If you have the ostagar dlc the armor you get for it is really good on a tanky built alister. Him and my rogue were able to solo large parts of the game.
Help me understand Dragon Age's combat
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People have covered a lot of the advice I'd give for Dragon Age, so I'll just add a few extra tips:
- Spend some time setting up your party members' tactics, especially where healing (both through using potions/poultices and actual healing spells) and supporting injured characters are concerned. This will free you up to focus on the specifics of the fight at hand. I think a lot of people ignore the tactics slots altogether, but honestly if you get it right it helps massively.
- Poultices. Make poultices. Harvest all the herbs. Stockpile the damn things.
- Have Wynne in your party at all times. She's the best healer in the game and is particularly important if you play a tank-type character, like I do.
- Basic stuff, but rogues are squishy. Really squishy. You'll always want one in your party, but make sure you pay attention to them in combat. I like to set mine as archers and position them as far away as from the fighting as possible for this reason.
- Regardless of what people say, some encounters are genuinely challenging. Don't be ashamed when you have to try them over and over again, or even turn down the difficulty. Personally I didn't have too much trouble with the difficulty overall, but there were several boss fights that just floored me until I figured them out (*cough* Flemeth *cough*). Once you do get there though, it's incredibly satisfying.
- Spend some time setting up your party members' tactics, especially where healing (both through using potions/poultices and actual healing spells) and supporting injured characters are concerned. This will free you up to focus on the specifics of the fight at hand. I think a lot of people ignore the tactics slots altogether, but honestly if you get it right it helps massively.
- Poultices. Make poultices. Harvest all the herbs. Stockpile the damn things.
- Have Wynne in your party at all times. She's the best healer in the game and is particularly important if you play a tank-type character, like I do.
- Basic stuff, but rogues are squishy. Really squishy. You'll always want one in your party, but make sure you pay attention to them in combat. I like to set mine as archers and position them as far away as from the fighting as possible for this reason.
- Regardless of what people say, some encounters are genuinely challenging. Don't be ashamed when you have to try them over and over again, or even turn down the difficulty. Personally I didn't have too much trouble with the difficulty overall, but there were several boss fights that just floored me until I figured them out (*cough* Flemeth *cough*). Once you do get there though, it's incredibly satisfying.
The combat in DA:O is very, very stat based. To the point where things that give you stats are far more preferable than abilities. Passives and Sustained Modes are in, actually doing things is out (except Mages). If you prefer more active, action-oriented combat, Dragon Age 2 may be your cup of tea (seriously flawed though the game is).
Sword and Board Warrior (Alistair/Warden)
-Learn all of the Weapon and Shield passives and sustained modes
-Use only three abilities, Taunt, Shield Bash (to counter grabs), and Cleanse Magic in the Templar tree (to counter Curse of Mortality)
-42 strength to wear the best armor, rest in Dex and a little in Con.
Two-Handed Warrior (Sten/Oghren/Warden)
-Don't use it, it sucks.
Dual Wield Warrior (Warden)
-Don't use it, it sucks.
Archery Warrior (Warden)
-Don't use it, it sucks.
Dual Wield Rogue (Zevran/Warden)
-Learn Momentum, and the entire line of passive boosts.
-Learn Combat Movement, which also gives Dirty Fighting (use to counter grabs or spellcasts)
-Learn Lethality
-Raise Dexterity to wield the best daggers you can, rest in Cunning
-Position behind target, auto-attack all day using no abilities because that would lower effective damage output
Archery Rogue (Leliana/Warden)
-Learn Aim and Master Archer
-Learn Scattershot (use to counter grabs or spellcasts, or as mass crowd control)
-Learn Lethality
-Raise Dexterity to wield the best bow you can, rest in Cunning
-Auto-attack all day using no abilities because they all take a billion years to fire and do next to nothing anyway
Mage (Wynne/Morrigan/Warden)
-Do yourself a favor, be a Mage
-This is the only character in your party that should be actively controlled for more than a moment to issue a basic command
-Learn Force Field/Crushing Prison Combo
-Learn Sleep/Horror Combo
-Learn Blood Wound (Always take Blood Mage)
-Learn Heal
-Learn Group Heal and Revival (Always take Spirit Healer)
-NEVER EVER bother with Shapeshifter. It sucks.
