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[CybAnt1]

 I have enjoyed this game immensely, but as the imminent expansion is coming, I have some things I'd love to discuss about the game. I doubt any developer is actually listening to my comments  and it is undoubtedly too late to affect the expansion pack, but I am putting this forward to both developers and fellow players as food for thought. (Perhaps it could affect future packs after Awakenings.) Since there are separate mechanics and storyline discussion areas, I'll discuss storyline/characters in that other forum. 

There's no doubt this game is terribly addictive to me in the way most good (and usually Bioware made) RPGs are -- in particular the way it managed to persuade me to replay it not once but twice, so as to see every little possible way different things worked out -- both in terms of mechanics and storyline. Still, here's what I would love to see improved.

1) AI. AI. AI. This is my constant gripe about RPGs. On the one hand, I am supremely tempted to micromanage all 4 characters and I often want to turn it off. On the other, I keep saying to myself, why do I have to micromanage a battle against 5 wolves or deepstalkers, let me just let everybody do their thing and watch it unfold & end quickly, and just focus on what "my guy" is doing (I always turn the main PC AI off). When I turn it off, my characters often just sit there while something is pounding on them (I'm busy ordering somebody else to do something, meanwhile the neglected ones are getting munched on ... you know the drill). So... I go back to turning it on.

And then, usually leaving it on, I grimace and ask Why? Why? Why? Why is the AI not smart enough so that when Leilana or Zevran yells "trap right ahead!" that sometimes Sten or whoever else **totally ignores the warning and proceeds to run through the damn trap anyway**, before I have a chance to tell them to disarm it? I constantly gripe back and forth between setting warriors between "Defensive" and "Aggressive". If I set them to "Aggressive" they will stupidly charge a group of 8 enemies alone and get hacked to bits. Yet when I leave Alistair or others set on "Defensive", they will sometimes oddly sit around scratching their nuts while I or other PCs are getting hacked to bits, sometimes they will even stop fighting back against somebody that just attacked THEM, I mean the Defensive setting is just bizarre, they not only don't defend me or other PCs, they sometimes fail to defend THEMSELVES? 

Why is there not a setting "Aggressive: attack enemies within visible range but by the way stupid don't charge eight guys all on your own with no backup"? 

Anyway, honestly, I appreciate the complexity of the Tactics system, it's very rich deep and complex, honestly so far the best I've seen in any RPG, in some ways I also find it kind of a restriction that even when the char's level & combat tactics are maxed out, there's still only 12 programmable behaviors. I mean, I can think of about 4 or 5 situations in which I'd like to see them use 4 or 5 different abilities ... well that's 25 slots I'd like. Also, it's a bit irritating that since Shale & Dog have no skills, they are much harder to "tactically program" then the others. Dog it's no big deal because basically he just cycles between about 3 abilities. But Shale I'd love to program to switch into Stoneheart and then use his abilities under condition X, switch into Rock Mastery under condition Y, but basically given his 5 tactic slots ... no can do. To really use Shale best you HAVE to turn his AI off and that's a shame. 

Also, again while the existing Tactics system is rich & complex (maybe overso), it's irritating what's missing. I mean, the #1 thing I'd like Wynne to do as a healer is to cast Revival on a dead/fallen PC ... (the one thing no potion/poultice can fix) but you can't program that behavior. You have to order her to do it manually. Also, it's really strange how BTW many of the presets will call for the character to do something modal but don't activate the mode beforehand. I mean it's weird the "Controller" setting for Morrigan has her using Blood Control, but she never does BTW because in no other tactics slot is she ever activating Blood Magic first, which is a prerequisite... I mean, come on. One requires the other. It is also impossible under the current Tactics system to do what I really WANT Zevran to do in combat, which is, in sequence, if an Elite/Boss dude is on the battlefield, a) Stealth Sneak Up Behind Him c) Apply Poison d) Steal Some Loot Off him and e) Stab Him in the Back. Complex sequences of behaviors like that really can't be programmed. Also, if they're automatically spotting traps, can my Rogues go and automatically disarm them without being told to do so, pleeeze? 

Anyway, it's all my usual gripes with the Tactics system: personally I'd love a lot more tactics slots. Not 12, but something like 200.  It is especially impossible with mages, given the large numbers of spells I want them to use, and the situations I want them to do so under, to work under that system. And BTW, personally I'd also it rather not be tied to character progression, I mean I want my chars to act intelligently regardless of their level or skill points. Anyway, it's always the same thing with these games. I tell myself I want to micromanage everything and turn off the AI. I find it tedious and boring and makes my battles last too long plus I always forget about the three other chars while I'm micromanaging one. So I turn it back on. Then I gripe about it. Then I turn it off. Rinse and repeat and rinse and repeat. 

