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Combat Walkthrough

Looks a lot better than DA:O's uninspired combat.


Edit: The lack of character creation info is starting to worry me. You better not be forced to look exactly the same as the damn Hawke in the screenshots...

Edit: Racial Concept Art Low quality concept art. What is up with the human female's legs? Why are Qunari becoming Draenai knock offs? These reimagined races are still aesthatically appealing based on western standards.

Amaya wrote:Combat Walkthrough

Looks a lot better than DA:O's uninspired combat.


Edit: The lack of character creation info is starting to worry me. You better not be forced to look exactly the same as the damn Hawke in the screenshots...

Edit: Racial Concept Art Low quality concept art. What is up with the human female's legs? Why are Qunari becoming Draenai knock offs? These reimagined races are still aesthatically appealing based on western standards.

Based on how they choose the character at 0:50, I'd say you are playing with pre-built characters, with a character for both genders and all three classes, much like Diablo. Meh, could be worse.

Tbh, the only difference I see, apart from some obvious changes for ability design, is that you can play it as an action RPG without dying horribly, rather than the tactical, pause and issue orders outlook you had to take in DA:O. I personally don't really care, I'm going to play it pausing to issue orders, because that's how I play the game, and that's what I actually enjoyed doing in DA: O. The fact that success was really based on controlling the fight on as many levels as possible was something that really appealed to me, and really took me back to the Baldur's Gate days, pausing quite frequently to maximise use of the party.

But, I can appreciate the fact they've taken time to make it smoother-flowing for those who didn't enjoy the stop-start combat of the original.

So the guy from the first pre-rendered trailer is a Qunari? God Almighty, they're smoking some hard stuff in Bioware... Makes you wonder where Sten lost his horns, too.

Ugh, I hope it isn't pre-generated characters. I want to play MY character, not some douche that the designers thought is cool (And usually isn't).

From what I understand it's "pre-generated" in that the character has a name and distinctive personality, and the character customization is about the same as both Mass Effect games(i.e.: you choose a class/archetype, can customize the features, etc).

Wow, they really took in what alot of fans were saying. That combat looks so much better than it did in the original, and not entirely that it is more action based. In the original, when you have a guy use special attacks, they really just look like normal attacks with a little more oomf behind them. This looks like they have some great moves that will make combat much more exciting regardless of whether or not you are an action type player, or a turn based player. Either way, I dig it.

I do hope they at least let you change your race, I really enjoyed playing my dwarf. It would be a major loss but I think I could overlook it based on the other improvements


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Also, if you look at alot of videos on youtube, all the characters look the same = / These could just be pre designed for Demonstration and advertisement purposes.

Did no one bother pausing the video at 0:33? Where you get a perfect view of four characters with the same armor but different faces and builds? Some of them look like they could be female. EDIT: It looks like a character selection screen. EDIT2: Nevermind. From that look it does seem as though the characters may be pre-built... unless they only have that screen for demo purposes. That is disappointing...

we wont really know until the game comes out.

Also, the qunari resemble the tiefling race from dungeons and dragons, but more buff. I thought qunari were some sort of corrupt race or something? They didnt get into it a whole lot in the first game.

LordofHats wrote:Did no one bother pausing the video at 0:33? Where you get a perfect view of four characters with the same armor but different faces and builds? Some of them look like they could be female. EDIT: It looks like a character selection screen. EDIT2: Nevermind. From that look it does seem as though the characters may be pre-built... unless they only have that screen for demo purposes. That is disappointing...

Yeah. /sadface

Qunari


Draenei


Tiefling



Also resembles Dremora from Oblivion somewhat

It is kind of a cliche look for a race that is supposed to be partially demonic/demonic heritage etc etc etc. I mean, they really just have horns and weird skin tone. Other than that they look sort of normal.

So, the guy in the DA:O 2 cinematic trailer must have been a Qunari?

Not complaining about Quanari being Draenei knock-offs; Draenei (females mainly) are strangely alluring, so it'll be nice to have something hi-res to ogle.

As for combat, as long as magic isn't ridiculously overpowered again then i'm fine with it. The times enemies were swept aside with Al tanking, Lel DPSing and getting herself killed, Morri healing and me spamming huge AoE spells and not caring who I hurt, cos i'd just i'd just spam poultices if I started getting attacked.

LordofHats wrote:Did no one bother pausing the video at 0:33? Where you get a perfect view of four characters with the same armor but different faces and builds? Some of them look like they could be female. EDIT: It looks like a character selection screen. EDIT2: Nevermind. From that look it does seem as though the characters may be pre-built... unless they only have that screen for demo purposes. That is disappointing...

Does no one remember the NWN2 characters screen that displayed a randomized character once race was selected, and then the starter gear once class was selected?

dogma wrote:

LordofHats wrote:Did no one bother pausing the video at 0:33? Where you get a perfect view of four characters with the same armor but different faces and builds? Some of them look like they could be female. EDIT: It looks like a character selection screen. EDIT2: Nevermind. From that look it does seem as though the characters may be pre-built... unless they only have that screen for demo purposes. That is disappointing...

