I love how when they face the demon in the fade Wynn’s response is “You can’t stand against us”, Sten says “Let’s get out of here I tire of cages”, and then there’s Alister with “Oh, I’m here now that’s neat.” Alister is great.
@@JanusVesta Also, if you take Sten to the tower and nobody can pass the persuasion check and it falls back to Sten, he will offer the Templar on the dock some cookies. :)
"ok, if the child murderer thinks I should do it, it's definitely a bad plan." I think you found your go to way of solving the moral conundrums of the game.
To be fair, just sitting and watching a fight unfold and letting tactics handle everything isn't necessarily the most interesting way to play for either Jon or us.
As you discovered Jon, that vendor sells infinite Lyrium Dust. The elven vendor sells infinite Elfroot. These 2 vendors are your best friends. Without them potion making is a huge chore.
Jon: Can't help but notice mate, you turned all you're companions into monsters, you decided not to become a monster *Battle starts* Uldred: Are you sure about that?
I love how Uldred literally says he's not Uldred anymore and is "him and something more" telegraphing the fact that he's totally already an abomination and Jon immediately goes "well why don't you become one!" like a second later
Sten: *calmly explains his thoughts on certain subjects and alludes to it being simply being how society where he's from works and that it works well.* Jon: well obviously he's just bigoted and prejudiced for no reason
Sten: Explains that roles are what defines who people are in Qunari society and struggles with the idea that a woman could also be a soldier because Jon can fight and therefore cannot be a women, ergo it's not that women can't be soldiers but the reverse and he sees it as soldiers can't be women because a person is defined by their role. Jon: You hate women. I don't think Jon understands the Qunari. To be fair, most people in Thedas also do not understand the qunari.
And then we find out in DA2 that not only does Qunari society work, it's worked so well that they are more technologically advanced than the rest of Thedas because of it. They have already invented gunpowder and iron warships for example. So this means they easily have the most powerful navy on the planet and it's not even a contest. All they would have to do is ram the wooden ships the rest Thedas still employ, if they don't just blow them out of the water with the canons that only they possess first. So if the Qunari ever decided to actually make a serious attempt at conquering other nations, they would win handily with little resistance.
The gift points start at 10 for a liked gift and 5 for a poor gift and give diminishing returns. You basically wasted Wynne's gifts on Alistair and Alistair's gifts on Wynne. Reading the codex entries for each character and just talking to them should give you clues about what they like. And most of the time they're very uniform.
-1 perception Jon strikes again. Then again, the first time I played the game I also messed up some of the gifts because I didn't have all of the companions with me yet.
Alistair is a former Templar and hates his noble blood, he doesn’t like anything having to do with nobility and doesn’t particularly care for alcohol or other drugs either. He likes carved statuettes a lot for some reason, it’s my head cannon that it’s because he uses them as minis for table top games
"Now, what precisely is a dragonling. Oh, baby dragons. I'm not sure what I was expecting but story checks out." That reminds me so much of that scene in Arrested Development where Michael finds a bag marked 'Dead Dove'. He opens the bag, then says, "I don't know what I expected"
Jon, Alistair almost never has his sustained shield talents on. They make him even more tanky than he already is. Try them out! You might like them. :)
@@songsayswhat ngl I was still too salty from playing a mage hawke in 2 to consider romancing him. But the growth he showed in Inquisition really changed my opinion on him as a character (might romance him my next go) around
You know, it was hilarious when Jon went to camp and Sten was just standing around naked. With Zevran, it just seems a bit normal. Zev just standing around in his smallclothes, winking at everyone that walks past him.
You are playing this game SO sub-optimally. And it's been amazing. It actually inspired me to go back and pick the game back up after years of not touching it, and to stop trying to Min-Max everyone and everything, and just roll with the world and story and enjoy it. So thanks for that. I look forward to watching you continue to make wonderful mistakes right up until your victory
Thank you for showcasing this game. I've never had the patience to fully experience it myself, but -playing- watching you play it has been nothing but a joy to behold. Stay awesome my friend!
I think he just cuts out a fair bit of the talking with companions, as he said in the video he's already gone through a lot of Lelianas dialogue and a new speech option came up.
Loghain's history as a tactical genius is why he thinks he can defeat the darkspawn on his own. He's also a general, not a politician, and was made Teyrn purely out of recognition for his military service. He's used to dealing with loyal soldiers, not nobles. Brilliant people make the most baffling idiots when stepping out of their respective spheres. Loghain's mistakes make a decent amount of sense considering his history and worldview.
I understand why he sees going to Orlay for help as a betrayal, but I've never been entirely sure how he convinces himself that it isn't a real blight, beyond just mountains of motivated reasoning.
@@MarkPeckham I think it's just straight up denial. "If it is a real blight then i doomed us all by allowing the grey wardens to die so it can't be a true blight"
@@MarkPeckham Especially considering the implications of Return to Ostagar, Orlais is definitely up to tricks. Not sure why he disbelieves the Blight... But there is good reason for him to be ignorant of the situation if no one was planning to tell the rebellious Fereldans the role of the Grey Wardens. Like, I believe Loghain knows less about the Grey Wardens than we do, and we only find out the important parts at the end of the game. Loghain probably doesn't even know that Grey Wardens have magical Darkspawn powers.
@@AusSP pretty sure no one but grey wardens know about the GW darkspawn magic, even the main character didn't know until the time came to drink the magic blood and she's supposed to be a noble.
@@darkpixel1128 The Dwarves have a strong familiarity with the Wardens, particularly including the knowledge that Wardens go into the Deep Roads and then never come back - a very suspicious thing. In addition, mysterious groups of monster hunters tend not to exist within the lands of every other kingdom without a very good explanation why. It seems reasonable that at least some Kings and Queens have a long-standing understanding of what Grey Wardens do, and some understanding of how. For example, the chances of a Teyrn's daughter *not* telling her brother some of the details of her work is unlikely, and he would be curious, especially when she vanishes suddenly a couple decades later. They definitely aren't "supposed" to be telling people, but it seems implausible they'd manage to work for centuries if so. The Inquisition is dissolved for exactly that reason - they don't have long term value, so they the Orlesians want them gone.
