Now this is a cool case. Not just because of its sleek design, black finish and fancy blue LED lighting – but because it keeps your hardware wonderfully cool. With room for tons of drives, a very easy-access control panel on the front top and plenty of space for anything you want to put inside, this case is perfect for a wide range of computer users. From gamers to media professionals, or just the average guy who likes to plug lots of things in, this case will suit.

It is big enough to build just about any system imaginable, and the design of its interior makes it so that you shouldn’t have to remove any hardware to access other hardware when you need to do a swap.

Review Intro:

The Blackhawk is packaged in a big box, because it’s a big boy. This is the type of case you need to make sure you have enough room for before you buy it. A full tower, it stands about 18.5” high and over 20” in depth.

The styrofoam padding in the box is solid and should keep it from getting damaged. It is your standard side of the box padding. The case is also wrapped in a plastic bag for scratch control. The Blackhawk is, not surprisingly, black. In fact, it couldn’t be more black. Even the wording on the control panel that tells you what each knob and button do are black.

So let’s take a closer look…

Specifications:

http://www.xclio.com/products/case-blackhawk.htm

Blackhawk is a solid chassis with powerful multi-function and unique emotional design. Its unbeatable air cooling system is the best among the industry.

Dimensions: 560 x 210 x 510mm (D*W*H)

Starting with a top-down view of the case, you can see that it has two fans on top. This top portion is made of an open-air black mesh/grill style plastic, allowing as much air flow as possible through the two fans down to the hardware. The front section of the top contains a blue LED bar and a whole mess of controls. The three knobs on the left control fan speeds, the first vertical set of buttons powers the fans on and off, and the third vertical set of buttons turns on/off the fan LED lights. Next to that we have four USB 2.0 ports, a headphone and mic jack and an E-SATA input. The three buttons on the far right are the rear LED, reset and large power button.

These controls are awesome. The blue LEDs are fantastic looking, but are quite bright in the dark, so having the ability to power them off at night is lovely. The fan speed control knobs let you slow down the fans to the point where you can hardly hear them, or crank them up when you are doing more demanding tasks.

The side panel has a massive 250mm clear fan, of course with blue LED. This thing produces huge airflow and effectively cools nearly everything inside, focusing most importantly on the motherboard, and thus the RAM and CPU. This fan has its own power connection and is the only fan in the case that needs hooked up individually. All other fans are powered by a SATA cable running to the board that handles the front control panel. We’ll see that shortly.

The expansion bays are accessed through the front. Hard drives and 5.25” drives are inserted this way behind the fans. The fans are directly responsible for cooling them. Little mini swing doors along the sides grant you access to remove the fan and input hardware.

I’ve read that these front doors are easy to break, and the case’s instruction manual somewhat alludes to that fact as it repeatedly tells you to open it carefully with two hands. However, I had no trouble with them at all and they don’t appear physically brittle. Regardless, the number of steps involved with installing a hard drive or 5.25” increases the chances of something snapping or going wrong.

In the rear, you can note that the power supply gets mounted on the floor of the case, which when installed is a great space option. Six PCI slots, an I/O port and a 120mm fan space also exist. There is no huge fan behind that large grill unless you install one yourself, but unless you really fill this thing up with hardware, it probably won’t be necessary.

Inside the case is a spiffy little sack filled with hardware. It’s full of screws, bay rails, cable ties and one of those little speakers. There is also literature that tells you how to install certain things in the case. I didn’t photograph that because, well, who cares about a picture of an instruction manual? Certainly not you.

Here is a shot of the front bay expansions from the inside. There are two cages that hold four HDDs, allowing you to install up to eight hard drives in this case. All hard drive installations are done through the front of the case, by attaching the slide rails to the drive and putting it in. Then the connections are made inside the case. This is the same for 5.25” drives. You pop off the fan, slide the rack out, attach the rails to the drive, slide it back in, reattach the fan, then hook up the cables inside. It’s a few steps, but it all moves very quickly so I don’t find it to be a tremendous hassle. It’s not something you do every day. The time you save not screwing in tiny screws and having to remove both sides of the case is made up by the few extra seconds you spend latching plastic together in the Blackhawk.

The two fans on the top of the case, from the inside.

And the circuit board that operates the top control panel and all fans, hooked up by simply plugging in a single SATA cable.

The power supply is one of the only components you’ll install in this case that need a screwdriver. It sits on the bottom of the case and screws on very easily.

This case is large enough to support whatever motherboard you want to put inside. These pictures show an installed ATX board and a Zotac GeForce 9800 GT video card. The video card, in many cases, is quite large and will extend all the way to the HDD bay area. In this case you can see it fits just fine. There is so much room in this case that I feel the need to buy more hardware to put inside, as it just looks too darn empty.

