Dragon Age Origins

[Nature Boy]

You can pause the game on 360 by using the left trigger. If you want to pause for more than just a little bit you can go into your items list and leave it there. Or you can cast a spell that requires confirmation and not confirm it. Plus there is friendly fire damage. It tells you which spells can cause friendly fire damage in their descriptions.

I've also paused it by hitting the guide button.

I'm really enjoying the game so far. I might be approaching 10 hours at this point, and I haven't seen any of the bugs I keep reading about. I've seen maybe one or two graphical glitches but those have never bothered me - I actually prefer things when someone just ends up walking through something rather than getting stuck trying to go around and never finding a path!

[Raedon]

You can pause the game on 360 by using the left trigger. If you want to pause for more than just a little bit you can go into your items list and leave it there. Or you can cast a spell that requires confirmation and not confirm it. Plus there is friendly fire damage. It tells you which spells can cause friendly fire damage in their descriptions.

hmm. Things must have changed sense I was just reading about the game. Did they include the wide over the top view as well?

[BydoEmpire]

You can pause with the left trigger, but it brings up the radial menu for items, spells, etc. which covers most of the screen. It doesn't let you look around the battlefield and plan your combat. You might as well hit Start.

[Raedon]

Ahh. The PC version lets you micro-manage.

You can pause (space bar), change out gear in the inventory menu, tell every party member what their next move should be (drink potion, cast spell, etc) move around the camera to see if your being flanked. Then you can un-pause, let all the action go down for a split second and repeat.

[Raedon]

I'd say one of the best features of this game is the battle animation. With most RPG games the melee just sort of swings around near the MOB not really touching it. In this game the up close melee is amazing to watch. There are several finishing moves in the animation for each mob.

Swords get stuck in torsos, heads get chopped off and blood fountains out. The game will sometimes go into slow motion with a kill. Early on you'll battle several Ogres. At first it's a low level boss but later it's just a regular MOB. Watching the Ogre die is always entertaining.

The PC graphics are obviously held back, I assume, because this is more an Xbox 360 release. Like the textures are not up to current PC game standards. It's nice to run the game at 1920x1200 with full AA and AF and still get a high frame-rate though. Even with lots of action on the screen, I've never had the game lag out on me.

2.6ghz Core 2 Duo, 2gig 1066 RAM, Radeon 4850 512mb PCI-E

[BHvrd]

Gotta admit this game has some of the best character interaction and context since the original Knights of the Old Republic and that is what makes me like it more than anything else.

Jowan is really getting on my fucking nerves. Such a whiny bitch, I called his girlfriend a fat cow and said hell no I won't help you, lol.

Gotta love the character interactions, makes for great branching paths, also combat is just as well designed as KOTOR too, contender for GOTY it seems, but I also love Demon's Souls :p.

[Namnuta]

The PC graphics are obviously held back, I assume, because this is more an Xbox 360 release. Like the textures are not up to current PC game standards. It's nice to run the game at 1920x1200 with full AA and AF and still get a high frame-rate though. Even with lots of action on the screen, I've never had the game lag out on me.

2.6ghz Core 2 Duo, 2gig 1066 RAM, Radeon 4850 512mb PCI-E

Yea i was a little disappointed in the textures on the PC version (Which is said to look the best of all versions from reviews) Im running 3.0GHz E8400 Core 2 Duo, dual 4850 512 in crossfire, 4 Gigs Ram and i expected more. The blood splatter effects on models is quite nice though. Over all a great game.

[Raedon]

Funny little thing I noticed while playing as a female rogue while romancing Leliana. Every time something Lesbian happens between the two, Alistair's approval rating goes up by +1. haha!

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/7/74/Alistair.jpeg/300px-Alistair.jpeg

[Zthun]

So I finally managed to finish this game. It took me about 55 hours on casual (I started on normal) from start to finish. Mind you this is doing all the quests I could find, and this did not include the downloadable content. I still need to play this a bit more to get the remaining achievements.

