Upgrades
In each school of abilities, a number of small icons indicate possible upgrades to activated abilities or sustained
modes. These upgrades are not abilities in themselves but instead improve an existing ability. Although it may
seem as if an upgrade is less valuable than a completely new talent or spell, the size of a character’s mana or
stamina pool limits the number of abilities that can be used in a single battle. Upgrades can thus be much more
useful than yet another new ability. As well, only upgraded talents and spells can lead to cross-class combos
(see p. 24).
SPECIALIZATIONS
Hawke can learn one specialization upon reaching level seven and another at level 14. Three specializations
are available for each class. Each grants a unique bonus and unlocks a new group of powerful talents or spells.
Hawke’s companions cannot learn specializations, but their personal ability schools include talents or spells that
are related to the same specializations available to Hawke.
COMBAT
The core combat mechanic in Dragon Age II is simple: a combatant’s attack percentage is the chance that a
basic attack will hit an opponent, whereas the combatant’s defense percentage is the chance to evade a basic
attack. (Special attacks like using an activated ability or throwing a bomb almost always hit.)
These percentages vary based on the opponent’s rank and level; the percentages you most often see are for a
normal-rank enemy of the same level as the character, but percentages against enemy lieutenants and bosses
are also available, as explained below.
Assuming the attack is successful, the target suffers a certain number of points of damage subtracted from
current health, after accounting for the target’s resistance to certain types of damage.
However, each of those statistics—attack, defense, and damage—can be modified by a number of additional
factors, as explained in the following pages. Talents, spells, status effects, high-quality equipment, and the
difficulty level can further alter most statistics.
DIFFICULTY
Dragon Age II offers four levels of combat difficulty, which can be changed at any time in the Gameplay Options
screen. Higher settings are meant not to punish, but to challenge you; with sufficient tactical planning and
careful management of each party member, even nightmare difficulty should be satisfying, not frustrating.
Specifically, each successive difficulty level increases enemies’ health, damage output, attack scores, and the
frequency with which they use special abilities.
Casual
Casual difficulty is best suited to players who are new to role-playing games or expect to play combat in
real-time, rather than pausing often to plan tactics.
Normal
Normal difficulty is the recommended setting for players familiar with role-playing games, providing a good
balance of challenge and survivability. It requires moderate use of tactical pausing to plan actions during
combat. You will generally only need to control your main character, and can allow the game to control
your companions.
Hard
Hard difficulty provides a considerably greater challenge than normal difficulty. To survive most fights, you
will need to make sophisticated use of tactical pausing as well as clever combinations of spells and talents,
controlling each of your party members in turn.
Nightmare
Nightmare difficulty is intended for tactical geniuses who found hard difficulty too easy. Aim carefully: At this
setting, errant spells and attacks will harm your allies as easily as your enemies.
