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[Sandmanifest]

David Gaider wrote...

shantisands wrote...
I think if I had to pick, that was my favorite quest.   It spoke about the depth of conviction the people have to the Qun, and their sense of belonging to their purpose more than anything else could in mere words. That, and it made me really question whether the Qunari mages truly felt victimized.  It was almost as though their belief in their philosophy truly did transcend personal feeling or opinion.  Anyway,  Incredible quest.   Would love to know who wrote that one, and the Qunari quests in general.  

Luke will be pleased to hear the compliments about Shepherding Wolves and the other qunari quests. I wrote the climax in Act 2, but everything else about the Qunari in DA2-- and the Arishok in particular-- was all his doing. Any kudos should go to him.

God I love the Qunari. I eat up their lore. Wanted to end up siding with the Arishok and razing the city. Mad props to Luke! And also to you for writing the best climax by far of the three! Well, in my humble opinion of course.

[LuckIs0nMySide]

ma.sc wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

I'm glad you guys liked it. Mary Kirby
did an excellent job with writing.

Thanks ma.sc, looks like I owe Mary Kirby a cookie

Modifié par LuckIs0nMySide, 24 mars 2011 - 10:16 .

[FedericoV]

Arius23 wrote...

What were some of your favorite quest and writing moments of DA2?

I'm in the middle of act.2 and I do agree that the Aveline/Donnic affair's quest was one of the best I've ever played in an RPG and that it was written very well. Touching. In general, I think that Aveline is the best NPC of DA2. 

I even liked the "All that remains" quest because I think that Leandra was really easy to love and I wasn't expecting such a dark and sad turn.

Finally, I think that in act. 1 the quest with the Qunari mage was interesting, fun and even moving at the same time. I would have love to have him as a NPC.

Modifié par FedericoV, 24 mars 2011 - 10:36 .

[What?]

Shepherding Wolves was nicely written, and I really, really enjoyed how it ended. All dramatic, in flames. The entire quest-arc of the Kirkwall Killer was impressive. Sort of reminded me of the Skindancer quest from BG2. And Leandra's death was the only death that made me a little teary-eyed. Also enjoyed Feynriel's quest quite a bit; thought it was neat to finally see an elf-blooded human in-game, and the complications they face in society (father and tribe not wanting them, having a Dalish mother, etc.).

All of Act II was amazing, really. Oh, and Avaline's quest was absolutely priceless. "No Rest For the Wicked" made me laugh, too.

Modifié par VictorianTrash, 24 mars 2011 - 10:42 .

[Master Shiori]

My favorites:

1) The Long Road

2) Shepherding Wolves

3) Merrill's quest to find the demon on Sundermont

4) The "Lilly Killer" questline, particularly the last one when you need to save Leandra

5) All Qunari centered quests in Act 2

6) Varric's quest to deal with his brother and Haunted

7) Magistrate's Orders

8) Fenris' quests to deal with Hadriana and when you confront his sister and Danarius in the Hanged Man

9) Isabela's quest to retrieve the Tome of Koslun and dealing with Castillon

In general, I feel that the quality of quests in Dragon Age 2 was quite better than in Origins. The fact that many of the quests touched on interesting aspects of Dragon Age world that weren't really explored before (Sheparding Wolves, Qunari quests) or were deeply personal or emotional (Lilly KIller and Magistrate's Orders) really made the game a lot more enjoyable. It's nice to see Bioware move away from "fetch and carry" or "kill and get your reward" type of quests and try something different.

[TcheQ]

+2sigma of the dialogue and writing is brilliant, it's the other 5% people pick on.  Unfortunately one of that 5% was "i must fight mages who I am trying to help because they turned out to be blood mages and blood mages attack every1 for no reason whatsoever so matter how reasonable and sympathetic a person I am"

There are some minor flaws, like when i visit MErrill in Act 3, and she say "yuo helped me, we fought vaeterral together"  No we didn't.  I chcickened out of that quest you dumb ass.

