After game thoughts on Dragon Age Origins

1. On my character: the guy looks ugly and weak. I should have spent more time creating him.

2. On mage skills: (in my first run as a mage), talents are not spent very wisely. Should have spent points on ice magic. Tele branch is a good one, as well (Force field and crush prison). Didn’t use poison magic a lot. Especially the walking dead is not useful at all. That’s the main reason I have to bring back Morrigan. I followed the DPS mage model on prima guide, however the model doesn’t work quite well for me.

3. On mage specialization: AW is not very useful, I guess it is because the character attribute is not spent very well. Spirit healer is always good. Zero knowledge about blood mage. Have not explored shapeshifter very much. Maybe on the second run I’ll try to fully develop Morrigan’s shapeshifter and see how it works.

4. On tank. Should have put more HP on Allistar. As a tank he has done quite well, especially after setting up the tactics (drink a potion when health is low). Being an important character, I might still keep Allistar in the party though in my second round of playing. However, I am thinking whether I should consider Sten or Shayle as my main tank.

5. On ending. It seems that things didn’t go well in Dwarf’s kingdom at the end. The king I have chosen is not strong enough to hold. Even the chanty I helped to established caused lots of trouble. I might choose the other path for them: the prince, and Branka. We’ll see.

6. Quite impressed with fade level design in the circle of magi main quest. The puzzle design is outstanding and playing through the fade maze is satisfying (extra attribute points gain).

7. On what I have missed: Ostagar. I should have got the dog as well as 2 backpacks. Missed some locked chest though because I opt Morrigan instead of Leliana – still OK though. Didn’t have enough money to get the best items though – not a big deal too (might consider to cheat a bit just to get the strongest equips in the game. Remember that phrase: cheating on money is not cheating.). Boss missed: High dragon and ganxx (don’t remember what’s the right name though). I’ll try to destroy them on the second run.

8. On next round play. The idea of playing it again is still attractive. Already started a female rouge aiming for DPS. This time I wanted to be a ‘bad’ person. Party member should contains Morrigan, Wynne, me and Allistar. Morrigan will be a DPS and CC mage; while Wynne still focus on healing magic, I might also develop her CC skills a bit. 2 fine tuned mages should be good enough.

9. On skills. Most skills are not useful. I’ll try poison making for my rogue character on second run. Trap making? Not sure where it will lead me to.

10. On romance. Leliana is an interesting character and has lesbian tendency. I’ll try to develop some romance with her first and then (ditch her and) checkout Allistar. I don’t like Zervan at all. Won’t touch him this time around (maybe just ‘kill’ him?).

11. On origin stories. I might consider create another 4 characters just to try out the origin stories (dwarf noble, dwarf common, city elf, Danish elf).

12. On perspective. Another interesting part of the game is the perspective. I’ll come across several major NPCs (not party member) in the game. Depending on your origin, you may be deeply involve with them or doesn’t know them at all. It’s interesting to see things from different perspectives. That’s another reason to try out all 6 origins, just to see how the character’s background will affect their story.

13. On party members (that I have rarely used): I didn’t bother to get warm with them at all. Probably it will remain the same on my second run through, too.