Electronic Arts EA Dragon Age II User Manual

WARNING: PHOTOSENSITIVITY/

EPILEPSY/SEIZURES

A very small percentage of individuals may experience epileptic seizures or blackouts when exposed to certain light patterns or flashing lights. Exposure to certain patterns or backgrounds on a television screen or when playing video games may trigger epileptic seizures or blackouts in these individuals. These conditions may trigger previously undetected epileptic symptoms or seizures in persons who have no history of prior seizures or epilepsy. If you, or anyone in your family, has an epileptic condition or has had seizures of any kind, consult your physician before playing. IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE use and consult your physician before resuming gameplay if you or your child experience any of the following health problems or symptoms:

dizziness eye or muscle twitches disorientation any involuntary movement altered vision loss of awareness seizures or convulsion.

RESUME GAMEPLAY ONLY ON APPROVAL OF YOUR PHYSICIAN.

USE AND HANDLING OF VIDEO GAMES TO REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A SEIZURE

Use in a well-lit area and keep as far away as possible from the television screen.  Avoid large screen televisions. Use the smallest television screen available.  Avoid prolonged use of the PlayStation  Avoid playing when you are tired or need sleep. 

Stop using the system immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms: lightheadedness, nausea, or a sensation similar to motion sickness; discomfort or pain in the eyes, ears, hands, arms, or any other part of the body. If the condition persists, consult a doctor.

NOTICE:

Use caution when using the DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller motion sensor function. When using the DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller motion sensor function, be cautious of the following points. If the controller hits a person or object, this may cause accidental injury or damage. Before using, check that there is plenty of space around you. When using the controller, grip it firmly to make sure it cannot slip out of your hand. If using a controller that is connected to the PS3™ system with a USB cable, make sure there is enough space for the cable so that the cable will not hit a person or object. Also, take care to avoid pulling the cable out of the PS3™ system while using the controller.

WARNING TO OWNERS OF PROJECTION TELEVISIONS:

Do not connect your PS3™ system to a projection TV without first consulting the user manual for your projection TV, unless it is of the LCD type. Otherwise, it may permanently damage your TV screen.

HANDLING YOUR PS3™ FORMAT DISC:

Do not bend it, crush it or submerge it in liquids. Do not leave it in direct sunlight or near a radiator or other source of heat. Be sure to take an occasional rest break during extended play. Keep this disc clean. Always hold the disc by the edges and keep it in its protective case when not in use.

Clean the disc with a lint-free, soft, dry cloth, wiping in straight lines from center to outer edge. Never use solvents or abrasive cleaners.

3 system. Take a 15-minute break during each hour of play.

CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED .......................................................................................... 2

COMPLETE CONTROLS ................................................................................... 3

MAIN MENU ....................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 5

CRE ATING HAWKE ........................................................................................... 5

IMPORTING THE EVENTS OF

CONV ERSATIONS ..............................................................................................7

COMPA NION S .................................................................................................... 8

CHA RACTER PROGRESSION ..........................................................................9

COMBAT ............................................................................................................12

ITEMS ................................................................................................................. 28

PLAY ONLINE ................................................................................................... 31

CREDITS ............................................................................................................ 32

LIMITED 90DAY WARRANTY ...................................................................... 37

This product has been rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. For information about the ESRB rating please visit www.esrb.org.

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS

........................... 6

NOTICES

Video output in HD requires cables and an HD- compatible display, both sold separately.

GETTING STARTED

PL A Y ST A T I O N ®3 system

Starting a game: Before use, carefully read the instructions supplied with the PS3™ computer entertainment system. The documentation contains information on setting up and using your system as well as important safety information.

Check that the MAIN POWER switch (located on the system rear) is turned on. Insert the Dragon Age™ II disc with the label facing up into the disc slot. Select the icon for the software title under [Game] in the PS3™ system’s home menu, and then press the S button. Refer to this manual for information on using the software.

Quitting a game: During gameplay, press and hold down the PS button on the wireless controller for at least 2 seconds. Then select “Quit Game” from the screen that is displayed.

To remove a disc, touch the eject button after quitting the game.

TROPHIES: Earn, compare and share trophies that you earn by making speciﬁ c in-game

accomplishments. Trophies access requires a PlayStation

Saved data for PS3™ format software

Saved data for PS3™ format software is saved on the system’s hard disk. The data is displayed under “Saved Game Utility” in the Game menu.

