Dragon Age Origins

**Weeks** · 2009-12-27 17:51

Morrigan will help keep you alive just by crowd control and ice spells to freeze the big threats. In my experience, the healing AI is always crap, so I just turned Wynne into an Arcane Warrior right off the bat, got my rogue evasion as fast as I could, and let Morrigan fend for herself with the crowd control and ice spells. I still have to micromanage with potions when someone is taking a lot of damage, but my dual-tank setup will stand up to most fights with a minimum of healing.

**Nightraid** · 2009-12-27 18:00

Originally Posted by Blarg

Just started this game and am only a few hours in. It's probably been mentioned somewhere in here but since I don't yet have a healer (just got morrigan but I don't think she came with a heal spell learned yet) my guys tend to die, especially alistair my tank. The character I made is a rogue but I find myself having to make the tank use potions myself even though I set up a command for it based on HP.

Do you have to micromanage throughout the game or once you get a healer can you expect your tank to not die so easily? If I control the tank directly to make it easier will the rogue know by itself to get behind things for backstabs?

Am I just missing an optimize option for gear? I don't like scrolling through everything and pressing compare to see if it's better or not.

Does anyone have good tactics to use to make the AI smarter? Does the AI place priority on tactics higher up on the list? Like I have a tactic for using a potion but it's underneath other tactics so will he use that potion if the condition is met if the previous tactics can still be used?

From my expierence use potions until Wynne, then swap Morrygan for Wynee and have 2 DD's, 1 tank, 1 healer.
Is Alistar trained under Shield Tree and Warrior Tree?
Make sure he has defense abilites activated at all times using the "tactics" Menu.

I'm not sure how the AI tanks because i made my main character a Tank, 1 Healer, 2 Rangers, it pretty much tears everything up.

**Galkaeater** · 2009-12-27 22:08

I dont really depend on the AI to do stuff
I pause alot and micromanage my dudes
Though im on PC so its alot easyer to do this

**Vile23** · 2009-12-27 22:52

What abilities are you guys using on your rangers ? I think the damage output from leiliana is pathetic compared to her running in and backstabbing mofos.

**noblemountain** · 2009-12-28 00:25

Originally Posted by Blarg

Just started this game and am only a few hours in. It's probably been mentioned somewhere in here but since I don't yet have a healer (just got morrigan but I don't think she came with a heal spell learned yet) my guys tend to die, especially alistair my tank. The character I made is a rogue but I find myself having to make the tank use potions myself even though I set up a command for it based on HP.

Do you have to micromanage throughout the game or once you get a healer can you expect your tank to not die so easily? If I control the tank directly to make it easier will the rogue know by itself to get behind things for backstabs?

Am I just missing an optimize option for gear? I don't like scrolling through everything and pressing compare to see if it's better or not.

Does anyone have good tactics to use to make the AI smarter? Does the AI place priority on tactics higher up on the list? Like I have a tactic for using a potion but it's underneath other tactics so will he use that potion if the condition is met if the previous tactics can still be used?

It prioritizes top first, just like FF12 did for it's gambit system. If Al is your tank, take him through the shield and warrior lines. The rogue gets abilities that make it take a wider arc to the target for easier backstabs...but if you are playing rogue this playthrough, just take the time to setup your tactics so that Al pops a poultice at 10% HP and just unlock heal for morrigan and have her set at top priority to heal ally @ >50% HP. I also had her use cone of cold for enemies grouped in 3 or more, helps a lot with crowd control. I have played through as a bloodmage/healer, champion/templar tank, assassin/duelist rogue, ranger/bard rogue, berserker/reaver warrior this time and have changed up my party each time to get a feel for everyone. I really don't like Wynne in my party and usually just spec Morrigan up the spirit healer tree when it's available.

I never go any further up the shapeshifter tree than she already is when you get her, it's pretty pointless. Just get heal, then concentrate on damage spells (especially the ice line) until you can unlock spirit healer and take her up that tree and she makes a damn good healer/crowd controller.

