The Energon Pub

Dragon Age II hits the shelves in a mere two weeks. Alongside Pokemon White and Duke Nukem Forever, it's one of the games I'm most excited to play this year perhaps even more so than those two.

Anybody else looking forward to sequel and have any thoughts/hopes about/for it they'd like to share?

Myself, I just played the demo and did some reading, and while it's mostly still a good feeling, a few little things still bug me.

The one big plus though is the improved combat. I cannot get over how much better the two handed warrior is in this game, with much faster and fluid combat than the age it took DA:O characters to swing the two handed sword. The new super fast combat is a great improvement over the clunky movements of the old heroes. For this reason I'm glad I didn't go for a human warrior in the first game, so I'll be getting a much better experience with my planned two-handed Templar.

My ternion of negatives though. First off is the new designs for the Darkspawn, particularly the Hurlocks. The original Origins Darkspawn look threatening and psychotic. Their flesh looked rotten and their expressions seemed to be permanently stitched into a sinister grin.



And then there's the new Darkspawn...



They hobble about the battlefield like their legs have been broken and badly reset, with their lily white skin, massive jaws, and stupid spikey armour and cowls. A horde of enemies that are so painfully identical, it can't feel like anything less than lazy copy pasting.

At least the old Darkspawn's colours were muted, so if they were wearing the same armour they weren't in such stark contrast to the world around them that they stood out a mile from the frigging background like the new ones do.


There is of course, the same issue of the player character's race restricted to Human only. I dislike this but I've had time to make my peace with it, and I do at least have the comfort of full customization.

Regardless, I can't help but feel sad for my grey warden characters, particularly Tekka and Arkanis, who I invested a lot of time in building. I would have been a lot happier if we could retain our Origins characters in Kirkwall, and at the end of the ten year gameplay period the final act of our characters would be to either succumb to the taint and head to the deep roads to die, or to undergo some ritual to extend our lifespans unnaturally which would provide the same choice premise as Morrigan's dark ritual.

(It CAN be done because Avernus did it in the Warden's Keep DLC!!)

"But how would we import our characters who died? Or went through the eluvian with Morrigan?" Simple answer: Don't. If you want your old character to be dead, then by all means, make a new one with a new background, but I would have liked to have had the option to continue the adventures of Tekka and Arkanis. Neither of them died, and neither of them went through the Eluvian with Morrigan. Hell, Tekka stabbed Morrigan for not handing over the powers of the old god child, I want to see where THAT goes.

Finally, friggin Gwen from Torchwood is the voice of Merrill. Merrill is friggin ruined for me now. Awful awful awful thick Welsh accent ahoy. Thanks very much, you turds, for deciding to change all the accents in the new game. 'ppreciate that.

But yes, accent aside, I wanted a romanceable female Elf in the first game, and unfortunately didn't get one. But now I finally get one, and she has a god awful thick Welsh accent, one of the accents I hate most in the whole world. NOT ONLY that, even if Merrill did retain her original accent from the first game, Tekka is no longer around to romance her!!

I purposefully avoided a romance in Tekka's playthrough FOR THE SOLE REASON of waiting for a female elf in the next game! More fool me, I guess, I shouldn't have got that idea in my head and got my hopes up.

And... That's all I have to say about that.

Don't get the wrong idea though, I'm still reedonkuloosly over excited for the game's release, and will enjoy every single second of it! (I hope!) Just disappointed that some of the things I was really hoping for didn't come to pass.

I now hope... That somehow, someway, our warden characters can have little cameos in the game. Like Hawke and his company will be walking through the city, and the Warden will be walking by in the other direction. That would be friggin' awesome. X3 Well, it would be for me anyway, at least it wouldn't feel like they're gone any more.

And hey... Maybe there'll be some DLC that will let you play a quest or two with your imported warden...! Aha... Listen to me, setting myself up for disappointment again.

Well... All that remains to be seen. Let's see how things go over the next two years of Dragon Age 2's life span!

Tekka wrote:Dragon Age II hits the shelves in a mere two weeks. Alongside Pokemon White and Duke Nukem Forever, it's one of the games I'm most excited to play this year perhaps even more so than those two.

Anybody else looking forward to sequel and have any thoughts/hopes about/for it they'd like to share?

Myself, I just played the demo and did some reading, and while it's mostly still a good feeling, a few little things still bug me.

The one big plus though is the improved combat. I cannot get over how much better the two handed warrior is in this game, with much faster and fluid combat than the age it took DA:O characters to swing the two handed sword. The new super fast combat is a great improvement over the clunky movements of the old heroes. For this reason I'm glad I didn't go for a human warrior in the first game, so I'll be getting a much better experience with my planned two-handed Templar.

