Dragon Age II

Overview

Dragon Age II is a 2011 action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts (EA). It is the second major game in the Dragon Age series and the successor to Dragon Age: Origins (2009). Set in the world of Thedas, players assume the role of Hawke, a human mage, rogue, or warrior who arrives in the city of Kirkwall as a lowly refugee, and becomes its legendary champion over a turbulent decade of political and social conflict. In the game, players explore and engage in combat from a third-person perspective. Players encounter various companions, who play major roles in the game's plot and gameplay. Depending on players' decisions and dialogue, a companion will either recognize Hawke as a friend or a rival.

BioWare began the game's development during the production of Origins's expansion pack Awakening. EA gave them only 16 months to finish the game's development, thus forcing the team to crunch for an extended period and cut a significant number of quests. Nearly the entirety of the game is set in a single city, so BioWare can reuse existing assets to extend the game's length. They were inspired by Eternal Darkness, in which players can see how the city changes over the years. BioWare looked at players' feedback and reviews of Origins, and decided to improve its gameplay, making it more action-oriented. They improved the Eclipse Engine, renaming it Lycium, to enhance the game's visuals and lighting, and accommodate a new art style inspired by movies like Yojimbo and Conan. Mike Laidlaw, David Gaider and Inon Zur returned to their roles as lead designer, writer and composer respectively.

Announced in July 2010, the game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and OS X in March 2011. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay, companions and writing; although changes to the storytelling structure and the combat system had a more mixed reception. The limited setting and reused assets were widely criticized. It received a more polarized response from players, though more than one million copies were sold in less than two weeks, a faster sales pace than its predecessor. Upon launch, BioWare supported the game with several downloadable content packs. A sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition was released in November 2014.

Official trailer

Launch Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Role-playing (RPG), Adventure

Developer

BioWare Edmonton

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Series

Dragon Age

Engine

Eclipse Engine (BioWare)

