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[Basileus777]

I just tried this and the phys>cpu thing doesn't seem to be disappearing. Anyone else encountered this issue?

Go to your Nvidia control panel, go the 3D settings menu on the top, and uncheck show PhysX visual indicator.

 

[Meier]

Anyone have an issue not getting the bonus for the Warden Commander Armor?

Ahh, apparently a bug on the 360 version. Bummer.

 

[Wallach]

I will also try it, but tbh, my main is a mage and Alistar sucks at tanking tbh (would cost a shitload of pots I presume). And if Alistar gets grabbed it is bye bye tank.

Alistair is easily the best tank out of all the options you get in this game (aside from the PC being a tank), Shale included. Just don't let the game auto-level him.

 

[Macmanus]

Alistair is easily the best tank out of all the options you get in this game (aside from the PC being a tank), Shale included. Just don't let the game auto-level him.

Why is Alistair superior to Shale? A more diverse ability portfolio or just general all around stats?

 

[JayDubya]

It is just a feeling I have, takes to much damage (but does also more dmg than I would expect from a tank in general). It's not like I can throw him in a group of 2-3 guys and really hold it out for a nice time. And I am talking still like in the first hours of the game, so I haven't been able to really adjust his stats & abilities.

Alistair (and / or his replacement) is probably the best tank in the game in terms of durability, once you get over the hump of semi-poorly allocated stat points and get him a decent set of Tier 6-7 massive armor.

Shale has some abilities that are optimal for getting aggro, so in that sense, Shale is better, but a good shield warrior can do better. A PC shield warrior is, of course, going to be better still thanks to possibility for more optimal stat and talent management.

 

[Wallach]

Why is Alistair superior to Shale? A more diverse ability portfolio or just general all around stats?

Slightly better ability set (imo), but really the advantage is in being able to use equipment. Once you get him out of his first few levels (because he has a strange spread in starting stats) and into some good armor, he simply takes far less damage. Shield Wall and immunity to flanking on top of tier 6/7 massive armor and high defense makes him a true tank. Shale is good at getting aggro, but not as good at actually dealing with it as you get further into the game.

 

[Atrus]

Why is Alistair superior to Shale? A more diverse ability portfolio or just general all around stats?

Probably because Alistor has access to equipment, shields, doesn't do heavy AoE friendly damage like Shale, and doesn't need to be immobilized when using auras.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Slightly better ability set (imo), but really the advantage is in being able to use equipment. Once you get him out of his first few levels (because he has a strange spread in starting stats) and into some good armor, he simply takes far less damage. Shield Wall and immunity to flanking on top of tier 6/7 massive armor and high defense makes him a true tank. Shale is good at getting aggro, but not as good at actually dealing with it as you get further into the game.

How bad is it that I'm auto leveling him? I guess it doesn't matter much since I'm not on a high difficulty this play through.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Well, it depends on what the auto-leveling is doing. You want to pump Alistair's STR as fast as possible so he can wear the biggest armor, and then his DEX so he can avoid more attacks. If the auto-level pumps his CON, that's not good. A couple dozen more HP from CON is nothing compared to the damage reduction from hugeass plate armor.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Well, it depends on what the auto-leveling is doing. You want to pump Alistair's STR as fast as possible so he can wear the biggest armor, and then his DEX so he can avoid more attacks. If the auto-level pumps his CON, that's not good. A couple dozen more HP from CON is nothing compared to the damage reduction from hugeass plate armor.

balls. i auto leveled him to 10 so far. i'll have to see how much strength he has.

is there a list of the best gear non dlc and dlc for each and where to get it?

 

[Chris R]

So has there been a mod released that lets you skip the Fade yet? I'm about to hit it on my 3rd playthrough and reeeeeeeally don't feel like doing it again.

I just got therelast night for the first time and can see what you mean. It seems like I spent two hours in that shithole and I'm still not done. Someone tell me the other join quests don't suck this bad (went tower first).

 

[C.Dark.DN]

What was the point of not letting you respec again?

