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Post by Daos on Dec 29, 2020 10:55:24 GMT -8
Eh, whether or not she's "actually" Wynne, she still rocks. Agreed, 100%! Nah, that was too cynical for Coriander. The Leiliana hardening dialogue was easier to pick--she talks about slipping back into her assassin-y ways, and you can basically say "Evil doesn't worry about being good" or "If that's who you are, you don't have to fight it," which are both fairly good messages. I went for the one that doesn't harden her, though. I didn't harden either of them my first playthrough, either. I didn't even know about it, in fact. That's my intention. I must say, the Male Wardens really got the short end of the stick when it comes to relationships. They miss out on snarky British zombie hunter with a pretty strong claim to the throne of Fereldan, and instead got a mean magic lady with a gratuitously suggestive outfit. Yeah, the way it's set up, regardless of who you play, you get three romance options. If you're a man, your options are Morrigan, Zevran and Leliana. If you're a woman, your options are Alistair, Zevran and Leliana. So Morrigan or Alistair are locked out, depending on which gender you play as. Later games do things differently. In the second game, all of the romance options are bi, so you get four options regardless of whether you are male or female (except the DLC companion, who only likes women). In the third game, they go the opposite route, where every romance option has their own unique tastes. Some like the opposite gender, some only like the same, some like both; and a couple are even limited by race, too.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 30, 2020 6:22:14 GMT -8
The next little bout of playing was a lot more combat-oriented than most--lots of punching, very little talking, except with Treebeard the Great Oak. I peacefully retrieved his acorn from the wacky weirdo Wynne claims is a powerful mage, and returned it to him in exchange for safe passage through the woods. We encountered Swiftrunner again, and yowza the game is being coy about whatever the Zanthien did. But we drove them off and delved deeper into the ruins.
Oh, and I fought my first dragon! People complain about how few Dragons Dragon Age has, but it's the name of the time period the game is set. That's like if people complained about Year of the Monkey not having any monkeys. (Year of the Monkey, in this scenario, is an imaginary Chinese fighting game)
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 30, 2020 7:27:12 GMT -8
Oh, I also played a bit more and finished the Dalish Elf quest! It turns out, Zathrian wasn't playing dumb; he really thought the werewolves were mindless monsters. Buuuuut...he withheld the fact that he was responsible for creating them, hundreds of years ago, through blood magic. After a brief fight, I was able to convince him to give up his life to end the curse, which I'm pretty sure is the best outcome. I know that the other options are "Murder the Werewolves" and "Murder the Elves," so the choice was pretty clear.
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Post by Daos on Dec 30, 2020 13:03:14 GMT -8
The next little bout of playing was a lot more combat-oriented than most--lots of punching, very little talking, except with Treebeard the Great Oak. I peacefully retrieved his acorn from the wacky weirdo Wynne claims is a powerful mage, and returned it to him in exchange for safe passage through the woods. We encountered Swiftrunner again, and yowza the game is being coy about whatever the Zanthien did. But we drove them off and delved deeper into the ruins. Oh, and I fought my first dragon! People complain about how few Dragons Dragon Age has, but it's the name of the time period the game is set. That's like if people complained about Year of the Monkey not having any monkeys. (Year of the Monkey, in this scenario, is an imaginary Chinese fighting game) I remember really enjoying the whole Great Oak quest. I especially liked how it spoke in rhyme. And yes, the reason the current age is called the Dragon Age is because toward the end of the previous age, a high dragon was spotted. Dragons were thought to have been hunted to extinction a few hundred years ago, but now they are returning. So it makes sense there wouldn't be a ton of them wandering about. In Inquisition, there are like a dozen high dragons you can encounter. So they are definitely making a comeback. Oh, I also played a bit more and finished the Dalish Elf quest! It turns out, Zathrian wasn't playing dumb; he really thought the werewolves were mindless monsters. Buuuuut...he withheld the fact that he was responsible for creating them, hundreds of years ago, through blood magic. After a brief fight, I was able to convince him to give up his life to end the curse, which I'm pretty sure is the best outcome. I know that the other options are "Murder the Werewolves" and "Murder the Elves," so the choice was pretty clear. Yeah, that was the path I wound up taking. It was also the first time I really felt a serious moral dilemma in the game. On the one hand, it was the right thing to do. But on the other hand...maaaan, I really wanted an army of werewolves. Just think about how cool that would be! Way cooler than elves!
