Dragon Age 2 DLC to address fan feedback

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 17 June, 2011

Future games to appeal to a wide audience.

BioWare plans to release downloadable content for Dragon Age 2 it hopes will address some of the feedback it received from core fans.

Without revealing exactly what the DLC will contain, BioWare said it has an opportunity to listen to core fans of the first game in the fantasy role-playing series as it moves forward with the franchise.

"We have some new DLC that's upcoming that's going to try and address some of the comments and try and provide the fans with the things they're looking for, both the core fans and the new fans," BioWare boss Ray Muzyka told Eurogamer.

"We're committing to making sure all the products in the franchise going forward are going to appeal to a wide audience, both the core and more."

Last month BioWare used Twitter to call for staff to work on Dragon Age 3. "We haven't formerly announced it," Muzyka said when asked about the tweet. "We obviously have more things planned for Dragon Age in the future."

Reflecting on Dragon Age 2, Muzyka said, "It's been one of the most polarising launches we've had, frankly."

Eurogamer's Dragon Age 2 review cast an 8/10. "An enduring classic?" asked Dan Whitehead. "Not quite. A satisfying epic? Absolutely."

"It actually drew a lot of new players in who really love it," Muzyka continued. "Many people who played Dragon Age: Origins loved it as well.

"But also there were a lot of fans of the original Dragon Age: Origins who weren't as happy with it. Maybe they were looking for more of the same, and it was different and innovative in ways they weren't expecting.

"Commercially, it's been very successful. Critically it's been successful with a lot of new fans, and many of the old fans.

"We take the feedback of all of our fans, our core fans particularly, really seriously. We're committed to trying to address that feedback.

"We think it was innovative. We're proud of the risks the team took. We think it's the right direction for the franchise. We also think there's an opportunity to listen to the core fans who loved Dragon Age: Origins to make sure they're with us on the journey going forward.

"We need to work hard to make sure that happens, that that is the case."

Muzyka's comments echo those from EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau, who told Eurogamer last week that "we lost some fans with Dragon Age 2".

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (63) Latest comment 11 months ago

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  • abigsmurf #1 11 months ago

    So... they're going to try to sell DLC to people who hated the game? Good luck with that.

  • George-Roper #2 11 months ago

    DA2 is one of the very few games I stopped playing, in this case due to the dumbing down of it.

    I won't touch anything with Dragon Age in the title now unless there's absolute proof they've ditched the 'wider audience' mandate.

  • kingz #3 11 months ago

    Appealing to a wider audience is one of the reasons why I believe Dragon Age 2 was a flop compared to it's predecessor not to mention the rpg's that have or will come out this year (The Witcher 2 and Skyrim).

  • Velvetmeds #4 11 months ago

    The game was great, it's one of those titles treated unfairly that maybe down the road people will learn to appreciate more.

  • bobfish09 #5 11 months ago

    DA2 wasn't bad, but it failed to live up to the expectations set by DAO.

    EA investment reports / leaks also imply that DA2 sold substantially less than DAO, barely scraping past the million mark globally.

  • gott_sei_dank #6 11 months ago

    It has to be free so they can actually finish what they started.

  • berelain #7 11 months ago

    Dragon Age 2 was okay, but the combat was nowhere near as enjoyable as the first game - it just felt like a dumbed-down action game, rather than something that belonged in an RPG. Hopefully the success of more traditional RPGs like The Witcher 2 will help to convince BioWare that it doesn't need to court a 'wider' audience.

    When BioWare was first talking about Dragon Age Origins, they were keen to note that it was a traditional RPG with strategic combat. Seems they forgot that for Dragon Age 2 in their haste to broaden the game to more people. For what its worth, I quite enjoyed the politically-charged story of DA2 and appreciated the narrower focus, but I grew bored of the combat, with waves of copypasta enemies to mow down with only a few useful skills.

  • Ceatlan #8 11 months ago

    I've actually completed the game twice now, and the biggest problems I've had with it are not any dumbing down (and I've played pretty much all the previous Bioware RPG's, and loads of others including The Witcher), but the criminal re-use of the same locations, art assets etc, the complete linearity of the story which despite giving you the apparent choice of whether to accept to do tasks for people or not, you don't really because the story won't move on until you have, and the way the story only has one ending whatever you do, and that ending is a rubbish non-event where nobody has won or lost anything.

    (I'm talking PC version here)
    Edited by Ceatlan at 17/06/11 @ 09:01

  • hiddenranbir #9 11 months ago

    Wait, wide audience? That was what was wrong with DA2...wasn't it?!!

