My thought process is that he had planned out how he would attack Kirkwall, but never actually planned to use them until he was finally pushed to far. Had the Qunari gotten their book back in the first year, then he would have taken the book and left. It was only because of how bad everything got that the Arishok finally decided to actually launch his attack.
And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
The blood magic tree is kinda lackluster, but Blood Magic mode towards end game is essentially infinite mana. Meet minimum willpower requirements for armor and then invest all the rest of your points in constitution and get any health -> mana conversion items. Though it sucks that Merrill will always be a better Blood Mage since she has no willpower requirements at all, freeing all of her stats to go into constitution and magic.
And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
The blood magic tree is kinda lackluster, but Blood Magic mode towards end game is essentially infinite mana. Meet minimum willpower requirements for armor and then invest all the rest of your points in constitution and get any health -> mana conversion items. Though it sucks that Merrill will always be a better Blood Mage since she has no willpower requirements at all, freeing all of her stats to go into constitution and magic.
I remember blood magic being insanely good in DA:O.
And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
The blood magic tree is kinda lackluster, but Blood Magic mode towards end game is essentially infinite mana. Meet minimum willpower requirements for armor and then invest all the rest of your points in constitution and get any health -> mana conversion items. Though it sucks that Merrill will always be a better Blood Mage since she has no willpower requirements at all, freeing all of her stats to go into constitution and magic.
They should've created some special Blood Mage armor with constitution requirements to address this. Maybe have Merrill give you a special quest once you unlock the spec, which has the armor as the end reward.
And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
The blood magic tree is kinda lackluster, but Blood Magic mode towards end game is essentially infinite mana. Meet minimum willpower requirements for armor and then invest all the rest of your points in constitution and get any health -> mana conversion items. Though it sucks that Merrill will always be a better Blood Mage since she has no willpower requirements at all, freeing all of her stats to go into constitution and magic.
I remember blood magic being insanely good in DA:O.
It was. One of it's spells was an instant cast AOE that targets enemies only and both Stuns and Damages them and also ignores armor. It was the best way to handle non-mages, I thought. I loved the Blood Mage spec in DA:O.
The only thing that kept Anders from sitting out on my frist playthrough was my desire to play 3-rogue/Mage. Mega-heals ftw.
As the game progressed, I started to enjoy the banter between Varric and Anders, though. I guess I liked the "we're all buddies" dynamic I was getting simply because Varric made it appear to be the case. Having Isabella, Varric, and Anders in the group was like rolling everywhere with your 3 best pals. The drama was kept to a minimum and the group cohesion was stellar. Even on Hard mode, 3-rogue/Mage worked great and I never had to listen to Fenris bitch because I had a mage in the group, or Aveline bitch because I was doing something DEVIOUS or Merril say something doofy and flighty because she's a Dalish transplant with a derp-level understanding of, well, everything.
I thought the other characters were nifty or whatever, but my sarcastic rogue just didn't seem the type to enjoy some brooding, grouch-ass's compnay or Captain Responsible interjecting her moral code. I think the only place I swapped out on occasion was Merril for Anders. I could tolerate Merril's flakiness for far longer than Fenris' brooding. But anytime Fenris spoke up about mages or Aveline went all "There's laws n' shit!" on me I always pictured my ladyHawke giving them the stink-eye and having them abruptly shut up and maybe even throw in a short apology "*ahem* sorry, Hawke".
When endgame rolled around, I must say Aveline surprised me and I was happy about that. I did enjoy her character, especially some of her foibles. But the whole "I'm the Captain. Duty, duty, duty." thing wasn't really doing it for me.
And Fenris? I dunno. He just takes himself way to goddamn serious. I liked that my Champion looked at the entire conflict in Kirkwall to be this thing she had to do because she got caught up in the middle of it and just so happened to be awesome enough to do something about it. She wasn't some fury-driven avatar of double-evil destruction or a happy-dappy goodie-pants sun-is-shining warrior for good times and friends and puppies. She was just sweet, and she knew it, and everyone else knew it. There it is.
This is the first RPG I've ever played that gave me that option and I really enjoyed it. I didn't have to be good or evil; I could just be a particularly skilled individual with no agenda, taking care of shit because I can. And if I make a few sovereigns on the way, well, that's pretty awesome, too.