Sten has always been such a fascinating character to me. Is he strange? Yes, absolutely, but that's why i like talking to him. I love to ask him about his understanding of things, and sometimes his cultural context. He's so different, and I like that. Once you manage to earn his respect, he's actually a really interesting person.
I'm playing the game again as a female duster-Dwarf, loving my time with Liliana, but hearing Morrigan speaking about getting into her mother's grimoire makes me long for my romance with her as a male city-Elf. We didn't care about the Maker or expensive hairstyles or nugs. All our days were spent burning and freezing pretentious Nobles while sharing sarcastic truths to everyone who didn't have a choice but to listen. :-)
(10:00) If you need to cast magic on a member of your party, you can click on their icon at the top left to target them. Helpful when it's hard to see what's happening on the battlefield.
@@seanmcloughlin5983 interesting theory, but I feel like if Uldred-demon was Mouse, he'd have a unique line of dialogue or two for the Mage warden, since they know each other
@@whiteraven562 I agree, only it's not certain they would have bothered to remember you. just one more apprentice through the harrowing. It just seems like a big coincidence that we meet two powerful demons, pride and sloth, in an origin and then meet obviously powerful pride and sloth demons here. The lack of lines indicating recognition is a problem though.
Don’t sleep on Sten, he is just as cool as the other companions, especially because he is so different from them. Give him a chance, get on his good side, it’s hard to get him to open up but it’s worth it
I love how Jon still isn't completely turned off of blood magic. Be sure to keep following up on Morrigan now that you gave her Flemeth's Grimoire. Love the series so far.
You can put the litany of Adrala in the taskbars of your companions. That way you'll be able to counter Uldred's attempts to turn the mages. Litany can be on cool down in your taskbar and ready for use on theirs, thus never allowing him to use blood magic.
Off topic but Jon you are my absolute favorite RUclipsr. I've been going through a lot and your videos help distract me and keep me going. Love the livestreams, love your YOLO runs. Basically I appreciate you man. Keep up the good work!
Jon early in the game : Mage awesome, bloodmagic great! Templars bad. Jon now: Alright the templar kinda has a point. Gotta love the moral greyness DAO sometimes presents, far beter in that regard then Mass effect in my opinion.
Your camp feels like a secret santa gift exchange where no one gets what they want, but see someone that did get a gift they'd love. I like to think they're all trading while you're not watching. :P
I like how Jon suggests a system of regulation and tests for blood magic but gets shirty with Irving for implementing one. Your party members are in the codex as you noted, and that'll tell you their gift preferences. Alistair does have a somewhat sophisticated (if appropriately nerdy) side.
I love how Jon was initially super pro-Mage and being with Blood Mages and anti-Templar, but has totally flipped on that. The nuance for the Mage/Templar issue is quite something eh? Ah damn, seeing him waste booze on surface dwellers that wouldn't appreciate it as much hurts, among other things; like the White Runestone. Well, can't blame him for not knowing. This is why I love doing the Circle of Magi first. It makes you so much stronger for the rest of the game, and opens up a better end for Redcliffe. We're finally getting Shale. I love how OP he is with his AoE abilities.
Loving a) seeing someone play a classic like DA their first ever time without guides and stuff and b) doing it in a southwestern accent, but I CANNOT HANDLE you not dragging out the quickbar to give yourself more slots! Please please do that, or poor Morrigan won't be able to cast all her spells :(
"I cannot justify putting points into picking locks" *scrolls down to show the 2 archery talents he invested in* May I recommend a respec mod? Edit: About Loghain, he's an excellent strategist, but pretty bad at diplomacy. He honestly cannot see why the nobility is not just doing as he says. About refusing to contact Orlais for help, that's because of his psychotic hatred of them. To be fair though, it has precedent that the Orleasians send military support, and then just happen to stick around to occupy the place.
@@ManyATrueNerd My first Dragon Age character was a poorly optimized rogue who made terrible story decisions, possibly involving blood magic, and ended the game at level 15. This let's play is basically like being shown embarrassing middle school photos of myself. I hate it, but I also love it and have redownloaded the game thanks to you.
@@ManyATrueNerd My first character was a dual sword wielding rogue/sometimes archer who specialized in stealth and trap laying. I beat the game with him so... good enough?
@@ManyATrueNerd Jon I have the biggest single tip for your build now that you've got the benefit of cunning down. Momentum works on backstabs. And boy, does it work. You think they're fast now? Imagine those crits flying CONSTANTLY.
On my first playthrough, I didn't realise how to use the Litany, so all the mages and Irving got transformed into abominations. I got them all killed by accident. At least I still got the Templars.
@@benderrodriguez5425 As proof of that, they straight up retconn his ending in this game with those future games. The end scroll of my warden's playthrough said Cullen went on a psychotic rampage murdering people he suspected *might* potentially know mages on-sight, taking the more genocidal teachings of the Templars to heart due to his experiences in the attack on the Circle Tower near Lake Calenhad.
@@Sharie_mabari I mean he’s a good opportunity to explore someone suffering with PTSD and its effect on a person’s perspective and how they treat those responsible for past trauma. I think his story over the 2nd and 3rd games do well exploring that. I like they don’t shy away from it and how he eventually grows from hating mages to standing up to his commanding officer Meredith to protect them in DA2 to potentially ending up in a romance with one by DA:I (depending on your player character/choices).
