Dragon Age 2, still not riftFollow

Pretty white red-headed girls have it harder than anyone

They're also the only ones that stay dead.

I got there tonight. That was pretty damn appalling, for sure. *shudders*

Aveline was pretty much how I pictured Brienne from ASoIaF while I was reading the books.

Rapidly approaching the end. Thoughts:

-Act 2 was kinda better than Act 3. Yes, I get the build-up of tensions, but I though the Arishok was cooler than Meredith v. Orsino.
-But either way, ending a Blight and slaying an Old God in High Dragon form is totally more climatic.
-Anders if a freaking douche. I need to wonder if the Act changes dramatically if I didn't do this sidequests. Probably not, but still...
-As a mage I can't very well side with the Templars. But seriously, it seems like every mage or pro-magey person I help turns out to be a jerkwad. It's like, I saved you - oh, you'e helping blood mages. I spared you - oh, you are a blood mage. I side with the mages - oh, the toughest enemies are abominations after all.
-On second thought, probably doesn't help that I brought a blood mage Elf to my manor to sleep with me.
-I lost Fenris! I wonder if I could have kept him if we were friends
Spoiler-I got Carver back! While a nice touchy-feely plot point, he is SUCH an inferior off-tank/DPS compared to Fenris that it's pathetically sad.
-I got Fenris back! SpoilerBye Carver

Close to the end, but times for sleeps.

I mean, I've come out in support of him in my game - again, us apostate mages need to stick together. But being friends with mages in DA2 is like herding cats. Sure, I like cats. But getting them to do what you want is next to impossible. The more I support them, it seems like the worse they act. Meredith is pretty bad too, of course; the fact that she wanted to kill all the mages when she should have just made an example of Anders was proof of that. But besides that stance I tend to see more eye-to-eye with her IRL than with the mages.

I do think the writers did a good job making both sides flawed but understandable. I just don't find it as epic as DA:O And I would LOVE for my warden to make a cameo, although it likely won't happen. I've already seen a good portion of the DA:O and Awakening cast.

Have you actually finished the game yet?

Nope. I'm thinking I'm right near the end, but I'm not sure of course. SpoilerI had to choose which side to take after Anders made the Chantry a-splode. I sided with the mages... as the alternative would likely be me getting my apostate *** murdered as well, and I told Anders to man up and come with me. Fenris left briefly, saying he couldn't support my actions... he and Anders are the only ones I never maxed out their friendship or rivalry bars. I got Carver back on my team, but he's like a gimped Fenris; takes more damage and dishes out less. As I've mostly been running with Merrill, Varric, and Fenris, I was debating switching Carver out for Aveline... but then I got to the Gallows and convinced Fenris to come back. Yay!

Now I'm sitting in the Gallows with the mages, waiting for the Templar attack to start. I couldn't really figure out why all the mages didn't just strangle Meredith right away, rather than letting her slink away to gather reinforcements. Sometimes the arbitrary choices made in this game annoy me.

So, no idea how close I am to the end, but it seems like we're prepping for the "final battle."

I like Anders quite a bit too. He doesn't seem too whiny to me yet, but I just started Act 3 and haven't done anything yet.

I find it amusing that Varric keeps calling him blondie. It's just weird for another blond person to call someone else blondie. Especially when I've modded Anders and he's not blond anymore.

Finished the game, waiting to see if there's anything beyond the credits. Loved the second song at the credits page. Not positive, but was it the song of, ahem, love during DA:O?*

Edit: apparently not. But it does play when Marethari comes to the alienage to help Feynriel, in instrumental.

Spoiler-In the end, everyone went nuts. Orsino really pulled the blood magic out of nowhere. It's like... I managed to slaughter all the templars... sure, only a couple of mages lived, but they should have sent me out first to destroy everyone. Circle mages SUCK at combat. But there was NO reason to get his Harvester on. And how did a Harvester comes about anyway? I thought it was Tevinter mages + lyrium + dwarves that led to the original one.
- Oh, so Meredith was insane. Glad I didn't side with her... although hell, at least she had the excuse of being possessed by an evil idol. Orsino just went "Ooooo, bodies! Om nom nom!"
- The ending was terrible. TERRIBLE. DA:O and Awakening had a ton of talk about who and what happened depending on your choices. DA2 pretty much just ended.
- Leliana showing up at the end was a nice treat. I look forward to DA3...
- ... but I have no real desire to replay DA2, especially now that I know my actions do NOTHING to affect the ending. I don't even get a nice scrolling text like in Awaking to tell me who lives, who dies, and where they go. BS, yo.

