Getting brutally murdered in DA

[Leviathan_]

Fellow Escapees, I almost find myself at a loss for words here. I recently picked up Dragon Age (I know, I know, better late than never) being in the mood for playing some RPG's. The tactical part of the game seemed really interesting to me as a huge strategy game fan and since I really enjoyed Bioware's other games I decided to buy it.

I've played a number of RPG's in my past including Mass Effect, KotOR, Borderlands and the Fallout games. And yet, despite playing the game on Normal mode, I am getting slaughtered in this game. I do not have a clue as to why this is happening, as I always found RPG's like Fallout, Mass Effect and Borderlands ridiculously easy even on higher difficulty levels.

And don't think I'm having a hard time getting through a boss fight or anything, as- (See spoiler)

Spoiler

I am currently in the early stages of the game, where you go to the tower to light the beacon. But of course something goes wrong and you have to fight more than 8 million Darkspawn. I've died several times so far and am running low on potions (Which may have something to do with me forgetting to buy some extra potions before the quest).

So am I just horrible at RPG's all of the sudden? Or is this game supposed to be really hard? Or am I retarded for not stacking up on potions?

For the record, I am playing as a Human warrior.

And NO, I am not switching over to easy to play this game, I still have SOME pride... Somewhere... I think.

 

[Merkavar]

when i died in the game it was normally because my team/group got me killed. normally with frost a mage frost cone/freezing everyone so we all just get killed.

maybe if there are 8 million darkspawn you are going in the wrong direction and might need to look for a different direction.

if you are near the start maybe change it to easy and see if you can get past the point you are stuck on. if you cant then i would guess you arent meant to get past. if you can then change back to normal and do it again.

 

[DustyDrB]

Study the talents you have available and know your role.

The Dragon Age Wiki [http://dragonage.wikia.com] has tons of information on how to use talents and the most effective ways to build your character.

You and Alistair should be drawing the most aggression from enemies. Have the rogue attack enemies from the back (hence "backstabbing") for damage bonuses. Make sure you're using the proper buffs (Sustained Talents and Spells). Target more dangerous enemies (especially enemy mages, who can do some nasty Area of Effect spells) first. You don't have as many options early in the game, so how you prioritize enemies is a big deal.

If you're a Human Warrior, I think that means you have the dog with you already. Its Dread Howl is very useful for when you're surrounded, as it stuns all nearby enemies.

Other than that, you just have to be aware of the situation.

 

[MisterShine]

I've played a number of RPG's in my past including Mass Effect, KotOR, Borderlands and the Fallout games. And yet, despite playing the game on Normal mode, I am getting slaughtered in this game. I do not have a clue as to why this is happening, as I always found RPG's like Fallout, Mass Effect and Borderlands ridiculously easy even on higher difficulty levels.

At first I was like, hmm, he could play Fallout 2 on Hard and thought it was easy but Dragon Age is giving him trouble? That is peculiar.. then I realized you're probably talking about 3 and New Vegas.

Yeah, welcome to the big boy RPG's

So am I just horrible at RPG's all of the sudden? Or is this game supposed to be really hard? Or am I retarded for not stacking up on potions?

For the record, I am playing as a Human warrior.

Well the real issue is that you don't have a mage to heal/buff your party, and without that the game is kind of a *****. If you must, go back a couple of saves and take a point in herbalism (or make Alistair do it) so you can MAKE your own health pots (don't buy them, they're stupidly overpriced) and if you insist on playing on normal then make sure you set up the tactics slots for your party members. Alistair needs to have his shield defenses and threaten up, have him and other party members stun enemies that are hurting you.. and make sure you use your abilities on the right enemies at the right time. Archers/Mages die first. What class/build are you using? Also, PC or console?

edit: Ah, warrior. I remembered it as noble. What skill tree are you focusing in though?

 

[Leviathan_]

Playing it on PC with just the vanilla game.

Focusing on Shield stuff and Archery, because derp.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll be putting it to good use and teach this game some manners.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Playing it on PC with just the vanilla game.

Focusing on Shield stuff and Archery, because derp.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll be putting it to good use and teach this game some manners.

It'll get easier as you grow to understand the mechanics. I found that doing each of the six origins before playing the game in earnest taught me a lot.

 

[imnot]

Fellow Escapees, I almost find myself at a loss for words here. I recently picked up Dragon Age (I know, I know, better late than never) being in the mood for playing some RPG's. The tactical part of the game seemed really interesting to me as a huge strategy game fan and since I really enjoyed Bioware's other games I decided to buy it.