**Nightraid** · 2009-12-28 02:23

Originally Posted by Vile23

What abilities are you guys using on your rangers ? I think the damage output from leiliana is pathetic compared to her running in and backstabbing mofos.

Eh, i dont really care about the Damage output so as long as the Enemy dies,
My 2 Rangers usually do about 30-40 per hit. Plus keeping them far away is good considering Mages like to AoE.

Spoiler: show

**Katlan** · 2009-12-28 13:02

just got the game and just a few lvs in, but I alrdy wish you could reset talent points and stuff (lol). Gave my mage some strength thinking it would allow me to carry more gear. Any suggestions for talent points/spec for mage? I gave myself some basic healing until I can get Wynne (?), but other then that curious what ppl recommend. And any suggestions on main/secondary specializations?

**Karshe** · 2009-12-28 13:05

Also just got the game, wondering how I should be trying to build my Warrior. So far I've put a few points into the Sword/Shield tree (I've put one into shield bash and one into shield proficiency, or whatever it is). Anyway, I just got Alistar so I'm wondering if it's wise to focus on Two-Handed and let Alistar tank? Dual Wield is tempting but I think my next character is going to be a rogue, so I'll leave that for then. I just don't want to continue down the Shield path if it's going to end up useless.

**Nightraid** · 2009-12-28 19:40

Originally Posted by Katlan

just got the game and just a few lvs in, but I alrdy wish you could reset talent points and stuff (lol). Gave my mage some strength thinking it would allow me to carry more gear. Any suggestions for talent points/spec for mage? I gave myself some basic healing until I can get Wynne (?), but other then that curious what ppl recommend. And any suggestions on main/secondary specializations?

Lol only get 70/70 for whole game i think

Good FAQ for builds is this:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/dos...e/920668/58309

Originally Posted by Karshe

Also just got the game, wondering how I should be trying to build my Warrior. So far I've put a few points into the Sword/Shield tree (I've put one into shield bash and one into shield proficiency, or whatever it is). Anyway, I just got Alistar so I'm wondering if it's wise to focus on Two-Handed and let Alistar tank? Dual Wield is tempting but I think my next character is going to be a rogue, so I'll leave that for then. I just don't want to continue down the Shield path if it's going to end up useless.

If you wana be a DD use Two Handed Tree, try get Berserk Spec, this does the best warrior damage. Rouge use dual wield and main Rouge Tree. Probably best not to level shield tree unless your tanking, Allistar can tank fine anyway i think.

**Amiel** · 2009-12-28 20:32

I read somewhere that Return to Ostagar was suppose to be out on the 29th? Am I just daydreaming?

**Rowe** · 2009-12-28 20:33

Originally Posted by Karshe

Also just got the game, wondering how I should be trying to build my Warrior. So far I've put a few points into the Sword/Shield tree (I've put one into shield bash and one into shield proficiency, or whatever it is). Anyway, I just got Alistar so I'm wondering if it's wise to focus on Two-Handed and let Alistar tank? Dual Wield is tempting but I think my next character is going to be a rogue, so I'll leave that for then. I just don't want to continue down the Shield path if it's going to end up useless.

I did WAR with dual wield first time through the game. My party was mostly

Damage Warrior, Tank Warrior, Damage Mage, Healer Mage. worked great for me part way through I took Wynne out as the healer and used just Morrigan with her one cure spell and all healing potions. I did a lot of clearing areas of all mobs then going back with Leliana after to open locked chests.

There are some re-spec add-ons you can get if you play on the PC.

http://www.dragonagenexus.com/index.php

In general I find Morrigan essential to victory for her crowd control abilities, sleep, nightmare, paralyze, mass paralyze. I didn't waste any points in shapeshifting on her or really give her a specialization. I gave her just the basic cure to help cover cures in emergencies.

on Morrigan I did:

Primal: All 4 ice spells a couple of the others randomly
Spirit: all 4 across the bottom row
Entropy: 1st Row all 4, 3rd Row all 4

also there is an exp exploit still in the game, there is a lvl cap of 25 in the game but only enough mobs and quests to get to lvl 24.

