Monte Carlo

^ Talk about damned by faint praise! Gromnir's point about archery is well made - it only really makes sense once you get multiple, stacking AoE spells - like my fun with Virulent Walking Bomb... have found new giggles to be had with it when summoning your new undead minion (i.e. using him as the trigger device for the VWB). The rogue and mage working almost permanently in tandem, with the rogue providing close protection for the mage in melee and using archery to pick off boss monster in mob suffering from AoE spell damage seems to work for me.

I always found the Elder Scrolls virtually unplayable, but the character generation was really good - don't like the existing 'Classes' then make up some skills and name your own. I had one called "IT Manager" but I never took the series too seriously.

^ I wouldn't even know what to do with it!

^ Hey, as I said this is the first CRPG ever where I will definitely play a mage and love it. The magic system / spells are great, can't wait for an XP that adds more. It doesn't change the massive imbalance in the classes - what exactly are the downsides of being a mage? The consequences in-game don't seem very obvious.

^ I have to disagree, the system is pretty straightforward (even if the mechanics remain a mystery - I stand by my theory that nobody actually knows what the DA game mechanics are and that it's an elaborate hoax on people who like meta-gaming). A generic 'adventurer' class and a 'mage' is fine... personally I want a fighter / thief much as I might in 3E D&D but which Dragon Age doesn't really have (i.e. stealth / sneak damage combined with proper melee clout). The setting is rich enough to justify some specialist prestige classes - Qunari Knight, Dwarven Death Legionnaire, Antivan Crow, Circle Mage, Apostate Witch, Templar, Blood Mage assassin, Tevinter Imperium Spy...

^ I've found the same thing, my only real weapon swaps are bow to melee weapon. I've got Sten with a maul and a two-handed sword but really I only swap them over to enjoy the combat animations to be honest. I now have the meteor ore 'Superman' sword - the goofiest looking sword ever but powerful. Cheers MC

I think it's time for a discussion about the class system in this game, because it's a bit odd. Forget the balance issues, DA was clearly designed by a wizard-obsessed munchkin who wants mages to rule the world. The idea appears to be choose a class, within that class choose an archetype / specialisation or two then on top of that unlock a sort of prestige class with a skill tree and some stat bonuses. Now I know it's been simplified to suit the MMO / console crowd and I don't have a problem with it - in fact simple is often better (2E AD&D, for example, is horrible). But in DA I honestly wonder the point of having a class system at all. Rogues can learn any combat ability but warriors can't open locks. Anybody can make poison or be a survivor, even somebody who grew up at Hogwarts surrounded by books. But only rogues can pick locks (I repeated that on purpose). And wear quite heavy armour. A warrior can't be sneaky. Rogues are rangers. And bards. Warriors arbitrarily learn the ability to freak out or become a mage-hunting zealot. Huh? A genuinely classless system would have worked for DA. Furthermore, the specialist classes feel like an afterthought: they have none of the flavour of the better Forgotten Realms prestige classes (altho' I'm not a prestige class fan). I would like to see either (a) more classes (b) no classes or © the ability to pay a penalty and buy cross-class skills. As it is the system feels strangely unsatisfactory, a bit of a weakness in an otherwise strong and enjoyable game.

Hmmm. Not providing nerfed NPCs isn't exactly too much to ask, like rogues who can actually open locks.

I'm loving the Deep Roads, the battle in the Trenches reminds me of the "Drow Bridge" in the first IWD. But much better. The '300' style dwarf Death Legion are also deeply cool, even if they remind me of Warhammer dwarves. Cheers MC

About console difficulty - I was reading a hint guide about how best to defeat a very tricky boss monster. I wondered if I was actually playing the same game (just put a melee smackdown on the sucka and it'll go down!) and I realised I was reading a console help guide. Trust me, I've tried variations on that theme three times and still got whupped.

I don't read the journal, it's like asking for directions when you're lost in your car.

