Mark of the Assassin Impressions
Lately I've been feeling rather lethargic, and I suppose that's why I haven't gotten any pictures done. Currently I'm looking for a henley for my Uncharted 3 Nathan Drake outfit, but I might have to work with a simple white shirt instead.
I cannot believe how close Skyrim's release is. Gotta think of a super awesome cool backstory for my character... Also, a name, but I might try to start with one from here and alter it to my liking. Like I said, I'm planning on playing a female Breton first, though I recently realized I'm not sure what schools of spells I'd like to focus on. I'll probably have to get a feel for how they all work in and out of combat.
I finished Mark of the Assassin for the first time last night. I'm going to replay it again because I missed a large portion (if I say "vaults" then I suspect most will understand what I'm talking about). I have to say I pretty much love my male!Hawke, a sarcastic rogue rivalmancing Anders (who I'm replaying for the third time lol). I say rivalmancing, but I'm actually having trouble maxing out their rivalry because I can't help but RP him as much as I can. Anders is unusually kind toward him, though, which makes me happy because it actually fits my headcanon, a rare occurrence. In previous playthroughs he could be pretty terse, and it just made me sad.
While not as satisfying as Legacy with respect to lore and companion interaction, I really enjoyed this DLC. Playing a sarcastic Hawke had me literally choking from laughter at so many parts, especially the "garden party." I'm a little disappointed I haven't started writing my fic about this Hawke, because I had planned to include a "party for nobles." Whatever that's called...
I took along Anders and Circle!Bethany, pretty much because I couldn't resist not to. With regard to my usual group I would easily round this team out with Fenris (so many cross class combo opportunities YES), but since Tallis takes up a companion slot, it was a team of two rogues and two mages. Bethany's Force Mage spells made me remember how much I love that specialization. Tallis's specialization seems WAYYY overpowered to me, and I daresay the merry band kicked ass on Hard (I admit I didn't want to deal with the FF issues Force Mage spells bring in for Nightmare mode--Pull of the Abyss ALL THE ENEMIES).
I'm not a big fan of Felicia Day, but I didn't mind Tallis too much. The voice acting sounded pretty much exactly like FNV's Veronica, though. Although a LOT of her dialogue rubbed me the wrong way and sometimes came off rather selfsure, her actions made sense to me when coming from her perspective. I don't even think she's absolutely certain she truly believes what she thinks she does (compared to Redemption--wonder what changes her). The Hawke I'm playing doesn't like to voice opinions or take sides and basically shies away from responsibility, so I didn't get to see how she'd react to having someone agree or disagree with her. I doubt it would change my opinion, though. I'm someone who dislikes the Qunari way of life, because I don't believe in fixed "roles" and "sole purposes" (although I love efficiency), but they're a very interesting group that I hope we continue to see in the future. Tallis adds another perspective to them, and while not all of the facts we're presented with--with MotA or Redepmption--jive well with what has been established in the canon, it might be that the writers themselves are trying to figure out what they want to do with the Qun.
My Hawke didn't flirt with her, but I might change that during the replay, since this Hawke flirts with almost everyone (not Merrill, lol). He's just currently in a monogamous relationship with Anders, and he did flirt with Aveline during The Long Road. Speaking of companions, I really wish Bethany and Anders had gotten to wear nice nobility attire as well!
I did get a little pissed off at her for teleporting shamelessly about during the stealth bits, as well as neglecting to unlock the dungeon door (which my Hawke could've done too, having a much higher Dex stat haha). What really bothered me about her character, however, was the DLC's epilogue. Varric is all, "I don’t know why Hawke helped her, I guess she was pretty for a Qunari." Just...what? If there was anyone who could put Tallis's and Hawke's motives into something clear and concise, I would've expected it to be Varric. Instead, we get this crappy line.
I'm really beginning to think that a DA game in Orlais might be pretty silly, because there are so many opportunities to take a stereotype and go overboard with it. So far my favorite Orlesians are Leliana (great to see her again!), Riordan, and Stroud, and the last two were voiced by the same person. However, the flamboyance feels very refreshing when compared to Fereldan and even Kirkwall. Just don't take it too far! Also, give me some of those outfits. Cyril's reminded me of Link, LMAO. Odd how the DLC accessories and armor look much better than the in-game ones...
In terms of gameplay, I was pretty pleased (despite not having traversed the vault's puzzles yet). The stealth bits were a little silly, but at least the developers are trying their hand at different approaches to quests, which I'd like to see in the future (think ME2's approach). The final boss battle wasn't as annoying as Corypheus, though I did do a lot of micro-managing the team's movements to avoid the Wyvern poison and the bombs (I think?). Like I said, ass kicking all around. I'm so good...
"Looks like the duke...has fallen from grace."
All in all, a fun DLC, still much better than anything ever released for DAO. I hope this isn't the end of DAII DLC, and I hope future ones focus more on either lore or Hawke's relationship with his companions.
