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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 17, 2020 15:17:46 GMT -8
Hi!
So, on recommendation from Daos, I picked up Dragon Age: Origins. Since some of the foremost forumites are Dragon Age fans, I figured my blind musings about the game might prove entertaining. This is basically a LiveTweet of DG:O, which is something people my age do. Except it's not live. Or on Twitter.
The first thing that strikes me is how personal the game is. The system of changing the first part of the game based on your race and background is a very novel idea, but one I greatly enjoyed. I went for a Female City Elf Warrior by the name of Coriander.
The game, I must say, has done a wonderful job of balancing the scales between "featureless protagonist" and "this isn't your character, it's a character." Giving a backstory like this didn't work out in, say, Fallout 4, but it fits here.
The combat system is quite similar to Knights of the Old Republic. I have mixed feelings about that game's combat system, but I'm still enjoying myself. Anyway, Coriander just came under the protection of the Gray Warden Guy whose name I forget, which means I'll be moving into the game "proper" quite soon.
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Post by Daos on Dec 17, 2020 15:36:39 GMT -8
The first thing that strikes me is how personal the game is. The system of changing the first part of the game based on your race and background is a very novel idea, but one I greatly enjoyed. I went for a Female City Elf Warrior by the name of Coriander. Yep, hence the subtitle of 'Origins.' Once you reach Ostagar, all of the origins sync up. Female City Elf is a pretty good one. It has a real Kill Bill vibe to it. What kind of Warrior path are you taking? Weapon and Shield, Dual-Wielder, Archer or Two-handed Weapon? Fun fact: The first game is the only one where a Warrior can dual-wield. That becomes the sole domain of Rogues in future games. Let me know if you need any advice on your character build. It's been awhile since I played, but I still remember a few things. The game, I must say, has done a wonderful job of balancing the scales between "featureless protagonist" and "this isn't your character, it's a character." Giving a backstory like this didn't work out in, say, Fallout 4, but it fits here. The first game does a fairly good job at letting you roleplay your character, I always felt. I was sometimes surprised by the options available to me. For a dark and gritty game, it will often present you two bad choices, but have a secret third, good choice on hand, if you can figure it out. The combat system is quite similar to Knights of the Old Republic. I have mixed feelings about that game's combat system, but I'm still enjoying myself. Anyway, Coriander just came under the protection of the Gray Warden Guy whose name I forget, which means I'll be moving into the game "proper" quite soon. Duncan. Although I'll always know him as Master Splinter, from the old 80's TMNT.  |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 18, 2020 6:05:54 GMT -8
Yep, hence the subtitle of 'Origins.' Once you reach Ostagar, all of the origins sync up. That, and it's the first game. So far, I've taken Dual-Wielding, and it's worked out pretty well so far. The Two-Weapon Sweep definitely saved me a few times in the tutorial. Hitting multiple people at once this early in the game was just so dang useful. I actually planned out (not in much detail, though) which class I'm playing in each game. Warrior for Origins, for the image of an epic Gray Warden Swordsman. Mage for II, for that Apostate-y goodness. Rogue for Inquisition, because Rogues are based around (at least in D&D) surprising people, and no one expects the Thedan Inquisition! (unlike that joke, for example) For one thing, how important is Cunning for a Warrior? I don't want to dump it, because Speech/Manipulation/Talky-Talky Skill is generally pretty good in all RPGs. However, the skill that gives you extra "power slots" (Combat...Tactics?) doesn't seem to be that necessary. Of course, perhaps I'm underestimating the number of them you get as you progress. Oh, and I also start with some crazy Red Dragon Armor, which I presume is from one of the DLCs. It needs 33 Strength, though, so I'm slowly building up to it. I could hypothetically rush to it by level 6 or so, but it's probably not worth my other stats suffering. Ah, yes, Ye Olde Moral Dilemma. Some games handled this better than others. If it's done right, you feel like, yes, you made a good decision-perhaps not the best, but a good one. It also makes you feel like your actions have weight; that you're a part of the game world, affecting it. Done poorly, you feel like you're shoehorned into a bad decision, no matter what you pick. [Incoming short Fallout rant] Fallout 4 didn't do a great job on this, especially with the ending. New Vegas' faction endings, except for Lanius Legion and Anarchy Wild Card, left you feeling like you made a pretty good decision. All of the factions, except the Legion, felt like decent options. They all had their flaws, but they also had their good points. 4, on the other hand, made all the factions seem...kinda terrible. All of them except the Minutemen felt like...bad choices. No matter who you supported, you ended the game with a bitter taste in your mouth and a fear of what was to come. BUT FALLOUT'S NOT DRAGON AGE SO YOU CAN IGNORE THAT |
