I just got Starfang, should I keep Yusaris for dragons or is Starfang still an upgrade against dragons despite Yusaris' damage bonus vs them?My character is a Human Warrior built for two-handers.
bump
>>3889906If you can be arsed to swap runes around, Yusaris is still higher damage against dragons. Worst type of build by the way.
>>3889906Armor penetration is all that matters in the end game. Starfang.
>>3889963Thanks for the answer.I play a two-handed warrior in every RPG, I find it badass and satisfying.My regular party members in DAO are Alistair, Leliana and Wynne.
>>3889906Yusaris is cooler, it's what I always use.>>3889963>worst type of build by the wayTwo-handed is underrated. Passive immunity to 90% of conditions in the game is fantastic, since it's usually getting disabled that kills you instead of just eating damage, and you can get it in the first hour of the game rather than having to rely on specializations and equipment. It also has other nice passives and good active abilities. It falls behind dedicated DPS builds but not by much, two-handed warriors can still hit the attack speed cap with a combination of Swift Salve, Blood Thirst and Haste.
>>3889906I can’t not play a mage in this. They’re too good, I always want two in the party, and I don’t want to commit to having both Morrigan and Wynne the whole time.If I could shake that need then I’d definitely be a two-hander, though.
Starfang is just cooler
>>3889976>>3889976>Passive immunity to 90% of conditions in the game is fantasticTrue, two-handed warriors are actually better tanks than the sword and board warrior.>>3889976>It falls behind dedicated DPS builds but not by muchThis is absolutely not true, even like a DW warrior which is the "worst" DPS spec in the base game (debatable given their survivability) outputs like twice as much damage. It pulls away even further in Awakening with spirit warrior and stacking the crit chance runes.
>>3890221>This is absolutely not true, even like a DW warrior which is the "worst" DPS spec in the base game (debatable given their survivability) outputs like twice as much damage.A Dexterity DW Berserker is the best build for sustained DPS, though (it falls behind mages in spike damage). It's been too long for me to remember the exact figures but from what I remember roughly, two-handed outdamages archers and sword-and-shield DPS, it's behind Dexterity rogues by ~10/15%, Cunning rogues and normal DW warriors by about 20% and dual-dagger DW warriors by about 30/40%. And that's playing optimally, so most players won't get that level of DPS with any build.Two-handed also gets the advantage of being able to pick up the best weapon in the game pretty much immediately after Lothering if you want.>AwakeningBy the time you get to Awakening every build is so strong it doesn't really matter. Warriors are still better than Rogues, I think the strongest build is an Accuracy archer that just pours everything into Dex.
>>3890239Archers are better in base game if you have repeater gloves and didn't install the unofficial fix for attack speed.>I think the strongest build is an Accuracy archer that just pours everything into Dex.Either that or the crit-stacking DW warrior, both with spirit warrior spec of course. Though actually, that could be one character since most of the archery talents are worthless and they both want more or less the same stats.
>>3889906Mathematically, starfang wins. But it looks like shit so only a faggot would use it.
>>3890215>Starfang is just coolerHeh
>>3890221>True, two-handed warriors are actually better tanks than the sword and board warrior.I keep hearing this and not seeing it. Sure, they don’t get stunned, but instead they just kinda die. How do you make them work?
>>3890590You need to build them with fairly high dex and wear templar gear, then they'll survive practically anything.
>>3890628Wouldn't that ruin their damage? I'd still expect a two-hander to hit hard. Or is that expectation too greedy?
>>3890630You've kind of got to pick between DPS and survival, yes. A dex DW warrior (daggers) will kind of be able to do both, but they're still vulnerable to disabling effects unlike the two-handed warrior.
>>3890630Like the other anon said, if you want to build the best tank you have to accept the tradeoff between focusing on damage and focusing on defence. You'll still hit decently hard because you need a decent level of Strength to wear the best armour, just not as hard as someone who focuses on all Strength (or all Dexterity, in the case of daggers). But if you specifically want to tank, two-handed is the best build in the game because they can do everything the other approaches can (immunity to magic, high armour, sky-high defence) just as well or better, but they also get outright immunity to a lot of disables that no other build can get.That's with regards to building a primary tabk, though. If all you want is to be survivable enough will still putting out respectable damage, you shouldn't have any issues with a two-hander since they still get massive armour and should have enough Con. Just don't keep Blood Thirst turned on all the time.
