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Post by ArcadiaGrey on Sept 12, 2018 18:19:20 GMT
In Dragon Age Origins the map is open and you can go anywhere at any time. An unsuspecting player can find themselves on a high level quest at the beginning of the game, so this guide will help you plan out the best strategy. You can either approach it from a role playing perspective, taking the path you think your character would choose, or you can go by the levels of each area (as BioWare intended). Let's discuss both. After your chosen Origin story the player travels to Ostagar. The battles plays out, the Warden leaves and ends up in a village called Lothering. From this point onwards the game is split into 7 broad sections. They are, in no particular order.... - Redcliffe village and castle - a quest that finds you exploring the village by day, and defending it by night. You then head up to the castle to see what's gone awry
- The quest for the Urn of Sacred Ashes in a village called Haven, available after you've entered Redcliffe Castle
- The mage's tower
- The elves in the Brecilian Forest
- The dwarves of Orzammar and the deep roads
- The Landsmeet
- The final battle
You can do the first 5 in any order you like, but there is a proper order in regard to difficulty. - The most popular way to begin is to go to the Mage's Tower as it's the lowest level, you gain a new companion there, and it also sets up the scene regarding magic and the way it's regarded in the world of Thedas. There are many goodies to be had including points to level up your stats. This is a sensible choice for a mage who is anxious to return to the tower, or for any Warden who overhears the locals in Lothering talking about the disaster that has stuck there. -Redcliffe in comparison grants no new companions, however it is recommended to you by Alistair and is a far more approachable place for a new Warden to go for aide than a tower full of mages. Perhaps this fits your RP better. It is a slightly higher level than the mage's tower, but it is still doable as your first quest if you prefer. Spoiler for the end of the quest and how it plays out for a Warden who has yet to go to the mage's tower - It finishes with the Warden contemplating Connor's fate. One option is to head to the mage's tower (if not already completed) for help. Despite the time it would take to do that irl, there are no consequences for leaving for so long. Don't worry if you have to fight through the tower, Connor will be just fine until you get back. Bear this in mind when making your choice - when you visit Redcliffe you're suddenly in a timed situation. That very night the village will be attacked, so if you leave and go to the mage's tower, the village is doomed. You can go back to camp, or Lothering, but if you go to any of the main quest hubs the village will be destroyed on your return. - After you've completed 2 out of the 5 main quests, in any order, a new companion becomes available. An elven rogue and a love interest, Zevran, will find the Warden and can join the party. If, like myself, you play on PC and wish he was there from the get-go, you can use this mod to get him into your party as soon as you leave Lothering (therefore not denying you another rogue for half the game) - Next up head to the Brecilian Forest and the Dalish camp, a natural choice for an elf but a challenging one if you're straight out of Ostagar. It is doable that early on, but be prepared for it. - Follow this by returning to the Redcliffe storyline and your hunt for the Urn of Saced Ashes in Haven. - The most important note is to leave the 2 cities, Orzammar and Denerim, until later in the game. They're the highest levelled areas and can be a nightmare for an unsuspecting Warden straight out of the battle of Ostagar. For a more experienced player, they're much easier to handle. - Finally head off to the Landsmeet, remembering that afterwards you can backtrack to any of the previous areas to finish off quests before the end of the game. To trigger the ending, just travel to Redcliffe Castle. RoleplayingHumans - A human has little ties with any of the main quest hubs. Coming from the noble house of Cousland they may feel more comfortable heading to Redcliffe first to ask the Arl for assistance. They would also be interested in Denerim, however no large quest takes place there until the mages, dwarves, elves and Redcliffe soldiers have been recruited. I tend to go there after I've completed 2 of the main quests, but if you go earlier on make sure to save first as there's a tricky combat encounter. Dwarves - A dwarf may feel that they want to go back home a.s.a.p. If you're casteless you may want to show off your new Warden status and meet up with family. A noble may feel the same way, or they may prefer to avoid their former home for as long as possible out of shame or anger. Despite the difficulty you can go explore Orzammar itself with only one fight. There is a gang waiting for you at the gates, but after that you're free to roam around and talk to people before the questing itself begins. Dalish Elves - An obvious choice for them would be to seek aid from their