Dragon Age: Origins

[jms493]

I am thinking I am too low of level for Denerim. I am getting my ass kicked in the back alleys. Also I am doing something wrong with Allistar....I mean he taunts and threatens and he gets killed in like 10 seconds cause the whole horde just focuses us him. Then it is just me and my 2 Mages. I am level 12 or 13.

Help?!?

 

[JayDizzle]

In order to Tank correctly, Alistair (or your own character if you choose) needs a LOT of points pumped into his DEX rating.

Basically this helps him avoid most physical attacks and block more on occasion.

Other than that, it's just a matter of getting the right gear (balancing Armor with Fatigue ratings) and making sure that he has enough Health Poultices/Healing Spells to keep him alive.

 

[killgod]

What kind of skills do you and your mages have to crowd control?

I'm not sure what you chose yourself as, but I'd assume he's being overwhelmed and needs some help controlling the mobs.

p.s. did you try and defeat the high dragon during the urn quest?

 

[Maynard]

for alistar...or any tank, those are some of the worst powers in the game imo. leveling him up is the least exciting thing to me because of his style. a templar with shield equals the crappiest powers in the game. on the flip side its the easiest to manage.

warrior talents leave alot to be desired. Seems your best bet is passive talents in that tree.
Shield and Weapons tree. which is where u will want to focus most points. Look at anything thats an activated talent. your will have no choice but to waste points into passive or sustained talents (sustained are almost worthless for this type of player) to get the more powerful activated talents.

setup you tactics to use the activated talents in the appropriate situation. Remember that using sustained talents like threaten use up alot of stamina. When the stamina is all used up, your guy is fucked.

I suggest no more than 2 sustained talents for each member at least until u get more powerful. Focus more on the weapons talents rather than the warrior tree talents. The 2 handed weapon, archer and even duel weapon talents are the best in battle

you will also want to try and get the choicest spells for your mage. Problem is you dont know which are best and cant change it once u selected them.

here is a link for class specific talents and weapon talents for just tanks and archers (includes the awakenings stuff that wont be available to you in origins)
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Talents

here is a link for mages
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Mages

for a mage here is the best - imo
Blood Mage, Spirit Healer (get all 4 talents in both trees) - Arcane is great too, sub it for spirit if possible)
Arcane (the Purple ones, get all 4)

Primal Tree
Fire - (get all 4)
Skip Earth (although spells 4 then 2 in combination are deadly)
Cold - get all 4
Electrical (get 1-3...4 sucks)

Skip the creation tree….it blows and a spirit healer offers better stuff

Spirit Tree.
Skip the 1st and 2nd rows
Death – talents 1-3 (Priority)
Telekinesis (get all 4…crushing prison is a must! Combine force field with crushing prison

Skip Entropy….it has 1 or 2 good spells, but they are 4th row and the others are worthless.

Ok so that’s a lot of points and will take some time. But once u get there your mages will do devastating damage

 

[jms493]

I am a Human Rogue. But I am more of an offensive type as my Strength and Dex are pretty high. As you know it is best when I back stab. Therefore I want enemies to be attacking someone else as I come along and stab them from behind. Stunning an enemy and attacking is my best offense (I think).

I am not doing the Urn mission yet. I am trying to do side missions to level up my players so I don't get killed in those missions. Right now There are 2 back alleys in Denerim that I want to clean up but I am getting killed just traveling in between them. I am not totally sure my characters are leveled up properly either...I might have fucked them up a little.

My Party I have been using for a while.
Allistair - Taunts and Threatens and gets killed in 10 secs
Myself - Human Rogue
Wynne - Heals only
Morrigan - Attacks from Range

 

[killgod]

I haven't played DA in a while and I play too many fantasy themed games to remember what goes where....but...

Can't you as a rogue do things like blind, or stun, or whatever? To disarm or whatever a guy?

Then does Morrigan have any confuse type spells that could help? That you could trigger if Alistair needs help?

 

[Maynard]

what is your focus for your rogue? archer, duel, 2 handed or shield...or a combo?

 

[jms493]

I haven't played DA in a while and I play too many fantasy themed games to remember what goes where....but...

Can't you as a rogue do things like blind, or stun, or whatever? To disarm or whatever a guy?

Then does Morrigan have any confuse type spells that could help? That you could trigger if Alistair needs help?

Yeah thanks for the help guys. I am clearly not diving into the details of battling. I need to do more research and figure out the best approach. This Wiki guide is pretty sweet though.

Am I a total idiot is or this stuff really complicated?

 

[jms493]

what is your focus for your rogue? archer, duel, 2 handed or shield...or a combo?

Well I wasted a point on a archer Weapon talent and I don't want to go that route. I want to eventually get the Dual Weapon Mastery. Therefore I am going that route. Right now I am fighting with a sword and shield. My rogue is always the last to get killed and usually kills the most enemies.

 

[killgod]

Yeah thanks for the help guys. I am clearly not diving into the details of battling. I need to do more research and figure out the best approach. This Wiki guide is pretty sweet though.

Am I a total idiot is or this stuff really complicated?

It's a strategic game more than action, so what you're experiencing would be expected by someone not familiar with this genre, even more so with Bioware if you've not played any of their older games (Icewind Dale, Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights). Those games were far more unforgiving and much more strategic. Dragon Age would be considered much more "dumbed down" to be honest.

