Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening



"For centuries, the Grey Wardens—the ancient order of guardians, sworn to unite and defend the lands—have been battling the darkspawn forces. Legend spoke that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but somehow they remain."

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is the first expansion for Dragon Age: Origins. It was released for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 18 in Europe and March 19 in the UK. It was released in the US on March 16th. and will have both retail and download editions. However in the UK the PS3 version will not be available at retail and will instead only be available via the Playstation network.

The writing team on Awakening consists of David Gaider, Sheryl Chee, and Ferret A. Baudoin.

Overview
The game begins six months after events of Dragon Age: Origins have concluded, and the player will take on the role of a Grey Warden commander (who is either an imported character from Origins or an Orlesian Warden). The player will help rebuild the Grey Wardens and to establish Vigil's Keep as a new base of operations, though the Orlesian Warden will be treated differently because of Orlais' history with Ferelden and because the (imported) Warden will have killed an achdemon pretty much single handedly. Despite the defeat of the archdemon, the darkspawn have not returned underground and there are rumours that there are darkspawn with the ability to speak. The Architect appears to be involved and the Warden may have to deal with this creature. Once this mission is complete, the world will have changed dramatically.

Features

 * A total of 6 new specializations, two for each class.
 * New warrior specializations: Spirit Warrior and Guardian.
 * New rogue specializations: Legionnaire Scout and Shadow.
 * New mage specializations: Battlemage and Keeper.


 * 16 new spells and 32 new talents (for a total of 48).
 * 12 new skills on 3 skill tracks


 * The ability to import an old character (either dead or alive), or start as a new Warden from Orlais (if you start a new character, you will instantly get a level 18 character.)
 * All non-DLC items as well as any Return To Ostagar items from your Origins character will be transferred into Awakening. Both equipped and inventory, but not party storage chest items, will be transferred.


 * A higher level cap of 35.
 * All characters The Warden can recruit can be put through The Joining and made Wardens.

The Calling Characters Appearing in Awakening

 * The Architect is a mysterious darkspawn that can talk and does not feel the calling; he was the main antagonist from Dragon Age: The Calling.
 * Utha is one of the Grey Wardens that went into the Deep Roads to find an ex-Grey Warden commander and has a run-in with the Architect.

Origins Characters Appearing in Awakening

 * Herren and Wade will return to sell new goods. Wade will make you special stuff if you find "fantastical" materials such as Eldest Dragonbone, Heartwood and Golem Shell. After finding such materials though, Wade will give you a list of things he further needs to construct the special items.
 * Alistair, Wynne, Loghain, and Anora can make an appearance depending on player choices in Origins. Wynne is a sidequest-giver found in Amaranthine near the chantry.
 * Oghren is a returning party member from Dragon Age: Origins (He will start at 0 approval regardless of your relationship with him in Origins; in addition, if the character has given him gifts in Origins, gifts given to him in Awakening continue to receive diminishing returns in approval)

New Companions

 * Anders is a human mage who has escaped the Circle of Magi countless times, but always seems to get caught. The woman Templar in the trailer claims he is a murderer and is not to be trusted. The nature of how he is a "murderer" is currently unknown. It may be that she blames him for the death of the Templars that were guarding him at Vigil's Keep when the Darkspawn attacked.
 * Velanna is an elven mage of rather unknown and questionable origin, as seen in her very short trailer. She is rather aggressive and has the ability to animate the trees (which are similar to sylvans). According to the trailer, she is hunting the merchants who took her sister, and attacks the warden for killing her "Friends" (meaning some Dalish elves she is traveling with). Who her sister is and why they took her is unknown. She is located in the Wending Woods.
 * Sigrun [sig-grun] is a dwarven rogue who is a member of the Legion of the Dead. She fought the darkspawn with her group in the Deep Roads, and she is the last survivor. Also, she thinks that something odd is happening in the fortress of Kal'Hirol.
 * Mhairi [mai-ree] is an ex-army sword & shield female human warrior. She admires the two Wardens who defeated the Archdemon "single-handedly" and jumped at the opportunity to help rebuild the order. Mhairi is a Grey Warden prospect who has not taken the Joining.
 * Nathaniel Howe is a rogue and the son of Arl Rendon Howe. He is found in the Vigil's dungeon.
 * Justice is a warrior and a noble spirit from the Fade, bound to the body of a dead Grey Warden. He is situated in the Blackmarsh.