>>3890241>Archers are better in base game if you have repeater gloves and didn't install the unofficial fix for attack speed.I ran the numbers once and two-handed still pulls ahead if you can keep your attack speed at the maximum constantly, archers can just do it with autoattack though which in practice is way more convenient. Agreed about Awakening. Again I think archery is just more convenient because they can simply autoattack for more damage than most other builds can hit for with talents. Like you said, building a character that can use both archery and double daggers is great (that's how I killed the Harvester for the first time). And you can import the repeater gloves into Awakening which is just crazy.
how do you build to resist disables and knockdowns or other status effects "normally" with just gear and suchI remember doing an almost all dex dagger rogue and he was basically invincible except for status effects making me have to turn his toggles and shit back on constantly because I didn't know how else to handle it
>>3890048why not both
>>3889906They are like, only three major dragons in the whole vainilla game, and one is the final boss, that buff against dragons is nice, but they appear in special places only, so keep her in your inventory and equip starfang Based two handed build by the way
>>3890916There isn't any other way other than just pumping physical and magic resist, which is kind of untenable unless you're playing an arcane warrior.
>>3890916Boost your Physical and Mental resistances as high as possible and ideally be completely immune to magic, which requires being a Warrior (more specifically, a Templar).The thing is that a lot of disables either have no save (Dirty Fighting, Scattershot) or only a reduced effect on save, so unless you're outright immune you're still vulnerable to those abilities, which is what makes Indomitable so good. Sword-and-shield gets immunity to knockdown, but that's it.
>>3889906Some but not all DLC items in DAO have this retarded way they're coded where the level you do them is how strong the item is, instead of just balancing the dlc around doing it at a higher level. DA2 also does this but only in regards to that one sword from the Legacy dlc where you don't want to do the dlc until around level 24 and do the exploit to put all the bonuses on it instead of just 1 and then it's the best weapon in the game.
>>3890945It's at least pretty trivial to level the item in DAO. Also, quite frankly, most of the DLC items are good for their bonuses first and foremost, so it doesn't really matter what level you get them at.
>>3890947I remember I couldn't figure out a way to do it that didn't cost a ton of gold because the exploit the internet tells you to use doesn't work (maybe just on PC).
>>3890950Works fine on pc at least.
>>3890945Is this fixed by any mods?
>>3890962I'm sure there are mods that do that, but you can also just sell the item quicksave/load and then rebuy the item at a higher tier.
>>3890965I think there was a mod that added a chest in the camp, and if you put the DLC item there, it would refresh its material, but it's been years since I played DAO the last time.
>>3890632>>3890651Alright. "Decently hard" is enough. Is the ideal still templar/champion? >and should have enough ConEven for tanks, con seems like dogshit. Just terrible returns.
>>3891002Champion is the aoe stun spec right?And if i remember correctly constitution is still good when you run into werewolves and those stealthy darkspawn, or if you trigger a trap.
>>3891002If you want to be the primary/only tank then Templar/Champion or Templar/Reaver (gives you a bonus to Taunt, but I've never found it necessary). If you want better damage then Templar/Berserker>ConYou're right that it's not worth focusing on, the point is to have enough so that you're not instantly killed the second you get grabbed by an ogre or hit with Overwhelm. You'll be wearing heavy or massive armour so around 20 Con will be enough, it's easy to get there between the bonus points from the Fade and tomes. You might want a bit more if you're going to keep Blood Thirst up.
>>3891013>>3891025Alright, thanks anons. I'll try a two-handed tank next time I play.I swear I'll finish this game someday.
>>3891043>I swear I'll finish this game someday.I finished it back when it came out and I can barely remember any of it. The intro with the castle/camp of tents... some long annoying sequence in the middle ("the fade"?)... fighting an optional dragon in the endgame? I can't remember the plot at all, or any of the characters, except the goth mage
>>3891053Good moment to replay it then.> some long annoying sequence in the middle ("the fade"?)Most likely, loads of people hated it because of the back and forth stat hunting. But there’s a mod that lets you skip that.>CharactersMorrigan and Janeway aside i liked Oghren, solid dude he was.
>>3891053I more remember never being able to get my guys to do what I want with the AI tactics stuff and having to pause and manually control them constantly.
>>3891043No problem, I hope you enjoy the game. It's pretty fun once you work out a fun build.
Is mana clash worth it? It's an incredibly good spell, but the whole rest of the tree sucks besides maybe spell might, which is merely okay. You can do a lot with those 4 points.On that note, how is glyph of neutralization as a substitute? It's also 4 points, but the three spells leading up to it are actually good.
