Dragon Age: Origins Catch-All

You will find your friends .... eventually. use the transforming abilities that you gain in the fade,

Spoiler:

the burning man is essential in the fire sections and the golem rocks, but the best is the spirit form i think.

Yeah, but all I've got is mouse, which is...less than helpful in a fight. I'm probably just going to drop the difficulty to casual for this whole section.

Edwin wrote:

Get this. http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/m...?

Yeah, I know about that one, but since I'm already in the sequence, I don't want to risk breaking things by adding a mod that messes with it.

Squee9 wrote:
Malor wrote:

In Origins? If you're not sure who to take, pick a mage. Always take the mage.

IIRC, bow rogues are pretty weak in the base game, although they get much better in the expansion. (not DA2, but the extra adventure in the DA1 engine; Return to Ostagar, maybe?)

I loved that game, but the class balance was, um.... not good.

Bow rogues were so strong in the base DA:O that they would have been considered overpowered if it weren't for the fact that mages were one hundred times more overpowerd.

Bow rogues--especially when combined with the bard specialization--can get the highest weapon dps in that game. Their are some incredible bows in that game, they shoot from range, and some of their abilites are silly (an arrow that hits someone then breaks in to shards to hit every enemy around him...and they are all also stunned).

Don't underestimate the bow!

My bow rogue was able to win a fight that the game scripted for you to lose - I even got to kill the same person twice (once at the "scripted loss-turned victory" and again at the moment you're supposed to kill them.)

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:
Squee9 wrote:
Malor wrote:

In Origins? If you're not sure who to take, pick a mage. Always take the mage.

IIRC, bow rogues are pretty weak in the base game, although they get much better in the expansion. (not DA2, but the extra adventure in the DA1 engine; Return to Ostagar, maybe?)

I loved that game, but the class balance was, um.... not good.

Bow rogues were so strong in the base DA:O that they would have been considered overpowered if it weren't for the fact that mages were one hundred times more overpowerd.

Bow rogues--especially when combined with the bard specialization--can get the highest weapon dps in that game. Their are some incredible bows in that game, they shoot from range, and some of their abilites are silly (an arrow that hits someone then breaks in to shards to hit every enemy around him...and they are all also stunned).

Don't underestimate the bow!

My bow rogue was able to win a fight that the game scripted for you to lose - I even got to kill the same person twice (once at the "scripted loss-turned victory" and again at the moment you're supposed to kill them.)

There's only one game I did this with, and it was because I spent a LOT of time grinding... but Tales of Destiny when Leon is introduced and tries to arrest the party... if you defeat him, you get a little blurb about how you three characters went on to become pirates of fame and legend... but that was not the tale to be told today, then game over.

I really dig Alistair and Morrigan, so they're in, but then who else?

Shale. The answer is always Shale.

As for aggro, I believe armor effects aggro, too. Heavier armor draws more.

wordsmythe wrote:
I really dig Alistair and Morrigan, so they're in, but then who else?

Shale. The answer is always Shale.

+1

I haven't got Shale yet. So I should head there after I finally finish this Mage Tower nonsense?

Chaz wrote:

I haven't got Shale yet. So I should head there after I finally finish this Mage Tower nonsense?

Definitely.

Now I have Shale. Now I always want Shale. And Morrigan. And Alistair. I don't care about Wynne, but I think I need her as a healer.

How long until I can get Morrigan set up to act as a healer? Cuz that'd pretty much solve my "who do I take" issue.

As I recall you can get Morrigan the basic healing spell pretty early on, if not right away. Later on you may feel the pinch of not having abilities further in Wynne's skill tree, but Shale can act as a pretty good party buff too so that may be offset. Another consideration is that Shale and Wynne have pretty good banter together, so it's worth bringing them both along occasionally.

Are there major differences in the story for each class/race? I just picked the game back up after a year or so break. I think I forgot most of the story so was watching youtube videos on it and realized none of the stuff I was watching happen in my game because you start at different places depending on your class. I'm not sure if the middle and end parts are different though.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

Are there major differences in the story for each class/race? I just picked the game back up after a year or so break. I think I forgot most of the story so was watching youtube videos on it and realized none of the stuff I was watching happen in my game because you start at different places depending on your class. I'm not sure if the middle and end parts are different though.

The biggest place your class and/or race comes into play is your "origin" section, and then the part of the gather allies section that relates to your people. So, being a mage and going back to the mages tower is a bit different than going as a dwarven rogue. But, going back to Orzimmar as a dwarf (whether high or low born) is very different than going there as anything else. The ONLY combos that won't come back up during this time period are the human or elf non-mage characters, who come up a bit later.