  • Dannyboy1100 #10 11 months ago

    There's no way I'm going back to playing that game.

    Oh hey we'll tell you there is an auto-attack option in the console version but really there isn't.
    *plays rogue*
    x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
    WHY? I don't even care if they fixed it, I swear my thumb was twice the size of my other thumb by the end of it.

  • vx-chemical #11 11 months ago

    If they pull another DA2, with DA3, they will get a slap in the face, i think alot of the people who werent detered enough by the demo, was by the main game.

    Bioware is going from the king of rpg to the shovelware rpg creator. It sucks, and i hope they try to correct it.

    I am okay with Mass Effect, they originally announced it as something different, more action based, so i was warned, but with DA2 they lost a sale from me, if i ever feel the urge to play the game, ill get it preowned or rent it, they arent going to see my money on it.

    And ive bought all bioware titles with the exeption of DA2 and MDK

  • TheWretched #12 11 months ago

    "But also there were a lot of fans of the original Dragon Age: Origins who weren't as happy with it. Maybe they were looking for more of the same, and it was different and innovative in ways they weren't expecting.

    Way to piss on your fans... "well... we are innovative, but our fans can't adapt". Just admit it, you removed everything that made DAO epic to save time and money for a quick cash in.

    Honestly, I did like DA2 a lot, but it was NO WAY NEAR the first one. The city was just horrid. Small, boring and very repetitive. Add to that, there were basically 5 "outside locations" which were repeated end on end.

    On another note. The PC version was well done, though. Not a horrible port job like Mass Effect 1 and 2. Nice textures (when using the high res texture pack, that is), usage of recent technology... One of the few games currently that actually taxes my system.

  • HL706 #13 11 months ago

    My two main gripes with DA2 was setting the entire game in one city. Kirkwall would've been a great starting area but was just plain boring by the time the game ended.

    The combat. Everything about it was crap compared to the first one. I can't even try to be constructive - like someone mentioned before, each class had a couple of decent skills and they got spammed endlessly until all enemies are dead. Rinse, repeat.

    If the DLC is free I may redownload from Steam and see what's new and different. If, more likely, its £7-10 then they can go sit on a sharp stick :)

  • WinterSnowblind #14 11 months ago

    People seem to misunderstand PR talk. Wider audience or more accessible doesn't necessarily mean dumbing down and taking away RPG features. By wider audience here they specifically mean the RPG fans they lost by making the game so linear and combat focused.

    I was rather disappointed with DA2, but I'm at least happy that they seem to have taken the criticism onboard.. it's going to take a lot to bring me back though. Making this first piece of DLC free would certainly help :)

  • sarcasmoidosis #15 11 months ago

    "but the combat was nowhere near as enjoyable as the first game - it just felt like a dumbed-down action game, rather than something that belonged in an RPG. Hopefully the success of more traditional RPGs like The Witcher 2..."

    What? Witcher is basically an action game (combat wise)

  • ZizouFC #16 11 months ago

    I enjoyed DA2 but would like the DLC to be set outside of Kirkwall...

  • vx-chemical #17 11 months ago

    #Sarcasmosis

    It's not though! it may look like one, but there are "dice" rolls for everything,

    Im not sure about DA2, it seemed like every time i clicked an enemy they exploded in blood, so i dont know how much dicing, is in the background.

  • Dizzy #18 11 months ago

    This will have to score 9+ before I touch anything DA again.

  • dangercopperfield #19 11 months ago

    Mark my words BioWare, if you "dumbdown" Mass Effect 3, God help ye. The E3 showing had boss battles while shooting on a turret.....where have I see this before.....EVERYWHERE!

  • Whitster #20 11 months ago

    @Dannyboy1100

    There was an auto-attack option on 360 but it was hidden away in the gameplay options in the pause menu.

    Personally I actually prefered DA2 to the first which I found to become a bit of a slog around the 30 hour mark. My only criticism woiuld be the fact that the whole game was set in one city.

  • misinformed #21 11 months ago

    No thanks, theyve alrdy blown it.

    And whatever was with Eurogamers "Are you sure you were reviewing the right game" clincally insane 8/10 score about exactly.
    Edited by misinformed at 17/06/11 @ 09:28

  • M4RV #22 11 months ago

    I have to thank EA for taking the time to completely f**k up my favorite developers... I will NEVER forgive them for what they did to Westwood and apparently, Bioware now clearly has a mandate which consists of dumbing down gameplay in favor of mass appeal.

