146 réponses à ce sujet

[soteria]

Peter Thomas wrote...

Followers use their preferred style of weapon. Pretty sure Mike said that before. Isabella, for example, uses Dual Weapons only. This means that she wouldn't have the general tree for Archery.

But will she be able to equip a bow? If, for example, we fought another dragon and wanted to keep the party out of melee, it would be nice to give our companions bows for certain fights. It's a tactical option I'd rather not see go away.

[Peter Thomas]

Sigil_Beguiler123 wrote...

That was my guess/hope so nice to see it confirmed. I dunno how much you can say but are upgrades just number changes or can they actually really change up how the spell/talent work? So say instead of Walking Bomb then a separate Virulent Walking Bomb. The upgrade would make it into a Virulent Walking Bomb?

Upgrades should be worth spending a point on. Some are improving aspects of the original, others reduce detriments/risks, others add entirely new capabilities. Some aspects people may want, some they won't, depending on playstyle.

Making stuff up now for examples.

An ability has an upgrade that decreases cooldown. I have my Mage set up with the ability in tactics to use it, but I don't want them burning all their mana on it. I don't get the upgrade so that I can stagger his ability usage better. If it was my main character, I might take it so that I can use it whenever I need it.

Another upgrade might cause an enemy, if killed by that attack ability, to explode in an AoE Spirit blast. I'm playing on Nightmare with Friendly Fire, so I choose not to get that since my melee fighters would suffer too much from it. I may still take it if I plan to only trigger it manually in combination with something else that gives massive Spirit or Damage Resistance.

An upgrade might make a sustained mode generate increased threat, but my follower has enough bonuses from gear that he holds aggro just fine, so I don't need it. I might find the upgrade useful if I make a build focused on sustained modes and don't have enough stamina left for active abilities, or that bosses specifically take too much aggro to be held over a long fight.

[Dhiro]

Peter Thomas wrote...

Sigil_Beguiler123 wrote...

That was my guess/hope so nice to see it confirmed. I dunno how much you can say but are upgrades just number changes or can they actually really change up how the spell/talent work? So say instead of Walking Bomb then a separate Virulent Walking Bomb. The upgrade would make it into a Virulent Walking Bomb?

Upgrades should be worth spending a point on. Some are improving aspects of the original, others reduce detriments/risks, others add entirely new capabilities. Some aspects people may want, some they won't, depending on playstyle.

Making stuff up now for examples.

An ability has an upgrade that decreases cooldown. I have my Mage set up with the ability in tactics to use it, but I don't want them burning all their mana on it. I don't get the upgrade so that I can stagger his ability usage better. If it was my main character, I might take it so that I can use it whenever I need it.

Another upgrade might cause an enemy, if killed by that attack ability, to explode in an AoE Spirit blast. I'm playing on Nightmare with Friendly Fire, so I choose not to get that since my melee fighters would suffer too much from it. I may still take it if I plan to only trigger it manually in combination with something else that gives massive Spirit or Damage Resistance.

An upgrade might make a sustained mode generate increased threat, but my follower has enough bonuses from gear that he holds aggro just fine, so I don't need it. I might find the upgrade useful if I make a build focused on sustained modes and don't have enough stamina left for active abilities, or that bosses specifically take too much aggro to be held over a long fight.

The upgrades have a order? We have to follow it? I mean;

Fireball 1 - Normal firebal.
Firebal 2 - More damage.
Fireball 3 - Purple fireball.

To get the 'purple fireball' I need to get the 'more damage' upgrade or I can just ignore the 'most damage' and just get the 'purple fireball'?

[Peter Thomas]

soteria wrote...

But will she be able to equip a bow? If, for example, we fought another dragon and wanted to keep the party out of melee, it would be nice to give our companions bows for certain fights. It's a tactical option I'd rather not see go away.

Your main character can switch to whatever their class allows, but followers cannot.

In my current Nightmare run, I deliberately had Isabella hang back in some fights because she was too vulnerable to that specific type of enemy. She wasn't useless, though, and could still use supporting abilities and help defend other members of my party. I had to adjust my tactics and usage of party members based on what the situation demanded and what the traits (including weapon style) of those party members were.

[Dhiro]

Peter Thomas wrote...

soteria wrote...

But will she be able to equip a bow? If, for example, we fought another dragon and wanted to keep the party out of melee, it would be nice to give our companions bows for certain fights. It's a tactical option I'd rather not see go away.

Your main character can switch to whatever their class allows, but followers cannot.

