The BIG Dragon Age: Origins Retrospective | ft. David Gaider

When is Dreadwolf releasing?
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Sources ► pastebin.com/4L6CjmL1
Timestamps:
Intro - 0:00
Development - 15:03
Opening - 38:50
Origins - 42:39
Human Noble - 53:04
Ostagar - 1:26:32
Lothering - 2:12:53
Camp - 2:36:10
Soldier's Peak - 2:53:50
Return to Ostagar - 3:05:37
The Stone Prisoner - 3:11:50
Lelianas Song - 3:21:56
Circle of Magi - 3:44:03
Bolstering our Forces - 4:28:36
Random Encounters - 4:30:05
Orzammar - 4:41:06
Redcliffe - 5:28:17
Brecilian Forest - 5:46:02
Denerim - 6:07:30
Urn of Sacred Ashes - 6:13:03
Return to Denerim - 6:32:07
Finale - 7:35:52
Awakening - 7:55:29
Golems of Amgarrak - 9:13:46
Witch Hunt - 9:25:23
Darkspawn Chronicles - 9:44:06
Final Thoughts - 9:48:58
Music:
Well Cooked - Masato Kōda
Music Credit: LAKEY INSPIRED
Track Name: "Falling", "Chill Day", "Beach Dayz", "Electric", "Watching the Clouds", "Fast Lane"
Music By: LAKEY INSPIRED
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Official KZbin Channel: / @lakeyinspired
License for commercial use: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported "Share Alike" (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Music promoted by: Chill Out Records @ goo.gl/fh3rEJ
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Music provided by TheRelaxedMovement.
Check it out here: / therelaxedmovement
© Henry Keate t/a TheRelaxedMovement. All Rights Reserved

[@SuperRADLemon]

What's your favorite Dragon Age game and why is it Origins? Corrections: 1. The timelines of blights is longer than I thought. They actually span over a couple thousand years. 2. Arcane Warrior kinda good actually, my b. I thought something was an activated skill, but it's a passive trait, making it way better.

[@skdeathxlife]

I still prefer DA2 but only because it was one of the first PC games I played and then I played Origins and I can see why people were disappointed with the second one though I still love the characters and sarcastic Hawke always made me chuckle

[@OrgusDin]

The Dorf origin is lit and I want more dorf stuff like it. Simple as.

[@packrunnernes]

Because it's the only good one lmao

[@tadferd4340]

Origins has the most fun mages. The city elf origin is my favourite. It has very strong themes and writing. I especially like the personality of the Warden. I think DAI has better character writing, but the rest of the game is not as good.

[@MeTaViToRFeNiX]

It's actually DA2. I know it's the worst game out of the 3, but was the first one I played and it got me hooked on the rest of the series, and eventually CRPG's in general.

[@noahp67890]

nothing quite like watching a 10 hour video essay about a game you’ve beaten 37 times

[@iCantEditBro]

This video makes me wanna go for my 38th time

[@jokermorningstar5816]

@@iCantEditBro you know I forced myself to play my backlog before starting any game I´ve beaten again. so to cope for notplaying dao again I watch this video

[@mattg4705]

This inspired me to go for my 269th run

[@jackinthebox1993]

Literally me

[@samirabdel-aziz478]

Yeeeees

[@RanwulfMaxwell]

Whoah you got David Gaider for it? The Lead Writer? Congratz man, thats seriously cool.

[@SuperRADLemon]

Yeah he was great

[@LonelyKnightess]

Fun story: Many years ago I was an artist on a Hearts of Iron IV mod named Kaiserreich. For background, I'm a writer and a *massive* Dragon Age: Origins fan - it literally got me into writing in the first place, I have a tattoo of the box art dragon on my boob. David Gaider is my Beyoncé. So I'm an artist on this game mod, and I don't get along great with the Lead Artist. Just not great vibes, it wasn't anything super hostile, but just didn't get along super great. Time went on and after (an admittedly short) time on the mod, one of my own projects took off independently and I started focusing full time on that and slacked off my artist duties. The Lead Artist fired me more or less, I told them to F themselves over it, and that was that. Several months later I am reading David Gaider's Twitter and he posts pictures he made. Pictures of Hearts of Iron IV-style art, for the mod Kaiserreich. Motherfucking David Gaider was the Lead Artist the entire time. I tried to slide back into the DMs and he ghosted me 😓, which was fair, lol.

[@parokki]

@@LonelyKnightess they say you should never meet your heroes, but I guess collaborating with them anonymously can be worse lol. Although damn, didn't realize there are people of his professional caliber working on these mods. Easy to imagine someone who's made a career of game development being used to a certain level of dedication that comes off as unreasonable to people working on a mod in their spare time.

[@mattg4705]

Incredible

[@r.k.5031]

​@@LonelyKnightessI like these little slices of life in yt comments, thanks for telling

[@NemesisOgreKing]

Wow this video is almost as long as the Fade and Deep Roads.

