I own both the console and PC version.
My video card died a couple of weeks before DA:O came out, and I was forced to get it on PS3 at the time.
Since I had nothing else to go by, I liked it a lot on PS3. I considered not getting it on PC at all after I replaced my video card. I can't remember what made me decide to buy it again on PC, but I did.
And I'm glad I did.
It doesn't make me happy to say this.. But the just combat on consoles just wasn't captured entirely right. It was alot easier for one. (Seriously, when I first began playing on PC. I was getting murdered everywhere I went. I had to force myself to use every tactical option possible from the isometric view to frequent combat pausing just to survive. It's a lot tougher, but as someone who really likes a challenge, it was an improvement.) The lack of a hotbar for abilities (The radial menu is there, but I hate radial menus.) And the lack of the isometric view as well.
It definitely feels like a different game on PC. I suppose you can bump the difficulty up to match the tactic-heavy-frequent-combat-pausing aspect of gameplay I got from the PC version, but some features still aren't there.
If I were you, I'd try a rental or to borrow it first to see what you think.
Advertisement
Cheat Codes
Right-click on the file that is used to launch the game. Click on 'Properties', and then add the '-enabledeveloperconsole' command line to end of the 'Target' field. Make sure there is a space between the last quotation mark in the 'Target' field and the added command line. While playing the game, press ~ to display the console window. Then, type one of the following codes and press [Enter] to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note: You will not see what is being typed and may need to press [Backspace] to remove the '`' character if it is present in the console window.
For the Steam version of the game, Right-click the 'Dragon Age: Origins' option, and select 'Properties' under the 'My Games' Steam tab. In the 'General' tab, select 'Set Launch Options', enter '-enabledeveloperconsole' in that field, and accept it. While playing the game, press ~ to display the console window. Then, type one of the following codes and press [Enter] to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note: You will not see what is being typed and may need to press [Backspace] to remove the '`' character if it is present in the console window.
Note: For example, enter 'runscript zz_supercrit gen00fl_alistair' for Alistair.
Character codes
Use one of the following values with the 'runscript zz_addparty [NPC name]' and 'runscript zz_addapproval [companion] [number]' codes:
Use one of the following values with the 'runscript addtalent [number]' and 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes. Windows 7 laptop with backlit keyboard. Note: Talents, spells, and skills all use the same 'runscript addtalent [number]' and 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes. Talents are unique to Warriors and Rogues and will not appear on Mages. Spells are unique to Mages and will not appear on Warriors or Rogues.
Use one of the following values with the 'runscript addtalent [number]' and 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes. Note: Talents, spells, and skills all use the same 'runscript addtalent [number]' and 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes. Talents are unique to Warriors and Rogues and will not appear on Mages. Spells are unique to Mages and will not appear on Warriors or Rogues.
Use one of the following values with the 'runscript addtalent [number]' and 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes. Note: Talents, spells, and skills all use the same 'runscript addtalent [number]' and 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes. Talents are unique to Warriors and Rogues and will not appear on Mages. Spells are unique to Mages and will not appear on Warriors or Rogues.
Use one of the following values with the 'runscript addtalent [number]' or 'runscript removetalent [number]' codes:
Use one of the following values with the 'runscript appearance [number]' code:
Advertisement
Register for an account at the Electronic Arts web site, and link it to your profile in Dragon Age: Origins. Play the Dragon Age: Journeys mini-game at www.dragonagejourneys.com. Successfully complete the indicated task in Dragon Age: Journeys to unlock the corresponding item in Dragon Age: Origins:
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding legendary weapon:
Ageless: In Orzammar before you pick a new king, click the king's throne, set three of your party members on pressure plates around the area, and use the fourth to click the throne again. Kill the dragon to get the Ageless legendary weapon.
Keening Blade: Successfully complete the 'Unbound' quest. To start it, collect the journals from the following locations:
Marjorlaneses Recurve: Successfully complete Leliana's character quest.
Staff Of The Magister Lords: Purchased it in the Wonders Of Thedas in Denerim.
Starfang Longsword: Get the random encounter with the crater, then take the Starmetal to Wardens Keep to have a one or two handed sword made.
Summersword: Defeat Loghain's general when trying to save the queen.
Preset & Advanced Mac Equalizers: Boom 3D for Mac Activation Code comes with Presets, 10-band and advanced equalizers for tricked out audio. Boom 3d cracked windows. Whether it is a favorite song or a movie with drowned out dialogues, you’re covered!.
The Rose's Thorn: Purchased it in a shop in Orzammar.
