Does anyone know if Bioware are ever planning to fix that attack speed bug in Dragon Age 2?

I know there's a fix of sorts for the PC version, but I don't have that (I've got the PS3 version). I know how the bug works now at least, but that still doesn't really help me on my latest save.

I'm really pleased with how this playthrough was working out (2-handed warrior), but the bug has made it basically unplayable now in Act 3. I forced myself to go on, because I was trying to get (and finally did) my final Trophy - Supplier.

So to do that, I needed to have Isabela as a friend (or you can't get the Ambrosia from Castillion's Landing in Act 3), and this set me up to unwittingly activate the bug that her loyalty 'bonus' carries with it.

Its such a pain, I was really hoping Bioware would have done something about it, by now. I mean, you can avoid the bug, but its a real pain and its hard to spot right away if it has been activated. By the time its getting noticable, its already too late.

So how about it - any news of a fix?

Is it just me, or is that picture a little blurry? I've looked at a few sites, but the few 'fixes' I've seen, don't work on the PS3 version. But if you've found something, then hit me.

Come on, hit me!

I read up on the BioWare forum about it, and a member there posted a way to 'fix' it.


First thank you to all the gamers out there helping others to not suffer this problem or to work around it.

After about 4 hours of beta testing this game today without pay to find out the core issue regarding "thumbs up", I have found an answer.

I had a save on Act 1 right before Isabella became my friend (5 minutes before) so I used that to do all my testing. After befriending her I recieved the "thumbs up" bonus as expected so I proceeded to the next steps.

1. Went to Merrills house and switched isabella out of my party. Saved then reloaded to find out I did not have the bug. Then I went to hawkes house checked to see that I did not have her bug, reloaded the autosave (entering the house) and still did not recieve this bug.

2. Reloaded Merrills house save (still no thumbs up and she is not in the party) put Isabella back in the party (thumbs up is in abilites screen) then went to hawkes house. Checked status within the house and the thumbs up was still there. So upon exiting the house I put Isabella back in the party went to merrills house, switched Isabella back out, saved then reloaded the save. Save reloaded isabella is not in the party no bug.

3. Repeated all steps in step 2 until "then went to hawkes house". Checked status again and yes isabella thumbs up is there, saved then reloaded the save (the save was in hawks house). Isabella thumbs up is still there. Went back to merrils house with isabella still in party, switched her out then saved and reloaded. Thumbs up bug is there.

4. What caused the bug to start? Reloading a save while Isabella's thumbs up is active inside hawkes residence? Really now ok beta tester lets test this out without pay.

5. Misson "Birthright" in darktown outside anders clinic after step "2". Isabella is in party, saved and then reloaded switched her out saved in then reloaded and no bug. Remember this is right after step 2 so I have not produced the bug yet.

6. Go inside the mission "birthright" (the cellar) with isabella in the party (with no party bug yet) it autosaves. Reload the auto save within the mission, leave mission the go back to darktown next to anders clinic, switch out isabella then save. Reload save (isabella is not in party) and bam thumbs up is there. So what produced the bug? Reloading the autosave inside the mission did it.

7. Did it really? back to step "5". Outside outside anders clinic. Saved with Isabella in the party, reloaded save then switched her out. Saved again then reloaded with no thumbs up bug. Went inside the mission "birthright" without isabella in the party and it auto saves. Reload the auto save checked the ability screen and NO Thumbs up BUG. Left mission back to darktown, saved again reladed save still no bug with this woman not in the party.

8. Ok beta tester you are pretty good...how about you complete the mission with isabella in the party (start of step 5 have not produced bug). Now this misson at the end of it basically forces you to go to the hawkes estate to confront you're uncle. Ok sounds like a plan....completed misson after the convo in hawkes house I check the abilites screen to see thumbs up. Went to merrills house switched isabella out, saved then reloaded...no thumbs up bug.

9. But how?? Was it because you did not save or reload that save within a mission or hawkes place? Yes. Ok what if you went to the wonded coast with isabella in the party, saved, reloaded and went to the docks at day switched her out and reloaded. Would you get the bug then? Yes. Why?