[@versebuchanan512]

It's almost exactly one-half of a Peragus!

[@Exaltable]

I have yet to see a retrospective on this game ever mention my favorite outcome of the landsmeet that feels like it really has the most unique outcome. Alistair normally refuses to marry Anora if Loghain is spared but you can have a really unique situation if you harden him and set the two up: -You end up with Hardened Alistair ruling with Anora -You end up with Loghain as a Grey Warden -It results in him creating a schism between the player character and Alistair -King Alistair visiting you in awakening and having a unique reconciliation scene where you become friends again -Follow this up by taking Morrigan's deal with the Player character. -You get to see both King Alistair in DA2 and Loghain in Inquisition -You learn Loghain has spent his years fully dedicating himself to make amends to the Grey Wardens underneath the player character - The sacrifice you are asked to make between him and Hawke now feels much more thematically satisfying as Loghain has actually done good in the world to attempt his redemption and dies saving the champion of Kirkwall and the Inquisition. It's just a really unique route that I feel justifies hardening Alistair + seeing how he interacts with Anora is really interesting in the glimpses we get. It justifies sparing Loghain because he doesn't immediately get his hero moment and has to actually work towards some kind of redemption. In which he becomes a much cooler character when you meet him on that journey.

[@thisismyyoutubecommentacco6302]

This is actually how I've always done my playthroughs, I don't think it's particularly "unique" but it does require some forethought and planning. Hardening Alistair always felt like a no-brainer normally because his level of naivete, while adorable, is borderline "puppy in human form" levels half the time. Hardening him makes him an actual adult, without losing his sassiness. Easy decision. I usually harden Leliana too since canonically she clearly becomes more hardened as the game's progress. Having Alistair marry Anora is the most logical way to keep the realm stable and unite everyone against the Darkspawn. Anora's political mind along with Alistair's leadership and lineage prevents any kind of succession disputes while also giving the Kingdom a royal wedding to be distracted by during the reconstruction of the Kingdom. Alistair leaving is easily handled thanks to Loghain showing up and filling out the exact same role (while also bringing the more useful champion specialization intrinsically instead of Templar which is a nice spec, but not as good for tanking as Champion is) so the final run to the Archdemon doesn't get extra complicated. While DA:O's supposed canon warden is a Dalish Elf Female who sacrifices herself, I have to assume the devs picked that just because it would affect follow on stories the least. I tend to think Human Noble is the canon warden, who becomes Warden Commander and Arl of Amaranthine under his older brother who does survive Ostagar and takes over as Teyrn of Highever. And given the Witch Hunt DLC and her appearance in DAI I think Morrigan is the canonical love interest who the original warden decides to go with through the Eluvian and spends his days with her raising the son, then dies either from the taint or something else. It should also be pointed out that sparing Loghain and him surviving the fight against the Archdemon has a special interaction with him in Awakening where he drops by and mentions he's serving as the Ferelden Grey Warden representative to Orlais which is ironic considering his hatred of the country thanks to fighting against them along with King Maric during the Orlesian occupation.

[@vanyadolly]

That's one of the better outcomes IMO. I always harden Alistair if I put him on the throne because he's a terrible ruler otherwise, and realistically there's no reason to kill Loghain rather than putting him through the joining aside from Alistair's tantrum. Throwing a coup d'etat to dethrone a very popular and competent queen also feels inappropriate, but everyone approves of Alistair and Anora ruling together. Except maybe for the two of them, but Anora will respect a hardener Alistair and he'll dedicate himself to being a king rather than a puppet.

[@clockworkgalaxy8067]

my favorite lil fade segment is Morrigan's-- she is actually fully lucid and was just waiting for YOU. its a really neat little detail that shows just how powerful she is and how intricate flemeth's training is!

[@LoredanSunstrider]

1:06:13 Noble human's first enemy: rats Mage first enemy: an extraplanar entity that will try to deceive and kill you in order to use your body do wreack untold destruction upon the world 1:21:25 Arcane Warrior supremacy

[@lettuce7378]

My best ever run was with an arcane warrior

[@Deoxys_Used_Mimic]

“Do you need a ladder… so you can *get off my back!?”* Back in the day, I didn’t understand the concept of a tactical rpg. I treated this game like an action rpg and this was the quote that my character *constantly* said in combat… and I never understood why until about a decade later. There I was, mashing the action button, as if this game was equivalent to Oblivion, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic Adventure 2, Sly Cooper… literally *every other game* taught me to hit the attack button to attack. Here this game came along with its auto-attack schtick… like a modern-day mmo or something. *…and I had no idea.*

[@halifaxsteppenwulf7980]

Something I want to point out about Shale is that she does have a pretty major role in the dwarven part of the main story when you reach the forge. She will fight you to the death if you make choices she doesn’t like.