 

[ACE 1991]

Downed a monster and started my first play through (PS3) last night. I'm about 4 1/2 hours in, right at the part where

Spoiler

I'm in the Mage's tower killing the abominations. The tranquil are creepy as hell, I might add. Overall I'm extremely impressed with the game, especially the sense of scale afforded from the battle at the beginning of the game where you're tasked with lighting the beacon. It's been a while since I've really dug a character in a game, so I was pretty bummed when Duncan died. I'm really liking Allistar as well, as he reminds me a bit of Nathan Drake.

EDIT: Also, I'm having trouble getting Allistar to hold aggro, even though I'm speccing him for tanking. What sort of tactics set up are you guys running with Allistar?

 

[koji]

EDIT: Also, I'm having trouble getting Allistar to hold aggro, even though I'm speccing him for tanking. What sort of tactics set up are you guys running with Allistar?

Make sure you got Threaten on all the time. If you still have problems you can invest some skillpoints to get Taunt (active skill) that'll force enemies to focus on your tank for atleast a couple secs. But you shouldn't "really" need Taunt, aggro in DA is a bit strange, it's based on the armor type, massive armor will generate more aggro. (and dmg offcourse)

So if you have a party with 3/4 members in heavy armor/massive armor aggro could go all over the place. If you only have one heavy armor wearing melee character with threaten on it "should" be easier to hold.

There are also items witch reduce aggro (rings/amulets with -15% etc) throughout the game, give those to your mages/healers/rogue.

What was the point of not letting you respec again?

I guess you're playing on console? In that case, yeah it's a bit of a pain, especially since they're using a new system which was not really documented that good, as opposed to DnD or something. Some stats/weapons are/were broken as well... Since the game is out you can find some real info though.

Anyways, if you're on PC get the respec mod. If not, you're out of luck :-/

 

[Rad Agast]

What was the point of not letting you respec again?

I'm guessing consequences and all that crap. It's pissing me off a bit since as usual, I made a couple of mistakes while leveling my main character. Not to mention the overlap in some skills/talents between your companions (I have three herbalists god damn it, I want my skill points back!).

The game is quite fun and I'm enjoying it a lot but I'd like to (1) have the option to respec and (2) some sort of an economy mini game (I'm missing out on some nice items in the shops and since my copy is the poor edition, I don't have any cool items from the start).

 

[ACE 1991]

Make sure you got Threaten on all the time. If you still have problems you can invest some skillpoints to get Taunt (active skill) that'll force enemies to focus on your tank for atleast a couple secs. But you shouldn't "really" need Taunt, aggro in DA is a bit strange, it's based on the armor type, massive armor will generate more aggro. (and dmg offcourse)

So if you have a party with 3/4 members in heavy armor/massive armor aggro could go all over the place. If you only have one heavy armor wearing melee character with threaten on it "should" be easier to hold.

There are also items witch reduce aggro (rings/amulets with -15% etc) throughout the game, give those to your mages/healers/rogue.

Okay, thanks a lot. It seems that my character, a dual weilding warrior, is taking a lot of the aggro from Allistar.

 

[Haly]

For all of you looking to shuffle some stat points around: http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset

You can use it to change your skills in conjunction with this table: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Console

(You can also add more skill points and modify your attributes but that would be cheating now wouldn't it?)

I finished the game yesterday and I didn't like Alistair at all. He was a terrible tank for me and I leveled him up manually. Sten with a two-hander tanked better than Alistair did. I used Shale for most of the game though.

 

[Erico]

Just finished the game with around 70 hours of playtime. It felt like the most completely satisfying gaming experience I've had in a long time. I was skeptical of the generic-seeming story at first with the human noble origin, until I got to Ostagar. Then for some reason the story suddenly clicked for me after the little scene where the infantry sergeant briefs the soldiers about the darkspawn corpse. I'm really impressed with all the little details that went into creating the story universe. Nice voice acting too and great party member banter.

Anyways, awesome game.. and some fun/memorable moments:

-Fighting with

Spoiler

the blind templar in the haunted orphanage

in the alienage. He had a pretty cool default quote and looked pretty badass with the blood splatter effect and

Spoiler

blind eyes.

-Taking on the

Spoiler

sloth demon in the fade solo because I didn't realize you could save your party members beforehand.

:lol

-...and on a related note I didnt realize you could

Spoiler

summon your army groups for the archdemon battle either. Though it was fun instantly murdering waves of darkspawn with my main character's 2Handed Sweep.

