Discussing DA:O

[dragon awakened]

First off thank you for at least reading this.

 

I'm working on finishing off FO3 then I will be moving on to DA:O soon. (Getting back to my sword & sorcery gaming roots.) I have done quite a bit of research on youtube watching how the game is played. I've seen a few of the walkthroughs (dwarven noble, human noble, city elf, dalesh elf) I have not seen anything on commoner humans or commoner dwarves. I understand that there are only 3 races and 3 classes but that the races all have different offshoots. I already made the decision that I will not be playing an elf, they are too small and I do not like their "conquored and enslaved race" background. I have always been a warrior/fighter player so I'm setting up on a human for race. My question on humans is... Is there only a human noble or does the human commoner storyline exist?

 

I've gone through Wiki and not a lot of my questions were answered there in the provided materials. I came here to discuss this game with people who have played it.

 

Any suggestions on weapons? I'm looking at sword & board (shield) build but I'm not seeing any shields that look like the old roman scutum (the big rectangular shield the Roman legions use) depending on what I read here I may change my weapon plans. Any suggested mods?

 

Once again thank you for your time and hopeful input,

 

Dragon Awakened

[Thandal]

Welcome! You're in a forum devoted to fans, so most of us love the game. We'll tell you you're in for a treat. :laugh:

 

Play it through the first time "unmodded", it's more than worth it. After that you'll know what mods you'd like, and be able to better appreciate what the good ones are doing to enhance your experience.

 

There is no "Human Commoner" origin. (There are signs that it was at least started, but didn't make the final cut. Many of us see DA2 as that missing story.)

 

The is a "Dwarf Commoner" origin. (I think it's one of the best!)

 

Use the "Files" Section of DANexus, and serach for "shield". You should find something you like there!

 

Enjoy! :thumbsup:

[dunvi]

There's only a human noble story line. It's one of the few really disappointing things about the game to me, although I know that even 6 story lines is a ridiculously intensive amount of coding so I forgive them. I won't comment on your over-thinking before you even have the game! :P

 

I also agree that the wiki is not very complete and is difficult to navigate. It's a lot easier, however, when you know exactly what you're looking for in the middle of the game, and has a lot of useful information if you're interested in the nitty-gritty of how the calculations work (which I do recommend because it helps a lot in figuring out how to run your character).

 

All of the builds are good, although some do need some major bug-fixing to be very useful. Sword and shield is fine on its own, and it works really well with the available specializations so that's good. It will be doubling a class early in the game, but soon enough you'll get enough other companions to round out your party. Either that, or get a respec mod and change Alistair up, but I don't recommend this for the first playthrough. I don't know of any shields that are scutums explicitly (and if you seriously care, you're seriously overthinking it but you can ask for a mod on the forums). There are rectangular shields, Fade Wall is the one I thought of first.

 

As for the other styles, two-handed is very powerful if you spec it right and you like that style. I'm personally very fond of dual-wielding, which if specced right can take down entire mobs on their own without even trying, although it does require a lot more micromanaging in my experience than either S&S and 2H which can basically run themselves pretty early on. Ranged you should pass on for a first run - it's much more powerful with a rogue build than a warrior build, it needs a mature character to reach its potential, and it has some really serious bugs. Also consider trying a mage build, perhaps for a second run through (if you don't want to play twice, you're weird :P).

 

For mods, I recommend playing all the way through before modding it, even without bug-fixes. For mods, I'm a purist - I have a few mods installed, but only ones that I feel make the game closer to what it was supposed to be, than ones that make me ridiculously overpowered or the characters super-sexy or what-have-you. The mod I consider a must have is: DA Rules Fixpack which fixes a *lot* of mostly combat-related bugs. I also have a couple of dialogue fixes, Advanced Tactics is incredibly useful, and Skip the Fade is great for re-runs.

 

[ETA: holy crap it's been ages since I used bb code...]

[brokenergy]

Hello new person, unfortunately there is no human commoner Origins in DA as it was cut due to time and they have other ideas for it. The wiki is actually a lot easier than lets say Mass Effect wiki or other wikis but due to the website upgrade, it became lot less accessible and it is hard to navigate at the moment. The wiki is more complete than other wikis and I feel that it is a good wiki, compared to other wikis and all of the moderators there are members of the BSN.

 

As for human commoner... that's basically DA2 as the protagonist is a human commoner. I also recommend that you do play an elf sometime as it is a great twist to elven stereotypes and you don't necessary need to play city elf to experience it. Dalish is more like elven rangers and they are more free than CE.

 

Anyways do play without mods for the start then plan what mods to download later. I hope you do have fun and if you have issues regarding the lore, seek us out and we can help.

[ell46]

I echo most of what has been said already, but have to say it's a pity you have watched video's and read so much. I played my first game knowing next to nothing, I didn't even know about mods or Nexus and have to say I'm glad I played my first game in complete ignorance, because as I started to add mods knowing exactly what I wanted, the game really opened up and became more and more enjoyable.

 

If you are only planning on playing a human noble or mage you are going to miss a lot of good story lines, but I have to be careful because I have never played a dwarf and at this point in time, still don't want to, but I might one day, sorry Thandal :tongue:

 

Also don't get stuck in a rut regarding class and weapons, I was like that to begin with, but have now played every class and used every weapon and I would find it very difficult to say which I prefer, they each bring something different to the game and for me change the feel of combat, So don't close yourself off to the idea, give it a go and if you really hate being an archer or what ever you can always stop the game and start a new one.

 

There is also an excellent thread on the BW forums here and seriously don't read it until you have done your first playthrough, if nothing else it's a good laugh.

