What did you do today in DA? [Spoilers]

Well, of course I tried the alcoven trick, but even if I put the companions on hold, they end up barbecued somehow. But it's not that bad, I normally manage Cory on my own. It took a while, but at the end, he bites the dust

@domi

Wow, you come along fast. Dusk is really a great character

Oh, I see.

It`s not that hard to keep your party alive against Corypheus. I figured it out in my first try and worked.

I`m a bit obsessed with the idea of keeping everyone alive in my party during battles in every RPG I`ve played since my first one which was Icewind Dale. I received a copy from a group of friends a long time ago - they were experienced AD&D players. I knew absolutely nothing about AD&D rules and RPG`s. I finished the game after some horribly gruesome battles. Each boss fight was a few hour long at least, and many fights 30 minutes or longer. I did everything imaginable wrong: creating only single-class characters with the worst states possible, selecting for them weapons for which they had no proficiencies. But I`ve learned how to keep my party alive.
Since then, if even one of the crew members is down, I`ll instantly reload ...
 
For Corypheus you need a bit of preparation. His worst attack is obviously his fire maelstrom. Everyone in my party has a rune of protection from fire on their armor, granting them a high level or protection. If I use Aveline, she is always developed with upgraded Elemental Aegis and Rally, meaning 60% extra protection from all magical attacks for a short time for the entire crew. If I have a healer in the party, even better. Otherwise, potions are usually enough.
The trick is to head for each statue, click on it, kill the demons asap and then place your party high on the alcove steps and wait for the fire maelstrom to pass. Exactly before it hits I use Rally on Aveline (if available), who already has Elemental Aegis active from the start. Then once the maelstrom passes the party rushes to the next statue. I need to move EACH member individually, so it`s a game of patience with a lot of pauses. The crew is getting a bit roasted, but never dangerously. Of course, you need to repeat all this over and over, AND a single mistake usually means that you just lost a companion. I succeeded in my very first attempt. I always have fire protection runes on every companion as default, since fire is the most common magic damage in DA2.

Since that first PT, I did it at least 7 or 8 times (I lost count). Sometimes I needed to reload, but rarely. You need a lot of micromanagement and liberally use of pauses. AND it`s a real chore. But it works.

Since male elves are the best, I made a new one and today I reached Skyhold with him. That part always gives me goosebumps. I love this game so much! Reaching Skyhold and the cutscenes and the people singing always make me feel like I'm part of an epic fantasy tale.

Now it's time to clean the mess that is Skyhold for now, and maybe go for a ride on the Bull later.

I made my first mage; elven. DAI chose not to cooperate after CC, meaning the char was stuck in the Fade. Usually, this means I do a repair, restart the game and redo the entire thing but after four failures for the warrior elven Inq, I decided that there had to be a solution. And there is.

I tried it out. It involved running past the short tower; the steps the Inq climbed up to the spirit Divine and head to the mountains. All I have to look out for are trees. Running to the mountains took a couple of minutes. I spotted the first tree and followed. I was soon at the top of the mountain ridge, Haven was far below on the right. On the left, a tree lined mountain slope going down to the town. I went down. Midway, black screen and voila! The prison cutscene kicked in.


P.S. Ok. Disoriented. I keep wanting to leap in and smack the demons down with sword but had to remind myself; stand still, you can only wave your staff and say abracadabra.      Gratified to find fresh dialogue. Tis a good thing I dragged my feet over making an elven mage Inq. 

