Dragon age - too easy ?

[narta]

Ok guys, first excuse my poor english and all :P

Second, i'm new hear since i was looking for more challenges by downloading mods around there so i'm pretty new to it :)

 

 

 

Well i've got only one issue with this game, I find it hella easy.

I made a first game in normal mode, which was kinda disappointing. Died a lot, took some skills that i never used afterwhile etc... Well this game was a complete nightmare but it was the first time i played DAO so i had to discover all its secrets.

 

Then i started a second game in hard which was, in fact, easier than my first game in normal mode. I knew which talents, skills and spells were useless and which ones were good. This game didn't last too long and i finished it with a wise use of the pause quite easily.

 

Then i started a new game, in nightmare this time expecting a great challenge and a finally harder game. That wasn't the case.

I had to hit the spacebar button maybe 4 times during the whole campaign playing all my fights with the tactics system without dying. (pretty sure that if i could let all my characters play with tactics without mods, they could still finish the game by themselves)

 

So, is it me or once you finish the game, DAO vanilla is unable to "evolve" and provide new challenges by itself ?

 

Today, i'm gonna start a new game with the Nightmare Plus mod. Hoping to finally find the challenge i'm looking for that will make me keep playing the Dragon Age :)

 

It's a good Role Playing game with lots of very good stuffs regarding the story and interactions with all the NPCs.

But it still lacks a good and enjoyable combat system.

[evilhippo]

I disagree completely. I think the difficulty is just about right but of course it depends on what you are looking for.

[narta]

What are you looking for to find the game good as it is in the Vanilla version ? :P

 

Well I was looking for a great RPG game with a nice story, the possibility to make my own choices throughout the game that would deeply influence the story. As I wrote in the first post, I am totally satisfied (except some bugs) for the RP part.

 

But i was also looking for good combat mechanics and difficulty during fights. I wanted to have to elaborate different strategies for each fight instead of a simple sleep, taunt, dps with monsters deploying a higher diversity of spells used, more teamplay from the IA etc...

 

Sometimes, where the game is supposed to offer a good strategic combat system with a party of 4 characters and lots of ennemies it ends being a brainless hack'n'slash game. :(

[Stormwind32]

My experience with the game progressed pretty much the same way as the OP. I never played it on the console but I am told the game play was streamlined (i.e. hack and slash) because they did not want console users to have to pause combat.

 

Some people have created their own challenges for the game:

 

1- Dead is Dead: If the main character dies, the scrap him and start from scratch. If a party member dies, they kick him/her out of the party or keep them in camp if its Alistair.

 

2- Nightmare Solo: This is doable as an Arcane Warrior, but trying it as an archer or two handed warrior can be very interesting. Some people take it a step further and don't use party members for crafting items - only the main character crafts tems

 

3- No Potions: No potion, salve or balm consumption for the entire game.

 

So there are a few things you can do to keep things interesting.

[TGBlank]

Self challenges are interesting. You can go from deciding not to use a certain group of OP spells, to outright soloing without potions.

 

Solo AW is sort of easy, solo rogue is quite interesting (did two archers and a dw), solo warrior doesn't sound fun, warriors lack tactical alternatives and skillpoints, they just go into reload-fest until they're wearing decent/endgame armor then spellresist their way to endgame. 2handers are even less fun in that their survival is the worst, needing to rely into MAD to get by.

 

With spells, you could try different combinations, like switching to friendly-fire but mighty spells like fireball, or switching strategies entirely and going with only passive CC (glyph of repulsion, earthquake, grease). My repulsion + grease + virulent walking bomb mage is helluva fun to play.

 

No potions is far harder than it sounds, specially if you go no mana potions.

 

There's also mods, like nightmare +, there should also be one or two that tweak potions and the like. More will crop up with time.

[Stormwind32]

I dunno TG, I did a 2 playthroughs as a 2H warrior to get the hang of it and I think I am ready to give solo nightmare a try. I used to be strictly Sword'n'Board when it comes to warriors, but after reading up on 2H and putting it to use, I have to say its a lot of fun. The reduced defense rating is a pain, and there is this reliance on potions. But a 2H warrior with decent spell resist has the potential to be a real juggernaut. The no-stun no-knockdown ability is pretty neat, and I all but forgot the terror of Denerim scattershots!

 

I will admit that my first attempts where disasters, but when I read up and understood all about the penalties of things like precise striking and powerful swings, it became a lot better.

[Nanaski]

Personally, I feel like the balance patches had more to do with the game getting easier than just becoming familiar with the system. I was on my first playthrough when the first patches hit, and immediately I could tell things were much easier on Normal.

