Well, I think I got a few things that make the game more manageable. It's quite playable without pause I think but you sort of need to play it like RoM was. Very, very carefully. Lol. Big surprise they added pausing into EI...
I dunno if it'll work out but right now I want to have Alistair, my main as an Rogue-Archer, get a second Rogue and make them a melee Rogue, and then have a mage. Probably aimed at healing but I dunno. Maybe I can pull off a hybrid mage. Lol. I don't want two mages.
Respecialization really helps I hate having to adapt MY character to the party rather than the other way around.
P.S.: what's up with bows and crossbows? So far it makes much more sense for Alistair to use a bow because it gets an STR bonus and he has high DEX as a DEX shield tank. So who exactly are crossbows for? 2H people? o.O
Macros I think you're going overkill here. I am not playing the game on Nightmare and I am not a min maxer. I am not interested in exploiting the game and its issues, simply getting to a point where I can properly play it. Lol.
From what you're saying I gather the game is horribly balanced, or you're talking with more authority than you actually have. Oh well.
Are you playing on xbox or pc? I know I hated the camera on the xbox, but I don't know how it is on pc.
PC. My issue with the camera is that it's not free in the bird view mode. That sort of makes the entire mode useless. In RoM there was a fog of war and stuff but the camera itself was free which is really necessary for a 3D game like DAO is, there are a couple visibility issues, and for any game with large range. I end up using the adventure mode 90% of the time because I can see considerably farther, and since I start all battles with lots and lots of arrows I need to see far.
As for the specs, trust me, most of them are specs you'd want them to have anyway.
Dunno I respecced all my characters and the game got 300x times easier. It's not so much the specializations as it's all the random skills they have points in I don't want them to have points in, and my party ends up really mismatched, which is cool from the RP point of view and all but it makes combat rather unenjoyable.
Now you can give her Bloodmage and she will be a real mage type caster, whereas another party member you can pick up at the mage tower will be a real healer type caster (oh yeah, go pick up that party member asap, she'll make life much easier for you in some fights - not nescesarily better than Morrigan though, but easier to use).
As I mentioned above I do not want two mages. Morrigan will have to do.
I have me, Alistair, Leisha, Morrigan, and that's probably not going to change unless the game forces me, which I hope it doesn't. I prefer growing parties RoM-style where I have 10 people by the end of the game + mercenaries, or one stable party that sticks.
Hmm. Damage calculations for skills aren't that important in this game.
I didn't say damage calculations. I said numbers in general. I can't compare two skills properly if I don't know what the numbers are. Skill x causes an automatic critical hit. Skill y causes an automatic critical hit. Skill y costs more. ??? Same goes for potions and salves and stuff. "Increases resistance" is not enough for me.
And there are some things that I don't know if they do or do not benefit from particular attributes or w/e. Generally I'm kind of in the clouds regarding why would I use ability x or how much this or that actually improves something. Not to mention the good old breakpoints of attack, defense, and critical hits. I like games that work off faster hits better, everything becomes much clearer since if you're missing all the time or getting hit all the time it's considerably more visible and you don't get the issue of "battle ends too fast for skill to be useful" or "normal attack conflicts with skill".
Defensive Fire: useless. Your archer should not be getting hit in the first place.
May I ask why? My archer is DEX maxed, doesn't that provide defense? If my archer is not getting hit, who's going to get hit then, Morrigan? lol My tank can't handle EVERYBODY.
Shield Bash, Shield Pummel: Between Overpower and Battle Cry in the Champion spec (which a weapon and shield warrior should definately get) these become obsolete. They are useful at first, however.
Doesn't Shield Bash disable random stuff like grabs, though?
Shield Defense v. Shield Cover v. Shield Wall: these are mutually exclusive. When you don't have Shield Wall yet, you may wish to switch between Shield Defense and Shield Cover depending on the situation. Shield Wall makes both of these obsolete, however.
Well, I read a lot saying for a DEX tank Shield Wall is pointless except against knockdowns since all it does is add armor, which is not too useful for a DEX tank. Care to elaborate?