Topsiders Honor: In Deep Roads, find the three pieces, then reassemble them in Ortan Thaig.
Yusaris Greatsword: Successfully complete the 'Statue' quest on the third floor of the Magi Tower by selecting the statues in the following order: Left, Right, Middle, then the statue near the fourth floor stairs.
Wintersbreath: It can be obtained through the Warden's Keep DLC or by purchasing it at the Wonders Of Thedas.
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding legendary armor:
Blood Dragon: Use the DLC to get the first piece, and the rest will be in Bodhan's shop in your camp.
Juggernaut: Examine the three tombstones in the Brecilian Forrest to get the first three pieces. Successfully complete the 'Jug' quest in the Ruins to get the final piece.
Legion Set: Pieces are spread throughout the Deeproads.
Reapers Vestment (best robe): Purchased it at the Wonders Of Thedas.
Robes Of Possession: Successfully complete Morrigan's character quest by killing Flemmeth. They can then be found in the chest in Flemeth's hut.
Wade's: Wade of Wade's Emporium in Denerim will make you three sets of armor, two of which will use 3x Drake Scales, and the other will need the Dragon Scale. The first two sets are leather armor, and the third is your choice of medium, heavy, or massive. You can get lots of Drake Scales and the Dragon Scale during the 'Urn Of Sacred Ashes' quest. Note: Make sure you always pay the extra gold when asked to get the best results.
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding Specialization class. Note: Specialization points are obtained at levels 7 and 14.
Mage
Rogue
Warrior
Equip the indicated item set to get the corresponding bonus:
Note: This trick only works in the unpatched version of the game. In Ostargar, do the 'Tainted Blood' mission that is unlocked immediately before you become a Grey Warden. Collect the three Vials of Darkspawn Blood, but not the Grey Warden Treaties. Return to camp, talk to Duncan, and report 'We have the blood, but not the scrolls.' You will exit out of the conversation, but still get the experience for the mission. You can repeat this as many times as desired. It does not take long to reach the level 25 cap if you skip the conversations to speed up the process.
Note: This trick requires you have the Trap Making ability. In Lothering, go to the right after exiting Dane's Refuge (near the center of Lothering). There will be a quest giver by the name of Allison. She will ask you to make traps, and requires three traps to complete the quest. Once you complete the quest, you will get a moderate amount of experience and 50 silver. You can repeat this quest as many times as desired; however, the quest will become unavailable as you progress through the game. To keep repeating the quest, go back to Dane's Refuge, and buy Trap Triggers. He has an unlimited supply of them. As long as you have Trap Making, create Spring Traps. Spring Traps only cost approximately 3 silver to create, and she requires three traps each time. Thus, it only costs you roughly 9 silver for the quest.
To get extra experience points early in the game, go to the city of Denerim as soon as you leave Lothering. Then, enter the 'Wonders of Thedas' building, and purchase the Archivist's Belt. While it is equipped, you will get an experience point boost for everything in your Codex. Books will increase from 50 to 75 experience points.
Unlocking specializations for all classes
Note: The Character Respec Addon V1.6 must be installed for this trick to work. In almost every town or village in Ferelden, you can find a raven (small black bird). Talk to the raven to get a free Specialization Respec potion. Talk to him again, and select 'Look into his eyes'. Then, select your class to unlock 2/4 of each character specializations for free. Note: You must switch between each character to unlock their individual specializations. You cannot do all of them at once.
Free Specialization books
Save the game, then buy a Specialization book from a vendor. The message 'Specialization Unlocked' will appear. Then, load your saved game, and you will have the gold back that you spent for the book, but the specialization will still be unlocked.
When you first arrive at your party camp, you will see Bodahn Fennick, the Dwarf trader. Speak to him, and view his wares. You will find two Specialization books, Ranger and Templar. Save the game, then buy one to unlock that Specialization. Reload your game, and buy the other one. You will now have both specialties unlocked and still retain your gold after reloading your game again. This works with all Specialization books.
Redistributing attribute points
Note: The following trick works with Patch 1.01a. At the attribute screen while leveling up, add points to the attribute you want to actually take attribute points away from. Then, press [Reset], and take the desired number of attribute points from the attribute you just added points to and redistribute them to a new attribute. For example, if your character has 18 STR and 18 DEX when you level up, and you want to take 3 DEX away and add it to STR, add 3 level up attribute points to DEX to bring it to 21. Press [Reset] to bring DEX back down to 18. Then, press the left arrow by DEX three times to bring it down to 15, and reassign all points to STR. If you want to reassign more than 3 points at a time, add 3 points to an attribute, press [Reset], add 3 more points to the same attribute, and repeat. When you press the left arrow by the attribute, you will be able to subtract the total number of points you added.