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Post by Daos on Dec 18, 2020 10:01:41 GMT -8
So far, I've taken Dual-Wielding, and it's worked out pretty well so far. The Two-Weapon Sweep definitely saved me a few times in the tutorial. Hitting multiple people at once this early in the game was just so dang useful. If I remember correctly, dual-wielding is Horizon's favorite warrior build, so she might have some insights, as well. I actually planned out (not in much detail, though) which class I'm playing in each game. Warrior for Origins, for the image of an epic Gray Warden Swordsman. Mage for II, for that Apostate-y goodness. Rogue for Inquisition, because Rogues are based around (at least in D&D) surprising people, and no one expects the Thedan Inquisition! (unlike that joke, for example) Okay, that's funny, because all of that is actually semi-canonical. And what I mean is, in the marketing materials, the Warden is always depicted as a Warrior, Hawke as a Mage, and the Inquisitor as a Rogue. So good choices. For one thing, how important is Cunning for a Warrior? Cunning is very important for Rogues, but less so for Warriors. Not to say it's useless, though; it helps in armor penetration, for one thing. But mostly it's useful for Coercion. Remember earlier I said the game often gives you two bad choices, and a secret good one? Coercion is usually the key to finding it. However, there's no reason to pour all of your points into it. I'd say boost it to 16, and leave it be. That's just enough to unlock all of the coercion talents, and that's assuming you wish to unlock them all. If you don't care about speech checks, then you can probably dump it entirely and be fine. Your real dump score is Magic. For a warrior, it only does two things; makes poultices more effective and improves mental resistance. Neither is critical for a warrior. My advice, build-wise, is get Cunning to 16 and Dexterity to 36 (necessary to unlock all of the dual-wielding talents) and Willpower up to around 20-25 (important as it boosts your stamina, allowing you to make more attacks). Everything else, dump into Strength. Constitution isn't terribly important unless you are tanking, and if you are, you'd probably want to be weapon and shield instead. However, the skill that gives you extra "power slots" (Combat...Tactics?) doesn't seem to be that necessary. Depends on how you play. Tactics are really useful for NPCs, so they are only really useful for your main character if you rarely control her in battle. If you are like me, I always control my main in battle (if I need an NPC to do something, I'll pause, switch to them, give the order, switch back to my main and then unpause). So I never used Tactics for my main. Tactics are basically little programs that you can use to alter the AI behavior of your NPCs. For instance, you can program your mage to chuck a fireball at the enemy if any cluster up, or to drink a lyrium potion if their MP drops below a certain point. Or you can program your tank to Threaten if someone other than them gets ganged up on, or your archer to switch to melee if someone engages them, etc. In terms of Skills, I would focus on Coercion and Combat Training. For the other skills, I usually would have my NPCs specialize in them. My rogues would learn Stealing and Trap Making, my mages would learn Herbalism and Poison Making, and my Warriors would learn Survival and Combat Training. If you don't care about Coercion, I'd say go for Survival instead. It really depends on how you build your party, too. I always have one mage, one rogue, and one warrior, plus my main. You may go a different route, once you start collecting party members. I wound up building a party of the people I liked the most, and didn't really care about that sort of thing--hence why my first character was a sword and board warrior, just like Alistair, who I always brought with me, so I had a party of two tanks, a mage (healer) and a rogue (archer). Consequently, my dps wasn't great, but my defense was top notch. |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 18, 2020 14:58:11 GMT -8
Today was an eventful one in the world of Dragon Age!