Bioware's roots are D&D, so I could imagine those not familiar with that would find it a bit overwhelming.

 

[Maynard]

i wish they had the tomes from awakening that allow u to redistribute your points. not knowing what is cool and what isnt sucks when u are stuck with powers u dont want.

being a duel weapon rogue is pretty cool. some of the talents in that tree are alot of fun to use. i built up zeveran as a that kind of rogue because thats kind of how he started.

i believe u may want to hit up the bar in denerim. there is a lesson to be learned there.

For the rogue, it wasnt my role, but for liana and zeveran i used a combo of things based on their style. Since Zev is a duel weapon guy, here is what i used for him and what i think are the best items for a rogue

Assassin and Duelist for the special skills
Assassin has its #1 power Mark of Death - u want that. The rest of the tree is passive so its up to you how much u want to invest
Duelist- all 4 of the powers under this tree are great.

getting Device Mastery is a must
i also went full stealth for my guy.
I also tried to get the 4th power for all 4 rows of the Duel Weapons tree. that entire tree is pretty bad ass. Whirlwind, Punisher and Unending Furry....they are great

 

[jms493]

i believe u may want to hit up the bar in denerim. there is a lesson to be learned there.

For the rogue, it wasnt my role, but for liana and zeveran i used a combo of things based on their style. Since Zev is a duel weapon guy, here is what i used for him and what i think are the best items for a rogue

I have Zeveren in my party but how do I get him out into the party so I can talk to him?

I did hit the bar and caught that chick cheating.....she gave me a Specialization. I also fucked a short fat chick for shits and giggles.

 

[Maynard]

the specialization is wha i was talking about...not the fatty

just go back to your camp to chat with zeveran. get his approval up

u should be able to get him to go out with you right away...is something preventing that? there may be a mini quest to get him to join....u gotta kill some fools for him to get him to join...if i recall

 

[jms493]

the specialization is wha i was talking about...not the fatty

just go back to your camp to chat with zeveran. get his approval up

u should be able to get him to go out with you right away...is something preventing that? there may be a mini quest to get him to join....u gotta kill some fools for him to get him to join...if i recall

I got him to join I just have to go back to camp.....is that the only reason to go back to camp? I havent gone back to camp once since I was there in the beginning.

 

[killgod]

I got him to join I just have to go back to camp.....is that the only reason to go back to camp? I havent gone back to camp once since I was there in the beginning.

The camp is a bit like the Normany from ME. You can have dialogue with your mates and get quests from doing so, have some boner time, and there's a few things you can buy from that merchant that are worthwhile.

There's actually something, (you may have missed out on unless you did it by chance), but there's a bug with the merchant (may have been patched, not sure) where his inventory will "reset" after the first camp encounter with him. He sells a inventory upgrade thinger, so you can essentially get two of them if you get one right away.

 

[Maynard]

wow...no base camp....lol

thats where almost all of the dialog takes place. u can get their approval there...plus the vendor and of course

ENCHANTMENT

 

[jms493]

wow...no base camp....lol

thats where almost all of the dialog takes place. u can get their approval there...plus the vendor and of course

ENCHANTMENT

Lulz....ok ok...I will try and get back there today...not really sure how I get there. I have some runes too....I need my swords enchanted.

I feel like such a fucking NOOB! I want to try and learn this game before 2 drops. I am hooked now. The stories are great.

 

[killgod]

Lulz....ok ok...I will try and get back there today...not really sure how I get there. I have some runes too....I need my swords enchanted.

I feel like such a fucking NOOB! I want to try and learn this game before 2 drops. I am hooked now. The stories are great.

From the looks of things, 2 will play much different than 1 and since the games are pretty much unrelated outside of being part of the same "world", no pressure to learn it for the sequel.

Just enjoy the ride.


I would also recommend, when you do finish the game, that you play the expansion and that you play through the other opening origin stories. Lots of good content to be had once you finish.

Do you have any of the DLC at all?



p.s. all this DA talk makes me want to do another run!

 

[jms493]

From the looks of things, 2 will play much different than 1 and since the games are pretty much unrelated outside of being part of the same "world", no pressure to learn it for the sequel.

Just enjoy the ride.


I would also recommend, when you do finish the game, that you play the expansion and that you play through the other opening origin stories. Lots of good content to be had once you finish.

Do you have any of the DLC at all?

no not yet.....this game is enough right now. Awakening I will probably get if I finish this in time...otherwise I will skip it all and just start fresh with 2.

2 looks a little bit more user friendly....better for dopes like me!

 

[killgod]

no not yet.....this game is enough right now. Awakening I will probably get if I finish this in time...otherwise I will skip it all and just start fresh with 2.

2 looks a little bit more user friendly....better for dopes like me!

I would highly recommend you explore getting the Warden Keep DLC ASAP, if you're willing.

It's a good sidequest, meant to be done earlier in the game and gives your tank a good set of armor (recall needing help cause he's getting owned?) and gives you a chest to store items in.

Getting Shale is so-so, I never used him much but his commentary can be pretty good at times.



edit: read that they patched in a chest, so you may not need that DLC.