Dragon Age: Origins?

[Giggling Ghast]

They have their reasons, as explained by someone else, and that's something I actually really like. It leads to some interesting character stuff. What's his nut, the dwarf who's name I forget even though he's the best, despite everything he says, still has dwarven pride and feels kinda ****ty about it when you do stuff against it. It's cool, subtle characterization that I like.

Oghren. Or, as the ladies like to call him, AWWWWWWWghren.

[Morty]

Oghren is a pretty fun deconstruction of the archetypal dwarf warrior, really. He's drunk, lecherous and belligerent, but it makes other dwarves think he's an embarrassment and disgrace. And it's pretty clear that he drinks, fights and makes an ass of himself because he doesn't have much else left in his life.

[Keltest]

Oghren is a pretty fun deconstruction of the archetypal dwarf warrior, really. He's drunk, lecherous and belligerent, but it makes other dwarves think he's an embarrassment and disgrace. And it's pretty clear that he drinks, fights and makes an ass of himself because he doesn't have much else left in his life.

I like Oghren's character a bunch, for those reasons and others, and I wish it was easier to include him in a party comp. The two handed warrior companions kind of get shafted a bit just because they don't really properly fulfill any of the main 3 necessary roles especially well/at all (tank, lock picker, mage) and you only get one flex slot which has a good chance of being taken up by the player. You can force the two handers to tank, but doing so kind of cripples their ability to wield their weapons as effectively.

[Morty]

I like Oghren's character a bunch, for those reasons and others, and I wish it was easier to include him in a party comp. The two handed warrior companions kind of get shafted a bit just because they don't really properly fulfill any of the main 3 necessary roles especially well/at all (tank, lock picker, mage) and you only get one flex slot which has a good chance of being taken up by the player. You can force the two handers to tank, but doing so kind of cripples their ability to wield their weapons as effectively.

That, and dual-wielding is pretty much just better than two-handed weapons, as far as I remember. This is what I mean when I say that combining the warrior/rogue/mage trio with tank/dps/healing and needing to have a rogue for locks and traps really don't play well together.

[Keltest]

That, and dual-wielding is pretty much just better than two-handed weapons, as far as I remember. This is what I mean when I say that combining the warrior/rogue/mage trio with tank/dps/healing and needing to have a rogue for locks and traps really don't play well together.

IMO the problem is that "tank" is too synonymous with "shield" in Origins. In Inquisition, you can totally play as a 2H tank, because there are only 2 abilities in the class that you actually need to meaningfully hold agro, and both of them generate guard. 2H in Origins does at least have a few CC abilities so you can act as a poor man's tank, but you really need a strong healer to pair with that, especially if youre using Oghren (who has a berserker specialization by default) or Sten (who only gets one for some bizarre reason). I actually had a blast playing as a reaver lifesteal tank in inquisition once. Guard kept me alive at low health, where I could rip and tear into the enemy, and I could use my lifestealing abilities to pull myself back up to full if my guard broke before my cooldowns came back up.

I also like Inquisition better in that new companions don't come with many, if any, skill points spent. If you want Sera to use knives, go for it. Iron Bull with a shield? Sure thing. I think the only companion that cant really feasibly be built however you want is Vivienne, just because of how much her specialization ties into barriers and going into melee.

[Rynjin]

Sten (who only gets one for some bizarre reason).

Cut content, as I recall. Each companion was originally planned to have their own unique Specialization, but the game needed to be shipped while they were still workshopping Sten's.

Now, why they didn't just give him two empty slots and spout some BS that "As a Qunarii, Sten is a blank slate, molded to your whims as a warrior" I don't know. Never give up on a chance to look smarter/deeper than you actually are.

[Divayth Fyr]

Because otherwise recruiting would become way more difficult? Still sounds awfully scummy thing to do.

Not only recruiting though - if people knew they drink Darkspawn blood, the Wardens would be greeted by pitchforks and torches wherever they went, unwelcome everywhere.

[Rynjin]

Not only recruiting though - if people knew they drink Darkspawn blood, the Wardens would be greeted by pitchforks and torches wherever they went, unwelcome everywhere.

Yeah, @thirsting, remember the bit from the opening where they explain the running theory about Darkspawn is they're a punishment for hubris?

Drinking Darkspwan blood is DELIBERATELY tainting yourself with the Blight, and will result in your eventual madness and transformation into a Darkspawn yourself. Add on top of that the religious connotations of infecting yourself with the taint of the Enemy...