When the fans run full blast in this bad boy, they are pretty loud. That’s just because there are a lot of them. But, you won’t always need them operating at full blast, and you have the ability to adjust their speeds or turn them off completely right from the top panel. They do an excellent job of cooling. To be honest, when I have them all running at full speed, I feel a breeze coming from the case as I sit next to it. The top fans in particular throw out a lot of air. On their lowest settings, they are still turning acceptably fast and are almost inaudible, so there’s really nothing to complain about.

My machine has been running for a few hours and has lots of programs running. Core temp is currently 30C.

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Not only do the fans light up, but the LED bar across the top panel is quite bright and functions to illuminate the control panel, and the Xclio logo glows on the front of the case. To the left of the logo, two other LED dots exist. One is constant and indicates power, while the other blinks with HDD activity.

The LEDs in the top fans don’t illuminate as much as the others, likely just a result of their positioning.

The rear LED really helps to light up the ports on the back, which is very handy.

Conclusion:

This is an awesome case that showcases a great combination of function and style. It has plenty of room for expansion for anyone’s needs, cools itself well, has a very intuitive top control panel and generally looks great. Its construction is solid and I can see this thing lasting a very long time.

I’ve really found nothing about this case that bothers me and would recommend it to anyone who spends a lot of time computing and requires a case with lots of space and good cooling.

For the price, it’s a great deal.

Let’s take a look at some of the achievements in Borderlands that give people trouble…

You’re on a boat!
I bet you never thought you’d be here.

Ahhh, thank you SNL. In the area Treacher’s Landing, there is a party boat hidden in an area you don’t otherwise have any reason to visit. Simply going to the boat and jumping aboard will give you the achievement. The hidden area is on the right side of the map. If you look at the area’s map, you can see a dock sticking out on the right all by itself. That’s where you need to be. You’ll have to navigate around a tall land mass and locate the boat, which is covered with party lights and silly colors.

My Brother is an Italian Plumber
Kill an enemy by stomping on its head

This is a silly one because it’s something you wouldn’t really consider doing if not for the achievement. The Mario reference makes it all worthwhile, though. What you have to do is kill an enemy by jumping on it. Yes – jumping on an enemy actually hurts them a little bit.

The easiest way to do this is with a pup skag. Shoot it carefully until it’s very near death, then just hop on its head until it dies. This won’t be the easiest thing to do because the game is an FPS, but it should only take a few hops to finish off the weak little pup and you’ll have your points.

Rootinest, Tootinest, Shootinest
Kill 5 Rakk in under 10 seconds

There are plenty of ways to do this, but my favorite is by almost sacrificing yourself. In the Arid Badlands, there is a hilltop area (behind the submachine gun scavenge place) where a bunch of rakk will swarm in on you. If you are in one of Scooter’s cars, the rakk will destroy the car almost instantly with their group attack. When the car explodes, it’s very likely to take out at least 5 rakk all at once because of their very low health. You’ll come close to death yourself… but you know, big deal….

I first got this achievement by accident doing the above, and have since done it many more times.

Made in Fyrestone
Complete all missions in the Arid Badlands

44 missions are required for this achievement. The easiest ones to neglect are the Claptrap rescues. Here are the ones that need completed to unlock this achievement:

1. Leaving Fyrestone
2. Claptrap Rescue
3. Get the Flock out of Here
4. Blinding Nine-Toes
5. Nine-Toes: Meet T.K. Baha
6. Nine-Toes: T.K.’s Food
7. Got Grenades?
8. Nine-Toes: Take Him Down
9. Nine-Toes: Time to Collect
10. What Hit the Fan
11. Catch-A-Ride
12. T.K. has more Work
13. The Doctor is In
14. T.K.’s Life and Limb
15. Bone Head’s Theft
16. By the Seeds of Your Pants
17. The Piss Wash Hurdle
18. Circle of Death: Round 1
19. Get a Little Blood on the Tires
20. Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands
21. Shock Crystal Harvest
22. Sledge: Meet Shep
23. Sledge: the Mine Key
24. Fix’er Upper
25. Insult to Injury
26. Sledge: To the Safe House
27. Circle of Death: Meat and Greet
28. The Legend of Moe and Marley
29. Scavenger: Sniper Rifle
30: Return to Zed
31. Circle of Death: Round 2
32. Why are They Here?
33. Product Recall
34. Circle of Death: Final Round
35. Scavenger: Combat Rifle
36. Sledge: Battle for the Badlands
37. Find Bruce McClane
38. Braking Wind
39. Schemin’ That Sabotage
40. Fresh off the Bus
41. Job Hunting
42. Skags at the Gate
43. Claptrap Rescue: Safe House
44. Claptrap Rescue: Lost Cave

Made in New Haven
Complete all missions in the Rust Commons

These are given to you by people all over, including the town of New Haven. The achievement likely won’t pop until you get through the story missions in Old Haven. Here is the list:

1.Scooter’s Used Car Parts
2.Claptrap Rescue: New Haven
3.Claptrap Rescue: Tetanus Warren
4.Corrosive Crystal Harvest
5.King Tossing
6.Is T.K. O.K.?
7. Hidden Journal: Rust Commons West
8. Scavenger: Submachine Gun
9. Firepower: All Sales Are Final
10. Firepower: Market Correction
11. Firepower: Plight Of The Middleman
12. Jack’s Other Eye
13. Like A Moth To Flame
14. Two Wrongs Make A Right
15. Middle Of Nowhere No More: Investigate
16. Middle Of Nowhere No More: Fuses? Really?
17. Middle Of Nowhere No More: Small Favor
18. Middle Of Nowhere No More: Scoot On Back
19. Power To The People
20. Another Piece Of The Puzzle
21. Not Without My Claptrap
22. Up To Our Ears
23. Claptrap Rescue: Krom’s Canyon
24. Earl Needs Food Badly
25. Missing Persons
26. Scavenger: Shotgun
27. Altar Ego: Burning Heresy
28. Today’s Lesson: High Explosives
29. Hair Of The Dog
30. Hidden Journal: Rust Commons East
31. The Next Piece
32. Altar Ego: The New Religion
33. Altar Ego: Godless Monsters
34. A Bug Problem
35. Relight The Beacons
36. Green Thumb
37. Jaynistown: Unintended Consequences
38. Jaynistown: Cleaning Up Your Mess
39. Bait And Switch
40. Claptrap Rescue: Trash Coast
41. Claptrap Rescue: Old Haven
42. Bandit Treasure: Three Corpses. Three Keys.
43. Bandit Treasure: X Marks The Spot
44. Jaynistown: Spread The Word
45. Jaynistown: Getting What’s Coming To You
46. Circle Of Slaughter: Meat And Greet
47. Circle Of Slaughter: Round 1
48. Circle Of Slaughter: Round 2
49. Circle Of Slaughter: Final Round
50. Seek Out Tannis
51. Meet “Crazy” Earl
52. Claptrap Rescue: Scrapyard
53. Get Off My Lawn!
54. I’ve Got A Sinking Feeling
55. Wanted: Fresh Fish
56. Earl’s Best Friend
57. House Hunting
58. Smoke Signals: Investigate Old Haven
59. Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down

Aside from this: Top 10 Free Blackberry Apps for January 2010

and this: Bioshock 2 Collector’s Edition Review

I’ve hardly written anything lately. But, that’s all going to be changing soon.

As of this past weekend I quit Roomful Express and started a new technical writing position with Eshopic, Inc. It’ll allow me to do something I actually enjoy, and as an added bonus, give me more time to work on all my other sites that have suffered over the past few months due to lack of time.

So get ready for more Goatmooseries and joy. They’re inbound, fella.

James A. McConnell

Watercolor artist, World War II veteran

James Alexander McConnell, 88, of Houston, died Tuesday, February 16, 2010, in Canonsburg General Hospital.

He was born December 23, 1921, in Canonsburg, a son of William W. and Ethel M. Templeton McConnell.

Mr. McConnell was a lifelong member of Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church, serving as elder and trustee.

He was a 1940 graduate of Canonsburg High School.

Mr. McConnell entered the service in 1942 and served three and a half years in the U.S. Army Air Forces as an aerial photographer gunner, commissioned single-engine pilot and B-29 Superfortress flight engineer.

While stationed in Amarillo, Texas, he met and married Lona Conners, who survives. They were happily married for 64 years.

His two passions in life were his family and his love for painting. He attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. His commercial art education led him to a 38-year career with Duquesne Light Co. Retirement permitted him to spend more time doing what he loved most, painting. Concentrating on watercolor, he developed his own style and technique of watercolor painting. He was a member of Pittsburgh Watercolor Society, Pittsburgh Society of Artists and Bethel Artists Guild. He was often requested to instruct classes, conduct workshops and give demonstrations on his approach to watercolor painting. His landscapes and florals expressed his imagination and individualism as an artist. He created many architectural portraits. Among his works are paintings of the Washington County Courthouse, LeMoyne House, Church of the Covenant, many private homes, several buildings on the Washington & Jefferson College campus and four historical buildings of Williamsburg, Va. His watercolor of One Oxford Center, headquarters of Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh, was used by the utility company on a Christmas card and on the cover of the company magazine. From that experience, he began creating his own Christmas cards, which were eagerly awaited by friends and family. His paintings have been exhibited at W&J, California University of Pennsylvania, Wheeling Artisans Center, Stifel Gallery, Gallery 200, World West Galleries, Riehl Fine Arts Gallery, Countryside Gallery and more. He was a successful contributor to the annual Art in the Garden and was a featured artist for Art in the Round. He admired his artist friends and found much joy in their company. His painting philosophy was simple: “Strive to draw, compose and render well, presenting material that is pleasing and easily understood.”

Surviving, in addition to his wife, are a daughter, Monica Saporito (Bill) of McMurray; a son, retired Capt. James A. McConnell Jr. (Anni) of San Marino, Calif.; two grandsons, his pride and joy, Jeff Saporito (Laura) and Max McConnell; and two nieces and a nephew.