Extra storage
In Lothering, go towards a bridge on the edge of town. There will be a bridge where a Dwarven father and son are getting attacked. If you save and are nice to them, they will be in your party's camp when you arrive shortly afterwards. They are merchants, and the son is an enchanting savant. The father has good items to start. Buy the items, using the 'Easy gold' glitch if needed. He never seems to lose what you sell him. You can basically use him as free storage. This works well for players without the 'Warden's Keep' downloadable content's bottomless chest, or if you do not want to keep traveling to Soldier's Peak to retrieve your excess inventory.
Extra backpack in Ostagar
When you arrive in Ostagar, buy the Backpack from the Quartermaster. Note: You should have enough money all long as you collected sell-able items and gear during the beginning storyline. Successfully complete the quest where you and the other recruits enter the Wilds; make sure you explore the entire map. Successfully complete the 'Joining' ritual, and become a Grey Warden. Before attending the meeting with Duncan and the King, go back to the Quartermaster, and there should be another Backpack available to purchase at the same price as before.
Summoning wolf and bear simultaneously
Rouges that have the Ranger talent and all skills can summon a wolf and a bear at the same time. This trick does not work with the spider. When you are summoning the wolf and your cast time bar is almost over, click to summon the bear. Your character will summon the wolf first, and then summon the bear. You can control both animals.
Armed Mages
It is possible for Mages to not just cast magic but also use armor and weapons. Once you have acquired the Arcane Warrior style, you can use armor and weapons in exchange for magic. You do not have to worry about taking physical damage any longer because of the armor. You do not have to keep your distance from enemies and can use all the spells desired. Note: This ability is obtained in the 'Nature Of The Beast' quest with the Dalish Elves. You must go into the temple and find a vial that seems odd. A short cutscene will begin and will involve you. After a long series of questioning, it will offer to pass on its talents of an Arcane Warrior to you and your party in exchange for its freedom.
Gifts
Gifts help raise each party member's liking of the 'Warden' or main character you create. The following is a list of the gifts each party member likes and will help to get on their good side instead of their wrathful side:
There is a book titled 'Load Limit Reached' that you can find in the Orzammar underground section 'The Dead Trenches', near the 'Legionnaire Shrine' at the end of a broken bridge. The first line in the book is 'Mass will have an effect'. It mentions a Dwarf named Shepard, which is the same name as the main character of Mass Effect.
Monty Python And The Search for the Holy Grail reference
While traveling on the world map, you may encounter a group of people around a stump, claiming that if you pull it out, you are destined to become king of Thedas. This will prompt banter between them. 'Pulling a drunken loggers axe out of stump is hardly something to base a system of government off of.'; 'He must be a king.'; 'Why do you say that?'; 'Because he doesn't have dung all over him.' This is a reference from the beginning of Monty Python And The Search For The Holy Grail.
Portal reference
Note: You must have Sten in your party for this trick to work. At the end of the game, if you choose to perform the ritual with Morrigan, you will go to the crowning of the new king or queen. After the dialogue with Alistair, you can walk around and talk to your companions. Find Sten, and he will say 'Where is the cake? They promised there would be cake. The cake is a lie..'
Superman reference
The following event is random and occurs while traveling on the world map. You will encounter a farmer and his wife who find a baby in a meteor crash, right after it happens. They decide to take the baby and raise it as their own. You get the Meteor Ore the baby came in. It can be made into armor by Wade in Denerim. A good way to get this event to occur is from one of the Chantry Board missions in Redcliffe. Travel straight from Redcliffe to Refugees.
Easy 'Silver Tongued' achievement
In Orzammar, there is a man named Vartag in the Chamber of Assembly. Speak with him about earning Lord Behlen's trust. He should give you papers that state Lord Harrowmont sold the same piece of land to two people. After he gives you the papers, go to the Shaperate in the Diamond Quarter. It is at the opposite end of the entrance to the Commons. Once you are in the Shaperate, talk to the Shaperate, and give him the papers. He will tell you they are forged. Then, go back to Vartag, and tell him the papers are forged. After you have done this, a Persuade line will appear. Keep persuading him until you get the 'Silver Tongued' achievement. Note: It helps if you have a high Coercion and/or Cunning skill. Also, if you made a Dwarf Commoner, your sister will take you directly to Vartag once you have entered the Diamond Quarter.