Spoiler: show

**volcanicweather** · 2009-12-29 00:57

Just finished the game today, 50+ hours, was pretty fun but near the end I was just ready to be done honestly. I didn't read any spoilers or FAQs the whole time and just played through.

Spoilering my game expereince, includes a plot line I haven't seen posted yet:

Spoiler: show

I played a mage with maxed ice/earth magic with all the hex spells, the necro MP regen, and back up healer. I turned Morrigan into a hybrid support/healer but near the end of the game she was a full blown healer as my mage took over the support role and moved more into a damage role. Was a CC stud with Cold of Cone and Petrify and got the 250+ shatter milestone really early in the game.

I only had Sten, Dog, Oghren, and Zevran as extra characters and used Morrigan, Sten, and Zevran. Sten was a total beast in the tier7 set of armor I found for him midway through the game (forgot the name) and could hold his own solo tanking... not sure why so many people here hate him and use Alistar. Just get Sten to 40 STR as soon as you can and buff his Constitution and DEX and he's very solid. I couldn't stand Alistar so as soon as I got Sten I benched Alistar and stripped him of all armor and weapons and never used him again. His approval dropped below 10% after I let Redcliffe die and in result of other actions and it was hilarious to see him in all these "serious" cutscenes with no clothes on and his junk hanging out. I also made him fight naked and die in all the final battles so he wouldn't waste any potions. He got all pissy when I didn't pick him for the Archdemon fight, then I told him it was because I didn't like him and to "piss off" (direct quote). He just shook his head at me in disgust. It was hilarious.

I managed to beat everything on normal difficulty, including the archdemon on my first try. My mage was totally overpowered, soloing entire rooms and named monsters - sometimes it was just easier for me to solo them then have to deal with melee being cure sponges. A good strategy, albeit somewhat cheap, is if you're playing on PC is to use top down view and cast spells such as Blizzard through doors and below pillars so the enemy doesn't spot you or enemies appear on your radar so you know what you're dealing with. Makes things a ton easier, and even if an enemy or two snuck through, I still had Cold of Cone, Petrify, Misdirection Hex, etc to pretty much solo anything. Like others have mentioned, Mage is pretty broken in this game.

I read all 27 pages of this thread after I beat the game and fully agree about the cumbersome AI and tactics. I would constantly have to stop battle and re-direct my attackers to make sure they were attacking the appropriate targets and if they killed their targets they moved onto the one I wanted them to move onto. A queue system is desperately needed. It was also extremely frustrating when I would attempt to move my party to a specific location on the battlefield midbattle and someone would get attacked... they would stop and attack the enemy and i would have to pause the game and redirect them.

Overall this was an enjoyable game, but not sure if I would take the time to sit and play it again for 50+ more hours.

**Nightraid** · 2009-12-29 02:50

Originally Posted by volcanicweather

Just finished the game today, 50+ hours, was pretty fun but near the end I was just ready to be done honestly. I didn't read any spoilers or FAQs the whole time and just played through.

Spoilering my game expereince, includes a plot line I haven't seen posted yet:

Spoiler: show

I played a mage with maxed ice/earth magic with all the hex spells, the necro MP regen, and back up healer. I turned Morrigan into a hybrid support/healer but near the end of the game she was a full blown healer as my mage took over the support role and moved more into a damage role. Was a CC stud with Cold of Cone and Petrify and got the 250+ shatter milestone really early in the game.

I only had Sten, Dog, Oghren, and Zevran as extra characters and used Morrigan, Sten, and Zevran. Sten was a total beast in the tier7 set of armor I found for him midway through the game (forgot the name) and could hold his own solo tanking... not sure why so many people here hate him and use Alistar. Just get Sten to 40 STR as soon as you can and buff his Constitution and DEX and he's very solid. I couldn't stand Alistar so as soon as I got Sten I benched Alistar and stripped him of all armor and weapons and never used him again. His approval dropped below 10% after I let Redcliffe die and in result of other actions and it was hilarious to see him in all these "serious" cutscenes with no clothes on and his junk hanging out. I also made him fight naked and die in all the final battles so he wouldn't waste any potions. He got all pissy when I didn't pick him for the Archdemon fight, then I told him it was because I didn't like him and to "piss off" (direct quote). He just shook his head at me in disgust. It was hilarious.