Deceased is a sister, Jane McConnell Goodwillie.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in McIlvaine-Speakman Funeral Home Ltd., Robert K. McIlvaine, owner/supervisor, 27 Cherry Avenue, Houston, PA 15342, where services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, February 19, with the Rev. Thomas D. Hamilton Jr. officiating. Interment will follow in Oak Spring Cemetery, Canonsburg. Condolences may be sent by viewing the obituary at www.mcilvaine-speakman.com.

I’ve decided to get back into game reviews here on Goatmoose. Not quite as in-depth and expansive as I used to, but brief looks at whether something tickled my fancy or tickled my hatred. Last April, I more or less stopped doing reviews when I became senior editor over at Addicted Gamer. Since that site has come and gone, and I rarely acquire games quick enough to write much at Xbox 360 Digest (since, you know, they’re into being all current and suave, and I’m too poor to buy games when they first come out), I’ll do the occasional belated review here on this dandy site. I still keep up with XBLA and DLC quite a bit as well, so you’ll see more of that as well. This site often looks too much like an ad outlet anymore, and that bugs my psyche.

So here we are – Borderlands. It’s a pretty swell game, and I’d like to tell you a thing or two about it.

You’ve probably heard a little bit about the game in one way or another. Coming out around the same time as Modern Warfare 2 and all that other jazz got it lost in the dust a bit, but it’s a really unique game that offers a ton of replay value and plenty of individuality in how you play. Consider GTA meets Fallout 3, as it’s a free-roaming shooter in a lawless waste world where you complete dozens of tasks for various parties.

There are hundreds of missions in this game, and thousands of weapons to use to get through them. Seriously. It’s rare that you pick up the same weapon more than a couple times, and there are plenty of modifications and customizations that make it possible to create some ridiculous number of weapons that’s in the tens of thousands.

Graphically, it’s a cel-shaded world that looks absolutely awesome. This coloring style is one more thing that helps separate the game from its comparisons and gives it a really unique style. It doesn’t use the style to a fault, though, and suffer from a lack of content and substance like other games have done (Wet, anyone?). It also doesn’t boast the same obviousness with cel-shading like early games in the style did (XIII). It’s just plain nifty.

Fans of any type of shooter, RPG or action game should take a look at this title. There’s character customization, leveling, skill attribution and all those great things that make your playable character unique to your playing style. There’s a long list of achievements (many of which require good time investment) and several characters to choose from, each with their own skill set that will alter how you handle the game. All of that comes along with great action and a good sense of humor to boot. Those little claptrap robots all over the world are pretty comical, beatboxing and rapping all day.

Boss fights offer real challenges. Hell, random enemies can offer real challenges. The game certainly isn’t a cakewalk, but can be controlled by the way you design your character and keep up with your weaponry. There is a backpack element, so you can only carry so many weapons, shields and medpacks with you. Ensuring you sell off old stuff when you acquire new stuff is crucial to having the resources you need to survive even the most common of foes.

Oh, and there’s a warthog-like vehicle for you Halo freaks.

All in all, it’s a pretty entertaining game. I do say you should give it a try. There’s no reason it’s not worth a rental, and I’d say if you come across it in a store for $40 or less, don’t even think about passing it by. That’s not to say it’s not worth more than that, it’s just that anything less than that is a no-brainer. Enjoy!

This vacation rental commercial shows Unitard crawling over a hotel counter stopping people from renting a hotel room. The point of the commercial, and of the site, is to let you know that you can often rent a whole vacation rental house somewhere for the same cost as a little hotel room. Granted, the idea of doing such a thing would never really cross my mind, so it did pique my interest.

I didn’t really chuckle at Unitard, but at the father’s reaction to him after he left. For me, that was the highlight. I adore stupid comedy more than anything, but Unitard focuses a little more on stupid and a little less on comedy. I’m not sure the commercial convinced me of anything, but it did tell me there’s a possibility of renting homes when on vacation.

What do you think of Unitard? Does this amuse you, or is it dumb? Have you ever rented a house when on vacation? Did you even know you could?

It does have one thing going for it… any commercial is better than this one.

Recently I was told about this post that discusses Zenni Optical and their extremely inexpensive eyeglasses. How cheap? Prescription glasses start at $8 and go up to about $40. Crazy talk!

Sure, you can’t get Armani glasses like mine from them, but seriously – $8.00! Most of us are constantly looking for a bargain. You can find some frames that look just as good as the designer names but cost a tiny bit of the price. It’s definitely possible with Zenni. If you’re in the market for some new specs but have a tight budget like most of us, give them a look. Bifocal lenses and all those fancy coatings are also available for a slightly additional price. You’re guaranteed to not have to spend $500 to get yourself a nice pair of glasses.

www.itsfreeoncraigslist.com

You may have seen the couple posts here on Goatmoose called “The Mysteries of Craigslist’s Free Stuff Section.” This website is an entire site dedicated to the awesome garbage people give away for free using craigslist. Go check it out, and tell your pals.

