Dragon Age Origins discussion...

I've just completed my first play through and I must say that it was the most enjoyable gaming experience I've had in years. I played as a Human Noble 2-Handed Warrior. The story, game play, graphics were exceptional. I found the game difficult at first, but once I figured out tactics and pausing, everything went very well. The origin stories are fantastic as well. It's seriously has been years since I've actually wanted to play through a game a second time. I'd even consider a third or more!

I just started my second play through as a Male City Elf Rogue and he's tearing through bad guys.
 
alternatemoniker said:
Unless you side with the werewolves.........then you are out of luck on infinite elfroot. Made that mistake with a party that really relies on potions.
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Haha, yeah. My friend didn't know what I was talking about when I told him about the infinite elf roots you can buy off the elves. :D:D
 
I remember seeing another vendor that had infinite roots....can't remember who it was, maybe I imagined it
 
refraxion said:
Haha, yeah. My friend didn't know what I was talking about when I told him about the infinite elf roots you can buy off the elves. :D:D
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I hadn't thought about that. I'm kind of trying on my second playthrough as a mage to do everything opposite as my first which was a somewhat goody goody scout-type rogue. Needless to say, I am not using Alistair, Leilana, or Wynne. It turned out to be very entertaining NOT to step in an help Redcliffe, in spite of their persistent whining and pleading. Both me and Morrigan are at least partially speccing healing, so probably the lack of infinite elfroot might not be as great of an issue as it was in the initial playthrough, where I blew through hundreds of potions, including having to backtrack through whole dungeons when I ran out and realized I couldn't make it any further.
 
Spectrum17 said:
I hadn't thought about that. I'm kind of trying on my second playthrough as a mage to do everything opposite as my first which was a somewhat goody goody scout-type rogue. Needless to say, I am not using Alistair, Leilana, or Wynne. It turned out to be very entertaining NOT to step in an help Redcliffe, in spite of their persistent whining and pleading. Both me and Morrigan are at least partially speccing healing, so probably the lack of infinite elfroot might not be as great of an issue as it was in the initial playthrough, where I blew through hundreds of potions, including having to backtrack through whole dungeons when I ran out and realized I couldn't make it any further.
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I actually played my first play through without Alistair, I found him weak and kinda useless. Shale was where it was at. I'm thinking of replaying as a mage as well (First play through was 2 hand dwarf :p), the game deserves many play throughs!.

Also, does anyone else find Sten uber annoying? Oghren is pretty annoying too. Alistair's voice actor owns IMO, totally works for his character model.. and he's pretty hilarious though he does seem weak sauce.
 
Allistar needs you to REALLY boost his dex, then he's good. Shale tanks with con, Allistar does it with dex and dodge/block.
 
I'm using Allistair as a tank, but how can you not pump points into Strength (or whatever name Bioware came up for it).

You need high strength to wear the very best armor. When I was finally able to equip Allistair with the Blood Dragon armor, I started pumping points into Health (or whatever name Bioware came up for it - I think they call it Constitution).

Dexterity? That's just plain weird, man? I haven't even touched Dexterity, and Allistair is tanking like crazy. At normal he can take on five guys and they can barely even put a dint in him.

But the one complaint I have with this game is how it's just completely all over the map. You'll be questing along, and the whole thing will be an absolute cakewalk, and then suddenly, right out of the blue, the game will throw a fight at you that's almost impossible to win. Imbalanced is the word that comes to mind.
 
1st play through was a 2h human war, 2nd playthrough is human magi, 3rd with be elf rogue, 4th dwarf dual wield war. i'm a massive lose i know. will say, mages are mean as shit.
 
WabeWalker said:
I'm using Allistair as a tank, but how can you not pump points into Strength (or whatever name Bioware came up for it).

You need high strength to wear the very best armor. When I was finally able to equip Allistair with the Blood Dragon armor, I started pumping points into Health (or whatever name Bioware came up for it - I think they call it Constitution).

Dexterity? That's just plain weird, man? I haven't even touched Dexterity, and Allistair is tanking like crazy. At normal he can take on five guys and they can barely even put a dint in him.

But the one complaint I have with this game is how it's just completely all over the map. You'll be questing along, and the whole thing will be an absolute cakewalk, and then suddenly, right out of the blue, the game will throw a fight at you that's almost impossible to win. Imbalanced is the word that comes to mind.
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I pumped str and then dex with him, with low dex he take more hits and can't hit the broad side of a barn, only added a few points to con with him.
 