Network account.

COMPLETE CONTROLS

Move character Lock target Rotate camera Center camera Change target Take default action (attack, talk, open, etc.) Use battle menu shortcut Open radial menu/Pause Switch to secondary battle menu shortcut Previous party member Next party member Select full party Open area map Open pause menu

CHARACTER CONTROL

The left stick and right stick control character movement and camera movement, respectively. If you have multiple party members, switch among them by pressing the Q button or the E button, or select your whole party at once by pressing the Q button and the E button simultaneously. In the radial menu (press the W button), order your party members to hold their position instead of following the character you’re currently controlling, or order them to move to a specific location.

TARGETS AND DEFAULT ACTIONS

Interact with any character, creature, or object that displays a name and an icon when you target it (either by walking up to it or by cycling through all possible targets by pressing the directional buttons). To take a default action—say, to speak to a friendly character, open a chest or a door, or strike an enemy with a basic attack—select the target and then press the S button.

In combat, the character you’re controlling executes a basic attack maneuver each time you press the S button.

left stick B button right stick N button directional buttons

S button F button/D button/A button W button (press and hold) R button (press and hold) Q button E button Q button + E button

SELECT button START button

BATTLE MENU

The battle menu is comprised of six icons (in two layers) displayed in the bottom-right corner of the screen. To activate the primary shortcuts, press the F button, the D button, or the A button. To activate the second layer of shortcuts, press and hold the R button and then press the F button, the D button, or the A button.

RADIAL MENU

More advanced controls, like using a special ability or consuming a health potion, are controlled through the radial menu, which appears when you press and hold the W button. The radial menu is organized into related categories of abilities, items, and party commands, almost any of which can be assigned to a shortcut on the battle menu by highlighting the icon and pressing the D button.

DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT

This screen displays new content made available after the release of Dragon Age II and also lets you manage the content you’ve already downloaded.

INTRODUCTION

Dragon Age II tells the story of a member of the Hawke family, a refugee of the Fifth Blight who became a central figure in events that would reshape Thedas.

The full story is not well documented, and the details of how a refugee became Kirkwall’s Champion are known only to a few. The story is not told as it happens, but long afterward.

And the narrator is sometimes prone to exaggeration.

AREA TARGETING

When you select an ability that affects a whole area rather than a single target—either in a circle shape or a cone—the game pauses automatically for you to select a target area. Depending on the size of the affected area, the camera may also zoom out to a tactical view so that you can position the target effectively. The game also pauses when you select an ability, like a healing spell, that affects your party members instead of your enemies. In this case, choose your target from among the characters’ portraits on the left side of the screen.

MAIN MENU

The main menu is mostly self-explanatory. To begin playing, select NEW GAME; to resume your game in the future, select LOAD GAME; or to load your most recent saved game, select RESUME.

These are the options that might not be as obvious:

This lets you log into your EA account (or create a new account) so that you can track your trophies and character profile at http://social.bioware.com. To change what data is uploaded when you log in, visit the Account Options screen.

Once you log into your EA account, it is permanently associated with your PS3™ system user profile. If you have played other EA titles, including Dragon Age™: Origins, you may find that your user profile is already associated with your EA account. In this case, you will not need to enter your EA account details when you select LOG IN.

DRAGON AGE

™ SERVERS

CREATING HAWKE

Varric, our narrator, has told this story once or twice before. He has a certain way of remembering Hawke that, er, might not be wholly consistent with the facts. After all, who would you find to contradict him?

But there are a few basics for which even Varric can’t get away with lies. You can’t say that a woman was actually a man, or a warrior actually a mage, and expect your audience to still take you seriously.

CLASS

Hawke’s class determines which abilities he or she can learn during the course of the game and has a profound effect on combat. Class—and gender, of course—also affects how characters in the story respond to Hawke.

Warrior

Warriors are front-line fighters, the backbone of any party under assault. Some heft an enormous two-handed weapon that strikes several foes at once. Others pair a one-handed weapon with a shield that doubles as a bludgeon.

Mage

Mages command arcane spells and hurl bolts of magic from their staves. Although mages are vulnerable when fighting toe-to-toe with enemies, they deal immense amounts of damage and heal their allies when protected by the party. Because they risk demonic possession, mages are either persecuted or carefully supervised in most nations in Thedas.