I screwed up the quest during my first playthrough because I had no clue what it actually did, so I got stuck with templars. Not that it's a bad thing, but I was hoping for mages
Jon, couple of combat tips: You don't need to target characters directly for things like heal spells. You can target their portraits instead. You can command characters to stay in place. Under the portraits you have 2 buttons: Select All party members and Move Freely/Hold position. If you toggle the second button to Hold position, you can move a character by itself wherever you want on the battlefield and your other characters will stay in place. It's useful, for example, to move your mages out of enemy melee AoE range, or to move your rogue behind an enemy without moving the whole party. When you have Move Freely activated, once a character moves out a certain range, everyone follows around, so if your party is spread out when you switch focus between characters, the rest will disengage and try to regroup. Whereas with Hold position, you can engage distant enemies individually, for example sending Jon to fight a single faraway archer by herself, while the rest of the characters will stay put wherever they are, say the three of them engaging a different enemy on the other side of the battlefield. These things will become more useful as fights get harder. :)
Jon, don't take the evasion skill ever! The extra dodge chance sounds nice on paper, but what the game doesn't tell you is that it'll add a dodge animation anytime you avoid an attack with the skill. This animation will interrupt your attacks, effectively lowering your DPS.
I wouldn't say *ever.* It's great if you're building a dodge tank, and it can be a good supplement for a cunning rogue's defense (although it does reduce your dps a bit). Plus, it gives you a flat chance to avoid stun and knockdown instead of just increasing your resistance, so it allows you to ignore no-save cc like Scattershot or Ram.
the first time i heard leliana hesitate and then compliment me on my hair, i wanted to scream happily--it's SUCH a way for a girl to compliment/flirt with another girl, and test the waters to see if she's interested.
Anytime I watch someone do the Uldred Fight blind, I'm always interested to see if they work out how the Litany works or if the mages all end up dead due to lack of awareness.
I was wondering if Jon would figure out how to take advantage of the Lyrium veins. It's good he was able to save Alistair, but maybe he should have let Wynne have one, being the healer and all.
Jon doesn't like Sten eh? A shame he's got some really interesting stuff to him. Also wasn't Jon assuming Sten had a good reason for murder? When did that change?
When Sten wouldn't talk about it. Sten is a difficult one to get to know, you have to figure out that he likes it when you let things drop at first and don't press him until he likes you. the gamer instinct being to press.
@@leafruns7672 Absolutely this. You have to talk to Sten more like you'd talk to a real person. If a real person was so clearly reluctant to open up, you wouldn't be a dick about digging into their trauma. You'd let subjects be dropped for a while and wait for them to be more comfortable. Jon also doesn't seem to realise that Sten experiences serious culture shock being around species with such different ways compared to the Qunari - Jon seems to be treating Sten like he's Human most of the time.
@@fuzzymurdermittens he is definitely conflating "bigotry" and "culture shock". Like the discussion of mages for instance. Sten was stating how his people dealt with mages. And perhaps it may be true that the only mages in his homeland use it for either parlor tricks or control.
I knew Jon wouldn't like Sten from the start cause Sten actually takes some work to open up, which Jon is too impatient to deal with and figured he wouldn't like Qunari culture in general, not saying I do exactly but it adds variety and depth to the world and you start to understand why Sten is who he is, and you can sort of start to affect his world view a bit. Jon is one to jump to conclusions and it takes a lot to change his mind as witnessed in this very series about blood mages (he still thinks blood magic is okay in small doses for Pete sake.)
I do love how Jon's initial thought, when confronted with a giant multiple-armed monstrosity, is "Hit it in the balls". Very Mortal Kombat (the movie).
Jon: I was giving Alistair the benefit of the doubt, thinking "Maybe he's not as dumb as I think." See, that's the kind of thinking that leads to disappointment, and eventual madness.
As far as the tactics are concerned most of what you’ve set up doesn’t actually do what you expect it to do. I recommend to just pick a standard role and maybe slightly editing it if it is needed. Loving the series though!
John the guy who sells thieving contracts in Demerin is exclusive to Rougue Wardens and those are quests not regular things you can stumble into, and can have dlc repercussions if you play Awakening (one of the dlc post game)
Holy crap! I've played Dragon Age and Fallout New Vegas a multitude of times and I'm just now recognizing that Uldred and Dean Domino share the same voice actor that's crazy!
Claire saying she could say anything to Jon, and him saying “maybe I do and I just keep it to myself A-ha,” feels so them. Edit: and in Logains, not really defense but explanation he’s not an idiot, just blinded by hate of Orlais, thinking he’s the only one who is capable of saving Ferelden, but as we see he’s the one that’s destroying it.
Not destroying it per se but certainly weaken it. In dlc we can see he fought against Orlais and corrupt Grey wardens. His stance makes sense, just not from a player perspective. Hate his guts tho 😁
He's a very smart man, but a very short sighted one, bit like another black haired dictator who won power in a dubious way with a vocal minority and hated the French-Like people who were on "His People's" land
I don't remember if it was mentioned in a codex entry you've read but Abominations mutate outwardly only if the demon botches the possession, which they almost always do because real world is weird and confusing to them. Which is why the threat of a mage being secretly an abomination is real. Uldred was possessed by Pride already when he returned to the tower. Conor was another of those normal looking abominations, though in his case his psyche and methodology was obviously drawing attention that something is majorly wrong.
so fun fact about the fade shapes, if you have an ability on one of the shapes and in your normal form, the cooldown persists across both, so you can cast fireball if you're a mage and switch to burning man but you can't cast fireball. bc it's on cooldown
"All blood mages are required to have a license on turning people into horrible monsters, and do annual checkup that they didn't gone fully bananas". King Jon, the Fat
There's a mod called Madd Gift Guide that adds text to the companion gifts so you know who will like each gift the most. Sometimes it's not quite apparent who will like what without trial and error, which you can't really do without save scumming or lots of replays.
Jon, you are also playing a game with dragons that fly around and go, "Pew pew pew!" Shouldn't you be on his wavelength with that? He clearly likes tabletop games. Shame about the book, though.
Alister has been very clear that he doesn't enjoy the prospect of being king or a noble at all, so you think he wants a book that would remind him of both of those things?