So, first stop, Gray Warden camp. There, we were introduced to King Caelin--he seemed a bit arrogant, but an altogether nice fellow. 10 to 1 he gets killed to show the threat of the Blight. Coriander was introduced to Alistair, and I understand why he's a fan favorite. He's like Spiderman with a stuffy British accent. After a rousing tromp through the Wilds, Alistair and two soon-to-be-dead guys encounter the wacky and mystical Morrigan, who I am aware becomes a companion at some point. How is a mystery, just like how her clothes manage to stay on. We acquired the necessary scrolls from her fortune-cookie-wisdom spouting mother and returned to camp for the Joining.
Intentionally or not, it was a lot closer to the Harrowing than many would care to admit, I daresay. Although with the Harrowing, they don't really give you a choice to not do it-it's succeed, die, die in a different way, or die metaphorically (in a different way) Still a bit unsettling to see Splinter from TMMT shank someone.
Afterward came the Helm's Deep-esque battle sequence, which was rather impressive, even with janky 2000's computer models. Coriander, Alistair, and two randos who died so many times it's actually funny fought their way up through the tower, only to get squished by an ogre. Several times.
So, I'm gonna need a couple of tips for that. Just a couple.
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Post by Daos on Dec 18, 2020 15:32:35 GMT -8
The ogre fight is quite difficult, as you are low level and only have half a party (well, you get two nameless NPCs, but they don't really count).
I suppose if you don't mind really cheesing it, the best strategy is to kite him. Whichever party member he aggros, have that one run around in circles just out of range of his attacks, while everyone else shoots at him.
Also, since you didn't take the Circle Mage Origin, that means one of your nameless NPCs is a mage, so be sure to make good use of his spells. Weakness is a good debuff, and Paralyze can buy you some time to take some hits.
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Post by HorizonsDream on Dec 18, 2020 21:27:07 GMT -8
Duel weilding characters are my favorite in general, and it was the same in origins (but I did enjoy mages on DA too). Unfortunately, I haven't played the game in quite some time, so I don't remember much other than the fact that I tended to use Alistair as my tank, when possible.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 19, 2020 6:30:59 GMT -8
Duel weilding characters are my favorite in general, and it was the same in origins (but I did enjoy mages on DA too). Unfortunately, I haven't played the game in quite some time, so I don't remember much other than the fact that I tended to use Alistair as my tank, when possible. Yeah, I've been using him like that, as well. He's built pretty well for it when you get him. I am aware that there's a point later on in the story where he may leave and be replaced with...Jontheim? But unless it's easy to make him leave accidentally, I'm probably going to pick snarky British dude over grumpy hypocrite. At least, that's how I perceive him at this point in the game, because he was getting after Caelin for being all arrogant and story-like in his battle, but then refused his eminently reasonable suggestion of asking the Orellians(?) for aid. I admit, the reason he gave--the Orellians once enslaved and oppressed the...se dudes--is something that could be further explored, making him more sympathetic, but right now, he just seems like Grumpy Hypocrite Man. Plus, Coriander's an Elf, and a City Elf at that. She's not going to be happy about some human whining about oppression. |
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Post by Daos on Dec 19, 2020 9:39:39 GMT -8
I am aware that there's a point later on in the story where he may leave and be replaced with...Jontheim? But unless it's easy to make him leave accidentally, I'm probably going to pick snarky British dude over grumpy hypocrite. Loghain Mac Tir, Teyrn of Gwaren, Regent of Ferelden, and Hero of River Dane. And it is actually is pretty easy to do. In fact, lots of first timer players do so without realizing the consequences, and get quite upset when it happens. Without spoilers, I'll just say this: When it comes time to deal with Loghain, you will be given a choice. To many people, it sounds like a very reasonable choice. But listen closely to Alistair and how he feels about it. {With Spoilers:}You will be given the option to kill Loghain or induct him into the Grey Wardens. As I said, this seems very reasonable to many people. There's precedent for it, and it basically is a death sentence anyway, but a much slower one. Plus, he has the chance to redeem himself and make up for his crimes. The problem is, in Alistair's mind, joining the Grey Warden is a great honor, not a punishment. To allow Loghain to join them would be to