Stonefist v. Arcane Prison: Crushing Prison is better because of it's synergy effect with forcefield (cast it on a forcefielded target and you create a shockwave that will damage every enemy nearby except the one in the forcefield). If you get Telekinetic Weapons, get Crushing Prison. Otherwise get Stonefist. Of course, if you want Petrify you need Stonefist anyway.
Yeah I don't know what any of these are. Was never big on mages, really.
Reaver: good for any kind of warrior, tank or dps. Difficult to unlock: must destroy the urn of sacred ashes. If Leliana and/or Wynne is in your party you will be forced to kill them.
I can has spoiler warnings? Seriously man I do not need to know where to get what before I even get into the game. Most games are playable without all that "knowledge" just fine.
He cannot have seen the phone because singing does not count. Should the car run, then maybe the smoothie will be sliced. Yes thank you for your elephant. I would need a couple more of hats to fit in the dirt.
I can has spoiler warnings? Seriously man I do not need to know where to get what before I even get into the game. Most games are playable without all that "knowledge" just fine.
Sorry about that, but imo these are exactly the kind of spoilers you want to know in advance.
It should be an awesome concert, they'll likely hit all their most popular songs. Seeing Moving Pictures in it's entirety will be epic. They are second only to Pink Floyd in light and pyrotechnic shows. Where you catching them at? I'll be catching at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Dream Theater's music is definitely busy, they put on a great show. I've seen Rush now about 10 times, it's more a family reunion for me these days, you are in for quite the treat. If you haven't heard their 2 new singles they'll be playing, here they be.
Some skills in particular are simply broken or useless, such as Evasion which is even harmful rather than beneficial. I wasn't really trying to make you exploit the game per se, just to make sure you don't fall into any of these pitfalls.
Well, that's what I mean. I try not to look up guides when I play games. I prefer to blind-play it. And that requires some trust in how useful everything is in the game, which may be hard to figure out sometimes. Useless skills sort of ruin that.
RoM? What game is that? I prefer games that make me create four people at the start and don't let me change party members at all. Imo having interchangable party members completely destroys replayability of a game as you'll end up always using certain party members at certain points in the game. Companion quests and such make it even worse.
Yeah, I agree. I dislike interchangeable parties. First of all everyone is class locked, and then I generally like to play with the same people, so even if I can interchange I probably won't.
RoM is Rage of Mages, an old game that DAO reminds me of for some reason. Mostly the non-cutscene combat where you can kill enemies before they approach you or time things carefully for battles, since I expected DAO to be like NWN, if you know what I mean. Except RoM almost never put you in a stupid position... RoM was really simplified, though, there was sorta kinda Morrowind style damage improvement, two classes, mages had spells, wariors could choose between weapons, the end. It was mostly a game where you microed your guys to kill everyone (no pausing. So you better put that damn mage at the right location at the right range and move them at the right time so that they heal your warrior not too soon so they loose all mana and not too close so they get targeted and not too far... fun times). But in RoM the party had no limit size and you just got more and more people in it and you couldn't do much without all of them. Party size pretty early in the game, although 75% of that are mercs, lol: http://www.juegomania.org/Rage of MagesRage of Mages II: Necromancer -- Dual Jewel/foto/pc/3/3253/3253_t.jpg/Foto Rage of MagesRage of Mages II: Necromancer -- Dual Jewel.jpg And if one dude dies in a battle, you loose the game. Lol. Unless he's a mercenary but they cost a lot...
I should point out that your skill x versus skill y example in most cases depends on something other than numbers though. For instance, skill y costs more because you also inflict a movement speed penalty on the enemy.
And I need to know how big the movement speed penalty is for me to decide if I want to sacrifice that stamina. It's not so much about skill balance oftentimes rather than how much it fits my build and my party... and while trial and error is ok for that more or less it's just not how I prefer to figure things out.
Thing is after NWN I am kinda jaded because all over NWN there was all this stuff that DID NOT help me in any capacity, for one reason or another. DAO is surprisingly better in that respect.
