25 réponses à ce sujet

[Yellopranda]

Has anyone noticed any changes in dialogue/story when playing as a Blood Mage? I was hoping there were, but i haven't seen any.

It just really breaks the fourth wall and brings attention to a badly implemented skill (story-wise) whenever my companions talk about how horrible blood magic is or Merrill defends blood magic as if they're not aware that i'm a blood mage myself (which they certainly must have noticed, seeing as i use it all the time).

Worst of all are the dialogue options where your own character talks about blood magic as if it's utterly horrible and loathsome conveniently forgetting for the time being that a lot of my skill in magic is blood magic. Also missing, i feel, are options to defend blood magic or argue your use of it with companions/npcs. I guess for my next playthrough i just have to ignore the specialization alltogether as it really hurts immersion for me, which is a shame. One shouldn't have to opt out of a skill because it breaks the story.

Edit: Forgot to mention that i think Dragon Age 2 is otherwise a great game:D (felt i needed to balance out all the negativity )

Modifié par Yellopranda, 31 mars 2011 - 06:27 .

[Liliandra Nadiar]

Unavoidable for the most part. It's one option out of how many possible? And 'legally' would require the Templars to kill you and that would end the game. Working around it for just one specialization would've been too much trouble.
Though yes, from a story stand-point it's annoying.

[LobselVith8]

The story doesn't even take into consideration that you're an apostate when you openly use magic in the Gallows in Year One, or when you use it in front of Knight-Captain Cullen. It doesn't really make any sense, and none of the companions ever acknowledge that Hawke becomes a blood mage. It's unfortunate because I hoped we would learn it from Merrill or get some dynamic scenes with the companions over the choice to use magic that some of them condemn.

[Yellopranda]

Liliandra Nadiar wrote...

Unavoidable for the most part. It's one option out of how many possible? And 'legally' would require the Templars to kill you and that would end the game. Working around it for just one specialization would've been too much trouble.
Though yes, from a story stand-point it's annoying.

A lot of the "Hawkes" that people play are blood mages though. Mathematically about one in six if all classes and speciallization are taken equally, though i suspect more choose blood-mage than that (though that's just speculation).

Regarding the Templars. Merrill is a blood mage and that seems fine. Furthermore Hawke seems have immunity from prosecution and is able to stay out of the circle despite being a mage because of the influence and power he/she has. It could just be kept a secret from the templars anyway.

Of course, blood magic comes up so often in the dialogue and the story that a complete rewrite would be a little to much to ask, but they could have altered some of it.

[Lord Gremlin]

I agree with OP completely. Also, I'd like to add that it would have been nice to have a demon approach you with certain deal if you have blood magic.

[ad1dash0lm3s]

Being a Mage didn't change anything and it made me sad. I wore Mage robes carried a stave and still no one acknowledged me as a Mage. Templars would talk to me about what they have to do with Mages and still they don't threaten me or notice I am one. It ruined being a Mage for me. There was no having to be aware of Templars and Blood Mages being friendly and not calling me a Templar.

[Nathan Redgrave]

It's disappointing, especially since Origins actually had this covered.

[hoorayforicecream]

Nathan Redgrave wrote...

It's disappointing, especially since Origins actually had this covered.

While they "covered" it, it's more of a handwave than anything else. You can just say "I'm using special wardeny magic that you don't know about" and it's fine. If they had some sort of cursory, small conversation about this in DA2, would that have sufficed?

[Pileyourbodies]

They avoided having specializations being anything more than game play options this game.

[Lord Gremlin]

Nathan Redgrave wrote...

It's disappointing, especially since Origins actually had this covered.

I'm pretty sure it's cut content modded back in PC version. Is it not? Never seen that. That said, Wynne usually died in my game...

[Nathan Redgrave]

Oh, yes, it is. My mistake.

Odd, though--I remember hearing about Wynne having a reaction to blood magic well before now.

[Mnemnosyne]

It would be very nice if some of the dialogues changed, at least. Even if we have to handwave and ignore the fact that many people would be strongly against you for using blood magic, at the very least, if Hawke is a blood mage, she shouldn't have dialogue lines that act as though blood magic is, in and of itself, such a horrible thing. Yet we still see her react the exact same way.

I'll note it again as I have before on this same topick in DA:O - if it's not going to acknowledge, even in the small way of having your own dialogue change, that you are a blood mage, you shouldn't have the option to become one. I'm sure they could have come up with another specialization that is just as fun and interesting, and would not result in that inconsistency.

[Yellopranda]

I agree with Koyasha. What they could have done instead is give you the exact same skills in fact, but just call it something else. Why call it blood magic if it's not acknowledged by the game, i mean, even if i have the skill i don't feel like a blood mage.