Loghain has a major fear/hate complex about Orlaise. To a completely irrational degree - the Blight is dangerous but Orlaise is the boogeyman of his entire life (and his father's life, and his grandfather's life). In his mind, Orlaise IS the ultimate evil; the darkspawn are a relative nuisance. He's completely wrong, but that's what his fear (and the hate his fear spawns) tells him.
His mother was literally raped in front of him by orlesian soldiers. He fought for over a decade in a brutal guerilla war against them to liberate his country while they raped and slaughter their way across his country. He has no fear for a enemy he defeated. He hates them for oppressing them. Yes the darkspawn are a greater threat, but he knows that orlais is not that much better.
@@RK-cj4oc His phobia of Orlais has a reasonable foundation, but it IS a phobia. Look at every interaction he has when the topic of Orlais coming to Ferelden is raised - he responds with absolute denial. The absolute denial of PANIC. He is terrified of the boogeyman of Orlais, and responds to that terror with violence. His betrayal of Cailan is a succinct demonstration of his fear. He would rather betray his best friend's son - someone Loghain watched grow from child to adult, married his daughter to, and swore an oath of fealty to - like Scar betraying Mufasa, than confront the possibility of Orlais sending soldiers into Ferelden for ANY reason. That is an act of extreme cowardice; one that a typically courageous fellow like Loghain would only commit if he was terrified.
Jon, please, for the love of god: 1) Stop using stuns on large enemies like trolls. Uldred resisted everything: Stonefist, Dirt in the eye, shield pummel, pommel strike. You're wasting valuable resources! 2) Use the lyrium sources on the battlefield to top up Wynne. 3) Use the keyboard number buttons for abilities instead of clicking on them. It's quicker and more convenient. As an RPG-veteran, clicking on abilities hurts my eyes. Thank you, I love watching your videos!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
"Is he going through all seven deadly sins?"
Yes, Jon. That's why he started with the sin of ogre.
"Ogre" is a special sin between roth and gluttony, known to modern readers as "hangry".
Look let's not ogrethink this, it MOSTLY works...
You guys are just trying to bruteforce these puns.
The fight had to go through many layers, like an onion.
@@kc12311 or an orge
I love how when they face the demon in the fade Wynn’s response is “You can’t stand against us”, Sten says “Let’s get out of here I tire of cages”, and then there’s Alister with “Oh, I’m here now that’s neat.”
Alister is great.
Sten: (says something)
Jon: Oh look, the child-murderer has an opinion.
One of the best unspoken bits of fleshing out a character, is that Sten is the one who prefers fine arts and portraiture as his gifts
He also has a sweet tooth and comments that he'd like to bring sweets back to his home as they don't have them there.
@@JanusVesta Also, if you take Sten to the tower and nobody can pass the persuasion check and it falls back to Sten, he will offer the Templar on the dock some cookies. :)
@@almyska467 That he stole from a kid no less 😂
@@Magic_Joshrooms he was fat enough
I always thought that was because he was studying the art to understand the culture better to report back when he returns home.
"ok, if the child murderer thinks I should do it, it's definitely a bad plan." I think you found your go to way of solving the moral conundrums of the game.
Jon: Eventually figured out and configured tactics. Also Jon: Micro-manges everyone anyway XD Oh never change you wonderful bean.
To be fair, just sitting and watching a fight unfold and letting tactics handle everything isn't necessarily the most interesting way to play for either Jon or us.
@@d2factotum and the way he set up tactics is far from perfect, plus mages often need to be micromanaged anyway
@@d2factotum And I find some things like heals and taunting should be done manually.
watching Jon give people the wrong gifts is hurting my soul a little. Starting to realize maybe I've played this game one too many times lol
As you discovered Jon, that vendor sells infinite Lyrium Dust. The elven vendor sells infinite Elfroot. These 2 vendors are your best friends. Without them potion making is a huge chore.
Jon: Can't help but notice mate, you turned all you're companions into monsters, you decided not to become a monster
*Battle starts*
Uldred: Are you sure about that?
28:16
Jon: if being a monster is so awesome, you first!
Uldred: k
I love how Uldred literally says he's not Uldred anymore and is "him and something more" telegraphing the fact that he's totally already an abomination and Jon immediately goes "well why don't you become one!" like a second later
Sten: *calmly explains his thoughts on certain subjects and alludes to it being simply being how society where he's from works and that it works well.*
Jon: well obviously he's just bigoted and prejudiced for no reason
Sten: Explains that roles are what defines who people are in Qunari society and struggles with the idea that a woman could also be a soldier because Jon can fight and therefore cannot be a women, ergo it's not that women can't be soldiers but the reverse and he sees it as soldiers can't be women because a person is defined by their role.
Jon: You hate women.
I don't think Jon understands the Qunari. To be fair, most people in Thedas also do not understand the qunari.
And then we find out in DA2 that not only does Qunari society work, it's worked so well that they are more technologically advanced than the rest of Thedas because of it. They have already invented gunpowder and iron warships for example. So this means they easily have the most powerful navy on the planet and it's not even a contest. All they would have to do is ram the wooden ships the rest Thedas still employ, if they don't just blow them out of the water with the canons that only they possess first. So if the Qunari ever decided to actually make a serious attempt at conquering other nations, they would win handily with little resistance.
The gift points start at 10 for a liked gift and 5 for a poor gift and give diminishing returns. You basically wasted Wynne's gifts on Alistair and Alistair's gifts on Wynne. Reading the codex entries for each character and just talking to them should give you clues about what they like. And most of the time they're very uniform.
-1 perception Jon strikes again. Then again, the first time I played the game I also messed up some of the gifts because I didn't have all of the companions with me yet.
Alistair is a former Templar and hates his noble blood, he doesn’t like anything having to do with nobility and doesn’t particularly care for alcohol or other drugs either.
