Dragon Age - Origins

[VH]

I am trying to decide which class / build to go with.

This will be my second attempt at the game. The first one was a Mage. I got through Redcliffe / Mages Tower, and Elf Forest (Bercillian?) before I lost it all to a computer crash. I was enjoying the game with Mage, but I have to say that it suffered from very polar gameplay. Either I was trouncing everything I came into contact with, or in very rare cases the game was terribly difficult (but I didn't really mind that so much). I did very much like the options that Mage offered... but, I got to where... I felt like I was way too overpowered, and more importantly that the game developed a rinse/repeat effect. Every fight was pretty much the same spell combo. The options ended up not meaning a whole lot, except in a few encounters. Also, playing healer was very underwhelming as the timers made doing the job pointless, and I realized that the best healer in the game is the one who makes potions.

I've heard that Rogue is fun, though there is a lot of debate on how to build a good Rogue.

I've also heard that Warrior is pretty monotonous and dull regardless of build, and the Templars are nothing like Paladins. That's disappointing, especially as I love playing Beat Your Head in Tanks, Knights in Shining Armor, and Paladins. From all reports, the NPC tanks are fine in this role, and it's best to be a DPS Mage or Rogue. Sten and Alistair seemed to do fine when I was playing my Mage, and while their jobs looked kinda boring I was a little envious of not being the star of the fight in the thick of it.

Most of the talk on the internet says Rogue and Mage are the most fun, and Warrior lags behind.

I'm curious what you guys think and if you have any suggestions.

 

[Barnabas]

Human Rouge, I found their story to be the most satisfying, not to mention dual wield combined with back stab makes you the most awesome guy on the planet. Outside of that Tank with a dwarf, noble or not, both of the origins are excellent. Also, all the specializations you unlocked on your first run should still be open, so if your looking to get in the thick of it with your mage, the Arcane warrior is very doable when you pick up the corresponding sword.

 

[VH]

When I say computer crash, I mean crash. I had to reformat and reinstall Windows. It's gone from my drive. Or are you saying this information is saved online somehow?

Also, I had the Arcane Warrior effect going. It was literally unfair, and I can't say I didn't love it. Though, I generally just ran around in light armor with a Staff. The fatigue and inability to cast without a staff was pretty restrictive as a Mage.

Thanks for the reply though. I think I'm going to give Rogue a go. Any build suggestions? I am really looking forward to killing the hell out of Logain.

 

[Barnabas]

When I say computer crash, I mean crash. I had to reformat and reinstall Windows. It's gone from my drive. Or are you saying this information is saved online somehow?

Also, I had the Arcane Warrior effect going. It was literally unfair, and I can't say I didn't love it. Though, I generally just ran around in light armor with a Staff. The fatigue and inability to cast without a staff was pretty restrictive as a Mage.

Thanks for the reply though. I think I'm going to give Rogue a go. Any build suggestions? I am really looking forward to killing the hell out of Logain.

I must of missed the part where you mentioned your computer crashing, sorry bout that. but as a far as builds go. I went for a dps and stuns, everything else I got was just a bonus. Duelist works best for that, followed by the assassin, Just remember you'll be a bit of a glass cannon so stay behind everything and don't get stuck in tight spaces.

 

[Reon]

I also played a Mage in Dragon Age - Origins and I ran into the same problems you're having. I started a dwarf rouge and I have to admit, even though it's pretty low level, I'm enjoying it thoroughly. You might like that. Still though, for the low levels, the game is going to be pretty mundane. Rogue does offer the ability to sneak around and do things like that so you might enjoy that.

 

[Radiantshadow]

Played the game through as a rogue, loved it.

Class builds: spec bard* and assassin
Stats: 20 strength, 20-25 cunning, leave constitution/magic/willpower alone, dump points into dexterity (+ small pointy-object damage, like daggers...)
The *best* race for a rogue is a dwarf, but everything tends to equalize by the end.

For talent guidance, follow this link and the below info:

Dirty Fighting tree: up to (and including) Coup de Grace (easier backstabs are worthwhile)
Below the Belt: up to (and including) Lethality (you spend a lot of time behind targets)
Stealth: depends on play style, if you are a hardcore Assassin-type then go all the way (stealth in/out of combat is fun, imo)

Dual-Wielding: up to/including Dual-weapon expert, everything else in the tree (Momentum is your friend, so is Whirlwind and Riposte)
Bard: everything, hence cunning upgrades (song of courage is beastly)
Assassin: everything (bleeds from Dualweapon Expert and Assassin bleed thing stack, I believe, and Mark of Death is wonderful in boss fights)

*if you use Leliana, use her for Bard and undoing traps/locks (saves four talent points, and she is good for ranged support). Spec dualist or, if you like fluffy critters with sharp teeth, ranger.



Mage stuff!

Though, I generally just ran around in light armor with a Staff. The fatigue and inability to cast without a staff was pretty restrictive as a Mage.