Since there are an infinite number of ways to play the game, tailor your character and progress through the story, any suggestions on this page are by no means the ONLY way to get an achievement. Having played the game with every character type and having seen the story from each angle, I will merely suggest routes by which I unlocked the points myself. If you have a suggestion to add or a different/better/easier way to unlock something, please let me know via the comments and I’ll toss it in the post.

**There will be some spoiler stuff within this list, so be aware.**

Last of Your Line 10
Completed the Human Noble origin story
Each character type has an origin story. First you pick your race – human, dwarf or elf – then you pick a class. The human noble is the first of six options. If there are certain class combinations you don’t wish to play the entire game with, that’s okay, you can do the origin story then quit. Each origin story takes around an hour (some less, some a bit more) and completes when you arrive with Duncan at Ostagar.

Corrupted 10
Completed the Dalish Elf origin story
Arrive at Ostagar with Duncan.

Conscripted 10
Completed the City Elf origin story
Arrive at Ostagar with Duncan.

Harrowed 10
Completed the Magi origin story
Arrive at Ostagar with Duncan.

Casteless 10
Completed the Dwarf Commoner origin story
Arrive at Ostagar with Duncan.

Kinslayer 10
Completed the Dwarf Noble origin story
Arrive at Ostagar with Duncan.

Last of the Wardens 20
Completed Ostagar
Ostagar is the first mission area outside of the origin story. If you play the game, this one will unlock naturally as it is a story-related quest. No real strategy here. Since it’s the first part, it’s easy and will end quickly.

Standard-Bearer 20
Used the Grey Warden treaties to recruit all possible allies
This is story-related. The point of the bulk of the game is to recruit allies using these treaties. The four main Blight quests deal with the treaties, and completing each one will lead you to this achievement. Each location you travel to has different groups you can ally with and recruit (for example, at the Circle Tower, you can side with the mages or the Templars. In the Brecilian Forest, you can side with the elves or the werewolves). There are four treaties to accumulate – Circle Tower, Brecilian Forest, Redcliffe and Orzammar. Since 80% of the game is working towards getting these allies, that’s all that’s worth saying right here. If you have specific questions about anything quest-related, post in the comments.

Hero of Redcliffe 20
Completed “The Arl of Redcliffe”
This is one of the quests en route to assembling your army of allies. You can’t miss it as it is a story requirement. It will be unlocked after you seek the Urn of Sacred Ashes and handle the situation with Arl Eamon.

Rabble-Rouser 20
Completed “The Landsmeet”
The Landsmeet occurs late in the game, after you acquire all allies and Eamon moves to Denerim. Another story-based achievement that you can’t miss.

Mercenary 20
Complete 15 job-board quests
Job board quests can be found in Redcliffe Village, Denerim, Lake Calenhad Docks and Lothering. They come in various forms – Chantry board quests, Mages Collective quests, Blackstone Irregulars quests, Antevan Crows quests and Favors for Interested Parties. There are plenty more than 15 available and if you aim to complete as many as possible, the achievement will unlock when you’re about half done with everything you can possibly do. Some are considered illegal and shady, but that fact doesn’t have any bearing on anything, so it’s no big deal. They’re a good way to get nice rewards, level up and investigate new areas.

Recruiter 25
Across all playthroughs, recruited all party members
You can do this in one playthrough if you hit all the right spots. The characters you need to recruit are:
Dog – Comes to you after the Mabari quest in Ostagar, unless you play as a human noble, where you get him right off the bat.
Sten – Found in a cage in Lothering. Convince the Chantry priest to free him.
Leliana – Found in the bar in Lothering. She offers to come with you after a fight.
Morrigan – Comes with you from the Kocari Wilds.
Wynne – A mage in the Circle Tower. Will come with you if you don’t side with the Templars.
Allistair – Unavoidable, comes with you after Ostagar.
Zevran – The assassin sent by Loghain, he will come with you after your fight if you choose not to kill him.
Oghren – A badass dwarf, also unavoidable. He comes with you on The Anvil of the Void quest in Orzammar.
Loghain – Can join your party after The Landsmeet if you let him live. If you accept him, Allistair will leave your party for the rest of the game.
Shale does not count toward this achievement as she is from the “Stone Prisoner” DLC. She is, however, awesome.

Hopelessly Romantic 25
Across all playthroughs, experienced all possible romances
There are four possible romances – with Allistair, Leliana, Morrigan and Zevran.
Speaking with each character as much as possible, and not being a douche when talking to them, will add approval points. When you look at each character in your menu screen, an approval bar appears right underneath their picture, showing what they think of you. Gifts can also be given from the backpack to characters. Certain gifts will please characters more than others and can really boost approval.

Some romances are more difficult than others to unlock. Romances can only be started in camp, though you can speak with characters, build your approval and give gifts anywhere. See the individual achievements for romancing each character below for more specifics. Keep in mind nothing is cut and dry with romances. Think about the characters and interact with them as you would in reality. There are guidelines and advice available in this guide that will help with each person, but in Dragon Age, nothing operates exactly the same for everyone.