But so what?  Like I have said in other threads, for all it's flaws, the game is leagues ahead of everything else on the market.

COuld have used more puzzles (or even one would have sufficed).  I loved the puzzles in BG II (Demon's leep, whatever it was actually called), and the single one in DAO (urn of sacred ashes) was sparse but still interesting. 

Yes, Aveline's love quest . Merrill constant tripping over her words. Anders' complete toolery.  The companions were great.  SOme of the compulsory quests seemed so contrived (I've slaughtered thousands of qunari, yet a bunch of 20 peasants think they can kill me?)

As a favourite scene that wasn't a companion quest... well Varric's Lies were a favourite (mage hawke splitting apart an ogre, making Bethany's boobs huge in his retelling, his brother calling him smart and handsome)

Actually the most impressive thing of the game was the creative way they slipped in character customization in.  I really enjoyed that.

[Miashi]

The first sacrifice -> prime suspect -> all that remains
It's the questline that I found the most disturbing, darker and I loved the more "investigative" part.

In act 2 though, the way Prime Suspect ends is very abrupt. I let Gascard go free, then I witnessed Emeric die, and I was like "Hum, so what's next?" then I figured that the quest was completed in my log. Got me a bit hanging.

And finally, of course, the ending left me like this D: ... it probably the most shocking quest I've seen in DA 2. It's as close of shocking than broodmother could be.

Modifié par Miashi, 24 mars 2011 - 10:54 .

[Big I]

Shepherding Wolves is my favorite, not because of Petrice who I wanted to kill immediately, but because of Saarebas. That scene with Arvarad and the aftermath has my favorite dialogue from the game.

Hawke: "Existence is not a choice!"
Saarebas: "Existence is the ONLY choice."

if Hawke tries to stop Saarebas:
Hawke: "I can't let you do this."
Saarebas: "It isn't freedom if you force it on another."(paraphrase)

[_Aine_]

David Gaider wrote...

shantisands wrote...
I think if I had to pick, that was my favorite quest.   It spoke about the depth of conviction the people have to the Qun, and their sense of belonging to their purpose more than anything else could in mere words. That, and it made me really question whether the Qunari mages truly felt victimized.  It was almost as though their belief in their philosophy truly did transcend personal feeling or opinion.  Anyway,  Incredible quest.   Would love to know who wrote that one, and the Qunari quests in general.  

Luke will be pleased to hear the compliments about Shepherding Wolves and the other qunari quests. I wrote the climax in Act 2, but everything else about the Qunari in DA2-- and the Arishok in particular-- was all his doing. Any kudos should go to him.

Ah, thank you kindly for that information, I will pass that along then!  Kudos also for Fenris (who was/is fantastic) and the climax in Act II (my personal favorite of the three!).   

In general actually, the writing in DA2 hasn't been getting the credit I think it deserves, it is what makes multiple playthroughs worth doing imho (...and you guys were hidden in the credits, you need your own section =)  )    

Now, off to find a much needed coffee.... *rubs her eyes* 

[Teddie Sage]

The Long Road was a pure gem. XD

[kaimanaMM]

highcastle wrote...

My first time through, I told him, and his reaction is wonderful. He immediately curses you for telling him, then himself for asking to know. And then having your LI come to comfort you adds another note of realism. I've gotten to this scene thus far with Anders and Fenris. Anders is comforting, while Fenris walks away if you take responsibility for your mother's death. It speaks volumes about each's characterization. Lazy writing would've dictated that all companions respond basically the same way, but they don't. It makes it real, and it also makes me care more about the situation, my mother, and my LI more than I would have otherwise. I've always said this game's greatest strength is in reactivity (your companions recognizing and responding to what you do and what happens to you). This is a prime example.

I have to echo highcastle here, and I pulled this quote because this is one of the main reasons why I liked DA2 so much.  Gamlen's reaction to you when you tell him you arrived too late - his yelling and cursing you, that it's YOUR fault actually hit me in the heart.  I felt that I had failed Leandra, that I figured the entire thing out too late, that as powerful as I seemed to be, I really wasn't and  that maybe Fenris was right, what does magic touch that it doesn't spoil.  The entire quest changed my Hawke's personality by the end.