Achievements
Accomplish the indicated achievement to get the corresponding number of Gamerscore points:
Additionally, there are four secret achievements:
The following achievements require 'The Stone Prisoner' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievements require the 'Warden's Keep' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievement requires the 'Return To Ostagar' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievements require the 'Awakening' bonus downloadable content:
Additionally, there are five secret achievements with the 'Awakening' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievement requires the 'Darkspawn Chronicles' bonus downloadable content:
Additionally, there are two secret achievements with the 'Darkspawn Chronicles' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievements require the 'Leliana's Song' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievements require the 'Golems Of Amgarrak' bonus downloadable content:
The following achievements require the 'Witch Hunt' bonus downloadable content:
What are the best talent build, skills, specializations, and gear to make Alistair the best sword-and-board tank?
Note: I am playing the Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition. So I have all the DLC and Awakening.
Brett White
36411 gold badge66 silver badges1515 bronze badges
SgtOJSgtOJ
1,43544 gold badges2323 silver badges3434 bronze badges
2 Answers
I'm playing through Dragon Age: Origins again with this specific goal in mind, so I'll outline what I've done:
Overview
I've found letting Alistair run on auto-pilot works really well. The aggressive behavior, combined with the tactics loadout described below, makes the AI pretty smart and hands-off. However, you really need to make sure you have a good Spirit Healer (like Wynne) backing him up.
So I've built him around me not having to do anything with him: prioritizing his tactics load-out and passive skills.
Build
Obviously, Alistair is going to be a warrior. You're locked in with the relatively useless Templar specialization, but once you reach 14 and can choose a second, definitely pick Champion.
Leveling Priority
Alistair starts with:
Combat Tactics Dragon Age Origins Achievements
I then chose the following as I leveled:
This should take you to level 20-ish. Note you don't need Master Combat Training until you get Shield Mastery, so spend your skill points on Combat Tactics to make sure you can use your abilities.
Tactics
As mentioned above, I didn't want to micromanage Alistair, so I used the following to handle pretty much every encounter. Note because of my reliance on a dedicated healer, Alistair does not use any sustainability/survival abilities.
Equipment
Equipment choice is not particularly difficult, and I've found you don't need to worry about min/maxing to make him effective, so I'm not going to bother with a mostly unnecessary list of exact gear you need to have. Generally:
Final Thoughts
It's really hard to unintentionally mess up building Alistair: there are so few 'tanking' choices in the game that you'll eventually get everything you need by level 15-ish anyway.
Ultimately, it comes either micromanaging Alistair as your de-facto main (which takes practice), or a decent tactics load out (specified above) if that's not your thing.
Finally, I can't stress enough how much a sword and board tank like Alistair needs a good healer. Moving microsoft office to another computer. If you're not interested in giving up a slot for a dedicated healer, it's going to be very difficult to keep Alistair effective.
AcknowledgementsDragon Age 2 Tactics
The above is an amalgamation of various different guides I've found, notably:
I've confirmed the viability and effectiveness of this advice by using it myself.
user3389
I know this is an old question but I came across user3389's advice above and, while it's good, there are a couple of issues worth pointing out to anyone who stumbles across it:
Don't bother putting strength past 42 (enough to equip the best gear) for a tank. A tank is not a damage dealer; he's there to draw aggro and be unkillable. You might also want a few points in willpower so he doesn't run out of stamina - the right gear can do this too - but otherwise everything else should go into dexterity. This makes the tank harder to hit, which is the best way to boost survivability and ensure that he needs less healing.
Spare a point for the 'second wind' talent. With massive armour and a couple of sustains on, your tank's stamina will drop quickly. Keep second wind up your sleeve for when you need your tank to taunt or disable enemies to save your squishier buddies.
Don't set auto tactics to switch between shield wall and shield cover. It's a waste of stamina and casting time. Anyway, shield cover is rubbish compared to shield wall and even shield defense. Stick with shield wall all the time UNLESS you want to keep both threaten and rally up and you find you're running out of stamina too quickly. In that case I would still prioritise shield defense over shield cover if you can afford it. Note that the shield wall damage penalty apparently doesn't work, making it even better.
In addition, don't set your tank to taunt when enemies are attacking him. That's the whole purpose of taunt. Set him to use it when enemies are attacking weaker party members. Finally, save a tactics slot for using a health poultice if his health drops below 25%.
Otherwise, the advice above is sound.
Best Combat Tactics Dragon Age Origins
JamesHJamesH
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged dragon-age-origins or ask your own question.Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |