Dragon Age 2 Walkthrough & Guide

How do I unlock chests and doors?
Like Origins, in DA 2 lockpicking is a thief-only skill. One of your rogues needs 20, 30, and then 40 points in cunning for the different types of locked chests found in each act. Ideally in Act 3 you want 40, or to have equipped items that boost lockpicking on your main rogue. If you don't mind losing the experience you would have gained from unlocking chests, you can use this All Chests Unlocked mod. The mod does not work on locked doors, like the one in the Fell Tome dungeon, however.

How do I complete the quest "Who needs rescuing?"
This quest was badly bugged, so that it showed up in your quests but could not actually be done. The only trace of it to be found after acceptance was a bandit you could not interact with on the Wounded Coast. He would just stand there, not attacking or talking. This is one of the intended fixes contained in Patch 1.02. This fix apparently works for some players, though not all.

How do I complete the barrel puzzles in the Fade during the quest "Night Terrors"?
The general idea is to get the barrels organized in a certain way within a limited number of moves. The puzzle with the large and small barrels, you're trying to move all the large barrels onto the bottom row and all the little barrels into the top row. For the puzzle with the red barrels, all of the red barrels are supposed to be moved into a square formation in the center. The wiki has a description of how to set this up on their Night Terrors page, or, to see the puzzles played through, check out this youtube video: Fade Puzzles. The barrel and book puzzles will give Hawke attribute points when completed.

Where do I find all the tomes for the quest "Forbidden Knowledge"?
(1) In the "throne room" area of the viscount's keep on a table on one side (2) In the chantry in the upstairs living area (3) In the "Recently Opened Passage" on Sundermount, which is up the left fork of the two paths leaving the Dalish Camp (4) Cave at the east end of the Bone Pit (5) In a Dank Cave on the Wounded Coast. (This page on the wiki has a map showing the Dank Cave location). If you destroy all of these, then a new dungeon will open up in Darktown: The Forgotten Lair. Take a rogue to deal with a locked door and you can find loot, Xebenkeck, and the final tome within. If you chose to read or take any of the first five books, you cannot find the final dungeon and tome.

Where do I find all of the Qunari Swords?
There are ten.
(1-3) are sold in shops, under "Other" items: Korval's Blades in Hightown, Weaponsmithy in Lowtown, and the Weapon Shop at the Gallows.
(4) under rubble in Lowtown (night) in the foundry district.
(5-6) Docks (night) in a pile of bones near the Harbor Master's office and in a locked Master chest in the Western Warehouse district
(7) in Darktown, in a crate in Anders' clinic.
(8) in the De Launcet mansion during the quest "On the Loose".
(9-10) on the Wounded Coast. (You can find a map here showing both Wounded Coast locations.)

Zevran forgot he loves my Warden, Where's Nathaniel?!, and other imported save mishaps:
There are major issues with Origins and Awakening cameos in DA 2, obviously. Part of the problem is happening with the imported save games themselves, either due to Awakening bugs or what DA 2 is checking to determine who lived and who loved, and to fix some of that there's a fan-made work-around which tells DA 2 to look at other clues within the imported save: DA2 Import Fixes. However, the cameos' DA 2 discussions themselves are also not behaving as intended, which will have to be addressed with DA 2 patches. The most recent patch (1.02) fixes Nathaniel's inaccurate comment about the Architect living even if he isn't, but other problems with Origins cameo dialogue remain. (Here's a rundown of what was fixed in Patch 1.02)

Mage:
Blood Mage
Force Mage
Spirit Healer

Rogue:
Assassin
Duelist
Shadow

Warrior:
Berserker
Templar
Reaver

Companion Specific Specializations:
Dalish Pariah - Merrill
Guardian - Aveline
Marksman - Varric
Swashbuckler - Isabela
Tevinter Fugitive - Fenris
Vengeance - Anders

The game takes place as a prologue and three acts. For the most part, the quests within an act can be done in whatever order you choose. However, certain quests will end an act and propel you into the next. I've marked those and placed them last in their lists.

Prologue

The Destruction of Lothering

Act I

A Friend in the Guard
A New Home?
A Business Discussion
Tranquility
Long Way Home
Wayward Son
Shepherding Wolves
Blackpowder Promise
Act of Mercy
Enemies Among Us
Friends in Low Places
The Deep Roads Expedition - leads to Act 2

Act II

Finding Home
Profit and Loss
Blackpowder Courtesy
Offered and Lost
Prime Suspect
All That Remains
To Catch a Thief
Following the Qun
The Lost Patrol
Demands of The Qun - leads to Act 3

Act III

On The Loose
Best Served Cold
The Last Straw - sets off the events that end the game

Other Quest Indexes:
List of Secondary Quests with walkthroughs
List of Sidequests with walkthroughs
List of Companion Quests with walkthroughs

Dragon Age 2 Plain Text Walkthrough
For those who prefer a straight text walkthrough.

GameSpot SuperGuide
A work in progress screen-shot illustrated text guide with individual quest walkthroughs for the main questline as well as subquests.

My Favorite Dragon Age 2 Mods
A list of mods I found useful or fun for enhancing the game for that second or third+ playthrough. (What, don't we all need to hear all of Hawke's personalities and see every Origins companion cameo?) A character creator/emporium mirror upgrade that allows the editing of Hawke's default appearance (among other additional options), all chests unlock mod, alternate faces for Anders and Sebastian, packs of items that level up with your character, and other good stuff.

All DLC items and how to get them
Some are free or earned by playing the free game on facebook, so it's worth a look.

Dragon Age 2 Talent Builder
A handy web-based application for plotting builds.

Dragon Age Wiki

BioWare's Official DA 2 Forum
Including forums for Strategies, Quests, and Build Advice.

Dragon Age 2 Achievements and Trophies

Dragon Age 2 Console Cheats for PC and Mac