>>3891261>is a spell that instantly triviaizes any encounter with mages or other mana-using enemies worth itMana Clash is almost certainly the single best abilitiy in the entire game, to the point where the biggest reason not to use it is because it makes the game so much easier. Mages are consistently some of the more dangerous/annoying enemies to fight and it works on most demons as well, it does insane amounts of damage and it has a huge AOE. Yes, it's expensive, but it's not as if you're running that tight on talent points. If you're planning on casting damaging or disabling spells you want Spell Might anyway because you should be stacking your spellpower as high as possible.The glyph is okay. It doesn't damage enemies so you have to kill them afterwards and the area of effect is smaller, which you'll notice in quite a few fights where multiple mages are placed far enough apart to need multiple glyphs but that you can hit with one Mana Clash. It also affects everything in range including yourself and your party memebers so you have to be careful where you cast it, unlike Mana Clash which you can cast on top of yourself with no issue.You might as well take the point you would spend for Glyph of Neutralization and be 1/4 of the way to getting Mana Clash.
>>3891064>i liked Oghren, solid dude he was.Is he? I recently replayed and he was honestly a lot more whiny than I remembered and his quest involvement was pretty undercooked.
>>3891261yes, you're basically playing on the next higher difficulty level to try to run without it
>>3891261The only spells I always take are haste, mana clash and blood wound.
>>3891281>>3891290Dang. Alright, but what if you're already getting the glyphs? I like glyphs, they're great.My other issue with mana clash is that getting it always ends up pushing me into Storm of the Century every single time. Got spell might, and no self-respecting mage is gonna go without cone of cold, and hey, you're already 4 points from the biggest gun in the game. Less if you have someone else get the lighting spells, and Morrigan already starts with lightning bolt anyway. And then I just end up SotCing everything, which is lame. I know the solution is to just not do it, why are you doing a thing in a game if you don't like doing it, but autism is a hell of a drug.
>>3891299I never use that, the casting animation and friendly fire makes it not worth it.
>>3891286He is what I’d expect from a brash drunk dwarf berserker. And his reactions in fade and when stepping outside of Orzamar are appropriate. But if I remember correctly bioware mentioned on their forums afterward they didn’t like the character or something.
>>3891300I only use it if there is a big group of enemies that have not yet been aggroed. I start with Blizzard and the moment it's cast, I also add Earthquake. That usually knocks everyone down, giving me time to cast Tempest. When Storm of the Century triggers, the slowdown caused by the Blizzard stops but the Earthquake is still going on. It works quite well.
>>3891342Blood wound accomplishes essentially the same thing but quicker, the only exception is if you're facing constructs.
Which of these two bows does the most DPS? I'm using Leliana as a ranged damage-dealer.
>>3892620Left.
I heard that Warden's Keep loot scales with level, so should I put off doing it until later?I'm around halfway through the game
Not sure if this is just because of EA's ultimate edition, but it's weird that you literally start the game with half a dozen T5 gear that's better than most shit you can get from stores.
>>3893356>I heard that Warden's Keep loot scales with levelSome of it, yes.>should I put off doing it until later?No, the actual good stuff doesn't scale. And again, it is trivial to increase the tier of leveled gear by way of exploit.
>>3890962Yes
>>3893356I haven't played DAO in a long time but I remember you could sell shit to a merchant, then save and reload, the buy it back from him and it would have upgraded the material for the DLC items that scale to your level. I can't remember how much it costs but I don't remember it being so much it was really painful.
>>3891261Mana Clash breaks the game when fighting anything that has a mana bar, there is literally counter to Mana Clash.
>>3893419Yeah, besides haste it's the single most useful spell.Also, am I the only one that builds all my mages as arcane warriors even if I intend for them to sling spells? The added survivability alone makes it near universally my second specialization pick.
>>3893428Wynne is better at it than Morrigan and I remember thinking there isn't really enough prime mage gear to have two arcane warriors. So might as well give Morrigan blood mage.
I'm nearing or in the latter half of the game (I think, I have the images, dwarves and war left)I want to start the DLC now. Which are worth doing at this point in the game? Also, do the DLCs/Awakening take place in the main game world?
>>3893583>Also, do the DLCs/Awakening take place in the main game world?Yes, Awakening allows you to import your character. So does Witchhunt and Golems of Amgarrak. Chronologically, they are after the Awakening, first Amgarrak and then the Witchhunt.If you want to play The Darkspawn Chronicles, do it after completing Origins. Leliana's Song no earlier than after finishing her personal questline with Marjolaine.Do Warden's Keep, The Stone Prisoner and Return to Ostagar whenever you want. Technically, The Stone Prisoner would be a bit better to finish before you complete Orzammar but if you already did it, it's a very minor thing.
