First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla?

Jerosai
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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 12:10:32 GMT Catilina and apocalypticham like this

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Post by Jerosai on Jul 29, 2017 12:10:32 GMT

Hello

I just recently pick up this lovely game again, I haven't played In quite some time.
I was wondering If I should go ahead and play with mods or play vanilla game again?

I know that there are mods out there that fix a lot of things, but wouldn't It be better to play vanilla again?. That way when I start using mods, I can tell the differences for future playthoughs?

Thanks In Advance

Jerosai

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 12:27:57 GMT mousestalker, mike3207, and 2 more like this

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Post by Catilina on Jul 29, 2017 12:27:57 GMT

Without mods.

This is the only way to experience the original game, and you can sure, what was the writers/developers original intention/concept/art. And you can sure (almost always), that you failed some quests/romances/etc, not just bugged because of some mods.
Later you can use some improves / other characters/stories/styles etc.

(My opinion, ofc.)

Last Edit: Jul 29, 2017 12:33:37 GMT by Catilina

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 13:12:02 GMT via mobile mousestalker and Catilina like this

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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2017 13:12:02 GMT

Vanilla. Only then will you learn which mods will suit you second time around.
Plus they tend to clash with each other so you can slowly add them as you go.
The respec raven mod and fifth dog slot are light enough not to impact the game 1st time if you want them tho, along with changing character's faces.

Last Edit: Jul 29, 2017 13:12:29 GMT by Deleted

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 14:42:02 GMT mousestalker, Catilina, and 2 more like this

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Post by Finvola on Jul 29, 2017 14:42:02 GMT

Agree with the others, moddless the first time then slowly add them over time. I lost count of how many times I've played and I'm still adding things. It's the only way you can get a feel for what you're looking for, I think.

capn233
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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 15:29:31 GMT

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Post by capn233 on Jul 29, 2017 15:29:31 GMT

I differ in that I would run bug fix mods, which I consider more community patches than mods. But I don't really run too many things that alter the game outright, just those, some graphics tweaks, and Advanced Tactics. The last is sort of in between bug fix and gameplay change.

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 17:43:47 GMT

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Post by MarilynRobert on Jul 29, 2017 17:43:47 GMT

I do think it's best to play the game the first time, without mods. Having said that, I played the ME trilogy for the first (and second) time, Jan of this year and I modded the game from the get-go because I knew I wanted the "happier ending" and all the extra good things I could get from mods...so not following my own advice, I modded the heck out of those three games without ever playing the vanilla version.

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 19:25:51 GMT

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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2017 19:25:51 GMT

i would download the qwinnn fix pack that solves a lot of bugs in game with quests and etc, for the first playthrough only that, then for the second you can start adding cosmetics, and more complex things.

tho you could install DA redisigned i don't see the harm in it, seems that you come to play to DAO from another DA (dunno just making a guess) and you could like the graphic enhancement for the npcs, even further you could even look to the mod called retexturing DAO for graphic enhancement in the rest of apartments in the game, like furniture, terrain, etc.

i see no harm to put those two, tho DA redisigned, let's say you like it and want to install it, always install the lore friendly version of it, not aesthetics or recommended version, to maintain the vanilla feel.

Last Edit: Jul 29, 2017 19:28:12 GMT by Deleted

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 22:23:51 GMT dazk likes this

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Post by Finvola on Jul 29, 2017 22:23:51 GMT

In my case, I didn't look up anything before playing the first time so I didn't know what was a bug or missing. After my first playthough I started looking for mods to eliminate things I didn't care for such as the one to shut Gorim up in Denerim and skipping the Fade. I didn't start playing DAO until a couple years ago so I tried to avoid spoilers as much as I could so I refrained from reading forums and researching information until I got through it once.

Jerosai
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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 29, 2017 23:16:53 GMT MarilynRobert and Catilina like this

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Post by Jerosai on Jul 29, 2017 23:16:53 GMT

Hello

Thanks for all the wonderful replies, much appreciated.