In my current Nightmare run, I deliberately had Isabella hang back in some fights because she was too vulnerable to that specific type of enemy. She wasn't useless, though, and could still use supporting abilities and help defend other members of my party. I had to adjust my tactics and usage of party members based on what the situation demanded and what the traits (including weapon style) of those party members were.

Well, I noticed that Rogues can throw bombs or something, so I suppose Isabela can be useful even in ranged combat?

[Peter Thomas]

Dhiro wrote...

The upgrades have a order? We have to follow it? I mean;

Fireball 1 - Normal firebal.
Firebal 2 - More damage.
Fireball 3 - Purple fireball.

To get the 'purple fireball' I need to get the 'more damage' upgrade or I can just ignore the 'most damage' and just get the 'purple fireball'?

The requirements for upgrades differ on an individual basis. Requirements can include things like possessing certain abilities, being above a certain level, or possessing a certain number of other abilities in the tree. Currently no upgrades require the possession of other upgrades for that same ability. Subject to balancing, etc, etc.

[Peter Thomas]

Dhiro wrote...

Well, I noticed that Rogues can throw bombs or something, so I suppose Isabela can be useful even in ranged combat?

All the abilities outside of the specific weapon trees (in her case Dual Weapon) can be used regardless of weapon style.

Hm... this thread seems to be getting derailed... I should be quiet now...

Modifié par Peter Thomas, 30 décembre 2010 - 08:43 .

[Dhiro]

Peter Thomas wrote...

Dhiro wrote...

Well, I noticed that Rogues can throw bombs or something, so I suppose Isabela can be useful even in ranged combat?

All the abilities outside of the specific weapon trees (in her case Dual Weapon) can be used regardless of weapon style.

Hm... this thread seems to be getting derailed... I should be quiet now...

Now now, Mr. Thomas. Don't be silly.

TELL ME MOAR.

[themageguy]

thanks peter.

So could you possibly explain why in the primal web there doesnt seem to be much points to cover ice earth lightning? It just seems....small for four elements?

Im sure andar91 would be happy with any info u could provide.

[Seagloom]

Thanks for all the information, Peter. I have one question about upgrades. In the event an upgrade opens up new capabilities, is it still possible to use the older version of that spell? For example, if an upgrade imparted AoE capability to a single target spell, could we still cast it in its previous form?

andar91 wrote...

I don't think force mages are going to be elementally-focused, but I could be wrong. I can see the spells being split with two elements in one and two in the other, but I suppose we'll have to wait.

I hope you are right. One thing that bothers me about mages in many games is they are reduced to being elemental spell chucking artillery platforms. I have no problem with that archetype personally, but it is not what I would play if given an option. Origins had just enough spell variety that there were other ways to inflict damage if need be. I hope that is still true.

Modifié par Seagloom, 30 décembre 2010 - 09:40 .

[Sigil_Beguiler123]

Seagloom wrote...
I hope you are right. One thing that bothers me about mages in many games is they are reduced to being elemental spell chucking artillery platforms. I have no problem with that archetype personally, but it is not what I would play if given an option. Origins had just enough spell variety that there were other ways to inflict damage if need be. I hope that is still true.

Yeah I have never been a fan of elemental magic. So I hope there is more variety when it comes to damage beyond primal.

[Peter Thomas]

Seagloom wrote...

Thanks for all the information, Peter. I have one question about upgrades. In the event an upgrade opens up new capabilities, is it still possible to use the older version of that spell? For example, if an upgrade imparted AoE capability to a single target spell, could we still cast it in its previous form?

Upgrades permanently alter the base ability, so no, you couldn't cast it in its original form.

[Seagloom]

Thanks for the answer. Hard to say how I feel about that answer without context. It depends on if an upgrade is just an upgrade or a radical alteration of a spell's effects. Ah, worst case we can simply skip those upgrades I suppose.

[Herr Uhl]

Seagloom wrote...

Thanks for the answer. Hard to say how I feel about that answer without context. It depends on if an upgrade is just an upgrade or a radical alteration of a spell's effects. Ah, worst case we can simply skip those upgrades I suppose.

All upgrades mentioned thus far add effects, I've seen none that detract them.

I think we can assume that the base-spell won't do less damage.

[Seagloom]

Herr Uhl wrote...

All upgrades mentioned thus far add effects, I've seen none that detract them.

I think we can assume that the base-spell won't do less damage.

The reason I was curious was because of Peter Thomas's comment several posts ago:

Peter Thomas wrote...

Upgrades should be worth spending a point on. Some are improving aspects of the original, others reduce
detriments/risks, others add entirely new capabilities.

