Highlights

  • Dragon Age 2 has fun combat, an interesting story, and provides insight into a different corner of Thedas.
  • Revisiting old areas in each act is important to not miss out on valuable plot points and non-essential quests.
  • Make use of crowd control in combat, as abilities are designed to handle large groups of enemies.

Dragon Age 2 had big shoes to fill by following Dragon Age: Origins, and while it wasn't the game that many were expecting, it's still one worth playing with fun combat, an interesting story, and insight into a different corner of Thedas. Despite its innocuous setting, Dragon Age 2's Kirkwall and lore found throughout the game may hold clues to the plot of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, and anyone looking to visit the series shouldn't overlook Dragon Age 2 because of its smaller scope.

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Exploring Kirkwall

Revisit Old Areas in Each Act

Thanks to its limited production time, Dragon Age 2 has a small number of maps, so areas and dungeons are repeated often. This can make it seem pointless to revisit places like The Wounded Coast or the peak of Sundermount, but these areas change from act to act and players miss out on non-essential, yet valuable, plot points if they're skipped.

Make Use of Vendors

Potion-making and rune-making work differently in Dragon Age 2 than in Dragon Age: Origins. Instead of crafting them, Hawke instead finds a schematic, then brings it to a vendor and orders the completed item from them. This means that all potions, runes, and poisons need to be crafted while in Kirkwall during the day, rather than in the field. These items are extremely helpful and can make or break a playthrough. And, while companion armor can't be changed, it can be upgraded through certain runes, so keep an eye out for those.

Make Use of Crowd Control

Combat in Dragon Age 2 primarily involves large groups of enemies that drop from the sky in waves. It's one of the biggest criticisms of the game, but luckily many of the abilities in the game are also designed for crowd control. Mages, particularly Blood and Force Mages, can force large groups of enemies into a single area and then open fire with AoE damage along with warriors in the party. Rogues are best at taking down individual boss enemies, so direct them towards mob leaders.

Get the Most Out of Dragon Age 2's Story

Play the DLCs at the Right Time

There are two story-based DLCs for Dragon Age 2: Mark of the Assassin and Legacy. While it's possible to play both of them at any point in Dragon Age 2 once Kirkwall is reached, it's better to delay starting them until the later stages of the game, at least Act 2 or Act 3. This is because they come with weapons and armor that are leveled with Hawke's current level, and therefore get better and last longer as Hawke progresses through the game.

The DLC Mark of the Assassin can be played at any point between the midpoint of Act 2 or the beginning of Act 3, while Legacy is best played just before the endgame events trigger. This will get Hawke the most powerful weapon in Dragon Age 2 for the final showdown. Legacy is also a great introduction to Dragon Age: Inquisition and can be played post-game.

Pick a Side

Unlike Dragon Age: Origins or Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age 2 has a Friendship/Rivalry system where getting rivalry points is a good thing rather than a bad one. Rather than functioning as disapproval like the other Dragon Age games to the point that the companions leave the party, rivalry is just a different type of relationship.

Attempting to fix this after getting too many rivalry points will also mess this up and end up with the relationship bar in the middle: this is what players need to avoid. A relationship that isn't Friendship or Rivalry means there isn't any relationship there to speak of. This means that they won't open up to Hawke and, in times of crisis, the NPC will leave rather than remain loyal. Players instead need to aim to get the meter to one side of the scale.