TheCowOfNow said:
1st play through was a 2h human war, 2nd playthrough is human magi, 3rd with be elf rogue, 4th dwarf dual wield war. i'm a massive lose i know. will say, mages are mean as shit.
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Sooooooo... you're saying this game has re-playability then? :rolleyes:
 
I'm having this problem. You see, I recently beat the game after 63 hours, loved it, but thought I'd give myself a break. Problem is, there's not really any other games I want to play, as every game I start up seems poorly done in comparison.

So, I start up a new game, play it for a bit, really start getting into my character, then I have to deal with the fade. Seriously, again? There needs to be a way to skip this part, or some way to just not do it. I mean, other parts of the game vary from play to play, because you have a different party, and different PC with different skills. In the fade though... well it's just the same, every time. Fact is, I lose interest in the game when I get to the fade.

How do I overcome this so I can return to my beloved DA:O?
 
kledar586 said:
I pumped str and then dex with him, with low dex he take more hits and can't hit the broad side of a barn, only added a few points to con with him.
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Bioware put Alistair in for us to use as a tank - obviously you can use him anyway you want... that's the whole point of an RPG... but it's pretty clear he was meant to be used as a tank. He's not supposed to be dishing out massive amounts of damage - he's supposed to be absorbing it.

Set him up as your tank by equipping him with the best armor, and enabling Threat and Taunt, and almost all the NPCs will head straight towards him. I've got Sten, and my two spellcasters, targeting the same NPC that Alistair is targeting. The only thing you have to worry about is not out-DPSing Alistair, which can happen pretty easily. The mistake that a noob might make here is to have your DPSer start using all his powerful abilities at the outset - big mistake if it's a tough battle, since now your DPSer will start drawing Threat.

I've got both spellcasters healing Alistair - pretty much any fight is a cakewalk. I always take control of Sten, to make certain that no NPCs get past Alistair and go for my mages. But Alistair is pretty much unbeatable right now.
 
daveyjwin said:
I'm having this problem. You see, I recently beat the game after 63 hours, loved it, but thought I'd give myself a break. Problem is, there's not really any other games I want to play, as every game I start up seems poorly done in comparison.

So, I start up a new game, play it for a bit, really start getting into my character, then I have to deal with the fade. Seriously, again? There needs to be a way to skip this part, or some way to just not do it. I mean, other parts of the game vary from play to play, because you have a different party, and different PC with different skills. In the fade though... well it's just the same, every time. Fact is, I lose interest in the game when I get to the fade.

How do I overcome this so I can return to my beloved DA:O?
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you talking the magi quest section?
 
WabeWalker said:
I'm using Allistair as a tank, but how can you not pump points into Strength (or whatever name Bioware came up for it).

You need high strength to wear the very best armor. When I was finally able to equip Allistair with the Blood Dragon armor, I started pumping points into Health (or whatever name Bioware came up for it - I think they call it Constitution).

Dexterity? That's just plain weird, man? I haven't even touched Dexterity, and Allistair is tanking like crazy. At normal he can take on five guys and they can barely even put a dint in him.

But the one complaint I have with this game is how it's just completely all over the map. You'll be questing along, and the whole thing will be an absolute cakewalk, and then suddenly, right out of the blue, the game will throw a fight at you that's almost impossible to win. Imbalanced is the word that comes to mind.
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yep. He's not ~big~ enough to get there on health. You boost dex and he crits more, dodges more, and blocks more :) Then, with a shield, he's awesome.

at least, that's how I built him. He was almost never taking hits, especially with shield defense on - they just never ~touched~ him.
 
WabeWalker said:
Bioware put Alistair in for us to use as a tank - obviously you can use him anyway you want... that's the whole point of an RPG... but it's pretty clear he was meant to be used as a tank. He's not supposed to be dishing out massive amounts of damage - he's supposed to be absorbing it.

Set him up as your tank by equipping him with the best armor, and enabling Threat and Taunt, and almost all the NPCs will head straight towards him. I've got Sten, and my two spellcasters, targeting the same NPC that Alistair is targeting. The only thing you have to worry about is not out-DPSing Alistair, which can happen pretty easily. The mistake that a noob might make here is to have your DPSer start using all his powerful abilities at the outset - big mistake if it's a tough battle, since now your DPSer will start drawing Threat.

I've got both spellcasters healing Alistair - pretty much any fight is a cakewalk. I always take control of Sten, to make certain that no NPCs get past Alistair and go for my mages. But Alistair is pretty much unbeatable right now.
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dude I know what a freaking tank is. you realize the shield skills require dex, didn't say I turned him into a dps guy he's not, I roll with two mages. I was making a point that dex helps him tank because he can avoid dmg and as the added benefit of him hitting his targets more, now go patronize someone else trying to be helpful or go back to Oblivon since you've already stated how frustrating this game is for you.
 
daveyjwin said:
I'm having this problem. You see, I recently beat the game after 63 hours, loved it, but thought I'd give myself a break. Problem is, there's not really any other games I want to play, as every game I start up seems poorly done in comparison.