My ternion of negatives though. First off is the new designs for the Darkspawn, particularly the Hurlocks. The original Origins Darkspawn look threatening and psychotic. Their flesh looked rotten and their expressions seemed to be permanently stitched into a sinister grin.



And then there's the new Darkspawn...



They hobble about the battlefield like their legs have been broken and badly reset, with their lily white skin, massive jaws, and stupid spikey armour and cowls. A horde of enemies that are so painfully identical, it can't feel like anything less than lazy copy pasting.

At least the old Darkspawn's colours were muted, so if they were wearing the same armour they weren't in such stark contrast to the world around them that they stood out a mile from the frigging background like the new ones do.

I agree about the new look on the Darkspawn (the ogres are OK) and the Hurlocks in particular they look like bad cartoon designs, hopefully their not major threats in this one. I do like their new walk it looks twisted and deformed and funny all at the same time.

There is of course, the same issue of the player character's race restricted to Human only. I dislike this but I've had time to make my peace with it, and I do at least have the comfort of full customization.

Well see.

Regardless, I can't help but feel sad for my grey warden characters, particularly Tekka and Arkanis, who I invested a lot of time in building. I would have been a lot happier if we could retain our Origins characters in Kirkwall, and at the end of the ten year gameplay period the final act of our characters would be to either succumb to the taint and head to the deep roads to die, or to undergo some ritual to extend our lifespans unnaturally which would provide the same choice premise as Morrigan's dark ritual.

(It CAN be done because Avernus did it in the Warden's Keep DLC!!)

"But how would we import our characters who died? Or went through the eluvian with Morrigan?" Simple answer: Don't. If you want your old character to be dead, then by all means, make a new one with a new background, but I would have liked to have had the option to continue the adventures of Tekka and Arkanis. Neither of them died, and neither of them went through the Eluvian with Morrigan. Hell, Tekka stabbed Morrigan for not handing over the powers of the old god child, I want to see where THAT goes.

Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over and is RUMORED to be the main story line for Dragon Age 3. You can import the events of Dragon Age: Origins and that will affect some of the events of Dragon Age 2 and Alistair is supposed to make a cameo.

Finally, friggin Gwen from Torchwood is the voice of Merrill. Merrill is friggin ruined for me now. Awful awful awful thick Welsh accent ahoy. Thanks very much, you turds, for deciding to change all the accents in the new game. 'ppreciate that.

But yes, accent aside, I wanted a romanceable female Elf in the first game, and unfortunately didn't get one. But now I finally get one, and she has a god awful thick Welsh accent, one of the accents I hate most in the whole world. NOT ONLY that, even if Merrill did retain her original accent from the first game, Tekka is no longer around to romance her!!

I purposefully avoided a romance in Tekka's playthrough FOR THE SOLE REASON of waiting for a female elf in the next game! More fool me, I guess, I shouldn't have got that idea in my head and got my hopes up.

And... That's all I have to say about that.

You could have played as a female elf and romanced Alistair or Leliana.

Hey I wanted a bisexual female elf to romance not a pirate that didn't have an orgy with my Grey Warden, Leliana or Alistair, and Zeveron.

Don't get the wrong idea though, I'm still reedonkuloosly over excited for the game's release, and will enjoy every single second of it! (I hope!) Just disappointed that some of the things I was really hoping for didn't come to pass.

I now hope... That somehow, someway, our warden characters can have little cameos in the game. Like Hawke and his company will be walking through the city, and the Warden will be walking by in the other direction. That would be friggin' awesome. X3 Well, it would be for me anyway, at least it wouldn't feel like they're gone any more.

Isabella, Merrill, and Anders (along with a friend and it's NOT the cat) are all returning characters from Dragon Age: Origins and DA:O-Awakening (and they are 3 of the 4 love interests), and as I stated above Alistair is supposed to make a cameo.

And hey... Maybe there'll be some DLC that will let you play a quest or two with your imported warden...! Aha... Listen to me, setting myself up for disappointment again.

I doubt it. The Grey Warden's story is over for now.

Well... All that remains to be seen. Let's see how things go over the next two years of Dragon Age 2's life span!

I think it will last until Mass Effect 3 comes out at the end of year.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:There is of course, the same issue of the player character's race restricted to Human only. I dislike this but I've had time to make my peace with it, and I do at least have the comfort of full customization.

Well see.

We'll see... what?