[@54032Zepol]

My favorite playthrough was playing the Noble Dwarf, you could eventually support your brother as the next king and in return he revokes your exile and brings you back into the House Aeducan. Never knew about it until way after the initial release of the third game.

[@Enimorj]

The best origin for a mile

[@neansath]

After all these years, I never played the Noble Dwarf. I played Human Noble tons of times though. I felt like it's the "canon" experience.

[@54032Zepol]

@@neansath I play the human noble as default, the dwarven lore is sick too! Like holy hell these people have been fighting a losing battle for a millennium since the dark spawn arrival in the deep roads and if you remember the horror elements like the brood mother in those dwarven dungeons The Trench like got dayum!! Better play it safe and be a human noble to get all the good gear early on.

[@MaetMen]

@@Enimorj second best, the best is female City elf.

[@Jinzoningen]

​@@MaetMen I can't imagine a way in which you could be more wrong.

[@thisisnichie6213]

i can't wait to fall asleep to this in an attempt to listen to the entire thing over the course of several months. but seriously this is my absolute favourite video game series and i am so happy to see this today

[@andonlane]

this is exactly me. wanna watch so bad but the only time i get to really sit down is before i sleep and i end up falling asleep and wake up 4 hours into it, having to figure out where i left off the next day

[@erris5744]

I think the biggest problem most people have with Leliana showing up in major roles even if she dies is because it A. Is poorly explained and B. That doesn't occur with anyone else: for example, what ultimately happens to Alistair affects both Awakening and Inquisition - if he is king, he stays king in both, if he is killed, he stays dead in both, and if he is kept as a Warden, he shows up as the Warden in Inquisition.

[@garadje2623]

Regarding the Shale DLC: Back when DA Origins released a lot of publishers were experimenting with using an on-release DLC that came bundled with the game via a code coupon in the case. So, "technically", if you purchased the game brand new it would be "free". But if you say, purchased the game used from Gamestop then it was very unlikely the coupon was still valid and then you'd have to shell out extra money to access Shale. That's why the Shale DLC seems so weird, it's entire purpose and design is to be a content loss to anyone who purchased used copies rather than to be extra content.

[@MorningAndEveningStar]

It is a missed opportunity not to discuss the Orzammar storyline with the anvil and golems, as a parallel to the Grey Wardens.

[@SuperRADLemon]

Never thought of it that way, good point

[@happythoughts4553]

Right so, commenting before watching the whole video to defend Shale. She is an awesome DLC character who can be customized to support most any party with buffs or tanking or DPS. Furthermore, she provides new dialog to the main quest Paragon of Her Kind; giving counter point to Oghren and additional Golem lore. It is also implied that a Dwarven Inquisitor is from her exiled clan. Shale shows up in the novel DA Asunder with Wynne; giving good evidence that she might return in Dreadwolf, as her intention is to travel to Tevinter. Lastly, those pigeons deserve to be crushed (her banter with all companions is good)!

[@daraghmalone8321]

NGL seeing King Cailan's body strung up in Return to Ostagar gave me the feels. Sealed Logain's fate too. You ready to take care of business Alistair?

[@TheMysteriousDumbaz1]

Origins was my childhood rpg, absolutely loved this game. Can still go back to it today and it holds up.

[@xeternalxdreamsx]

This is one of my favorite games of all time. I don't go back because it's been many years and sometimes it ruins my nostalgia of games by playing it back after so long. 10 hours of reminiscing along with watching your vid has been a trip down memory lane. 🎉

[@magnusprime962]

This one still holds up. Maybe not graphically, but everything else still works great. The story, characters, and the level of choice in character builds are fantastic.

[@DragonMaul1]

Shale is not a hollow character! I've literally done a full playthrough essentially main-ing Shale because of the witty banter, the cool stuff in the Deep roads and playing as a big rock that smashes!

[@SuperRADLemon]

I haven't said it, but I kinda took this back as I wrote it and voiced the script. I like shale

[@Saturos226]

"One more video before I go to sleep" The video:

[@jakesakells152]

that's so cool you got an interview from the lead writer. love the work

[@misternich4935]

Being tranquil actually protects you against demons in the circle tower first floor. You can find 3 tranquils being held captive by abominations because they can't posses them

[@SuperRADLemon]

Apparently this ends up not being true in the lore in the future

[@Bionickpunk]

@@SuperRADLemon Yeah, especially what Cassandra tells about the Seeker ritual.

[@minithugfille960]

From what I remember you literally need to save them from possession and they turn into demons if you don't defeat enemies quick enough.

