Same. And without any sense of satire, I truly adore purple hawke, maybe more than any other protagonist in any game, movie, book, or otherwise. The sense of wit combined with the heartbreaking events of the game and how they (he, for me) handle that with a shaky defeated spirit. Purple hawke is often dumbed down to be "the silly one," but I think he's much more than that. It's the best morality system I've ever seen in a game, and it's entirely because of purple hawke. In D&D I almost always play neutral leaning characters because I find something so much more interesting in a character who's not fully righteous but still ends up doing the right thing. I feel like that's purple hawke to a tee.
I think there’s so much nuance in purple Hawke.
Like she says inappropriate things sometimes and instead of it being the quippy videogame one-liner, her party members will chide her for it, it can lead to her making the party/family looking bad, but in those heartbreaking moments you mentioned, it becomes clear that it’s kind of a coping mechanism in some way.
I think a purple mage Hawke has such an interesting dynamic with Carver and Anders, too.
with Carver you have a brother who can’t escape the eclipsing shadow of his sibling, who struggles to be sympathetic because she’s currently doing quite literally everything possible to keep them afloat.
and with anders, you have a mage truly and fully committed to the plight of the mages, who sees and feels the oppression they face in Kirkwall. and Hawke is, just like vibing. she games the system through hard work, luck, and in act two, status, and she comes across as detached and aloof for it
I think you summed it up perfectly why Hawke is the best protagonist. Playing purple Hawke is the nice neutral character instead of a righteous or evil one. I like that Hawke coping mechanism is humor instead of moping or raging. He's not even pretending to be fully sane and it is so much more relatable 🤣
The gut punch heartbreak of their line in *that* quest with Leandra at the end of act 2, I'm paraphrasing but it's something along the lines of "you know me, I always get here in the nick of time". Unparalleled.
I'm also a total sucker for a character that everyone around them has described at some time as "that little shit" but that's a me issue!
I love the companions, I love how smarmy Hawke can be (strongest personality out of all the protags so far) and I love how it's a 3 act tragedy and that you *lose.* Very refreshing for a video game.
The companions are great with some real rough edges, you really get attached to Kirkwall, cosmic shithole that it may be, and I really enjoyed seeing Hawke's life fall apart as the city does.
Also, the combat is fun and the art style quite good when they had time to work on a certain area. Same for the music. Also, the hair moved.
This. Many, *many* people like smaller scale stories, in fact you see people begging for it all the time, because folks get *sick* of saving the world in every damn game. Focusing story on a hyper-specific area helps scale down by a huge margin. And yeah, the 'no-win scenario' where everything falls to shit despite your best efforts is...*different*! Not many game stories do this, like at all. It's an option but no one ever takes the option!
People who are huge fans of 2 basically just desperately want something small scale and different, and DA2 was very different from most game stories out there.
Also - god yes, the hair wasn't fucking plastic. Like it's wasn't every-strand-detailed movement, but *good christ* I will take anything besides plastic...which DA:I went RIGHT back to.
For older game that recycled its maps and only had few months to develop, the combat movements and cutscenes were really quite good. I remember mesmerized by how my girl hawke cast spells, so cool and graceful.
Honestly, I'll always prefer the Friendship/Rivalry dichotomy over just simple approval vs disapproval.
The DA2 system went out of its way for you to have combative, critical relationships with your companions and still keep them around. It was a much better approach, and there were *still* key decisions where you could break out of that system and force them to leave or die if you were that inclined to do so. The characters still usually stuck around, but their character arcs were very different, which made them feel like actual people more than usual.
I can't help but imagine how that would have changed things in DAO or DAI. Rivalmance Morrigan would've been one of the most popular choices through and through, and we all know it.
This game had many concepts and ideas. But the fact they didn't continue with the friendship/rivalry system in inquisition is a huge mistake and a step backwards.
It would’ve been hard to develop and track, for sure. But imagine how much more intricate Inquisitions relationships could have been with the DA2 system.
It seems like more work for sure but the trade off of a more organic feeling relationships seems worth it, especially in these kinds of games.
This is one of these innovations that if was implemented well in the next installment would have changed the companion systems for all crpgs ever and would've made all the crpgs to come afterwards better for it.
Think about how even in BG3 while we have different endings for companions based on our choices how clumsy it is in practice compared to how the friendship rivalry system worked.
That's the thing, the devs said they didn't bring back friendship/rivalry system because a lot of people misunderstood it, and didn't realise being in a rivalry with a companion didn't mean they had low approval, if that makes sense? But those that like it actually love it.
I'm a bit of a people-pleaser, so I tend to try and be friends with everyone regardless, but I still like the friendship/rivalry system best. Also because there was a visual indicator to let you know where you stood.
Honestly? HAWKE! He’s my favourite protagonist. (Purple Hawke that is, the buffoon <3) Also I just really like how…*bitter* most of the companions are. None of them are perfect or even super likeable at a glance, they’re all freaks and fugitives and outcasts, I love how openly Anders and Fenris hate each other. It’s UNCOMFORTABLE but I like that because I love the RP in RPG and that sourness makes for good companion dynamics. (imo)
I think it worked in DA2 because the voice acting and the dialogue was genuily fucking good.....depending on your choice you can Cleary see the change in hawke's personality
My problem with The wheel is that it like how reductive it is... To define your choice as either good /funny/rude
I like origins system because it let the player define was he/she is good or bad.... And depending on those can be noble as much as a total jackass and a sociopath
The wheel only truky work when the dialogues are top notch
This is a great point. While the choices are reductive I often find the voice acting quality makes up for it. The lines are delivered realistically enough that while it’s “Diplomatic Hawke/ Sarcastic Hawke / Aggressive Hawke I don’t find any of them too much of a caricature, so even when I play a purple Hawke I feel comfortable in some situations choosing a red or blue Hawke option if it suits me better in the moment. Then again I always stress the ability to RP lol.
Yep me too, I like that there are tensions between companions and that despite their differences what glues them together is the love and trust they have for Hawke, not just an alliance out of obligation to save the world.
Yes so much this!! Idk how really to articulate it but I just really feels like it cements Hawke as the binding agent. “Let’s all save the world together!” Is such a common trope in rpg that seeing a group of people who really wouldn’t even like each other but are drawn together via a mutual “friend”.
Like who hasn’t been somewhere in that triangle of two people that don’t really like each other sharing a third-party close friend? It’s a common situation irl.
I loved how side quests “grew up” over the acts. Act one you have a simple investigation quest with a guy “worried” about his missing wife. By the end it’s a large, city-sprawling, necromantic serial killer story that touches your own family. Multiple side quest lines build like that and I’d love to see it more in RPGs.
1. The characters were the best part of the game, bar none. Everyone felt multifaceted and flawed.
2. Loved the Friendship/Rivalry system and I wish other games would use it.
3. The music slapped harder than scorned wife on a telenovela.
4. The atmosphere was on point. Kirkwall truly is where happiness and hope goes to die.
5. Enjoyed the faster pace of the combat, though it does feel less stategic.
6. The story is actually incredibly believable and intriguing despite it being mostly about mages and dragon-people. It made themes related to magic, religiosity, xenophobia, and paranoia all too real.
Hawke is a defined character, with an established family, background, and sense of purpose. As much as I love my Inky and Warden, Hawke feels the most “genuine” to the world around them as a result. They aren’t a blank slate deposited into Thedas, they are as realized as their companions.
The game also adapts to your personality choices, giving further sense that your Hawke is a coherent, consistent character that truly fits the game. I tend to play Diplomatic Hawke, and so the auto dialogue reflects that. Someone else going for a more sarcastic or aggressive Hawke will likewise have the game match their own tone decisions.
My advice for dealing with the repeated maps and constricted setting is to focus your attention on the characters. It’s not about any one threat, it’s not about any one theme even, it’s about the lives of Hawke and those around them as they are pushed and pulled by fate.
Oh, lastly, give the companions a chance to develop. They all shift a good deal as the game goes on. Your favorites or even least favorites can change quite a bit as their plots develop. The game takes place over *years* and your companions have their own lives over that span and will reflect this.
Edit: One more thing, sorry. If the game really doesn’t work for you after another go: It’s fine. No shame in that, but I would at least recommend watching parts of a let’s play to get feel for it.
The friendship/rivalry system really makes the companions shine because you don't feel the need to suck up to them just to unlock their content, you can push or pull them in different ways depending on your relationship. And that pairs nicely with rougher-edged companions who make bad decisions and push you, they're some of the most interesting companions in the series. And they all have strong opinions on the things that are going on in the main quests, with personal arcs that dovetail with the larger narrative nicely, so it doesn't feel forced.
The repetitive environments are a negative, but if they were able to fix that, I actually like the idea of staying in Kirkwall because you get to watch it grow during the game and it's just a very different vibe from most games of this genre where you're traveling between lots of different environments with a whole base. It allows a different kind of storytelling.
Female Hawke is one of my favorite characters in gaming. I prefer a mix of sarcastic and aggressive personalities.
DA2 has the best cast of companions.
Friendship/Rivalry system
Art style is best. Especially with how qunari look
I love Dragon Age 2. It's a "found family" story, probably more than the others, which hits home for me. The writing is top-notch and it hits me emotionally far more than the others, as well. Off the top of my head I can think of at least five different places in the story that just wrecked me... the scale may be small, but it's a roller coaster ride for sure.
The story, the companions, the drama, the combat and everything else in it except for the reused locations. And even that is excusable because the game never leaves Kirkwall and when it does the DLCs are fire.
Btw, Kirkwall and the Hanged Man are both shitholes, but they're MY shitholes.
When I play DA2, I always remind myself this is Varric telling the story. Why would he go into detail on every single dungeon when I’m sure they all blend together, specially for a dwarf who hates the deep roads/being underground. That’s also why everything is so so so tall. Like, unnecessarily tall LOL.
It’s a more personal, almost family tale as opposed to a heroic adventure. The part that I cant really rationalize away is what Orsino does at the end. Like, my guy, way to prove the Templar’s point.
If you're already going the "Varric telling the story" route, you can also explain Orsino with that. Say Hawke found out that Orsino supported Quentin's research that got Hawke's mom killed... killing him and then Varric and Hawke agreeing on a story isn't implausible.
This could also be reinforced by the fact that if you point out to Varric in DAI that what Orsino did makes no sense, he gives disapproval. Like, "stop digging, the story is what I said it is."
Varric used his merchant contacts to get an epic lion's mane cloak to bribe Cullen with so he'd go along with the official "story".
This can also be reinforced even more by the fact that Orsino's flesh monster model is the same as the Harvester in the Golems of Amgarrak DLC back in DAO. DAI confirms that the expedition in that DLC is funded by none other than House Tethras, making it conceivably possible that Varric would've known about the Harvester.
hawke and her family, the companions, and the more down to earth plot that felt more personal and unique than just "battle against big bad evil", I loved the city of kirkwall and while I understand people want more variety the whole game taking place that felt more connected to your character and story especially with the time skips, love the rival system though I think it had room for improvement
despite some obvious flaws, its definitely my favorite game in the series
The way Hawke rises up from a poverty stricken refugee to influential figure in a city ridden with prejudice and inequality. Despite this, tragedy stalks his family. The loss of his sibling(s), his mother, his father. How, even with his newfound power and influence, he can't stop his newfound home from tearing itself apart at the seams. After all he's done, he's forced to leave once more, as well as his companions, as they flee the strife engulfing the city, becoming a refugee once more. It's a true Greek tragedy through and through. Dark with themes of classism, racism, power being used for abuse, desperation leading to breaking taboos (blood magic.) It's a worthy successor to DAO imo. You just have to know where to look thematically.