You can cast without a staff. There's even an AW-only sword found in the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest. AW is really overpowered though, like the Mage class in general. AW + Blood Mage = total annihilation, even when running solo.

 

[Lerxst]

Go Rogue, but even then, beware the monotony. Once you join the Gray Wardens, the game takes on a rinse-repeat mode no matter what you choose. After playing a Rogue, I simply played through all of the starter stories and then called it quits.

 

[eNeM]

I played through as a 2H Warrior (Beserker specifically, can't remember my second class), I thoroughly enjoyed it even though support characters are usually my preference in RPGs. Also like you read, don't bother playing a tank in Dragon Age (both 1 and 2), the NPCs handle it. If you just wanted to faceroll the game, just go Arcane Warrior/Blood Mage, but I hated playing that way as it was too easy.

 

[Barnabas]

If you want a challenge roll with an archer.

 

[VH]

If you want a challenge roll with an archer.

Oh? I find this interesting. Tell me more.

I'm actually having trouble with the stabby Rogue. The controls are 'clunky' to me, with my character frequently not moving into the positions I'm sending him in melee. He will frequently turn around away from his targets (back to back) and THEN throw a special ability, which of course annoyingly misses... or refuse to disconnect from a target when I need to move to a different opponent. Most annoying has got to be that instead of opening up with a special attack, he will ALWAYS attack from stealth with an auto attack, so when the special attack goes off the opponent is facing my character - which almost entirely defeats the purpose of sneaking up on them.

I feel like I'm herding ferrets when I play the melee rogue. He's not at all a good puppet, and since the class is very position sensitive this gets really annoying. I noticed this effect with the Warrior I made when I first got the game months ago, but it wasn't quite as annoying since the Warrior goes straight to their opponent and punches them in the face. It was only an issue when I needed to pull aggro off of someone.

As a point of note, I'm playing this game on PC, so maybe I'm expecting too much from a console port with respect to the movement mechanics. Also playing a Rogue in other games may have spoiled me.

At this point, I'm seriously considering just starting over with a Mage since it was a much better puppet that does what I tell it to. Also, healing people and throwing giant infernos is way cooler than kicking someone in the nuts and stealing their wallet. What can you say to entice me to the Archer?

 

[Barnabas]

Oh? I find this interesting. Tell me more.

I'm actually having trouble with the stabby Rogue. The controls are 'clunky' to me, with my character frequently not moving into the positions I'm sending him in melee. He will frequently turn around away from his targets (back to back) and THEN throw a special ability, which of course annoyingly misses... or refuse to disconnect from a target when I need to move to a different opponent. Most annoying has got to be that instead of opening up with a special attack, he will ALWAYS attack from stealth with an auto attack, so when the special attack goes off the opponent is facing my character - which almost entirely defeats the purpose of sneaking up on them.

I feel like I'm herding ferrets when I play the melee rogue. He's not at all a good puppet, and since the class is very position sensitive this gets really annoying. I noticed this effect with the Warrior I made when I first got the game months ago, but it wasn't quite as annoying since the Warrior goes straight to their opponent and punches them in the face. It was only an issue when I needed to pull aggro off of someone.

As a point of note, I'm playing this game on PC, so maybe I'm expecting too much from a console port with respect to the movement mechanics. Also playing a Rogue in other games may have spoiled me.

At this point, I'm seriously considering just starting over with a Mage since it was a much better puppet that does what I tell it to. Also, healing people and throwing giant infernos is way cooler than kicking someone in the nuts and stealing their wallet. What can you say to entice me to the Archer?

the archer lacks any kind of decent equipment early game, they can't dish out the damage like a mage an from a distance, you don't get to take advantage of most of the rouges awesome abilities. It's biggest advantage is that it can slow and deter enemies from a distance with skills like pinning shot. He's not very fun to play, but well you could be an elf and pretend the darkspawn are Orcs.

I can't say how the movement mechanics work for the computer, on the PS3 I controlled my rouge almost exclusively only taking hold of other character to set up corridors and ambushes. I can only imagine that the PC is a worlds difference when it comes to moving.

 

[VH]

the archer lacks any kind of decent equipment early game, they can't dish out the damage like a mage an from a distance, you don't get to take advantage of most of the rouges awesome abilities. It's biggest advantage is that it can slow and deter enemies from a distance with skills like pinning shot. He's not very fun to play, but well you could be an elf and pretend the darkspawn are Orcs.

I played one of my early save points with an archer and quickly found that doing so involves even more switching between the party and my character than standard Rogue - as my party has very little tactical initiative. Even with the "Tactics" options, you're really just adapting the reactive AI. The NPCs follow your lead unless you operate them manually. They will not take the initiative to perform their roles... for example, the tanks won't stay in front of you and jock the aggro.

Having to keep switching roles is a disruption to the flow that pulls me out of character, as I like the first person shooter play style. One of the biggest reasons I didn't mind the squad in Mass Effect was the fact that the squad had good tactics and getting them to do things never involved leaving my character. I like to feel like I am the character while I am playing for the suspension of reality. Constantly switching mans just makes me hyper aware that I'm playing a video game.

