I finished Dragon Age 2.
I'm going to attempt to be coherent and talk about my game in a logical order.
Marian Hawke
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
That's my Hawke. I like the default name, so I kept it. She's a rogue. She's sarcastic but kind-hearted. I almost always took the snarky conversation options, she tries to joke her way out of everything but she isn't a bad person. And she does care. She just shows her caring in snarky ways. I specced her duelist/shadow but I hardly used those skills at all. Dual-wield all the way (Twin Fangs = best skill ever) with a lot of the sabotage skills because those are useful.
Companions:
Anders:
Good thing he's first alphabetically, since I romanced him! Really didn't intend to, I wasn't sure who I'd go for but oh I got so drawn in. Yes, he's different from Awakening!Anders but it was so perfectly done in my mind. He's a apostate, she's been protecting apostates her entire life (Her father, Bethany) it makes sense she would be drawn to him. And I was really impressed with the romance, I'll talk about that later though. Full friend bar, here.
Aveline
OMG! I love her SO much! Absolute best friend Hawke could ever have! She disapproved of Hawke's snark sometimes, but they were such a great pair. I loved everything about her. EVERYTHING.
Bethany:
As I played rogue, I had Bethany and not Carver. I didn't use her much when I had her, which I regret, but while she and Hawke didn't always get along, they lvoed each other and Hawke would protect her to the ends of the earth.
Fenris:
Meh. He annoyed me so much. Everything he said was just so grating. I get that he doesn't like me for being a mage sympathizer, but I didn't like his storyline at all. Wasn't full rival, but definitely wasn't a fan.
Isabela
I didn't hate her? She left me at the end of act 2, and since I'm a dual-wield rogue as well I didn't exactly take her many places. But I really liked he banter and eh attitude, I wasn't as annoyed as I expected to be by her lack of pants. I'll try and keep her next time, get to know her a little more.
Merrill:
Well, didn't expect a blood mage? Everything about eh chocies made me want to smack her. She was adorable, and I /liked/ her... but her act 3 personal quest just... AGGRAVATED. Like, I just couldn't get behind her motivation. Hawke helped her to a point but kept trying to get the keeper to step in.
Varric:
BEST FOR LAST! Oh where to start? Varric, you amazing dwarf, you! Hands down adorable. Everything he said was amazing, everything he did was amazing, I AM COMPETLELY FINE WITH YOU TELLING MY TALE!
Story:
Breakdown, here's my choices:
-Sided with the smugglers in Kirkwall
-Did not take Bethany to the deep roads
-Killed the rock wraith
-100% on the mages side
-Romanced Anders
-Tried to keep peace with the Qunari, which cost Isabela
-Helped Anders
-Let Anders live
-Sided with the mages in endgame
Anything important left out? I'm absolutely FLABBERGASTED that my first playthrough turned out so well, story wise. I /loved/ everything that was going on, I was SO ENGROSSED by the time I was into act 2. Act 1 was a little rough, but I knew exactly where it was leading (Deep Roads. Woo. D: oh well). Act 2 was AWESOME. The passage of time, the deepening of companion relations, everything just starting to come together... the Murder plotline was FUCKING CREEPY and I cried like a baby when Hawke's mom died. Like full on bawling, it was really bad. I was just so attached to her and her family and the story and... I knew something bad was coming in that creepy creepy dungeon or torture, but... Oh God, it was so sad. And then the URGENCY of the Qunari assault? Running across the city to get there? Fuck, it was all SO WELL PACED and I was SO TENSE and SO ENGROSSED... Perfectly done.
Act 3 was even better, with all the tensions mounting... I did Anders' quest first in Act 3 so I spent the entire time SO NERVOUS about what he was doing. And Act 3, the act of the cameos! I SAW KING ALISTAIR! AND HE TALKED ABOUT HIS WIFE! AND HIS WIFE IS TOTALLY MY WARDEN! I don't care how lame it is or how derpified his face got, THAT WAS A VERY HAPPY CUTSCENE FOR ME. And TEAGAN was there! Nice touch! Leliana being in Sebastian's DLC was a complete and utter shock, too. She looked gorgeous! (Unlike Zevran who looked awful, LOL). I didn't get Nathaniel even though he lived through my Awakening game (BOO) so I haven't done that.
