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1. Digital Bamboo
   Member

   Having finished Mass Effect last night and absolutely loving it, I decided to fire up my new copy of Dragon Age: Origins today, hoping for some medieval Mass Effect-like action...and was rather disappointed.

   Visuals are poor, dialogue is not as good...but by far the biggest let down is the combat system. I spent 4 hours playing it today and I hardly feel any closer to understanding what is supposed to make the combat fun and engaging.

   I realize it's not a action RPG aim-and-shoot kind of game, but it doesn't have any strategic satisfaction either. I've tried focusing on using just my main character, with the others controlled by AI, but that got very repetitive, and the AI is unreliable. I've also tried--without much success--to micro-manage each member of the party, but with hordes of enemies coming at you in real time that doesn't exactly work either.

   Does combat get any better? Does it just have a steep learning curve if you've never played this sort of game before? Anyone have any tips to make it more enjoyable? Much appreciated.

   Posted 4 months ago #

2. Phoenixblight
   Member

   Just going to go on a limb and say you are playing the console version aren't you?

   DA:O is far better on the PC you have far more control over your team and character on the PC than the console. I had this game on the 360 and then I got it on the PC because it was dirt cheap and it was just world apart.

   DAO on the console just feels very archaic.

   If it is on the PC then no the combat doesn't change but there are ways of making things easier you can customize the AI to do what you want based on a priority list. Its a tactical RPG much like Baldur's gate and Neverwinter Nights.

   Posted 4 months ago #

3. Clupula
   Member

   I loved the combat in the first one, really. It felt like a vastly improved version of the combat in Final Fantasy XII. It was DA2, where I was crushingly disappointed by the battle system.

   Posted 4 months ago #

4. friendlydave
   Member

   I had the same thought as you when I played DA:O, I'm not sure if it got better or I just got more adjusted to it but a few hours in I was fully engaged in the story and ended up loving it till the end.

   Posted 4 months ago #

5. Hcw87
   Member

   It's a harsh start, feels clunky and gritty, but when you're done you'll end up loving it as much as Mass Effect. I've played it both on PC and Xbox.

   I suggest getting immersed in the lore and conversations, and the combat won't take all the focus.

   Posted 4 months ago #

6. DSB
   Member

   The console version is supposed to be terrible.

   On the PC I think it's great. It even has the same quirks and shortcuts as the older RPGs.

   Posted 4 months ago #

7. livewired500
   Member

   4 hours and you are barely beginning. Wait until the story and history starts to flesh out. Combat will become more tactical as time goes on. You will be 15 hours in, at least, before things really start to get going.

   I played through the PS3 originally and have playthrough going on PC. Great game.

   Posted 4 months ago #

8. Noodlemanny
   Member

   I actually got this on the xbox and then ended up loving it more than the original mass effect. I felt more of a connection to the characters in DA:O than I think I've ever had for any media characters across any platform. Probably because I spent like 60 hours in total on my second play through, doing literally every tiny little quest I could find. Elf rogue, I always go for stealthy.
   Made it even worse when the second one came out but oh well I still kinda enjoyed DA:2.

   Posted 4 months ago #

9. Digital Bamboo
   Member

   Playing the PS3 version, forgot to mention that.

   It does indeed feel like it was developed for PC, and harshly ported over to PS3. I doubt my laptop is capable of running it, so I'll have to make do with what I've got.

   The game is not what I expected, but I can see it has some merits, even if the combat hasn't grown on me yet. I'm not a big fan of PC RPG's, or at least, I haven't played many PC RPG's that I liked, (except for KOTOR, which I loved, another reason I got DA:O),

   Funny someone should say DA:O's combat feels vastly improved over FFXII's, because at this point I feel just the opposite. I loved FFXII, and the similarities in the combat system are one of the things that give me hope that DA:O will get better.

   I've tried customizing the AI, and that did improve their behaviour significantly, but there are only 3 slots--I imagine that number increases over time?

   Thanks for the input. I'll keep slogging through for now, and hope combat gets smoother and more satisfying soon.

   Posted 4 months ago #

10. Motoki
    Member

    I can't even imagine playing DA:O with a controller. It most definitely was not designed for one. Dragon Age II is much more consolized, and far inferior if you ask me, but then again I come from a background of playing computer RPGs and enjoy the classics.

    Dragon Age Origins was essentially trying to be an updated Baldur's Gate. I don't know what Dragon Age II was trying to be. Maybe a sort of western Final Fantasy, in which case I think they failed personally.

    Posted 4 months ago #

11. Phoenixblight
    Member

    @motoki

    I am not sure where you get the idea DA2 was "consolized" we had the same amount of control we had in the original. If you are talking about having to wait for game to roll a magic die in the background to do an attack vs instant gratification I wouldn't consider that "consolizing" I hated how DAO waited for attacks to happen. When I press a button I should get feedback just then. This isn't chess or FF from the 90's.

    Posted 4 months ago #

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