Well in lead up to Inquisition, I decided to revisit DA2, I only played it once about a year ago as a mage Hawke, this time I'm rolling a warrior.
Also the first time I will import with Awakening completed.
I'm on the fence for the DLC, I went ahead and got Legacy because I had spare BioWare Points, but refrained from Sebastian or Mark of the Assassin, should I reconsider? other things to look out for?
Most seem to find MotA pretty meh and it's really more of a spinoff-like thing than a plot important expansion. And The Exiled Prince is pretty much just Sebastian and a few personal missions so whether it's worth it or not entirely depends on your opinion of him.
Well true, MotA has fun gameplay, the faults, etc are story-wise
Sebastian was one of my favorite party members, but if you aren't a fan of the Chantry, you might want to skip his DLC... there are some decent items and quests included, but you can probably get better stuff from Legacy or the Item Packs. I never played MotA, but I saw some highlights of it on Youtube and it looked kind of stupid. YMMV, ofc...
Legacy is by far the best DLC in my opinion because of the connection to Hawke's family and the big bad boss at the end. You can also see Bethany/Carver again and have them in your party. Plus, if you bring Anders and Varric, you get some additional info/items for them. And if you bring your love interest, you can get some fun banter.
MotA is... okay. Tallis is tolerable to me, but some people can't stand her. It's fun to bring your romance option and flirt with her because the love interests have interesting reactions. You can also have Bethany/Carver in your party again. Plus, you'll get a little interaction with Leliana and Teagan (you can also see Isolde, but how is that a good thing?). The boss battles are good, and the Qunari tie-in is interesting, but in my opinion, I can't give the DLC a "rating" any higher than okay.
The Exiled Prince is decent because you get the extra companion. It's fun to flirt with Sebastian, but I wouldn't recommend doing a sole romance with him. It's awful. He's a good archer, but if you are anti-Chantry, you are going to get sick of his devoutness fast. His Act 3 quest also gives you a chance to see and interact with Leliana again, which is nice.
I feel the DLC is what makes DA2 much better. i also suggest that you play as Sarcastic Hawke for a more enjoyable experience since you'll be focused more on the humor than anything else.
Mark of the Assassin was pretty good gameplay wise and had some hilarious moments for you as Sarcasatic Hawke. The only annoying thing I found about Mark of the Assassin was Tallis.
Why everyone hate Tallis so much? I dont get it.
It depends on what your looking for.
Legacy has the best story tie-ins, and gives some closure to the Hawke family narrative (bring Carver/Bethany along. Its more fun that way. LIs also provide some interesting background banter). There are some useful equipment grabs here as well, but I don't really believe in buying a DLC specifically to acquire loot.
On the whole, I thought MotA was the most fun to play. In terms of narrative, its irrelevant (with exception of some Qunari tie-ins) but its an enjoyable ride, featuring some excellent boss battles that play around with combat space in an interesting way. The whole experience is pretty tongue-in-cheek, which (understandably) not everyone loves, but that has never bothered me. FWIW, I think Tallis is a great character.
I could go either way on Sebastian. I liked him well enough. He adds some interesting plot moments, mostly at game's end, but he was never a crucial part of my story or my party usage.
So to sum up my opinion:
Legacy - best for story
MotA - best for gameplay
Exiled Prince - if you feel like you need another bow-and-arrow rogue, or if want to add a little more skin to the game during the story's climax.
Don't bother with MotA. Not worth it to pay for the most badly written Bioware companion to date. I do like Sebastian, so if you enjoy DA2 well enough I think his DLC is worth getting. He's a good and sane guy, which is a nice addition to the more unstable companions. Though as an archer he doesn't do as much damage as Varric he's still good combat-wise as well.
You'll get extra items for any two party members you take. Isabela and Aveline, however, do get an additional side quest.Plus, if you bring Anders and Varric, you get some additional info/items for them.
Both Sebastian and Talis add depth to the cultures in the storyline and a few to several hours playtime, but Hawke's lineage quest is a keeper - better than the game in my opinion. Also most of the armor/weapon DLC depending on play style.