10. If you Reload any save that is inside a mission, hawks resdience, Kirkwall at night or outside the city (sundermount wounded coast) you will recieve the bug with isabella in your party. You can save with her in you're party and not recieve the bug anywhere in kirkwall during the day, merrill and fenris house, darktown. I tested this to death do us part...like you know a free beta tester.

11. Isabella is not in my party right now after I completed the birthright mission. I have no thumbs up bug either after having multiple reloads after saving with her not in the party. You can save AnyWhere at anytime "without" her in the party and not recieve this bug.

Please post this on the PC/360 fourms because I cannot post there (ps3 baby). Have a great and wonderful night!! Hope you enjoyed the show

Source: Isabella Thumbs Up Problem Solved (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/305/index/6646855#6646855)

Hopefully there's some advice to help you out. I think this problem occurs randomly as I've never had that happen to my Hawkes (Played as 2 Warrior, a Rogue and a Mage... no delay etc), so that 'may' be the reason BioWare hasn't released a patch for it. That, and the fact they're working on two big projects (Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars The Old Republic), BioWare could release a patch after they've come out. Still... they are releasing a new DLC for Dragon Age II at the end of the month, there's a possibility (slim though) that they might've worked a patch into the coding for the DLC.

It probably has occured (unless you already knew how to prevent it, of course), its just that the decrease is so small each time, it takes ages to get to a stage where you even notice you're slowing down at all. If the bug only started in Act 3, chances are you'd get through the whole thing without noticing.

And I have read this (and thank you for looking it up by the way), but it doesn't help you if the bug is already active and severely advanced. In my case, I befriended Isabela early on, then got rid of her from my active party as soon as possible after that (because I only wanted her around, so I could get the Ambrosia in Act 3). So I had 2 and a half Acts of this bug slowing me down.

I can now barely move at all in combat, in Act 3! However, since the 2-handed warrior is so awesomely better than the other classes, I still don't have any problems winning fights (I defeated the High Dragon no problem), but the game is no fun at all to play when you're this slow. I gritted my teeth and bore it out until I got the Supplier trophy and then didn't bother finishing the game with this save.

Which sucks, because like I said, I'm really liking how this save turned out, and would probably have kept it as my canon DA2 playthrough. Seriously, the 2-handed weapon Hawke playthrough was like 3000% easier than the other playthroughs I did!

And they really do need to fix this - this is the kind of crap I had to put up with in the old days, and I'd hoped such days were behind us now. I can put up with glitches, they don't usually bother me. But game breaking ones do, and this is such an annoying one, because its one of those ones that could happen at any time, and if it does and you weren't constantly checking for it, then you're screwed.

Screwed - just like I am, it seems!

Anyway, cheers for that, fellas. I'm don't mean to take it out on you guys, this has just put a real downer on my appreciation of that game. It makes me hesitant to play it again, because its such a big investment of time, and if that bug strikes again, that's another huge waste of that time.

As Varric puts it:

'Well... s**t'.

It probably has occured (unless you already knew how to prevent it, of course), its just that the decrease is so small each time, it takes ages to get to a stage where you even notice you're slowing down at all. If the bug only started in Act 3, chances are you'd get through the whole thing without noticing.

From what I've read on the BioWare forums (as well as the Xbox Forums and other forums), this bug occurs at random. In all of my playthroughs, especially my Warrior ones (One was a tank (sword/shield) whilst the other a DD (two handed weapon), and my attack speed was pretty normal depending on what my job class is. Two handed Warriors are predominantly slower than tank Warriors or dual wielding Rogues though, however this delay from what I've heard it's quite noticeable. I'll keep looking for info to sort this out as if it happens to me, I want to be able to rectify it.


And I have read this (and thank you for looking it up by the way), but it doesn't help you if the bug is already active and severely advanced. In my case, I befriended Isabela early on, then got rid of her from my active party as soon as possible after that (because I only wanted her around, so I could get the Ambrosia in Act 3). So I had 2 and a half Acts of this bug slowing me down.

I must've been the only one to keep her in my active party full time lol. I usually have her and Varric in my 2nd and 3rd slots, with usually a mage (if my Hawke is a Warrior or Rogue) or a tank (if my Hawke is a Mage). Having a fast and agile fighter, balances out with my powerhouse of a DD, with Varric providing support with my mage.