:lol

-Killing

Spoiler

Howe with my Highever family sword and shield that I saved especially for the task

-Turning massed groups of archers into a chain of bloody explosions with virulent walking bomb <3<3<3

-

Spoiler

Rescuing Alistair and myself with Morrigan and Leliana posing as priestesses

-

Spoiler

The antivan crow representative's annoyance at your character's inability to understand subtlety.

-Being pleasantly surprised at the

Spoiler

epilogue tying up all party member and side character storylines that I had forgotten about with a nice little bow. Hearing about "Grey Warden's Rest" was nice. I definitely got a wistful feeling after the game, which hasn't happened for me since maybe zelda 64 haha

-Enchantment? Enchantment!

 

[Doytch]

For all of you looking to shuffle some stat points around: http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset

You can use it to change your skills in conjunction with this table: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Console

(You can also add more skill points and modify your attributes but that would be cheating now wouldn't it?)

I finished the game yesterday and I didn't like Alistair at all. He was a terrible tank for me and I leveled him up manually. Sten with a two-hander tanked better than Alistair did. I used Shale for most of the game though.

If you don't want to muck in the editor every time, then there's a mod that adds a potion that refunds all your points.

 

[Dorrin]

These random ambushes while traveling are kicking the hell out of me. I've just completed the Mage Tower and I decided to do some chantry board sidequests on my way back to Redcliffe. My party is all around level 10 and consists mainly of Myself a 2H warrior, Alistar, Leliana, and Wynne. Xbox 360 version.

The scenario is a random ambush with darkspawn. Several start around me and then 4 archers including the leader are on an outcroping overlooking the area were I start in. I've tried just about every combo of party members I can think of at this point, damn arrows always get me eventually though.

Can't believe I'm actually thinking of dropping down to casual to get through the ambush. Maybe I just need to be a better potion spammer or something.

 

[Exhumed]

Having a great time with this game still. I'm taking my time I guess.

Spoiler

Was showing my girl this game and I just happened to be in Orzammar in the Dead Trenches. Got to show her the part before and the fight with the Broodmother. That thing was SICK... :lol

 

[Zaptruder]

So I'm racing through this game, thinking... man alive, I can't believe that gathering the armies and kicking the betraying general's ass is just the first half of the game! There's so much to it!

Then I peak at GameFAQs and see that, that IS the game. There's like one act left after what I describe... bloody dwarves... I hated been underground for so long.

 

[theMrCravens]

Having a great time with this game still. I'm taking my time I guess.

Spoiler

Was showing my girl this game and I just happened to be in Orzammar in the Dead Trenches. Got to show her the part before and the fight with the Broodmother. That thing was SICK... :lol

Probably the only original boss fight in DA.
They added a pretty disturbing story behind it too.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

Spoiler

The wardens vault is at the end of the alley with the mage's store (Wonders of the World or something like that). You probably were there before for a sidequest, where you need to pickup corpses and dump them in the well, but Riordan should have given you a key for the vault. The Chests are linked to the thiev questline from Slim. Dunno if you can access them if you choose do the burglar questline. The chantry is always locked, I suppose.

Spoiler

IIRC, the mage's store used to be Marjoline's house (for Leliana's sidequest). Should go back there. I didn't do the bartender/Slim quests because my PC rogue was a nice guy and they seemed a little... shady. Haha.

 

[Pancakes]

-Fighting with

Spoiler

the blind templar in the haunted orphanage

in the alienage. He had a pretty cool default quote and looked pretty badass with the blood splatter effect and

Spoiler

blind eyes.

Heavy Quest Spoilers
v

Spoiler

That guy was such a fucking badass. A BLIND Templar kicking ass! I really wish you could have recruited him. Was a damn shame when he died :'(.

 

[Ashodin]

Probably the only original boss fight in DA.
They added a pretty disturbing story behind it too.

Probably #1 on my "Fucked Up Shit" list this game brought up. This game does have the "dark" in dark fantasy. Most people are like "nahh its not dark enough". :lol

 

[falastini]

aaand I finally finished...

One of my favorite, if not the favorite, RPGs this gen so far. Even after hearing all the praise the game was getting, I was still reluctant to buy it. The gameplay videos I watched didn't really do anything for me and the PR was horrible. I'm glad I gave it a shot.

