22 réponses à ce sujet

[bstanley52]

I am currently starting my fourth playthrough and my first with a Human Noble origin (female). I am going for a good party build (me - S&S DPS, Alistair-tank, Leliana-rog/ranged, Wynne-healer) and will be aiming to be on the throne.

Therefore for RP reasons I am going to do all of the "good" decisions but I also want to maximize my character's DPS.

I was thinking that for a S&S DPS warrior that Berserker/Reaver would be the way to go. (I know its not the best for DPS but I am trying to get the Assault 50 kill achievement, and I thought I would try a different build that I hadn't done)

On the other hand I feel like running a goody-two-shoes character/party with a Berserker/Reaver would be sorta the opposite of the RP decisions I was making.

So my question is whether anyone here ever takes a spec to go with the RP theme of the game instead of the best spec available? Also if anyone has any advice for maximizing DPS on a S&S warrior with Temp/Champ builds I would love to here it.

[JosieJ]

I do, absolutely. On my current mage playthrough, my PC is very much against Blood Magic, so I will be avoiding that specialization, even though it's really powerful. On the mage playthrough I just finished, though, my PC was not evil, but very much a "if it's going to make me more powerful to beat the darkspawn, I'm all for it" kind of person, so she went full Blood Mage (that's how I found out how powerful it is).



That said, although Reaver does require an evil act to unlock, and the only people who use it are those cultists, I don't see why Berzerker wouldn't fit a "good" character, especially if you go to Orzammar and get Oghren early. You simply learned it from a comrade-in-arms.



(Unfortunately, I don't have any useful info for you about maxing DPS.)

[casedawgz]

DPS is tough with an S&S warrior, partially because of the nature of the equipment you'll be using and partly because you also need to put points in Dex (for talents). I would probably actually reccomend champion over reaver, but if you want to do decent dps with that weapon style you probably WILL need berserker. Champion is good because of the attack bonus from rally, which is something you'll probably want. Your strikes aren't going to be doing a lot of damage, so you want them to be accurate. Berserker will give your hits a little extra oomph.



The shield mastery skill is something you definitely want, and also probably the top line of S&S talents, since those will give you slight damage increases over autoattack. I haven't actually played a shield warrior with the intent of dps, and I'm not entirely sure you'll ever be able to do GREAT dps, since that typically isn't the role of that style, but if you set it up correctly and prioritize dumping points into strength you should end up doing alright.

[bstanley52]

casedawgz wrote... 

The shield mastery skill is something you definitely want, and also probably the top line of S&S talents, since those will give you slight damage increases over autoattack. I haven't actually played a shield warrior with the intent of dps, and I'm not entirely sure you'll ever be able to do GREAT dps, since that typically isn't the role of that style, but if you set it up correctly and prioritize dumping points into strength you should end up doing alright.

That is exactly what I am planning on doing! I am forgetting about the center 4 S&S talents and pumping strength with enough dex to get Shield Mastery (26) and almost nothing else (thanks to The Fade, Andr Blessing, The Spellward, Lifegiver, and The Key to the City I plan to put on this character).

Thanks for the input on specs. I would be going Berserker in a heartbeat if it didn't annoy me by shutting off after combat (I have the mod that keeps it on all the time but it conflicts with the one that gets rid of silly sustained graphics like the Arcane Shield bubble, and I really like that).

So anyone disagree with Berserker/Champion? Is there a better way to maximize DPS?

Anyone partial to dagger/shield builds? I am hesitant to go that route but if the DPS is a lot better I can get over the silliness of using a dagger/shield.

[mosspit]

You can go daggers if you wanna go high dex. However, that high dex score will not help on shield atk talents as they use str as dmg modifers. Dagger/shield is good for fast auto-atk whilst having high def.

You can ofc go high str with dagger/shield for dps. Higher atk speed will alse benefit greater from stuff like runes and coatings. But I feel it is a waste to go high str with dagger when you can do dex and get good def.

[kaya08]

I kind of do both. I can generally justify a gameplay choice into a characters RP.

For instance playing an evil templar. I just made them hate mages and templar skills were a useful means of killing them.

I really don't see how a good character could justify a Reaver spec though. It would be impossible if you hadn't unlocked it in a previous playthrough, and if you had you'd kind of need to ignore how it was your character learned the skill.

You could justify it in RP terms by saying it was a necessary sacrifice of morals which you'll try to be responsible with or something



At the end of the day Reaver isn't that great for DPS so I wouldn't be bothered by losing it though.