Aveline and Donnic's quest.  So.  Much.  Love.  I think I played through that with more than one lol moment and a big goofy grin.  

Sheparding Wolves made me sit back and think, for a while actually, as did Night Terrors.  

[AndreaDraco]

Act 1

Tranquillity - it was the first glimpse of Anders I got and I was hooked. What happened with Karl was... terrible, and it deeply resonated with me.

Shepherding Wolves - Sister Petrice. Need I say more? How much I hate her racist guts? She deserved what she got. But in this quest it's Katojan that really steals the scene. It was a very emotional quest, with some great writing involved and some very difficult choices to ponder.

Wayward Son - Since DA:O and DAO:A, I've taken the mages' plight to heart and, in fact, I even roleplayed my main Warden, an elven mage, as a Libertarian who really wants to see mages free from the Templars' yoke. This quest is the first one I did that really helped me roleplay this kind of theme in the game. My Hawke is less idealistic than my Warden was - he simply wants to live his life, even if Anders has convinced him through the years to be more involved in the Mage Revolution - but it was a great feeling nonetheless to save Feynriel from the Circle and send him to the Dalish.

Act 2

Night Terrors - I'm one of the few that really liked the Fade segment in DA:O and it was great to visit it again in DA2. Plus it was nice to see the companions tempted by the demons and it was even greater to convince Feynriel that he could master his gift and live free, like every mage shoul be able to do.

Dissent - The Tranquil Solution abhorred me and it's what really made my mage Hawke take a more active role in the Mage Revolution. The end twist with Vengeance taking control over Anders was great and, since Hawke was already in a relationship with him, it was wonderful to see him intervene and stop Anders from harming the girl. Some really great writing here too.

The Long Road - It was just too cute to be true. Before the release of the game, I never thought I could like Aveline so much but she slowly won me over. Aveline, Anders and Varric are my favorite characters, hands down.

Prime Suspect/All That Remains - An emotional train-wreck. I was pretty shocked by what happened and the whole quest was really thought-provoking.

Demands of the Qun - everything about the Qunari was great in DA2, but Act 2 final quest was the highest point. The Arishok was an amazing character and the final stage of the brewing war was really epic, as was the duel.

Act 3

Well, it's quicker to say... everything in this act was pretty great to me, except for Zevran's bugged cameo, which I really hope will get fixed as soon as possible. Honorable mention to whoever wrote Orsino. I adore him!

Modifié par AndreaDraco, 24 mars 2011 - 01:18 .

[KenKenpachi]

I like pretty much all of Merills quests when you go down the Rivalry road, it forces her to see the dangers of what shes doing, and makes her grow up a bit.

I also Found the boss battle with crazy Templar **** to be the most...well it was fantastic, it smacks the DA:O fight Archdemon versus the Warden into the ground. I mean did anyone not go Holy **** when they seen the big bronze statue climb off of those rafters to beat your ass into the ground?

[Fault Girl]

There were so many that I enjoyed but I shall join the majority with Qunari based quests and Avelines which was hiliarious and brilliant.

Any quest relating to Fenris was good also, he made me laugh and get a tad flustered which is alwasy good.


I think the best thing that happened was when i was playing as my sister was watching, during Anders recruitment quest where the Fereldans after you tell them at you are also Fereldan, say along the lines "Long Live King Alistair"

Me and my sisters just high fived each other automatically without saying anything and then couldnt stop laughing for a bout 10mins afterwards

[Estelindis]

Kartikeya wrote...

There are so many, I'm having a hard time coming up with ones that weren't well written.

Pretty much this.  Ignoring the 50 silvers sidequests where you simply give an item you found to a particular NPC, I cannot think of any quest in DA2 that didn't have superb writing.  It's as if they decided not to beat around the bush and let the filler be proper filler (no drama or RPing); then, by contrast, they decided that everything else would be solid gold.  No in-betweens.