    Good luck with that on the long-run; We all know EA's resume when it comes to that.

  • Velvetmeds #23 11 months ago

    Don't even dare mention Witcher 2, such a terrible game. If it were a Bioware game it'd get even more hate than DA2 but it's a "cOol InDiE DeV" so people turn a blind eye. *sigh*

  • geox30 #24 11 months ago

    They will include Geralt in the DLC???!!

  • Wizard83 #25 11 months ago

    i don't want anymore sub-standard DLC in bloody Kirkwall! I've spent more time in Kirkwall than my own home town!!

  • menage #26 11 months ago

    New environments please. I'm sick of Kirkwall

  • HyperTails #27 11 months ago

    Dragon Age 2, so far, is my GOTY. Loved every minute of it, from the characters, setting, humour... all of it.

    Not perfect though... some things could've been better, and it wasn't as good as Origins.

    However, i'm eagerly awaiting this DLC. PLEASE, PLEASE show how they all ended up splitting up. Hawke and co left Kirkwall... yeah, so what were the 'events that forced them to seperate', expect for Hawke and Anders (on my save block, anyway).

    If it can be on the same scale as Awakening, which single handedly changed my entire perception of how a DLC should be done, then i'm there day 1.

  • Gunship #28 11 months ago

    Commercially, it's been very successful

    Yeah, 1.5 million copies for DA2 compared to 4m for DA1 is really "successful", when you consider that everyone is "polarized" because they dumbed DA2 down specifically to sell more than DA1 (CoD levels of sales).
    Edited by Gunship at 17/06/11 @ 09:46

  • username84 #29 11 months ago

    "Dragon Age 2 it hopes will address some of the feedback it received from core fans."

    I don't think any "core" fans still own the game so why bother?

  • Deckard1 #30 11 months ago

    Playing DA2 now and its a lot better than the shitty first one. Neg away, but I prefer to actually play a game rather than look at spread sheets. The only down fall is the lack of variety in locations, but even that isn't as bad as people make out.

    NEG AWAY!!!

  • MrChuckles #31 11 months ago

    Is Dragon Age the new Fable?

  • 5h1nj1 #32 11 months ago

    2velvetmeds: "cOol InDiE DeV"? :D You may have to work on those research skills of yours. Also on capitalisation.

  • Moribundman #33 11 months ago

    Will it give Anders a virtual cold shower?

  • HL706 #34 11 months ago

    @Deckard1

    Why even play RPG's if you feel that way? RPG fans *like* the stats and 'spreadsheets' as you call them. That's the one of the most satisfying aspects of the game for us.

  • Gizzle #35 11 months ago

    Innovative: the new lazy.

  • anomagnus #36 11 months ago

    @Kingz

    It wasn't a flop. It scored almost the exact same and sold more copies. If thats a flop, i'm sure many devleopers would love more flops.

    @bobfish

    Well, i;m glad to prove you're talking UTTER bullshit. Here, for the third time i've posted the fucking link, is a report to the SEC, which means it has to be externally audited, or people go to jail for fraud, is a link that states it sold more than 2 million units.

    [link url=http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=574530
    ]http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm...[/link]

    Do your homework before you talk shit.

    Again, i love the fact that people that say the game is good get negged to oblivion, but the beardies will plus anything that gives over the top, unrealisitc, anti corporate bullshit rants.

    Seriosuly, some of you need to let go.

    The game was good. The city itself was disappointing, and deservedly caused the game to lose points. The re-use of enviroments, ok, disappointing, buti barely noticed to behonest. As for combat, at the end game, the witcher2 (the new shining light of rpgs, apparantly, because its indie...) end game combat, in a specced out swordsman tree, jsut the exact same. I didnt even block in the end, i just popped a specced quen shield, and hacked and slashed. Don't tell me the combat was any deeper.

    @HL706
    I'm an rpg fan, i have little time for stats. I;m more interested in choices and deciding the outcome of the story. To me, thats role playing. Not stats, not dice, or any of that crap. I hated KOTOR, where i could hit a guy with a light saber, and he'd still be alive, because the dice weren't with me. If i want endless stats and grindy combat, i'll get a JRPG.
    Edited by anomagnus at 17/06/11 @ 10:32

  • Gumersindo #37 11 months ago

    You MUST do something special for DA2 DLC indeed.
    This is your time to fix quite a lot of things (please no more repeating the same location)

  • bobfish09 #38 11 months ago

    @anomagnus

    Oh look, DAO sold more than DA2.. so I got the number wrong, it doesn't change the fact that DAO SOLD MORE!

    http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/E...
    Edited by bobfish09 at 17/06/11 @ 10:37

  • Shikasama #39 11 months ago

    Oh yeah, that's why I hated DA2, because I couldn't handle how 'innovative' your hack and slash was.