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 30, 2020 14:41:22 GMT -8
I must say, Werewolves are pretty epic. But, you know, that's the moral thing to do. I'm saving the more pragmatic decisions for Inquisition.
After securing the assistance of the Dalish, I went to camp and chatted with the rest of the party: Zevran about how his life sucked, Leiliana about Coriander and her relationship (the 100 approval cutscene was tastefully skipped), and Wynne about Coriander and Leiliana's relationship, which she warned of the potential consequences of in a not-pushy way. I also started the Stone Prisoner DLC! [Warning: I'm probably less descriptive here than I should be, as I'm assuming you've done the DLC, which you probably have. Sorry]
...that puzzle. THAT PUZZLE. I HATE those sorts of puzzles. It's bad enough when you're making a picture and you can get a sense of what it's supposed to look like, but here you just have a ridiculous...fire bridge to work with. I strongly considered letting the child die, simply out of frustration with the puzzle! (and her incessant comments) However, I persevered, and the Demon was defeated without any unnecessary child-killing.
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Post by Daos on Dec 30, 2020 18:23:40 GMT -8
Probably best you skipped the sex scene. They were...pretty cringey in the first game. And yes, I know exactly which puzzle you are referring to. I remember it well. I hated it, too. In fact, in all subsequent playthroughs, I just pulled up a walkthrough for it, because I did not want to have to deal with it again after the first time. Still, annoying as it is, the final rewards for The Stone Prisoner are still worth it.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 31, 2020 8:17:31 GMT -8
Probably best you skipped the sex scene. They were...pretty cringey in the first game. Honestly, I find all such scenes cringey, regardless of CGI quality. Anyway, we acquired the correct code phrase and awakened Shale, who was actually immune to the Control Rod. He--it? They? ...ok, Shale's pronoun is now SHALE, in all caps. SHALE agreed to come with us, and I finally have a use for all those crystals that have been clogging up my inventory! Even more exciting, I leveled up, giving Coriander enough strength to wear KING CAELIN'S ARMOR. I must say: it rocks. And, because of matching set bonus, it barely gives any fatigue! Leiliana also had her Dexterity boosted to the point that she could use Marjoline's Bow. After a quick stop in Redcliffe to pick up a quest, and another quick stop by the party chest, we made our way to Denerim. There, I acquired (through the power of cheating) and selected the Berserker specialization. I also acquired (through the power of someone else cheating) the Duelist Specialization. I'll probably give that to Zevran, since he knows Isabel and all. Once I unlock Assassin, I'll probably use that for Leiliana's second specialization, since she used to be one and all.
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Post by Daos on Dec 31, 2020 9:55:00 GMT -8
The interesting thing about Shale, mechanically speaking, is how versatile they are. They have four 'stances' you can switch between. Pulverizing Blows is DPS, Stoneheart is for tanking, Rock Mastery is long ranged, and Stone Aura is support. And as you discovered, they can be equipped with crystals (small for weapons, large for armor) that are all elemental: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Nature or Spirit. So you can swap out their gear depending on your opponents, making Shale resistant to their attacks with the armor or boosting their damage with the weapons.
I believe I gave Zevran the Duelist specialization for his second one, as well. Makes sense, as he does dual-wield. For Leliana, though, I think I gave her Ranger, so she had an animal companion to protect her while she was singing or using her bow. Assassin centers around backstabbing, which can only be done with melee, so it's only a good fit for Leliana if you have her melee often.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 31, 2020 10:01:55 GMT -8
The interesting thing about Shale, mechanically speaking, is how versatile they are. They have four 'stances' you can switch between. Pulverizing Blows is DPS, Stoneheart is for tanking, Rock Mastery is long ranged, and Stone Aura is support. And as you discovered, they can be equipped with crystals (small for weapons, large for armor) that are all elemental: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Nature or Spirit. So you can swap out their gear depending on your opponents, making Shale resistant to their attacks with the armor or boosting their damage with the weapons. I believe I gave Zevran the Duelist specialization for his second one, as well. Makes sense, as he does dual-wield. For Leliana, though, I think I gave her Ranger, so she had an animal companion to protect her while she was singing or using her bow. Assassin centers around backstabbing, which can only be done with melee, so it's only a good fit for Leliana if you have her melee often. Shale is definitely the most interesting companion from a purely gameplay aspect. It's really interesting how all of SHALE's abilities are tied to the different stances. In that case, I'll take your advice and go for Ranger, although it's sadly less thematically appropriate. Honestly, I don't think Coriander will be using any of the special Berserker skills, since they're all based on using the Berserk Stance/Sustained ability, and even if you can use more than once stance at once, there's no way it can stand up to Momentum, which is complete lunacy. The +2 Strength was the real draw, I found.