He likes carved statuettes a lot for some reason, it’s my head cannon that it’s because he uses them as minis for table top games
"Now, what precisely is a dragonling. Oh, baby dragons. I'm not sure what I was expecting but story checks out." That reminds me so much of that scene in Arrested Development where Michael finds a bag marked 'Dead Dove'. He opens the bag, then says, "I don't know what I expected"
Jon, Alistair almost never has his sustained shield talents on. They make him even more tanky than he already is. Try them out! You might like them. :)
I will not eat green eggs and ham!
Ah it's Cullen! Here in his trauma that follows him for the next two games
I still love him as a character, I like that he did have an overarching trauma he had to deal with
They really did a complete 180 on Cullen's character between games.
Culllen was the first character I romanced in Inquisition.
I do enjoy seeing the origins (pun intended) of characters that appear in the later games again.
@@songsayswhat ngl I was still too salty from playing a mage hawke in 2 to consider romancing him. But the growth he showed in Inquisition really changed my opinion on him as a character (might romance him my next go) around
You know, it was hilarious when Jon went to camp and Sten was just standing around naked. With Zevran, it just seems a bit normal. Zev just standing around in his smallclothes, winking at everyone that walks past him.
Jon calling Uldred out on not turning himself into a monster, and then having him turn into a massive monster for the fight was hilarious.
You are playing this game SO sub-optimally.
And it's been amazing. It actually inspired me to go back and pick the game back up after years of not touching it, and to stop trying to Min-Max everyone and everything, and just roll with the world and story and enjoy it.
So thanks for that. I look forward to watching you continue to make wonderful mistakes right up until your victory
I think a lot of people don't get this. Most games are designed to be fun when played sub-optimally.
Whenever I hear Jon blame his party members for following a rule that he set, I can only think:
Jon cannot fail, Jon can only be failed.
Jon: Coup de Grace is worthless!
Me: _sweats_
*laughs in dual paralytic daggers*
I had the same reaction!
Thank you for showcasing this game. I've never had the patience to fully experience it myself, but -playing- watching you play it has been nothing but a joy to behold. Stay awesome my friend!
is this….jon talk to his companions?? and getting backstory?? instead of ignoring them at camp???? am I in an alternate reality??
Don't worry, I'm sure he'll continue giving the wrong gifts and never manage a romance with Claire/Lelianna
I think he just cuts out a fair bit of the talking with companions, as he said in the video he's already gone through a lot of Lelianas dialogue and a new speech option came up.
@@JimmyMon666 A certain dwarf is gonna be quite upset that Jon's already given away all the booze.
@@tortoiseoflegends4466 ....And didn't show it?
@@legion999 He said in the patreon podcast that he cuts out things that repeat information we already know so yes.
Loghain's history as a tactical genius is why he thinks he can defeat the darkspawn on his own. He's also a general, not a politician, and was made Teyrn purely out of recognition for his military service. He's used to dealing with loyal soldiers, not nobles. Brilliant people make the most baffling idiots when stepping out of their respective spheres. Loghain's mistakes make a decent amount of sense considering his history and worldview.
I understand why he sees going to Orlay for help as a betrayal, but I've never been entirely sure how he convinces himself that it isn't a real blight, beyond just mountains of motivated reasoning.
@@MarkPeckham I think it's just straight up denial. "If it is a real blight then i doomed us all by allowing the grey wardens to die so it can't be a true blight"
@@MarkPeckham Especially considering the implications of Return to Ostagar, Orlais is definitely up to tricks.
Not sure why he disbelieves the Blight... But there is good reason for him to be ignorant of the situation if no one was planning to tell the rebellious Fereldans the role of the Grey Wardens. Like, I believe Loghain knows less about the Grey Wardens than we do, and we only find out the important parts at the end of the game. Loghain probably doesn't even know that Grey Wardens have magical Darkspawn powers.
@@AusSP pretty sure no one but grey wardens know about the GW darkspawn magic, even the main character didn't know until the time came to drink the magic blood and she's supposed to be a noble.
@@darkpixel1128 The Dwarves have a strong familiarity with the Wardens, particularly including the knowledge that Wardens go into the Deep Roads and then never come back - a very suspicious thing.
In addition, mysterious groups of monster hunters tend not to exist within the lands of every other kingdom without a very good explanation why. It seems reasonable that at least some Kings and Queens have a long-standing understanding of what Grey Wardens do, and some understanding of how. For example, the chances of a Teyrn's daughter *not* telling her brother some of the details of her work is unlikely, and he would be curious, especially when she vanishes suddenly a couple decades later.
They definitely aren't "supposed" to be telling people, but it seems implausible they'd manage to work for centuries if so. The Inquisition is dissolved for exactly that reason - they don't have long term value, so they the Orlesians want them gone.
06:40 Mages can refill their Lyrium directly from Lyrium veins. No need to waste a potion.
Sten has always been such a fascinating character to me. Is he strange? Yes, absolutely, but that's why i like talking to him. I love to ask him about his understanding of things, and sometimes his cultural context. He's so different, and I like that. Once you manage to earn his respect, he's actually a really interesting person.
Jon, Wynne is burning all her mana constantly buffing you. Change heroic offense so she only uses it sometimes.
Feels like if I watchjng DSP play this game with how he going to just luck though the gAme ..... apart from the fact jon is not a total asshole
I'm pretty sure Leliana responds positively to the "I like the way you ramble" line
Jon, Niall died of thirst after not being able to eat or drink for several days. Turns out mages still need to do those things.
I read somewhere that the human body can survive without water for only 3 days
@@Spootington it doesn't help that Sloth was feeding off him the whole time
I'm playing the game again as a female duster-Dwarf, loving my time with Liliana, but hearing Morrigan speaking about getting into her mother's grimoire makes me long for my romance with her as a male city-Elf. We didn't care about the Maker or expensive hairstyles or nugs. All our days were spent burning and freezing pretentious Nobles while sharing sarcastic truths to everyone who didn't have a choice but to listen. :-)
Aww...poor Alistair...he gets to lead and rule when he grows up despite his wishes...he so tried to avoid it. 😅
Oh jeez Jon. Stop wasting the booze! A certain someone needs it more than Alistair and Wynne.
