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Post by heindrich on Mar 1, 2017 5:47:16 GMT
Hi all,
I am new here and new to the Dragon Age franchise, though not to RPGs in general, having spent hundreds of hours on the Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Avernum games, among others. Before I get started in RPGs, I like to do as much research as possible because the characters I am playing don't normally start their stories with total amnesia and zero knowledge of their reality, and I also don't like to reload bad outcomes unless utterly necessary so that my wins and losses are meaningful. However, I obviously don't want to spoiler myself before I start either, so I prefer to ask questions rather than dive into walkthroughs and guides. I'd appreciate if some of you can help with the following:
1) Is this the best forum to ask questions regarding Dragon Age Origins? It's a pretty old game and it seems like the official Bioware forums were shut down for some reason, and this is the most obvious forum I've found so far.
2) Compared to Baldur's Gate (Moderate difficulty), how hard is DAO on Normal difficulty? I want to know if the game difficulty gives me the room to make intentionally non-min/max decisions and still complete the game without 100 reloads.
3) I know that each Dragon Age game gives you a great deal of freedom in character creation, and the outcome of one game feeds into the next... Is there however anything resembling a "canon party" in DAO like in BG1, where Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Khalid and Dynaheir are assumed to have been your companions at the start of BG2. Are any of the PC backgrounds in DAO implied to be canon in later games?
4) Are their any mods you would recommend for a first time player that don't change the core of the game, but provides perhaps quality of life and graphical improvements? The version of the game I have is DAO: Ultimate Edition.
5) Can you recommend any spoiler-free resource that I can use to learn the lore of the game without being spoilered by actual ingame events? Similarly are there any spoiler-free guides/tutorials out there I can use to learn the game before I play it for real?
Thx in advance!
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adrianbc
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Post by adrianbc on Mar 1, 2017 9:01:11 GMT
I played Dragon Age Origins a lot since it was launched. And also played BG1, BG2, IWD1, and IWD2 many times. I hope to be able to answer your questions without spoilers. 1) I have no idea. I`m also relatively new on this forum, but I was active on the old Bioware forum in the past. All I know is that there are many loyal DA fans here. 2) It depends on the way you have played Baldur`s Gate. In my case, it was easier than BG2 and harder than BG1. You don`t have to do min/max decisions while playing DA:O UE since your stats are upgradable for every level. Like it is the case with IWD2. The difference is that you gain 3 stat points to spend for each new level. You will learn fast which stats are vital for each class by reading the descriptions. Some skills and many talents need a minimum stat, so you`ll have another clue. There is also a rather unspecified requirement for opening locks and disarm traps by rogues. I can tell you what it is if you like or you can figure it out. It`s not very difficult. Normal difficulty was a bit unbalanced when the game launched, and some battles were suddenly very hard. Bioware patched this apparently, but I never checked how effective the patch is since I played mostly on Nightmare (max difficulty) after my first play-through. And the game is relatively easy on Nightmare if you hold the initiative. My advice is to just start on Normal and change to Easy for particularly difficult battles. 3) No, not really. In a way, there is one particular companion you would like to keep constantly in your party. But there is nothing really imposed. As for who that character is, and why is useful to have around, it`s easy to figure out. 4) In your place, I would play the game un-modded for the first time, to experience it the way Bioware designed it. When you will reach Awakening - which still has many unresolved bugs - you have the option to use some bug correcting mods or to play it in a way to circumvent the bugs. I prefer the second option. 5) For the best possible experience, I suggest starting the game by playing every origin. DA:O is quite unique by allowing you to choose your protagonist from 6 different backgrounds: a human noble, a human or elf mage, a noble dwarf, an outcast dwarf, a wandering elf, and an elf living in some sort of ghetto in a human city. Each background has a specific questline and begins in a different location. After the origin questline is completed, everything converges into a single game. If you play each origin first (they end in the same place, shortly after your protagonist is recruited) you will learn a lot of useful lore, and clues about the events critical to the main plot. After playing all available origins, just pick your favorite protagonist for the game proper. You may end up by finishing the game with protagonists from all origins. I did it, and there are some specifics for each protagonist. My suggestion is to start with a rogue protagonist because rogues have a significant advantage: they learn new skills 50% faster than the other two classes - every second level instead of every third. So you will end up with more skills in the end with a rogue than with a warrior or mage. Skills are not only useful in combat but also outside combat: crafting things, persuading others, spotting enemies. Have a very nice experience playing DA:O! It really is a very good game. If you have more questions, just ask.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2017 10:27:43 GMT
Hi, yep you've come to the right place. When BioWare closed their forums most of us ended up here. Normal mode will be fine for you if you've played BG, but I found it challenging as I'd never played that type of game before. The difficulty is easily changed as you play but I'd go with Normal mode. There's no particular canon party no, play around and enjoy the banter between the companions. BioWare use a female Dalish rogue as their canon, but the games themselves respect all choices. I personally think the human noble has a lot to add to the story and they are the only one who can become umm....a great member of society later on in the game. However all are mentioned and referenced in later games. I'd recommend the fifth dog slot mod, very handy and doesn't ruin the lore in any way. Other than that go with vanilla then mod the bejesus out of the game next time you play. The only lore recommendation from me would be to read The Stolen Throne, it sets up the whole game and you'll get a hell of a lot more out of it. Other than that the codexes in the game itself will be enough. Any more questions always feel free to ask, there are a few DAO lovers around who'll be happy to answer. Oh, and don't try too hard before you play the first time, let it be a surprise experience. You'll probably end up playing again anyway and can do all the 'optimal' things next time, for the first run just go with it and enjoy the story.
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Post by lundajfs on Mar 1, 2017 15:20:45 GMT
Install this www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/3973/?Also use reshade for further graphicgasm DAO is easy, retardedly easy, might not seem so at first, but don't worry, soon you will want to play it on nightmare, probably soloing. Inititally if it seems hard, I thought it was back in the day, but it is because it is very different from previous Bioware mechanics (D&D), so once you understand it DAO is so easy makes Baldur's Gate look like you're playing Dark Souls on the hardest difficult using only one finger. No canon party, not even implied, however for story kicks I'd say Alistair and Morrigan are very very very relevant. Also some zones have "canon members" but it is all very intuitive when not forced or explicit. No need to dig information. DAO is a shallow game when I compare it to older games, but it is the Avatar of Deepness when compared to DAI. DAO is not like BG or other old RPGs, it is more like a movie. A crossbreed of fantasy series where A Song of Ice and Fire is the main ctrl+c ctrl+v. Just sit, relax and enjoy it. No need to worry, games are not "worriable" these days anymore, they are just shows, all joy no work. Be happy.
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Post by adrianbc on Mar 1, 2017 15:51:16 GMT
Install this www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/3973/?Also use reshade for further graphicgasm DAO is easy, retardedly easy, might not seem so at first, but don't worry, soon you will want to play it on nightmare, probably soloing. Inititally if it seems hard, I thought it was back in the day, but it is because it is very different from previous Bioware mechanics (D&D), so once you understand it DAO is so easy makes Baldur's Gate look like you're playing Dark Souls on the hardest difficult using only one finger. No canon party, not even implied, however for story kicks I'd say Alistair and Morrigan are very very very relevant. Also some zones have "canon members" but it is all very intuitive when not forced or explicit. No need to dig information. DAO is a shallow game when I compare it to older games, but it is the Avatar of Deepness when compared to DAI. DAO is not like BG or other old RPGs, it is more like a movie. A crossbreed of fantasy series where A Song of Ice and Fire is the main ctrl+c ctrl+v. Just sit, relax and enjoy it. No need to worry, games are not "worriable" these days anymore, they are just shows, all joy no work. Be happy. Try Pillars of Eternity. You may like it.
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Post by lundajfs on Mar 1, 2017 16:06:27 GMT
I do, I like everything Obsidian. I liked Tyranny too. In fact I shifted from Bioware to Obsidian, Bioware have nothing else to offer me. However... I love DAO, I'm not complaining, I'm not into difficulty, but I figured OP is concerned about it so I guess it is a good idea to make it clear that the game is not that hard. And if you min/max combat becomes pointless.
DAO it is kind of like PoE in this regard, early on it can be difficult, specially if you choose to go early to hard missions but as soons as you start "overlevelling" than it becomes easy.
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Gilsa
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Post by Gilsa on Mar 1, 2017 18:13:35 GMT
1) I don't know if this is the best forum as I don't really go elsewhere for Bioware discussions, but the next Bioware game is releasing in a few weeks. I have to imagine that a lot of fans will be returning in this time period and stumbling onto the unofficial forum. It can only grow from here. Continue to put "no spoilers please" in your titles. (The DAO game has been out for so long that people just discuss things without using spoiler tags.)
2) You should be fine on normal difficulty. I cannot recall if "friendly fire" is a toggle or if it's related to difficulty level. I don't remember it on normal.
3) Implied to be canon? Well, if you start a game (Awakening, DA2, etc) without importing your save, considering that there are like seven origins you can choose from, they're going to have to pick someone to reference. They're not really considered as canon so much as just filling in the lines quickly for story purposes.
4) No mods off the top of my head. Just play it and experience the story. Just FYI, there's no "flycam" for DAO. (Not to my knowledge.)
5) As has been mentioned, the codexes in the game are plentiful. Maaaaybe the Dragon Age wiki as they also have the codexes, but do that at your own risk because as you scroll down, you may see additional information from sequels expanding on the same subject. Just beat the game so nothing is spoiled. There is so much information (and not enough in some areas) that people still reference Origins as they try to put together pieces of the puzzle over each game in the franchise. You know?
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heindrich
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Post by heindrich on Mar 1, 2017 22:46:57 GMT
Thanks for all the feedback so far! Much appreciated. Also some zones have "canon members" but it is all very intuitive when not forced or explicit. By this, do you mean that some areas have content that is more relevant to some of the companions you can travel with, but you can do them regardless with other characters? Also I must say there is a disappointing lack of options compared to the Baldur's Gate games, but I guess a smaller number of possible companions seems to have become the norm in RPGs. On a related note, is the game intended to be played with a fixed party or are you encouraged to substitute your team members regularly and travel with all the NPCs for a time? In the BG series I had fixed parties in my first game, but in later playthroughs I tended to keep a 6th spot free and rotate to pick up characters relevant for certain quests.
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heindrich
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Post by heindrich on Mar 1, 2017 23:00:11 GMT
I have just thought of two additional questions:
1) The only official map of the world of Dragon Age appears to be focused on just one continent called Thedas (which people seem to use interchangeably as a term for the name of the world)... is there any in-lore reason why there are no maps of lands that beings from Thedas presumably can venture into. The most obvious example being Par Vollen, which I believe is the homeland of the Qunari. Realistically knowledge should be constrained by impenetrable jungles, deserts, mountains or oceans, and that does not seem to be the case here.
2) I have noticed that the human nations of Thedas mostly resemble Middle Ages Europe and most humans basically look European, but there are "black" people as well. Are differences in human races and cultures explained at all? Thedas kinda reminds me of Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls, or Westeros from ASOIAF... Does the equivalent of Akavir and Essos exist in this setting?
3) Are the class roles conventional or flexible in this game? Is it possible to create something like a "battlemage" character or am I better off focusing on more stereotypical roles?
Edit:
lol I just realized that there is a specialization literally called "battlemage", so I answered my own question 3.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2017 23:26:17 GMT
I am just going to say welcome, and enjoy your adventure, because all I can say is that DA:O felt very similar to Baldur's Gate games to me, and I 'be never felt a need for mods or specific party comps, though having the first companion who joined through the entire game felt quite good for me.
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Post by lundajfs on Mar 1, 2017 23:47:45 GMT
I have just thought of two additional questions: 1) The only official map of the world of Dragon Age appears to be focused on just one continent called Thedas (which people seem to use interchangeably as a term for the name of the world)... is there any in-lore reason why there are no maps of lands that beings from Thedas presumably can venture into. The most obvious example being Par Vollen, which I believe is the homeland of the Qunari. Realistically knowledge should be constrained by impenetrable jungles, deserts, mountains or oceans, and that does not seem to be the case here. 2) I have noticed that the human nations of Thedas mostly resemble Middle Ages Europe and most humans basically look European, but there are "black" people as well. Are differences in human races and cultures explained at all? Thedas kinda reminds me of Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls, or Westeros from ASOIAF... Does the equivalent of Akavir and Essos exist in this setting? 3) Are the class roles conventional or flexible in this game? Is it possible to create something like a "battlemage" character or am I better off focusing on more stereotypical roles? Edit: lol I just realized that there is a specialization literally called "battlemage", so I answered my own question 3. 1) Yes 2) I suggest looking up the cultures we have people resembling most of ASOIAF since it was one of their greatest "inspirations" for Thedas/DAO, so yeah, you will probably find lore mirrors for most of George Matin's setting in DA Lore but in game not so much since we do not explore thedas map that much (Edit: There is actually a lot of lore about each nation, there is the ingame lore, the "World of Thedas" books and the DA Pen and Paper RPG books, and of course comics, romances, and other official things, DA wikia will prbably be your best guide) 3) The specialization that makes a "battle mage" is actually an "arcane warrior", "battle mage" is not that much of a battle mage... however you can do whatever you want, you can even skip "arcane warrior" and do a STR/MAG mage, game allows such things, which is the main reason I love Origins above all others
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Post by capn233 on Mar 1, 2017 23:59:48 GMT
Will throw in two cents, which may even be worth less than that depending on exchange rate... 1. I don't know. I do know there is a purely Dragon Age fan board around. Hard to judge the traffic because even the official bioware forum's DAO Combat / Strategy forum wasn't hugely busy the year leading up to the shutdown. 2. DAO was actually the first rpg of its type that I played, and it felt like it kicked my ass on normal the first time before I knew what I was doing. Learning the combat system, how to use tactics, and the useful spells and talents was what made my first Nightmare run (3rd overall) feel easier than the very first run I did. As for the idea that the game is extremely easy on Nightmare, I wouldn't go that far unless you are already familiar with the system, using a some of the broken tier DLC items that are available at the very beginning of the game, or using various xp or gold exploits early. I played a lot of runs before getting the UE so with just vanilla game items, and the difference is pretty dramatic early. The heal system gets a lot of flak since it is nominally unlimited, but in practice it actually isn't. This is somewhat dependent on party composition though, and how much time you want to waste trying to get ingredients or blowing gold on health pots. That said, once you have some experience in the game you might be supplementing your income by selling some poultices or even resistance salves you pick up. 3. No 4. Sort of depends. Detailed Tooltips is one of the better mods since it helps the descriptions out quite a bit so that they are actually helpful. Advanced Tactics fixes bugs with the tactic system and allows more control, but sort of alters the way the game behaves. Similarly, I run a bug fix mod that changes the way various spells and talents work, but that also alters the way the game behaves relative to the official release (I think it is net neutral on difficulty, but that is debatable and partly dependent on what specific things you are using). 5. If you really want the nuts and bolts then Combat Mechanics at the wiki. No spoilers in this article.
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Post by Gilsa on Mar 2, 2017 1:58:05 GMT
Re: The Two Additional Questions
1. Thedas is short for The Dragon Age Setting. Hopefully that sheds some light on why the term can used in different ways. I don't recall if there are in-game lore reasons, but the Warden has a specific job to do and it doesn't require travel to areas outside the Thedas map. You can meet different people on your travels though.
2. Been a good while since I played Origins, but I don't think so. On an unrelated note, there was a good discussion on the original BSN forum about being able to create a black character, but still have a white family. The devs acknowledged this issue and they have made changes since then. In DA2, you can create a non-white character and the protagonist's family will change accordingly. (In the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda, they're applying the similar mechanics as well so these games are continually evolving over time.)
3. There are specializations. I think three in total for each class and you should be able to pick up to two over the course of the game. Should be able to respec if you don't love what you picked. I don't recall the specifics on how to do that. Probably a tome somewhere. Some specializations can only be unlocked in specific ways, but once you unlock them, they're forever unlocked. Your alts will not have to go through the same hoops.
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Post by heindrich on Mar 2, 2017 2:24:36 GMT
Funny story... I've had DAO in my Steam library for years, when I last tried it, I was partly put off by what seemed like really bad graphics. Well this time around I had determined that I could tolerate bad graphics, because a good RPG doesn't need pretty graphics anyway if the story and characters can make up for it. So haven taken on the above advice and done some basic research, I finally dived into character creation again... and then I noticed that for some reason my graphics were somehow worse than a character creation guide I found on Youtube, it was actually so bad that reading the tooltips was a pain. Surely the guide I watched must have used some sort of graphics mod? No... he doesn't mention mods. And then it struck me... I never thought to check Configurations, and sure enough, for some reason the game defaults all my graphics settings to the most basic options! I immediately turn everything up to max, and boom! It was like a totally different game! lol I am so used to modern games automatically configuring themselves to your system specs, or using GeForce Experience to automatically optimize my games, that all this time I just assumed that DAO had WoW-like blocky graphics. On max settings, it's actually not bad at all! Anyway my journey begins in a much clearer world this time.
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Post by talyn82 on Mar 2, 2017 5:54:12 GMT
Funny story... I've had DAO in my Steam library for years, when I last tried it, I was partly put off by what seemed like really bad graphics. Well this time around I had determined that I could tolerate bad graphics, because a good RPG doesn't need pretty graphics anyway if the story and characters can make up for it. So haven taken on the above advice and done some basic research, I finally dived into character creation again... and then I noticed that for some reason my graphics were somehow worse than a character creation guide I found on Youtube, it was actually so bad that reading the tooltips was a pain. Surely the guide I watched must have used some sort of graphics mod? No... he doesn't mention mods. And then it struck me... I never thought to check Configurations, and sure enough, for some reason the game defaults all my graphics settings to the most basic options! I immediately turn everything up to max, and boom! It was like a totally different game! lol I am so used to modern games automatically configuring themselves to your system specs, or using GeForce Experience to automatically optimize my games, that all this time I just assumed that DAO had WoW-like blocky graphics. On max settings, it's actually not bad at all! Anyway my journey begins in a much clearer world this time. Yeah, I still think the game looks good for it's age. It's one of the few 3d games that has aged well.
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Post by adrianbc on Mar 2, 2017 6:38:43 GMT
About class roles in DA:O
All three classes have 4 specializations available in-game, for the original game. Then Awakening will offer more, but that`s still far away. The specializations make each class more powerful, but some allow for role changes. Warriors are usually good for holding the enemy and soaking up damage (the weapon and shield talent lines), but a mage with a certain specialization is able to do the same while using heavy armor with weapon and shield. Rogues can become bards or rangers, similar to the ones from Bardur`s Gate or Icewind Dale games. A well-developed rogue can also lead in combat, taking up the role of a weapon and shield warrior. It`s not easy but it can be done.
The specializations for every class are not offered freely in the game. You can acquire them by learning from other characters or companions (via dialogue or quests) or in some cases you can buy a manual from a shop. Once a specialization is learned in ONE game, it`s available automatically for EVERY FUTURE DA:O games. A specialization manual costs a lot of money, but here is an easy trick to acquire them without cost:
Every time you encounter a shop or vendor (some vendors sell and buy goods outside shops, so you need to look after them), ask for the goods, look at them, and if you spot a specialization manual AND you have the money then cancel the shopping, save the game, buy the manual, QUIT the game, LOAD the save BEFORE buying the manual. You`ll see that the vendor no longer sells the manual, BUT you learned the specialization FOREVER. And you can use it in your current game or any future games, for your protagonist or any suitable companion.
DA:O has a lot of very nice buyable items in shops, but money is scarce. The game has TWO money related exploits, however, and with them, you are able to raise money for everything. I can tell you about them, but it`s more rewarding if you`re figuring out them by yourself.
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Post by adrianbc on Mar 2, 2017 8:34:12 GMT
Novels to read for DA:O There are two Dragon Age novels describing events prior to those from Dragon Age Origins: The Stolen Throne and The Calling. Both written by David Gaider, who was the lead writer for all three DA games. Both novels are about events from the same kingdom as those from the game, and some of the major characters from DA:O have also major roles in these novels. It helps you to read them in that order if you want more details about the current events of explanations about the behavior of some major characters. But they are not essential. You can play the game just fine without reading them. It`s more like offering more depth, really.
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Post by mousestalker on Mar 2, 2017 14:39:18 GMT
Welcome! In my opinion, this is the best place for such questions. Some general advice: 1. Answered, above 2. I haven't played BG and BG2 in so long, I can't really make a valid comparison. 3. Not really, no. You will find you like some origins better than others. The only origin where the sex of your warden makes a significant difference is the City Elf origin. The Human Noble origin may have a different result at the very end depending upon your choices in game. The most popular origins are male human noble and female human noble. My favourite origins are dwarf commoner and female city elf. I also like the dwarf noble origin. The mage origin allows you to build the most powerful possible character in game, but the origin story is rather short. 4. As for mods, Dragon Age Nexus is probably the best single source for those. Mods I like and use that do not change the plot are: Pineappletree's vibrant colors, Anto Hairstyles, Bidelle Cosmetics, CC Extra Tints and Tones, Dialogue Tweaks, Female Proportions Fix, More Hairstyles, Natural Bodies All in One, No Helmet Hack, Tucked Hair, and the ZDF Complete Dialogue Tweaks compatible. Most of those make cosmetic changes for character creation. Dialogue Tweaks and ZDF clean up certain dialogues in game and the ZDF unborks the Zevran romance. 5. If you find yourself stuck, stumped or baffled, the wiki is really quite good. Spoilers are there, but they do tend to be marked with spoiler tags. Hope that helps!
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heindrich
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Post by heindrich on Mar 2, 2017 17:50:22 GMT
The specializations for every class are not offered freely in the game. You can acquire them by learning from other characters or companions (via dialogue or quests) or in some cases you can buy a manual from a shop. Once a specialization is learned in ONE game, it`s available automatically for EVERY FUTURE DA:O games. A specialization manual costs a lot of money, but here is an easy trick to acquire them without cost: Every time you encounter a shop or vendor (some vendors sell and buy goods outside shops, so you need to look after them), ask for the goods, look at them, and if you spot a specialization manual AND you have the money then cancel the shopping, save the game, buy the manual, QUIT the game, LOAD the save BEFORE buying the manual. You`ll see that the vendor no longer sells the manual, BUT you learned the specialization FOREVER. And you can use it in your current game or any future games, for your protagonist or any suitable companion. DA:O has a lot of very nice buyable items in shops, but money is scarce. The game has TWO money related exploits, however, and with them, you are able to raise money for everything. I can tell you about them, but it`s more rewarding if you`re figuring out them by yourself. I like to play games "as intended" by the devs, especially in a first playthrough. I assume that the money exploits really are exploits and not clever use of game mechanics as intended? If so, I will steer clear. It's nice to have meaningful decisions to make with regards to how to spend my money. The specialization manual trick sounds kinda cheesy, but at the same time I don't understand why they work that way in the first place. If they are totally free in every game after my first playthrough, then it would suggest the game economy is designed without the cost of those specializations factored in, and in that case, playing "honestly" would seem like an unfair self-imposed penalization.
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heindrich
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Posts: 25 Likes: 27
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heindrich
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Post by heindrich on Mar 2, 2017 17:58:16 GMT
More random questions:
1) It seems that I start the game with Blood Dragon Plate, which seemed very random. Apparently this is a DLC item... I guess DAO Ultimate Edition automatically comes with all the DLCs and "premium" content? I have no idea if this armor is actually any good since the numbers don't feel a lot to me currently, but how do you guys even justify having it in the first place? I have no in-lore reason to own a set of plate armour randomly. I feel like I should just dump it for realism.
2) Speaking of dumping stuff... It looks like I have 70 inventory slots (maybe can be expanded?) but items have no weight like in BG? I literally had no idea I was carrying Blood Dragon Plate around until a few hours into the game lol.
3) Furthermore... Is there any way I can store items in containers? Every time I have looted a chest or cabinet, I can no longer interact with that container. If I "drop" something from inventory, it apparently destroys the item. I have plenty of inv for now, but I imagine that it will become a problem in the future.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 18:10:58 GMT
Funny story... I've had DAO in my Steam library for years, when I last tried it, I was partly put off by what seemed like really bad graphics. Well this time around I had determined that I could tolerate bad graphics, because a good RPG doesn't need pretty graphics anyway if the story and characters can make up for it. So haven taken on the above advice and done some basic research, I finally dived into character creation again... and then I noticed that for some reason my graphics were somehow worse than a character creation guide I found on Youtube, it was actually so bad that reading the tooltips was a pain. Surely the guide I watched must have used some sort of graphics mod? No... he doesn't mention mods. And then it struck me... I never thought to check Configurations, and sure enough, for some reason the game defaults all my graphics settings to the most basic options! I immediately turn everything up to max, and boom! It was like a totally different game! lol I am so used to modern games automatically configuring themselves to your system specs, or using GeForce Experience to automatically optimize my games, that all this time I just assumed that DAO had WoW-like blocky graphics. :D On max settings, it's actually not bad at all! Anyway my journey begins in a much clearer world this time. :) That happened to me in ME1!!! I played almost to the end before setting up the resolution. Bam! Instant win.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 18:17:49 GMT
More random questions: 1) It seems that I start the game with Blood Dragon Plate, which seemed very random. Apparently this is a DLC item... I guess DAO Ultimate Edition automatically comes with all the DLCs and "premium" content? I have no idea if this armor is actually any good since the numbers don't feel a lot to me currently, but how do you guys even justify having it in the first place? I have no in-lore reason to own a set of plate armour randomly. I feel like I should just dump it for realism. 2) Speaking of dumping stuff... It looks like I have 70 inventory slots (maybe can be expanded?) but items have no weight like in BG? I literally had no idea I was carrying Blood Dragon Plate around until a few hours into the game lol. 3) Furthermore... Is there any way I can store items in containers? Every time I have looted a chest or cabinet, I can no longer interact with that container. If I "drop" something from inventory, it apparently destroys the item. I have plenty of inv for now, but I imagine that it will become a problem in the future. The Dragon Armor is very good. It is a powerful item you did indeed get as a gift. Why do you have it? I gave it to Alistair, because I was playing a mage. Alistair might have had it all along as a gift due to his background. Don't want to say more, because spoilers suck. Yes, 70 slots, no weight. The Storage will be provided eventually, and will be labeled as STORAGE, in a very special location, and only there. My suggestion is, armor your party, sell the rest, do not hoard. Life's too short! If you have DLCs, it will be in a place called Soldier's Peak in the OC. BUT! If you have runes, and want to play Awakening DLC (which is like TotSC story-wise), save the runes to take into Awakening, particularly anything that is a Grand Master Rune.
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mousestalker
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Post by mousestalker on Mar 2, 2017 18:31:17 GMT
There is also a mod that will supply a 'party chest' in the party camp. There are actually several mods that do that.
Your inventory has no weight. I do strongly recommend that you buy every backpack that you find at a merchant. Each one adds ten slots. You may have a maximum of 125 slots.
The Dragon Armor is decent. While your character may not need it, one of your companions might. Do equip your companions, especially the ones you use regularly, with the good stuff you encounter. If nothing else, blinging out your companions with rings and amulets can help you save on inventory slots and party chest storage.
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adrianbc
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Post by adrianbc on Mar 2, 2017 18:57:51 GMT
I like to play games "as intended" by the devs, especially in a first playthrough. I assume that the money exploits really are exploits and not clever use of game mechanics as intended? If so, I will steer clear. It's nice to have meaningful decisions to make with regards to how to spend my money. The specialization manual trick sounds kinda cheesy, but at the same time I don't understand why they work that way in the first place. If they are totally free in every game after my first playthrough, then it would suggest the game economy is designed without the cost of those specializations factored in, and in that case, playing "honestly" would seem like an unfair self-imposed penalization. About the money exploits: All Dragon Age games are really stingy with money. Usually, there are some very good items your current party needs in both the original game and the Awakening expansion, and normally you have exactly ZERO chances to buy all of them. And I`m not talking about buying those shiny goody-goody items for ALL companions; just for your core 4 members party. And DA2 is even worse ... One of the two exploits is based on a clever economical observation: the buying rates for an item are particularly good at one shop, meaning a slight profit. The main raw material is available in another location, and the rest of the ingredients at the shop with the good buying rates. AND you need the skill to craft it (or one of the companions). So it`s not really an exploit. I really hate games with this kind of policy: placing many good items in shops, which you`ll never afford. Not even a few of them. You can follow the "designed" path, but you`ll afford maximum one or two of them. Which is simply a joke ...
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adrianbc
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Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights
Posts: 330 Likes: 582
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Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights
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Post by adrianbc on Mar 2, 2017 19:11:34 GMT
More random questions: 1) It seems that I start the game with Blood Dragon Plate, which seemed very random. Apparently this is a DLC item... I guess DAO Ultimate Edition automatically comes with all the DLCs and "premium" content? I have no idea if this armor is actually any good since the numbers don't feel a lot to me currently, but how do you guys even justify having it in the first place? I have no in-lore reason to own a set of plate armour randomly. I feel like I should just dump it for realism. 2) Speaking of dumping stuff... It looks like I have 70 inventory slots (maybe can be expanded?) but items have no weight like in BG? I literally had no idea I was carrying Blood Dragon Plate around until a few hours into the game lol. 3) Furthermore... Is there any way I can store items in containers? Every time I have looted a chest or cabinet, I can no longer interact with that container. If I "drop" something from inventory, it apparently destroys the item. I have plenty of inv for now, but I imagine that it will become a problem in the future. 1) The Ultimate Edition contains all DLC`s. More, you can register your game content at Bioware: social.bioware.com/login.php?return_url=/user_entitlements.phpand activate some FREE items (rings, belts, armor pieces, weapons) which are of great help early on (and even later). Don`t dump the Blood Dragon Plate. It`s quite useful, and you will have the chance to buy the rest of its pieces (it`s a full set) later. Also, it looks cool on dwarfs. Most non-dwarven armor looks really bad on dwarfs, except this. 2) There are several vendors who will sell inventory expansions. These are very high priority items to buy. Buy them every time you have the chance. Especially at the beginning of the game when they are cheap. later some inventory expansions will cost much more. There is no weight limit like in BG. Just the inventory limit. You can carry 70 heavy armors at the start, if you find that many of them. 3) There is ONE such official chest in the entire game (and another in Awakening), located at an old keep. You already own the needed DLC, but you`ll have to win the keep in order to use the chest. There are some chest mods at nexus though.
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