Dragon Age Origins Combinations

[high_castle]

My first character was an Elven/Mage/Arcane Warrior/Shapeshifter. I focused on DPS and durability, and I ran with Wynne, Zevran, and Alastair typically. With my play style and Wynne on healing duty, I could hammer an enemy with spells, plus take a few hits or retreat to a shapeshift form (Flying Swarm is useful for avoiding damage) to continue dishing out the damage.

Now I'm playing a City Elf/Rogue/Assassin (don't know if I'll pick up a second spec or not; if I do it'll be Duelist or Bard). I run with Shale, Wynne, and Zevran mostly. Two rogues can be a bit soft, but my char exists to open locks and craft/disarm traps while Zev fills the roll of a second DPSer). I have to say, it's fun being able to make some of those cool finishing moves myself now, but I think I preferred the play style of the mage. Once I finish this playthrough, I'll probably go back to the mage with a Spirit Healer/Arcane Warrior duel spec so I can leave Wynne behind and fill out the extra spot with either Alastair or Oghren. Or possibly Leliana so once I again I can actually open more than one or two of the chests in any given room.

Being a warrior is of little interest to me right now. I've never been one for playing as a tank anyway, and I'd have to sacrifice Coercion to keep up with Combat Training, and I like talking my way out of problems too much to want to do that. So I'll probably only play warrior...well, not for a long time anyway.

 

[Flamezdudes]

Just completed my second playthrough as an Elven Mage - Arcane Warrior/Spirit Healer. My First was Human Noble Warrior - Champion/Templar. My third is a Human Noble Rogue and i'm probably gonna make him a Duelist/Assassin. My fourth will be...something else.

 

[silasbufu]

I have a lvl 17 elven mage, only one specialization for now (spirit healer) and the maxed out spells are blizzard, the one from the fire tree, spirit prison and death cloud. It's great. I play with wynne, morrigan and ma' dog , almost finished the game, and the only troublesome fight was the one at the Anvil of the Void.
The pros and cons are pretty much the usual ones for the mage. Huge damage and versatility, but squishy.

 

[wolfskin]

I went Human Noble warrior, focused on shield, and got templar then champion. My choices where more influenced by RP than anything else, but it's been working out quite well. He can tank, buff the party, and if there are any mages running around, well, he makes them his *****.

 

[Knight Templar]

Templar-Champion

I was thinking of doing that, how'd it work out?

The final skill for both specializations is extreemly useful for my Sword and Shield Human Noble.
Battles go on for quite a bit for me as I lack any stright up damadge dealer beyond morrigan. But I win.

 

[Archetypal_Maniac]

They make your warrior real tough but there is a templar skill, 2nd in the tree but I forget the name. However it is an AoE dispell move. The spell casters get stronger and with more powerful spells like crushing prison. This spell is so good for relieving team mates who have been frozen, petrified, caged whatever.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

Current play-through: Human Mage, Arcane Warrior, Spirit Healer

Future play-throughs:
Dalish elf Rogue, Duelist, Assassin (I think)
Human Noble Warrior, Templar, Champion
Dwarf Noble Warrior, Reaver, Berserker

 

[high_castle]

I have a lvl 17 elven mage, only one specialization for now (spirit healer) and the maxed out spells are blizzard, the one from the fire tree, spirit prison and death cloud. It's great. I play with wynne, morrigan and ma' dog , almost finished the game, and the only troublesome fight was the one at the Anvil of the Void.
The pros and cons are pretty much the usual ones for the mage. Huge damage and versatility, but squishy.

Wow, you're taking 3 mages and just your dog for support. Can I ask what difficulty you're playing on, 'cause that just seems like you're asking for insta-death in most of the fights. Or do you pop Morrigan into a shapeshift so she and the dog can sub-tank while you and Wynne deal out DPS. And if you're a spirit healer, why take Wynne at all? Just wondering...

 

[NuclearPenguin]

I have a lvl 17 elven mage, only one specialization for now (spirit healer) and the maxed out spells are blizzard, the one from the fire tree, spirit prison and death cloud. It's great. I play with wynne, morrigan and ma' dog , almost finished the game, and the only troublesome fight was the one at the Anvil of the Void.
The pros and cons are pretty much the usual ones for the mage. Huge damage and versatility, but squishy.

Wow, you're taking 3 mages and just your dog for support. Can I ask what difficulty you're playing on, 'cause that just seems like you're asking for insta-death in most of the fights. Or do you pop Morrigan into a shapeshift so she and the dog can sub-tank while you and Wynne deal out DPS. And if you're a spirit healer, why take Wynne at all? Just wondering...

Well, im guessing he wants a casting focused party (Not that I understand why) and that hes got Wynne on DPS duty.. Or his character on DPS duty..

 

[Gashad]

First play through

Elf-Blood mage/shapeshifter(only for stats)

Right now Dwarven Berzerker/?(haven't unlocked reaver so will probably go for champion)

For weapons-Most good are from quests(a great sword is recieved from a quest in the deep roads), Though the dwarf in Denerim will sell one of the best two handed weapons(if not the best);, and I think the smith in red cliff sells a decent bow, remember not all merchant ware appears immediatly so it is well worth returning to check again when at higher level/have done more main quests.

 

[Torinki]

My "go to" group was usually my mage (awesome fire spells), Wynne, Zevran and my dog. Maybe not the best from a strategy standpoint but it was nice having my "mom", my lover and my unconditionally loyal pup with me. Regardless of who I took, and I did change it up quite a bit, they seemed to do quite well. I went for story as much as fighting ability.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

I have a lvl 17 elven mage, only one specialization for now (spirit healer) and the maxed out spells are blizzard, the one from the fire tree, spirit prison and death cloud. It's great. I play with wynne, morrigan and ma' dog , almost finished the game, and the only troublesome fight was the one at the Anvil of the Void.
The pros and cons are pretty much the usual ones for the mage. Huge damage and versatility, but squishy.