Seriously disappointing ending. The last fight wasn't bad, but no real epilogue was very disappointing. Feels like my choices meant very little. Hmmmph.

Edit: PS: Here's the Bioware Anders thread

Edited, May 21st 2012 9:57pm by LockeColeMA

Edited, May 21st 2012 10:00pm by LockeColeMA

Yeah, now that I've finished the game I'm really disappointed. Part of me would love to replay the game to see the differences with a new class and a Lady Hawke... but knowing the ending will be IDENTICAL just shuts down any desire to do so. Now that I'm done, the game just falls so far short of the original that it's depressing.

... oh well, time to download and play Mass Effect II, as I hear that that game is amazing

Edit: I guess it just bugs me that your choices don't affect anything. Origins and Awakening had the scenes after talking about what happened to certain groups. You know: save the Dalish and they go on and are happy; side with Harrowmount and the dwarves become reclusive and close their doors. DA2 had SO much potential for these stories... but there's nothing. Some potential outcomes:
Spoiler- Do each of the companions' side quests, or not. Fenris, for example; don't do it and he runs away, avoiding capture. Or you do it and he sticks with you, or joins an anti-slavery freedom-fighting group or something.
-Bone Pit. Finish the quests and keep the mine? Watch it become successful. Don't keep the mine? Watch it become a memorial to those who died. Don't finish the quests? It remains cursed.
- The choices with the elf girl who becomes your servant
- Different choices with if you give Isabela to the Arishok, don't help her on her quest (or worse, don't go after her once you start it), whether you kill her pursuer or whether you allow her to get a ship.
- Outcomes with Feynriel, some of the other mages, etc.
- Different outcomes with the Dalish depending on what you choose with Merrill and how you respond after the final Sundermount quest.
- Stories of your sibling if they lived, died, or became a Grey Warden.
- Different endings if you side with the Templars or Mages. Really it would have been better if Orsino didn't give into blood magic and Meredith wasn't possessed.
- If the Chanty wasn't destroyed if you went against Anders. I know it happens anyway, but still...

I just feel like there was so much potential for closure or different endings, but instead the writers said "Eh, we wipe our hands clean. Let DA3 decide it... see you in 2014!

Edited, May 21st 2012 10:31pm by LockeColeMA

I don't think the ending was that bad. SpoilerDefinitely abrupt, and it being essentially a setup for DA3 was kinda BS. But I liked the general feel of it. Lack of a proper epilogue was disappointing, but it's not at all surprising, really. When they decided to make DA2, they had to retcon a ton due to DA:O's epilgoue options (and potential deaths). It essentially forced the canon of some players to break. This time around, that's less of a problem, because you only end up knowing who lived or died.

I think the reason I don't mind the ending is because I felt like the Chantry's destruction was the climax, not the fight with Meredith. That turns all of the Gallows into the ending--you're writing the epilogue as you proceed. I might as well note that I romanced Anders on my first play through. And I killed him. Honestly, that felt like the single most important choice in the game, not who to side with. In DA:O, that choice was (for my first play through) whether it was Alistair or I that would sacrifice ourselves, which is right at the very end. So it's no surprise it seemed less abrupt for me.

As for the Warden not appearing, don't count on seeing him/her again. Bioware confirmed that the Warden's story is over. Possible for them to make a cameo, but I seriously doubt they will go to that effort. Especially since they can't really voice them.



I have a love/hate relationship with him. I want to beat Awakening Anders to death with a stick, but I kinda like DA2 Anders. Not once we get to Act 3--that's when he gets too whiny for me. But until then, I can feel sorry for him and accept his faults.

Honestly, I feel like it's hard to hate any of the DA2 characters, solely for the fact that the writers do everything possible to make their lives as @#%^ing miserable as their imaginations will allow. By the end of the game you're wondering if there is any happiness in Kirkwall, anywhere.

[EDIT]

Also, I think it's fair to say that Anders actually had Spoilerto blow up the chantry. Maybe not that specifically, but Justice wouldn't allow him to not act. And he had become a spirit of vengeance at that point, so it's hard to blame Anders (insofar as we distinguish him from the spirit). The fact that he accepted Spoilerdeath as justice for the lives he took made it more poignant for me. He's definitely a tragic figure--his fate was pretty much sealed as soon as he fused with Justice.

Doesn't mean you have to like him, of course.

Edited, May 22nd 2012 12:54am by idiggory

I don't think so. SpoilerI think his fate was sealed the moment he chose to help Justice, who slowly took him over throughout the years. Of course, that was also his choice.