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:Regardless, I can't help but feel sad for my grey warden characters, particularly Tekka and Arkanis, who I invested a lot of time in building. I would have been a lot happier if we could retain our Origins characters in Kirkwall, and at the end of the ten year gameplay period the final act of our characters would be to either succumb to the taint and head to the deep roads to die, or to undergo some ritual to extend our lifespans unnaturally which would provide the same choice premise as Morrigan's dark ritual.

(It CAN be done because Avernus did it in the Warden's Keep DLC!!)

"But how would we import our characters who died? Or went through the eluvian with Morrigan?" Simple answer: Don't. If you want your old character to be dead, then by all means, make a new one with a new background, but I would have liked to have had the option to continue the adventures of Tekka and Arkanis. Neither of them died, and neither of them went through the Eluvian with Morrigan. Hell, Tekka stabbed Morrigan for not handing over the powers of the old god child, I want to see where THAT goes.

Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over and is RUMORED to be the main story line for Dragon Age 3. You can import the events of Dragon Age: Origins and that will affect some of the events of Dragon Age 2 and Alistair is supposed to make a cameo.

The flaw being just that... The return of Morrigan and/or the OGB is all rumour, until Bioware confirms it, it's all meaningless speculation.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:Finally, friggin Gwen from Torchwood is the voice of Merrill. Merrill is friggin ruined for me now. Awful awful awful thick Welsh accent ahoy. Thanks very much, you turds, for deciding to change all the accents in the new game. 'ppreciate that.

But yes, accent aside, I wanted a romanceable female Elf in the first game, and unfortunately didn't get one. But now I finally get one, and she has a god awful thick Welsh accent, one of the accents I hate most in the whole world. NOT ONLY that, even if Merrill did retain her original accent from the first game, Tekka is no longer around to romance her!!

I purposefully avoided a romance in Tekka's playthrough FOR THE SOLE REASON of waiting for a female elf in the next game! More fool me, I guess, I shouldn't have got that idea in my head and got my hopes up.

And... That's all I have to say about that.

You could have played as a female elf and romanced Alistair or Leliana.

I... could have... But what's your point? It doesn't help my avatar character. His only options are fan made mods, which I prefer to avoid.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:Don't get the wrong idea though, I'm still reedonkuloosly over excited for the game's release, and will enjoy every single second of it! (I hope!) Just disappointed that some of the things I was really hoping for didn't come to pass.

I now hope... That somehow, someway, our warden characters can have little cameos in the game. Like Hawke and his company will be walking through the city, and the Warden will be walking by in the other direction. That would be friggin' awesome. X3 Well, it would be for me anyway, at least it wouldn't feel like they're gone any more.

Isabella, Merrill, and Anders (along with a friend and it's NOT the cat) are all returning characters from Dragon Age: Origins and DA:O-Awakening (and they are 3 of the 4 love interests), and as I stated above Alistair is supposed to make a cameo.

But... I don't care if Merrill, Anders, Alistair or Isabella show up... I care about the warden that I lovingly crafted from the ground up. I want to see him walk by in a crowd, or talking to someone in the background, I don't need to interact with him, it would just be awesome to see him there.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:There is of course, the same issue of the player character's race restricted to Human only. I dislike this but I've had time to make my peace with it, and I do at least have the comfort of full customization.

Well see.

We'll see... what?

I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:Regardless, I can't help but feel sad for my grey warden characters, particularly Tekka and Arkanis, who I invested a lot of time in building. I would have been a lot happier if we could retain our Origins characters in Kirkwall, and at the end of the ten year gameplay period the final act of our characters would be to either succumb to the taint and head to the deep roads to die, or to undergo some ritual to extend our lifespans unnaturally which would provide the same choice premise as Morrigan's dark ritual.

(It CAN be done because Avernus did it in the Warden's Keep DLC!!)

"But how would we import our characters who died? Or went through the eluvian with Morrigan?" Simple answer: Don't. If you want your old character to be dead, then by all means, make a new one with a new background, but I would have liked to have had the option to continue the adventures of Tekka and Arkanis. Neither of them died, and neither of them went through the Eluvian with Morrigan. Hell, Tekka stabbed Morrigan for not handing over the powers of the old god child, I want to see where THAT goes.

Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over and is RUMORED to be the main story line for Dragon Age 3. You can import the events of Dragon Age: Origins and that will affect some of the events of Dragon Age 2 and Alistair is supposed to make a cameo.

The flaw being just that... The return of Morrigan and/or the OGB is all rumour, until Bioware confirms it, it's all meaningless speculation.

According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's messgae boards. Granted this can change.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:Finally, friggin Gwen from Torchwood is the voice of Merrill. Merrill is friggin ruined for me now. Awful awful awful thick Welsh accent ahoy. Thanks very much, you turds, for deciding to change all the accents in the new game. 'ppreciate that.