[@misternich4935]

@minithugfille960 that was the final boss battle room. Those were normal mages you had to save

[@minithugfille960]

@@misternich4935 That's not the one I mean, tranquil mages are in the room with three statues (one of them is a part of the side quest) on a third floor (great hall). If you save them, one of them will thank you and say how unpleasant it was (in a very calm, not emotional tone). kzbin.info/www/bejne/naCWnoObnt5-edE

[@peterw2880]

My best bro Alistair is one of my favorite characters in any game I’ve ever played. Been loving BG3 bc it feels like the true heir to the DA:O mantle, but haven’t been able to find that bromance with any of the party members there

[@Leonnie13]

Alistair was my favorite romance of all the games I played. It always pleases me how Alistair was a favorite to most players. And you are right about BG3. It feels like a spiritual successor. But none of the characters really hit that sweet spot that Alistair did.

[@steppedwellerUA]

10 hours of DA:Origins analysis? Sign me up. I went through all 3 games last month and it's really interesting to see so many different takes on the series. I was totally blind about everything, didn't read any reviews, any articles, didn't watch any videos, didn't play any turn-based, DnD-esque games, any Bioware games, knew absolutely nothing about these games and had the fun of my life playing. From the deep combat and wide range of choices in Origins, to the linear, more grounded but still dramatic story of DA II, with its cast of flawed individuals as companions with their interesting backstories, to the more cinematic-ish narration of Inquisition with everything from the cutscenes to the music and the dialogue feeling more "expensive" and directed to bring more cinematic elements to the story, its shift towards MMO in terms of mechanics (which was also a new thing to me, since I haven't played MMO's) even though I can't say I like open-world games with a lot of grind mechanics (hello Ubisoft). But sometimes, I'm feeling a bit...gaslighted(?) by the internet, because I liked DA II and Inquisition a lot, at some specific moments even more than Origins, and now I see people all over just calling them...bad at the very least. I'm not amongst the type who is affected by public opinion as much, but even so, I often ask myself "Am I wrong for enjoying DA II and Inquisition as much as I am?". It bothers me. But anyway, I am definitely not wrong when it comes to enjoying this video.

[@silkyfi6652]

Nothing wrong with enjoying all 3 games. Hell, I do too, even if I do think Origins is better than the other two. The thing is, Origins came out as kind of a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights and made a lot of people happy because of it. Crpgs were not the most popular genre and people had been wanting something like DAO for years, a modern take of the old formula with cinematic storytelling and (mostly) great voice acting. It was great to have another high profile RPG in a somewhat niche genre and we couldn't wait to get more of it. And then we never really got more. As the series went on, instead of building upon the new system and adding more intricate mechanics, they kept stripping away the RPG elements in an effort to make the games more accessible to a wider audience. DA2 and DAI play like action games with light RPG elements instead of the the classic CRPG DAO was still aiming to be. Gone were the origins, skills, attribute allocation, crafting, tactical combat with systems like physical and mental resistances, proper dialogue choices, etc. People loved DAO and wanted more of the same, but instead we kept getting less while the series moved on to something else. A lot of people were really disappointed with that and for me personally, it took me years to start appreciating the newer games for what they are instead of disliking them for what they aren't.

[@grecha7656]

You are not wrong to like DA2 and DAI. I love DA2 and I mourn it's lost potential. I'm not bothered by same locations, weird looking characters and the like. I love Kirkwall, it really is interesting when you actually start looking at it and reading about it. I love how terrible the place is i love how lower city is so dusty and dirty because it's the old quarry, I love how the powerful and the wealthy live in old mansions and palaces of Tevinter slave owners. I love how the chantry never bothered to remove the old slave statues from the Gallows and how they keep calling the circle the Gallows. And despite how terrible and dystopian the city is it becomes a home for Hawke and their companions. I'm just a sucker for found family and found home

[@magnusprime962]

No, you’re not wrong for enjoying the whole series. And if you look back at the reviews of the games when they first came out people were a lot kinder then. These days BioWare’s fall from grace has made a lot of people want to claim that they “always knew they were bad”. There’s a good reason Inquisition won multiple Game of the Year awards though, and there are good reasons to like DA2. They’re games with wonderful characters and a lot of heart put into them. None of the Dragon Age games are perfect, but all are worthy of love.

[@idunnoay]

I played through all 3 not long ago either, and I love them all for what they are. I did struggle to make it through da2 most recently, though - I couldn’t wait to wrap it up and move to DAI. I also find I enjoy DAI’s combat the most, especially on high difficulty. While the base story is weak, like mass effect 3 the subplots are fun even if the overall wrapping is weak, and 2 of the DLCs are my favourites in the whole series (Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser). So you’re definitely not alone in liking all 3. DAO is probably to most cohesive and quality package, and very understandably the most appealing to those who enjoy a good CRPG. But the other games are appealing in different ways.

[@justelliot4870]

"and this is why we unionise, folks" BASEDBASEDBASEDBASEDBASEDBASEDBASEDBASED

[@bookbagfox]

There is actually a justification in DAI’s DLC for why Leliana can be alive in the later games: She was brought back as a Lyrium Ghost and straight up just disappears after the game ends if she wasn’t made the Divine. Quite heavily implies that either the Maker or her own strength of will, combined with with the high volume of lyrium below where she died, was what allowed her to come back until her goals were fulfilled.