I've played a number of RPG's in my past including Mass Effect, KotOR, Borderlands and the Fallout games. And yet, despite playing the game on Normal mode, I am getting slaughtered in this game. I do not have a clue as to why this is happening, as I always found RPG's like Fallout, Mass Effect and Borderlands ridiculously easy even on higher difficulty levels.

And don't think I'm having a hard time getting through a boss fight or anything, as- (See spoiler)

Spoiler

I am currently in the early stages of the game, where you go to the tower to light the beacon. But of course something goes wrong and you have to fight more than 8 million Darkspawn. I've died several times so far and am running low on potions (Which may have something to do with me forgetting to buy some extra potions before the quest).

So am I just horrible at RPG's all of the sudden? Or is this game supposed to be really hard? Or am I retarded for not stacking up on potions?

For the record, I am playing as a Human warrior.

And NO, I am not switching over to easy to play this game, I still have SOME pride... Somewhere... I think.

I was planning on making this exact thread
(im a rouge)

 

[Axolotl]

For the record, I am playing as a Human warrior.

Play a mage, or at least use the two you get given. Once you start abusing the stun effects the whole game gets a hell of alot easier.

 

[Woodsey]

Fallout is a completely different type of RPG, as are the Mass Effect games, and KotOR's got a far less difficult combat system.

You need at least basic knowledge of how to organise your party member's abilities to play the game. You need at least one mage for healing (I normally had another to deal damage), and you could get away with using 2 warriors then probably as well.

Bear in mind that in some areas, you'll simply have to come back later.

 

[DustyDrB]

Focusing on Shield stuff and Archery, because derp.

Yeah, not a great build. Definitely do one or the other. Archery is crazy powerful later in the game.

 

[MisterShine]

Playing it on PC with just the vanilla game.

Focusing on Shield stuff and Archery, because derp.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll be putting it to good use and teach this game some manners.

Yeah, always pick a build and stick with it. Archery gets great later on but SUCKS when you start.

And since you're playing on PC, grab the respec mod here
http://social.bioware.com/project/469/

then if you don't like your builds or ability point spread (for you or your companions) you can shuffle them around as you please to build the party you like much easier.

Hope this helps.

 

[StriderShinryu]

DA:O sort of assumes you're familiar with the holy trinity of classes; a tank to draw enemies attention to them and suck up the damage, a healer and a damage dealer (or DPSer). If your team isn't functioning as a team, you're going to have issues.

As a warrior, you can do very well as a tank or a melee based damage dealer. Personally, I usually let one of my NPC members tank as with the right skills and tactics, they are very good at it. Set them up to heal themselves with items in particularly tough battles and you're golden. Alistair and Shale make great NPC tanks. When I let the NPC tank while playing as a warrior, I played varying roles. I would DPS when I could or if there were particularly annoying enemies in play, I would head off and deal with them personally.

I played most of the game without a really dedicated healer and did fine on the normal difficulty. Ideally you can have two mages in your party, one dedicated to damage dealing and the other mixed between healing and either damage dealing or buffing/debuffing.

The big thing to keep in mind is to grow characters and bring them with you as much for their roles in combat as anything else. When properly skilled up and with good tactics set, you really don't even have to manage them much at all and they'll be able to handle themselves.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

No you're not bad, normal can be pretty hard, I haven't gotten very far on it. I know there is a popular respec potion mod out there somewhere, not sure if you have to buy them or not but if you don't want to redo the first ~3 hrs it might be worth a look. Plus they are good for companions you get later in the game and are auto-leveled. And yea, don't want to split between the weapon styles

 

[darth.pixie]

Should have stacked up on potions. Maybe it's just me and the typical RPG mentality, but I have 10 potions of each for every party member, rope when in shows up in game (can't forget rope!), food, potion ingredients and just bits and pieces of everything.

My advice would be to just spend most points on Constitution (Endurance? I forget). Without at least 20~25 Constitution you and your party members will die often. Then again I played on Nightmare. You should have a mage so buff up. Flaming Sword does a nice bit of damage and I know the mage has it.

Warrior is one of the easiest classes in DA:O simply because all you need to do is have high hitpoints and Strength. Rogue is hardest, I believe because the game is not balanced. Also, stick to shield! Spreading your points thin on your first levels is not useful and not indicated. Especially since Archery is very weak unless you only focus on it and as a Warrior you need Strength not Dexterity or Cunning.

 

[Jamash]

Playing it on PC with just the vanilla game.

Focusing on Shield stuff and Archery, because derp.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll be putting it to good use and teach this game some manners.

Since you're playing it on PC, you should download the Character Respec mod:

http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14

It's easy to install and use, but it's not really game breaking.