[Thandal]

@Dragon; So that's three-for-three who recommend playing WITHOUT mods your first time through. :laugh:

 

Really. It's better that way. Give it a go with your favourite race/class, then get "experimental" after that! :thumbsup:

 

@Ell; I admit to being stuck in a rut. I so enjoy playing a Rogue (and not just in DA) that I haven't really bothered with the other classes. Once only as a Human Mage, and once through Awakenings as an Orlesian (Human Warrior) Warden. :tongue:

[RustyBlade]

@Dragon; So that's three-for-three who recommend playing WITHOUT mods your first time through. :laugh:

 

Make that four for four :cool: I haven't commented up until now because the discussion was for humans and I play mostly elves.

[XTR3M368]

Playing through totally vanilla the first time and then modding it for the second time is like going from dial-up internet to broadband. It will really give you an appreciation for mods like Dracomies Dragon Age Redesigned, the popular weapon and armor mods, and some of the new classes and talent mods out there. DA is like Oblivion. It is a great story, but the NPCs are UGLY and most of the vanilla weapons and armor look like they were made with a sledgehammer and a chainsaw.

 

There are mods like Slink's RAVage that add GOOD drops to defeated enemies and add more enemies and make the game significantly harder. After you play it through once, you will probably have a pretty good idea of what you would like to see improved. There are quite a few choices that should fit your preferences. Starting with the "Top 100" list on the Nexus and looking at what is there is a good place to start. Asking for a mod you would like to see is the next good step...it might already be made. If it is, someone will point you to it.

 

Have fun and go "lay a beat down" on the baddies! :thumbsup:

 

I play almost exclusively human. I would play as a Qunari if it would let me.

[ell46]

@Dragon; So that's three-for-three who recommend playing WITHOUT mods your first time through. :laugh:

 

Make that four for four :cool: I haven't commented up until now because the discussion was for humans and I play mostly elves.

 

I was exactly like both of you, came into this game with the mind set of Elf or Human, warrior, 2 handed sword, end of. First I was disappointed I couldn't be a warrior with some magic, then I was peeved that I had to control anyone fighting, but it was better than having to actually take aim or do parries and that rubbish. Didn't really want to talk to PC's never had that before that I could remember, who cares if they like me or not, so I didn't bother much with the camp or talking to anyone, that came as a bit of a shock when I found that sometimes cut scenes happened when you went into camp.

 

Started with my fave which is elf and THEN!!! went into the fade and had to switch classes, with all those spells and stuff I came out of that feeling awesome and couldn't wait to play a mage just to be able to crush and freeze things :laugh: So obviously next came the mage which felt weird for a while fighting from a distance, but I felt invincible most of the time. Then I got sick of not being able to open the chests at the start of the game so next came rogue and from that I started taking control of various characters like Alistair to see what it would be like to be a templar, God forbid I would fight with a shield, but I loved smiting people and shield bashing them.

 

I can now say hand on heart, I will play with any weapon and 2 handed swords are bottom of the list these days and I wouldn't mind playing as a golem, but would prefer there were no romance options...ugh :laugh:

 

This new DLC Mod DarkTimes, has a few fights you have to do alone and the first one, I thought OH C* no way am I going to win this, I really had to work my talents and plan the strategy to survive, but it was a good experience and I think maybe the original game could have done with just a couple of fights like that, it really made me appreciate the talents more.

 

For someone who didn't care much for fighting before this game, I've turned into a right bloodthirsty :devil: at the moment I can't get enough of turning things into exploding bombs.

[dragon awakened]

Wow people actually responded (I've gotten quite a few tumbleweeds and cricket chirps through my past posts) :) I now have to figure out where to start my replies without rambling on. I've had a bit too much coffee this morning so this could be a challenge.

 

From the look of Dragon Age there will not be much that I would want to see modded. Perhaps appearance mods (longer hair styles for female characters) maybe a weapon or two nothing highly overboard. I do quite a bit of research on games before I buy them because I have run into a lot of games that looked cool and got great reviews from other people but turned out to suck so badly that a hurricane seems like a gentle breeze.

 

First thing I got to see was that much of the weaponry and hairstyles that are in Biowares DA:O look to be ported over from their Neverwinter Nights with a couple of minor modifications. Bioware is notorious for keeping their hairstyles from short to mid shoulderblades length, this is not a complaint just an observation. The game looks amazing just from an art standpoint and the game seems to pull no punches which is a big plus to me.

 

When I play a game I try to plan everything out on a character and go from there. I absolutely suck at using spell casters so the only paths I see are the warrior or rogue classes. The missile system did look a bit buggy (I'd personally take a throwing axe or spear over a bow because they allow you to keep a shield in place while you strike from a distance) I know the weapon systems are limited (no throwing axes or spears).

 

With regard to character race I understand I seem a bit closed minded. If I step off the human path I'd go with the Dalesh Elf as it seems a bit less "Lay down and take it" than the City Elves. My only other problems with the elves is they are in my view just way too short. I just prefer the lore of Tolkien's Elves where they are easily as tall as humans and more than a handful for their foes. The weapons just look rediculously huge on them.

 

As far as playthroughs I typically play a game once and move on, there have been a few exceptions though. I'm only going to play FO3 through one time (I always play on the Very Good karma track or good alignement paths in games. It's just my nature.) As far as overthinking during games I'm guilty as charged. Initially I was going to go with War in The North a new LOTR non mmo coming out but it looks more like a button masher than any type of RPG.

 

Enough yapping from me for now, I'm sure I cured someones insomnia by now.

 

Thanks for the input and answers.

Edited November 23, 2010 by dragon awakened