Indeed but is like a common debuff with a twist. Aggro is part of the AI mechanics.
It's not standard Agro in the sense that the skeleton does not stop attacking your mage because of what you just said about its mother, it is functionally the same concept. It's not a debuff, because it only works if they attack someone else, rather than a general reduction in stats.
While I agree that "taunt" is a pure gameplay mechanic, you can do what I do and envision tanks as the assertive, high-pressure, constant threat that the enemy must deal with while the support and covert operations take place.
Support units in DA (archers, mages) and Covert units (rogues) are either too inconvenient to attack or too slippery.
You can't just run past the cohesive front-line in real life without taking serious damage. The same should apply to games, not only for the realism aspect but also for keeping combat organized and fun.
Except that tanks are the completely opposite in DA - they're basically worthless damage soaks that, if you were playing against a human opponent, would be the first thing everyone would run past to get to the real damage dealers, i.e., the rogues and the mages.
In the real world, you'd have to be off your rocker to use 4 person squads when they're armed with swords and shields. Engagements didn't really work that way.
Thanks for the post TC.
BW: No Dual Wielding Warriors.
Me: Why?
BW: Iconic classes.
Me: >_>
BW: No Blood Magic.
Me: Why?
BW: *shrugs*
Me: T_T
^These are much bigger issues for me. I'm not really upset about the healing thing from a gameplay standpoint. Maybe it'll work. Maybe it won't. For me personally, the closer Dragon Age combat gets to Dragon's Dogma combat, the better. < Did I use those commas correctly? I don't think I did...
Speaking of DD, I really like how they handled healing. When you take damage there is a portion that is recoverable by magic but you can only be returned to full health by items. It'd make more sense to be the other way around but then that'd make you caster reliant and i'm sure most people don't want that. Also, not only was there a limit to how much you could carry, there was a weight system so that the more you carried the slower you moved. I preferred my characters as light as possible so I made sure not to carry a ton of stuff. I don't know why i'm speaking in the past tense. I'm still playing the game...
Lorewise however, this whole change to things needs to be explained somehow. In-game at that. Be it from a PC, a NPC, or a Codex entry. Just give us something!
The more I hear about gameplay changes the more I realize that i'll be hitting that multiplayer first thing. Godda git gud lol
Except that tanks are the completely opposite in DA - they're basically worthless damage soaks that, if you were playing against a human opponent, would be the first thing everyone would run past to get to the real damage dealers, i.e., the rogues and the mages.
In the real world, you'd have to be off your rocker to use 4 person squads when they're armed with swords and shields. Engagements didn't really work that way.
True or maybe your so witty that your insults are just amazingly effective at making people mad at you.
Except that tanks are the completely opposite in DA - they're basically worthless damage soaks that, if you were playing against a human opponent, would be the first thing everyone would run past to get to the real damage dealers, i.e., the rogues and the mages.
In the real world, you'd have to be off your rocker to use 4 person squads when they're armed with swords and shields. Engagements didn't really work that way.
Well your build probably made them worthless. Stack strength and go for damage abilities and they can still tank while dealing massive amounts of damage. They are hardly worth-less damage soaks, unless you are talking about a full Guardian full tank Aveline who stabs with her sword. She's a true-and-true bulwark, a tank at the extreme end of tanking.
Hell the biggest irony in DAO is that stacking strength was way better than constitution as it allowed you to equip stronger equipment earlier hence making you tankier, while destroying everything. Tanks do a lot of sustained damage, especially when they have more effective uptime on targets. They have less burst perhaps, but immunity to knockback = more hits = more damage etc...
Also the point of tanks in multiplayer is to provide initiation and a lot of crowd control to the enemy damage-dealers. They deal respectable damage if ignored.
Organized fighting in MOBAs (Which is equivalent to multiplayer RPG) doesn't work the way you do. In fact your scenario is deemed a "noob" strategy.