It spawns a Crow at your party camp (and at the camp in Ostagar) and when you interact with it, you get a potion of Respecialization that allows you to reassign all your skills and talents (but not change class), which is useful if you want to try a different approach without restarting your game.

You may find that the game is easier if you try a different fighting style, plus you can recycle the Shield Bash talent that the Human Warrior starts with and put into something else, essentially gaining an extra talent if you decide to abandon the Weapon & Shield style and focus on 2 Handed, Duel Weapons or Archery styles instead.

It's also useful to carry an extra potion of Respecialization with you before you go to light the beacon, then you can used on your temporary Mage companion and assign him spells more to your liking (I made him a Creation mage and had him continuously heal and buff my character).

 

[Sniper Team 4]

This exact thread is popping up with alarming frequency. As you have already said that you will NOT be switching to easy--good for you by the way, I didn't either--prepare for much hurt at the beginning of the game. Once you get Morrigan, immediately have her learn Heal and set it so she uses it when any alley's health drops below 80%. You may think, "80%? That's not even a 1/4 of my life gone," but trust me, when dealing with enemies that can take half your life in a single hit, and the precious seconds it takes for Morrigan to register that the condition has been met, and then cast the actual spell, you're going to be hurting.

Now, for the part before you get Morrigan: If you are a mage, learn Heal you worry about keeping everyone else alive. Otherwise there are three skills you MUST learn early. For a warrior with sword and shield, learn Shield Bash. For two-handed warrior, learn Pommel strike. For a Rogue, learn Dirty fighting. Each move does no damage, but it incapacitates the target for a short time. Getting swarmed by three guys? Shield Bash one, Pommel Strike/Dirty Fighting the other, and quickly focus both attackers on the third guy. With luck, the third will die before the other two get back up. The game gets much easier once you get a mage, and when you get Wynn to learn Cleansing Aura (level 14), you will become unstoppable.

 

[KEM10]

Fellow Escapees, I almost find myself at a loss for words here. I recently picked up Dragon Age (I know, I know, better late than never) being in the mood for playing some RPG's. The tactical part of the game seemed really interesting to me as a huge strategy game fan and since I really enjoyed Bioware's other games I decided to buy it.

I've played a number of RPG's in my past including Mass Effect, KotOR, Borderlands and the Fallout games. And yet, despite playing the game on Normal mode, I am getting slaughtered in this game. I do not have a clue as to why this is happening, as I always found RPG's like Fallout, Mass Effect and Borderlands ridiculously easy even on higher difficulty levels.

And don't think I'm having a hard time getting through a boss fight or anything, as- (See spoiler)

Spoiler

I am currently in the early stages of the game, where you go to the tower to light the beacon. But of course something goes wrong and you have to fight more than 8 million Darkspawn. I've died several times so far and am running low on potions (Which may have something to do with me forgetting to buy some extra potions before the quest).

So am I just horrible at RPG's all of the sudden? Or is this game supposed to be really hard? Or am I retarded for not stacking up on potions?

For the record, I am playing as a Human warrior.

And NO, I am not switching over to easy to play this game, I still have SOME pride... Somewhere... I think.

I was planning on making this exact thread
(im a rouge)

Walk Alistair forward, you run behind (no need to stealth, I finished the game without a single point in that skill) and just hit them in the back with your dagger. Just keep stun skills around in case you get targeted.

And to both of you, the flaming weapons skill is useful, don't take it off unless you all go ranged for some reason.

 

[Polaris19]

In the future, here's a hint: Mages die first. No exceptions. If you let them run rampant they will destroy you and your party very quickly.

I agree with the other posts here about learning skills and having a mage with healing spells.

 

[DustyDrB]

We should group together and just make a post we can paste whenever this comes up: "The Dragon Age Essential Spells and Talents"

 

[rathorn14]

I agree with what others have said about sticking to one form of combat, but I'd add that you should pick talents carefully. for shields, get shield bash and then focus on the defensive talents, shield defense and shield block and so on. my first character was sword and board, and focusing on defense, I found that shield bash was sufficient for offense by itself until later on, once my character was a tank.

As for combat, you really should take advantage of the ability to customize A.I. tactics, and then micromanage in combat, focusing everyone on the most dangerous opponent, so you can bring it down asap. Also consider setting whoever else is a warrior in your party to attack enemies engaging your support character first. For the most part, it'll make them a reliable body guard for your healer, so you can focus on bringing down the bigger threats. The difficulty curve for fights in DA is pretty steep, but it's always the most difficult right in the beginning, and gets a lot easier once you systematically whittle down the enemy numbers.

Props for sticking to your guns and not lowering the difficulty, and good luck.