Dragon Age: Tactics

[Monte Carlo]

^ Sword and Shield looks vanilla and not much fun, but actually it is. Bashing enemies to a pulp with a big metal disc and hurtling smugly into a wall of arrows knowing they'll bounce off is cool, as is being last man standing 99.9% of the time.

 

Cheers

MC

[cronicler]

Btw, in the beginning the best mage gear is actually the 10 str rough (?) leather set. it gives you -%3.6 or so stamina rating. Compared to other claptrap you get at the beginning, it is definately superior. untill you get some real gear or your spellpower gets high enough you are better off with using those.

[Monte Carlo]

Cronicler, many thanks for that detailed and very helpful post.

 

I'm not using the DEX hotfix, am waiting for the patch. What should I do in the meantime?

[HoonDing]

Dex hotfix means that enemy archers will kick your ass too. Ecce those very fun random encounters with 50 archers in Denerim. *giggles*

 

I just went into Denerim with PC mage, Wynne & Morrigan -> Fireball + Fireball + Fireball = random encounter is over.

 

But, I am not having the impression archery is bugged in my game. Leliana seems to be doing the damage she's supposed to be doing.

Edited December 3, 2009 by virumor

[Wrath of Dagon]

I can't even set traps without losing stealth at tier 2 and my cunning is reasonably high. Looks like I'll have to get tier 3. Some of the gameplay decisions they made in this game are strange to say the least.

[Monte Carlo]

^ Yeah, I wonder if the PnP Dragon Age game uses the same mechanics, they make 2E AD&D look elegant.

[cronicler]

Dex hotfix (actually) lowers your dagger dps (as your bonus damage shifts from %85 of cunning bonus to %42.5 cunning bonus and %42.5 dex bonus) increases bow and crossbow dps. this actually makes the enemy archers (and leilena and the elves at the end game) even more deadly.

 

On 2H warriors; I know it is actually counter intuitive but for 2H (and DW warriors) you actually need to use light armor to avoid stamina penalties and have the 3rd talent (the one that lowers aggro) on autocast as your real defence is being unnoticed. Heavy or Massive armor + two handed weapons is just a death sentence.

 

Archer Warriors; this is actually a very weird class. you just go 2dex 1 other stat each level, use dex enhancing items and let loose with scattershot - arrow of slaying. It does really high dps but you wear leather and just put him/her in a corner doing dps without any need for micro. Very boring.

[Volourn]

"you see about 30 locked chests and 5 unlocked ones, and lots of traps, whereas for the city elf you encounter very little of them)"

 

Eh? Just played this last night. Lots of locked chests. I know, becasue I got annoyed not being able to open them. L0L And, there a few traps espicially one nasty one.

[deganawida]

Gotta agree with Vol on this one: City Elf has one nasty trap that could possible kill you and your comrade. I think it triggers differently than normal traps.

[HoonDing]

I must be really lucky as I didn't encounter traps in the City Elf origin and I went through it twice... also with the Dragon in the Elven ruins I only discovered there were traps after wasting the dragon.

 

Only nasty trap I've encountered is one in the Dalish Elf origin.

[Tigranes]

Really? I went through the building twice as well and I never got any either. Maybe for the locked chests, I was just having a brain fart. Alright, I'll take that back, and keep it in mind when I try the Human Noble and Dwarf Commoner origins (which I haven't yet).

 

Anyway, using the Glyph of Warding / Repulsion combo in the Origins and Lothering and it's great fun. I like how darkspawn go boing boing when they hit the glyph (which, blast Bioware, is just slightly smaller than the width of every corridor in the game), and crowd control really does the job in Nightmare even with difficulty mods. I also respec'd Alistair as a dual-wielding warrior, Punisher and Whirlwinding to glory.

[Monte Carlo]

Am I the only dipstick who didn't find the hidden stash of juicy loot

behind the painting in Warden's Keep? Of course, you can't get back in once you've finished the story there so it has to wait for a new playthrough... (You need to find four Codexes first, one is in the statue in the courtyard).

[Spider]

No, I had a hard time with it as well. Fortunately I knew you couldn't go back, so I googled for it. Turns out I didn't have all the info required (I thought I did). That's when I learned about the magical tab button.

[jaguars4ever]

TAB is awesome. It's served me well on many an RPG.

[Spider]

Oh yes. I initially just didn't think of looking for the highlight button because I thought everything interactable was already hightlighted with the sparkles. But it wasn't, so then TAB came to the rescue.

[Oner]

I say we open the TAB Fan Club.

[Monte Carlo]

Strange. A magic dagger called The Edge (no, not the bloke from U2) appeared mysteriously in my inventory. Is this a free DLC item I'd missed?

[jaguars4ever]

Strange. A magic dagger called The Edge (no, not the bloke from U2) appeared mysteriously in my inventory. Is this a free DLC item I'd missed?

Damn, I've been wanting The Edge (no, not the bloke from U2) but it's only available for those who bought DA before November 30.

[HoonDing]

I'm sure The Edge is a quest reward somewhere in Orzammar, no? I didn't notice it first time I went through the game, though.

[Oner]

It's a DLC item it seems.

[Monte Carlo]

^ Nope, nuthin' to do with Orzammar. It just appeared in my rogue's inventory... perhaps yesterday?

 

I did preorder Dragon Age and got it on release day, maybe it just DL'd via that Big Brother online verification thing.

[Guest Slinky]

I just checked and The Edge was in downloadable content waiting for my go-ahead. I didn't even know about the thing before I learned about it here.

[Enoch]

Odd that they would have us download it without notification (or asking for approval).

 

Bonus Items are for the weak.

[~Di]

Am I the only dipstick who didn't find the hidden stash of juicy loot

behind the painting in Warden's Keep? Of course, you can't get back in once you've finished the story there so it has to wait for a new playthrough... (You need to find four Codexes first, one is in the statue in the courtyard).

 

I found it, but only because I had the strategy guide. I was focused on a particularly prominent painting, trying to find a way to "use" it... when it turned out to be in a totally different room. Yes, "tab" is my constant companion now. I've considered putting a rock on that key so my pinky finger doesn't get so tired!

 

Yep, my mage ended up with The Edge, a dagger my rogue would have killed for but never received. I checked my DLC page, and there it was. Thing is, I'm pretty sure I never actually downloaded it. I think they're spying on me....

Edited December 5, 2009 by ~Di

[Atom523]

Wait, this dagger just appears? I got the game at launch and I don't have it, what gives? It isn't awaiting download nor already downloaded for me.

I love free stuff! I demand more free stuff!