There's a mod out there that removes ability requirements on items altogether. I'd recommend if you're playing on the PC to grab it if you intend to go Blood Mage.
Another cool thing about Blood Magic is you can run sustains in Blood Magic mode over 100% of your total mana.
I must've missed it, because I never got that impression.
"Once you're tranquil you'll do anything I ask" spoken in the skeeviest, rapiest manner possible. It may be easy to miss if you haven't already heard Anders talk about what the Templars do... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wptwaGC42M
For me, at least, that sequence makes it impossible to ever side with Templars or the Chantry, in exactly the same way my Commander Shepard will never help a Batarian after the "I Remember Me" quest.
I guess if you didn't catch it, or read that scene the same way I did Anders comes off a *lot* worse. The way the scene played out for me, Anders tried to control Justice but once he saw that he went all "Hulk smash!"
I must've missed it, because I never got that impression.
"Once you're tranquil you'll do anything I ask" spoken in the skeeviest, rapiest manner possible. It may be easy to miss if you haven't already heard Anders talk about what the Templars do...
For me, at least, that sequence makes it impossible to ever side with Templars or the Chantry, in exactly the same way my Commander Shepard will never help a Batarian after the "I Remember Me" quest.
I guess if you didn't catch it, or read that scene the same way I did Anders comes off a *lot* worse. The way the scene played out for me, Anders tried to control Justice but once he saw that he went all "Hulk smash!"
Man, that is not how I took that at all. The way I see it, you're reading subtext into that which just isn't there.
Anders is pretty much constantly wrong about the Templars, and yet your taking his word for it? There are a few rogue templar (all of whom you happen to kill it that scene you posted) and that's it. Just like there is a rogue mage going around murdering women and sewing their various pieces together to make a Frankenstein woman. Are you going to judge all mages because of that one guy? From what I can tell, the answer is no. So, why are you going to judge all templars by the action of that one?
I must've missed it, because I never got that impression.
"Once you're tranquil you'll do anything I ask" spoken in the skeeviest, rapiest manner possible. It may be easy to miss if you haven't already heard Anders talk about what the Templars do...
For me, at least, that sequence makes it impossible to ever side with Templars or the Chantry, in exactly the same way my Commander Shepard will never help a Batarian after the "I Remember Me" quest.
I guess if you didn't catch it, or read that scene the same way I did Anders comes off a *lot* worse. The way the scene played out for me, Anders tried to control Justice but once he saw that he went all "Hulk smash!"
Man, that is not how I took that at all. The way I see it, you're reading subtext into that which just isn't there.
Anders is pretty much constantly wrong about the Templars, and yet your taking his word for it? There are a few rogue templar (all of whom you happen to kill it that scene you posted) and that's it. Just like there is a rogue mage going around murdering women and sewing their various pieces together to make a Frankenstein woman. Are you going to judge all mages because of that one guy? From what I can tell, the answer is no. So, why are you going to judge all templars by the action of that one?
The way that Templar says that to the mage though.. I mean, that's the impression I got too. He was real sketchy... I got the impression he was looking to take a tranquil love slave...
I saw that as one bad guy, not a common practice of The Templars though.
Skull2185 on
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
I look at the Mage/Templar conflict on a case to case basis.
It just so happens that I felt Mage Genocide is wrong and that Meredith was crazier than a rat in a tin shit-house and needed to be put down. I sided with the mages. Would I do that every time? No. But they seemed like they were the ones being shit on in that particular case so I said "fuck the Templars". Of course, I was treated to a very pleasing ending when Knight-Captain Cullen tried to stop Meredith.
I think the game really wants to emphasize that not every Mage or Templar is a kook who's hellbent on super-murdering everything and everyone they meet. But, just like any society, the crazies are the ones who get all the attention because they're the loudest.
You know what would've really impressed me at the end?
If you're playing as a Mage and specced into Blood Magic, it would've been an absolute showstopper if at the end of the campaign, you got possessed and turned into a demon. Because that's the problem with dabbling in the forbidden magics, right? You risk the danger of becoming possessed by demons and turning into an Abomination. Once Orsino used his spell, he wasn't nice friendly understanding Orsino anymore, but an out of control bloodthirsty monster. But you yourself as a mage never have to suffer any consequences. You're just a glass cannon who shoots spells. If you spec in blood magic, no big deal. It just gives you some new nifty abilities and mechanics to play around with. Having the game turn you into an Abomination and lose your identity would've been a great way of communicating what the true danger of Mages are. Them having the cojones to implement that would've blown me away.
