mothra on 11/11/2009 at 09:53
I totally agree. But the combat is so good. But for every good decision they make another stupid one, like: throw 30guys at you at once or 10 times 15guys which is just so tedious and boring......at least all sidequests/locations are far more interesting than the ME-sidequest that consisted of 10crates and 1 line of dialogue.
Thirith on 11/11/2009 at 09:57
I must say that I never enjoyed RPG combat all that much. My character builds almost always emphasise social skills and sneaking. Based on that and on what's been said, I'd say that Dragon Age definitely isn't at the top of my to-buy list.
mothra on 11/11/2009 at 10:00
yes, this game is very, very, very heavy combat-focused. I invested in speech skills as well and it only lets you avoid a few fights or get more help for a big one, but a big one it will be nonetheless, there are no ways around it. Also: random ambushes along the "road" (you never are actually on the road, you just choose a waypoint and on the way there get randomly attacked).
Swiss Mercenary on 11/11/2009 at 10:26
About throwing 30 guys at you - the funny part is that when that happens, all of them are little bitches, who die in 1-2 hits, compared to the groups of 10 you were just fighting. Makes you think: "Oh yeah, the devs want to create the feeling of an EPIC BUT HEROIC BATTLE against OVERWHELMING ODDS, with NO ACTUAL THREAT TO THE PLAYER."
Given that one run of the mill orc looks very much like another... It doesn't work nearly as well as when you'd run into a large pack of poorly equipped enemies in BG 2.
mothra on 11/11/2009 at 11:17
i don't know the constant flow of zombies in redcliffe during the 2nd defend section was almost too much for me. I went through 15 small health potions even though Morrigan can heal. She also had to drink 3 lesser lyrium potions. I was just like: when does it end ????? please, pretty please ?!!?
or fighting the demon afterwards - why can't I have a good fight with her, nononono, we have to elongate the fight so you have to do the same thing 3 times over and over again. Well, you can't have all. That's why the game is good, but nowhere amazing.
Malf on 11/11/2009 at 11:59
That fight was pretty easy for me, but I had found the oil that allows you to make a burning barrier beforehand, and they attacked in dribs & drabs as I waited for them to come to me.
I eventually knocked the game down to easy after fighting 3 massive groups of enemies one after the other. It was just getting tedious at that point, and the constant combat was ruining the experience. And to be honest, it's a much more enjoyable experience now.
On Normal and above, it's little more than a potion-quaffer. There's still an element of that even on Easy, but at least you're not constantly repeating these tedious battles.
I'm still enjoying the party interaction, and I think that's the game's real strength.
Just a shame they decided to smother it in excessive combat.
mothra on 11/11/2009 at 12:02
what skills do you need for that barrier ? traps or poison ? I did not come across it, just a ton of "lesser warmth balm" or "ice crystals" that don't do much.
Displacer on 11/11/2009 at 12:54
No skills needed, once you find the trigger for it the townsfolk will set the trap
nicked on 11/11/2009 at 13:26
I found an amusing mistake in the Codex - I went the long route completing Redcliffe castle (going to the mage tower to get aid so that Isolde doesn't die) and the codex now says that Isolde sacrificed herself to save her son even while I'm standing there chatting to her...
Malf on 11/11/2009 at 14:05
Yeah, I did that too nicked. There's so many options in this game, I'm not surprised they missed the occasional thing.
