Demo out now.

The servers are slow and needed multiple refreshes, but the download is a decent speed.

2/22/2011 12:12:27 PM

anxiously awaiting the end of the workday for this.

2/22/2011 12:20:21 PM

I bought Awakenings when it was on Amazon for like a nickle about six months ago even though I was too busy to play it at the time. About a month ago, I was cleaning up my shitty 20 gb XBox HD so I deleted all but my most recent Origins save file. Remembered I had Awakenings last week so I popped it in. Forgot when I was deleting those old saves that I had started a new character after I beat the game....so I deleted all of my saves with my level 20 decked out character from Origins

2/22/2011 12:55:13 PM

Those savegames shouldn't matter too much. I played DAO on the PC, but have an XBox copy of DA2 pre-ordered.

2/22/2011 1:38:55 PM

^^ just beat it again, you should be able to get to like 24 or 25 i think, not that it matters for the new game

2/22/2011 1:44:42 PM

That was my first thought, actually, but I just don't have the time to play through it again. FWP

2/22/2011 3:15:29 PM

Well for Dragon Age 2 the first game isn't going to matter too much. For awakenings you can make a new character, it starts you at level 18 and gives you some pretty good gear.

2/22/2011 3:26:34 PM

http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/info/pennyarcade/

2/22/2011 3:51:53 PM

That demo was awesome.

2/22/2011 8:44:41 PM

The melee combat is more satisfying.

Cant stand not being able to look at loot in the demo!

2/22/2011 9:21:01 PM

Loved the demo. Played through as the warrior to begin with, and might actually play it through again as the other classes just to see the difference. Combat is much more visceral and satisfying, but it still hinges on strategy almost as much as button mashing which I like. Tactics are still there and having a team set up well to support Hawke will be vital.

2/23/2011 9:01:44 AM

I wiped for the first time playing as a mage against the 2nd ogre.

You pretty much have to have fireball when fighting that encounter, so that while your warriors take on the ogre you can deal with the darkspawn that swarm them.

I was trying to go as a healer/control mage and I just wasn't doing anything to help. Heal has such a long cooldown it might as well be worthless, and mind blast is good for self defesne but not helpful at all against groups already attacking your warriors.

When the other trees are unlocked in the full game I'm sure other builds will be usable, but for the demo elemental seems most useful.

2/23/2011 12:46:49 PM

Great demo. I'm going to stay up all weekend playing the game when it releases.

2/23/2011 8:48:30 PM

has everyone played the demo? http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/

2 more days to get it up over 1,000,000 to get the extra free dlc

2/26/2011 12:34:45 PM

They said they wanted rogue archers to be more satisfying.

Well, they made them the best class in the demo. You can tear ass through everything.

The demo makes the mage seem the weakest. This might just be a low level thing that levels out at higher levels. But you feel very impotent in this demo.

All physical classes feel very satisfying. But for the mage, there doesn't seem to be anything behind the fireball. No physical weight. Just a bunch of flames.

I am not sure what class I will start out as.

2/27/2011 6:41:08 PM

The demo was too much fun. I managed to kill the second ogre with just Bethany after it ripped apart my party the first time through, but it took a LOT of running around and patience to whittle that monstrosity down. Agreed that the fireball feels a bit underpowered, but as mentioned before, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it's just a level issue.

Really looking forward to getting my pre-order.

2/28/2011 9:30:56 AM

^^I ripped through it pretty damn fast with mage+aoes. The same or faster than my archer run. Although once you end up with 2 archers both with 2 aoes its pretty silly.

I like the idea of having your shit be really powerful but if you dont use it right you get pwned.

I agree on the magic effects though. pretty weak

[Edited on February 28, 2011 at 10:06 AM. Reason : .]

2/28/2011 10:06:26 AM

The Mage's MO has always been to get stronger as a game goes on. Wouldn't be shocked to see the same thing here.

I'm taking a long weekend after the 8th to play this. Epic pizza, Monster, and DA2 times will be had...I might not leave the house

2/28/2011 10:07:13 AM

Preload is available now on Steam.

3/6/2011 12:54:55 PM

9 1/2 hours in and I finally started running into some dragons. Took long enough.

3/6/2011 2:05:32 PM

Here's the full talent trees and specialization trees for anyone interested

Base talent trees -> http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6090138
Specialization trees -> http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6359674

Start planning your builds now

3/6/2011 2:05:48 PM

gamestop is doing a midnight release for this right?

3/6/2011 4:30:43 PM

^^^how are you playing?

3/6/2011 10:18:28 PM

I play through life as a level 18 pickpocket.

3/7/2011 12:51:34 AM

He steals every game

There's no way I'd play this on xbox though.

3/7/2011 1:13:04 AM

Yep. Every game.

Every single one ever made.

Because that's possible.

And I stole this one for the PS3, btw. Since you know everything.

3/7/2011 1:49:54 AM

Well it doesn't really matter, I wouldn't play DA on either console. It's just a far inferior control scheme and not as good of an experience as playing on PC.

3/7/2011 2:20:12 AM

Going by the demo at least I like liked the gameplay better on my Xbox rather than my PC. Granted, I was never as big of a fan of the "Baldur's Gate"-esque gameplay as a lot of others.

Either way I can't wait until tomorrow!

3/7/2011 8:53:50 AM

I going to start playing this shit before I go to work, lol.