[@adeptdamage3669]

It's still dumb

[@godshenron9306]

@@adeptdamage3669 not really. Just say you dont like it and rhats fine but its pretty consistent with lore

[@adeptdamage3669]

@@godshenron9306 Nah it's a cheap way to walk back player choice.

[@JoaoVictor-rg5ix]

​@@godshenron9306its quite Cheap brother. Even if the lore actually acommodetad it. They valued Leiliana way more than player and thats a fact. Even in Dragon Age Inquisition.

[@cttommy73]

@@godshenron9306 They literally broke players choices because they gave players the choice of being a murderhobo and then decided, "Huh, being a murderhobo is bad. Oh well, screw player choice then."

[@mrgnarchr]

Aww little shout out! Glad I could connect you with David; he’s a sweetie ❤ Amazing work as ever Rad 🎉🎉

[@alexisbarrington4443]

I have literally watched this video 3 times already since it’s been out, I bought the game again and are playing for the first time in years again thanks to you! I have so much love for this game it being released in 2009 I was 7 and watched my mom play for about a year till she finally caved and let me play (in hindsight I can see why she didn’t want to let a 8year old play the game lol) but I honestly didn’t understand the mature themes and just played all the different origins and loved all the companions and would get as far as the fade most play through but would get scared of trying to go through the fade alone so I didn’t end up finishing the game till the last time I picked up the game and played a royal dwarf rouge who sacrificed themself to kill the archedemon (didn’t have any dlc) and I cried because this piece of me I had held for so many years finally had an end, I felt so proud of my warden and their sacrifice. Replaying it again just feels right and I really do love so much about the game I can see why it has always held my heart for my top game. It is what got me into gaming and makes me happy that a video like this from someone I will never meet i can watch for 30 hours and love every minute

[@RavinerPayne]

Sorry about the prison scene, I've never gotten my items lost permanently. It was in a chest nearby.

[@nikkikah2356]

I can't wait to sit and listen to this! Dragon Age: Origins still stands as my favorite game of all time, and while it's definitely rough around the edges and didn't age well in some areas... Well. It is still *amazing*.

[@masonbradley8914]

Totally agree

[@Skumtomten1]

Just curious but what areas do you think the game has aged poorly? I did my 7th playthrough of this game recently and tbh I still had more fun with it than any modern game I have played. It's my favorite game ever, and i'm obviously "biased" towards it, but I think it has aged extremely well due to how unique it is.

[@nikkikah2356]

@@Skumtomten1 The models and the UI namely, and the loading screens. I've always played this game on Xbox so my experience is definitely hindered because of it. I will be buying it on steam soon tm.

[@nikkikah2356]

@@Skumtomten1 But seriously? I really don't care about those things much, DA:O is a game I could replay infinite times I love it that much. I love discovering new things, EVEN NOW, side quests I never found out or treasures. Its amazing how vast and endless this game is despite it being based on set pieces.

[@Skumtomten1]

@@nikkikah2356 Oh, you played on console, that explain things haha. I have played it console and while the writing and story is just as good as the pc version, everything else is definitely worse. It's pretty obvious the game was designed for pc, then ported to consoles, which is pretty much the opposite of what most AAA game do today. I highly reccommend getting it on pc, and it's best to get the GOG version, bust steam also works. One important thing though is to 4gb patch the game, or LAA patch it. Otherwise it runs like crap on modern computers. There are also many fantastic mods for it on pc. But yea I agree, I have close to 500 hours of this game and I still see new stuff and hear new dialogue, its pretty incredible.

[@XavierGrim]

Orzammar and the Deep Roads is such a rich vien of content and consequences that I didn't consider until afterwords how disastrous the Warden's involvement is. Causing the deaths of two of their Paragons, living saints of their people, the destruction of one of their most powerful tools against the Darkspawn, and the usurpation of their rightful king (unless you play as a Dwarf Noble). And it all feels like the right thing every step of the way.

[@daraghmalone8321]

Yeah, looking at the end screen and the carnage wrought by Bhelen and sucking my teeth saying "real sorry 'bout that fellas"

[@NovaCaneKills11]

My #1 favorite game of all time in 9hr retrospective...bet! Edit : Any 1st time players or vets giving this one a try and facing hair loss thanks to the mages; build MANA CLASH on one of your mages, set to "use on sight of enemy mage" in tactics and just cackle. It's devastates all enemies with mana pools which includes demons. Even boss variants will be bleeding and depleted of their casting potency if not completely one shot from the damage. Templars wish Smite was half as good

[@timothyhooker6864]

Only 40 minutes in so far, but I really appreciated that introduction. As a massive DAO fan, the insights you were able to offer in the beginning of this video were awesome! If the rest of the video plays out as well, this may be my favorite of your retrospectives. :)

[@AROSP]

Finally got around to finishing this mammoth video. This is proper games journalism, it's such an impressive undertaking. You've got a real niche with this style of content, and I'm glad people like you are putting in this much effort. DA:O is an amazing game, and this is a great deep dive.

