98 réponses à ce sujet

[FlyingSquirrel]

To make a long story short, I tried playing DA:O once several years ago and eventually abandoned it - I felt like I was intellectually appreciating it rather than actually feeling engaged by it, and "sword and sorcery" settings are a bit of a tough sell for me. (I also abandoned Oblivion after about 15-20 hours and never tried Skyrim. I like The Witcher games, but more for the characters and the sociopolitical content than the setting per se.)

 

However, I've decided to give it another try. My character is a female human mage, and I'm planning to play with a generally altruistic but anti-establishment attitude, e.g. resenting all the restrictions on mages and skeptical of anything that resembles a social caste system.

 

I remember doing the following quests in my initial attempt:

- Going to a city where I added Leliana and Sten to the team

- Something involving a town with a sick boy and having to return to the mages' tower to fight a demon

- Visiting the elves and mediating a conflict with somebody named Witherfang

- Visiting the dwarves when they're about to choose a new leader

 

I didn't do many sidequests, so are there any in particular that stand out as especially interesting that I should watch for (preferably without too many spoilers)? Thanks in advance! 

[mousestalker]

You will find Sten and Leliana in Lothering. As for side quests, my favourite companion, Shale, is only available if you complete the 'Stone Prisoner' side quest.

[Mike3207]

Well, the quests you mentioned are all treaty quests-not sidequests.You have to do all the main quests to advance the story.

Sidequests-Gaxkhang is awesome, even if you don't get the shield.A mage will like the gloves he has.

The Crows quest will impact the landsmeet.

I don't think there are any bad sidequests, really.

[Pateu]

It's a great game. Play it thoroughly, seriously.

 

I'd rank it top 3 among the best RPGs ever made, up there with Witcher 2 and Mass Effect. 

[theskymoves]

To make a long story short, I tried playing DA:O once several years ago and eventually abandoned it - I felt like I was intellectually appreciating it rather than actually feeling engaged by it, and "sword and sorcery" settings are a bit of a tough sell for me. (I also abandoned Oblivion after about 15-20 hours and never tried Skyrim. I like The Witcher games, but more for the characters and the sociopolitical content than the setting per se.)

 

However, I've decided to give it another try. My character is a female human mage, and I'm planning to play with a generally altruistic but anti-establishment attitude, e.g. resenting all the restrictions on mages and skeptical of anything that resembles a social caste system.

 

I remember doing the following quests in my initial attempt:

- Going to a city where I added Leliana and Sten to the team

- Something involving a town with a sick boy and having to return to the mages' tower to fight a demon

- Visiting the elves and mediating a conflict with somebody named Witherfang

- Visiting the dwarves when they're about to choose a new leader

 

I didn't do many sidequests, so are there any in particular that stand out as especially interesting that I should watch for (preferably without too many spoilers)? Thanks in advance! 

Your mage would probably be interested in the Mages' Collective sidequests. There's no pointer to them, IIRC, but talking to ALL the NPCs in either Redcliffe, Denerim, or the Lake Calenhad Docks area will get you started.

[DarthGizka]

@ FlyingSquirrel

Well, you'll find sociopolitics galore in the dwarven and city elf origins. I'm rather fond of the dwarf noble origin because my first Warden was an Aeducan prince. The city elf origins (bride or groom) and human noble are probably the most engaging and apt to draw you in; the dalish elf origin is really nice as well.

Mages have a bit of a steeper learning curve than warriors or rogues, and a fledgling mage will probably have to rely more heavily on effective team support than other classes. Warriors can simply trail their entourage behind them and lead from the front, letting the rest of the team auto-attack with ranged weapons and automatically heal/buff the party. That said, I find mages the most interesting and rewarding to play and the last couple of months I've done nothing but nightmare solo mages.

Anyway, it is advantageous for the Warden have the first rank of the pick-pocketing skill later in the game, because it opens a nice chain of cloak-and-dagger mini quests. Shale's companion quest is very extensive and offers neat rewards. Should you obtain a key during your stay in Ostagar, do not use it right away and instead save it for the Return to Ostagar DLC. For a mage it can be advantageous to send an alter ego through the Witch Hunt and Amgarrak extensions, because that adds some very nice bonus gear to all subsequently created characters (and probably also to existing characters in other campaigns). The gear effectively doubles the spellpower and mana of a newly created mage, and it has a very nice armour bonus.

