Dragon Age: Origins

[Aftrunner]

Dont take all of them on at once. There are places where you can approach and take on one group at a time.

 

You can lure them to your position. Tell the other party members to hold position, send out one member and then as soon as the enemy see him run back to your party and the enemies will follow him.

 

Also make sure you rest up and heal up after each group. Dont rush from one group to another.

[Tyler]

PC version, right?

 

 

I think it's the bandits quest in Lothering, correct? The two groups are particularly nasty since they have Mabari. Just try to get poultices and make "drink lesser health potion if heath reaches < 50%" the primary tactic for your entire party. Equip Leliana with a bow. Pause and keep Morrigan and Leliana at the back (turn follow off) and take out the Mabari first. Engage the enemies along with Alistair. Try to cast Winter's Grasp (hope you have it) using Morrigan or any other offensive spell. Make sure you pause often to give individual commands often and keep everyone's health in check. Those fights aren't that tough really and all you need to do is micro-manage a bit you'll get past.

 

 

 

Also, like Afty said, don't rush them just trigger the combat mode and let them come for you.

 

 

On the console version it's a piece of cake. Just run in and hack away and let the party AI do the rest!

 

 

 

And this time Afty beats me to it!

[Aftrunner]

 

So I am in the elvish forest and have just mopped up the Werewolves sidequest. However there was a gravestone in the forest and if you trigger that you get a pretty good a*s raping. I tried a few times but figured I wasnt at a good enough level. Any idea whats the deal behind that gravestone? Is it worth going back to?

 

 

Also whats the deal with lockpicking. Little Ms redhead still misses about 80% of the locks despite having the second highest lockpick talent available.

 

I miss the old lines of text that would show you what the dice were rolling like it used to be in BG2.

[Tyler]

So I am in the elvish forest and have just mopped up the Werewolves sidequest. However there was a gravestone in the forest and if you trigger that you get a pretty good a*s raping. I tried a few times but figured I wasnt at a good enough level. Any idea whats the deal behind that gravestone? Is it worth going back to?

 

Juggernaut armour. And you definitely need it!

 

 

As for lockpicking, I'm really surprised that you're missing so many! For me there's like 1 chest out of 10 that she cannot open.

[Aftrunner]

Ok. So I got one piece of that in the

Werewolf dungeon.

. Second piece is that

gravestone

. Where else?

 

Dont even get me started on lockpicking. 20+ cunning and 3 tiers out of 4 for lockpicking in skills and she still cant pick 70-80% of the locks. I am missing out on so much awesome loot.

 

At least there should have been an option to bash locks.

 

Also aside from injury kits is there any other way to get rid of injuries? There is no rest option AFAIK.

[Tyler]

Ok. So I got one piece of that in the

Werewolf dungeon.

. Second piece is that

gravestone

. Where else?

 

Two of them are in the forest (under Gravestones) The first one is just above the area where you

meet Treebeard

and the second is like in a small ruin to the north of the

crazy hermit's hut

.

 

 

BTW injuries get healed if you go back to camp (if you have the option). Apart from that no rest or no other way to treat injuries on the field except kits.

 

 

 

Anyway, off to play now!

[Aftrunner]

Hmm I got no option to activate the gravestone near

Treebeard (lol)

.

 

Also the injury thing blows. The kits are too expensive for something that is used so often and I cant find ingredients to make my own.

 

BTW I am swimming in elfroots now.

[Bulovski]

I miss the old lines of text that would show you what the dice were rolling like it used to be in BG2.

I really want to know what the engine is doing because I don't trust it. I am sure it's gimping me.

 

At least there should have been an option to bash locks.

And this.

 

Just played two straight hours - all of it in Haven and onwards. Dungeon crawl just took on a new meaning here. Sacred Urn quest spoiler

I was wiped out about 10 times before I managed to kill that psycho priest and his cronies. Surprisingly the battles were a cakewalk till then. Now I am at the dragon and it took all of two minutes to wipe my entire party out. I am at level 11 - I guess that's not enough?

 

[Aftrunner]

I really want to know what the engine is doing because I don't trust it. I am sure it's gimping me.

 

LOL. Too true.

 

Anyway 15 hours in and I have run across the first thing about this game I genuinely dislike - the goddamn sliding square puzzle. They are always annoying as f**k in any game they are present in.