[@elgescherwerauchimmer700]

This is without a doubt the best retrospective of Dragon Age's origins. I can't thank you enough for gathering all of this additional information about the game and getting an actual interview with the lead writer on the game. you are a great help in preserving video game history

[@wonkatar2813]

one of my favorite details with the “origins” is that each character origin exists in the story/lore. but they all meet their fate except for the origin you choose due to Duncans intervention. -The Dwarf noble brother was convicted and killed in the deep roads -Dwarf commoner dies in his cell -Human noble stays to die along side their family -Dalish elf is never rescued and dies trying to fix the eluvien -city elf is either taken by the noble or enslaved -All mages are either made tranquil or killed by the templars lore still recognizes these characters as existing (especially the dwarf noble).

[@darkjak565]

Wake up babe, SuperRAD dropped a 10 hour video essay on the game that consumed more of my time than school in my early teens This is seriously impressive. Congratulations on such a huge video, so very excited to hear all this.

[@afonsomata41]

What a great Retrospective Mr. Rad, I was 7 years old when I played DAO and I was hooked in the dragon age series since then, any plans of making similar retrospectives for the following games?

[@SuperRADLemon]

I'm not sure yet but currently no plans

[@TheSkyfolk]

You have no idea how good arcane warrior actually is, and that's okay, but try an arcane warrior + blood mage some day, it's totally cracked. Wade into the battlefield with all of your mana spent on sustain buffs, then switch to blood magic and start controlling things from up close, while never getting hit because you're wearing armor and have at least 2 sustained defense buffs.

[@Nastara]

Man arcane warrior so OP christ totally forgot how much of a menace my Wynn was.

[@TheSkyfolk]

@@Nastara I ended up rocking an arcane warrior for over half my first playthrough back in the day, used the juggernaut set for the rest of the game as well, so I could face tank every single fight lol

[@maurovaz6081]

I killed the high dragon with my warrior as reaver and Wyne as arcane warrior on nightmare arcane warrior is broken

[@TheFlibidy]

On the point of ennemies grappeling you: staggering abilities such as Shield Bash and Stone Fist will force them to release the grappled party member

[@jonathangonzalez1271]

a 10 hour video on Dragon Age Origins? Put it straight into my veins.

[@isaaccooper448]

56:23 “If you can’t tell this Severus Snape-ass Alan Rickman looking individual in a dark fantasy role playing game is secretly evil then I don’t really know what to tell you.” 😂😂

[@Rdezzle]

This is the best. You are the best. Thank you so much for your work. This was such a great watch!!!

[@chcknfsh]

I haven’t had the time to get more then a hour into this, but with the quality of content that you provide I greatly look forward to finishing this between the next few days. We appreciate your work and dedication to the things you love.

[@mikec.6122]

Just what I needed. Subscribed. Thank you for the hard work

[@dvader518]

When SFDebris reviewed this shortly after he reviewed KotOR, he pointed out that the various companions in DA:O serve as counterparts to the KotOR party members: Dog = T3-M4 Alistair = Carth Onasi Leliana = Mission Vao Morrigan = Bastila Shan Shale = HK-47 Zevran = Juhani Oghren = Canderous Ordo Wynne = Jolee Bindo Sten = Zalbaar Logain = Revan

[@McFliggity]

It took me a little bit longer to find the time to watch this one, it felt like a bit more of a barrage of information, but overall was another great job as always. Loved the effort of having the interview thrown in this time, as well. Keep up the good work and don't forget to rest!

[@HYDRARMOR]

One of the best videos that I have ever seen on youtube! And this is about my favorite RPG! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this!

[@Arygo87]

You did pass that Landsmeet persuasion check, it just doesn't do anything because the trick to it from what i remember is to keep the topic of discussion about important issues (at least what nobles see as important) the blight, the noble's families and avoid making it personal (about Ostagar) , as well as comebacks related to the dirt you have proof for. [edit] ah ... i commented too early ...

[@joearnold6881]

If someone hasn’t played this yet and decides to, I would very much recommend playing thru each of the origins before going on to the rest of the game. Not only will this give you a better feel for which character you would enjoy playing, it gives you a much better feel for the world you’re about to enter. You’ll know more and thus appreciate more as you play on, and better appreciate the scope and scale of things. Don’t worry too much about the human novel being tied to the main storyline a bit tighter. It’s true, but other origins are tied to other aspects. Being a mage, for instance, makes you a part of the larger lore in a more direct way (and personally made me feel some of the reveals more intimately), or being either of the dwarf classes add a lot to a large chunk of the mid-game (“mid-game” being a very vague and variable term in this case, due to the story’s structure). Same thing for the Dalish, though imo for less direct screen time. The city elves perhaps get short shrift, but it definitely adds something to be a part of the oppressed group through this game about trying to unite the world to fight off a greater threat.