But that ENDGAME, HOLY SHIT. ANDERS! I can't even! !!! I was SO INVESTED in everything that was going on! Meredith and Orsino were both FANTASTIC and I really liked them both! Obviously, I have only done the mage-support ending, but... WOW. I was SO PISSED OFF when Orsino proved everyone right about mages and blood magic. (And mentioning Quentin's research? So he was the "O" that wrote to him? shudder.) and the entire final battle with Meredith? BEAUTIFUL. I loved the colours, in the square with the statues and the bronze and the red and the gold and just... OH MY GOD THE STATUES WERE ATTACKING ME! And of COURSE Meredith had the idol, I can't believe I didn't think of that! And Cullen! STANDING UP FOR MAGES! (Cullen got hotter in this game, I swear)
And then! LELIANA! OH MY GOD. I almost wish I hadn't seen her in the DLC and that was the only time she appeared... but I was NOT expecting her at all. I nearly screamed when she showed up at the end with Cassandra and OH MY GOD. This was SO INTENSE. You didn't just save the world this time... you CHANGED it! All the circles in Thedas have fallen? SHIT JUST GOT REAL, YO!
...I want Dragon Age 3 now so badly.
BUT.
BUT.
THE MOST FLABBERGASTING PART? Hawke got a mostly happy ending! Ran off with Anders to protect mages and have apostate babies and fight for Justice and just... I AM SO BEYOND OKAY WITH THIS. I'm so used to my first playthrough sucking so hard, and this is just.. EXACTLY the right ending for my Marian Hawke!
*flail*
(Hawke/Anders OTP forever. I was saying yesterday to Gem when I was preparing for ehartbreak that it was going to hurt SO MUCH WORSE because they had years together... god I'm so glad it worked out.)
Gameplay:
Don't laugh at me, this is a HUGE achievement for me. I PLAYED THE ENTIRE GAME ON NORMAL (NOT CASUAL!) AND DIDN'T HAVE TO LOWER IT FOR ANYTHING. I nearly did when I was on my third try with the rock wraith, but I beat it. (That was the hardest fight in the game for me, actually. Well, that and fighting some Templars on Anders' first loyalty because I wasn't thinking and had Anders/Merrill/Sebastian... so I was the only non-ranged and that sucked. BUT I DID IT.) I even did the High Dragon the first time! it was hard and long (ha!) but I did it!
A couple little gameplay notes: I still think the UI is ugly. Every cave was the same map, every warehouse was the same map... yeah. Still, the city of Kirkwall itself was SO ALIVE and I loved every minute I was there.
The format really worked for me. It told an EPIC story and the companions had LIVES... it wasn't just a group banded together, these were people with developing loyalties and relationships... I liked little touches like Varric being at Anders' clinic when I visited, etc. It just felt so awesome.
Conclusion:
Exceeded EVERY expectation I had. I was wary, THIS WAS AMAZING. SUCH A GOOD RUN!
I'm going to attempt to be coherent and talk about my game in a logical order.
Marian Hawke
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
That's my Hawke. I like the default name, so I kept it. She's a rogue. She's sarcastic but kind-hearted. I almost always took the snarky conversation options, she tries to joke her way out of everything but she isn't a bad person. And she does care. She just shows her caring in snarky ways. I specced her duelist/shadow but I hardly used those skills at all. Dual-wield all the way (Twin Fangs = best skill ever) with a lot of the sabotage skills because those are useful.
Companions:
Anders:
Good thing he's first alphabetically, since I romanced him! Really didn't intend to, I wasn't sure who I'd go for but oh I got so drawn in. Yes, he's different from Awakening!Anders but it was so perfectly done in my mind. He's a apostate, she's been protecting apostates her entire life (Her father, Bethany) it makes sense she would be drawn to him. And I was really impressed with the romance, I'll talk about that later though. Full friend bar, here.
Aveline
OMG! I love her SO much! Absolute best friend Hawke could ever have! She disapproved of Hawke's snark sometimes, but they were such a great pair. I loved everything about her. EVERYTHING.
Bethany:
As I played rogue, I had Bethany and not Carver. I didn't use her much when I had her, which I regret, but while she and Hawke didn't always get along, they lvoed each other and Hawke would protect her to the ends of the earth.
Fenris:
Meh. He annoyed me so much. Everything he said was just so grating. I get that he doesn't like me for being a mage sympathizer, but I didn't like his storyline at all. Wasn't full rival, but definitely wasn't a fan.
Isabela
I didn't hate her? She left me at the end of act 2, and since I'm a dual-wield rogue as well I didn't exactly take her many places. But I really liked he banter and eh attitude, I wasn't as annoyed as I expected to be by her lack of pants. I'll try and keep her next time, get to know her a little more.
Merrill:
Well, didn't expect a blood mage? Everything about eh chocies made me want to smack her. She was adorable, and I /liked/ her... but her act 3 personal quest just... AGGRAVATED. Like, I just couldn't get behind her motivation. Hawke helped her to a point but kept trying to get the keeper to step in.
Varric:
BEST FOR LAST! Oh where to start? Varric, you amazing dwarf, you! Hands down adorable. Everything he said was amazing, everything he did was amazing, I AM COMPETLELY FINE WITH YOU TELLING MY TALE!