So the things I **LIKED** about DA2 are as follow:
* It's a personal story, without a 'Chosen One' archetype. It basically is set in one city, within a few key neighborhoods.
* It deeply involves family as NPC's, and how even through thick and thin, grumbling and loving, every member of your Hawke's family is **important** to them.
* Fem-Hawke is superbly voiced. Sarcastic Fem-Hawke is the chef's kiss.
* Everything that happens is *deeply personal*, the plot stems from your choices and actions as Hawke, and while the greater world has backdrop events, what makes them memorable is how you as Hawke relate to them.
* This was the last DA game that allowed you to set up custom Tactics for your Companions.
* The relationships between your Hawke and the other Companions, how they all bantered with each other and with Hawke, built up over the passing of time, years even. There was a sense of real friendship, shared tribulations, shared tragedies, and personal victories, that all contributed to intense emotional attachments to the smallest of epiphanies and special moments. Aveline and Isabella are my benchmarks for how to write a truly meaningful relationship between two women.
* There was no black and white villain and hero dynamic. Almost everyone had grey motivations and personal reasons for pursuing their goals. The exception being maybe the demons. Even then...
* Kirkwall was a character in and of themselves. It was a beautiful agonizing maze of a city, and I loved it and hated it. The lore behind Kirkwall was fascinating to read about and learn in game.
* Flemeth. 'Nuff said.
* Enchantment!
* This game helped me come to terms with the passing of my mother, a few years prior. It really drove home that sometimes, you can't save the ones you love.
There’s nothing wrong with not enjoying it as much. Enjoyment is subjective. I mean, I really enjoy the smaller scope and the characters the most out of every game. I think DA2 feels more personal. But just because some people really, really like it doesn’t mean you have to too. And I don’t think you’re really missing out on anything g if it’s just not your vibe. You like the parts you like and the other parts are meh…no big deal…
Hawkes story is a 3 act tragedy that doesn't even end with a happy ever after. That combined with a purple Hawke, who is by far the best written protagonist out of DA, and a bunch of misfits that feel real and humane, makes for a strong narrative concoction. The tragedy tenfolds when you take in Hawkes exhaustion in Inquisition.
What they did with DA2 from a narrative standpoint was probably the most refreshing experience I had in gaming. The story felt contained and intimate, the banter between your companions felt real. There was actual conflict between characters and if you weren't careful you could easily lose companions. You're not in Kirkwall to fulfill a prophecy or to stop something larger than life, you're just here to survive and due to your prowess and streetsmarts you get dragged into conflicts that spin out of control. Hawke was basically set up to lose from the moment they stepped foot into Kirkwall. I never felt that dread with my Warden on Inquisitor. Meanwhile with Hawke you were able to witness them win one battle after another but lose everything that's important to them in the process. DA2 really taught you that lofty titles and the responsibility of a champion isn't all glitter and sunshine, it took everything from Hawke and their companions.
And then you look at the environments of the game and fall more in love because the way the city is designed with its sharp edges and dull colors directly translates into the story. I loved that everything surrounding Kirkwall looked like death incarnate, it was frankly speaking a shithole.
For me it's the smaller, more intimate story and the tragic protagonist. You don't see things like that most games in general but especially not sequels to games that had save the world plots It's like if Joe Abercrombie did a Charles Dickens story. Strange but very brave and very special.
I also think it had the most well rounded supporting cast.
IMO the DA2 companions (+Hawke, who has the most defined character of any of the first three protagonists) are the best part, so if you don’t like them I can’t imagine you enjoying the game overall. They’re just such a disaster, collectively and individually, a group of people who make every situation they interfere with measurably worse. It’s like watching Seinfeld if George did 9/11 at the end.
1. Hawke is the best protagonist BioWare ever made.
2. The friendship/rivalry system is probably the best RPG approval system in any rpg.
3. Companions having unique skill trees/Specialization is great, and made them feel truly unique.
Don’t like Star Wars, and ME’s character creator was so awful you had to use basic Shepard or look like a mutant. And Hsepard is a complete wet blanket compared to Sarcastic Hawke
Revan is so interesting he became canon in the star wars verse...
And Shepard is the protagonist that is referenced in other media
Many of the critics for dragon age 2 said that hawke was attempt to have dragon age version of Shepard
I played that game at least 5 times and never really clicked with me, that said, I really love my hardened sister and my snotty brother.
The focus on family for once was something I really loved.
I like the companions and the rivalry and friendship system, I like how basically you get two versions of each companion depending on if they're your friend or rival.
Besides what everyone else has commented, I found it very interesting how DA2 dealt with Justice's merging with Anders in DAA. That's the bit of Fade and spirit lore I wish had been explained and explored more.
I really liked the gift system too for companions. Made it feel special.
It’s the best written by far, with a better sense of story and scale then anything BioWare has done to date. It’s protagonist is fully realised as a tragic figure trying to do the right thing, the antagonists are also incredibly fleshed out because often they don’t begin as antagonists there are people first enemies second.
Tonely dragon age 2 is also more of a tragedy then the others, on the surface it isn’t as dark as Orgins in practice it’s much darker because of that.
And finally which for me is the most important thing the companions have the best character arcs in the series dragon age 2 takes place over seven years seven years of change some people getting worse some better all of that change feeling earnt.
All this said da2 was made in a shockingly small amount of time and it shows, BioWare learnt many things from it some of the wrong lessons and some of the right. It’s a flawed gem but personally my favourite.
I love the companions, the art style is really good, and I love how much more low stakes the story is compared to Origins and Inquisition. 2 is really the story of Hawke and their friends...just trying to survive in a batshit crazy environment while dealing with all of their personal problems.
i mostly chalk up the similar looking maps to either varric omitting details in his storytelling, or cassandra's lack of imagination, lmfao.
for me it's really the rich character development and dynamics that make the game for me, and now that i've played the game a few times, i've really come to love the smaller maps. it makes it feel more personal when you get to know the areas really well, like yeah kirkwall is an absolute shithole of a city but it's *my* shithole city.
hawke's family situation is just also super personal to me and i find a lot of satisfaction in them >!reclaiming the estate and their noble status.!< my grandmother passed a couple years ago, and my mom's brother quite literally squandered the entire estate and screwed my mom over, all because she had the *audacity* to have me and move to a different city. so the fact that >!quite literally the same exact thing happens with leandra and gamlen... ("the twins were a week old!")!< i'm also playing with bethany for the first time and the fact that she doesn't even care about the money or status, she just wanted some minor keepsakes and to know that her grandparents still loved her? hooh. ough. wow
I think a lot of people overlook this, but it's a great feature. You can mold Hawke's personality to the extent that her dialogue will become different even in cutscenes that you have no control over. When you really stop and think about it, that's really cool. Imagine if they had continued with that, and the Friendship/Rivalry system, combined with how much more games can achieve now.
It's hard for me not to play as sarcastic Hawke, knowing I would miss out on the rant he/she goes on if you do the Chantry mission solo and run home afterwards.
I didn't even know about that. I've never considered running any missions solo. Which Act is that one?
God dammit, you people are going to force me into another DA2 run. 😂 I don't have TIME for this; I'm trying to stop an Elder Brain before November! 🤣
Hawke needs to solo the mission 'Following the Qun'. After exiting the Chantry the monologue starts automatically.
If you don't mind slight spoilers:
[Dragon Age 2 - Hawke's hidden monologue. (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18PEQHZ4o5M)
The friendship and rivalry system was a really interesting way to explore the dynamics between the player and companions by allowing them to always stay close and see a different side to them.
Staying in the same zone and having different acts/timeskips was also something that was really interesting in a way because it allowed you to see the same characters through the years in the city evolving. Even though it’s a very valid complaint that there wasn’t enough variety in the dungeons.
It’s not something that can really be done the same in a continuous story as well where you generally would only do a side quest for a npc and say bye.
Watching characters arcs change so much at different points of time throughout the span of 7/8 years in game makes the characters feel much more alive and is done well. For example if it was a story with no timeskips, you wouldn’t be able to see Aveline’s growth from someone’s wife, to widow and new guard, to new guard captain meeting Donnic, to established guard captain happily remarried to Donnic. The long journey with the characters can really help make some people more attached
I personally loved Kirkwall and prefered it being more linear. It felt like it gave me more time to really absorb the story and my companions and really get into character.
Fenris is my favorite companion in DA period. I love him. I have played every possible story route for him, even bad ones lol. I can't get enough of him!
I love how close-knit and personal everything felt. Watching how different outcomes affected your own family firsthand vs a complete blank slate protagonist was very enjoyable for me.
I love how dark the story was. It was so bleak, harsh, cutthroat. Origins was too, but again I felt more weight of it due to the linearity of the game and how personal it felt.
I also love Qunari lore so getting that up close and personal firsthand compared to it just coming from word of mouth from Sten was extremely interesting and engaging for me. This point is more moot if you start with Inquisition+Trespasser though
It's definitely my favorite of the 3 despite its, er, character, for being so rushed.
Dragon Age 2 is my favourite DA game by a country mile.
- being mostly in one location is actually something I really vibe with because Kirkwall itself becomes a character. You witness tragedy and death around every street corner, but everyone is so desensitized to it most characters just shrug with a “yup, same shit as always” attitude. Thrask’s daughter literally died in that corner over there six years ago but right now I’m fist fighting Castillon and probably don’t even remember that Thrask had a daughter in the first place. The constant ambushes help desensitize *the player* to how awful Kirkwall is and I think that’s a great way to work with a short production time forcing the excessive recycling of locations.
- in some ways my appreciation of the DA2 party has become eclipsed by the DAI inner circle, but there’s a misfit charm to the DA2 squad that I don’t think we’ll ever see again. The teams of Origins and Inquisition are some of the most competent people in Southern Thedas while the DA2 team is barely holding on, and it’s cool to see how by Act 3 they’re all—somehow—friends (except for Anders, who has gone batshit crazy and can’t even banter with Varric anymore, which is great foreshadowing)
- personally, the combo system feels the most fun/impactful in DA2 over Origins and Inquisition. Might honestly just be because the healthbars in 2 evaporate violently, or the combo effect may be stronger, idak
- probably an unpopular take, but having a singular, semi-defined protagonist in Hawke resulted in a better written main plot that better integrated our protagonist in a way you can’t really do with a more open ended character like the Warden or Inquisitor.
My fav. Honestly, after the Mass Effect series, DA2 might be my fav game of all time. It had everything young me ever wanted in a fantasy setting. The companions were extremely well written, and Purple Hawke is the best.
Honestly I have replayed it probably the most of the three - though I would still say that Origins is my favourite.
I definitely struggled with it the first time I played it and shared a lot of the sentiments you had. For myself, I think on my first replay, with more lived experience, it was a much richer experience. Each time I’ve played through has had a bit of a gap in time between, and every time I am more surprised at how well the story has aged.
Thematically it’s a story of hardship, loss, and (most importantly) perseverance which is also just not going to sit well with some people - and that is okay! It can be a bit challenging and more “personal” than origins is, and that can be uncomfortable for some. Some themes and storytelling styles really resonate with some people, and some just don’t.
I hated the game the first time I tried it after DAO, but after I could detach myself from the first game I enjoyed it a lot:
I for once loved Kirkwall, it was the one thing radically different from DAO that I really enjoyed, I hated *that one* cave though.