Which sucks, because like I said, I'm really liking how this save turned out, and would probably have kept it as my canon DA2 playthrough. Seriously, the 2-handed weapon Hawke playthrough was like 3000% easier than the other playthroughs I did!

I actually found all the classes to be rather easy to finish myself... did enjoy being a mage and blasting the battlefield with Inferno spells or backstab attacks as a dual wield rogue. Warrior's fun as well... pity the game is 'meh' though.


And they really do need to fix this - this is the kind of crap I had to put up with in the old days, and I'd hoped such days were behind us now. I can put up with glitches, they don't usually bother me. But game breaking ones do, and this is such an annoying one, because its one of those ones that could happen at any time, and if it does and you weren't constantly checking for it, then you're screwed.

If more people complain about it on the BioWare forums, they should do something about a patch etc. However, imo, this never should of happened in the first place. What were the beta testers doing?!?


Anyway, cheers for that, fellas. I'm don't mean to take it out on you guys, this has just put a real downer on my appreciation of that game. It makes me hesitant to play it again, because its such a big investment of time, and if that bug strikes again, that's another huge waste of that time.

A lot of fans were let down by DAII, when compared with DA: O (including Awakening and the DLC) and even I'm guilty of not liking this as much as DA: O. Just hope the supposed rumors of a third installment are true and it's a better game than this one.


As Varric puts it:

'Well... s**t'.

Heh, gotta love the dialogue between the characters. That's one thing BioWare has done well in their games... except ME2 with the DLC etc.

Trust me, you can't miss this bug once it really kicks in. It removes 5% attacks speed every time you load up without Isabela in the party, so you just get slower and slower until you're basically useless (compared to how awesome you were before).

And it being random is even worse, because it could happen any time - or not. Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesm't mean that it won't. You can either follow those rules, which are a massive chore, or ignore them and hope for the best.

I know you're not suggesting this, but keeping Isabela in the party full time is hardly a solution. I shouldn't have to do that, just to feel safe from a crippling bug. And as I find Isabela extremely irritating, its even less of a fix. I don't hate her and she does have her moments (mostly all in Act 2), but she's definately my least favourite character.

As you say, she's a pretty good party member, combat-wise. My issue is that combat Rogues really only come into their own against single enemies. They have loads of skills for criticals and extra/sustained damage etc, as well as great skills for evading big damage. But their crowd control is less impressive, and as that's overwhelmingly the thing you face the most, as opposed to individual baddies who are really tough, I find its better to have a black mage and 2-handed weapon warrior as my DDs to supplement my tank and ranged Rogue.

I've played as ranged Rogue (with a bit of double weapon as well, I suppose), as a sort of Red Mage (mostly damage dealing, rather than buffs and debuffs), sword and shield warrior and 2-handed warrior.

And like I said before, it was like playing a different game with the 2-handed warrior. They do so much damage to so many enemies at once (Might, Cleave, Deathblow and Whirlwind = death for everything), and I felt that on a moment to moment basis, I got the most value out controlling this character, so I could precisely direct this titanic damage. All the other roles look after themselves, IMO.

Well, I don't agree about the game being 'meh', but there you go. I've played it consistently since I got it, I have all the trophies and I was eagerly waiting for the next DLC, and then this bug happened. Its been a real kick in the love spuds. I still think Origins is better, but the last Act aside, I really like this game.

I just like that the banter between characters is back at all, because ME2 has basically none. There are some priceless ones in DA2, but nothing to beat Sten and Alistair in DAO.

Alistair: 'I spy with my little eye... something beginning with...G.'

Sten: (sighs heavily) 'Would it be... Grey Warden, by any chance? Would it in fact, be you?'

Alistair: 'Hey, you're really good at this..'


That or any of the banter between Alistair and Morrigan. The sheer amount of ways she finds to insult him is truly impressive (and she continues to come up with new ones, even when he isn't in the active party).

I agree on the DAO begin better and I think experience this once where the speed slows down, but that's when I fight a lot of enemies and then it slows greatly then goes back to normal.. but that's on pc I rather have all my games on pc. Hope DA3 doesn't have mass amount of bugs like skyrim did most of them are funny though.

@Megashi : Please do not revive dead threads. Always check the date of the last post BEFORE posting (The last post prior to yours was in July of 2011), and if the last post is older than 2-3 months, do not post in it.

Closing thread.