[Keltest]

The wardens already go so far as to openly use blood magic if it becomes necessary. I don't think, in general, that theyre afraid of any sort of moral condemnation so much as that it would pretty much guarantee that their recruits dried up entirely. Remember that joining the Wardens is a death sentence. You either pay the price at recruitment, or 30 years down the line. They have a hard enough time getting recruits during a blight, let alone between them.

[Morty]

IMO the problem is that "tank" is too synonymous with "shield" in Origins. In Inquisition, you can totally play as a 2H tank, because there are only 2 abilities in the class that you actually need to meaningfully hold agro, and both of them generate guard. 2H in Origins does at least have a few CC abilities so you can act as a poor man's tank, but you really need a strong healer to pair with that, especially if youre using Oghren (who has a berserker specialization by default) or Sten (who only gets one for some bizarre reason). I actually had a blast playing as a reaver lifesteal tank in inquisition once. Guard kept me alive at low health, where I could rip and tear into the enemy, and I could use my lifestealing abilities to pull myself back up to full if my guard broke before my cooldowns came back up.

I also like Inquisition better in that new companions don't come with many, if any, skill points spent. If you want Sera to use knives, go for it. Iron Bull with a shield? Sure thing. I think the only companion that cant really feasibly be built however you want is Vivienne, just because of how much her specialization ties into barriers and going into melee.

It is easier in DA2 and Inquisition, yes. In Origins, anyone who's not a shield-using warrior, an Arcane Warrior or Shale in the right stance just goes down really quickly if enemies focus on them. It still has a lot of issues but some companions become less obligatory. I've heard that you can even tank as a Tempest rogue in Inquisition, but I've never tried.

[Keltest]

It is easier in DA2 and Inquisition, yes. In Origins, anyone who's not a shield-using warrior, an Arcane Warrior or Shale in the right stance just goes down really quickly if enemies focus on them. It still has a lot of issues but some companions become less obligatory. I've heard that you can even tank as a Tempest rogue in Inquisition, but I've never tried.

Under a certain definition of tank. They cant really hold agro at all, but if you pick the right talents they can sustain themselves in the midst of combat near indefinitely.

[JadedDM]

Do we ever find out more about the dwarf Dagna, who left Orzamar to join the Circle?

Yes, in fact, she shows up in a fairly prominent role in Inquisition.

[Inarius]

It is easier in DA2 and Inquisition, yes. In Origins, anyone who's not a shield-using warrior, an Arcane Warrior or Shale in the right stance just goes down really quickly if enemies focus on them. It still has a lot of issues but some companions become less obligatory. I've heard that you can even tank as a Tempest rogue in Inquisition, but I've never tried.

DAO basically favors defense over everything else for tanking, shields can add a decent amount of it but anyone who invests moderately in dexterity and has +defense gear can tank easily. My dual wield warrior was basically unhittable and I have made rogues that can accomplish the same feat, though they take a huge hit to damage from not being able to backstab and cant really hold aggro very well.

[Aeson]

DAO basically favors defense over everything else for tanking, shields can add a decent amount of it but anyone who invests moderately in dexterity and has +defense gear can tank easily. My dual wield warrior was basically unhittable and I have made rogues that can accomplish the same feat, though they take a huge hit to damage from not being able to backstab and cant really hold aggro very well.

A tank's job is to keep the enemy off the rest of the party. If it cannot do that adequately, then it's not a good tank regardless of how nearly unkillable it may be.

[Inarius]

A tank's job is to keep the enemy off the rest of the party. If it cannot do that adequately, then it's not a good tank regardless of how nearly unkillable it may be.

Sort of, by that logic a mage using control spells is a tank too since they can keep enemies off the entire party right? Using terrain is also sufficient in many (but admittedly not all) cases as well since enemies cant pass through your rogue. As for a dual wield warrior well they have access to all of a shield warriors aggro abilities anyway so there's no real difference between the two. The only warrior who lags is the 2 hander because they focus on strength and constitution for their abilities and con just isnt a very good stat investment in DAO.

[Keltest]

Sort of, by that logic a mage using control spells is a tank too since they can keep enemies off the entire party right? Using terrain is also sufficient in many (but admittedly not all) cases as well since enemies cant pass through your rogue. As for a dual wield warrior well they have access to all of a shield warriors aggro abilities anyway so there's no real difference between the two. The only warrior who lags is the 2 hander because they focus on strength and constitution for their abilities and con just isnt a very good stat investment in DAO.

