@@AKisHerceg Yeah but you have to work at it. Leliana is better because she comes with two ranks of lock picking, which means you have to spend fewer of her talent points on the other two ranks, or invest less cunning (plus she gets an approval bonus to cunning, while Zev gets dex) Or you just play a rogue yourself....
@@christinefarrell6438 Yup, Leliana is certainly better at it, being a spy and all. Zevran is an Assassin so for him it's not really his focus to open chests, but if someone insists on bringing him and want him to do it, he can learn it. :)
@@christinefarrell6438 I usually get Zevran ASAP and let him sit at camp for a while. When he gets 4-6 level ups I spec him into lockpicking/pickpocketing and replace Leliana
Love the variety builds and ai tactic videos you make. I think the toughest part most people have is keeping certain companions (Sten and Zeveran) alive in the early to mid game to the point they will just stick to Alistair/Wynne/Morgan for simplicities sake. At late game it's pretty easy to be so OP you don't have to put too much thought into the builds/equipment.
True! Sten, Zevran(and Oghren too) comes with huge disadvantages compared to Leliana or Alistair simply because there is no respec, and the earlier you get them the more option you have since the auto level is terrible. Wynne is different because she is useful no matter what because of her healing skills. I also have a habit of going with Leliana, Alistair and Morrigan because it's more convenient. Unless I really want to have Oghren or Sten with me, I get Alistair, and unless I want my Warden to have a relationship with Zevran I almost never pick him over Leliana. Respec is one thing that Origin really misses. I mean I get that this way things are more permanent, and you have to consider what you pick more carefully, but it is definitely detrimental to the viability of your followers.
@@AKisHerceg I think Oghren isnt even considered by most seeing how late he ends up coming into the party unless you specifically go to the Dwarf treaty first, but Deep Roads early on sounds like ass. It's interesting how Awakening did allow for character respecing and that was released not too long after Origins I imagine. I think all their games after Awakening allowed it come to think of it.
@@StarMarshal Respec in Awakening was a response to a mod that the community made in 2009. Originally it would not have been included in the 2010 Awakening. The devs saw that people were complaining and modding the game to get respec, so they decided to give us the Manual Focus. Since then, they give us the option, because they know that it's useless to force the no-respec idea.
@@AKisHerceg interesting! That I did not know, but it's good to see that at least see what the community clearly wanted and adapted to it. Don't see that too often nowadays.
Really love your guide. Which makes me appreciate dual dagger rogue immensely. Played nightmare this time as arcane warrior and Zevran stole my thunder by slaying high dragon, Flemeth and Gaxkang lollllll
Not really a “poster” by nature generally, but felt compelled to say as a die-hard Dragon Age/Mass Effect-er, am into these videos a lot, and enjoy them. A great deal of marvelous content. Always looking something up, or just watching for enjoyment.
Bottom Line, Up Front: really appreciate the Dragon Age wisdoms youre sharing here, man. Consider me subbed so i can easily find your channel for more of your quality work. I loved this game since it first came out. I still do to this very day. Recently, i dusted off an old save of my second playthrough from many years ago, a human mage that speccd into Arcane Warrior (first character was a Berserker Champion Two-handed warrior. Human Noble origin. He was a badass that was too stronk for tactics. RIP Mordin, you were lost due to a fried PC before Steam Cloud came of age). This time, im playing all the angles with strategy, tactics, spell combos, and it feels so much more fun than even the first time i played (having a great mod community restore cut content also helps)! The later experience with more ruthless CRPGs like Baldurs Gate 1/2 trained me up. hard to go an "evil route" and break the hearts of the companions i came to care for so damn much (imma save that boy connor, aint gonna corrupt them ashes, Templars n Mages still gonna get along, Behlen can still sit on a Bronto horn and SPIN) but its great to branch out from the old Tried n True methods (specially when you wanna mix things up with a respec mod, along with the Class and Specialization Pack). Thanks to you, i can have my double dagger rogues able to do their own thing without having to micromanage!