Is poison worth the trouble? I never used it. It's a force multiplier for an otherwise mediocre melee character. The more potent poison (Soldier's Bane / Mage's Bane) are fairly good - they enable your rogue to weaken boss monsters / spellcasters at the start of a battle, use it with high stealth (this is what I do with Zevran). Of course, poison arrows seem like a good idea too. Traps, as I've mentioned, are also surprisingly effective for their low monetary value and ease of use. Cheers MC

Anyone care to post their re-spec builds for the NPCs. I've just turned Imoen Chick into a 14th level dual-wielding assassin death goddess. Apparently. Dual-wielding, traps, poison and 3 points in locks. Not much stealth though, as of yet am working on it. Morrigan is getting the full Arcane Warrior treatment, am going to try to create a tank-mage with small but deadly spell selection.

Yeah, the first week on the new social networking forum was full of people literally tearing their hair out at the difficulty of the combat - people have simply forgotten how to play non-screensaver games (and I include myself in that to a certain extent - normal difficulty was a handful for me to begin with).

The Respec mod on the DA social page is clean, well thought-out and allows you to make all the NPCs afresh from a clean slate.

Because there are lots of options, I've only got around to exploring the wacky world of traps by throwing a couple of points in trapping at Zevran. Those annoying choke points that enemies swarm through can now be seeded with simple, dirt-cheap leg traps that pin the bad guys in place while you hit them with spells and play attrition before they hit the melee line to get properly bashed. I also like the ability to open doors and chests while stealthed.

My character is a Champion / Beserker. Maybe I'm not using the skills properly, but war cry is useless and beserker seems like a parastitic drain on my character rather than a tangible combat benefit. I tend to just use assault and shield bash whilst having shield wall on permanently with precise striking. The guy is, literally, a tank and is always last man standing. Although I've now got 4 levels of coercion too so I can scare people off just as easily if I don't feel like fighting. Next go I'm playing a rogue but I might respec sten to Sword and Shield and take him along again. Hopefully someone will mod his sword one-handed eventually.

^ I know, it's not as if I couldn't afford extra tuition.

Actually, I'm reasonably wealthy.

He's a shining example of how to lead a more manly, meaningful life.

^ Morrigan is a fickle, shallow, high maintenance floozy. I've been a fairly straight down the line good (ish) guy in this game and have kept her approval sky-high with jewellery and other baubles. She's also the only viable combat mage in the game unless your playing one, another deus ex machina piece of NPC crafting by Bioware (remember Yoshimo, anyone?).

Ha ha ha, have been playing with this tactic. Hit a large mob (i.e. ogres, alphas, emissaries) with AoE like blizzard, then follow up with a waking nightmare. Hit a lower HP Genlock archer with walking bomb (actually I like to do two) then plink away at them with a bow and watch them blow up, depleting the HP of the aforementioned tougher monsters. Then send in your melee characters to finish them off at their leisure. The tactic might not be optimal but it is lots of fun. Arcane Warrior can also mop up any of those annoying infantry who rush through your lines with sword & shield.

^ Suffice it to say, the possibily of ENSLAVING NATIONS WITH NECROMANCY is limited. Which is a shame.

Arcane warriors can swap their MAGIC score for STRENGTH when wielding weapons & armour, this means that you get a mage who can double as a light fighter / archer if that floats your boat (I am experimenting with Morrigan as one, currently trying out an area of effect spell / waking nightmare / walking bomb / archery combo where you send exploding enemy mooks into the mob, she can do this all on her own while the rest of the guys get on with their thing). The specialist classes are all a bit meh, but a blood mage / arcane warrior mix would be a groovy party member. Cheers MC

I'm now in the Deep Roads (er, Underdark meets Mines of Moria) and loving it. The whole Orzammar area and plots are probably some of the best in the game, in fact I wish I'd been a dwarf commoner from the get-go just to see their reaction to my ex-gangsta made good. Tactics-wise, taking Oghren for this quest is a straight swap-out with Sten, I've decided to go for the walking bomb / undead spell path - any good tricks with the walking bombs... I reckon Waking Nightmare / Walking Bomb and a well-positioned arrow might be fun...