So, accidentally at the end of Asunder, I picked the option to leave the beast live, I realized inmediately and I was going to reload, and then I found out that it gives you 25 gold  I'm usually not this greedy, but since I'm planning on buying as many cool things as I can once I get out of the deep roads, I tried to convince myself that maybe it was not that bad leaving it alive, just because it looks like a monster doesn't mean it's evil, everyone deserves a second chance, etc. But, meh, I couldn't do it , I ended up having to re-played quite a few things and lost the gold , damned conscience  

Also, accidentally too, I put Zevran on an awful helmet, I don't know the name in english, though doesn't make much of a difference I guess, I mean, is there one for rogues or mages that doesn't look bad? This definitely did, and he looked really ridiculous, but he wears with confidence, and you got to respect that. So he's keeping it. For a while the bonus in stamina regeneration, I think it is, it's welcome and one would think that having suffered as I have with combat I would be more open to have my companions wear things that I don't like just to make it easier, but I'm not He'll have to take it off eventually, you can't take him seriously when he says we're ridiculously awesome otherwise
Thanks! I'm on ps3 though, so nothing but playing by the rules

Hmmm...you hardened Alistair?  Also, did you speak to both Alistair and Anora and get them to agree to marriage?

Did the knight's tomb quest. My dalish is working out whether to give info to Dalish or stay silent about what she found.

Followed that up by doing 'what pride has wrought. There were a few moments where my i found my dalish's apparent cluelessness very annoying.
Morrigan wasn't very happy when Jaheira took the dunk in the well of sorrows herself.

Afterwards saved it just as i was working out exactly how big a fight & disapproval with Sera over what occurred.

Are you playing on PC? There's a mod that tries to correct that.

Hopefully your Dalish PC isn't in a relationship with Sera.

themikefest I tried and tried to get Alistair to marry Anora, and failed. I did not harden Alistair, so I think it was a doomed enterprise to start with... But in the Inquisition, they were happily married, so I guess I've finally got what I wanted!

Dusk Fell waltzed into the Gull and Lantern with Dorian. The cutscene did not trigger. Uninstalled mods impacting Dorian, repaired the game.

Dusk fell waltzed into the Gull and Lantern, take two.

I expected a vaudeville Avelinne-Donnic style, with Dusk playing a part of a woman in his life that would make noble Pavus to give Dorian a cart-blanch to do whatever he likes with his personal life, as long as he leaves “that terrible Qunari woman”.

Instead, it was more like:

Figure 1. A Tervinter and a Qunari. Tense.


I spent the rest of the play-through enjoying Dorian's well-written and well-acted dialogues. Dorian offers an interesting mix of lore and shrewdly observed “real life stuff”. His lashing out against empty snobbism, clutching to the glorious past, meritless superiority, the pressure not to marry beneath you, without the actual love, knowledge and understanding of that safe-same glorious past; and getting out to breathe, I recognize all that. That stuff is real.

Dusk got a Qunari specific dialogue with him, too bad she did not have a choices of telling if it was herself who left Qun, her parents or she does not know/remember. Because their societies are traditional enemies, they are natural friends.

Alas, female VA’s delivery was monotonous, in contrast with Dorian’s VA. Wonder if male VA does a better job.

Dorian swore his undying loyalty. Dusk reciprocated with intent to go kill three Tervinter Venatoris right there and then. Also, would not hurt to stop by some of the 374 sites on the Warden’s Memorial Trail with Blackwall.

Dusk said hi to Solas leaving the Skyhold, and Solas asked her to help his captured spirit-friend, bringing her back to the world of High Fantasy.

Spirit-friend needs 8 Power to get into the Exalted Plains. So does the trip to find Hawke again. And, I got a quest for Inquisitor Specialization to unlock, so that’s high priority fetch quest that needs Internet Guide on how to find all that stuff to get her to Tempest.

Hence, Dusk went back to Hinterlands, and killed one (1) Tervinter Ventatori.

Handed in a quest, she apparently did not hand in (Watchtowers).

Power is seven (7). To be continued….

I suppose I will sweep Hinterlands for not burdensome Power Points & some Dorian/Blackwall’s sites, any signs of Things I Need for Tempest, then will unlock Exalted Plains and see if I can sneak through it to rescue Solas’ bosom buddy. Otherwise, more Power mongering is in order.

Sounds interesting!  Do that on top of shaking down the lyrium smuggler in Orzammar and the cowardly mage in the Tower!