24 réponses à ce sujet

[mgass]

After almost 20 playthroughs, I thought I'd post some basic strategy tips for new players.  Your mileage may vary on tips.

1)  Character Race/class

For pure experience, more skills, and talents, the Rogue is king.  However, with the Dex bug (console), it provides a challenge in attributes.  Do you go Str or Cun?  Truly, it doesn't matter.  Your points will be scattered anyway.  Also, because of the bug, it doesn't matter if you go Str or Cun because daggers do almost the same amount of damage as longswords anyway and the Cun skill unlock to use as damage simply trades Cun for Str.  Stay with daggers for the faster attack.

For pure survivability, the Warrior using Two-Handed rocks with the indomitable talent.  Just pump points into Str and Con, then go kill things.

2) Special Items vs attributes

If you've got the Stone Prisoner and Warden's Keep DLC, there are certain items you want, and thus, you need the attributes to use.  Other's are found through the game at various merchants or quest reward.

Horn of Honneleth (20 Str) - +2 all attributes, the best helm in the game (Stone Prisoner)
Starfang - the best one and two-handed swords in the game (Warden's Keep after getting the crater encounter for the star metal, finishing the Keep, leaving, and returning again, as only then is the blacksmith there to create)
Andruil's Blessing - +2 all attributes, amulet (Denerim merchant?)
Blood Gorged amulet - +12 Con, -3 Str and Will, amulet (Stone Prisoner)
Lifegiver - +10 Con, ring (Orzammar merchant)
Key to the City - +2 all attributes, ring (Orzammar quest)

With a pure Warrior, equip the Horn, Two-Handed Starfang, Blood Gorged Amulet, Lifegiver Ring, and the Key to the City Ring an go killing.

With a Rogue, trade to Andruil's Blessing Amulet.

3) Staying alive and getting the most experience

If you play a Rogue, take Allister with you, pump most of his points into Con, set his tactics on passive, and don't let him attack anything.  Set tactics to custom, and use Self;Any Taunt and Threaten to draw enemies, then, simply pound on the enemies as they pound on Allister.

Regardless, after you get Morrigan, her first level get Heal spell, then set her tactics to passive;healer.  Set her tactics for Mind Blast and healing only until you get Sleep and Mass Paralyze.  Do the same with Wynne after you get her.  This gives you two healers that are totally focused on keeping your character and themselves alive. 

Using this setup, you will get 98% of the experience throughout the game.

4)  Party

If I play a Rogue, I take Allister, Morrigan and Wynne (using about tactics).  If I play a Warrior, I take Leliana, Morrigan and Wynne.  If I have Leliana instead of Allister, when playing a Warrior, I blank Leliana's tactics screen totally and use her only for opening chests and disarming traps.

5)  Levels and free experience

Do NOT use the Kakari Wilds bug of getting the vials but not the treaties, going back to Duncan, and repeatedly talking to him for quest experience till you go back, get the treaties, and finish the quest.  This raises your level, but, the NPC's you haven't gotten yet also raise to match.   The problem here is Morrigan, Wynne, etc, autolevel skills/talents/spells and take away YOUR ability to build them from the lowest possible level.

I.E., starting Morrigan at level 10 means she has auto-leveled and almost has Shapeshifter Mastery, a useless skill.  Whereas starting Morrigan at level 5 means you have 5 spells YOU can choose, like Healing, and Sleep.

Also, while you gain a little experience for turning in runes, crafting items, etc, while in camp, you simply aren't going to get enough to reach level 25.  As a Rogue, gaining 98% of the experience, keeping every rune, craft item, etc, until I CAN turn them in, AND running back and forth to the merchant in the Bracilian Forest, the highest I have finished the game is level 24.

6)  Getting Swarmed

Face it, until you've played several times, you just don't remember where the swarms are at.  This is why I set both Mages on healing. 

7) Level Difficulty

Easy Level isn't all THAT easy.  You'll survive well using the above tactics.  The Dragon fights are still tough.

Normal Level isn't normal at all.  Until you get Morrigan leveled up once and get the Heal spell, the swarms kill you quite easily.  Keep plenty of potions (both health and lyrium) and set your Healers tactics to use a potion when their mana goes under 10%. 

I haven't even attempted anything harder as the game, in my opinion, becomes unplayable at that point due to the pure amount of swarming enemies.