fellow elves in the Brecilian Forest. This is doable as your first quest but it will be a challenge as it's intended for the half way mark. City Elves - Perhaps they would run to the Dalish, perhaps they would run back to Denerim. The choice is yours, but bear in mind both areas are difficult at such an early stage. The logic behind them going to Redcliffe or the mage's tower first is sketchy, unless they happen to have a connection with Alistair or a respect for magic. There's also the rumours you overhear in Lothering regarding the tragedy at the tower, this could inspire any Warden to start there. Mages - An obvious choice for any mage is to go back home, which is handy as it's a great place to start. DLCs- The Stone Prisoner DLC grants you another entertaining squadmate, I recommend doing it early so they can accompany you for the majority of the game. - Return to Ostagar is one I personally prefer to do later on, especially if my team changes in the Landsmeet. Taking the new companion you can get there along to Ostagar with Wynne provides some great dialogue. I also feel that some time is needed for the dust to settle, for the dead to be taken away and for the darkspawn to have drifted from the battlefield, so going there too early on may feel odd. Another option is to head there just before the Landsmeet to gain a greater insight as to why Teryn Loghain acted the way he did. - Warden's Keep is playable any time as the story is stand alone, and the items found there will be raised to whatever level you happen to be when you play it. The same applies to Return to Ostagar.
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Post by gervaise21 on Sept 13, 2018 20:07:06 GMT
My first run as a Dalish elf I headed for the Brecilian Forest first as a place I felt confident of gaining allies but I found the ruins quite challenging that early in the game. Then I headed for Redcliff because Alistair had been so insistent it was a good idea. That meant I automatically had to head for the mage tower next. I still think there should have been a downside to leaving Connor alive if you hadn't already solved the Circle's problems before you go to them for help.
My second run I was a mage and went straight to the Circle after hearing rumours of unrest in Lothering.
Third run my city elf went to Redcliffe first, again because of Alistair's insistence.
I agree Return to Ostagar should be done later in the game but I preferred doing it before the Landsmeet if I wanted my character to have a greater insight into why Loghain behaved as he did. Whilst the dialogue if you take him with you after the Landsmeet seems to imply he did not know what Cailan was up to, that struck me as odd considering right at the beginning we are told he was arguing with the King about Anora. Also it does make a plausible reason for why he acted when he did, given his obsession with Orlais.
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Post by phoray on Sept 15, 2018 0:09:11 GMT
When you enter the Chantry in Lothering, you learn from that Knight that Lord Eamon is deathly ill. Regardless of Alistair's urgings at the gate of Lothering, it is clear that Lord Eamon will not be available for an alliance and/or possibly already dead. Al didn't know this when he made his recommendation.
So either Eamon is too ill to be approached or his death causes red tape with the settling of inheritance and who is the new Lord, along with all the official events that go with taking "the crown" as it were. To me, this is a big flag NOT to go there.
On top of all that, we're walking quite literally to our destinations. We also are aware that there are grave allegations against ourselves and that we desperately need more intel.
It is now my habit to visit the elves of the Brecillian Forest on my way to Denerim based on the above reasoning. In Denerim I then discover several levels of issues along with some actual intel that send me back out into the world. Yes, Denerim is "incomplete" regarding it's many quests, but even if you save the City for the End, it would still send you out all over the countryside anyway. It behooves you as a player to go ahead and sign up for some of these events that only randomly happen while traveling the Map anyway. At this point, Lothering has been destroyed and bands of Darkspawn are ravaging the South. It is safer to use the Imperial Highway called "North Road" to approach the Circle of Magi and then finally check in on Alistair's concerns by heading directly south from the Tower, possibly on the mountain or more precariously on the Denerim side, even fording across the inlet there to avoid Lothering. I think at this point, you also start hearing rumors "on the road" about how something very wrong has occurred at Redcliffe.
It is at this point that we enter Redcliffe and Alistair finally fesses up about being the bastard Prince. At this point, you've spent serious time with Alistair and his sincere apologies about holding back about that information actually make sense. Going to Redcliffe First and him acting like that; you're like, "dude, I barely know you. it's News but it's hardly a friendship betrayal."