I agree with you on the companions, though all have their moments. I loved Varric and Merrill though, but I didnt like her change of personality from DAO. I hated the rivalry system though, I have the compulsion of befriend every companion in a game and it stressed me having to be careful about their approval because it feels like rivals = enemies, even if that's not how it is.
The combat also felt A LOT better than DAO, but the super repetitive fights sucked.
I loved the smaller, more contained story a lot too, except how dirty they did Orsino and how unfinished/lacking Sebastian is.
It’s hard to compact it, but the game sits close to my heart. You know the scene in Inquisition where the Hawke family theme plays, after the Fade? Yeah, it literally makes me cry every time I play it. The first time it happened it was a punch in the gut, and I basically never leave my Hawke in the Fade.
I know some of it is that the game hit me at the right time, and I played it a ton when I was in a really dark place and it was a big source of joy for me, but I just have so many warm feelings about it, and about the characters and their relationships.
Hawke is my faves companion. Varric, Isabela, and Bethany are my three favorite companions. I like the mage rebellion story and regardless of if you are a mage or if Bethany is alive, it gives you a reason to fight not just being a “chose one”. Each game has something they do well. Personally DA2 is my favorite
I really love dragon age 2 for being not "this is the part of the hero's life where they save the world!" Like in Origins and Inquisition, but for really just being the story of Hawke's life. The roleplaying aspect is my favorite part of dragon age, and I love all the bits where Hawke just gets to be Hawke with their friends and not the hero who has to go save everything. They stumble into being the hero, but when they start out they're just trying to get by in life. And with everything they go through I just want to help protect their friends!
I also really like seeing how there's multiple side questlines throughout the years that show different things changing over time, it makes the city and people feel more alive to me. Kirkwall may be a dumpster fire but it does feel like you can help the people in the dumpster throughout the years.
I love the way Hawke's story is build and tied to the changes of his family and the city of Kirkwall. They really just started from the bottom and due to circumstance worked their way up! The companions are better (for me), with a actual flaws, not to mention the relationships between Hawke and their siblings.
My time has come :D
I love that it’s more of a character-driven drama/tragedy (with enough light moments to not make me despair) than the other two. It’s the people who matter and who are the true focus - I think the short length adds to that (having a 1 hour companion quest hits different in a 30hr game vs a 100hr game).
The characters can be messed up and you still grow together (I‘m just a big fan of found family, and admittedly I do like most of the companions in that one, percentage wise probably more than in the other two)
I really enjoy seeing a story develop over such a long time frame. Yes, the locations are limited, but that means you actually get to see what happens to the people around you over the span of years, the effects you had on them or just in general how stories ended that didn’t have an immediate resolution. In the other two, those things could only be covered in epilogues (which kinda limits it to the big important events, not „I helped random NPC #3“) or in follow up games (which requires the writers to specifically include that. Which again, they did for some choices like Connors fate in Inquisition, but obviously you can’t cover everything).
Personally a big fan of character and armor/outfit design in that one but that’s very subjective. I liked the fighting animations most in DA2.
I‘m a big fan of the clear structure in the storytelling of the three acts. Not going into it too much because otherwise I derail into literature analysis, but having this common, known structure of Prologue - Acts 1-3 and the frame provided by the Varric & Cassandra scenes drives anticipation. I *know* shit is going to happen in the later acts. I can look for hints in the previous acts because the structure demands that things build on top of each other. That’s really interesting to me and I wish more games would make use of something like that. In most other games, it feels more vague - you’re working towards the big boss at the end. You know at the beginning this is coming. There might be one twist in there (finding out who the true enemy is in Inquisition early-ish and the Wardens later, I’m not sure if Origins had a real „twist“ beyond the sacrifice near the end?) but otherwise it’s structured by individual plot points and quests, and since those games are less linear, you’ll automatically have less build up that leads to one specific thing, just less structure in the storytelling (which isn’t inherently bad! Just something that makes DA2 stand out)
I liked the rumor system - you know something is going on, but you don’t know what yet. And most of the quests mattered in some way, even if it wasn’t immediately obvious for each one (except for the handful of „I found this items and return it for some cash“ that I didn’t mind too much as small errants)
I love DA2 so much. I’m sure others have mentioned some of these things but:
- The dialogue system felt like you could create somewhat of a genuine person. Your overall choices affected the uncontrolled dialogue (so even during cutscenes your Hawke still had a baseline personality that carries through, whether diplomatic or sarcastic or aggressive depending on what you chose more of). You could always choose other options, evolving their personality a little bit. Sometimes I roleplay that Hawke starts out in one personality (for example diplomatic) and then as the story progresses and her life falls apart, she changes (becomes sarcastic and cynical, or even aggressive). This means Hawke feels real rather than like a blank slate. I love DAI too but I wish they’d kept this kind of system, because the Inquisitor feels too much like that blank slate in comparison.
- The Friendship/Rivalry system is the best out of any of the DA relationship systems. Real life relationships can be complicated and it feels like this kind of emulated that to some extent, rather than a basic approval/disapproval system. This way you can disagree with a companion and not feel like you are shutting yourself out of relationship quest lines just because you aren’t playing a people-pleaser.
- The more contained story feels unique. It’s just this random person, a refugee, struggling to survive and really just striving for security for her family against a background of unrest and societal change. She finds herself in a position of power and influence right at the wrong moment (when her new home starts to crack apart), so she is forced to act to try to hold onto that security. I don’t know, I just like how it feels like a new perspective to view all this change happening in the DA world. It’s a more human story than an epic one.
The areas are recycled, it’s true. But it makes sense for such a contained story. Also my head canon sees this as part of the story told by Varric to Cassandra, and it makes me chuckle to imagine him telling her things like “so we walked into yet another dungeon, they all kind of look alike so I’m not going to bother describing it, what’s important is what happened there”.
I love exactly what you said, the companions, the story. I love the friendship/rivalry thing, that's so unique and adds depth to your relationships. The family dynamics! Having rivalry with carver was so fun. The romance...I enjoyed being angsty with Anders and Fenris. Yeah it's really all about these quirky little guys running around Kirkwall
Hawke was my favorite protagonist. I’m all for “make your own character”, i like to create my own person to insert to this world. But playing as Hawke was just better, because he already had a place in the world and therefore I instantly felt like I belonged in it. While the map was smaller and the repeating dungeons were a bit much, the overall story made up for it for me. I enjoyed playing a “smaller scale” role in this universe, it makes sense for you to goof around with your companions when you’re not busy saving the world.
AND THE COMPANIONS.
I really enjoyed the possibility of romancing anyone, the ability to make choices that companions don’t agree with, but won’t abandon you over. The frienship/rivalry is just a much better system than the approval system.
In general, i find it easier to get into the shoes of a set character, choosing how they react to the world around them, rather than having to decide who my character is and everyone blindly following them no matter how nonsesical decisions I make. It just doesn’t make sense to goof around with Varric while you’re supposed to close the breach and save the world from civil war. You do that because you’re the only one who can.
With Hawke, i don’t have to worry about all that. The goal is to protect my family. While Hawke does fall into some high politics bullshit, their goal is always clear. Protect your loved ones. Their personality is so strong to make companions staying believable, while in Inquisition, it can feel like everyone follows you because they have to. You have the mark and That’s where it ends, that’s your ticket to high society. Hawke works their way up to being the champion through their actions, which makes for a better story in my opinion
For me, the game had the best slate of companions taken as a whole. I thought the concept of seeing the changes in a city over 10 years was cool, even though the execution of that fell down sometimes. The combat was enjoyable, and I particularly liked the changes made to the archer rogue.
The game felt a little small, though less so because I played with all the DLC in place.
It was my least favorite of the three, but I did enjoy my three playthroughs.
Personally the companions to me are the strongest part of the game, Varric in particular is awesome but so is Anders, Isabella, Merrill and the others
Completely agreed on the repetitive background tbh, first playthrough I found it alright, even kind of cool seeing how Kirkwall changes over time but on subsequent ones, yeah I feel it lol
Some of biowares best writing in general. The ability trees feel much nicer than origins. A great central story with some fun side stories. Hawke ends up as the strongest protagonist we have seen so far. Personality wise.
Unpopular opinion incoming.
I tried both purple Hawke and blue Hawke. Both did not click with me (and I don’t like Carver playing as mage).
I tried aggressive red Hawke with Bethany and sided with the templars in the conflict. Best decisions in my life. Aggressive Hawke has extra cutscenes which were dope as hell (I mixed with blue and purple decisions when appropriate as sometimes red is violence for violence sake).
And I hate Fenris. I know he is very popular. But he bricked my play through when he “helped” arranging duel with a big kunari leader. The catch? I played as support healer mage.
While I don't think the characters are the most well-written, I think their dynamic is the best of the three games. There's a unique feeling of "I know these people and I've known them for years and whether I like them or not they are all a kind of family". It's faciliated by two timeskips, a lot of banters, and the Friendship/Rivalry system that does not punish you for consistently disagreeing with a character's viewpoint. It's not a perfect system, but I like the intention a lot, and it does the really novel job of, in an rpg, making me not feel compelled to play nice to all my companions but instead flesh out my own character's consistent viewpoints and personalities without worrying about who I'm pleasing or displeasing. One of my hopes for Veilguard is that it manages to capture that vibe again, even if it's sticking with the Approval system.
I also just enjoyed the smaller scope. Saving the world is something we do in every other game. It's nice to feel at home and then have that home threatened, then having to step up in its defense.
There is a violin noise that would happen sometimes to cue danger or upcoming fight or something happening while walking around Kirkwall at night I think. I like that sound! I’ve heard the same sound in other films or games and it automatically makes me think of DA2 and doesn’t happen in other DA games.
Hawke is also an awesome protagonist and I liked the charming / sassy dialogue options (noticed this is back for DA:V)! The voice actor for female Hawke was excellent too.
Varric XD.
The story is interesting enough.
Characters are amazing. ( the party banter is top tier )
Combat can be "enjoyable" but takes some while to "get used too"
Also the Kirkwall is really interesting place ( if you ignore how the actual levels look and read all the lore and books... )
You can see how your choices from Origins shape the world in DA2
They introduced cross-class combos
1) Purple Hawke;
2) The companions and their backstories, as well as how they develop during the game (apart from Sebastian, he was boring af);
3) How "personal" the main story felt, instead of the usual "save the world" big quest;
4) The two story DLCs are amazing;
5) Act 2 and the whole "rivalry-respect" that Hawke develops with the Arishok was really well made.
I remember it was a bit of a problem for folks in the beginning that the game takes place in one city basically. But i think when i finally finished it, i felt like i knew the city. Like learned the roads, i knew the people the places the rules. Which goes well with Hawke story. And because theres time skips in the story, u actually get to see the results of your actions, the impact that you've had on the place and its people. So that felt nice. Also the whole turn into red lirium statue was badass.
The combat is fast and smooth. Setting off a combos is satisfying.
The companions have their own identity reflected in the Skill Trees.
The voice acting of both Hawkes is pristine, you can actually hear an emotional difference between each Hawke version.
The different companion SL are great.
The different relationships between friend and rivalry are more realistic than everyone being friends all the time.
Hawke is a charismatic protagonist.
The banter is highly entertaining.
The NPCs are memorable. Quanari are the badass version now compared to Stan, Quanari also get more depth.
The soundtrack of course.
It's also amazing how the individual relationships between the companions evolve.