Does no one remember the NWN2 characters screen that displayed a randomized character once race was selected, and then the starter gear once class was selected?

Did anyone ever care about NWN2?

I'm assuming that the characters shown in the demo are just for the demo and that you're not stuck with one of them.

I care about NWN2, which was awesome.

NWN was more enjoyable. I hate how they removed the ability to skip Acts once you've completed them in NWN2.

Amaya wrote:
Did anyone ever care about NWN2?

I'm assuming that the characters shown in the demo are just for the demo and that you're not stuck with one of them.

It doesn't matter if anyone cared about it. What matters is that what you see on the character select screen isn't necessarily indicative of what you get at the outset of the game itself.

There was a default Shepard after all.

Melissia wrote:I care about NWN2, which was awesome.

Mask of the Betrayer was good, but NWN2 was only interesting once the mod community created persistent world's with the tool set.

On topic, I actually really like the character design that's been shown so far; particularly the changes they've made to the mage class.

dogma wrote:

Amaya wrote:
Did anyone ever care about NWN2?

I'm assuming that the characters shown in the demo are just for the demo and that you're not stuck with one of them.

It doesn't matter if anyone cared about it. What matters is that what you see on the character select screen isn't necessarily indicative of what you get at the outset of the game itself.

There was a default Shepard after all.

Melissia wrote:I care about NWN2, which was awesome.

Mask of the Betrayer was good, but NWN2 was only interesting once the mod community created persistent world's with the tool set.

On topic, I actually really like the character design that's been shown so far; particularly the changes they've made to the mage class.

I particularly like the extensive changes to a combat system that wasn't fun when it was in neverwinter nights one, and certainly wasn't fun when it was in DA:O and was incredibly buggy. Anything that moves gameplay away from DND is a good thing.

You are entitled to your opinion, but you have to realize that some people enjoyed the combat system of NWN and DA:O, some people did not. It is not that it was a bad system, it just did not appeal to everyone as most people enjoy a more action style combat system instead of a turn based/tactical system. What really impressed me is that they kept the original tactical system, but found a way to infuse it with more action. You get the best of both worlds!

I hated the combat system in NWN (and NWN2), but the premium modules for that game were excellent.

You are entitled to your opinion, but you have to realize that some people enjoyed the combat system of NWN and DA:O, some people did not. It is not that it was a bad system, it just did not appeal to everyone as most people enjoy a more action style combat system instead of a turn based/tactical system

What I disliked was that it was severely limited despite the pretense to tactical gameplay. Positioning was largely irrelevant, spells were largely interchangeable generally breaking down into "single target damage or AOE with a single debilitating effect". Blocking couldn't be peformed, so rank combat and formation fighting was meaningless, and the pause buttons was essential only because the AI and routine writing system was incredibly bugged. DA:O wasn't a turn based tactical game, it was a real time action game that you could pause to give rough AI commands.

What really impressed me is that they kept the original tactical system, but found a way to infuse it with more action. You get the best of both worlds!

They didn't keep the original tactical system, unless your definition of that is simply the ability to pause and overwrite the AI with simple orders.

I have a question. Did anyone else think that the AI in NWN2 was worse than NWN? Because I could never get the damn AI to cooperate. In fact, I think the party members in NWN were more helpful than in any other party based game I've played...with the exception of the FF series.

His Master's Voice wrote:So the guy from the first pre-rendered trailer is a Qunari? God Almighty, they're smoking some hard stuff in Bioware... Makes you wonder where Sten lost his horns, too.

It is quite possible that the Horns are a new mutation/different variation of the Qunari, too. The Qunari in Stens dream didn't have horns either, and there really was no place for horns to be on their head (a'la Hellboy).

Aren't the Elves in DA2 supposed to be bigger built than the ones in Origins? I thought I read that somewhere. I also think I read that it takes place somewhere other than Fereldan, which might have something to do with it, too.

Slarg232 wrote:

His Master's Voice wrote:So the guy from the first pre-rendered trailer is a Qunari? God Almighty, they're smoking some hard stuff in Bioware... Makes you wonder where Sten lost his horns, too.

It is quite possible that the Horns are a new mutation/different variation of the Qunari, too. The Qunari in Stens dream didn't have horns either, and there really was no place for horns to be on their head (a'la Hellboy).

Aren't the Elves in DA2 supposed to be bigger built than the ones in Origins? I thought I read that somewhere. I also think I read that it takes place somewhere other than Fereldan, which might have something to do with it, too.

Reverse that. Horns are reguilar Qunari, Sten is a mutation.

