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Post by griffith82 on Aug 13, 2017 18:56:19 GMT
I'm just now doing a DA series run ( only previously played Origins) and I'm curious as to what you guys think is the best order to do the quest in. Spoilers are ok as I've played through Origins before but only Origins not Awakening.
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Post by Sokemis on Aug 13, 2017 20:14:01 GMT
Order might differ depending on origin and warden's opinion on wanting to return to said area of origin. So going with my canon (city elf) warden's order and her reasoning (with some headcanon mixed in):
1) Redcliffe - Nearest to Lothering. She didn't have any connection to the other areas, so she didn't really have a stake on where to go first. After the attack in Lothering's tavern, knew they would need help against Loghain as well as the darkspawn. Alistair knew the Arl and assured he would help, so as a good a place as any to start.
2) Circle - Was on the way to Denerim
3) Denerim - Looking for Genitivi and his research; start some minor side quests while there.
4) Haven - Temple of Sacred Ashes, then back to Redcliffe to cure the Arl
5) Dalish - Only really enough time to complete one more treaty before winter sets in, didn't want to get stuck in Orzammar all winter.
6) in/around Denerim and side quests - Headcanon that the Frostbacks were pretty much impassable in winter, so they had to winter over in the north (in/around Denerim) before going to Orzammar. From what I understand, Ferelden is the coldest/snowiest of the Thedas nations. Although there are advance parties all around Ferelden, the bulk of the horde still seems to be in the south. They may be unholy creatures, but the darkspawn are still mortal, and I imagine if the horde attempted to advance through Ferelden in the dead of winter, it would have been about as successful as invading Russia in winter (aka why Ferelden wasn't overrun during this time period). So the Warden took that time to do other quests (ex Return to Ostagar, Soldier's Peak, Crime Wave/Trial of Crows, Chantry Board/Blackstone Irregulars...) to gain support & gold. Canon Warden was a DW rogue and used that time to further her training with Isabella.
7) Orzammar
8) Denerim/Landsmeet - and finish up whatever side quests were left
9) End game
Companion quests where intermingled as appropriate: ex Wynne while in the Brecilian Forest; following the clues for Sten's quest as they travel to Lake Calenhad, Frostback Pass, and eventually retrieving it when back at Redcliffe before calling the Landsmeet; confronting Marjolaine while wintering in Denerim (got the quest while doing the Dalish treaty); Zevran obviously while in town for the Landsmeet...
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Post by griffith82 on Aug 13, 2017 20:38:00 GMT
Hmm interesting. My Warden is a female Dwarf Noble. Should Orzammar be higher on the list?
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Post by mousestalker on Aug 13, 2017 21:06:55 GMT
Orzammar can be tricky at low levels. I have done it, but getting past the bounty hunters and the mad ambassador can be hard at first. What motivates your character?
I always make a bee-line for Shale ASAP. A dwarf would very much be up on the desirability of a golem.
After Loathsome (Lothering), I like to raise money and Denerim and the side quests therein are nice for that. My characters tend to be cost conscious and fighting Darkspawn is expensive. Is your dwarf interested in magic? The Circle might be logical if she is. Redcliffe makes sense if she listens to Alistair or is a snob. The Dalish are outliers so she may not think much of them, unless she is consumed by curiosity about elves.
In general, my characters also like to practice fighting dragons. So, even without knowledge of Andraste's dustbin, they like to visit Haven.
Out of game lore, the sooner you can acquire your companions the more control you have on leveling them. You get Bhelen (aka ArfHowl aka Barkspawn aka Dog), Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana and Sten without any real effort. The later companions are Wynne (Circle), Shale (Stone Prisoner) and Oghren (Orzammar). Zevran shows up when he shows up (there is a mod that allows you to recruit him earlier). The sooner you get 'em the better they will work for you. (Yes, my dwarf nobles all called their mabari 'Bhelen'.) Redcliffe and the Brecilian forest yield no companions. They can and should be done later.
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Post by boxofscreaming on Aug 13, 2017 21:20:31 GMT
my dwarf nobles all called their mabari 'Bhelen'.) Poor dog! First time I played I went Redcliffe, Circle Tower, Denerim, Haven, Brecilian Forest, Orzammar. The story seems to be nudging you to do it in that order, although I hear the Circle Tower is meant to be the easiest area and there are gameplay benefits to going there first (e.g. get Wynne). Horrible locks though.
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Post by griffith82 on Aug 13, 2017 21:20:31 GMT
Orzammar can be tricky at low levels. I have done it, but getting past the bounty hunters and the mad ambassador can be hard at first. What motivates your character? I always make a bee-line for Shale ASAP. A dwarf would very much be up on the desirability of a golem. After Loathsome (Lothering), I like to raise money and Denerim and the side quests therein are nice for that. My characters tend to be cost conscious and fighting Darkspawn is expensive. Is your dwarf interested in magic? The Circle might be logical if she is. Redcliffe makes sense if she listens to Alistair or is a snob. The Dalish are outliers so she may not think much of them, unless she is consumed by curiosity about elves. In general, my characters also like to practice fighting dragons. So, even without knowledge of Andraste's dustbin, they like to visit Haven. Out of game lore, the sooner you can acquire your companions the more control you have on leveling them. You get Bhelen (aka ArfHowl aka Barkspawn aka Dog), Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana and Sten without any real effort. The later companions are Wynne (Circle), Shale (Stone Prisoner) and Oghren (Orzammar). Zevran shows up when he shows up (there is a mod that allows you to recruit him earlier). The sooner you get 'em the better they will work for you. (Yes, my dwarf nobles all called their mabari 'Bhelen'.) Redcliffe and the Brecilian forest yield no companions. They can and should be done later. I understand lord wise why a dwarf can't be a mage but it's still be funny. Anyway I think I'll go get Shale then Wynne and go from there.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2017 22:32:24 GMT
I prefer to follow the order the game intends for me to travel in. However, this doesn't mean I cannot begin doing an area. Orzamar is one of the higher level areas as it feels to me. If I go there, then I usually do quests up to Jarva whom I find to be a difficult encounter before going somewhere else. However, to get Oghren you still need to kill Jarva first.
As a dwarf commoner I had no desire to return to Orzamar soon given that execution thingy they've intended for me and I wanted my Warden as powerful as possible before showing up again on the doorstep. Those dwarves you've cheated death in front of sure have long memories. So, just because you're a dwarf doesn't mean you want to head back right away. All wardens have their reasons.
Also, although I usually do the Tower before the elves or dwarves places, keep in mind that you don't get a way out of it until you beat the boss and if you are underpowered he can be a pain. Doesn't hurt to be a bit higher when getting yourself locked inside. At lower levels Morrigan serves well enough instead of Wynne as a healer, so the tower can be postponed a little.
I played my first game as a human noble and the moment I saw that dog I named him Supers. Haven't changed his name a single time since then.
p.s. Anywho, my point is that while it might be desirable to grab companions as soon as possible, it might be too much on a pain to get to them if your level doesn't coincide with the area and it might be better to hoove it to Redcliffe first to make life easier.
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Post by riverdaleswhiteflash on Aug 15, 2017 3:10:05 GMT
If you have the DLCs, I'd do those first. Levels, equipment, etc. If you don't have them yet, you might as well put off getting them I guess. Wait until the only thing left to do in Origins apart from getting them is the endgame so that the ones that vary by level reach more or less their full power and are useful in that fight. (Though even if you do save the DLCs for last, you should make an exception for Stone Prisoner: the only thing there that scales by level is Shale and she does so by leveling up.)
Anyway, from the DLCs I nearly always went to the Circle Tower first. There's a reason she's called "Win."
Beyond that I find it doesn't matter much, since you have someone who knows Group Heal and Heal. Maybe Orzammar should be saved for later, but that's far less critical when you have Win and if you're playing Dwarf Noble that does give you a reason to go sooner rather than later. (Though I agree with Mouse that you can go first thing, since on my fourth playthrough I did Orzammar as my second stop, right after Stone Prisoner. Getting through that blood mage and her friends at that level was slightly more fun than dealing with slow wi-fi, but it wasn't as bad once I was past them.)
(Note that that's the experience of someone who always played on Easy. Though if you want something more applicable on any difficulty level I think Mouse said she's done it on Hard or Nightmare.)
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Post by Sokemis on Aug 15, 2017 4:01:25 GMT
As handy as she is, I did find out on one playthrough that Wynne isn't absolutely essential.... (In my defense, she attacked my warden first.... just like Leliana did..... but that particular warden did enjoy sending Alistair to his execution... )
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Post by riverdaleswhiteflash on Aug 15, 2017 6:22:13 GMT
As handy as she is, I did find out on one playthrough that Wynne isn't absolutely essential.... (In my defense, she attacked my warden first.... just like Leliana did..... but that particular warden did enjoy sending Alistair to his execution... ) In my defilement playthough I played all the way up to level 14 without a Spirit Healer. I think. I think I picked Blood Mage as my Warden's first spec that playthrough, since I lost all my specs early on due to a bug and unlocked Blood Mage for the first time before I got Spirit Healer back. And I didn't pick up Wynne until after I defiled the Ashes, since I didn't want her to leave the party and the only way I knew of that she sticks around is if she isn't in the party when you defile the Ashes, yet I knew I'd need to defile the Ashes late in game to have a high enough Intimidate modifier to scare Leiliana back into line. So that's one of the two times I actually did the Circle Tower last. (The other time I was playing a Spirit Healer.) And in my first DN playthrough I got through Orzammar before I got a Spirit Healer. So I know Wynne isn't entirely essential. But like you said, she is really helpful.
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Post by Sokemis on Aug 15, 2017 11:36:46 GMT
On that particular playthough I know I gave Morrigan the Heal Spell, probably/maybe gave her Spirit Healer spec (one of my first playthroughs, can't quite remember). I also maxed out her Herbalism skill line and carried a lot of potions around. With that Warden, Wynne apparently didn't agree when I defended Morrigan's right to practice magic outside the Circle and attacked me when I first met her (seriously Wynne, my Keeper/clan leader is also a so called "apostate" by your Chantry, who did you really think I'd side with there?). I knew Leliana would disapprove when the Warden defiled the ashes, but I didn't realize she would disapprove quite that much. Oops? Think I ended up having to beat Sten back into line that time as well. She wasn't the most mentally stable of my Warden's and apparently didn't make friends easily. But I do agree, Wynne is very helpful I think in every other playthrough (except my mage one) she's gone to the rooftop with me at the end.
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Post by boxofscreaming on Aug 15, 2017 18:11:13 GMT
But I do agree, Wynne is very helpful I think in every other playthrough (except my mage one) she's gone to the rooftop with me at the end. Early on she's really useful. Once you get maxed out herbalism and unlimited elfroots healing spells are less important, but I took her everywhere too. Admittedly it arguably reduced the impact of Morrigan's actions at the end when she was a character I usually left at camp...
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