Dragon age 2 One Life Permadeath

After beating Dragon Age: Origins, I decided to continue my final playthrough, with my canon Hawke, Hernan.

Same Rules: one life. if I were dead, it would have been game over. Difficulty: hard.


Origins had a lot of tension, and in 6-7 occasions I risked game over. Left with only one party member standing, I saved myself with bombs and potions most of the time.

But Dragon Age 2... man, it was AWESOME. Combat was awesome. IMO even better than origins.

Limited resources (potions, bombs, etc.) makes every move count. It is much more tactical and requires a far better use of teammates' skills.
Dragon age 2 made me spit blood. Every resource had to be properly used. Every coin well spent. You never became uber-powered.
I have faced at least 30-40 fights to the death, in which the border between victory and defeat was in the balance until the end (especially in the DLC... some true miracles), in which I had to weigh every tactical choice. Every blow, every potions, every ability. I will remember fover the fight against the High Dragon, against Xenobeck and other horrors underground (or on Sundermount)... the first fight in the cathedral against the Templars, shoulder to shoulder with Anders and Fenris, Sebastian's DLC, the red lyrium infested house, a couple of fight in Corypheus prison  (whenI summoned Kel-Sarag I thought it was the end), and finally the arcane horror of Mark of the Assassin (perhaps the most difficult and dangerous clash ever).

Paradoxically the final mission (I had prepared myself with all the power-ups, ointments, potions, objects and runes possible) was very easy, even if I was very worried, not having mages with me.

Unforgettable.
One of the most satisfying experiences as a gamer... I want to share with you the highlights: D




Game Summary

Hernan Hawke: Ambitious, brave, selfish, but initially quite good and tolerant. He jokes often, loves his family and the adventurous life in Kirkwall. However, he progressively gets worse, he hardens. The death of his sister in the deep roads and finally of his mother, and the constant brutality in which he is involved, make him cynical and ruthless, even if never too bloodthirsty or cruel.
The only moments of serenity, the only affections, are those with his friends.
While despising/hating bloodmagic and being convinced of the necessity of circles, he also understands mages and their battle for freedom. However in the end he will side with the Templars out of pure convenience, thirsting for glory and political power, and because he was worried that, by siding with the mages, he might lose all his hard-earned wealth and honors.

Warrior, sword-and-shield. Single handedly saved the situation in Vimmark against a group of powerful darkspawn.








The main choices

ACT 1
Turned the Mages Over to the Templars
Killed Kelder
Returned Seamus
Killed Ginnis
Not Blackmail Ser Thrask or Blackmailed Ser Thrask
Idunna Killed
Sent Feynriel to the Circle
Keran Reinstated with the Templars
Gave Ketojan to the Qunari


ACT2
Gascard Killed
Varnell and Mother Petrice Killed
Spared Javaris or Killed Javaris
Feynriel Made Tranquil
Arishok Killed
in single combat (basalit-an); btw, the Arishok is the best villain of the trilogy so far, IMO. Amazing, if they had given me the choice, I probabily would have sided with him to conquer kirkwall

ACT 3
Not Encounter Nuncio (Zevran killed by the Warden)
Nathaniel Saved
Gamlen and Charade Helped
Killed Keran
Killed Bone Pit Dragon
Sided with the Templars




Relationship with companions and performance evaluation

Bethany: The little sister, Hawke adores her. He appreciates her purity, simplicity, courage. Present in virtually every Act 1 mission, she proves herself to be very useful and reliable.
She follows her brother into the deep roads, and finds death. An event that leaves Hawke devastated, with strong feelings of guilt, and makes him increasingly gloomy and cynical.

Varric: A true friend. And there is nothing more to add. A masterpiece of character.
Very present in Act 1, gradually becomes quite weak. Given the delicacy of the situation (permadeath) and the fact that almost no confrontation can be underestimated, he sees his presence in Act 2 and Act 3 very reduced.
Bartrand Killed, Red Lyrium Fragment Destroyed.

Fenris: another great and close friend of Hawke's. Great respect. But unlike the others (Varric and Isabela) with whom it's all about joke or share emotions, with Fenris the relationship is one of deep respect, almost philosophical. It is speaking with Fenris that make Hawke lean towards the Templars, that convince him of the necessity of circles, of the risks of a society where magicians are free, and the inevitable slippery slope (indirectly confirmed by Solas/Evanarius, btw).
He supports Hawke in almost all the main missions (the deep roads, mark of the assassin, the fight against the quanari). Very useful, even if in some cases a little fragile. Saved the situation in one of the first tough fights, inside the cathedral during the recruiting of anders, and in general he is effective against groups of medium level enemies, and to quickly eliminate enemy wizards and archers in a few devastating moves.
Fenris Alive and Well, killed his sister.

Merrill: recruited, but after her first quest, she is despised by Hawke. Her nonchalant use of bloodmagic is unacceptable. Her quest has not been completed (Hawke refuses to help her, so the Elvish clan survived). Ignored for most of the time, even her personality is unbearable, a naive pain in the ass.
Nevertheless, sometimes employed, especially in the third act and/or on particularly difficult boss fights (high dragon, Xenobeck etc.).
In the end, she decides to take sides against Hawke, and she is killed mercilessly during the final battle by Hawke (or Fenris)

Anders: extremely interesting character. Hawke almost always disagrees with him, even if he understands his reasons. Between Anders and Fenris, I am more convinced by Fenris' social-political theory.
Since Bethany is dead and Hawke is not a mage, Anders is inevitably present in almost every mission. Very useful, decisive, let's say that without Anders I would never have made it.
During the final mission, without him, I had to make the most careful use of potions, bombs, poisons, and was madness.
Obviously Hawke doesn't approve of his actions as a mad and possessed terrorist, and executed him on the spot.

Aveline boooooooring. I don't know what else to say, a stiff broom. Not a bad person, Hawke has a certain affection and empathy for her, but the less he sees her, the better.
She takes part in several missions in Act 1 but then she is practically abandoned in her barracks. She re-enters the game during the final mission, when Hawke (left without mages) is forced to rely on her physical prowess again.

Isabela: Great character, funny, Hawke appreciates her company, her jokes, being full of life and energy (and her appearance). Romanced.
Returned the Tome to the Arishok.
Participates in several important quests (including Legacy, the main quest final mission) and always behaves quite well. An important member of the partym, she distinguished herself positively.

Sebastian: a simpleton. Not very interesting, though very cool in terms of clothing and manner of doing. Also weak in battle. Without infamy and without praise, the least used of the companions.

Tallis: manipulative, useless, unbearable. Pity not to have been able to chose to deliver her to the Grand Duke Prosper in exchange for money and influence
Btw, I would not mind seeing her again in DA4, could be interesting



a magnificent journey.

Thanks bioware. Dragon age 2 is such an underrated game, if they had had a few more months to refinish it, extend the ending and eliminate recycled environments, it would have been the best game ever (imo)