8)  Order of Quests

After your origin stage, Ostagar, and Lothering, you'll have the option on how to start the quest order.  Here is how I do it.

I go do the Stone Prisoner quest first right after Lothering to get the Helm of Honneleth.  Morrigan should level up first during this quest so you can now have a healer.  Then, I do the Warden's Keep quest to get the Warden Tower shield from the Sophia random drop.  Don't worry about the Warden Armor, it's bugged anyway.  You want the shield for Allister! 

After those two quests, I do the Broken Circle quest, that gives you the free attribute points.  From there, I do Orzammar so I can get the Key to the City Ring.  Then I do the Bracilian Forest for the Juggernaut Armor.  Finally, I do the Redcliffe quest line.  Just be aware that the game designers designed the item drop levels so that Redcliffe Items are low level.  Sell them and get the good unique items you need (Andruil's Blessing, etc).

9)  Quest bugs

Remember that if you do quests out of order, they will likely bug.  I.E., Dagna in Orzammar wants to be a mage (yes, silly).  Talk to Dagna, then go to the Mage Tower and talk to the First Enchanter.  On the XBOX 360, Dagna shows up at the Mage Tower RIGHT THEN.  Do NOT talk to her at the Tower or the quest bugs.  You have to go BACK to Orzammar and talk to Dagna (yes, she is in both places, another bug) for the quest to finish without bugging.

Also, on the XBOX 360, if you do two or more quests for, say, a chantry board, before you go get your reward, it bugs and doesn't give you all the money you should get.  I haven't checked on experience.  Do ONE quest, go get reward, rinse, repeat.  This means you must manage the quests so you CAN do one at a time before you get the reward.

I hope this helps.

[dkjestrup]

 It's the helm of honleath. Not the "horn". And you get Andruils Blessing from the Quartermaster in the circle tower.
What do you mean this gets you 98% of experience throughout the game?

Uhhh... Easy difficulty is pathetically easy. So easy you can do it with sub-par characters only using tactics.

What are you talking about with swarms?

I appreciate your attempt at helping, but there isn't really any strategy at all here. Sorry.

EDIT: And I highly, highly, highly doubt that you've done 20 playthroughs. I've done four, and I've been playing non-stop since before christmas, not including about 5 playthroughs that I haven't finished.

Modifié par dkjestrup, 27 janvier 2010 - 10:19 .

[soteria]

There is so much misinformation in the OP that I don't know where to start. New players, I do NOT recommend following this advice. The only exception is that the list of gear is good, for a warrior that plans on tanking.



dkjestrup, to be fair, if he plays like what he's advising, easy and normal might be pretty challenging.

[JosieJ]

Wow, just...wow.

[whoosi]

yea I am playing the game on normal and use only 1 healer combined with pots on allistar or shale depending who I have tanking at that moment. My main character acts as back up healer if needed outside of that 1 healer should be good if you do things right. If you need two dedicated healers on easy or normal your doing something wrong.

[mgass]

soteria wrote...

There is so much misinformation in the OP that I don't know where to start. New players, I do NOT recommend following this advice. The only exception is that the list of gear is good, for a warrior that plans on tanking.

dkjestrup, to be fair, if he plays like what he's advising, easy and normal might be pretty challenging.

To me, when playing the main character of an RPG, you actually PLAY the main character.  

If people want to tank Shale, Allister (or Oghren), let Wynne heal and be an archer watching NPC's go through the battles as a bystander, that is what they will do.  More power to them.

In my opinion, NPC's are for support purposes only and that is the way I have centered my tips.  Like I said, you're mileage will vary depending on how you play.

When you get swarmed by 10+ deep stalkers all pounding on your character, yes, I have two healers to keep me alive (as a Warrior) or let them pound on my tank as I pound them.

People will disagree with tactics...

[JosieJ]

Oh, THAT'S what I've been doing wrong--I've been playing my main character AND the companions! Obviously, I should have been keeping the companions in my party, and yet not using their talents!



I feel better now that I know this!

[dkjestrup]

Gee, the micro management part of the game is so unnessecary! What's the tactical view for again?



I wish so badly I played on PC, or could point and click movement for my companions though. Sucks against broodmother, having to move each of my ranged characters one by one onto the rocks.



Why should you be swarmed by 10+ deepstalkers? They're very weak. Simply use crowd control like sleep and they're pathetic.



And when your tank takes a hammering, that's what forcefield is for (still think that the force fielded character should lose all aggro though, it's a bit broken atm.

