More Dragon Age stuffs!!! :D

I'm in fangirl mode. I want to go back to Thedas so bad, but I can't get my hands on Dragon Age 3 until after Xmas cause I don't know if the game will be a gift for me... So I can't buy it myself because of that reason :P But I found this 30-day challenge on tumblr, and like always I'm gonna do all the questions in one go!

1. Favourite Dragon Age game?
I'm still very much inside the story of Dragon Age 2 and running around in Kirkwall. But there's no way 2 is better than Origins. So Origins, it is. No big surprise there, right?

2. Favourite character?
I would so like to say Alistair, but Merrill stole my heart.

3. Least favourite character?
Good question. I always had trouble with Sten, but I didn't really dislike him... I guess I'm gonna have to say Anders in 2. I really liked both Anders and Justice in Awakening, but them mashed up together in 2 just made me angry. Sorry, Anders.

4. Favourite love interest?
ALISTAIR! He is so friggin cute :3

5. Least favourite love interest?
I had way too much fun with the romance in both games... I don't even know if I have one. I think I have to say Anders again. Because of all the secrecy and the way he broke my char's heart... Not even Fenris did that when he walked away...

6. Your Warden's story?
She's named Kallian and she's a city elf, so she had the city elf beginning of going to be force-wed to a human noble. Her best friend Shianni accidentally killed the one she'd marry, all hell breaks loose and she somehow finds herself being saved from the noose by Duncan. She sided with Lord Harrowmont in Orzammar, and the elves in the Brecilian Forest, and she let Connor's mom (totally forgot her name) sacrifice herself in order to save her son. And also she let Morrigan perform her ritual with Alistair so none of them would have to die to kill the archdemon. Does that about cover it? I think so...

7. Favourite quest?
Wow. Erm. I tend to like the companion quests more than the main story. That was true for both Origins and 2. I felt closer to the companions somehow. But I can't pick a favourite.

8. Least favourite quest?
Easily the one ending with having to kill all of the Dalish at Sundermount in Dragon Age 2. I've never felt so terrible.

9. Favourite class?
I tried for mage in Origins at first, but I tend to have a hard time with mages in any RPG. Don't know why. But for my second try I thought "fuck it, warrior is said to be the easiest class let's go with that one". So I did. But for Dragon Age 2 I picked rogue, because normally I do a rogue-type in all RPGs. I preferred rogue in DA too.

10. Favourite party banter?
Anything involving Alistair in Origins. Then picture having Fenris and Merrill in the same party. There you go. Best banter ever.

"But your face might crack if you smile so be careful." - Merrill to Fenris

11. Favourite song from the soundtracks?
Oh... Probably the main theme from Origins. I tend not to pay attention to those things... ^^;

12. OTP?
My own character with Alistair in Origins. They were seriously so damn cute together that I sat and actually squealed every time they were romantic ^^;

13. Mages or Templars?
If it wasn't for the fact that blood magic exists I would've said mages. But now it does, so templars.

14. Character you wish was a romance option?
Nathaniel.

15. Your favourite Bro?
Leliana in Origins. Merrill in 2.

16. Your ultimate team from all games?
Origins: Leliana, Morrigan, Alistair
Awakening: Nathaniel, Anders, Justice
2.1: Fenris, Merrill, Anders
2.2: Fenris, Isabela, Sebastian

17. Favourite Origins story?
Shale's background story.

18. Character you are most like?
I want to say someone cool like Morrigan :P But I think I have to say Merrill; cute, intelligent, awkward, and a bit too trusting.

19. Character who'd be your best friend?
Alistair. Definitely. Possibly both Nathaniel and Anders. Also definitely Varric. Merrill is definitely in there too.

20. Character you wouldn't get along with?
I really like both Leliana and Sebastian, but IRL I tend to have a hard time around religious people...

21. Favourite villain?
The Architect. You know, I almost spared him just cause I liked him...

22. Favourite NPC?
SANDAL!!! :D

23. Scene you wish you could change the outcome of the most?
Leandra dying in 2. I cried. I hardly ever cry because of games. But this time I did.

24. Most shocking scene?
See above.

25. Scene that made you cry?
See above.

26. Crack OTP?
What does that even mean? O_o

27. Best part of the game?
The epic dragon fights in Origins (the archdemon and the high dragon on the mountain). The epic boss fight against Meredith in 2. Also the romance in both. I love the romance!

28. Worst part of the game?
Honestly? The getting stopped by various enemies attacking out of nowhere while trying to travel somewhere in Origins! GET OUTTA MY WAY FUCKERS I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOU!

29. If you made a deal with a demon what would your bargain be?
It would definitely be a desire demon. There's so much I want. But I have no idea what I want the most. I can't say.

