Honestly, I like this better than Dragon Age.

[Rad-Icarus]

Okay, so putting the rough edges aside, this game is more for me than Dragon Age.

I was late to that series, starting with DA2, then going back to play DA:Origins/Awakenings.

It's a good series and you can see Bioware Neverwinter Nights DNA, but it's ultimately hampered by being scaled down to afford top voice acting and not to overwhelm casual players unfamiliar with deep RPGs.

Drakensang's steep learning curve is a feature, not a bug. Learning things by trial and error and using intuition means your characters may not be optimal min/max, but just like the gameworld, they feel more organic and fully realized.

I'm nearly finished with the swampy moor area and the crypts, and it's really addictive. I got to a point in Dragon Age where it felt like I was running through a script and got bored, but so far in Drakensang I want to keep going and explore this world and power up my party.

[Oneeyed]

Me, too.

You are just at the beginning if your are in the swamp are. The game is really long and has so many awesome locations and boss fights. Drakensang get really good when you arrive in the blood mountains/dark forest. That's the best part of the game imho because you have a real choice there. And after that there are still many many dungeons and 2 towns left to explore.

And yes Drakensang is a real RPG with underlying P&P rules. The combat really is turn-based but has a RTWP representation in the game. Everyone acts only after it's his turn.

[Rad-Icarus]

Originally posted by Oneeyed:

Me, too.

You are just at the beginning if your are in the swamp are. The game is really long and has so many awesome locations and boss fights. Drakensang get really good when you arrive in the blood mountains/dark forest. That's the best part of the game imho because you have a real choice there. And after that there are still many many dungeons and 2 towns left to explore.

And yes Drakensang is a real RPG with underlying P&P rules. The combat really is turn-based but has a RTWP representation in the game. Everyone acts only after it's his turn.

Yes, the combat reminds me of classic Bioware and Ultima before EA influenced both of them.

[Esotericdrip]

I dont know if its better than Dragon age Origins (only) yet, but I'm also near the same area as you. Definitely a great rpg, and Ive played a lot of em.. About to head to the Blood Mountains, just doing side quests in town first, unfortunately one got broken I think.

[Rad-Icarus]

Originally posted by shogun1341:

I dont know if its better than Dragon age Origins (only) yet, but I'm also near the same area as you. Definitely a great rpg, and Ive played a lot of em.. About to head to the Blood Mountains, just doing side quests in town first, unfortunately one got broken I think.

I had some crashing issues in the final crypt purification quest, but got through it by changing the order I did them.

I'm in the blood mountain/dark forest area now.

I'd say the production values and characterizations are better in Dragon Age, but the overall look and feel of Dragon Age does tend to come off as a little ugly and confined. Each area can feel like a narrow path with every battle feeling like a chaotic ambush.

Oneeyed was right about the Dark Forest being one of the best looking and most open areas.

[Esotericdrip]

Originally posted by Cage Around The Sun:

Originally posted by shogun1341:

I dont know if its better than Dragon age Origins (only) yet, but I'm also near the same area as you. Definitely a great rpg, and Ive played a lot of em.. About to head to the Blood Mountains, just doing side quests in town first, unfortunately one got broken I think.

I had some crashing issues in the final crypt purification quest, but got through it by changing the order I did them.

I'm in the blood mountain/dark forest area now.

I'd say the production values and characterizations are better in Dragon Age, but the overall look and feel of Dragon Age does tend to come off as a little ugly and confined. Each area can feel like a narrow path with every battle feeling like a chaotic ambush.

Oneeyed was right about the Dark Forest being one of the best looking and most open areas.

I've been doing Blood mountain/ dark forest for a little bit now. -Slight spoilers- (but what the hell, probably just a couple of us reading this message board) I've sided with the witches, seemed like the more interesting route, maybe the evil path. I'm running into groups of knights every 6 seconds it seems like, a bit frustrating. Hopefully it gives cooler, more valuable rewards, we'll see.

[Rad-Icarus]

Originally posted by shogun1341:

Originally posted by Cage Around The Sun:

I had some crashing issues in the final crypt purification quest, but got through it by changing the order I did them.

I'm in the blood mountain/dark forest area now.

I'd say the production values and characterizations are better in Dragon Age, but the overall look and feel of Dragon Age does tend to come off as a little ugly and confined. Each area can feel like a narrow path with every battle feeling like a chaotic ambush.

Oneeyed was right about the Dark Forest being one of the best looking and most open areas.

I've been doing Blood mountain/ dark forest for a little bit now. -Slight spoilers- (but what the hell, probably just a couple of us reading this message board) I've sided with the witches, seemed like the more interesting route, maybe the evil path. I'm running into groups of knights every 6 seconds it seems like, a bit frustrating. Hopefully it gives cooler, more valuable rewards, we'll see.

Ahhh...I sort of wavered and explored a little before finally taking the side of the witches. The Ray's of light are pretty easy for me, and I have only a party of 3 with only one dedicated tank.

So far I'm just soaking up EXP from all the encounters with robbers, creatures and Rays of Light. Once you start the chain of quests to help the witches, you'll start raking in the money, I have almost 100 Ducats. Wish I could find some better gear to spend it on.

[Oneeyed]

There should be only a few patrols of them. And of course a special encounter which leads to an interesting battle. You get much more XP by siding with the witches and if you do it right you get better equipment.

Before you leave the area for good I recommend you visit the praiot's camp. There is maybe one invinicible character there because of a bug, though.

Originally posted by shogun1341:

Originally posted by Cage Around The Sun:

I had some crashing issues in the final crypt purification quest, but got through it by changing the order I did them.

I'm in the blood mountain/dark forest area now.

I'd say the production values and characterizations are better in Dragon Age, but the overall look and feel of Dragon Age does tend to come off as a little ugly and confined. Each area can feel like a narrow path with every battle feeling like a chaotic ambush.

Oneeyed was right about the Dark Forest being one of the best looking and most open areas.

I've been doing Blood mountain/ dark forest for a little bit now. -Slight spoilers- (but what the hell, probably just a couple of us reading this message board) I've sided with the witches, seemed like the more interesting route, maybe the evil path. I'm running into groups of knights every 6 seconds it seems like, a bit frustrating. Hopefully it gives cooler, more valuable rewards, we'll see.