Knowing you have the Tower in your back pocket already settled also means you can make the decision about Conner fully informed about your options. Also, you just got done seeing what magic gone awry can cause and so I feel like no matter the background of the Warden, you can't play the Dumb Card.
At that point, I think you get the Urns quest which sends you back to Denerim again. I find this irritating but at least you can move along a bunch of quests from the first visit. (I feel like my brain is tickling me that visiting Denerim may not actually be required to get the information about Haven, but it's eluding me.)
I would like to head canon that I send a bird to an informant I connected with on my first visit to inquire about the whereabouts of Genetivi only for that informant to tell me that the assistant was dodgy and slipped the location of Haven.
Excellent. Now we can run into a guy selling a control Rod on our way to the Frostback mountains, and just dip south a day's walk to get ourselves a Golem. We then head north to Haven, and afterwards a quick dip back to Redcliffe Castle to resolve the Urn Quest. Then it's time for Orzamaar.
I really try to reduce walking back and forth across the map. There are probably a lot of people fleeing TO Denerim from teh south that we could hitch a ride on their wagons from south to North. And perhaps a lot of trade in the north in spite of the civil war that a few coins could get us a ride from east to west to the Magi and Orzamaar. But it's still a crap ton of walking and Bodahn only has a donkey and has to maintain trade of his own. I always imagined he trailed behind and managed to meet us wherever we planned to make camp, not that he followed us like a shadow the entire time.
That's my methodology.
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Post by Heimdall on Sept 15, 2018 12:54:22 GMT
I almost always go to Redcliffe first.
My reasoning being that Alistair’s connection to the Arling gives us a better chance at a good reception even if Arl Eamon is ill. It’s also the geographically closest location on the map, so in the interest of time it makes sense to stop there.
My Dalish was also not overly eager to visit a place controlled by the Chantry (The circle)
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Post by gervaise21 on Sept 15, 2018 16:11:37 GMT
I think there are arguments for any order. I must admit I think I took Phoray's view with one of my city elf Wardens. Having heard that Eamon was ill and having had a bad experience at the hands of human nobles, she took the view she would be better off securing her other allies first. Then she would already have a considerable army at her back to negotiate with the human rulers.
By contrast, my Cousland Warden took Heimdall's view that even if Eamon was ill, it was still worth cultivating the friendship of his wife and retainers, bearing in mind that they would have little love for Loghain.
This is what I meant about role playing. If you immerse yourself in the character you have created, then so long as you are true to them, any order can be justified.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 11:34:39 GMT
My ‘canon’ order is:
- Redcliffe (1) because it’s our strongest lead given Alistair’s ties there - Circle so that I can recruit mages and get help to save Connor - Redcliffe (2) to save Connor - Warden’s Keep on the way to Denerim - Denerim (1) just to find Genitivi (and do the first round of quests) - Brecelian Forest on the way to Haven - Haven/Temple of Sacred Ashes - Redcliffe (3) to wake Eammon - Honnleath for Shale - Return to Ostagar - Orzammar and the Deep Roads - Denerim (2)
This is playing as a dwarf who is reluctant to return to Orzammar, which I see for both dwarf origins as likely. If I were playing a human or elf, I might do Orzammar after saving Connor while I’m on my way to Warden’s Keep and Denerim, since you pass there. Similarly, if I ever chose to let Connor or Isolde die, then I might do the circle tower in that same location as I’m heading to Denerim from Redcliffe/Orzammar.
I try to pick an order that is somewhat realistic for a group of people walking across the country that also makes sense for the narrative.
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Liadan
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Post by Liadan on Jan 15, 2019 22:53:09 GMT
It will depend on my wardens origins: My Couslands go to Redcliffe first, my mages to the Circle, my Dalish and my city elves go to the Brecillian forest and my dwarves will always choose Orzammar to be the last (i headcannon that neither my Aeducan or my Brosca are thrilled to return there). So for my Cousland, who i consider my canon, this is my order: - Honnleath to get Shale; - Redcliffe village and castle; - Circle to get the help from the mages regarding Connor; - Brecillian Forest; - Denerim to find Genitivi and to start the Crows and some of the Chantry board quests; - Haven and the Temple of Sacred Ashes; - Return to Ostagar; - Orzammar and the Deep Roads; - Warden`s Keep; - Denerim and the Landsmeet.