In a nutshell, I found this to be a really weak Bioware game; I would rank Jade Empire before it. The game has crash problems, the difficulty is unbalanced, and there's way too much back story. The amount of talking in this game is ridiculous, and many times, I found myself skipping through characters stories and dialog while telling my TV to shut the fuck up. It's about ten times worse than Mass Effect, and that's saying something.

The biggest issue is the difficulty. Most people will talk about using a tank, but I've found that the AI is pretty retarded (as usual), and while tanking is necessary, the computer doesn't really do a good job at holding aggro, especially with large encounters. Healing has the same problem, and even when I set my tactics to heal anyone below 90% health, I would watch my characters health dwindle down to nothing in a slow time span. The mage still had full mana, and with the inefficiency, I wound up having to do all the healing and crowd control myself (I actually found the game to be easier when I did this). On normal difficulty, large groups will completely destroy you and it becomes a game of run into the mob and pray. You stand a much better chance with micromanagement of each character, but that gets really tedious if you're doing it for every encounter. Bioware did not balance this game correctly.

Another thing that gets me is that Bioware just can't make decent looking helmets. Why did they take out the ability to hide a characters helmet like they did in Mass Effect? There are a couple of helmets that look pretty cool on the warriors, but for mages and rogues, you're probably going to look pretty corney.

This game isn't completely bad. It's really responsive to your decisions and the story and ending are effected by every decision you make. There are TONS of quests to do (60+ hours worth of game time), and it does have some pretty good characters (the DLC character, Shale, is really fun to use). There are a lot of ways to develop your character right from the start and the entire story changes based on what you choose, so replay value is high. Just make sure you install this game to your HD so you can avoid some of the crash problems others (myself included) have had with the disc.

Overall, it's not worth $60-$70 bucks. I paid $30 for the collectors edition, and I think I got a decent deal for the experience. Now the Bioware fanboys/fangirls will defend this game to no end cause Bioware made it, but the experience really didn't match the hype. Here's hoping that Mass Effect 2 will be way better than this.

[Raedon]

Hmm ... I find the game easy on the Normal setting.

As with any tank you send it in and let it build agro before ANYONE else jumps in the battle. Have your party hold out of range and not "Move Freely." Then send in the other melee, then the 2 mages. The healer will always heal even if in hold possition mode. If you find yourself in an open battlefield where you are going to be flanked you need to use the terrain or out flank the enemy.

The skills you pick for your tank will directly effect how well you do in this game. If you pick even one damage only skill for your warrior tank (like dual wielding) you have fucked up. There are some skills you have to pick to get to other skills on the tree but that's mostly in the Shields tree.

In the tactics menu for Morgainne have her cast sleep on Target>Enemy>Groups of three are more. And make sure everyone else is set to Target>Enemy>Target of party member>Allistar.

There is a part where your character enters The Fade by itself and people complain about it being hard. The thing is your character can shape shift to a fire warrior (immune to ALL fire spells) or Spirit (80% Immune to ALL schools of magic) or a Golem (Immune to brick walls) and the MOBS are all grouped as mages, fire demons, golems, etc. The final Boss with a Sloth Demon is easy because each of its forms takes on a specific school of magic or melee.

The voice is a love or hate thing I guess. I love all the story and I read every CODEX I find. I remember people saying the same thing about FF-X when it came out. Having problems with all the talking and not enough fighting. For the first 20 hours of Dragon Age Origins you will be in nothing but story. My character didn't hit level 10 until well into the 20 something hours of play. I didn't get all the playable characters before most RPGs were over with.

[Raedon]

Great game on the PC. The world created isn't one I'd find myself reminiscing about. The overall effect is wonderful though. I'll remember the game fondly but it didn't replace Final Fantasy 6 as my top RPG game EVAR.

[punkrockdave]

My wife loves this game but (not trying to troll, just my opinion so dont flame please) i find watching paint dry to be more exciting but just my opinion to each their own i guess.

[nebrazca78]

I've run into an annoying bug several times now when I save right before I go through a door (360 version). If I open the door and die, then reload, the door is closed but there's no icon to open it, often trapping me in a room I can't get out of. Nothing to do but go back to a previous save. I don't know exactly what the circumstance is - I think I have to open the door but not go through, then save. Anyways, watch out. Save early, save often.