Of course, I can see why that would've been a dangerous design choice, and probably pissed off a ton of Mage players. But hey, I don't play Mages in RPGs, so it wouldn't have affected me. *shrug*
I just thought he had a sinister tone because he was supposed to be a sinister character. That doesn't mean he's a rapist.
Yeah, that's the way I took it as well. I was kind of expecting the guy to spontaneously grow a long mustache and start twirling it. It just didn't scream rapist to me.
As for the mage/templar conflict in general:
Having completed my second (Pro-Mage this time) play through yesterday, I cannot see myself ever siding with the mages again in DA2. In general I support mage freedom, but damn the mages in Kirkwall are completely screwed up. I find it rather amusing that the mage least likely to call on demons to fight her battles in Kirkwall is one who has been a blood mage the longest, Merril. Its like every other mage at the end just says "Welp, Templars are coming. I guess there's no reason to stick to principals or anything. Lets call those demons and summon the undead! If they're going to kill us, we'd better prove the Templars right first!"
I kill Anders everytime. Sure, he should live with what he's done and watch all these mages get killed because of him but on the other hand...FUCK him. What's stopping him from blowing up more chantries to prove his "point?" Then that's on my head.
nope, better to end that terrorist bastards spree, I just wish my Hawke could tell him, "No Anders, nobody will know who you are. The world is only going to think that the circle in Kirkwall blew up the chantry and that they should all be wiped out or made tranquil. So I'm going to kill you and get started wiping out all these blood mages that you just forced into being."
I kill Anders everytime. Sure, he should live with what he's done and watch all these mages get killed because of him but on the other hand...FUCK him. What's stopping him from blowing up more chantries to prove his "point?" Then that's on my head.
nope, better to end that terrorist bastards spree, I just wish my Hawke could tell him, "No Anders, nobody will know who you are. The world is only going to think that the circle in Kirkwall blew up the chantry and that they should all be wiped out or made tranquil. So I'm going to kill you and get started wiping out all these blood mages that you just forced into being."
I kill Anders everytime. Sure, he should live with what he's done and watch all these mages get killed because of him but on the other hand...FUCK him. What's stopping him from blowing up more chantries to prove his "point?" Then that's on my head.
nope, better to end that terrorist bastards spree, I just wish my Hawke could tell him, "No Anders, nobody will know who you are. The world is only going to think that the circle in Kirkwall blew up the chantry and that they should all be wiped out or made tranquil. So I'm going to kill you and get started wiping out all these blood mages that you just forced into being."
seriously. I was hoping Hawke would tell him exactly that because of the amount of ego Anders had in saying it. plus, his annoying face and haircut. No one will remember your name, douche.
also, Hawke goes on to kill like everyone involved later, so who would know other than the other playable characters, and none of them are happy with what anders did it seems like
also totally should have slit his throat instead of stabbing him randomly in the side of his back
I'm just going to state here that if you seriously think Anders was "in the right" - I'm not saying names here - but if you're one of 'those people', please wear a bright yellow poncho whenever going outside.
So the rest of us know who you are and to run like hell.
I kill Anders everytime. Sure, he should live with what he's done and watch all these mages get killed because of him but on the other hand...FUCK him. What's stopping him from blowing up more chantries to prove his "point?" Then that's on my head.
nope, better to end that terrorist bastards spree, I just wish my Hawke could tell him, "No Anders, nobody will know who you are. The world is only going to think that the circle in Kirkwall blew up the chantry and that they should all be wiped out or made tranquil. So I'm going to kill you and get started wiping out all these blood mages that you just forced into being."
seriously. I was hoping Hawke would tell him exactly that because of the amount of ego Anders had in saying it. plus, his annoying face and haircut. No one will remember your name, douche.
also, Hawke goes on to kill like everyone involved later, so who would know other than the other playable characters, and none of them are happy with what anders did it seems like
also totally should have slit his throat instead of stabbing him randomly in the side of his back
The thing Anders would hate more than anything is being made Tranquil. Why can't I do this to him? Drag him to The Gallows and do it. Then deal with the rest of what's going on.