New Locations

 * Amaranthine: Rendon Howe's previous property estate, with lots of fishing going on.
 * Blackmarsh: Former bustling village abandoned into a gloomy, desolate marsh. Veil is thin and torn here.
 * Kal'Hirol: The dwarven fortress long known as a center of learning for the smith caste.
 * Knotwood Hills: An area of inhospitable and barren hills to the west of Amaranthine.
 * Vigil's Keep: An ancient fortress in Amaranthine. Base of operations for the Grey Wardens.
 * Wending Woods: Forest area divided by Pilgrim's Path, leading to Amaranthine.
 * Dragon Bone Wastes: Wasteland where dragons go to die and the Tevinter Imperium attempts to harvest greater power from their remains. The area of Drake's Fall lies here.

New Creatures

 * The Architect
 * The Children
 * The Disciples
 * Queen of the Blackmarsh (a spectral dragon)
 * The Withered
 * The First
 * The Lost
 * The Mother
 * Baroness

New Skills

 * Runecrafting
 * Vitality
 * Clarity

Random Encounters
Random Encounters

Main Plot Quests

 * The Awakening (Quest)
 * The Righteous Path
 * Last of the Legion
 * Shadows of the Blackmarsh
 * Depths of Depravity (* Can anybody Verify that this quest exist?)
 * The Assault on Amaranthine

Lair of the Mother

 * Crystals of the Imperium

Vigil's Keep

 * A Medical Necessity
 * The Survivors of Vigil's Keep
 * The Assault on Vigil's Keep
 * Defending the Land
 * Oaths of Fealty
 * Adria's Plight
 * Far Afield
 * A Daughter Ransomed
 * Bensley's Gratitude
 * A Brewing Conspiracy
 * It Comes From Beneath
 * Cost of Doing Business
 * A Master's Work
 * Heart of the Forest
 * Golem's Might
 * The Wraith's Vengeance
 * Worked to the Bone
 * Trade Must Flow
 * Elemental Requirements
 * What is Built Endures
 * The Peasant Revolution
 * Salvage Operation
 * A Day in Court
 * Bombs Away
 * The Shrine of Korth
 * And you Esmerelle?

Companions

 * The Prisoner
 * Nathaniel's Joining
 * The Howe Family
 * Freedom for Anders
 * Sigrun's Joining
 * Sigrun's Roguish Past *New quest
 * Velanna's Joining
 * Velanna's Exile
 * Oghren the Family Man
 * Justice for Kristoff

Knotwood Hills

 * The Long-Buried Past
 * Lucky Charms
 * Memories of the Stone

The Blackmarsh

 * The Burden of Guilt
 * Tears in The Veil
 * A Maiden in Distress
 * Ser Alvard's Missing Sword
 * The Trail of Love
 * The Lost Dragon Bones

The Wending Wood

 * Brothers of Stone
 * Ines the Botanist
 * Trading Troubles
 * The Merchant's Goods
 * Maferath's Monuments
 * From the Living wood
 * Last Wishes

City of Amaranthine

 * Smuggler's Run
 * Law and Order
 * The Blight Orphans?
 * The Blight Orphans (Again)
 * Moonshine for the Children
 * The Sermons of Justinia II
 * Those Sweet Orphans
 * The Scavenger Hunt
 * A Present for Melisse
 * Making Amends
 * Preying on the Weak
 * A Donation of Injury Kits
 * A Donation of Poultices
 * Till Death Do Us Part
 * Out of Control
 * Keep Out of Reach of Children
 * Rumblings From Beneath

Differences Between Origins and Awakening

 * There will be no romance options in Awakening.
 * Items will go up to tier 9. There are 2 tiers of 8 and 9, heavier armor is White Steel and Volcanic whereas lighter armor is Dragonwing and High Dragon.
 * There are several new materials for weapons and armor to be made from including White Steel, Ancestral Heartwood, Volcanic Aurum, and a wood called Vhendahl.
 * You will be able to craft your own runes and use them on armor.


 * You will have the ability to re-spec your character without losing plot decisions made in Origins through an unlimited amount of Manual of Focus tomes, sold for 6 each.