sully their name. Thus, if you go through with it, he quits the party forever. Even if you max out your relationship with him, even if you complete a romance with him, he leaves. And he takes any gear he had on him with him. Many people are caught off guard by this, assuming that at worst, they'd lose some relationship points with Alistair. Nobody expected him to take off. There are actually several points in this game where a party member will quit or even turn on you and try to kill you depending on your actions. It's one of the things I like about it, to be honest. It feels more real; like there are real consequences to your choices. At least, that's how I perceive him at this point in the game, because he was getting after Caelin for being all arrogant and story-like in his battle, but then refused his eminently reasonable suggestion of asking the Orellians(?) for aid. I admit, the reason he gave--the Orellians once enslaved and oppressed the...se dudes--is something that could be further explored, making him more sympathetic, but right now, he just seems like Grumpy Hypocrite Man. Plus, Coriander's an Elf, and a City Elf at that. She's not going to be happy about some human whining about oppression. Orlesians. And I can explain that. All of this is explained in various Codex entries throughout the game; none of this is spoilers, just world-building lore. So back in the Storm Age, around 200 years ago, there was something called the Grey Warden Rebellion. The evil King Arland Theirin of Fereldan was a tyrant and a monster. Arlessa Sophia Dryden, his cousin, had a strong claim to the throne and many of the lords and ladies of Fereldan preferred her to Arland. But Arland wasn't having that, and forced her to join the Grey Wardens, which means giving up any claims and titles in the process. But Sophia wasn't one to quit, and she managed to convince her fellow Wardens to aid her in a coup. The Grey Wardens are notoriously neutral when it comes to politics, but she convinced them to violate that rule. However, the coup ended in failure, and Arland banished the Grey Wardens from Fereldan. (This is, by the way, why there are so few of them there now, despite the fact that a Blight is starting; under normal circumstances, there would be hundreds of Grey Wardens at any given moment, ready to fight the Blight. This is also why Duncan is recruiting so hard, because there are only a handful in the entire country, and all of the senior wardens, like Duncan, are foreigners.) A hundred years later in the Blessed Age, Orlais invaded Fereldan, conquered and occupied it for nearly 80 years. The Fereldan royal family spent most of that time in hiding. The true heir to the throne, a young man named Maric Theirin (Caelin's father), worked alongside Loghain (back then, only a commoner) to help free Fereldan and retake the throne. For his efforts, Loghain was declared a hero and given the title of Teryn (Duke), which is basically the highest rank you can have other than King/Queen. Loghain had a daughter, Anora, and she was married to Maric's son, Caelin. So not only is Loghain a Teryn, the Regent, and a great hero, but he's the father-in-law to the king and father to the queen. So you see, a lot of the older Fereldans are still quite salty about Orlais' occupation, which only ended about 30 years ago. Loghain, in particular, is very distrustful of foreigners in general. This is why he doesn't like the Grey Wardens (they are an international group, after all, but also traitors who once tried to overthrow a Fereldan king), and why he really dislikes Caelin's talk of asking the Orlesians for help. To him, inviting the Orlesians back into the country is spitting on everything Maric and he worked so hard to accomplish. It also doesn't help that he doesn't take the Blight very seriously (the previous Blight, the Fourth One, was around 400 years ago, so feels more like an old legend than actual history) and is convinced that the Fereldans can deal with it without any outside help. |
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Post by HorizonsDream on Dec 19, 2020 13:19:10 GMT -8
Ugh, Loghain. That is pretty much my sentiment towards him. You haven't got all of the characters yet, but I tended to have a mage, a tank, myself, and an archer. I tried to give all of my NPC's battle time to be honest because having them in your party while you are fighting is another way to build your relationship with the characters. Some of the battles you kind of have to get creative with how you handle things too.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 19, 2020 14:53:36 GMT -8