But yes, accent aside, I wanted a romanceable female Elf in the first game, and unfortunately didn't get one. But now I finally get one, and she has a god awful thick Welsh accent, one of the accents I hate most in the whole world. NOT ONLY that, even if Merrill did retain her original accent from the first game, Tekka is no longer around to romance her!!

I purposefully avoided a romance in Tekka's playthrough FOR THE SOLE REASON of waiting for a female elf in the next game! More fool me, I guess, I shouldn't have got that idea in my head and got my hopes up.

And... That's all I have to say about that.

You could have played as a female elf and romanced Alistair or Leliana.

I... could have... But what's your point? It doesn't help my avatar character. His only options are fan made mods, which I prefer to avoid.

On my last 2 playthroughs (on the Xbox 360 and PS3), I had a female City Elf who romanced Leliana.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:Don't get the wrong idea though, I'm still reedonkuloosly over excited for the game's release, and will enjoy every single second of it! (I hope!) Just disappointed that some of the things I was really hoping for didn't come to pass.

I now hope... That somehow, someway, our warden characters can have little cameos in the game. Like Hawke and his company will be walking through the city, and the Warden will be walking by in the other direction. That would be friggin' awesome. X3 Well, it would be for me anyway, at least it wouldn't feel like they're gone any more.

Isabella, Merrill, and Anders (along with a friend and it's NOT the cat) are all returning characters from Dragon Age: Origins and DA:O-Awakening (and they are 3 of the 4 love interests), and as I stated above Alistair is supposed to make a cameo.

But... I don't care if Merrill, Anders, Alistair or Isabella show up... I care about the warden that I lovingly crafted from the ground up. I want to see him walk by in a crowd, or talking to someone in the background, I don't need to interact with him, it would just be awesome to see him there.

The Grey Warden was a great introduction to the Dragon Age Universe but quite honestly I don't think my Grey Warden and Leliana needs to be in Kirkwell (they busy with other things) and also some of my Grey Wardens died at the end at the end.

Cyberstrike wrote:I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

Cyberstrike wrote:According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's messgae boards. Granted this can change.

Actually he stated just the opposite: The God Child doesn't exist unless the player made that choice, which means that the baby won't be central in any sequel to DA:O.

Cyberstrike wrote:The Grey Warden was a great introduction to the Dragon Age Universe but quite honestly I don't think my Grey Warden and Leliana needs to be in Kirkwell (they busy with other things) and also some of my Grey Wardens died at the end at the end.

So, assuming they didn't die, or leave through the eluvian with Morrigan, you would insist that they'd be too busy to travel through Kirkwall at some point or another? DA2 takes place over a ten year time span, DA:O through to Witch Hunt takes place in a two to three year time span, leaving a whole seven years for the Warden to travel and see the world. So any living, non-Morrigan obsessed Warden could easily show up as a background character in a scene in Kirkwall. It's not necessary or guaranteed in any way, but our save files contain the class data and head morph for our characters, it would be nice to see them used at some point after importing. Cameos, Statues, Flashbacks, there are lots of possibilities to let those who want(ed) to see their creations do so without encroaching on the story of DA2.

Haven't had a chance to check out the official notices on this game, but was a huge fan of the first one. Hoping the final reviews on this one are just as positive.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

Yeah I know that.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's message boards. Granted this can change.

Actually he stated just the opposite: The God Child doesn't exist unless the player made that choice, which means that the baby won't be central in any sequel to DA:O.

Given the sheer number of players that went through the Dark Ritual with Morrigan and how popular she is I think it's safe to say that we will see that story continue at some point in the future in one form or another.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:The Grey Warden was a great introduction to the Dragon Age Universe but quite honestly I don't think my Grey Warden and Leliana needs to be in Kirkwell (they busy with other things) and also some of my Grey Wardens died at the end at the end.

So, assuming they didn't die, or leave through the eluvian with Morrigan, you would insist that they'd be too busy to travel through Kirkwall at some point or another? DA2 takes place over a ten year time span, DA:O through to Witch Hunt takes place in a two to three year time span, leaving a whole seven years for the Warden to travel and see the world. So any living, non-Morrigan obsessed Warden could easily show up as a background character in a scene in Kirkwall. It's not necessary or guaranteed in any way, but our save files contain the class data and head morph for our characters, it would be nice to see them used at some point after importing. Cameos, Statues, Flashbacks, there are lots of possibilities to let those who want(ed) to see their creations do so without encroaching on the story of DA2.

Only one of my Wardens went through the eluvian with Morrigan, the rest were female and most took over Loghain's estate (or became the arlessa of the Alienage) after the events of the Awakening, Golems, and Witch Hunt as far as I'm concerned they're off with Leliana traveling and having fun in Orlais or staying at their home.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

Yeah I know that.

