Dragon Age troubles

[Mr.Black]

DICLAIMER: Possible spoilers for the first hour or two of Dragon Age.

I'm an RPG fan, but not a big enough fan to really get the insides of RPGs. I'm always fearful in a game where I cannot "respec" (so to speak) that I will make dumb skill choices and make my character into some crazy all-rounder clown that's really not that good at anything.

Cue Dragon Age. I've played the human start area twice as a warrior. The first time I played I went with sword n' board skill choices and later realised that maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea in the long run, seeing as the other bloke... Alistair (yay I remembered) is already toting a sword and shield. Plus I felt like I didn't really bring that much to the combat table.

I didn't get much further than meeting Duncan and escaping the castle on that first play-through until I decided to switch it up. I went for a more barbarian approach and started chucking points into might blows, pummel, all that two-hander jank. I played for a bit longer and got so far as lighting the beacon (inc spoiler!) and seeing the king die. By the way, that boss demon guy at the top of the tower was freaking hard! It became basically a kite session with me dragging him around while an archer and the mage slowly whittled him down.

Anyway, what I'm really getting at is, what's a good skill set or skill tree I should invest in? I just feel kinda weak and useless in combat right now, albeit it is only the start of the game, but I'm constantly getting owned and missing half of my attacks! What's the best for a warrior?

 

[Flamezdudes]

Warrior's are quite weak as Tanks early on, so you gotta wait to get more skills and armor. I can't say much on Two Hander charecters.

 

[_Janny_]

If you're missing a lot of attacks then pour more points into Dexterity and Constitution, I'd say. And I know it's considered a sin of some kind, but just lower the difficulty if you're too frustrated, games are supposed to be fun, not annoying.

I doubt there's a better skill tree to choose than another, I know I totally ignored it. Just go with your gut. Or try switching your companions around until you level up and get stronger. I played as a warrior, brought Sten and Alistair for extra massacre power and Wyn healed us. It worked as the perfect destructive combination for me.

 

[Amnestic]

I believe Dual Wield is best DPS tree for both warriors and rogues. Make sure you've patched your game to fix the problems with bows and daggers and dex scaling. Two-handers are slightly worse, but not by much.

You can be rid of Alistair as a party member by the first town after Ostagar if you still want to go sword and board. With the exception of the super secret party member at the end of the game, none of the other warriors are 'tanks', they're both two hander's. Or you can keep him around because he has funny conversation options. Your choice really.

But yeah, Dual Wield>2H>Archery>Sword+Board for damage afaik.

 

[GoldenRaz]

With the exception of the super secret party member at the end of the game, none of the other warriors are 'tanks', they're both two hander's.

Well, there is that one rock-solid (tee-hee) companion that fits the tank role quite nicely and is still a two-hander of sorts. That companion can also fit the archer, crowd control and/or totem role if you so wish.

Anyhoo, I doubt that there is a "best" option for all warriors, but if you really want to tank then you're probably best off going with sword 'n shield. Dual-wield does less damage per hit though hits at a faster rate than 2H, which instead does massive damage per hit and eventually breaks down armor automatically while also having a chance of stunning the foe. But sword 'n shield has the advantage of granting you quite large bonuses to armor and defense, if I'm not mistaken.
Can't say much for archery, but I don't think it's much of an alternative for what you're after.

If you want your attack to hit more often, invest some points into primarily the Strength attribute, but some points into Dexterity won't hurt.
Strength will also let you get heavier armor, so there's that as well.

 

[Amnestic]

With the exception of the super secret party member at the end of the game, none of the other warriors are 'tanks', they're both two hander's.

Well, there is that one rock-solid (tee-hee) companion that fits the tank role quite nicely and is still a two-hander of sorts. That companion can also fit the archer, crowd control and/or totem role if you so wish.

True enough, but I don't really count her as a Warrior due to her unique talents and gear set. Same with your faithful, furry Dog.

 

[GrimFandango92]

go duel wield for dps and spreading damge on multiple targets, leave 2H to npcs same with bows, but if you want that heavy hitter achievment(360) get arrow of slaying, but other than that duel and sheild are great but mainly when you max it out, I'm on my second playthroughnow and using duel wield