[x-president]

If you get swarmed by 10+ Deepstalkers, shapeshift Morrigan into swarm.  Problem solved.

[Realmzmaster]

mgass wrote...

soteria wrote...

There is so much misinformation in the OP that I don't know where to start. New players, I do NOT recommend following this advice. The only exception is that the list of gear is good, for a warrior that plans on tanking.

dkjestrup, to be fair, if he plays like what he's advising, easy and normal might be pretty challenging.

To me, when playing the main character of an RPG, you actually PLAY the main character.  

If people want to tank Shale, Allister (or Oghren), let Wynne heal and be an archer watching NPC's go through the battles as a bystander, that is what they will do.  More power to them.

In my opinion, NPC's are for support purposes only and that is the way I have centered my tips.  Like I said, you're mileage will vary depending on how you play.

When you get swarmed by 10+ deep stalkers all pounding on your character, yes, I have two healers to keep me alive (as a Warrior) or let them pound on my tank as I pound them.

People will disagree with tactics...

If you are getting pounded by 10+ deep stalkers, it is because you are not using your companions. You are trying to play a party based game as a single character player game. If you want to have your character get all the experience then you should solo the game. Why bother picking up companions?
You need two healers to keep you alive because you want to get all the experience. Everybody does not play that way. You strategy is only good for the way you want to play.

[dkjestrup]

Do you even get more experience when your PC kills the enemy?



I love posts like this. I also hate them. Because it would surprise you how much new players will believe the first source they go to.



TC. Guide HAVE to:



Be as unbiased as possible

Be done from a metagaming, purely min/maxing standpoint

Show all the possible alternatives (for example, dex rogues or cun rogues)

Be as little opinion as possible

Be researched BY YOURSELF

[x-president]

dkjestrup wrote...

Do you even get more experience when your PC kills the enemy?

Everyone gets the same xp either in camp sitting there, fighting, or just healing.  The xp is applied to everyone that's why people in camp keep leveling up when they do nothing. 

It doesn't matter if you get the kill or a companion does.


You do gain more xp in the Fade though.  I don't think that transfers over.


Edit:  Also I think that was a typo.  He meant 2 playthroughs not 20. <_< 

Modifié par x-president, 28 janvier 2010 - 03:53 .

[Realmzmaster]

@dkjestrup,
Basically he wants to get all the kills. The experience is still spread out over the party. The only way to get all the kills and most of the experience is to solo the game. If only the one who kills the enemy received experience your companions would never level up. Your companions will level up if you leave them in camp for a time then add them to the party with a PC that is two levels or more above them. The companions will level up to one level behind the PC.

Modifié par Realmzmaster, 28 janvier 2010 - 04:03 .

[dkjestrup]

That's what I thought, just double checking.



And also, I don't think there's a player on these forums who's beat the game 20 times. I've done it 4 times (not including about 5 incomplete playthroughs or another 10 left in their origin stories) and I've played since before christmas.

[mgass]

x-president wrote...

dkjestrup wrote...

Do you even get more experience when your PC kills the enemy?

Everyone gets the same xp either in camp sitting there, fighting, or just healing.  The xp is applied to everyone that's why people in camp keep leveling up when they do nothing. 

It doesn't matter if you get the kill or a companion does.


You do gain more xp in the Fade though.  I don't think that transfers over.


Edit:  Also I think that was a typo.  He meant 2 playthroughs not 20. <_< 

Each profile allows 5 characters to have saved games.  I started with the first profile, then made 3 more profiles since I had no idea how to delete character saves.  Then, I've since deleted characters and started 3-4 more.

Yes, I have no job and I play Dragons Age about 10-15 hrs a day.  Figure 30 hrs to finish the game, that is two days to finish per character.  that's 30-40 days worth of playing.  Figure since its release I have had almost 60 days of play,

Yes, it also means I do little else...

[dkjestrup]

I highly doubt that you have, considering the information posted in the first post...

[soteria]

mgass, first, you don't have to get the kills to get the experience. Anyone in your party can get the kill and you'll still get the exp. Even a ranger pet can get the kill, despite popular opinion. Second, the stat progression you recommended is terrible. Pump constitution for a tank? The only worse advice I can think of is willpower or magic. You want dexterity. Third, you can get to level 25 using the turn-ins.