As for my first playthough, I will probably play vanilla first. I also have DA2/DAI and I also plan on playing them In vanilla first.
However, I'm curious If mods like, respec, advance party, maybe some cosmetics mods, will affect the vanilla feel?

Whenever I start my playthough, probably tomorrow night when I'm home from work.
I'm trying to decide between a mage or a rogue.

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 30, 2017 18:31:20 GMT

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Post by fylimar on Jul 30, 2017 18:31:20 GMT

I would suggest rogue, but that is personal preferrence - dual wielding rogue is a lot of fun.

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capn233 N4 Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda Posts: 1,708 Likes: 2,711 capn233 inherit Male 115 0 Apr 22, 2024 23:39:45 GMT 2,711 capn233 1,708 N4 Aug 1, 2016 15:04:33 GMT August 2016 YouTube capn233 Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda	First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 30, 2017 20:24:55 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by capn233 on Jul 30, 2017 20:24:55 GMT The benefit of rogue is you can pick your origin. Mage only has one. But in any case, if you are planning more than one run, just flip a coin and play the other one second.
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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Jul 30, 2017 22:42:47 GMT

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Post by Finvola on Jul 30, 2017 22:42:47 GMT

Dual wield rogue is my favorite, but mage is a close second, especially Arcane Warriors. I have so much fun with them. I seldom play as a regular warrior.

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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Aug 2, 2017 13:28:08 GMT via mobile

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Post by naughtynomad on Aug 2, 2017 13:28:08 GMT

Jul 29, 2017 12:10:32 GMT Jerosai said:

Hello

I just recently pick up this lovely game again, I haven't played In quite some time.
I was wondering If I should go ahead and play with mods or play vanilla game again?

I know that there are mods out there that fix a lot of things, but wouldn't It be better to play vanilla again?. That way when I start using mods, I can tell the differences for future playthoughs?

Thanks In Advance

Jerosai

There is a mod that changes Leliana's appearance to match the one she has in the "Sacred Ashes" trailer. That's the only one I consider essential.

Jerosai
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First Playthough (Well Kind Of) ~ Mods or Vanilla? Aug 2, 2017 14:38:40 GMT

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Post by Jerosai on Aug 2, 2017 14:38:40 GMT

Little Update

So I started my first playthough, and It's going okay so far. Having a few rough spots here and there, not sure If It's because my current build or other things, such as party tactics.

I'm also playing a normal and I should had pick easy first, yes I know I can simple change the difficulty, but It doesn't make sense from a role play view or game logic.

I was thinking about starting another playthough, as I have yet to do any of the main quest and I've just been doing sidequest.

This time I will pick easy difficulty, chose a different race, same class. I was also thinking using the following mods, as I don't think they hinder or ruin the vanilla experiencing, even know I've played the game before some time ago and already know what vanilla feels like, but It's nice to refresh old memories.

Mods

Advance Party
PTs Vibrant Colors
FtG Quickbar
HAIRSTYLE DAY

Maybe Mods (Need Opinions) - Not sure If these are OP or ruin game or vanilla.
Character Respecialization
The Phoenix Armory for Females
Armor of the Sten
Auto Highlight
FtG Codex ToC
Gift List Codex

There was one other hair mod that I wanted to use, but It requires you to edit files ETC. It's by Mrs Risibisi. If this Is an easy to install/edit, then I will just use this over HAIRSTYLE DAY.

Oh to give some reasons why, I'm wanting to restart my playthough, not to say I won't finish my current. Tried of looking at my dwarf, they are cool but I prefer other races. I also want to pick female this time, shouldn't have to explain why.

Few things I know I messed up In my build, also cretin npc, I missed out on an dialog option to do more quest, instead of the basic 4.

Thanks In Advance

Jerosai

Last Edit: Aug 2, 2017 14:39:31 GMT by Jerosai

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