...Then why question it? Actually, half of the things you quoted from my original post had little to no relation to your responses. "I have nothing to say about that but here's a random fact instead."

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's message boards. Granted this can change.

Actually he stated just the opposite: The God Child doesn't exist unless the player made that choice, which means that the baby won't be central in any sequel to DA:O.

Given the sheer number of players that went through the Dark Ritual with Morrigan and how popular she is I think it's safe to say that we will see that story continue at some point in the future in one form or another.

I'm well aware how popular Morrigan is. But you can't invent facts and pass them off as the truth. What you say in that case, to differentiate your response to a statement of fact, is to write "I HOPE Morrigan's story is not over~" instead of stating absolutely "Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over", and then making another false statement, allegedly from David Gaider, to back it up as evidence.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:The Grey Warden was a great introduction to the Dragon Age Universe but quite honestly I don't think my Grey Warden and Leliana needs to be in Kirkwell (they busy with other things) and also some of my Grey Wardens died at the end at the end.

So, assuming they didn't die, or leave through the eluvian with Morrigan, you would insist that they'd be too busy to travel through Kirkwall at some point or another? DA2 takes place over a ten year time span, DA:O through to Witch Hunt takes place in a two to three year time span, leaving a whole seven years for the Warden to travel and see the world. So any living, non-Morrigan obsessed Warden could easily show up as a background character in a scene in Kirkwall. It's not necessary or guaranteed in any way, but our save files contain the class data and head morph for our characters, it would be nice to see them used at some point after importing. Cameos, Statues, Flashbacks, there are lots of possibilities to let those who want(ed) to see their creations do so without encroaching on the story of DA2.

Only one of my Wardens went through the eluvian with Morrigan, the rest were female and most took over Loghain's estate (or became the arlessa of the Alienage) after the events of the Awakening, Golems, and Witch Hunt as far as I'm concerned they're off with Leliana traveling and having fun in Orlais or staying at their home.

Fair enough, if that's what you want I have no right to force my ideas down your throat.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

Yeah I know that.

...Then why question it? Actually, half of the things you quoted from my original post had little to no relation to your responses. "I have nothing to say about that but here's a random fact instead."

Read the bold text.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's message boards. Granted this can change.

Actually he stated just the opposite: The God Child doesn't exist unless the player made that choice, which means that the baby won't be central in any sequel to DA:O.

Given the sheer number of players that went through the Dark Ritual with Morrigan and how popular she is I think it's safe to say that we will see that story continue at some point in the future in one form or another.

I'm well aware how popular Morrigan is. But you can't invent facts and pass them off as the truth. What you say in that case, to differentiate your response to a statement of fact, is to write "I HOPE Morrigan's story is not over~" instead of stating absolutely "Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over", and then making another false statement, allegedly from David Gaider, to back it up as evidence.

You haven't proved that he said the oppisite and you have shown me no link from reliable source either. Now I know what I read and that is what I read. And maybe I am wrong and maybe you're right. Hell maybe we're both right. I read it at somewhere Bioware's message boards and see if you can go find it. I'm not in a good mood right now and I'm not a God damn search engine.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

Yeah I know that.

...Then why question it? Actually, half of the things you quoted from my original post had little to no relation to your responses. "I have nothing to say about that but here's a random fact instead."

Read the bold text.

Me: There is of course, the same issue of the player character's race restricted to Human only. I dislike this but I've had time to make my peace with it, and I do at least have the comfort of full customization.

You: Well see.

Me: We'll see... what?

You: I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Me: Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

You: Yeah I know that.

Me: ...Then why question it?

...

What's wrong with this conversation? I find you incredibly frustrating.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's message boards. Granted this can change.

Actually he stated just the opposite: The God Child doesn't exist unless the player made that choice, which means that the baby won't be central in any sequel to DA:O.

Given the sheer number of players that went through the Dark Ritual with Morrigan and how popular she is I think it's safe to say that we will see that story continue at some point in the future in one form or another.

I'm well aware how popular Morrigan is. But you can't invent facts and pass them off as the truth. What you say in that case, to differentiate your response to a statement of fact, is to write "I HOPE Morrigan's story is not over~" instead of stating absolutely "Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over", and then making another false statement, allegedly from David Gaider, to back it up as evidence.

You haven't proved that he said the oppisite and you have shown me no link from reliable source either. Now I know what I read and that is what I read. And maybe I am wrong and maybe you're right. Hell maybe we're both right. I read it at somewhere Bioware's message boards and see if you can go find it. I'm not in a good mood right now and I'm not a God damn search engine.