-Learn only single target nukes, crowd control is a way more efficient use of your mana than trying to skirt friendly fire. Single target nukes allow you to snipe priority targets.
-Learn the entire Hex line. They rule.
-Curse of Mortality is literally an unstoppable death-sentence. On that note...
-Take Dispel Magic. Just to get rid of Curse of Mortality.
This will give you the most efficient party you can have. Obviously if you're playing in a more RP style, take all this advice only as befits your story progression. Hope it helps.
Sword and Board Warrior (Alistair/Warden)
-Learn all of the Weapon and Shield passives and sustained modes
-Use only three abilities, Taunt, Shield Bash (to counter grabs), and Cleanse Magic in the Templar tree (to counter Curse of Mortality)
-42 strength to wear the best armor, rest in Dex and a little in Con.
Two-Handed Warrior (Sten/Oghren/Warden)
-Don't use it, it sucks.
Dual Wield Warrior (Warden)
-Don't use it, it sucks.
Archery Warrior (Warden)
-Don't use it, it sucks.
Dual Wield Rogue (Zevran/Warden)
-Learn Momentum, and the entire line of passive boosts.
-Learn Combat Movement, which also gives Dirty Fighting (use to counter grabs or spellcasts)
-Learn Lethality
-Raise Dexterity to wield the best daggers you can, rest in Cunning
-Position behind target, auto-attack all day using no abilities because that would lower effective damage output
Archery Rogue (Leliana/Warden)
-Learn Aim and Master Archer
-Learn Scattershot (use to counter grabs or spellcasts, or as mass crowd control)
-Learn Lethality
-Raise Dexterity to wield the best bow you can, rest in Cunning
-Auto-attack all day using no abilities because they all take a billion years to fire and do next to nothing anyway
Mage (Wynne/Morrigan/Warden)
-Do yourself a favor, be a Mage
-This is the only character in your party that should be actively controlled for more than a moment to issue a basic command
-Learn Force Field/Crushing Prison Combo
-Learn Sleep/Horror Combo
-Learn Blood Wound (Always take Blood Mage)
-Learn Heal
-Learn Group Heal and Revival (Always take Spirit Healer)
-NEVER EVER bother with Shapeshifter. It sucks.
-Learn only single target nukes, crowd control is a way more efficient use of your mana than trying to skirt friendly fire. Single target nukes allow you to snipe priority targets.
-Learn the entire Hex line. They rule.
-Curse of Mortality is literally an unstoppable death-sentence. On that note...
-Take Dispel Magic. Just to get rid of Curse of Mortality.
This will give you the most efficient party you can have. Obviously if you're playing in a more RP style, take all this advice only as befits your story progression. Hope it helps.
The tank guide a good read, since a well made tank can make or break a party - and Alistair is basically pre-made to be a tank.
Battle Tactics:
- A good basic strategy is to have a rogue and a tank in your party at all times. Give the tank your heaviest armour, make sure they've got lots of health, and send them into the fight first. Then bring in the rogue, move around to behind all the enemies that are attacking your tank, and start backstabbing. If you've got a healing mage in your party, focus on keeping the tank alive. Otherwise, just feed poultices to your tank whenever their health starts approaching 50%.
- Pause, issue orders, unpause, let a couple of seconds go by, pause again and assess. This type of fighting can get very repetitive, but you'd be surprised how much the battlefield can change in the space of a couple of seconds. It's a good way of spotting any dangers early.
- Get to the Circle Tower early in the plot. There's an excellent healing mage available there. Otherwise pick a mage PC and pick healing spells (just be aware that you may end up sitting your PC at the back of the fighting and controlling your party members for most fights!)
Stats and Abilities:
- Abilities: Passive traits beat activated abilities every time. As a quick comparison - it's better to have a Warrior who can ignore flankers than to have a Warrior who is able to sometimes knock down an enemy. So if something gives you a passive trait, go for it. Otherwise, if it's a passive ability like Shield Wall, activate it as soon as you enter a new area, and leave it on for every single battle.
- Stats: Oh my, the stats... Seriously, the stats in this game can be a nightmare. Different party members require different stats for different roles. And there's relatively little explanation of what the stats mean.
- Your tank is going to want primarily constitution, with some strength and dexterity. I'd recommend putting at least two points into constitution every time your tank levels up. It won't let them avoid damage, but it will let them take more of it. Points in strength will let them equip better armour. Points in dexterity will help them block attacks more often.
- Your mage is going to want a roughly 50-50 split between willpower and magic. Magic improves their spells, willpower lets them cast spells more often.
- Rogues need cunning and dexterity. Roughly 50-50. Cunning improves their backstabs and long range aim, dexterity improves their general attack and lets them dodge a lot.
- DOG. Dog is a bit of a joke character, but with the right build he can be lethal. If you want to go for this, focus on constitution and strength, again roughly 50-50. Then go to his tactics menu and set him to attack anyone that uses a magic attack (the tactics interface can be a bit of a pain to use though). He will charge across the battlefield and basically eat any enemy mages, especially if he gets the overwhelm ability. And trust me, not having to worry about mages is a blessing.
Battle Tactics:
- A good basic strategy is to have a rogue and a tank in your party at all times. Give the tank your heaviest armour, make sure they've got lots of health, and send them into the fight first. Then bring in the rogue, move around to behind all the enemies that are attacking your tank, and start backstabbing. If you've got a healing mage in your party, focus on keeping the tank alive. Otherwise, just feed poultices to your tank whenever their health starts approaching 50%.
- Pause, issue orders, unpause, let a couple of seconds go by, pause again and assess. This type of fighting can get very repetitive, but you'd be surprised how much the battlefield can change in the space of a couple of seconds. It's a good way of spotting any dangers early.
- Get to the Circle Tower early in the plot. There's an excellent healing mage available there. Otherwise pick a mage PC and pick healing spells (just be aware that you may end up sitting your PC at the back of the fighting and controlling your party members for most fights!)
Stats and Abilities:
- Abilities: Passive traits beat activated abilities every time. As a quick comparison - it's better to have a Warrior who can ignore flankers than to have a Warrior who is able to sometimes knock down an enemy. So if something gives you a passive trait, go for it. Otherwise, if it's a passive ability like Shield Wall, activate it as soon as you enter a new area, and leave it on for every single battle.
- Stats: Oh my, the stats... Seriously, the stats in this game can be a nightmare. Different party members require different stats for different roles. And there's relatively little explanation of what the stats mean.
- Your tank is going to want primarily constitution, with some strength and dexterity. I'd recommend putting at least two points into constitution every time your tank levels up. It won't let them avoid damage, but it will let them take more of it. Points in strength will let them equip better armour. Points in dexterity will help them block attacks more often.
- Your mage is going to want a roughly 50-50 split between willpower and magic. Magic improves their spells, willpower lets them cast spells more often.
- Rogues need cunning and dexterity. Roughly 50-50. Cunning improves their backstabs and long range aim, dexterity improves their general attack and lets them dodge a lot.
- DOG. Dog is a bit of a joke character, but with the right build he can be lethal. If you want to go for this, focus on constitution and strength, again roughly 50-50. Then go to his tactics menu and set him to attack anyone that uses a magic attack (the tactics interface can be a bit of a pain to use though). He will charge across the battlefield and basically eat any enemy mages, especially if he gets the overwhelm ability. And trust me, not having to worry about mages is a blessing.
1. you cant move out of telegraphed attacks.
2. archers suck
3. mages are more suited as a support role. They have some sexy looking aoe, but its more likely to hurt you than help. There is a row in entropy (i think) thats really good. It goes Mind Blast > force field > teleknetic weapons> curshing prison. All of those abilities are good. Mind blast to aoe stun people attacking your mage, force field to stun an enemy spellcaster for a long time (makes them immune to damage though!) or to save one of your allies about to die, crushing prison can gib a spellcaster whilst keeping him stunned
4. if you are using a duel wield rogue and are not actively controlling him/her, get the dual strike ability. This way you dont have to worry about positioning
5. sustained abilities are king, especially party wide buffs. Flame weapons is one of the best ones early one. Mana potions are easy to create and find, so dont worry about chugging them (vendor in mage tower sells dust needed to make more). Haste is also pretty good, but requires a serious talent investment into mediocre abilities. Still, increased attack speed and double movement speed is nice (even just for walking around). Something to consider late game. Frost weapons im not a fan of. Bard and champion also have nice party wide buffs.
6. protect your mage
7. The early game is actually pretty hard as you have very limited tools whilst your enemies have access to their full arsenal. The game gets easier as you progress. Even though i know what im doing, i was still getting killed left and right at the start. Now im near the end game and im an unstoppable juggernaut (arcane warrior ftw! I can tank better than a warrior, dps as well as a rogue, and have healing spells. I dont recommend doing this your first time playing as it requires some serious min maxing)
8. kill enemy spellcasters asap. They can one shot your party.
9 ozzamar is probably the most difficult section, and it only gets more difficult as you level. Mage tower is also difficult, but worth doing first as you get a lot of free stats out of it.
2. archers suck
3. mages are more suited as a support role. They have some sexy looking aoe, but its more likely to hurt you than help. There is a row in entropy (i think) thats really good. It goes Mind Blast > force field > teleknetic weapons> curshing prison. All of those abilities are good. Mind blast to aoe stun people attacking your mage, force field to stun an enemy spellcaster for a long time (makes them immune to damage though!) or to save one of your allies about to die, crushing prison can gib a spellcaster whilst keeping him stunned
4. if you are using a duel wield rogue and are not actively controlling him/her, get the dual strike ability. This way you dont have to worry about positioning
5. sustained abilities are king, especially party wide buffs. Flame weapons is one of the best ones early one. Mana potions are easy to create and find, so dont worry about chugging them (vendor in mage tower sells dust needed to make more). Haste is also pretty good, but requires a serious talent investment into mediocre abilities. Still, increased attack speed and double movement speed is nice (even just for walking around). Something to consider late game. Frost weapons im not a fan of. Bard and champion also have nice party wide buffs.
6. protect your mage
7. The early game is actually pretty hard as you have very limited tools whilst your enemies have access to their full arsenal. The game gets easier as you progress. Even though i know what im doing, i was still getting killed left and right at the start. Now im near the end game and im an unstoppable juggernaut (arcane warrior ftw! I can tank better than a warrior, dps as well as a rogue, and have healing spells. I dont recommend doing this your first time playing as it requires some serious min maxing)
8. kill enemy spellcasters asap. They can one shot your party.
9 ozzamar is probably the most difficult section, and it only gets more difficult as you level. Mage tower is also difficult, but worth doing first as you get a lot of free stats out of it.
Lots of good advice. I'll try hard not to repeat much of it, but inevitably I will anyway.
Use Alistar as your main warrior (with Weapon + Shield obviously, pump stats into mainly Consitution with some strength)
Don't use Sten, however I try he always falls over dead almost immediately. Same for Ogrhan, but I like him as a character so he gets a free pass.
Don't use your Dog.
Use Leiliana (sic?) with Duel Wield and Poisons.
Use Wynne, get Group Heal and Revive
Consider using Morrigan, but don't invest in any Shapeshifting.
(Thats 4 characters I've recommended, switch out whichever one matches the class your playing)
Make sure you've always got lots of Healing Potions, Lyrium Potions and Injury Kits. Make sure you've got a reasonable selection of Bombs
With your mages, I'd recommend getting the Stone magic. Once you have Petrify and Stone Fist you can freeze and then smash any low level mook the instant combat starts 90% of the time. If they petrify but don't shatter, get a Warrior or Rogue to use an ability that results in a Critical Hit and you can still shatter them. Get Force Field (or better Crushing Prison) as well and you can take a second out of the fight. That'll level the odds for most fights straight away. (If you have double mages you can take four out quickly)
Take Flame Blast, Winter's Grasp and Lighting (i.e the first spells in each of the other elemental catagories) and you'll be able to do a fair amount of damage with mages without having to wait too long for cool down and can cycle between them chugging Lyrium for the tougher fights.
If a character is getting hammered, make sure you are keeping their health up with both spells and healing potions.
Heroic Defence can be useful for when you need Alistair to be a super tank (i.e. when fighting Dragons and other bosses). Vulnerability hex can also be useful for some bosses (though some ignore it completely)
Use Alistar as your main warrior (with Weapon + Shield obviously, pump stats into mainly Consitution with some strength)
Don't use Sten, however I try he always falls over dead almost immediately. Same for Ogrhan, but I like him as a character so he gets a free pass.
Don't use your Dog.
Use Leiliana (sic?) with Duel Wield and Poisons.
Use Wynne, get Group Heal and Revive
Consider using Morrigan, but don't invest in any Shapeshifting.
(Thats 4 characters I've recommended, switch out whichever one matches the class your playing)
Make sure you've always got lots of Healing Potions, Lyrium Potions and Injury Kits. Make sure you've got a reasonable selection of Bombs
With your mages, I'd recommend getting the Stone magic. Once you have Petrify and Stone Fist you can freeze and then smash any low level mook the instant combat starts 90% of the time. If they petrify but don't shatter, get a Warrior or Rogue to use an ability that results in a Critical Hit and you can still shatter them. Get Force Field (or better Crushing Prison) as well and you can take a second out of the fight. That'll level the odds for most fights straight away. (If you have double mages you can take four out quickly)
Take Flame Blast, Winter's Grasp and Lighting (i.e the first spells in each of the other elemental catagories) and you'll be able to do a fair amount of damage with mages without having to wait too long for cool down and can cycle between them chugging Lyrium for the tougher fights.
If a character is getting hammered, make sure you are keeping their health up with both spells and healing potions.
Heroic Defence can be useful for when you need Alistair to be a super tank (i.e. when fighting Dragons and other bosses). Vulnerability hex can also be useful for some bosses (though some ignore it completely)
Shale is actually better then alistar for some parts of the game... Alistair does have anti-magic, and you can never not have enough of those in a game such as Dragon Mage orgin.
Also, they have free item dlc's available on their main site, if you are really having trouble. (or just enjoy murdering everything fast and quick) You can get sign up and get them for free.
Also, they have free item dlc's available on their main site, if you are really having trouble. (or just enjoy murdering everything fast and quick) You can get sign up and get them for free.
Also, get Combat Tweaks: http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/354/?
Improves many of the more lackluster skills and makes every fighting style worth it.
Also, mages are no longer mandatory. I completed the game on the hardest difficulty with a minimum use of mages by using the mod above. Additionally, Dog is a beast now - a mean mage-killer.
Improves many of the more lackluster skills and makes every fighting style worth it.
Also, mages are no longer mandatory. I completed the game on the hardest difficulty with a minimum use of mages by using the mod above. Additionally, Dog is a beast now - a mean mage-killer.
If you're new you really shouldn't play on hard. If anything i've heard far more people complaining the game is too difficult than the game is too easy.
I mean yes people who know the game well get quite good at it once they learn builds and tactics and abilities. But new players aren't generally going to walk through hard mode like it's a cakewalk.
I mean yes people who know the game well get quite good at it once they learn builds and tactics and abilities. But new players aren't generally going to walk through hard mode like it's a cakewalk.
I'm having a hard time understanding how I can easily blow through this whole game in under 40 hours only to get completely obliterated at the end by this archdemon. Repeatedly.
I've read all the forums and all the guides. I must be suddenly dense. Such a disappointment.
I've read all the forums and all the guides. I must be suddenly dense. Such a disappointment.
It's based around building a party with good stats that work well together and then during the battle positioning yourself correctly and prioritizing enemies and such.
Yeah, basically it's a T-RPG with with bells and whistles of an A-RPG (and in console versions, the interface of an A-RPG)
***
They have some sexy looking aoe, but its more likely to hurt you than help
You just need a few preparations: put everyone on hold -> send a tank to catch an enemy group's attention -> keep your mage PC not far behind -> Unleash Storm of the Century -> Look upon my might ye wicked, and despair [http://i.imgur.com/SLVMihK.png].
Yeah, your tank has a good chance of being knocked out of the battle (although Shale tends to resist quite well), but since even the most powerful foes will be crippled by the time they reach the rest of the group, you can easily finish whatever survives the initial spell with three people, and injury kits are quite inexpensive to make anyway.
Yeah, basically it's a T-RPG with with bells and whistles of an A-RPG (and in console versions, the interface of an A-RPG)
***
They have some sexy looking aoe, but its more likely to hurt you than help
You just need a few preparations: put everyone on hold -> send a tank to catch an enemy group's attention -> keep your mage PC not far behind -> Unleash Storm of the Century -> Look upon my might ye wicked, and despair [http://i.imgur.com/SLVMihK.png].
Yeah, your tank has a good chance of being knocked out of the battle (although Shale tends to resist quite well), but since even the most powerful foes will be crippled by the time they reach the rest of the group, you can easily finish whatever survives the initial spell with three people, and injury kits are quite inexpensive to make anyway.