The Ogre was beaten, following Daos' advice of running away from it while the Hapless Sod mage shot him. Cheese, perhaps. But cheese is one of my favorite foods. Anyway, Grumpy Hypocrite Man made the executive decision to be terrible, abandoning the King and the Gray Wardens to seize power for himself. (OR DID HE) As suspected, Caelin caught a case of the not-living's. So did Duncan, which I also suspected, albeit privately. The tower was stormed, and the Gray Wardens were scattered. Worse yet, I missed the chance to recruit the dog.  Coriander awoke in Morrigan's hut, discovering that her mother is apparently a legendary mythological figure. Which is cool. She also joined the party, and we were thrust into the game proper proper, on a quest to call in a bunch of favors and beat the Darkspawn. First impression of Morrigan: she's a jerk. Now, Grumpy Hypocrite Man was a jerk such a way that you understood his actions, although he disagreed with him. Morrigan is just a jerk jerk. Which makes me annoyed that she's one of only two mages in this game. I'm gonna be stuck with her for a while. But on the bright side, two other new party members! Leiliana, everyone's favorite bisexual ninja nun, and Sten, who the game is being really coy about whether or not he actually murdered a bunch of people. There's no strong evidence for it, but he confessed, and he says he wants to atone??? Anyway, I'm apparently terrible at the combat part of this game, because I died against the bandits in the north of Lothern[ern? erns? es?] almost as much as I did against the Ogre. I think my proper party members are worse at their jobs than the Hapless Sods. Or perhaps, as aforementioned, I'm terrible. |
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Post by Daos on Dec 19, 2020 23:27:35 GMT -8
Worse yet, I missed the chance to recruit the dog. Oh, no! Well, there is one more opportunity to recruit him, with the Return to Ostagar DLC. Coriander awoke in Morrigan's hut, discovering that her mother is apparently a legendary mythological figure. Which is cool. Ah, yes, Flemmeth. Or as some know her, Captain Katherine Janeway. First impression of Morrigan: she's a jerk. Now, Grumpy Hypocrite Man was a jerk such a way that you understood his actions, although he disagreed with him. Morrigan is just a jerk jerk. Which makes me annoyed that she's one of only two mages in this game. I'm gonna be stuck with her for a while. But on the bright side, two other new party members! Leiliana, everyone's favorite bisexual ninja nun, and Sten, who the game is being really coy about whether or not he actually murdered a bunch of people. There's no strong evidence for it, but he confessed, and he says he wants to atone??? Fun story about Morrigan. She was the only companion I knew about when I started the game, because she was heavily focused on in the trailers and other marketing. And she's voiced by Aeryn Sun herself, Claudia Black. So I knew I definitely wanted to romance her. Then I actually met her...she complained constantly about every little good thing I did. I was tanking favor with her, so wound up just leaving her in camp and plying her with gifts instead. Wound up falling for Leliana instead. I didn't even mean to, but dang if I'm not a sucker for both redhead and French Orlesian accents. Anyway, I'm apparently terrible at the combat part of this game, because I died against the bandits in the north of Lothern[ern? erns? es?] almost as much as I did against the Ogre. I think my proper party members are worse at their jobs than the Hapless Sods. Or perhaps, as aforementioned, I'm terrible. Are you referring to the bandits that are guarding the way into Lothering, or the ones you fight for the Chanter's board in a sidequest? Speaking of Lothering, the Blight is on the way and it will devour the entire town, so do not leave it until you have done everything you want to do. Because once you leave, you cannot return. |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 20, 2020 8:06:23 GMT -8
Well! That's a mythological figure, indeed! Yes, Morrigan is not particularly romanceable unless you're playing a Dick Dastardly patiche. Leiliana, I've been told, is so easy to romance that many have done so by complete accident. The Chanter sidequest. The ones demanding payment ended up paying me. The power of Coercion! Also, good to know. They keep talking about the Blight, but it's always hard to tell if that's actually going to be an issue or if the game is just blowing steam. (At least, Skyrim was usually blowing steam) |
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Post by Daos on Dec 20, 2020 12:05:20 GMT -8
What difficulty are you playing on? If you're having so much trouble, it might be worth it to turn it down a level and see if that makes a difference.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Dec 20, 2020 12:10:20 GMT -8
What difficulty are you playing on? If you're having so much trouble, it might be worth it to turn it down a level and see if that makes a difference. I'm afraid I'm only on Normal. I suppose I can try easing it down a bit, though my pride is going to get a bit bruised. |
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