Here you go.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your link too.

Everything was going great in the demo until I found out that the chesty one is your 'sister'. Rats.

To me it seems like all the girls are chesty now. Like everyone in Thedas had breast englargement surgery in the last two years.

No complaints about that.

Hell no, me neither.

And just finished the demo.

This game is going to be f-ing awesome.

I have now finished all my playthroughs of Dragon Age: Origins. So I'll be able to see almost every way in which Dragon Age II can vary. Can't wait! @_@


An Elf of the Magi origin, concerned only with the advancement of his personal power. He has a soft spot for other Elves and his best friend, Jowan.
- Did not betray Jowan to First Enchanter Irving.
- Saved First Enchanter Irving and the Circle of Magi.
- Convinced Zathrian to lift the curse on the Werewolves at the cost of his life.
- Installed Bhelen as King of Orzammar, while destroying the Anvil of the Void.
- Had a brief affair with Leliana, but it didn't work out.
- Saved Redcliffe from the zombie horde.
- Saved Jowan from Redcliffe Castle. (Best buddies! 8D)
- Joined the Cult of Andraste and defiled the sacred ashes, sparing the High Dragon.
- Spared Loghain, convinced Alistair and Anora to marry and rule jointly.
- Convinced Loghain to perform the Dark Ritual with Morrigan.
- Killed the Archdemon.
- Fully upgraded Warden's Keep and saved Amaranthine.
- Spared the Architect.
- Did not get the old god child's powers from Morrigan. Stabbed Morrigan.


A dwarven Prince that prides himself on his ironclad honour, and will strike at injustice wherever it may dwell, be the means of righting wrongs legal or illegal. A rarity in Dwarven society.
- Did not kill Trian and had a child with the Noble Hunter, Mardy.
- Saved First Enchanter Irving and the Circle of Magi.
- Convinced Zathrian to lift the curse on the Werewolves at the cost of his life.
- Installed Harrowmont as King of Orzammar, while sparing the Anvil of the Void. (Suck it, Bhelen!)
- Convinced King Harrowmont to adopt Mardy and her child into House Harrowmont. Named the child Trian.
- Saved Redcliffe from the zombie horde.
- Destroyed the Cult of Andraste and preserved the sacred ashes, killing the High Dragon.
- Executed Loghain, installed Alistair as sole ruler of Ferelden.
- Performed the Dark Ritual with Morrigan.
- Killed the Archdemon.
- Did not travel to Amaranthine.
- Found Morrigan and let her go through the Eluvian.


A beautiful and noble Dalish Elf that loves her people and all living things.
- Saved First Enchanter Irving and the Circle of Magi.
- Slaughtered the Werewolves, allowing Zathrian to remain keeper of the Dalish.
- Installed Bhelen as King of Orzammar, while destroying the Anvil of the Void.
- Fully romanced Zevran.
- Saved Redcliffe from the zombie horde.
- Destroyed the Cult of Andraste and preserved the sacred ashes, killing the High Dragon.
- Executed Loghain, convinced Alistair and Anora to marry and rule jointly.
- Did not perform the Dark Ritual with Morrigan.
- Died in battle against the Archdemon.


The hapless mage from the Circle of Magi rises to become champion of Ferelden... And messes up the world along the way.
- Let First Enchanter Irving die, and abandoned the Circle of Magi.
- Slaughtered the Werewolves, allowing Zathrian to remain keeper of the Dalish.
- Installed Bhelen as King of Orzammar, while destroying the Anvil of the Void.
- Fully romanced Morrigan and Leliana.
- Abandoned Redcliffe to the zombie horde.
- Destroyed the Cult of Andraste and preserved the sacred ashes, sparing the High Dragon.
- Spared Loghain and married Anora himself, having Alistair exiled to become a wandering drunk.
- Performed the Dark Ritual with Morrigan.
- Killed the Archdemon.
- Did not upgrade Warden's Keep and saved Amaranthine.
- Killed the Architect.
- Found Morrigan and travelled through the Eluvian with her.


A mentally damaged dwarf on a quest to destroy the world, by stabbing everything and everyone in his path.
- Let First Enchanter Irving die, and abandoned the Circle of Magi.
- Slaughtered the Dalish, allowing the Werewolves to live.
- Installed Harrowmont as King of Orzammar, while destroying the Anvil of the Void.
- Abandoned Redcliffe to the zombie horde.
- Destroyed the Cult of Andraste and defiled the sacred ashes, and killed the High Dragon.
- Executed Loghain, installed Alistair as sole ruler of Ferelden.
- Did not perform the Dark Ritual with Morrigan.
- Sent Alistair to his death against the Archdemon.
- Did not upgrade Warden's Keep and abandoned Amaranthine.
- Killed the Architect.
- Found Morrigan and stabbed her for no reason.