[Blazomancer]

The quests related to the companions are nice, you should do all of them. Most of the remaining sidequests are pretty short and comprises of small scale battles or fetch and deliver types, which you may or may not find interesting, hard to tell. The ones mentioned by folks above are interesting though, especially the ones that you get in the capital city. Also keep an out for a bald templar. And Yup, the dragons, it's the dragon age after all. Try tickling the sleeping ones. While you're in Denerim, don't forgot to visit Wade's Emporium and the Pearl.

[themikefest]

 Do whatever quest in whatever order you want to. Romance whoever you like or don't. Don't pressure yourself by feeling you have to do this vs that. If you have the dlc's, you can do them whenever you want. Use the companions you want to use. Of course all companions have interesting dialogue

[DarthGizka]

Well, I can see FlyingSquirrel's point about side quests: travelling halfway across the map just to bump off some dude or to bag a bereskarn can take away a lot of momentum from the campaign, just like zipping around in Denerim for no other purpose than offing a few score of bandits. The Pearl is different, since it has a direct tie-in (the grey nug that flies south for the winter). Same for the Crows (Zevran and self-same nug). Places like Honnleath and Cadash Thaig are interesting enough in their own right to warrant being visited at least once.

[Mike3207]

There are some items in the upgraded Crows stock that I think are worth going through all those quests.One of them for me is Katriel's Grasp, which will give a Mage/Warrior 3% melee critical chance.

The only quests I might not go through are the Blackstone Irregulars ones.They seem to only give gold, not the useful items you might get in other plot lines.

[theskymoves]

There are some items in the upgraded Crows stock that I think are worth going through all those quests.One of them for me is Katriel's Grasp, which will give a Mage/Warrior 3% melee critical chance.

The only quests I might not go through are the Blackstone Irregulars ones.They seem to only give gold, not the useful items you might get in other plot lines.

 

I thought Gorim sells Katriel's Grasp after he restocks... *scratches head*

[The Don's Hound]

Stop.

 

Don't continue.

 

Put down your controller and burn your platform.

 

It's been tainted by the foulness of that game.

[Mike3207]

Thought it was the Crows stock, but could be wrong about that.

Yeah, it was Gorim.You still get the Grandmaster Dwemer from the upgraded crow stock though.

[theskymoves]

Thought it was the Crows stock, but could be wrong about that.

Yeah, it was Gorim.You still get the Grandmaster Dwemer from the upgraded crow stock though.

 

And more importantly for moi, the recipe for Quiet Death. TSM loves her poisons. 

[TheMadHarridan]

Well, I am a horrible completionist and a trophy hound, so I do absolutely every quest every time I play. I can't help it. It's hardwired into my DNA. However, I will try to be objective in giving my side quest recommendations.

 

I like the Slim Couldry questline in Denerim because parts of it are hilarious (like flirting with Master Tillver while playing a male Warden, fooling Ser Nancine in a variety of ways, etc.). Plus, you get some nice loot and cash, and there is a tie-in to Awakening where you will meet some fellow claiming to be "The Dark Wolf." Finish Slim's quests and you'll see why that's rather impossible. Make sure you have at least one point in stealing before you talk to Slim for the first time, and tell him you want to do both stealing and stealth quests (you don't actually need points in stealth, but you do in stealing).

 

The Trial of the Crows questline is interesting, and you get a bit of help in the Landsmeet if you finish the line. Plus, Ignacio is fun to talk to. Definitely bring Zevran along when you talk to him.

 

The Mages Collective has some good quests, and you will end up in most of the places for the quests throughout your normal travels, so you don't have to do a lot of map hopping (at least not if you plan it right).

 

The Blackstone Irregulars quests are all right and a good way to earn cash. My favorite in this line is the final quest when you have a bit more control of how the Irregulars turn out as a guild.

 

You can also do some shady dealings with the bartender at the Gnawed Noble Tavern in Denerim. You can do jobs for three different people (two main people), and in the end choose to side with one over the other and, shall we say, cut down on some of Denerim's crime.

 

The Chanter's Board quests can be interesting, and there are a couple of opportunities to stick it to Loghain.