You're the one min-maxing now, with the breakpoints and stuff
Min-maxing is reaching the best possible option. What I'm doing is basically avoiding certain "automatic fail" situations that I got in NWN. E.g., I build a hero, and he couldn't kill anybody. At all.
Because with Master Stealth, whenever your archer gets attacked you simply go into stealth and the enemy attacks someone else. If Master Stealth is on cooldown there's always pinpoint shot, scattering shot or distraction. With so many abilities, the only way your archer is going to get hit enough for it to be dangerous is when you are already losing the fight anyway. At least, this is my experience.
My archer doesn't even have stealth (Can't you build a proper archer in this game? Since when did archers become rogues? Bleh). But never mind that I'm not asking about whether I can protect the archer. I am asking about whether I should take the load off the tank and give some to the archer. Although I'm probably still thinking in RoM terms... lol
By the time you get to these skills you'll be fighting many enemies with knockdown abilities and you'll want constant immunity to it.
So why do I have all my archer stuff maxed out, for instance, and I've yet to meet a knockdown? You seem to say that a bunch of these skills will take a while to get to but I either have them or could easily get them despite being barely in Denerim.
Sorry about that, but imo these are exactly the kind of spoilers you want to know in advance. A party member leaving because you did something they didn't like, and you get no warning before it happens? Guide dangit.
Dunno I use save games for that. I played the Gothic/Risen series for too long, stuff like that happens all over it...
Oh my god... made mozerella sticks at midnight, with used oil that was previously used for onion rings.
I don't remember what part of that seemed like a good idea, fucking new cookbook tempting me with appetizers.
Now my stomach and head hurt like bitches.
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I dunno if it'll work out but right now I want to have Alistair, my main as an Rogue-Archer, get a second Rogue and make them a melee Rogue, and then have a mage. Probably aimed at healing but I dunno. Maybe I can pull off a hybrid mage. Lol. I don't want two mages.
Respecialization really helps I hate having to adapt MY character to the party rather than the other way around.
P.S.: what's up with bows and crossbows? So far it makes much more sense for Alistair to use a bow because it gets an STR bonus and he has high DEX as a DEX shield tank. So who exactly are crossbows for? 2H people? o.O
Turmobil, that frog looks like it has licked one too many Amazon tree frogs
From what you're saying I gather the game is horribly balanced, or you're talking with more authority than you actually have. Oh well.
PC. My issue with the camera is that it's not free in the bird view mode. That sort of makes the entire mode useless. In RoM there was a fog of war and stuff but the camera itself was free which is really necessary for a 3D game like DAO is, there are a couple visibility issues, and for any game with large range. I end up using the adventure mode 90% of the time because I can see considerably farther, and since I start all battles with lots and lots of arrows I need to see far.
Dunno I respecced all my characters and the game got 300x times easier. It's not so much the specializations as it's all the random skills they have points in I don't want them to have points in, and my party ends up really mismatched, which is cool from the RP point of view and all but it makes combat rather unenjoyable.
As I mentioned above I do not want two mages. Morrigan will have to do.
I have me, Alistair, Leisha, Morrigan, and that's probably not going to change unless the game forces me, which I hope it doesn't. I prefer growing parties RoM-style where I have 10 people by the end of the game + mercenaries, or one stable party that sticks.
I didn't say damage calculations. I said numbers in general. I can't compare two skills properly if I don't know what the numbers are. Skill x causes an automatic critical hit. Skill y causes an automatic critical hit. Skill y costs more. ??? Same goes for potions and salves and stuff. "Increases resistance" is not enough for me.
And there are some things that I don't know if they do or do not benefit from particular attributes or w/e. Generally I'm kind of in the clouds regarding why would I use ability x or how much this or that actually improves something. Not to mention the good old breakpoints of attack, defense, and critical hits. I like games that work off faster hits better, everything becomes much clearer since if you're missing all the time or getting hit all the time it's considerably more visible and you don't get the issue of "battle ends too fast for skill to be useful" or "normal attack conflicts with skill".