Glad you are having fun with the game! I'm happy that my little channel was able to help you enjoy DAO more! :) Usually those are my choices too. I already saw everything in the game, so now I really just want my party and the people of Ferelden to be happy. I only branch out when I purposefully go evil - but Behlen still loses his throne for me, even if I'm a jerk. I just can't stand the guy. :)
Your AI builds are all awesome and are already helping me so much on my journey to Veilguard! Did you ever make an AI build for archers? Lilianna always seems to be an archer in the promotional stuff So I'd like to build her as one. Thanks for everything!
@@Noeton Properly? Well, you just have to have 2 mages in the team, both having Haste active. Your main character should focus on STR(as a warrior), DEX(as a rogue) or MAGIC(as a mage, Spellpower determines your attack, but your Spellpower is based on your Magic) based on their class, so they can have enough attack to counter the -14 that double Haste would put on you. Then you can have skills like Dueling(for Rogues +10 attack), Rally(for Warriors +10 attack) or Heroic Offense(for mages +X attack based on Spellpower, usually 10+) running so you can keep your attack high. This way you will basically completely negate the negative effect of Haste. Naturally with mages this is only relevant, if you play as a melee Arcane Warrior. With archers Haste is a curse because it actually slows down your aiming, but with the Repeater Gloves you will nullify all the effects of Haste and you can just shower the enemies with your Arrows. Even with Aim active.
Funniest? Hmm... I've never thought about this. I guess it's either the Shapeshifter or the Ranger for me. It's pretty amusing to see enemies getting helplessly mauled by a huge bear or by a pack of wolves. :)
@@AKisHerceg I have only tried it once with a 2 wield warrior but I cant remember if I finished that game. I find it pretty hard in Normal. In comparison, Nightamare in Inquisitiin and 2 seems like a joke.
@@elvenatheart982 In DA2? I would disagree with that. I find Nightmare in DA2 more difficult than Inquisition or Origins. The balance is way off there when it comes to the enemies.
@@elvenatheart982 DA2 is pretty hard, because of the amount of bs enemies are doing there(auto-hit attacks are on steroids over there). Also, resistances are totally random which makes playing as a single element-focused mage a literal Nightmare. But I could go on and on about how silly it is that enemies appear out of nowhere, sometimes even multiple boss-level characters right after you used up all your most damaging abilities, which results in getting your butt handed to you. For someone who goes through the game the first time, it is way harder than the other two, because you literally can't prepare for what's coming when you enter a fight.
Not really, no. I think I already covered the offensive mages in my Blood Mage video(I had a full party of Blood Necromancers). And I also covered the archers in my Ranger video. At least if I remember correctly... But maybe I will put together a separate video about them. We'll see. :)
@@gnome6969 That depends on what character I go with. If I need more damage, I pick dual weapon and archer warrior or rogue. If I need more of a damage/cc half-tank, I get the 2h warrior.
Can you make a viable AI build for isabela for DA2 NM? I really wanna use her as she's the only one that I don't bring at all unless it's her companion quest. She's probably my least used of the other companions exluding the DLC ones because she seems so squishy and since you can't really spec her from DW she's pretty much screwed since she has to survive melee, unlike the DAO rogues who can be respecced to archers so they'd at least be useful.
@@AKisHerceg You know what, I wasn't looking to do a Spirit Healer run at first since I don't know if that one would be engaging enough for me since I mainly DPS in these games (was actually looking for a Warrior build but those would probably one-shot Isabella lol), but I realized that would probably an interesting playthrough! It also saves me the trouble of having to always slot Anders in the team since I would be the main support (I believe he's actually a very viable DPS), and could probably switch around my companions now, which is what I wanted anyway since the whole reason I wanted to start a new run is to see more party banter that I've missed by playing the same party over and over on Nightmare lol. I generally use Fenris, Merrill, Varric and me as a Blood Mage so this would be a nice change of pace. Thanks!
The difference is that if you set it up as "any", they will use it against any enemy at any given time during the battle. If you set them up as "nearest visible", they will use it specifically against the enemy who is closest to them.
I'm not sure I understand your question. Yes, I made Zevran use Below the Belt if enemies attack the main character(it slows them down). I usually set up Leliana to use Below the Belt if she uses a bow. Sometimes I set her up to do it when she has double daggers, but usually I don't let her use too many skills, so she can keep backstabbing.