Finally, you claim to have played this 20 times and never to have played above normal difficulty. If you honestly think hard and above is unplayable because it's so difficult, and you should know lots of us beat the game regularly on nightmare, shouldn't you be looking to improve your game instead of telling other people how you do it? It's not working for you, so why would you recommend other people play that way?

Modifié par soteria, 28 janvier 2010 - 10:40 .

[Miggs]

mgass wrote...

After almost 20 playthroughs,

I think you should just go outside, see some daylight.

Jeesh!! 

[mousestalker]

If you want to get all the experience yourself and never share, why not play solo? It's certainly doable. People post about playing that way all the time on these forums.



I like feeling like the leader of a team, so I play with all three companions. Recently, I've been feeling extra-gregarious so I'm playing on a team of three rangers and Morrigan (2 elves, 3 women and 4 spiders for the win!).



One size fits all posts like the one at the very top do not take into account different players differing play preferences. If the OP had entitled his post "How to fight solo and roleplay in a group and get lots of heals" then his original post would have been on target.

[mousestalker]

Oh and by the way, if you keep Wynne as a healer/Spirit healer, move Morrigan into healing and spirit healing and pick up Shale, then you can have a dual purpose healbot/tank in Shale. Shale can be a great aggro magnet if configured properly.

[x-president]

mgass wrote...
Yes, I have no job and I play Dragons Age about 10-15 hrs a day.  Figure 30 hrs to finish the game, that is two days to finish per character.  that's 30-40 days worth of playing.  Figure since its release I have had almost 60 days of play,

Yes, it also means I do little else...

30 hrs to finish a game, what route do you take?  You must skip alot.  I don't think I've finish a game under 60 hrs and I skip pretty much every dialogue and cutscene.

[x-president]

x-president wrote...

mgass wrote...
Yes, I have no job and I play Dragons Age about 10-15 hrs a day.  Figure 30 hrs to finish the game, that is two days to finish per character.  that's 30-40 days worth of playing.  Figure since its release I have had almost 60 days of play,

Yes, it also means I do little else...

30 hrs to finish a game, what route do you take?  You must skip alot.  I don't think I've finish a game under 60 hrs and I skip pretty much every dialogue and cutscene.

Actually you can do them in 30hrs.  For some reason I thought it was longer but I have games close to around that time.

Technically couldn't you skip getting the allies and just go straight to the Landsmeet after gettign the ashes.  You'd have to do the Alienage but after that you are pretty much at the end.  I wonder what rank you'd be.

[mousestalker]

Have to do all four main quests to trigger the Landsmeet,

[dkjestrup]

Still, s/he clearly hasn't played through 20 times. You would know at least a little about the game by that time.

[Moloxia]

Went through this post, and why i agree with some ppl that your strategy is not rly the suggested tactic for starting players, i appreciate the effort Mgass - wow... some rly rude ppl here ...



I personally dont agree with that build Mgass, but i will explain why :

While im still unsure wether u get experience if one of ur characters get the killing blow, im sure the monsters dont give more exp if u dont have companions in your group. Also, i think thats why u set up the tactic like this, because u want your character to get all killing blows (i can relate with that) if however, u want a strategy like this that u feel like ur dishing out 100% of the damage, i suggest this :



- Shale as a tank (obviously hes available to you and ive noticed hes been made to be stronger then other characters (the guy just wont die on easy/normal)), u can also change his crystals, wich is getting necessery in normal and up, since for example darkspawn take more dmg from fire (or lightning ? )

- Morrigan/Wynne as a healer/crowd control (preferably wynne since all her piints are alrdy invested in defensive, but morrigan is acceptable if u get her on a low lvl) 3 no brainer spells this character MUST have : Healing row, Crushing Prison row and Sleep row (sleep stun + nightmare = dmg+stun = invaluable against meatbags)

- ur last member is sort of an option, if u really want to be the best/only dps in your party, i think its ur best bet to go for another mage or bard :

- if mage, go for spells that improve you, also go for healing row and take the frost enchant for example if ur a melee character (itl improve ur dps), wintergrasp is also a life saver and necessery in higher difficulties)

- if bard, u have a companion wich can go for traps (MUST in hard modes), lockpicking (theres just something thats heartbreaking leaving loot filled chests) and a bard talent wich improves the entire party in their respective jobs



Thats what i suggest, for more info on attributes, skills, etc. Visit other guides wich did a much more thorrow job - have fun people - Moloxia