    Silly me. I wasted all that time and money playing Witcher 2 instead.

  • Velvetmeds #40 11 months ago

    "Silly me. I wasted all that time and money playing Witcher 2 instead."

    And what a waste that was, playing a roll and slash. Worst game of the year.

  • Kanjin #41 11 months ago

    Both combat situations were decent, but DA2 was more fun. fast and satisfying, the enemies jumping off the walls behind your squishies was bad hat though.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #42 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:15 09-05-2012

  • Deckard1 #43 11 months ago

    Because I like the story. I like the decisions, the dialouge, the world you inhabit, the playing a "role". Non of which involve sifting through endless pages of numbers and options.

  • kingz #44 11 months ago

    @anomagnus When I say "flop" I mean a "flop" to gamers, The game was a letdown and didn't hold a candle to DA:o and now they are going to (and I hate to use this word but) "dumb down" the next game in the series. BioWare can't make a game with storytelling alone, as good as it is, and will only deter rpg fans away from the series.

  • Whitster #45 11 months ago

    @Bike_Bob1971

    And while they're at it bring back elevator convos for ME3.

  • Stranded87 #46 11 months ago

    @Velvetmeds

    Stop trolling, I haven't played The Witcher 2 yet but the first one is one of the best RPG's of the decade and by all accounts the sequel is even better.

    On topic, given Biowares track record for DLC (post Neverwinter Nights anyway) i'm skeptical that what they release will appeal to many people in either camp. I predict a couple of hours of fighting in new locations, maybe with a slight increase in difficulty to appeal more to the 'core' fans. That said, I liked Dragon Age 2, massive disappointment compared to the first of course, but i'd still rather play it than pretty much any modern RPG that's not made by CD Projekt or Obsidian.

  • Velvetmeds #47 11 months ago

    I'm not trolling. The first one was good (not one of the best of the decade pftt) but the sequel is absolutely awful.

  • headcrash #48 11 months ago

    Really, a DLC that offers different dungeons and environments for the missions? So that I don't feel like my intelligence is insulted everytime a level has loaded? Thank you BW!

  • addugg #49 11 months ago

    DA was brilliant for people who like complexity in their Rpgs, however we are the minority and if they wanted to make more money to ensure the franchise stay alive then they had to make it accessable. You know, barely anyone actually played as an elf or dwarf and unlocked all the different specilisations. In Da2 they were streamlined so that new players weren'r left thinking WTF am i doing wrong. Feel free to neg me but I speak the truth whether you want to admit it or not.

  • addugg #50 11 months ago

    DA was brilliant for people who like complexity in their Rpgs, however we are the minority and if they wanted to make more money to ensure the franchise stay alive then they had to make it accessable. You know, barely anyone actually played as an elf or dwarf and unlocked all the different specilisations. In Da2 they were streamlined so that new players weren'r left thinking WTF am i doing wrong. Feel free to neg me but I speak the truth whether you want to admit it or not.

  • addugg #51 11 months ago

    DA was brilliant for people who like complexity in their Rpgs, however we are the minority and if they wanted to make more money to ensure the franchise stay alive then they had to make it accessable. You know, barely anyone actually played as an elf or dwarf and unlocked all the different specilisations. In Da2 they were streamlined so that new players weren'r left thinking WTF am i doing wrong. Feel free to neg me but I speak the truth whether you want to admit it or not.

  • Talk_Show_Host #52 11 months ago

    I can't believe that there are suckers out there who will pay for DLC. On the other hand I couldn't believe that EG gave this an 8. It only shows how great reviews have become on this site (lol).

  • Madder-Max #53 11 months ago

    "People seem to misunderstand PR talk. Wider audience or more accessible doesn't necessarily mean dumbing down and taking away RPG features. By wider audience here they specifically mean the RPG fans they lost by making the game so linear and combat focused. "

    rpg fans were the original audience and they said that they were going after a wider audience.....and released a game that was dumbed down.

    do you PR types ever lose yoursleves in this world of bullshit or what?

    This is bioware pannicking because they realise that the whole 'ting can collapse around them very very quickly

  • HL706 #54 11 months ago

    @Deckard1

    Well if that's the case, if playing a "role" is what you crave from games you're in luck as nearly every game ever made involves playing a "role". From Gears of War through to Football Manager!