Save often, that's for sure. Twice the game has just straight frozen on me in the middle of a battle. Haven't had the door problem though. Even more annoyingly a couple of times my party has decided they don't want to follow me after I take hold off. It's a real bitch switching characters over and over to move them all until they finally decide to follow you again. You should also be able to hold people individually, not just as a group. I want my mages and/or archers to stay held while tanks go in to the fray. Moreover if a non-ranged character is held they will not attack unless someone attacks them first. I would like to see a soft-hold where a character stays in one area but isn't stuck like glue in a single spot.


hmm. Things must have changed sense I was just reading about the game. Did they include the wide over the top view as well?

You can move the camera quite a bit, I don't know if this is the view you are talking about though.


You can pause with the left trigger, but it brings up the radial menu for items, spells, etc. which covers most of the screen. It doesn't let you look around the battlefield and plan your combat. You might as well hit Start.

It does get it the way but by moving the camera you can usually see what you need to see. Using the D-pad to pick targets doesn't work well though.



Jowan is really getting on my fucking nerves. Such a whiny bitch, I called his girlfriend a fat cow and said hell no I won't help you, lol.


I killed his bitch ass as well as Connor too.




Did anyone else have trouble with the battle right after the Queen double-crosses you? So far I thought this was easily the hardest battle in the game. There are a ton of archers and they all slam you with shattershot (the one that stuns your entire party) repeatedly. I finally did beat it though.

[Therealqtip]

I played it very shortly to come with the conclusion, playing as multiple people suck. It's fun but I just wish you could play as one character.

[nebrazca78]

I played it very shortly to come with the conclusion, playing as multiple people suck. It's fun but I just wish you could play as one character.

You can play it with just one character. When you're at the party select screen just press B. It will ask if you want to continue without a full party, just say yes. I can only imagine how hard the game is with just one character.

[Trebuken]

Did anyone beat Flemeth? Is it worth it?

[Raedon]

You can move the camera quite a bit, I don't know if this is the view you are talking about though.



The PC version gives you the option to pull back all the way to an isometric view, just like Baldur's Gate.

[Porksta]

Yeah so I entered the caravan area while all my characters are level 8 or so. Unfortunately they are too weak to ill the Genlocks and I can't go to the world map until I do so... back to Assassin's Creed 2 I guess.

[Therealqtip]

You can play it with just one character. When you're at the party select screen just press B. It will ask if you want to continue without a full party, just say yes. I can only imagine how hard the game is with just one character.

Yeah, but I just want a regular RPG with regular RPG settings, I didn't like oblivion cause the leveling system and everything leveled with you but most RPGs are like that so whatever. Fallout 3 was the only RPG I really enjoyed so far on computer/modern day consoles.

[nebrazca78]

Did anyone beat Flemeth? Is it worth it?

There isn't anything good in Flemeth's hut (Morrigan says you can have whatever's in there besides the grimoire) but Morrigan loves you up with a +13. But she still left when she wanted Alistair to impregnate her and I said no even though her approval rating was now near full. Her idea sounded really crazy. I didn't trust her. Did you beat Gaxkang? Flemeth was a walk in the park compared to him.


The PC version gives you the option to pull back all the way to an isometric view, just like Baldur's Gate.

That would be nice, especially when certain spells obscure who you're trying to attack or heal etc.

[Nirvana]

I bought this game on Black Friday for 35 bucks and I can honestly say I am definitely enjoying this game so far. I'm not gonna lie; I don't get into games like this, but the trailer for this game actually looked really cool so I decided to check it out. Definitely cool so far. I have a female Human Rogue.

[Trebuken]

Did you beat Gaxkang? Flemeth was a walk in the park compared to him.

I tried, but soon realized I would have to have an immense number of healing/mana potions to succeed. Decided to gain some additional levels before trying again but beat the game before that happened. I am honestly thinking of starting a new game so I can build stringer characters and return to areas I missed...