If you’re really stuck, Xbox360Achievements.org created a really good romance guide that may offer some help.

Perfectionist 50
Across all playthroughs, discovered all possible endings

There are four endings – You accept Morrigan’s ritual and stay alive, you sacrifice yourself, Allistair sacrifices himself, Loghain sacrifices himself.
In order to get Allistair or Loghain to sacrifice themselves, you have to tell Riordan that you don’t intend to sacrifice yourself for this during the conversation prior to the final battle, right before you speak to Morrigan about her ritual. Allistair or Loghain (depending on which one is still with you) will say they’ll take the final blow when you decide not to. They will confirm this with you after you defeat the archdemon, giving you one last opportunity to change your mind and decide the ending.

Obviously, this takes several playthroughs, as Loghain and Allistair can’t both be with you at the end, and you can’t accept Morrigan’s offer and still sacrifice someone. Keep in mind if you deny Morrigan, she leaves, and you won’t have her for the final battle.

Educated 15
Used a tome to improve the main character’s attributes, talents, spells, or skills
Tomes can be found all over and can be bought from stores. Just buy any tome and use it, and you get this achievement.

Magic Sympathizer 20
Sided with the mages in “Broken Circle”
As you go through the Circle Tower, you’ll enter the Fade, where you ought to visit every possible area on the Fade Map for a future achievement. When you leave, you’ll make your final decision on whether to side with the Templars or the mages. Siding with the mages gets you this achievement and keeps Wynne with you. You’ll have a boss fight and it will unlock, making the mages your ally and fulfilling a treaty.

Annulment Invoker 20
Sided with the templars in “Broken Circle”
The opposite of the previous achievement, you side with the Templars here and wipe out the mages – including Wynne. You can always save the game, do this, then re-load and side with the mages (or vice versa) if you want to get them both on one playthrough. That goes for all other alliance decisions, too.

Slayer 20
Sided with the werewolves in “Nature of the Beast”
The elves send you on a quest to kill the lead werewolf, gaining the elves as allies. If you instead side with the werewolves, they’ll wipe out the elves and you’ll gain them as allies.

Poacher 20
Sided with the elves in “Nature of the Beast”
You wipe out the werewolves or convince Zathrian to break their curse, turning them back into people. You gain the elves as allies.

Sacrilegious 20
Sided with the Cult of Andraste in “The Urn Of Sacred Ashes”
These are the crazy folks that want you to dump blood into Andraste’s ashes. If you do, Leliana will fight you to the death and the cult will be pleased. If you don’t… you get the next achievement.

Ceremonialist 20
Defied the Cult of Andraste in “The Urn of Sacred Ashes”
When you leave the ashes without having defiled them, the cult will attack you. It’s not much of a fight, making this another easy situation where you can save, make one decision, load, then make the other.

Bhelen’s Ally 20
Sided with Bhelen in “A Paragon of Her Kind”
Your escapades in Orzammar depend on which person you side with for the throne. Bhelen is one option, Harrowmont is the other. Bhelen will have you show some promissory notes to a few nobles and turn them against Harrowmont. If you choose Harrowmont, you’ll have to fight in the Provings. From that point on, the quests are the same regardless of which person you side with – you’re just aiming your support in one direction or the other.

You’re given a last-minute opportunity to change your mind and decide Behlen or Harrowmont after coming back from the Anvil of the Void, regardless of what you did earlier, which is really where the achievement kicks in. Once someone is crowned king, you’ll get the appropriate achievement.

Harrowmont’s Ally 20
Sided with Harrowmont in “A Paragon of Her Kind”
See Behlen’s Ally above.

Liberator 20
Destroyed the Anvil of the Void
Finding the Anvil of the Void is the third part of the quests given by Behlen or Harrowmont. You’re in search of the paragon Branka. Once you reach the Anvil, you speak with paragon Caradin and have the option of preserving or destroying the device. Destroying it will cause a fight with Branka and leads to this achievement, preserving it will cause a fight with Caridin and leads to the Pragmatist achievement. Either way, you gain the support of a paragon and are fashioned a crown to give to whoever you decide should be king back in Orzammar. Preserving the Anvil gives you golem support during the final battle, which can be helpful… though it’s the “evil” decision of the two.

Pragmatist 20
Preserved the Anvil of the Void
See Liberator above.

Heavy Hitter 10
Main character inflicted 250 damage with a single hit
There’s a lot of ways to do this one. Note that this has to be a single hit on a single target, not a total of 250 points dished out from one attack.

I achieved this first with a Warrior. I recommend being at least level 15, with a good many points being attributed to Strength and Willpower when leveling up, Berserker skill learned with Final Blow power and a good two-handed weapon like the Chasind Maul that has high damage and can support some extra runes for added power. Activate it all and you’ll dish out over 250 points every time.