Amaya wrote:

Slarg232 wrote:

His Master's Voice wrote:So the guy from the first pre-rendered trailer is a Qunari? God Almighty, they're smoking some hard stuff in Bioware... Makes you wonder where Sten lost his horns, too.

It is quite possible that the Horns are a new mutation/different variation of the Qunari, too. The Qunari in Stens dream didn't have horns either, and there really was no place for horns to be on their head (a'la Hellboy).

Aren't the Elves in DA2 supposed to be bigger built than the ones in Origins? I thought I read that somewhere. I also think I read that it takes place somewhere other than Fereldan, which might have something to do with it, too.

Reverse that. Horns are reguilar Qunari, Sten is a mutation.

This. There are two different kinds of Qunari, and Sten and his buds are of the Hornless variety. For more information, may I suggest the Dragon Age Wiki.

EDIT: The real question as to the Qunari really comes from the first trailer for DA2 that was released. It appears as though the Qunari in the trailer is capable of using magic, but according to current canon as it is known, Qunari mages are supposed to be leashed but a handler, yet the one in the trailer is not. So either he isn't performing magic and is just really beastly, or there's something else going on.

Maybe I havent read into the game enough. How is the new game's combat system so different from the first one? I never had any issues with the first one. Positioning mattered for quite a few situations such as the corridors of the mage's tower where you really needed your tank to block the doorways so the aboms couldnt get to your casters. also, rogues were absolutely terrible in combat if they werent positioned in the back arc. I couldnt find any bugs in the combat system when I played it though, everything worked out just the way I ordered it. I also played a combat mage who focused on debuffs instead of direct damage spells. Maximizing effects such as the glyph traps, Miasma, the paralysis spells, cone of cold, etc etc. These all require careful positioning of the entire party really. I mean, you dont have to focus on maximizing them, but you sort of need to if you play on the harder difficulties.

If all you do is auto attack, it wont matter. But some abilities, especially if you are running a mage who uses alot of debuffing, require good positioning, or they wont be effective.


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ill give an example. I want to tank the melee units of a group in one spot, where I can keep a firestorm on them all. Meanwhile, I want to take out the group of archers with the rest of my squad and keep them under my combat mage's Miasma aura. To do this, I move my mage between my tank and the archers, cast glyph of repulsion behind the archers to "bounce" them into my mage. This keeps both the archers and the melee group fighting my tank within the Miasma aura, thus restricting their fighting ability. I then drop glyph of paralysis and glyph of warding on the archers, and throw my arcane warrior into melee. From here, I would probably mass paralyze the melee group just to make sure they dont run out of the firestorm and attack my caster, which would also take the load off my healer.

The problem is, you dont really need to do any of this if you dont want to, and you wouldnt do any of this unless you were playing this type of mage. If you were playing with a lot of warriors, you really wouldnt need any tactics, just hack and slash whatever moves until it dies. This is also why the arcane warrior is by far my favorite class to play.

LordofHats wrote:
This. There are two different kinds of Qunari, and Sten and his buds are of the Hornless variety. For more information, may I suggest the Dragon Age Wiki.

Neatly explained by the fact that Sten's unit was intended to infiltrate Ferelden, making horns a liability.

Also, it explains why Ogres have horns.

LordofHats wrote:
EDIT: The real question as to the Qunari really comes from the first trailer for DA2 that was released. It appears as though the Qunari in the trailer is capable of using magic, but according to current canon as it is known, Qunari mages are supposed to be leashed but a handler, yet the one in the trailer is not. So either he isn't performing magic and is just really beastly, or there's something else going on.

I assumed it was a magic artifact, or some sort of spiritual-type skill. The Qun is a weird blend of Islamic expansionism, Confucian focus, and an almost animist investiture of essence into physical objects (Sten and his sword). From this I could see some sort of self-mastery technique that might not be magic in the normal sense.


One thing that I'm not happy about is that there is more launch day DLC. I still cannot play my copy of DA:O because of an issue with server connections that EA cannot, or will not, resolve; meaning I cannot access any DLC that I either paid for, or was "given" at launch.

What's your exact issue Dogma and what do you have DA:O on?

I can see myself having fun with either real time or pause/play.

Dogma, I have also had a number of issues in connecting with EA game servers, especially BFBC2. They have MASSIVE connection issues that can only be solved by modifying your router ports. Try looking up port forwarding for BFBC2 EA game servers. Try opening them up for the BFBC2 servers and see if it will let you get through. Make sure you use ipconfig within the CMD prompt so that you can be sure that you are forwarding the ports for your computer. Alternatively, you can open up DMZ for your computer via the DMZ tab under applications and gaming in your router options. Doing this helped me get connection.

I had to jump through hoops when my GF first got me the ultimate edition of DA:O, it is a pain, especially if you dont know your way around your router, but it seems like it is the only solution. I have only ever had to do this when patching WoW, and even then, I only had to open a couple ports. It really is unacceptable, but they dont seem to want to change it.