[Gentlegamer]

I'm leaning heavily toward buying Dragon Age Origins. The only Bioware game I've played is Mass Effect, which I loved. I'm "jonesing" for some [western] fantasy RPG gaming. I love Morrowind/Oblivion. Is Dragon Age Origins for me? Compare and contrast to Elder Scrolls (Morrowind/Oblivion). :)

[Raedon]

Thought I'd mention that, on the PC, you can download free content and install some rather powerful items for no cost to you. It's worth doing just for the Blood Dragon Armor and Amulet of the War Mage imho.

You just download the files and use DAUpdater.exe to install them manually.

Blood Dragon Armor (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Dragon_Armor)


http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/7/74/Blood_dragon_armor_module.png/96px-Blood_dragon_armor_module.png (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Dragon_Armor)
Released: 3rd November 2009
Commissioned by an infamous Nevarran dragon hunter, this armor was crafted in a time when dragons had almost been hunted to extinction. Infused with their blood, the armor gained notoriety after the hunter died at the hands of men rather than the dragons it was designed to protect him from.Blood Dragon Armor (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Dragon_Armor) is available in this eponymous downloadable content (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Downloadable_content). It is available without extra cost to players who purchased a new copy of Dragon Age: Origins (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Origins). For players who bought a second-hand copy of the game, this downloadable content is available for 800 Microsoft Points (US$10) on Xbox Live Marketplace, US$10 on the PC or X Sony Points on the Playstation Marketplace. In addition, unlocking the Blood Dragon Armor (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Dragon_Armor) in Dragon Age: Origins will also unlock it for use in Mass Effect 2.
The Blood Dragon Armor (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Dragon_Armor) is a powerful set of silverite massive plate adorned with a crimson dragon across the left shoulder. The armor is available immediately, while the gloves, boots and helm can be purchased cheaply from Bodahn (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Bodahn), a dwarven merchant in your party camp (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Camp).


Collector's Edition (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Collector%27s_Edition&action=edit&redlink=1)


http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/9/9a/Dlc-ce-items.jpg/96px-Dlc-ce-items.jpg (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Collector%27s_Edition)
Released: 3rd November 2009
A collection of three special items exclusive to the Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition. You'll receive one item immediately. The others are available from Bodahn (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Bodahn) in the party camp (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Camp). The Collector's Edition promotion consists of three items exclusive to Dragon Age: Origins (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Origins) Collector's Edition. The Grimoire of the Frozen Wastes (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Grimoire_of_the_Frozen_Wastes&action=edit&redlink=1) is available immediately, while the helmet, Bergen's Honor (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Bergen%27s_Honor&action=edit&redlink=1) and the staff, Final Reason (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Final_Reason&action=edit&redlink=1) are available for sale from Bodahn (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Bodahn) at the party camp (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Camp).


The Lucky Stone (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=The_Lucky_Stone&action=edit&redlink=1)


http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/a/ab/Luckystone_module.png/96px-Luckystone_module.png (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lucky_Stone)
Released: 3rd November 2009
This old stone, set in a golden ring, has been an aid and companion to dozens of adventurers across innumerable years. Its trip to Ferelden was long and convoluted. Some say it has a life of its own.The Lucky Stone (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=The_Lucky_Stone&action=edit&redlink=1) is a ring available in this self-titled downloadable content (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Downloadable_content). It is available for free to players who uploaded a character made with the Character Creator to the BioWare social site.

Stats: Adds +1 to all stats


Embri's Many Pockets (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Embri%27s_Many_Pockets&action=edit&redlink=1)


http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/9/97/120px-embrismanypockets.jpg/96px-120px-embrismanypockets.jpg (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Embri%27s_Many_Pockets)
Released: 3rd November 2009
The elven mage of limited talent that volunteered to become one of the Tranquil, Embri of Gwaren proved herself to be an extremely talented enchanter -- if absent-minded. The story goes that she kept an array of magical ingredients on her belt at all times, until the belt itself became magical. Embri died of lyrium poisoning many years later, but the enchanted belt remains.Embri's Many Pockets (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Embri%27s_Many_Pockets&action=edit&redlink=1) is a belt available in this self-titled downloadable content (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Downloadable_content). It is available for free. It can be downloaded in-game by players who have signed up for an account in Dragon Age Journeys (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_Journeys). Or, it can be installed manually (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/DLC#Manually_Installing_Downloadable_Contents) by anyone.