30. Hopes for Dragon Age 3?
That I'll meet my old characters in-game! THAT WOULD BE SO FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!

Dragon Age 2 is done - twice!

I've played through Dragon Age 2 twice since my last post... That's twice in a week xD I expected something really bad and extremely different from Origins, because I haven't encountered ANYONE who's had anything positive to say about Dragon Age 2. But tbf I don't find it bad or even extremely different from Origins. Sure it took me a really long time to figure out what was actually the main story of 2, and it felt like lazy game design to make every single dungeon look the same - but that's the only bad things I have noticed about 2. The fighting has cooler animations and movements than in Origins, but I don't find it very different from Origins otherwise. It's still tell the active character what to attack and press numbers for special abilities. No button-mashing and no hack'n'slash.

Also, I've gone through both games saying: "Please, don't be a dragon. I don't want to fight a dragon. Please, don't be... oh fuck..." Seriously, I'm playing a game series called Dragon Age, the word dragon is literally in the name of the series, and I still expect on some level to not have to fight dragons?! I'm such a baka. xD

When it comes to characters there wasn't a single one that didn't give me some kind of intense feelings, and to me a character that gives me some kind of feeling definitely shows of good characters. Aveline bothered me, I just want to hug Merrill cause she's so adorable, Fenris is just... wow o.o, Anders makes me angry, Varric is like an awesome big brother, Isabela is like the crazy best friend that you know you shouldn't hang out with but you just can't stay away, and Sebastian is the calm in the storm - the voice of reason among all the other crazy. It's funny how the only characters I never really liked were the family ones. I know there's a scenario where Carver lives through the prologue, but it didn't happen in neither of my playthroughs so I have no opinion whatsoever of him, Leandra is passéiste (French word because it's the best word ever for someone living in the past), Gamlen is an ass, and Bethany is just plain bland.

The companions: Fenris, Isabela, Varric, Aveline, (player), Bethany, Merrill, Anders, Sebastian

During my first playthrough I always chose the diplomatic/helpful dialogue options. As soon as I saw that Anders was in the game as a companion I had decided to pursue a romance with him and so I always sided with the mages. Until Anders blew up the chantry with all the chantry people still inside. I did a complete turnaround and sided with Meredith in the end (although I really don't like her and preferred Orsino). My default team became Fenris, Merrill and Anders. But I seriously didn't like how my first playthrough came about, so I decided to go through it all again. I really liked both Anders and Justice in Awakening, so it made me kind of angry to discover what they had done with two of my boys :/

During my second playthrough I always chose the humorous/charming dialogue options which made my new character a really joking personality which was a lot more fun to play. I wanted to get everyone to like me this time (except Anders cause I got really mad at him after his little stunt), but getting Merrill to like me was difficult since I had decided to pursue Fenris romantically and, due to Anders' stunt, side with the templars all the time. I had also read that the end of act 2 would be easier if Isabela was friendly with me so this time I made sure to always have her in my party. My default party in my second playthrough became Fenris, Isabela and Sebastian. Although I switched Isabela for Aveline or Varric sometimes, and Sebastian for Merrill or Anders sometimes. In my first playthrough I had decided to leave Bethany at home when I went into the Deep Roads, but that ended up with her getting caught in the Circle. So for my second playthrough I decided to bring her with me to save her from that - and that had her killed. Great -.-' Is there even a way to keep Bethany?

So for my second playthrough I made a character that held nothing sacred, joked about everything and only did what she wanted. So I flirted with everyone, but only actively pursued Fenris. I got him in bed and he walked out on me. So I went to Isabela and she wanted nothing serious. So I went to Merrill who blurted out that she loved me, and I was still convinced that there would be a way to continue my romance with Fenris if I wasn't involved with anyone else, so I turned Merrill down - something I sort of regret now, but I won't make a third playthrough just because of Merrill. (Although she's adorable enough to play the game for. Seriously, Fenris and Merrill are the best ones in the entire game).

Let's not go into the fact that I mentally squealed every time I encountered a character from Origins: Flemeth, Bodahn, Sandal, Anders, Isabela, Alistair, Nathaniel, Sketch, Leliana... It was a lot of fun to run into a bunch of the Denerim nobles at the party in Mark of the Assassin DLC. Also, Tallis bothered me for ages! As soon as she showed up I thought the she really reminded me of someone and I just couldn't figure out who. So I looked it up - Felicia Day! Ofc she's Felicia Day. That's also when I realised that I didn't fight Sten 5-6 times in the end of Act 2. It says on Tallis' wiki page that "just like Sten, Tallis isn't her name but her grade within the Qunari"... Well, that explained a lot! xD I also loved all the references to Awakening DLC in Legacy DLC.

