What did you do today in DA? [Spoilers]

There is the Gibbed DragonAge SaveGenerator for re-creating your decisions from the complete DA:O UE into a small game-save usable for starting DA2. It works in a similar way as Dragon Age Keep for DA:I. I am using it when I want to play DA2 with a specific DA:O outcome for which I don`t have a saved character. Or when I don`t want to bother searching for a DA:O final save.

I rarely play a mage Warden in DA:O, although I finished the game with both a male Amell and Surana. I played them as Arcane Warriors / Spirit Healers. It`s the most versatile mage combination for me, and offers a large degree of freedom for choosing companions - no other mage is needed in the party for any fight.
As for the spells, I like to use the hex line from Entropy, the Mana Clash and Crushing Prison lines from Spirit, the glyphs (or at least the first) and Haste lines from Creation. And of course, the Ice and Electricity lines for the Storm of the Century, if possible. The Paralysis line from Entropy is also good if you want to use your mage as a tank.

I still hate the writters a little for the warden vs Hawke choice :lol: I loved my old canon, where I thought Alistair would be perfectly happy with the wardens for thirty years or so at least... But since I'm incapable of letting him die, now he has to be king, and since he doesn't want to be king if you leave him alone, I have to harden him, which I hate :( I know it's only a line, but there are times when a line is so not in you that you just can't :pinched: or am I the only one who has this kind of silly RP issues? :lol:

I hardened Alistair in the only post-DAI DAO pt I had, and I've been reusing everytime I started a pt in DA2, and previously I'd only make the choice in the keep to play DAI, and that was easy, if I don't have to see it I'm fine with it :lol: I actually considered playing my old canon, then make him king for DAI via keep, pretending it happened later, because Anora died and by then he was more willing to be king, but it seemed like too much headcanon :lol:

In the end I decided that it was easier to take advantage of the silent PC and headcanon only that I said something else :lol: something nicer, though it had the same hardening effect because why not? stranger things happen in Thedas all the time :P I don't remember much how his dialogues about becoming king once he's hardened are, because I never played it much like that and my bitterness for "having" to change my canon coloured the whole experience last time :lol: I hope he sounds happy enought about it, I think this time I might be able to enjoy it all more :lol:

Also, my DAO's combat skills were always poor, but now I'm rusty and they're even worse :lol: I keep making build mistakes, I think, that or I don't remember the basics of using the spells right :lol: I totally forgot about the friendly fire and I raced to get the spells for SotC (and mana clash, while I was at it), and now I finally got them but I'm kind of missing having more glyph and healing spells, or at least some trinket that would enhance electricity resistance :facepalm: :lol:

It's true though that I remember enough to know I'm going to end up anyway casting Mana Clash and SotC from a mile away, before I even open the doors, a very "kill first, ask questions never" approach that kind of fits badly with all her coercion skills :lol: Still, having at least a glyph of repulsion at the entrance would help :P and it never hurts to get paralysis explosion soon either... I don't know if anyone here plays healers, or mages in general, in DAO? To see how you build them (and use them)

I am sorry, there is no SaveGenerator for PS3 I know of.

I also played my Arcane Warrior / Spirit Healer mages more as ranged controllers and damage dealers. Only used a sword and shield with them when forced.
DA:O is not that difficult to play, even on Nightmare. The trick is to hold the initiative in combat and to incapacitate/eliminate the most dangerous foe asap. Every class is capable of doing this with the right specializations.
Of course, I always play DA:O with tactics disabled, except a single line one for Oghren (activate Berserker when a foe is in sight). Because I want to choose the timing and sequence of all abilities carefully in combat.

Which difficulty level where you playing on? I play on Normal, and overall, I had no problems with my Mage. I used the walking bomb spell a lot, trying to tag it on any creature that my tank first pulled, so would drop the health first. if I could see a big group closing in, I'd put ice storm or tempest down. Obviously, lots of freeze spells and paralyzingly ward/gliph, and I had chain lightening and shock. I had to put the Chain lightening on script, because I could not initiate it manually by some reason (so I had it scripted to trigger when enemies closed mid range).. I can't remember off hand, but iirc that was also in Origins, a variation of the Fist spell, that was great to interrupt the spell-casters, I used it when their guy was half way through cast of chain lightening or fireball, or other long cast dps spell. This way he lost his cast and wasted his time.

I used that mana drain sustained state to keep my mana up in combat, and once in a while I shifted into the fade state from arcane warrior if I wanted to use the sword.

In healing, I used the green life ward on Zevran because he'd normally go behind the enemy lines to backstab and keep pressure on their spell caster. I rarely used the stamina boost because I was out of mana. Tank was a second candidate for the life ward, but I would start him off with the HoT on him (the regeneration), and then cast heal on demand as he needs it. Mass heal is situational, or to save the tank/secondary healer. Ressurect saved for tank or secondary healer if I had one.

I also pause all the time in Origins, and use the point and click for spells (blush), very much like the old turn based games.

Overall, when I got to Awakening, Anders had a very similar build to my Mage.

Hope this helps.