Dragon Age 2

[keg in kc]

Trailer premiered at gamescom a few minutes ago, seems like a good time for its own thread.



(is that Flemeth's voice?)

[Mr. Laz]

on mine it unchecks Full Screen mode in the settings a lot.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by Laz

on mine it unchecks Full Screen mode in the settings a lot.

I have that happen if an application takes control/priority, like if I get an IM, it kicks me back to the desktop adn puts the game in windowed mode. Very annoying, almost caused me to wipe once.

[keg in kc]

I just got to the Ancient Rock Wraith. Good god.

I think I can do it, but the first run was doomed when Anders died about a quarter into the fight. I got him down to about 1/3 of his total health, but ran out of health potions.

I may have to backtrack to the beginning of the level and buy a bunch of potions from Bodahn. I only had about 10 health potions (all varieties) by that fight.

Er, well, at least as many as I can afford. Which at this point isn't many.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I just got to the Ancient Rock Wraith. Good god.

I think I can do it, but the first run was doomed when Anders died about a quarter into the fight. I got him down to about 1/3 of his total health, but ran out of health potions.

I may have to backtrack to the beginning of the level and buy a bunch of potions from Bodahn. I only had about 10 health potions (all varieties) by that fight.

Er, well, at least as many as I can afford. Which at this point isn't many.

That thing was horrible at normal level. One of the toughest fights in the game - perhaps the toughest, because the others come when you've got better stats and more abilities.

[keg in kc]

Did you fight the High Dragon? I saw a demo of it, and have read that it's pretty rough. I'm not looking forward to that one.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Did you fight the High Dragon? I saw a demo of it, and have read that it's pretty rough. I'm not looking forward to that one.

It was tough, but not as bad as the rock thing. Again, because my characters were tougher.

The main thing that might trip you up, playing on your level, will come at the end. I will give you a hint if you ask for it, otherwise not.

[keg in kc]

Nah, I'd rather struggle though it blind. Thanks for offering, though, and double thanks for not just spilling it straight out.

Plus this way you can laugh at me evilly the night that I log on and bitch about how I can't beat the fight.

[Saulbadguy]

Yeah, the wraith might just be impossible on nightmare without the right party set up. Can you even go back and change party members?

Hell even then it might be impossible. I do pretty well until he goes in to his second phase and starts rolling around.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Yeah, the wraith might just be impossible on nightmare without the right party set up. Can you even go back and change party members?

Hell even then it might be impossible. I do pretty well until he goes in to his second phase and starts rolling around.

I only have about an hour a day right now, so I tried it again when I got home from work last night at the ass crack of dawn. I almost finished him. I was cruising along great, but then the second time the Profanes spawned, half of them immediately targeted Anders, and he was dead in about 3 seconds. I was able to keep the fight going for a long, long time after that, got him all the down all the way to the 'e' in "Ancient Rock Wraith" before I finally ran out of potions.

If I can keep Anders alive, I can finish it...

I think I have the strategy worked out:

Spoiler!

First, make sure Aveline has Shield Defense running - I didn't initially but it makes a huge difference. Send her right in, get her Taunting and Hitting to get aggro (I have an axe with increase aggro generation). This will have him focused on her in later stages, once he starts rolling - it's what I did for the last 20 minutes of the fight last night before I finally died and it worked perfectly.

Second, make sure nobody is out in the open. Keep them attacking, but close to cover, so if he does randomly aggro they can escape.

Third, when he goes into the center to do his massive explosion attack, the second he's done, I'm going to cast Tempest on him. It won't damage him, but it should damage all the Profanes, which will hopefully put them on me (if they live, which they may not) and not Anders.

Always have the Mabari out when the timer is up.

Lightning doesn't work on him, and neither do Force Mage attacks, so the only damage I can do on him is with my staff (Spirit damage I think) and with Golem Fist. I hit him with Varric's heaviest attacks as often as I can. Anders is also attacking with his staff.

Aveline, once she has aggro, I use to train him around columns, to try and line of sight his attacks.

I was so freaking close last night. Anders makes it through that second profane part and I think I finish.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Yeah, the wraith might just be impossible on nightmare without the right party set up. Can you even go back and change party members?

I think the only way to change your party is to go alllll the way back to Kirkwall and start over before you leave the Deep Roads.

I have the party I'd want, fortunately. I just don't have enough healing potions when Anders dies.

[Saulbadguy]

I'm thinking **** it. Even if I did change party members, and had more potions, its just a needlessly long fight. It doesn't require a whole lot of strategy (IMO), just run around and avoid being hit.

[keg in kc]

It's the first obvious MMO boss fight influence I've seen. I think there is strategy, having to utilize the environment, knowing what he does in each phase of the attack. Certainly more than anything the first game ever required, other than the Archdemon fight. Every fight in that game was exactly the same - tank with your tank, DPS with your DPS, heal with your healer (or if potions if you don't have one). You never had to worry about the fights changing in any way. With the Ancient Rock Wraith, you have to know that he teleports and hits a long wide frontal aoe , that he rolls and hits a long wide frontal aoe and a ranged small area aoe in his second phase, that he rolls, explodes and does the other two attacks in his third, combined with a gravity wave that can pull everything in. You need to know that Profanes spawn in between phases and that they hit really hard but have low health. It's certainly not a tank and spank fight.

So the strategy is there, he just has ridiculously high hitpoints on Nightmare. It's a wearing fight, to say the least. But I would say by traditional RPG standards, that may be more strategy than I've seen in a while, and I've played all kinds of them. Mass Effect 2 is the only other game that I can think of that really required this kind of micromanagement to get it done. I certainly never had to think about this much in Oblivion or Fallout 3 or The Witcher (or DA:O). This reminds me a lot more of playing WoW or LotRO on a single player scale.

[keg in kc]

I did it!

Finally.

Man, I'm so glad I stayed up now. Although God I'm about half dead between working 60 hours the last 5 days and trying to do this fight the last three nights after work. Err, mornings. Whatever.


Time to loot and level up!

[keg in kc]

Sweet, that netted me nearly an entire level, plus about 23 gold and a wicked new staff.

[Mr. Laz]

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck ... just got my ass handed to me by a bunch of Templars, even with that rogue Mage freaking out and helping some.