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Post by coldwetn0se on Jan 15, 2019 23:19:32 GMT
Just a quick aside, regarding Zevran. Though I play on the PC primarily (and do in fact use the Zevran ASAP mod), one trick to getting Zevran quicker on the console versions is doing the Mage circle first after Lothering, then head off to Denerim. You don't really need to do anything specific, but a decent RP reason might be checking out what else Loghain may be doing to hunt down the rest of the Wardens. When you leave Denerim, the Zev encounter will trigger.
Obviously there is no right or wrong way to play, but if you are looking at grabbing some of the other companions quicker while playing the console version, this can help. I also tend to get Shale (Stone Prisoner) early on as well.
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Post by sjsharp2010 on Jan 16, 2019 0:57:32 GMT
I think there are arguments for any order. I must admit I think I took Phoray's view with one of my city elf Wardens. Having heard that Eamon was ill and having had a bad experience at the hands of human nobles, she took the view she would be better off securing her other allies first. Then she would already have a considerable army at her back to negotiate with the human rulers. By contrast, my Cousland Warden took Heimdall's view that even if Eamon was ill, it was still worth cultivating the friendship of his wife and retainers, bearing in mind that they would have little love for Loghain. This is what I meant about role playing. If you immerse yourself in the character you have created, then so long as you are true to them, any order can be justified.I tend to pick based on what my character is as well and their allegiances my current warden turned to the Dalish first as she's a city elf and felt she could persuade them to help. She's now as a close friend of Alistair and starting to develop feelings for him has agreed to visit Redcliffe next to check on the Arl and his condition. which will ultimately lead to them likely doing the mage tower to seek the mages help for both Connor and the Blight. The dwarven quests will likely be my last in this run.
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Post by Nightscrawl on Jan 16, 2019 5:16:52 GMT
Mages - An obvious choice for any mage is to go back home, which is handy as it's a great place to start. I agree with this. However, I personally need a bit more roleplay motivation to do so, especially after Alistair goes through his whole spiel about Redcliffe. I can see how other mage players might be happy to be free of the wretched place and not consider going there first for that reason. Luckily, for those that need an extra push, or excuse, Lothering provides that. If you hang out and listen to the gossiping men near the tavern, you will eventually hear them mention the Circle Tower and its troubles. On my mage plays, I use that as my motivation to go there first after Lothering. This also proved to be convenient during the later Connor episode, as you can volunteer, on your own, that the mages "owe [you] a favor," to which Alistair happily agrees. In comparison, on my non-mage play, my Cousland didn't have much frame of reference for mages and their troubles, so hearing of that gossip meant little in the grand scheme of things. To him, learning about Arl Eamon's illness was much more significant. So he went to Redcliffe first and, following through with that roleplay, also did not go to fetch the mages, but chose instead to allow Isolde to sacrifice herself. Some other RP ideas: I can imagine that a dwarf of either origin would have various thoughts on learning of King Endrin's death through the gossip. Aeducan might be interested in the political intrigue and chaos that has wrought, while Brosca might be concerned over Rica's welfare, knowing she is Behlen's lover. A Dalish elf might be distrustful of humans altogether, so might be inclined to go there first and speak to his/her fellow elves. A city elf might in turn be interested in meeting Dalish elves for the very first time.
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Post by ArcadiaGrey on Jan 16, 2019 9:47:42 GMT
Just a quick aside, regarding Zevran. Though I play on the PC primarily (and do in fact use the Zevran ASAP mod), one trick to getting Zevran quicker on the console versions is doing the Mage circle first after Lothering, then head off to Denerim. You don't really need to do anything specific, but a decent RP reason might be checking out what else Loghain may be doing to hunt down the rest of the Wardens. When you leave Denerim, the Zev encounter will trigger. Obviously there is no right or wrong way to play, but if you are looking at grabbing some of the other companions quicker while playing the console version, this can help. I also tend to get Shale (Stone Prisoner) early on as well. I use Zevran asap too, I never knew there was a vanilla way to get him earlier. Nice tip!
