Don't miss these Tips - Beginner Guide - Dragon Age: Origins (DAO)

For a person who has no experience with RPGs, Dragon Age: Origins can be overwhelming. However, the game rewards you with a rich story, interesting items, many role-playing options and tactics-filled combat. In this post, I would like to share Dragon Age: Origins tips. You can also think of it as a short Dragon Age Origins beginner's guide.

Dragon Age Origins tips

Different races and classes result in different beginnings

If you start as a Noble Human warrior you will have one type of introduction and backstory, however, with Dwarven Rogue it will be totally different. There is also an aspect of stats. Elven main characters will have higher magic if they start in the circle. Humans will have good all-around attributes.

Get backpacks early

When in Ostagar, buy backpacks (they increase inventory size) before going on the main quest and after the main quests in Kocari Wilds. The bags are cheap 57 silver each, while after the introduction section, they will cost 6+ gold.

Flower for Kennel Master

When in Ostagar do not talk with Duncan until you give a flower to the kennel master. This way you will ensure that you get Mabari Hound as a companion character

First companion - Alistair

Alistair is a well-rounded Tank character for the first playthrough. What makes him special? He has probably the best banter, is involved in the games one of the most decisions, and is similar to you - a Grey Warden. Check Alistair Tank build guide for how to best allocate his skills, which gear to get, and which talents to prioritize

Spells with Friendly Fire

If you are playing Hard/Nightmare difficulties do not forget that some of the spells will do Friendly Fire

Tactics Menu

Play with the tactics menu for your companions, to get a hang on what is possible and what is not. This will minimize your need for micromanaging. It is important to learn how you should use skills and magic spells with your companions.

A Mage with Healing spells

Always have a mage who can heal in the group (you will meet one in Circle of Magi, which already specializes in healing). It can also be your main character if you play as a mage or any other party member

Play as Dual Wield rogue

My personal opinion is to play as dual wield rogue for the first time. It is really exciting specialization to play, as you are always trying to position yourself smartly and utilize your companion's tactics to the fullest

Sten has one specialization

Qunari Sten (whom you meet in Lothering)will only be able to have one specialization. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a default one. For this reason, I recommend using Alistair as a tank. So he has a bit of a disadvantage that we can overcome with the Sten Warrior build

Use Pause often

Pausing is your friend. You can easily micromanage in this game by pausing the time and issuing new orders. For example, a mage like Morrigan can react to enemy positions by using correct skills and magic. For this to work, you need the correct setup for the tactics menu.

Fully complete Lothering Quests

Finish everything in Lothering before going forward. Without spoiling the Dragon Age Origins story, at some point, Lother will become inaccessible. Due to this finish all the quests before moving forward

Changing companions is not necessary

Some people may recommend changing the companions as you play. I personally would disagree with this and for the first play go with the ones which you find the most interesting. For example, I played through the whole game with Morrigan, Alistair, and Wynne on my first playthrough.

Role-play a specific type of person

Don't try to be best friends with everyone (similar to in real life) this will make the game more enjoyable. You can be a Warden who has sided with the mages and hates templars. Even though you may lose some companions it will make your decisions heavier and throughout.

Of course, you can also have noble goals and side with the ones that reward the most gold. There are numerous possibilities

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post and I hope it will help you to be a better warden with your main character. Your task is to save the world from Blight by fighting the Archdemon. However, this is not easy and these tips should definitely improve your Dragon Age Origins journey