Dragon Age: Origins

[Wickedkitten]

i accidentally ended up killing one of them in the mage's tower, Whoops!

[Rikku]

Yes, you can, although be warned that Denerim is a minimum-level-10 area, so any combat may be quite hard if you're below that.

The market district should be safe enough though.

Excellent, thank you. I think my little party is about level 10.

Are quests the best for money making? I keep seeing things I want to buy but am struggling with cash.

[locke_211]

i accidentally ended up killing one of them in the mage's tower, Whoops!

I did the same! I've managed fine without, though. Gives me something to prioritise if I play through again!

[StephenM]

Okay, so, got this, like the feel generally - only done the origin bit for my human noble, now going on the joining up adventure or whatever they call it.

I went with human rogue for no apparent reason.

So here's the thing - combat. I know, I know. It just all seems so mental, since it's more brawling than cover-based, I don't seem to have enough time to position anyone or use their varied abilities - at least in mass effect, you could be safely in a position and set up what cool thing I want someone to do.

So, combat seems too mental. Should I be something other than a rogue?

I just want a crash course, really, on how I'm supposed to enjoy the combat. Right now I feel lost, which is a shame because I want a good RPG and this seems to be it!

[Rudi von Starnberg]

As a rogue, and presuming you're using dual daggers rather than a bow, you'll want to let other party members do most of the head-on fighting while you move around behind enemies and backstab them.

[Stolly]

Okay, so, got this, like the feel generally - only done the origin bit for my human noble, now going on the joining up adventure or whatever they call it.

I went with human rogue for no apparent reason.

So here's the thing - combat. I know, I know. It just all seems so mental, since it's more brawling than cover-based, I don't seem to have enough time to position anyone or use their varied abilities - at least in mass effect, you could be safely in a position and set up what cool thing I want someone to do.

So, combat seems too mental. Should I be something other than a rogue?

I just want a crash course, really, on how I'm supposed to enjoy the combat. Right now I feel lost, which is a shame because I want a good RPG and this seems to be it!

Your main character is just but a quarter of the team and you can flit between them all equally in every fight. I'm playing a main as a warrior this time but tend to switch to my rogue for leading the way into dungeons, stealthing up and opening chests as she goes. Your main has very little to do with it and at least one rogue in your team makes sense. When a fight kicks off I'll usually flit to my mage, fire off a couple of spells and then flit between the other team members (rogue, warrior, warrior) as I think fit.

[StephenM]

I think the other issue is that I want to, say, have someone further away shooting some arrows - but when I stop manually controlling them, they run in close and get a bad case of death.

Can I make them just stay there and do what I tell them?

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Switch them to Ranged behaviour instead of Default.

[JPR]

I think one of the problems may be that early on you just don't have much in the way of crowd control, sleep, cone of cold etc. It is quite easy to become overwhelmed by the enemy, but once you level a bit and you get some mage spells to handle the crowd it does become a lot more manageable and less crazy. I would recommend focusing on getting those as soon as you can for your mage.

Setting the tactics helps calm it down and make it more manageable. Set it so they automatically use the sustainable abilities such as momentum, shield wall etc so you don't have to worry about it. It's worth spending some time setting them up, seeing what you can do with them, having them use health poultices when health is low is a useful one. With rogue once you get momentum most of the abilities that do damage actually slow you down. Typically for fights I'd run the tank in use taunt, position the rogue behind for back stab and then let them go, then control the mages and the casting or keep an eye on the tank use a shield bash move if needed. I only really use more of the rogue moves on the harder monsters or if the rogue is holding a monster.

[The Sarge]

Awakening DLC Achievements

The Enduring Vigil 30G

Acquired all upgrades for Vigil's Keep

Awakening 50G

Completed Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Commander of the Grey 30G

Reached level 30

5 Secret Achievements - Total 140G.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/ne...ed-to-1375.html

[StephenM]

Thanks to everyone for the combat advice. It's just made me get into it enough to get further, and now some story seems to be kicking in and I'm remembering why I wanted to play the thing in the first place!

Setting up tactics is where I needed to be - ensuring that I've got someone who holds back and does ranged attacks is basically the only way I'm staying alive. Pleased to have a mage now, if she learns some healing type magic that'd be lovely.

Also it made a big difference to teach the dog a good howl (I forget what it's called) that stuns quite a wide area of enemies. I just need some way of him running ahead and doing the howl without me manually controlling him, then I'd be a happy man.

But yes, anyway, it's growing and I'm getting hooked. Thanks RLLMUK!

Edit: Forgot to mention - Inventory. Full. So quickly. That's upsetting, I'll have to sort my stuff out tonight.

[Mogster]

Edit: Forgot to mention - Inventory. Full. So quickly. That's upsetting, I'll have to sort my stuff out tonight.

If it hasn't been mentioned already, many shops sell bigger bags for your inventory, at increasingly higher prices of course. Once you've bought a few of those, space shouldn't be much of an issue any more.

[choddo]

ok this is taking the fucking piss.