May I ask why? My archer is DEX maxed, doesn't that provide defense? If my archer is not getting hit, who's going to get hit then, Morrigan? lol My tank can't handle EVERYBODY.
Doesn't Shield Bash disable random stuff like grabs, though?
Well, I read a lot saying for a DEX tank Shield Wall is pointless except against knockdowns since all it does is add armor, which is not too useful for a DEX tank. Care to elaborate?
Yeah I don't know what any of these are. Was never big on mages, really.
I can has spoiler warnings? Seriously man I do not need to know where to get what before I even get into the game. Most games are playable without all that "knowledge" just fine.
I want what they were on when they made this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8BWBn26bX0
I publicly and officially endorse the making of such songs and clips.
You are a nut! You're crazy in the coconut!
This boy needs therapy. Psychosomatic.
IYO, maybe, but not IHO. Certainly not IEO.
Speaking of Ontario... they be coming matey... MGM Grand here I come. OK, I'm showing my age, but I'm still a post-juvenile delinquent.
Sh-uuuu-wing! I'm so shameless
I was born and raised on Rush, never been to a Rush concert, so I'm hella stoked. My favorite album by them is 2112 though, so...
I hate the way you cling to ignorance and pass it off as innocence
This is also my first Rush concert, and Moving Pictures being my favourite album, it's pretty awesome.
Caravan
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=if-WrgfGxeI
Bu2B
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=VSgiFuGOZW4
Anything that's not more or less intended by developers to happen, but can be done.
Yeah, I agree. I dislike interchangeable parties. First of all everyone is class locked, and then I generally like to play with the same people, so even if I can interchange I probably won't.
RoM is Rage of Mages, an old game that DAO reminds me of for some reason. Mostly the non-cutscene combat where you can kill enemies before they approach you or time things carefully for battles, since I expected DAO to be like NWN, if you know what I mean. Except RoM almost never put you in a stupid position... RoM was really simplified, though, there was sorta kinda Morrowind style damage improvement, two classes, mages had spells, wariors could choose between weapons, the end. It was mostly a game where you microed your guys to kill everyone (no pausing. So you better put that damn mage at the right location at the right range and move them at the right time so that they heal your warrior not too soon so they loose all mana and not too close so they get targeted and not too far... fun times). But in RoM the party had no limit size and you just got more and more people in it and you couldn't do much without all of them. Party size pretty early in the game, although 75% of that are mercs, lol: http://www.juegomania.org/Rage of MagesRage of Mages II: Necromancer -- Dual Jewel/foto/pc/3/3253/3253_t.jpg/Foto Rage of MagesRage of Mages II: Necromancer -- Dual Jewel.jpg And if one dude dies in a battle, you loose the game. Lol. Unless he's a mercenary but they cost a lot...
And I need to know how big the movement speed penalty is for me to decide if I want to sacrifice that stamina. It's not so much about skill balance oftentimes rather than how much it fits my build and my party... and while trial and error is ok for that more or less it's just not how I prefer to figure things out.
Thing is after NWN I am kinda jaded because all over NWN there was all this stuff that DID NOT help me in any capacity, for one reason or another. DAO is surprisingly better in that respect.
Min-maxing is reaching the best possible option. What I'm doing is basically avoiding certain "automatic fail" situations that I got in NWN. E.g., I build a hero, and he couldn't kill anybody. At all.
My archer doesn't even have stealth (Can't you build a proper archer in this game? Since when did archers become rogues? Bleh). But never mind that I'm not asking about whether I can protect the archer. I am asking about whether I should take the load off the tank and give some to the archer. Although I'm probably still thinking in RoM terms... lol
So why do I have all my archer stuff maxed out, for instance, and I've yet to meet a knockdown? You seem to say that a bunch of these skills will take a while to get to but I either have them or could easily get them despite being barely in Denerim.
Dunno I use save games for that. I played the Gothic/Risen series for too long, stuff like that happens all over it...
I don't remember what part of that seemed like a good idea, fucking new cookbook tempting me with appetizers.
Now my stomach and head hurt like bitches.