In Dragon Age 2, can I sell all items labeled "Junk" without having to fear I would need any of this later? (for quests/crafting/etc)
Vials of Darkspawn Blood for example were a quest item in Dragon Age: Origins, I think, and are labeled junk in DA2.
Yes: junk is just that. You can safely sell it all.
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There are rumors that the mistress of the Blooming Rose (in Hightown of Kirkwall) will provide a "special service" for regular customers. Is this a quest line? Am I missing out on story content or is it just flavor text from a loading screen?
I haven't bothered to spend time in there unless there's a mission forcing me in the door (my male Hawke is smitten with Isabella and my FemHawke thinks the whole place is stupid).
In addition to being a bar and an inn, the Blooming Rose happens to be a brothel: if you choose the correct dialog options when talking to the Mistress, you can choose amongst several of her... companions to spend some time with.
Furthermore, if you choose to get the "Royal Treatment",
one possible companion you'll be treated to is a male elf in drag.
Beyond that, you'll sometimes get an option to ask for something exotic or special:
This option is a switcheroo: for example, as a female Hawke, you can ask for something "for girls who have been bad." You'll be treated to a lecture by a Chantry priest.
Whatever you choose, it doesn't affect any quests: it's just there for flavor.
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Is it worth the extra cost and time it'll take to complete Dragon Age Origins? Is there that much back-story I'll miss out on in Dragon Age 2?
From what I've heard, there isn't much impact on Dragon Age 2 from DAO. The story takes place in a different part of the world, and there are only a few side characters that carry over at all, none of which are in your party. So from just the standpoint of enjoying DA2, I'd say no.
On the other hand, DAO is a great game, and DA2 has been getting pretty mediocre reviews, so one could make the argument that you should play DAO first just because it is a better game for less money. =)
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Does anyone have any tips or hints on how to beat the Ancient Rock Wraith in the Deep Roads? I've tried battling him a few times and even hiding from his super AoE attack, I still get ground down by the minions, and then he nukes 2 of my team.
I'm running
Hawke - Daggers Rogue
Varric - Archer Rogue
Merrill - Elemental
Anders - Elemental + Heal
I think that I really needed to take a tank, but I ideally don't want to have to restart the Deep Roads section.
Does anyone have any tips on how to beat this boss?
I also had issues with this battle using a party with no tank. A few things helped me finally beat it:
This is easily the hardest battle thus far into the game.
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In Dragon Age:Origins, whenever you found a codex page you would get XP. You knew this because the amount you earned would appear in the corner of the screen, much like it does when you disarm a trap or open a chest in DA2. My question is, even though you don't see any XP shown when you find a page, I have noticed characters level up after finding one, so does this mean I am getting XP?
I just tried this. Yes, you do get experience. I took note of my character's xp bar in the character screen and I received 50xp for getting a codex item.
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How exactly does opening locked chests work? I know you need a rogue, but my rogue hasn't been able to open all chests, so there seem to be some other requirements. I didn't see any skills related to lockpicking, so I assume it is attribute or level-based.
So, what does my rogue have to learn to be able to pick locks?
Your rogue's lockpick skill is dependent on your cunning attribute. The Lockpick skill in Dragon Age 2 improves with every 10 points you spend in cunning. In fact on your character record if you look at the attributes and highlight cunning it tells you this.
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Possible Duplicate:
Is it worth completing Dragon Age Origins before playing Dragon Age 2?
I have played about 3 hours of Dragon Age Origins before I decided that I didn't like it. I read some reviews of Dragon Age 2 and thought that I would give it a shot.
I'm well aware of the internet's preference for DAO to DA2, but my personal preference is for small scale, self contained stories about people and relationships over what is in my opinion boring shounen save the world quests.
Is there something I can do to get up to speed on the events of DA:O so that I feel connected to the world going into DA2. I'm looking for some kind of extensive summary / fanfiction kind of thing, or will DA2 provide everything that's needed?
Thanks.
Edit:
Err how is this a duplicate? THere are no links to any references to any fanfiction on the other question.
It has been a while since I last played DA2 but from what I remember there are only a few passing comments about what happened in the first game. You should be able to enjoy DA2 without playing DAO in my opinion.
And you can get a quick synopsis of the first game on wikipedia
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In Dragon Age 2, you can order drinks in the Hanged Man. I have ordered a few but didn't notice any difference. Also it doesn't seem to influence any quests or NPCs. Can you get drunk at least or does it just have no effect at all?
