Has anyone else had difficulty with persuasion or intimidation in the Redcliffe quests? Seem to be a stubborn group of people.

Yes, most definitely. My persuasion skill was only at the first tier, so either I needed that at the second tier, and/or my cunning needed to be higher, but in this game you seem to really need to invest in persuasion quite a bit before it gets you anywhere. I'm nervous of using intimidation, because if it fails, the NPC is often so the heck in with you, that they simply refuse to speak to you afterwards. But yeah, I couldn't either persuade or intimidate , no matter how hard I tried...

I have decided after reading all of your comments I won't be left out in the cold only reading about this game I am going to buy it and join the fun with you all.

Can anyone tell me where I can buy the game in Europe because I live in Ireland and want the game quickly and a decent price would be great also.

If anyone has downloaded it, can you please tell me how long of a download it was and where you downloaded it from? Was it a fast server? Thanks in advance.

old man (John) for recommending the gamepad with so much detailed combat makes me wonder if I will live to fight another battle. With the gamepad it should be easier.

I bought Sacred 2 and enhanced Witcher because of your comments and enjoy them and now add Dragon age to the list.

Thank you Sheryah. Just glad I could help. Gameboomers is a "pay it forward" place. I've been helped more times than I can remember.

Sherryah...

You can buy the game in Europe from gamersgate.

The digital deluxe edition can be bought for about 40£

Info is here:
http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-DAODVUK/dragon-age-origins-digital-deluxe-version

In addition you can buy the game's guide as well for about 22-23£

You can buy it from Steam, too, but at a higher price I think? (don't really now the exchange rate between the Euro and the British Pound, though). Here's the link to the Steam version:

http://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Electronic%20Arts/

The digital deluxe edition is the better deal, I find. You get a sound track, wall papers. You get Stone prisoner, but you get Warden's Keep, too. (normally this will cost you about 7$ or maybe 10£ or so, depending on the exchange rate).

As a side note, I can add that Steam has an early holiday sale with something the call Lucas Arts Premier Pack including the game 'the dig', loom, lucidity and a few other games. (60% of they call it...).

I don't know how long the download will take, but I do now that the game itself requires from about 15-20 GB of space on your harddrive... /talk about delusions of grandeur.../

Then, again DA is supposed to be a great game

for your helpful information Karstan. I will go and check out it out now. 15 to 20 gigs is a huge download. I wonder if anyone has downloaded it at Gameboomers and did it take days to complete the download?

EDIT............
I have a DSL connection

I downloaded the DE in around 10 hours on a 6Mbps connection. That wasn't quite maxing out my download bandwidth, but it was getting pretty close.

With Steam's 5-Day sale going on at the moment, Steam's servers are apparently a little strained, so the download may be slower. Additionally, of course, your time to completion will vary depending on the exact speed of your connection. But if you're on a decent broadband connection, the download shouldn't take all that long.

Demos, this helps me. Did you use steam? Thanks in advance for your answer, really kind of you to take the time to answer my question.

Yeah, I used Steam so that I could get the Digital Deluxe edition--the only other option was to use EA's online storefront, and that wasn't nearly as appealing.

I've been using Steam a lot lately: it's not perfect, but Steam's about the best digital download service around. The Steam client is a little obtrusive and occasionally buggy. BUT I can uninstall and reinstall my games without limits; all my games are easily available just by logging in; I don't have to worry about backing up the installation or storing the DVD somewhere safe (although I CAN back up downloaded programs so I don't have to redownload them in the future); the Steam client doesn't interfere with game functionality; and the game files are mostly stored unencrypted in Steam's Program Files directory, which means I can apply mods without Steam's DRM getting in my way.

Asha has a question and doesn't remember his log in so:

He is trying to decide between a rogue and a mage. He thinks only rogues can pick locks. So, if he starts as a mage, will he run across a rogue that can join his party fairly quickly, or should he just bite the bullet and make a rogue?

Thanks

It's true: only rogues can pick locks.

You run across two rogues in the game who can join your party. However, it's possible to miss the first one (as I did) and spend about half the game without one. By the time you get the second, due to the game's insistence on pre-leveling characters, you'll have to spend another quarter of the game leveling your rogue to maximum lock-picking ability.