@@AKisHerceg if i'm tank and zevran use bellow the belt, he'll keep hitting that enemy, what i was thinking is u let zevran fight free and leliana always defending main character
@@lolodarkness Usually when I want a rogue to keep backstabbing, I order them to attack my target. If I want them to do their own thing and use multiple skills, I allow them to fight whomever they want. Leliana starts with a lot of skills invested in archery(plus I invest in her lock picking too), so she will have a limited amount of dual weapon skills. This is why I love making her keep backstabbing enemies.
Did you ever/are you planning on making one of these for 2 handed warriors? Would like to bring Sten and Oghren with me for once instead of them laying in a puddle of their own blood 24/7
I do have a video about warriors. It is called How to build a good Warrior AI in Dragon Age Origins. :) Sten can actually be built up to be something productive, Oghren however will always be kind of a useless drunkard. Unless you go out of your way to get him asap. :)
@@AKisHerceg oghren is a good sponge at least with 6 free con from approval and dwarven passive. I usually give him templar and gear him up into magical resist with just enough STR to equip his armor, rest goes into CON and a bit into WILL so he can pop some stuns and take a beating. He actually works quite well as a threat producer for your backstabbers
Rogue archers are easier/simpler because you don't have to worry about their survival, since they are far away from the front lines. I can write it down here if you are curious. :) Most people have an easy time with archers because all you have to do is stack Dexterity and let them keep firing from afar. Their dps does not depend on successful backstabs or stuns, they are 100% consistent and they hit very regularly. Here is the AI build I use for Leliana(I pick Duelist for her as a second spec and stack Dex): Self - Any: Song of Courage Self - Any: Dueling Self - Any: Aim(on pc, if you have the Repeater Gloves on her - if not, then Rapid Shot) Self - Being attacked by a melee attack: Dirty Fighting Self - Being attacked by a melee attack: Below the Belt Enemy - Rank - Elite or higher: Scattershot Enemy - Rank - Elite or higher: Pinning Shot Enemy - Rank - Boss or higher: Arrow of Slaying Enemy - Using attacking type - Magic: Arrow of Slaying Enemy - Rank - Elite or higher: Shattering Shot
Check out my Deathbringer Trilogy Build. It has a cunning based archer build for Leliana. If you want to use the dex route, you just need to stack dex instead of cunning, but the tactics can remain the same. :)
They don’t stack by adding up the percentage, but they stack in terms of chance per roll. So if you have 3 runes that is 3 different roll on 5% chance to paralyze with each hit instead of just 1 roll for 1 rune. So with 6 runes you can get 6 different rolls for 5% with each hit. Which means that with 6 runes and fast speed, you can have a pretty good chance to keep paralyzing enemies basically non-stop.
Just from the thumbnail: Bold of you to assume Zevran can pick locks
Well, he can certainly pick locks if you want him to. :)
@@AKisHerceg Yeah but you have to work at it. Leliana is better because she comes with two ranks of lock picking, which means you have to spend fewer of her talent points on the other two ranks, or invest less cunning (plus she gets an approval bonus to cunning, while Zev gets dex) Or you just play a rogue yourself....
@@christinefarrell6438 Yup, Leliana is certainly better at it, being a spy and all. Zevran is an Assassin so for him it's not really his focus to open chests, but if someone insists on bringing him and want him to do it, he can learn it. :)
@@christinefarrell6438 I usually get Zevran ASAP and let him sit at camp for a while. When he gets 4-6 level ups I spec him into lockpicking/pickpocketing and replace Leliana
If you really want you could put two points in it. No more. Which is enough for Forest lower ruin quest pressure plate
you know, Oghren, morrigan and shale can make us laugh with their jokes dialogue.. my fav jokes dialogue of all time
Love the variety builds and ai tactic videos you make. I think the toughest part most people have is keeping certain companions (Sten and Zeveran) alive in the early to mid game to the point they will just stick to Alistair/Wynne/Morgan for simplicities sake.
At late game it's pretty easy to be so OP you don't have to put too much thought into the builds/equipment.
True! Sten, Zevran(and Oghren too) comes with huge disadvantages compared to Leliana or Alistair simply because there is no respec, and the earlier you get them the more option you have since the auto level is terrible. Wynne is different because she is useful no matter what because of her healing skills.