3/8/2011 7:21:39 AM

Just delivered! See ya in a few weeks outside world.

3/8/2011 11:05:10 AM

Delivered...I know what I'll be doing for most of the rest of the week(s)

3/8/2011 3:55:56 PM

hmmm, does it seem really easy and really dumbed down to everyone?

Level 6, already killed a Mature Dragon

and what the fuck is up with the lack of inventory slots for your "companions" and having so many items reserved just for your character?? I have tons of shit I cant use because no one but my main guy can equip boots, helmet, gauntlets etc.

3/8/2011 10:41:10 PM

All the difficulty levels are a bit easier than Origins except nightmare, which is a bit harder.

3/8/2011 11:00:50 PM

^^i noticed that as well. They all just have one slot for armor which is like some dumb robe or something. I don't quite understand it...

3/8/2011 11:09:57 PM

yeah, its really frustrating... I have about 5 pairs of badass boots already, and only I can wear them...

I really think they dumbed it down a LOT to appeal to a wider audience (in their minds)

3/8/2011 11:15:51 PM

Looks like you get unique/quest-related items for those five armor slots each companion has. I think their armor upgrades as they level-up to make up for their general uncustomizableness. I'm not a fan.

However, the combat and story is fucking awesome. I've rolled an archer/assassin for the first playthrough.

Also, I like how Flemeth is still alive, even though I killed her in Origins.

3/8/2011 11:23:54 PM

In the first part she's alive because you haven't killed her at that point.

Maybe you see her again, I haven't gotten a chance to play it yet.

3/8/2011 11:26:42 PM

Their timeline must be screwy, because after that first year you spend in Kirkwall, people mention that the Blight is over and Alistair (or whoever) is king.

3/8/2011 11:29:23 PM

i'm taking this back tomorrow and getting a different game. Its not even on the same damn level as DA:O. They made it for the hack and slasher 13 year olds that have no freaking clue what they're doing in a real RPG. Pisses me off too, because DA:O was one of the only games i really enjoyed over the past few years. Oh well, guess i'll get the new baseball game or something

3/8/2011 11:31:11 PM

Origins was supposed to take place over about a year.

3/8/2011 11:37:17 PM

Yeah, I also had a hard time sticking with this game. Ended up quitting on the 2nd day I played it and I don't think I'm gonna go back and finish it. I was only playing it to see if the story ended up having the twist ending that I was expecting, but then I realized I could just wait a day or two and read some spoilers on the internet and get the same results without playing through this RPG-lite. I don't know why bioware is obsessed with dumbing down their sequels lately, but they're gonna end up losing their core audience if they don't cut it out.

3/9/2011 12:36:20 AM

Uh-oh, Bioware better watch out or El Nachó is going to stop stealing their games.

3/9/2011 12:56:14 AM

I'm loving this game so far.

I've played through to the Flemeth scene a few times on different difficulty levels before moving forward, and its definitely a lot more like DA:O once you hit hard and Nightmare, so for all those screaming "too easy, button mash rawr rawr" up the difficulty and you'll be back to pausing battles and issuing orders in no time.

Personally, I don't mind the "button mashing" so much. I was pretty much done with the DA:O gameplay after my second time through that game. Its great for nostalgia's sake (Baldur's Gate), but it just doesn't feel right anymore with the direction games have taken. I'm sure Bioware will take shit tons of crap from the hardcore fans, but for me this feel much more like a game series I'd stick with than another carbon copy of DA:O would.

3/9/2011 9:21:25 AM

So far I'm not overly impressed with this game. It's not bad, but it's not the same caliber RPG as Origins. I'll give it a shot, but I don't think it has much replay value, which Origins had a lot of...

[Edited on March 9, 2011 at 1:39 PM. Reason : -]

3/9/2011 1:39:16 PM

^^thats just it though. They took a game that all of the hardcore RPG gamers LOVED, a true RPG and have turned it into a linear piece of crap. 75% of the fun is finding new loot and decking your characters out with it.....and they took that out. Add on to that the crazy fast gameplay and hacking and slashing and no cooldown time on spells and stuff....just ridiculous

3/9/2011 7:18:44 PM

There's plenty of cooldowns on spells and abilities, I've noticed no real difference on that other than giving you the option of "button mash" basic attacking (which you can turn off). You can collect just as much loot for your companions as in Origins but each companion has several "attachments" to their armor that you can scour the world for. Sure some of the toons have pre-scripted weapons (I'm looking at you Varric) but so far plenty seem to not. Personally I don't mind a companion toon looking the same throughout the game...sometimes the stupid shit we equipped them with took away from the story since you're so busy looking at that stupid-ass armor you picked up.

I haven't really noticed any more "linear-ness" to this game compared to DA:O. There's still plenty of areas to explore inside and outside of Kirkwall.

However...to each their own. I'm enjoying myself, that's what matters.

[Edited on March 10, 2011 at 8:34 AM. Reason : ]

3/10/2011 8:32:40 AM

I came upon a copy of this game, should i install it or ignore the fact that i have it now?

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

3/10/2011 11:00:09 AM

install that shit, duh

3/10/2011 11:17:38 AM

word so its worth at least playing?

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

3/10/2011 12:51:03 PM

its worth playing. I jumped on it maybe a little too hard at first. i'm enjoying the game on its own, not comparing it to da:o

3/10/2011 4:56:23 PM