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Post by Daos on Dec 31, 2020 15:05:52 GMT -8
Oh, yeah, it's pretty standard for players to take a specialization solely for the mechanical bonus, and never invest in the talents from it. I've done it myself on a few playthroughs.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 1, 2021 7:32:21 GMT -8
After that, I did a few of the Denerim sidequests while wandering about trying to find Brother Genitiri. I finally found his house, and acquired a general idea of his whereabouts from Weylon. Then, I went through a door he told me not to, killed him, and found a corpse. Then, it was off to Haven! There, I went through a door the shopkeeper told me not to, killed him, and found a corpse. (Wow, Deja Vu). Then, I killed the cult leader and met up with Genitiri. I was initially worried I lost out on some of the nuance of the quest, but the bulk of it was still to come.
Also, I rather like Shale. Morrigan is mean and a jerk, but Shale is comedically psychotic (mostly against birds), which is much more amusing and bearable. SHALE's also great in combat.
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Post by Daos on Jan 1, 2021 9:31:04 GMT -8
Yes, the Haven questline is pretty long and involved. Did Sten rebel? Also, I assume you didn't take Kolgrim's deal?
As for Shale, yes, I would label them Chaotic Neutral, compared to Morrigan who is more Neutral Evil. But to be fair to Shale, if I spent 25+ years frozen in place, aware of my surroundings but unable to move or speak, while pigeons perched on me, I would probably be pretty nutty by that point, too.
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Post by HorizonsDream on Jan 1, 2021 14:37:00 GMT -8
I remember like Shale quite a bit. As for Morrigan, you have to try really hard to build up that relationship before she becomes semi-nice (and even her nice is kind of mean).
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 1, 2021 14:47:30 GMT -8
Yes, the Haven questline is pretty long and involved. Did Sten rebel? Also, I assume you didn't take Kolgrim's deal? I wasn't aware Sten could rebel in this quest. Is that common? To be honest, I ended up annoying Kolgrim and killing him before he even explained what the deal entailed. The very fact that you're assuming I didn't take it probably means it ain't good. I've mostly just been fighting, punching, etc. I just reached the Grail Knight Guardian and his little gauntlet, after he psychologically evaluated all my companions.
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Post by Daos on Jan 1, 2021 15:10:06 GMT -8
I wasn't aware Sten could rebel in this quest. Is that common? Yes, if you have him in the party when you first arrive in Haven, he rebels. He sees all the stuff you've been doing--helping the Circle mages, fighting off the undead in Redcliffe, making peace between the elves and werewolves, etc., as a waste of time. You should be fighting he Blight. Why aren't you fighting the Blight? Depending on what level your relationship is with him, whether you finished his personal quest or not, and what level your coercion skill is, you can either talk him down (pointing out you aren't doing random stuff, but are trying to build allies to fight the Blight), or failing that, beat some sense into him after he attacks you. To be honest, I ended up annoying Kolgrim and killing him before he even explained what the deal entailed. The very fact that you're assuming I didn't take it probably means it ain't good. Ha, yeah, he's pretty easy to provoke, being a complete nutter. If you pick the right dialogue options, though, he will offer you an opportunity to pour dragon's blood into the Urn of Sacred Ashes once you find it. This will defile it, essentially destroying it. But in return, he'll teach you the Reaver specialization. (Also, if you go through with it and Wynne or Leliana are in your party (or both), they will turn on you and you will be forced to kill them. If Leliana is hardened and your coercion is high enough, you can talk her into standing down, but not Wynne; she is possessed by a spirit of Faith, after all. Even if you don't bring her along, she'll quit the party as soon as you return to camp over it.)
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