Another popular strategy is to play as a rogue and max out archery skills. Get the Pinning Shot and Arrow of Slaying and you’ll be doing double the required damage.

As a mage, max out your magic and use Walking Virulent Bomb.

Bloodied 10
Completed an origin story without the main character ever falling in battle
This is pretty easy and I’d imagine opens for most people naturally. The origin stories are simple and have minimal combat. If you just don’t let your main character die at all, this will open for you after the origin story finishes.

Traveler 35
Set foot in every area in the game
The one achievement I still haven’t opened…

There are many reports that this achievement is glitched. The claim is that you have to set foot in every area in the game to unlock it. Some people say that means every house, every shop, every everything. Others claim it only refers to things that apply a codex entry. I’m not sure what’s true.

I have read lists posted by people that have had this unlocked where they document every place they went while they played. Some end the game with a world traveled percentage of only 80% and have got this reward. My best completion percentage was 97% and it’s yet to unlock for me. I’ve spent time doing every single job board quest, every side quest and ensuring I went into every door, shop and house on the map. I’ve looked at other people’s lists of where they went to unlock it and made sure I visited everything. Over 30 hours of play has been dedicated to this achievement alone, but it still hasn’t opened.

If you have any more new tips, please let everyone know via the comments.

Master of Arms 25
Main character achieved level 20 as a warrior
Reach level 20 as a warrior. Just keep playing, do as many side quests and job board jobs as you can and it’ll get there before the game ends. I’ve reached level 22 before the end battle just by playing, with no exploits.

There is a leveling glitch for those who don’t want to play the whole game as a certain class. In Ostagar, you are given the quest to go collect three vials of darkspawn blood from the Wilds, as well as the documents that Flemeth has. Go on that quest, collect the darkspawn blood and return to Duncan without the Warden documents. You’ll be able to choose the dialogue option that says you have the vials but not the treaties. Duncan will tell you to go back and find them. Start the conversation again, tell him the same thing, and keep repeating that process. After about 15 minutes of this you’ll be at level 20. Use X to skip the scenes and it’ll go much faster.

It is important to note that each time you level up, you have to go into the level up screen and use your points and attribute your skills. If you don’t, you won’t unlock the achievement when you get to level 20. And make sure you stop when you get to 20. If you go to 21 and didn’t use your points, you’re screwed.

This is also a great way to get a maxed out character at the very beginning of the game if you’re a sissy and want to make the game really easy

Shadow 25
Main character achieved level 20 as a rogue
See Master of Arms above.

Archmage 25
Main character achieved level 20 as a mage
See Master of Arms above.

Pilgrim 10
Completed a Chanter’s Board quest
Just do one quest from the Chantry board. You’ll first be given this opportunity in Lothering.

Grey Warden 20
Killed 100 darkspawn
Will come naturally as you play. This carries over to all playthroughs so don’t go out of your way trying to get it. Even so, I got all the way over 1,000 kills during my first game.

Master Warden 25
Killed 500 darkspawn

Blight-Queller 25
Killed 1000 darkspawn
Just keep killing.

Tinkerer 10
Crafted an item
Learn basic herbalism or trap making, and make a potion or trap. Boom, achievement. You don’t have to make anything special.

Persuasive 10
Succeeded at five difficult Persuasion attempts
Build your coercion skill and this will be easier. You’re given lots of opportunities to persuade, so take all the chances you get. If your stats are high enough, you’ll win most.

Silver Tongued 20
Succeeded at 25 difficult Persuasion attempts
See Persuasive above.

Bully 10
Succeeded at five difficult Intimidate attempts
These don’t happen as often as Persuasion attempts, but follow the same logic. Be coercive, you’ll win them. They carry over between playthroughs.

Menacing 20
Succeeded at 10 difficult Intimidate attempts
See Bully above.

First Knight 10
Experienced the thrill of romance with Alistair
Allistair will only romance women. He’s a virgin and isn’t willing to give it up to just anyone. You’ll need his approval rating to be very high and he’ll take some convincing. As with the others, ask about his past and his life. Flirt with him. He’s cute and into you, but isn’t willing to give it up right away. He really likes statues as gifts, and his mother’s locket can be found on Eamon’s desk in Redcliffe Castle. Once you give him that, you’ll get a huge approval boost. His dialogues go on for a while so keep up with them. The first time you have the chance to offer him sex, he may even turn you down. Keep at it.

Witch Gone Wild 10
Experienced the thrill of romance with Morrigan
Morrigan will only romance men, so you can’t do this with a female character. She’s not too tricky to get into bed if you go about it the right way. Her approval rating doesn’t need to be 100%, but it needs to be fairly high. If you’re sort of rude to other people that’ll help. Talk about her past and her upbringing, talk about Flemeth, give her grimoires and jewelry and she’ll like you. Bodahn sells a grimoire that she’s very interested in, and the crazy vendor in the Commons in Orzammar sells a mirror that she’ll love. Both initiate cutscenes, and the grimoire initiates a quest. Eventually she’ll start talking about how she cares for you and from that point it’s not difficult to move forward.