And if you make the wrong choices, it's possible to lose the second rogue, or not let them join in the first place, in which case you'll never be able to open any locked chests or doors without a key.

Demonthenes

That made up his mind for him--a rogue it is

You guys are the best

Can Europeans us Steam Demos or anyone that knows? I think I prefer to use steam after reading what you said Demos.

Supposedly, Steam is available in Europe. However, due to a fairly slanted exchange rate, you should compare prices fairly carefully. Euro prices on Steam tend to be artificially inflated such that you can sometimes save a lot of money purchasing the game at retail.

Thanks again Demos this is information I needed to know. Still trying to find somewhere in Europe I live in Southern Ireland with a reasonable price that I can buy the game at retail. Besides play.com I haven't been able to find any. If anyone can give me suggestions I would really appreciate it. thanks in advance.

Sherryah, did you try Amazon.uk?

It looks like it's nearly impossible to track down a boxed Collector's Edition at this point.

So realistically you have the option of buying the digital deluxe edition from Steam (or another digital provider,) the standard edition in a box, or the standard edition from Steam et al.

The boxed standard edition will probably be the cheapest if you shop around. However, the digital deluxe edition comes with the Warden's Keep and Stone Prisoner DLC. Warden's Keep isn't worth much, but it does include a nearly bottomless chest you can keep extraneous treasure in. And the Stone Prisoner content is definitely worthwhile.

If you buy the normal edition, you can choose later to purchase the extra content online, so you're not losing much either way.

Confused yet?

Dragon Age : Origins retail disk version is available to buy in the UK from

HERE

and

HERE

and

HERE

The Game UK Site will deliver globally.

Play.Com Site will deliver to
THESE COUNTRIES

And the Amazon UK Site will deliver anywhere in the UK.

Hope that helps

Mad! I appreciate this list very much. I don't live in UK though and only hope they all ship to Southern Ireland. I know play.com does and now you have given me Game, who I never heard of before so that is 2 that do. I looked for a website that sells the game online from Southern Ireland and couldn't find any.

I usually buy from America Interact but didn't want to wait the extra days especially Christmas mail delays. I wanted to download it but it is such a huge download I was afraid I would waste my money not knowing which server is the quickest.

Thanks again for going the extra mile to do this for me. I just want to join the fun also and have been feeling left out. Now I can join the fun of playing dragon age.

Sherryah .... we all just want you to enjoy yourself !!!!

AH gee Mad, and Demos your both so sweet. I will let you know when the game arrives. I really want the game today and do a digital download but I haven't heard anyone recommending any fast servers for a DSL connection.

Steam is having problems it seems with a slower connection. If you or anyone can recommend a good digital download server I can be playing Dragon Age today before the retail boxed version can arrive. Mad, can you recommend a digital download server that is fast for European customers ? I was going to use Electronic Boutique but found out they are prejudiced and only allows USA customers to download.

I prefer instant gratification to waiting.

Looney, yes I am checking it out also.

Sorry, Sherryah, but I hardly ever download games so I can't help out

However, I'm sure someone who can will be along soon

Thanks anyway Mad, I have decided I am going to get a quick fix with instant gratification and find a reliable digital download server to get Dragon Age. I will have the game 2 different ways one instant, and one it will take a week or more to arrive.

I also am going to order retail so I have a hard copy of it. I can buy from Interact (better packaging comes in a tin and cloth map) as usual but won't care about the delay it gets here because of Christmas rush, because I will have a digital download also.

Now I just have to find all the different places I can do a quick digital download and voila I will be playing the game.

My beloved husband is laughing at me because this is my personality, when I go shopping if I see a blouse I like in more than one color and can't make up my mind, I just say the heck with it and buy both colors.

Sherryah...

When you get your boxex copy, be sure check that there are at least these items in it:

a) a card for Blood Armour

b) A card for Stone Prisoner

c) A card for Warden's Keep

d) and probably some cards for the additional content in the Collector's Edition.

To save paper, these cards have print on both sides.

And as far as the cloth map goes, it sounds great, but from what I've heard and seen it isn't.
Still, great to a get cloth map, though