I have no clue how anyone can stomach DA2 as a mage. I think its a solid game if you play as a Warrior or Rogue. Don't get wrong the class itself is fun. I guess with the hide weapons mod it can be done right but I just cant seem to get past the fact that NO ONE reacts to you being a mage until years later. Also if you are a blood mage they WILL NOT cannon your Hawke cause he will be vehemently against blood magic in DAI. Just makes zero sense.
Yeah, as much as I think DA2 is a good game this stinks. DAI is actually more aware of class issues than this.. It actually feels more comfortable to be a mage Inquisitor than a mage Hawke. Although I would have never guessed that pre-release.
And in retrospect, Kirkwall's atmosphere kind of has a rogue-ish feel to it. More urban underworld elements, rather than the Arcane. A rogue is quite at home in it.
And in retrospect, Kirkwall's atmosphere kind of has a rogue-ish feel to it. More urban underworld elements, rather than the Arcane. A rogue is quite at home in it.
I never thought about that until now, but you're absolutely right. Add that to the fact that DA2 rogues actually feel like a separate class (DW rogues somersault, leap and in some cutscenes throw daggers; plus rogues are now the only class that can use bows) and Kirkwall definitely has the potential to be a rogue's paradise.
A DeathScepter, BSpud e Beregond5 piace questo elemento
As far as my preference goes it's Assassin/Shadow DW Rogue> Elemental/Force Mage> Berzeker/Reaver SnS but all were fun runs.
Storywise it's a bit tricky, because I like both Bethany and Carver and I'm not too bothered by the fact that Kirkwall templars are blind to Hawke and his/her sibling.
So toss up between Rogue and Mage. But a warrior also makes total sense since you were at Ostagar with your brother so chances are you are somehow trained as a soldier (or a scout for Rogues).
Yeah, as much as I think DA2 is a good game this stinks. DAI is actually more aware of class issues than this.. It actually feels more comfortable to be a mage Inquisitor than a mage Hawke. Although I would have never guessed that pre-release.
And in retrospect, Kirkwall's atmosphere kind of has a rogue-ish feel to it. More urban underworld elements, rather than the Arcane. A rogue is quite at home in it.
In retrospect, I'd say that's a fair assessment. I think DAI is more aware of class issues in general whether they be racial, class, or religion politics. Heck even class specializations will pop up from time to time in conversation. And DA II is a little roguish; even if you are playing the other two classes the story sort of leans that way with all the soldier-for-hire, smuggling, and theavery-type questing.
That said, I doubt playing a mage will be immersion breaking for many. The class lends itself well to the end of Act II and Act III.
I'm playing a Mage now in DA2 for the first time, and the Templar encounters are quite odd. Hawke will blast away with his staff in an encounter where he helps Cullen, Thrask, Varnell, or Emeric, and in subsequent conversations none will realize that Hawke is a mage. It made a little more sense when Hawke had the initial mercenary robe, which looks like a variant of Rogue armor, but once he started wears looted robes, the whole situation becomes ridiculous. Like, Clark-Kent-disguise-with-glasses ridiculous.
Its actually kind of hilarious with Carver in the party, since he keeps hinting strongly that Hawke should just shut the hell up about defending mages when speaking to Templars.
Here is the "robe" outfit I wish I could find again:
Spoiler
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Some of the DLC robes actually look rogue-ish too, IMO (thinking in particular of Aldenon's Vestments? I think that's the one with the chain armor and leather shoulder pads anyway) but yeah, the lack of acknowledgement of Hawke/Bethany's apostate status by anyone other than Meredith and the companions is pretty lore-breaking even so. I mean, nothing screams "mage" quite like carrying around a giant staff that's obviously not a warhammer, broadsword, bow or maul.
Personally, I like rogue. Like others, I do wish that the characters would acknowledge the fact that Hawke is a mage if you choose to make them one. If they did that, then I'd like that class for DA2.
I disagree with most people saying Hawke should be a mage
Actually, it makes more sense if he isn't
Hawke is an apostate, a known person throwing fireballs in the streets in a city that has a problem between templars and mages, with mages being hunted down
I mean wtf?
it's even worse if he starts using blood magic
I actually think Hawke is supposed to be a non-mage
Like it was said before, he is built like a warrior and is most likely doing everything to protect his sister. I think it's even more personal than him being a mage
He is stuck in a situation where his sister is an apostate, so he has hide her, but he is constantly having to deal with mages and blood magic, to the point that his mother is killed with the use of magic. It's a very difficult position to be in
I've played and beaten the game with all three classes and each has its merits and detractors.
But overall I favour female mage Hawke with Templar Carver. Though it is immersion breaking to be bearing a robe, staff and lobbing fireballs around openly from as early as arriving in Kirkwall.... eh. I learned to live with it. Just like I headcanoned why Meredith didn't clap her in irons after she killed the Arishok and his men. It was flimsy but it worked. On the plus side I got the annoying but interesting Carver and his asshat career choice, a stake in the mage/templar conflict, a fun class to play (specially spirit healer) and interesting dialogue.