Platforms

PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Co op

No

Age ratings

CERO

D

PEGI

18

GRAC

19+

USK

18

ESRB

M

CLASS IND

16

ACB

MA 15+

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Trophies

Trophies66

Platinum possibleYes

Platinum

1

Gold

1

Silver

21

Bronze

43

Total

66

Points

1665

• The Ultimate Reward Completed all Bronze, Silver and Gold Trophies Platinum 8.64% of players
• Stone Cold Defeated the rock wraith on your expedition into the Deep Roads. Bronze 14.8% of players
• King of the Hill Defeated the Arishok. Bronze 13.83% of players
• Conqueror Defeated Meredith, knight-commander of Kirkwall's templars. Bronze 13.46% of players
• Talented Upgraded a spell or talent Bronze 16.26% of players
• Tag Team Used teamwork to perform a cross-class combo. Bronze 14.71% of players
• That Thing Has Legs Found and killed a varterral. Bronze 14.08% of players
• Dragon Slayer Found and killed a high dragon. Silver 13.05% of players
• Exorcist Found and killed the undying Xebenkeck. Bronze 10.69% of players
• Demon Slayer Found and killed the ancient demon, Hybris. Silver 11.24% of players
• Weapon Master Mastered a weapon style. Bronze 14.21% of players
• Unstoppable Completed a full year in Kirkwall without any party member being knocked unconscious. Silver 10.99% of players
• Craftsman Acquired your first crafting recipe. Bronze 16.75% of players
• Financier Became a partner in a Deep Roads expedition. Bronze 14.32% of players
• Dedicated Reached Level 10. Bronze 15.04% of players
• A Friend in Need Upgraded the armor of one of your party members. Bronze 16.26% of players
• Enchanter Enchanted an item. Bronze 14.57% of players
• Master Craftsman Crafted all of the items from a single crafting tree. Silver 10.03% of players
• Mogul Had 100 or more sovereigns in your purse. Bronze 14.26% of players
• Crowning Glory Became the viscount of Kirkwall. Silver 10.75% of players
• Specialized Took two class specializations. Bronze 13.88% of players
• I Got Your Back Completely upgraded the armor of one of your party members. Bronze 11.63% of players
• Legendary Reached Level 20. Silver 13.45% of players
• Immigrant Became a resident of Kirkwall. Bronze 16.91% of players
• Delver of the Deep Explored the Deep Roads. Bronze 14.89% of players
• Birthright Kicked the slavers out of your ancestral mansion. Bronze 16.27% of players
• Darkness Falls Toggled the map from day to night. Bronze 16.68% of players
• Explorer Left Kirkwall to explore the outlying regions. Bronze 16.45% of players
• Spelunker Visited 10 caves in Kirkwall and the surrounding area. Bronze 13.93% of players
• Mass Exodus Reached Kirkwall with each character class across multiple playthroughs. Bronze 10.41% of players
• Knowledgeable Unlocked 100 codex entries. Bronze 15.04% of players
• Treasure Hunter Opened 50 chests. Silver 15.77% of players
• Supplier Found every variety of crafting resources. Silver 8.97% of players
• Archeologist During each year in Kirkwall, discovered 3 secret messages from the Band of Three. Silver 10.08% of players
• Tale Within a Tale Listened to Varric begin his tale of the Champion of Kirkwall. Bronze 18.01% of players
• Full House Recruited four party members. Bronze 16.28% of players
• Friends in High Places Met Grand Cleric Elthina, Viscount Dumar, Knight-Commander Meredith, and First Enchanter Orsino. Bronze 14% of players
• Gift Giver Gave a gift to one of your party members. Bronze 15.66% of players
• Flirtatious Flirted with one of your party members and began a romance. Bronze 13.98% of players
• Friend Earned the friendship of one of your party members. Bronze 15.59% of players
• Rival Earned the rivalry of one of your party members. Bronze 10.3% of players
• Romantic Completed a romance with one of your party members. Bronze 12.14% of players
• Chantry Historian Found all four chapters of "The History of the Chantry," by Brother Genitivi. Silver 10.14% of players
• A Worthy Rival Earned the Arishok's respect. Silver 10.87% of players
• Great Minds Think Alike Earned the friendship or rivalry of four party members. Silver 12.29% of players
• Champion of Kirkwall Completed Dragon Age II. Silver 13.45% of players
• Mercenary Allied yourself with the mercenaries upon arriving in Kirkwall. Bronze 14.07% of players
• Nefarious Allied yourself with the smugglers upon arriving in Kirkwall. Bronze 15.2% of players
• Arcane Defender Sided with the mages five times. Silver 12.76% of players
• Mage Hunter Sided with the templars five times. Silver 9.25% of players
• Epic Completed Dragon Age II twice, or completed it once with a save imported from Dragon Age Origins. Gold 11.28% of players
• Avenged Confronted the culprit behind the Vael family's murder. ("The Exiled Prince" downloadable content) Bronze 7.68% of players
• Cloak and Dagger Met secretly with the agent of the Divine. ("The Exiled Prince" downloadable content) Bronze 7.43% of players
• Retribution Dealt with the mercenaries that killed the Vael family. ("The Exiled Prince" downloadable content) Bronze 8.01% of players
• Loyalty of the Prince Earned either a friendship or rivalry with Sebastian. ("The Exiled Prince" downloadable content) Bronze 6.84% of players
• Memento Gave Sebastian a family heirloom. ("The Exiled Prince" downloadable content) Bronze 7.68% of players
• Conductor Defeated an ancient evil in the Vimmark Mountains. ("Legacy" downloadable content) Silver 6.31% of players
• Deep Roads Safari Killed a genlock, genlock alpha, hurlock alpha, bronto, and deepstalker in the Vimmark Mountains. ("Legacy" downloadable content) Bronze 6.35% of players
• Family Legacy Applied three effects to Hawke's Key. ("Legacy" downloadable content) Silver 6.35% of players
• Family Outing Completed the main quest in the Vimmark Mountains with Bethany or Carver in the party. ("Legacy" downloadable content) Bronze 5.99% of players
• Tower Sweeper Completed every side quest in the Vimmark Mountains prison tower. ("Legacy" downloadable content) Silver 6.05% of players
• A New Day Tallis joined the party. ("Mark of the Assassin" downloadable content) Bronze 5.84% of players
• Chasing the Game Lured and killed an alpha wyvern near Chateau Haine. ("Mark of the Assassin" downloadable content) Silver 5.6% of players
• Blackjack Subtle Evaded vault security in Chateau Haine. ("Mark of the Assassin" downloadable content) Bronze 5.71% of players
• The Take Disarmed the fire traps in Chateau Haine's vaults. ("Mark of the Assassin" downloadable content) Silver 5.48% of players
• Mark of the Assassin Defeated Duke Prosper, with or without Tallis. ("Mark of the Assassin" downloadable content) Silver 5.76% of players

Space and patches

Space neededAbout 6.2 GB

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Credits

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Developer

BioWare Edmonton

Released

2011-03-08

Age rating

ESRB M

Region

US

Time to beat

about 28.1 hours