Customizing the game in your vision.

[HollownessDevoured]

So just wondering about other modders out there, how they feel about customizing DA:O in to their own image. Some might be pure aesthetics, other skills/spells changes or additions, some might be better gear, etc. I started my vision as of last year, took a break for several months and am back at it. I am not an expert in modding so I have my limitations but here is how I am changing my game, rebalancing and the results:

 

• First I only play mages and always arcane warriors, so I wanted to add/change more skills to reflect that.
• I didn't like carrying a cunning rogue just for unlocking chests and disarming chests, so made my mages hidden rogues with lock picking and stealth abilities. Plus I added high cunning items (made it a crazy low damage with high cunning dagger on weapon switch) in game with no other use, just to switch out to unlock/disarm when needed.
• Some skills just awarded through plot triggers, I do not feel that coercion and stealing given away free breaks the game, especially if you are on you 20+ run through. Poison/herbalism, is given to your companions but having to leave camp to use them is annoying, so I just gave them to the Warden (when they join) for less tedious back and forth.
• More gold making and more reagents. Just so you don't always feel broke and low on craft materials.
• Gear, I always felt I rushed to get good gear that I never really enjoyed the game in the process, so I both made better DLC equivalent mage gear and some added some better AW weapons early game. But I also do not want to rely on a poultice popping game.
• Now I had to make the game more difficult, not just because of improved abilities and gear but because I played so much I already could play on nightmare with 3 party members before that (keeping healer passive/only to heal, and Leliana at one point passive only to open chests/disarm/unlock), and even more so now.
• Longer fights, now I have fun gear and abilities I want fights to last longer to enjoy, adding more health scaling to enemies and removing one shot enemies, also making the game more difficult.
• Added more premium gear for when running 2-3 party members, keeping forced party members to be passive (with no tactics, besides Wynne set as passive healer), besides Alistair.
• Poisons got tedious to keep up, so added runes with the poison properties so no need to reapply for which ever effect I want permanently.
• Rune upgrades even further, added some fatigue reduction, melee crit/crit damage stats, etc, instead of equipping rogue/warrior gear.
• I feel the AW fatigue issues are solved without being over generous. I feel my AW is as melee strong as spell strong. But just incase increased game difficulty a bit more, gearing some enemies in actual stat gear (Desire Demon might just be your new worst enemy), creature weapons improved and more.
• Geared and ready for Awakenings. By the end of the game, you have sick gear and your are spec'd ideally, but for just the end of the game? No, this gear is also meant to last you almost all of Awakenings too.

 

Game seems to run between a fun difficulty to occasional feel the character overpowered, but! Certain enemies and encounters really can kick your butt, especially if you are running 2-3 in a party. Grab, overwhelm and casters, can be instant death. Some content must be skipped till higher levels (do DLCs first they even with increased difficulty are fairly easy compared). I am still trying to do a full run through to make sure it is possible to complete the game on this difficulty.

 

I feel some quality of life in the game is just more flowing (like All Shapeshifting from Mouse mod, no back and forth in the fade) and more class hybrid friendly. I set up mini goals for myself to make sure I don't get lazy (like saving an many NPC lives as possible, in some cases it is not or hard to even save 1). Modding definitely opened up the game for me on a whole new level. And the freedom to keep changing, balancing and improving the game to my style is just amazing.

 

 

TLDR: So just wondering about other modders out there, how they feel about customizing DA:O in to their own image? What have you learned and experienced in trial and error? What are you must have and must skip/remove from the game?

Edited February 15, 2023 by HollownessDevoured