[EDIT] Finished the Vault rooms. Not too tough! I feel like I may have missed something, but most of the puzzles seem self-explanatory. God sarcastic Hawke is amazing.
I cannot believe how close Skyrim's release is. Gotta think of a super awesome cool backstory for my character... Also, a name, but I might try to start with one from here and alter it to my liking. Like I said, I'm planning on playing a female Breton first, though I recently realized I'm not sure what schools of spells I'd like to focus on. I'll probably have to get a feel for how they all work in and out of combat.
I finished Mark of the Assassin for the first time last night. I'm going to replay it again because I missed a large portion (if I say "vaults" then I suspect most will understand what I'm talking about). I have to say I pretty much love my male!Hawke, a sarcastic rogue rivalmancing Anders (who I'm replaying for the third time lol). I say rivalmancing, but I'm actually having trouble maxing out their rivalry because I can't help but RP him as much as I can. Anders is unusually kind toward him, though, which makes me happy because it actually fits my headcanon, a rare occurrence. In previous playthroughs he could be pretty terse, and it just made me sad.
While not as satisfying as Legacy with respect to lore and companion interaction, I really enjoyed this DLC. Playing a sarcastic Hawke had me literally choking from laughter at so many parts, especially the "garden party." I'm a little disappointed I haven't started writing my fic about this Hawke, because I had planned to include a "party for nobles." Whatever that's called...
I took along Anders and Circle!Bethany, pretty much because I couldn't resist not to. With regard to my usual group I would easily round this team out with Fenris (so many cross class combo opportunities YES), but since Tallis takes up a companion slot, it was a team of two rogues and two mages. Bethany's Force Mage spells made me remember how much I love that specialization. Tallis's specialization seems WAYYY overpowered to me, and I daresay the merry band kicked ass on Hard (I admit I didn't want to deal with the FF issues Force Mage spells bring in for Nightmare mode--Pull of the Abyss ALL THE ENEMIES).
I'm not a big fan of Felicia Day, but I didn't mind Tallis too much. The voice acting sounded pretty much exactly like FNV's Veronica, though. Although a LOT of her dialogue rubbed me the wrong way and sometimes came off rather selfsure, her actions made sense to me when coming from her perspective. I don't even think she's absolutely certain she truly believes what she thinks she does (compared to Redemption--wonder what changes her). The Hawke I'm playing doesn't like to voice opinions or take sides and basically shies away from responsibility, so I didn't get to see how she'd react to having someone agree or disagree with her. I doubt it would change my opinion, though. I'm someone who dislikes the Qunari way of life, because I don't believe in fixed "roles" and "sole purposes" (although I love efficiency), but they're a very interesting group that I hope we continue to see in the future. Tallis adds another perspective to them, and while not all of the facts we're presented with--with MotA or Redepmption--jive well with what has been established in the canon, it might be that the writers themselves are trying to figure out what they want to do with the Qun.
My Hawke didn't flirt with her, but I might change that during the replay, since this Hawke flirts with almost everyone (not Merrill, lol). He's just currently in a monogamous relationship with Anders, and he did flirt with Aveline during The Long Road. Speaking of companions, I really wish Bethany and Anders had gotten to wear nice nobility attire as well!
I did get a little pissed off at her for teleporting shamelessly about during the stealth bits, as well as neglecting to unlock the dungeon door (which my Hawke could've done too, having a much higher Dex stat haha). What really bothered me about her character, however, was the DLC's epilogue. Varric is all, "I don’t know why Hawke helped her, I guess she was pretty for a Qunari." Just...what? If there was anyone who could put Tallis's and Hawke's motives into something clear and concise, I would've expected it to be Varric. Instead, we get this crappy line.
I'm really beginning to think that a DA game in Orlais might be pretty silly, because there are so many opportunities to take a stereotype and go overboard with it. So far my favorite Orlesians are Leliana (great to see her again!), Riordan, and Stroud, and the last two were voiced by the same person. However, the flamboyance feels very refreshing when compared to Fereldan and even Kirkwall. Just don't take it too far! Also, give me some of those outfits. Cyril's reminded me of Link, LMAO. Odd how the DLC accessories and armor look much better than the in-game ones...
In terms of gameplay, I was pretty pleased (despite not having traversed the vault's puzzles yet). The stealth bits were a little silly, but at least the developers are trying their hand at different approaches to quests, which I'd like to see in the future (think ME2's approach). The final boss battle wasn't as annoying as Corypheus, though I did do a lot of micro-managing the team's movements to avoid the Wyvern poison and the bombs (I think?). Like I said, ass kicking all around. I'm so good...
"Looks like the duke...has fallen from grace."
All in all, a fun DLC, still much better than anything ever released for DAO. I hope this isn't the end of DAII DLC, and I hope future ones focus more on either lore or Hawke's relationship with his companions.
[EDIT] Finished the Vault rooms. Not too tough! I feel like I may have missed something, but most of the puzzles seem self-explanatory. God sarcastic Hawke is amazing.