Werewolves.

I signed up for werewolves. And they're tough enough.

not bastard

dragons

!

This is freaking impossible.

I think there's something ahead

No shit! And what do you suggest we can do about? We've only got 2 mages and 2 bloody meat shelds and left our pussy rogues at home and it still has us for breakfast.

Gah.

edit: hold on....

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Choddo, which dragon is it? If it's the one in the Kolkari Wilds, there is a peaceful way to resolve matters.

If you don't mind telling a few porkies.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Pretty sure he means the one in the temple in the Brecilian Forest. Just a juvenile, choddo! Man up and grow a pair!

[Space Renegade Ulala]

What, that thing? Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-it, it's barely a fuckin' whelp, man.

Choddo's dungeon fu is weak!

[choddo]

I'm only a pissy level 10 or 11 or something!

Everything slaughters me.

I hid from it, that worked. Cowardice is splendid.

[Jansh]

Its a harsh game choddo, but everything about it just glows 'love'. Its a real shame that they had to dedicate time and money into adapting this into consoles, ME2 seems to be just so console focused. So why bother with the PC version.

Having completed both, I'd say that DAO is Biowares Song of Ice and fire and ME2 is their Star Trek.

The ME combat system is still flawed.

[Stolly]

I've just handed the Orzammar gangster Jarvia her fat podgy dwarven arse .

Jesus my stolly girl warrior nowadays is one tough cookie; she went through all the rounds of the proving barely taking a scratch, solo where she had the chance, and if she'd had her way, would've done the final team fight that way too, which itself was a stroll in the park. Almost level 17 at the minute. Mind you Morrigan is still a bit of a fly in the ointment - she's had maybe 30 injuries so far on this play through to my main's 3 (with Alistair maybe 5 and Leliana in the 10 to 15 bracket) - I've possibly concentrated too much on her spell and willpower, her skimpy magey outfit isn't exactly what you'd call armour and she will insist on throwing out these hugely powerful area of effect spells or cone of colding the toughest enemies

[HappyCat]

I signed up for werewolves. And they're tough enough.

not bastard

dragons

!

You're playing a game called Dragon Age and you didn't expect

dragons

?

[the_buddha_of_gaming]

How can you play the Return to Ostagar DLC after you've finished the game? I can't see how you can access it.

[davejm]

The game creates a 'prologue' save when you finish the game, which has you back in camp prior to the last battle. You should see a new location on the world map.

[the_buddha_of_gaming]

The game creates a 'prologue' save when you finish the game, which has you back in camp prior to the last battle. You should see a new location on the world map.

Weird, I'm sure the last save is the

post-Coronation

. I'll have another look, cheers.

[davejm]

I died at the end, and Morrigan had buggered off. It put me back in camp, and I'm sure it mentioned the save file (which I think it labelled 'prologue') was set prior to the final battle - chronologically.

[Cosmic_Guru]

I died at the end, and Morrigan had buggered off. It put me back in camp, and I'm sure it mentioned the save file (which I think it labelled 'prologue') was set prior to the final battle - chronologically.

Yes that's how they get round that conondrum.

Gonna start a new game this evening - back to mage to get an awesome coven of 3 witches going and mop up the remaining achievements before the expansion pack comes out.

[JoeK]

After failing to get into this since buying it on launch, the game finally clicked with me a couple of days ago on a fresh start up.

It really is very, very good.

Just out of interest, I've not not done anything with the Circle of Magi, the Dwarves or the Elves yet (far too many things side-tracking me at the mo), but when you eventually do those big quests, how much of the game actually remains?

I mean, it's Epic at the moment, but it'd be great to know there's much more to get through after all that!

[Rudi von Starnberg]

There's a good 10 hours left after that at least, for most players.

[Stolly]

After failing to get into this since buying it on launch, the game finally clicked with me a couple of days ago on a fresh start up.

It really is very, very good.

Just out of interest, I've not not done anything with the Circle of Magi, the Dwarves or the Elves yet (far too many things side-tracking me at the mo), but when you eventually do those big quests, how much of the game actually remains?

I mean, it's Epic at the moment, but it'd be great to know there's much more to get through after all that!

My first play through with a handful of quests left undone (but with the DLC quests complete) took me 84 hours. I've done the wood elves, the humans and the circle of magi but am just about half way through the dwarf bit and haven't yet done the city elves and I'm at circa 45 hours and counting. Once the dwarves and city elves are done there's the landsmeet and other fannying about to before the big finale. I also have a couple of freaking great dragons on my to do list too.

[Mr.Jeff]

Fuck you dwarves. Fuck you for making your stupidly long fucking caves which I have to go back and forth through because I don't have enough inventory spaaaaaace.

As you may have guessed, I am miles deep into the Dead Trenches.

Aside from that, rather enjoying this. Competely gotten over my guilt of putting the game on easy mode.

[mayor_mike_haggar]

god this is such a heinous, joyless grind of a time sink. Can anyone please explain to me why I am playing it so obsessively?