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Post by anarchy65 on Jan 16, 2019 14:04:45 GMT
Well, I've got to roleplaying in Dragon Age, but I don't let that change much of my order, for practical reasons
- I like to save everyone at Redcliffe's attack. That is almost impossible without Wynne and a few levels of healing/defense boosts
- Orzammar is the hardest of the four, no doubt. It would be really hard to go there on the beginning of the game without some advanced skills.
But from a RPG point of view, my character doesn't go to Orzammar or Brecilian Forest because there seems to be no trouble with them. Also, he/she doesn't go to Denerim, because it is run by Loghain, I mean, it's basically an invitation to be arrested. I go there to search for Brother Genitivi, and then I make the side quests there.
I normally choose the Mage Tower first for practical reasons (easy, attribute boosts) but it also makes a little sense in roleplaying: you do hear mages are in trouble in Lothering. Also, the templar tell you they called the Rite of Annulment, which means every mage will soon be dead. Sure, Eamon being ill is also an issue, but he might have an heir you can deal with if he dies or a regent, but the mages are about to be purged. Then I go to Redcliffe, Sacred Ashes, Orzammar (to get Oghren) and then Brecilian Forest
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Post by fylimar on Feb 16, 2019 6:49:43 GMT
For metagaming reasons, I like doing the Circle quest first, especially, if I'm not playing a mage, to get Wynne. I can't stand Morrigan and don't like to have her longer than half an hour in my team, and I like Wynne.
With my casteless dwarf I did Orzammar early on (she wanted to see, if her sister is well). That was a challenge, but doable, when you know the maps
With my human Cousland I did Redcliffe/Urne early, which was challenging too, but not too hard.
Normally my order is Circle, Dalish or Redcliffe and then the other, Urne and Orzammar.
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Tittus
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Post by Tittus on Feb 23, 2019 2:39:32 GMT
I like getting all companions as fast as possible and using them all the most I can, so I go: Circle -> Shale -> Orzammar -> Elves -> Redcliffe -> Haven
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Trouble-shooting Space Diva
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Post by melbella on Feb 23, 2019 4:19:46 GMT
Oddly enough, I still ask myself this question every time I play Origins and get to Lothering: So, what now? Sometimes I can't decide and have to stop playing until I can.
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Post by Sifr on Feb 23, 2019 6:20:54 GMT
For gameplay purposes, it's best to go to the Circle because you get a dedicated healer with Wynne, some more levels under your belt and the Fade Fonts provide some nice stat nice buffs. The Fade Fonts are even more handy for Warriors/Mages or if you prefer to min-max. The 5 points in Cunning you receive in the Fade will allow you to easily reach 16 Cunning needed to unlock Max Coercion without wasting (barely) any points, as every Warden starts with 10/11 points already placed in Cunning. If you go to the Circle first, you won't really be needing to pass any hard Persuasion checks anyway, so it's easier to knock that on the head first. Storywise though, going to Redcliffe first seems to make more sense, as it's closest to us, we're short on allies and Alistair has an automatic in with Arl Eamon since he was the one who raised him. Going to Redcliffe first also provides yet another reason for us to seek out the mages, in order to try and help Eamon and Connor. Actually, if I was to change one detail about the Origins storyline, I'd have maybe had Wynne join us in Redcliffe? She could have been travelling with Mages/Templars back to the Circle from Ostagar, only to be waylaid and her party decided to stay to defend Redcliffe. Unfortunately nights of heavy fighting against waves of undead took it's toll and she's one of the few of that party left standing.
Her near-death at the hands of an abomination and merger with the Spirit of Faith could easily have taken place under these circumstances, since it's not at all too dissimilar to how she "died" in the Circle Tower.
This would have removed Wynne from Broken Circle though, as well as made it slightly awkward if you'd already done the Templar ending to Broken Circle before you tried to recruit her. I don't imagine that would go over all that well?