I found this forum thread regarding the topic and it seems there really is no effect to the game.
It's simply in there for atmosphere reasons and maybe as a hommage to Bioware's "Mass Effect", because the drinking animation seems to be the same for Shepard and Hawke.
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In Dragon Age 2, is there any way to keep your sister Bethany as a companion in the second and third act?
I took her with me into the Deep Roads and she died. If you leave at home or send her to the circle, will you be able to have her on the team later?
I would really like to keep her because I used her permanently as healer and supporter. Anders can replace her quite good, but to be honest: He is annoying and whiny. ;)
Short answer:
No
Long answer:
If you bring Anders with you, he will inform you of a Grey Warden party who can save her. You'll still lose her as a party member as she has to leave to undertake The Joining. Whether you do this or leave her at home, she will show up in the endgame and potentially fight with you. Regardless, you lose her as a party member. You'll have to get used to Anders, I'm afraid.
Regarding Carver:
He plays out almost exactly the same (doesn't join the Circle, obviously, he has his own twist). Basically, no matter who your sibling is, you lose them as a party member. This is why they don't have specialized talents.
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I'm playing as a rogue and have obtained, and am wearing, the entire "Last Descent" armour set, which as per the descriptions on each item has a bonus for complete item set.
This is great, but what is the bonus? Without knowing this I can't reach a solid decision on when to stop wearing the set and swap out better (but probably non-setted) armour...
From some testing (putting bits of armour back on and off) I have determined that the set bonus in this case is probably +20 health and +10 attack, but it would be useful to know if there is somewhere in-game where I can see the given bonus for any set of armour I've managed to collect.
I've seen the set bonus displayed in the abilities tab of the character screen, not exactly the place I would look for it but it was there.
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During the Deep Roads Expedition, the following event occurs:
Carver died, taking all of the equipment he had on him.
Do I have any chance for recovering any of it?
Unfortunately, you do not. You lose everything unless you made sure to unequip them before the event occurs. The Wikia confirms this:
Note: You will lose all equipment held by either party member, so be sure to take any equipment you'd like to keep from them before leaving.
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Does the Stone Spirit have any vulnerabilities? I have both Hawkes, Isabela and Varric in my party. I don't have any tanks with me. Does the Stone Spirit have any weaknesses (ice, fire, etc.)?
Could it be the "Ancient Rock Wraith" you are fighting?
I only bothered playing through on Casual so I just beat him to death with relative ease, but if you search for "Ancient Rock Wraith" in the following guide it shows weaknesses and some tips...
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps3/988967-dragon-age-ii/faqs/61965
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So far I have discovered only four: Varric, Bethany, Aveline and Merril. Are there any more?
There are 10: 6 mandatory, 2 optional, and 2 via DLC/Signature Edition.
These companions you get along the way of the main quest line:
Bethany and Carver: acquired at the start of the game
Aveline: acquired during the Prologue
Varric: acquired at the start of Act I
Anders: In Act I, after Tranquility quest
Merrill: In Act I, after Long Way Home quest
These companions require you doing something extra to secure them:
Isabela: Complete Fools Rush In quest
Fenris: Complete A Bitter Pill quest
You get these through DLC (or the Signature Edition, which includes some DLC):
Sebastian: Acquired through The Exiled Prince DLC
Mabari Warhound: Acquired through The Black Emporium DLC. Acts as a fifth party member like Ranger pets did in Dragon Age Origins, not a full-fledged companion.
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At some point in the third chapter of the game you encounter a high dragon.
It is in the quest "Mine Massacre" in the bone pits.
Most of the combat so far in Dragon Age II is pretty easy, but this one drags on for a long time, consuming enormous amounts of potions and still that damned dragon just won't die. It doesn't help that the dragon seems to be immune to most special effect, which prevents me from using any of the awesome cross-class combinations.
Does this high dragon have any vulnerabilities? What are some effective tactics to kill it?
As it's a fire dragon, it's extremely susceptible to cold: stock up on +cold damage items like Cold-Blooded or Mutiny, and try to get the Elemental Weapons spell.
But the fight is supposed to be a long one: it's got a huge amount of health. Health potions probably aren't going to cut it, and you should dedicate one of your party members to be the healer. Also make sure to stock up on fire resistance gear.