 * Most promotional and DLC items will not transfer into Awakening. However, items received during Return to Ostagar and the Memory Band will transfer.
 * Characters approvals from The Origins will not be translated into The Awakening. Everyone (including Oghren) will start at 0 approval. (ref: I received Awakening today @ Bioware forums)
 * The Origins characters who used Character Respecialization Mod can be imported to The Awakening without any issues.
 * Oghren will meet you with his new Legion of the Dead gear, set with a magical weapon (be sure to strip him out prior to The Awakening)
 * Inside the Throne Room in Vigil's Keep ( to the right after entering the room) there is a personal chest where you can store all of your items.
 * You level up at a much faster rate in Awakening compared to Origins

Importing an Origins Warden versus creating an Orlesian Warden

 * People of Amaranthine will treat a Ferelden Warden with respect, as opposed to suspicion towards an Orlesian Warden.
 * An imported Warden appears to tier all companions to his/her level also.
 * An imported Warden will only be imported with the weapons and armor that the Warden had equipped with when imported, but will have all unassigned accesories and all basic items. Your companions equipment will be lost unless you unequip them and keep them as unassign accesories in your inventory.
 * New Wardens do not benefit from the stat or talent gains garnered from Lost in Dreams or increases from tomes.

Achievements
Completed Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Acquired all upgrades for Vigil's Keep. Reach level 30.
 * Awakening
 * The Enduring Vigil
 * Commander of the Grey

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Bugs/Glitches

 * (PC) Awakening introduces some old console bugs not present in the PC version of Origins, allowing the player to assign Tactics to summoned creatures by clicking on the '# new tactics slots have been added' message on summon. In addition, the Ranger's Wolf/Blight Wolf summon hides 3/4 skills, mostly taken from Dog's repertoire, normally inaccessible to the player. Via the tactics menu, you can make the Wolf auto-cast those hidden abilities.


 * (360, PC) Possible to have Sigrun's approval start out at +100. This can be done by giving her the Spyglass (other gifts can produce the same results) immediately upon rescuing her outside of Kal'Hirol. Doing so will begin the cut scene and add +100 approval.


 * (360) The avatar's shield does not always appear despite being equipped, or appears backwards. Possible causes are initiating a conversation, entering the submenu, or switching weapon sets.


 * (PC) When initially equipping a shield, it will appear on the avatar normally. However, whenever you switch between primary and secondary weapon sets, the shield will disappear. It still shows as equipped in the inventory, but does not appear on the avatar's back in game. In battle, the character motions as if pulling out the shield, but it's not there. If you return to the inventory screen and re-equip the shield, it will show again. However, the defense stats seem to be the same regardless of whether or not the shield is visible. Further investigation suggests this happens only after using a Manual of Focus. To avoid the bug, un-equip ALL items before using the manual.


 * Accepting the quest Law and Order in Amaranthine will eliminate your ability to initiate Sigrun's personal quest. A dwarven woman standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the tavern will no longer spawn if this quest has been accepted.


 * (360/PS3/PC) The gloves, breastplate, and boots of the Sentinel armor set will look like the Warden Commander armor on a human character if your DA:O game had the Warden's Keep DLC installed.


 * (PS3) When collecting the 4 pieces of the Sentinel Armor during Shadows of the Blackmarsh, you must obtain all pieces before leaving. If you exit the area, there is a chance that the pieces may be replaced with a duplicate of one of the items already in your inventory.


 * (PS3/PC) If the player is using an imported Warden, many of the Codex pages collected during Origins will have been removed. The removed pages appear as empty slots in the log rather than being erased.


 * The Vigilance sword, acquired from the Worked to the Bone quest given to you by Wade, will look like the Starfang sword from DA:O if your game had the Warden's Keep DLC installed.


 * In the quest Smuggler's Run in Amaranthine (given by Shady Character) you are asked to speak to the innkeeper at the local tavern to get him to allow smuggling to continue. When you return you will be rewarded and invited down into the passage inside the house adjacent to him. Inside you will deal with some thieves and after you have cleared them out the Master Smuggler will show up. When you speak to him he will give you a gift of 15 gold and 500 experience points and offer you another job. Decline his offer and initiate dialogue again. He will once more reward you with 15 gold and 500 experience points. This can be repeated as much as you desire.


 * When using an imported character, none of the DLC content items will be transferred. However, if you have these items equipped on your character, even though the items themselves disappear, their Statistics/Resistances modifications will be merged into the character's base attributes.


 * (PS3 only) The Manual of Focus will only recognize a maximum of 99 attribute points. If your character has more than 99 points, the additional points will be lost upon using the Manual.


 * (PC) Nathaniel is able to be equipped with high level weapons and armor as it seems that the calculations use your dexterity score rather than the actual stat required.