Skull2185 on
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
At that point, his actions are 100% Justice/Vengeance. If you talk to him and are all "no tell me your plan or I won't help you at all" during his quest, he starts to go "well...maybe it's not a good idea" and then Justice takes over and is like "IT MUST BE DONE"
Not that that redeems him or his entire character for the rest of the game, but yeah.
Also, I am in the crowd that got a rape vibe from that Templar.
Iron WeaselDillon!You son of a bitch!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
I'm enjoying the game so far, but I feel like my 2H warrior spec is all over the place. I think I'd like to tank, so I can free up Avelline's spot and bring someone else in (I don't have a problem with Avelline, I just want more DPS). I'm level 7 at the moment. Could I get some pointers for a solid 2H tanking spec?
Iron Weasel on
Currently Playing:
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
I'm enjoying the game so far, but I feel like my 2H warrior spec is all over the place. I think I'd like to tank, so I can free up Avelline's spot and bring someone else in (I don't have a problem with Avelline, I just want more DPS). I'm level 7 at the moment. Could I get some pointers for a solid 2H tanking spec?
The 2H tanking spec is pretty much the same as the 2H damage spec. Just make sure to keep your armor up to date, and you'll do fine. If you want a little more control, you can pick up Taunt + Bravery/Bravery upgrades.
I'm enjoying the game so far, but I feel like my 2H warrior spec is all over the place. I think I'd like to tank, so I can free up Avelline's spot and bring someone else in (I don't have a problem with Avelline, I just want more DPS). I'm level 7 at the moment. Could I get some pointers for a solid 2H tanking spec?
Put points into Str and Con (no need to get Cunning), get Bravery for AOE threat. Spec Reaver and get the first two abilities. Spec Templar for Annulment, which cuts magic dmg by half. Find armor that increases your health.
That's kinda it. Everything else is just like 2H DPS... you use the 2H and Vanguard trees to deal more dmg and threat.
Delta Assault on
0
Iron WeaselDillon!You son of a bitch!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
I'm not gonna lie: I'm not really sure what makes a good 2H DPS build, either (I'm really awful at figuring out good builds) - but this is very helpful, thanks. Right now I'm wearing the Blood Dragon armour; I'll keep my eyes peeled for better kit. Time for a trip to the Emporium for a tasty respect potion.
Iron Weasel on
Currently Playing:
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
I'm not gonna lie: I'm not really sure what makes a good 2H DPS build, either (I'm really awful at figuring out good builds) - but this is very helpful, thanks. Right now I'm wearing the Blood Dragon armour; I'll keep my eyes peeled for better kit. Time for a trip to the Emporium for a tasty respect potion.
The general look is 7-10 2H talents, 6 in Vanguard to get Cleave/Claymore/Massacre/Destroyer, and then specializations. For my 2H warrior, I ended up with 1 in Reaver for Blood Frenzy, and 6 in Templar for Holy Smite (+ Upgrades), and all the skills up to the 50% magic resist passive. I also had Taunt and Bravery plus Bravery's upgrades. As far as stat points, I ended up with a reasonable amount of Constitution/Willpower (Enough Con for 420 health with the Champion armor set, and enough Willpower to reach 180 stamina with Bravery active). Think I finished at 70 Str/40 Con/40 Will, including items.
In the 2H tree I ignored the upgrades to Mighty Blow and Scythe that give bonus to Brittle, since I only had Petrify causing the effect, and there was no reason to waste the Brittle on an attack that wasn't Archer's Lance. I also skipped the Whirlwind cooldown upgrade. Saved me enough points to get the important Templar talents by level 25.
It's just that Assassin and Duelist are way way better. It's only bad by comparison.
I've been poking around at some rogue builds, and there is one that I've seen that uses Shadow, Assassin, and Subterfuge to get disgusting criticals. 3-4k by level 15. And you pretty much critical all the time. No points in dual wield, surprisingly.
There's a mod out there that removes ability requirements on items altogether. I'd recommend if you're playing on the PC to grab it if you intend to go Blood Mage.
Another cool thing about Blood Magic is you can run sustains in Blood Magic mode over 100% of your total mana.