The quests that affected my emotions most deeply have already been mentioned: All That Remains (I wept copiously), Best Served Cold (for a while it seemed like Hawke was going to lose Bethany after already losing mother and Carver, and I was literally desperate to stop that happening), and Shepherding Wolves (the philosophical questions raised about freedom, combined with the heartbreak of Ketojan's death, made this a stunner).  But those are just three that come immediately to mind.  Nearly every non-fed-ex quest elicited a strong emotional reaction from me.  While DA2 did not always give me the amount of choice that I really wanted, the quest-writing was almost never short of stellar. 

[blothulfur]

Waxlers hat quest, a true journey into the heart of darkness that festers at the heart of the chantry: the enslavement and abuse of the the templars who are doomed to be rewarded with madness and less of self for the sin of giving zealous duty and asking for nought but the satisfaction of a world and its peoples kept safe from harm.

[Sherbet Lemon]

1.  I thought Wayward Son was extremely well developed.  In my game, I sent Feynriel to Tevinter and that actually frightens me a bit.  My poor Hawke and I are both wondering it that decision is going to come back and bite us in the bottom.  Power corrupts and all that.

2.  Sheparding Wolves was awesome.  Interacting with Sarebaa really whipped my noodle and got me thinking on the nature of freedom and the philosophy type stuff.

3. The entire Act II has some of the best pacing I've seen a  game so far and builds up the momentum wonderfully.  Arishok proves to be a great foil and adored his characterization.  I also totally did NOT see the Isabela moment in Act II.

4.  All That Remains. Nuff said. Academics are still trying to understand the place of emotion (in narrative) in video games.  I would point them to this quest.  Really chilling and made my call my mom afterwards just to talk to her.

5.  Bartrand locking my Hawke and Company in the Deep Road was a nice turn.  I knew something terrible would happen but I wasn't expecting this.  I also really want to know more that Thaig.  The questions that place brought up alone could fill two threads worth of discussion, I think.

I really enjoyed all of the personal quests a great deal more this time around.  I found them all to be well-written and full of insightful moments.  In particular:
*Aveline's personal quest in the Second Act is just!   She is just wonderful.  There isn't much more that I could say other than that!

*Merrill had such a heart breaking realization and felt so bad rivaling her even though I thought it was for the best.  I was so sad for her when Marethari died and managed to click the right response on my first playthrough so the whole Dalish clan didn't die.  My second playthrough I chose a different response and holy maker, killing Hahren Paivel and Master Ilen just about killed me!  Great stuff!

*Fenris gets a lot of derision for his broodiness but I think that Alone subtlely shows just how messed up the Tevinter Imperium is.  I know a lot of people loathe Goldanna because of how she treated Alistair, and while I'm not a fan, I did empathize with her.  I felt the same way about Varania.  I couldn't help but think that the Tevinter Imperium must be really terrible if she would sell out her own brother (the same brother who essentially sacrificed his personhood so that she could be free) to his former master so that she could be apprenticed to a magister.  Irony ftw!
Okay enough with the wall of text!  I could go on and on forever!

EDIT: Typos! T_T

Modifié par Village Idiot, 24 mars 2011 - 02:48 .

[AndreaDraco]

Zalocx wrote...

Most moving line in any quest for me would be the one where the Dreamer kid gets rescued from the slavers and confronts Mage!Hawke with panicked cliches like about how no one understands hm and how can he trust them and Hawke just held out his hand, lit it on fire and said "Because I am you". Perfect moment of mage solidarity

"I am you" was so simple and yet so perfect. A wonderful moment indeed.

[Beerfish]

I think I'm the only person on these forums that liked Sister Petrice and understood what she was trying to do.   

There were not too many weak major quests in this game.  Most of them worked very well and moreso worked very well with just about any group combo which is not always easy.

[Sherbet Lemon]

AndreaDraco wrote...

Zalocx wrote...