I managed to beat everything on normal difficulty, including the archdemon on my first try. My mage was totally overpowered, soloing entire rooms and named monsters - sometimes it was just easier for me to solo them then have to deal with melee being cure sponges. A good strategy, albeit somewhat cheap, is if you're playing on PC is to use top down view and cast spells such as Blizzard through doors and below pillars so the enemy doesn't spot you or enemies appear on your radar so you know what you're dealing with. Makes things a ton easier, and even if an enemy or two snuck through, I still had Cold of Cone, Petrify, Misdirection Hex, etc to pretty much solo anything. Like others have mentioned, Mage is pretty broken in this game.

I read all 27 pages of this thread after I beat the game and fully agree about the cumbersome AI and tactics. I would constantly have to stop battle and re-direct my attackers to make sure they were attacking the appropriate targets and if they killed their targets they moved onto the one I wanted them to move onto. A queue system is desperately needed. It was also extremely frustrating when I would attempt to move my party to a specific location on the battlefield midbattle and someone would get attacked... they would stop and attack the enemy and i would have to pause the game and redirect them.

Overall this was an enjoyable game, but not sure if I would take the time to sit and play it again for 50+ more hours.

I just completed it for my first time, most entertaining game i have played in a while. Had like 90+ Hours into doing all the Side Quests.

Spoiler: show

And yes, my faviourite character was Leliana :3

**noblemountain** · 2009-12-29 07:30

Originally Posted by Nightraid

I just completed it for my first time, most entertaining game i have played in a while. Had like 90+ Hours into doing all the Side Quests.

Spoiler: show

And yes, my faviourite character was Leliana :3

It's weird...I got Oblivion again from gamefly to try it out for a second time, I tried it when it got GOTY, and hated every moment of it. I stopped playing about 15 hrs in. I have no explanation at all, just didn't like it then and didn't like it now. My roommate has played FF1-6 and was halfway through 7 when Dragon Age was bought. She liked most of the FF series, but fell in love with the amount of depth in the party members in DA:O. She hasn't touched 7 since we got DA:O, I made her try Oblivion thinking that I was just weird in not liking it and she played maybe 5 hours and said she was done with it.

I started her playing Fable 2 last night, gonna see how she likes it. I never played it, played the first one and enjoyed it somewhat, figured it was worth a shot for her. What is "odd" to me is that when she plays DA:O, she chooses different races each time...but almost the same party member/storyline decisions. She changes little things each time, but almost always plays the same person herself. I play extremely different characters each time. First playthrough was goody goody, second playthrough was just a dick to everyone, etc. To each their own I guess...I just think I would get bored playing through that similar of a story each time like she has with just subtle differences. She's working on her fourth playthrough now, I am on my fifth. This is probably my last one for awhile, maybe one more to try arcane warrior tanking, 'till some more content gets released for download.

**Rowe** · 2009-12-29 11:04

I started 3 new characters and I keep ending up with the same party build. I want to try something different but it just seems to efficient to me to stick with Morrigan, Alistair and Leliana as my standard party set up.

I don't know if it was supposed to be this way but on my 1st play through I played human noble warrior and I specialized with champion and templar at lvl 24 I max'd champion and templar trees. I max'd everything in dual wield and warrior and I was just ripping through stuff and was able to backup tank. It seemed I was tougher than Alistair tanking as a dual wielder with heavy armor vs Alistair in Massive Armor with a shield.

