spoiler 1st Impressions

[dragon awakened]

Well I have been playing a couple of days now and I've had quite a few laughs and growls. The controls took a bit to get used to and there were times I missed out on some combat due to a clunky camera angle (forgot the pause) My first test character was a sword and board build, the second was a dual wielding dwarven commoner rogue (quickly deleted), I'm working on a dual-wielding warrior now just out of the joining and getting ready to go after the tower to light the beacon. My damage output on the current character is much better so far. The archery system is not too bad, I've been able to pull a few enemies away from their group with a longbow then sweep in and make an even bigger mess.

 

Companions:

Alistair (current): Despite how much of a complainer he can be he holds his place in line very well.

Dog (named Brindle) (current): nearly died laughing when I saw that the dog's teeth are whiter than the humans, good in a fight for the beginning, dread howl is very useful.

 

In my past sword and board play test I also used:

Morrigan -- Good at staying alive at least, I'm still getting used to the casting system.

Sten -- Gets killed too often, during the Bandits Everywhere quest he died against each group despite being given the best armor I could get for him and a good greatsword.

Leliana -- Possibly one of my favorite companions, I put a bow on her but she switches to the sword and dagger I have on her and does just as well in melee.

 

I'm having a blast with this game

[ell46]

I love my Dog aka Dave, won't go anywhere without him. There is a mod for white teeth, I think it's worth getting and it's only a little one.

 

I've played all weapons, the secret is in the tactics you set up. It takes a while to figure out, but I'm sure if you give it time you will get better at it. If you want someone to use a bow look in at their tactics and set it up for Archer and Ranged and equip them with daggers for melee in their secondary weapon slots, if they are attacked in melee they switch automatically. If it's your character there is a quick button on the far left of the quick bar at the bottom of the screen.

 

If you want to enjoy the game just go with it, don't think too much, you will make mistakes, but you will get better with every playthrough and it becomes more and more enjoyable, at least I found it so.

[brokenergy]

You need to improve Sten's constitution and strength in order to make him a good tank. Just wait for a while and he'll get there, okay? :thumbsup: If you want Leliana to stay as an archer, then place her behavior as ranged and allow her to switch weapons as the enemy gets too close. Morrigan should be good for now but improve her current spells before adding new ones. This way you can focus on her strengths as much as possible without losing out on anything bad. Alistair is not as bad as you think (he is certainly no Carth), give it time and you'll see that he isn't a whiner. Dog is... just dog.

[dragon awakened]

Finished Soldier's Peak in a little over an hour, got the Warden's Armor but cannot wear it (2 points away from the strength requirement.) Sten is doing much better after I put a full suit of heavy chainmail on him and gave him the chasined flatblade, has not died yet. I'm learning to use each companion as appropriate not just favoring one. Getting ready to do the Circle of Magi related quests to get Wynne.

 

A question I do have is..... Are areas and scenarios level dependant? I'm lvl 8 at this point and nearly started the Return to Ostagar but it almost sounds like a high level area to me.

 

I'm working two different characters; A human noble warrior (dual-wielder) and a dwarven noble warrior (weapon and shield) I like both of these story lines. What character I use depends on how I'm feeling that day. The dual-wielder got the cinimatic kill on the tower ogre.

[ell46]

No they aren't level dependent, you can do quests in order you like.

[Thandal]

No they aren't level dependent, you can do quests in order you like.

Expanding on Ell's reply, the way DA handles this and tries to keep things "in balance" without controlling the order in which you do things is that when you first enter a completely new "major quest area" (when you get the "This Named Area Unlocked" message on-screen) all the lieutnant and boss-level enemies for that area are spawned at a toughness considered appropriate to your PC's level at the time. (So if you want to be really sneaky, you could run around "opening" areas as a low-level character, then come back as a much higher-level one later to actually play through it.)

[ell46]

Thanks for expanding I knew someone would be able to explain it without using words like 'thingies' :laugh:

 

When you say 'unlock' do you have to actually travel to that area to unlock it and set the enemy level, then leave or is it considered unlocked when it appears on your map eg. after speaking to Levi and he marks your map?

[dragon awakened]

Well at 8th level my dual-wielder (Ravenna) has taken Alistair, Liliana, and Sten back to Ostagar, recovered the joining Chalace, and two pieces of King Cailan's gear. Without a caster it is slow going but I bulked up on the healing poultices to keep things going. I chose to go without a caster this time in order to get Sten some levels, he is now at 28 strength and 16 Constitution, all points gained by levels will go to his Constitution for now.

 

My Dwarf Noble Warrior (Andromyr) is in the middle of the pre-joining quest (gathering the blood).

 

Thanks all for your time and answers :)

[ell46]

They still get points even if you leave them in camp, check out what is says here in the Wiki

[dragon awakened]

DOH!!!!! (facepalm)