Wow, you're taking 3 mages and just your dog for support. Can I ask what difficulty you're playing on, 'cause that just seems like you're asking for insta-death in most of the fights. Or do you pop Morrigan into a shapeshift so she and the dog can sub-tank while you and Wynne deal out DPS. And if you're a spirit healer, why take Wynne at all? Just wondering...

I'm actually doing something similar. I don't play MMOs so I had no idea how the tank/DPS/healer etc etc archetypes work, so when I started my character, I really had no idea what I was doing. What I've ended up with is the main character as a human warrior with dual wielding maxed out, champion specialization, and wearing light to medium armor. My standard party is Leliana for locks and her archery helps get rid of mages at range, Morrigan for crowd control, and Wynne for healing. Yes, if things go bad I get overrun, but most of the time it works just great. Casting the blizzard-ish spell and earthquake on a room of enemies, followed by a lightning storm softens up most groups so dungeon crawls have become a breeze. The only problems I have are against groups of mages or rooms with lots of archers, but then again, I think everyone has trouble with those.

I also wanted to know, like the OP, where to get some good weapons. What are the best one-handed swords in the game anyways? My main character is running the Topsider's Blade in one hand, but I'm not sure what to put in the other.

 

[Naheal]

Human Rogue Assassin Duelist

Works well, but the Assassin specialization is largely wasted because I put a lot of points in Str and didn't want to baby sit him constantly for backstabs. He spends most of his time with Dual Striking, Momentum and Dueling on - so no natural crits or backstabs with Dual Striking on but he tears people up with 2 full size one hand weapons and high enough str to wear decent armor.

Why not go 'zerker/templar? Not as much damage, maybe, but you'll be an awesome anti-mage character.

 

[Mezrev]

On first playthrough it was

Me - Rogue, Bard/Ranger, pure archer
Alistair - Templar/Champion
Shale
Wynne - Spirit Healer/Arcane Warrior

Started a new playthrough and planning for this time

Me - Warrior, Templar/Champion
Morrigan - Haven't decided the second specialisation
Zevran - Assassin/Duelist
Oghren or Sten with Berserker/Reaver, or "Mr X whose name I'm not going to say because I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't played that part yet"

But anyone who has played through that part knows who Mr X is.

 

[hazabaza1]

Well, when I do get it, I plan to have a big ol' sword and shield combo. Any recommendation for that?

 

[Slycne]

Human Rogue Assassin Duelist

Works well, but the Assassin specialization is largely wasted because I put a lot of points in Str and didn't want to baby sit him constantly for backstabs. He spends most of his time with Dual Striking, Momentum and Dueling on - so no natural crits or backstabs with Dual Striking on but he tears people up with 2 full size one hand weapons and high enough str to wear decent armor.

Why not go 'zerker/templar? Not as much damage, maybe, but you'll be an awesome anti-mage character.

I haven't tried that yet, but that character is much better at locking down mages than templars I found. Just stealth into the room up to the mage, open with riposte and he'll likely be dead before the stun wears off. If not then Punisher or Dirty Fighting to finish them off before they have gotten the chance to cast anything.

 

[silasbufu]

[/quote]Wow, you're taking 3 mages and just your dog for support. Can I ask what difficulty you're playing on, 'cause that just seems like you're asking for insta-death in most of the fights. Or do you pop Morrigan into a shapeshift so she and the dog can sub-tank while you and Wynne deal out DPS. And if you're a spirit healer, why take Wynne at all? Just wondering...[/quote]

I play on the normal difficulty. Although I have spirit healer, it's just for an occasional heal and for the resurrect spell. As I stated before, I mostly use AoE spells , Morrigan is also a dmg dealer and Wynne does the healing. Don't see the problem in it since I just finished the game with this party with about 5 total whipeouts.
If you want to know how I would do on a higher difficulty, that will remain a mystery.

 

[silasbufu]

I have a lvl 17 elven mage, only one specialization for now (spirit healer) and the maxed out spells are blizzard, the one from the fire tree, spirit prison and death cloud. It's great. I play with wynne, morrigan and ma' dog , almost finished the game, and the only troublesome fight was the one at the Anvil of the Void.
The pros and cons are pretty much the usual ones for the mage. Huge damage and versatility, but squishy.

Wow, you're taking 3 mages and just your dog for support. Can I ask what difficulty you're playing on, 'cause that just seems like you're asking for insta-death in most of the fights. Or do you pop Morrigan into a shapeshift so she and the dog can sub-tank while you and Wynne deal out DPS. And if you're a spirit healer, why take Wynne at all? Just wondering...

I play on the normal difficulty. Although I have spirit healer, it's just for an occasional heal and for the resurrect spell. As I stated before, I mostly use AoE spells , Morrigan is also a dmg dealer and Wynne does the healing. Don't see the problem in it since I just finished the game with this party with about 5 total whipeouts.
If you want to know how I would do on a higher difficulty, that will remain a mystery.

sry for the double post

 

[Amaximumace]

1st play was Dwarf Noble Berserker/Reaver. Because of the way I played (going to Orzammar and Denerim last) I didnt get to use the specs until late in the game. Still, I was hard to take down and my one handed weapon did very high damage, killing most enemies in less than 3 blows (darkspawn fell in one). The main drawback was that my odds of hitting were not very high. Missing twice in a row was common for me. Pretty much a "run up to and wack" character.

I plan on making a human rogue assassin/duelist and an elf magi but Im torn between spirit healer, blood mage, and arcane warrior. Based on previous comments, I might just go SH/AW.