[Hahren]

mosspit wrote...

You can go daggers if you wanna go high dex. However, that high dex score will not help on shield atk talents as they use str as dmg modifers. Dagger/shield is good for fast auto-atk whilst having high def.
You can ofc go high str with dagger/shield for dps. Higher atk speed will alse benefit greater from stuff like runes and coatings. But I feel it is a waste to go high str with dagger when you can do dex and get good def.

This! Don't be fooled by the low damage numbers of a dagger! The attack speed really makes up for it when you include grandmaster runes, and poison coatings!

Attack stuff with Assault to get your trophy, but the bulk of your "dps" will be auto attacks with a heavily enchanted/poisoned dagger. I love the longswords/axes, but daggers are just amazing weapons in this game. If you are playing on a PC the dagger damage double dips into dex providing you with more defense like Moss points out. So you gain mitigation (which the Weapon and Shield excels at) and reasonable damage at the same time. Dagger and Shield is a really good match.

Reaver isn't a terrible idea of a spec for a Weapon and Shield warrior either. I'm not fond of the final talent, but Aura of Pain can be useful. Weapon and Shield has no AoE. Aura of Pain provides that, and it can be pretty neat if you plan ahead for the health drain. Berserk mode adds a flat +8 damage that really works wonders with fast attacks, and you also get a bonus to health regeneration (which creates synergy with Reaver).

I think the combo could be fun from a mechanics stand point if you used a dagger as the weapon of choice.

[UberuceIAm]

So my question is whether anyone here ever takes a spec to go with the RP theme of the game instead of the best spec available?

After my first playthrough? Almost always.

I consider myself a powergamer, but the downside of it is that you outgrow even the top difficulty settings pretty quickly because your characters and gearset are better than the designers planned for. So, you need to handicap yourself with such restrictions as playing with an undersized party, without mages/potions or without certain builds and tactics that are considered overpowered.

Another restriction is RP, and I find it far more interesting than the arbitary mechanical ones listed above. It's a pain in the arse being unable to afford the best kit because your noble and Chantry-devout PC won't take the likes of the Gnawed Noble or Mage's Collective sidequests, but it's a fun pain in the arse.

For companions as well, there's some things I just can't bring myself to do. I've got the respec mod, and while I'd dearly love to strip out that useless Shapeshifter from Morrigan, it's too big a part of her history.

[bstanley52]

[being new to RPGs] I hadn't even thought of not doing sidequests for RP reasons! I will totally have my HNF Warrior not do those dastardly "rogue" sidequests!



And thanks for all the input on daggers, I may have to try them!

[Nachoman Randy 666]

The only thing I'd say is than is lame to play as a chick in a Role playing game when you are a boy.



LAME.

[sajahVarel]

If you prefer seeing a ugly guy's ass for 100h instead of a girl's ass... well that's your problem. There are basically 2 types of roleplay, the first is a subjective role play, when you are playing as yourself in the game (I don't like that one), the second is an objective one, when you write down a character background, and play that one, like you are reading a book, you don't make your choices, but the char's choices (and if the char is a female, well that's it).



By the way I agree, RP can be the hell of a limitation (my next rogue is going to be a one handed assassin, yeah no DW killing machine, just rogue and assassin talents, full cunning city elf anti-human).

[gammle]

I always pick for RP style as i found dragon age a great Rp game..

[Janni-in-VA]

I'm no power gamer and can not talk specifics for a build, but I can talk about RPing because that's my strength.  (If I wanted to power game, I'd play shooters.  ) 

While my PCs are always women (or almost always), beyond that, they may not be anything like me.  RPing is like acting, you're creating a character who may be very like you or nothing at all like you.  You must choose his/her actions accordingly.  Who is this person?  How does their background, their past, their family affect them?  Are they bitter, impatient, smart-mouthed, generous, power-hungry, caring, proud, humble or brave?  Are they willing to take a chance on a romance, or are they less trusting or more focused on the task at hand?  RPing opens up another level of play and, as some of you are finding out, can actually make the game more difficult.  Another thing to consider from an RP standpoint -- try to put your stat and skill points where they create a more rounded character.  I always put a point each into two key stats, but the third point floats.  I build up strength and consititution for mages, willpower and cunning for warriors, and magic and constitution for rogues.  A warrior may have nature sense, a mage may make poisons, and a rogue may be very persuasive.  Since you're creating a person, they can be a little quirkier.  They may not be your most efficient or "best" build, but they may very well be your most interesting.