Theres generally a distinction to be made between a tank, who draws the enemy's focus onto them, and a crowd controller, who disables the enemy entirely. In a game like DaO, the distinction between the two is not necessarily meaningful most of the time, since either way it results in the enemy dying while you live, but in select cases, usually bosses, a tank will do the job where a crowd controller will not.

[Inarius]

Theres generally a distinction to be made between a tank, who draws the enemy's focus onto them, and a crowd controller, who disables the enemy entirely. In a game like DaO, the distinction between the two is not necessarily meaningful most of the time, since either way it results in the enemy dying while you live, but in select cases, usually bosses, a tank will do the job where a crowd controller will not.

Absolutely. I was mostly being sarcastic there, though that never truly translates over the internet very well haha. The point is though aggro generation isn't the only way to funnel enemies on the battlefield and you can use techniques to force enemies to focus on the rogue even though they have an aggro generation penalty compared to other classes. In a lot of cases simply being first in is enough to establish and maintain attention due to how the games threat mechanics work.

[Psyren]

but why are Morrigan and Sten judging me for wasting my time on some stupid villagers when there's bigger fish to fry, I'm supposed to be the good guy and savior of this land

I mean, their attitudes are totally reasonable imo. We know in a metagame/Bioware sense that:

(a) every little diversion regardless of how pointless it might seem at first will not only have useful gear at the end, but that the whole group will get stronger or learn new techniques for having pursued it while the Big Bad (i.e. the Archdemon) stays more or less static; and

(b) we also know that the Blight will pretty much stay right where it is until we kick off the final mission.

In-universe though, your party has no such assurances, so of course they (especially the more pragmatic ones) will loudly question your wisdom or even challenge you for leadership of the group. In Sten's case with the ashes it's even more consistent - Andraste isn't a religion he even grew up adjacent to, and if he believed anything about her it would just make her a dangerous mage at best.

If anything, having nobody question you ever would be the *more* videogamey option.

[LibraryOgre]

Well... ****.

I do not know why I assumed that DAO had cloud saves. I have no good reason to have assumed this. And, now, I have nothing.

**** **** **** **** ****.

[JadedDM]

Were cloud saves a thing back in 2009? I can't remember.

[LibraryOgre]

Were cloud saves a thing back in 2009? I can't remember.

They most certainly were not, but I've had some other games which use them via Steam. Oblivion is older than that, but Steam does cloud saves for it.

Ah, well. I think, since I have to start over, I'll do a Dwarven Casteless this time. I didn't much like how Dwarven Noble was more or less ignored when you finally got back to Orzamaar. Like, I barely even got to argue with my brother.

[Rynjin]

Well... ****.

I do not know why I assumed that DAO had cloud saves. I have no good reason to have assumed this. And, now, I have nothing.

**** **** **** **** ****.

Did you delete your old saves or something?

[Giggling Ghast]

I was able to transfer my old DAO and DA2 saves from my XBox 360 to my XBox One via the Cloud, but I don’t know if such an option exists on PC.

[LibraryOgre]

Did you delete your old saves or something?

Got a new computer.

[Rynjin]

Got a new computer.

Ah. Don't suppose you yanked the hard drive from the old one? I'm assuming the issue is you got rid of it.

[LibraryOgre]

Ah. Don't suppose you yanked the hard drive from the old one? I'm assuming the issue is you got rid of it.

Nope. Cleaned it out and gave it to my wife. 'Cause I'm an idiot.

[Keltest]

Im reasonably certain that DAO on steam uses cloud saves. What service were you using? It may just need you to log in to access the saves.

[Grif]

Im reasonably certain that DAO on steam uses cloud saves. What service were you using? It may just need you to log in to access the saves.

Nope. Just checked. Steam DA:O is only marked as "Single-Player" and nothing else. If cloud saves were supported, it'd have listed it there as well.

[Rynjin]

Nope. Cleaned it out and gave it to my wife. 'Cause I'm an idiot.

Well, at the very least it might be good to download a completed save off Nexus Mods or something. That way at least you'll have all the Specializations unlocked for your new playthrough and can play with them right from the start.

[GrayDeath]

Ouch, that hurts.

Happened to me once in 2010 and since then I ahve become an avid believer in "Backup early, backup often!"

Also, for EA`s Prices: Just get Origin Access.
Really, its the only good thing Origin provides, 4 Euros a Month for access to practically every good" EA Game of the last Decade.
Including all Dragon Age stuff.