[MyKingdomCold]

Koyasha wrote...

It would be very nice if some of the dialogues changed, at least. Even if we have to handwave and ignore the fact that many people would be strongly against you for using blood magic, at the very least, if Hawke is a blood mage, she shouldn't have dialogue lines that act as though blood magic is, in and of itself, such a horrible thing. Yet we still see her react the exact same way.

I'll note it again as I have before on this same topick in DA:O - if it's not going to acknowledge, even in the small way of having your own dialogue change, that you are a blood mage, you shouldn't have the option to become one. I'm sure they could have come up with another specialization that is just as fun and interesting, and would not result in that inconsistency.

It would just mean that Hawke is a hypocrite. He/she critcizes people for using blood magic when he/she is one.

It's kind of like in Mass Effect 2 when you tell the human looters on Horizon that looting is wrong but Shepard has been looting as well.

[Kitaen]

I know what you mean.
I have made my own topic on the Companion forum and while have received some good conjecture, there has been no 'Dev' input whether writer or mechanics-wise.

I don't think they will, as i'm more than certain they know the Blood Mage / Templar / Being a Mage part of the game is broken from the start.

social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/306/index/6659416/1

Modifié par Kitaen, 31 mars 2011 - 07:40 .

[ToJKa1]

I'm guessing they didn't have the time to implement it properly, and rather than half-ass it they left it out completely.

Or the story writing and scenario design departments had no contact with each other.

[The Baconer]

It wouldn't be so bad if Hawke didn't talk down on Blood Magic all the time while being a Blood Mage. Perhaps he's just genre savvy, and knows his main character status renders him immune to the insanity that regular mages succumb to when using it.

[Rithmerdui]

Specializations seem to do no difference within DA2.
It's a pity people never actually get into the darker and more advanced side of blood magic, as necromancy and summoning demons. If it were possible to raise a skeleton as a pet, people and companions would still not notice you are a blood mage, kind of funny.
((During combat))
Hawke: Hey, Fenris can i sacrifice you to regain my health? eh, i do it anyway!
((Casts spell "Sacrifice", Fenris health is entirely drained and he falls))
*Fenris rises after battle, continues following Hawke as if nothing happened*
*Hawke is thinking: Wonder why he didnt argue with me about it, or worse kill me, afterall he usually get a bad temper when it's about mages and their magical use.*

If i know Fenris right, he should have questioned Hawke about it or something else. Many Tevinter magisters dabbled in such magic and that's one of the reasons he hates them.

Modifié par Nemeriss, 25 juin 2011 - 03:07 .

[Big I]

I've only played as a mage, all specs. The only time the specs change things that I notice are:

Blood Mage

-In Acts of Mercy, when asked why a mage is working for the templars by Grace, the Aggressive response changes from "I don't use blood magic" to "I don't answer to you."

-In Magistrate's Order, if the criminal is killed and the elf asks if he's dead the Sarcastic response becomes "We can bring him back as the undead if you want."

Spirit Healer

-In Merrill's Act 2 companion quest she'll turn to Hawke after finding Pol dead and ask that they save him. If Anders is there she'll ask him instead.

[TEWR]

I think the sarcastic response in magistrate's orders is always talking about bringing him back as the undead. My Rogue Hawke seemed to get that one anyway.

And Merrill asking Hawke to save Pol doesn't have anything to do with specs, just that Hawke is a mage.

[Big I]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

I think the sarcastic response in magistrate's orders is always talking about bringing him back as the undead. My Rogue Hawke seemed to get that one anyway.

And Merrill asking Hawke to save Pol doesn't have anything to do with specs, just that Hawke is a mage.

I noticed in Acts of Mercy that the blood mage Aggresive answer was also companion dependent, i.e if Hawke isn't a blood mage but Merrill is in the party you get the blood mage option. Perhaps the same for Magistrate's Orders?


I believe you about Pol, but Merrill asking Hawke to save him if not a Spirit Healer is pretty silly. Hawke may not even know healing magicl.

[originalgamer89]

it may not be a huge pary of the story but when you kill the high dragon in the bone pit in the cut scene you use a ranged version of graverobber or something like that annoying AOE used by enemy blood mages

[CalJones]

I guess you can imagine that Hawke uses the mind control aspect of blood magic to prevent anyone from noticing what he's up to.

[Perles75]

This absence of reaction is indeed one of the main flaws of the game, because it coveys the impression of disjointment from your character and reality. I hate it when the environment does not act consequently to the actions of your character, it makes all the game fake!

[CalJones]

Yes it's odd - given that Anders would acknowledge it if you gave him the blood mage spec in Awakening. (Wynne didn't in Origins though - I am glad they have somewhat restricted the companion trees so that the spec decisions make more sense).