DRAGON AGE: LEARN IT NOW

I made this post on NeoGAF and thought it might help/entice some of you folks into playing! If you're curious, I made the mod list for chaos.



Hi, I really like Dragon Age, even though I'm only on my second run-through! There are some ORDERS OF BUSINESS TO DISCUSS here.

1) A friend is getting the game this weekend, so I wrote up a recommended mod list for him. It includes basic instructions for how to install stuff and in what order as well as a screenshot of where your override folder should be (it's seriously mostly drag-and-drop, so don't worry about being able to not remove it to save your ruined game or whatever if you mess up). I suggest getting RAVAGE for the loot and randomization even if you don't use it for extra difficulty. Most important mod is the helm remover.
Get the list here: http://pastebin.com/kG3CAxYk

2) I beat the game using Alistair, Morrigan and Zevran the entire time (I booted Alistair temporarily in the Deep Roads due to the forced party member). Because Morrigan states early on that she's not a healer, I refused to give her any Creation spells. I beat the game on Normal with only poultices for healing! Anybody who says you NEED a healer are lame; I am notoriously bad amongst my friends at videogames and yet I did it. Each boss took me at least five tries (the Ogre and Uldred both took at least ten, but shaddup), but I did it. It was terrific fun and really required me to think tactically. (Sidenote: I would have opened up my party a little, but I didn't have the DLC for Shale, I killed Leliana and Wynne and hated Oghren. Sten was boring and I switched Alistair to 2H anyway.)



3) H key is your favorite key. It switches between Follow and Hold - meaning that your companions can Hold their spot to set up ambushes. This is terrific for archers or mages you don't want getting dirty with cone or touch spells.

4) Don't fight Revenants unless you absolutely must or are on your second playthrough. Here's how I fight them (image below): a single tank either uses sustained Threaten or spams Taunt while using sword-and-board skills that also build threat (this might be part of Combat Tweaks only, but Shield Bash and Shield Pummel are tanking skills for me). Everybody else ranges. It's pretty simple, and works for big bosses that are alone. If they summon/have minions, however, somebody should be on clean-up duty. If the battle takes place over a wide spread of land, split up into two groups - have one group take out any mages, and another group keep the most dangerous foe occupied. This is very useful against mages because only part of your party will be hit by any area-of-effect spells!



5) Hold your horses for a minute and I'll upload some screenshots of my Tactics set-ups for you. I actively put points into my characters' Tactics skills to unlock new slots and also have Advanced Tactics, which adds more options (it does NOT unlock every slot to start. That's called "cheating, you little bugger.")

These are by the time I reach Redcliffe; I've already done the Circle of Magi quest.

Main Character: http://i51.tinypic.com/jzityw.jpg
-He's mainly a sword-and-shield secondary tank (or tank if I don't bring a second warrior); I only use the archery skills at specific times for bosses or picking off far-away mages
-He's pretty simple! The very first tactic is where it is because I want to knock that sucker down before he finishes casting - you don't want a fiery storm in your way, trust me
Alistair: http://i51.tinypic.com/2eek5uf.jpg
-Alistair's healing tactic has a very low setting because I try to stay on top of HP myself, but since he's a tank he needs an emergency option
-Once he gets another slot I'm going to have Shield Defense turn off automatically
-Shield Wall is better at low HP because it adds armor (damage mitigation), but is very costly to sustain. Shield Defense is "lighter" to cast/sustain but only adds to defense (evasion)
-Taunt is very important since he is my main tank if I bring him; I also control him a lot because he's hot. Errrr, I mean, because I like tanking!
Morrigan: http://i54.tinypic.com/24bitxh.jpg
-Morrigan stays alive via Drain Life and Death Magic.
-Whenever she uses her cone-shaped lightning spell it's because I set it up; I don't want her in the melee unless I'm directly controlling her
-She tries to debuff the scariest enemies first; I usually have her work on the second-most scary enemy
-By using Vulnerability Hex before Lightning, Lightning deals more damage
Leliana: http://i54.tinypic.com/53bkw.jpg
-Leliana's very, very first tactic is Below the Belt. She is an archer 85% of the time (sometimes I have her melee a mage or other ranged attacker) and so she doesn't want to be melee'd. Below the Belt staggers the enemy for a second due to, well, a stomp to the crotch (seriously, watch the animation sometime; it really is a crotchstomp)
-Song of Valor is great (increased stamina/mana regen) but when she's running out of stamina I'd rather she used it to kill stuff
-The armor stuff is mostly "please actually hit and weaken tanks plzkthnx." Notice that those specify her target and not "enemy" - meaning that she stays on top of one specific monster until it's down
-When her target is snipe'd to death, she revets to whoever I'm controlling's target (usually Derek or Alistair/Sten) and repeats
-Because I'm building her to get lots of criticals, I don't use Rapid Shot. I only have it because it's a requirement for other skills
Sten: http://i53.tinypic.com/mkcen7.jpg
-Sten focuses on passive and sustained abilities; while Alistair is a defensive tank, Sten rushes in and attracts attention just by yelling and swinging a giant hammer
-Threaten is his Taunt; it should always be active
-Indomitable makes him harder to kill and impossible to stun/knock over. NEVER FALTER
-Like other anti-mage tactics, Sten automatically rushes over to knock over (via Pommel Strike) any casters
-He has very, very little stamina due to stacking the sustained skills, so he only uses Mighty Blow when it's most effective
-When he gets another tactic slot he'll auto-target petrified enemies; I'll set up tactics so that he and Wynne hang out and petrify/critical foes together (same with Morrigan if I decide to take her down the Ice route)
Wynne: http://i53.tinypic.com/2l728.jpg
-Unlike Sten who has no stamina, Wynne has ridiculous Willpower and can easy stack tons of sustained spells while still being an effective healer and caster. As such, Spell Wisp (a sustained boost to Spellpower) is delicious
-I only use Group Heal and Earthquake when I command
-I'll switch "Alistair: Dead" to whoever my main tank is, but I've only used her in one dungeon so far so...! I don't want it to be set to anybody since if one person dies, it usually means we're going to wipe anyway or that the battle's almost over
-I prefer Morrigan overall (badass + Death Magic amuses me + BESPIDER/BEBEAR is good for crowd control/tanking in certain situations ("lots of mages around? Let me just TURN INTO A BEAR AND EAT THEM RARGH")), but Wynne is still useful

6) I have a huge album of DA:O screenshots. Take a look, if you're interested (beware of massive spoilers; first-time players should not look!).
Look here: http://tinypic.com/a/21nvs/1

Sailerius
I made Wynne a Blood Mage out of principle.

You are a horrible, horrible person I dislike you.

Jericho
if you want to be a two handed sword guy berserker is obvious first pick and after that templar is not so good and reaver/champion are on par with each other

TEMPLAR NOT SO GOOD WHAT

okay probably best for sword+board but I <3 Templars (actually in-game I'm decidedly pro-Mage, with the exception of the one Templar I take to my tent). I like the specialization, though. CLEANSE AREA is run in ad shout "no Paralysis plzkthnx"

yeah they can be brutal

try a random encounter ambush where you're surrounded by Darkspawn archers, doing melee and eventually an elite leader wades in ;_;

but see this is why I find them fun! Instead of "moar HP moar damage," these mods are "better AI! More variations!"