Some of the damage mitigation comes from crafted gear. Does anyone know if it's modifiable? Or will I have to carry around whole cartloads of different helms and armors, clogging up my inventory with crap I only use for specific fights? I can picture my Inquisitor and her companions standing around while a dragon stares quizzically at them as the Inquisitor digs through her inventory muttering "Now, where did I put that fire resistance helm....?"
True or maybe your so witty that your insults are just amazingly effective at making people mad at you.
Customized taunts include horrible French accents to make ze Orleesians attack me
Various demons 'you call yourself a desire demon, you're hardly more than a passing fancy'
Vivienne, that dress is dumb
Oh shi-
Customized taunts include horrible French accents to make ze Orleesians attack me
Various demons 'you call yourself a desire demon, you're hardly more than a passing fancy'
Vivienne, that dress is dumb
Oh shi-
LOL "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!"
Lorewise however, this whole change to things needs to be explained somehow. In-game at that. Be it from a PC, a NPC, or a Codex entry. Just give us something!
I don't think they have to explain it at all.
Here's some (bad) math!
Let's say that each mage has a 50% chance of knowing heal spells. This number should be much lower since healing is supposedly very difficult, but let's roll with it since it's the fairest distribution.
You have a (0.5 ^ 4 * 100) chance that 4 mages do not know healing spells. (Assuming independence)
So mathematically speaking, you have a 6.25% chance that a party of 4 Mages do not know healing spells.
So what happened in DAI is that we rolled with that scenario. Mind you it's unfortunate, but hey it's what we have to work with! 
Some of the damage mitigation comes from crafted gear. Does anyone know if it's modifiable? Or will I have to carry around whole cartloads of different helms and armors, clogging up my inventory with crap I only use for specific fights? I can picture my Inquisitor and her companions standing around while a dragon stares quizzically at them as the Inquisitor digs through her inventory muttering "Now, where did I put that fire resistance helm....?"
You can modify certain aspects for example the boots/gloves on armor can be switched in and out, on swords i think its hilt/pommel etc. and i think you can take runes in and out. So it shouldn't be a common occurrence but i'll probably craft a dragon fighting suit or two late game.
I would give any weight to this complaint if previous DA games reacted or even recognized that the PC had healing magic. But they do not.
So there's no basis to the RP complaint, any more than it would be to say that the absence of curse of mortality affects RP.
They do actually.
If you're a SH you can tend to Genitivi's wounds after Haven (I'm 50-50 on this mind so if I'm wrong I apologize. I'm about to go on Haven on my mage) and Merrill asks you to heal Pol's wounds if you're a mage (this one I'm certain about). So...uh...
Edit: Okay apparently only Wynne's healing is recognized. Morrigan can patch him up too. (What a weird oversight. They can but not the mage PC? =/ )
They do actually.
If you're a SH you can tend to Genitivi's wounds after Haven (I'm 50-50 on this mind so if I'm wrong I apologize.
Nope. I had to ask Wynne if she could do anything. Made me cry inside.
They do actually.
If you're a SH you can tend to Genitivi's wounds after Haven (I'm 50-50 on this mind so if I'm wrong I apologize. I'm about to go on Haven on my mage) and Merrill asks you to heal Pol's wounds if you're a mage (this one I'm certain about). So...uh...
Neria only got to ask Wynne if she could heal him, or Morrigan. While it didn't recognize her ability to heal (she was an SH) it recognized that mages DO have that ability. If you ask him why he's there seeking a mage recruit, Duncan says that "mages heal, rain fire down on enemies" etc. When trying to make plans the Teryna says they can escape 'get you (Bryce) healing magic'. While I can't recall any 'mage healer' specific dialogues for my Warden per se, it did recognize mages were capable of it.
*Edit* I believe Merrill does have a line asking you to heal Pol if you're a mage. So at least in DA2, it did recognize it for the PC.
The lack of any lines of dialogue didn't prohibit me from playing a 'healer'. My Daylen was a gentle soul who hated fighting, was a Spirit Healer. My favorite mage Hawke was my pacifist, Lily who only fought as a last resort (took every diplomatic option to avoid fights), forgave Gaspard Dupuis for his role in her mother's murder--the only one I was able to do it on.