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Post by Guardian on Feb 25, 2019 5:01:22 GMT
I typically go Mage Tower, Redcliffe, Orzammar, then the Brecillian Forest. For my dwarf noble, I went to Orzammar second after the Mages Tower (and I actually regret it to a degree because it was rather difficult I found in terms of power scale). Either before or after the Mage Tower, I will do the beginning of The Stone Prisoner and go to Honleath. Then, usually before or after Redcliffe I'll go do Warden's Keep. And in the final push in Orzammar, I'll take Shale with me for the Caradin reveal and the influence with Shale (and, to keep her from trying to kill us regardless).
However, I do agree with Sifr about going to Redcliffe first making logical sense from a story standpoint, but I'd still go to the Mages Tower first.
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Post by Iddy on Mar 1, 2019 18:01:55 GMT
Flee to Antiva and start a new life.
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Go Team!
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by sjsharp2010 on Mar 22, 2019 17:55:16 GMT
Flee to Antiva and start a new life. And what if he Blight reached Antiva?
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Post by Iddy on Mar 22, 2019 18:01:21 GMT
Flee to Antiva and start a new life. And what if he Blight reached Antiva? Find Solas' orb, tear down the Veil and casually reshape reality
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Post by Absafraginlootly on Mar 25, 2019 3:01:40 GMT
I'm pretty sure that you can do Sacred Ashes before you do redcliffe, if you want to. I think you can get the information about genitivi in denerim from that knight in lothering/his dead friends body and continue the quest from there. Presumably along the thinking that you don't have a treaty to force cooperation with arl eamon like you do with your other options, but if you rock up to Redcliffe with the cure to his illness then your sure to get support, not knowing of course that you'll have to fight through an undead army to get to him.
You'd probably wanna scoop up the circle mages on the way to denerim and the dalish on your way back toward the mountains, both because you might as well minimize your travel time and get them when your close and to make sure the urn quest isn't excessively difficult.
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Post by LadyofNemesis on Mar 25, 2019 7:22:57 GMT
In my first few playthroughs I would go to the Circle first, leaving Orzammar for last though in the very first I went to Redcliffe and ah...accidentally killed Isolde with blood magic I was unaware that I could get help from the Circle and didn't want to kill Connor at the time Though in recent playthroughs I tend to go to recruit Shale first Then Orzammar (because I dislike the Deep Roads and would very much just like to get it over with) Then head to Bann Loren's lands (Return to Ostagar intro), get ambushed by Zevran on my way to the Circle (somehow I always get him after the first main quest and then head to the next area after his intro scene ) Recruit the Mages, then head over to Redcliffe, safe the town yada yada...head back to the Circle to get help for Connor Back to Redcliffe, get the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest, head to Denerim, on the way back head into the Brecilian Forest Get the Ashes, head back to Redcliffe and then back to Denerim and Soldier's Peak before (or after) I safe Anora
Side quests I tend to do when I get them and don't have to move all over the map to finish them I generally complete Return to Ostagar around the same time as when I receive Morrigan's companion quest to deal with Flemeth
I'll likely change things for my next playthrough, but I tend to do Orzammar fairly early on even so Brecilian Forest I tend to leave for last because it's my favorite area
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Post by slimgrin727 on Mar 30, 2019 18:51:06 GMT
I can't bring myself to do anything but head straight to the circle to get Wynne for healing.
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Post by XJlock on May 4, 2019 20:39:12 GMT
The Circle Tower for the tactical reason of gaining the attribute bonus scattered in the Fade.