My fundamental problem with DA2 was the tiny world space and poor graphics of the core game -it was a quick release in a small package. However it was clear that inquisitions was in the works from the cut scenes. Most of the DLC has more refined graphics and world space, but most people would agree that Talis "herself' was poorly done.
DA2 is Hawke with sister Bethany, carver just got on my nerves. A simple "runscript chargen mage" code can do it at level 2. It works fine in all the DLC and only a few early ghostly carver scenes in the lowtown home. You may need the black emporium to change your look also. There is probably a code the change character settings, but I'd have to peer into the DLC to find it, if not on the web.
I have all the DLC and just run it for notes and to answer questions about the decision tree and spells like healing in the creation tree that may be missing in inquisitions, but mostly for Sera of inquisitions - I have high hopes for that little elf to have a lovable personality and quest aware behavior and body language. It all depends on the success of RPG modeling to frostbite, but Sera has a lot of dedicated support, probably more than main characters. They will use DLC to import some or all of her if necessary! That said I'm not impressed with the generic character details to date, as frostbite 3 is capable of hyperrealism NPCs with intricate detail and most seem way too cartoonish so far set in a spectacular "living world" space.
I already have requests to mod the game and its launch is a month away - that can't be good sign!
Legacy is by far the best DLC in my opinion because of the connection to Hawke's family and the big bad boss at the end. You can also see Bethany/Carver again and have them in your party. Plus, if you bring Anders and Varric, you get some additional info/items for them. And if you bring your love interest, you can get some fun banter.
MotA is... okay. Tallis is tolerable to me, but some people can't stand her. It's fun to bring your romance option and flirt with her because the love interests have interesting reactions. You can also have Bethany/Carver in your party again. Plus, you'll get a little interaction with Leliana and Teagan (you can also see Isolde, but how is that a good thing?). The boss battles are good, and the Qunari tie-in is interesting, but in my opinion, I can't give the DLC a "rating" any higher than okay.
The Exiled Prince is decent because you get the extra companion. It's fun to flirt with Sebastian, but I wouldn't recommend doing a sole romance with him. It's awful. He's a good archer, but if you are anti-Chantry, you are going to get sick of his devoutness fast. His Act 3 quest also gives you a chance to see and interact with Leliana again, which is nice.
Good work on the mods and I see you modded behavior as well. I kissed Talis just to get Bethany's reaction -Priceless!
If you have looked at the frostbite 3 video with hyper realistic living worlds and NPCs, it would seem there is no excuse to skimp on quality. Its still not clear how far along the behavior model has come, yet I get the sense that it is holding up character development. It would be nice to see hyper realistic NPCs with quest aware behavior as in Tes5 - well see.
You'll get extra items for any two party members you take. Isabela and Aveline, however, do get an additional side quest.
I love the Sebastian DLC because it made me see both sides of Anders blowing up the chantry. Also, MotA has a great boss fight and is different than a lot of the other quests in Dragon Age.
Good choice getting Legacy, it really is fun. MotA has some really nice scenery, and the events are going to tie in to the stuff going on in DAI. Tallis is an annoying PITA and a massive Mary Sue, almost as bad as Leliana (who also appears, but doesn't have to be spoken to, at least.) The events of MotA take place at Chateau Haine, which you might recognize if you've read Last Flight. The main antagonist is Empress Celene's uncle, and with many of the inquisitors coming from the Free Marches area, that might provide a bit of insight into the situation in Orlais. I think it's a worthwhile DLC to buy.
As far as Exiled Prince, it's up to you. As Magebane pointed out, it does give you a different, or at least expanded, take on Elethina and Anders' blowing up the chantry. Note that if you're playing on PC, having Legacy installed with Exiled Prince may cause EP to bug, making Seb's Act3 quest impossible to complete. If you do like Leliana, she's the focus of Seb's Act2 quest. Seb's not a bad archer, but I never found his skill tree very useful, and he goes down very fast in combat unless you watch him continually. There are a few loot items that are OK, but there's much better in the vanilla game by that point. Overall, I'd say it's really not something to spend money on.
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