I think I might start up a second run-through as a complete scum bag, instead of the neutral-good that I ended up with in my first run. It will be interesting to see how much the game differs.

 

[Pancakes]

Anyone have a tactic that will make Shale activate Stone Aura when fighting enemies, and deactivate when combat stops?

 

[Sascha23]

I guess it doesn't matter much since I'm not on a high difficulty this play through.

Really? I actually had a tough time at the end of the game and I was on Normal. Guess I'm not as good as I previously thought.

Titles like Mass Effect and Fallout 3 were far easier for me.

 

[gotee12]

Anyone have a tactic that will make Shale activate Stone Aura when fighting enemies, and deactivate when combat stops?

I can't figure it out either. Every time I set up his tactic to use Stone Aura, he never cancels out of it after all the baddies are dead. I wonder if I have to set up another tactic to cancel when no enemies are present (or if that specific a tactic even possible)...

 

[Draft]

How are you liking it, Draft?

It was alright. Very good at that whole "one more quest", and the story kept me interested. Combat got to be a chore by the end. Ranged attacks and CC are the kings of Dragon Age, and my warrior PC was pretty much a burden since the word go.

 

[LCfiner]

So, for those with Macs, EA just announced the Mac port (uses “Cider” tech) for December 22.

50 bucks for the standard edition. 65 for the deluxe version w/ Warden’s Keep)

here’s the min requirements (no word on recommended)

Requirements:
Requires a Mac with an Intel processor
Mac OS X 10.6.2 Leopard or higher
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2 GB RAM
ATI X1600 or NVIDIA 7300 or higher
At least 17 GB of hard drive space for installation
This game will NOT run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac).
This game will NOT run on the Intel GMA (950 or X3100) class of integrated video cards.

I wonder how this will run on a 9400M gfx chip in a Macbook Pro… might just put the 360 version on hold and grab this one now.

 

[Pancakes]

Alright, time for a 3rd play through. God this game is so addicting.

 

[I'm an expert]

For those doing multiple playthroughs: How long are your subsequent playthroughs turning out to be? I'm guessing you're trying new dialogue choices so you don't just skip through that stuff. Are you playing it on easier (to make it shorter) or harder (to make it more fun) difficulties?

 

[Fredescu]

I was expecting my second playthrough to be shorter, but that's turning out not to be the case. I'm nearing 50 hours and I haven't done Redcliffe, Dalish elves, or any Denerim quests yet. My first time was 84 hours. I'm doing it on Nightmare w/dex hotfix so it's a little tougher but not too bad.

 

[Pancakes]

For those doing multiple playthroughs: How long are your subsequent playthroughs turning out to be? I'm guessing you're trying new dialogue choices so you don't just skip through that stuff. Are you playing it on easier (to make it shorter) or harder (to make it more fun) difficulties?

(Console)
My first playthrough was 35 hrs (Very little sidequesting, Normal, all good)

My second playthrough was 29 hrs (Some sidequesting and I knew where to go, Hard, 50/50 good/bad)

I'm doing my 3rd playthrough on Normal again (as a rogue) though I may switch to hard if it becomes too easy. I'm really glad I didn't rush through the origins stories just for the achievements. I'm interested to see how it ends up changing the game.

 

[I'm an expert]

(Console)
My first playthrough was 35 hrs (Very little sidequesting, Normal, all good)

My second playthrough was 29 hrs (Some sidequesting and I knew where to go, Hard, 50/50 good/bad)

What do you mean by 50/50 good/bad for the Hard playthrough? Half easy, half actually hard? Or? I'm actually starting the same today after work and wondering if I should do normal or hard for my first playthrough. I don't like the idea of not having friendly fire on..but I don't want to give myself a headache the first time through either.

 

[Pancakes]

What do you mean by 50/50 good/bad for the Hard playthrough? Half easy, half actually hard? Or? I'm actually starting the same today after work and wondering if I should do normal or hard for my first playthrough. I don't like the idea of not having friendly fire on..but I don't want to give myself a headache the first time through either.

Ah my bad. At first I thought I was going to be all bad but, seeing as how that could negatively affect your party I decided against it.