>>3893595Much appreciated anon
I can't decide whether to side with Prince Bhelen or Lord Harrowmont in Orzammar.My character is a Human Noble Warrior and I'm roleplaying him as a lawful good knight in shining armour, my usual party members are Alistair, Leliania and Wynne.
>>3893992Harrowmont is a good person but a shit politician. Bhelen is a colossal cunt but a great politician.
>>3893992The lawful option would be Harrowmont, though he's the worse option for Dwarven society as a whole.
>>3893992LG should pick Harrowmont without a doubt
>>3893992Bioware was in the bag for Bhelen. There's really not a single redeeming thing they let Harrowmont have. Like e.g. in one of the sequels they make it so Harrowmont treated the dwarf HoF badly after the game
>>3893992Could never bring myself to ever help Bhelen. Harrowmont is a massive retard doing retard things for retard reasons but at the end, the only thing thats "bad" about him is not elevating the scumdwarves into society. Which is as a whole indeed a problem because ethics aside a lot of valuable assets go lost solely due to "mah tradishanz" but Bhelen on the other hand is just outright a sociopathic, manipulative kinslayer and he also has no intend to help anyone. Him tearing down old, cumbersome traditions that keep dwarven society back is just a side effect of his power plays that he doesnt really care about. And its not that he used his power to make life better for those in the dirt reorganizing their society while hes not the king. For example by becoming their king, building up a second dwarven society and legitimate them over his status in the end. He just turned the rapemurder IQ69 thugs into organized rapemurder IQ69 thugs to take the throne by force because no dorf with any honor would follow him in this endeavour so he was all out of soldiers to go violent. If anything he made it worse. Societies build upon organised crime never end up well. Thats like throwing a bunch of rotten apples out of the basket but leaving a single, festering piece deep in the middle.
>>3894198That's ridiculously biased and outright not true.Bhelen is a complete ruthless bastard that goes full absolutist as soon as he can, but he also opens Orzammar to trade with the surface, making the city prosper economically, while reclaiming lost thaigs with his use of the casteless Dwarves. Also, there's good evidence that his embracing of the casteless is because he's really in love with the casteless Dwarf protag's sister, even marrying her and building a statue for their paragon ancestor.Meanwhile, Harrowmont goes full isolationist and dies poisoned by Bhelen's supporters, or builds golems to crush them with Branka's help - which ends up causing a war with Ferelden when Harrowmont stops supplying her with people to build golems and she kidnaps humans on the surface to use them.The worst part of this quest is the ending for me. Nothing is hinted about their politics until the epilogue, when good guy Harrowmont happens to be a terrible ruler while bad guy Bhelen turns out to be by far the better option, and nothing is hinted about this beforehand. For any non-Dwarven origins, that quest is a bit "whatever".
>>3894216>For any non-Dwarven origins, that quest is a bit "whatever".You have to play both Dwarven Origins to get it but I agree it could have been handled better. Oghren should have had something to say about the current situation of Orzammar, at least to humans and elves, and Gorim could also have had a miniquest allowing you to learn more about him, even if his side of the story is only a small part of the whole truth.
>>3893356just drop it in the stash you get after finishing the dlc and come back when you level up and it gets upgraded to whatever tier you're at.
>>3894230Its probably just cutting corners but I always liked how Oghren doesnt really talk that much in general and has almost no deep and sophisticated opinions about anything because he is fundamentally a drunkard knucklehead with zero impulse control who just bumbles trough life not paying attention if shit doesnt interest him which would be anything more complicated than bonking shit, booze and tits. So his answer would have probably been "lol who gives a shit?!" anyway.
>>3893992Bhelen is a terrible person but at the same time the Dwarves are literally a dying race that need to change or the Darkspawn are going to slowly wipe them out. Harrowmont is a good man but will do nothing to save his people in the end.
>>3894216>when good guy Harrowmont happens to be a terrible ruler while bad guy Bhelen turns out to be by far the better optionYou have to infer it by the fact that the dwarves are slowly destroying themselves by keeping to the old ways via just seeing shit around the city.>>3894230>Oghren should have had something to say about the current situation of OrzammarHe does, just rather off-handedly.
>>3890256Just install mods.
What stat retribution for a DW dagger warrior focused on damage?
>>3895262Dexmaxxed and whatever cunning you need to max out your talking skill.
>>3893428I've heard this, but I don't see it being worth it. Wouldn't the fatigue add up a lot?
>>3895542I just use stamina recovery gear on them. Like the sword and shield you get in the return to Ostagar DLC