Most moving line in any quest for me would be the one where the Dreamer kid gets rescued from the slavers and confronts Mage!Hawke with panicked cliches like about how no one understands hm and how can he trust them and Hawke just held out his hand, lit it on fire and said "Because I am you". Perfect moment of mage solidarity

"I am you" was so simple and yet so perfect. A wonderful moment indeed.

ME TOO!  I thought that moment was very touching!  I was like "awwww apostate comrades!"

[CarlSpackler]

David Gaider wrote...

FinalGirl wrote...
You do meet up with her in Act III, daytime in the Alienage. In my playthrough, at least, she ended up joining the guard. There's a bit of extra dialogue if you have Aveline in your party.

You must have killed him. She ends up quite differently if you spared him.

Tonia Laird, our writing intern, plunked away at Magistrate's Orders as her first full writing task-- designing the quest from top to bottom (with guidance from myself and Jennifer). I think she did an excellent job.

So who's responsible for the quest "All that remains"?  Now granted the conclusion of that quest tugged at my emotional engagement with the game and characters as much as any questline from about any game I can think of, but seriously whoever wrote that at Bioware might want to seek some counseling.

[Addai]

I thought all of them were excellent. There's no quest I dread doing. I guess if I had to pick ones I especially look forward to on replay, Wayward Son and Night Terrors come to mind. New lore and emotional conflict with our NPC companions, also I was moved by the plight of Feynriel and his mother. As one who is horrible at pathfinding, thank you for not trapping us in the Fade for hours on end.

As always, the dwarf NPCs are some of my favorites. I love Anso and Javaris and wish we saw more of them.

All That Remains is also a highlight for me- if you can call it that, when it's so horrible. A whodunit involving magic and an emotional climax with a bit of resolution with Gamlen and the LI, and it sets the stage for the mage-templar conflict because Hawke has to deal personally with the dark side of magic.

I suspect like for many people, The Long Road is a favorite companion quest. It adds some lightheartedness in the midst of the death and destruction.

Modifié par Addai67, 24 mars 2011 - 03:39 .

[GR Groe]

All that time devoted to building up Meredith as a "do not cross" type of person, and she appears right in front of you in the Act II finale. Both her and Orsino's introductions in that finale were perfect. I went with the distraction option for getting inside the Keep, and I cheered watching Orsino stride up the Viscount's Way, blasting qunari.

The Act II finale was so artfully done, I almost thought it was the climax of the game. I believed Act III couldn't possibly be as exciting, especially because the outcome was predictable. But like everything else in Dragon Age II, it's not the outcome that snags you emotionally, it's getting to the outcome. And I was still on the edge of my seat during the entire Gallows battle. I was shocked when Meredith pulled out the Lyrium Sword. That battle was brilliant.

All That Remains made me think about my own mother, and how I would feel in that situation. I defy anyone who says this is not one of the most beautifully written games of our time.

[AllThatJazz]

Addai67 wrote...

I thought all of them were excellent. There's no quest I dread doing. I guess if I had to pick ones I especially look forward to on replay, Wayward Son and Night Terrors come to mind. New lore and emotional conflict with our NPC companions, also I was moved by the plight of Feynriel and his mother. As one who is horrible at pathfinding, thank you for not trapping us in the Fade for hours on end.

As always, the dwarf NPCs are some of my favorites. I love Anso and Javaris and wish we saw more of them.

All That Remains is also a highlight for me- if you can call it that, when it's so horrible. A whodunit involving magic and an emotional climax with a bit of resolution with Gamlen and the LI, and it sets the stage for the mage-templar conflict because Hawke has to deal personally with the dark side of magic.

I suspect like for many people, The Long Road is a favorite companion quest. It adds some lightheartedness in the midst of the death and destruction.

I would like to echo this sentiment. Stumbling around lost for ages was like a bad dream. Which is was it was, I guess. Huh. Little too realistic for my tastes, then?

OT: I also enjoyed the Mara quest. Coming after the loss of Hawke's mother, it felt good to actually find a family member for a change. 

Modifié par AllThatJazz, 24 mars 2011 - 04:18 .