Lizzy Hawke leans insouciently against a wall in her shiny dragon platemail – a rare scene when she isn’t covered in actual blood spatters.
Hurrah, my copy of Dragon Age 2 arrived today. Apologies for slow blog updates but (aside from the stupid flu) I have to kick arse, take names, and sort out Kirkwall.
When you load up the game, any unlockable DLC (for example, if you have the signature edition, or got some items for signing up to the newsletter) won’t download automatically.
What you’ll need to do is get the loading screen up (as shown above) and log into your bioware/ EA account as part of the process. If you then select either extras/ unlockables or downloadable content, the game will open a browser window for you and it’ll be directed to your account on the Bioware Social Network.
If you select Profile/Redeem Promo Code (if you have a promo code, for example in the signature or collector’s edition) then you can enter that to tie the DLC to your account. Then if you go to Profile/ Your registered game content you’ll see a list of every item/ DLC registered to your account and next to each one is an info button when you can check how to download it.
I do think they could make this process more streamlined but it’s not actually hard once you figure out that you have to use your bioware/EA account to tie things together.
Happy questing, more on DA2 when I’ve had more time with it. For now, I’m one of those annoying people who likes to play through on ultra-easy combat settings – I’ll leave a more tactical play through for next time!
Welcome to Spinksville! 
There is a distinct possibility that entering all the various DLC codes and so on took as long as the damn game is going to take.
Though, speaking on DA2, I’m not quite as enthused about the non-Varric members of my party as I was about the members of my party in the original.
Even certain mages are now less entertaining than they were in their original appearence.
I guess Fenris is okay, though.
I actually quite like the party members. Aveline is pretty cool and has a moral backbone, Varric is good fun, Anders just unfortunately reminds me of a sort of composite of some of my first boyfriends, but he’s still a pretty good go-to mage when you need to know if someone is possessed or whatever. Fenris is like alll the bishi guys ever put together. And Isabela is cool.
I actually hate Merrill because she’s so thick. But presumably some people will find her adorable.
That’s because Merrill is adorable, and anyone who says otherwise is incorrect.
She’s not actually thick; as time passes it becomes clear that she’s just uncomfortably focused on specific sorts of learning, and pretty unobservant in everything else. Sort of Hanners from QC writ large, if you will.
Fenris, on the other hand, can sit at home base and never leave, and not only because I’ve already got a warrior with a two-hander.
I’ll be starting it today, it wouldn’t take my DAO saved game info and said I never finished the game – when I did!! But my Origins has been a bit buggy so I’ll live. Tried to save mid-starter bit but it didn’t save it, didn’t work out the DLC but was sleepy ;p
Also, I have no extras or downloadable content highlighted or able to be clicked at all, even though I have the signature edition and am logged in on the right account. Frankly just pissed off right now.
Stupid shortcut was defaulting to the demo ;p
Glad you figured out what it was, but that sounds really annoying.
I’m glad it wasn’t just me that found this to be a slightly labyrinthine system. I’m sure it was better in the original Dragon Age, but I did buy that one via Steam.
It also took me a good ten minutes to work out that my ‘online registration’ code for the bonus DLC was different to the standard game registration code, and that it was printed on the back of a loose flyer which looked like it was nothing more than an advert for Mass Effect 3. I was quite glad that I hadn’t chucked it straight in the bin, which I usually do with all the pointless gumpf that comes in a game box these days.
I just keep feeling that if I was in charge of designing how the DLC side of things would work and asked, “what would be easiest for the player,” this is totally NOT the way I would do things.
And agree totally about the signature edition DLC being printed on the back of a flier for ME3 (which I have no interest in and wouldn’t normally have looked at.)
Having said that, once I’d worked out what I had to do, it did all work fairly smoothly. But Bioware seem to have a genius for doing these things in non-obvious ways.
“what would be easiest for the player,” this is totally NOT the way I would do things.
It’s almost as though they’re doing it on purpose, as thought it were a… test. My word! I do believe they’ve got us solving Bioware RPG puzzles outside of the game!
The only redeeming feature of Anders is his cat, which indicates he might, though late in life, become a worthwhile chap. 🙂
Congrats on getting the game. I just got to act two with my rogue and I’m going to start again with a mage and see which is more fun. Mage seems to be more canon if that means anything.
Also I’ve noticed that the majority of fights except for the bosses, CC seems to help more than healing. Try taking Anders out of healing and throw down a bunch of ice and knockdowns. Seemed to work for me.
I actually found Aveline to be so annoying that I re-rolled from my initial rogue character to a warrior. I wanted to be able to put together a party without her in it. That annoying.
(That and I wanted either Varric or Isabela around at all times, they’re funny; and who needs two rogues?)
Merrill reminds me of early Ziva David from NCIS (TV show) – an outsider who often takes things too literally. She’s good fun.
The banter between Isabela and Bethany and/or Merrill is hilarious.
Favorite quote of the game thus far: “Apostate Prostitiutes? Apostitutes? haha!”
The banter between Isabela and Aveline is pretty good 🙂
Yeah, I bet that probably is quite funny. I had just picked up Isabela when I opted to go warrior. Oops.
Have you heard the chesthair conversation between Varric and Isabela when they’re in the party together? It’s hilarious in a creepy, disturbing kind of way. 😀