Dragon Age: Origins, II

[SwordsMaster]

Hi orgahs,

So SM has seen a steady decline in his social life and so has picked up these games. Both for 35GBP. So I have questions:

What character class is the game optimised for? I'm not too keen on ridiculously dragged out boss fights where everyone in the party dies, and i have to run around the monster in question whittling it down with arrows and a boatload of health potions - ruins the immersion, and fun.

How is exporting the saves? Does it add anything that the 'default' storylines in DA2 don't?

How is the 'romance' part of things? Does romancing some characters preclude you from romancing others? In both games?

What about DLCs? Any recommendations?

I know there was a thread about this somewhere, but it has grown enormous.

Thanks for the help!

[CountArach]

As for the character class, if you want to breeze through Origins play as a mage and focus on healing abilities. As soon as you get a healer in that game the difficulty drops several notches.

[econ21]

I know what you mean about the size of that DA:O thread. I played the game more than a year after it came out and reading through the thread took me an afternoon.

I've only played the first game - it's very like DnD in that it's party based. So in theory, you can play any class if you find the right three NPCs to make up for other aspects. You probably want a dedicated healer, a tank, an offensive mage and a lock-picker [cleric, fighter, mage, thief in DnD terms], although not all are absolutely required. You can control any member of your party and can pause, so in a way, it does not matter terribly which role is picked for your main character. You are really playing four characters. There may be an advantage in having a robust main character, as the main protaganist may tend to the "point person" who first encounters bad dudes. I think offensive mages are the characters you may most want to actively control and they probably are the most powerful. I played a tank and suffered a little mage envy, but do like the heroic role.

In terms of available NPCs, you don't get that fantastic a range, at least at the start. After a longish linear prologue, the game branches out in typical Bioware fashion into four large clusters of quests and you can choose the order you visit them. I restarted after not choosing the cluster that has the only dedicated healer in the game: name and location in spoiler tag (only a very mild spoiler). I found trying to fight through another cluster of quests just too painful without a healer.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Wynne, in the Mage Circle

You do start off with a decent potential tank and a mage early on, and you could make the early mage a healer[1]. Both are very well scripted characters that are fun to keep around and central to the main plot. You also seem to pick up warriors a dime a dozen in the game. A thief type appears early too.

I would just pick the class that looks most fun - all of them seem fine imo. But I would probably click my spoiler tag just for a quality of life improvement.

There may also be alignment issues: my son made an "evil" choice and lost the healer in the spoiler tag.

[1]A mage can become a decent healer with very little investment in healing specific talents (you could probably get by with just the level 1 heal spell); it's just I found healing was pretty much a full time job so while an offensive mage could easily be talented to heal, she could not also carry out the essential offensive mage roles.

[SwordsMaster]

Ok, thanks, lads.

So, a bit of how the story went: Picked a Human, Noble, Rogue. It appears a pretty fleshed out background story, and you end up with a dog too, which is a nice touch. Played through the intro, all the way to Ostagar, and picked up Morrigan. At a bit of a loss now what to do next.

So, before I follow econ's advice I have another question: Do different areas have preset difficulty levels, or do they level up with the player? Again, I'm looking for a smooth experience, I don't want to end up fighting impossible bosses, and then finding the rest of the game an annoyance...

Thanks!

[rajpoot]

Some monsters level up, but there's really no fixed path. You can go any place you want first. The only really strong boss in the game is-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

A high dragon...urn of sacred ashes quest. And it's an optional fight. You can go back and fight it any time you want.

My suggestion though is do the tedious bits first. Like finish Mage tower first and foremost. That way you'll be saved some pain at the end of Arl of Redcliffe.

HN origin is perhaps the saddest one amongst all the others. City Elf and Dwarven Noble come as close seconds.

BTW if you play DA2 right after DAO, you might be disappointed. The sequel can't hold a candle to the first one.

[Vladimir]

Ok, thanks, lads.

So, a bit of how the story went: Picked a Human, Noble, Rogue. It appears a pretty fleshed out background story, and you end up with a dog too, which is a nice touch. Played through the intro, all the way to Ostagar, and picked up Morrigan. At a bit of a loss now what to do next.

So, before I follow econ's advice I have another question: Do different areas have preset difficulty levels, or do they level up with the player? Again, I'm looking for a smooth experience, I don't want to end up fighting impossible bosses, and then finding the rest of the game an annoyance...

Thanks!

That's an excellent choice and how I started as well. The only problem was that in earlier versions the game liked to ambush you with overpowered encounters. DAO forces you into a lot of encounters and I often lowered the difficulty just because I was upset by it.

Played smartly the character you chose should do well. Just add Alistar to your team and that's all you need.

[econ21]

Do different areas have preset difficulty levels, or do they level up with the player?

I think the four areas you can go in the mid-game are probably supposed to be the same difficulty and mobs do level up with the player, but it's rather well done and not as jarring as in, say, Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights OC where mobs scaled rather too well/seemingly not at all respectively. However, I suspect whatever area(s) you do later will feel easier because your party's power outstrips your opponents. In particular, tanks seem rather gimped early on - they can't hold aggro very well and they die easily if by chance they get it on too many mobs. Plus, offensive mages eventually become powerhouses with end tier spells and combos of spells.

[econ21]

In fact, some of them (namely the Dwarven Kingdom/Underdark-ish Quest-Line and the Haunted Elven Forest Quest-Line) are much, much easier at lower levels.

Those were the two I did last, but I don't recall finding them difficult whereas Redcliffe without a healer was too daunting for me.

The hardest stage of the game for me was the one Swordsmaster is at - just before and at Ostragar, before my tank got the invulnerability to flanking and I picked up a second mage. I guess I might still have been on the learning curve at that point too, though.

[Kekvit Irae]

I think the four areas you can go in the mid-game are probably supposed to be the same difficulty and mobs do level up with the player, but it's rather well done and not as jarring as in, say, Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights OC where mobs scaled rather too well/seemingly not at all respectively. However, I suspect whatever area(s) you do later will feel easier because your party's power outstrips your opponents. In particular, tanks seem rather gimped early on - they can't hold aggro very well and they die easily if by chance they get it on too many mobs. Plus, offensive mages eventually become powerhouses with end tier spells and combos of spells.

The game areas do, indeed, have a level range. This is most prevalent when you save after Ostagar and testing out each area (reloading after going through one). The Circle Tower is the easiest and has the lowest level range, while (I believe) the Sacred Ashes quest has the highest minimum level.

[Kekvit Irae]

What character class is the game optimised for? I'm not too keen on ridiculously dragged out boss fights where everyone in the party dies, and i have to run around the monster in question whittling it down with arrows and a boatload of health potions - ruins the immersion, and fun.

Don't play DA2 then. There are some REALLY BS fights, such at the dragon, in comparison to the rest of the game which are laughably easy. DA:O has plenty of boss battles that will tear you up, but the game is fair enough that if you die, it's your own fault. The single most overpowered class in Origins is the blood mage/arcane warrior. But that's best for a second playthrough as you'll want to enjoy the challenge of combat. I suggest you go rogue.

How is exporting the saves? Does it add anything that the 'default' storylines in DA2 don't?

More or less, no. Characters from Origins make an appearance in DA2 in more of a "Hey, remember me? Great! Bye!" and you'll get very few lines of dialogue about the Grey Warden, Mass Effect 2 import style.

How is the 'romance' part of things? Does romancing some characters preclude you from romancing others? In both games?

You can have two romances going on at the same time in Origins, but eventually one of them will demand you break it off with the other. DA2 romances are nothing to write home about.

What about DLCs? Any recommendations?

Origins: Naturally, you'll want to have The Stone Prisoner DLC. Grab both Awakening expansion and Witch Hunt for the continuation of the story, and Golems of Somethingorother for a challenge. The rest are meaningless (Feastday) or not good (Leliana's Song and Ostagar).
DA2: The only DLC I can recommend for this crap is Uninstall. It's free!


Play Origins exclusively and forget DA2 ever exists. Steam has me clocked in at 333 hours played on Origins, but only 30 hours for DA2. That speaks volumes.
Oh, and if you like Anders from the Awakening expansion, you will REALLY hate DA2. Just sayin'.

[rajpoot]

@ Kekvit Irae

You should join us at the Dragon Age wiki for the DA2 bashing events, we can use new members

[Vladimir]

The dwarf didn't fit well into my party and he is mostly there for comedic value. I believe he has an affinity for hammers which makes it unteresting if you want to experiment with blunts.

Pair him and Wynne for extra comedic value.

[SwordsMaster]

Comedy is good. HAvent had much of a chance to play over the last few days, but started a parallel DA2 session. Again, with a rogue. I reckon I will try a warrior build for my real playthrough after I finish DA1. I like the dialogue wheel.

[SwordsMaster]

Funnily enough, beat DA2 before DA1.

You were right in saying the Arishok is a pain. For a rogue. As a mage I would have destroyed his schwarznegger-esque behind in seconds. Liked the game overall, liked the dialogue wheel, the random comments, and the overall cheerful attitude. Disliked the spawning and too fast combat mechanics that defeat the point of having tactics, the silly boss fights (Arishok), and the arcadey feel. In that sense, DA1 was much better. DA1 isn't without flaws either, however, and could do with a little less running. I feel like every second mission involves so much running.

Skyrim, in contrast, is much better in the 'world' sense. Very varied, but involves way too many multi-layered dungeon clearing missions. It gets very tiring to clear dungeon after dungeon with skulls, and bones everywhere. I mean surely, if there was genocide at the scale necessary to produce all those, someone would have noticed...

[rajpoot]

Very varied, but involves way too many multi-layered dungeon clearing missions. It gets very tiring to clear dungeon after dungeon with skulls, and bones everywhere. I mean surely, if there was genocide at the scale necessary to produce all those, someone would have noticed...

Thank you!
Wherever I turn everyone is saying how the dungeons in Skyrim are so varied and so fun, so I was keeping shut, but damn there's only so much fun I can have by killing draugrs and skeletons. It gets very very dull after a while.
And not saying they did not try to make the dungeons varied. Some of them are particularly fun...specially Dwemer ruins.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I can't remember the name but there was one in which I remember falling deep into an underground lake and then had to fight my way up...

But nonetheless, the other ruins, specially the huge barrows, get tedious.

[econ21]

Skyrim, in contrast, is much better in the 'world' sense. Very varied, but involves way too many multi-layered dungeon clearing missions. It gets very tiring to clear dungeon after dungeon with skulls, and bones everywhere.

Yes, I think I am burned out on Skyrim. I experienced the same thing with Morrowind and Oblivion - absolutely spectacular world, aesthetically and in scale, but rather soulless. It reminds me a lot of Mount and Blade: brilliant at what it does and can be very immersive, but there comes a point when you want more. I guess I need the Bioware style conversations and storytelling, or other players as in an MMO, to keep engaged.

[SwordsMaster]

Yes, I think I am burned out on Skyrim. I experienced the same thing with Morrowind and Oblivion - absolutely spectacular world, aesthetically and in scale, but rather soulless. It reminds me a lot of Mount and Blade: brilliant at what it does and can be very immersive, but there comes a point when you want more. I guess I need the Bioware style conversations and storytelling, or other players as in an MMO, to keep engaged.

True. The same kind of goes for the Fallouts. You really do feel alone. Things are to be interacted with rather than 'lived'.