I like how they do it in Netherlands. You can never have more than 30 grams of lyrium on you and you can only do blood magic in designated taverns.
Jon continues to demonstrate his ultimate weakness against redhead French girls.
(10:00) If you need to cast magic on a member of your party, you can click on their icon at the top left to target them. Helpful when it's hard to see what's happening on the battlefield.
I forgot about that. Thanks!
This is a great tip
Honestly scary how Jon doesn't know that. Bioware has done that in like every single game from Baldur's Gate 1.
I love how many boss encounters in this game have a dialogue option that's basically, "Yeah... I'm just gonna go."
It occurs to me that this could be the sloth demon from the mage origin. It did teach mouse to change shape, and live "in" the tower.
I always wonder what happened to the demon that mouse turned out to be, and my personal headcannon is he was the pride demon that possessed Uldred.
@@seanmcloughlin5983 interesting theory, but I feel like if Uldred-demon was Mouse, he'd have a unique line of dialogue or two for the Mage warden, since they know each other
@@whiteraven562 I agree, only it's not certain they would have bothered to remember you. just one more apprentice through the harrowing. It just seems like a big coincidence that we meet two powerful demons, pride and sloth, in an origin and then meet obviously powerful pride and sloth demons here.
The lack of lines indicating recognition is a problem though.
Don’t sleep on Sten, he is just as cool as the other companions, especially because he is so different from them. Give him a chance, get on his good side, it’s hard to get him to open up but it’s worth it
Sten calling me kadan made me so happy I almost teared up. Second only to how my heart soars when Morrigan greets me with "my friend."
Child murder us not cool. He's also pro slavery, and he treats mages way worse than the templars do (exceptions apply)
I love how Jon still isn't completely turned off of blood magic. Be sure to keep following up on Morrigan now that you gave her Flemeth's Grimoire. Love the series so far.
You can put the litany of Adrala in the taskbars of your companions. That way you'll be able to counter Uldred's attempts to turn the mages. Litany can be on cool down in your taskbar and ready for use on theirs, thus never allowing him to use blood magic.
Oh, now that's a clever trick!
Off topic but Jon you are my absolute favorite RUclipsr. I've been going through a lot and your videos help distract me and keep me going. Love the livestreams, love your YOLO runs. Basically I appreciate you man. Keep up the good work!
Jon early in the game : Mage awesome, bloodmagic great! Templars bad.
Jon now: Alright the templar kinda has a point.
Gotta love the moral greyness DAO sometimes presents, far beter in that regard then Mass effect in my opinion.
Normally I'm not a fan of the "Fascists vs Nutters" dichotomy in games but DA remembers to have sympathetic characters so it gets a pass.
Your camp feels like a secret santa gift exchange where no one gets what they want, but see someone that did get a gift they'd love.
I like to think they're all trading while you're not watching. :P
I like how Jon suggests a system of regulation and tests for blood magic but gets shirty with Irving for implementing one.
Your party members are in the codex as you noted, and that'll tell you their gift preferences. Alistair does have a somewhat sophisticated (if appropriately nerdy) side.
That battle had me on the edge of my seat. Your narration was fantastic :D
I love how Jon was initially super pro-Mage and being with Blood Mages and anti-Templar, but has totally flipped on that. The nuance for the Mage/Templar issue is quite something eh?
Ah damn, seeing him waste booze on surface dwellers that wouldn't appreciate it as much hurts, among other things; like the White Runestone. Well, can't blame him for not knowing.
This is why I love doing the Circle of Magi first. It makes you so much stronger for the rest of the game, and opens up a better end for Redcliffe.
We're finally getting Shale. I love how OP he is with his AoE abilities.
Jon when he first met Alistair: "I don't like him, he was a templar"
Jon Now: "Alistair is a himbo, but he's my himbo."
Loving a) seeing someone play a classic like DA their first ever time without guides and stuff and b) doing it in a southwestern accent, but I CANNOT HANDLE you not dragging out the quickbar to give yourself more slots! Please please do that, or poor Morrigan won't be able to cast all her spells :(
Please talk to Zevran, he is much more than he appears
"I cannot justify putting points into picking locks"
*scrolls down to show the 2 archery talents he invested in*
May I recommend a respec mod?
Edit: About Loghain, he's an excellent strategist, but pretty bad at diplomacy. He honestly cannot see why the nobility is not just doing as he says. About refusing to contact Orlais for help, that's because of his psychotic hatred of them. To be fair though, it has precedent that the Orleasians send military support, and then just happen to stick around to occupy the place.
Nah, what's the point of an RPG if you aren't willing to accept your first character won't be perfect and just roll with it?
@@ManyATrueNerd True. I remember my first rogue avatar. Put a lot of points into dex instead of cunning. But we can't all be perfect characters now.
@@ManyATrueNerd My first Dragon Age character was a poorly optimized rogue who made terrible story decisions, possibly involving blood magic, and ended the game at level 15. This let's play is basically like being shown embarrassing middle school photos of myself. I hate it, but I also love it and have redownloaded the game thanks to you.
@@ManyATrueNerd My first character was a dual sword wielding rogue/sometimes archer who specialized in stealth and trap laying. I beat the game with him so... good enough?
@@ManyATrueNerd Jon I have the biggest single tip for your build now that you've got the benefit of cunning down.
Momentum works on backstabs. And boy, does it work. You think they're fast now? Imagine those crits flying CONSTANTLY.
On my first playthrough, I didn't realise how to use the Litany, so all the mages and Irving got transformed into abominations. I got them all killed by accident. At least I still got the Templars.