Rogue

Rogues are crafty combatants who wield a dagger in each hand or rain arrows from a distance. They are particularly adept at tearing down individual opponents and are the only class that can pick locks or disarm traps.

Class Comparison

Starting attribute bonuses

Starting talents/spells Starting health Starting stamina/mana Stamina/mana

regeneration

Warrior Mage Rogue

+3 strength +3 magic +3 dexterity +2 constitution +2 willpower +2 cunning +1 willpower +1 cunning +1 willpower Pommel Strike Mind Blast Miasmic Flask 160 100 125 105 160 130 With each kill Continuously With each hit

IMPORTING THE EVENTS OF

DRAGON AGE : ORIGINS

A few minutes into Varric’s retelling, his interrogator demands more specifics. Did Hawke truly look as Varric describes? And how was Hawke connected to the events of the Fifth Blight, which ravaged Ferelden until a Grey Warden slew the archdemon atop a fortress in Denerim?

At this point, you can import a save from Dragon Age: Origins to ensure that Varric’s story remains consistent with your own recollection of history. Alternately, choose one of three pre-written histories that represent common paths through Origins.

You can import any save from Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age: Origins Awakening expansion, the Golems of Amgarrak stand-alone downloadable content, or the Witch Hunt stand-alone downloadable content, regardless of whether you completed the game with that save. If you did not complete the game, Varric will presume that the remaining events of Dragon Age: Origins match the rumors he has most often heard.

CONVERSATIONS

When it’s Hawke’s turn to speak in a conversation, you see a dialogue wheel that offers several options for what Hawke can say. The options presented often vary based on your choices earlier in the game.

The text you see is a short paraphrase of the longer line that Hawke will speak if you pick that option. Each paraphrase is accompanied by an icon in the middle of the wheel, indicating the type of response or the tone in which it is intended.

ICONS

Indicates that Hawke will be helpful or particularly nice.

Indicates that Hawke will take an agreeable, tactful position.

Indicates that Hawke will be wry, humorous, or witty.

Indicates that Hawke will act charmingly.

Indicates that Hawke will speak or act aggressively.

Indicates that Hawke will speak directly or rudely.

Indicates that Hawke will initiate a fight, or strike/kill someone in conversation.

Indicates that Hawke will deputize a companion to act or speak instead.

Indicates that Hawke will flirt or pursue deeper romance.

Indicates that Hawke will permanently end a romance or turn down a proposition.

Indicates that Hawke agrees or consents.

Indicates that Hawke disagrees or refuses.

Indicates that Hawke is choosing one of multiple exclusive options.

Indicates that Hawke is making a special choice that is only available because of previous decisions.

Indicates that Hawke will either extort money or pay an informant, as indicated.

Indicates that Hawke will lie.

Indicates that Hawke will ask a question that does not necessarily lead the conversation directly toward its conclusion. The information Hawke learns, however, may lead to new conversation options in the future. When more than one of these questions is available at the same point in the conversation, they are grouped together in a special Investigate section of the wheel.

COMPA NIONS

Although it is possible for Hawke to venture out alone for most of Dragon Age II, the game is designed around a party of four combatants, selected from among the many prospective companions you encounter. Hawke’s party members are not just important during combat; they often have personal connections to the story and may ask for Hawke’s help with quests of their own.

To change which party member you control, press the Q button or the E button (or both buttons together to issue orders to all party members at once). You can change the composition of your party whenever Hawke returns home or visits a companion at his or her home base.

COMPANIONS’ HOME BASES

Once Hawke creates a new life in Kirkwall, each companion has a location in the city where they retreat when Hawke doesn’t need them. Seek out these home bases and visit often—once Hawke’s companions are away from the stress of battle, they are much more likely to relax and offer insights that they won’t share on the road. These conversations may lead to new quest options or, for certain companions, the possibility of romance.

FRIENDSHIP AND RIVALRY

Hawke’s companions have their own agendas and will react to major decisions. When they support Hawke’s decisions, they move toward friendship; when they disagree, they move toward rivalry. Rivalry is not necessarily bad; it still indicates that Hawke’s relationship with the companion is deepening, albeit in a confrontational direction.