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Post by capn233 on Jun 6, 2019 1:06:07 GMT
Damn, this thread is a bit old but I really miss discussing DAO strategy or builds. I have to say that I generally have trouble actually role playing and am stuck in a min-max meta-game state of mind. So that lends itself to generally to the same rough order over and over. Good points already made in the thread, but I will throw in my two coppers, and a third for soloing. I honestly can't remember the order I tried to do things in my very first run. All I remember from that was mostly that I was an SNS warrior with crap stat allocation, poor build order, and the game seemed extremely difficult. I think I was trying to grind Brecilian Forest, and as I finally got tired of being terrible, looked at a guide. Generally now Broken Circle is the first treaty area I complete. Complete is a distinction I want to make, since not all quest areas lock you in until it is finished. I am sure that soloing isn't all that popular, but once I started it was a pretty interesting change of pace and really lets you learn the ins and outs of basically every class. It has some influence on the order as well. In party games, you might be tempted to do something like Circle, Redcliffe, Brecilian, Urn, Orz... whatever, but in a solo it might be worthwhile to try something a little more fluid, or at the least slightly different. In a solo I have found it is generally a good idea to go to Denerim first thing after Lothering. There are a couple reasons for this that are consistent for all backgrounds and classes. For one thing, some random encounters are non-trivial at Level 7, and various encounters are keyed to map location. Desolate Highway (the area with a zillion wolves with traps) can appear between Lothering and the Tower, and has a good chance of occurring since there are few plot related encounters that have been unlocked. On the other hand, it does not occur if you go from Lothering to Denerim and then to the Tower. Denerim is also a decent place to make some gold early. The tasks the Sgt of the guard gives you (Pearls Before Swine, Crimson Oars) aren't too horrible and you can get a decent 1H weapon (Aodh). Also with positioning it is possible to complete the Back Alley Justice early before the archers learn Scattershot, which on the whole makes this a doable mission. Dwarf Nobles especially should consider Denerim early since they can sell loot to Gorim for double gold. You can also start on some "Favors for Certain Interested Parties," and activate quests from the Denerim Mage's Collective (which can help avoid Bloody Plains, which blows to solo early for most classes). Although there is a gating encounter, it is also worth considering heading to the Frostback Mountains / Orzammar early, especially if you are a Warrior - Templar. There is an exploit where if you walk completely to the left side of the map, you can stroll right past the Bounty Hunters, and so that gating encounter is skipped. If you have the gold, you can buy Knight Commander's Plate which is easily the best armor a warrior can obtain early, and is arguably the second best armor in DAO for soloing anyway. Getting into Orzammar proper requires passing either a persuade check or another gating encounter vs Loghain's men. Once you do though it isn't all that bad to obtain the Key to the City ring for +2 stats, the only real fight you have to do in Orzammar is the first one in Dust Town. After that, I prefer to do one of two things. For warriors or rogues, I will choose between Honnleath or the Circle Tower. Mages should proceed to the Circle Tower post haste (and can consider skipping Denerim and Orzammar altogether). The reason for this is that the Templar enemies will learn "Holy Smite" at Level 10, and that can ruin your day as a mage in a couple of rooms. I had real trouble with the Desire Demon and Bewitched Templar on my very first mage solo due to this. Warriors and rogues don't have this issue, and to some extent it is better for them to have leveled or geared up slightly more to fight against the magical enemies (eg meet STR requirement for KCP). Grab Yusaris if 2H and not using DLC weapons. As far as Uldred, he is also easier to solo at lower levels, and he is also easiest to solo with characters using ranged weapons (since he does not use Massive Attack against them). The absolute easiest character I used against him was rogue dex archer. It is possible for early game dex archer with Defensive Fire sustain to have enough defense that Uldred essentially can never hit the character (pop Incense of Awareness that you can buy at Spoiled Princess). It went slow as hell though since that character had crap DPS, but I could have went to get a coffee in the mean time. If you go to Honnleath early (which is easier than later), try to save a couple acid flasks for the last encounter. You can funnel the Rage Demons to the steps and nuke them with flasks. Cold and Fire resists don't hurt either. Generally people like Redcliffe as the second treaty quest if they do Circle first, but this is problematic in a solo. At least if you want to keep everyone alive in the Attack at Nightfall. In a