I find it interesting that a shortage of healing has generated such a great deal of tactical discussion 
.
My Rogue Hawke's tactical approach in DA2 was:
Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, dammit Anders, heal, glug, heal, glug, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab (and relax, health shoots back to 100%).
Note: I beat the Bone Pit Dragon by running so far to one end of the pit that the combat system thought I had left combat and instantly restored me to 100%.
Neria only got to ask Wynne if she could heal him, or Morrigan. While it didn't recognize her ability to heal (she was an SH) it recognized that mages DO have that ability. If you ask him why he's there seeking a mage recruit, Duncan says that "mages heal, rain fire down on enemies" etc. When trying to make plans the Teryna says they can escape 'get you (Bryce) healing magic'. While I can't recall any 'mage healer' specific dialogues for my Warden per se, it did recognize mages were capable of it.
*Edit* I believe Merrill does have a line asking you to heal Pol if you're a mage. So at least in DA2, it did recognize it for the PC.
Nope. I had to ask Wynne if she could do anything. Made me cry inside.
aww. That's a weird oversight =/ well scratch that one then.
Still Merrill brings it up.
I find it interesting that a shortage of healing has generated such a great deal of tactical discussion
My Rogue Hawke's tactical approach in DA2 was:
Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, dammit Anders, heal, glug, heal, glug, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab (and relax, health shoots back to 100%).
Note: I beat the Bone Pit Dragon by running so far to one end of the pit that the combat system thought I had left combat and instantly restored me to 100%.
I'm sure that this kind of tactic is one of the main reasons health regeneration was removed.
aww. That's a weird oversight =/ well scratch that one then.
Still Merrill brings it up.
Yup. She also brings it up if Anders is there.
Nice to get a confirmation detailing how healing will work in this game. Basically this setup seems to allow you to bring anyone you want as opposed to having to have a certain character on your team.
Only thing though. Alistair a resilient tank in Origins? I wonder if we played the same game because Alistair dies a LOT, especially early game. Morrigan tanks better than him. That's saying something. Maybe Aveline is an awesome tank, but definitely *not* Alistair.
I'll still be angling for a Heal spell mod. It can't be that tough; the ability already exists, it just needs another trigger that isn't dependent on potions.
It depends on how you build him, and the difficulty level, I guess.Nice to get a confirmation detailing how healing will work in this game. Basically this setup seems to allow you to bring anyone you want as opposed to having to have a certain character on your team.
Only thing though. Alistair a resilient tank in Origins? I wonder if we played the same game because Alistair dies a LOT, especially early game. Morrigan tanks better than him. That's saying something. Maybe Aveline is an awesome tank, but definitely *not* Alistair.
It doesn't depend on potion. It Depends on focus.I'll still be angling for a Heal spell mod. It can't be that tough; the ability already exists, it just needs another trigger that isn't dependent on potions.
It doesn't depend on potion. It Depends on focus.
Or are you talking of converting the healing Potion in a spell?
Yes, converting the potion into a spell. Or taking the potion's effect and putting a spell trigger on it.
Yes, converting the potion into a spell. Or taking the potion's effect and putting a spell trigger on it.
I think I've figured out what's bugging me about the complaints. It's the notion that the games must have a healer or it's inferior somehow. I've played the IE games, which are set up with the fighter/mage/thief/cleric D&D system. I've played Arcanum, where healing can come from a spell or an item (and these may be mutually exclusive). I've played DX:HR where health regenerated automatically. ME has healing, but not true healers. There's no rule that says healing must be done this way and this way only. Or any other mechanic.
I'll be the first one to complain if DAI is too difficult or tedious, but Patrick's post has assuaged some of my fears, as has watching people play. So let's just wait and see how the system works in practice.
If this was a new IP, I wouldn't care at all. It's the fact that a playstyle and spell list that I enjoyed in past games in the series has been taken away that's left me so angry.
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