I also have a habit of going with Leliana, Alistair and Morrigan because it's more convenient. Unless I really want to have Oghren or Sten with me, I get Alistair, and unless I want my Warden to have a relationship with Zevran I almost never pick him over Leliana.
Respec is one thing that Origin really misses. I mean I get that this way things are more permanent, and you have to consider what you pick more carefully, but it is definitely detrimental to the viability of your followers.
@@AKisHerceg I think Oghren isnt even considered by most seeing how late he ends up coming into the party unless you specifically go to the Dwarf treaty first, but Deep Roads early on sounds like ass.
It's interesting how Awakening did allow for character respecing and that was released not too long after Origins I imagine. I think all their games after Awakening allowed it come to think of it.
@@StarMarshal Respec in Awakening was a response to a mod that the community made in 2009. Originally it would not have been included in the 2010 Awakening. The devs saw that people were complaining and modding the game to get respec, so they decided to give us the Manual Focus.
Since then, they give us the option, because they know that it's useless to force the no-respec idea.
@@AKisHerceg interesting! That I did not know, but it's good to see that at least see what the community clearly wanted and adapted to it. Don't see that too often nowadays.
@@StarMarshal Yeah, back when Bio was actually listening to the fans...
Really love your guide. Which makes me appreciate dual dagger rogue immensely. Played nightmare this time as arcane warrior and Zevran stole my thunder by slaying high dragon, Flemeth and Gaxkang lollllll
Aio, your build guides are hype!
Not really a “poster” by nature generally, but felt compelled to say as a die-hard Dragon Age/Mass Effect-er, am into these videos a lot, and enjoy them. A great deal of marvelous content. Always looking something up, or just watching for enjoyment.
Bottom Line, Up Front: really appreciate the Dragon Age wisdoms youre sharing here, man. Consider me subbed so i can easily find your channel for more of your quality work.
I loved this game since it first came out. I still do to this very day.
Recently, i dusted off an old save of my second playthrough from many years ago, a human mage that speccd into Arcane Warrior
(first character was a Berserker Champion Two-handed warrior. Human Noble origin. He was a badass that was too stronk for tactics. RIP Mordin, you were lost due to a fried PC before Steam Cloud came of age).
This time, im playing all the angles with strategy, tactics, spell combos, and it feels so much more fun than even the first time i played (having a great mod community restore cut content also helps)! The later experience with more ruthless CRPGs like Baldurs Gate 1/2 trained me up.
hard to go an "evil route" and break the hearts of the companions i came to care for so damn much (imma save that boy connor, aint gonna corrupt them ashes, Templars n Mages still gonna get along, Behlen can still sit on a Bronto horn and SPIN) but its great to branch out from the old Tried n True methods (specially when you wanna mix things up with a respec mod, along with the Class and Specialization Pack).
Thanks to you, i can have my double dagger rogues able to do their own thing without having to micromanage!
Glad you are having fun with the game! I'm happy that my little channel was able to help you enjoy DAO more! :)
Usually those are my choices too. I already saw everything in the game, so now I really just want my party and the people of Ferelden to be happy. I only branch out when I purposefully go evil - but Behlen still loses his throne for me, even if I'm a jerk. I just can't stand the guy. :)
finally.. tks dude, i'll learn alot from this video
the improved tactics mod has a function that allows you to set your rogues to automatically get behind his target's back
Yup. Thats why I always put zevran into duealist as second spec - saves hiss ass.
Your AI builds are all awesome and are already helping me so much on my journey to Veilguard! Did you ever make an AI build for archers? Lilianna always seems to be an archer in the promotional stuff So I'd like to build her as one. Thanks for everything!
I have AI builds for her in some of my Trilogy Builds. I think I even show her tactics in my Deathbringer Trilogy Build. :)
@@AKisHerceg Thanks so much!
Does Haste x2 stack? Seems like very good to have.
Thanks for the content, man I'm doing your Arcane Warrior/ Blood Mage build for my playthrough. :)
Yup, they do. Just make sure you counter the counter -14 attack penalty. :)
@@AKisHerceg Any advice on how to to do this properly? Thanks for your response! :D
@@Noeton Properly? Well, you just have to have 2 mages in the team, both having Haste active. Your main character should focus on STR(as a warrior), DEX(as a rogue) or MAGIC(as a mage, Spellpower determines your attack, but your Spellpower is based on your Magic) based on their class, so they can have enough attack to counter the -14 that double Haste would put on you. Then you can have skills like Dueling(for Rogues +10 attack), Rally(for Warriors +10 attack) or Heroic Offense(for mages +X attack based on Spellpower, usually 10+) running so you can keep your attack high. This way you will basically completely negate the negative effect of Haste.