But to sum things up - I like Dragon Age 2. Not as much as Origins obviously, but I don't think it's bad. I was given the impression that it would be terrible. But I liked it. I enjoyed it.

Also: "The Champion is gone. Just like the Warden." "That can't be a coincidence." Dare I hope that I will encounter my previous characters in Dragon Age: Inquisition?!?!?!??!?!

Dragon Age: Origins has been completed

After years of being nagged suggested by guy friends to play Dragon Age, I finally picked up Origins in 2012, but I just couldn't get into the story. I tried again in 2013 and it was the same thing. Then when Dragon Age 3 was released a couple of weeks ago I decided to get through it, because the Internet basically exploded with Dragon Age and I always want to know what the hell is going on. But I didn't have the energy to start over with the prologue again so I decided to continue with the save I started in 2013. In that save I had completed the city elf prologue and the battle of Ostagar, been saved by Flemeth, been given Morrigan, met Leliana and Sten, lost Lothering, and found my way to Redcliffe. So that's where I was when I picked up the story. I didn't remember all of that when I picked it up, but as I played the holes were filled.

It soon became obvious that I had quit playing just before the action really started and it didn't take long for me to really get into the game and become completely addicted. I had chosen to play as a female city elf and it was a lot of fun, despite the blatant racism in the game towards elves (although I'm kinda used to that from Elder Scrolls). I soon had my favourite team that I picked every time I left camp; Leliana, Alistair, and Morrigan. I apparantly missed two companions; Wynne and Zevran. Zevran was sent by Loghain as an assassin to kill me so I killed him. Wynne didn't like that I sided with the templars during the quest in the Circle's tower so she challenged me to a battle and died. Otherwise I got them all :) I knew that the game had romance options and to begin with I had decided to go for Leliana as she was the my first favourite character. But the romance options showed up for Alistair before they showed up for Leliana so I decided to go for Alistair, and it was the best move ever! Alistair is incredibly cute. Before I knew it the love story around Alistair became the ground work for every decision I made. I decided not to make Alistair king because he didn't want to and that would separate us. I figured an unhappy king would make a bad king. I didn't force-marry him to Anora cause that would also qualify as an unhappy king. The love story was also the reason why I decided to go along with Morrigan's ritual so that none of us would have to die. 

The companions: Ohgren, Leliana, Sten, Morrigan, (player), dog, Alistair, Wynne, Zevran, Shale

I continued on with Awakening DLC and for a really long time I wanted to find Alistair, but then I read on the wiki that he wouldn't show unless he was made king in the base game. Too bad. But then in the epilogue it showed up that the Grey Warden only stayed in Amaranthine for a short while and then went away to be with Alistair. That made me squeal. Such a fangirl :3 I really liked both Anders and Nathaniel however. Would've been fun to flirt a bit with either of them, but the DLCs don't have romance. My default group in Awakening became Nathaniel, Anders, and Justice. It was also nice to see Ohgren make a comeback in the DLC :)

The companions: Velanna, Nathaniel, Ohgren, (player), Anders, Sigrun, Justice

Then I played Witch Hunt, Leliana's Song, The Golems of Angarrak, and The Darkspawn Chronicles - in that order. Witch Hunt was very interesting and I really liked Finn and the short reunion with Morrigan was so worth it ^^ Leliana's Song told the story (in a kind of Kill Bill style) what happened when Leliana broke it off with Marjolaine. It was a lot of fun to play through that story, especially with the catchy and fun background music. The Golems of Angarrak had the hardest final boss fight in the entire game. To the point where all of my characters were dead except Brogan who successfully (and with the help of the humongous pile of health potions I had collected throughout base game and DLCs) defeated the disgusting Harvester. I didn't play much of The Darkspawn Chronicles tbh. I started it and then got as far as having to kill the Arl. No health potions and my darkspawn outnumbered five-to-one... Yeah... No. Also I really liked Denerim as a city so it felt like betrayal to be the forces to attack and destroy it. 

Companions of the small DLCs: Ariane & Finn (& dog) from Witch Hunt, Sketch, Tug & Silas from Leliana's Song, Jerrik, Snug, Golem & Brogan from Golems of Angarrak

I finished The Golems of Angarrak and The Darkspawn Chronicles yesterday and immediately after that I started up Dragon Age 2. I have heard a lot of bad things about that game, but thus far I don't think it's that different from Origins. Tbf I haven't left Kirkwall yet. I love all the references to what I did in Origins! And I squealed when Anders showed up! My female Hawke is so getting together with him!

And I had planned on having lots of screenshots in this post, but since DA:O refuses to upload the screenshots to my online profile, and Origin doesn't have a screenshot button that saves screenshots to my computer... that proved impossible. So all pictures in this post is from the courtesy of Google.