[@theogannon9826]

Perfect timing for this video to release just as I start another play through!

[@inspectorspinda]

i didnt use the crafting mechanics in my first playthrough, but once i started using them i loved them. poison is a great buff for the rogue/archers and traps is so fun if you want to cheese certain difficult fights. like the mountaintop dragon which is optional. if you make enough traps you can kill it as soon as it lands.

[@joearnold6881]

They definitely get much better and more useful when you aren’t just playing on normal.

[@ChefQuinn]

Hey rad, I wanted to say thank you for taking your time and making a 10 out of 10 video. Every time I see you post I get so excited because I know it’s gonna be damn good.

[@iCantEditBro]

This is the best DA:O retrospective/analysis I've watched, kudos to you for getting the lead writer. I think you asked good questions!

[@abbufu1]

OH BOY 9 hours That will be a hell of a journey

[@bookbagfox]

Man, I love this game so much. It got me fully into party-based CRPGs in a way that KOTOR never quite did. I went back and played Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights because of it, and loved those too. It was really the Baldur’s Gate 3 of its time.

[@jackiedaytona1017]

Perfect time to watch all of this during my lunch break.

[@im_dari7614]

Sick video, I haven't played dragon age, but the interview segments with David are great and he seems like a super fun dude.

[@nektarios5291]

Perfect timing. Was just thinking what am I gonna watch for the next few days 😂

[@belhariry]

I wish there was a Dalish Mage Elf origin

[@bobbyrosken]

I won’t have time to watch this until the weekend but I’m so stoked you tackled dragon age. I hope this video does well enough to justify you making content with the rest of the series

[@DannyCapM8]

I remember my first playthrough like it was yesterday, Me, a Tanky Warrior, Alistar, a Tanky Warrior, Sten, A Tanky Warrior, Oghren, A Tanky Warrior. We may have taken 20 years to kill a single darkspawn, but, damn, if it didn't taken them of them 50 to kill us.

[@dennishogan5696]

loved the video, not because it was long and well put together, but because you laid out your thoughts about each of the games choices and your thought process through each even if i disagree with some of them. its nice to see a video about this game that goes deeper than just the amount of customization and choices in the game but the potential consequences and even the moral issues of them. i wish i could enjoy the rest of your videos but i really only enjoy the retrospectives as all the games youve done these past two years are games i grew up and sometimes even think about today as an adult. this is getting weird now ive had to many gummies but great dudee

[@isaaccooper448]

Another great retrospective! I love how you go through the development of the game and so thoroughly cover the key parts of the story. You mention BG3 a bit during the start of the vid, can we expect a 20hr review at some point? 😂

[@slothfulsleen]

Was looking forward to this for so long and it has already exceeded my expectations less then 20 minutes in. LETS GOOO

[@matthewsprecker7093]

I will say that Lillianas' beauty is on full display in DAI. But the point is when you're a warrior you're always a warrior. Once a bond always bond.

[@ChiefCrewin]

Love these kinds of videos! I just started so I'm not sure if you'll mention it, but my favorite detail is in development, Thedas stood for THE Dragon Age Setting, and it stuck.

[@TheKevinNoble]

The Tel'aran'rhiod reference to the Fade made me so happy. More Tel'aran'rhiod like experiences please!

[@josephmcauley3305]

recently revisited this game so this is wonderful to come across. I’d always wanted to play as a bloodmage but never had time or patience to make a new character. It really is as OP as the lore makes it out to be, mixed with spirit healer and my party’s invincible

[@jakobrenner2230]

Woah great super-restrospective! Regarding witch hunt, I think whether you go or not with Morrigan in the Eluvian heavily depends on the type of character that you play (whether he feels obligation towards the Wardens or not). Cheers for making this and for bringing in the man himself!

[@yosquiggly]

Loving your content, I listen to your retrospectives on repeat.

[@SuperRADLemon]

I appreciate that!

[@jokermorningstar5816]

a few things about shale, that you missed: If you take her with you during orzamar it turns out that Caridin knows her and about her past. If you choose to keep the anvil she will leave your party and fight on caridins side. If you destroy the anvil, caridyn will tell you a bit about shale, and you can find shales Name amongst the tributes that you can copy to bring back to orzarmar. If you do all this, after the game ends, shale will travel to find a way to become human (or rather dwarven) again.

[@ForceG27]

thank you for this rad, it was a treat just hearing Mr. Gaider talk about DA.

[@EthanDavenport-ft4fx]

It's absolutely insane that I decided to play through the trilogy for the first time a couple weeks ago and just found this. I love your content and I LOVED Origins! I thought it got so much of it right but I am a die hard Mass Effect fan and I gotta ask, "do you ever plan on doing a Mass Effect video?"