2) classES. Dunno. Bio. 4 character slots. 4 classes? I'd love to see a 4th class in this game. A natural 4th class is the cleric and btw I tried out the cleric mod that's downloadable but it was a bit rough around the edges. I know BIo won't do one because hell I remember the arguments most of the devs were making against it being a playable class more than a year ago. Still it just seems natural to have a class that focuses on healing/buffs/rebuking undead & demons and can use heavy armor/mace/shield and neither a creation/healer mage nor a templar have that flavor. Anyway, I don't think Awakening has a 4th class, but I'd love to see one eventually. Other ideas are obviously some flavor of monk/unarmed/martial arts fighter... 

I also think some of the Specializations are ... un specialized enough. Maybe should be classes of their own. I mean, I understand and it makes sense that Rangers are a Rogue specialization (as are Bard), but ... it just seems there should be other things besides summoning of animals. Maybe some additional archery talents beyond the base Archery tree, tracking, favored enemies, a dedicated pet companion, etc., etc.... the Templar specialization is the closest thing the game has to a Paladin class, but I'd also like it to have some anti-undead/demon abilities that go beyond its anti-mage focus. It'd be cool if the Bard had more than four songs. I mean it's just weird that your primary foci give you a range of 12 abilities, but choosing a specialization gives you only four. I'd rather have deeper/richer specializations than the ability to choose two, at lvl 7 & 14. This is something I think could really be tweaked. I just feel the specializations don't make the character types/builds distinctive enough from each other. Mostly choosing between Alistair & Sten is for me more a choice between a 1-handed and 2-handed fighter, not between a Templar & a Champion (which I usually give to Sten at 14), ... etc. ... because the Specializations don't make the different kinds of warriors ... all that different. 

3) Party Size. I don't mind a party of four but it would be really cool if there was a kind of 5th (or 6th) "floating" slot in which I could stick Dog, a semi-permanent Ranger Pet Companion (not unlike Dog), a somewhat persistent summoned being, or other more "temporary fellow travellers". BTW yes I downloaded the mod to make Dog a permanent 5th party member, essentially it sticks Dog in what's normally your "summons" slot but he stays there and you can still control him (although not level him up). I mean, the bottom line is, I almost never want to substitute Dog for another char because he has no dialog, no interactions, and little variety to his combat. On the other hand, I want him around all the time charging, growling, and knocking over anybody who comes and attacks me and every once in a while I want to watch what he grrrrs at or fetches or what he goes & sniffs. The "faux 5th slot Dog mod" is a perfect solution for me, but because it's a mod it's verrrrry buggy. I'd like an actual solution that works better. And something that lets me put something else in that "5th slot" than Dog, too. Like a Pet Ranger Wolf, or Bear, or Badger, or Mage Familiar, or something. 

4) Personally, I wouldn't also mind seeing more races than 3, and more interesting ways the Races might differ from each other in terms of Racial Abilities, not just appearance, background/origins, & starting attributes. 

5) I'm not sure I really get the "Mage trees" or their consistency.

A Primal Mage is a mage focusing on elemental powers and blowing the **** out of enemies. Get that. 
A Entropy Mage ... basically what's called a Warlock in other games. Works too. 
A Spirit Mage ... ???? ... the Spirit & Creation trees make no sense ... the Spirit tree is a very weird mix of 12 spells (two rows focusing on Anti Magic, two rows focusing on DoT offense), and while I tend to think of a Creation mage (Wynne) as a Healer, a Creation mage seems really to be a mix of buffer (one row), healer (one row), "Glyph layer" (one row), and ... why the hell is Stinging Swarm there, it's like OK we had to give them something offensive. 

The Specializations ... don't get me going. Don't like Blood Magic, no way on a low-health class am I trading health for spells. (Forget the moral qualms). Don't like Arcane Warrior, seems useless (if I want my mage to tank I'll Shapeshift, not magically change into a Warrior when I already have one), and there's no gear for it unless you turn to mods. Spirit Healer ... fine. But it really seems like it's just the fifth row of the Creation tree. The one I like best is the Shapeshifter and BTW about all I would want is more shifting options but guess what once again the mod guys seem to have delivered. I'd also like more spells focusing on Summoning and yes I tried out the Evocation Mage mod but it's beta & buggy too. Basically all you can summon without mods is a skeleton (if you're Entropic and BTW it requires a humanoid corpse of something you just killed) or a ranger beast (if you're NOT a mage but instead a ranger rogue). 

I have to say, the spell variety in the game is not bad and being the kind of person I am I had to try and try out every spell in the game, unfortunately without mods that required a second playthrough. Secondly, going back to before, that variety makes it almost impossible for me to enjoy my NPC mages based on how little of their spells their AI tactics will actually invoke. 

OK I know this post is WAAY too long... but those are the five aspects of mechanics in the game I'd love to see improved/tweaked. 

[CybAnt1]

OK as if that wasn't way too long already, I forgot to add one more point.



The magic item system in the game is confusing. The item properties lack explanation. So item X "improves blood magic." Well, improves blood magic, HOW, exactly? Item Y "improves backstabs". OK. HOW and in WHAT WAY does it "improve backstabs"? What does it MEAN that item Z has the property "Lucky" or "Messy Kills" or "Vicious"? I would love to know what some of the properties mean. "Rapid Aim" is fairly self-explanatory but it's not EXACTLY clear what it DOES.