It's becoming clear that I need to flush the idea of Rogue. It's not meshing with my expectations, most likely because I've played Rogue in other games that are much more intuitive about how to perform those functions... and my expectations are... well... let's say more refined than most people.

I can't say how the movement mechanics work for the computer, on the PS3 I controlled my rouge almost exclusively only taking hold of other character to set up corridors and ambushes. I can only imagine that the PC is a worlds difference when it comes to moving.

Yeah, it's annoying. Poor Rogue. He has to die.

So... should I try to play as a Warrior, and if so what build would you (anyone) suggest? I've read all manner of perspectives on this. It seems like the consensus from the people who've thought beyond "MY DPS PWNZ!" is the following... 2 Handed relies almost entirely on buffing the auto attacks, making this a much better NPC build if used at all. Dual Wield is great DPS, but lacks a lot of important defensive utility... leaving sword and board, which is apparently a solid build for DPS and tanks like a champ. From what I've seen from Bioware, they design each of their games around a certain build/class, and then everything else is an exaggeration that may or may not work from there. Dragon Age was clearly designed for the sword and board Warrior human noble. I guess I should give it a go... and run with Alistair, Wynne, and any appropriate party member, usually a DPSer.

Wow... I just wasted a lot of time writing this up.

/facepalm

Arcane Warrior / Spirit Healer - Paladin Build 4 teh W1N~!!!

 

[Barnabas]

I played one of my early save points with an archer and quickly found that doing so involves even more switching between the party and my character than standard Rogue - as my party has very little tactical initiative. Even with the "Tactics" options, you're really just adapting the reactive AI. The NPCs follow your lead unless you operate them manually. They will not take the initiative to perform their roles... for example, the tanks won't stay in front of you and jock the aggro.

Having to keep switching roles is a disruption to the flow that pulls me out of character, as I like the first person shooter play style. One of the biggest reasons I didn't mind the squad in Mass Effect was the fact that the squad had good tactics and getting them to do things never involved leaving my character. I like to feel like I am the character while I am playing for the suspension of reality. Constantly switching mans just makes me hyper aware that I'm playing a video game.

It's becoming clear that I need to flush the idea of Rogue. It's not meshing with my expectations, most likely because I've played Rogue in other games that are much more intuitive about how to perform those functions... and my expectations are... well... let's say more refined than most people.



Yeah, it's annoying. Poor Rogue. He has to die.

So... should I try to play as a Warrior, and if so what build would you (anyone) suggest? I've read all manner of perspectives on this. It seems like the consensus from the people who've thought beyond "MY DPS PWNZ!" is the following... 2 Handed relies almost entirely on buffing the auto attacks, making this a much better NPC build if used at all. Dual Wield is great DPS, but lacks a lot of important defensive utility... leaving sword and board, which is apparently a solid build for DPS and tanks like a champ. From what I've seen from Bioware, they design each of their games around a certain build/class, and then everything else is an exaggeration that may or may not work from there. Dragon Age was clearly designed for the sword and board Warrior human noble. I guess I should give it a go... and run with Alistair, Wynne, and any appropriate party member, usually a DPSer.

Wow... I just wasted a lot of time writing this up.

/facepalm

Arcane Warrior / Spirit Healer - Paladin Build 4 teh W1N~!!!

Sounds like a plan, leveling ill be pretty straight forward, just decide how you want to tank. The real problem I ran into with playing the warrior is that he didn't mesh with the team I liked. Playing with Allistar and Morrigain as the two who pretty much never left the party(mostly for the comedy) with Ohgren thrown around for the rest of the time, running another tank seemed pointless. So you'll need to pick up your team to match your skills, role with Zevran, Morigan and who ever else you think will cover the situation best. Leliana is a decent archer and gets the some of the best bows for it if you wanted to mix your team up, Wynn will give you a healer which will protect sevran and morigan in case you lose aggro, Sten, Allistar and Ohgren will add another buffer between your mage and your rouge, which is always nice. Dog is kinda fun to have around If you an't make up your mind.

 

[VH]

I caved and tried the Rogue some more because he was on a few quest lines I hadn't done yet with the Mage and quickly found myself having to switch to the Mage NPCs every time I encountered groups larger than my party. I wasn't switching because it was easier for me to play a Mage. I was switching because the only way to get through those scenes was to manually make use of the AoE. (I really shouldn't expect the AI to be clever enough to maximize it. That would be pretty intricate.)

So.

Yeah, mister Rogue has seen his last scene.

Back to Mage it is... seeing as I realized that the gameplay is going to be monotonous regardless of what I build, and the Mage is a sure fire way to get through the plot quickly. At this point, I just want to watch the movie and find out what happens.

 

[VH]

No. I mean the cinematic in the video game. At this point, I just want to know what happens. I don't care to play it anymore. In fact... I'm trying to decide which I care less about... finding out what happens in the story line or playing through the monotonous combat scenes with three classes that are all dull. I'm starting to think it's going to be the latter.