Easy Lover 10
Experienced the thrill of romance with Zevran
For Zevran, you basically just have to talk to him through all his dialogues. The achievement called easy lover for a reason. He doesn’t take a lot of convincing and you will be able to get into his tent after only a little while. You can be male or female to initiate a romance with him. Flirt, compliment and otherwise seduce him that way. If you’ve got any gold or silver bars you can give as gifts, he’ll like those. He’s by far the easiest romance to unlock.

Wine, Woman, and Song 10
Experienced the thrill of romance with Leliana
Leliana’s romance is difficult. There are conversation options that you can choose that will totally kill your chances of it ever happening. There’s no cut-and-dry time when it’s made available, and it seems to be glitchy. The internet is filled with people asking about her romance. Personally, when I unlocked it, it was well after I had given up on the idea of romancing her because I had followed several paths that others said make it impossible to romance her. Then, suddenly, it happened.

Here are some things I do know that will make romancing Leliana easier:
It’s best to have her as your only romance on the playthrough, or at least your first romance. Having a romance with someone else that you have to break up with in order to woo Leliana will throw off the string of conversations that lead to it.
Do her personal quest, which is brought on by asking her about the Bards in Orlais being assassins and spies. She’ll deny she was involved with that stuff, which opens up a quest once you’re attacked by someone who’s after her. Leliana lies.
Get her approval rating up all the way to 100%. For gifts, she loves anything dealing with Andraste.
Don’t defile Andraste’s ashes. She’ll attack you and you’ll have to kill her.
If you follow certain strings of conversation, she’ll eventually be the one that invites you to her tent. This post has the dialogue sequences that must be followed if you want to unlock her romance. The final one listed is the one that leads to her inviting you to her tent.

Now, many people have stated that after doing her personal mission, they went back to the camp and she began the conversation that starts with “I lied to you,” which is the one that leads to her romance. For me, that didn’t happen. Since I had not yet done the Urn of Sacred Ashes mission, she did not have that conversation with me until after we went through the Gauntlet and the Guardian revealed her past. Just something structural to keep in mind if you’re feeling trapped.

Veteran 25
Main character learned a specialization
Specializations can be learned various ways. You can buy manuals at certain vendors, or have party members teach you. For instance, Leliana can teach you to become a Bard, Zevran can teach you to become an Assassin, Oghren can teach you Berserker, and Allistair can teach you to become a Templar. Each person has some sort of lesson to offer. Get your approval up and convince your fellows to teach you their skills, then when you earn a specialization point (Levels 7 and 14) you can learn them from the level up menu. Learn one and you get this achievement.

Elite 30
Main character learned two specializations
Learn a second specialization to get this one.

Master of the Peak 25
Completed ”Soldier’s Peak” (Warden’s Keep DLC)
This achievement is awarded for finishing the Soldier’s Peak DLC. Just play through the mission and you’ll get it.

Rock and a Hard Place 25
Completed ”The Golem in Honnleath” (The Stone Prisoner DLC)
This achievement is awarded for finishing the Stone Prisoner DLC, which is Shale’s content that came free with most copies of the game. Just play through the mission and you’ll get it.

Secret Achievements

A Dark Promise 50
Defeated the Archdemon and, through a dark ritual with Morrigan, spared your own life
Accept Morrigan’s ritual and finish the game.

The Ultimate Sacrifice 50
The ultimate sacrifice was made in defense of Ferelden
Don’t accept Morrigan’s ritual and finish the game, sacrificing yourself. Sacrificing Allistair or Loghain doesn’t work.

Dragonslayer 30
Defeated the dragon guarding the Urn of Sacred Ashes
This is the dragon that the cultists think is Andraste. Out in the open area there is a gong you can hit. Doing so calls down the dragon and starts the battle. It’s hard as hell and, with some configurations, downright impossible. Don’t feel too bad about switching your difficulty to Casual for this fight. Use fire resistant salves, have really strong characters with you and a mage for healing, and make sure people’s tactics are set to defense and everyone knows how to heal themselves. It’s a long, tough fight, but it is worth it.

Defender 20
Preserved the lives of half the troops at Denerim’s Gates in “The Final Battle”
During the final battle, you’re given command of your allies you recruited and can call on them to help you. Half of them still have to be alive when you reach the gates of Fort Drakon to unlock this achievement. It’s not all that difficult. Just only use them when/if you need them.

Diabolist 25
Took advantage of Avernus’s research (Warden’s Keep DLC)
In the Warden’s Keep DLC, there is a jug of liquid you can drink before reaching Avernus. Drink it. You get an achievement. Doesn’t get much easier than that.

Stone’s Lament 25
Completed ”A Golem’s Memories” (The Stone Prisoner DLC)
After speaking to Caridin in the Deep Roads, Shale has some memories of her past. She asks you to travel to a new place in the Deep Roads where she goes through a personal revelation. Finish the quest to get the achievement.