Hey Cullen
Who would have thought one small Templar would have ended up being such an important character
Before the other two games came out... I dont think even the writers did 😁
It's just cause he has so many fans... I've never really understood why, really.
@@benderrodriguez5425 As proof of that, they straight up retconn his ending in this game with those future games. The end scroll of my warden's playthrough said Cullen went on a psychotic rampage murdering people he suspected *might* potentially know mages on-sight, taking the more genocidal teachings of the Templars to heart due to his experiences in the attack on the Circle Tower near Lake Calenhad.
@@Sharie_mabari You've never seen him after the game of Wicked Grace then
;)
@@Sharie_mabari I mean he’s a good opportunity to explore someone suffering with PTSD and its effect on a person’s perspective and how they treat those responsible for past trauma. I think his story over the 2nd and 3rd games do well exploring that. I like they don’t shy away from it and how he eventually grows from hating mages to standing up to his commanding officer Meredith to protect them in DA2 to potentially ending up in a romance with one by DA:I (depending on your player character/choices).
Has anyone else thought that you could only use the Litaney while standing inside the posession aura?
I screwed up the quest during my first playthrough because I had no clue what it actually did, so I got stuck with templars. Not that it's a bad thing, but I was hoping for mages
Jon, couple of combat tips:
You don't need to target characters directly for things like heal spells. You can target their portraits instead.
You can command characters to stay in place. Under the portraits you have 2 buttons: Select All party members and Move Freely/Hold position. If you toggle the second button to Hold position, you can move a character by itself wherever you want on the battlefield and your other characters will stay in place. It's useful, for example, to move your mages out of enemy melee AoE range, or to move your rogue behind an enemy without moving the whole party.
When you have Move Freely activated, once a character moves out a certain range, everyone follows around, so if your party is spread out when you switch focus between characters, the rest will disengage and try to regroup. Whereas with Hold position, you can engage distant enemies individually, for example sending Jon to fight a single faraway archer by herself, while the rest of the characters will stay put wherever they are, say the three of them engaging a different enemy on the other side of the battlefield.
These things will become more useful as fights get harder. :)
Jon, don't take the evasion skill ever! The extra dodge chance sounds nice on paper, but what the game doesn't tell you is that it'll add a dodge animation anytime you avoid an attack with the skill. This animation will interrupt your attacks, effectively lowering your DPS.
I wouldn't say *ever.* It's great if you're building a dodge tank, and it can be a good supplement for a cunning rogue's defense (although it does reduce your dps a bit). Plus, it gives you a flat chance to avoid stun and knockdown instead of just increasing your resistance, so it allows you to ignore no-save cc like Scattershot or Ram.
the first time i heard leliana hesitate and then compliment me on my hair, i wanted to scream happily--it's SUCH a way for a girl to compliment/flirt with another girl, and test the waters to see if she's interested.
Before robbing casinos, Dean Domino was into blood magic. Who woulda thunk?
Anytime I watch someone do the Uldred Fight blind, I'm always interested to see if they work out how the Litany works or if the mages all end up dead due to lack of awareness.
You get 5 or less rep if companions don't like that kind of gift (i.e. they all hated your gifts but were trying to be polite about it).
Oh the Fade. I remember always keeping to do this last during my subsequent play throughs. Orzammar was always my favorite.
Jon, you're about at the point where you should do return to ostagar. Once you start regularly finding tier 4 stuff, you're at the appropriate level
"This is a dangerous spell" now if only you had a Templar, you could have dispelled the blizzard....
"Spirit Form!"
*Jon dies*
Perfection
I was wondering if Jon would figure out how to take advantage of the Lyrium veins. It's good he was able to save Alistair, but maybe he should have let Wynne have one, being the healer and all.
Jon doesn't like Sten eh? A shame he's got some really interesting stuff to him. Also wasn't Jon assuming Sten had a good reason for murder? When did that change?
When Sten wouldn't talk about it. Sten is a difficult one to get to know, you have to figure out that he likes it when you let things drop at first and don't press him until he likes you. the gamer instinct being to press.
@@leafruns7672 Absolutely this. You have to talk to Sten more like you'd talk to a real person. If a real person was so clearly reluctant to open up, you wouldn't be a dick about digging into their trauma. You'd let subjects be dropped for a while and wait for them to be more comfortable. Jon also doesn't seem to realise that Sten experiences serious culture shock being around species with such different ways compared to the Qunari - Jon seems to be treating Sten like he's Human most of the time.
@@fuzzymurdermittens he is definitely conflating "bigotry" and "culture shock".
Like the discussion of mages for instance. Sten was stating how his people dealt with mages. And perhaps it may be true that the only mages in his homeland use it for either parlor tricks or control.
I knew Jon wouldn't like Sten from the start cause Sten actually takes some work to open up, which Jon is too impatient to deal with and figured he wouldn't like Qunari culture in general, not saying I do exactly but it adds variety and depth to the world and you start to understand why Sten is who he is, and you can sort of start to affect his world view a bit. Jon is one to jump to conclusions and it takes a lot to change his mind as witnessed in this very series about blood mages (he still thinks blood magic is okay in small doses for Pete sake.)
Sten is just a horrible character and not interesting even after he opens up.
I do love how Jon's initial thought, when confronted with a giant multiple-armed monstrosity, is "Hit it in the balls". Very Mortal Kombat (the movie).
Jon: I was giving Alistair the benefit of the doubt, thinking "Maybe he's not as dumb as I think."
See, that's the kind of thinking that leads to disappointment, and eventual madness.
Uldred is voiced by the same guy who did Dean Domino in New Vegas Dead Money.
As far as the tactics are concerned most of what you’ve set up doesn’t actually do what you expect it to do. I recommend to just pick a standard role and maybe slightly editing it if it is needed.
Loving the series though!