I kept thinking I'd try a different party setup but it just doesn't seem to work as well for me. I tried using Sten and Shale as tank, couldn't find the right setup.

here is a nice mod for PC, it adds pre-order exclusive items to the camp merchant:
http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=200

and here is a fix for the bad teeth if it bugs you like it does me:
http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=44

and here is a stupid flash game that has 3 exclusive items you can get if you can stand playing it:
http://www.dragonagejourneys.com/

**Qalbert** · 2009-12-31 13:51

http://kotaku.com/5437942/dragon-age...oming-in-march

Product listings from retailers in New Zealand suggest a full retail expansion for Dragon Age: Origins is heading to the PC in March.

Eurogamer's Czech Republic site has posted an article detailing a new expansion for Dragon Age titled Dragon Age: Awakening. Apparently culled from product listings from unnamed websites in New Zealand, the land of movie extras, the new expansion is said to take place after the events of the original game, with a new character, a new origin story, and upwards of 15 hours of gameplay.

We've been scouring New Zealand's finest gaming websites, but so far have only been able to find a listing for Dragon Age: Awakening at The Game Station, where the PC version is listed at $69.95 NZD and the Xbox 360 version listing for $10 NZD more. There is no PlayStation 3 version listed. Eurogamer.cz says the expansion will retail for two-thirds the price of the full title, so that sounds somewhere in the vicinity of right, all things considered.

It's certainly a plausible rumor. BioWare is committed to providing new content for Dragon Age, and a new expansion would sure taste great right about now. We've contacted BioWare for comment, but considering the holidays, we aren't holding our breath.

**Odesseiron** · 2009-12-31 13:52

Adding more to Qal's post

from 1up:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177480

We know that EA and BioWare have a long-term plan for Dragon Age: Origins. Even at launch the developer stated that two years worth of of DLC are in the works, and we'll be receiving our first major bit of it next week. But a rumor is circulating today that the plans may be even more ambitious than we realized, with a full packaged expansion planned for March.
Big Download Blog reports on a page from Eurogamer.cz, the Czech gaming site. According to the translated text, the expansion is titled "The Awakening," and will come out on March 19. The suggested price is around 2/3 the price of the original game, which would probably translate to $30-40 U.S. dollars. It's also said to be a full packaged product that would be found in stores, and while only the PC version is mentioned, we expect BioWare would similarly support the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. The original game is reported to be required, and it will raise the level cap while also creating an entirely new, shorter campaign with a new character. The report states that EA will make the announcement official in early January, so we may see it any day now.

We don't usually see such specificity in a rumor, so it's hard not to think Eurogamer is on to something. Origins was always meant to be the start of a lucrative RPG franchise -- it's even present in the title. Still, until we hear official word from EA, we're going to categorize this strictly as a rumor. We'll keep you posted when, and if, we get more details.

**Insanecyclone** · 2009-12-31 13:58

Yeah so I originally pirated the game but deleted it last month and now I actually want to own it.

Is the digital deluxe worth it? The extra items looks like it would be great to use but how is the warden's keep dlc?

I missed out on steam's sale of the digital and normal versions of the game a couple days ago.

edit: nvm bought normal

**Byrd** · 2009-12-31 14:09

Originally Posted by Insanecyclone

Is the digital deluxe worth it? The extra items looks like it would be great to use but how is the warden's keep dlc?

I played through the Warden's Keep DLC last night, took me about 90 minutes, best guess. The storyline was enjoyable enough, and it allowed me to pick up some additional abilities and gear, and also introduces a "Party Chest" where you can store additional stuff without either selling it, tossing it, or donating it to your war allies.

**Katlan** · 2009-12-31 14:12

Originally Posted by Byrd

I played through the Warden's Keep DLC last night, took me about 90 minutes, best guess. The storyline was enjoyable enough, and it allowed me to pick up some additional abilities and gear, and also introduces a "Party Chest" where you can store additional stuff without either selling it, tossing it, or donating it to your war allies.

what lv do you need to be for that dlc? I want to get it early for the chest but just started the game. Spent like 2hrs last night just toying around w/ gear and stuff lol

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