Honestly, DA:I is much better about differences in dialogue and such from your race. DA:O's outside of the origin and the quest where your origin ties back in is about it.

Demosthenes wrote:
Baron Of Hell wrote:

Are there major differences in the story for each class/race? I just picked the game back up after a year or so break. I think I forgot most of the story so was watching youtube videos on it and realized none of the stuff I was watching happen in my game because you start at different places depending on your class. I'm not sure if the middle and end parts are different though.

The biggest place your class and/or race comes into play is your "origin" section, and then the part of the gather allies section that relates to your people. So, being a mage and going back to the mages tower is a bit different than going as a dwarven rogue. But, going back to Orzimmar as a dwarf (whether high or low born) is very different than going there as anything else. The ONLY combos that won't come back up during this time period are the human or elf non-mage characters, who come up a bit later.

Honestly, DA:I is much better about differences in dialogue and such from your race. DA:O's outside of the origin and the quest where your origin ties back in is about it.

Weeeelll.. even there, the human part is relevant to Redcliffe, and the city and Dalish Elf both to the Dalish quest.

Yeah, the origin with the most disappointing integration into the main game for me was human noble. When the time comes for that character to get revenge, the game hardly acknowledges it any differently than any other Origin.

Does anyone remember if the conference call did a full spoiler discussion of this game - and could point me to the episode?

I've looked at all the descriptions around the episodes when the game was released (161+) but none mention a spoiler section. Certis seemed to be planning to do it but I'm struggling to find it.

It's an episode on the 17th December and seems to be a stand alone spoiler section. Looks like it was uploaded at the same time as episode 427 (I'm saving it in the feed for when I've finished the game.)

Higgledy wrote:

It's an episode on the 17th December and seems to be a stand alone spoiler section. Looks like it was uploaded at the same time as episode 427 (I'm saving it in the feed for when I've finished the game.)

Origins or Inquisition? I don't remember a spoiler episode for Origins, but it was 6 years ago. DA2 definitely had one as well as Inquisition.

MrDeVil909 wrote:
Higgledy wrote:

It's an episode on the 17th December and seems to be a stand alone spoiler section. Looks like it was uploaded at the same time as episode 427 (I'm saving it in the feed for when I've finished the game.)

Origins or Inquisition? I don't remember a spoiler episode for Origins, but it was 6 years ago. DA2 definitely had one as well as Inquisition.

Yeah I'm after one for the first game, not 2 or Inquisition. I'm a long way behind and only just finished it!

Ah ok. Sorry. I don't remember a spoiler one for Origins.

Yep just checked with Shawn who couldn't remember doing one either. I just assumed it considering the love for those games. I know they recorded them for the games that followed though, so I'll check back with those once I get through. Cheers.

Arise!

Through Amazon-related serendipity, a new, old copy of Dragon Age Origins will be landing on my doormat on Saturday morning. (Last week, I re-commissioned my PS3 last week to play a soon-to-be-delivered new, old copy of the GTA IV DLC. This week, a browse of Amazon for Resistance: Fall of Man - prompted by a discussion on the Finished Any Games Lately thread - resulted in DA: O appearing in the search results.)

An aversion to RPGs at the time meant that I avoided DA: O on release 14 years ago, and the series has been a gaming blind spot for me since then.

I am keen to make the most of my first Dragon Age experience. What two pieces of advice can GwJers offer to help me get the most from the game (and keep me from bouncing off it before it gets its hooks into me)?

There's a hotkey that highlights interactive objects in the world (Tab? Z?) Learn it so you don't miss out on loot and lore. Also keep multiple saves. The game can be a little unforgiving early on, and dungeons are looong.

Get some mods. There's one that lets you bring your dog with you no matter who's in your party. Improved Atmosphere is a good one. If you don't want to worry about always having a rogue in your party to pick locks, install the Lock Bash mod.

Some folks will say install the mod to skip the Fade section of the game. I don't recommend this for a first playthrough (and I've never done it for subsequent playthroughs either). It's a visually ugly area, but otherwise doesn't last too long.

I would play every origin and class (it takes about 2 hours per origin) before committing to a character/class.

Go with God, this is one of my favorite games.

It's not an RPG, it's a blood spatter simulator.

Get familiar with how to setup your character's tactics, as it can make a big difference for your party.

If you are struggling with the combat but enjoying the story/characters, just put it on easy. I did that with Inquistation/and this one with a couple of the more annoying bosses and I'm someone who just finished Dark Souls 3.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

I would play every origin and class (it takes about 2 hours per origin) before committing to a character/class.

Definitely this.

Also don't rely on the AI (even with the custom tactics you can set) to do a good job. You'll want to pause often and micromanage them for difficult fights.