[@SaintZaiya]

The way the video is made for me and only me is crazy thank you 🥰

[@joearnold6881]

Hello, my clone. Or maybe I’m _your_ clone. 🤔

[@NameBird-yw6id]

I somehow managed to watch this all in one sitting while finishing up side content in ff7 rebirth, another banger video.

[@DagothDaddy]

Replaying Dragon age origins and even DA2 makes that statement from the newer Bioware narrative director that Dragon age is about friendship even funnier.

[@bogartskim]

My favourite game of all time this coming out will make my day thank you Mr. Super Radular

[@MrElephant98]

you don't actually need the lockpicking talents to pick locks. it's based off of your cunning and each rank of the talent just adds 10 effective cunning to your character for lockpicking. you can unlock every lock in the game with 70 cunning and no points invested in the lockpicking abilities

[@SwooshJush83]

Bruh I was just on a dragon age video binge, this is perfect

[@yumikooshiro249]

On the idea of the origins happening at the same time, you can indeed find the body of the dwarf commoner inside a cell when you assault the Carta base. The dwarf you can release in the cell next to his will mention he just gave up and stopped eating. Edit: Also minor tidbit, doing the Antivan Crow quests for the guy in the inn. Helps you get a vote in the Landsmeet.

[@justvoss47]

So cool to see different people's goals when it comes to these games. I always picked my party based on who I found the most interesting rather than party effectiveness, which is why Wynne was never with me. I also waited to do a lot of DLC until it made the most sense from a story standpoint. Wynne has a lot of unique dialog ue in Return to Ostagar and even new banter with Alistair, which makes me wait until I have her.

[@tpk7321]

Took me two days but I finally made it the end lol one of my favorite retrospectives to date !

[@cookiemonster59263]

Oh I'm excited for this - DA:O was one of the foundational games that kickstarted my career in game dev. It's genuinely one of my favourite games of all time, to such an extent that I have the Cousland crest tattooed on my arm since I was 19. The noble origin just resonated with me so much that I never got over it. I'm very excited to watch this 😭😭😭😭😭

[@mephisto8644]

Thanks to you SuperRAD 3 days ago i downloaded this masterpiece im still in middle of the game and enjoying every single moment 😮😮😮 i cant wait to start DA 2 and DAI

[@Dogman415]

Arcane warrior doesn't need to have the buff active to wear the armor, but does allow it to be used to determine attack damage for weapons using spellpower, so it's use up your mana, switch the buff on, and go ham with a good melee weapon. I pair it with spirit healer and mana regen spells like the one that monches corpses to give you mana. It's REALLY good for having your main character be very versatile.

[@WilliamBradey]

Hell yeah! This is what I'm subbed for

[@WilliamBradey]

Took me 4 days but I did it

[@artificersbeard8050]

This is probably one of my favorite retrospectives to date SupetRAD awesome work. I really hope that you cover the other two games in the future. Personally Bodahn Feddic for father of the year for taking care of Sandal... the real final boss for Thedas.

[@Knight1029]

I really to like the David Gaider interview. Even if I don't like the opinions of the video I am always up for some more behind the scenes with David Gaider. I also wonder if you looked at Mark Darrah's own videos on each Dragon Age game. He did a retrospective of each of them and that was quite cool. A lot of great insight.

[@MonkySeason]

10 HOURS??? you are a MACHINE, man!! good stuff

[@codyscottmac]

dude David Gaider is fucking awesome lmao I'm so glad you got him for the video

[@flyinghawaiian007]

2:22:30 If Leliana dies in DA:O, she does reference having died in DA:I. It's a bit of a handy-wavy explanation that doesn't delve much into the details but, in a world where magic is real, why not bringing the dead back to life?

[@jeremybdman]

As someone who edits films for a living, I shudder to think about your render times and upload times lol... Amazing retrospective though and how awesome is it Gaider joined you? Just awesome to hear everything about this amazing RPG gem!

[@SuperRADLemon]

Surprisingly it only took about an hour and 60gb

[@cygneturesounds]

That's a hell of a rig! I have to make sure my laptop hasn't shuddered and died for even short projects. Easily had multiple hour exports for only a few minutes haha!

[@doschmon6808]

This will be a treat! This game is such a good vibe

[@Jeff17ish]

I love all 3 games, for different reasons sure but I still love them.

[@user-bj7ku1cu9v]

Thank you sir. This is a very valuable contribution to gaming history.

[@bluzo9499]

What ive never heard anybody dislike shale she's such an interesting character to tag along with she has unique skills she and unlike a certain prince in da 2 she's well integrated into the story its like she was always there for the low low price of free

[@gwen3504]

Fantastic stuff!

[@HoxMouse]

Dwarf gang, you couldn't make me pick a human in a fantasy setting unless it was the only choice lol (Which actually might be my biggest gripe about DA2)

[@FinnFongus]

Same but with elves 😂 love to see it, I never realized people would want to play so many humans!

[@stuff2watchnowmaybe]

Brilliant content!