Naturally with mages this is only relevant, if you play as a melee Arcane Warrior. With archers Haste is a curse because it actually slows down your aiming, but with the Repeater Gloves you will nullify all the effects of Haste and you can just shower the enemies with your Arrows. Even with Aim active.
Not sure if this was asked already, but I'm curious what kind of armor setups you're using on your characters here
I usually use the Dalish armor set or the Shadow of the Empire or the Duster armor set or the Battledress of the Provocateur for Leliana or Zevran.
Hey what is in your opinion the funniest build to play as in DAO?
Funniest? Hmm... I've never thought about this.
I guess it's either the Shapeshifter or the Ranger for me. It's pretty amusing to see enemies getting helplessly mauled by a huge bear or by a pack of wolves. :)
Do you do your gameplay showcase in the hardest difficulty?
Yup. Everything is on Nightmare, as always. :)
@@AKisHerceg I have only tried it once with a 2 wield warrior but I cant remember if I finished that game.
I find it pretty hard in Normal. In comparison, Nightamare in Inquisitiin and 2 seems like a joke.
@@elvenatheart982 In DA2? I would disagree with that. I find Nightmare in DA2 more difficult than Inquisition or Origins. The balance is way off there when it comes to the enemies.
@@AKisHerceg well I didnt finish that one eother onNightmare so maybe Im dumb
@@elvenatheart982 DA2 is pretty hard, because of the amount of bs enemies are doing there(auto-hit attacks are on steroids over there). Also, resistances are totally random which makes playing as a single element-focused mage a literal Nightmare. But I could go on and on about how silly it is that enemies appear out of nowhere, sometimes even multiple boss-level characters right after you used up all your most damaging abilities, which results in getting your butt handed to you.
For someone who goes through the game the first time, it is way harder than the other two, because you literally can't prepare for what's coming when you enter a fight.
are you working on any other AI videos? like ranged bows or offensive mages?
Not really, no. I think I already covered the offensive mages in my Blood Mage video(I had a full party of Blood Necromancers). And I also covered the archers in my Ranger video. At least if I remember correctly...
But maybe I will put together a separate video about them. We'll see. :)
@@AKisHerceg ah okay thanks. if you could only choose one, would you prefer a dual, 2hand melee or ranger AI companion?
@@gnome6969 That depends on what character I go with. If I need more damage, I pick dual weapon and archer warrior or rogue. If I need more of a damage/cc half-tank, I get the 2h warrior.
I mean, lockpicks are real sharp objects, so it makes sense a human lockpick would also be good at stabbing
Can you make a viable AI build for isabela for DA2 NM? I really wanna use her as she's the only one that I don't bring at all unless it's her companion quest. She's probably my least used of the other companions exluding the DLC ones because she seems so squishy and since you can't really spec her from DW she's pretty much screwed since she has to survive melee, unlike the DAO rogues who can be respecced to archers so they'd at least be useful.
I believe I have one in one of my Trilogy Builds. Maybe with my Spirit Healer. :)
@@AKisHerceg You know what, I wasn't looking to do a Spirit Healer run at first since I don't know if that one would be engaging enough for me since I mainly DPS in these games (was actually looking for a Warrior build but those would probably one-shot Isabella lol), but I realized that would probably an interesting playthrough! It also saves me the trouble of having to always slot Anders in the team since I would be the main support (I believe he's actually a very viable DPS), and could probably switch around my companions now, which is what I wanted anyway since the whole reason I wanted to start a new run is to see more party banter that I've missed by playing the same party over and over on Nightmare lol. I generally use Fenris, Merrill, Varric and me as a Blood Mage so this would be a nice change of pace. Thanks!
dude, whats the different between enemy:nearest visible with enemy:any ?
The difference is that if you set it up as "any", they will use it against any enemy at any given time during the battle. If you set them up as "nearest visible", they will use it specifically against the enemy who is closest to them.
