Starting Over: Some Build Questions, etc.

For several reasons I will be re-starting the game (which means I get to go through the Fade again… joy ). One major thing I realized was that I could have done a much better job of building not only my character (mage) but also my NPC companions. My favorite play combination is Alistar, Leliana, Wynn, and my mage though I certainly used Morrigan, my dog, and Sten from time to time. So please tell me if I am off in any way in the following emphasis:

Alistar - He is my main tank. This time around I will concentrate heavily in upping first his strength and second dexterity. I was thinking a 2-1 distribution of points at leveling. I could use some ideas as to what skills would also be wise for a tank build.

Leliana - I wanted to make her an archer but I believe my distribution of stats points hampered her considerably. And I did a very poor job of setting up her combat tactics. From what I gather in researching builds dexterity and especially cunning are critical for a rogue/archer combination. Would you say this is correct? Also, like Alistar, skills you would recommend.

* This next question is very noobish but can one just purchase/find regular arrows? I have found fire, ice, etc. either adventuring or from merchants but nothing "normal" or am I missing something?

* Then I really goofed because I got her approval rating up high too fast. We were "just friends" at 100%.

Wynn - She will be for healing and buffing; any other spell combinations and skills you would recommend?

Thanks.

If you're interested, when I was skimming through mods at DragonAge Nexus (I think?), I read about a "Skip the Fade" Mod. Might come in handy if you don't want to grind your way through the fade again. I certainly wouldn't blame you…2 times in the fade was plenty for me

Since you are playing a mage with Wynn in your party you have plenty of ranged damage. With Alistair as your your tank, you would be best served to have Leilani in more of melee dps role (I hate using MMO terminalogy but its appropriate here). Have her focus on dual-wielding skills and cunning, and you'll have a better balanced party.

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
If you're interested, when I was skimming through mods at DragonAge Nexus (I think?), I read about a "Skip the Fade" Mod. Might come in handy if you don't want to grind your way through the fade again. I certainly wouldn't blame you…2 times in the fade was plenty for me

Yeah, skip the fade would be a must if playing through again…

Skip the Fade

Other mods worth looking at:

Dragon Age Class and Specialization Pack
Morrigan Restoration Patch Dialog Fixpack
Dragon Age : Dark Times ACT I
Alley of Murders
The Winter Forge
Icons Project

Oh and you might wish to use DAO modmanager to implement the various mods.

-EDIT-

* This next question is very noobish but can one just purchase/find regular arrows? I have found fire, ice, etc. either adventuring or from merchants but nothing "normal" or am I missing something?

IIRC normal arrows are auto equipped when a bow is in use… In other words you don't have to buy them, they are unlimited.

EDIT #2 I had a larger response typed up for your other questions but when I went to post it the darn thing timed out and all was lost.

Alistair, I kept him weapon and shield. Dex only taken to the highest req for his shield/weapon talents which was 26 IIRC. The rest went to str since it affected both dmg and attack rating. Dex would only improve attack rating and defense(which isn't all that necessary for a tank).

Leliana, I kept her an archer. Rolling dex(improves dmg dealt by piercing weapons IE daggers and arrows) and cunning but ultimately putting more points into dex. Skill wise she was important as I gave her trap making/finding and pickpocketing duties. Though if you wish to advance her talents you also need to take combat training too.

Wynne - healing, buffing and immobilizing the enemy.

I give alistar min dex for shield talents and split between strength and Constitution. he needs all the health he can get as he stands in the middle of mobs all game.

why not be a spirit healer yourself since your a mage and bring shale. with shale and alistar they can soak up lots of damage then leliana can backstab at will, not drawing any threat.

with mass heal, revive and mass paralyze will take you through most of the game, with only dragon fights giving any trouble. (playing on hard difficulty).

Just an option.

Oh yeah be sure to give thief momentum and lethality their best talents imho.

Originally Posted by Rills
Alistar - He is my main tank. This time around I will concentrate heavily in upping first his strength and second dexterity. I was thinking a 2-1 distribution of points at leveling. I could use some ideas as to what skills would also be wise for a tank build.

Either him or Shale. Make sure you put some points into Con once you reach 38 or so in Strength (should be able to wear most gear at that point).

Originally Posted by Rills
Leliana - I wanted to make her an archer but I believe my distribution of stats points hampered her considerably. And I did a very poor job of setting up her combat tactics. From what I gather in researching builds dexterity and especially cunning are critical for a rogue/archer combination. Would you say this is correct? Also, like Alistar, skills you would recommend.

Well, yes and no. If you're going to use Cunning, you need Lethality so it adds to damage. Without it, you should go Strength actually, in addition to 22 Cunning (needed for max lock opening). Bottom line: It's either Strength or Cunning to add damage, Cunning is only active if it's higher than Strength and you have Lethality.

Originally Posted by Rills
* This next question is very noobish but can one just purchase/find regular arrows? I have found fire, ice, etc. either adventuring or from merchants but nothing "normal" or am I missing something?

Arrows are not limited - all ranged weapons have an endless supply. You should probably just sell most special arrows - they hardly add any damage at all. Only a few types are worth saving. Basically, sell the ones that add a small amount of fire, ice or nature damage.

Originally Posted by Rills
Wynn - She will be for healing and buffing; any other spell combinations and skills you would recommend?

I recommend getting Cone of Cold and Crushing Prison as well, those lines add a lot of crowd control, which is very useful.

I gave Wynn a few close combat things, too, because I found out that some attackers preferred her as a target.

Wow! Good stuff; I am definitely going to take my time with tactics and builds the next time I play.

You also confirmed a major thing about my last play: I had the tactics royally screwed up not only for Leliana but for the other NPCs as well.

Thanks to everyone.

I can only agree with Maylander on getting Crushing Prison on mages (all mages!), especially since you pick up Force Field along the way. Lots of good crowd control which comes in handy, and I guess it can be fun overloading them and knocking stuff to the ground.

I completed Origins when released in 2009 but now I decided to play the whole first part of the series again.

I have boxed versions of

Dragon Age: Origins CE
Dragon Age: Awakening
Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition

and few other items from various promotions and prizes.

What else do I need to install? I would like to play the whole collection as close to vanilla as possible. Are there any mandatory unofficial patches or fixes out there? Also what is the correct play order for all DLC expansions? I would like to transfer all items and stats. Is this play order correct?

It would go Leliana’s Song, The main game itself (In which you can do Warden’s Keep, Stone Prisoner and Return to Ostagar in any order you damn well please) Awakening, Golems of Amgarrak, Witch Hunt and you can throw Darkspawn Chronicles in there wherever since that was a ‘what if’ story more than a canonical DLC

Ultimate Edition isn't a seperate game, it's just Origins with Awakening and all the DLC. That said, it's the easiest to install and play if you're wanting to stay vanilla. The mod that fixes Morrigan's dialogue is important if you use her and you may want to download JB's texture mod, to get rid of some of the ugly. I'm playing through the game and I did Shale's (Sucher's Pass?) mod and Warden's Keep right after Lothering, mostly to get some decent treasure before the game is almost over.

I play on normal and use both Alistair and Leilana as dual-wielding melee. If I need a tank, which is very rare, I take Shale. I play a fire mage and just give both Al and Leia good fire resist gear. I fireball everything that moves and let Wynn, once I get her, keep everyone healthy. I need to download Skip the Fade because the Fade is dull.