solo, especially with a melee character, it will be near impossible to save everyone unless they have learned Scattershot, which happens at Level 12 IIRC. So many times I ended up going back to Denerim or starting Brecilian Forest to get some XP. Except as a rogue, there isn't much of a compelling reason to stop by the Forest out of Lothering. A rogue may want to at least buy the bikini armor from the merchant, since it is the only worthwhile rogue armor until you get Felon's or Wade's, really. If I am grinding XP before Redcliffe, I will agree to do fetch nonsense (Ironbark, Lost to the Curse) and whatever junk, and try to clear the W Brecilian up through the very start of E Brecilian (where you find Danyla). Another consideration is starting Urn of Sacred Ashes so that you can obtain the Ancient Elven Gloves from the Temple. As solo melee, spell resist is very useful and every little bit helps. Can also pick up Armor of Diligence here, but for the most part KCP is going to be more useful. Back to Redcliffe, if you do all you can to prepare the militia (consider avoiding the oil), and they have Scattershot, it is doable to beat Attack at Nightfall solo with no casualties. Don't get me wrong, it is still a PITA as a non-mage, but it is doable. Otherwise the only thing that is really potentially a cluster is the room of armored suits with overlapping Rally. Corners can be your friend here if a melee character. Mages should have been rofl-stomping everything by the end of the Tower (assuming non-hipster build order). Going into the Fade with the help of the Circle is probably the easiest, but I don't find the other version of the fight all that difficult by this level. Next you can finish Urn or the Werewolf quest, it doesn't matter a whole lot. Or you can do DLC junk (Warden's Keep, RtO). Cailan's armor is good, but probably not quite ideal as a set for solo warrior. The Warden Commander armor is very good for a Strength Rogue (semi hipster character) and ok on 2H warrior. But in general KCP mixed with gloves and boots from these is better. Benefits of working on or finishing Urn first is getting Drake scales so you can start getting armor from Wade. 3 Drake room is probably best semi-cheesed in a nook by cages so as to limit exposure. Kolgrim is slightly easier if you fight him in the first encounter (level scaling difference) as opposed to after getting the Ashes. You don't have to fight the High Dragon right away. This is a pain for a lot of solo characters, especially if you want to really be a masochist and try it without healing pots. AW's will get Spellweaver, but in reality a staff is the best weapon for solo AW, and a couple other 1H will beat out Spellweaver anyway (eg Veshialle, Maric's, Starfang). Alternatively, Nature of the Beast is more steady in difficulty and has a lot of loot and gold. Not so much in the way of useful unique items though. Best item here is probably Dusk Ring, which you can pick up before Redcliffe and is really only decent for rogue. Falon'Din's Reach is just adequate for an archer. Jugg set is good for gold. For Lair of the Werewolves, you need to have a way to deal with Overwhelms. Mage can nuke everything, but warrior and rogue should have some armor and health regen. Traps can also be employed to good effect here. Final fight isn't too bad, especially amusing as Templar or rogue vs Zathrien. I find Orzammar a bit tedious, and the Deep Roads especially so which is why I do the bulk of it last. You can and should travel here as needed since the best early solo big purchase (besides KCP for warriors) is Lifegiver. The next best expensive item sold here is Rose's Thorn, which is in every top combination of dual weapons. Diligence gloves in the Shaperate aren't bad for armor buff, so grab if you can. 2H can get Ageless if you are helping Bhelen early, but it is probably redundant (should have obtained Yusaris, Starfang or even Chasind Great Maul by then). Boss fights in this quest can be rough depending on class, and is another reason I like to put it off. You are pretty exposed in most places in the Jarvia fight, and she has decent amount of defense. Also the DOT from Dual Wield Expert that they apply can add up. But typically if you have made it this far, you will get past it. Corrupted Spider Queen is basically a cheater though. She uses the stacked DOT bug against you (via Poison Spit) and so you have to be careful how you engage her, or it will become impossible to heal through the DOT. Nature resist can help, but really you have to avoid letting her camp at range and stack the DOTs. Cheesing behind the rock formation is the easiest way. Branka is practically the only challenge for a late game mage in the game, and can be tough for some melee. She has high spell resistance, and decent physical resistance. She also has the help of Golems, which oddly are immune to critical hits IIRC. 2H warrior came to kick ass and chew gum, but is all out of gum. Treaty quests over, it is time to lose motivation for the end game. And or wrap up High Dragon, Flemmeth, or whatever DLC and side quests.
edit: I think this post ended up being longer than the game.
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