Hard is only 50% friendly fire and honestly unless you're a mage, it's not a big deal. In fact, hard was ridiculously easy as a mage because I could just spam AOE while Alister tanked.

My opinion, try normal and if that's too easy go hard. You can change the difficulty at anytime.

 

[I'm an expert]

Ah, bad/good as in dialogue choices and such. Right. Yeah I have a feeling I'll be the boring 'good' character my first playthrough as well. Glad to hear hard isn't too crazy.

 

[deim0s]

Playing as an arcane warrior now and I believe dex is still required for the spec. Did anyone allocate dex points with their AW? How much dex is good enough?

 

[John Harker]

Um, this is kinda dumb that you have to choose one dwarf over the other when you don't get to meet either first. The randoms walking around don't even really give you any advice on one or the other. I have no information to help me decide which one is the liar or not.

What's the difference between the two politically? Whose the better choice (at least story wise)?

 

[Sinatar]

Um, this is kinda dumb that you have to choose one dwarf over the other when you don't get to meet either first. The randoms walking around don't even really give you any advice on one or the other. I have no information to help me decide which one is the liar or not.

What's the difference between the two politically? Whose the better choice (at least story wise)?

As an outsider the choice is supposed to be a little confusing, if you play a dwarf it has a lot more meaning.

But basically:

Bhelen: Backstabbing over ambitious asshole, but very forward thinking and wants the dwarves to have a larger role in the world as well as removing the caste system.

Harrowmont: Stuck up traditionalist, but generally an honorable guy. Wants to keep dwarves where they are, including keeping the lower class in chains.

 

[Fredescu]

Bhelan

Spoiler

wants social change and get rid of the caste system, but is happy to kill innocents to get it

. Harrowmount

Spoiler

is a conservative, but is a nicer guy

. You can find these things out by talking to various NPCs, but they don't exactly ram it down your throat.

 

[firehawk12]

On the Bioware forii, it was announced that the 360 patch is in cert and should come out alongside the DLC.

Good times.

 

[John Harker]

Bhelan

Spoiler

wants social change and get rid of the caste system, but is happy to kill innocents to get it

. Harrowmount

Spoiler

is a conservative, but is a nicer guy

. You can find these things out by talking to various NPCs, but they don't exactly ram it down your throat.

They barely say anything... I got a slight republican/democratic view point but nothing definitive on which one is a liar regarding the supposedly kingslayer. I'm all for social change, but it's hard to support someone guilty of patricide...

thanks for the advice though guys. Does the dwarf backstory give a definitive if he is a kingslayer? I suppose since I AM an outsider, I wouldn't have this information to rely on... i may pick Bhelan then.

 

[Wallach]

They barely say anything... I got a slight republican/democratic view point but nothing definitive on which one is a liar regarding the supposedly kingslayer. I'm all for social change, but it's hard to support someone guilty of patricide...

thanks for the advice though guys. Does the dwarf backstory give a definitive if he is a kingslayer? I suppose since I AM an outsider, I wouldn't have this information to rely on... i may pick Bhelan then.

The Dwarf Noble story will give you MUCH insight on both of these characters. You should play it anyway, it is much more interesting than the other origin stories IMO.

 

[Zaptruder]

As an outsider the choice is supposed to be a little confusing, if you play a dwarf it has a lot more meaning.

But basically:

Bhelen: Backstabbing over ambitious asshole, but very forward thinking and wants the dwarves to have a larger role in the world as well as removing the caste system.

Harrowmont: Stuck up traditionalist, but generally an honorable guy. Wants to keep dwarves where they are, including keeping the lower class in chains.

Man... playing through as something other than a Dwarf doesn't give the second sentence of information on either side.

All I got was, Bhelen lies and cheats and Harrowmont doesn't.

 

[Fredescu]

Man... playing through as something other than a Dwarf doesn't give the second sentence of information on either side.

The merchant closest to the slums give you a little bit about that.

 

[Ashodin]

On the Bioware forii, it was announced that the 360 patch is in cert and should come out alongside the DLC.

Good times.

Is this the one for the dex fix? or what is in it?

 

[Doytch]

Is this the one for the dex fix? or what is in it?

Probably not. Dex Fix patch isn't out on PC yet.