    Here's a quick, concise defintion of RPG as it applies to video games;

    Single player role-playing video games form a loosely defined genre of computer and console games with origins in role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, on which they base much of their terminology, settings and game mechanics. This translation changes the experience of the game, providing a visual representation of the world but emphasizing statistical character development over collaborative, interactive storytelling.

    HTH :)

  • mornegroth #55 11 months ago

    Ah *sigh* Dragon Age 2...
    This game could have been so much more, but think what was really lacking was the gameplay. The mechanics need a complete revamp and so does the artistic direction which is pretty bland in my opinion. Level design was laughable and don't let me get started with the dungeon overuse of the same maps.
    Story wise it kind of delivered what I was waiting for right from the beginning, it was easy to know what would happen in the whole three arcs...

    I dunno, the game just didn't live up to it's expectation nor to it's reputation.

  • HarryTuttle #56 11 months ago

    I really don't get why people think DA:o was so deep. I mean, I love the game, but mages are way over-powered, the linear skill trees result in only a few viable builds with predictable skilll progressions and levelling up boiled down to pumping each class' principle stat. Baldur's Gate it was not.

    Yes DA2 has serious flaws - reused enviromnents and a shocking slew of bugs chief among them - but give the game credit for what it did right. Class balance and synergy was better and the setting was a refreshing break from the norm. Bioware tried to be innovative and got mixed results. Of course 'innovation' is a dirty word for a lot of RPG fans - I remember the boards bemoaning DA:o's development for not being D&D enough. Plus ca change...

  • Inmediasress #57 11 months ago

    How about they finish the game and add a good story some memorable companions maybe 5x times bigger environments and to top it all of a tactical camera.
    Oh and revert back the combat from that japanese style hack and slash with naruto like moves.

  • Gunship #58 11 months ago

    @anomagus

    You do your homework before saying people are "talking shit". Despite your link, DA2 did NOT sell 2 million. It sold IN 2 million. A "sell in" is where EA dumps (say) 2m copies into shops and everyone waits. If customers do not buy these 2m copies, then EA has to take the unsold ones back. So basically all that press release tells you is the size of the first shipment. EA CEO himself in a 2009 conference call admitted that he used the term "sell in" instead of "sell" as bizspeak to fool unschooled gaming journos and make games appear to be selling better. Well done for falling into his word trap.

  • Grayvern #59 11 months ago

    So you had specialisations without quests and the combat looked different, it still played almost exactly the same just spell combos removed and critical effects added.

    The flaws with DA2 weren't dumbing down they were: recycled areas, enemies spawning directly in battle to make up for lack of areas and hastily added lost objects.

    What Bioware won't admit is that DA2 needed probably another year to add many more environments, sidequests, and a remodeled city after the chapters with differing areas to show the passage of time, not changes to the game mechanics.
    Edited by Grayvern at 17/06/11 @ 19:13

  • boyscout #60 11 months ago

    da1 was ok, i didnt like the world or the story and mages made the game too easy.
    da2 was a mess imo.

    i want baldurs gate and icewind dale, and while your at it turn back time so i can be a kid again.

  • greenllama88 #61 11 months ago

    Sorry if this is the wrong thing to say, but is it really so wrong to have enjoyed a game you spent £40 on? Dragon Age 2 wasn’t perfect by a long way but it was still something I devoted hours of my leisure time to and enjoyed. I know it’s a very sensitive issue, and a lot of people rightly feel very passionately about the future of RPGs but does enjoying Dragon Age 2 really exclude people from enjoying more traditional RPGs? I am sorry if this offends but it does make me sad to see a game that I enjoyed a lot, seem to cause other people something that’s almost pain.

  • sabbede #62 11 months ago

    I think that if there actually was innovation then they wouldn't have lost us (the core fans). Actually... What the hell was innovative about it? Origins was innovative. DA2 got rid of most of what was innovative!
    It was exactly the wrong direction for the franchise. I wish they could admit it.

    Successful my ass.

  • desomondo #63 11 months ago

    I don't see how any DLC could be expected to "fix" DA2 for the core DA:o fans. There have simply been too many changes to the core mechanics that would have to be reversed and applied to the original campaign along with whatever new quests they added. Applying small changes like allowing your companions to wear armor, or unlocking all their talent trees would be small but welcome step in the right direction however, along with newly designed environments and foes. Bioware should check out a lot of the popular mods at the DA Nexus to see just what this fan base desires.