So, I start up a new game, play it for a bit, really start getting into my character, then I have to deal with the fade. Seriously, again? There needs to be a way to skip this part, or some way to just not do it. I mean, other parts of the game vary from play to play, because you have a different party, and different PC with different skills. In the fade though... well it's just the same, every time. Fact is, I lose interest in the game when I get to the fade.

How do I overcome this so I can return to my beloved DA:O?
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While I didn't mind the fade part of the magi quest line as much as you, I certainly don't enjoy it the third time around. This time though, my third play through, I know my way through the fade part pretty well. I just did it last night again and forced myself to do it in one sitting, as efficient as possible, and was able to complete it under an hour. Fireman form, then golem, and then get the ghost form and go around and get all the upgrades and finish the level.

For the rest talking about Alistair, he can be made into a great tank with the right build. When I played through first, I went with three mages and Alistair and didn'thave too many agro issues. This third time through, I am not using him at all, as I went with my PC as a tank. The only real problem I had with Alistair, (focusing on str/dex), is that he either ran out of stamina way to fast or if I put points into stamina, he had such low HP for a tank that when he did get hit, it was an issue. I guess its just how you build him...
 
For me Alistair tends to take damage much faster than I figured he should. I have him with a 40 in STR, 32 in Dex, and a 22 on Con with the Eamon shield and heavy plate through most of the game...and he still can't take punishment like Shale can. However Alistair deals damage like nobody's business and he distracts people so I can send my rogue in for backstabs and ability combos. He has lots of uses. I tried putting him in lighter armor, but it didn't seem to help him as much when surrounded by several enemies.
 
It takes about half the game before Alister has enough Strength (for the armor) and Constitution (and perhaps some dex) to be a decent tank. Before you get to that happy point, he's dropping as bad as Sten does.

Shale's nice, in that it's an instant tank. Late game, Alister's probably better though.
 
Shale is nice early, but Alister catches it about mid game. When I played through up to the elves I was playing all melee/ranged on hard, then made the mistake of siding with the werewolves and cutting off my potion supply. Switched to Alistair, Wynne, Morrigan and myself (backstabbing rogue) and it was suddenly like playing easy mode. Alistair is a hell of a tank midgame, especially with two healers supporting him.
 
Oh yeah, another thing I did on this third run through was kind of cheat. I used the potion of respec to respec the NPC toons that you pick up to my liking instead of what they had. This way I have Morrigan as my healer and damage dealer after taking out the points in the stuff at the bottom. I also changed Leliana to a complete lock pick/ranged rogue. This time around I just want to ruin everyones day instead of doing the nice/right thing all the time... cut that kids throat I say...lol
 
alternatemoniker said:
Could skip the lockpick/ranged rogue and install the bash mod, have your melee character bash open chests and doors.
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That mod rocks! That and autoloot! I will never go back on those two mods. Endless corpse looting gets old real after a while. Probably takes up 5-10% of gametime. 10% is exaggerating... but still clicking on loot and loot menus is tiresome.
 
Yup, so far I'm using: lock bash, autoloot, respec, pts vibrant colors, white teeth, no follower auto-level, no starting abilities, winter forge and new faces for sten/morrigan/liliana. Most are cosmetic, but lock bash, autoloot and respec are mods I won't play again without.
 
I should get the white teeth... kinda funny to see liliana with black pirate teeth. What's pts vibrant colors?
 
Random tip:
Morrigan's swarm moves pretty fast....great for sprinting across maps, esp. when looting dungeons, 'housekeeping' and completing minor quests.
 
Parmenides said:
It takes about half the game before Alister has enough Strength (for the armor) and Constitution (and perhaps some dex) to be a decent tank. Before you get to that happy point, he's dropping as bad as Sten does.

Shale's nice, in that it's an instant tank. Late game, Alister's probably better though.
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I saw people equipping Alistair with the typical big armors - Juggernaut, Blood armor, etc.

I preferred Knight Commander's Plate (upgraded Templar armor). It has 40% spell resist. Available at the merchant that knows where Sten's sword is in the Frostback Mountains. I tried to add more spell resist items when appropriate along with a mish mash of other equipment. I found him better that way - less being stunned, confused, forcefielded, etc by spellcasters. With a good shield and a shield stance or two he's better against archers and mages than the other fighters. Maybe not as much damage as the others, but with some great stuns, and Overpower is a good lower level skill for shattering frozen enemies.