Stats: +5% fire resistance, +5% cold resistance, +5% electricity resistance, +5% nature resistance, +5% spirit resistance


Amulet of the War Mage (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Amulet_of_the_War_Mage&action=edit&redlink=1)


http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/c/c7/120px-amuletofthewarmage.jpg/96px-120px-amuletofthewarmage.jpg (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Amulet_of_the_War_Mage)
Released: 3rd November 2009
Amulet of the War Mage (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Amulet_of_the_War_Mage&action=edit&redlink=1) is an amulet available in this self-titled downloadable content. It is available for free. It can be downloaded in-game by players who completed Chapter 1 of Dragon Age Journeys (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_Journeys). Or, it can be installed manually (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/DLC#Manually_Installing_Downloadable_Contents) by anyone.

Stats: +5% fire damage, +5% cold damage, +5% electricity damage, +5% nature damage, +5% spirit damage


Helm of the Deep (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Helm_of_the_Deep)


http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/3/3f/Deephelm_module.png/96px-Deephelm_module.png (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Helm_of_the_Deep)
Released: 3rd November 2009
Helm of the Deep (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Helm_of_the_Deep) is a helm available in this self-titled downloadable content. It is available for free. It can be downloaded in-game by players who completed all five achievements in Dragon Age Journeys (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_Journeys). Or, it can be installed manually (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/DLC#Manually_Installing_Downloadable_Contents) by anyone.

The achievements are to reach the gates of Orzammar, kill two monsters in a single attack, convince the Bard to join the party, defeat and ogre with all party members at full health and to defeat the hurlock emissary on any difficulty level.

Stats: +2 constitution, +10 mental resistance, +10 physical resistance


Mark of Vigilance (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Mark_of_Vigilance&action=edit&redlink=1)


http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/thumb/1/13/Vigilance_module.png/96px-Vigilance_module.png (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Mark_of_Vigilance)
Released: 13th November 2009
Not all maleficar practice forbidden blood magic, but templars must constantly guard against the possibility that even an innocuous-seeming mage has delved into arts that permit him to control the minds of others. The best mage-hunters are granted these valued amulets as rewards by the Divine. They are often entombed alongside the templar when he dies.Mark of Vigilance (http://dragonage.wikia.com/index.php?title=Mark_of_Vigilance&action=edit&redlink=1) is an amulet available in this self-titled downloadable content. It is available for free. It can be installed manually (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/DLC#Manually_Installing_Downloadable_Contents) by anyone.

Stats: +6 defense, +2% spell resistance, +5 mental resistance

[nebrazca78]

I tried, but soon realized I would have to have an immense number of healing/mana potions to succeed. Decided to gain some additional levels before trying again but beat the game before that happened. I am honestly thinking of starting a new game so I can build stringer characters and return to areas I missed...

If you have two characters with Cone Of Cold it makes beating him a lot easier. It was still not easy. Also having a character with revive is nice.

[exit]

I got this game on Black Friday, played it for a bit and then put it down. Today I picked it up to give it a serious chance and ended up really enjoying myself. It took me a few hours to get the hang of the controls, I kept on exiting the menu screens by accident and ended up getting lost in them a few times. It might be because I haven't played this type of RPG in ages, but I was feeling pretty damn confused at first.

[Raedon]

Something else people might find handy. Where to buy for herbalism. You'll be needing health and mana potions.

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/2/20/Item-Elfroot_Icon.png
BUY ME!

In the Dalish camp you can get unlimited ElfRoot from the vendor who makes the wood armor for you.

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/7/72/Item-Lyrium_Dust_Icon.png
EAT ME!

Lyrium dust is sold at the circle tower. The pusher there is always throwing out 99 of them.

[ScourDX]

This game feels like a simplified version of Neverwinter Night. I hate it when I am restricted to certain class and cannot use what other classes can use. For instance I picked warrior and I cannot smash open locked chest or door like I can with NWN. The dialog & interaction are great, but I feel that this game is somewhat lacking. Perhaps I played too much Oblivion and hoping to loot every possible enemies I killed & max out my stats.