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I know that one's supposed to have all three varieties of members in a party, but the thing is: I am a mage but I also like to have Anders and Merill along. For the remaining slot, I usually prefer Fenris. So, thats three mages and one warrior. The battles were always satisfying with the above party but I just want to know if there would be any advantange if there's a rogue except for the fact that they can detect traps and unlock locks.
Don't underestimate the lockpick ability: there are a ton of chests that require lockpicking skill.
If you're familiar with Dragon Age: Origins, you probably remember that the rogue was by far the most powerful class to the point of excessiveness: a single, high-level rogue could outmatch 3 warriors or mages. Of course, a melee rogue companion (like Zevran) was next to useless because you couldn't position him for backstabbing unless you were directly controlling him.
Dragon Age II smoothed the curves, as it were, when it comes to rogues. They're not clearly overpowered, but they still have a lot of bang for very little buck. And it's easier to outsource melee roguing to Isabela since backstabbing in DA2 is auto-positioned.
So you can forgo the use of Isabela (the only melee rogue you can get), Varric, and Sebastian (the two archers you get), but you're probably making the game a little harder for yourself.
Balance aside, Dragon Age II made great strides in trying to encourage use of all your companions:
So feel free to mix it up every now and then.
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In the beginning of Dragon Age 2,
your brother dies in one of the first fights.
Is there any way to save him or is this a scripted event that can't be avoided?
According to the Dragon Age Wiki, it sounds like the character that dies is based on Hawke's class. This is probably to aid in giving the player a balanced party without too many redundant classes.
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As a mage, I would normally use Crushing Prison or Gravitic Sphere to disable a single strong melee enemy. But the Arishok seems to be largely unaffected by Crushing Prison, and he is able to use his charge attack to escape from Gravitic Sphere instantly even when he is at the center. Even kiting doesn't work very well because of the charge. Perhaps due to spell choice, it may be impossible for this mage to beat him, but how would some other Hawke do it?
There's a nice strategy guide at Dragon Age wiki, section Mages, including some ideas and observations on how to beat the arishok, which spells to use and how effective they are.
It's been some time, but as far as I remember I managed to beat him with a combination of immobilizing spells (Cone of Cold, Winter's Grasp, and I think Crushing Prison worked most of the time, too), (any) damage-dealing spells available when he was unable to move or too far from Hawke to attack, few Heal spells (only needed them once, maybe twice), few Lyrium potions (which you don't need if you watch your mana pool during the fight and choose spells carefully) and some running around -- it wasn't hard to dodge his charging attacks.
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For past BioWare games like Fallout, the Xbox 360 has enjoyed getting DLC some time before PlayStation 3. Is that true for Dragon Age II, or are all three platforms getting the DLC at the same time?
Speculating about future DLC releases is outside of my capabilities, but the only existing paid DLC available now, Exiled Prince is available now (and was available at launch) for all 3 systems (360, PS3 and PC) for the equivalent price of $7. Or if you got a copy of the Signature Edition of the game, it came with it.
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Dragon Age II: Legacy allows you to choose whomever you want for your party makeup, but there seems to be a few choices that provide more flavor than others.
For example, Varric has a ton of cutscene dialogue (at least early on) and one of the achievements/trophies for the DLC requires Bethany/Carver to be in your party when you complete all the quests.
On the other hand, Merrill doesn't seem to have any cutscene dialogue (again, at least early on), and just acts as a bit player, not even acknowledging a prior relationship.
Do any of the other companions play more of a role in the DLC? Or are the only two important characters per se Varric and Bethany/Carver?
Anders has a good bit of dialogue, and some cutscenes/answers to questions as well as a semi-large part near the end.
Isabela also has some dialogue with Varric, but not any cutscenes of her own.
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In Dragon Age 2, there is a glitch where if you unequip and re-equip a shield, then it permanently increases your character's armor by 34 each time. Is there a way to fix or avoid this glitch? (The glitch occurs even if you just replace one shield with another shield, so you can't avoid the glitch just by never unequipping a shield if you want to upgrade the shield.) Is there a patch or something to fix this problem? I am using the Xbox 360 version.
There is no fix at the moment. The only thing you can do is not equip any shields still you find the final upgrade. I didn't catch the glitch until the start of ACT 2. So even with my tanks default shield her armor rating is higher then it should be.
Hoping for a patch because this is a game breaker.
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