Of course now I'm halfway through Inquisition there's something appealing about knowing Hawke is now a free mage without Templars breathing down her neck. She's free to study and expand her magic. And with her 'disappearing' again I get plenty of room to headcanon.
S'all good.
Agreed I tend to headcannon that Hawke and Meredith have an understanding in that as lo0ng as Hawke helps protect the city and uses his/her magic responsibly and does her the odd favour when she asks she'll leave Hawke alone. Which tbf she does really. Meredith only really starts stomping her feet in the final act. You don't hear much of anything about her until the Qunari start causing trouble at the end of Act 2 either
I think each class works thanks to Bethany/Carver mage/templar but I'm biased towards mages. I think it made the story feel very personal, especially if Carver becomes a templar (was a Grey Warden in my first play-through though). However, I admit there do is some issues with immersion while playing a mage. Some of them being plain hilarious. I shall forever laugh at Cullen and his "Mages cannot be treated like people, they are not like you and me, mage Hawke."
Speaking of which, it becomes even more silly when compared to DAO Templars:
I always play as a Warrior in RPGs. I'm completely useless as a Mage, always have been. Rogue can be fun, but I rarely do it. As for DA2, I think Warrior/Rogue does make more sense, purely for the fact that Hawke's magic not being picked up on/commented on/posing a challenge is too narratively silly for me.
However, what seals the deal for DA2 for me is simply that I adore Bethany and cannot stand Carver.
I think each class works thanks to Bethany/Carver mage/templar but I'm biased towards mages. I think it made the story feel very personal, especially if Carver becomes a templar (was a Grey Warden in my first play-through though). However, I admit there do is some issues with immersion while playing a mage. Some of them being plain hilarious. I shall forever laugh at Cullen and his "Mages cannot be treated like people, they are not like you and me, mage Hawke."
Speaking of which, it becomes even more silly when compared to DAO Templars:
Spoiler
lol right
In my last playthrough he noticed Morrigan and I was like hell no ****** don't even dare
Don't forget about all the "respect" and deference the Arishok will pay to Hawke if Hawke is a mage, when, meanwhile, just look at what they do to Saarebas.
I found interesting to play a warrior because warrior is near knight. In real medieval times, knights were a "value", a reference.
Havingtheopportunityto play a warrior is a good (one) reason.
Another point :
I understand people that plays mage : the beauty of the magic and the fact you are in the heart of the problematic, it feels more intense.
By the way, youendanger yourselves and it feels more exciting. The problems the mages encounter became your problem!
It's somehow difficult to make choices when its not yours, its asks you to try to understand the others (in this case : mages) (it's a good exercise for real life )
So Playing knight (or rogue finally) is like to be out of the problem, you have to try walking in their shoes, and take care of the mages.
The challenge is interesting when it's not about our belly button
Mage Hawke making sense is easy, because it's just gameplay and story segregation. Canon-wise, Hawke didn't throw fireballs on crowded streets. If you want to bridge gameplay and story, put mage Hawke in clothes that aren't robes, use staves that look like spears or polearms, and use melee attacks and only melee attacks with all sustained talents off if you're fighting in a place with witnesses (like when Cullen gets ambushed in enemies among us, I make sure to fight like a non-mage in front of him while using no ranged attacks or spells or sustained stuff). I do a good job making it believable that mage Hawke doesn't get figured out too easily. I got to admit, this DEFINITELY makes some fights harder. The one where you first me Cullen where tons of demons and abominations showing up, winning that fight on harder difficulties with a mage using melee attacks and no sustained spells and no active spells is... Very difficult. As for the magical effects on your weapon when you melee, easy explanation for that too: Enchanted melee weapons do the same thing, a spear with a fire enchantment rune on it will be indistinguishable from a magic staff shaped like a spear. Everyone will just assume you put a rune on your weapon.
For my mage Hawke's, it finally becomes public in the fight against the Arishok because there is no way I'm beating that guy on hard mode or above with a mage using melee attacks and no spells, and there's tons of witnesses to that fight. It's fine, by revealing my mage talents there they people realize that I am still their hero mage or not. This is why the knight commander knows by act 3, I was finally outed at the end of act 2 in a way that makes her not really able to send Templars at me after saving the city and all the rich and noble people. Hawke really has become effectively politically untouchable after taking down the Arishok.
A Exile Isan, springacres e Beregond5 piace questo elemento
I'm all about Bethany all the way. So no mage Hawke for me. I refuse.
I play Hawke as a warrior, mostly because I did DAO as rouge all the time, and I just wanted something different.
But I also like as a warrior it kind of ties in with you be a soilder at Ostagar. And then I romanced Fenris so I imagine us sparing together or something.
I think Rogue Hawke suited the story better. The one who end up carrying the name Amell, supported Bethany etc. I played Pro-Templar Mage Hawke in the last few playthrough... it was weird...