The bolded part made me wonder exactly what that meant. Upgrading an effect to improve its convenience or enhance destructive power is one thing, but that makes it sound as if an upgrade can fundamentally change the function of an existing spell. If so, I may not prefer the upgraded version in any number of situations.

Modifié par Seagloom, 30 décembre 2010 - 11:08 .

[themageguy]

i admit ive always liked elemental magic/powers. though usually i stick with 1 or 2, fire being my first choice then earth/ice my second. Then i'll go with debuffs, drain life and paralysing type spells. Thats how most of my mages end up. In da origins i did have at one time a primalist spirit healer and by end game it had become a little bit boring, only coz some primal spells were so similar just diff elemental dmg. Which is why i was happy to hear this was recognised and primal spells were being made to be more unique.

[andar91]

Thank you for all of the clarification, Mr. Thomas; don't ever shut up, we like the information way too much.



I am very curious about what these upgrades will be.



Regarding spell preference, I actually tend to balance my mages between a variety of powers. I usually take on primal line, and a little bit of a second, and then take crowd control, a little healing and support abilities. A typical mage build for Origins for me might be something like: Cold line, 2 ranks in lightning, Glyph line, Mind Blast line, 1 rank in healing, 1 rank in Spirit Healer, 2 ranks for spell shield/dispel magic, and the Disorient line. Plus some others. I'm sure from my posts I may come across as a blaster mage, but I actually would be much more upset if we were getting nothing BUT elemental magic and this became Diablo. I HATE it when mages are reduced to nothing but flinging thunderbolts around. I just want to be able to fling thunderbolts around in several different ways in DA2, hence my concern about the possibility of limited elemental options. The inclusion of upgrades, however, makes me feel a lot better about less spells since one spell should be able to go a lot farther than before.

[themageguy]

yeah spell upgrading sounds wicked. It was a kool feature of mass effect 2 and i think itll do great in da 2.

[MindRaven]

wow. many thanks to Peter for again shedding some more light on the game!!



I'm looking forward to the upgradeable spells/talents!!

[Sylvius the Mad]

Eclipse_9990 wrote...

Animate dead was awful and highly disapointing. Why would you want this?

Animate Dead was terrific, both for mood (animating the dead is just cool) and it was hugely useful on the battlefield if you animated a mage (or even better, a healer).

My first time through DAO I spent half the game with an animated follower.  That was the only sustained spell I ever kept on between encounters, because it was the only one that was worth it.

[themageguy]

my only issue with animate dead was when entering new areas ud lose the animated corpse. With spell might skeleton mages sure were fun. And the warrior were damn tough too.

[Blacklash93]

So you can't use spells in their original form after upgrading? That's disappointing... It's going to make friendly fire on Nightmare that much more difficult to manage.

Cone spells upgraded for a greatly wider range, for example, will become impossible to use precisely in clusters of allies and enemies without damaging nearly everyone. A normal cone spell would be much more convinient to use in those situations.

Shouldn't a mage be able to tone down the power of spell to ensure the safety of allies if circumstances call for it and use the benefits of all tiers to a spell?

Modifié par Blacklash93, 30 décembre 2010 - 10:53 .

[andar91]

Blacklash93 wrote...

So you can't use spells in their original form after upgrading? That's disappointing... It's going to make friendly fire on Nightmare that much more difficult to manage.

Cone spells upgraded for a greatly wider range, for example, will become impossible to use precisely in clusters of allies and enemies without damaging nearly everyone. A normal cone spell would be much more convinient to use in those situations.

Shouldn't a mage be able to tone down the power of spell to ensure the safety of allies if circumstances call for it and use the benefits of all tiers to a spell?

You don't HAVE to take the upgrades, we don't know if the upgrades will increase radius at all or on which spells (though I think it likely), and doesn't Nightmare difficult imply difficulty?

[Sylvius the Mad]

Blacklash93 wrote...

So you can't use spells in their original form after upgrading?

That will be a reason not to upgrade some spells under some circumstances.

In a way I like that.  I like that there are drawbacks to spending an upgrade point that go beyond just opportunity cost.

Modifié par Sylvius the Mad, 30 décembre 2010 - 10:56 .

[Sylvius the Mad]

andar91 wrote...

You don't HAVE to take the upgrades, we don't know if the upgrades will increase radius at all or on which spells (though I think it likely), and doesn't Nightmare difficult imply difficulty?

But it's also the only way to get friendly fire, which some of us demand regardless of difficulty.

I never play on Nightmare, because I don't see any point in higher difficulty just for the sake of it being more difficult, but if it's the only way to get friendly fire (and dammit, that friendly fire had better affect my enemies as well) then that's what I'll do.