Let me begin by saying that I doubt anything I write here is much of a revelation. Also, in spite of appearances, I still consider myself largely a purist. Having said that, you can only play an RPG so many times before you start wanting to play the game the way you'd like. So after many hours, playthroughs and restarts, I decided to make Hawke mine... Once and for all.
I have always played as a Mage in both installments of Dragon Age. Finally, my frustration with not being able to use a 2-Handed Sword or a Sword and Shield started to get to me. Believe it or not, this was largely due to what I considered the immersion breaking use of Magic in and around Kirkwall... Especially during the day and/or in public places. In a place that was crawling with Templars and a largely no account Apostate protagonist, my mind just couldn't get around how Hawke managed to wander the streets as he did. So yes... I gamed the system.
For the sake of role-playing, I finally took the time to learn a bit about editing save games and mods. I then set my mind on being a Mage who was trying to hide in plain sight. With that in mind, I set out to find an armor set and weapons I could live with. Then, I made my Hawke an Entropy/Spirit/Creation Mage who specialized in Spirit Healing and Blood Magic. In my mind, hiding in plain sight meant using spells that weren't overly apparent which ruled out all Elemental and Primal spells. Likewise, I didn't use any Blood Magic spells in the open, so for all intents and purposes, "to the naked eye", I was a very resilient Warrior, around whom, "odd things happened". ;^)
Now, I know that to most people, the Entropy line is not sexy and "better suited to Merrill"... Well, I wholeheartedly disagree. Hitting an enemy with Horror or the Misdirection Hex before charging in was about as sexy as it gets. Hitting a group with an upgraded Entropic Cloud or Sleep, effectively locks them down for other party members and left me free to pick and choose who I wanted to destroy... (I'm looking at you Rogues, Assassins and Hunters.) Using Creation glyphs also proved to be lots of fun... For me. Putting a Glyph of Repulsion in the right spot locks enemies down because they're only rising to fall again, and again, and again. In other words, "He/They slipped, fell down, hit their heads and just couldn't regain their balance." Glyphs... They're not just for choke points! Likewise, when I consider the waves of enemies, using Walking Bomb and Spirit Bolt helps rid your group of enemies in chunks... Pun intended. Also, Dispel Magic (especially with Transmutation), works nicely against enemy mages, Templars and Lieutenants alike. I especially like when enemy mages cast a Barrier spell and I use Dispel on the ground next to them to pull them right out of it. With Transmutation, they get a blast of Spirit damage on top it. Which either kills them outright (due to previous damage) or takes a huge chunk out of what health they have. *Sweet!* All said, my character debuffs, locks down and destroys in the way an Arcane Warrior should. Up close and in his enemy's face.
In regards to my specialization choices, Force Mage is the one people love to love, but my Arcane Warrior thought that skill set would draw too much attention, so Spirit Healing (obviously) and Blood Magic were the best choices. I went with Spirit Healing first for obvious reasons. By the time I hit level 14, I'd acquired Vitality which is the magic key in all of this. Activating Blood Magic with Vitality in the background worked to perfection. Up until that point, with Healing Aura active, I couldn't cast offensive spells, but with all the hacking, slashing and bashing, it didn't much matter. Once I acquired Blood Magic, Vitality kept refreshing my health, which allowed me to stay in the fight and still cast spells. With the armor and weapons/shield I'd chosen being made to level with me (not over the top), in order to "keep things honest", I was "in my role" and kept asking myself why I hadn't done this earlier. The only thing I had to get my head around, was casting with the wave of my weapon, which is *a lot* faster than with a staff and without the posing that goes along with it. Ultimately, I reasoned that an Arcane Warrior doesn't pose. In the heat of battle, who's going to be stupid enough to pose? Look at what happened to that git Ser Wesley.
At the end of the day, I do consider myself a purist. I played the game the way it was written and just wanted to try something new. Now, I can't imagine playing Dragon Age II any other way. My character is not overpowered and he's completely versatile. When he's facing enemies he doesn't want to get close to, he goes with the staff. When he wants to punish those pesky (read: annoying), disappearing Rogues, Hunters and Assassins, he can enjoy the visceral thrill of whacking them with a shield or sword. Sure, some will say that I necessarily would have to gimp my character in order to make this build viable and to that I agree... To a point... But when the goal is enjoying the gameplay and having your character function in a believable role... Any disappointment over lost Cross-Class Combos or One-Hit Kills quickly makes way for "How does this shield taste?" Also, playing this way made me more mindful of using, tactics, potions, grenades, and poisons. Mythal's grenade suffices nicely when your companions fall. Elfroot and Restoration potions are a godsend for Warriors and Lifeward potions put everyone's mind at ease. All of this has the added "benefit" of making Anders irrelevant. *BONUS!* Tar Bombs, Combustion Grenades, Arcane, Crow and Fell poisons give your companions more versatility and makes destroying your enemies that much more fun... And that too is playing the game the way it's meant to be played.
P.S. *I AM PLAYING ON HARD* and I did not use the console to give my character any Warrior skills. He is a Mage and nothing else. A very resilient, grenade throwing, poison using Mage who uses his spells "under the right circumstances"... As any Apostate in a strange town would. Your mileage may vary! (In other words... How you play is up to you!) 
Modifié par Tremere, 14 janvier 2015 - 12:10 .
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*hahaha* I didn't have any of the Rogue abilities, but the combination of Entropy Magic and Daggers... *shivers* Nasty!!!
