Mod suggestions?

[justaking]

New to modding DA Origins. Never knew there were so many for this game! haha. Can anyone suggest some of the best for adding content such as quests, characters, classes/abilities, etc? Thanks guys.

[MajorPayne559]

I would like to see death stranding skin mod, make a metal gear solid snake skin. Can't believe no one has done it yet.

[balmz]

there's dragon age extended, dark times, alley of murders, nightblades, tombs of the dead

[theskymoves]

Some of the more popular quest mods for DAO, like Alley of Murders, Dark Times, and The Bloodworks, aren't very lore friendly, IMO, though they are fairly polished and playable. There are a number of quest mods by Sonmeister/smundell that are popular as well; I've never played any of those, though.

For a playthrough where Alistair is romanced, I recommend LadyHonor's Enchanting Mementos.

There are also quite a few 'standalone' quest mods that take place outside of the main game, sort of like Leliana's Song or Darkspawn Chronicles; one does not play as 'The Warden' in those. Some of the better standalones are Fragments of Ferelden and the sequel, The Broken City, and Trouble in Rainesfere.

 

There's also a large, ambitous standalone called Thirst that I've played and enjoyed a couple of times, though I recommend that with caveat that it strays from the established lore.

There's also the Bioware promo DLC, A Tale of Orzammar, which is especially good when used as a 'prequel' to a dwarf- origin playthrough.

And I REALLY like Tombs of the Undead. That one is played during the main DAO quest, and is a series of progressively more difficult dungeon crawls. (The last one is absolutely brutal on Nightmare, which makes it just about the best thing ever.)

Note that standalone quest mods shouldn't be installed when you are playing any of the Bioware content (main campaign, Awakening or DLC) since the character creation from the standalone can mess with how vanilla assets function. (Warden backgrounds get screwed up, that sort of thing.)

Best thing to do is to look through the 'Quests and Adventures' and 'Locations: Dungeons' categories here on the Nexus, and see what files look interesting. Then read through all documentation and the user comments... a lot of the quest mods are WIPs that have unaddressed bugs, or issues that make them un-fun to play, like computer generated voices.

 

The only talent overhaul/additions I've ever used are Spell School - Divine, and Ancient Blood Magic; the latter is very buggy, though and I hesitate to recommend it for a toe-in-the-water modding experience.

None of the mods which add additional companions had any appeal for me - I barely use most of the companions that the game offers by default - but I do like Extra Dog Slot, so I can take my pupper along. (Note EDS should not be installed prior to Lothering when playing a Human Noble Warden, as it locks Dog into the party during the Ostagar Prelude arc.)

[FIREFLY11]

Hey justaking! While this isn't a quest mod, it's one that's incredibly useful: Make Console Commands Visible: https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1110. There are more than a few mods out there that can only be played by entering the proper code using the console commands. The trouble is, under normal circumstances, the console commands you input are not visible and a single typo means the mod won't work. This mod fixes that by making the commands you type in visible, so it's definitely a must-have if you want to use any mods that rely on console commands.

 

As for quest mods, in addition to the ones recommended by Sky and balmz, Spiders and Knives is a small, but worthwhile addition; Hilltop Under Siege, Ancient Elven Ruins, and Calenhad's Tomb are lots of fun & will extend your game play, and Temple of Vulak if you're up for a real challenge (esp. on Nightmare! :wink:). Have fun!

 

Best,

 

FIREFLY11

[Thandal]

@justaking; You might want to check this thread:

Good Mods?

It's an oldie, but has a good discussion of the various "types" of mods and which ones people liked and why.