Posts
Regarding Merrill
I think they notice. I also think they notice that you've slaughtered hundreds of people and routinely walk around drenched in your enemies blood. They're probably just trying not to get on your bad side.
But man, if only you could hear them talk behind your back. Boy, would all of those whispers and pointing tick you off. :P
The Dalish don't lock their mages up and turn a blind eye as coked up religious fanatics rape them, and aside from Merill they don't have a problem with blood mages. Hell, aside from Kirkwall the rest of Thedas doesn't lock their mages in concentratiuon camps and plot out their "final solution" to the mage problem. Yet Kirkwall is where you find a blood mage under every bed.
But no, they've got VERY GOOD REASON to look at Kirkwall as different.
It is such an obvious callback and it would make me very happy.
Also, so how many gangs do you have to kill and how often? Because I want to kill all of them immediately.
Anders mentions it at one point, and you see first hand evidence in the quest where you try to help a mage escaping from the gallows. that's what sends Justice over the edge, as a matter of fact.
Also, Rogue is still my favorite but Mage has become a close close second. Focusing on Primal and Force magic. So friggin powerful! And just like DA:O, blood magic is entirely not worth it.
I must've missed it, because I never got that impression. Of course, Templars jailing and tranquilizing people is bad enough.
Regarding the Arishok's plan:
There's no codex entry but...
The blood magic tree is kinda lackluster, but Blood Magic mode towards end game is essentially infinite mana. Meet minimum willpower requirements for armor and then invest all the rest of your points in constitution and get any health -> mana conversion items. Though it sucks that Merrill will always be a better Blood Mage since she has no willpower requirements at all, freeing all of her stats to go into constitution and magic.
I remember blood magic being insanely good in DA:O.
They should've created some special Blood Mage armor with constitution requirements to address this. Maybe have Merrill give you a special quest once you unlock the spec, which has the armor as the end reward.
It was. One of it's spells was an instant cast AOE that targets enemies only and both Stuns and Damages them and also ignores armor. It was the best way to handle non-mages, I thought. I loved the Blood Mage spec in DA:O.
As the game progressed, I started to enjoy the banter between Varric and Anders, though. I guess I liked the "we're all buddies" dynamic I was getting simply because Varric made it appear to be the case. Having Isabella, Varric, and Anders in the group was like rolling everywhere with your 3 best pals. The drama was kept to a minimum and the group cohesion was stellar. Even on Hard mode, 3-rogue/Mage worked great and I never had to listen to Fenris bitch because I had a mage in the group, or Aveline bitch because I was doing something DEVIOUS or Merril say something doofy and flighty because she's a Dalish transplant with a derp-level understanding of, well, everything.
I thought the other characters were nifty or whatever, but my sarcastic rogue just didn't seem the type to enjoy some brooding, grouch-ass's compnay or Captain Responsible interjecting her moral code. I think the only place I swapped out on occasion was Merril for Anders. I could tolerate Merril's flakiness for far longer than Fenris' brooding. But anytime Fenris spoke up about mages or Aveline went all "There's laws n' shit!" on me I always pictured my ladyHawke giving them the stink-eye and having them abruptly shut up and maybe even throw in a short apology "*ahem* sorry, Hawke".
When endgame rolled around, I must say Aveline surprised me and I was happy about that. I did enjoy her character, especially some of her foibles. But the whole "I'm the Captain. Duty, duty, duty." thing wasn't really doing it for me.
And Fenris? I dunno. He just takes himself way to goddamn serious. I liked that my Champion looked at the entire conflict in Kirkwall to be this thing she had to do because she got caught up in the middle of it and just so happened to be awesome enough to do something about it. She wasn't some fury-driven avatar of double-evil destruction or a happy-dappy goodie-pants sun-is-shining warrior for good times and friends and puppies. She was just sweet, and she knew it, and everyone else knew it. There it is.
This is the first RPG I've ever played that gave me that option and I really enjoyed it. I didn't have to be good or evil; I could just be a particularly skilled individual with no agenda, taking care of shit because I can. And if I make a few sovereigns on the way, well, that's pretty awesome, too.
Another cool thing about Blood Magic is you can run sustains in Blood Magic mode over 100% of your total mana.