Story:
Breakdown, here's my choices:
-Sided with the smugglers in Kirkwall
-Did not take Bethany to the deep roads
-Killed the rock wraith
-100% on the mages side
-Romanced Anders
-Tried to keep peace with the Qunari, which cost Isabela
-Helped Anders
-Let Anders live
-Sided with the mages in endgame
Anything important left out? I'm absolutely FLABBERGASTED that my first playthrough turned out so well, story wise. I /loved/ everything that was going on, I was SO ENGROSSED by the time I was into act 2. Act 1 was a little rough, but I knew exactly where it was leading (Deep Roads. Woo. D: oh well). Act 2 was AWESOME. The passage of time, the deepening of companion relations, everything just starting to come together... the Murder plotline was FUCKING CREEPY and I cried like a baby when Hawke's mom died. Like full on bawling, it was really bad. I was just so attached to her and her family and the story and... I knew something bad was coming in that creepy creepy dungeon or torture, but... Oh God, it was so sad. And then the URGENCY of the Qunari assault? Running across the city to get there? Fuck, it was all SO WELL PACED and I was SO TENSE and SO ENGROSSED... Perfectly done.
Act 3 was even better, with all the tensions mounting... I did Anders' quest first in Act 3 so I spent the entire time SO NERVOUS about what he was doing. And Act 3, the act of the cameos! I SAW KING ALISTAIR! AND HE TALKED ABOUT HIS WIFE! AND HIS WIFE IS TOTALLY MY WARDEN! I don't care how lame it is or how derpified his face got, THAT WAS A VERY HAPPY CUTSCENE FOR ME. And TEAGAN was there! Nice touch! Leliana being in Sebastian's DLC was a complete and utter shock, too. She looked gorgeous! (Unlike Zevran who looked awful, LOL). I didn't get Nathaniel even though he lived through my Awakening game (BOO) so I haven't done that.
But that ENDGAME, HOLY SHIT. ANDERS! I can't even! !!! I was SO INVESTED in everything that was going on! Meredith and Orsino were both FANTASTIC and I really liked them both! Obviously, I have only done the mage-support ending, but... WOW. I was SO PISSED OFF when Orsino proved everyone right about mages and blood magic. (And mentioning Quentin's research? So he was the "O" that wrote to him? shudder.) and the entire final battle with Meredith? BEAUTIFUL. I loved the colours, in the square with the statues and the bronze and the red and the gold and just... OH MY GOD THE STATUES WERE ATTACKING ME! And of COURSE Meredith had the idol, I can't believe I didn't think of that! And Cullen! STANDING UP FOR MAGES! (Cullen got hotter in this game, I swear)
And then! LELIANA! OH MY GOD. I almost wish I hadn't seen her in the DLC and that was the only time she appeared... but I was NOT expecting her at all. I nearly screamed when she showed up at the end with Cassandra and OH MY GOD. This was SO INTENSE. You didn't just save the world this time... you CHANGED it! All the circles in Thedas have fallen? SHIT JUST GOT REAL, YO!
...I want Dragon Age 3 now so badly.
BUT.
BUT.
THE MOST FLABBERGASTING PART? Hawke got a mostly happy ending! Ran off with Anders to protect mages and have apostate babies and fight for Justice and just... I AM SO BEYOND OKAY WITH THIS. I'm so used to my first playthrough sucking so hard, and this is just.. EXACTLY the right ending for my Marian Hawke!
*flail*
(Hawke/Anders OTP forever. I was saying yesterday to Gem when I was preparing for ehartbreak that it was going to hurt SO MUCH WORSE because they had years together... god I'm so glad it worked out.)
Gameplay:
Don't laugh at me, this is a HUGE achievement for me. I PLAYED THE ENTIRE GAME ON NORMAL (NOT CASUAL!) AND DIDN'T HAVE TO LOWER IT FOR ANYTHING. I nearly did when I was on my third try with the rock wraith, but I beat it. (That was the hardest fight in the game for me, actually. Well, that and fighting some Templars on Anders' first loyalty because I wasn't thinking and had Anders/Merrill/Sebastian... so I was the only non-ranged and that sucked. BUT I DID IT.) I even did the High Dragon the first time! it was hard and long (ha!) but I did it!
A couple little gameplay notes: I still think the UI is ugly. Every cave was the same map, every warehouse was the same map... yeah. Still, the city of Kirkwall itself was SO ALIVE and I loved every minute I was there.
The format really worked for me. It told an EPIC story and the companions had LIVES... it wasn't just a group banded together, these were people with developing loyalties and relationships... I liked little touches like Varric being at Anders' clinic when I visited, etc. It just felt so awesome.
Conclusion:
Exceeded EVERY expectation I had. I was wary, THIS WAS AMAZING. SUCH A GOOD RUN!