spoiler Favourite Encounters and quests!

[Sync182]

I didn't like some of the side quests, they seemed a bit pointless eg. get 10 potions and give to X. I don't even accept those, they can get their own.

 

You're cheating yourself if you don't complete all of those "Interested Parties" side-quests rom the Gnawed Noble bartender - there is actually a culmination to those. ;)

 

Otherwise...

 

I like:

* the Origins

* Ostagar/Korcari Wilds

* the Broken Circle

* Orzammar

* side quests

 

I'm neutral about:

* the Dalish Elves/Werewolves

* the Deep Roads

* Landsmeet

* endgame (final battle(s))

 

I'm no fan of:

* the Fade (I skip it ;) )

[Jiggalopuff]

I am surprised at the number of people who don't like the fade. I personally thought that the fade was Bioware storytelling at it's finest, as it presented a plot device that helped develop all of the characters. Best of all,I got to be a shapeshifter, which was also awesome. On top of all that, you get a bunch of bonuses to your stats.

 

I didn't like some of the side quests, they seemed a bit pointless eg. get 10 potions and give to X. I don't even accept those, they can get their own.

They are called side-quests for a reason. Mainly, they serve to make the game feel less linear, and to give you a break from random killing. Stil, Bioware is more about Epic story and less about sidequesting. Oblivion and Fallout 3 have much more interesting sidequests(at the expense of a much weaker main storyline).

[Sync182]

I am surprised at the number of people who don't like the fade. I personally thought that the fade was Bioware storytelling at it's finest, as it presented a plot device that helped develop all of the characters. Best of all,I got to be a shapeshifter, which was also awesome. On top of all that, you get a bunch of bonuses to your stats.

 

Skip the Fade: http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=816

 

You can have your cake and eat it too! :thumbsup:

[Jiggalopuff]

Ok, but you are still missing out on being a shapeshifter, which I thought was tons of fun. But, I suppose some people hate mazes.

[Sync182]

You don't miss out on it - you still get the shapeshifting for the battle with the Sloth at the end of the Fade quest.

 

And it's not that we hate mazes - it's just that, after 4 or 5 times through with little to no RP value, it gets dull. :whistling:

[naomis8329]

I enjoyed the game and have no real dislikes overall, however I would have liked the option to:

 

1. Recruit Jowan - apparently this option is in the coding and conversation entries, but was never taken up by BioWare (naughty that they were, seems it was another thing shelved in order to release the game as quickly as they could)

 

2. Save Lothering - I'm disappointed that this option was not included either at the time of playing the town or at a later date after recruiting a few more people. You get to save everyone else and to a great extent the places they live but not Lothering.

 

3. The option to kill Anora - god that woman totally ticks me off lol. I've never known someone to be so simpering yet supposedly hard hearted and a great ruler.

 

I suppose if I really think about it the lack of world space is a bummer compared to the likes of Oblivion and Morrowind where you get to wander round and do what you want and look at what you want. Again I suppose the time constraints put paid to this and its purely a question of "right you want to go there, click here".

 

DA2 is supposedly 5 times bigger (if not more) and the story line encompasses 10years+ instead of the 2years+ of DAO. This in itself should be interesting, however I would love the BioWare team to go back to DAO at some point and take a look at the things they "should have done" and fix it. I would definitely pay for it again to have the options of Jowan etc. Also having the romance options in Awakenings would be a bonus too as DAO spoilt us there.

[ElliotKane]

You don't miss out on it - you still get the shapeshifting for the battle with the Sloth at the end of the Fade quest.

 

And it's not that we hate mazes - it's just that, after 4 or 5 times through with little to no RP value, it gets dull. :whistling:

 

That's exactly how it was for me, too. First few times it's fun & interesting to be thrown back on your own resources like that, but once you've figured out the best pattern to do it in, it becomes more of a chore. 'Go there, do this, gain that, go there next'. Plus it's as long on its own as the rest of the tower but with nothing to interact with and no way to replenish supplies.

 

First time through I loved it, for the sheer variation. I was genuinely scared for my character, which didn't happen many other places. But the law of diminishing returns applies to the Fade probably more than anywhere else in the game.

[Sync182]

2. Save Lothering - I'm disappointed that this option was not included either at the time of playing the town or at a later date after recruiting a few more people. You get to save everyone else and to a great extent the places they live but not Lothering.

 

I'm good with not being able to save Lothering.

 

It's a Plot Device - this is what can happen if you don't stop the Blight. :thumbsup:

[Alehazar]

I for one love the Fade within the Sloth Demon's Domain. I simply keep on trying different strategies. Making use of my class skills, trying to chain the different shapes together so you can quickly decimate your adversaries before they can get the drop on you.

 

I found Nature of the Beast rather tedious, hacking your way through werewolves, darkspawn.....

All I wanted was to tell Zathrian to take a hike, once I found him inside the ruins. Simply walk out, let him do battle with the werewolves, let his clan die, whatever. It was rather silly that I need my companions to fight ourselves into the sanctum of the Lady of the Forest, then Zathrian comes in and decides to take us all on when I side with the beasts. He could've gone to the ruins earlier on and fought them on his own -at least he wouldn't have had to deal with my companions and me as well.

 

While I enjoyed the skirmish with the highwayman near Lothering, the Lothering side quests are just fodder to crank up your xp. Other than that it becomes more tedious with every playthrough.

 

Ostagar used to be vibrant and intense, but that novelty has worn on. Too bad because it still has one hell of a battle sequence.

Korcari Wilds are a....... hm, maybe it is time for me to take a little break from DAO. Let it rest and simmer down for a while. I know that once the fever goes up, I enjoy most aspects of the game from head to toe.

 

Very satisfying? As a human noble or a city elf taking down Rendon Howe.

[billyro]

The Fade was bearable on my Mac because screen effects were disabled. The main "pain" of the Fade is the screen yuckiness I think.

 

Anyway, my favourite quests were the Landsmeet, Dwarven Provings, Awakening, and Soldier's Peak.

My favourite encounters were the Zevran attack, the "clueless trap", the Zevran betrayal and good ol' Tegrin (just kidding, I hate that guy).