Also, I found there was a lack of really desirable magic items in certain categories, particularly Rings. I found that if you were a mage there were a number of great rings that improved cold, fire, etc. damage. However if you were a warrior or rogue, there were far fewer rings that improved your combat abilities or rogue skills/talents.



Personally, I would love an Item Crafting system that once I knew what the properties meant (he he), I could also add them to items. Oh yes, I tried out the Winter Forge mod, but sorry, it was too confusing, seemed too beta, and didn't work nearly as well as the Forge mod somebody made for NWN2 (which I loved). I mean, in that mod, I could pick out the item, choose from a menu the properties I wanted to add, hit add properties, and DONE. I made a lot of great custom gear for my characters that way.



Also, I'd love to see more "On Hit" type properties, I mean other than adding Paralyze or Stun runes to my weapons, I'd like weapons that cause bleeding DOTs, drain mana, stun, weaken, cause fear, etc., etc. when they hit. Having more Runes that could add more of those kind of properties would really be cool too.



Also, I'd love to see Armor Runes, as well as Weapon Runes, that add more defensive bonuses or other augments, when put into your Armor (beyond just spell/physical resistance; how about adding runes for elemental resistance, or that add defense bonus, etc.)

[hexaligned]

Good post, I agree with you on most things. AW is actually a very powerful spec, the most powerful by some standards, If you feel like playing through again I'd suggest giving it a shot. Also there is one AW only sword, and any armor that gives +stamina will give your AW +mana, that's what I always throw on mine, seems tailored to them to me.



If you don't like BM for "moral" reasons, thats one thing. The low health thing is a nonissue if you build a decent tank though.

[CybAnt1]

Not saying arcane warrior is underpowered. But -- dunno -- it just didn't seem to "fit". IOW, here's this mage Specialization that suddenly makes you into a warrior when activated (and not a bad one, I agree, when you have all four powers you are probably a better warrior than your actual warriors) but ... you already have warriors. Plus you can't cast spells while wielding a sword so you have to put it away if you've changed your mind and want to throw a fireball instead.



Again, dunno, just seems more "natural" that if I want to suddenly have my mage tank for a short time, for whatever reason, seems better to use a shapeshift that turns him into a bear ... or an iron golem. Complete with weird/unusual powers/abilities.



As for the blood magic issue ... I understand your point but the bottom line is the mage is normally, under normal conditions, a low con/health class. To then turn to spells that start sucking up that low health pool ... all while it being naturally eaten away by the stuff chewing and bashing on you ... yeah.... why I didn't often use blood magic.



The fact is, without a mod, the only way to get blood magic in the game is to make a game choice many players won't ... truth is I only finally got it as a specialization only by using a mod that unlocked it in playthrough three .... because I just HAD to try it out. (I'm kind of a mix between roleplayer and powergamer, I would describe myself as a customizer/have-to-try-out-everything-at-least-oncer) Still, dunno why, felt queasy using the Sacrifice ability, and never used it, although it's the nastiest "dark side" part of being a Blood Mage (basically sucking up your friends' health to augment your own).



I love Blood Control... had fun grabbing Emissaries and making them blast their fellows ... (although it turns them "blue" and they start fighting for you you don't really "control" them/no yellow ring) but again a pet peeve ... it would be cool if there was some other spell SOMEWHERE in the game that might give you the power to charm/take control of an enemy character WITHOUT having to turn to health-sucking, moral-qualming blood magic.



Blood Wound ... great AoE DoT ... but preferred to use others that didn't suck down my own health while draining the opposition.

[dkjestrup]

Just saying.



If you think the Tactics here are the best you've seen in an RPG, then play FFXII. They were done PERFECTLY. They did exactly what you told them to, you could interrupt and they would IMMEDIATELY do what you asked, and there were loads of different behaviours/settings for the tactics (like Foe: HP=100% ---> Steal)



Dragon Age is rubbish compared to FFXII combat wise.

[CybAnt1]

Well I agree with you there, I found it really weird how sometimes the AI ignored commands I gave to my chars. Like, I order them to stop what they're doing and drink a health poultice, and then BTW they don't do what I told them to, keep doing what they were doing before, and die. That irritated the crap out of me. There's clearly a problem with the "interrupt queue". It should be the case that any commands the player initiates immediately interrupt & override anything in the AI tactics queue - but yes it doesn't seem to work that well.



And again, although I haven't tried out the Advanced Tactics mod, while the existing Combat Tactics system offers variety as far as conditions, there doesn't seem to be a lot of good ... sequentiality, or options, when you only have 12 tactic slots. And some conditions (like "ally status dead") are missing.



Believe me, I found the AI in this game as irritating & frustrating as any of the others I've ever played. I'm always tempted to turn it off, but as I tried to explain above turning it off creates a new set of frustrations, so I turn it back on.



It could be much better. I really hope they improve it in Awakenings, or future expansions.