Mage is my favorite. It takes some imagination (or I guess mods) to head canon that Hawke is not actually running around casting giant fireballs in front of everyone in broad daylight, but is being a bit more clever about it. Carver will talk about their father in the Legacy DLC training them both on the sword, and Malcolm was supposed to have been a mercenary who his hid his magic, so it's not really that big of a leap to assume Hawke is doing the same exact thing...with help from Carver covering his tracks, especially if he becomes a Templar. The Chantry/Templars don't outright kill or jail Hawke due to political maneuvering. I agree that quest with Cullen is a little more jarring as a mage but I just head canon that Cullen suspects Hawke of being a mage anyway, and just doesn't turn him in because of his help with keeping blood mages in check, and because Cullen is starting to question his own beliefs over the course of the game. He ends up being like the Templar that let Hawke's father go.
Mage works perfectly. Always remember that it's Varrics story you play. And he is an unreliable narrator. So even if you do it on screen, Hawke may hasn't used magic that much. Otherwise non of the classes make sense. Or do you really think Warrior-Hawke can jump 10 feet in the air while wielding a big sword and wearing heavy armor?
Originally my preferred class in DA2 would of been 2h Warrior, that was so much fun (and a great substitute coming from playing through Origins as a Dual-Wielding Warrior.) But then I watched the start of a Mage playthrough, and then that took over me.
Now I really...really wanna finish this game and since alot of people told me to focus on the characters more then the story I have one question for you which class do you prefer for your Hawke's story?.
I now the answer easy right (which ever you find most fun) well there's one problem with that...I'm paying attention to characters and theirs one character or should I say two that changes depending on your class.
If your a Warrior/Rogue you get Bethany , and if your a Mage you get Carver. This shouldn't matter they won't be in your party for long well too me I think it matters alot. Their your brother and sister and they can become a Templar/Circle Mage or a Grey Warden or....die >.> which can impact your story depending how you view it.
Do you like Bethany that little sister your trying to protect from Templar's? or Carver the little brother who your looking out for , but who's also looking out for you due to being a mage.
The first time I played Dragon Age 2 was a few months before the release of Mass Effect 3. I made the terrible error of purchasing it for my Xbox360 forgeting that my Dragon Age Origins play-through is on PS3. So I couldn't use a Save Import. I chose 'Warrior' as I usually do in RPG. Bethany died during the Deep Roads Expedition, I romanced no one (which is highly unusual for me) and generally had a really lousy time of it. My whole Campaign went kind of FUBAR. But I completed the game and didn't play it again till late last year.
I chose 'Mage'
and my eyes were opened to a
I still grieved for the lost of Bethany I really like her. But every interaction in the world became more visceral, personal and alive to me. There is no greater gift that a work of art (or entertainment) can bestow than to provide the viewing, listening or reading audience member with a new perspective and self discovery.
The best way I can describe what playing as a Mage did for me is to say that it helped me understand what it must have been like to be a white person supporting the Civil Rights Movement in the Sixties. Or a heterosexual who supports the LBGT Rights Movement. When my Hawke was a (Male) 'Warrior' he was like them. I supported Mage Rights all throughout the campaign. But I had some distance from it. I loved my sister and feared for her future but I was not a part of her world. Even though I fought for her to have the same rights as any citizen of Thedas.
But as a (Male) Mage things were different. I genuinley felt proud when Anders praised me for being a positive example of what all mages should aspire too. And I saw the Amell Family in a different light. Speaking to Anders about life in the Cirlce compared to what we had. I saw how Hawke's Family proved that ripping children away from their parents because they have the gift is unnecessary.The greatest threat to the continued existence of the Circles of Magi is family's like Hawke's. I wanted to rip Cullen's head off when he talked about (normal) humans having dominion over mages as divine right. And that sick freak Ser Otto Alrik
If I was a Blood Mage, I would have forced him and his vile Templars to do some unmentionable things to each other before killing them.
And for me the whole 'Tranquil Solution' was not the biggest thing that had my ire. It was more the lack of appreciation and gratitude that mages did not recieve. Even though they were the MVP's of the Quanari Invasion of Thedas. Without the Circles of Magi the quanari would have conquered all of Thedas. The quanari are physically and technologically superior to humans. But we have more mages than they and that's what turned the tide. Yet mages are treated as second class citizens. Add to this the R.O.A. Right of Annulment...
And well, I fail to see or understand why it took mages so long to rebel. Then you factor in how that ****** The Divine Justinia was going to lay waste to all of Kirkwall if mages dared to demand equal rights. Experiencing all of this as Mage Hawke made me feel this is how BioWare ment for the game to be played. I have more to say, but I'll save it for later
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Rogue can be fun, but I rarely do it. As for DA2, I think Warrior/Rogue does make more sense, purely for the fact that Hawke's magic not being picked up on/commented on/posing a challenge is too narratively silly for me. 
I genuinley felt proud when Anders praised me for being a positive example of what all mages should aspire too. And I saw the Amell Family in a different light. Speaking to Anders about life in the Cirlce compared to what we had. I saw how Hawke's Family proved that ripping children away from their parents because they have the gift is unnecessary.The greatest threat to the continued existence of the Circles of Magi is family's like Hawke's. I wanted to rip Cullen's head off when he talked about (normal) humans having dominion over mages as divine right. 
And that sick freak Ser Otto Alrik
before killing them.