You can track a companion’s friendship or rivalry rating in his or her character record. When Hawke’s relationship with the companion has progressed sufficiently along one path or the other, new conversations become available in the companion’s home base in Kirkwall. Once Hawke attains complete friendship or rivalry with a companion, a passive ability is unlocked in the companion’s personal school, and subsequent decisions no longer sway the companion’s opinion of Hawke.

CHARACTER PROGRESSION

To grow into the legendary figure whose story Varric is telling, Hawke needs to become more powerful, learn new abilities, acquire advanced equipment, and recruit experienced companions. Sure enough, a short time into the family’s escape from Lothering, Hawke gains a level and can spend a few points on attributes and abilities for the first time.

As Hawke recruits companions, they too progress in largely the same manner.

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS

Experience points (XP) are awarded whenever Hawke completes a quest or finds a codex entry, anyone in the party kills an enemy in combat, or a rogue in the party picks a lock or disarms a trap. Once Hawke or a companion has the XP required to cross a certain threshold, the character gains a new level. Progress towards that threshold is shown just below the current character’s name in the main interface and in the character record screens.

With each new level, a character gains three attribute points and one ability point. At levels seven and 14, Hawke alone gains a specialization point (see p. 12).

When a character levels up, you can spend the points yourself in the Attributes and Abilities screen.

ATTRIBUTES

Hawke begins with at least 10 points in each of the six attributes, which primarily determine prowess in combat, both directly (more constitution means more health points) and indirectly (equipping heavy armor requires great strength).

When you first see Hawke’s attribute scores, however, some will already exceed 10 because of the class bonuses listed earlier. With each level, Hawke and other companions gain an additional three points to spend on attributes.

Strength

Strength increases damage and attack values for warriors. For all classes, it increases fortitude, which measures resistance to effects like being knocked back or set aflame.

Dexterity

Dexterity increases damage and attack values for rogues. For all classes, it increases the likelihood of landing a critical hit.

Magic

Magic increases damage and attack values for mages. For all classes, it increases magic resistance, which absorbs a proportion of damage from magical attacks and determines the duration of hostile magical effects.

Cunning

Cunning increases defense for all classes as well as the amount of damage inflicted by a critical hit. Cunning also determines a rogue’s aptitude for picking locks and disarming traps, with difficulty thresholds set at 10, 20, 30, and 40 points.

TALENTS/SPELLS

Talents (for warriors and rogues) and spells (for mages) are special abilities that can be used in combat instead of a basic attack. Talents or spells usually draw from the character’s pool of stamina or mana, although some are passive, providing permanent advantages without stamina or mana expenditure. A character gains one point to learn a talent or spell each level, as well as at a few other points in the game.

The character you control—whether Hawke or another companion that you have switched to—uses activated abilities and sustained modes only when directed. Other characters in your party use their abilities whenever appropriate, or when the conditional instructions you set up in the Combat Tactics screen tell them to (see p. 27).

When you have points to spend in the Abilities screen, only the abilities highlighted in blue are currently available to learn. To unlock others, you need to meet the requirements listed in red by learning specific prerequisite abilities or reaching a certain level.

Activated Abilities

The most common talents or spells are those marked “activated,” indicated by a diamond icon. These abilities vary widely—some are offensive strikes against one or more enemies, whereas others provide positive effects to the character or other companions. Some activated abilities last for only a second, while others remain active for a short time. Most incur an immediate cost in stamina or mana, and after you use a particular activated ability, there is generally a short cooldown period before you can use it again.

Willpower

Willpower increases the size of the mana pool for mages or the stamina pool for warriors and rogues.

Constitution

Constitution increases maximum health for all classes.

Passive Abilities

Talents or spells marked “passive,” indicated by a circular icon, are permanent effects, although some only apply in particular circumstances. They do not consume stamina or mana, and, because you don’t need to activate them, they do not appear in your battle menu or radial menu. To review which passive abilities your character has learned, take a look at the Abilities screen.

Sustained Modes

Once you use a talent or spell marked as a “sustained mode,” indicated by a hexagonal icon, it remains active until you disable it. However, most sustained modes reserve a fixed percentage of the character’s mana or stamina pool. That reserve is not available for other abilities to use until you deactivate the ability. After you deactivate a sustained mode, there is generally a short cooldown period before you can use it again.

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