Used the console to see how a Magi Dwarf would play. Just for fun.
- Saved First Enchanter Irving and the Circle of Magi.
- Convinced Zathrian to lift the curse on the Werewolves at the cost of his life.
- Installed Bhelen as King of Orzammar, while destroying the Anvil of the Void.
- Had an affair with Zevran, then fully romanced Alistair.
- Saved Redcliffe from the zombie horde.
- Destroyed the Cult of Andraste and preserved the sacred ashes, killing the High Dragon.
- Executed Loghain, and married Alistair to become Queen of Ferelden.
- Convinced Alistair to perform the Dark Ritual with Morrigan.
- Killed the Archdemon.
- Did not travel to Amaranthine.
- Found Morrigan but could not recover Alistair's child. Stabbed Morrigan.

Just watched a video of the demo. A little ambiguous on the changes. Not sure I like the more action-oriented design. I have the PC version of DA:o and the game really lent itself to a more tactical approach. The new art and character design for the Hurlocks and Ogres seem a little too 'bright' for me.
Knowing Bioware, I will be proven dead wrong on all points but for now, waiting for reviews before getting my hopes up.

And for the record, absolutely loved the 1st one.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

Yeah I know that.

...Then why question it? Actually, half of the things you quoted from my original post had little to no relation to your responses. "I have nothing to say about that but here's a random fact instead."

Read the bold text.

Me: There is of course, the same issue of the player character's race restricted to Human only. I dislike this but I've had time to make my peace with it, and I do at least have the comfort of full customization.

You: Well see.

Me: We'll see... what?

You: I'm not 100% sure about this but supposedly you can't edit over the default models, you have to create a new Hawke from scratch.

Me: Customization options are already confirmed for the full game, and are present in the demo but disabled. This has been well known for a good while.

You: Yeah I know that.

Me: ...Then why question it?

...

What's wrong with this conversation? I find you incredibly frustrating.

First off let tell me you something very important about me that you and everyone else here should know about me and that is: I honestly don't give a damn about your opinion of me.

Now that is out of the way it was an old rumor that I half-remembered and something that I wasn't even sure was true, as I stated above.

Now I'm more curious to see how the skin tone thing works because what I read is true if you make Garrett/Marion Hawke black, Hispanic, or Asian looking that supposedly Bethany, Carver (and maybe Mother Hawke as well) will also have a similar ethic look.

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Tekka wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:According to Dragon Age head writer David Gaider has pretty much stated that is very likely at Bioware's message boards. Granted this can change.

Actually he stated just the opposite: The God Child doesn't exist unless the player made that choice, which means that the baby won't be central in any sequel to DA:O.

Given the sheer number of players that went through the Dark Ritual with Morrigan and how popular she is I think it's safe to say that we will see that story continue at some point in the future in one form or another.

I'm well aware how popular Morrigan is. But you can't invent facts and pass them off as the truth. What you say in that case, to differentiate your response to a statement of fact, is to write "I HOPE Morrigan's story is not over~" instead of stating absolutely "Morrigan and her son's story is NOT over", and then making another false statement, allegedly from David Gaider, to back it up as evidence.

You haven't proved that he said the oppisite and you have shown me no link from reliable source either. Now I know what I read and that is what I read. And maybe I am wrong and maybe you're right. Hell maybe we're both right. I read it at somewhere Bioware's message boards and see if you can go find it. I'm not in a good mood right now and I'm not a God damn search engine.

Here you go.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your link too.

OK I admit it: you were right and I was wrong. Don't let it go to head though, it's not the first time and it won't be the last.

I do think it can (and probably will) be done in some media (video game, novel, comics, anime movie, web series, etc), because it's too big of plot hole/plot device to ignore. I think a lot of Gaider's reluctance to deal with it is because of the possible incest angle with Alistair as the father of Morrigan's baby, and this is from the prequel novel Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne which strongly implies that Maric (Alistair's dad) is also Morrigan's father.

Is this a game like Mass Effect where you have to play the first game first and use decisions from there that effect the sequel? Because I don't give a crap about the first one. I downloaded the demo yesterday and it was awesome. I've also been watching walkthroughs and I want this game. I kind of want the first one, but then I kind of don't care.

The decisions of the first game have absolutely minimal implications on the second. You can play either one just fine without the other.

Tekka wrote:The decisions of the first game have absolutely minimal implications on the second. You can play either one just fine without the other.