John the guy who sells thieving contracts in Demerin is exclusive to Rougue Wardens and those are quests not regular things you can stumble into, and can have dlc repercussions if you play Awakening (one of the dlc post game)
Incorrect. Slim Couldry appears if the Warden either has the stealth talent (which is exclusive to rogues) or the pickpocket skill (which is not).
@@romanw6636 oh really? still , a quest giver
I'm glad Jon is starting to cotton on that Blood Mages are seriously bad news, and are very seldom not insane murderers
Holy crap! I've played Dragon Age and Fallout New Vegas a multitude of times and I'm just now recognizing that Uldred and Dean Domino share the same voice actor that's crazy!
And same haircut
"It kinda feels wrong to put Morrigan's boobs away, doesn't it?"
There's always Wynne, Jon.
My favorite series is back!!! Jon keeps on giving
That bloodied key is to a chest near the beginning of the town map. I think. Don't head into the rest of the dungeon quite yet.
You can extend the ability bar at the bottom by dragging the end of it to the right by the way :P
Ahhh hahaha I'd forgotten the golem butt wiggle xD You can't unsee it
Claire saying she could say anything to Jon, and him saying “maybe I do and I just keep it to myself A-ha,” feels so them.
Edit: and in Logains, not really defense but explanation he’s not an idiot, just blinded by hate of Orlais, thinking he’s the only one who is capable of saving Ferelden, but as we see he’s the one that’s destroying it.
Not destroying it per se but certainly weaken it. In dlc we can see he fought against Orlais and corrupt Grey wardens. His stance makes sense, just not from a player perspective. Hate his guts tho 😁
He's a very smart man, but a very short sighted one, bit like another black haired dictator who won power in a dubious way with a vocal minority and hated the French-Like people who were on "His People's" land
Yep. Not an idiot, just a bigot.
I don't remember if it was mentioned in a codex entry you've read but Abominations mutate outwardly only if the demon botches the possession, which they almost always do because real world is weird and confusing to them.
Which is why the threat of a mage being secretly an abomination is real. Uldred was possessed by Pride already when he returned to the tower.
Conor was another of those normal looking abominations, though in his case his psyche and methodology was obviously drawing attention that something is majorly wrong.
Oh I can't wait till the next video! Shale is my favoriet, I'm pretty sure they will be yours to.
so fun fact about the fade shapes, if you have an ability on one of the shapes and in your normal form, the cooldown persists across both, so you can cast fireball if you're a mage and switch to burning man but you can't cast fireball. bc it's on cooldown
"All blood mages are required to have a license on turning people into horrible monsters, and do annual checkup that they didn't gone fully bananas". King Jon, the Fat
He will give broody away I promise you to get close to them
Digging the UI mods, did a playthrough when you first started and I regret not installing it.
I can’t wait for you to discover magic combinations. It’s my favorite part of DA:O.
There's a mod called Madd Gift Guide that adds text to the companion gifts so you know who will like each gift the most. Sometimes it's not quite apparent who will like what without trial and error, which you can't really do without save scumming or lots of replays.
Jon, you are also playing a game with dragons that fly around and go, "Pew pew pew!" Shouldn't you be on his wavelength with that? He clearly likes tabletop games. Shame about the book, though.
lol jon giving the alcohol to the wrong person
Alister has been very clear that he doesn't enjoy the prospect of being king or a noble at all, so you think he wants a book that would remind him of both of those things?
Loghain has a major fear/hate complex about Orlaise. To a completely irrational degree - the Blight is dangerous but Orlaise is the boogeyman of his entire life (and his father's life, and his grandfather's life). In his mind, Orlaise IS the ultimate evil; the darkspawn are a relative nuisance.
He's completely wrong, but that's what his fear (and the hate his fear spawns) tells him.
His mother was literally raped in front of him by orlesian soldiers. He fought for over a decade in a brutal guerilla war against them to liberate his country while they raped and slaughter their way across his country. He has no fear for a enemy he defeated. He hates them for oppressing them. Yes the darkspawn are a greater threat, but he knows that orlais is not that much better.
@@RK-cj4oc His phobia of Orlais has a reasonable foundation, but it IS a phobia. Look at every interaction he has when the topic of Orlais coming to Ferelden is raised - he responds with absolute denial. The absolute denial of PANIC. He is terrified of the boogeyman of Orlais, and responds to that terror with violence.
His betrayal of Cailan is a succinct demonstration of his fear. He would rather betray his best friend's son - someone Loghain watched grow from child to adult, married his daughter to, and swore an oath of fealty to - like Scar betraying Mufasa, than confront the possibility of Orlais sending soldiers into Ferelden for ANY reason. That is an act of extreme cowardice; one that a typically courageous fellow like Loghain would only commit if he was terrified.
So, it wasn't immediately obvious, but that was Pride Demon that Uldred turned into/was possessed by.
oh jezz, 13:55 and Jon just dropped that ball with how he doesn't know anything that's going on with this story arc XD
Watching Jon bumble his way through gift giving in painful
You get SO much from chests though, including health potions, gold and sellable gear to buy more potions.... ;)
When it comes to alcoholic gifts you will know when you've met that companion
Jon, please, for the love of god:
1) Stop using stuns on large enemies like trolls. Uldred resisted everything: Stonefist, Dirt in the eye, shield pummel, pommel strike. You're wasting valuable resources!
2) Use the lyrium sources on the battlefield to top up Wynne.
3) Use the keyboard number buttons for abilities instead of clicking on them. It's quicker and more convenient. As an RPG-veteran, clicking on abilities hurts my eyes.
Thank you, I love watching your videos!
Enchantment?
Enchantment!
Irving in DAO: We will learn from this tragedy.
DA2: We literally learning _nothing_ from our previous actions.
This adventure was a graveyard smash!
Wow! 2 "But, but but but"s in the first minute of the video! :D
Dean Domino has had a rough time since he left the Sierra Madre and got into blood magic.
Wall and momentum it will make ur life 1000%easyer
You mock Alistair for playing with dragons, during the game you are playing called Dragon Age...