I too didn't give him a whole lot of CON. I think at level 22-23 he had maybe 24-25 CON.
 
its probably already been stated in this thread befor but I have to complain just a bit about the DLC and its placement in this game.

the DLC content in the game really makes it feel incomplete and like they really went out of their way to milk us out of more money. I really feel like they purposefully held back content just to sell it to us again.

Specifically I am talking about the Gollem DLC, i get a mission off the chantry board, goto the place located on the map. only to find out its some one trying to sell me the DLC for the Gollem, even in my question book it says "Buy the Gollem DLC blah blah blah"

it was bad enough having the guy in my camp, but the quest specifically to buy it? I feel so cheated.. And it came at a horrible time, i had just got really sucked into the game. I finished the Mage Circle, and got them over to Redcliffe to save the boy and his mom.


Just a little vent, the DLC could have been discretely done but DA has gone a little overboard..
 
The DLC is so bloody good though, it should be a given that you buy it to start with. Yeah, they're bilking us for more money, but it's GOOD bilking.
 
If you bought the retail package I thought you got the golem automatically, it was a cert in the box. And his name is Shale btw, but yeah, I got him, even though it looks like they are charging you for his questline and him, but you should have received a cert in the box with a code to redeem for that one part. Now the other one, thats a different story, I wished that came with the game, that keep place or whatever...
 
I finished up this weekend (lvl 23 human noble fighter/champion/reaver) and went back to do a few more endings and key points in the game.
If there is an award for voice acting, Steve Valentine deserves one. Alistair was a great NPC.
**SPOILER****It felt terrible having him executed.
The NPCs were overall well written and Bioware did a great job with 'banter' which had been so much fun in BG2 and PS:T.
Overall IMHO DA:O is at least as good, if not better than BG2, corrected for generational differences. The story and NPCs didn't live up to the PS:T gold standard, but I sadly do not expect another game to reach that pinnacle in today's mainstream gaming , big money climate. At the very least, they weren't the empty annoying tweens that filled NWN1.
One thing I would have liked to have seen more of was the opportunity to avoid combat to reach your goals, or else to rig the combat strongly in your favor with guile or skill. If memory serves, Fallout2 , PS:T and KOTOR2 did this fairly well.

Towards the end of the game you have an option to send a pair of NPCs on a particular mission. I recommend playing though as many combinations as you can. Oghren/Zervan and Oghren/Sten are particularly funny.

As an aside, it was pretty damn funny seeing Wynne climb up to stick a sword through an ogre's head after I had unlocked Arcane Warrior.

Now to play through the other 'origin' stories and grab a few more achievements.
 
lopoetve said:
The DLC is so bloody good though, it should be a given that you buy it to start with. Yeah, they're bilking us for more money, but it's GOOD bilking.
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Wardens Keep is shite, nor would I pay their asking price for the Stone Prisoner - despite the fact that Shale is amusing and a decent tank, you don't get much extra "game". An hour or so to get her then maybe two more to do the second part. Wardens Keep took me 2 hours (pretty boring ones at that) - the value is basically in the armour and getting party storage (which then makes you feel ripped-off as it could so easily have been included in the base package). Not sure what the extra rogue/warrior skills are like, but the mage ones totally suck. I don't have a beef with DLC per se, but if they want my money in future they'd better come up with something a bit better or at least price it accordingly. But that doesn't sound like the EA way to me :(
 
ob1 said:
And his name is Shale btw, but yeah, I got him, even though it looks like they are charging you for his questline and him, but you should have received a cert in the box with a code to redeem for that one part
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Shale is female (at least with regard to her original form, since golems are devoid of reproductive organs) ;)
 
rincewind said:
Wardens Keep is shite, nor would I pay their asking price for the Stone Prisoner - despite the fact that Shale is amusing and a decent tank, you don't get much extra "game". An hour or so to get her then maybe two more to do the second part. Wardens Keep took me 2 hours (pretty boring ones at that) - the value is basically in the armour and getting party storage (which then makes you feel ripped-off as it could so easily have been included in the base package). Not sure what the extra rogue/warrior skills are like, but the mage ones totally suck. I don't have a beef with DLC per se, but if they want my money in future they'd better come up with something a bit better or at least price it accordingly. But that doesn't sound like the EA way to me :(
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And totally new conversation portions for the entire game for him, and he's an active party member in the banter, and changes several portions if you have him with you, etc. I did my first playthrough without him, and it was ~very~ different with him in the party on the second trip.

WK was fun just for the boss fight, but I wouldn't have paid for it, but stone prisoner? Absolutely worth it.
 
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