That's a good thing and a sucky thing at the same time.

So far I am less than impressed and I have a lot of things to talk about, but I will complete my playthrough first before I write all of that up. I am perhaps a day or two away... Until then, let's play spot the difference.

This is the old style of a lovely elven lady from Origins.


And this is the new sty-OH SWEET JESUSANDRASTE, GET IT AWA-*dead*


I cried a little, it's true.

Believe it or not, according to the lore of the Dragon Age world, Elves are supposedly more attractive than humans. I guess somebody forgot that when they designed the new base models.

So, I have finished Dragon Age 2 now. I was going to give it a thorough review but I really find myself not caring enough any more. That's not because the game was trash though, it had its good points but it wasn't the amazing adventure that Origins was, not by a long shot. Still, I'll throw a few paragraphs out there.

My criticisms are the painfully repetitive copy paste environments, the absolutely dire Mass Effect dialogue wheel, and the DAMN teleporting groups of enemies. I can't stress that last one enough. After slogging my way through a group of enemies I don't want two more waves of ten to randomly teleport into the area, it's just annoying.

The dialogue wheel is just as bad. It's the same deal as Mass Effect 2, even with these "emotion" icons. Paraphrased dialogue that often bares no resemblance to what your character will actually end up saying. Though thankfully Hawke is a lot more reserved than Shepard, and doesn't verbally and physically abuse a bartender when I decline his offer of a drink.

Quest bugs were minimal, as were bugs in the import feature. I only noticed TWO errors, and that was the game reported that "Connor was freed of the demon" when my Warden had allowed her to continue possessing him, and Sophia Dryden showed up when my Warden had killed her before.

Companion interactions were okay. I didn't recruit Isabella so I can't speak for her interactions but Varric and Aveline were a lot of fun. Anders and Fenris not so much, and it was weird to have Anders try to hit on me. I was mean to Merril the whole way through so things may have gone differently, but I did get a sick sense of satisfaction when she got really upset and started crying... That's the sick bastard in me for you.

That said, I enjoyed the storyline, although it wasn't stellar and I rarely got emotionally involved in what was going on. I went into this with the intent of negotiating a peaceful resolution between the Templars and Mages. Too many of my fellow Bioware fans were too eager to sign up with the anti-templar squad and neglected to acknowledge the benefits of the templar/mage relationship when it functions as it SHOULD do.

The extreme elements on both sides had to go, especially on the mage side. There are WAY too many blood mages in this game and the corrupt Templars get away with far too much as well. It was cool to see Cullen chilled out from his experience at the tower though, and it was great to have him on my side when the poop hit the proverbial fan.

Sorry, things get a bit spoilery below here...

So yes, my hopes of being a peacemaker were dashed when a certain someone decided to become a terrorist, but I executed him for his crimes and had no choice but to side with the Templars and implement the rite of annulment. Thankfully, because I had Cullen on my side, I was able to spare at least a few mages, and of course, cut the corrupt head off the shoulders of the order.

The final mission was definitely the strongest point of the game, and the only time I actually became emotionally involved in what was happening. It was a GOOD way to wrap up the game!

I do look forward to seeing how things will move on in the future, but I also hope that Bioware will learn from the criticisms of the dialogue wheel and the copy paste environments. They're really unacceptable and they have to go. Fully disclosed dialogue options and MORE outcomes from dialogue choices. Not, choose "good" or "mean" and get the same outcome anyway. It's silly...

Also make the elves look good again, since their new look makes me cry.

Uhu... Okay I have nothing else.

So, after playing through a second time, I discovered that all the 'choices' I supposedly made meant absolutely nothing, since every single option leads to the same conclusion. They did a good job of fooling me with the illusion of choice the first time around but now I'm severely disappointed. =/

I had such high hopes for this game.

I made a point to avoid this thread until I finished the game myself. In my opinion, they dumbbed it down similar to the way they did with ME2.

I did make my main Female mage look almost identicle to Morrigan so the few scenes with Flemeth made me laught a bit.

I agree with most of what was discussed here but I still found it enjoyable. After that whole Holy **** moment towards the end of the game I can't recall hating any character in a game more than I did in that instance. I used that bastard for most of the game.

Is the game worth the price tag? I've been playing DA Legends on Facebook.. but the console stuff makes flash games look like childsplay...

Blurrz wrote:Is the game worth the price tag? I've been playing DA Legends on Facebook.. but the console stuff makes flash games look like childsplay...

The retail versions are MUCH better than that Facebook game (if it is the one I'm thinking of where you have to pay actual money to heal and upgrade your characters) The only extra money you would spend on the retail versions is up to you if you want any of the DLC.