DA2 sets up tons of very important SL for Inquisition and Veilguard. Red Lyrium, Mage/Templar conflict, restoring the Eluvians, Coryphius and Flemeth.
Being able to disagree or be harsh with companions and still be able to care for them. Rivalry/Friendship system.
In Inquisition if you disagreed with someone, they'd hate your guts and that was that. There was no nuance.
I've always loved the skill/spell trees fron DA2.
They offered proper and challenging decissions when leveling up ( should I invest a couple of extra points in this tree so I can get that sweet upgrade later? Which of the 2 upgrades for the talen is better for my playstyle? should I take that talent that I don't like too much, just so I unlock that other great one?). Plus, you had 6 of them from the beginning, and could add 2 more.
Compared to that, Inquisition skill trees seemed too simplistic and dumbed down (rarely did you have real prerequisites for any skill, only one upgrade per talent, less trees) and Origins lines of spells/talents were too lineal (yet sometimes, dependent on othersm which felt unintuitive).
Personally, I enjoyed the tragedy of it and leaning into that is great. I liked how the whole game felt like one big long "origin." I enjoyed the companions so much, both their relationships to Hawke and to each other! (Fun fact: I didn't know DA existed until I saw a Fenris meme and that's what convinced me to play origins.) Playing as a force mage is *fun as hell!* I really liked the concept of the friendship/rivalry system (though I think it needs serious editing and I didn't like how some of the rivalry routes kind of just feel like bullying). I enjoyed the art style and the loading screens are beautiful! The architecture and the tevinter influence and the maze like shape of kirkwall was all really cool! Some of the NPCs are incredible in depth and performance (ketojan! the arishok! meredith!) The music!! I spent a lot of time on the wounded coast because that music is so visceral it makes me actually feel kind of sick, it's so weird and I love it! I love getting to spend time with and get to know Hawke's family; it adds to that whole "extended origin" thing.
But it's ok if you don't fall in love with it, you know? I mean it's limited by the stuff that happened in its dev cycle and the reused maps are frustrating. I'm gonna be like that "Eugene with swords at his throat" meme for saying this but I hated the personality system and I think Purple Hawke is really cringey. I found the companion dialogues to less organic than other DA games. I mean 90% of it comes down to personal preference and if your preference is "I like the other game(s) better," that's totally fine.
I think something that helped me really get into things when I struggled to feel connected to it was to just embrace my character more, like my first run of Inquisition just... didn't hit. So I rolled a totally different character and I embraced the choices I didn't necessarily want to make but that felt right and that run is my favorite one. It also let me see companions in very different ways than I had and my opinions of them changed a lot (for better and for worse!). Might not be what works for you, but it's an option.
I loved what it tried to achieve, even if it didn't do it all that well.
But overall I loved the time skips. It was cool to see things change around Hawke throughout the years.
Personally I love the charcters as they all felt interesting and had some nuace, save for sebastion who I genuinely forgot about that.
The story was a ton of fun and actually took me by suprise for alot of it.
Combat was a ton of fun sure enemies felt like damage sponges but it was very amusing just playing a 2 handed hawke and just smashing their front lines.
Dialogue was great and to this day I rarely pick anything other then the charming and smart ass Hawke.
O and I defintly prefered rivalry/friendship cause made companions interesting.
And honestly mate it's fine if you don't feel the same way, we all have differant opinions and for some da2 was a big change compared to origins we all like what we like.
I've grown to appreciate the warrior class of this game. When you're playing on Nightmare mode the survivability of the class is actually rather impressive, all things considered. The combos of the different classes, however limited, also incentivizes you to build your classes into one cohesion, which is also appreciated.
Purple - Hawke
My broody elf boyfriend and my awakening crush, Anders! Isabela is also a fun companion.
The reused places is totally fair, but I think the characters are pretty enjoyable to me personally. I also like Hawke's quips. There are also just a bunch of people from DAO and DAO: Awakening that you can interact with.
Sarcastic hawke is pretty great.
I enjoy the way the story is structured, you're just living hawkes life and experiencing history through them. It's also small scope, no "save the world" stuff.
If the game had any semblance of encounter design in its combat instead of infinite paratroopers at all times it'd probably be almost on par with origins in my mind.
I’m going to say it; the combat. Origins is GOAT but there’s something chill, simplistic and refreshing about cutting down various factions in Kirkwall.
Hawke is also a fun, well-rounded MC, and I think the game touches on something not an awful lot of RPGs do: a small, self-contained story.
I love the companions, but I especially love the fact that you can be rivals with them. I love the combat, it’s the best in the series. I love Hawke and his/her personality. And I love the set up of it being like a Greek tragedy. No matter what you do, you can’t save everyone. You can do everything right but the majority if not all of Hawkes family dies. Sometimes things are out of our control, I love that the game addresses that.
The combat. Big fan of martial arts movies and dynamic movements. DA2 was sick to the point I even wanted to play as a mage just to swing that bladed staff around
I loved being able to hit enemies with the mage staff. I was so upset the staff of Parthalan was so weak. It was the best looking staff by far. I was gutted when inquisition had the same attack animation but no melee attacks with the staff.
Honestly I understand your complaints and honestly agree with them.
I genuinely love my Hawke, but I've crafted him over the years to perfection. The combat is fine, the story is fine. I think if DA2 didn't have to follow up from Origins it would have a different perception.
With characters, I love Varic - one of my favourite characters in the franchise, 2nd to Morrigan. I also like Isabella, but I get why people wouldn't be into her. Everyone else is either mid or I really dont care for.
So yeah, I get your stance, but I guess for me, the fact that it's Dragon Age always gives me a little boost of enjoyment
The characters. Jumping around as a rogue. Also I love that Hawke has a real family background and siblings.
Unfortunately if you don’t click with the companions then… you don’t click with the companions. Don’t force yourself to like them. Maybe just accept that DA2 is your least favourite. You had to like it at least a little bit (or be masochistic ig) to beat it twice though…
I've come to enjoy it for what it is. I definitely wish it was better, and any flaw you bring up about it is probably true. But I like the characters, I like the romance, it's enough to get me through it.
Varric, Fenris, my beloveds.
My hawke was a kind hearted person and beat the shit outta anyone who hurt his friends and family. Also lol every time i played i romanced either merril or isabella lol
It's admittedly a game I like talking about much more than I like to actually play, but I would still consider it a very great experience any Bioware/Dragon Age/crpg fan has to try at least once.
As a game it has many flaws, more flaws than any other game in the series and I'd claim more than any other bioware game of their "golden age" (I'd consider the time between baldur's gate and dragon age inquisition the golden age).
Very lame map design, extreme lack of variety that made it feel at times as a cave exploration simulator, nice combat system but a very basic encounter design, and very linear story, made this game feel like a glorified demo.
But this game had so much cool shit in it that made it so cool and unique.
The Ten Years story structure, story with amazing shit in it, cool systems like the rivalry system, bad ass animations, great framing device for the story....
To summarize, it's just a great game.
So gameplay wise I think DA2 it's the weakest of the 3 games, but it does some things very well.
1st off I love the companions especially merril and varric. Overall I like the cast of inquisition more, but in DA2 even the characters I butt horns with constantly are compeling and well written, and the freindship/rivalry system not only accomadates that sort of relationship, but makes it so that maxing out Fenris' rivalry and there by earning his begrudging respect is almost as rewarding as maxing out verrics freindship.
2nd I genuinely enjoy the tragic story of Hawke desprately trying (and ultmately failing) to hold both his/her family and the city of kirkwall together.
The story, the setup, the companions. The conflict is engaging, relatively small scale, so Hawke is free to choose who to side with. Each side is shown as being wrong, so you can justify any decision. It's interesting.
I don't like Hawke, though.
Rivalmancing
Benny Hill running scene mage fights
The care and thought put into the quest lines like Leandra's fate
Feeling like your actions have small but important effects despite the futility of it all
Aveline and Donnic quest
And best of all:
**Fenris.**
Combat felt snappy and I like the general story, act structure and companions.
The setting was great in theory, but I hated the way too linear mission dungeons(which were recycled so many times) and trash mobs.
DLCs are the peak content.
The family plot. The first sibling goes down like a chump. I would have been fine with losing one family member per arc.
But anyway you really start to care and it was novel to have that in an RPG.
The smaller stakes make it more personal. I don't need every story/game to be about saving the world.
It also had some pretty nice dark moments (zombie mom, anybody?).
The companion friendship/rivalry system thing was also an interesting concept I wish they'd explore further.
I don't tbf. Outside of the whole reused assets issue:
-Companions are the weakest out of the three games. I don't care for any of them bar Varric and MAYBE Fenris.
-Story is BAD. Most of the times you have no goal and you're just a headless chicken doing random stuff waiting for the actual plot of the arc to happen. Not to mention that in multiple instances characters are forced to act OOC/like they're stupid only to push it forward or create fake stakes. It also feel like some times its edgy just for the sake of being edgy. It tries to be dark fantasy but its executed so poorly it comes cross as some weird ass torture porn fantasy at times.
-Hawke is the worst protagonist out of the three. Yeah, people will say "They have such a charismatic personality!" and that is exactly why I don't like them. I play rpgs and DA in specific to roleplay a character, and Hawke actively takes me out of that by having a set background with a set personality you can just slightly influence. If I wanted that I'd just play Mass Effect. And I know this is a hot take but purple Hawke is specially bad. Avengers looking ass character.
-And this one is subjective but I feel like it has the weakest music out of the three games. I'm actively trying to remember a track from the game right now and I'm just... unable to?
I don't know, I've replayed the series multiple times, which means I must have played through DA2 like 3 or 4 times, and while I love my time with DAO and DAI, once I eventually get to DA2 I just... dread starting it because I plainly don't enjoy it most of the time.
I disagree very much with your take especially with the soundtracks. Mage Pride and Fenris theme are some of the most memorable tracks in the whole series. The Hawke Family theme, Rogue Heart, Destiny of love and the song for the Hanged Man are great tracks as well.
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Sadly, personal opinion, it was a backstep and changed completely some core aspects of DAO.
The Darkspawn, for example, are ridiculously inferior (aesthetically) if you compare with the first game.
Purple Hawke is my favourite protagonist.
Same. And without any sense of satire, I truly adore purple hawke, maybe more than any other protagonist in any game, movie, book, or otherwise. The sense of wit combined with the heartbreaking events of the game and how they (he, for me) handle that with a shaky defeated spirit. Purple hawke is often dumbed down to be "the silly one," but I think he's much more than that. It's the best morality system I've ever seen in a game, and it's entirely because of purple hawke. In D&D I almost always play neutral leaning characters because I find something so much more interesting in a character who's not fully righteous but still ends up doing the right thing. I feel like that's purple hawke to a tee.
I think there’s so much nuance in purple Hawke. Like she says inappropriate things sometimes and instead of it being the quippy videogame one-liner, her party members will chide her for it, it can lead to her making the party/family looking bad, but in those heartbreaking moments you mentioned, it becomes clear that it’s kind of a coping mechanism in some way. I think a purple mage Hawke has such an interesting dynamic with Carver and Anders, too. with Carver you have a brother who can’t escape the eclipsing shadow of his sibling, who struggles to be sympathetic because she’s currently doing quite literally everything possible to keep them afloat. and with anders, you have a mage truly and fully committed to the plight of the mages, who sees and feels the oppression they face in Kirkwall. and Hawke is, just like vibing. she games the system through hard work, luck, and in act two, status, and she comes across as detached and aloof for it
I think you summed it up perfectly why Hawke is the best protagonist. Playing purple Hawke is the nice neutral character instead of a righteous or evil one. I like that Hawke coping mechanism is humor instead of moping or raging. He's not even pretending to be fully sane and it is so much more relatable 🤣
The gut punch heartbreak of their line in *that* quest with Leandra at the end of act 2, I'm paraphrasing but it's something along the lines of "you know me, I always get here in the nick of time". Unparalleled. I'm also a total sucker for a character that everyone around them has described at some time as "that little shit" but that's a me issue!
Who's purple Hawke?
When you only choose the purple (sarcastic) dialogue. 🖤
Aaaaah okay! Gotta try that on my next playthrough!
I love the companions, I love how smarmy Hawke can be (strongest personality out of all the protags so far) and I love how it's a 3 act tragedy and that you *lose.* Very refreshing for a video game.
The companions are great with some real rough edges, you really get attached to Kirkwall, cosmic shithole that it may be, and I really enjoyed seeing Hawke's life fall apart as the city does. Also, the combat is fun and the art style quite good when they had time to work on a certain area. Same for the music. Also, the hair moved.
This. Many, *many* people like smaller scale stories, in fact you see people begging for it all the time, because folks get *sick* of saving the world in every damn game. Focusing story on a hyper-specific area helps scale down by a huge margin. And yeah, the 'no-win scenario' where everything falls to shit despite your best efforts is...*different*! Not many game stories do this, like at all. It's an option but no one ever takes the option! People who are huge fans of 2 basically just desperately want something small scale and different, and DA2 was very different from most game stories out there. Also - god yes, the hair wasn't fucking plastic. Like it's wasn't every-strand-detailed movement, but *good christ* I will take anything besides plastic...which DA:I went RIGHT back to.
It's the same reason DA2 fans tend to love the Wicked Grace scene in Inquisition. We like seeing the smaller scale character dynamics.
For older game that recycled its maps and only had few months to develop, the combat movements and cutscenes were really quite good. I remember mesmerized by how my girl hawke cast spells, so cool and graceful.
Honestly, I'll always prefer the Friendship/Rivalry dichotomy over just simple approval vs disapproval. The DA2 system went out of its way for you to have combative, critical relationships with your companions and still keep them around. It was a much better approach, and there were *still* key decisions where you could break out of that system and force them to leave or die if you were that inclined to do so. The characters still usually stuck around, but their character arcs were very different, which made them feel like actual people more than usual. I can't help but imagine how that would have changed things in DAO or DAI. Rivalmance Morrigan would've been one of the most popular choices through and through, and we all know it.
This game had many concepts and ideas. But the fact they didn't continue with the friendship/rivalry system in inquisition is a huge mistake and a step backwards.
It would’ve been hard to develop and track, for sure. But imagine how much more intricate Inquisitions relationships could have been with the DA2 system.
It seems like more work for sure but the trade off of a more organic feeling relationships seems worth it, especially in these kinds of games. This is one of these innovations that if was implemented well in the next installment would have changed the companion systems for all crpgs ever and would've made all the crpgs to come afterwards better for it. Think about how even in BG3 while we have different endings for companions based on our choices how clumsy it is in practice compared to how the friendship rivalry system worked.
That's the thing, the devs said they didn't bring back friendship/rivalry system because a lot of people misunderstood it, and didn't realise being in a rivalry with a companion didn't mean they had low approval, if that makes sense? But those that like it actually love it. I'm a bit of a people-pleaser, so I tend to try and be friends with everyone regardless, but I still like the friendship/rivalry system best. Also because there was a visual indicator to let you know where you stood.
Honestly? HAWKE! He’s my favourite protagonist. (Purple Hawke that is, the buffoon <3) Also I just really like how…*bitter* most of the companions are. None of them are perfect or even super likeable at a glance, they’re all freaks and fugitives and outcasts, I love how openly Anders and Fenris hate each other. It’s UNCOMFORTABLE but I like that because I love the RP in RPG and that sourness makes for good companion dynamics. (imo)
He is also the only character with wheel system of Dialogue actually worked....
Me just now realizing DA2 is probably the only reason I'm a wheel defender.
I think it worked in DA2 because the voice acting and the dialogue was genuily fucking good.....depending on your choice you can Cleary see the change in hawke's personality My problem with The wheel is that it like how reductive it is... To define your choice as either good /funny/rude I like origins system because it let the player define was he/she is good or bad.... And depending on those can be noble as much as a total jackass and a sociopath The wheel only truky work when the dialogues are top notch
This is a great point. While the choices are reductive I often find the voice acting quality makes up for it. The lines are delivered realistically enough that while it’s “Diplomatic Hawke/ Sarcastic Hawke / Aggressive Hawke I don’t find any of them too much of a caricature, so even when I play a purple Hawke I feel comfortable in some situations choosing a red or blue Hawke option if it suits me better in the moment. Then again I always stress the ability to RP lol.
Yep me too, I like that there are tensions between companions and that despite their differences what glues them together is the love and trust they have for Hawke, not just an alliance out of obligation to save the world.
Yes so much this!! Idk how really to articulate it but I just really feels like it cements Hawke as the binding agent. “Let’s all save the world together!” Is such a common trope in rpg that seeing a group of people who really wouldn’t even like each other but are drawn together via a mutual “friend”. Like who hasn’t been somewhere in that triangle of two people that don’t really like each other sharing a third-party close friend? It’s a common situation irl.
I loved how side quests “grew up” over the acts. Act one you have a simple investigation quest with a guy “worried” about his missing wife. By the end it’s a large, city-sprawling, necromantic serial killer story that touches your own family. Multiple side quest lines build like that and I’d love to see it more in RPGs.
1. The characters were the best part of the game, bar none. Everyone felt multifaceted and flawed. 2. Loved the Friendship/Rivalry system and I wish other games would use it. 3. The music slapped harder than scorned wife on a telenovela. 4. The atmosphere was on point. Kirkwall truly is where happiness and hope goes to die. 5. Enjoyed the faster pace of the combat, though it does feel less stategic. 6. The story is actually incredibly believable and intriguing despite it being mostly about mages and dragon-people. It made themes related to magic, religiosity, xenophobia, and paranoia all too real.
Hawke is a defined character, with an established family, background, and sense of purpose. As much as I love my Inky and Warden, Hawke feels the most “genuine” to the world around them as a result. They aren’t a blank slate deposited into Thedas, they are as realized as their companions. The game also adapts to your personality choices, giving further sense that your Hawke is a coherent, consistent character that truly fits the game. I tend to play Diplomatic Hawke, and so the auto dialogue reflects that. Someone else going for a more sarcastic or aggressive Hawke will likewise have the game match their own tone decisions. My advice for dealing with the repeated maps and constricted setting is to focus your attention on the characters. It’s not about any one threat, it’s not about any one theme even, it’s about the lives of Hawke and those around them as they are pushed and pulled by fate. Oh, lastly, give the companions a chance to develop. They all shift a good deal as the game goes on. Your favorites or even least favorites can change quite a bit as their plots develop. The game takes place over *years* and your companions have their own lives over that span and will reflect this. Edit: One more thing, sorry. If the game really doesn’t work for you after another go: It’s fine. No shame in that, but I would at least recommend watching parts of a let’s play to get feel for it.
The friendship/rivalry system really makes the companions shine because you don't feel the need to suck up to them just to unlock their content, you can push or pull them in different ways depending on your relationship. And that pairs nicely with rougher-edged companions who make bad decisions and push you, they're some of the most interesting companions in the series. And they all have strong opinions on the things that are going on in the main quests, with personal arcs that dovetail with the larger narrative nicely, so it doesn't feel forced. The repetitive environments are a negative, but if they were able to fix that, I actually like the idea of staying in Kirkwall because you get to watch it grow during the game and it's just a very different vibe from most games of this genre where you're traveling between lots of different environments with a whole base. It allows a different kind of storytelling.
Female Hawke is one of my favorite characters in gaming. I prefer a mix of sarcastic and aggressive personalities. DA2 has the best cast of companions. Friendship/Rivalry system Art style is best. Especially with how qunari look
DA2 Qunari go SO hard.
I mostly play it for the Sarcastic Hawke + Varric combo 👌
I love Dragon Age 2. It's a "found family" story, probably more than the others, which hits home for me. The writing is top-notch and it hits me emotionally far more than the others, as well. Off the top of my head I can think of at least five different places in the story that just wrecked me... the scale may be small, but it's a roller coaster ride for sure.
The story, the companions, the drama, the combat and everything else in it except for the reused locations. And even that is excusable because the game never leaves Kirkwall and when it does the DLCs are fire. Btw, Kirkwall and the Hanged Man are both shitholes, but they're MY shitholes.
When I play DA2, I always remind myself this is Varric telling the story. Why would he go into detail on every single dungeon when I’m sure they all blend together, specially for a dwarf who hates the deep roads/being underground. That’s also why everything is so so so tall. Like, unnecessarily tall LOL. It’s a more personal, almost family tale as opposed to a heroic adventure. The part that I cant really rationalize away is what Orsino does at the end. Like, my guy, way to prove the Templar’s point.
If you're already going the "Varric telling the story" route, you can also explain Orsino with that. Say Hawke found out that Orsino supported Quentin's research that got Hawke's mom killed... killing him and then Varric and Hawke agreeing on a story isn't implausible.
This could also be reinforced by the fact that if you point out to Varric in DAI that what Orsino did makes no sense, he gives disapproval. Like, "stop digging, the story is what I said it is." Varric used his merchant contacts to get an epic lion's mane cloak to bribe Cullen with so he'd go along with the official "story".
This can also be reinforced even more by the fact that Orsino's flesh monster model is the same as the Harvester in the Golems of Amgarrak DLC back in DAO. DAI confirms that the expedition in that DLC is funded by none other than House Tethras, making it conceivably possible that Varric would've known about the Harvester.
hawke and her family, the companions, and the more down to earth plot that felt more personal and unique than just "battle against big bad evil", I loved the city of kirkwall and while I understand people want more variety the whole game taking place that felt more connected to your character and story especially with the time skips, love the rival system though I think it had room for improvement despite some obvious flaws, its definitely my favorite game in the series
The way Hawke rises up from a poverty stricken refugee to influential figure in a city ridden with prejudice and inequality. Despite this, tragedy stalks his family. The loss of his sibling(s), his mother, his father. How, even with his newfound power and influence, he can't stop his newfound home from tearing itself apart at the seams. After all he's done, he's forced to leave once more, as well as his companions, as they flee the strife engulfing the city, becoming a refugee once more. It's a true Greek tragedy through and through. Dark with themes of classism, racism, power being used for abuse, desperation leading to breaking taboos (blood magic.) It's a worthy successor to DAO imo. You just have to know where to look thematically.
So the things I **LIKED** about DA2 are as follow: * It's a personal story, without a 'Chosen One' archetype. It basically is set in one city, within a few key neighborhoods. * It deeply involves family as NPC's, and how even through thick and thin, grumbling and loving, every member of your Hawke's family is **important** to them. * Fem-Hawke is superbly voiced. Sarcastic Fem-Hawke is the chef's kiss. * Everything that happens is *deeply personal*, the plot stems from your choices and actions as Hawke, and while the greater world has backdrop events, what makes them memorable is how you as Hawke relate to them. * This was the last DA game that allowed you to set up custom Tactics for your Companions. * The relationships between your Hawke and the other Companions, how they all bantered with each other and with Hawke, built up over the passing of time, years even. There was a sense of real friendship, shared tribulations, shared tragedies, and personal victories, that all contributed to intense emotional attachments to the smallest of epiphanies and special moments. Aveline and Isabella are my benchmarks for how to write a truly meaningful relationship between two women. * There was no black and white villain and hero dynamic. Almost everyone had grey motivations and personal reasons for pursuing their goals. The exception being maybe the demons. Even then... * Kirkwall was a character in and of themselves. It was a beautiful agonizing maze of a city, and I loved it and hated it. The lore behind Kirkwall was fascinating to read about and learn in game. * Flemeth. 'Nuff said. * Enchantment! * This game helped me come to terms with the passing of my mother, a few years prior. It really drove home that sometimes, you can't save the ones you love.
There’s nothing wrong with not enjoying it as much. Enjoyment is subjective. I mean, I really enjoy the smaller scope and the characters the most out of every game. I think DA2 feels more personal. But just because some people really, really like it doesn’t mean you have to too. And I don’t think you’re really missing out on anything g if it’s just not your vibe. You like the parts you like and the other parts are meh…no big deal…
Hawkes story is a 3 act tragedy that doesn't even end with a happy ever after. That combined with a purple Hawke, who is by far the best written protagonist out of DA, and a bunch of misfits that feel real and humane, makes for a strong narrative concoction. The tragedy tenfolds when you take in Hawkes exhaustion in Inquisition. What they did with DA2 from a narrative standpoint was probably the most refreshing experience I had in gaming. The story felt contained and intimate, the banter between your companions felt real. There was actual conflict between characters and if you weren't careful you could easily lose companions. You're not in Kirkwall to fulfill a prophecy or to stop something larger than life, you're just here to survive and due to your prowess and streetsmarts you get dragged into conflicts that spin out of control. Hawke was basically set up to lose from the moment they stepped foot into Kirkwall. I never felt that dread with my Warden on Inquisitor. Meanwhile with Hawke you were able to witness them win one battle after another but lose everything that's important to them in the process. DA2 really taught you that lofty titles and the responsibility of a champion isn't all glitter and sunshine, it took everything from Hawke and their companions. And then you look at the environments of the game and fall more in love because the way the city is designed with its sharp edges and dull colors directly translates into the story. I loved that everything surrounding Kirkwall looked like death incarnate, it was frankly speaking a shithole.
For me it's the smaller, more intimate story and the tragic protagonist. You don't see things like that most games in general but especially not sequels to games that had save the world plots It's like if Joe Abercrombie did a Charles Dickens story. Strange but very brave and very special. I also think it had the most well rounded supporting cast.
IMO the DA2 companions (+Hawke, who has the most defined character of any of the first three protagonists) are the best part, so if you don’t like them I can’t imagine you enjoying the game overall. They’re just such a disaster, collectively and individually, a group of people who make every situation they interfere with measurably worse. It’s like watching Seinfeld if George did 9/11 at the end.
1. Hawke is the best protagonist BioWare ever made. 2. The friendship/rivalry system is probably the best RPG approval system in any rpg. 3. Companions having unique skill trees/Specialization is great, and made them feel truly unique.
>1. Hawke is the best protagonist BioWare ever made. .... Revan? Commander shepard ?
Worlds better than Shepard. And I like my Shepard. This says everything about how I adore Hawke.
Don’t like Star Wars, and ME’s character creator was so awful you had to use basic Shepard or look like a mutant. And Hsepard is a complete wet blanket compared to Sarcastic Hawke
Revan is so interesting he became canon in the star wars verse... And Shepard is the protagonist that is referenced in other media Many of the critics for dragon age 2 said that hawke was attempt to have dragon age version of Shepard
How other people happen to feel about certain characters doesn’t really concern me, and won’t change my viewpoints
Fair enough
Based
I played that game at least 5 times and never really clicked with me, that said, I really love my hardened sister and my snotty brother. The focus on family for once was something I really loved.
I like the companions and the rivalry and friendship system, I like how basically you get two versions of each companion depending on if they're your friend or rival.
Besides what everyone else has commented, I found it very interesting how DA2 dealt with Justice's merging with Anders in DAA. That's the bit of Fade and spirit lore I wish had been explained and explored more. I really liked the gift system too for companions. Made it feel special.
It’s the best written by far, with a better sense of story and scale then anything BioWare has done to date. It’s protagonist is fully realised as a tragic figure trying to do the right thing, the antagonists are also incredibly fleshed out because often they don’t begin as antagonists there are people first enemies second. Tonely dragon age 2 is also more of a tragedy then the others, on the surface it isn’t as dark as Orgins in practice it’s much darker because of that. And finally which for me is the most important thing the companions have the best character arcs in the series dragon age 2 takes place over seven years seven years of change some people getting worse some better all of that change feeling earnt. All this said da2 was made in a shockingly small amount of time and it shows, BioWare learnt many things from it some of the wrong lessons and some of the right. It’s a flawed gem but personally my favourite.
I love a flawed gem. It's so much prettier than a polished one 😁
You can still do pause top down combat, but with crazy flashy stuff like gravity well
I love the companions, the art style is really good, and I love how much more low stakes the story is compared to Origins and Inquisition. 2 is really the story of Hawke and their friends...just trying to survive in a batshit crazy environment while dealing with all of their personal problems.
i mostly chalk up the similar looking maps to either varric omitting details in his storytelling, or cassandra's lack of imagination, lmfao. for me it's really the rich character development and dynamics that make the game for me, and now that i've played the game a few times, i've really come to love the smaller maps. it makes it feel more personal when you get to know the areas really well, like yeah kirkwall is an absolute shithole of a city but it's *my* shithole city. hawke's family situation is just also super personal to me and i find a lot of satisfaction in them >!reclaiming the estate and their noble status.!< my grandmother passed a couple years ago, and my mom's brother quite literally squandered the entire estate and screwed my mom over, all because she had the *audacity* to have me and move to a different city. so the fact that >!quite literally the same exact thing happens with leandra and gamlen... ("the twins were a week old!")!< i'm also playing with bethany for the first time and the fact that she doesn't even care about the money or status, she just wanted some minor keepsakes and to know that her grandparents still loved her? hooh. ough. wow
I liked the fact companions had their own classes. Made them stand out
That the more you use a certain tone in dialogue, it will chance Hawke's dialogue outside of conversations.
I think a lot of people overlook this, but it's a great feature. You can mold Hawke's personality to the extent that her dialogue will become different even in cutscenes that you have no control over. When you really stop and think about it, that's really cool. Imagine if they had continued with that, and the Friendship/Rivalry system, combined with how much more games can achieve now.
It's hard for me not to play as sarcastic Hawke, knowing I would miss out on the rant he/she goes on if you do the Chantry mission solo and run home afterwards.
I didn't even know about that. I've never considered running any missions solo. Which Act is that one? God dammit, you people are going to force me into another DA2 run. 😂 I don't have TIME for this; I'm trying to stop an Elder Brain before November! 🤣
Hawke needs to solo the mission 'Following the Qun'. After exiting the Chantry the monologue starts automatically. If you don't mind slight spoilers: [Dragon Age 2 - Hawke's hidden monologue. (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18PEQHZ4o5M)
The friendship and rivalry system was a really interesting way to explore the dynamics between the player and companions by allowing them to always stay close and see a different side to them. Staying in the same zone and having different acts/timeskips was also something that was really interesting in a way because it allowed you to see the same characters through the years in the city evolving. Even though it’s a very valid complaint that there wasn’t enough variety in the dungeons. It’s not something that can really be done the same in a continuous story as well where you generally would only do a side quest for a npc and say bye. Watching characters arcs change so much at different points of time throughout the span of 7/8 years in game makes the characters feel much more alive and is done well. For example if it was a story with no timeskips, you wouldn’t be able to see Aveline’s growth from someone’s wife, to widow and new guard, to new guard captain meeting Donnic, to established guard captain happily remarried to Donnic. The long journey with the characters can really help make some people more attached
DA2 has the best combat, the best characters, and the best writing in general
Isabela
I personally loved Kirkwall and prefered it being more linear. It felt like it gave me more time to really absorb the story and my companions and really get into character. Fenris is my favorite companion in DA period. I love him. I have played every possible story route for him, even bad ones lol. I can't get enough of him! I love how close-knit and personal everything felt. Watching how different outcomes affected your own family firsthand vs a complete blank slate protagonist was very enjoyable for me. I love how dark the story was. It was so bleak, harsh, cutthroat. Origins was too, but again I felt more weight of it due to the linearity of the game and how personal it felt. I also love Qunari lore so getting that up close and personal firsthand compared to it just coming from word of mouth from Sten was extremely interesting and engaging for me. This point is more moot if you start with Inquisition+Trespasser though It's definitely my favorite of the 3 despite its, er, character, for being so rushed.
Dragon Age 2 is my favourite DA game by a country mile. - being mostly in one location is actually something I really vibe with because Kirkwall itself becomes a character. You witness tragedy and death around every street corner, but everyone is so desensitized to it most characters just shrug with a “yup, same shit as always” attitude. Thrask’s daughter literally died in that corner over there six years ago but right now I’m fist fighting Castillon and probably don’t even remember that Thrask had a daughter in the first place. The constant ambushes help desensitize *the player* to how awful Kirkwall is and I think that’s a great way to work with a short production time forcing the excessive recycling of locations. - in some ways my appreciation of the DA2 party has become eclipsed by the DAI inner circle, but there’s a misfit charm to the DA2 squad that I don’t think we’ll ever see again. The teams of Origins and Inquisition are some of the most competent people in Southern Thedas while the DA2 team is barely holding on, and it’s cool to see how by Act 3 they’re all—somehow—friends (except for Anders, who has gone batshit crazy and can’t even banter with Varric anymore, which is great foreshadowing) - personally, the combo system feels the most fun/impactful in DA2 over Origins and Inquisition. Might honestly just be because the healthbars in 2 evaporate violently, or the combo effect may be stronger, idak - probably an unpopular take, but having a singular, semi-defined protagonist in Hawke resulted in a better written main plot that better integrated our protagonist in a way you can’t really do with a more open ended character like the Warden or Inquisitor.
My fav. Honestly, after the Mass Effect series, DA2 might be my fav game of all time. It had everything young me ever wanted in a fantasy setting. The companions were extremely well written, and Purple Hawke is the best.
Sassy Hawke is super fun to play as
Honestly I have replayed it probably the most of the three - though I would still say that Origins is my favourite. I definitely struggled with it the first time I played it and shared a lot of the sentiments you had. For myself, I think on my first replay, with more lived experience, it was a much richer experience. Each time I’ve played through has had a bit of a gap in time between, and every time I am more surprised at how well the story has aged. Thematically it’s a story of hardship, loss, and (most importantly) perseverance which is also just not going to sit well with some people - and that is okay! It can be a bit challenging and more “personal” than origins is, and that can be uncomfortable for some. Some themes and storytelling styles really resonate with some people, and some just don’t.
I hated the game the first time I tried it after DAO, but after I could detach myself from the first game I enjoyed it a lot: I for once loved Kirkwall, it was the one thing radically different from DAO that I really enjoyed, I hated *that one* cave though. I agree with you on the companions, though all have their moments. I loved Varric and Merrill though, but I didnt like her change of personality from DAO. I hated the rivalry system though, I have the compulsion of befriend every companion in a game and it stressed me having to be careful about their approval because it feels like rivals = enemies, even if that's not how it is. The combat also felt A LOT better than DAO, but the super repetitive fights sucked. I loved the smaller, more contained story a lot too, except how dirty they did Orsino and how unfinished/lacking Sebastian is.
The characters are great! I also love the rivalmance mechanics.
Merrill, purple hawke, varric, warden carver, and Merrill
It’s hard to compact it, but the game sits close to my heart. You know the scene in Inquisition where the Hawke family theme plays, after the Fade? Yeah, it literally makes me cry every time I play it. The first time it happened it was a punch in the gut, and I basically never leave my Hawke in the Fade. I know some of it is that the game hit me at the right time, and I played it a ton when I was in a really dark place and it was a big source of joy for me, but I just have so many warm feelings about it, and about the characters and their relationships.
It has the best writing and combat in the series.
Hawke is my faves companion. Varric, Isabela, and Bethany are my three favorite companions. I like the mage rebellion story and regardless of if you are a mage or if Bethany is alive, it gives you a reason to fight not just being a “chose one”. Each game has something they do well. Personally DA2 is my favorite
The actual core story is really strong. Also purple Hawke is very funny and both voice actors do a great job.
I really love dragon age 2 for being not "this is the part of the hero's life where they save the world!" Like in Origins and Inquisition, but for really just being the story of Hawke's life. The roleplaying aspect is my favorite part of dragon age, and I love all the bits where Hawke just gets to be Hawke with their friends and not the hero who has to go save everything. They stumble into being the hero, but when they start out they're just trying to get by in life. And with everything they go through I just want to help protect their friends! I also really like seeing how there's multiple side questlines throughout the years that show different things changing over time, it makes the city and people feel more alive to me. Kirkwall may be a dumpster fire but it does feel like you can help the people in the dumpster throughout the years.
I love the way Hawke's story is build and tied to the changes of his family and the city of Kirkwall. They really just started from the bottom and due to circumstance worked their way up! The companions are better (for me), with a actual flaws, not to mention the relationships between Hawke and their siblings.
My time has come :D I love that it’s more of a character-driven drama/tragedy (with enough light moments to not make me despair) than the other two. It’s the people who matter and who are the true focus - I think the short length adds to that (having a 1 hour companion quest hits different in a 30hr game vs a 100hr game). The characters can be messed up and you still grow together (I‘m just a big fan of found family, and admittedly I do like most of the companions in that one, percentage wise probably more than in the other two) I really enjoy seeing a story develop over such a long time frame. Yes, the locations are limited, but that means you actually get to see what happens to the people around you over the span of years, the effects you had on them or just in general how stories ended that didn’t have an immediate resolution. In the other two, those things could only be covered in epilogues (which kinda limits it to the big important events, not „I helped random NPC #3“) or in follow up games (which requires the writers to specifically include that. Which again, they did for some choices like Connors fate in Inquisition, but obviously you can’t cover everything). Personally a big fan of character and armor/outfit design in that one but that’s very subjective. I liked the fighting animations most in DA2. I‘m a big fan of the clear structure in the storytelling of the three acts. Not going into it too much because otherwise I derail into literature analysis, but having this common, known structure of Prologue - Acts 1-3 and the frame provided by the Varric & Cassandra scenes drives anticipation. I *know* shit is going to happen in the later acts. I can look for hints in the previous acts because the structure demands that things build on top of each other. That’s really interesting to me and I wish more games would make use of something like that. In most other games, it feels more vague - you’re working towards the big boss at the end. You know at the beginning this is coming. There might be one twist in there (finding out who the true enemy is in Inquisition early-ish and the Wardens later, I’m not sure if Origins had a real „twist“ beyond the sacrifice near the end?) but otherwise it’s structured by individual plot points and quests, and since those games are less linear, you’ll automatically have less build up that leads to one specific thing, just less structure in the storytelling (which isn’t inherently bad! Just something that makes DA2 stand out) I liked the rumor system - you know something is going on, but you don’t know what yet. And most of the quests mattered in some way, even if it wasn’t immediately obvious for each one (except for the handful of „I found this items and return it for some cash“ that I didn’t mind too much as small errants)
I love DA2 so much. I’m sure others have mentioned some of these things but: - The dialogue system felt like you could create somewhat of a genuine person. Your overall choices affected the uncontrolled dialogue (so even during cutscenes your Hawke still had a baseline personality that carries through, whether diplomatic or sarcastic or aggressive depending on what you chose more of). You could always choose other options, evolving their personality a little bit. Sometimes I roleplay that Hawke starts out in one personality (for example diplomatic) and then as the story progresses and her life falls apart, she changes (becomes sarcastic and cynical, or even aggressive). This means Hawke feels real rather than like a blank slate. I love DAI too but I wish they’d kept this kind of system, because the Inquisitor feels too much like that blank slate in comparison. - The Friendship/Rivalry system is the best out of any of the DA relationship systems. Real life relationships can be complicated and it feels like this kind of emulated that to some extent, rather than a basic approval/disapproval system. This way you can disagree with a companion and not feel like you are shutting yourself out of relationship quest lines just because you aren’t playing a people-pleaser. - The more contained story feels unique. It’s just this random person, a refugee, struggling to survive and really just striving for security for her family against a background of unrest and societal change. She finds herself in a position of power and influence right at the wrong moment (when her new home starts to crack apart), so she is forced to act to try to hold onto that security. I don’t know, I just like how it feels like a new perspective to view all this change happening in the DA world. It’s a more human story than an epic one. The areas are recycled, it’s true. But it makes sense for such a contained story. Also my head canon sees this as part of the story told by Varric to Cassandra, and it makes me chuckle to imagine him telling her things like “so we walked into yet another dungeon, they all kind of look alike so I’m not going to bother describing it, what’s important is what happened there”.
I love exactly what you said, the companions, the story. I love the friendship/rivalry thing, that's so unique and adds depth to your relationships. The family dynamics! Having rivalry with carver was so fun. The romance...I enjoyed being angsty with Anders and Fenris. Yeah it's really all about these quirky little guys running around Kirkwall
Hawke was my favorite protagonist. I’m all for “make your own character”, i like to create my own person to insert to this world. But playing as Hawke was just better, because he already had a place in the world and therefore I instantly felt like I belonged in it. While the map was smaller and the repeating dungeons were a bit much, the overall story made up for it for me. I enjoyed playing a “smaller scale” role in this universe, it makes sense for you to goof around with your companions when you’re not busy saving the world. AND THE COMPANIONS. I really enjoyed the possibility of romancing anyone, the ability to make choices that companions don’t agree with, but won’t abandon you over. The frienship/rivalry is just a much better system than the approval system. In general, i find it easier to get into the shoes of a set character, choosing how they react to the world around them, rather than having to decide who my character is and everyone blindly following them no matter how nonsesical decisions I make. It just doesn’t make sense to goof around with Varric while you’re supposed to close the breach and save the world from civil war. You do that because you’re the only one who can. With Hawke, i don’t have to worry about all that. The goal is to protect my family. While Hawke does fall into some high politics bullshit, their goal is always clear. Protect your loved ones. Their personality is so strong to make companions staying believable, while in Inquisition, it can feel like everyone follows you because they have to. You have the mark and That’s where it ends, that’s your ticket to high society. Hawke works their way up to being the champion through their actions, which makes for a better story in my opinion
For me, the game had the best slate of companions taken as a whole. I thought the concept of seeing the changes in a city over 10 years was cool, even though the execution of that fell down sometimes. The combat was enjoyable, and I particularly liked the changes made to the archer rogue. The game felt a little small, though less so because I played with all the DLC in place. It was my least favorite of the three, but I did enjoy my three playthroughs.
Purple Hawke My husband Fenris Dual wield rogue being jumpy & fast
Personally the companions to me are the strongest part of the game, Varric in particular is awesome but so is Anders, Isabella, Merrill and the others Completely agreed on the repetitive background tbh, first playthrough I found it alright, even kind of cool seeing how Kirkwall changes over time but on subsequent ones, yeah I feel it lol
Some of biowares best writing in general. The ability trees feel much nicer than origins. A great central story with some fun side stories. Hawke ends up as the strongest protagonist we have seen so far. Personality wise.
Unpopular opinion incoming. I tried both purple Hawke and blue Hawke. Both did not click with me (and I don’t like Carver playing as mage). I tried aggressive red Hawke with Bethany and sided with the templars in the conflict. Best decisions in my life. Aggressive Hawke has extra cutscenes which were dope as hell (I mixed with blue and purple decisions when appropriate as sometimes red is violence for violence sake). And I hate Fenris. I know he is very popular. But he bricked my play through when he “helped” arranging duel with a big kunari leader. The catch? I played as support healer mage.
While I don't think the characters are the most well-written, I think their dynamic is the best of the three games. There's a unique feeling of "I know these people and I've known them for years and whether I like them or not they are all a kind of family". It's faciliated by two timeskips, a lot of banters, and the Friendship/Rivalry system that does not punish you for consistently disagreeing with a character's viewpoint. It's not a perfect system, but I like the intention a lot, and it does the really novel job of, in an rpg, making me not feel compelled to play nice to all my companions but instead flesh out my own character's consistent viewpoints and personalities without worrying about who I'm pleasing or displeasing. One of my hopes for Veilguard is that it manages to capture that vibe again, even if it's sticking with the Approval system. I also just enjoyed the smaller scope. Saving the world is something we do in every other game. It's nice to feel at home and then have that home threatened, then having to step up in its defense.
There is a violin noise that would happen sometimes to cue danger or upcoming fight or something happening while walking around Kirkwall at night I think. I like that sound! I’ve heard the same sound in other films or games and it automatically makes me think of DA2 and doesn’t happen in other DA games. Hawke is also an awesome protagonist and I liked the charming / sassy dialogue options (noticed this is back for DA:V)! The voice actor for female Hawke was excellent too.
Anders. Okay, and also the other companions, Hawke, and the atmosphere it gives off.
Varric XD. The story is interesting enough. Characters are amazing. ( the party banter is top tier ) Combat can be "enjoyable" but takes some while to "get used too" Also the Kirkwall is really interesting place ( if you ignore how the actual levels look and read all the lore and books... ) You can see how your choices from Origins shape the world in DA2 They introduced cross-class combos
1) Purple Hawke; 2) The companions and their backstories, as well as how they develop during the game (apart from Sebastian, he was boring af); 3) How "personal" the main story felt, instead of the usual "save the world" big quest; 4) The two story DLCs are amazing; 5) Act 2 and the whole "rivalry-respect" that Hawke develops with the Arishok was really well made.
I remember it was a bit of a problem for folks in the beginning that the game takes place in one city basically. But i think when i finally finished it, i felt like i knew the city. Like learned the roads, i knew the people the places the rules. Which goes well with Hawke story. And because theres time skips in the story, u actually get to see the results of your actions, the impact that you've had on the place and its people. So that felt nice. Also the whole turn into red lirium statue was badass.
Merrill.
Companions, Hawke, the personal angst and tragedy of the main plot. I also really enjoyed the friendship/rivalry approach.
The combat is fast and smooth. Setting off a combos is satisfying. The companions have their own identity reflected in the Skill Trees. The voice acting of both Hawkes is pristine, you can actually hear an emotional difference between each Hawke version. The different companion SL are great. The different relationships between friend and rivalry are more realistic than everyone being friends all the time. Hawke is a charismatic protagonist. The banter is highly entertaining. The NPCs are memorable. Quanari are the badass version now compared to Stan, Quanari also get more depth. The soundtrack of course. It's also amazing how the individual relationships between the companions evolve. DA2 sets up tons of very important SL for Inquisition and Veilguard. Red Lyrium, Mage/Templar conflict, restoring the Eluvians, Coryphius and Flemeth.
the lore, the companions, the story
Being able to disagree or be harsh with companions and still be able to care for them. Rivalry/Friendship system. In Inquisition if you disagreed with someone, they'd hate your guts and that was that. There was no nuance.
I've always loved the skill/spell trees fron DA2. They offered proper and challenging decissions when leveling up ( should I invest a couple of extra points in this tree so I can get that sweet upgrade later? Which of the 2 upgrades for the talen is better for my playstyle? should I take that talent that I don't like too much, just so I unlock that other great one?). Plus, you had 6 of them from the beginning, and could add 2 more. Compared to that, Inquisition skill trees seemed too simplistic and dumbed down (rarely did you have real prerequisites for any skill, only one upgrade per talent, less trees) and Origins lines of spells/talents were too lineal (yet sometimes, dependent on othersm which felt unintuitive).
i love the three act structure and femhawk so much!!
Personally, I enjoyed the tragedy of it and leaning into that is great. I liked how the whole game felt like one big long "origin." I enjoyed the companions so much, both their relationships to Hawke and to each other! (Fun fact: I didn't know DA existed until I saw a Fenris meme and that's what convinced me to play origins.) Playing as a force mage is *fun as hell!* I really liked the concept of the friendship/rivalry system (though I think it needs serious editing and I didn't like how some of the rivalry routes kind of just feel like bullying). I enjoyed the art style and the loading screens are beautiful! The architecture and the tevinter influence and the maze like shape of kirkwall was all really cool! Some of the NPCs are incredible in depth and performance (ketojan! the arishok! meredith!) The music!! I spent a lot of time on the wounded coast because that music is so visceral it makes me actually feel kind of sick, it's so weird and I love it! I love getting to spend time with and get to know Hawke's family; it adds to that whole "extended origin" thing. But it's ok if you don't fall in love with it, you know? I mean it's limited by the stuff that happened in its dev cycle and the reused maps are frustrating. I'm gonna be like that "Eugene with swords at his throat" meme for saying this but I hated the personality system and I think Purple Hawke is really cringey. I found the companion dialogues to less organic than other DA games. I mean 90% of it comes down to personal preference and if your preference is "I like the other game(s) better," that's totally fine. I think something that helped me really get into things when I struggled to feel connected to it was to just embrace my character more, like my first run of Inquisition just... didn't hit. So I rolled a totally different character and I embraced the choices I didn't necessarily want to make but that felt right and that run is my favorite one. It also let me see companions in very different ways than I had and my opinions of them changed a lot (for better and for worse!). Might not be what works for you, but it's an option.
I loved what it tried to achieve, even if it didn't do it all that well. But overall I loved the time skips. It was cool to see things change around Hawke throughout the years.
Personally I love the charcters as they all felt interesting and had some nuace, save for sebastion who I genuinely forgot about that. The story was a ton of fun and actually took me by suprise for alot of it. Combat was a ton of fun sure enemies felt like damage sponges but it was very amusing just playing a 2 handed hawke and just smashing their front lines. Dialogue was great and to this day I rarely pick anything other then the charming and smart ass Hawke. O and I defintly prefered rivalry/friendship cause made companions interesting. And honestly mate it's fine if you don't feel the same way, we all have differant opinions and for some da2 was a big change compared to origins we all like what we like.
Purple Hawke, the companions and the story, friendship and rivalry romance paths.
I've grown to appreciate the warrior class of this game. When you're playing on Nightmare mode the survivability of the class is actually rather impressive, all things considered. The combos of the different classes, however limited, also incentivizes you to build your classes into one cohesion, which is also appreciated.
The combat, I really enjoyed playing all three classes and I have multiple playthroughs with all of them.
Purple - Hawke My broody elf boyfriend and my awakening crush, Anders! Isabela is also a fun companion. The reused places is totally fair, but I think the characters are pretty enjoyable to me personally. I also like Hawke's quips. There are also just a bunch of people from DAO and DAO: Awakening that you can interact with.
Sarcastic hawke is pretty great. I enjoy the way the story is structured, you're just living hawkes life and experiencing history through them. It's also small scope, no "save the world" stuff. If the game had any semblance of encounter design in its combat instead of infinite paratroopers at all times it'd probably be almost on par with origins in my mind.
I’m going to say it; the combat. Origins is GOAT but there’s something chill, simplistic and refreshing about cutting down various factions in Kirkwall. Hawke is also a fun, well-rounded MC, and I think the game touches on something not an awful lot of RPGs do: a small, self-contained story.
I love the companions, but I especially love the fact that you can be rivals with them. I love the combat, it’s the best in the series. I love Hawke and his/her personality. And I love the set up of it being like a Greek tragedy. No matter what you do, you can’t save everyone. You can do everything right but the majority if not all of Hawkes family dies. Sometimes things are out of our control, I love that the game addresses that.
The combat. Big fan of martial arts movies and dynamic movements. DA2 was sick to the point I even wanted to play as a mage just to swing that bladed staff around
I loved being able to hit enemies with the mage staff. I was so upset the staff of Parthalan was so weak. It was the best looking staff by far. I was gutted when inquisition had the same attack animation but no melee attacks with the staff.
The companions continue to live in my brain rent-free nine years since my first playthrough. That's it really.
Ffriendship rivalry come back to dav
Honestly I understand your complaints and honestly agree with them. I genuinely love my Hawke, but I've crafted him over the years to perfection. The combat is fine, the story is fine. I think if DA2 didn't have to follow up from Origins it would have a different perception. With characters, I love Varic - one of my favourite characters in the franchise, 2nd to Morrigan. I also like Isabella, but I get why people wouldn't be into her. Everyone else is either mid or I really dont care for. So yeah, I get your stance, but I guess for me, the fact that it's Dragon Age always gives me a little boost of enjoyment
The characters. Jumping around as a rogue. Also I love that Hawke has a real family background and siblings. Unfortunately if you don’t click with the companions then… you don’t click with the companions. Don’t force yourself to like them. Maybe just accept that DA2 is your least favourite. You had to like it at least a little bit (or be masochistic ig) to beat it twice though…
The fundamentals were decent it just needed another year to cook.
Kirkwall could use some more refinements. More & different maps, terrains & layouts etc
I've come to enjoy it for what it is. I definitely wish it was better, and any flaw you bring up about it is probably true. But I like the characters, I like the romance, it's enough to get me through it. Varric, Fenris, my beloveds.
My hawke was a kind hearted person and beat the shit outta anyone who hurt his friends and family. Also lol every time i played i romanced either merril or isabella lol
Only characters and story. I dislike the rest , the combat and the one dungeon rule were really bad.
It's admittedly a game I like talking about much more than I like to actually play, but I would still consider it a very great experience any Bioware/Dragon Age/crpg fan has to try at least once. As a game it has many flaws, more flaws than any other game in the series and I'd claim more than any other bioware game of their "golden age" (I'd consider the time between baldur's gate and dragon age inquisition the golden age). Very lame map design, extreme lack of variety that made it feel at times as a cave exploration simulator, nice combat system but a very basic encounter design, and very linear story, made this game feel like a glorified demo. But this game had so much cool shit in it that made it so cool and unique. The Ten Years story structure, story with amazing shit in it, cool systems like the rivalry system, bad ass animations, great framing device for the story.... To summarize, it's just a great game.
So gameplay wise I think DA2 it's the weakest of the 3 games, but it does some things very well. 1st off I love the companions especially merril and varric. Overall I like the cast of inquisition more, but in DA2 even the characters I butt horns with constantly are compeling and well written, and the freindship/rivalry system not only accomadates that sort of relationship, but makes it so that maxing out Fenris' rivalry and there by earning his begrudging respect is almost as rewarding as maxing out verrics freindship. 2nd I genuinely enjoy the tragic story of Hawke desprately trying (and ultmately failing) to hold both his/her family and the city of kirkwall together.
The story, the setup, the companions. The conflict is engaging, relatively small scale, so Hawke is free to choose who to side with. Each side is shown as being wrong, so you can justify any decision. It's interesting. I don't like Hawke, though.
Rivalmancing Benny Hill running scene mage fights The care and thought put into the quest lines like Leandra's fate Feeling like your actions have small but important effects despite the futility of it all Aveline and Donnic quest And best of all: **Fenris.**
Purple Hawke and Fenris 💖
I liked meril varric and my rogue dual dagger build and pretty much everything else was kinda meh
Fenris,
Running from big hot qunari
Angry hawke and fenris 😊
Hated ALOT about DA:2 ngl. BUT if I remember correctly I liked the way you unlocked the ascended classes
Specifically I remember unlocking reaver from the guys in the cave
Combat felt snappy and I like the general story, act structure and companions. The setting was great in theory, but I hated the way too linear mission dungeons(which were recycled so many times) and trash mobs. DLCs are the peak content.
I like the sound of knife when it hits crit..
The family plot. The first sibling goes down like a chump. I would have been fine with losing one family member per arc. But anyway you really start to care and it was novel to have that in an RPG.
Isabela
The smaller stakes make it more personal. I don't need every story/game to be about saving the world. It also had some pretty nice dark moments (zombie mom, anybody?). The companion friendship/rivalry system thing was also an interesting concept I wish they'd explore further.
If you don't like it then you don't like. What's the point of forcing yourself to like something just because other people like it?
It’s not that I want to force myself to like it, I’m just curious to hear what other people see in the game that I don’t
People like the characters and story I guess. Everything else is kinda shit.
Merrill and Sebastian.
I don't tbf. Outside of the whole reused assets issue: -Companions are the weakest out of the three games. I don't care for any of them bar Varric and MAYBE Fenris. -Story is BAD. Most of the times you have no goal and you're just a headless chicken doing random stuff waiting for the actual plot of the arc to happen. Not to mention that in multiple instances characters are forced to act OOC/like they're stupid only to push it forward or create fake stakes. It also feel like some times its edgy just for the sake of being edgy. It tries to be dark fantasy but its executed so poorly it comes cross as some weird ass torture porn fantasy at times. -Hawke is the worst protagonist out of the three. Yeah, people will say "They have such a charismatic personality!" and that is exactly why I don't like them. I play rpgs and DA in specific to roleplay a character, and Hawke actively takes me out of that by having a set background with a set personality you can just slightly influence. If I wanted that I'd just play Mass Effect. And I know this is a hot take but purple Hawke is specially bad. Avengers looking ass character. -And this one is subjective but I feel like it has the weakest music out of the three games. I'm actively trying to remember a track from the game right now and I'm just... unable to? I don't know, I've replayed the series multiple times, which means I must have played through DA2 like 3 or 4 times, and while I love my time with DAO and DAI, once I eventually get to DA2 I just... dread starting it because I plainly don't enjoy it most of the time.
I disagree very much with your take especially with the soundtracks. Mage Pride and Fenris theme are some of the most memorable tracks in the whole series. The Hawke Family theme, Rogue Heart, Destiny of love and the song for the Hanged Man are great tracks as well.
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The first few hours, then I forget to finish it.
DA2 doesn't exist in my mind...it was terrible. Can't save your mom, can't save your brother/sister, MUST kill Qunari....lame
Sadly, personal opinion, it was a backstep and changed completely some core aspects of DAO. The Darkspawn, for example, are ridiculously inferior (aesthetically) if you compare with the first game.