"Once you're tranquil you'll do anything I ask" spoken in the skeeviest, rapiest manner possible. It may be easy to miss if you haven't already heard Anders talk about what the Templars do...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wptwaGC42M
For me, at least, that sequence makes it impossible to ever side with Templars or the Chantry, in exactly the same way my Commander Shepard will never help a Batarian after the "I Remember Me" quest.
I guess if you didn't catch it, or read that scene the same way I did Anders comes off a *lot* worse. The way the scene played out for me, Anders tried to control Justice but once he saw that he went all "Hulk smash!"
Man, that is not how I took that at all. The way I see it, you're reading subtext into that which just isn't there.
The way that Templar says that to the mage though.. I mean, that's the impression I got too. He was real sketchy... I got the impression he was looking to take a tranquil love slave...
I saw that as one bad guy, not a common practice of The Templars though.
it's not like it'd be surprising or anything, either
I think the game really wants to emphasize that not every Mage or Templar is a kook who's hellbent on super-murdering everything and everyone they meet. But, just like any society, the crazies are the ones who get all the attention because they're the loudest.
You'll be waiting awhile I guess, heh.
Xbox Live: Kunohara
Of course, I can see why that would've been a dangerous design choice, and probably pissed off a ton of Mage players. But hey, I don't play Mages in RPGs, so it wouldn't have affected me. *shrug*
Yeah, that's the way I took it as well. I was kind of expecting the guy to spontaneously grow a long mustache and start twirling it. It just didn't scream rapist to me.
As for the mage/templar conflict in general:
nope, better to end that terrorist bastards spree, I just wish my Hawke could tell him, "No Anders, nobody will know who you are. The world is only going to think that the circle in Kirkwall blew up the chantry and that they should all be wiped out or made tranquil. So I'm going to kill you and get started wiping out all these blood mages that you just forced into being."
*sob*I had no choice, don't you SEE!?*cry*
also, Hawke goes on to kill like everyone involved later, so who would know other than the other playable characters, and none of them are happy with what anders did it seems like
also totally should have slit his throat instead of stabbing him randomly in the side of his back
So the rest of us know who you are and to run like hell.
Not that that redeems him or his entire character for the rest of the game, but yeah.
Also, I am in the crowd that got a rape vibe from that Templar.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
The 2H tanking spec is pretty much the same as the 2H damage spec. Just make sure to keep your armor up to date, and you'll do fine. If you want a little more control, you can pick up Taunt + Bravery/Bravery upgrades.
Put points into Str and Con (no need to get Cunning), get Bravery for AOE threat. Spec Reaver and get the first two abilities. Spec Templar for Annulment, which cuts magic dmg by half. Find armor that increases your health.
That's kinda it. Everything else is just like 2H DPS... you use the 2H and Vanguard trees to deal more dmg and threat.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
The general look is 7-10 2H talents, 6 in Vanguard to get Cleave/Claymore/Massacre/Destroyer, and then specializations. For my 2H warrior, I ended up with 1 in Reaver for Blood Frenzy, and 6 in Templar for Holy Smite (+ Upgrades), and all the skills up to the 50% magic resist passive. I also had Taunt and Bravery plus Bravery's upgrades. As far as stat points, I ended up with a reasonable amount of Constitution/Willpower (Enough Con for 420 health with the Champion armor set, and enough Willpower to reach 180 stamina with Bravery active). Think I finished at 70 Str/40 Con/40 Will, including items.
In the 2H tree I ignored the upgrades to Mighty Blow and Scythe that give bonus to Brittle, since I only had Petrify causing the effect, and there was no reason to waste the Brittle on an attack that wasn't Archer's Lance. I also skipped the Whirlwind cooldown upgrade. Saved me enough points to get the important Templar talents by level 25.
I've been poking around at some rogue builds, and there is one that I've seen that uses Shadow, Assassin, and Subterfuge to get disgusting criticals. 3-4k by level 15. And you pretty much critical all the time. No points in dual wield, surprisingly.
It sounds interesting and I'd like to try it.
Here's the link if anyone's curious: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/dragon-age-2/show_msgs.php?pid=988968&topic_id=m-1-58430144
PSN: Threeve703
And where is this mod?
Sixty -40- on Origin for some ME3 goodness.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/brilliantinsanity/