 

I think if Bioware had given players more time to become familiar with the game, the cries of difficulty would have died down, and we'd still have some challenge in Nightmare mode. All we can do now is use mods to increase difficulty rating.

[TGBlank]

As far as i understand, the only change on difficulty made by patches was to denerim fights not scaling properly with level.

 

@Stormwind32

Warriors have issues soloing: they require spell resist to deal with mages (and you can't have enough of it until lvl 9~12), they require massive armor and/or a lot of dex to deal with crowds and you can't have decent armor till you can buy blood dragon dlc, complete WC dlc, or brave deep roads/heaven/bresilian. At late levels, the massive armor won't be enough by itself (requiring decent/high dex).

They also lack options to deal with foes, so a failed encounter isn't a matter of spending a few bombs/traps or sneaking and attacking from another angle (rogue), or trying to lockdown a different foe or cc a different group (mage). For a warrior, a failed encounter means reload & repeat until luck favors you. This reload fest is extremely annoying at early levels, particularly the ogre fight.

 

On top of that, 2handers have several survival disadvantages compared to shield warriors or dual wielding: they lack the defense bonus of a shield (or dual weapon finesse's +5), they lack the stat bonuses that said shield or offhand weapon would give (in addition to the extra 3 rune slots of an offhand weapon), they kill slower, and their sole source of damage & talent requirement is strength (unlike the other two who can go dex early and use daggers, and either switch to str+swords at later levels or stick with daggers&dex).

 

This last problem is grave, as a 2hander is forced to decide between having a decent defense to survive and having talents, new shiny weapon & good damage at the early 1-10 levels. Their only real defensive advantage, indomitable, can be almost replicated by 2-3 master or grandmaster resistance runes (which you can have easily before denerim's scattershot-fest).

 

 

 

It is still possible, mind you, just annoying and repetitive till you get great gear.

[Stormwind32]

I can't agree with you there. From my experience scattershot will stun a weapon & shield warrior regardless of physical resistance, where as a 2H with indomitable cannot be stunned. Also when dealing with some of the larger mobs there are other tactics you can employ, like getting yourself into a corner so you only engage a few at a time. That is how I solo'd Witherfang and her entourage, both as a Sword'n'Board and as a 2H warrior. With enemies like Uldred, they never cast when being engaged in melee, they cast only when they shove you away. So you can slowly move towards the wall and bring him with you and then it is not an issue. If you have done lots of play throughs you tend to memorize where all the mages and hot spots are and plan for them accordingly.

 

As for two handed speed, that is what swift salves are used for. I usually go with Templar/Reaver, and I use pots and devour to manage health, and will sometimes kick in Blood Thirst (warden keep dlc) and Blood Frenzy (Reaver ability) to deal alot of damage when I have a good health buffer.

 

There is some cheap gear like the executioner helm and what not that does offer stamina bonuses, but I do agree with you that getting the Warden Commander armor from the DLC, as well as the blood dragon armor is important and can hold you over until you get better gear.

 

I toyed around with the stamina potion mod yesterday, it completely changes everything for 2H, but it hardly gives someone bragging rights if they use it to do a 2H Nightmare solo.

 

Edit: Also wanted to wanted to add that my 2H experience improved dramatically when I stopped using powerful swings.

[TGBlank]

Which still leaves us at the same issue. A warrior haves less options when dealing with crowds: A rogue haves a plethora of ways for both avoiding and getting away, a mage is a born crowd controller, but a warrior can only tank and hope for the best; if the best doesn't happen and you die, there's not many things you can try to make the combat go differently, particularly if it's an ambush-type of encounter and you're left with no path to retreat, you're left to the whims of the dice.

 

As for the other things, uldred is a non-issue (unbound, garxtrang or wevs its named and blood mages on their denerim hideout are much more spell-happy; i wouldn't try that denerim place without 80+ spell resist).

Blood frenezy is a terrible, terrible ability (at 1% health it gives the same bonus as berzerk), the first two reaver abilities are the only ones decent.

 

As for speed, we're left with the same issue: 2handers are slower at killing, salves won't make a difference simply because they don't affect talents, and the other warrior builds can use them too.

 

 

Try rolling a momentum-using, aoeing, dagger-wielding dex dwarf (with some str for armor, and perhaps con to 25, still make dex & momentum an early priority). Templar or champion zerker. The extra 3 rune slots, the greater damage output, defense and aoes make a much better warrior, particularly for solo (mechanic-wise).

 

This also brings another issue: defeating the ogre solo is quite the fun for a rogue, and a tad frustrating for a warrior.