@@AKisHerceg okay i get it, thats why you mention before AI DA Origins are genius.
with zevran u use bellow the belt and leliana attack, do the same???? nice AI tactics, sorry for my awful english!!!!
I'm not sure I understand your question. Yes, I made Zevran use Below the Belt if enemies attack the main character(it slows them down). I usually set up Leliana to use Below the Belt if she uses a bow. Sometimes I set her up to do it when she has double daggers, but usually I don't let her use too many skills, so she can keep backstabbing.
@@AKisHerceg if i'm tank and zevran use bellow the belt, he'll keep hitting that enemy, what i was thinking is u let zevran fight free and leliana always defending main character
@@lolodarkness Usually when I want a rogue to keep backstabbing, I order them to attack my target. If I want them to do their own thing and use multiple skills, I allow them to fight whomever they want.
Leliana starts with a lot of skills invested in archery(plus I invest in her lock picking too), so she will have a limited amount of dual weapon skills. This is why I love making her keep backstabbing enemies.
@@AKisHerceg understood, thanks for your prompt response!!!!
Did you ever/are you planning on making one of these for 2 handed warriors? Would like to bring Sten and Oghren with me for once instead of them laying in a puddle of their own blood 24/7
I do have a video about warriors. It is called How to build a good Warrior AI in Dragon Age Origins. :)
Sten can actually be built up to be something productive, Oghren however will always be kind of a useless drunkard. Unless you go out of your way to get him asap. :)
@@AKisHerceg nah I'm good, he can stay in ostagar for now lol I'll check the video out though, thanks
@@AKisHerceg oghren is a good sponge at least with 6 free con from approval and dwarven passive. I usually give him templar and gear him up into magical resist with just enough STR to equip his armor, rest goes into CON and a bit into WILL so he can pop some stuns and take a beating. He actually works quite well as a threat producer for your backstabbers
@@neprostoman1112 Yeah, he is the perfect meat sack for my Blood Mage.
great!!! Any chance rogue archer ai build ?
Rogue archers are easier/simpler because you don't have to worry about their survival, since they are far away from the front lines. I can write it down here if you are curious. :)
Most people have an easy time with archers because all you have to do is stack Dexterity and let them keep firing from afar. Their dps does not depend on successful backstabs or stuns, they are 100% consistent and they hit very regularly.
Here is the AI build I use for Leliana(I pick Duelist for her as a second spec and stack Dex):
Self - Any: Song of Courage
Self - Any: Dueling
Self - Any: Aim(on pc, if you have the Repeater Gloves on her - if not, then Rapid Shot)
Self - Being attacked by a melee attack: Dirty Fighting
Self - Being attacked by a melee attack: Below the Belt
Enemy - Rank - Elite or higher: Scattershot
Enemy - Rank - Elite or higher: Pinning Shot
Enemy - Rank - Boss or higher: Arrow of Slaying
Enemy - Using attacking type - Magic: Arrow of Slaying
Enemy - Rank - Elite or higher: Shattering Shot
@@AKisHerceg thank you very much !
Do you have tactics for archer leliana
Check out my Deathbringer Trilogy Build. It has a cunning based archer build for Leliana. If you want to use the dex route, you just need to stack dex instead of cunning, but the tactics can remain the same. :)
Did all three of them have the same tactics and skills
I show their AI build in the video. Check it at 7:07.
👍
Stacking Paralyzing runes does not stack. You only get 5% chance.
They don’t stack by adding up the percentage, but they stack in terms of chance per roll. So if you have 3 runes that is 3 different roll on 5% chance to paralyze with each hit instead of just 1 roll for 1 rune. So with 6 runes you can get 6 different rolls for 5% with each hit. Which means that with 6 runes and fast speed, you can have a pretty good chance to keep paralyzing enemies basically non-stop.
Do I have to make them look at me?
Not sure I get what you are saying.
For the backstabe
@@jacksparrow5480 They have to be behind the enemies to be able to perform a backstab. With Combat Movement, they can be at their side as well.
rogue are squishy hahahaha, related to shale.. we are all squishy in her eyes
It only shows two
Because you have two rogue party members.
The third one is my Warden and she does not use tactics because I control her. :)