[Tyler]

Hmm I got no option to activate the gravestone near

Treebeard (lol)

.

 

It's on a raised area which is very easy to miss. It's not exactly near

Treebeard

but overlooking the area where he is. BTW I'm sure the gravestone is also marked on your map with an X.

 

 

I was wiped out about 10 times before I managed to kill that psycho priest and his cronies. Surprisingly the battles were a cakewalk till then. Now I am at the dragon and it took all of two minutes to wipe my entire party out. I am at level 11 - I guess that's not enough?

 

That was by far the toughest battle on the 360 version. I had to

lure them near the entrance of the cave and ambush them. On top of that I left Wynne back at the camp, so no extra healing, buffs or revival.

BTW, the dragon at the Mountaintop is optional, just don't ring the gong and keep going straight for the next area.

 

Did you finish the Circle of Magi quest yet? I suggest you do that as soon as possible. *Not a plot spoiler*

It gives many permanent stat boosts (if you explore carefully) so you may want to do it sooner than later

. Plus it's one of the best parts of the game.

[Bulovski]

I had to fight the dragon - it's a DnD clone after all. Oh well - I will come back later and finish her off.

 

Circle of Magi - here I come. It should be fun to see if the dialogue reflects that the PC is a mage who came from there.

[Tyler]

It should be fun to see if the dialogue reflects that the PC is a mage who came from there.

 

Of course it will. I have to keep reminding people of my nobility all the time!

[lithuvien]

I finally got the hang of things now. This is like playing Seiken Densetsu and Final Fantasy XII, except that the gambits were a little better there.

On another note, I have to sort of try 4-5 times before my laptop reads a DVD. It reads CDs at the first go. Is there anyone here with a quick fix or do I have to take it to the repair center?

[Aftrunner]

Ermm use a crack or make an ISO?

 

I think thats legal enough. You have the game and arent making copies to distribute or sell.

[Bulovski]

Finished Arl of Redcliffe quest

The best Gauntlet I've ever seen - brilliant.

 

 

The writing in this game is superb - right now I think this is the best Bioware script. It's a tall claim but it's mindblowing. Initially I had thought what's the big deal with Origin stories - it's been done in ME. But comparing ME's origin with DA's origin story is like comparing a child's scribble with Starry Nights. Not a single instance did I feel that the dialogue was generic. I am an elvish mage, and it seems that every reference to me has elves or mages thrown in.

[Aftrunner]

Exactly. The story in a nutshell might be same old fight against the darkness to save the world that all RPGs are made up but the writing is absolutely top notch. As are the characters.

 

There is a note you find in the Redcliff castle's dungeon about some poor guy who used to have an apple farm. Its superbly written and its a total throwaway. Not even half the people who play it will end up finding or reading it and yet it is so well written that half the RPGs main storytelling isnt of that calibre.

[Bulovski]

Did you find the perverted lovers' notes?

 

The writing is top notch - like Planescape (ok maybe not that good - that's never going to happen). But the brilliance lies in how it's completely tailor-made to the origin story selected. No wonder they selected only 6 origin stories.

[abhi90]

Exactly. The story in a nutshell might be same old fight against the darkness to save the world that all RPGs are made up but the writing is absolutely top notch. As are the characters.

 

There is a note you find in the Redcliff castle's dungeon about some poor guy who used to have an apple farm. Its superbly written and its a total throwaway. Not even half the people who play it will end up finding or reading it and yet it is so well written that half the RPGs main storytelling isnt of that calibre.

lol you made me remember the troll suicide or something similar note in oblivion

 

just so it isnt OT getting a copy in a couple of days so hope to join you guys and all cuz i will need help

[Bulovski]

I have been scouring the usual RPG haunts on the web for some good Dragon Age guide - there's zilch. Right now IVG has some excellent material - not as good as Bioware forums, but far better than IGN or Gamebanshee (my fav haunt when I lived on NWN).

[Tyler]

So far I still prefer The Witcher's story and conflicts over DAO. Don't get me wrong, DAO is very very good. But when it comes to the "mature storytelling" in RPGs, for me The Witcher wins (Torment is in a league of it's own - I typically don't even compare the writing in any game to it). The conflicts and situations somehow seemed more realistic, then again it was based on a series of books, so it's not like the story is entirely original. I do however agree that DAO is a far deeper game. There are loads and loads of books, notes and letters to read through.