 

I would recommend always doing the companion quests because they allow you to fully develop your relationships with your teammates.

 

You will end up doing a lot of running around the map if you do everything, but the key is to try to organize it as best you can. For example, you may have three different quests from three different guilds that all take place in Redcliffe. Just try to do them in groups, and it will lessen the amount of map hopping required.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll keep these in mind as I go through it - so far I've just created my character and done the trial in the Fade. I'm hoping to finish Bioshock Infinite this week and then dig into DA:O.

[congokong]

Ok, if you couldn't get into Oblivion and never even tried Skyrim then I'd be surprised that you'd really like DA:O. DA:O probably has better character developments in regards to companions but that's all DA:O has on the Elder Scrolls series. For example, the Trial of Crows questline is pathetic in comparison to the Dark Brotherhood questline in both Oblivion and Skyrim. But I could write an essay on why Elder Scrolls is far better overall.

 

To answer your OP, the DA:Ultimate Edition included a few DLCs that would be worth playing; specifically The Stone Prisoner, Warden's Keep, and maybe Return to Ostagar. The Golems of Amgarrak and Witch Hunt were garbage although Witch Hunt gives you a final goodbye to one of the game's main characters. These aren

t technically side-quests but they're worth mentioning.

[CronoDragoon]

Ok, if you couldn't get into Oblivion and never even tried Skyrim then I'd be surprised that you'd really like DA:O. DA:O probably has better character developments in regards to companions but that's all DA:O has on the Elder Scrolls series. For example, the Trial of Crows questline is pathetic in comparison to the Dark Brotherhood questline in both Oblivion and Skyrim. But I could write an essay on why Elder Scrolls is far better overall.

 

I think there's plenty of people who don't like the Elder Scrolls and love Dragon Age Origins. Like me I guess.

[congokong]

I think there's plenty of people who don't like the Elder Scrolls and love Dragon Age Origins. Like me I guess.

And I will never understand it.

[CronoDragoon]

And I will never understand it.

 

From my perspective, the only thing the Elder Scrolls has going for it is scope. The writing is terrible, the lore is boring, combat is broken and clumsy. Fan mods can only do so much to improve all this. The music is really good though.

 

Again, this is just my opinion.

[congokong]

From my perspective, the only thing the Elder Scrolls has going for it is scope. The writing is terrible, the lore is boring, combat is broken and clumsy. Fan mods can only do so much to improve all this. The music is really good though.

 

Again, this is just my opinion.

I feel the writing was great, the lore was interesting (ex: backstory behind the Stormcloaks), and combat was far superior to that in DA:O. I agree about the scope and music. That's just my opinion.

[AlanC9]

Ok, if you couldn't get into Oblivion and never even tried Skyrim then I'd be surprised that you'd really like DA:O. DA:O probably has better character developments in regards to companions but that's all DA:O has on the Elder Scrolls series. For example, the Trial of Crows questline is pathetic in comparison to the Dark Brotherhood questline in both Oblivion and Skyrim. But I could write an essay on why Elder Scrolls is far better overall.

 

Sure. And I could write an essay about why the Elder Scrolls games are crashing bores. I wouldn't expect you to agree with me, of course.

[CronoDragoon]

I feel the writing was great, the lore was interesting (ex: backstory behind the Stormcloaks), and combat was far superior to that in DA:O. I agree about the scope and music. That's just my opinion.

Cheers that there's games for the both of us!

[FlyingSquirrel]

Hi all, just another quick question here. I have gotten back into the game and I feel like I'm enjoying it a little more this time around.

 

Is completing the treaty quests similar to finishing the four "Race Against Time" missions in Mass Effect, i.e. will it lock out remaining sidequests and throw me into a final sequence of new quests? So far I've completed Broken Circle, I've done all of Redcliffe except reviving Eamon (everyone is safe and alive but he's still in a coma), and I am in the middle of trying to solve the Dalish Elves/Werewolves conflict. I figure I'll go to Denerim to see about Eamon's cure after that. So I'm wondering if I should finish any remaining sidequests before going to meet with the dwarves.

[Blazomancer]

^No, you don't need to bother about such things with the treaty quests. Without going into the details, there is a point of no return late into the game for Redcliffe, but you need not worry about it since you've already done everything there.