[DodgeMoreLightning]

So my question is whether anyone here ever takes a spec to go with the RP theme of the game instead of the best spec available?

Constantly. So long as the spec isn't garbage, it's very fun and very much worth it.

[mousestalker]

The whole reason I play these games is to roleplay. Each of my characters has their own limits as to what they will or will not do, what powers they prefer and what they will never learn and even what equipment they will use.



About the only thing that's consistent with them is high coercion and high cunning. My characters may make stupid decisions, but as a player I like to see all the options.

[Allison W]

Roleplay reasons. My city elf rogue, for instance, I see as a very non-confrontational type who doesn't like fighting (she just finds herself having to do a lot of it) and prefers talking things out when that produces an acceptable result (as an example: Vaughan's deal in the origin was definitely unacceptable, though she would have accepted if he'd let all of his captives go right then and there). So I put no points in Combat Training (foolish, I know) and chose bard and ranger for her specializations. Despite the fact that her Cunning would make her an excellent assassin, it doesn't fit the character at all.



But to get back on the warrior topic, I used my human noble's personality to pick her specializations. Reaver was a little tempting by virtue of its description, and it'd definitely be the third best of the four Origins specializations for her, but her concept has her noble nature ("noble" in the sense of the personality trait, not the social status) butting heads with a serious anger problem, however righteous that anger might be. The perfect compromise between the two was to go berserker and champion--she's an angry woman, but a good leader (also war cry). I envision her as a tough, protective sort, so I'll be getting the guardian specialization for her in Awakening.

[Masticetobbacco]

just make up crap about your character having 2 personalities.

nice guy and beserk guy. The character is a nice guy for the most part, but the smell of blood turns him into a rage beast. Sometimes out of sheer determination or under a major problem they both work together to create an unstoppable killing machine.

well thats what I thought about on my beserker/reaver

[Elanareon]

Good warrior reaver spec? How about you mastered the demon within. Kinda like Drizzt and the talking sword. Kaza'deah? I forgot the name...

[AntiChri5]

RP

[Loc'n'lol]

Nachoman Randy 666 wrote...

The only thing I'd say is than is lame to play as a chick in a Role playing game when you are a boy.

LAME.

sajahVarel wrote...

If you prefer seeing a ugly guy's ass for 100h instead of a girl's ass... well that's your problem.

They see me trollin'...

[Vincent Rosevalliant]

My Noble Aeducan Dwarf Warrior destroyed the foul blood magic of Avernus' research.

It doesn't get more roleplay than that. (No power of blood for him.) He is the honorable sort that relies on his own strength and heritage, instead of un-dwarven magicks. He also doesn't mingle with demons and slays them on sight.

So your not alone it's called RolePlay. : )

[sylvanaerie]

Im not a power gamer, but I do enjoy the RP aspect of the game. I try to infuse each PC with some unique qualities and stick to my guns on them. The avatar shown is my "Valkyrie", a full up battle maiden who hates/fears abominations (Templar) but a (Champion) of the people of Ferelden. She was kind of a hard nosed disciplinarian. She is also the only one of my PC's who actually killed Flemeth instead of just taking the easy way out of that situation. Having traveled with Morrigan and Wynne she lightened up though by the end of the game (All my PC's "learn" something by the game's end)



My Mage hated blood magic with a passion and usually killed any blood mages she encountered (AW/SH is a KILLER combo!). She was also very young and very much an indoctrinated Circle mage, betraying Jowan to Irving. Even seeing Morrigan's freedom still didn't click with her though in the end she had changed and mellowed a bit by her experiences.



So yea, build is important for survivability in the game but I usually don't bother with min/maxing it just enjoying the RP aspect more.

[errant_knight]

A bit of both. I've only played variations of the HN so far, and my characters are always basically good, although they've had differences in personal style. I haven't played a Cousland who was the black sheep of the family, so no reaver, no blood magic skills. I don't play a berserker, either, because that's just not the kind of characters I'm playing. I don't feel like it goes with the high level of cunning that I develop for my PCs.

_Loc_N_lol_ wrote...

Nachoman Randy 666 wrote...

The only thing I'd say is than is lame to play as a chick in a Role playing game when you are a boy.

LAME.

sajahVarel wrote...

If you prefer seeing a ugly guy's ass for 100h instead of a girl's ass... well that's your problem.

They see me trollin'...

They're both 12, clearly. What are their parents thinking, letting them play a mature game, and be on adult forums? Tsk.

Modifié par errant_knight, 10 mars 2010 - 04:59 .