* DA2 has Gone Gold – No more tweaks or bug fixes, it seems. The game is ready to be shipped.
* Party Synergy – Hawke and companions can take advantage of each other’s abilities to do extra damage, in a system called Cross-Class Combos (CCC). Each class has abilities that will do extra damage on targets debuffed by another class. For instance, warrior’s can cause a stagger debuff with the Sunder ability, and mages can then do 6 times damage on the staggered enemy with Chain Lightning. This looks to improve tactics and party synergy as battles draw out.
* Force Magic – A new specialization for mages that allows some crowd control and gives a buff to physical force and elemental damage. One of the earlier talents in this tree is Fist of the Maker, an AOE knockback.
* About 50 Hours of Gameplay – Asked about game length during the chat portion, Mike Laidlaw noted that the game will take “somewhere between Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins†to complete, settling on an average of around 50 hours.
* Muted Buff Effects – Outside of combat, graphical buff effects will not be shown, but will still be active. The effects themselves looked very detailed, especially Lady Hawke’s Stone Armor.
* Companions have their own armor – This was already known, but expanded upon a bit. Looking at the inventory section for a party member will show one large “armor set†in place of the usual chest, legs, boots, etc. that Hawke’s inventory will show. This piece will be upgradeable, including the addition of runeslots, but will not be exchangeable with loot you pick up throughout the game. In addition, companions may change out their armor over the course of the game. However, you can still swap out weapons and trinket slots.
* Crafting is streamlined – Reagents are a thing of the past. Find the recipe, find the ingredient sources, and you will be able delegate the duty of crafting to craftsmen.
* Hideable Helmets – Similar to Mass Effect 1 (and sorely lacking in Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins) you will have the option to hide your helmet, so that you will always be able to view your character’s mug.
* Isabella is a Bisexual Love Interest – At the end of the playthrough, Isabella offers a room to Lady Hawke in case she’s looking for… company… later on.
