Dragon Age 2 - Patch 1.03 in Certification - Adds Combat Changes - Close to Release

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SasqWatch
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Luke Barret updated the Bioware tech forums with this thread, saying that patch 1.03 is indeed in certification and will be released some time soon.
That said, PC, X360, and possibly PS3 Europe are all trending well for sometime next week. PS3 North America remains uncertain at this point and we've confirmed with TransGaming that, due to some work they still need to complete on the launcher, the Mac version remains highly unlikely for next week.
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He also said, in an update, that the patch will fix more than 200 issues with the games and that people playing on the pc no longer will experience that they can't launch the game
Failure to Launch - Some PC users were still encountering some strange edge cases that were fundamentally preventing them from being able to launch the game. Some Windows administrator accounts were receiving errors about insufficient priveleges - it turns out that was due to a corrupted file in the Windows OS so we changed our code to fail more gracefully when it encounters that problem, allowing the game to continue.
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There is a whole lot more to the patch 1.03 update, so be sure to check this out yourself.

Luke also talks about, in another update, the changes made to the combat, here about the
General Improvements - We've slowed the initial pace of enemies at the start of combat, allowing tactical positioning to play a more useful and important role. They also generally gain more health as the game progresses, they're less likely to explode into puddles of blood and gore all the time and their basic attacks are less likely to cause interruptions. Likewise, party members now resume their previous actions once interrupted so you don't have to micromanage them as much and ask them to swig that potion more than once. That said, silence effects and disruptions to stealth have been beefed up a little, making those rarer sorts of interruptions play a more critical role. Enemy commanders are also a little smarter, throwing stun grenades while encouraging their troops to concentrate on a single target. And elemental resistances actually cap out at 95% now, meaning no one can be fully immune to a given damage type.
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Combat changes will also be added to Mages, Rogues and Warriors.
And finally a word on when the patch should be released:
Finally, some updates of what to expect next week. Thanks to the Sony Europe team pushing really hard on the patch, it looks like they'll actually be the first across the finish line. They expect the patch to launch sometime on Monday, May 30th. Microsoft has also been hard at work, and they are expecting the X360 Title Update to launch on Tuesday, May 31.

PC, Mac, and Sony North America remain unconfirmed at this time but we'll keep you posted as we learn more.
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Hey, that's today, isn't it - at least for the Xbox 360. Stay tuned - as they say.
More information.
 
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This patch sounds like it'd make the combat a lot better. And I already beat the game! DAMN THEM! Now I require a lengthy DLC to enjoy these fixes.
 
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Awesome news.
I might have to actually replay this sometime…

EDIT:
Now, if only we can get rid of the recycled environments... ;)
 
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Crashes - Did you know that when you play logged in on some platforms, if you crash, you're presented with an option to send us an error report? Thanks to all of you who've done so, we've been able to track down and resolve a variety of crashes. We found one that was tied to the animation of the shimmer effect you see on corpse loot, for example, and another that was tied to how arrays were sometimes used and cleared in scripting (this particular one was most evident in some combat that would occur in the Lowtown Night area). So thanks to all of you who sent in those automated error reports - it really does make a difference!
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Well what do you know? Those things actually work!

Thank goodness they fixed the dialog audio. I had to turn all the other sounds down then crank up my stereo to hear what people were saying. Naturally, I would then forget the stereo was cranked up and get blown away by something else later.

Interruptions - I actually thought those were kinda cool. A mage would get beaten over and over with no chance of fighting back if s/he was toe to toe with a nasty critter. That forced me to keep an eye on everyone and help the mage out of the chain-knockback.

With all these balance changes, I'm glad I wasn't hit with them mid-game.

P.S. Patch is not live yet for PC, at least for me.
 
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don't know if they fixed enough to make it worth my time but i'll give it another shot. could only make it through the first chapter last time before i'd had enough.
 
Cool. Just waiting for the ultimate release with all the DLC and I might play this ;)
 
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Daddy32 said:
Origins (with all the extra crap) still haven't reached this price, even on sales…
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Ultimate Origins won't ever cost below $10, it's practically 2 games in one.

But I bought ME2 in December last year for $8 on Gamersgate and I have seen Ultimate Origins on sales for less then $30 USD a few times already.
 
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Those combat changes sound pretty good, actually. The "wave-design" is one of the worst aspects of the game - so if they can fix it up a bit, it might be significant.
 
Grandor Dragon said:
What are the plans for Dragon Age II DLC anyway? Since the game launched I haven't heard of anything.
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There have been an armour dlc released so far. And the story DLCs they're working on have been postponed, based mainly I think on people's comments, reactions and general frustration with this game. Many (or ok, all) changes to the combat being designed into patch 1.03 have been done because of the feedback from fans, gamers, and I dare to say this, focus groups. Hopefully, Bioware have closely read every review out there....

Maybe when patch 1.03 and patch 1.04 has been released, this game will get more close to the real vision the Bioware devs. always wanted? Time will tell...
 
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Combat changes?

What did they actually make it good?
 
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What improvements?

Likewise, party members now resume their previous actions once interrupted so you don't have to micromanage them as much
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is a big one. Even if I think that must have come with release version. Better too late than never though.
 
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