Lummina Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Hi all, I'm preparing to play DA:I for the first time. This will actually be the first time playing any of the Dragon Age series. Would you folks advise me as to what patches/fixes I will need after installation? I'm most concerned about a stable game of course, but I'm also looking for opinions/options for mods that improve the game and enhance the experience. I've played Morrowind several times--vanilla and lightly modded--and Oblivion even more--vanilla and heavily modded. I've learned (or would "tamed" be a better word?) Wrye Bash so I have a bit better than basic knowledge of managing mods. At least for Bethsoft games. This is my first shot with a Bioware game. Advice and warnings are greatly appreciated. As far as my game play style--thinking this will influence what mods you might suggest--I tend not to be in a hurry. Heck, I played Morrowind for 4 1/2 months before I got to the end the first time! So visual detail and immersion are important. I enjoy side quests as much as the main quest, sometimes even more, and I lean toward lore-friendly but won't exclude a particularly good mod simply because it tweaks the legend a tad. I've played as various characters but strongly favor a stealth mage role. Thanks for your thoughts and help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theskymoves Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 For a lightly modded intial run, I'd recommend, with the caveat that some of these may not work with the current patch: NewExperienceTable (for slower leveling, else it's easy to out-level content)Amulet of Power Unfixed (not essential, but it adds back some original content that was removed in patch due to exploits)No Dirt Buildup on Pants Inquisitor Armour Leather Shoulder and Thigh Pads Leather Skull Caps Inquisitor Leather Trousers And something to retexture the beige Skyhold outfit, but that's really subjective and hard to make a specific recommendation. DAI Modder Central is, I believe, the best resource for both general information and details on specific mods; the site also tracks releases of the many many mods for the game that are not found on the Nexus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thandal Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 For a first playthrough, I recommend the plain vanilla game. There are almost no real "bug-fix" mods. Besides the very few mods that affect game-play (and tsm ID'd two of them) the rest are purely cosmetic. Of course for some, the dislike of a particular feature or article of clothing (*cough* pj's *cough*) can make a cosmetic mod "essential". But you won't know that until you've played a while. And if you out-level the flow of the game your first time through, you're doing it wrong. Only a total completionist (like me) would play that way, and that's a total mistake. That first game I felt like I was stuck in an an endless fetch-quest loop. I didn't realize that I should have looked "up-and-out", and ignored the things I didn't enjoy doing. So... Get out of the Hinterlands! Quick! Explore the world, not just a region. There's plenty of time (and reason) to come back later. After you've gone through the game once, you can decide if learning to use DAIModManager, or CheatEngine, is worth it. I finally modded my game, (just to change the pj's) after 5 full runs. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lummina Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Thank you both much. I was mostly concerned with any patches/fixes that might address fatal flaws/major irritations in the core of the game. Since there doesn't seem to be any of great concern I think I'm good to go! And yes, I plan on playing through unmodded the first time. I always do. But when I'm not in the mood or don't have a chunk of time to play, I hunt down mods that improve aesthetics--at least from my point of view--or tinker with things that irk me--leveling up too quickly always seems to be one of my biggest problems. (I'm a rather pragmatic player and I think that compounds the problem.) So I was asking for mod suggestions in advance and I appreciate the help. Thanks again and now I'm off to...to...well, exit the Hinterlands post haste evidently! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thandal Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Just a follow-up note; BioWare announced the "last" DLC, "Trespasser" at PAX yesterday. Along with that, there'll be a new patch (hope not the last one, there are still other issues) that FINALLY provides an "official" wardrobe selection for the Inquisitor while at Skyhold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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